Chapter 2

Dear God,

Will you please send me a message telling me what to do after graduation? It can be in any format you'd like: text, email, wall post, paper in a bottle, even a post-it note would do. I've been trying this whole "listen for the whisperings of the Spirit" thing and I can't quite hear it. General Conference came and went and unfortunately President Monson didn't say anything like "Oh and by the way, the Russells should join the Peace Corps next summer."

As of April 20th, 2012 Thomas and I will be happily graduated and prepared to start the next chapter of our love story. The big question is what will the title be? A few possibilities...

"The Russells go to China!"
"Tomicia joins the Peace Corps"
"... And you thought you were done with college."
"Around the country in three years!"

So, Dad, what will it be? I look forward to reading that post-it note. Until then, I'll get a hearing aid.

Love,
Alicia

A Sea of Cans

Recently I've noticed that I consume too much canned food. Even "homemade" foods are really just a bunch of canned foods thrown into a pot together. How do I escape the high sodium and lack of nutrition associated with these cans when they make my life so much easier and tastier? Currently I am eating straight from a can of "fruit cocktail in lightly sweetened juice" (there are still 18 grams of sugar per serving, of which there are 3 and a half.. yeah right). Yummm.

The Proposal

Thomas proposed! Hooray! We've had the ring, date, and approval from Papa Nelson for a while now, but my ring finger was still cold and empty until Friday night. I knew that he was going to pop the question that night, so of course I couldn't think of anything else for the days leading up to it, and I could hardly sleep. I also worked twenty hours between Thursday and Friday, so when that night came I was pretty pooped. After work on Friday I rushed home, got ready, got important "what to wear on the night of your engagement" advice from my roommate, and was off on my hot date within 45 minutes. We went to a new Thai restaurant in Orem called Pad Thai Siam and shared massaman curry, basil sauce and rice, and a mango dessert. So delicious! Then we went to The Grove Theater in Pleasant Grove, where Thom's buddies' band, Argyle, was performing. I was pretty stoked when we arrived because I totally day dreamed about him proposing there a month or two ago. So we went in and listened to a few bands - all the while we were pretending like this wasn't leading up to something marvelous, even though we both knew what was coming. Argyle finally started their set somewhere around 10 o'clock and I was so dang tired by that point. Tom and I sat in chairs on the sidelines for a few songs, but then his favorite song came on, so we simply had to rush up to the very front of the crowd for it. After that they invited him up to perform a song. He played the uke and sang "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson and it was perfect. Then he had me come up on stage, pulled a ring out of his pocket, got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes. Wonderful! Luckily he had his brother Nate and his fiance Laura hide in the crowd and take pictures and videos of the song and proposal, so once I figure out how to, I'll post a video or two. 

Two thoughts: I need a job, and I heart the Russells

So school is finally over. For the first time in my life, it is summer (academically) in April. Wonderful. However, I was focusing so much on finishing the semester that I failed to secure a job. Meanwhile, my best friend is doing summer school, beginning an internship, and starting a new job. Thus, I have little to fill my day with. I simply must find a job to
a. bring home the bacon
and
b. do something with my life.

Since finals ended nearly a week ago, I spent an entire 5 days at my parents' house. Oh my goodness. Sandy is a lovely town with some lovely people in it. Family is a wonderful thing and I am so grateful for mine, as crazy as they are. I am also incredibly grateful for my boyfriend's family. They are the best thing that has happened to me since I discovered cheese. Mama Des is so charitable and loving, and Papa Robin is so friendly and wise. Could I ask for anything more? At a time when I needed it more than ever before, the Russells have adopted me into their family and have changed my life in the greatest way possible. I entirely adore this family. No wonder Thomas turned out so supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

My first blog.

How cute.

First, let's go over the reasons I created a blog:
 - I have never understood the idea of blogging.
 - I have never understood the phrase, "if you can't beat them, join them."
 - The combination of the first two reasons made me want to create a blog, for some odd reason.
 - I need a new way to waste time while I procrastinate my homework.
 - I've got thoughts, so I suppose I'll write them down.

Now, I do not plan on telling anyone that I have a blog, at least for a while. So, if you know me and think you're the first to see this, well congratulations! You won! Contact me immediately for your prize.