She's beauty & she's grace.

We celebrated the night at Chili's with delicious oreo molten lava cake. 2010 Queen, me, and 2011 Queen ... who all lived in the same house!

Remember this post? The pageant was a blast, honestly. Whoever thought that a non-pageant girl could have so much fun doing a pageant?

Quite a few people told me after that I was the "funny" contestant, which fits perfectly with my roommate telling me last week that I am that "awkward funny" girl. I'm glad that people appreciated my wit.

I ended up being selected as the first attendant, which means I received an SUU hoodie, homecoming tshirt, roses, and peanut butter M&Ms (only my favorite).  I will also be in the homecoming parade with the queen & second attendant, sitting all fancy in a convertible. Can you believe it? And we walk on the field at halftime at Saturday's game.

I'm glad that I decided to try out, because it's been such a different & fun experience. Here are some photos of the night:

We were given a bag of items (red fabric, pipe cleaners, tulle, zip ties, and ribbon) and were told to make a "spirit costume." The theme of homecoming is "SUUper Heroes" so, naturally, we made a SUUper hero costume. Good thing I have creative friends! The best part was walking on to the stage with a black jacket on, stopping center stage, dropping the jacket, and striking the above pose before continuing on to the MC for the question portion. And when he asked how I made the costume, I simply said, "Costume? This is what I wear everyday when I save the world." 

All of the contestants before the show started. This was our outfit for the choreographed dance number. 

Pre-talent portion with roommate (and 2011 Queen) Samae. I played a funny song that I wrote called, "Pedestrian Boy." The crowd seemed to enjoy it! I wish I had recorded it.

Getting ready to go on stage for the formal wear. I was wearing 6-inch heels at this point.  

I had so many friends to support me after the pageant! 

My roommates -- the Amandas. How I love them! What great pageant coaches ;) 

So many friends were there with signs too. This, of course, was my favorite!

A shot of all the girls + MC Dallin. 

                         Moral of the story? Take those chances. Even if they seem silly.    

Wait, who is this?

The story is long, but it'll make you laugh. Promise. 

The time has come for me to share with you an account of a date I went on the first week of school. It went a little something like this...

The weekend prior to school starting, I had gone home (to hike Mt. Timp) and had seen a few friends from high school while there. I started talking to Jason*, a boy I had a crush on at 15, had hoped to go on a date with at 16, and now, at 21, had not been on a date with. Well, Jason and I talked about SUU (where he attended school his freshman year) and the Shakespeare Festival. He mentioned being in town the following weekend with his sister to see a play, and I told him we should meet up.

The first FHE of the school year, I found myself surrounded by 70+ young single adults at the kickoff bbq for my ward. There happened to be a young man there who I'd spoken with about a month before, but had lost contact with since  leaving this little area of southern Utah for the last bit of summer. Well, said young man (who has an impeccable style, mind you), asked if I wanted to do something that weekend, and got my number. I was happy (and was already planning in my mind the outfit I would wear on the date).

Fast forward a few days. I receive this text, "Hey Cheri, it's Jason. I might be able to get us tickets to a Shakespeare play..." followed by a day & time. I was shocked. I thought Jason was going to a play with his sister. My high school crush? Asking me to a play? I didn't think I'd see him, let alone go on a date. The day of our date, I was sitting in class, and get another text from Jason. He has a meeting & our date would have to be delayed. I was confused at what meeting he might have, but said that was fine and proceeded to wait an extra hour.

While sitting on the couch waiting with my roommate, I told her how dismayed I'd been at hearing nothing about the date I'd been asked on at FHE. Why hadn't he called? It was the weekend. Was FHE boy a flake? Soon enough, the phone was ringing. The date I'd envisioned for about ... 6 years was here! Okay, that was inserted for dramatic effect.

But ... something was off. Our conversation went a little like this:
"Who is this?"
"Jason."
This isn't Jason."
"Yes it is..."
"No, it isn't. Who is this?"
"It's Jason."
"Ok, sure. Anyway, my address is..."
"Right, do you still live by..?"
"Yeah...well I don't know who this is, but I'll see you in a minute, Jason." (said with a bit of sass)

Then, seconds later, I see a tall, dark, handsome man walking to my door. That's when it hit me. You see, FHE boy's name was also Jason. And as it turned out, I'd been talking to him all along.

Laughter, shock, and surprise ensue between my roommate and me in our living room. I had no idea what to say or do when opening the door, after the fool I made of myself on the phone claiming that he wasn't Jason, so I simply said:
"Oh, it really is you. I guess your voice sounds different on the phone!"

Or I thought you were someone else. Oops. Needless, I was still quite excited that FHE Boy was not a flake, but also disappointed that I hadn't worn the outfit I'd planned in my head, remember?

And the whole night, I kept laughing at the silly mistaken identity. He kept asking me why I was laughing, which I repeatedly blamed on other things. Now, I must be sure to mention that I was quite excited about the date I was on. I was just shocked/surprised/in awe & trying to figure out how I'd been completely blindsided by the whole matter.

But, that's quite the story, don't you think? So, word to the wise ... always know who your dates are!

*Name changed to protect the innocent, obviously. 

Miss Congeniality

I have really taken this "live up my senior year" to heart. As in, I auditioned for the Miss SUU pageant yesterday. Well, I got the phone call last night and I made the cut! So, I will be performing next Tuesday. It's not a scholarship pageant anymore; it's just a fun homecoming event.

This means I have to ... find a dress, perfect my talent, practice interview questions, and learn a choreographed dance number with the other 7 contestants.

Now, this situation makes me laugh because:

1. I am not a pageant girl. Pageant girls tend to be dancers, classical pianists, opera singers, or cheerleaders. In my mind.

2. Even though I don't get nervous singing or talking in front of a large crowd, performing a group number or walking across the stage in a formal gown gives me butterflies.

3. For the past two years, someone from my house has won the pageant. This is how it all got started, with Runge telling me someone needed to compete. Well, I joked around at first that I would participate, and then actually went forward. She is very excited to have a roommate in the pageant again ... I keep telling her to not get her hopes up.

4. This status on Facebook elicited the greatest number of "likes" than I've ever had (I think). I believe this is because people are shocked.

5. My boss Kenley said (after I tried out yesterday), "Wait. You are doing a beauty pageant? You? You seem like a girl that's down to earth ... and is like an AP student."

So, here's to new adventures! I'm constantly saying that on this blog, aren't I? My apologies.

five things friday.

hello from the mac lab! taking a blogging break. 

Today, I'm working on part two of my typography project. I love having to read about how letters were formed, how typefaces are created, and the history of fonts. #NerdAlert. 

Tomorrow, I'm running the Cedar City Half Marathon. I'm a jumbled mess of nervousness & excitement. And I'm chugging water today like there's going to be a drought.

Last night, I visited this most beautiful place called Yankee Meadows. It's gorgeous. I've never seen so many stars in my entire life. Plus, tin foil dinners? Yum. 

Currently, I'm obsessed with bands including Imagine Dragons, Modest Mouse, & Of Monsters & Men. Check them out. All of them. (Music Monday post worthy? Yes). 

Fall is almost here. I can feel it in the air. And the thought of wearing boots (or needing to buy a new pair..), cardigans, scarves & skinny jeans ... is simply bringing a big smile to my face. Ooh, and those drives through the canyon with the changing leaves? Eeek! 

Those are five things on my mind. Enjoy! Happy Friday!

the roommate bakers.

Amanda and the vegetables from the backyard garden!

With zucchini, tomatoes, and squash out of our ears, Amanda and I embarked on a baking journey on Saturday.
First, we used zucchini for brownies. Yes, brownies. And they are delicious. You can't even taste the zucchini, so don't stick your nose up at the idea.

Then, we made zucchini spice bread. Also delicious. In turn, I was way too excited for fall after the smells filling our kitchen Saturday afternoon.

We had buckets of tomatoes. Salsa? Good idea. After a quick trip to the store for a can of black beans & a can of corn, we made a variation of "cowboy caviar" & also a spicier salsa with jalapeño peppers, but also peach. They were both delicious. And now they are both gone.

Finally, we cooked up a spaghetti squash for dinner. I had never had it before ... um, yum! Who doesn't like veggies? You are really missing out on some finer things in life.

Hours of baking, chatting, and laughing with one of my best friends ... and some great food too? It was a perfect Saturday. Amanda is moving to Las Vegas in the near future (to be with her sweet fiance), and I'm embracing all these last, little bonding moments before she leaves.

This might be a tangent from being Betty Crockers, but I feel so lucky to have such a great friend & roommate. It's those nights that, even when I intend to fall asleep before 11, we end up talking until midnight. It's those half delirious comments. It's the little heart-to-heart conversations we have that make me realize how blessed I am for having amazing friends.

And sometimes, it's the moments when you have a friend who will mix up recipes, not measure everything exactly, and allow you to substitue wheat flour for the white flour :)

cowboy caviar & jalapeno/peach salsa

trying out the zucchini brownies. yum!