Shoe Dilemma

With Petersen blood running through my veins, a love of shoes is in my nature. Thus, preparing from the transition from Fall to Winter presents to me a problem to solve. The majority of shoes I wear are flats. They work with pants or skirts, are comfy, and often come embellished with buttons, ribbon, and rhinestones. Nothing wrong there.

I've been contemplating lately what I want to do with my winter wardrobe, and I've decided that I want to add boots to my everyday shoe wardrobe. I am fully against Ug boots, and all similar styles, but I can see myself rocking a pair of slouchy boots this winter. I can already picture the outfits I could create with my skinny jeans and slouchy boots, or a wintery skirt and said boots. Thus comes my dillema. I've never bought boots before, and don't know which ones are scary and which ones are acceptable. Help! Oh, Petersen women, (and anyone else with an opinion on shoes) I call for your aid in selecting the perfect boots for this season!

I've done a little online looking, and found a couple options. On the whole, I prefer boots with heels, but I'm afraid that for everyday shoes for walking across campus, I need something flat. Here are a couple options:

I saw a girl on campus with boots similar to these, and liked them on her. My question, however, is if the buckles are too much? I don't mind them, but I could use a second opinion. I, of course, would get the grey, and the price on them is pretty reasonable. I'm looking at these more and more, however, and picturing my Mom's reaction, and it's looking more and more like when I thought the hippie dress at TJMaxx was a good idea. . .

I like this pair because they are metallic-ish. Again, grey would be my selection, but, again, I need a second opinion.


These boots are just gross. Why in the world would you pay $339.00 for something so heinous?

My Mother's Daughter

So, this is me, posing for a picture in my "I Heart Mom" shirt. I had Jessica take the picture, but didn't realize that camera was on video mode. I thought it was funny though, and a a chance for all of you at home to see me in action! Too bad it's blurry and you can't really see my face. . . Haha. I wore this, my favorite, most bleach-stained shirt after work to go to the gym with Jessica and Kristen. Impressed by my Mom's workout routine, Jess and I decided to try 20 minutes on the elliptical. We made through 15 minutes, which equated to 1.15 miles! Our legs were jello afterwards, but it felt good. Thanks, Mom!

A lovely post-workout/Jamba Juice shot. 

(The locker room attendant told me she liked my shirt!)

My exercising is not the reason I am my mother's daughter, however. This morning, I was on my way down the hall, running late for class, when I realized that in my haste to get out the door, I hadn't put on any jewelry! The Petersen gene in me would not let me proceed out of my building with no accessories, so I quickly turned around, went back into my room, and grabbed a long necklace and matching earrings. Crisis averted.

Shortly after my accessory emergency, I was on my way up to campus, and feeling a little blue. I've been homesick on and off lately, and this morning I just wanted to be back in Denver. I was thinking about a night last year at this time when Mom and I were home after school, making pumpkin bread in the kitchen. It had been a hard day for both of us, so we turned on our favorite Amy Grant Christmas cd. I immediately set my iPod to my Christmas music favorites from last year, and indulged all day in Amy Grant, James Taylor, Hilary Weeks, and Manhattan Transfer Christmas songs that remind me more of home than most anything. I felt pretty funny walking across campus with "Snowfall," and "White Christmas" playing in my ears on such a sunny, beautiful fall day. I was okay with that. Only 26 days left until I go home for Thanksgiving!

A Little More Wolf Awareness

In my last update post, I just gave you a taste of the adventure I had in Salt Lake on Saturday, and will now share more of the hilarity and frustrations from the days events.

So, we caught the 12:05 bus at University Ave. and University Pkwy. Saturday to head to to the zoo. I packed a couple school books in one of my big purses (which happened to coordinate nicely with my wolf shirt) with the intention of studying on the ride. Hello, Emily! You get severely carsick in any moving vehicle even when you aren't reading! I don't know why I forgot this oh, so painful fact, seeing as my family and I have had many an unpleasant car ride due to my extreme proneness to motion sickness. I guess I thought maybe a bus would be different. Nope. Within 5 minutes of reading in my ELang book about syntax, I was making plans for what I what bag I could grab if need be. I won't elaborate further, but needless to say, I spent the first leg of our journey with my head on my knees resisting the nausea I was feeling. Gross.

It was also on this first stretch that I was informed that our travels would take an approximate 2 and a half hours each way! I found myself thinking, "What the heck am I doing here?! I have homework and laundry and ironing!" Sadly, I was trapped on the UTA.

After about 45 minutes or so, we transferred to TRAX, the Utah lightrail, and the fresh air definitetly helped me feel better. We saw some interesting characters, though, and missed our stop. Blast. We got off at the next stop, waited about 10 minutes on the platform, and caught the train going back to our intended stop. That took us to some random shopping complex in Salt Lake, next to the Rock Church, where we caught another bus that took us further into the city.

Okay, so by the time we got off at our final stop, it was almost 3:00, and we still had no idea where the zoo was. We ended up at some park, where our group parted ways. Half went to find the zoo, while Jessica, Nick, Billy, and I stayed behind because we didn't want to pay $8 to go to the zoo for only an hour before we caught our bus home at 5:00. Those of us who stayed behind took naps in the park because it really was a beautiful day, and walked over to A&W for some draft root beer and french fries.

This lunch stop provided the highlight of our trip. This is the wonderfully quotable conversation that went down between me and the cashier:

Cashier: I love your shirts!
Me: Thanks! It's Wolf Awareness Day at the zoo, and we're just supporting the wolves.
Cashier: I. Love. Wolves. You should see my checkbook. Nothing but wolves.

Hahahahahaha. This makes me laugh every time I think about it. She was dead serious, and seriously hilarious. We think there was something genuinely wrong with her though, because later, we heard her pressuring an innocent customer into adding a dessert to his order. She kept saying "But don't you want a root beer float with that?" Jessica was scared to go up to get change for her return bus fare, afraid that the wolf lady would try to get her to buy some ice cream too.

Our return trip was more of the same of train rides and bus exchanges. This time, however, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would get absolutely nothing done that day, so it wasn't as stressful. We had a 45 minute wait in between the train and second bus, and had fun playing games at the bus stop. A couple of our friends taped their homemade wolf awareness signs to the glass bus stop wall thing, and we were baffled when a guy drinking something out of a Big Gulp cup (it looked like Coke, but based on his behavior, it could have been something much stronger) came over, removed the signs, and walked away carrying them down the lightrail tracks. Hmm. Maybe he's just trying to spread Wolf Awareness too.

We made it back into Provo at 7:30, tired and sad about never seeing the zoo or the wolves. It was good to see more of Utah. You don't realize how much of a bubble Provo is until you go somewhere outside of the town where you can smell cigarette smoke and see people in tank tops and U of U paraphenalia.

Updates: To-the-Max!

So, I didn't realize how much has happened since last weekend, but I have been pretty busy. The week has flown by so fast, and the following extensive post documents several events of said busy week. 

This was hanging in my hall on Tuesday, and I think that it's hilarious. This is what you get when the ward opera major is the ward choirster. Haha. 

Last weekend was homecoming, so my friends and I got up and went to the somewhat sad little parade through campus. My favorite part was the appearance of the Quill and the Sword club, pictured below. 

The game was freezing, but way fun. Jessica and I ventured down from our top-of-the-stadium seats to sit with Charlotte and Brennan down WAY closer to the field.

The Quill and the Sword is my favorite of all the BYU clubs. They're hard to miss in their capes and medieval weaponry. My favorite is the blue guy who had a black fencing mask on. 

Homecoming night, I went to the dance with my friends, with Nick as my date. Melanie's older sister dubbed herself official photographer for the evening, and we accommodated her by posing for these, well, posed pictures. We had Chinese food down in the guys' basement, and went to the casual dance at the Wilk. Neither Nick nor I are big dancers, but it was fun to go with everyone.

Hooray for Good Mail this week! The anticipation of this package from Mom, Grandma, Susan, and Rachelle collectively got me through a long day on Thursday, and it delivered. (Haha. Get it?!) Pictured above is the bounty of Halloween baking goods I received, including ghost baking cups, two kinds of Halloween sprinkles, a Halloween hot cocoa, and Halloween party picks! Oh, baby! Jessica and I are making do with a cake mix tonight to make our first round of cupcakes, but will go shopping for ingredients with which to make cupcakes from scratch for our Halloween party coming up. 

This is the exterior of said package. I love the labels Mom makes, always addressing packages to "Misses Emily and Charlotte Wood," from "Mom!" 

Rachelle sent a couple cute vinyls, including this Rhumbas cover and a ridiculously cute one with a giant orange slice. I couldn't get a good photo, but believe, it's probably my new favorite.

I love these picture frames from Susan. They match both mine and Jessica's stuff, and brighten up the front of our room, next to my Izze bottles and gerbera daisies.

Congratulations for making it through most of these updates. This last set of photos documents the events of the last couple days, complete with an adventure on the UTA (Utah Transit Authority, for those non-locals).

Like Charlotte, Mom's homemade pumpkin bread was my favorite part of my package. I took it to a Friday-night study session with Jessica and Nick at the library. I even took my Rachel Ray plates, and though we didn't do much studying, the pumpkin bread was amazing, as can only be expected. Thanks, Mom!

Saturday was Wolf Awareness Day at the Salt Lake Zoo. We wanted to go to the zoo anyway, and this occasion was just too much to pass up. We never actually made it to the zoo, but we did get in a stop at A&W for some draft root beer in frosted mugs. Naturally, we made a trip to DI on Friday night for wolf shirts. (you know, those Native American, over-large t-shirts with a howling wolf pictured in front of a majestic mountain?) You can kind of see mine in the pic above. 

Here's a shot that captures both Jessica's wolf t-shirt and one of the many unique characters we encountered while traversing the public transport of Utah state. So, as previously stated, we didn't make it to the zoo because after a bus ride, train ride, and second bus ride we ended up somewhere in Salt Lake, a mile from the zoo, location of which we were unaware. Looking back, the day could have been better spent catching up on homework instead of venturing around Salt Lake, but it was interesting seeing the diversity Utah has to offer outside of the public transport system.

A quick tribute to Jessie. This fungus was thriving at the bus stop outside of A&W. Gross.

And finally, an inspirational sign outside of "The Rock Church," which was located right by the train tracks. We heard them practicing for their 6:48 service, (I'm not joking. That's the time the sign said.) and let me tell you, it was rockin'. 

Confused

Why are BYU students so fashion challenged when it comes to dressing in times of seasonal shift? Today, I saw two girls wearing winter, Ug-like boots with walking shorts. (Insert head shake of disapproval) It's really funny to walk across campus, in time to my music, of course, you see students bundled in winter coats and turtle necks walking alongside coeds in flip-flops and shorts. Oh, dear. As I sit here in the Tanner Building, a girl is walking up the painfully extensive staircase (my legs seriously turn to jello every time I walk up them) in a sweater, denim skirt, brown Dockers, and striped knee socks. Again, you just have to wonder. 

Rap Wars

This week, my Facebook has been in frenzy of rhyming and rapping as my friends and I have engaged in a battle of words. The madness started when one of our friends said that he thought that my roommate Jessica and I are the closest set of roommates in our group of friends. Roommates Andrew and Nick didn't appreciate that pronouncement, and proceeded to initiate a battle to determine better roommates. For the last week or so we've been competing for roommate dominance, and it culminated this week with poetry.

I opened a can of worms when I innocently wrote a poem on Jessica's Facebook that went thus:

And now, a kind of rhyming, mostly not poem.

Ode to a Roommate:

Jessica, Jessica, you're so great!
Jessica, Jessica, your paper takes the cake!

You rock my socks,
You're a ShamWow roommate,
If you were any more great,
You'd have to wear a cape! (because you would be a super hero.)

About 15 minutes later, Andrew, taking this as a challenge wrote on Nick's wall the following:

My good pal nick just look at you
your hat is sweet I like your shoe
My roommate is the coolest guy
If you feel low he'll bring you high
Nick exercises with the goal
that he wont run into a pole
His hair is short his toes are long
now lets all join in this great song

all praise nick! the greatest guy I know
he'll help me through my struggles, in earthquake rain or snow
all praise nick! the greatest guy is he
his bathroom explosions are the best you'll ever see

Ok, so I was sitting in the Blue Line Deli just laughing out loud when I read this. I gave Andrew major props, but I didn't realize that this was only the beginning! The rest of Tuesday evening and all of yesterday produced the following, increasingly hilarious and gangsta correspondences:

Nick to Andrew, 3:17p.m. on Oct. 14:

*ahahEM*
Andrew Starita,
your name rhymes with pita.
Though others tell us we are not very tight,
I have to disagree with all my might.
You see, only true friends can sing songs in the shower,
like miley, j-bros, and tower of power.
We come from humble origins,
meek, lowly, and somehow...oh dang nothing rhymes with that word...ummm
You are oh so freakin buff,
I shudder when you threaten to rough me up.
But I know that I am stronger,
because my toes are so much longer,
than yours.
word.
So as the days go by,
I sit here and wonder why,
you would write about our bathroom races,
on this here book of faces.
But thats really okay,
I don't hold a grudge in any way;
because we are just that tight,
I think Jess and Emily know whats right,
to give up now
and stop using their imitator shamwow,
and find out that the truth,
seen by all the most novice of slueths,
it is that Andrew and I are the tightest roommates,
because his name rhymes with pita.

Nick to Jessica and Me, 11:04 a.m. on Oct. 15:

*AhEm* k...
Emily and Jessica,
you think you two are friggin hot,
but ya'll should realize you are so not.
You see, andrew and I rule this coup,
we're hot like hot dogs, baked beans, chicken noodle soup.
When the both of you simply open your eyes,
and take in all of our roommatey goodness you'll be surprised,
at how much we guys are truly made for one another,
like patrick and spongebob we are true blue brothas.
word.
So listen up you two gals,
I know you think you are great pals,
but on the inside andrew and I beat you both,
on the inside is what really means the most.
That's where you'll find the care,
that's where you'll find we share,
the tightest bond ever known to man,
woman, child in all the land.
If you feel like you two still are closer than we
I recommend taking a look in mirror and then you'll see,
that there is no hope,
yo, you chicks are dope.
But that's okay,
cuz we love you anyway,
take care,
fuzzy bear,
Andrew and I have the most bangin hair.

Me to Nick, 4:32 pm. on Oct. 15:

This is a story about two roommates, Em and Jess.
Way more ShamTastic than Spanky and A-Star, these girls are the best.
Their bangin room has a homey glow
which makes them better, don't cha know.
Andrew and Nick, their lights are fluorescent,
because their inferior friendship is not effervescent.

But hold the phone, Nick talks so big,
but their hair is whack; whackier than a jig.
Sure, Andrew loves Nick, though not as much as Em loves Jess,
for Andrew's tendency to forget his backpack causes Nick heart-damaging stress.
Nick, you may wear lavender frost,
but do you have polka dot Halloween socks?

Jess and Em are da bomb.
Together, we could beat even the mob.
You fools have no clue
what for real friendship can do.
We're homes to the core,
how can we ask for more.

Word.

And finally, it culminated last night with a truce, in the form of a truly awesome rap by shawty Nick:

Nick to Emily, 11:01 p.m. on Oct. 15:

"To the Max"
Well hold the phone right there young soul,
this poemy goodness has gotten way outta control.
It was all fun and games til you wrote on Jess' wall,
a note, a poem, whatever it was, it was seen by all.
So now it's my turn,
and I hope ya'll will learn
how to end the contest,
and put this killer rappin to rest.

(Cue the white guy doin a sick beat-box)

Emily, Emily, Emily Wood,
yo this girl is tight, straight outta the hood,
she punches numbers by day and does homework all night,
askin for nothing, only pickin a fight,
over an ibc,
or maybe some cookies from me.
But what I really like,
are her shamtastic pies,
to the max, apple jacks,
freedom fries, just relax,
Shamwow, snowplow,
this girl is hot, don't touch her, OWW!!!!
From the dub-ya-V
this thing is straight from me,
so I'm out
like a sprout,
in the springtime with no drought.
Goodnight,
sleep tight,
from ya boy, I'm so darn white.

This made my night. My friends are hilarious.

Word.

Plugged In

My iPod has been one of my closest companions at school this year. Walking to classes, studying, and working, waking up in the morning, I've been loving music and getting into some new bands. Something that just makes me happy is when I'm walking around campus and my step matches the beat of the song I'm listening to. I feel unstoppable and like nothing else in the world matters. I can't help but smile. :)

My Playlist:

Jimmy Eat World: These guys are a given; I don't think I have a playlist without some of them. I've only been really into them for a little more than a year, but we're close now. My FAVORITE song of all time is "Kill." The title is misleading, but it really is amazing. The line, "I can't help it, baby, this is who I am," is my mantra many a time when I feel stupid for doing something dorky or awkward. This reminds me not to change myself for other people, but be confident in myself.

MAE: I got music from this band from a friend a couple weeks ago, and love it! They're peppy, but not too pop. Good stuff. They sound a lot like Death Cab for Cutie, and have some really good songs.

Weezer: I never thought I'd like them, but since I tried them out recently, I find they make an excellent addition to any playlist.

Keane: My friend, Michael, from whom I receive much of my musical guidance and inspiration, made me a playlist online with the song "Nothing In My Way" on it, and I LOVE IT! It's one of those songs that I can listen to over and over again. It's an especially good campus strutting song.

Sherwood: These guys are similar to MAE, and have some good songs.

Coldplay: I go back and forth with Coldplay, but right now I'm definitely a fan. Their songs are mellow and good for in-between-class contemplation.

Death Cab for Cutie: It took me a while to like them, but I love "Transatlanticism," "Photobooth," and "The Sound of Settling."

I don't listen to individual albums, but rather playlists ranging from 50 to 450 songs. My iPod is in a perpetual state of shuffling though the music that says a lot about my life at the time. I have countless playlists, most of which are named (with alliterations, of course) after the period in my life they accompanied.

What's on your playlist right now?
Do you feel a personal bond with your iPod?

Good and Not So Good

Monday:

Good: Morning trip to the temple with Kristen. Provo looks so pretty right after the sun rises, and the temple is a beautiful, peaceful place to start the week.

Not So Good: This is the pile of data entry that greeted me at work. I actually had more, but minimized my stack after four straight hours of punching the ten-key. I actually gasped out loud when I saw the whole stack of yellow papers. 

Tuesday: 

Good: I took my American Heritage test and knew pretty much all the material! I got an 86% on the multiple choice and feel really good about my essay/short answer part. I'm hoping for an A, but we'll see. The curve will hopefully help. Here's hoping some people didn't study!

Another Good: I took a celebratory trip to Roberts and Target tonight. Roberts for ribbon, Target to exchange the ink cartridges I bought two weeks ago which fit my family's printer at home, not mine here. Along with getting the right ink, I hit dollar section Halloween jackpot! Featured below is my Halloween cereal bowl, (which is actually for little kids. . .) Halloween list pad, and my favorite, the "Spooky CD." This dollar section find has 26 tracks ranging in length from 5 seconds to 13 minutes, and features all your spooky sounds, from creaking doors and whistling wind to the more unique demented Christmas carols and old man speaking Chinese while 80's music, reminiscent of "Thriller" plays in the background. No joke. This cd is awesome. I highly recommend it for everyone's next trip to Target. (Also featured in the blurry photograph is the electric purple and black hounds tooth ribbon I got at Roberts. I am wearing it as a sash tomorrow!) 

Finding My Niche

In one of my posts last week, I mentioned how I was having a hard time finding what I wanted to do. Since then, I’ve received some new inspiration and I’m exciting to try out some new things. 

Thanks to Susan for the comment on my post about looking into the fashion industry. I thought about it, and realized that I would really love to do something in that field. However, I don’t really know what jobs there are to be had. I love putting together outfits and trying out new combinations of textures, pattern, color, and accessories. Sometimes I find myself getting distracted while I’m studying at night because I’m mentally assembling my outfit for the next day. Since I’ve been at school, I have yet to repeat an ensemble, and I’ve brought some pieces back to life that I haven’t worn in a while. I especially like working with some of the Susan Cast-Offs I got from her last package. She sent a couple great pieces that I’ve had fun playing with. 

Documented below is a favorite new outfit I put together this week, with a bright pink cardigan from Susan. I put it together at about midnight before I wore it, and wasn’t sure if it looked too 80’s. I got approval from my suitemates, but wasn’t quite sold. I got dressed in a hurry Friday morning and didn’t have time to process my ensemble before stepping out onto campus for my day, and immediately began questioning my latest fashion move. I could swear that people were staring at me and thinking thoughts of “What the heck is she wearing?,” “That’s a HUGE belt!,” and “Whoa.” In an act of fashion cowardice, I removed my belt on my way to my first class. I put the belt back on while I was studying in the Wilk before my 11:00 class, and by the time I got to said class, I was in a panic, feeling like a skinny-jean wearing, giant-belted, 80’s freak. I found a bathroom, walked in, and luckily there was a girl in there who I know. I desperately asked her if my belt was okay, and she consoled my fears. Her friend gave me encouragement, telling me to “wear it with courage!” so I did. For the rest of the day I walked confidently across campus, deciding to rock the look. It was way fun, and I felt the buzz that can only come with wearing a new and trendy outfit. It must have been a success, because some guy came up and talked to me while I was putting up “Missed Punch” lists around the Physics department and ended up getting my number. Haha. That made me feel pretty good. Ah, the power of fashion.

I’ve decided to start taking the prerequisites for the Business School, because I think that I would really like to go into Business Management. I’m also going to take Basics of Clothing Construction next semester, and maybe unlock some new powers of fashion creation. 

Crazy, Crazy Week

So, I had my first BYU midterm experience this week. Actually, it won't be finished until Tuesday night when I take my 3 hour long American Heritage test. (I took my Book of Mormon test on Thursday in class and my ELang test Friday in the testing center.) Last weekend, I wasn't expecting this week to be so crazy, because I was ignorant of the fact that I had finals in Book of Mormon and ELang. So not only did I have to worry about learning everything that I've heard in American Heritage lectures, readings, and labs, but I had to worry about transferring all my Book of Mormon notes into my Book of Mormon, finishing up an IPA transcription comparison assignment with Glen from ELang, and studying up on productivity of language, vowel placement, and consonant articulation. My nights consisted of studying as much as I could until I fell asleep at my desk , which normally happened around 2 a.m. I experienced so many miracles, however. The fact that I was able to get through work and classes on Tuesday and Wednesday without falling asleep was such a blessing. I had energy, excitement, and my study time was productive. 

I had my ups and downs this week (the downs were greatly improved Thursday night when Charlotte brought me fresh-baked Banana Chocolate Chip Bars =) ) and it ended on a good note, with two tests successfully taken and over with. 

The funniest part of this week was having to listen to the recording of Glen from ELang saying the list of 28 words and transcribing them into phonetic symbols at 1 in the morning. He had a recording of me saying the same words, and we met a couple times this week to compare our pronunciations. It was really overwhelming at first, but now I feel pretty awesome that I can classify vowels and consonants by their articulation and placement. 

I learned a lot this week about college and balancing and studying. I also learned that when I do all that I can, the Lord compensates physically and spiritually.  

Blue Line Deli Insight

I'm sitting here, studying in the Blue Line Deli, and was thinking about how great it will feel when my week of tests is over and I won't have the constant pressure of needing to study and cram and worry about knowing everything I'll need for the tests. I realized with a bit of dread that more times like this will come; there will be more tests, and more stressful, difficult times. What's great though, is that in the end, we will be on the relief end of this cycle. When Christ comes again and we are able to live with Him, there will be no more worrying. That's so reassuring! My salad may have been old, but the Blue Line Deli delivers!