"It's a beautiful night..."

"....we're looking for something dumb to do. 

Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you."

I have Bruno Mars fever.

Is it really February? I'm pretty sure last week was New Years Day or something...

Usually January drags on, but not this year!

January was quite the month. 

I settled into my routine of working about 25 hours a week and job hunting. 

Not. Fun. Stuff.

 I definitely miss my friends, apartment living, and homework, yes, I said it, homework.

But...

The past few weeks have been quite the adventure. 

I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to fall asleep before one in the morning, ever again. 

January has been the month of breaking curfew over at 604, dates, and late night FB chats.

Waking up in the morning sucks, working while I'm tired sucks, and having a nocturnal-like sleep schedule sucks but I don't regret it one bit.

(My birthday party this year)

(My birthday party last year)

Notice anything? 

Why do I always look like I want to punch someone in the face?

Don't let it deceive you, I had a fantastic birthday party :) 

Need to entertain some bored college students at BYU-Idaho?

Find some balloons.

That kept us entertained for hours.

Want to get to sleep at a decent time during a sleepover?

Don't start skyping friends at 1 in the morning. 

You will be up until 3 in the morning.

So there's just a small glimpse of what I was up to in January, and why it was such a fabulous month. 

2011, I have high hopes for you.

P.S... If you want to meet the real Melissa, just give me a call at two in the morning.

The filter doesn't exist, and apparently, it's quite humorous...

A Little Inspiration

Church yesterday was really great.

We had a lesson in Relief Society that followed the outline of a talk by Elder Wirthlin.

Even if you aren't mormon, this talk has a lot of really great insights and I highly suggest reading it. It will brighten your day today and many days to come.

Find the talk here.

P.S. Birthday pictures will come soon, I didn't take any, so I'm waiting for other people's pictures to get to me :) A big thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and who helped me celebrate!

Project 365

Yesterday was a big day. Almost bigger than today - my 19th birthday.

Yesterday was my 365th day of my Project 365.

Since September I had been looking forward to this project ending so that I would have one less burden on my shoulders, but now, it's safe to say that I'm actually really sad.

I'm so happy that I chose to document such a big year in my life. There were a lot of changes, and looking back through all of the pictures is so much fun.

So, in honor of my 365 coming to an end, I've chosen some of my absolute favorites to share.

Enjoy :)

June 16th, 2010

July 2nd, 2010

July 28th, 2010

July 31st, 2010

August 12th, 2010

August 23rd, 2010

August 31st, 2010

November 9th, 2010

December 20th, 2010

December 29th, 2010

January 27th, 2011

I'll definitely be doing another Project 365 sometime down the road, but the next time around I'd like to have a SLR so that I'll be able to learn and grow even more.

My dad paid me a great compliment and gave me a great birthday present today. He called to wish me a happy birthday and let me know that my last photo (January 27th, 2011) was stunning and he loved it. He then told me that I'm very talented and I have a great eye for photography and if he could, he would get me the equipment I need to be able to do even more with it.

Just him letting me know that means more than a lot, and I really appreciate it.

Thoughts really are greater than actions. Thanks dad, I love you :)

Well, for now I have to go to celebrate the big 19th birthday!

Until next time! :)

Back to the 'burg

My Christmas vacation in Washington was great, but I'm glad to be back in Rexburg.

Growing up in Minnesota and Illinois, I'm used to mass amounts of snow, and winter just isn't the same without it.

I came back to Rexburg to quite a bit of snow and it just keeps piling up :)

Since Winter is my off-track and I won't be starting my second semester until April, I'm spending my time working. I'm working 28 hours a week at Opinionology and I'm looking for another job that I can work part time. I'm also living with my sister, brother in law and adorable twenty month old niece, Sophie :)

(Sophie with the "Tink-tink" sippy I got her for Christmas)

Life is fairly simple and relaxed right now, but I'm still anxious for April to come :)

Bring it on, 2011 :)

(Hannah, Bonney, me and Grayson on New Years Eve)

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fun (and safe...) night :)

2010 was quite the year for me. I turned eighteen, graduated high school, moved to Idaho, started college, and finished my first semester at BYU-I. For all of the good that occurred, there was bad to go right along with it.

I know that we all hope for a better year than the one before, but I do have high hopes for 2011.

I've never really set New Years Resolutions until this year and I definitely plan on keeping them. I feel as though you need to start small and work your way into bigger goals and resolutions. So while my resolutions are smaller and more simple, I'm hoping that it will help me progress to bigger and better outcomes over the next couple of years to come.

I wish everyone the best of luck and prosperity in this year to come :)