Homesick?

Homesick... No, I don't think so. Summertime blues? I think that's what I would call it. Not that this summer has been a bummer, but... it has. Sort of. I miss living with Christie, we used to do random things on random week nights or afternoons. Things that made it feel like summer. Christie wasn't just my roommate, she is my best friend. If we were bored, we did something. Sometimes, or most of the time, that "something" was going to the massive mall down the street and window shopping or going to the gym to take a yoga and spin class. Then on the weekends we would have adventures with Kenna. Dancing, meeting new people, eating In-N-Out or Super Burrito. We had fun. Also, we were funny, or at least WE thought we were funny. My point is, I was hardly ever bored. I never just sat at home, I never blogged about anything I did either. I had something better to do.

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE Texas, and my decision to move here (a year ago now, wow) was the best decision I made, I wouldn't take it back if I had the chance. It's just different here in the summer. It's a real college town, so some of my friends went home for the summer or are taking summer classes that take up all their time. I have had so much free time. I had no time or desire to watch TV last summer in Az, but in the past month I have had time to watch nearly SIX season of Grey's Anatomy along with going to the gym, institute, work, and keeping up with my church callings and studies. So, in conclusion: I don't miss Arizona, I miss my best friends, Kenna & Christie.

Now a break from my "Poor, poor, pitiful me" complaining and a quick update: I'm going to Massachusetts in August with the Warrens and am going to stay with them there for the Fall semester. I'm excited to get out of the heat and humidity. I'm especially excited for the chance to explore Boston, Rhode Island, and take a short road trip to NYC. Oh, I'll also get to see the leaves change, too! I'm pretty excited! Other than the week I spent there in June with the Warrens, I haven't spent any time in the East. So here is to new experiences!

God Blessed Texas

Yep, I still love Texas. Sort of. I could do without the humidity, but the heat itself is nothing new. Arizona has more than prepared me for that part of Texas. It's funny, Texans are competitive. They ask me constantly how I am handling, enjoying, and surviving the heat. Ha. Everything is bigger in Texas, yes I know that. But does it have to be hotter in Texas, too? Sorry, Texas, Arizona is hotter. You do, however, win the humidity contest. Neither of which is a good thing, but Texans seem to think so.

So, I guess I have some updating to do. I recently lost my job as a nanny for the McMahon family. Their grandma moved down from Nebraska and replaced me. Sad, huh? I love their children and miss them dearly. I'm hoping to get a call from them asking me to babysit soon. Until then, I do have another job. It's a sweet one, too. How blessed am I to keep getting these amazing jobs? I now work for the Warren family. They have four girls, ages 8, 7, 4, and 1 year. All the girls are amazingly adorable, hilarious, and just outstanding kids. I just spent a week with them up in Massachusetts and it is gorgeous there! They asked me to move there with them for the Fall. You see, they live in MA for the fall and come back to TX in January. Ty, the dad, happens to play football for the Patriots. Anyway, I won't be moving with them because I'll be starting school again in August. Yay! Finally a Texas resident!

What else? Not too much, really. I have more adorable nephews. I got a new niece and 2 nephews within 3 months. They are all super adorable. I get to see Makenna fairly often, and she is growing like crazy. Everybody thought she looked so much like Kyle in the beginning, but I think as she has gotten older she has started to look more and more like Tara (which is definitely a good thing, haha). I love my family and consider myself blessed to live in Texas with Kyle, Tara and their baby girl. I do, however, miss my family in AZ a lot. I also miss having Chendo, my dad's mechanic, on hand, but Kyle has been an awesome replacement for him so far. Oh, also, I have this new goal: .... to go to Africa. After hearing a couple who served in the DRC and opened Burundi speak in sacrament a few weeks ago, I have been itching to go. The stories they told of the members there were just amazing. It was definitely a life changing just to hear them speak of these amazing people and their faith and dedication to the Church. My goal is to get there after I'm done with my undergrad. Maybe earlier. Who knows?

Insert Clever Title Here

DISCLAIMER: I'm lacking creativity at the moment, so please forgive my embarassingly dull title. I'm also feeling a little out-of-it so also excuse grammatical errors, or disorganized thoughts.

First: I have a new niece. As if I need another reason to LOVE Texas. Tara and Kyle had their baby, Makenna Jolene Jenkins, last Tuesday. She is absolutely gorgeous and I am so grateful that I was able to be here to meet her. I am excited to be "Aunt Devie" again. I have missed my nieces and nephews so much since leaving Arizona. Little "Jo" (as I call her), is going to have the best aunt ever. That's Jo and me up there in our Sunday best, blurry, I know, but it was taken with a cell phone.

Second: Hey, whoa! I have had pretty much a permanent food baby since I have moved to Tx. Not cool. I'm still a workout-aholic, I just cannot handle edible temptation and my boss keeps her house stocked with goodies. Remember that one post? That one where I was all motivated and living a healthy lifestyle? If not here it is, take some time and read it! http://devinjenkins24.blogspot.com/2009/02/currently.html There it is. I don't know how to make it say "click here" so.... yeah it's just the html. Forgive me. Anyway. I need to get back to that. I workout, I'm just missing the healthy eating part. As I said in the mentioned post, I am publicly declaring that I am now going to be eating less and healthy while excersing more in hopes that I will actually will.

Third: I did the Warrior Dash! So fun! Pictures coming soon! I'm also doing the Boondock Battle 5k mud run next Saturday. I promise to start taking pictures and posting them. My camera, unfortunately, suffered an early death in the rain on my 20th birthday last year, and I have yet to figure out how to transfer pics from my phone to my computer. Ok, so that's about it for now!

Life in the Lonestar State

Where to start? I love Texas. I haven't decided if I love it more than Arizona, but it's pretty dang close. One of my favorite things is how much green there is. It's beautiful. Driving around town in Az, if it's not paved, it's rocks, or just dirt. Here the sidewalks are lined with grass, the freeways with trees and open fields. There's random patches of forrest in the middle of developments. Green is my favorite color to see outside and it's even better when capped off with amazingly clear blue skies. Another thing to love about Texas? The people. The people are so much friendlier here! If you happen to make eye contact with someone at the grocery store or anywhere they smile and politely say "Howdy!" I still haven't gotten used to "howdy" yet, and I still feel awkward saying it, but it is growing on me. "Ya'll" has found it's way into my vocabulary. At first I cringed whenever it slipped out, but I have to admit that it has started to feel natural. There is a big difference in culture when it comes to the young single adults here. Back in AZ Christie and I would recieve random mass texts about birthday parties in Mesa or Gilbert. We would go, not knowing who was celebrating a birthday. We hardly even knew anyone there, we had fun, but it was rare to meet new people. There would be hundreds of people, all in their own cliques (Click or Clique?) All that was served was water, maybe chips and salsa if you're lucky. Here, when the Singles' Ward get's together, there's food. People mingle. It's personal. If someone new shows up, they are immediately introduced to the 30 some odd people there, and made to feel welcome. But the food. Let's talk about that. No just snacks, boys are grilling, or cooking stuff in a fire. Not just cheeseburgers, oh no. Legitimate meals. There's one guy who loves to cook for everybody. He took the time to stuff jalepenos w/ cheese and wrap them up in bacon w/ sausage. Amazing. What else do I love about Texas? Oh, I know! This is special to College Station. I love the school spirit here. It's amazing. I never was one for school spirit in high school, but ASU. Ohh ASU! I love ASU football, and everything ASU! I grew up going to football games and walking into Sun Devil Stadium was like going home. I couldn't help but grin when I walked through the gates. I mean, I love ASU! At least I thought I did. The Aggie spirit here is like nothing I have ever experienced. It's intense! No cheerleaders, there are yell leaders. They lead chants that every student in the student section knows. Every sport is important here. Although football is the main event, there's a crowd at every sporting event football, volleyball, baseball, even women's basketball (they're playing for the championship tonight, so they actually are really good). Everybody know every word to the fight song. On weekends when out at dance a hall at 12:30am, everything stops, music stops playing, and everybody forms a circle. They play the fight song & everybody sings a along. They sway from left to right during the chorus and yell something at the end. I seriously need to learn this song because I am the only one in Aggieland who doesn't. This post is getting long... one last thing for now! The dance halls! So much fun! Tabetha got me to go dancing with her and her friends for the first time in late January. I learned how to two-step, which I'm still working on. But, yeah, it's just a lot of fun to go out and dance with friends. The dance halls are pretty big, and I have never seen so many people dance to country music in my life! I'm used to everybody sitting down in protest when a country song is played at a dance. Okay, so that's it for now. Once I figure out how to transfer pictures from my phone to my computer, I will post them! I love you, Mom & Kathy! Thanks for reading my blog so it's not complete waste!

I can't sleep, so why not update my blog?

It's been a long time, I'm not sure if anyone even reads my blog anymore.... and if someone does, it's probably you, Mom. Love you. I last updated a year ago, and a lot has transpired since then. The biggest thing being that I moved to Texas. Can we just start there? I now live with Kyle and Tara in College Station and have been here since early July. Living with them has been great, but I'm moving out this month and in with my friend, Tabetha. Texas is different and I definitely miss my family and friends back in Az, but it's not all bad here. I was blessed to get an amazing job being a nanny for a four year old boy, and a little girl who is now ten months. Matthew and Kaitlin. Best. Job. EVER. (considering I have no college degree or special job training). The family is amazing. I have health insurance and even a 401K. Throughout the football season I traveled to Nebraska with them for every Husker home game. Did I mention they own a plane? I spend most of my time with Kaitlin, who I absolutely adore. I love seeing her grow and progress every single day. When I first started all she did was lay on the floor, now she crawls, pulls herself up on furniture, goes up the stairs, and attempts to stand on her own (and she isn't far from mastering that). It won't be long before she is walking. Matthew isn't bad either. I love teaching him about football and other sports, he's so eager to learn everything about every sport. When I first met him we were playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers Vs. the Arizona Cardinals in the BCS Championship Super Bowl. Now he knows the difference between College and the NFL. He can also name at least 25 NFL players, their team, their number, and their position. I'll start school next fall, when I'm a resident here and tuition is cheaper. Until then I'll keep working for the McMahons. I'm not too happy about putting off school for a year, but I know I am where I am supposed to be and I have already seen the blessings I have received from moving here. When I do start school I want to major in Kinesiology. I then want to go to PA school. That's the plan for now, but there's a lot of time to change my mind. What else? Oh, new year's resolutions. I have many. A few of my big ones are to do service at least once a month, attend institute weekly, read my scriptures daily, and I really want to visit the retirement home weekly. One of my other big goals is to become a runner. I want get up in the morning and run while the sun rises at least twice a week, and by April complete a half marathon and maybe a couple more through the summer and by January 2012 I want to visit Arizona to run the P.F. Chang's marathon. I tend to suffer injuries when I get too intense, and I recently hurt my neck, so I hope this can all happen accident and pain free. My last goal is to be buying my own car by the time school starts next fall. That's about it. I'm starting to Thanks.get sleepy so I'm gonna go ahead and call it quits. Please excuse any bad grammar or bad spelling.

Halloween.

I can't believe it's already November! Time has flown! I love it! School is going okay, I'm passing Chemistry so I'd say I'm doing pretty well! Stake softball has started again, and guess what! Yes, we are undefeated, yet again. The week of Halloween last year, a lot of people dressed up at softball. Nobody on my team did, though. This year, Christie and I though we would at least do our makeup a little scary and be "dead softball players" which kinda turned out more so to be "dead sparkly pixie fairies." Oh well. Anyway, we got to the fields and we were two of the very very few people dressed up. Whatever, everybody was jealous. Halloween was a blast, though. Andria, Christie, Jaimie, Kiefer, Isaac, and I went to Ben's party at his house. Blast. We danced, socialized, you know, the usual. I was kind of lame, and dressed up as an ASU football player.... I know, but I didn't have to buy anything for it and I'm a broke college student! After, Andria and I went to pick up Kenna and met the others at a dance held in an airplane hanger in Gilbert. Over 1700 people. It was a lot of fun dancing around and whatnot. I even met some incredi-hot Spartans. Afterward, we sat in a McDonalds drive-thru for about 15 minutes with 2 other cars until we realized they were closed. Ha. & that's about it! ... So i messed up the pictures & they're on top. oops. I'm too lazy to fix it, so deal. Thanks.

School Has Started

School has started. It isn't too bad thus far. Monday I have Chem & Lab, basically four hours of Chemisty... Yuck. Tuesday and Thursday I have math at 8am w/ the most boring teacher ever and then World Religions later on w/ a pretty fun teacher. Then after school I'll be working 2-8. Wednesday mornings I open at the gym at 4:45am-10, the Chem at noon. I also work Friday nights and Saturday mornings. The past few weekends have been really fun! Kenna and I have gone out and had good times: dancing, goofing around, and meeting new people.