Ten things I'm excited about for spring semester

1) Zumba class with Becca. We both signed up for this 0.5 credit aerobics class that's twice a week from 9-10:15. I'm stoked. I've always wanted to try zumba and now I get to. For class credit too!

2) Gettin' biceps & abs with Lorraine. This morning as I ate my breakfast/lunch, Lorraine and I were talking. And she said she wants to start lifting weights in spring. Every since ShayCarl lost his 100 lbs. and Colette started working out with him, I have been inspired by her biceps. Seriously. She's way fit. My goal is to have legit biceps and arm muscle. Lorraine also wants some nice abs so I figure I might as well join her on that. I'm fairly certain I'll somehow end up running a 5K too.

3) Jordan & Matt coming home. I don't know the exact date but Jordan will be home in May. I haven't seen him since April of 2010. Well, except in a few pictures. He's my musical soulmate, basically. And we most definitely have lots of music and stories to share. Matthew gets back in June some time, right before I fly home.

4) Camping trips. My neighbor/friend Bethany is from pretty nearby and has lots of camping stuff and we are most definitely in need of some spring adventures down to southern Utah. I haven't been hiking or camping in forever. It will also give me a chance to use my headlamp. I'm pretty darn excited about that, which is probably kind of sad.

5) Imagine Dragons. May 1st in Salt Lake City. 'Nough said.

6) Legitimately learning to play a Julia Nunes song on ukulele and then recording a cover with Becca singing. We've been talking about this for a while and I'm sure in spring we'll actually have the time to. Becca's voice is perfect for Julia songs.

7) More tennis and racquetball. Becca and I began playing racquetball pretty regularly a few weeks ago and that'll continue in spring. And now that it's warm again, outside tennis is a possibility more often.

8) Time to read the next Game of Thrones book. I've been far too busy to read this semester and this series is ridiculously good. I'm so happy to be able to read again.

9) Frisbee. I love ultimate and I'm sure plenty of people will be up for playing. Barefoot frisbee will be especially lovely. Basically, anything barefoot.

10) Starting my Chacos tanlines. Yep, I'm going to be one of those people who gets awesome tanlines on their feet.

Last YouTube video I watched: Can I Be Space President?

Trip to Tennessee Part II

So I'm back in good ol' Wisconsin! And I must say, Tennessee was awesome. I absolutely love that state now, if only for the reason that I made some amazing memories there.

Here's a rundown of my weekend in the south:

I got picked up at the airport by one of Brooke's brothers, a cool kid a year or two younger than us. That was around 10:30 am. We had to battle w/ some epic weather and bad traffic but we finally made it to their house. And then it was time to get ready. Brooke's sisters and a friend from school were there getting their hair did and make-up put on all fancy like. Having woken up at 5:45 and just hanging out in airports all morning, I chilled for a bit and then finally put my dress on. Though I technically was a bridesmaid, I didn't have the same dress due to some circumstances we couldn't really control. This made me a little apprehensive at first. I just felt out of place. This feeling soon subsided.

Over to the Nashville temple we went, waiting for Brooke and James to exit. It stopped raining just long enough for me to find Kelsey in the parking lot and for us to freak out over being together. That was when the awkwardness subsided, when I saw Kelsey. There was quite some time before the happy couple came out so Kelsey did my hair and make-up on account of how I had been hanging out in the aforementioned airports.

And then finally they came out! At the point it had started raining pretty hard again so the entire wedding party and families and friends were tucked under the overhang right outside the main doors. I had yet to see Brooke's dress but it was just incredible. It was the epitome of her. Seeing her so happy is indescribable. Another thing that's indescribable was her face when she saw me in the back of the crowd. I was at the back, just watching everyone, especially Brooke and James' faces, taking pictures, peeking through shoulders. Then some people shifted and Brooke and I made eye contact. It was just . . . Wow. Her smile was incredible. She waved and mouthed "Hi Anna!" I could tell me being there really did make a difference on her wedding day. That was the second moment when I didn't care what I was wearing or that it was different. I was there for Brooke and that's all the mattered.

After taking bunches of pictures, Kelsey and I went back to Brooke's house to help Kelsey's sister prepare all the food for the reception. That was more fun than I expected it to be, and I expected lots of fun. Kelsey and I talked about everything under the sun, reveling in the time we had that weekend. A bunch of the families went out for lunch but Kelsey and I stayed behind and it was totally worth it. Brooke and James came back to change and that was the first time all day I really got to see Brooke and talk for just a few seconds. But we did get in some epic hugs, the kind of hugs that heal your soul. I'm not even exaggerating.

Fast forwarding a few hours after cooking, to the reception we went. It was decorated beautifully, a destination wedding without the destination is what they called it. Very nicely beach themed. It was not even close to tacky as one might expect of "beach themed." (Pictures soon to come. It's hard to describe.) The cake wasn't so much a cake as it was just cupcakes! Lots and lots of cupcakes! Deliciousness. So rich and delightful.

Perhaps my favorite part of the night was the slideshow that was played. It showed Brooke and James from babyhood to marriage. Obviously I loved it the most when the college pictures started, many of which I was in. At the very moment those pictures started playing, the song "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson came on. Intentional or not, I have no idea, but it was perfect. Kelsey and I freaked out together. That song was very much a part of the end of freshman year. Hearing it in the context of a wedding was just incredible.

Here's a little note I wrote on my iPod Touch Saturday night, some reactions from right after everything happened: The wedding is over and wow. Brooke looked absolutely amazing. It was easy to tell how happy she was. The moment she saw me her face lit up. I was standing kind of in the back, looking between those in front of me. When Brooke and I saw each other, I got a little teary. I know that moment was just for us. And no one else had one just like it which makes it even better. It was just Brooke and me that mattered. At first I was a little out of place being around only her family but seeing Brooke made everything worth it. I'm so glad I came. It's just an added bonus that I get to be around Kelsey as well. I love being around both of them.

And so yeah, today was spent at church w/ Kelsey's family, with whom I stayed the night, and watching Cake Boss, and eating food. It was all about relaxing after Saturday was GO GO GO. Kelsey took me to the airport and that was all she wrote. I'll be seeing Brooke, Kelsey, and James in just a few weeks though when I head back to Utah for school.

So much happened in the last two days. I felt like I was in Tennessee for much longer than I actually was. I think that's when you know it was a great time. The happily married couple is now honeymooning in Aruba. What a party, I know.

That was my weekend. Lots of other feelings happened too but those aren't exactly blog appropriate, meaning I'd rather keep them to myself and a few select people. Know that it was totally and completely epic and that marriage is awesome.

Last YouTube video I watched: Spitting on people isn't nice

In it to win it

Yeah, that's right. I'm feeling hardcore about blogging again. (Take that, Becca!) I will be blogging every day. Guaranteed. I figure now is a good time to explain that while I'm road tripping back home I might not have Internet for a few days, so even if I don't post anything by the end of those actual days, know that I have stuff written down in a journal from the specific day that will be posted to make up for it.

It was a pretty good day to say the least. I got free Hawaiian pizza and an apple. I had lunch w/ my fandom friend Hannah at which time she tried to convince me to go to LeakyCon. (It's a decision that's been killing me, though in the end I don't think I'll be able to make it happen.) I had my last Spanish class of the semester and I got a 93 on the test we took and corrected; class even ended early. Even with class ending early, it still took me until about 3:30 to finish my big geography project that's due tomorrow. We got to use this cool program call ArcMap that's basically a geography nerd's dream. When I got back to my apartment I decided to eat some German chocolate crunch ice cream; it was awesome.

And now here I am, bloggin' it up. I've watched a few videos while writing this, all by the lovely Matthew, aka booshoe37, who I am pretty much in "YouTube love" with, meaning I have to watch all his videos and sometimes we talk in comments and I tweet about stuff he does and sometimes he responds. It's a great relationship. (Honestly though, I like to think that Matt and I would be friends in real life.)

Can you guys even believe that we're already a week into BEDA? I've blogged seven days in a row! It feels great. Disregard last night's lameness.

And one last thing for today: I know I wrote an entire post about my birthday but I never showed you guys this epic video that explains how great the night REALLY was. Enjoy.

Music Edition

So last night I acquired some new music from my friend Jordan. He and I have really similar taste in music so we're always recommending stuff and talking about why we love the other's shared music library. I finally have the "Dan In Real Life" soundtrack and the "Garden State" soundtrack, as well as a bunch of music by The Smiths, a band you will recognize if you've seen the great movie "500 Days of Summer". Today I decided I wanted MORE of his music collection so I made a list of stuff he has that I, well, WANT.

-Passion Pit

-Oasis

-Ingrid Michaelson

-Keane

-Phoenix

Granted, I have a few songs by many of these bands but I would love more. I figure I can "exploit" his music collection since he at least kind of likes me and I at least kind of like him, so together we pretty much like each other. [Obviously I'm really not exploiting this. It just so happens to be convenient]

Tonight I'm going to my friend Josh's basketball game. Some of my friends and I are making SIGNS, because we're OBNOXIOUS. I'm pretty excited about it. Josh is awesome and is a super awesome basketball player.

T-shirt: Grey tee explaining how to make a paper crane. From Urban Outfitters. Really. It actually shows you how.

SEXY: Boys who listen to kind of folksy music.

UNSEXY: Music on the radio.