Thanksgiving Day Twelve

Tonight we had FHE at my apartment. We played Rock Band, and since the game is mine, it made sense for me to be there to set everything up. My roommate bought some pizza and we were set to have a grand ol' time.

And then people showed up. There were a couple of people who were fine and just had fun, but there was an entire apartment of giggly, air-headed girls that were flirting with an apartment of tools. I don't mean to be mean or horribly judgmental. I'm sure these people are perfectly fine people. But the combination of personalities there made for an . . . interesting evening, to say the least. Everyone was really loud, and there was one guy who was particularly douchebaggish. I'm sure he thought he was something else, but anyone who calls me "girly" is automatically put on my douchebag list.

Believe it or not, this is leading to something that I am thankful for. Which is the fact that I am leaving student housing and singles' wards forever in a little over three months. I am so thankful that I don't have to deal with the dating game anymore and that soon I won't have to deal with the drama of other people who are dealing with it. I no longer have to worry about who's dating who and who likes who and who has a history with who and who hates who, and I can't tell you just how happy that makes me.

Also, as much as I love my roommates (they're some of the best girls I know), I am so thankful that soon I will have my own place where everything will be mine and Andrew's and we won't have to label food or clean up other people's messes. I can't express just how wonderful that thought is after having spent seven and a half years living in student housing.

My Apartment Is Awesome

This is what happens when the roommates are left to their own devices on a weeknight.



Vocals/piano: Lindy
Sweet moves: Cora
Camera work: Brittany

Dream a Little Dream For Me

Day Fifteen: Plans/dreams/goals you have.

Well, that's not general at all, is it. I'm not even sure where to start.

I guess I can start with what has been on my mind the most lately, and that is marriage. Cliché, I know, but let's be honest: I'm 24 years old. I'm turning 25 this year, and I'm still single. I really do want a family. I want to meet someone who will be able and willing to deal with my particular brand of crazy, someone who will force his way into my bubble and convince me that I can allow someone into my life without being let down. I want a man who wants to have kids and wants to raise a family in the Church. I want a man who will love me for who I am and won't ask me to change for him. I want a man who makes me want to be a better person, who is my best friend and confidante.

That is my main dream right now, though that doesn't mean I don't have plenty of other dreams. I plan to move out of student housing (finally!) in August. I'll be moving in with a few other girls of my choosing, which will be awesome. We're going to have the awesomest apartment ever in existence, for the reals. The only thing that would be awesomer would be if Cora were living with us, but she's not. It's a shame.

Another dream/goal of mine is to work at a job that is at least closer to my dream job. Magazine editing, fiction editing . . . something along those lines. Wherever that may be. My current job is fine; I love the people I work with, and I very much like that I am so comfortable there. I know my job. I'm good at my job. But it's not where I want to stay the rest of my life. Eventually I will get an opportunity to go somewhere else, to expand my knowledge and my expertise. It will be hard, as change always is, but I'm excited for the day that it will be the right thing for me to move on. Whenever that day might be.

So there you have it: a couple of my long-term goals. I would write more, but I'm kind of in the middle of an episode of 24, and I'm a little distracted. Nerve gas is about to be released in a mall! Oh noes!!

Giving Thanks Day 28: Roommates

Tonight was not a good night for me. Nothing bad really happened, but I was incredibly discouraged. I simply felt that nothing I did was good enough. I felt wholly inadequate in everything I was trying to do. Over the last couple of weeks, I have given a dear friend scadwads of advice, and I didn't feel like any of it had done any good. I think the discouragement there was fueled by the fact that I knew it was time to back off. I can't make decisions for people, and I know that.

I was also discouraged because I felt like nothing I was doing on the boy front was helping me either. I have been more social this semester than I ever have been before. I have a lot of really good friends in my ward, and I try to spend as much time as I can with them. I have even created a bit of a reputation for myself because I always invite a bunch of people over to watch BYU basketball and football. I know of one person in the ward who views my apartment in conjunction with Kira and Heather's apartment as the "social hub" of the ward (whatever that means, exactly). Basically, I am so involved in this ward that I know a vast majority of the people in it and they know me. So why in the world are no guys asking me out?! It's not like they don't know who I am.

So...yeah. I am a very frustrated and discouraged Lindy tonight. But one good thing about it is that I have plenty of people I can talk to, three of whom are easily accessible, mostly because they live with me. I am so incredibly thankful that I have such fabulous roommates. I honestly don't know how I lucked out so thoroughly. Alison, Brittany, Cora, and I get along swimmingly, and even the addition of Alison's boyfriend Russ hasn't messed anything up. (He's a quite entertaining guy to talk to, actually.) I mostly talked to Brittany tonight, and she was so good about just listening and doing what she could to make me feel better. After talking to her, I actually made some decisions about things, which made me feel better about life in general. I'm so thankful that I'm lucky enough to live with these girls because they are incredible.

Cora looking fabulous, as always. 

Alison doing service (with a couple of other really awesome girls). 

Brittany fishing like a pro.

Giving Thanks Day 22: Cora

So I know this really cool girl. She's freaking adorable (unfairly so), and she has the sharpest wit of almost anyone I know. She is kind and loving and legitimately cares about people. She comes off as shy and unassuming, and then she'll come out with the funniest thing you've ever heard seemingly out of the blue. She is clever and charming and everyone who knows her loves her. She has dealt with a lot in her life, which makes her seem much older than her 21 years. She is an amazing friend who will do anything to help those she loves.

This girl's name is Cora. Cora is my roommate. She's my best friend. She's my cousin. She's my pseudo-sister.

I am the youngest in my family, so I never grew up with that innate desire to protect a younger sibling. But in the year and a half that I have lived with Cora, I have come to know what it's like to be protective of someone. To want to make everything bad go away. To want to beat the crap out of anyone that treats that person unfairly.

I love Cora more than I can possibly say. I have grown almost as close to her as I am to my own sister. Cora and I have countless inside jokes, and we frequently have conversations that make no sense to anyone else in the room. Someone will say something that triggers a funny memory, and all Cora and I have to do is look at each other before we're rolling on the floor laughing. We play off each other. We have fake arguments. We get annoyed with each other, stop talking for a night, then apologize the next day and things go back to normal.

Cora deals with me barging into her room to ask her how my outfit looks or to whine to her about something that's been bugging me. She endures my frequent complaints about boys. She goes with me to random things (like work parties) simply because I don't want to go alone.

I am so thankful that I have been able to live with Cora the past couple of years. I am so thankful that she came out to Provo for school so that I could have the opportunity to grow so close to her. I am so thankful that she enjoys spending time with me just as much as I enjoy spending time with her. I don't know what I would do without her. I love her so much and I can't adequately express how thankful I am that she is in my life.

This is kind of an old picture, but it's still one of my very favorites

Giving Thanks Day 20: Friends Part 2

I feel like I've talked over and over about friends and guys and my ward on this blog, but the past couple of weeks have been such a huge example of the importance of good friends. They have all been such a strength to me the past little while.

I always think about the people in my ward on Sundays because in a singles ward, Sunday is one of the most social days of the week, if not the most social. Not only do I see my friends at church, but I see them at choir, at break the fast, at ward prayer, at firesides, and at each other's apartments. I always have something going on, and it's awesome.

I've said this before, but I'm going to repeat myself. I tried very hard to find an opportunity to get out of Provo this past summer. I was frustrated and fed up. I only knew a few people in my ward, and I didn't feel like I knew any of them well enough to call on them if I needed something or even if I was just bored. Boys weren't asking me out. I just didn't like how things were going.

But all of my efforts were in vain, and I ended up staying at Carriage Cove for another year. I figured that at the very least, I would have Cora to hang out with and we would make our own fun (which we are pretty good at, by the way). Instead, Cora and I decided to make an effort, starting with our BYU football party. Brittany and Alison became our new roommates and jumped right in, helping us make food and decorate. Ever since then, things have taken a 180-degree turn. (Well, boys still aren't asking me out, but that is another blog post for another day.)

Basically what I'm saying is that I am so incredibly thankful that the Lord had other plans for me. I am so thankful that I couldn't make moving out of Provo work when I wanted it to. I'm still not 100 percent sure why I was supposed to stay in Carriage Cove, but I know that meeting all these amazing people has to be part of it.

The Joys of Living in a Provo Singles Ward

This semester has been rather awesome so far. Let me expound upon why.

First of all, I have seriously amazing roommates. The four of us get along great. We started the bonding process by going to Awful Waffle the first week Brittany and Alison moved in. Roommate dinner was a fabulous idea, let me tell you. The bonding further solidified when we threw a massive party for the BYU football season opener. It included this awesome banner:

Yes, that is our balcony, inviting all of Carriage Cove to our party. We had a pretty awesome turnout, too—a good 20 or 25 people showed up, some of which weren't even in our ward. I would say it was a success.

Since that party, we have held Dessert Club, game nights, and dinners. Because the 309ers are just that awesome. A Sunday dinner of the best lasagna ever (my lasagna, naturally) is in the works, as is a trip to the Haunted Forest in American Fork and a waffle party. We go to every ward function (which is a definite improvement for me) and we get invited to all sorts of fun things like movies and bowling parties. I know more guys in the ward than girls, which is the way it should be, right?

So why am I sitting here detailing how social I've been for the past month? Because, as lame as this is going to make me seem, this isn't normal for me. Especially not in this apartment complex. But we had a huge turnover this past fall, and it made all the difference in the world. The ward is incredible. People go to activities and get to know each other. It's awesome.

The whole point of this super socialness is to meet guys. That should be no surprise. And it has worked. I've even managed to develop a few crushes, some more intense than others.

Guy 1 is the main crush. He's super cute and incredibly nice. I met him at some ward events the beginning of the semester, but I didn't really take notice until the football party. He knew my name when I couldn't remember his, which is not usual for me. He sings (super bonus points!) and is just an all-around awesome guy. He goes to all the ward activities and generally comes to the things we invite him to. I spent an awesome amount of time talking to him at Break the Fast on Sunday. I'm pretty sure it was the first time we actually sat down and had a legitimate one-on-one conversation, and I quite enjoyed myself. In the course of this conversation, I discovered that HE SPEAKS GERMAN! Despite the fact that he completely flustered me and I could barely carry on even the remotest conversation with him in German, it meant that we have something in common, and he said he wants to get together and practice sometime. Which is awesome because a) I really do want to get my German skills back and b) I just want to spend more time with him.

Guy 2 is awesome and very attractive, but he's a terrible friend. He never comes to things I invite him to, and when he says he will let me know about things that are going on, he promptly forgets to tell me about them. He didn't come to my football party. He didn't let me know when he bought tickets to the Jimmer's All Stars game. Like I said, terrible friend. But he's hilarious, and we have a great time whenever we do hang out. I make fun of him constantly, and he knows how to take it. I don't have a full-blown crush on him, but it could develop quickly if given the chance.

Guy 3 isn't really a crush at all; he's become that guy friend that I could probably talk to about the guys I'm actually interested in. He's surprising and unexpected. Every time I think I have him figured out, he throws something else at me. He's a lot deeper than he seems at first glance. And while he is a dang cute guy who could probably have his pick of just about any girl in the ward, he seems a little lonely. There's just so much to him, and I'm completely intrigued. I spent most of the day with him on Saturday because I gave him my dad's ticket to the BYU vs. SJSU game. It was an odd combination to be at the game with this guy from my ward and my two brothers, but it was pretty fun. I learned all sorts of things about this guy that I never thought I'd learn, and I'm really glad that we've become such good friends lately. It's really nice to have guys around that I'm completely comfortable with. I would say that a crush could potentially emerge here, but I really do like just being friends.

And this is really just the beginning. There are quite a few other guys in the ward that I would gladly go on dates with because they're all really cool and really nice. There are some amazing people in this ward, and I'm so glad that my efforts to leave were all in vain. I don't know why exactly I was supposed to stay in Carriage Cove for another year, but I'm going to hazard a guess that it has something to do with the people here.

There's only one catch with this plethora of guys: They're not asking me out. And they're not asking my roommates out. I don't understand that. Do they think we're constantly hanging out with them and inviting them over just to be nice? If so, they are sorely mistaken. Here's hoping they get with the program really soon.

Besties

Day 4: Your favorite photograph of your best friend.

So the whole best friend thing has often been an issue for me. I tend to think I have a best friend, then come to realize that my best friend doesn't think of me as a best friend. It's happened on multiple occasions, actually. It seems like I often like people way more than they like me.

That used to bug me a lot, and then I got over it. I have friends, and I'm happy with that. I feel like I have lots of best friends, so it's hard to choose just one person to write about. But for this post, I'll choose the person I spend the most time with. I live with her, so naturally I see her everyday. We've never had an argument. (Well, not a real one, at least.) And to make it even better, we're cousins, which gives us license to make fun of family without feeling bad.

Choosing a picture was difficult; there are just so many good photos of Cora. She is probably the randomest person I know, which always makes life with her exciting. She lives to hear me say, "Shut up" or "You're a dork." Which happens frequently, so her life is fulfilled. 

Cora is basically the best roommate I've ever had—which is saying something, because I've had some seriously awesome roommates.

Being Thankful: Day Twenty-Two

Laura came over tonight to visit teach Amanda and ended up talking to me for a couple of hours. I think she ended up helping me more than she helped Amanda. Though I didn't know it, I apparently needed a good talk. Laura and I ended up discovering that we have uncannily similar experiences, which led us to have similar ideas and perceptions. It was kind of fun to figure out that we have much more in common than at least I expected.

I'm so thankful for the good people in my life, like Laura, Cora, Faith, and Kate. (There are lots more good people in my life, but I see these girls the most.) I love having those people around whom I can talk to about most everything. I haven't known Laura for as long as I have known the other three, but after last night, she's working her way up there. I love it when I find good friends. It's fantastic.

I am aware that I mentioned a lot of these girls in last Friday's post, but they deserve another mention.

Being Thankful: Day One

This past year has simply flown by. It's ridiculous how much faster time goes when you're not living your life in four-month chunks. And now it's November (already), which means it's time for more thankful posts. I did this last year, and I really liked it. I found myself looking for something every day that I could write about in my thankful post, and it felt really good to constantly be looking for the good things in my life. So today I start my month of daily thankful posts, which I hope I can make an annual tradition.

Today, I'm grateful that Cora lives with me. Don't get me wrong, my other roommates are also awesome, but Cora and I just understand each other. We have the same sense of humor. Plus, we understand each others' families, which is also a huge thing. The amount of inside jokes we have that stem from our families is rather astounding. People often look at us funny when we burst into laughter about something that no one else understands. It's fantastic. Plus, today's her birthday, and I figured no longer being a teenager deserved a blog post.

Thanks, Cora, for being the awesomest roommate/cousin ever.

New Roomie

After stressing about housing for next year for a few weeks, I have finally made a decision. I'm staying at Carriage Cove for another year. Now, I'll be the first to admit that Carriage Cove hasn't been my favorite place to live. The apartments themselves have been fine, but it hasn't exactly been the most social of places.

Well, hopefully that will change, at least a little bit, come this fall. Meet my new (future) roommate:

 

Yeah, Carriage Cove won't know what's hit it when the two of us start living together. Woot.

Thanks Day Four

Today I'm thankful that I have good roommates. Having good roommates is one of the best things in the world. Having bad roommates can be the most miserable experience ever, so I'm definitely grateful that even though I didn't know any of my roommates before I moved in, they turned out to be great girls. Thanks for being awesome!

The New Place

I am no longer homeless! Yay! I now live in Carriage Cove, with three other pretty cool girls. I've only been here for a week, so I'm still trying to get used to things, but I'd like to think I'll like this place once I become accustomed to it.

Here's the new room:

This is definitely one of my favorite parts of the room—I just got this bookshelf last week because I had too many books for my little three-shelf bookshelf. I didn't think I would fill this big one up. I was wrong. Obviously.

But this is by far the best part of the room. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is fairly simple. You see that bed? Why, yes, of course you do, it's the main thing in the picture. That bed is the only bed in the room. That's right—for the first time, I have my own room in Provo. And it's marvelous. I'm still working on decorating, but it will get there.

Now I just have to make myself go out and meet people so I don't feel quite so lame and lonely. At least my roommates are cool; that's a definite plus. I just have to keep telling myself to take it one day at a time, and before I know it, this place will be home.