Under the weather

Lately, I haven't been feeling well. I've been getting crazy headaches, all of my bones were achy, and I was incredibly tired all the time. I figured it was just because I have been stressed lately about quitting my job, going back to school, paying for school, working full time, my new calling, etc... I was just waiting for it to pass and hoped that my vacation to Vegas would help a bit. When I got back home I started getting some other symptoms.

It started out as a simple stuffy nose, which I assumed was from my bad allergies during spring time. No big deal, right? Then last week I discovered a couple bumps on my neck. My step mom (who has worked in health care for years) told me that they were just swollen glads and to keep an eye on them for about a week. On Monday night after work I went to dinner with my brother, Graham, and our friend Trevor. When I returned home I felt my neck to see if I had any more swollen glands, and what did I find? My lymph node on the right side of my neck was swollen to the size of a golf ball. And it HURT. I showed Patty who recommended I take an allergy pill and see if it helped. When I woke up the next morning I felt even worse, so I ruled out allergies.

At work my friend Cassi told me that she had something similar a couple weeks ago. She said that the only difference was that she had white bumps on the back of her throat. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I immediately ran to the bathroom to check my throat. Sure enough, there they were. Nasty little things.

I went to the doctor who did a rapid strep test (came back negative) and removed the "white spots" aka built up food particles in my swollen tonsil. He also was very concerned by the size of my swollen glad and sent me to a blood lab to get some tests.

I am being tested for Strep, Mono, and Epstein Bar. Unfortunately, I won't know what I have or if I am contagious until next week. So for now, I will continue to be miserable. Hopefully, I'll get a letter from the always lovely Tanner B. this week to make me feel better. He always knows how to cheer me up, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :)

My thoughts on love and 80s movies...

"Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? I want John Cusack holding a boom box outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life."


No, John Hughes did not, in fact, direct my life. I wasn't even born when most of these movies came out. However, when I look back at my dating life I realized that I have had these same thoughts/feelings before. At one point I thought I had found my very own Patrick Dempsey-sans the perfect hair. He was perfect in my eyes, charming and loved me. It was all sunshine and butterflies until one day it wasn't. At first I was heartbroken, but now I look back and think about how grateful I am for that experience. It may not have been perfect or have ended like an 80s movie, but it was wonderful while it lasted.

As I have grown from the experience of my "first love", I have learned that love is not supposed to be the way that the movies portray it. I have realized that there is not one perfect man out there in the world for me, but that there are many worthy contenders out there. Sure they might not hold a boom box outside my window, or wait outside of my sister's wedding leaning against a sexy red car for me, and he might not even fist pump for me. But in the grand scheme of things, none of that truly matters. As long as we find a worthy man (in every sense of the word) who loves me and only wants what is best for me, what else matters? Certainly not the car, or the perfect hair or the fist pump. Those are all just minute details that should be left to the movies.

...I'm getting married?

Tonight after the afternoon session of Conference, my step-mom and I went to dinner with her mom and some cousins while my dad and brother went to watch the Priesthood session. When we got home, I was standing at the stove (my rightful place in the house, according to my dad and brothers. Haha.) making some treats for tomorrow. My little brother walks in and our conversation went like this:

Jake(15)"Steph, you're going to get married in the next year or so."
Me "HA! Says who?"
Jake "The Prophet. His whole talk was basically just him laying into guys telling them to get married"

Sometimes this kid really cracks me up!


Hope you are all enjoying your Conference weekend. I know I sure am! :) If you want to watch it or learn what it is head to lds.org

Day 3---A photo that makes you HAPPY

3 reasons why this picture makes me happy:

1. Haley- She is my best friend in the WHOLE world. She is one of the greatest examples in my life and I don't think I could have survived my first year of college without her. I miss her SO much. I hate that she lives so darn far away. :(

2. The temple- Everything about the temple makes me happy. It is truly the house of the Lord and our own Heaven on earth.

3. My BRUISE! Can you see it?? It came from donating blood. I have a tendency to get very large bruises in very unusual ways. It's awesome.

Day 2--- A photo of yourself a year ago

This picture was taken in February 2010. My family (except Hillary, she was still living in Arizona at the time) got tickets to see Brian Reagan, the family-friendly comedian that appeals to most LDS people, when he came to Salt Lake. It was such a fun night and I was grateful that I could spend the night with my family doing what we do best...laughing! I love spending time with my family and making new memories that we will someday look back on and say, "remember that time...". I didn't grow up around my dad, stepmom, or siblings, so I don't have very many memories with them. Now that I live up here with them, I try to make extra memories to try and compensate for the ones I missed out on.
This was also the night that sprouted one of my favorite memories of the last year. I came up with an awesome April Fool's prank of being engaged. My sister, Erin, and I (with the help of my brothers) came up with this guys name, major, sports he enjoyed, how we met, how he propose... blah, blah blah. It was hilarious! (The prank ended up working out really well. Everyone fell for it! Now I'm stuck trying to find something to top it for this year...hmm.) All in all, it was a great night spent with some of my favorite people in the world!

30 days-30 pictures-30 things to learn about me!

Okay, so I saw on FB (which is short for facebook,if you didn't know!) about a 30 day photo challenge. I think it's a fun way to tell people about me, my life, and my past experiences in a fun and unique way. I am determined to do it, and challenge others to do so as well! :)
Day 1. Facebook profile picture.


This is my little cousin Camille. She is the cutest little girl I know, and reminds me so much of myself as a child (mostly in the looks department). In this picture we are at my/our grandparent's house on Christmas Eve waiting to open presents. We were both pretty impatient (more me than her. I absolutely LOVE Christmas and HATE suspense) about undoing the precisely wrapped gifts from grandparents and cousins, so we made "monkey" faces at each other to pass the time. Isn't she a doll??

Mind vs. Heart, Logic vs. Feeling

Have you ever noticed that there is an ever-present internal conflict between your mind and your heart? What is it with these two? Don't they know that we don't like our minds to be clouded with confusion? Don't they know that we humans like everything to be completely obvious? We do not like playing the guessing game. However, they do.

There are certain situations that pop up in life that I wish these two could just agree on. Take relationships. For instance, say you are friends with someone, and that is that. Friends only. No other feelings involved. Then one day you wake up and suddenly, everything has changed. What decided this change, we have no idea. But things are just...different.You wonder what to do about these new feelings. Your mind says: Don't do or say anything about the situation. Things are great between you the way they are, telling him (or her) could ruin everything. Than your heart says: Why not say anything? So you like them, big deal. Maybe this is meant to be. Maybe everything will work out. Why not?

So what do you do? Do you side with your mind and logic? Or do you side with your ever-changing heart and feelings? Should you risk everything and place your bet on your heart? Or should you take the safe route and follow your logic? Do you tell the one you like that you indeed like them? Do you risk the safety of your friendship by telling them this? Or do you stay on the safe side and not tell them? Secure your heart from the risk of rejection and heartache, or take a risk and see if it ends in your favor?


Mind or heart? Which do you choose...