Where to even start?

The last time I posted to my blog I was still a student at SUU, struggling through the swamp of homework and drowning in the anxiety that is a final semester of my baccalaureate career. Well, good news sports fans! I passed with flying colors and am officially a graduate, even if I don't have the classic photo of me in a black flowing robe with a pointed cap on my head, shaking hands with the President of the University. That will all come in due time, May-ish.
However, life doesn't stop getting interesting for this girl! Just to give you a fun time-line of my life the last two weeks, let's start with Friday of last week. I officially had my last final on Thursday and Friday I drove to SLC for interviews. I was there Friday and then came back for the weekend. Monday I was back up again for interviews, meeting up with old mission comrades and preparing for Tuesday's interviews.
Tuesday came and left with a LOT of running around, but also having the greatest opportunity of my professional career (more details to follow) Wednesday I was offered the perfect position for me and promptly went on a mad search for housing (seeing as how I start on Friday of this week). So in one week ALL of this happened :)
I couldn't be happier.
So, who is the lucky company to have acquired me? DaVinci Virtual! I had a phone interview over Thanksgiving, interview on Friday in person and then a call back for Tuesday. At the 3rd interview, they offered me a position better suited for me and I accepted it Wednesday morning. I'm so excited to start working with them! The company is legit, fantastic and growing like crazy. I'm very lucky.
But isn't that how it goes? You work like everything depends on you and pray like everything depends on God and look what happens! Tutto a posto. :) Everything lands in its place.

Vegas Baby!

This post is dedicated to my very first Vegas trip. Sure I'm a senior and this was WAY overdue, but I wouldn't have chosen my first time to have happened any other way.

The trip was for a missionary farewell! My dearest friend Hillary Ashman has been called to serve in the Rome, Italy mission. Naturally, I'm completely excited for her to go! Sure, it's not Milan, but if I had to choose a second place winner for best mission in the world, I would choose Rome :).

Hillary drove down in her trusty beetle bug, named Heimlich, and we spent Saturday, Sunday, Monday and the wee hours of Tuesday having a blast!

The pictures posted are just a fraction of the ones we actually took. I used my super handy cell phone to snap these priceless images. I had always wanted to see an Elvis impersonator in

real life. Super feathery show girls? They were

just icing on the cake!

By far my very favorite part was the Belagio water show. The first song was "time to say goodbye" and was sung in Italian. How perfect is that? My obsession with everything Italian is still alive and thriving even though it's been nearly 7 months since I last stepped foot in that blessed country. Don't judge me if I cried a little during the show, you probably would have too!

While in Vegas, I learned something about human nature. As I walked the strip with my friends, I observed the people around me and realized that most of them had no fear of anything. Maybe it's just the peculiar atmosphere of Vegas that prompts this fearlessness or maybe it's because that is how you are supposed to act in Vegas. People walking around with gigantic drinks in their hands, major public displays of affection and to top it off, the feeling of "anything goes because we're in Vegas baby!"

The trip wasn't like I expected it to be, but it was fun all the same. The strip is a carnival...that's the best term for it. There is everything and more available and for those like me who go to see the sights and spend our money at H&M or Sephora, it's a great experience.

SUU in the Fall

For all of its brutal winters and sweltering summers, southern Utah really makes up for everything in the Fall.

I took this picture today while getting out of class and honestly, the changing leaves just breath taking. Walking around campus brings back fond memories of crisp apple cider from Roper's barn and getting ready to go trick-or-treating with my family.

It's amazing how such the simple, organic occurrence of colors changing on trees and the air gaining more chill can bring back so many feelings and memories of growing up. This makes me reflect on where I've been in October's past. Last year, it was Milan, Italy. The one before that it was Provo, Utah and the 3 before that were spent in Cedar City, Utah. Going any further back would take me to Fillmore and all the football games spent shivering under a blanket while watching the Millard Eagles score yet another touch down.

Where were you? Do you remember what made this time of year special for you? Was it the joy of watching your kids getting free candy and thinking trick-or-treating was the greatest invention man ever created? Or was it spent worrying sick over your midterms and wondering how in the world you're ever going to make rent that month. Whatever it is, tell me about it. October is a spectacular month and by far one of my very favorites. So, pour yourself some spiced cider, sit back and reminisce over your October's past and start typing.

Chivalry is not dead

The question has been raised recently if chivalry is dead. Is the gentleman still among us or has he vacated the premises due to fear of feminist rioters? Chivalry was once thought of as a natural way of life and now it seems that it has been shunned and viewed as demeaning.
I am here to make the argument that not only is chivalry alive and well, it's also highly desired!
As I walk on campus, I usually see people talking on their cell phones or blocking out everything around them with their iPods, but even with all these distractions, not a day goes by that some very nice man opens the door for me. This usually happens more than once and always by different men.
I feel like I don't have words adequate to state how wonderful this makes me feel. It's so simple! Opening a door for a complete stranger? Who even thinks that this would make an impact on somebodies day? Well let me tell you, it's fabulous and I'm forever grateful for the men who politely do common acts of kindness with no thought of reward or recognition in return. Thank you men of Southern Utah University. You are truly fantastic.

Dessert Night!

Every Sunday is officially Dessert Night at my house. This all started when I moved to Provo in May and learned how very social everyone is up there! My best friend Hillary was the queen of the social scene and lucky for me, some of her royal skills rubbed off!

This book, 101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone, is by Wendy Paul. You may have noticed that I did a book trailer for this very book earlier this year. Well, it's a fantastic book and has so far been a huge hit! Thanks Wendy!



The night's bakers were myself, Mickey and Fletcher. This lovely lady to the right is Mickey, observing a teeny-tiny cookie! In all honesty, it was a misplaced dollop, but all the same was super cute and super tiny!

Fletcher was all smiles as we learned from the master cookie maker Wendy Paul! Honestly, who couldn't be happy making chocolate chip cookies?



The dough was just right and so very tasty. We may have put a few extra chocolate chips in, but I think it turned out pretty good! The first picture only shows a few cookies, but that was all that were left over! The cookies were a hit and dessert night continues. I'm not sure what it will be next time. Any ideas? I'm up for baking just about anything as long as I get a good recipe!

We are at midterms ladies and gentlemen!

Wow, what a semester it has been so far! Full of studying, party organizing and surprises of course.

My classes are going great. So far I've been a writing fiend for my Technical Writing class. Somehow, my professor has managed to turn a potentially tedious and boring class into something marvelous. Everything is relevant to the students and our projects are graded on a very professional basis. I love her! She has been a great influence for my final capstone project.

The capstone project? 20-25 pages of pure, glorious research and top notch writing. I've chosen a the Theory of Uncertainty-Reduction. Unsure of what that could be all about? No worries, I'll post a summary of it later when I get it all written.

Those are only two of my 18 credit classes, but one of the most beneficial classes is Advertising. It's also one of my very favorites! The professors at SUU are different than most professors. My classes are small and very intimate. For example, my advertising professor asked that we call him Ben. Simple and easy. He actually remembers my name and those of my fellow classmates when we run into each other on campus. It's not just him either, ALL of my professors do that. I like SUU. It's very personable and well, excellent education.

Ok, enough of the free advertisement for the university! What I really wanted to talk about was our latest and greatest ad campaign! It's a hypothetical ad for wite-out and had to be incorporated into a social media. While I'd love nothing more than to post it right now, it has yet to be graded...so I'm going to hold off until there is no possible chance of someone using our idea! Sorry!

Anyway, in other news, I'm involved in the yoga club on campus, the guitar club and I've started up a dessert night every Sunday at my house where I try out delicious recipes. Next on my list, get a calling! Goodness! It's harder than you'd think apparently!

All in all, life is good!

Kayla

End of an internship, not an adventure.

As many of you may know, my interning days at Cedar Fort Inc. are over. Sad, I know, but I enjoyed every minute of my internship! Sheralyn is fantastic and a great mentor.
However, now I'm in my last semester at SUU (Southern Utah University) and am learning even more about the fabulous world of publishing! Sure, it now comes in the form of advertising, writing, theory and management classes, but none the less is will be of great use to you I'm sure. Who wouldn't want to be constantly learning and improving without paying the fees of college? So, vicariously, you will be following me through the next couple of months as I make my way through 18 credits of pure, focused communication classes. It will be an adventure...will I survive? That is the question.