i hate the swine flu/my life.

dear blog,

the whole time i was thinking "seriously? this is too good to be true!" ever since mid november i have been looking forward to the opportunity of a lifetime (for me). i have been planning to study abroad in guadalajara mexico. and this was not just any study abroad. this was PERFECT. the next level of spanish i needed. the right price. volunteering and side trips included. and it all seemed to just fall into place. i fell in love with the idea of this, and then yesterday, everything that i have been planning for and been looking forward to for the last 5 months = down the drain. why you ask? well... they cancelled the entire program due to the outbreak of the swine flu in mexico.

WHY?????

how is this even fair? everyone it seems gets their own perfect lives (granted, with minor slip ups). they get opportunities. they have cute boys that like them. they have stamps in their passport. their parents have a job. 

i just feel so

heartbroken.

seriously. i have never felt quite this way before. i am so so so so so disappointed. 

i even had my bags all packed.

yeah, i get my money back, but frankly, i don't even care right now.

whatever. story of my life.

now, i am in California without a return ticket, because i was going to go to mexico from here... but now im not. so... i don't have a job, a plan, or anything to do really. its horrible. i hate not knowing.

on the positive side, i went to california adventure today! and tomorrow i'm going to disneyland! and i'm at ellen's right now! and i get to see my family!

i keep trying really hard to focus on the positives, which really are awesome, but all i can think about is what im missing out on. (the above exclamation points are all a lie. )

and to add insult to injury... i'm pretty sure that i can't go TWO SECONDS without someone mentioning the FREAKING SWINE FLU.

my life sucks,

rochelle

p.s. blog, sorry that this post is such a downer... but that's just how i feel. when i found out yesterday, i cried the whole day, and i was so depressed that i took a five hour nap.

blog worthy

dear friends,

today is such a beautiful day!

highlights:
1. i woke up to my alarm. beautiful!
2. ON TIME to class! beautiful!
3. SUN! beautiful.
4. jessica. beautiful.
5. $5 footlongs. beautiful.
6. foreign friends on golf carts. beautiful!
7. cecil "nice day for a picnic!" BEAUTIFUL.
8. a nice nap in the planetarium seats. beautiful.
9. people on the way home. beautiful!
10. j dawgs. b e a utiful.
11. dirty feet. beautiful!
12. it was conference this weekend. beautifuulllll.
13. its only 5:51, so the day is still young...

beautiful.


love,
rochelle

st. patrick's day

dear blog,

today was st. patrick's day.
i slept in green shorts so that nobody could pinch me in the morning.
then i couldn't decide whether to wear every piece of green clothing that i owned, or only wear green underwear.
i decided to go with the green underwear part,
but then i decided i didn't want to show anyone my green bra when the pinched me, so i wore a green barette.

what is the point of this post you ask?
the same point of this holiday....
there is none.

also.
last night i rented "the secret life of bees" from the redbox. it was monday so i got the free rental promo, but then there were people behind me in line, so i got distracted and forgot to enter the free code.
whatever.
but anyways, i really loved the movie. i would say it was definitely worth the $1 i spent on renting it. i cried, and i would recommend it/ watch it again with you.
there is something about bees that i find so interesting and mysterious. i think that might partially be due to the fact that i am --supposedly-- severely allergic to bees. but, they are so cute and available. but then they sting you. and it hurts. and they have a whole secret mysterious life that goes on inside of the hive.
i think its just fascinating to think about.

love,
rochelle

querida amigos,

Estoy más que emocionada para visitar a mexico! No puedo esperar! en miercoles tuve la clase de pereparacion para mi experiencia extranjera. Es muuuuy interesante. Hablabamos sobre la cultura mexicana. cada vez que oigo alguien hablar en español, yo estoy más y más emocianada! cuando escribo cartas a mis amigos que son misioneros, siempre escribo sobre mexico y como no puedo esperar. pienso que va a estar una adventura muy marvilloso que nunca me olvidare. estoy emocionada a conocer las mexicanas y vivo con ellos y estar parta de la cultura -- even if its only for a little bit, no me importa! la idea de viajar a un lugar completamente nuevo con gente nuevo es muy emocionado! no puedo esperar para mi aventura!

con amor,
rochelle

p.s. here are some cool buildings from guadalajara!

ugggghhh.

dear self,

you really need to stop being distracted.
you really need to eat something before you pass out.
you really need to just sit down and do your homework.

also, rochelle, you really need to NOT play minesweeper.

you really should take a shower too...

love,
rochelle

mi familia ridiculo

dear blog,

tonight i was at my parent's house for family night. as we were all sitting there, i suddenly remembered part of why i am so ridiculous. with everyone snuggled up on the couch, it went something like this:

* note-- the following story is edited for content.


dad: carly. can you conduct please?

(everyone knows that this is really not a question)

carly: richie, you are doing the song. maddie, will you pray?

richie promptly leads us in a rowdy round of popcorn popping.

maddie prays.

dad has the "lesson."

daddy: when you guys think of your grandparents what do you think of?

nickie: gardening.

richie: vitamin supplement pills.

maddie: grandma and grandpa's house always smells like pills!

carly: grandpa's gross gravy.

dad:... okay. but, when you think of any of your grandparents, do they have any fancy high-tech toys?

all: no.

carly: some ridiculous exclamation!

dad: what matters most to them do you think?

nickie: me.

maddie: traveling.

mom: (in a "you guys are ridiculous" voice) the gospel.

dad: that's right. we are a like your grandparents in this way. they treasure life and travelling and gardening and the gospel more than having fancy cars and 4-wheelers and gaming consoles. we have tried to be like your grandparents in this way, so just remember that--

dad is interrupted by chuckling--

dad: what is so funny.

rochelle: look at mav! nickie has been circling that pencil around his head for 5 minutes and he is still following it.

everyone looks and starts laughing also.

richie: how come we never get to go anywhere?

nickie: yeah! you (mom and dad) got to go lots of places with your families growing up!

mom: we've traveled as a family! we've gone to idaho and yellowstone and...

richie: we want to go to cool places.

rochelle: i'm going to mexico!

dad: (in the tone he teaches his 9 year old primary class in) when i was growing up we would go camping and backpacking to all the national parks.

nickie: ew, nevermind.

maddie: it would be so fun to go to disneyland!

dad: okay. we'll talk about this later (we all know this is not going to happen) carly...

carly: rochelle, can you do closing song. mom, closing prayer?

followed by a beautiful rendition of count your blessings (my favorite)
and a nice prayer by mom.


as you can tell--- they are sufficiently ridiculous. i love how even mom and dad participate in the sporadic laughter and even condone random comments.

but, what can i say? i love them.


love,
rochelle

i (insert name here) solemnly swear...

dear readers,

Hello. i doubt there are really very many people reading this, so this "letter" is probably just another block of text sent out into the deep dark abyss that is the internet-- but whatever. If you are reading this, i apologize. i am officially the worst blogger... ever. every blog that i follow has their own style. their own types of stories that they write about. its fun, its entertaining, its refreshing. (not to mention its updated almost daily.) their blog is a peek into who they are. it is a glimpse of their life and personality. i feel like up to this point, my blog has been anything but that. i have just written lists -- granted, i love a good list-- but, a list of what i did over the weekend is not a true glimpse into who i am. it is not, by any means, a representation of the essence of rochelle. so, my dear readers, from now on, i am going to have my own blog style. i am going to write my own stories. i am not going to leave my blog post-less for months at a time. this, my friends, is my promise to be the best blogger i can be.
hallelujah!

love,
rochelle