A post so much like a marathon that I didn't know what to call it.

Well. I don't even know where to start. That's how ridiculous (in a good way, don't worry) my day has been. So I guess that in emulation of every good story ever written, I'll start at the beginning.

The celebration of my 19th birthday began about an hour before my actual birthday. My lovely roommates and friends threw a surprise birthday party for me in the lobby, complete with a delicious cake and my favorite Creamery ice cream (German Chocolate Crunch. Try it folks...it'll change your life). The lobby is still beautifully decorated and I LOVE it!

This morning I woke up to SNOW. Ok. It was fake snow, but it was so sweet! Emily knew how badly I wanted it to snow on my birthday, so she cut out a bunch of snowflakes (complete with love notes!) and hung them in my room.

Later in the afternoon, when I'd all but given up on having snow on my birthday, a miracle occurred: the skies opened and for a blissful 10 minutes, a perfect flurry of snow fell on Provo. Naturally, this involved lots of screaming and jumping and acting like idiots. And a very embarrassing video shot by the lovely Mellie Mei. Somebody decided that it was pertinent that we take a jumping shot, and after witnessing us struggling with timed shots, a kind soul  stopped and offered to be our photographer. He patiently took picture after picture until we got one that's perfect. Well. Almost. But it's good enough for me! 


Oh, and I know it doesn't look like it's snowing in the pictures, but I promise that it is. 

Spencer and Kathryn invited me over for a birthday dinner, complete with my usual cake. Everything was delicious and I spanked them at Ticket to Ride. Yeah, that's right!

Please forgive the choppiness of  the beginning portion of this post. I had a wonderful birthday. I really, really did. And I'm so grateful for the love and kindness shown to me by everybody around me. But....I am preoccupied with another story. This one technically happened in the wee hours of December 3rd, when my birthday had ended. But, since we hadn't gone to bed yet, we still considered  Friday. So, with that preamble, I'm going to jump right in.

The Power of the Ponytail 


Around 1:30, Julayne and I parted ways and both headed off to bed. Upon getting downstairs and glancing out the window, I saw that is was snowing. REALLY snowing. Despite the fact that is was well into Quiet Hours (sorry, neighbors!!) I screamed for Julayne to come downstairs and play in the snow with me.

I grabbed my camera and shoes and ran outside to join my frolicking friend. We ran through the parking lot like idiots, dancing and singing and feeling magical. We tried taking pictures, but I have terrible aim and kept cutting half of my head off. So, we gave up for a while and danced some more.

At this point, I realized that Julayne's feet were protected only by a pair of sweet fuzzy socks. No shoes. I expressed my concern about this just as three random boys walked by us. They heard us and shared my concern. The lack of socks turned into a conversation which turned into them volunteering to take pictures of us. (We'd explained that we couldn't get a good picture, so it wasn't that random)

After we thanked them for taking the pictures, one of the guys asked if we were doing anything tomorrow. We said no. Then he said (and I quote): "Do you want to go bowling with us? Like a date?" We accepted and exchanged phone numbers so that they could get us more information.

As random (in a good way) that this story seems, there is one crucial fact that I have yet to mention: both of us were in our pajamas. I'm not just talking a pair of sweats. I mean that we were both ponytailed and Julayne had fuzzy heart pjs, and I had fuzzy black and white cheetah print pjs. So, really, we were looking good.

Guys. I got asked out in the falling snow at 1:30 in the morning by a virtual stranger WHILE I WAS WEARING MY PAJAMAS. No big deal.

As soon as the guys left, Julayne and I cracked up, naturally, and I exclaimed, "And that, my friend, is the power of the ponytail."  (This is funnier if you know Julayne and understand her strange aversion to ponytails. It's precious)

So, I guess you can say that I had a fantastic birthday. Who knew that college would make them so eventful? I sure didn't, but I'm sure glad that it does!