Alright, New Blog Forever...

There's something wrong with this blog, and the background, and I don't know how to fix it. Plus, I wanted a new start. So... here you go. :)

Mikell Christine

My New Blog for the Summer

If you haven't found it already, I have a new blog documenting my trip to Germany to be an au-pair! So, you should follow it! I probably won't be posting much on this one this summer. :) Enjoy!

Here's the URL: http://doingsofanamericanaupair.blogspot.com/

Wisdom Teeth

Got my wisdom teeth out on Friday.

Super fun.

First surgery, first time being "put under", first stitches, first pain killers, first IV (I know, I'm a lucky kid.)

No swelling, so thats good. Chipmunk cheeks would suck. Or maybe you get chipmunk cheeks if you do suck? I'm not totally sure.

(I found this online. Its dumb, but sort of a little bit funny. Sort of.)

Its weird to be put under. Its weird that I don't remember stuff from that day. Stitches are weird, like pieces of shredded coconut in my gums. Pain killers... don't really do anything. Why do people love them?

I feel like getting wisdom teeth out is sort of a right of passage. I remember taking Jamba Juices to friends. I remember my sister and her totally swollen up face. None of that for me. Just laziness, blood, and some ripped up gums. Yum. Anyway, I'm glad its done. I'm really an adult. I could go on a mission.

I'm going to Germany!

I'm Going on a Trip...

In my favorite rocket ship! If you know what I'm talking about, you understand my life a little.

But I am going on a trip! I'm going to go spend the rest of the summer in Germany!

GERMANY!

I never would've thought I would hop on a plane and go to Germany all by myself, but now I'm so excited! I'm going to be a au-pair in a little town outside of Munich called Dietershiem, in an apartment housed within a bed and breakfast. Here's a pic:

I know that you're jealous, right? I'm almost jealous of myself!

The thing about this place is that it is in "the heart of Bavaria". You know what Bavaria is? THIS is Bavaria:

Lederhosen, yodeling, oompahpah music and all! The woman in green, in the middle is the actual mom who's kids I'm watching! Its definitely going to be a cultural experience!

Oh, and on top of that, I get to go HERE all the time!!! AHHHH!!!!

Sorry. Bragging=Bad. But I have to express my excitement somehow!

Wander Lust...

For a long time, I've been wanting to get out of here. I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE!!! I love Utah, don't get me wrong, but I've lived here my whole life, and never spent a significant amount of time anywhere else. I just want to see the world! I am well aware of the fact that Utah is a major bubble, and I am ready for something new.

So I've been looking at a couple of options. One would be to go volunteer in Hati. Crazy, but cool. There's a group of college students from Provo, including my friend, there doing some really cool stuff. So thats one option.

Another option I've been looking at is being a nanny or au pair, either somewhere here in the U.S., or in Europe. I have lots of childcare experience, and I love it, and I would love to travel around with a cute little family. Last night, I registered with an au pair website, and 24 hours later, here I am, with 14 OFFERS! What the heck?!??! How come I didn't do this before? It all sounds really exciting, but scary too. I don't have a passport, and I have no idea what I would have to do to get one and get any other legal stuff in order. What if I got stuck with some creeper family? What if I'm super bored and there's nothing to do?

So thats the situation.

I'm overwhelmed, and I don't know how to move forward. I want to do something cool! Please! Cue everything falling into place.......... NOW. Thanks a bunch. See you in Spain! Or Germany! Or...., (If they let me in.)

Keep the Old...

In the last two days, I have had two reunions with two old friends.

Two hugs,

two deep, meaningful chats about life, the universe, and everything,

memories of two different times of my life,

And two more "life lessons":

1. Don't spend your whole life thinking that you have to be best friends with Barbie.

2. Don't EVER let good people fall out of your life.

P.S. Katie, What the heck that I couldn't find a picture with both of us in it, so this is what you get (I freaking love this, btw.) We need to remedy that. Stat.

Jimmy, you are awesome. And this picture is old. Lets take a new one sometime, yeah?

Another List.

Two things I'd like to be:

1) Funny

2) Done with finals

Yeah, that'd be cool.

I watched a couple of fabulous Sandra Bullock movies that were on TV while "studying" tonight. She is gorgeous. And hilarious. And... done with finals? Maybe not. Its gotta be pretty tough to have a crappy, cheating husband, let alone the media all over you. I guess I probably wouldn't like that too much. Third thing I want:

3) A nice husband. One day. Gimme a good LONG while, but one day.

Girls, "Boys", and Life-Affirming Truths

If you would've asked me this morning what I would write a blog post about today, I would have laughed at you. Blog? Me? Today? Ha.

But, if I had to, I would tell you that I would probably write about being pseudo-mom the past few days, maybe, if I had time, which I didn't/won't/still don't.

But here I am, and I am not writing about being pseudo-mom. That was interesting, maybe I'll write about it another time, but no, I'm writing about what a 20 year old BYU co-ed should be writing about. BOYS. Yup. Are you proud of me? You should be.

I just spent the last two hours sitting with 5 or 6 girls from my major, and despite classes now officially over, and the start of finals beginning, we talked nothing about school. We talked BOYS. I'm talking "I was engaged before," "How many relationships have you been in," "How'd you meet," SERIOUS girl talk, about boys. And it made me realize a couple of things.

1. I need to go to my own ward, and you know, like actually TALK to a boy or two that is in the same "place" as me. That would probably be a good idea.

2. I am inexperienced. I think thats okay, though.

I don't know what it all means, or if its important, or if I need to go purge the potato chips I had for dinner (don't worry, I wouldn't actually do that. I mean the purge part. I definitely did the potato chips part.) so that I could feel a little more confident physically or whatever, but I forgot to mention one more thing I learned/remembered/reinforced.

3. I like myself. I am at a place in my life where I like myself! If I am okay with who I am, it doesn't matter if I have a date every weekend, or if I have a date this year; I'm happy with who I am, and I think thats pretty cool.

See, this is how okay with myself I am. I was layin' on a dolphin at a park. You know. Whatevs. :)

Two Years Ago Today

I do not have time to write this, but I don't care.

I am a chicken and usually don't put details about my real "life" up for the world to see. I don't think thats changing today, but suffice it to say, music takes me right on back to two years ago today. I was mending an old friendship and starting a new one. I made brownies for both. I wrote in my journal: "I love it when he looks me straight in the eye."

One year later I bought a tie and candy and shipped it away in a square, flat, box.

Today I was busy busy busy. Last day of cohort. Homework. Just got home from a trip=craziness. But I listen to the music, and I'm right back to two years ago, even if I am a slacker.

I'm scared of posting this.

Listen to This Song!

Okay, so I just found this AMAZING song by Regina Spektor. Its on the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian soundtrack.

You can listen to it through this video from youtube, though the video's not necessarily awesome, the song is amazing.

The best songs are the ones that we can relate to.

I'm a Teacher!

Today, for the first time, I was in charge of a whole class of Second Graders by myself. It was amazing. Going into it, I was REALLY nervous. I kept having thoughts like "what if they kill each other?", or "what if they won't listen?". I tried to keep my cool though, say a prayer, and just took a really big deep breath before I went in.

It wasn't perfect, you know, but it was good! The kids were really cute. They wanted to know all about me, almost to the extent they didn't want to get anything done! But they did, eventually. I helped them with their centers work, I sent them to recess, we watched a movie, we did the calendar, we read a book, and they went to lunch. That's really all that happened. There were plenty of questions and "thats not how we do that" kinds of things going on, but in general, they were good. I know I could've managed them better, but it was my first day so I can't beat myself up too much.

The whole experience was just another reinforcer that this is what I should be doing. I don't know that it will be perfect, or that I'll love every second of teaching, but I feel like its the right place for me to be right now. I just love seeing learning in students eyes. I know its silly and idealistic, but I really do believe that teaching can be my way to "save the world" (just like you, mom.) I'm so excited!

A Nice, Quiet Evening

What a weird Friday night. I hardly slept last night, because I was finishing a take home midterm for my 8am class this morning, so I took a nap this afternoon. I meant it to be about an hour- even set an alarm. FIVE, count them, five hours later I woke up. I must have been seriously sleep deprived. Wow. It felt good, but now its 2am and I'm wide awake.

Anyway, my nap/sleep all day made for a pretty quiet evening. I hung with my roommate and a couple other people who came over a bit, watched a little Olympics (can I just say, I LOVE Evan Lysachek, even if his masculinity is "meticulously cultivated"), and took a bath. It sounds like a quiet evening, but I actually really enjoyed it. Sometimes NOT going out on a Friday night is kind of nice. There is a tendency towards feeling a bit lonely, but really, it feels good to just chill; to do what I want to do, without worrying too much about what other people are thinking about it.

Now I'm writing a blog post, reading a crappy LDS novel, and knitting. It sounds like something a depressed person does, but the more I do these relaxing things I like, the more I realize its really not depressing, but enjoyable. This is not to say I want to sit around all the time with no direction or purpose, but once in a while its really nice. Go try it sometime.

My New and Improved Job-less Life

The title makes it sound negative, but if you read my first post, you'll know its really not. I am so excited about the rest of this semester. I am excited to do my best work, and be my best self. I keep saying how I am going to be super woman, and I really think I am. So, I know this is like a month and a half late, but I'm making some resolutions. Hopefully writing them down will be a good way to make me do it.

Here's the goals:

1) Get ALL my homework DONE, ON TIME.

2) Improve my scripture reading and prayer= do it EVERYDAY.

3) Clean up my room, and keep it that way.

4) Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Bed by no later than Midnight, up no later than 8. You have no idea how foreign that sounds to me, but I know it will be good.

5) Eat less junk and fit exercise into my life= three times a week.

6) Go to the temple regularly.

So... I'll report on my progress. I'm gonna go put away the Salt & Vinegar Chips now.

Happy Valentines Day!

Is it just me, or has this Valentines day seemed extra extended? I mean, everyone talks about it Friday at school, they buy stuff on Saturday, and it gets distributed today... Call me cynical, or just call me single, I guess I'm hyper aware. It actually hasn't been bad, considering. No moping, no depressed-ness... I just heard about it a lot. My only Valelntinesness was reading a sappy Mormon romance novel. Win.

My favorite part of today was ice dancing- the married Chinese couple Zhang and Zhang doing a beautiful, flawless, best scored short program ever- it was way cool. I am a total Olympics nerd, and proud of it. I'm not a sports girl, but I love the Olympics. I love getting chills while watching TV. What could be better? Winter Olympics especially remind me of where they were here in Salt Lake. I was in seventh grade, and I actually had the amazing opportunity to go to the closing ceremonies. It was so cool. I remember being really cold, seeing some amazing performers and fireworks, and just feeling the amazing spirit of world unity.

See those white "snowballs"? I totally have one. Its gonna be worth like a million bucks one day. I can't wait for my posterity to be on Antiques Roadshow. :)

This ISN'T the First Post

Okay, so we wanted to do a first post about how our lives really are like Lizzy and Jane, but... yeah I have better things to do with my time. Maybe we'll get to that some other time. I'm not totally in the happy, upbeat mood I want the blog to be like either, but hey. I'm writing, and thats happy.

I'm trying to make a decision about quitting work. I know that school is the most important thing, but I hate to go deeper into debt, and I like my job. How many people can say that? I don't think all that many. I don't know what the answer is, but I know what's going on right now is not working, and that quitting work is the only concrete thing I can change. Sigh. My mom thinks I should just quit, which is surprising actually, considering how money-minded she is. I think that right now she just has so much else on her plate that she doesn't need me calling her every week to tell her how I'm having a breakdown. I kind of agree with that. I don't need to be whining all the time. I have so much to be grateful for. I just need to sit down and sort out what I can and can't do.

Things I'm not getting done: Some of my homework, writing to my friends on missions, figuring out what I want to do with my summer, figuring out what I want to do with my FUTURE, a social life, cooking for myself, exercising, writing in my journal, writing a blog, keeping up with my spirituality...

Wow. That is a pretty big list. I don't think quitting my job will make me be able to do all those things, but I will be able to do more of them, especially the most important ones.

Deep breath. Say a prayer. I think I'm quitting.