be generous.

happy pi(e) day everyone. i was grateful for the excuse to do some baking today. pies are one of my favorite items to bake now and i can't get enough of them. today smash and i made two banana cream pies. we both had things going on tonight and unfortunately we had to leave the house while our pie filling was cooling. our parents are wonderful however, and they finished assembling the pies for us. my favorite part about baking is sharing what i've baked with others. i wish i could have sent a little pie to everyone. maybe next year. 

only thing missing was the filling...oops.

i wanted to add on to this post a few things that i meant to blog about last weekend but didn't make the time for it. three wonderful women in my life celebrated birthdays last weekend. my amazing, talented and kind mother valerie b whitaker, my caring, sweet, spunky sister melanie johnson, and my wonderful, strong, sincere sister (in-law) anna whitaker. anna and melanie share a birthday and my mom's is a few days before theirs. i was so grateful for the chance we had to celebrate their births and to take a moment to realize how blessed i am to have them in my life. each one has made a huge impact on my life and they are all such great examples. i honestly come from the best family and count my blessings every day for the chance to be a part of it. these three women are some of the most generous people i know. my mom does everything. she helps everyone and never stops worrying about others before herself. anna is constantly doing specific things for everyone around her. we were talking this christmas about me registering for byu and how i didn't know what professors to get and she took time to send me a link to a website via facebook where students have rated their professors. i can think of a dozen other experiences just like this. she's amazing. mel has such a big heart. she too is always thinking of others and what she can do for them. she has lived away from provo for quite a few years now but she called me on our sisters birthday and asked me to put a few things together as a present from her and the rest of us. and she sent me a halloween package while i was in china. she has sent birthday cards to our mom and dad and they have arrived perfectly on time. she didn't come out for christmas because she felt she needed to help out a friend in new york. she always has others on her mind. i'm so grateful for these three and their amazing examples that i can look up to and learn from. i love you three so much! hope you had a fantastic birthday.

be spontaneous.

"live nutty. just occasionally. just once in a while. and see what happens. it brightens up the day." -leo buscaglia


this is my first semester at byu and i've liked it so far. i haven't liked my test scores as much as i could but thats life. i often find myself saying, oh i'll do better on the next test. sometimes that can be true. most of the time it's not...this time it's definitely not. the reason i will not be doing better on my next test is the fact that i will be missing it entirely. i decided to be spontaneous and have planned to miss school for a whole week to go on a cruise with a few of my besties. i know, i know. this is my first semester at byu and i should be more responsible, take school more seriously and definitely not take a week off...right? i thought all of these things but i also thought that i only have three classes this semester so if i were to ever give myself a spring break it should be this year. i noticed that i had one test scheduled the week of the cruise. it happened to be an american heritage test. in the syllabus it said to call the ahtg office before the last day of the test. i was calling three weeks in advanced so i felt really responsible and good about the situation. the lady that i needed to talk to wasn't there so they got my name and number and said she'd call me back. she didn't call. the cruise went up in price so i had to book it before it became more expensive. sunday night i was on the phone for about thirty minutes booking this cruise. but it was worth it, and in the end it was booked and everything was great. the next morning i called the ahtg office again because the lady still hadn't called me back. in short the lady was a brat and told me that the only reason someone could make up the test was if they were in the hospital the day the test was offered. there was nothing about that in the syllabus. i had already booked the cruise. you bet i'm going to argue and talk to my ta and see what i can do. i hardly think that will work though. i get that it's such a huge class so no exceptions can be made, but they should be 100% more clear about the circumstances for which the test can be made up. i was under the impression i would be able to take the test early. otherwise i wouldn't have booked the cruise...


i'm pretty sure i'll still pass the class and that's all i care about. so here's to being spontaneous. so what if i miss a test? so what if i skip out on a week of classes? i'll live nutty, just this once, and we'll see what happens. i have a feeling that my day will be brighter and that this cruise with some of my best friends will be the source of my brighter day. 

thirteen days...

be.

"life is here and it is now...either we meet it, we live it or we miss it. all life resides in the narrow margin and the broad expanse of the moment. it is in the doing, the dreaming, the feeling and the caring. it is always present in a glorious attempt, a lofty dream, a brilliant insight, an irreplaceable experience, a calming breath, an unbelievable feeling and in irrepressible passion. an unlived life is littered with 'could haves,' 'should haves' and 'if onlys.' each moment greets us full of possibility and leaves us hoping we are better for having met. while it is true that we only have right now, there will never be a time when it's not now. grandma moses said it best, 'life is what we make it, always has been and always will be.'" 

-kobi yamada

for christmas this year one of my very best friends emmy jenson gave me a book titled be. (she knows me so well.) in it are about 40 be ______ statements. be happy. be daring. be humble etc and quotes to go along with each statement. i have decided to title my posts after these statements. i love the book and it simply reminds me to just be. be anything i can and want to be. so now begins my be posts. enjoy. 

catch up

well i've failed at blogging as often as i wanted to. the last few weeks have been crrrrazy though. it feels like i have been working all of the time, i had mid terms to worry about and i've still tried to be somewhat social. work has been fun and i've already paid my parents back for china (sweet, i know). mid terms sucked to say the least...i didn't check my scores until just recently...i shouldn't have checked them at all. i don't even want to talk about it. being social has been a little exhausting but quite fun. 


the most fun socializing perhaps occurred on the ccrt 2011 that took place over presidents' day weekend. cedar city reunion tour 2011 was the most fun i've had in a long time. it's amazing how easy it is to be with my amazing girls taryn, michelle, rachel, andrea, kirstyn and sadie. meg is on her mish and was missed but we know she's doing such a wonderful service and we love her for that. we all piled in my mothers mini van friday evening and headed to cedar. rachel made us itineraries that included a packing list, brought a bag full of goodies, and kirst and andrea made us a few playlists. we didn't listen to one song on the drive down because we were too busy chatting and catching up. the last time we were all together was june or july i think. time just escapes us ya know. it doesn't matter though. we are bosom buddies through and through. we don't have to talk every day to still love each other. when we do get together it's as if nothing changed, we pick up right where we left off. i truly enjoyed myself and loved spending time with my girls. i was also able to visit other friends that i haven't seen for a long time, much too long. i really am so grateful for technology and that it enables me to stay in touch with friends even if c can't physically see them as often as i'd like. i guess there is a something worthwhile about facebook and texting.


a few things happened while in cedar city. some i'm not quite as proud of as others. that's life.

• i gained a few lbs because of how much food i ate (costa, pastry pub, dq, pizza factory, spaghetti and garlic bread, wendy's, wingers, who knows how much diet coke and diet mountain dew...i know what your thinking and yes i really was only gone for three and a half days...)

• i didn't sleep. at all. but i had people to see and things to check off the list. and when i did sleep it was on the floor or a creeky box spring. sacrifice.

• i became infected with bieber fever. we went to see never say never and my goodness, that justin is a cutie. and more than that he's truly talented. after being given a gift like that from god i wouldn't expect him to be doing anything else. what can i say, i'm a belieber. he's put in so much hard work already, i wonder how long his little 16 year old body will be able to take it. i'm sure he'll be going strong for a number of years. i won't complain. maybe i'll still be single in a couple years when he turns 18. sure justin, i'll let you choose me to be the lonely girl at your next concert.

• i met a zebra named marty. scipio is a crazy place folks. who just keeps a zebra next to a gas station? i'm pretty sure alex, gloria and melman were pretty worried about where marty had disappeared to. the next madagascar to come out will be "madagascar: marty lost in scipio, utah"

• i didn't touch my homework. that was expected though.
• as i was touring good ol juniper i visited my freshman year room with mich and the other girls' rooms on a200, kirstyns room, my ra room and tys' room. every place brought back a flood of memories. it was so great. 
• watched a fair share of gossip girl episodes. that was also expected. 

i love love loved ccrt 2011. it brought back so many good memories. it made me indescribably happy. it rejuvenated me. cedar will always have a soft spot in my heart. love you c^2. 

i miss them.

it has been seven weeks. 
i can't believe it's already been that long. 
what if they've forgotten me?
i definitely haven't forgotten them.
i can't stop thinking about their dirty little hands, 
or their green snot runny noses, 
or their cute uniforms and unisex clothes, 
or their sweet mullets, braids, bangs and awful haircuts. 
basically i'm really close to driving to salt lake, buying a plane ticket to china, and staying with my kids for forever. i just got a qq. i'm hoping that i can video chat with my friends and little kiddies soon. until then i'll just look at their stinkin' cute faces via pictures on my computer. i have thirty other students that i love and miss just as much but their pictures will have to join a later post. 
i love you kids. don't forget teacher camille.

madi (ended up being mich's student but i still loved her...and her green snot)

tyler (also became one of mich's. he was a punk but there was a soft spot in my heart for him from day one)

austin- he's one of mich's but he was up there on my list of favorites.

tyson-this kid was all smiles all of the time.

james- i cried more with james than any other person in china. we had something special.

mick-he lived in our building and would often wake us by knocking on every
door in the hallway before finding ours..."teacher camille! teacher camille!"

emmy- this was one of two pictures i got of her smiling. so adorable.

sam- he left about half way through the semester. maybe it was because he wore his pjs to class...

jessica-she was rach's but i loved her to death.

blake- he would often massage my hands to make them warm and scratch my back out of love. i love him.

jordan- she was amazing. she would teach me chinese while walking to class everyday. we had a special connection.

ashley- she was a pill sometimes but how can you not love that face?? she loved stickers, like the rest of the kids do.

birthday hugs from my favorite kids :)

celeb sighting number one

one of the perks of working at a fancy restaurant is that on occasion you get the opportunity to serve someone famous. today was that day for me. well i guess i didn't serve him but i definitely made sure that his water was never half empty. because i live in provo i don't have the privilege of meeting too many famous people...especially famous rock stars. blake lewis enjoyed lunch (for quite a few hours might i add) with a few friends at la jolla groves today. my good friend and fellow back server sean heath was brilliant (and gutsy enough) to go up to him and introduce himself. i followed like a little puppy dog and was lucky enough to meet him and get a picture.

don't mind my lame stance. i'm so awkward in pictures...

thank you la jolla groves. i hope that you will give me the opportunity to meet many more celebs in the future at your fine restaurant. chris pine? brad pitt? hayden christensen? gavin degraw? channing tatum? jude law? matthew bellamy matt lanter? please?!

check one off the list

i have accomplished one of my goals for the year already.i'm quite proud of myself for doing this. procrastination has yet to stop me from finishing all of the things on it. i suppose some will say that i should have waited to finish this particular goal until the summer of this year... but i, along with my little sister, was too anxious and needed something fun to do this weekend. 


ashlee, my sweet mother and i had a legitimate harry potter marathon that began late friday night. the schedule went as follows:
11:30 pm ordered pizza and cinna stix from dominos
12:00 am began watching harry potter and the sorcerer's stone
2:40 am started harry potter and the chamber of secrets
5:20 am turned on harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban
at this point we had snacked on candy, licorice, drank soda, ate caramel popcorn and tried to consume anything else to keep us awake. we made it through most of the movies so far but i personally really failed during the third one so i watched part of it again while making/eating waffles for breakfast. 
9:00 am repositioned ourselves on the couch downstairs as we turned on harry potter and the goblet of fire
(for some reason my mother thought it was appropriate to undecorate from christmas while watching the rest of the movies. i guess this was fine because she was being productive and i didn't want her to feel stressed later because she didn't do it. but i truly love being able to just sit, be lazy and fully enjoy being snuggled up in a blanket while watching a show. or six.)
11:45 am started harry potter and the order of the phoenix

all three of us had a sugar overload from the last 12 hours so we made a fruit plate and enjoyed that along with salty chips and popcorn for lunch. so healthy, i know. we also topped it off with our favorite dessert, hagrid's hash (a chocolate cake, pudding and cool whip and toffee trifle). i guess all those apples made our sugar induced head aches go away and we were ready for some more.

2:30 pm began harry potter and the half blood prince
unfortunately we weren't the most clean after vegging for two days so we took a short break to shower, freshen up and get ready to go see hp 7 pt 1 in the theater. we headed to five guys for a tasty burger and fries (smash of course got a grilled cheese) which was apparently the place to go in provo on a saturday night. we saw a couple from our stake, calli's wonderful parents and siblings, and jake and cindy ellis. good thing we took a break to become presentable and normal looking.
6:40 pm we were spoiled with the big screen and surround sound while watching harry potter and the deathly hallows pt 1

this marathon was very enjoyable. i was able to spend time with my wonderful mother and sister and i watched some of my favorite movies of all time. i can't believe how much i like harry potter and this weekend has caused my love for it to grow even more. something about the constant triumph of good over evil, or the wittiness or sometimes cheesiness of the dialog, or ron's facial expressions causes that love for harry potter to be there and to bring me joy. now i patiently wait for the deathly hallows pt 2 to come out july 15th of this year. until then i hope to reread all of the books and once again be engulfed into a world where anything is possible.