Sweat, tears, and victory.

Hallelujah! I made it through my first week of accounting exams! It only took me nine hours to get there. But, you want to know another reason why accounting is the best major on campus? We get the entire exam week off. That’s right, no classes. All week. So when I finished my last test Thursday morning, my weekend began. And oh how joyous it’s been. Those exams weren’t easy, mind you. It definitely wasn’t your easy-breezy Accounting 200 test. But I feel like I did the best I could. I think I held my own. I’ll know for sure in about a week.

And now I’m free to go watch Conference this weekend. We are so blessed to have prophets on the earth today, and I can’t wait to hear what they have to say. By the way, ladies, I hope all of you were able to listen to President Uchtdorf’s talk from the Relief Society Broadcast last Saturday. AMAAAAAAAZING. The love and the Spirit that filled the room were indescribable. The power in his words was breathtaking. If you missed it, you can watch it right here. How handy!

P.S. I ran 13 miles this morning. And now I can barely walk, but that’s okay! No pain, no gain, right?

Party like a Krishna

So, admittedly, this is definitely a week late. This was last Saturday’s activity. I blame accounting homework! But, I’m really not that sorry, because I actually love my accounting classes. Seriously, studying what you are interested in makes a big difference. Suddenly, school doesn’t seem like work anymore and learning becomes fun. Anyway, I digress. Back to the Krishnas.

Last Saturday, my roommate Jules, her sister, her sister’s friends, and I went to the annual India Fest held at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork. From the previous exposures I’ve had to the Krishnas, I’ve gathered this about them:

• ·         They are a Vedic religion (Krishna is an avatar of God in the Hindu religion).
• ·         They are peaceful, hardworking people (they have a llama farm on their temple grounds!).
• ·         They know how to throw good parties (Festival of Colors, anyone!?!).

Now, I’m sure there is so much more to learn about these people and their beliefs, which is part of what the India Fest is about. They have a pageant, or play, about the epic of Ramayana, which apparently forms an important part of the Hindu canon. Rama and his wife Sita, who are both examples of purity and virtue, run into all sorts of problems. Sita is eventually kidnapped by the evil demon Ravana, but Rama comes to her rescue and defeats Ravana using flaming arrows. That’s about as simple as I can put it. If you want to learn more, do what I did and Wikipedia “Ramayana.” The pageant came to an end with the burning of a 20-foot-tall effigy of evil. Basically, it was a large paper cutout of Ravana with fireworks attached. It was sweet. The lesson I learned? Evil goes out with a bang. Just kidding. Although, if you think about it, bad things usually don’t go quietly. They tend to go kicking and screaming.

Oh, how could I? I almost forgot to mention the delicious Indian cuisine. It was different (not your standard curry over rice), but good. I think my favorite was this pineapple pudding, but not like the pudding we think of. The texture reminded me of crumbly cookie dough.

On an entirely different note, I ran 11 miles this morning! Only two more, baby! And I’ve still got over a month before the race. This goal is entirely doable after all.

I don’t really want to end this post on a low note, but the BYU v. Utah game was teeeeerrrrrrrrible! Did the Utes sneak into our locker room and put butter all over our gloves (this theory is attributed to Dylan Bates)??? Sheesh. Better luck next time, I guess.

The effigy of evil!

Engaged!!

No, calm down. You can stand back up now. It’s not me. Far from it. It would help if I were actually dating someone first (hint hint! Just kidding. I am NOT using this blog to solicit dates. Seriously). Nope, it’s my best friend, Ms. Caitlin Smith! Soon to be Mrs. Tom Finlay! Why am I posting about this? Well, besides being SO excited for her, obviously, I took her engagement pictures a couple weeks ago. This was my first go at engagements, and I must say, I had a blast. I think they had a blast too. What more could you ask for? Oh, great pictures I guess. Check! They turned out pretty great. So I thought I’d post a few of my favorites for your viewing pleasure.

On a side note, I'm now back in Utah. I’ll try to contain my excitement. The good news? I’ll be posting on the blog more. At least that’s the idea, so I can keep everyone up to date on my adventures. So keep checking back!