Good Things to Know About Living in Provo

With the start of the school year almost upon us, and thousands of students moving back to town, I thought I'd do a little write up about the best things to be found in Provo. 

There's not a whole lot of order to this, so take it or leave it. 



FOOD
The best places for dessert are  The Cocoa Bean (for cupcakes, hot chocolate, italian soda) and the Malt Shoppe (for milkshakes). 

If you're going to be out late, there aren't a lot of options. I prefer Denny's. They're open 24 hours, and have pancakes. And unlimited hot chocolate refills. Some people like IHOP, but it's far from campus, and I just don't like it as much. 

If you're going to be on BYU campus and need something to eat, the CougarEat is your best bet. For something healthy, try L&T. The best burgers {in the county, in my opinion} are at Scoreboard. Note that their fries are not as good as the burgers. 

Also on campus, the cafe at the MOA is fantastic, but only open for lunch. And Sugar and Spice is the best place for treats. I love the brownies, but I hear good things about the rice krispy treats, as well. 

Brick Oven is good pizza and great root beer. But you'll want to go on Monday's. Root beer is free {and unlimited}!

Frozen yogurt seems to be pretty popular here in P-town. I haven't been to very many places, but I've noticed that the cheaper the place seems, the better the yogurt is. 

The best Chinese food used to be from the booth at Smith's {the grocery store}. But they've been disappointing lately. So, it's probably a tie between Panda Express and @12, a local place. 



GENERAL INFO
Drivers are kind of crazy. Pedestrians are crazy. But cyclists are the worst. Watch out for them. 

Walmart is cheapest for groceries, but far away from campus.  There's also Fresh Market, but I find it's more expensive. Smiths and Macey's are tied, and I switch between the two based on what's closer. It used to be Macey's. Now it's Smiths. In case anyone cared where I do my shopping. 

I'm pretty sure the DI here puts new things out on for Wednesday. So that's the day for thrifting. 


That's about all I can think of for now.  Any suggestions from you, dear readers? Or questions about anything? 

PSA: French Vocabulary

Just in case anyone was wondering (and I sincerely hope that someone is, because I've seen this happen several times just over the the last few days), it's not 


"walla"
"wal-la" 
"wall-a" 


it's actually...

voila 

because it's French and means "there it is" and you pronounce it with a 'v' not a 'w'.  

The more you know. 

I Remember

 I went home last weekend for an impromptu spring break, and to see my brother one last time before he left on his mission. That was sad and wonderful at the same time. He's awesome. And I'm going to miss him.  That's really all I have to say for today. 

A Simple Thank You

Thank you, Martin Luther King Jr., for being brave and standing up for what you knew to be right. Thank you for believing in your cause so much you were willing to die for it. May you continue to inspire us all to advocate for change. 

Lest We Forget

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-------------------------------------

Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields, 

Sleep sweet - to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw

And holding high, we keep the Faith

With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valour led; 

It seems to signal to the skies 

That blood of heroes never dies, 

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields. 

And now the Torch and Poppy Red 

We wear in honour of our dead. 

Fear not that ye have died for naught; 

We'll teach the lesson that ye wroght 

In Flanders Fields. 

Advocacy

Dear friends, please take a moment to look at THIS. If you happen to be from Missouri, or know someone who his, please forward the links. 

Puppy mills are horrible. Dogs are forced to have several litters a year, they are often kept in cages, aren't allowed to run or even be outside. They aren't given adequate vetrinary care, and are overall treated just horribly. 

Get involved. Missiouians, vote on Prop B. If you aren't, check into your state's rules on puppy mills. If they don't have any, write your congressmen and take a stand on this. 

 

 **tugtugtug** That's me, tugging at your heartstrings. Did it work? Are you voting? Are you writing?

 

Special Olympics

This past weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Special Olympics in Utah. What an amazing experience! Lauren and I volunteered together, and we kind of assigned ourselves to work in the track and field area. Hey, when no one is giving direction, we take initiative! She and I ended up helping out with the long jump. I was put in charge of recording the length of their jumps. At first I was a little apprehensive about it. I haven't done a lot of work with special needs people before, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I ended up having the time of my life! All the participant were so happy to be there. They would cheer each other on, and sometimes needed to cheer each other up. Their smiles were infectious. I feel like I learned so much from them in the short time that I was able to interact with them. I'm already excited to volunteer again next year.