Make a different meal every day for dinner for a week

One of my goals for my 101 list was to "Make a different meal every day for dinner for a week."

For those who don't know, I'm not much of a cook. I love food, but I tend to not have the time (or make the time) to make anything. I tend to make a big meal one night, eat it for a week, and then repeat the process with another recipe. Or I do really simple (and not super nutritious) stuff like cereal or sandwiches. So this was a challenge for me. But I figured I may as well do it while I still have time. Because once I get a job, it would be a lot more challenging.

What I made:

May 7—Slow Cooker Salsa Rice Bake (I substituted hamburger for Italian sausage)
May 8—Creamy Ranch Chicken
May 9—Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken
May 10—Slow Cooker BBQ Ranch Chicken
May 11—Oven baked chicken (family recipe- coat chicken in mixture of crushed Corn Flakes and seasonings and then bake it)
May 12—Pasta with Alfredo Sauce and Italian sausage
May 13—Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas (I did make this one in the oven-- 25 minutes at 350)

So... yeah. I did it. I did use my crockpot for a lot of it, but I see no shame in that. And I was able to freeze some of the leftovers so that I can pull them out on my weekends between EFY and still have something to eat. Because I know I'll have no energy to shop or cook.

Donating Blood

I've never donated blood before.

I know, I know. It's an easy way to give service and save lives. But I've never done it because I get lightheaded super easily. And I mean super easily. I get lightheaded when they take blood samples from me, when I hear medical stories, or when I'm dehydrated. (If you want some funny stories, ask me about all the times I've fainted. Good times.)

But I put donating blood on my 101 list because I do think the fact that I've never donated is kind of ridiculous.

So there was a stake blood drive today and I signed up and headed over. I was already feeling a little lightheaded and nauseous as I went in (yay nerves), and as they started getting ready to actually poke me, it got worse. I warned the technician and he lowered me a bit further and told me to not think about it, since it was all in my head. (That piece of advice didn't exactly help... I know it's all in my head. But I've never been able to stop myself from getting lightheaded by telling myself that.) Then I continued to get even more lightheaded as he cut off the circulation to poke me and find the vein (my veins tend to be hard to find) and as I squeezed the ball. As the blood actually started coming out, I felt super lightheaded and nauseous. Luckily, the staff was all super nice and helpful. One grabbed a compress to put on my head, another grabbed me some cold water to sip on, someone put a barf bag on top of me (just in case), and one lady came over and made small talk with me to distract me. Just under 7 minutes later, I was done!

But... Of course I would have that much drama as I donate. I made quite the scene. But I survived.

(Proof that I actually did survive.)

We'll have to see if I can get up the courage to do it again sometime.

I don't go on dates with guys with girlfriends

I feel like I shouldn't have to say that. But apparently, I do.

Today, I was asked on a date by a guy who was already dating someone else. This same thing happened with another guy last summer. In both cases, I was friends with the guy who asked me and had gone on a date with him before (when he wasn't dating anyone). I want to give the guys the benefit of the doubt because I can kind of see how lines get blurred when you're friends with each other and nothing else is happening between the two of you.

But I turned both of them down.

I almost make it a policy to not turn guys down when they ask me on dates. I know how hard it is to ask people out on dates since I do it relatively often myself, so I have respect for guys who do have the courage to ask me out (especially since being asked out happens so rarely for me).

But really?

I almost feel like I was in the wrong since this guy today almost seemed hurt that I turned him down. Or at least confused... Especially because he had apparently already cleared it with his girlfriend, since we had tentatively set up the date before he started going out with her.

But I am NOT in the wrong here. I feel like this should be common sense for guys. When you start dating someone, stop going on dates with other girls. Continue hanging with your girl friends if you want to. (I actually hate it when I lose my guy friends because they start dating people, so please still be my friend.)

But please. If you're a guy and you're dating someone who isn't me, don't ask me on a date because I'll have to turn you down. And I hate having to turn you down.

However... if you do break up with her and I'm still single... I would be more than happy to take you up on that date offer. :-)

Trip to Kansas

I took a random and kind of last minute/spontaneous trip to Kansas this week and it was so fun. I got to spend time with Danielle (one of my best friends from high school) and her husband and finally meet their baby boy.

Love her!

Went to the Kansas City Temple open house. It was lovely. I also almost got to see one of my friends who is serving her mission there, but she apparently had done her open house shift in the morning, and we were there in the afternoon. But I left a note for her with one of the sister missionaries who was there and I'll write her tomorrow.

Proof that we actually did go to the temple (I didn't realize until after that the picture of us in front of the temple didn't include the temple!)

I also got to try some Kansas City BBQ. Yum!

It was so nice to get out of Utah, even for just a couple of days. And I liked Kansas a lot more than I thought I would. It was absolutely beautiful. And coming back to Utah, I had the realization that it's going to be ok. I still don't know where I'm going to be living or working in three months, but it's going to be ok. I will be able to make wherever I am wonderful. The idea of leaving here is still a bit scary, but I know that it'll be fine, even if I do. I mean... who'd have thought I'd actually like Kansas?

MSW Graduation

So... I graduated. It's so weird. It kind of hit me during Commencement and I got a bit emotional, but overall, it doesn't feel real still. I feel like I'm just on a school break and that I'll be going back soon. But I won't.

It was great to have my Mom, Dad, and grandparents there to support me. It was sad to me to see how many of my friends couldn't have their families there. It made the accomplishment so much sweeter to be surrounded by people who love me.

As many of the cohort as we could get in a picture.

Mom and Dad.

Grandma and Grandpa.

Proving that it is possible to graduate from BYU single... I did it TWICE!

The dungeon.

I don't know what's happening next in my life. I've never not been a student and part of me is sad to leave that behind. (On that note... please don't let me go and get my PhD just because I don't know how to not be a student.) But I'm excited for this next chapter. I know there are great things coming up and it's gonna be awesome.

Feeling Sentimental

Had my last final ever this morning and I'm graduating in less than a week with my MSW. It's so weird, though I still don't think it's hit me entirely yet. But tonight, it did get a bit more real at the graduation dinner for our program. It was at La Jolla Groves. (And it was delicious.)

It was really fun just hanging out with everyone. But then we watched a slideshow that was put together by the lovely KayLee. It was so fun seeing pictures of us throughout the program. And the awards were kind of funny. (I somehow won the "senioritis" award... I will admit that I was pretty checked out this last semester for various reasons). But it made me super sentimental. These past two years have kind of flew by in the blink of an eye. We've become pretty close as a cohort and now we may never see each other again.

I'm not ready for this. I don't feel ready to be a professional and launched into the "real world." I don't feel ready to move on from being a student. To move on from these friends. From these memories. I'm not ready for things to change. I'm comfortable here right now and I don't want things to change (I think that'll have to be another post).

But it's been an awesome couple of years. I've learned and grown so much. And now I just need to look towards the future, trusting that there are even better things coming my way.

Lent... Part 2

Remember this post I wrote about Lent?

I did it. I went all of Lent without having any desserts... Even though some people thought it was stupid that I was doing Lent, since I'm not Catholic. (I'm still allowed to like the idea behind Lent, right?) And that also means I get to cross another thing off my 101 list.

The first dessert I ended up having after Lent was over was this Reese's egg. It was delicious.



And now my roommate and I are going to kind of have a dessert party. It's gonna be awesome.