A Wrap Up- Fall Semester 08'

Ok Guys I guess it's about due time for another update from life here in Logan. The semester is over. CRAZY! It flew by faster than I could've ever imagined. I don't even know where it went. AND...I must say that it was an amazing one. Good classes, Good Friends, Good Times. I am not especially excited about Spring Semester because that means COLD logan...and it's not my favorite. Nobody is jazzed to be at school anymore and there's not much to do with the freezing weather... I'm sure we'll get it figured out though.

I am SO relieved that I get a break. It is much needed. I am not going to miss the sophomore studio for a month...as we spent countless late nights in there busy working away. I am ready to just shut off the brain for a little while. Next semester it's back to Interior Design full force because we will be applying for STUDIO at the end of the spring. I want to try for studio. (Only about 20 out of the 60 make it!)

Tiny House/Construction Documents/Model Building/Presentation Boards/Sketches/Architectural Lettering/Shadow Assignments is what was included this semester. The first quarter was pretty simple as we were just learning AutoCad and they were babying us along. We would do assignments in class and that was about it. The next 3 quarters of the semester were... Not So Simple. They pretty much set you loose- with hardly any clue of what you are doing- and say "OK-DESIGN A HOUSE". They give us a lot of responsibility and I had a hard time with it. My teacher said to me ,"Ellen, you are very talented but I think that you need to work on consistency. This semester you seemed to be in this pattern of WORK WORK WORK- HIT A WALL. WORK WORK WORK-HIT A WALL". He was pretty accurate in describing me. It was an extremely tough semester- but I think that come January I will be a little bit more prepared- maybe not procrastinate so much.

A FEW RANDOM TIDBITS:

1. In the second week of November I headed up to Boise to spend the weekend with my good friend Rose. We saw a concert together in sake of old times and she showed me all around her city. I must say- I LOVE boise. It is way way cool. Downtown is awesome. I just like the feel of it. We went to a BSU game- that was intense. Their fans are insane. Her family lives in this sweet community around a lake. There are no motorized boats allowed- and every single house has their own dock with canoes. It is a sweet set up. Kinda reminded me of Seattle. WE at at the PieHole pizzeria in downtown and also at Merritt's Truck Stop (amazing scones) . Both great little dives. I love sweet places like that. Another connection to Boise is Dejah- Graham's new main squeeze. She's awesome. (From Boise) I hope you'll all get the chance to meet her.
We saw The Maine in concert while in Boise. One of our all time favorites. We got to talking to them after the show. Way cool guys. A little teeny boppers dream come true...This was the third occasion we've met and talked to the guys. Oh man...

2. The Factory is a siiick little dive in Logan. An underground pizza place that's been around forever. There are olden type huge wood seating and peanut shells all over the floor. If ever you are in Logan you've gotta try it out.

3.G-PA'S 80th B-DAY
What a night. I started bawling in front of everyone overwhelmed with happiness after not seeing anybody forever. Embarrassing. My friends - The Reese Twins- from Logan came and met the crazy Ririe Family. We had a fancy dinner. Grandpa had such a cute spiritual moment where he expressed his gratitude for all of us. I don't think any of us will ever soon forget it. The quiz about Grandpa's life was TOUGH for the majority of all the crazy couples (yams, pilgrims, etc?) Thanks to Dad Larson. He does know how to rally a crowd.
The Saturday of that weekend me and my friends headed to Decades. A SWEET vintage shop on State St. and about 600 South. I wonder if any of you kids have ever heard of it? The twins introduced me to it. Now i just want to go back and try on everything...all the fur coats, vintage hats, sunglasses, etc. IT's Amazing. It's HUGE!
Decades. Everyone Remember.

4.I saw Bolt in 3-D on a date the other weekend..I would HIGHLY recommend it. It was hilarious....

5. We have a Onesies Crew. Pajama's with Feet, Big tall furry wintery things. There's 6 of us and we like to whip out the onesies and wear them out whenever possible. They are the most comfy things and they bring to us a level of energy that can't be found anywhere else. Me, Melissa, and Andrea have just recently joined so I'm sure that there are many good times to come... the 3 of us have matching purple onesies with penguins all over them... It is hard to fathom how great these things just are.

6. Upon arriving home back to Logan from Thanksgiving Break- I can't contain my excitement for the christmas season. I can't wait for all the lights, the christmas cheer that comes with this time of year. I think I have had a disorder that requires me to sleep 12 hours a day. Where I get that in..I don't know...I don't have a job. This semester just wore on me- and all of the interior designers were having a really hard time coming back and getting adjusted after the break.

7. Gidget circa- 1960...have any of you older people heard of it? My girl Andrea introduced me to the Gidget series and we watched them on the projecter at the studio one late night. I love. Old Classic Hollywood Films.

8. Saturday, December 6th- It could've had better results but was still memorable. USU Basketball VS. BYU Basketball in the DELTA CENTER. It was...amazing. The energy in there. It was a close game and we ended up losing...BUMMER. I was talking smack to Graham via text during the game....we were so confident that we would win. We wanted it. Bad. Our fans were 4x better than theirs. At least we have that. We brought the energy of our home court to the big court in downtown salt lake. After the game we all went to my house and picked Katie up to go introduce all the Loganites to Molca Salsa on 33rd. After that we went to Nielsen's Frozen Custard. I swear that place has been around forever. So fattening. So delicious.

9. My old Roomies came up last weekend and we went to visit all our old Bishopric members and their families. The first stop we got fed a very fancy dinner...and then the next we got fed, and the next. We were stuffing desserts down our bellies. They are such great people and I love that we made that relationship with them so good that they can still come up and we can go visiting. This is how I feel.... I felt like the questions of the night were ," Who are you dating?" "Oh how's that going?" "Do you like him alot?" "Oh! Do you think you could end up together?" MARRIAGE QUESTIONS gal-lore!!!!
And I mean...yeah...we're at that age....I guess....BUT STILL! Come on...cut us some slack. I still feel so young! I'm only 19. The others are only 20! We've got plenty of time for all that, and i know it's all gonna work out...so could everyone just stop HOUNDING US with the marriage questions?? Hahah.

That's How I Feel.

10. I had some reconciliations lately. They feel so good. There's nothing like mending a friendship that needs it. There's no point in holding grudges...Where are we ever gonna end up unless we forgive unconditionally? I'm so grateful for good friends. All of you that are reading this. I find myself feeling so overwhelmingly blessed every single day.

11. Ok Here's A Biggie.

Earlier this week I got home in the early hours of the morning. About 4 A.M.. and much to my surprise there was a MASSIVE DEAD DEER HANGING BY ITS NECK FROM THE BALCONY OF MY APARTMENT BUILDING. What a shock. I screamed so loud I'm suprised I didn't wake everyone in my apartment. It was NASTY! Bleeding on the sidewalk. I've heard of things like this happening, but never has it Happened to me. I called the Po Po's and they came and took care of it. Not the most pleasant of experiences. Obviously a big group of kids had a little too much time on their hands. How? During finals week? Who knows...But yeah. There's one for you to all digest.

I'm so so excited to come home for the break and hopefully see as many of you as I can.

Until next time.

Adios