2011

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This may have been my personal mantra this past year. Remember last year's post? Man oh man. If 2010 Randi knew that this year was coming...she probably would have been like "No thanks, take that back and give me something else please". Cause that's kinda what my brain was thinking this year. Let's get it out there that I am a generally happy person, really. One of my greatest beliefs in life is that happiness lies in your own hands. You can make it or break it.
But I was not happy for the greater portion of this last year. That was a tough pill to swallow and this is my public owning up to it. It was hard. I had to ask for a lot of help. Things in my life changed, opened up, closed, and some things suffered. Like this blog. I found it very hard to blog when I felt that I had nothing to share. So I just didn't.
I thought I knew who I was. And really, I had only scratched the surface. And instead of hating this past year, I am so grateful for it. Did I cry alot? Did I feel like I had hit rock bottom? Did I get angry and tired and upset and feel like a failure? Yes.
But...
I had a family that helped hold my hand through it. I opened my heart and sorted things out. I prayed like I've never prayed in my life. I spent countless hours in silent pleas with my Heavenly Father to save me, help me, take this away from me. I grew in ways that I did not know were possible. And my relationships with many were strengthened.
If there's one thing that I hope comes out of the trials I was given, I hope that my trials have made me a stronger and softer person. I hope that I've become kinder and more patient. I know that I have become more faithful and trusting with my Father in Heaven and Savior.
2011 was like a refiner's fire for me. And I will forever be thankful for it. Here's to overcoming struggles and learning rough lessons.
Happy New Year

update.

Basically, I'd really like to update with some pictures but blogger is being incredibly lame-o.
Boo.
Oh December, how quickly you end.
I liked Christmas a whole lot. What about you guys?
We made away like bandits.
I get blessed a lot. It's kinda the best.
The roommate got married. It was beautifully sad.
I got to see all my other roommates though and that made up for things.
I have a nasty cold that's making me cranky.
And having the snow gone? That's complete weirdness.
Basically, this makes no sense.
Sorry, but not really.

O4 Christmas...

Merry Christmas! Wait, you didn't know it was Christmas today? Well, it's actually only Christmas here at O4. Alisha and I wrote this little poem to describe our O4 Christmas Eve/Christmas Day celebration...

Twas the night before our Christmas and all through O4,
Every creature was stirring, behind the closed door.
The mattresses were pulled from their stands with great care,
and then set down to soften each hard, narrow stair.
The event began, and they slid down with great cheer,
Yelling, "Yes! We love Christmas in here!".
After the slipping and sliding of each person was done,
They crawled into bed, and fell asleep one by one.
When morning came, Randi rose very quick,
She got the house ready, in the spirit of St. Nick.
The tree was lit, the music was playing,
But the other roommates kept laying and laying.
They finally awoke, and the gift-giving began,
Each person got presents, each and every woman.
Then into the kitchen to eat up some food,
The sticky bun biscuits were especially good!
More mattress sliding ensued after that,
Until, we fear, our mattresses were flat.
When all was said and when all was done,
O4 Christmas was incredibly fun!!

O4: Aubrey, Randi, Erika, Heidi, and Alisha


Aren't the aprons Alisha made us so fantastic?


Sticky Bun Biscuits. Thank you, Pinterest.


Mattress Sledding!


Snow! It's a Christmas miracle...


Merry O4 Christmas.

Happy/Sad

Dawn

I have 7:30 class just about every morning. And while it's an incredibly hard task to talk myself into getting out of bed and into the shower in the mornings, it brings me moments that I wouldn't otherwise get in the later hours of hustle and bustle in the mornings. I'll be honest, when I first get out the door and get hit with the first wave of cold air, the only thoughts running through my mind are, "Why am I voluntarily getting up this early to go to class? Why is it so freaking cold? My bed is still probably warm...WHY AM I EVEN IN COLLEGE?!"
But, as I start walking across the parking lot to the bus stop, I notice the stillness. The quiet peace with the morning light that is slowly peeking over the mountain tops. And just for those five or ten minutes before I get to class, my morning is quiet and still. I can take a chance to just be before I start going through my mental check lists of the day and the daily noise of homework, exams, and the crowds on campus. There's a little part of me that lives for that moment of my day just like the part of me that lives for the moment when I slip into bed. Make no mistake, I'm not planning on taking a another 7:30am class if I can help it, especially during second semester when the air is so cold it hurts to breathe and your eyes water. I'm just writing this little note to remember the days where peace comes early along with the sun and the world is just mine, just for a moment. Because in that early morning moment, anything is possible.

Lately...

Lately...
I've camped outside to get good seats for a game.
I've gone on a blind date to a formal dance and had the best time with my roommates and our dates.
I'm almost done with all my missionary farewells.
I'm ending my first semester.
I've eaten a pork taco every Taco Tuesday at Cafe Rio since September.
I've felt every emotion in the book.
And I've fallen more in love with this semester of college than I ever have before.

Mud and a Maze

Roommates and I went to family night with our ward last night.
Best thing about fall activities? Corn maze time!
It was drizzling and super muddy.
We kinda slipped around all over the place.
But we finished the maze in half an hour.
"I think we are ready to go pro."
Then we may or may not have gotten some refreshments...after we realized that it wasn't our ward passing our refreshments.
Oops.
(By the way, we have no idea who those boys are in our photo.)

Pleaaaase Fall...

Logan is getting cold. Granted, not as cold as it's been back at home, but still cold. Oh, and most my warm winter jackets and shoes and coats are back in Idaho.
Perfect.
No worries, I'm making do. I texted this picture to my parents today with a note (backstory: my parents have been telling me to go buy warm stuff if I'm freezing. I'm cheap and I'd rather wait till I got home in two weeks). My dad answered saying I looked like I was having fun and did I buy that vest?



I've had this vest since middle school.
That's like sixth grade and now I'm a sophomore in college.
Is it weird that I've kept it for so long? Or that it still fits?

Two Choices...

Sometimes life seems a little crazy.
Things happen that we didn't expect.
Sometimes those things are really great.
They leave you laughing till you're crying and you're up way too late talking and you feel content.
Sometimes those things are not so great.
And you're left feeling like you got sucker punched in the chest. And you can't really breathe. And then you're mad because you feel that way.
See, not so great.
So you're left with two choices.
To cave or not to cave.
To cave, would be to give into everything you feel at that very second.
Not to cave, would be to take a deep breath, acknowledge what you feel, and finish your math homework....and then to just cry into your pillow later (the fourth step is optional).
I chose the latter.

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. ”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

just a taste of the east coast...

At the end of the summer, I went to New Jersey and New York with my friends Chels and Nolan. We had a killer time. Here's just a taste of it...

east coast from Randi Hanson on Vimeo.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Guys,
I made a decision today.
I changed my major. Signed the paper and everything. Early Childhood Education is no more.
I felt really conflicted about it for a while. For quite some time, I'd felt that something was not quite right in my schooling. I've been decided on Early Childhood Education since my junior year of high school. At the time, it felt right for me. My plan was to get my degree at Utah State and then I would teach Kindergarten for the rest of my days.
It is not so.
I took a very basic class last year that studied marriages and families for a short period of time. I became hooked. I started this semester with thinking that I would take a marriage and family course and then a introductory course to elementary education and then I would be able to make my decision based off the two classes.
Here's where we get into my semester as of right now. I'm taking 17 credits. The most that a student can register for (without special permission) is 18. I'm like a full full time student. My elementary class calls for 15 hours of outside class work, not including reading and daily homework. Add that to my math class, my english class, my science class, and my marriage and family course.
Yeah, my brain feels like mush sometimes.
But my elementary class is just not doing it for me. Like at all. So I'm thinking about dropping the class to lighten my load to 14 credits. It's a little lower than I'd like but 15 hours of outside class work without the readings and homework?
Not feelin' it.

So as of right now, I am an Family, Consumer, and Human Development major, pre-Marriage and Family Therapy.

New Blog

Yeah, yeah, we're sick of all your excuses and unfulfilled promises Randi.
Is that what you're all thinking? Cause I would be.
Here's what's up:
I'm back in college.
I want to pull my hair out part of the time but I'm still loving it.
I have loads of pictures and stories to put on here.
Oh, and my friend Chels and I started a new blog.
It's Only Awkward if You Make It. It's a blog we'll co-write about our experiences of being a at home student (Chels) to being an away from home student (me). It'll included stories, tips, and the funny stuff we think of along the way. Go start following it. Riggggggght now.


Seriously.