Wednesday, March 14, 2012

March Madness aka GOOO COUGARS!!!!!!

I love college sports and March Madness and the NCAA basketball tournament are definitely high on the list of reasons why I love collegiate sports!

Last night BYU played in the First Four round of the tournament and pulled out the most ridiculously amazing win ever!! They played Iona College (who I had never even heard of) and in the first 15 minutes of the game Iona scored 55 points (wow! ridiculous.) and were running the Cougs ragged. It was sad and pathetic and humiliating. At one point they were down by 25 points, but gratefully at halftime it was only a 15 point lead. Still not okay. I was afraid that this was going to be a blowout and we were going to be pummeled and laughed out of the arena.

Boy was I wrong. The Cougs (led by my hero, Noah Hartsock, and hottie Brandon Davies) rallied back and whittled away the score to end up winning.
Final score 78-72.

Oh my heart was racing and I was screaming with excitement, along with a room full of friends. It was intense and amazing! Come to find out, this was the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history. I'm so glad that I didn't decide to leave early (it is against my religion to leave any BYU sporting event early) and that I stuck with the guys in blue and watched an incredible game.
I feel like it was almost impossible to not be a huge Cougar fan when you grow up with my dad. We grew up going to our Stake Center in California on Saturdays to watch BYU games on the satellite and we have had season tickets since we moved back to Utah. Watching this incredible game last night brought back memories of some of the fun times I have had watching BYU sports. Here is a quick look at two of the greatest games/places I have been to support the Cougs...
This is a picture of me and my friends Mary, Sherstin, and Ashley at the Mountain West Conference tournament in March 2011. This was the game where Jimmer Fredette scored 52 points to take BYU to the championship game. It was awesome! So cool to have been there for that historical moment!!
This is a picture of Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame University. In October 2005 my dad and I traveled to South Bend, Indiana to attend a BYU vs. Notre Dame football game. It was so cool! Notre Dame is the mecca of college football and I loved being there. The campus is gorgeous and is packed with people, vendors, and tailgates on game day. Unfortunately I got really sick while we were there, but it is still a great memory.

Wish I could travel to Louisville to watch the Cougs play Marquette in the 2nd round of the tournament tomorrow, but since I can't I will be tuning in and cheering them on from the comforts of my couch.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Piano Guys

I really need to play my piano more.

I am absolutely obsessed with The Piano Guys and this arrangement plus the fact that it was filmed in Hawaii make me incredibly happy. I have seriously watched and/or listened to this song about 25 times in the last couple days. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Right Place, Right Time

Is a year and half a long enough time to avoid the blog? Well, I hope that I can start being better at posting for my own benefit, a kind of journal since I am also horrible at writing in my actual journal. Here is what is currently on my mind and going on in my life...

Life is not perfect, but I have recently had one of those moments that confirmed to me I am in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Let me explain.

Two weeks ago I received one of the most amazing emails I have ever gotten in my life. The opening sentence of this email read like this:

"Dear Jennifer, I am pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to Brigham Young University as a graduate student."

What???!!! Me, a graduate student?! And at BYU?!! Oh wow. I didn't even believe it at first and made the guy in my research group who was next to me read it to make sure I was actually reading it correctly. And then I cried. And then I felt the most incredible peace. I had a very distinct and strong impression that this is exactly what I should be doing in my life right now. As much as I want to be a wife and mother, receiving my Masters in Social Work is where Heavenly Father wants me to be. Needs me to be. What an amazing feeling!

I never in a million years envisioned my life would look like it currently does. Who knew that at 30 years old I would still be a student, working at a job I don't love, unsuccessfully trying to navigate the dating world, loving being an aunt (but craving kids of my own), getting to travel around the world, enjoying incredible friends, having a wonderful but busy church calling, and honestly, loving life!

A couple months ago I am not sure I could have said that I loved my life, but when you know you are on the right path, there is no other way to feel. Even through the difficult parts. I am so excited for this path and am so grateful for the knowledge I have that this is the right place, and the right time.