Lately I'd been experiencing Europe-withdrawals.  I missed it like crazy.  Much as I love my sweet-home U.S.A... I was thoroughly disappointed with its wide roads and cookie-cutter neighborhoods and lack of diversity.
...that is, until I visited San Francisco.  Here I discovered Victorian apartments clustered together in wide assortments of color, grand cathedrals and Chinatowns bustling with foreign tongue.   Little Italy teased the appetite with delicious aromas, and a cute boardwalk brushed the glittering Pacific where the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz were closely visible.

clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl

We walked till we dropped and ended up lying down on the grass in front of the cathedral.

     On Sunday, Dallin and I left Sacramento to visit San Francisco before checking out a Cambodian ward!  Although I would have guessed that the native English speakers would be the ones with headsets, such was not the case.  But the spirit was wonderful and I loved knowing that members of any nationality can gather together to partake of the sacrament.
      In actuality, I for one needed the sacrament that day.  I was stressed out for no reason and not being the pleasant human I should have been.  We had attempted to visit a ward in SF, but the traffic was horrendous and, of course, there was no parking lot. Dallin found a spot on a hill.  Tiny roads + huge truck+ crazy incline + stick shift + incoming traffic = no bueno... The gravitated vehicle lurched forward as he tried to steer the angle appropriately; now with only a foot of space between our bumper and that of the car in the next parking spot, we knew that, as soon as he took his foot off the break again, a fender bender was inevitable. Yet somehow the truck escaped unscathed-- albeit with smoke pouring out the back. We drove away panting with relief and decided that we would attend another ward {the Cambodian ward} a few hours later.
     Wherever my poor mood was derived from, it was definitely unwarranted and unfair for Dallin, who had done so much to make this a fun trip. We were shocked to find out that the Cambodian ward met right next to the Oakland temple!  And, to my amazement, as we began walking around the gardens and the visitor's center, I felt hours' worth of anxiety melt away.
       I was never one to feel the Spirit very easily.  Maybe I'm just guilty of a skeptical mind.  But there was no doubt that we had both been moved by the Spirit as feelings of peace, relaxation and even joy emanated from our cores down to our fingertips.    



 Sunday evening, we headed back up to Sacramento to visit my namesake Catherine and her family for dinner.  They so kindly offered us a wonderful meal, and we spent almost the entire time gushing about our mutual love for Europe.

I even brought home knödel from Germany

  We were starting to feel like zombies by the time the sun went down.  In the middle of midterm season, Rachel and I had spent almost the entire Saturday studying.  I'm not kidding. I woke up in time for 2 hours of anatomy lab and review {hopefully I don't come back smelling like formaldehyde every time I borrow Rachel's clothes} and then, following a grocery trip, we buckled down and got to it.   But we are gals who need a little life for the Saturday night, so how did we motivate ourselves?:
"9:30 PM will be our award."
We set up the computer in front of our pushed-together beds, popped some popcorn, reheated last-nights homemade Oreo pizookies, and watched Kirsten Dunst portray a gorgeous, fun-loving and totally foolish Marie Antoinette.
Rachel is planning on a Psychology Major and a Sociology Minor. Growing up, she was an avid reader and a theatre kid.  This means that she has an incredible talent at psychoanalyzing films, so after any movie we are guaranteed a brilliantly fun discussion of hidden plot lines, motifs and cinematographic choices.  Though the movie ended at 11:30, our roommates came home and we stayed up another 2 hours talking about centuries of European royal drama and even the Pompeii tragedy. 
Sisters are just the best.

 While I was studying for midterms, Dallin Thomas randomly showed up just long enough to ask me on a date.  "It'll only be an hour," he promised, and though it went for two, the gentleman kept his word about getting me to bed by 11.  He surprised me by taking me to Roll With It for some delicious handmade ice cream.  We played a mild few rounds of the question game and then read each other entries from our mission journals before sneaking out into the back alley for a goofy self-timer photoshoot session. 

     In the small gap between the billowing clouds, a thousand glittering stars seemed to race across the sky.   Courtney had only 3 days till she left on her mission, so on a midnight whim we headed to the canyon and stuffed the bed of the truck full of pillows and blankets for a night that of dried mangoes and indie pop that ended in fat raindrops and a lot of laughs.
     Survival mode college stye: a social life to water down the homework.  There is plenty to do in Provo, so activities range from hottubbing to cooking together with fresh produce from the Rancho Market to Latin dancing to group studying whilst watching the Superbowl to campfires to 1 AM grocery store ice cream trips to Insidious marathons.  And yes, life is good whilst I have my running shoes for my daily two-mile runs.
   After two years of being on different continents, I am just so grateful to be around both my sister and my boyfriend once more.  When I had a little stress meltdown today, Rachel made me take a break from studying epithelial tissues to make cookie dough.  She is so quietly resilient and so thoughtful.  As for Dallin Thomas, it's borderline hilarious the way it takes us a minimum of thirty minutes to say goodbye even if we'll see each other the next day.  You'd think we'd be trained for separation, but instead I think we just enjoy our time together each more.

trip to Logan to watch Dallin play volleyball

bye Courtney, say hi to the Preston MTC for me

 I initially began this draft at 1:12 in the morning, more out of sheer lack of motivation to get ready for bed after finishing my studies at 12:50.  It took another week to find the time to actually sit down and write it out-- this time I had to tell myself it was ok to give my brain a breather for the night after spending so many hours preparing for midterms.

{ Here is my schedule this semester: }

• American Heritage (online)
• Introduction to Communication Disorders
• Statistics
• Anatomy 
• The New Testament
• Family History and Geneology

I'm gonna be straight up: I've been a little self-absorbed lately. In the process of forgetting how to deal with my own stress, I think I've also overlooked the struggles of those around me.  So I tried to change things up by looking outwards.

month-old pictures

     After all, how much can I complain when I live in an era and country where I am actually privileged enough to get an education? Here at BYU, I have everything I could possibly need.  My sister and studybuddy, whose twin bed is squished up against mine to make a mega-king-sized bed.... my cousin...many-a high school/college/mission pal.... and of course, my sweet, handsome high school sweetheart who still treats me like a queen even when I'm in a foul mood after a bad test.
    Instead of focusing solely on my own problems, I decided to contact a number of people from my past.  Immediately my message box was bustling with hearts, hellos, and even emotional-opening-ups from those who I cared about, who were so happy just to know that someone had thought about them from far away.  How neat!