molly mormon?

During the past semester, I have been informed several times by my roommates that because I have been LDS my whole life, I should know everything there is to know about being a "Mormon girl." In their minds, this constitutes an extensive knowledge of cooking, baking, sewing, cross-stitching, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, cleaning, and, of course, the Gospel. Much to their shock and dismay, however, my cooking is only fair (as is my baking), I hate sewing, the last time I cross-stitched was when I was a Beehive, I can't knit, Ashley makes fun of my crocheting, I've never scrapbooked, and...well...I do clean. I'll give them that one. On the other hand, Ashley and Madison (both of whom are converts) do a great job cooking and baking, they both sew, cross-stitch, knit, crochet, scrapbook, clean, and I'm sure know a great deal more about the Gospel than I do.

One of my favorite examples is during the summer when Ashley randomly decided that she wanted a cute, modest dress and couldn't find exactly what she wanted in the stores....and decided to sew one....having never attempted sewing before. The dress turned out fabulously. It blew me away. The last time I tried sewing was when I was a Mia Maid and decided to make sewing a skirt one of my Personal Progress goals. Let's just say...I never realized how many anger issues I had until I started working on this skirt and my mom probably ended up finishing it.

Madison got a beautiful new set of scriptures recently and with them decided that she also wanted a scripture case. Instead of simply buying one, however, she bought a case, a cross-stitching pattern, and some thread. She was going to cross-stitch the temple into her scripture case! I guess that is supposed to be a very Mormon girl thing to do (apparently I missed the memo somewhere along the line). Then, much to my bewilderment, Ashley decided to join her on this quest! Meanwhile, I sat on my bed playing on my computer (probably on Facebook ha) while they figured out how to cross-stitch. I giggled to myself in great amusement when they asked for my input on cross-stitching. I tried to help (I really did) but to no avail. I'm...not very good at cross-stitching.

In conclusion, I still need to read the Holy Temple book that Madison lent me, my mom sews all my church dresses, and I got a brand new set of scriptures for Christmas with a bright pink case (that I will definitely not be cross-stitching anything into). I love being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints....but I should probably work on some of my "Mormon girl" skills. Haha. I'm going to start my first scrapbook soon...and I'll definitely know who to ask for help.

'tis the season

It has been such a long time since I've written anything! My excuses are valid, however, and they have very little to do with the impending finals. They have everything to do with spending every spare minute I have with my awesome boyfriend Matt and my other friends! I admit, I have not been focusing as much on school this semester on the whole, but with this admission comes the realization of how truly happy I am. And luckily, it looks as though I will do just fine in my classes anyway. (I have been working a little bit in between my fun.) What a truly blessed girl I am!

Some (not that interesting) updates:

-I only have two more finals left!!!

-I get to go home next Wednesday to see mi familia en Prescott--with Matt!!!

-Next Friday I get to go to California to see my grandma and my aunt...and Matt is coming to that, too!!!

-Christmas is coming soon!!!!!!!!! We get to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!!!!

-I get to go camping after Christmas with my family!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!! I LOVE going camping with the Fam.

-AND Madison might come to Prescott to visit me during break!

-Then I get to come back to Tempe and work for awhile before school, and spend more time with Matt!!

-Then, after all that goodness, my grandma and my aunt are coming to Prescott in January!!!!!!

Seem too good to be true? Good thing it isn't. Boy I love Christmas time and being able to spend so much time with friends and family. Hopefully I'll be able to spread my cheer. I don't think it will be too hard--I can barely contain my happiness as it is! Yay Christmas!!!!!!!! :)

i need YOU!

I went to talk to my psychology advising counselor today after my first class was cancelled, and she informed me that I have twelve elective classes that I have to take. She told me that this meant one of two things: that I could either make this a minor or probably turn it into a double-major. The problem is...I have absolutely no idea what I would want to major/minor in. I definitely do not want to do anything history related, as I am taking HST 101 right now and feel as if I am barely hanging on for dear life.

Any ideas?

it's the small things in life

Random moment from today that made me laugh (that probably won't be funny to anyone but me, ha):

Jerod forgot his lunch again today, so I went with him (as I normally do when this occurs) to the MU to buy a lunch. In addition to buying his pizza and breaksticks, Jerod also got a very large drink. I was about to walk out of the MU after Jerod had payed for his food, but he called me back and insisted that he needed a lid and a straw for his drink. Deciding to be helpful, I grabbed the first lid I saw and tried to put it on the top of the drink; however, the lid I had so helpfully grabbed was much too small for his very large drink and so it just dropped inside of the cup and floated atop the lemonade. I stood there confused for a moment before I realized what was going on, and then I reached inside his cup to grab the lid. For some reason, though, I couldn't get a grip on it, so I ended up just pushing it around inside his lemonade for awhile. Eventually, I looked up at Jerod to see him staring at me in amazement at my stupidity. HAHA. Then I couldn't stop laughing for the next twenty minutes, while Jerod still just shook his head in amazement. Ha! Another very happy moment in the life of Katie.

laughter is the best medicine

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wonder if someone is just going to pop out of no where and yell, "You're on candid camera!" or something else along those lines? Well, this has definitely been one of those weeks for me. I wish I could remember all of the strange happenings of this week, but unfortunately, I only remember a couple of them.

My absolute favorite moment (which turned into many, many moments) was when I went outside my apartment to talk on the phone. Before I left, I called out to my roommates, "Don't lock me out!" Haha. Yep. I think I jinxed myself right there. While I was on the phone, my roommates texted me and told me they were going for a run. After I got back from my phone conversation, I walked up the stairs, turned the door handle, and...you guessed it! The door was locked. The very first two words that popped into my brain: "Oh dang." I'm pretty sure those were the only two words that stayed in my head for about two minutes before I started to giggle. My roommates were on a two hour run, it was really late at night, I was locked out of my own apartment, and I had to pee really badly...and my only reaction for the next two hours was to giggle uncontrollably to myself. I'm strange like that. It made me think of Elder Wirthlin's talk from the Saturday afternoon session of general conference where he counseled us to just laugh when things go wrong. Well, I think I definitely took his counsel to heart. Haha. Good times...with myself. Ha.

Another favorite moment from this week happened that very night after my roomies finally got home from their run. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth, and Ashley and Madison were sitting in my room talking and drinking chocolate milk. Madi said something about how listening to Secondhand Serenade sometimes made her wish she had a boyfriend to which Ashley promptly responded, "You can borrow Josh for awhile if you want!" I shook my head as Madison snorted at that suggestion. Ashley gave us the most hurt look I've ever seen cross anyone's face. Madison and I started laughing at exactly the same time--the only difference being that Madi had chocolate milk in her mouth and I did not. Milk sprayed across the room and landed on Ashley's clothes, face, desk, and computer. I had the best view since the milk was backlit by Ashley's light. I started laughing even harder, but my favorite moment was when Ashley's first reaction was to reach down, pull Madi's sweaty sock from off her foot, and start to clean up all the sprayed milk with it. HAHA. Oh man. That was such a happy moment in the life of Katie.

faith and fear

Wow. I feel so confused right now. Actually, confused doesn't even begin to describe it. Perhaps terrified is a better word. I have had a pretty defined idea of what I wanted to do with my life and my education for several years now. And now...I'm just not sure. I began questioning all of my plans today.

I have always been pretty sure that I wanted to be a counselor. I've never been sure specifically what kind of counselor I wanted to be, and I figured that was okay since I'm not very far into my upper-level psych classes and would have time to figure it out. But in general, I've always gone back and forth between marriage and family therapy or something to do with adoptions.

But today at the institute dollar lunch, I had a conversation with Brother Wright that absolutely terrified me. Brother Wright, in addition to being the institute director, is also a marriage and family therapist--a fact I did not know until today. I was immediately interested and began peppering him with questions (he was doing the same to me so I figured it was okay). One of the things he told me that shook me to the core was that he hates doing marriage and family therapy. He hates it. And when he told me why it completely made sense. He started talking about the things they don't teach you in school--the on-the-job-training type of stuff. He told me his first client was a transvestite who was married but didn't want to fix anything about his life. He talked about sex addicts and physical and emotional abusers. Obviously I knew all that stuff existed and that I would have to deal with it, but I didn't realize that I would need to be dealing with it on a daily basis.

Honestly, I'm just not sure I have what it takes. I'm scared that I would be bringing that stuff home with me every night. I'm scared that I'll become hard and de-sensitized to the things of the world. Basically...I'm just scared.

I also talked to him about my desire to work with adoptions. He told me a good idea for that would be to continue what I was doing right now and get a bachelors in psychology and then a masters in social work. I feel like that's probably what I'll do. Even then, I'm scared that I'll be bringing home all that baggage every day.

Regardless of how scared I am right now, however....I still feel pretty sure that I'm supposed to do counseling of some kind. Maybe I'm just going to have to make sure that it's something I'll be able to handle--that I won't be an emotional wreck every day for the rest of my life. I'm far too sensitive for that. I guess the biggest thing is that I'll have to pray about this. I'm sure nothing will help more than that. Faith. I need to have faith.

pure enjoyment

Sacrament Meeting is one of my favorite hours of the entire week. I have not found one other hour of my 168 hour week which uplifts and edifies me more. One of my absolute favorite things about this hour is the chance I get while the Sacrament is being passed to reflect on my life--on the things I have improved on as well as the things I need to improve on. Yesterday, however, as I was sitting and pondering, a thought came into my mind that was most unexpected. It was that I needed to start singing again. Honestly? Out of all the other things I could be thinking about? And I thought, "I need to start singing again"??

This caught me completely by surprise. I haven't thought about singing--really singing--in...well, in months. The shocking thing about this is that for about six years of my life, singing was the main focus of it. I was completely certain that when I went to college, I was going to major in vocal performance and go on to be a singer at the Metropolitan Opera. Despite my certainty, however, as high school went on and my voice competitions became more regular, I realized that singing should NOT be the main focus of my life. There were many reasons for this, one of which was that I did not like the person I became as I exercized this particular talent in such a competitive way. So I decided to move music as one of my minors, and when I started my first semester of college, that idea became only a vague memory as I got busy and almost quit singing altogether.

This summer, I started singing again as I recovered from a very extended illness that I had. Since I had a lot of time in a day in which to do nothing, I spent many hours at the piano in my dining room playing and singing out of pure enjoyment. I finally remembered why I had started singing in the first place, and it was a great feeling. Despite my newfound excitement, as things got harder and I got busier, I stopped singing again. I realized something about myself as I was reflecting in Sacrament Meeting yesterday: I am a very tempermental musician. As long as things are going great and I am happy, I love singing. But as soon as things get a little bit hard, I immediately stop and wonder why I liked singing in the first place.

Perhaps the biggest reason I am writing all of this is that I've heard a million times that if you're actually going to accomplish something, you need to write it down. And this is something I want to accomplish. I want to get back out all my classical and Broadway music and dust it off. Because I really do love singing. It allows me to feel things that I do not ever feel otherwise--intensities of emotion that only express themselves when I sing.

So...here I go. This is something I really want, and I'm going to have to work at it. I know my voice is far from what it used to be. But it's going to be worth it. And maybe, just maybe...as I start to sing again, I'll be able to find a piece of the happiness that I lost before I decided that I didn't want to sing anymore. This is going to be so much fun.

getting sweaty and not sweating the small stuff

I have never been more scolded for not doing something than I have for not writing on this blog. I didn't think people cared so much about the strange workings of my mind. Apparently, it's more for amusement than actual curiosity as to my doings; however, to appease the nagging I will write. You win.

One of the biggest reasons for my lack of consistency on this blog is...lack of time. I feel like I am never home. I spend most of my life on campus (when I am in-between classes, I can usually be found at the institute building, and when I am done with classes, I am at work--still on campus). I love my school, but honestly. This is just getting to be too much. I am fully aware that there are those people who are much busier than I (my roomie Madi being a prime example of this), but for me, this is getting to be just a little too much. I am very much a home-body. I love being able to just sit and vedge on my couch and read a good book. Instead, I sit under a tree outside the MU and read a good book (which has its advantages and disadvantages) when I find the time.

Furthermore, my lack of time (among other things) has been leading to some strange behavior on my part. Case in point: this morning when I woke up, I was terribly tired and very groggy. I stumbled (literally) out to the kitchen and decided I actually wanted to eat breakfast. So, I poured myself a bowl of cereal, reached into the fridge, pulled out the crystal light...and then proceeded to pour it on my cereal. I took me several seconds of pouring to realize that something didn't look right, so I stopped pouring and put the crystal light back in the fridge. Then I realized we didn't have any milk, so I just poured out the crystal light from my bowl and ate my soggy cereal. I feel fairly certain Heavenly Father got a good laugh out of that one. I know I did; I giggled through my entire breakfast.

I think part of the reason I have been so tired lately is because I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping--something that has never really happened to me before. I've been having a lot of bad dreams that wake me up constantly during the night so that even if I go to bed at a reasonable hour, I definitely don't wake up refreshed. Hmm....I'll have to think about that one some more.

Something I'm very proud of as of late: I have been going running! Okay, so maybe it only evens out to 4 or 5 times a week, but I still feel really good about this! It makes me feel better throughout my entire day and gives me a strong sense of accomplishment. I have a new goal every week so that my time will keep increasing. It's great.

Something I'm very grateful for as of late: my roommates. They will never know how much they mean to me. They get me through everything as they offer perspective, comfort, and best of all: humor. Whether they mean to or not, they make me laugh every day. I've always heard that laughter is the best medicine, so thank you Ashley and Madison! :)

Something I want to do better as of late: have more faith. I know Heavenly Father is in control, so I just need to stop sweating the small stuff and have faith that everything is going to turn out exactly like it's supposed to. I need to keep the eternal perspective and remember that even when things go wrong, it's okay. I'm gonna learn something from it, move on, and hopefully be a better person. As long as I'm doing what I need to--what Heavenly Father wants me to--I can (and will) be happy. I know that's true, so I just need to remember it.

the GOOD, the bad, and the ugly

I really probably should wait until I have pictures to put up, but...when do I ever do things in the right order? I just could not wait until I have that kind of time to write about the awesomeness that I have been experiencing for the past week. Yes, a whole week now. I have lived in Tempe for a whole week now!!! And what a glorious week it has been. Yes, it has been full of trials, but the good times certainly outweigh the bad ones. I am so incredibly blessed! I am living with Ashley Jungbluth and Madison Taets...two of the most amazing girls I have ever met. Seriously, it was absolutely ridiculous for me to believe that I couldn't get any closer to them than I already was...because I feel closer and closer to them every day. They are my family--my sisters. (Okay, so sometimes I call Madison "Mom"...but only sometimes.) And I know the best is yet to come. I love them more than I can even express.

And Abby is back from Florida! I am extraordinarily happy that she is back. She makes my life 500 times happier....especially when she laughs (which seems to be a common occurance). As was the same with Ashley and Madison, I have grown even closer to Abby since she has gotten back. (Shoot, our little crying sessions do us wonders!:)

Along with moving back to Tempe, however, there comes also...school--encompassing the good, the bad, and the ugly. I know it is a little early to say, but I am a little concerned about the excitement factor of this semester. I have yet to find a class boring, but psychology research methods is the closest it's come. Granted, today was only my second day attending that class, but....I am definitely concerned. I love psychology, but research methods? I know it will help in the years to come (as I move on to graduate school), but this semester will be very interesting (in the least interesting sense of that word). Oh well! I love learning, so I'll just try to soak it all up and be content. Institute, of course....well....institute will be absolutely amazing. As always. No worries there.

In a nutshell, there are some things that I have already determined about this semester, the first being: it's not gonna be easy. In fact, it's going to be really, really hard--and that's classes aside. The second thing I've determined: even though it's gonna be really hard, it's going to be completely worth it. I am already learning so much. And the main thing I've determined: God is in control....He really is. So why am I worrying anyway?

shooting guns and shooting stars

Two FHE's ago, I had the opportunity to do something that I absolutely love....but hardly ever have the chance to do. I was able to go shooting--shotguns, no less. I know that might sound very strange and/or twisted (especially to my Phoenician friends), but what can I say? I will always be a small-town girl at heart. It was so, so fun! My only regret is that I didn't get pictures.

Two Tuesdays ago, I got to go tubing down the Salt River with Briana Bluth, Kailan Anderson, Raquel Higgins, Gary Fenn, and Ambre Martin (now Ambre Fenn!!!). I had a blast. It was so, so fun. Unfortunately, I got very sunburned (since the tube with the sunscreen in it was almost always about a hundred yards or so down the river), but that didn't really matter much. One of the funniest things about the whole trip was watching Kailan float around in her tube. HAHA I could not stop laughing. Her dad had generously donated two tubes to our cause, but when we got to Tempe and put air into the tubes we realized they were pretty tiny. We put the ice chest in one of the tiny tubes, and Kailan ended up with the other. Watching her paddle around in her tube (while she was almost fully immersed in the water) is a sight that I hope never leaves my memory.

For the last couple of weeks, I have just been working....and getting sick. :( Although I don't actually feel that sick, I sound far more sick than I really am. My voice is almost completely gone, and since I work in a country club snack bar, I always wonder whether our customers are thinking, "Do I really want that girl touching my food?!" Don't worry, though, I am constantly washing my hands, and I ALWAYS wear gloves when handling food. I am stoked that I have been getting so many hours at work but am pretty disappointed since I have to work next Sunday. :( I am going to go to a family ward in the morning before work, but I am really going to miss my last Sunday in the Prescott Singles Ward. I LOVE those kids!

And as of 8-8-08, Ambre is married!!! I am so, so happy for her and Gary! I love them both so much. It's still something I'm having trouble comprehending--that one of the girls I grew up with is married--but it's awesome! And they got married in the temple, which just makes it 500 times better! :)

Last Monday for FHE, we hiked P-Mountain. The whole walk was pretty dang gorgeous, as the sun was setting behind the mountains and cast a light across the valley. I was super stoked the whole time. I tried to get some pictures, but my little camera did it no justice. I guess sometimes memory must suffice. Another amazing thing happened when I got to look through a telescope for the first time!!! Oh my gosh, I have been missing out on life. I got to see the moon, Jupiter, and Venus. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. As strange as it sounds, I felt so important. As small as I am compared to everything else in the universe, Heavenly Father cares about me! It was an incredible experience.

Last night, I got home from a movie and glanced up at the sky. OH my, it was amazing! I have never seen clouds like that in my life. So, of course, I had to get out my camera and try to capture the moment. Again, I certainly didn't do it justice, but the pictures still came out pretty cool. Then, after I was done with my picture-taking, I spent several wonderful minutes just looking up at the sky and thinking about my life and about Heavenly Father. It was wonderful. And then, to my complete and utter awe, I saw a shooting star--below the clouds! It was so, so beautiful and an experience I will never forget. My heart is so full with gratitude to our Heavenly Father.

lately

So...quite a lot has happened recently. Although I should have just written about everything as it came, I didn't. Dumb thing to do. Now I have a lot to write about, and I'm a little daunted by the enormity of the task. I apologize up front if this narrative turns out to be a novel.

Two weekends ago, my extended family (on my mom's side) gathered together in my little town to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary (quite an accomplishment!). My aunts, uncles, and cousins traveled from all different areas of the country to celebrate. My aunt Kim, uncle Steve, and cousin Ryan arrived first from Montana. It was awesome to see them, and Ryan has grown up so much since I last saw him! (Ryan is my younger brother Eric's age--15.) Ryan and Eric decided to set up camp in a tent on the deck of my house...and when I say camp, I definitely don't mean that literally, other than the fact that they were sleeping in a tent. Inside their tent, they put together a large array of electronics, including (but in no way limited to) a TV, a game cube, and a wii....all inside the tent! Haha, my little brother cracks me up. Geek.

Next to arrive were my uncle Burnell, aunt Lynn, cousin Tracie, and Tracie's baby, Colton, who all hail from Connecticut. I had never met Tracie's baby before, so this was awesome! He is so, so cute. I kind of wanted to steal him from her, but I eventually decided against that idea due to the great amount of resistance from his mother. And finally my cousin Meagan, her husband Kirk, and my cousin Courtney arrived from Utah. Meagan and Kirk are settling down in the Salt Lake area, and Courtney attends BYU (which I try not to hold against her).

Unfortunately, the next day, I had to work while the rest of the family went canoeing. :( However, it sounds like they had an amazing time. That night, when I got home, I had to hurry and get ready for my grandparents' anniversary party (which turned out to be a huge success). We ate dinner, cake, and candy, followed by my grandparents giving "marriage advice." The advice to me (from my grandma) was to marry at least five years younger than me since women are expected to live longer. I laughed so hard, picturing a little 14-year-old boy. Next on the agenda was watching the movie that Tracie had put together of all the kids and grandkids talking about their favorite memories of Grandma and Grandpa. What I learned from that experience: I HATE watching/hearing myself on camera. Yuck. But the movie turned out really cute despite my presence in it, and my grandma and grandpa loved it. At the end of the night, both of them declared independently that this was one of the happiest nights of their lives.

The next day, we went hiking (near Granite Mountain) with the whole family (minus my grandparents and my mom), which was also a lot of fun. It was awesome to have some one-on-one time with each of my cousins and hear some of their life experiences. I absolutely love talking to all of them, partially because it reminds me that I'm not alone in all of the things that I'm going through. That night, we had a BBQ at the base of Thumb Butte. It was gorgeous weather; we had some very minor rain, thunder and lightning in the distance, and then a very beautiful full moon. We also had a pretty big bonfire, which seemed to me to be the hit of the evening, haha. Everyone liked the fire.

My mom, cousin Courtney, and me at the BBQ; Some of my cousins, aunts, uncles, G&G

The next day, everyone except Lynn, Burnell, Tracie, and her baby headed out. After everyone had left, Lynn told stories about their family, which was honest-to-goodness probably my favorite part of the whole reunion. I loved listening to her. She is an amazing storyteller, and it gave me such insight into every member of that family.

The following weekend, my grandma Joyce and aunt Ginny (on my dad's side) came to visit. I am especially close to both of them, so this was really fun. They also brought their dogs...a 14-year-old border collie (Missy) and a 10-month-old black lab (Cody). LOL, Cody sure kept me on my toes. (I'm lucky I have any toes left after what he put them through.) He is 110 pounds of pure puppy. Gotta love it. (I am convinced that the spelling of labrador was originally "lap"ador; this dog's favorite place to sit was in my lap--a bone-crushing experience.) Later on in the trip, I could tell my dog was getting sick of Cody and Missy. He wanted them out. Missy kept biting him to "protect" her food (which was actually MY dog's food). Finally, he gave in and bit her back...only when he bit her, he bit her hard, and she ended up needing stitches. As horrible as it sounds, I didn't feel too badly for her.

My aunt and I went shopping on Monday! Yay! I LOVE shopping. Especially with Ginny. This was definitely a highlight of my last two weeks. :) Two days after our shopping excursion, they went home. :( I miss them!

On Wednesday night, I was feeling kind of restless. I had been very busy with work and family but had had very little time to just hang out with friends. I needed to get out of the house! Travis Moore invited me to go with him, Eric Campbell, and Natalie Bonnett to go cave exploring. Although I very badly wanted to go somewhere, I wasn't sure this was the place I had been hoping for. However, I eventually gave in...with awesome results! I didn't think I would be the cave-exploring kind of girl (if there is such a genre of girls), but I surprised myself and LOVED it! In fact, I loved it so much that I went again the next night with 15 other kids. The cave is pretty big--and when I say big, what I really mean is long, because you have to crawl through most of it. There were some awesome stalactites and stalagmites, and basically...the whole thing was just pretty cool.

Natalie and me on the first night; Part of our group the second night

There were only two things that semi-scared me. The first was on the first night when Natalie and Eric went ahead of Travis and I in the cave. As I was crawling through a pretty small opening, I felt something touching my back that did NOT feel like rock. I think I screamed; I can't be sure, but I must have made some sort of an I-am-uncomfortable-with-whatever-is-touching-me kind of noise, because immediately afterward, all three of my spelunking buddies started laughing. It turned out that Natalie was sitting on the rock above me and thought it would be uncommonly funny to touch my back to freak me out. It worked. And they DID think it was uncommonly funny.

The second was on the second night when someone scared a bat into flying immediately by my left temple. Now, I would just like to justify myself in saying that I do like bats. Really. I even did a report on them in the 7th grade. Despite this, I do not particularly enjoy when one touches me, or even comes close to doing so. I think I screamed then, too, but...again I can't be sure.

That in a nutshell (a very LARGE nutshell) is what I have been up to the past few weeks. I'll try to be more regular about blogging, because otherwise I'll probably end up with a novel or two every time I sit down to write. And I don't think ANYbody wants that.

P.S. There will be more photos on facebook later if you want to see more of my adventures.

everyday angels

I know I've said this before, but I wanted to post it anyways.

I love how my friends:

-always call me pumpkin, babe, girl, girly, sparky, etc.
-always tell me nice things about myself
-tell me i'm beautiful (even when I don't feel like I am)
-always comment on my "big red lips"
-always bring the gospel into every conversation
-are so outgoing with everyone
-always say what's on their minds
-make me laugh (sometimes by saying what's on their minds)
-are ALWAYS there for me, no matter what
-write me silly little notes just to let me know they're thinking about me
-tease me when I do or say something stupid (yes, this one happens a lot)
-are able to make fun of themselves
-understand that I'm shy sometimes and make up for the difference
-often know me better than I know myself
-never let me go unnoticed
-make me tell them about my problems (even though sometimes I don't want to at first), and then
-always make my problems seems lighter but never unimportant
-have such strong testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
-strengthen my testimony through their awesome, quiet examples

Last Sunday, I was reminded of a concept that I'd heard before but had since forgotten. It was that the Lord sends "ministering angels" into our lives all of the time but almost never in the form of angels as we normally think of them. Usually our ministering angels are sent in the form of normal, everyday people who (knowingly or unknowingly) influence our lives for good.

Every single day, my life is influenced by these angels. I wish I could individually name off what each of my angels does for me each day, but unfortunately...I don't have that much time. But truly, truly...I would not--could not--be where I am today without them. I just hope you all know who you are. You really do touch me every day.

my beautiful/ugly/wonderful/awful phone

This might seem like a strange starting point for a blog. However, to me, it seems like the perfect place to start. You might have to really know me to understand where this is coming from, but...alas. Here it goes.

Approximately one month ago, my product red motorazr died. If you've ever been around me at all, the chances are extremely high that you've heard me complain about this phone. The screen froze up all the time, the texting was terrible, and it was, in one all-inclusive word, slow. This stinkin' phone drove me crazy! Every day I had something bad to say about it. Sounds like I should have thrown a party when it broke, right? Wrong. When it broke, I cried. I surprised even myself at how sad I was when it broke. And when I went to Best Buy and they told me there was nothing I could do, I tried to convince myself that buying a new phone would be a good thing--that anything would be a step up from my razor. But the reality of it was that I was heartbroken. My phone was dead. My phone that had been through two break-ups, graduating from high school, moving away to college (and all that goes along with that, including the heartache), and ending up in the hospital at the end of the semester, with me. As dramatic as it sounds, a very small part of me died when my phone died.

When I got my new phone, the LG rumor, I should have been a little more excited. It has all the features that my old phone didn't. Still, every day I find something new to complain about. The tiny buttons on the keyboard, the irritating noises that it makes for everything (the incoming calls/texts, alarms, etc), the number 3 button that sticks regularly.

And yet...this is how I know I'm going to love this phone. It will be a great new start.