t-minus 82.5 hours.

i no longer have a home in ptown. for the next 18+ months.

(there sure are a lot of things lately reminding me that this is real life.)

and i'm wearing a tshirt and jeans right now. obviously today is out of the ordinary.

buut i bought these sunglasses while buying mish stuff cause they were super cheap.

(price and quality..ha.)

which obviously means i'm ready for summer sunshine.

three weeks of it, anyway. i have 23 days left of summertime.

soooooo bring on the st.geezay!

four days, soul sista.

FOUR.

can't even wait.

we we we so excited.

i'm so excited. and i'm so cool.

this is why i have friends.

baaahahahahaa.

now please excuse me while i watch a little ygm and make myself chocochip cookies.

because we are family.

and because i really just love these people.

mikey had his farewell today.

and he'll be a rockin missionary in concepcion, chile.

and because sometimes, there's just nothing like laughing with family.

nothing.

after all the friends and neighbors have gone, family will always still be there.

there's a metaphor in that, i think.

we're gonna tear it up in chile and ukraine. dang straight.

no unhallowed hand.

"no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing;
persecutions may rage, mobs may combine,
armies may assemble, calumny may defame,
but the truth of God will go forth
boldly, nobly, and independent,
till it has penetrated every continent,
visited every clime, swept every country,
and sounded in every ear,
till the purposes of God shall be accomplished,
and the Great Jehovah shall say:
the work is done."

history of the church, 4:540

(because this little leu has become my 'good luck charm' of sorts.)

large dirt holes in bucharest.

thanks to having a final last-minute planned get together breakfast this morning with romania friendlies,

i can finally cross trying kneader's all you can eat french toast breakfast off my bucket list.

kneader's? smells amazing, is adorable, and is delicious.

why have i not been there before? no one knows.

it was a morning well spent.

laughing, reminiscing, laughing some more.

and i adore how easily we all click into place and easily chat with one another.

the dynamics haven't changed a beat.

hilarious.

what's with all these goodbyes lately?

and yet, they've only just begun.

25 days, world. twenty-five.

 my comments about the above picture:

they're all adorable.

my hair looks super stringy because of the way it was laying. gross.

mihai loves taking pictures just as much now as he did a year ago. oh wait. haaa.

privacy.

hi friends.

i know this is super annoying, and it usually annoys me when other people do it,
but for now i'm making the bloggity private.
sooo if you're dying to still be a part of my crazy musings, feel free to give me your email address.
through email, facebook, texts, in person. what have you.

anyway.
c'est tout.

you say goodbye, i say goodbye.

today was my last day of work. suddenly saying goodbye to people i'll likely never see again in my life makes the fact that i'm leaving so soon feel infinitely more real. t minus 26 days. almost 25, actually.

THREE POINT FIVE WEEKS. WHAT?

and yet maybe i wish it was october and i was already on the way to ukraine.

lauren rose moved out, so kylie and i are left alone. which is kind of sad seeing as i am hardly ever home. or wasn't, anyway, until now that i'm done working.

7 days from right now, soul sister and i will be partying it up

today at work we had mcdonald's breakfast to celebrate mine and another girl's last days.
my guilty pleasure=mcdonald's breakfasts. lurve them.

i feel like i don't remember how to write lately.

oops.

though i must say, i don't recommend going on a mission for those that would like to keep their sanity.

or maybe that's just me.

3 (and a half) weeks! bring it.

ps. mini romania reunion tomorrow? don't mind if i do!

'that's just like us at work!'

the shark and scuba divers!

i have no words. i'm too busy dying of laughter and smiles.

the world is a beautiful place.

weddings and soul sisters.

last week i went to jess's incredible wedding reception. i can't get over how beautiful everything was and how the neutral colors with the coral were just divine. the decorations, the flowers, the weather, the couple? adorable. and can we just talk about the lemon water for a second?? it was like crack. [pretty sure it was.] SO GOOD.

if we're being honest, though. i had an alternate motive in attending this wedding reception, outside of seeing beautiful jessi on her wedding day. seeing this girl (plus her hubby and sista, of course), because i really don't see her often enough. problem? absolutely. good thing st.geezy is only 12 days away. wooooot!

yay for weddings!

congrats mr. and mrs. north!

sooo happy and excited for the life ahead of you!

the day of the papas.

today i gave a talk in the ward i grew up in (wicki wha? this mission thing is real. and don't even ask me how i feel about public speaking.) and afterwards we had a father's day dinner of sorts. you know. burgers. fruit (overload). all the good things. and the strawberries from costco were out of this world delicious. such a good batch. mmmm. andd now i have pretty much an entire watermelon's worth of slices left in my fridge right now. soo if you're craving some watermelon? come on ova! because i have enough to last forever. and i'll only be in provo another week. haaaaaaaaaa.

i mostly just think this picture is funny. and thus i included it.

happy dad's day, world!

to all those fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, etc.--past, present, and future.

especially the ones in my own life [my favorites].

you're da very best.

though i really do agree with the fact that doug said someone mentioned he heard in a lesson today that

all societal problems can be traced back to fathers not living up to their priesthood duties. dang straight.

i have a new fetish with sheep.

at the beginning of june, my mama and i took a day trip to manti to do a session in the manti temple.

i have many many photos, but here are some filmed snippets of that drive.

if you make it through the whole thing, i commend you.

but then again, it's hard to resist how beautiful utah is.

"verily, verily, i say unto you, if they reject my words,
and this part of my gospel and ministry,

blessed are ye, for they can do no more unto you than unto me.

and even if they do unto you even as they have done unto me,

blessed are ye, for you shall dwell with me in glory.

but if they reject not my words,

which shall be established by the testimony which shall be given,

blessed are they, and then shall ye have joy in the fruit of your labors.

verily, verily, i say unto you , as i said unto my disciples,

where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing,

behold, there will i be in the midst of them--even so am i in the midst of you.

fear not to do good, my sons,

for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap;

therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

therefore, fear not, little flock; do good;

let earth and hell combine against you,

for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

behold, i do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more;

perform with soberness the work which i have commanded you.

look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."
doctrine&covenants 6:29-36

s&k {part three}

[sugarland. texas pride.]

april 28, 2012.

never fear. this is the last round of me talking about that wedding that might have happened almost two months ago. (i have to finish one thing before starting more, right? in other words, this should be read as i'm really bad at blogging and sharing memorable photos.)

now, there's just a few things you need to know about texas. first of all, the rumors are true. texas is big. and everything is bigger in texas. southerners are hilariously sweet. and i'm pretty sure they think they're the only state in the world that matters. and of course, they're more than just a state.

upon first arriving, we hit up the local ihop by our hotel because we were starving from so much flying and attempted navigations. it was a one-woman band, and her name was probably minny. she called my grandpa, 'dad.' and everyone else 'mama' or 'sweetheart.' did i mention we were the only ones in the restaurant for the first half of our meal? it's fine. she was adorable. i wanted to bottle her up and take her home.

the next day, we had a texas bbq lunch with all the fam bam, which was of course delicious. did i mention everything's bigger in texas? not to mention they kept coming around with these delicious little bread things. on top of the overwhelming amount of food to start with. texas win.

in the evening, an open house was held at the home of a family friend of the barrows, and they were more than gracious, the flowers were stunning, the food was delicious, and the evening was beautiful. did i mention the heartwarming southern hospitality and friendliness? a few people essentially told me their whole life story just cause i was standing or sitting nearby. adorable, i tell you. adorable.

 let the photo attack begin!

spring creek barbeque!

texas pride on the freeway. why not, right? 

derry.

attack of the fooooood!

the only picture i took of the ring. and it's blurry. so much for that.

tree-lined streets? yes, please.

right? don't i know it.

the 'reality' photo. aka, them looking exhausted before it even started.

something about their stake, that photo of joseph smith, and missionaries?
i'm fuzzy on the details.
but hooray for a janette photo!

sil numba one is adorable.

most candid and realistic photo of these two in existence.
it just says so much, don't you think?

yay weddings! yay weddings? 

there might have been singing of love songs involved at the end. might have.

this photo really just speaks for itself.

now that stenzie is six days away from their two month anniversary,

the wedding photos are now complete.

three cheers for the most perfect sistas in law!

like, really.

there are no other two women on earth that would be as perfect for their respective husbands as

kenzie is for steven

and

sherry is for doug.

fact.

on a completely unrelated/related note,

can we please praise the heavens that i'm not having a wedding anytime soon?

i'd have a nervous breakdown.

wayyyy too much work and energy.

okay. cool.

ps. while we're praising the heavens, let us also praise the heavens for steve jobs and the iphone. how the heck did anyone ever find anything before someone in the car owned one?? yeah, i don't know either.

s&k {part one}.

s&k {part two}.