Sunday, May 4, 2014

SUMMA SUMMA SUMMA TIME

Well… another semester has come and gone and i could NOT be happier. Holy crap, school is such a doozy. Not to mention a major downer. And really hard. But it's great because you learn and get smarter and can get a degree and basically change the whole frickin' world. You can do that without a degree… but hey, a degree might help. ANYWAYS. School is over and that means it is SUMMER! Summer is my FAVORITE season in Provo. Wowowow the weather is beautiful and there are so many fun things to do and outdoorsy activities and its just down right great.

Since it is summer and I am not in school this semester, I decided to make a SUMMER 2014 BUCKET LIST! (It just seems more fun and more exciting in all caps.)

SO without further ado, I formally introduce my Summer Bucket List to all you beautiful people:

* Go to Europe… We're talking Norway for sure, possibly France, Greece, or Italy.. maybe Spain. Ah the possibilities are endless
*Work a lot and save some monies
*Go to San Francisco. Never been there. This is happening in June. Seriously
* Read a book… a really good, inspiring, uplifting book. Any ideas, anyone?
* Go to concerts in the park/rooftops of Provo
* Be tan
* Go to a Farmers Market
* Go to the Food Truck Roundup
* Redo the ole bedroom
* Go to Boston (read in Boston accent)
* See "The Fault in our Stars"while displaying my ugliest crying face.
* Try new food places. Yum.
* Send more mail
* Go to Arizona and see my sister Graduate. WOO!
* Go to the zoo with all those wild animals.
*Clean out my closet and get rid of ugly crapppppp/cute crap i don't wear
* Do at least a few DIY projects.
* Meet new people
* Go to the aquarium
* Hike the 'Y'
* Start a new TV series on netflix aka my bff
* Rope swing into a lake/swim/go to lake
*Eat healthy…sometimes
* Spend more time outdoors
* HAVE FUN!
*Document my summer

K… i realize this is a long list. And most of the stuff is CHEESY…like REALLY cheesy. But, I want to do them all.  I'll keep you posted on how they go with pictures and stuff on the bloggity blog.

I have a feeling this summer is going to be a good one.

OH! In other news, I thought I had one year left 'til I graduate. WRONG. It's two.. I cried and was THIS close to sending in my discontinuance letter. Pray for me at this rough time. I don't know how i'll make it through..

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

You Are Here

This morning, I had to get up extra early to print off a really pointless paper for a slightly pointless class.

I went to school early because I live in a place where my printer isn't set up because I don't have a desk to put it on cause my apartment is slightly ghetto ( but i love it anyways, i wish everyone could see it in  its blue-and-white-striped-wall-paper and all blue furniture glory). So i am on campus and the printer/computer isn't working. And i'm talking on the phone with my mom. And I'm annoyed cause its snowing outside (me and snow just don't get along, we're working on creating a mutual understanding and cordial relationship….I'll keep you posted) and parking was horrific and I was cold and wet and the printer wouldn't print my paper that was due in less than 10 minutes! 

So.. i blurt out in all my frustration, "Why am i even here?! Why are we paying $3000 a semester to go to a school where the printers and computers don't even work?!" 

I sometimes like to be dramatic. You know, its a 21 year old girl thing.

Of course, right after I said this me and my mom laughed and all was well and I really wasn't questioning the value of my education on one broken electronic device in the entire BYU campus.

But this got me thinking.. why am I here?? Why am I living in Provo?

And let me tell you, after two plus years of being a Provo resident I still don't know the exact answer to that question. When i moved here, I had this picturesque outlook on Provo. It would be oh, so fun. I would love school and learning and BYU would be the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I would date lots and I would have so many friends. I would love the snow and it would be pretty and i could wear cute coats and boots and scarves and beanies and my car would never slide or swerve on the ice. I would know my purpose here and KNOW that this is where I am supposed to be at this time in my life.

And honestly, almost all of those things my young, naive self pictured, haven't happened. At least, they haven't happened in the way I expected or hoped they would.

I have seriously contemplated switching schools and moving home multiple times. I have experienced some of my loneliest moments, some of my biggest mistakes, and some of my hardest, most trying experiences.

But i have also experienced some of the greatest opportunities, met some of the most influence people I know. I've grown to know and love myself better despite all my mistakes and insecurities and down right stupid things that I do. I've learned about myself better. What i like and don't like. I've learned how i respond to certain situations. I've learned about three (yes three) different majors. I've learned that in certain aspects of life, I'm not as strong as I thought I was. But also, in other situations that I am stronger than I imagined. I learned that I can do hard things. That I can be courageous and brave.

A few semesters ago, when I was going through a hard time, I put my contract up for sell so I could move home. A few long weeks later, I got a phone call and someone wanted to buy my contract! I was overjoyed! Then, i sat there in my extra small room on my floor and had a knot in my stomach. I couldn't move home. I was so confused because it was all that I wanted, but not what i needed. I called her back and told her it was no longer for sale and that I was staying. I couldn't believe what I was saying. It felt like such an out of body experience. Looking back on that day, I am so grateful the Lord wanted me to stay here. I sure had (and still have) so much to learn.

I learned that ultimately, it's my choice. I CHOOSE how I react to this quaint little place called Provo.

I still don't know the exact reasons I am here.  And I still don't know exactly what I want with my life and how I should be spending my time. That's life though, isn't it? That's what makes it so exciting and so great and such an adventure.

And you know, Provo has been oh, so good to me. So so good to me. I'll always and forever love this place. I've found me here. And despite all of it's un-met expectations and lack of Chipotles (like seriously, what is life without Chipotle?) it's been one of the absolute greatest things to ever happen to me.

I love you Provo, I really do.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Hello there 2014!

So... that gratitude project was a complete and total bust… lets just chalk it up to an 'i tried' moment and everyone know that I really am grateful for oh so many things. With that out of the way….

HAPPIEST 2014!

New years is such a happy happy time! Seriously. It makes me feel so rejuvenated and like i can conquer anything. To me, its a fresh, clean slate that symbolizes the opportunity to become something new, something better, The chance to have new experiences, new outlooks on everything thrown at you, new purpose. So grateful that 2014 is now upon us! I have really high hopes for you, 2014 and know you won't disappoint. Heck, you already proved to be great on the eve of your existence.. its always been such a downer to me, New Years Eve. Such high hopes and expectations, never to be met. But I'll give it to you, new years eve 2014 was the exception! Such a great night.

The night started out on a date with the one and only Jeremy! He's the best and he does plans things that he knows I would like… He sure makes me feel special.

Two words: WELCOME DINER. Two more words: SO GOOD. Its this little place in the heart of downtown phoenix. Outdoors, lights, and mexican glass coke bottles. I give it to giant thumbs up. I mean, look at that meal… a homemade biscuit sandwich with fried chicken and cheese with gravy on the top. HEAVENLY.



After Welcome Diner, we headed over to the cutest little ice cream shop, also in Phoenix and got ourselves the S'more Sundae. HOLY HEAVEN. The marshmallows are homemade and they scorch them with a flame right before your eyes. 


 What's a party without the Duce and your best lady friends? Then following that with a trip to the casino to watch all the crazy gamblers and a trip to waffle house at 2 am?! Such a good night.


As with any and all new years, i try and make goals that would better me and make me a happier person. I try and keep it simple and pick a spiritual, physical, emotional, and academic goal. I won't bore you, non existent readers with my personal goals for the year. Mostly, i just want to be adverterous and fearless. Just, right? Way easier said than done… fear and comfort zones are two of the biggest describing words of the life of Kaley. But i can do this. I'm ready! Which….is why I am applying for a month long study abroad to take place in beautiful Greece and Turkey


Just look for yourselves….






Breathtaking, right? It'd be the adventure of a lifetime, thats for sure. 

Til next time, little bloggy blog. Xoxo. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Gratitude Project: DAY 1

Two days in a row of blogging? Yippee! I've accomplished on of my hardest goals in life and can now say that I truly lived life to the fullest. Juuust kiddding. But seriously, blogging consistently is a big deal for this chick right here cause it's never happened before. So lets all have a mini celebration by ourselves at our own computers... go ahead and hit play on your itunes and have a 30 second private dance party because this is indeed something to celebrate!

K. Moving on.

I wanted to do a 30 days of Gratitude project for the entire month of November since I have a LOT to be grateful for (surely more than 30 things) and its November which means it is Thanksgiving where we give thanks for our blessings (duh.) But of course I am behind as with everything else in life (which is a true story, not an exaggeration) so lets make this the 24 days of Gratitude project. How's that for unique?

DAY ONE: ARIZONA

Arizona aka the Grand Canyon State aka 'Zona aka the most glorious place in the whole world aka heaven. All of those are acceptable names for my most favorite state ever. My love for Arizona grows greater and greater each time I leave and realize how truly beautiful it is. It's true, you don't really appreciate things until they are gone. Moving to Utah has made me realize how great Arizona is.

People always try and convince my AZ heart that there are so many negatives about living in the valley (no change in seasons, its too hott, its all cactus and no pretty green lush trees, blah blah blahhhh) and that I'm weird for loving it so much. And i say, THEN BRING ON THE WEIRDNESS! Cause all this AZ love isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Five perks of Arizona life are as follows:

1) Circle K's on nearly every corner = 79 cent 44 oz beverages = 44 ounces of coke slurpees = the fulfillment of all your dreams. Whenever I return to the valley of the sun, my first stop is always Circle K.


2) THE PEOPLE! oh my gosh gosh gosh. Most of the greatest people I know live in//are from Arizona. I'll always love this place for bringing me to some of the most influential people i know. It's funny because even though I currently live in Utah, I still mostly associate with Arizonians. We all bond over our love for Arizona and like to constantly remind others of where we are from. ARIZONIANS UNITE.

3) Real authentic Mexican food. K once I moved to Utah i realized how great the Mexican food in Arizona is. The hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants in phoenix? DIVINE. Also, the Arizona burrito from Filiburtos is among my favorite foods.

4)  The sunsets. Honestly, of all the places I've visited, never have I ever seen a prettier sunset than those Arizona ones. They're seriously breathtaking. I can't even do it justice.

5) The outdoors! K Arizona is a superb place for hiking, lake-ing it up, running, exploring, etc, etc etc. Seriously, hiking in AZ is one of my favorite activities, along with canoeing on Tempe Town Lakes and running in the Riparian Preserve behind my house. I LOVE IT I TELL YOU!

5b) Gilbert. Gilbert deserves its own sub category cause truly it rules. So much character and greatness. Its a town that has both farm life/big open green acres and shopping malls and normal life stuff. Its the perfect balance of a slow and fast paced lifestyle and I think its the greatest town ever. It has the cutest main street, best food, best wildlife, best people, prettiest homes, AND we are even getting our very own temple soon!




Obviously, five is a VERY select few of the reasons why Arizona is the greatest. I could go on all day and write a 575784395610 page essay on the greatness of AZ but I'll stop here because I don't want to scare anyone with my obsessive personality.

Arizona, thanks for never turning your back on me and for being one of my truest friends. I love you long time.










Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Farewell October!

First, can i just say UHHH WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!? I feel like it was literally October 1st barely a second ago. Time.. such a tricky little guy. Lets do a quick wrap up on October because I think it was seriously my favorite month of the year thus far! Also, lets blame my non existent October blogging on all the fun I was having during the most glorious month of the year!

Let's see...

October 1-3: took lots of midterms, attended advisement meetings, had a visit from Lacey to her old summer stomping grounds, got my car back (Hooray! A word of advice, don't rear end anyone. Ever. You'll have to pay hundreds of dollars to fix your car, talk to insurance companies more than you'd ever wish upon your worst enemy, have no car for a while, pay a ticket, and do driving school. Just trust me on this one. Don't do it.)

October 4: I work at this cool place where they throw cool end of the year parties. This year they booked a private Imagine Dragons Concert and I took my dear roommate//best friend Jess. IT WAS A PARTAYYYY!

October 5-6: CONFERENCE WEEKEND. Eek! Greatest conference ever. Seriously. So inspiring. Plus, I got to go to the conference center and watch it live with one of my favorite people.

October 7-10: May or may not have hit rock bottom with the stresses of school/work/boy life and may or may not have eaten out almost every meal. Hey, you only do college once.

October 11: My baby Brittlyn came back to Provo from her three month adventure in Ecuador! Provo has never been better I tell ya!

October 12-13: Weekends are my favorite days. For obvious reasons, duh...they are always full of fun, non stressful situations! For example, I went to the BYU football game, took a three hour nap with my roommates in one bed, ate ice cream, ya know all that weekend shenanigans us collegers do.

October 14-18: The usual school/work week. With a few fun surprises along the way: I got to go to lunch in salt lake with one of my favorite girlfriends, got some fun birthday packages, got the internet in our apartment fixed aka best day ever (it had been broken for over a week. Do you know what that means? No Netflix, no Apple TV. Heartbreaking)

October 19: I TURNED 21! Holy smokes, i'm basically a grandma now. It was a super fun day despite the stresses of being an actual adult! :) just kiddinggg it's already become one of my favorite years! Plus, Legal Vegas trips are coming at you in the near future. Prepare yourself.

October 24: I went to an advisement meeting with the biggest smile ever cause I was planning my future and so stoked on life and left with tears in my eyes and the biggest lump in my throat. Yup... I have FOUR more years til I can graduate. Yup...I've been in school for 2 & 1/2 already. Yup... I am changing majors. Yup... I will keep you posted.

October 31: Ended the month with a trip to my favorite state in the world for my best friend's wedding! Such a happy ending to such a glorious month!


Various October Days: There were tons of the typical provo Halloween dance parties going on that of course we all had to participate in!



**Other noteworthy things about October: 1) My love for bowling grew and grew.. I think my roommates and I went at least four times. Which is a lot considering I haven't gone at all this year until October hit. 2) I doubled (plus some) my kiss count and while it is a little tiny bit shameful, my obsession with boys is going strong and I ain't even mad about it. 3) October in Utah is absolutely STUNNING and the weather is spot on.

Until next year October!






Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October, how I love thee

Happy October! Yes, I realize it is now October 3nd, not October 1st and it's already been October for over 48 hours and that I am way behind in this October love fest post... but you know what, I don't even care cause I just love October so so much.

Some note worthy things about this beloved month:

1. Its my birthday month! WOOOO! As well as a lot of my favorite people's birthday months aka Rachel, Adam, Grandpa, etc, etc, etc. Seriously, who doesn't love birthdays?? October is a good month to be born just in case you were wondering or planning any births in the near future.

2. Its the month of HALLOWEEN. Ohmygosh... k lets discuss. Chilly weather, soup in orange pumpkin shaped bread bowls, the cutest little kids in the cutest costumes going door to door saying "trick or treat," endless amounts of candy, parties with friends, an excuse to decorate your house (or apartment) and do little extra special things all day long? Whats not to love?

3. It starts to get a little chilly outside. SO.. here's the deal it's not supposed to snow until after Halloween BUT the weather Utah has already been receiving is starting to make that look not so promising.Which breaks my little Arizonian heart. Seriously, snow is not my thing and it may or may not make me a little bit depressed. October gives me fall.. the perfect mix of summer and winter. The perfect weather for picnics and bonfires. For get togethers and outdoor parties. Seriously, its the best. I wish everyday could be a fall weather day

4. All things PUMPKIN! Pumpkin carving is like one of my favorite past times. Except the past few years I just carve out the inside and make pumpkin seeds with it and then paint the outside! Seriously, it's fun. Not even lying. My favorite part about carving though is going to the pumpkin patch and picking out the pumpkin. They are all so CUTE. Also, can we discuss the deliciousness of pumpkin bread?? And chocolate chip pumpkin cookies?? And the pumpkin bars with the cream on top?? GET IN MY BELLY.

5. Can all my Arizonians say Schnepf Farms?! Or Merticullio Farms place on Power and Elliot??! Cutest places ever. So many good memories at them both. Ah.

6. The leaves starts to change. I don't know about anyone else but I feel like the leaves changing is a fresh start at life altogether. Am i crazy? Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Seriously.. i feel like October is like a new beginning and its one of the greatest feelings in the world.

October, thanks for being one of my favorite things and making me the happiest girl in the world. I love you

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Currently..

Okay, okay yes... I realize that its been coughfivecough months since I have blogged. You see, every semester I tell myself I am going to blog consistently and use this to document my life and all that jazz and then... every semester it doesn't happen. It's kinda comparable to me telling myself that I am going to start running, eating healthy, exercising on a regular basis, etc, etc, etc. You catch my drift? Basically, lets not set ourselves up for more disappointment and just get used to sporadic blog posting so its easier on all of our hearts.

Currently Kaley is...

Reading: My statistics lecture book aka hell on paper. Like really BYU... I am just wanting to be a preschool teacher and teach little 3//4 year olds the alphabet, their colors, and maybe the seasons if we are feeling really daring and up for a challenge. Why oh why must I learn about box plots, quartiles, and computing data?

Smelling: This fancy $20 deodorant I just bought from Nordstrom. Seriously I know what you are thinking.. $20 for deodorant? WHAAT? Just trust me on this and start saving your money to buy it cause its probably the greatest thing to happen to me all year long.

Working on: Making my apartment cute. I recently moved in with some of my favorite girls and I am so happy and it is so great except our apartment is a little harmful on the eyes and slightly concerning to me. Our apartment has already been given the nickname, "The Dollhouse" because the walls are covered in blue and white striped wallpaper and all the furniture perfectly matches the blue on the walls. Honestly, its a little bit stressful....like, how do you decorate that? Oh well, I'm accepting it! Its kinda quirk and vintage (we're talking 1987 vintage)... right???

Watching: What to Expect When You're Expecting. Clearly I'm baby hungry and Chace Crawford hungry. What can I say? Babies are the greatest, most heavenly things on this earth ASIDE from hott boys. I don't know about you but I feel like Chace Crawford is the definition of a hott boy. And this movie has both! It's a win-win really.

Loving: Missionary letters//emails. OH MY GOSH. K seriously, having your best friend on a mission is kinda sucky and really lonely (just kidding, its great that they are serving the Lord) but oh man, nothing compares to their letters. Its thee BEST. I love it and they always make me want to be better. Seriously, I just adore those cute little missionaries.

Excited about: FALL! K, Utah has the prettiest falls. Also, Fall contains my birthday, some of my favorite holidays, and football season aka hott boys in tight uniforms (can you tell I'm a little boy crazy lately?)

Shopping For: Absolutely nothing at all because I'm a poor college student trying to save my money. Its a rough life sometimes.

Well...that was fun! Lets do this again soon, blog!

xoxo