Has it been 4 years already?!

Accept my apologies for the lack of blog-posting going on, despite the fact that I have been doing SO much while I've been home. Part of that was sarcasm, part of it was serious. I can't believe how fast this break has gone by! I wish it would slow down a little bit!

So, anyway. Last week I met up with some old choir friends for some pizza. It was so fun to see some people who I haven't seen in years! Everyone's growing up and moving on to bigger and better things in their lives. But we still have lots of fun coming back to Flo Mo and catching up with each other. Gotta love it.

So uh... here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Cuz I know you like to stalk my life... admit it.






For today's song, I'm going to choose a song that reminds me of my senior year of high school every time I hear it... "Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Marry Me, "Jet".

So, I got home Friday afternoon. First stop. Where else but Taco Cabana? And that night... MAVS GAME with the fam! Seriously so much fun. Watching them play in person is so much more fun than on TV. As some of you may know, I am in love with Jason "Jet" Terry. Have been since I first became a hard-core Mavs fan. And... obviously because I was there... he had a STELLAR night. He was named Player of the Game. Couldn't be more proud of my man. And to top it all off, that night was the night of the Jason Terry Collector's Cup. So yes. I will be drinking out of it for the rest of my life... or for a while anyway.

Unfortunately for my bro-in-law, he's a Suns fan... so he didn't have quite as much fun. But he loves being with his family (right, Matt?). But Kaitlin and I had a blast dancing and cheering. We were a little more rambunctious than the rest of our family, but that's to be expected. And now she has the "Mavs Fever." Good girl, Kaitlin. I've taught you well.

I have no idea what song should accompany this post. So I don't think I'm going to worry about it. Sorry. Lame, I know.

So Long, Fall Semester 2010.

Well, another end of the semester has come. I can't believe I only have one more of these left! I feel like these past four years have gone by so fast (super slow at times... but overall it's flown by). I feel like only yesterday I was walking into my first day of senior year in high school and here I am, a senior in college!!

It's been an excellent last fall semester. Lots of good things. So, I figured, what better way to pay tribute to such a great semester than to formulate a Top Ten list for Fall '10. I don't know if these are REALLY in any particular order, maybe like the top 2 or 3. So, here goes, starting with #10:

#10: Not having to move for the first time ever. Staying in the same place rocks.
#9: The night celebrating birthdays at Cheesecake and then spending time rocking out at the dueling piano bar. "Round of waters over here, please!"


#8: Finally going to see Temple Square all lit up. 4 years but I made it.
#7: Making money by having the EASIEST job ever (aka, being a TA for Intro to Ad).
#6: Becoming more domestic. Who wants to marry me?
#5: EFCs. I love EFY-Provo, Counselor Edition. It rocks.

#4: Finally having friends again. Boys, thank you for coming home and for willing to still be my friend. Even though I'm "old."
#3: Getting to meet Steve from Civil Twilight and have my picture taken with him. IN LOVE.


#2: Getting chosen as an alternate for the New York Internship Program. But most importantly, for the fact that Jeff liked my portfolio.
#1: APPLYING FOR GRADUATION!! Scary. But exciting. Bring it on Real World (not the show).

Overall, it's been an awesome semester. Definitely a good way to being my last year. I'm just so glad I've gotten to meet new people and grow closer to people I already knew. I just love you guys! Let's still be friends next semester ok? I'm going to have SEVERE Senior-itis so I might want to play all the time.

Hm... a song to go along with this post? You know what? I'm going to go SUPER cheesy and go with "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan. Because "I will remember you" Fall Semester 2010 for the rest of my life.

Kari Laine "Domestic" Ensign

Yes. That is my new name. It may be long, but it is certainly accurate. Let me explain myself.

First of all. I think that I was put on this earth to be a homemaker. Some of you (especially males) may be thinking, "Isn't that what all women were put on this earth for?" Yes. But not quite with the skill-set that I have.

First of all, our house is SUPER cute and Christmas-itized. Christmas tree and all. Thanks to yours truly.


Secondly, I have discovered how to make a fabulously delicious Beef and Cheese Enchilada Casserole that I occasionally like to feed to other people. What? You'd like the recipe? Ok. If you insist. It's REALLY easy.

All you need is:

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 cans (10 oz. each) of red enchilada sauce (I would buy a little more than this. With only 20 oz. it can get a little dry.)
7 oz. of chopped green chiles
24 small corn tortillas (I use white but the recipe calls for yellow)
3 c. of shredded cheese

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a glass casserole dish (I use my 9x11 Pyrex).
2. Brown the beef. Then add in one 10 oz. can of enchilada sauce and the green chiles. Stir it up.
3. Pour half of the other can of enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Then place 8 tortillas over the sauce. On top of the tortillas, pour half of the meat mixture and cover with some cheese. Repeat the tortilla, meat, cheese layer one more time. On top of the second layer, put 8 more tortillas. Then pour the remaining enchilada sauce on top.
4. Cover it with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. Or until it's bubbling around the edges.
5. Take it out and sprinkle some more cheese to cover the top. Stick it back in for another 5 minutes or so.

Then just serve it with some sour cream and eat it up. It is seriously so easy and it tastes delicious. And I always have PLENTY left over.

Like I said guys. I'm domestic.

"I have really good Christmas music."

Remember how I said that one of my goals was to FINALLY visit Temple Square all lit up this year? Well, I did it! It only took me four years but hey, the point is that I got there, right? It was absolutely beautiful. And Mary and I shared a very special moment. Yes, probably I won't get married before I leave this blessed university that is BYU, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and proposed to Mary in Temple Square. It was a magical moment that Helen and Heather were there to witness.


On the way back from Salt Lake, Heather satisfied our ears with her "really good Christmas music." Seriously guys. You thought that Christmas music was Christmas music was Christmas music. No, you're wrong. Heather has the best Christmas music.

Basically you should be jealous of our adventure. I would put up a new song but I just put up new Christmas music for you to listen to so consider those my songs for the blog post.

Oh, also. Only 6 days until I'm home in Texas. Solid.

Man, It's Been a While...

I'm sorry for all of my dedicated followers who have been upset by the lack of updating going on with my blog. I guess I just haven't had things I've felt the need to write about!

I will share some exciting news with you all though. I received some validation from one of my professors yesterday that made me feel like I really did choose the right major. And that's a really good feeling to have right now considering next semester is my last one here at BYU.

Basically he told me that he liked my portfolio that I submitted for the New York Internship program but that because of the limited 6 spots for management students, I would probably be an alternate. Which quite frankly, I didn't even hear because I was just so excited that he liked my portfolio! He also told me they would definitely be able to find me a good internship regardless and then continued to congratulate me for doing such a great job on our midterm project.

Needless to say... I was floating on Cloud Nine afterwards. It's nice to know that what you've chosen to do is something you're actually good at. It gives me a little less anxiety about growing up and going out into the real world although I definitely still have frequent freak-outs about growing up. Trust me.

So, there's my update! Hopefully there will be more exciting things for me to post within the next couple of weeks. I'm sorry my life has been so boring lately.

For the song for this post... I'm going to share something with you that has absolutely nothing to do with the post. My friend Hayley shared this video with me. Basically it's all about how my name is Kari and I'm beautiful. It made my day.

"Keep Your Head Up"

So, this morning I was watching Rachel Ray (I don't know why... I usually don't) and she featured this guy, Andy Grammer who just came out with an interactive music video. Because I have now been trained to be a smart consumer of new media, obviously I tried to find it so I could be a part of this sweet idea. And it is pretty cool. You can choose your own story kind of like those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books I used to be in love with when I was younger. So, I'm providing the link here on my blog so you can go try it out too. It's pretty sweet and it features Rainn Wilson (aka Dwight from The Office) so that's cool too.

Enjoy! http://vevo.com/videoevolved/andy-grammer/keep-your-head/

Text a Vote, Change the World!

Currently, the ongoing project in my life is helping the team over at Tipping Bucket to be the November winners of $250K from Pepsi Refresh. That's... a lot of money. And they deserve it because they're an awesome cause. Let me tell you a little bit about them.

Tipping Bucket is a social philanthropy platform that helps to raise money for people starting projects all over the world. Their current project is called "Bikes for Education." Many children in Thailand have to drop out of school because they have no way to get there. The current project will give bikes to schools to rent out to children so they can continue to come to school. If they successfully raise enough money for the project in the given amount of time, the project gets the money. If they don't, every donator gets their money back, guaranteed.

Tipping Bucket gives those of us who may not have loads of cash (yet) the opportunity to make a difference. As they say, "every drop in the bucket makes a difference." So help Tipping Bucket win the grant from Pepsi so that they can continue to do amazing things for people all over the world!

You can go check them out at their website at tippingbucket.org and you can vote through Facebook and Pepsi on their website. You can also vote by texting 104182 to 73774. You can vote those three ways every day for the whole month of November!

Let's Go Rangers!

Ok. I know I know. You don't have to tell me. The Rangers lost the World Series. And yes, I was upset about it. But you know what? Having grown up a huge Rangers fan, my family having had season tickets for years, and being madly in love with Pudge Rodriguez, it was super exciting to finally see them make it to the World Series. Especially after so many years of being absolutely the bottom of the heap in the world of the MLB.

So, I just wanted to give a shout out on my blog to the Texas Rangers. The 2010 American League Champions and the ALMOST winners of the World Series. Thank you for making dreams come true for thousands of people in Texas this year boys. It was super fun to have legitimate pride in one of the teams playing for the title. And we'll get that title eventually. And hey, I still sleep pretty well at night knowing that we beat the Yankees for the shot.

Also, Nelson Cruz, will you please leave your wife and marry me instead?

And what better song to accompany this post than "God Blessed Texas"?

"Next To Me"

On Tuesday night Katie and I went to the Anberlin, Crash Kings, Civil Twilight concert in Salt Lake which was fantastic. Really, we just went to see Civil Twilight (again. Third time in about four months). We were a little sad when we realized it wouldn't be as intimate as the other two shows we've been to (we've been right in front of the stage the other two times), but we managed to get fairly close to the stage and still had a pretty stellar view.

After Civil Twilight was finished playing, we moved toward the back of the crowd to avoid getting trampled and decided to take a stroll around the venue. And you'll never believe what happened. We saw the three guys from the band just walking around through the crowd totally unnoticed. But we definitely noticed them and we got our picture taken with the fabulously good-looking lead singer, Steve! I think he was shocked that we recognized him and was especially shocked that we knew his name...



As you can see in the picture, I was kind of freaking out. But don't you worry. That's only half of the story. As we were leaving the show, Katie decided she wanted to look at the t-shirts. The guy selling Civil Twilight's shirts had a South African accent (the band is also from South Africa). Naturally we asked him where he was from. Come to find out, he's known the band for about 10 years and is here in the States traveling with them and helping them out on tour. He showed us some pics on his phone of Steve and him partying in Vegas. And now we're Facebook friends. I don't think that the night could have been any more perfect. I don't know how we ended up with such special treatment, but it definitely was a treat!

So, here's a little taste for you of my all-time fave band. They're so fabulous. And they're SO fabulous live. Seriously amazing. I mean, just check out the drummer and the guitarist at the end of this video. It's crazy. You should love them just as much as I do.

A Little Banged Up...

but I think I love it! So, I've been debating returning to my childhood roots of real bangs for about 5-7 years now. And last night I finally decided to just go for it. My friend Bree cut them for me and I have to say that I like them so far! I think it's a different look which is something I need in my life right now. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Fire Burning!

This weekend brought more fun times. Because we are SO obsessed with EFC, we decided to have a counselor-reunion bonfire on Friday night. Plus a few other friends (of mine. Because I'm SO popular).


It was a beautiful night in the canyon for a bonfire. Couldn't have asked for anything better. Heather was a super girl scout and built us a great fire to gather around. It was fun to bring lots of friends together at one event. Personally, I think we should do it again because I love being with other people who love EFY as much as I do and because I love bonfires.

So, yeah. That was the weekend. Minus Conference which was amazing as always. I loved Elder Lawrence's talk about being a courageous parent. Probably because I love teenagers and probably because secretly I can't wait to be the parent of teenagers. Secret's out. I'm a closet baby-hungerer.

The song for this post? Read the post title dummy.

Just Call Me Grandma

So, yesterday was my 22nd birthday! Yes, I said 22. I cannot believe I'm getting so old! I feel like my 16th birthday was just yesterday! But I suppose I need to accept growing up and getting older because it's coming for me whether I like it or not! To celebrate said birthday, I started the day by going to get a pedicure with my roommate, Alex. It was SO glorious! The leg massage was fabulous and they used hot stones to rub on your legs which was really just superb. Last night I went out with some EFY friends to this fabulous Brazilian grill called Tucanos. We celebrated Alison's birthday (which was the 21st) and Stacey's birthday (today, the 23rd). Gotta love New Year's babies! I think I ate enough food to last me an entire week. So. Good. And the best part was, my meal was free simply for being the birthday girl! Doesn't get much better than that right?

After dinner, we went to Heather's adorable pink house where she had super cute decorations and the coolest cake I've ever had in my whole life waiting for us! She was "such a good friend." Alison brought a disturbing-looking unicorn pinata for us to whack at. After a rather large ordeal trying to figure out how to maneuver the pinata, we decided to just throw it like a baseball and hit it with the bat that way. And. It worked. Problem-solving.

Mostly it was just fun to spend the day with friends and have a relaxing day. Birthdays are much less exciting than I remember them being but it's always nice to hear from some old friends and to spend the day with those you love. I couldn't ask for much more (maybe just to be able to be with my family but... we can't have everything right?).

And the song to go along with this blog post is really actually kind of depressing, but I think in some ways it reflects my life. Number one, he talks about how his birthday is tomorrow and he was born 22 years ago (get it? I'm 22). It also reflects how I feel about my life right now. So up in the air. "I'm a plane in the sunset with nowhere to land." But I'll find someplace soon!

Reunions and Goodbyes

Oh the joys of having friends again!! I had almost forgotten what it was like! But on Friday night Lindy and I got some of our old friends from our freshman ward together since we haven't all seen each other in two years! It was a blast to see how much everyone has changed and how everyone is very much the same in some ways. And it's reassuring to know that we can all still be friends.
Of course, it was a little sad since the main reason for our reunion was because Lindy was saying goodbye to everyone before she leaves for her mission in Montreal for 18 months. We're so excited for her and wish her the best of luck but she will certainly be missed!

And to send her off with our best wishes, we got her a cake and sang her a special little tune. Here's the video. Enjoy.



And since this blog post is largely about my dearest Lindiz, I'm going to dedicate a "Good" song to her. Here's hoping you don't have many "Bad Day[s]" on your mission Lindiz!

All My Bags Are Unpacked... I'm Ready to Go

After spending an eventful weekend in Salt Lake before school started this week, I returned home and discovered I still couldn't move into my place. Because I feel much more anxiety ever since I met Alison this summer (she introduced me to the word), I was having severe anxiety about the fact that I was going to have to continue living out of suitcases for the first couple of days of school. A fabulous start to the year. The good news is that I had a bed. So, could be worse.

But tonight, I had space to finally move my stuff into, and I worked hard to get it all organized so that I could rest easy from now on. So, here are some pics of the room for you (including a lovely pic of my roommate Alex). I feel so much better now that I'm all settled and organized again.

You might want to be a real friend and come visit me so you can see the place in person if you didn't come see it last year. We love visitors!

GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLL(s)!!

A new year. A new beginning. New goals. And because it's my last year here in Provo (hopefully), there are lots of things I need to do before I leave! I've decided to share some of them with everyone because they're things that you all can help me out with!!

#1: Attend a Real Salt Lake game.
#2: Visit Temple Square to see the Christmas lights because I haven't been since I came to BYU. What's up with that?
#3: Read at least one book a month to keep myself sane and to give myself some "me-time."
#4: Attend Sundance Film Festival.
#5: Drink more water. I re-discovered how much I like it at EFY.
#6: Keep on keepin' on trying some new things.
#7: Frequently blog to document the exciting tales of my life. (I'm counting on you, Paul, to help me with this one.)

I think that's all of them. I mean, seven goals is a pretty solid amount of goals to set for yourself right? So, help me out friends! I really want to be able to report that I accomplished all of them at the end of the year!

And the song to put an end to this post... doesn't really have much to do with goal-setting, but if I accomplish all of these I know feel like this year could be "Wonderful." (By Gary Go)

The End of Summer

The time has come for me to leave Texas behind once again and make the trek to Utah to begin another (and my last) year at school. It's been a great summer full of new experiences, new friends, and life-changing moments. I'm glad that this was the summer I'll remember as my last real summer at home. It's weird to think I'm heading into my final year of college. I don't feel like I was in high school that long ago. But the time has come to grow up and move on with my life and while I'm somewhat terrified, I'm excited for what the real world has to offer me!



And no, this picture has nothing really to do with this summer, but we took no pictures of us all together so I searched through stuff from when we liked to take pictures with each other.

So, here's to a great Texas summer and to what will hopefully be an awesome year!

And to bid farewell to Texas, the song to wrap up this post is "She's Like Texas" by the Josh Abbott Band. Because I like to think that I'm a lot like Texas.

Adventures in Paradise

Today I was chastised for not updating my blog so I decided I should probably write about what's new in my life. Last Monday my family and I returned from paradise (aka Hawaii). While there we decided to try doing some things that are pretty well out of our comfort zones.

Por ejemplo, the Tuesday we were there, we decided to go on a four-mile, open-ocean kayaking trip. In the pictures on the brochure, the water was smooth and beautiful. The day we went there were huge waves and we kept getting nailed by some fairly gnarly squalls. So, that was fun. Oh, and did I mention we kayaked out to an island where we proceeded to go rock-climbing... in flip flops?


On Thursday, my mom and I took a surfing lesson from surf legend (not really, but in his mind he is) Doug Deal. He was a 56-year-old, pot-bellied rocker who teaches surfing in the morning and golf in the afternoon. And he was chatty! He knew everything about everything. He knew just about everyone. And he could do just about anything. I was pretty sore from kayaking still so I only made it out to catch waves twice but I did stand up on one of those ventures! And then wiped out about two seconds later. But hey, I did it ok?

Then Doug took us to this place to get the best poke on the island. Those of you who know me know that I don't do raw fish or sushi. Poke is cubes of raw fish. It's seasoned with all kinds of delicious stuff and served over steamed rice. And I have to say, I really liked it!

And on Saturday we decided to spend our day hiking Manoa Falls which was GORGEOUS! We hiked through a beautiful rainforest and then made it to the 150-foot falls and it was an incredible sight to see. You don't see that in Texas, that's for sure!

Of course we mixed some of our typical activities in between all this fun stuff, such as shopping, eating at some of our favorite spots, and lounging on the beach and by the pool. But I was impressed that I was brave enough to expand my comfort zone some and that I found I actually really liked the things we tried! It's all a part of my journey to the "New Me." And there really is no way to have a bad time in Hawaii anyway right?

And the song to end this fabulous post? One of my favorite songs to listen to as I lay out. "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. Obsessed.

The Summer That Was EFY.

I never thought I would survive three weeks of EFY in a row. The closer it got, the more terrified I became about how I was going to have the energy to make it through three whole weeks. And now that I've returned home, all I can think about is how much I wish I was back there! I felt so blessed to have been a part of that experience with those kids. To see them grow and change in just five days was amazing, and I also realized that I was changing drastically right along with them! I felt more confident as a teacher and as a counselor. I felt more secure as I answered their questions. I felt like I could better balance being their counselor and their friend. There were experiences that definitely helped me to grow. There were kids who changed me and had severe influences on who I am now compared to who I was three weeks ago.

And I was also able to make some amazing friends while I was there. Just a few weeks ago, I was sharing with my mom how I felt like my college years have been nowhere close to the best years of my life. I felt like I wasn't meeting lifelong friends. I felt like I wasn't growing and having experiences like everyone around me was. EFY did for me in four weeks this summer what three years of college hasn't been able to do. I made several friends who I hope I can keep in touch with for the rest of our lives. EFY is an experience that you bond over that people on the outside can't really understand.

I finally feel the fulfillment I've been waiting to feel since I graduated high school.

So, the song I've chosen to accompany this sappy blog post is obviously a song from the EFY CD this year. I could choose the theme song, but it quite frankly wasn't my favorite on there. I really learned what it means to be a daughter of God this summer, so the song I've chosen is "I am His Daughter."