Sorry!! I was just excited about my snow!! :)

Sorry that I scared you guys!! Nothing bad or even exciting happened, really. I was just expressing my emotions because it SNOWED! In September!! I mean, good grief!! You think that the weather will be nice AT LEAST through the end of the month, and look what happens—you end up walking around in pre-season snow, bundled up like Eskimos (note the picture of Darci and me). The picture of us two is when we were walking back from Walgreens (I needed to get some more milk), and then the pic of me was taken right afterwards, and I am showing how I’m feeling about the FREEZING snowy weather! I really tried to get some good pics of the snow, but didn’t really take them at a good time when the flakes were as big. But DON’T WORRY—I’m sure there will be PLENTY of snow pics before this semester is over! (Probably even before Halloween…) I went ahead and posted the pics that I took of outside our dorm when it was snowing…maybe if you blow them up really big, you might be able to see the snow flakes. When Darci and I walked to the Hart bldg. for fencing, I could look at the absolutely perfect snowflake form when they fell onto my black jacket. It was amazing!! I’m sorry I took the pictures when only the little flakes were falling…the really big flakes fell about the time that Darci and I were out and about going to and from fencing. I hope that you enjoy the pictures anyways! Who knows, maybe if you blow up the pictures big enough, you might even get to see the snow that fell over here since before I got up until early afternoon. Steadlily. It was so crazy! But I must admit, seeing all that snow, even if it was too hot to stick (it was only 24 outside, and it’s been in the 30’s and 40’s lately), I still enjoyed looking at it…not so much the walking in it! J I think that I’m gonna get used to this cold weather soon, because now even 30 degrees outside feels warm, and I KNOW that it really isn’t. As for the rest of you, I hope that you enjoy living the cold life while y’all stay nice and warm. And cozy. I miss you!!!

AAAaaaaaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

There is so much to tell you, but I gotta go to the RS broadcast right now. Love ya!! I'll post tonight, so be on the lookout for some pics!
-Melissa

Who Loves Music?? I DO!!!

If you couldn't tell, tonight I had a interview with my bishop tonight and received a calling. But what calling, you might say?? Well, I HAVE always wondered what it would be like to be part of the sacrament meeting music without getting the advantage of hiding behind the piano in front of all those people. You guessed it! I have officially been called as one of the two ward choristers!! Leah, if you're reading this, now I can say I am going to do what you have done all through Young Womens. Aagghh!!!! I can't believe this! It will be fun, though. Definitely a new experience. Also, I told Brother Johnson (one of the members of the bishopric--the one that interviewed me) that if the ward pianists ever got sick, and there was no one to play the piano that I could do it, since I've done that kind of thing for our ward for so long. So who knows?? I think it will be fun! I'm actually not conducting THIS Sunday, or the one after that (since it will be General Conference), but I will be conducting the Sunday the week after next week (if that makes sense).

On a different note, I went to swim practice for the first time today. Boy, am I EXHAUSTED! I just want to go to bed RIGHT NOW, but I can't since I'm blogging. Our first swim meet is Friday (tomorrow). I'll be swimming the 200 IM and the 100 Breast (big surprise). I think Sydney and Mandi will come, and maybe Darci if she's not already going to her kickboxing class. I got my swim suit right after practice today, and had to stand in line FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF!!!!!! And it wasn't even that long of a line! It was just that the only guy who was working at the equipment room tonight was new and didn't really know what he was doing. So I stood in line watching a bunch of girls getting their soccer, baseball, and volleyball stuff while guys stood in line for volleyball and baseball as well. Plus the swimmers who were getting their suits since the meet is tomorrow. :\ Oh well, I did get my suit, and it is a good thing that I got a size smaller, because the competitition suits run large, and I think that this suit will barely fit me (it's almost too large).
So, I think that that is it for the day. I hope that you guys are enjoying my day-to-day on campus living stories. Well, hasta luego! Or, in other, English words, I'll see ya later. Love ya!

Swing Dancing Experiences, and my day as a whole...

I thought that the swing dancing would be soo much fun...but actually, when I went there it wasn't what I thought it would be. It's an entirely DIFFERENT style of swing dancing, and much, MUCH harder.Plus, I've been spoiled having Brother and Sister Seal as my "dance instructors." The couple that taught the class weren't as good at demonstrating or explaining, and we only learned a few moves to do when dancing. However, at the same time across the hall is hosted a country dancing class, so I might try that out instead next week instead. (Oh, and the version of swing we did was called the "Lindy Hop," if that means anything to anyone...) Swim practice is today, so I got to go finish some homework before I go workout. That, and the fencing class and bishop's interview tonight. Wish me luck! I think today is going to be VERY hectic...

And did I mention that in my Child Development class we had to watch some videos of live birth?? There was a guy sitting right behind me too, but luckily he is going into nursing, so he wasn't quite as squeamish as I was (I think...) but it was still kinda weird...I didn't really watch most of it, cause I couldn't really look at it. But anyways, that was pretty much my day today. BESIDES the fact that it was only 30 degrees outside when I left for school this morning. What I wouldn't give for some of that nice, WARM Texas weather! :)

First Test of the Semester!

So today I took my first test of the semester! I was really nervous, to say the least, but since my first test was about something I knew (music) I wasn't TOO freaked out. I went to the Testing Center this afternoon around 4:30 pm. It wasn't even to bad of weather outside, since it was late in the day--it was only about 55 degrees outside. :) Much better than 32 degrees! I double checked all my answers (which usually isn't something I do on a regular basis) and then prepared to turn it in. Here they scan your bubble sheet as soon as you give it to them, and then you turn the corner and get to see your scores on the test you just took. I really liked being able to see my score right away, rather than wait for a week to find out. Anyways, so I go outside to find my score, an guess what??? I got a 100! I aced it! :) Not only that, but since I took it on the first day that the test was open, I got an extra 3 points! I am soooo excited! Now, if all my other classes will go so well, I'll be SET for the rest of the semester...but not everything is perfect. Oh, and I made the "Spartans" group for the Swim Team here, and we already have a meet lined up! It's on Friday (tomorrow), with the warmups starting at 5 pm. Whew! I'm gonna be so glad for the weekend to get here, so that I can FINALLY relax. Or not. Apparently while I was gone to a swing dancing class tonight, the bishop called my apartment and asked to talk to me to set up an interview. So I guess that I'll be getting a calling here sometime soon! I'll let you guys know what it is!

Look Out World, I'm Learning How To Fence!

I know this probably sounds pretty crazy to you right now, but I spent my morning today learning how to fence. Here at BYU-Idaho they have a fencing club! You don't have to pay anything, and they supply you with all the equipment that you need, such as a fencing jacket, a fencing glove, a helmet, and a foil (I just call it a sword...). Anyways, Darci and I rolled out of bed this morning to get to the athletics building at 11 this morning, and spent over two hours learning how to fence, and practicing fencing with other people in the class. It was soooooooooo fun! I learned the four basic parries (defenses) against an attack, and how to lunge, and and how to advance and retreat, and how to do an advance lunge. SO FUN! My arm hurts so bad right now, and my hand feels like it's going to be all cramped up tomorrow, ,and my leg hurts really bad, but that is just because I'm not used to it yet. Whew! That was such a fun experience! All those guys better watch out now, cause I'm armed and ready! Haha, just kidding. But they give classes every Thursday night and Saturday morning, and I'm definitely going from now on. Today was the first day, and I loved it (well, not the soreness, but everything else) :) I'll keep you posted on my lethal talent as it progresses (haha). This is so neat! Momma says that now I'll be like that girl on Ever After (a Cinderella movie) and be an amazing sword fighter. Maybe so!! We'll have to see as time goes on... :)

Here's Some More!

Okay, so here is a story for you guys. In the dorms here, if you don't follow the "boy rules" then you get "Q'd", which basically means you get quarantined. Your quarantine sentence therefore is that you don't get to have any boys in your apartment, no exceptions, for a full week. Plus, you get the privelege of having this lovely sign posted on your front door for all the girls and guys to see. oh, and the rules are that you have to have at least two lights on at all times, you have to have all four feet on the floor at all times, you have to have all curtains and blinds open at all times, and you have to have at least three conscious people in your apartment at a time. this is a picture of a "Q'd" sign on the apartment right next to us. So far we have 6 apartments that have been Q'd so far this year. (in the first week of school!)Here is a picture of the dorm apartments. I'm on the bottom floor, but this is what we look out of our window across to. The doors with white papers on them are the ones that have been Q'd.

This is our apartment. You can see Sydney standing at our door. ours is the only apartment with a doormat, so it's always very easy to tell which apartment is ours (which is nice when you're coming home from school and you have a long line of identical doors to pass...).
Here's our door in it's usual position--open. It's sooo hot in our dorm apartment, so when we're home we always leave our windows and door open to stay cool.
And this, last but not least, is teh pretty view of our inner courtyard from our front door. Nice, isn't it? I sure enjoy it. It's so peaceful, even though it's been raining today off and on. But even though it's so nice, I do still miss home. There's no place like home, after all...
If you'll stay tuned, I will do one more post today for you guys. I hope you enjoyed all the new pictures!

The Post You've All Been Waiting For

Okay, so maybe you haven't all been sitting around the computer waiting for this, but for once I am actually BLOGGING. I figured that you should get to see the apartment that I will be talking about for the next three months. I hope that you enjoy my little "virtual tour" of what I am living in. So here it is:Kay, so let's start out with the kitchen. Now this is relatively clean still, cause we had a "cleaning check" of our apartment not too long ago. However, we aren't super clean either (unless we're being checked up on) so it's not as clean as it was for the RA yesterday. Oh, well. But anyways, this is our sink, and over to the left you can see the dishwasher, and barely to the left of that (you can't really see it in this picture) is the oven. At the edge of the picture on the right is the fridge which is presently crammed full of all our food. :)
I thought that I would add some more pics of my roomies, so here is Darci. I got her to smile! I'm so glad that I have such great roomies!
And here is Sydney (my personal roomie) and Mandi, Darci's roommate. I got really lucky with the girls that I'm living with!
This is my current bed situation. Sorry, I know the bed isn't made, but I wanted to get the picture out there so you could see it. The teeny tiny board on the side is supposed to be the optional "railing" to keep you from falling out of the bed, but if I were to fall out, I don't think that would do anything to prevent anything. Oh, and I hope that you like my choice of wall artwork! :) Ansley and Hailey's pictures are right where I can look at them every day and night, and then I have the pictures that Momma got me at the bookstore--the pictures of Christ that I really like, and also a picture of President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Here is our not-so-clean-anymore shower/bathtub. I LOVE our shower (now that I've figured out how to use it...) and our bathroom is sooo cute!
Here is me taking a picture of the mirrored cabinets (and I figured I might as well get a picture of me too, while I was at it, so you guys could see I'm not dead yet!), and you can also see more of the shower directly behind me. The alcove to the left is where the toilet's at.
Here is our gorgeously messy living room. Sydney and Mandi like to study out here when they get home from school, and Darci and I study in our rooms. These are our two lovely couches, and the carpet that is soooooo hard to vacuum--trust me, it takes HOURS!
Here is a different view of our living room/dining room/kitchen. I'm by the couches that you were looking at in the picture right before this, and now you can see the front door, and the kitchen table that we eat at. Behind the table is the air conditioning unit/heating unit that we have not turned on once (well, we tried to turn on the AC, but it will only go down to 87 in the apartment...) and the windows that look out into our inner courtyard.
Here is the front door again, and I'm standing by the kitchen table. Here's our fridge, microwave, oven, and dishwasher. You can't see it here, but the kitchen sink is blocked in this picture by the refrigerator.
Kay, now I'm standing by the front door, and looking down our long hallway with a mirror at the end. Off to the left is ourbathroom, and then my and Sydney's bedroom is the one just past that on the left. Then, across from my bedroom is Darci and Mandi's bedroom. The two doors on the right closest to the front of the hallways are the two closets--one for our coats, the other for our ironing board, vacuum, mop, etc.
Here is our coat closet. It fortunately hasn't gotten cold enough yet to need our heavy jackets, but I think our luck won't last that much longer. It's raining today, and I think a cold front is about to come through.
And here is our cleaning closet. Unfortunately, I intensely dislike our vacuum, because IT DOESN'T PICK UP ANYTHING!!!! Oh well, I guess it won't kill me to spend more time cleaning up our apartment.
Here's another shot of the bathroom. This is what it looks like from the entrance to the bathroom. You can sorta see our cabinets off to the left before the double sink. There's our towel rack straight ahead, and then where the shower mat is is where our shower's at.Behind the door is the alcove for the toilet, as you can see below. It's so cute, it's even got a seperate shower curtain all to itself!

Sorry, I probably shouldn't have ended on a picture of the toilet, so don't worry, more posts are coming. I have to update you on my life up to this point. Sorry this post took so long to do Momma and Kristie. If you're still checking this, now you finally have had something to read! I love all you guys, and I miss you! (And I miss that great Texas heat too!) :)

Here Are Some More Pictures!

Okay, here are some pictures of my roomates that I thought that you would like to see. School is going well, and it rained today for the first time. It is starting to feel kinda cold now, and I know that the snow will be here before I know it, so I'm taking advantage of the nice weather while I can. My roomates are name Mandi, Darci, and the one rooming with me is named Sydney. They are such awesome girls, and I think that we are going to have a great semester! Sorry that the pictures are kinda rotated weird. From top to bottom, my roomates are Mandi, Sydney, and Darci. The bottom picture is of all of them together. Hopefully I'll have more soon!

Yea! My Blog Works Now

Thank you, Steven! I'm so glad that I have brothers and a great daddy who know EVERYTHING (well, practically) about computers. I hope that you enjoy the pictures of my current residential life here at college! Here are some pictures of my dorm room, and some other pictures that I have from momma and my trip. hope you enjoy!

I'm Feeling Soooooo Frustrated!

Okay, so I am having extreme technical difficulties right now. My computer won't show the links to let me post pictures on here, so everyone will have to be patient just a little bit longer until I figure this thing out. I'm going to try tomorrow to go to the library and see if I can post there, so that I can put my pictures on my blog. Sorry! Hopefully this will all work out soon....

My trip to Idaho, my dorm room, and other intersting stuff...

Aaaagghhhh!! I'm finally here in Idaho, all settled into my dorm room, awaiting the beginning of college classes. It was exciting to finally be settled in. I have GREAT roomates, although I haven't met the girl I'm sharing my room with yet. However, my other two roomates are Mandie (from Alberta, Canada) and Darci (from Utah). They are absolutely AMAZING! I know that we are going to have such good times together this semester. I don't have any pictures on my camera yet of the three of us, but don't worry--more pics will come soon. The pics that I'll be putting on soon are of all my suitcases, and of my room so that you guys can see what I'm living in. I didn't know that I could live with three drawers, a small closet, a desk and a bed that I hit my head on when I try to sit up! But I'm having a FANTASTIC time, and am loving the college life so far. Stay tuned for more updates! :)