Once a California Girl always a California girl?

I spent the entire first 18 years of my life living in the same house in Castro Valley California. Some may say that I needed to get out more, moving offers experience, ect. But let's face it- I was completely fine with it. For the past four years, with the exception of my semester living in Hawaii, I have lived in Provo Utah. When the winter season comes- the snow falls, the temperature drops, and I am surrounded by individuals whose eyes light up watching the snow come down. See, they are pumped for the upcoming snowboarding/skiing season. Usually I just stand there silently with a fake smile on trying to share in their joy. You see, I never grew up with snow, and ever since my family got into a serious car accident because of black ice- my parents hate the snow. So I never grew up going snowboarding or skiing or sledding. It wasn't until I went to Utah that I understood what a "White Christmas" was. Perhaps I was deprived, but I never felt that way. So as I sit here wishing I could go for a run outside, but realizing it is below freezing- I have realized I am not a Utah girl. I love California and pretty sure I always will. So perhaps the label of a "California girl" is correct in this case.

Christmas?

So I have been lectured numerous times by various amounts of people that I do not post. Well to be honest part of it is because I feel like I need to censor anything that I put up so that it is positive- painting my life like it is all sunshine and roses. However, I've realized that if I had a blog where every post is talking about how great my life was, it wouldn't paint my life in a very accurate picture. Now, I'm not saying I'm going to be depressing or go crazy- I'm just going to be more honest. This way you might get a better understanding of what the college life of Danielle Blevins is really like. Also, I must admit I have been inspired both my roommate's and friends' posts where they write about their opinions, lame things that have happened, or basically anything they want.
So to kick this new turn of blog posting I am going to talk about the Christmas season while at college. So basically Thanksgiving is officially over and Christmas is here right? Well not exactly...you see for those of us at BYU next week is our last day of classes and the following week is finals. So I am left trying to get projects finished, grades intact, loose ends tied- while still trying desperately to feel the Christmas spirit by grabbing a cup of hot cocoa and only listening to Christmas music on my iTunes. Not to mention the list of favorite Christmas movies that I have failed to sneak in. I do realize that once I go home to California I will be surrounded by yummy food my mom will make, seeing Christmas lights, and a decorated home. Yet, unfortunately I get home only six days before the wonderful Christmas day arrives. Then before I know it, I am suddenly watching the tree be taken down while the Forgotten Carols song "I Cry the day that I take the tree down" plays in the background. It is a bad combination considering that song is my least favorite on the album and I am one of those people that thinks the tree should be left up until after New Years. I realize that Christmas may not as big deal to everyone. But for me, I truly get all warm and fuzzy inside when Christmas comes. It's a feeling I want to start and last as long as possible so the fact that my teacher is yelling at me for eating food in the classroom is not what I want to be dealing with at the moment. (Yes there are still crazy teachers that do stuff like that even when you are a senior in college...wait did I get thrown back to eighth grade?) Anyway, my philosophy right now is stick it to the man- or school-or whatever. I am going to enjoy Christmas here at college and for the first time I am going to go see that play or watch that movie instead of making the treck to the library at nine at night. I will not give in! Wish me luck.

MERRY CHRISTMAS. I will say it as much as possible.

How To Dribble a Soccer Ball

Okay so in my technology class for teaching we had to make a movie of us demonstrating a skill. Like many other things with technology it was frustrating and hard to do but I got through it.

Blondes have more fun...right?

So earlier in the summer I had Heather Jones highlight my hair- it was the blondest I had ever been but I grew to actually really like it. So my roots were growing out and I needed to get it redone. I was torn between going dark or re-highlighting it. I decided to go blonde one more time. After all they are the ones that have more fun right? But I also needed to get it cut. My hair was getting Rapunzel style and was taking over a half hour to blow dry. This just wasn't going to do. So I chopped it. Now, its not short short but for how long I've had my hair since high school it's short for me. Anyway, as awkward as it is, here is a picture of me with my new hair.

Old Friends, New Roomates

Kristen, Me, Meg, Caryn

This past spring I moved into a new complex called the "Avenues." They are these pink condos south west of campus behind Brick Oven Pizza. In the fall my three new roomates moved in: Kristen Moore, Meg Jorgensen, and Caryn Hatting. I met both Kristen and Meg freshmen year at Heritage halls and have been friends with them ever since. Caryn I just met recently. It is so nice to live with my closest friends- and we have a lot of fun going to parties, cooking, and watching our favorite shows. Oh yeah and we study sometimes too.

Kristen, Meg, Me

I love Tivo! Thanks Mom!

Thanks to my mom who brought a Tivo from California to my apartment in Utah, I can actually watch TV. Before it wasn't worth watching TV because of the commercials. Now I can sit on the couch and waste my life away like the rest of America.
So I'm going to copy my sister and list the shows I am currently watching:

The Biggest Loser (My Favorite Show)
House (Thank goodness he came back to work)
The Soup (I laugh at this every time)
The Office (I think I still like the old seasons better though)
Community (Some of my friends think its lame- I still like it.)
Private Practice (I just like Addison too much to give this one up.)
So You think you can dance (I am half-way watching this one. I am worried I might have gotten burnt out.)

Any other must-sees let me know. However, my options are limited because if they compete with one of the shows above I'm out of luck. :)

A New Start

Hello everyone! Yes I am alive. I think I've realized that I am not much of a writer. I lack creativity like Tim's posts and don't have hilarious quotes from my children like Monica and Nicole's blogs. So, I apologize if updates on my life are a bit more mundane. Yeah, I guess July is a long time ago.
Let's see, since July I was an EFY counselor. I'll make another post on that experience. Also I've started another semester here at BYU. This is my fourth year. Last year I finished my math ed minor and this summer I actually passed the Praxis exam, which is an exam you need to pass in order to teach in the public schools. So this semester I started the Physical Education program, which is VERY different than the math that I was doing. In one of my classes, "Elementary PE" we spend our time jumping rope and learning how to teach kids to juggle. I just finished a tennis and running unit and we start up on soccer next (Yes!). So I am not as stressed with school this semester as I have been in the past.

Another thing new- I put in my paperwork for substitute teaching here in Utah. So right now I'm in the system to sub anywhere in the Alpine School District. I don't have classes on Fridays so sometimes I go substitute teach. Travis and Chad have been super helpful because they spread the word that their sister is subbing- which gets me jobs. So far I've only taught a 2nd grade class a few times. The kids are adorable, but I would like to get some experience in the secondary education classes since those are the ages I'll actually be teaching. Okay I'll post more later...

The Fray and Jack's Mannequin!

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of going to the USANA Amphitheater to go see the band Jack's Mannequin open for the Fray. My friend Lauren Anderson and I had originally bought lawn seats, where you just sit on blankets behind the seats. But when we walked in they were offering an upgrade to the pit for only 10 bucks. We took one glance at one another and gave her the cash. SO basically my friend and I were literally about 6 feet from the stage and lead singer. It was the security people, a middle-aged woman, then us. Needless to say the concert was AWESOME. Seriously, I could get used to the college life:)\

A Cruise to Mexico...and no I did not get the Swine Flu.

So about two days after finals I left all my cares behind and drove to San Diego where I would board the "Carnival Elation." On the way to California four of us stopped at Zions and hiked "Angels Landing." It was a beautiful hike- the only problem was that it began snowing and all I had on was a tank top. You gotta love Utah weather. The cruise was three nights and we stopped in Catalina Island. We were supposed to stop at Ensenada but because of the darn Swine Flu we didn't leave the ship. It forced us to stay on the ship where we ate, bathed in the sun, hot tubbed, ate, read and chat. Rough life. The cruise had all you can eat pizza and soft serve 24 hours. Every night we enjoyed dancing at the "Jeckel and Hide club." Some other highlights were the "Hairy Chest Competition," riding beach cruisers on Catalina Island,and going in the hut tubs. Overall it was a fantastic vacation. Here are some pictures!

Try

This isn't me...but it is a rugby player scoring a try. Close enough.

Tumbleweed.

So I play rugby now. It is no longer just a rumor, I am officially on the BYU Women's rugby team. We have practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and on Saturday we have games. I had my first game two weeks ago. I should have put a post up to describe it but I think I needed some time to recover. I got to go in the game in the second half. I ran onto the field to join the girls that have played for at least a year, but the girls on the sidelines were supportive and cheered for me. I soon found myself running around diving at the other team- doing whatever it took to take them to the ground. It's amazing how much power an adrenaline rush has over you. You suddenly are willing to tackle a girl head on when she is running at you full speed. At one point in the game I got the ball passed to me and I did what I was supposed to do- Sprint. I broke through one tackle, then two, and found myself running all by myself with only five meters to the try line (like the end zone in football). Then it happened. All of a sudden I was face down on the ground. With no one else around me I had tripped and fell flat on my face. My teammates told me after that I had slid at least 5 meters and that my legs had flown over my head...My coach laughed as he said that he had never seen anything like that in the history of Women's Cougar Rugby. The forwards coach didn't say a single word to me except..."Hey Tumbleweed." Hence, my new nickname. Needless to say it was a memorable first game. No worries though- the only thing that got hurt was my pride and even that wasn't bad. It was too funny not to laugh about it.

Now- Last week on the otherhand I had my second game of the season. I was able to start this game (I guess my coaches had forgiven me of my previous tumble). I was determined to redeem myself and prove that I am an athlete and that I can run without falling. For the first 20 minutes of the game I didn't get much action playin on the outside of the field. After getting tired of not touching the ball one of the girls was about to go down in a tackle and I was able to grab the ball from her. I sprinted like I had done the previous game, except this time girls were trying to trip and tackle me. Yet I was determined not to fall this time. It worked and I managed to place the ball past the try line to score my first Try (Like a touchdown in football). My teammates and coaches were yelling "Go Tumbleweeed!!!" and "You didn't trip!" on the sidelines. It was nice to be able to jog back with my head held high this time:) So after scoring that try I am hooked on rugby. I love the girls on the team, the sport is a blast, and of course I love the exercise. Next weekened the team is off to California for the Pac Coast playoffs. It's the first round on the way to Nationals where we are seated 5th in the nation and 1st in Utah. So hopefully I can have pictures up and updates for you all!

Birthday Fun

I'm 21!

On February 27th it was my birthday. So this weekend I was spoiled with phone calls, letters, and gifts from my friends and family. On Wednesday night my friend Kristin made my favorite meal for our weekly Dinner Group- Fettuccine Alfredo and cheesecake. The three of them Jill, Lauren and Kristen got me balloons, a sweater, earrings, and makeup. Yeah- they know me well. On Friday night I went out to Macaroni Grill with Meg, Christina, and Lauren where I ate my favorite Penne Rustica pasta dish and a free chocolate cake that they gave me. It was great- thanks Dad! Then on Saturday night the girls in my dinner group hung out with me again. We went to a dance party then came back to Kristen's apartment where we ate hommade cinnamon rolls and played the game "True Colors." I'm starting to sense a running theme- FOOD. Mom and dad spoiled me with a birthday dinner, funding the cruise I'm going on at the end of the semester, and the Jane Austen book collection. I got a cartoon from Grandpa and heard from all of my siblings. Needless to say, it was a wonderful birthday. I felt so loved and I am grateful to have such wonderful friends and a loving family. SO THANK YOU everyone for making my birthday a special one!

Rugby anyone?

So I'm sure some of you have heard a rumor that I started playing Rugby. Well, it's true. I joined the BYU Women's Rugby team- the only thing is, is that it is not an official "BYU team" because of the number of girl's team sports already. So we are a club and we have to do all the funding on our own. However, we are still ranked in the top 5 of the nation and we have three coaches who want a National Championship. Last weekend I went down to St. George with the team. We stayed in one of our coach's parent's house(which was a mansion...it had 7 showers) and spent the weekend playing rugby because there wasn't snow. It was actually a really fun trip- I've always loved team bonding. I'm not in love with the sport yet though. I honestly believe it is the hardest sport out there- physically and mentally. I have been playing for about 3-4 months now and a lot of it is still over my head. I have been getting a lot of questions from my friends because they are noticing that I am covered in bruises. I promise I don't have an abusive boyfriend...Anyway here is one of the bruises I got over the weekend. It's a good one! (Don't freak out mom:)

Danielle's Math World

Hello everyone! So my friend came over and said it was time for me to update my blog. "NOVEMBER 2nd Danielle! November 2nd!" She is right. However, I wish I had some super exciting news for you but everything is pretty consistent in my life right now. The only new update I have is that in this new semester I am taking a "Teaching with technology class" for my Math Ed minor. It's pretty neat so far. We had to make a website for us to post various assignments and other things about ourselves. I'm a bit nervous considering technology has been a source of frustration in my life so far- but the teacher is awesome and patient so I may end up liking this tech stuff after all. Here is a link to the website- check it out if you like!