Funny conversation I over heard in the Library

Guy: Hey, do you want to go on a date tonight?
Girl: (looking straight ahead) No
Guy: Why not? You don't have a ring on your finger!

I didn't hear the girl's response to that, but I sure wish I did!

My Little Name Sake

Kelsey Jean

This little girl was named after me. Well maybe not named after me, I think her mom just liked the name. Although Kelsey's mom did call me the day she was born to ask if they could name her Kelsey. So we share a name and a good one might I add. I spent the evening with this little girl and her family today. We wrapped presents, made toffee, listened to Christmas music, danced, played, read books, and just had fun together.
I love this little girl so much. I love her family, they are a great example of a happy, loving, eternal family! They are what I strive for!

BYU Professors

I am grateful for BYU professors.

While walking through the Benson building today I passed by 3 or 4 chemistry professors singing Christmas hymns in the Hall. This little bit of Christmas cheer was a great reminder that Christmas is right around the corner. It is hard to have Christmas spirit right before finals. I am grateful for anyone and everything that reminds me of Christmas while I am studying for finals.

Today is the last day of classes for the semester! In my last nutrition class my nutrition professor called on herself to say the prayer. In her prayer she prayed for her students, she asked that we do well on the final among other things. I don't think I have ever heard a professor pray for me. I am grateful that I have professors who care enough to pray for me. I know that her prayer was heard and my class will be blessed because she said a prayer for us.

Thank you BYU professors for your thoughts, prayers, and Christmas Cheer!

Procrastination

Well finals week has officially commenced! Which means procrastination has also begun. I have a 20 page study guide to fill out, I am 5 pages into it and feel like I have made a very good start, however I now have no desire to look at it.

So here are some things I have been thinking about, please notice that MHC II, Staphylococcus aureus, electron transport, and Malaria are not on the list...

I used the word commenced- I think it is interesting that graduation is also called commencement- what will I begin when I graduate? Graduation is a scary thought, but
I really want to graduate and start something new! Hopefully I begin a grad program after graduation.

Yale has a PA/MPH program. I would love to do a program like that.

I have a date on Saturday, I wonder what we are going to do.

It is really cold outside, today my car door was frozen shut.

My room is a disaster, but it is finals week so the disaster will have to wait until after finals.

Crystal was watching super nanny while I was at home, I wonder what else she watched today. Sometimes I wish I could get as excited about little things as she does. Everyone has their own talents I guess.

I love the song Skin and Bones and have been listening to it on repeat.

I need a clever blog title, I am not feeling very witty at the moment.

I really should study, but apparently I am addicted to blogging. I really don't need any more procrastination tools.

Andrew comes home 5 weeks from tomorrow. I'm not sure how i feel about that, but i should write him. In all honesty I probably won't.

There are cherry brownies sitting in the kitchen and I want one.

The new skin renewal lotion i bought smells really good and feels great.

I need to go to the mall, but I don't want to go, which is weird for me.

I wish my jeans fit me, I had to roll the waste today so they wouldn't fall off.

My hair is officially longer than it has ever been. I like my long hair, but i think it needs some shape so I am going to cut it next week

I am going to Pennsylvania in 3 weeks, which means I will also be going to Washington D.C. and maybe New York, I love traveling.

I need a cute skirt to wear to Casey and Katalyn's wedding.

Sloane was wearing a really cute skirt today. I wish I could pull off some of the outfits Sloane can. Also Sloane is an amazing name, maybe that is why she can pull off such an awesome wardrobe.

The library is now open until 2am, I will probably stay until 2 several times over the next week.

I should probably find a new shirt to wear, but that means searching through my overly stuffed drawers, a feat I am not ready to tackle.

The muscles on the lateral side of my right leg, I think they are my tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus, (Tom, Dick, and Harry) feel like they have atrophied quite a lot over the last few days.

I sure have forgotten a lot of anatomy since this spring, I need a refresher course.

Which reminds me I need to give Chris' anatomy books back to him, hmm that means actually seeing Heidi...

I haven't seen Heidi at all this week, oh wait maybe for a minute yesterday. It is weird that I live in the same apartment as her, but never see her, I guess I'm never here either.

I should go running, it is a great way to procrastinate without feeling guilty, but
I'm afraid my ankle is going to give me problems.

It only took 5 seconds to break my ankle and several years to heal it... Don't break an ankle.

I want to try phlebotomy again, I need to find a free clinic to practice at.

Who would have thought that taking someone's blood could be so fun.

No I am not a vampire, come up with a more original joke.

My International Health class is over, I am going to miss that class, well I am mostly going to miss feeling like I have really cool friends.

Back to studying, thanks blogspot for the moment of procrastination.

Dear Roommates...

If I pull out my computer and text books to study in the living room please don't turn off the light! and when I get up to turn the light back on please don't turn the light off again.

I would really appreciate it if you didn't stare at me while i do your dishes.

Is it really necessary to makeout with your boyfriend in the middle of the living room floor? Really that is just unsanitary, I can only imagine the amount of hair you are rolling around in and quite possibly getting in your mouth.


Please don't lock yourself in the bathroom with the light off for an hour at a time. It is a little deceiving for the rest of us, it really doesn't look like anyone is in the bathroom.

Must you spend the night on the couch? You have a very nice bed, why not use it?

Please don't invite your boyfriend over to spend the night on the couch with you, he also has a very nice bed!

When you cook please don't let everything burn, my clothes are beginning to smell like burnt pasta, fish, grilled cheese...

You have made for an interesting semester, I'm sure next semester will be just as interesting.

Your Roommate

Kelsey

Final List of DOOM

Tomorrow is the last day of classes for the semester!! Where did this semester go? Honestly this semester has gone by so fast, however that is not a bad thing. To say the least this has been quite an interesting semester and I am not sad to see it go!

Anyway on to my Final List of DOOM! Jill and Katelin make a Final List of DOOM at the end of each semester. They cross off every item on their list until they can cross off an entire class! Jill's list includes all of the fun things she wants to do before the semester ends. So this semester Ali and I decided to make our own...

FINAL LIST of DOOM FUN!

1) Wear a matching outfit (we have a lot of matching clothes, what can I say? we both have good taste!)

2) eat ice cream for dinner at least one night during the week! (a finals week tradition)

3) watch Bride Wars (we can quote this movie from beginning to end no problem!)

4) listen to CHRISTMAS MUSIC and Ingrid Michaelson

5) Chocolate Milk and sour watermelons (great BYU vending machine treats)

6) go to Rumbi (mostly for Dr. Pepper with Lime)

7) Chipotle (why can't we have a chipotle in Provo?)

8) Facebook Stalking ( we are pro facebook stalkers, a skill we have been developing since freshman year!)

9)Pull an all nighter (we can't make it through finals without at least one all nighter)

10) Dance Party (Just dance it out)

11) Document our ridiculous finals outfits

12) Urban Dictionary (probably during an all nighter, some good late night or early morning entertainment)

13) write some finals haikus (a great study tool and so fun)

Ali and I love finals week! It is by far our favorite week of the entire semester. I know that sounds a little strange and maybe it is, but we love finals week, it is just so fun. Infact Ali and I bonded and became good friends over our first finals week freshman year. So here here to the best week of the semester! I am so excited!

ROUND TWO

Well Ali started blogging again and after a very short conversation she convinced me to blog as well. While Provo is not nearly as interesting or exciting as Jerusalem I feel I should document some of my adventures! So here comes ROUND TWO!! We'll see if I can keep it up

St. Mark's Cathedral

This is the basement of St. Mark's Cathedral and might be the room where the Last Supper was held.


This nun (I think she was a nun) ran the St. Mark's Cathedral, a little chapel in the Jewish quarter. She is one of the 7 million remaining people in the world that speak Aramaic. She sang the Lord's Prayer for us in Aramaic.

Walking Where Christ Walked

This is a Herodian stone that Christ most likely walked on while walking to the Temple Mount.

This is a first century neighborhood just south of the Temple Mount.

Men praying at the South Wall of the Temple Mount. They are all standing on Herodian Stone.

Oh Holy Night

The Church of Nativity, Bethlehem

We started studying the New Testament with a visit to Bethlehem. While in Bethlehem we were able to visit Bethlehem University and talk to some of the students. It was very interesting listening to their stories and talking to them about growing up and living on the other side of the Separation wall. After our visit with the students we toured the Church of Nativity which is built over the cave which tradition suggests Christ was born in. After our tour we ran through the streets of Bethlehem looking for Bethlehem blankets, we were unsuccessful, but it was fun to see the city. We ended the day in Shepherds Field talking about the birth of Christ.

Passover!

My Jewish civ professor helped us put together a whole passover meal! It was so fun! We ate all of the traditional foods, some were a little strange, but for the most part very good. We sang and read from the Torah! Some of the boys even did a rap! It was a really fun night and a great experience.

Sunset at the Center

This picture does not do justice to how beautiful the sunset was over West Jerusalem, but I thought I would share it anyway. This was taken from my Balcony.

The Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount

Before class one morning we decided to make a quick run to the Temple Mount to visit the Dome of the Rock. This building is so beautiful! The Mosaics on the outside are amazing! Unfortunately we were not allowed inside, but we enjoyed the outside and the grounds.


The Dome of the Rock!

The Mosaics on the outside

The door to the Dome of the Rock, if only I could have opened it.

A few Palestinian girls on their way to school, taking the shortcut through the Temple Mount!


More Mosaics

This is the view from the East side of the Temple Mount. The gold onion things are the part of the Russian Church of Mary Magdalene. Just below the church is the Garden of Gethsemane

Another view to the East

The mosaics were beautiful


A gazebo next to the Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock!

The adutorium and Talent show

This is the auditorium and chapel in the Jerusalem Center. The auditorium has the most amazing view, it is most definitely the best view I have ever seen from a chapel. This room looks over the Old City and has a perfect shot at the Temple Mount.
Anyway here is a small sample of the amazing talent show we had at the center.

Gage, Jane and Maria


City time!

A day with the Squires

The Squires were our amazing chorister and accompanist. Sister Squires directed the branch choir and Brother Squires played the organ and the piano. Every Sunday Brother Squires would go to the YMCA tower in West Jerusalem and play the carillon bells and then ring the bells to signal 12 o'clock. This day they invited a bunch of us to join them. It was pretty fun playing the bells!

In front of the YMCA tower

This is how we played the bells

playing the bells


The carillon bells


There were only suppose to be 4 people in the elevator, we fit 7!


After the bells the Squires took us to the Jewish Open air market (Machane Yehuda)!
It was a lot like Pike Place without the Puget Sound and with a lot more Jewish people.



Just some soldiers and their huge guns walking through the market



Getting lunch at the market! It was really good!

After the market we went to the Pita Factory. Only 5 shekels for 12 hot fresh pitas




All the girls!

The City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel

Back in October we went on a field trip to the City of David which is located just below the south side of the temple mount. We saw some of the ruins of the city and learned a little about the ancient city's water system. These are some pictures inside Hezekiah's tunnel. The tunnel was created by King Hezekiah and was used to protect the city's water supply from poisoning. When we walked through the tunnel there was about of foot of water in it.




Me and Adam


Ali and Seth




Wet feet




We stood on the tallest roof top in the city of David and were able to look down onto the roof tops of neighboring Palestinian homes. The Palestinians use the roofs of their houses like another room in their house. It wasn't uncommon to see women up on their roofs with their children doing laundry or little children riding their bikes and playing on top of the roof. Learning about the culture of Jerusalem has really helped me understand the Bible better. I loved learning about the people and their culture and then relating my new knowledge back to the scriptures. I always thought it was strange that Bathsheba bathed on top of her roof and that King David was sitting on top of his roof. After being in Jerusalem I now understand why Bathsheba and King David would have spent time on top of their roofs.





A cute little Jewish family



The pool of Siloam.

just outside of Hezekiah's tunnel is the pool of Siloam. This picture isn't the real pool the real pool hasn't been excavated completely, but this pool is just across from the real thing. I loved being able to read New and Old Testament stories at the site where they happened.




Dormition Abbey



The ceiling of Dormition Abbey






King David's Tomb and Synagogue