teriffic thai tuesday.

today was a great day.

my only class was cancelled due to an exam, so i studied like crazy for a majority of the day,

and i did well on the test!

such a big relief.

and then, a dear friend treated me to my favorite-- thai tuesdays at the cannon center.

delicious.

i am so grateful that my first testing experience went well.

here's to countless numbers more (i hope!) in the future...

september birthdays, pt. 2.

this is my brother.

he loves in-n-out.

he came home from his mission roughly two months ago,

and we've been hanging out ever since!

today he turned 22.

and we partied.

i love having him here in provo and am so lucky to have him in my life!

¡feliz cumple, guillermo! eres el mejor.

listzomania'd.

i blame my current inability to focus on these guys:

their show tonight was AMAZING.

i am so pumped.

*image via cluas.com.

reasons why i love my roommates:

1. i come home and turn on the tv, and guess what they've been watching... food network!

2. they are nice to me when i am sick and surgery'd.

3. they don't really care when i choose not to wear makeup or have cavewoman hair.

4. they like to throw parties and make new friends.

5. sometimes, we stay up really late watching house hunters and laughing.

6. they are really cute and oh-so-nice.

7. we get in our daily ab workouts through youtube videos.

8. they keep our apartment clean.

9. they like to cook delicious-smelling foods, often.

10. they don't call me a bum when i sleep in until 12.

11. they're always quick to offer up their help when i am not having a good day.

12. they don't think i'm a loser when i am not feeling well and spend my weekend on the couch in pjs.

13. they watch the middle and modern family with me, and we laugh hysterically.

14. they aren't ashamed to go to the grocery store with me and stock up on mounds of on-sale brownie, cake, and cookie mixes. they're my kind of women!

so far, the 303 has treated me verrrry well. i am a lucky girl.

pequenita salchica.

it has been a bit of a rough evening for me.

after my doc numbed up my face and literally sucked my brains out (okay, i'm being a drama queen... just sucked out my sinuses), i've felt a bit... off.

and i haven't really been able to kick that feeling since.

and now, it's 1:08 a.m., and i still have loads of homework to finish.

but all i want to do is snuggle with this little fella.

oh, how i miss my stubalubagus (stubby).

i promise you this; you'll never meet a sweeter pup, in the whole wide world!

this is why they're the best.

i've often mentioned how much i adore my parents.

i promise, i'm not a 12-year old.

i just like them... a lot.

so once upon a time, i turned twenty (yikes!)

my birthday tends to fall at a rather inconvenient time (jet lag, surgeries, vacations, camps), and so sometimes, my birthday hasn't been the most exciting day of the year.

wellll, my parents are the best.

and they tried realllly hard to change that this year.

and, they succeeded. i couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my 20th birthday.

i woke up to an assortment of gifts and cards, so craftily put together by my mother, and some of my favorite, delicious, gluten-free pancakes.

my dear friend, margo, then came over for a birthday chat and to deliver a nice little gift.

(indeed, i was still, so appropriately attired in boxers and a tank).

so then my parents acquiesce to my persuasion, and we go on a hike.

i promise, it was a beautiful day.

until...

but even that didn't stop us!

we headed home and cleaned up quickly,

then went to see toy story 3. amazing.

(ignore the fact that the other birthday celebraters in the theater were 5, not 20 years old...)

and then we grabbed dinner at our favorite, family mexican restaurant.

it was delicious, and the cute waitress knows us so well that she gave me fried ice cream to celebrate my big day... my parents said it was delicious!

and THEN, my mama baked me a delectable, gluten-free chocolate birthday cake.

and i ate a whole lot of it.

pure bliss.

really, how could a day get any better than that, with two of my best friends?

it's days like today that make me wish i could relive those good times, over and over and over again.

exciting news!

despite my surgery, i've done a few shoots in utah since moving back.

i am so excited to get things started here once my health improves!

the latest was a good friend's engagements, which i adore:

speaking of my little business, i've got some exciting news coming up!

check back to hear allllll about it!

meet my chemistry professor.

though 100% of him is comprised of chemistry nerd, he is the man.

regardless, feel free to laugh... he's a funny little lad.

oh boy.

so, maybe i used to be a health nut (emphasis on the nut).

i stayed miles away from anything even remotely fried or coated in sugar.

i ate loooots of salads, fruits, and whole grains.

i did an obscene (yes people, we're talking thousands) number of crunches every night.

and soda... soda was a serious no-no in my book.

i stopped drinking soda in eighth grade, and not a drop of soda touched my lips for a solid five years.

but recently, i've sunken to a new low.

i get headaches. and really, awfully tired.

and the only cure seems to be my old enemy, soda.

diet coke, to be exact.

i am well aware that it is comprised of some strange combination of chemicals that has zero nutritional content.

i know that it is terribly addicting (boy, do i know),

and that it is not ideal to rely on caffeine as an energy source.

but right now, when getting out of bed isn't exactly easy,

i need my diet coke.

and shoot, is it ever refreshing.

i know, i know, my life is glamorous.

(amazing costa rican coca-cola light)

maná, te quiero.

so we sang this song in my spanish class yesterday.

and i haven't been able to stop listening to it ever since.

thank goodness for maná.

that's one thing the RMs don't have over me in español 321!

p.s. did you notice the strange little sideburned man dressed as a woman in this vid?

que chistoso.

september birthdays, pt. 1

every day, i thank the Lord for this little (ok, not so little any more) guy in my life.

he is smart, hilarious, and oh so talented.

he makes everyone around him happy.

...and he always makes goofy faces with me in pictures!

happy 17th birthday, benny!

you're the best little brother i could ask for.

week by week.

what a difference a week makes.

two sundays ago, i had recently returned to provo.

it was the last day of summer,

so we of course had to have a feast.

i felt sick; but i had no idea how sick i really was.

(yes, it was delicious).

last sunday,

i lied in bed all day,

taking vicodin every four hours like clockwork.

i was in pain.

this sunday has been better.

i do not feel well,

but i was well enough to bake myself some gluten-free banana bread

and mingle a little at the party my roommates threw.

maybe next sunday will bring me health,

and then i will be happy?

mis amores.

so, i am supposed to be writing a spanish paper at present.

but, it's a little bit tough, when all i'm thinking about is this place and these people:

¿ayudáme, por favor?

i just want to be OK.

is this too much to ask?

went back to classes today for the first time since the surgery.

it was overwhelming, to say the least.

tomorrow, i think i'll buy some hot cocoa... and life will be better.

until then, i just want to be okay.

sometimes.

sometimes, i close my eyes and take a deep breath, wondering if this is really my life.

one inhale through my stuffy nose, and i quickly remember the reality my life has become.

i've taken to just joking about it all... but inside, it's not so funny.

just a few more days of this, please? then, can i be healthy forever?

a huge thank you to my loving family & friends who have once again stepped up and taken care of a very sick little anna.

especially my parents.

they're the best.