Cripple child.

My days are now mine. Kind of.
I have one more final.
I'm taking it on friday...
Why, you ask?
Because I can.

Can you believe Christmas is in like almost a week?

I'm so excited! 

I can't wait to go home and see christmas trees!

I don't feel like it is Christmas at all.

NO snow.. which i am not complaining about.

no decorations... we are too cheap.

Well this week has been interesting.

First I took 3 finals on monday. 

I was on campus for over 12 hours.

It was brutal.

Here's Sharon and I "studying" in the library.

We can't be quiet in a place that demands quietness..

We lose it everytime someone walks by... but honestly what would

you do if you walked past a cubicle in the library and saw that?

Next item of business ...

will be quite a big one.

My knee dislocations are coming to an end.

Surgery on the 27th.

straight-leg brace

and crutches

for who knows how long.

That means no driving...

So if you want to see my face over Christmas break

you have to come to me.

I'll probably be stationed on the couch

reading Harry Potter or

watching Modern Family.

I'm officially handicap until March 13th :)

I think I'm going to have quite the battle wounds after this ..

Good thing my shaving scars are minimal.

My poor right leg.

I'm glad I had some anatomy knowledge when the doc

was telling me what he was gonna do to my leg.

Are you curious?

well here are my knees...

(I stole my x-rays)

So my patellas (knee caps) are supposed to fit into those indents..

He said this was some sort of disease?

So he is going to cut out my tibial tuberosity 

(where my tendon that holds my knee in place attaches to my tibia)

and move it to a different part of my bone and screw it in

with two GIANT screws..

Then he tightens something and releases something else and then

MAGIC.

my knee is fixed. 

My right knee is the only one I have problems with luckily. 

This should be quite the adventure.

snow+campus+crutches=death.

Good thing for handicap parking..

Too bad for a class down at the bottom of a giant flight of stairs.

On a happy note.

I got to go to see Voice Male last night.

I love them, they are so great.

If you don't know who they are

Check them out!

back to studying.....

one hundred.

Well here you have it... blog post #100 of Love the Life You Live.

Quite an accomplishment. Too bad it took me about 16 months. Oh well.

I will celebrate by making 100 flash cards for a final. Boo.


BUT. I am ALL done will class and homework and tests... except for 4 more finals of course.

And then all things X-mas.

I've already purchased for:

My boss

My brother

My mom

And i got my christmas cards in the mail today. Too bad I don't get to pick them up at the stupid post office until tomorrow.

I'm studying for years.. and them i'm going to the Marriott Center and praying that my Cougs can pull off and upset against Weber State. Sorry Wildcats... You are purple and ugly and remind me of old people. Glad i'm not acquainted with you daily. 

Will I take 4 finals on monday? quite possibly. Depending on how this weekend goes... 

Wish me luck!

Funny Bunnies

So this weekend my family went to the BYU basketball game that was at the Delta Center and then we went to see the lights at temple square. Here is a picture of my dad bundled up.. He entered the game looking like this. I wish this picture did it justice..  I was so embarrassed. I begged him to remove it.

I'm currently taking a break from studying for a nasty Science of Biology test. Watching the good 'ol CMA's. Wish they were weekly!

The other day i was reading through my journal (which I haven't written in for a real long time cause of my blog) and I found so many things that I found to be so funny. I will share some. Hope you find them as funny as i did.

• When Lindsay and I banged pots and pans around the house to bring in the New Year. 
• For that matter, the fact that linds and I put together a glow-in-the-dark unicorn puzzle on new years eve
• While eating at Cafe Rio long ago Parker started singing.."if you need me call me, no matter where you are no matter how far baby" super loud and like everyone was looking at us while Sharon and I just tried to hide.
• When I fell asleep during o-chem and when i woke up I wondered why the professor was showing pictures of hawaiian islands--oh nope, those are definitely molecules. 
• When Linds and I stayed up late choreographing a dance with our life size poster of Justin Bieber
• When Parker was sitting in the back seat and my ipod was on shuffle. Ace of Base 'Wheel of Fortune' came on and Parker sang the first two lines of the song perfectly. (you tube it if you don't know what it sounds like)
• When I went on a blind date to see the movie Prom and we were the only ones in the theater 
• When I had to leave Harry Potter because there was a bomb threat in the theater so we were all evacuated. 
• When Luke told us the definition of a really gross word 
• When the parachuter carrying the American flag at the Stadium of Fire ran into the barrier and took out the camera man
• When Sharon and I experienced this
• When my mechanical pencil ran out of lead in the testing center while I was taking my midterm that consisted of writing 6 essays... 
• When I stormed the field when BYU beat Utah in overtime and got a bloody nose.

Just a few of some funny moments in the life of Melanie...feel free to laugh

Father of Mine

Well folks--it happened!
Today is daddy's birthday and he turned (drum-roll please).............................45!
Yes, I know.. my parents are youngens. I hear it from everyone out here.
SO, to honor the greatest man on Earth, here are 45 facts you probably don't know about my daddy-o.

1. His full name is Lee Lindsay Miles. Named after his mom's middle, maiden, and last name. (Deanna Lee Lindsay Miles)
2. He served his mission in Sacramento, California
3. He has the craziest diet ever. He basically just eats plain cream cheese all the time. Gag.
4. He cannot multi-task
5. He can juggle (i think? ha)
6. He is passionate about his job
7. He watches awfully boring TV shows, actually they aren't shows. They are just channels. Bloomberg, Larry King, etc. 
8. He also listens to awfully boring talk shows on the radio.
9. I can't remember a time that I have ever been mad at him. I can probably count on one hand the number of times he has raised his voice at me. 
10. He has a contagious smile and laugh- He won most contagious smile in High school actually
11. Speaking of laughing.... It is hard for him to breathe while watching Christmas Story or Christmas Vacation because he is laughing so hard.
12. I think in the 18 years I lived at home my dad maybe was able to sit with us in sacrament for 5 of those.
13. He is supportive of his kids--cheer competitions, dance recitals, basketball games, piano recitals, etc.
14. He's a funny dancer
15. Service is his middle name. Whether picking up the hitch-hiker on the way to tumbling every saturday morning(Dad-what is that guys name? I can't remember) or yard work at a neighbors house, he is always doing service. 
16. I think there was maybe 1 or 2 total girls camps or youth conferences that he wasn't at since he was in the bishopbric. I loved having him there!
17. Speaking of which, one year he drove me home a day early from jackson hole from youth conference so I could be home for the tim mcgraw concert and a parade i had to cheer in.
18. He messed up his pinky bad in church ball and after multiple surgeries he wore a pinky stretcher for years
19. He's supportive of my plans- school, career, future, etc.
20. I can talk to him about anything
21. He's always been able to give me father's blessings, whether for school, cheer, or just cause
22. In high school I would meet him at Mcdonalds for lunch every week before tumbling
23. He's dedicated. He gets up at the crack of dawn to exercise. There was a time when he would treadmill 4 hours a day. 
24. He's always been a huge motivator for me. Especially with my 4.0 and doing well on the ACT.  My goal was to beat him, but he got me by 1 point. 
25. He's the breakfast and dessert maker in the family
26. He's the best example of sacrifice. Like when he drove down to provo at 9:30 to come pick me up and take me back home when I heard about Greg. Or buying me a flight out to San Francisco to meet them after the funeral.
27. He loves our cat Gilbert
28. When I was in elementary he would do my book reports the night before they were due for me cause I didn't ever read my books. haha oops
29. He is even more obsessed with Diet Coke than I am
30. We are the perfect pizza duo. He eats the cheese, I eat the crust.
31. He always made us get up and read scriptures at 6:30 am
32. He has a testimony of the restored gospel. I go to him for all of my questions.
33. If I remember right, he was too scared to cut our umbilical cords ha ha
34. He's the oldest of 5 kids, whose names also all start with L.
35. He likes current popular music--ya know... the kind that dad's aren't supposed to like haha
36. He has a secret crush on Fergie.
37. He's the first person I go to when I need anything
38. He let me drop out of AP american history after the first semester because I would come home and cry to him about how hard my homework was.
39. He's super smart
40. He is a byu cougar, denver bronco, and utah jazz fan
41. He's taught me the gospel- faith, prayer, fasting, etc.
42. He's a people person
43. When I was younger I loved to work for him-- folding letters and licking envelopes.. seriously like hundreds of them.
44. His favorite phrase to say is... "be nice to your dear old dad"
45. I've never had to wonder if he loves me. I always get messages from him telling me so.

I could go on and on, but there you have it. Papa Miles in a nutshell. Love you so much dad! Thanks for everything you do!

Happy Birthday!

I'm going....

NOWHERE.

Just private. 

leave your email if you want an invite :)

Decemburrr

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and now I'm a week away from class being over. Such a great feeling. AL.MO.ST. TH.ER.E. And then finals week and then home home home.

My Thanksgiving was great, I hope yours was as well! I got to go home and spend some time with my fam and we took family pictures. Here's a preview.

Yes, indeed my cat is wearing a leather jacket.

and...

you can be expecting a Christmas card from me this year.

I just ordered them.

The picture is a real treat.

So I'll be gathering your addresses. 

Or you could just be a gem and leave it for me.

That'd be nice too.

I am happy to admit that I am now a Christmas fanatic.

Christmas music.

Justin Bieber's new album?

yes. in love.

Christmas movies.

only the classics.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Elf

The Grinch

The Christmas Story

Christmas Vacation

Christmas decorations?

my apartment is lacking.

and i'm too cheap.

But maybe some paper snowflakes will do.

Also I started reading the Harry Potter series (for the first time).

Gotta check it off my bucket list. 

I started on Thanksgiving anddd i'm half way through book 2.

That's a lot of reading for me!

Full of Thanks

Sometimes it takes experiencing the bad to fully appreciate the good. I easily take things for granted. Here is a brief list of things I am grateful for.

• A mold-free bathroom
• a sink faucet that will move where I want it to
• A warm apartment
• BYU
• family
• good movies
• non-leaking roof over my head
• disneyland
• pictures
• internet
• a laptop
• good music
• a temple up the road
• friends on missions
• missionaries in general
• letters/emails from missionaries
• diet coke
• a great job
• the Rocky Mountains
• Utah
• a living prophet
• great friends
• life
• byu athletics
• the gospel
• classic disney movies
• homework free nights
• a long break from school and work
• being healthy
• good weather in November

My list could go on and on.. I think you get the gist of it. Happy Thanksgiving!