First Day of the Last Semester!

And so it has arrived! I made it through my first day back at USU. It was quite the day... I was able to wake up on time and get ready. I packed me a lunch and made it out the door a little after 8am. I walked up to campus with our new roommate. She is darling. When we were up on campus I was showing her where her next class would be I gracefully stepped into a puddle .... I got mud splattered up above my knee. I had rolled my jeans up like capris so I got mud up my shin. Beautiful. Thankfully we were early so I had time to get to the bathroom and rinse off the mud before my first class. Great way to start the day! I just had to laugh it off.

My first class is Business Correspondence. I know that this will be a good class for me, as I need to improve my grammar! Afterwards I went to Institute,  Managing People and Organizations, and Yoga. First day = going over the syllabus. Looks like I will be pretty busy, but I think it will be a very interesting last semester!

After all my classes were over I stayed on campus and ate lunch, then went to the computer lab to take the online training I needed to finish so I can work at the VA.

This evening we had a ward FHE - we met at the park and had smoked bbq chicken. Yum! I took pictures of almost everyone who was there so we can get going on the Ward Directory. It was fun meeting everyone.

Then I came home and made Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. It is still cooking and smells divine. I hope it turns out. I figured we deserved it since we all started school today :) Hope tomorrow is just as good or even better!

Truthful, Gentle, and Fearless

I love this quote. I think I could be a little more like that. Sometimes I am truthful but not so gentle about it.
*Case and point - A couple of Sundays ago I was in Virginia visiting my family there. We went to church and outside of the chapel was a boy who refused to sit inside for the meeting, just sat in the foyer on the couch. He had a reason, which I wasn't super impressed with.. but what really did not impress me was his manner of dress - Black dress shirt and a red bow tie. I couldn't take him seriously. Perhaps I should cut him some slack, but in my mind when you attend church, you should do so in an attitude of worship and a willingness to participate in the meetings. The leaders of the church set the example of a white shirt and tie. (not bow tie) for the men, and for the ladies I expect them to be modest, I do my best to be.  I never did say anything to that boy, doubtless he had some sort of reason for dressing the way he did.
  Well, fast forward to another Sunday back in Utah. I attended church with my cousin, and after the first church meeting we stepped out into the foyer to move to the Sunday School classroom and there was a boy with a black dress shirt on and a red bow tie. I rolled my eyes and turned to my cousin and said "What is it with boys with black shirts and bow ties?" we chuckled then moved on to her class. It was her week to teach. She gave a wonderful lesson, but there were a few people in the class who were less than courteous. I was a little upset about it, but was trying to keep it to myself. Well, my cousin and I were about the step into the hallway to go and get a drink and I ran into the boy with the bow tie. He tapped me on the shoulder and as I looked up at him he said "do you like my bow tie?".... oh man, wrong time to ask me that question. Now granted I didn't approve of his choice of dress for church, but then you add the rudeness of some people in the class (I am usually nice but if you mess with my family, watch out, that is not okay with me) so I answered "No, I don't!"... I promptly walked away to avoid a further lecture to the boy. ...Later, after I had calmed down a bit, I did feel a little sorry for being so blunt with him, but honestly, I believe that how people present themselves, the way they dress, the way they act is a reflection of them, their attitudes about certain things and a snapshot of who they really are. That applies to myself as well. Anyway, I was not gentle in sharing the truth with that boy. It didn't seem to phase him, although I am sure he was surprised that I was so blunt about it. What did he expect me to say? "Yes I like it, where did you get it?"... I am not going to lie about something that I feel so strongly about. If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question! :)

Well this Sunday I was back up in Logan and overall I had a wonderful day. I think I am really going to enjoy this last semester. I know a bunch of the people in our Apartment complex and I think it is going to be a fun semester. That evening I called my cousin to see how things went at her church. She had a much better time, the people in her class were well behaved and participated in a way that added to the lesson. She also mentioned that the boy I had so bluntly told that I did not like his bow tie - he was wearing a white shirt and normal tie.  - Maybe I did make an impact. If I had been there, I would have made an effort to let him know that I liked his tie this time.

Sometimes I shock people with how blunt I am in certain situations. I have some opinions that I feel very strongly about. I believe in having an attitude of 'what more can I do' instead of 'what is the least amount I can do and still get away with it'. I expect those with responsibilities to live up to them. I believe in Repentance and I am so grateful for that.

I can't always hide my emotions from showing on my face. I need to have more patience. Sometimes I throw walls up around me and seem a little unfriendly. In those cases I usually have an idea in my mind of what the situation is like, from my point of view - if I am wrong, I'd love to be proved wrong. I am, for the most part, content with who I am and where I am in life... and I can be pretty stubborn. I saw this pin on pinterest.com and it made me smile:

I really do feel that way. I am not looking for an immature guy (boy), I am looking for someone who has internal motivation, who wants to make big plans, and live life. I'm not looking for the perfect someone, but someone pretty close. I believe in being independent, so I am just going along with my plans and dreams. I am not sitting around waiting for "the one" to pop into my life. When I do find someone I expect him to keep up and prove that he wants to be in my life, not just be coasting along - that won't impress me.

I am in the last semester of my Undergrad here at USU. I am so excited to see what this semester will bring.... and where I will be next year!

Virginia is for Lovers

My cousin and I bought our tickets for Virginia back in June or July. We picked the dates of travel to fit in with my cousin's schedule, after she finished her classes and took the GRE, and then back in time for her faculty meetings. I went along with whatever she needed, it much more fun to travel with someone else. We took the red eye out to VA so we could get there Tuesday morning. If I could have gone back and changed our dates of travel I couldn't have picked better (unless we could have extended our trip).

This has been quite the summer, even thinking back on it still feels a little surreal. Before I get into the details of my Virginia trip, here's a recap of my summer -
Finals week at USU, then the next Monday I started my Internship at Rice&Strand Interiors in North Salt Lake, the details and my thoughts can be found on my design blog: http://anchaleedesign.blogspot.com/. The First day post is here, one of the highlights was helping with the NW Parade of Homes, the post about that is here. Then I decided that I needed to get out of my Mom's house so I went to stay with my cousin for a bit. In the mean time I also decided to start my own business - so Tari Anchalee Design was born. Everything is all set up now, just waiting on some registrations so I can work with the Design Department at the Veteran's Hospital. I am excited to take on some projects there. In the midst of sorting out the details of my business, going to weddings, volunteering at the MTC, and helping my cousin get ready for teaching a new grade level, and changing classrooms, my StepBrother Raphael was killed in Action while serving with the US Army over in Afghanistan. I have 3 posts dedicated to him. 1 2 3 There's lots of links to news stories, pictures and my thoughts. The viewing was Friday, then the Funeral and Interment on Saturday, then Monday night I went to the airport. I am so glad that it all worked out so I could be there for my family to help behind the scenes and then make it back to Payson to ride up to the airport with my cousin.

We went to the airport Monday night and then our plane took off earlyTuesday morning - we had a layover in Atlanta and then flew in to Patrick Henry. My Aunt and cousin were there to pick us up. We took it easy the first day, we were super tired. I ended up getting a bad head ache that evening so I took a couple hour nap and felt much better. I woke up to their dog pawing at my door - she had decided that I slept long enough. Logan is such a funny dog

She is a gorgeous Siberian Husky (1/4 wolf)

The next morning we woke up early and went up to Williamsburg for Water Country. That is such a fun water park! We ended going four times while we were there. We would go up and spend most of the day. One time we stayed there until 7:30pm. It was fantastic! We took a day and went to the beach. Let me just say how much I love the water. I love the smell of sea air, the sound of the waves crashing on the sand, the feeling of sand between my toes, the sea gulls, and of course the sun. Mm I am so glad that we went to the beach! Once my younger cousin started Band Camp, my Aunt, cousin and I took a day for a girls shopping trip. I got some darling shirts from Macy's, and found a new favorite store: Charming Charlie's I got some awesome jewelry and hat. I know shocking, I am not usually a hat person but I am excited to wear it around campus. Speaking of campuses, we went up to Colonial Williamsburg, which is right next to the William and Mary Campus. It was great to walk around there and just soak it in. We had the best fish and chips ever in one of the restaurants up there.

We spent some time around the house, watching episodes from Season 4 of Doctor Who, playing Mario Party, and Apples to Apples... and Apples to Apples Disney Edition! The Disney Apples to Apples was my favorite - it has pictures on the cards, they are soo funny! While we were there, we went to go see Captain America, and Zookeeper, out of the two I would have to say that Captain America was awesome, and Zookeeper was funny, but not great.

We had cook outs and made tons of treats - even home made peach ice cream - YUM! I'm glad I have a couple of weeks until school starts to get back into shape... otherwise kick boxing is going to kick my butt!

So in a nutshell, my trip to Virginia was fantastic! It was nice to relax after all the stress of the weeks before that. Now I get to prepare to go back to school! My LAST semester as an undergrad. I am so excited!!

The Gold Star

 

So this week has been very interesting. It went by fast, and there was lots to do and take in. Friday was the viewing. (closed Casket) It was really nice. We had it at the Lindquist Mortuary not to far from our house. It is the same mortuary that took care of my Grandma's funeral back in 2009. (I was still in Kuching, so I was unable to attend) We had all the flowers set up, we brought some pictures of Rapha, and displayed all of his metals and awards. My stepDad made a little dvd presentation with photos and music, so that played (and every 17 minutes I pressed the play button again). The Patriot Guard Riders stood outside with flags like they had done at HAFB. We had two men guarding the casket the whole time. They changed the guard and the flag covering the casket. Everything was great.
  My Aunt and Uncle even drove up from AZ to be there. Right before the viewing was over (it went from 5-8pm, but we were there early) I left to go out to dinner with them.
I spent the night over at my Grandpa's house so I could help my Aunt cook her famous meatballs and sauce before the funeral. We got the sauce started before we left.

I received a Gold Star Lapel Pin for being Rapha's  StepSister

 There was a viewing for an hour before the Funeral services. Lots of our neighbors and members of the ward came. My other Grandparents came too so that was nice to see them. We were also graced with the presence of the several members of the Military, the Governor of Utah, and the wonderful Patriot Riders stood outside holding flags.
  The ceremony was very nice. My Uncles gave the prayers, I lead the music (We sang 'O My Father' and 'God Be With You 'till We Meet Again'. Rapha's parents spoke, along with Serginho and Paolo. General Devine was the first speaker then they presented Rapha's special metals to Sergio, Tercia, and Andrey - Purple Heart, Bronze Star etc. It was very impressive.
  Then we went to the Memorial Park for the Interment. They got a plot next to my Grandma for Rapha to be buried. The National Guard carried the Casket from the Hearse to the graveside. Sergio dedicated the grave, there was a gun salute, and taps was played. Then the presentation of the flags. Sergio received the one from off the casket, then the other flags (from the night before) were again touched to the casket, then presented to Tercia, Andrey, and Serginho.

The Funeral was covered by the Standard Examiner. Here is a link for their pictures: http://www.standard.net/slideshows/2011/07/30/funeral-raphael-rodrigues-arruda
http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/07/30/fallen-utah-soldier-remembered-his-smile#.Tjc-gRNaT1w.facebook

Here are a couple pictures that I took (Click to Enlarge):

My Grandma

These boxes help keep the integrity of the ground.

Honor Guard bearing the casket, flanked by the Patriot Guard Riders

Everything was carried out with great care and precision. I was impressed.

Rapha's Casket.

Here's a YouTube Video of the Day: http://youtu.be/rpUhIryGAZs

Afterwards, I went back over to my Grandpa's to help with the rest of the cooking. Once everyone came over we had dinner (which was amazing!) then watched the video my Uncle took of the Alaska trip that they just got back from. We got to hear all about the bears and things that they ran into. It was so great to be with everyone!

Then I ran home, packed up my things and drove down to Payson. Tonight we are going to the airport! Then we will be in Virginia for about 2 weeks. I am so excited for a vacation!

One thing I will definitely take away from this past week, is a heart full of gratitude for the outpouring of support and love from everyone. I was very impressed with the support from the Military, and the Patriot Guard Riders, Neighbors, Family and Friends.