Simply Shelby

I tried to find a funny eCard that could sum up my thoughts on finals but this picture was all I found and it ended up making me laugh. Finals week at BYU could be summed up in three words: stress, anxiety, relief. Stress while studying, anxiety while taking, and relief when they are over. Honestly, they haven't killed me. More than anything, it has made me forgetful and scattered. I feel like my mind is going a million miles an hour in a million different places trying to remember a million different things. I am surviving so far with the help of food and diet coke. On another note, it would only be appropriate to share my thoughts on the Boston Bombings. When it happened, I didn't know anything had happened until my roommate told me. We watched the news and tried to make sense of it all. I wanted to know why. Then we watched the news all day when they had shut down Boston and the surrounding areas and waited and watched for this story to unfold even more. I was on a date ...

I've said this a million times, but the main reason I blog is so my future kids will know that I was their age once and that I actually had experiences they might want to know about. This post isn't about experiences it's purely for their enjoyment and my enjoyment 20 years down the road when I'm crying about being 40. After that explanation, here are 20 things about me at 20. 1. I love to try and bake/make new things. This is all because of Pinterest, but hey, I can't complain about trying new recipes.  2. I eat a LOT of celery. It's an easy snack I can take with me to class. 3. I still love Diet Coke. I don't see this going away any time soon, so this will most likely be the same 20 years from now.  4. I've grown out of my love for heels (though I still wear them sometimes), I wear mostly flats. Let's be honest, they are most comfortable.  5. I HATE blow-drying my hair. It's 10 minutes of wasted time and it makes my arms hurt. 6. ...

Well, it's me again. What a weekend I had. Let's start with Thursday. Thursday I was invited to go to dinner up in Park City by a dear family I know from back home. They are the sweetest people. We ate at Chimayo and it was super Yummy. Here is a picture of me with Faith and Andrew. Friday was pretty normal. I babysat Lexi in the morning and then got my hair done after. I did the blonde ombre. I was shocked at first but now I love it.  Saturday is where things get good. Here was my plan for the day. Wake up, go to the testing center and take my math test, go babysit the Wakley girls, come home, do homework. Pretty basic, right? Life had a different plan. This might be too much info, but once a month I get awful cramps (please put two and two together on this one). It just so happened that Saturday morning mother nature decided to visit and give me the worst cramps I have EVER had. They were to the point where I felt like I was going to faint because of all t...

It's been 216 days. In those 216 days I have finally and fully felt what it means to be homesick. I just googled the definition of "homesick" and then I realized that the term is more complex than I thought. I feel a little concerned that I googled the word, so I won't bother to tell you my findings (plus if you really want to know you can google it yourself). I might not even be that homesick. Maybe I just miss certain things about my old life. I miss my kitchen and how I knew where everything was and where everything went. I miss the vacuum my parents got when they were married that they still use to this day. I miss my primary kids at church and how much they made me feel loved. Most of all, I miss the way I used to feel. My poor mom has received countless phone calls these past week (more than our usual daily conversations) where I have cried (hard to admit) because Utah hasn't really felt like the home I expected it to be at this point. I have been living...

My day started off great. I was ready to go to school in my Charlie Brown sweater (he's been with me the past two Valentine's Days) and my red glitter vans. I was excited. I had my roommate take a picture of me to send to my mother, then I decided to share it with you. I went to my first class and then I was waiting on my second class when I received this text: I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up a bit. I truly am so lucky. I have the best older brother ever. I miss my family a lot, especially on holidays. I miss the silly traditions and the way my mom would always get so excited about half-off candy the day after Valentine's Day. It's the small things like that text (and the $20 dollars) that really make a difference. It was a random act of pure love and kindness and I felt so loved. I love my brother. He made me feel like the luckiest girl on the planet today. Thanks, Cal! 

  I searched and searched for some fancy little picture to put at the beginning of this post but came up empty handed. Sorry for the lack of artistic ability, my Pinterest must not have been working properly. Everyone knows what tomorrow is. Everyone has seen the floods of pink and red in every shopping market, the cute ads on TV, and felt the nervous excitement that has filled the air. Tomorrow is Valentines Day. I'm sure someone will get engaged, someone will receive flowers, someone will eat lots of chocolate, and I'm SURE that many people will sit around and feel sorry for themselves and then complain about it on Facebook or Twitter. Some things never change. Where do I fit in, you might ask? Well, I happen to LOVE this holiday. Yes, I am single. No, I am not married or even close to being engaged. How on earth could I love Valentines day? Here are my reasons: 1. The people who have a "special someone" are happy. They laugh, cry, and smile at the gifts they rece...

Woke up. Got ready. Walked to class in the rain. Went to class. Watched people slide all around campus. Check email. Last class has been cancelled. Go home. Get text. Pinnacle Sales have been ceased immediately. Lost job. Cry. Call mom. Call cousin. Cry. Go to aunts. Find relief and comfort. Leave. Go to other aunts. Get comfort and dinner. Drive home. Cry while driving. Get home. Cry more. Call mom. Cry even more. Take shower. Cry while in the shower. Get dressed. Put on favorite pajamas. The ones with the turtles on them. Sit on the couch. Open laptop. Start this blog. I woke up this morning and my life was perfect. I am attending BYU, I had a great job that I loved, and I had ice cream in the freezer, Really, what more could a girl want? Then the news came that Pinnacle Sales have been ceased and that I should not go into work until further notice. Basically, I have been laid off with no warning. The shock of all this was more than I could seem to handle. I cried in front of m...