all things

Last week, I was a counselor for a Young Women's conference. It was a lot like EFY but only for girls between the ages of 11 and 16.

Best week ever.

I am exhausted. Still. Days later. But it was great. I felt like it was at least as awesome for me as it was for the girls. There were awesome speakers, incredible role models, uplifting messages, and girly activities like fashion shows, dances, and dress-up parties. It was fantastic.

I took notes through the whole thing and came out with some pretty memorable quotes. Unfortunately, I don't have my binder with me right this second, so I'll post some of my favorites later. However, the quote that stuck with me most throughout the conference was, strangely, not even mentioned in the conference. It was something that just replayed in my head over and over, and I knew I had heard it in a general conference talk somewhere, sometime. I just didn't know why it was stuck in my head. The quote was,

"I can do hard things."

Maybe it was stuck in my head because being a counselor at this conference was hard for me. It was awesome, wonderful, inspiring, and all other positive adjectives previously mentioned, but it was also a lot of work. Maybe it was stuck in my head because I felt so inspired to do something great with my life after listening to so many accomplished speakers. Or maybe it was stuck in my head because Heavenly Father was trying to tell me something...and I'm just not quite sure what that something is yet.

It wasn't until today that I remembered that I wanted to look up the talk where that quote came from. After doing a quick search, I found the talk by Elaine S. Dalton from the October 2008 General Conference. It turns out, however, that I only got half the quote right. Sister Dalton says,

"Last general conference, I was called by President Monson to be the new Young Women general president. As I stood in the presence of a prophet of God and was given this sacred trust, I pledged that I would serve with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. Prior to this calling, I had a small plate inscribed with a motto that read, 'I can do hard things.' That little plate bearing that simple motto gave me courage. But now if I could change that motto, it would read: 'In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things.' It is on that strength that I rely today as I stand at this sacred pulpit."

1,000 times better.

In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things.

Even hard things.

That quote epitomizes how I felt the entire week.

Thank goodness I didn't have to do that by myself.

And thank God I won't ever have to.

craziness

I thought about naming this post "The Most Random Night of my Life," or "Mom Was Right About Talking to Strangers," or simply "I Hate Bugs," but I just felt like none of them gave last night any justice.

"Let me explain. No there is too much. Let me sum up."

Baaasically, it all started out with a cockroach in Katie's and my bedroom. When Katie saw the little demon creature made by God, she screamed. Then when I realized what she was screaming about, I screamed and we both ran squealing down the stairs. Then my roommate Chantal wanted to help us kill it, and we tried to decide between us who was the bravest, but alas…none of us proved to be of a brave heart. Let me put the rest in bullet point form:

- We attempted spraying the cockroach from 5 feet away so we could stay as far away from it as humanly [or bugly] possible.
- Heard it making noise in the bag and screamed.
- Called all boys we could possibly think of and FINALLY got ahold of Jared Pager.
- He said he’d be there in twenty minutes and joked that he’d bring scorpions.
- I told him I’d kill him.
- Went back to our room five minutes later and discovered that the cockroach was gone.
- Screamed some more.
- Eventually found it under my dresser dying.
- Sprayed it some more.
- Realized it was finally dead and were too scared to pick it up to throw it away.
- Jared arrived and removed the cockroach from the scene.

This is where it gets even more interesting:

- While Katie was outside throwing away the “cockroach bag,” a woman ran up to her and asked to use our restroom.
- Katie was so taken aback that she said yes.
- This woman ran ahead of Katie, opened our front door [much to Chantal, Jared's, and my surprise], and ran up our stairs.
- We got an incredibly shocking view of this woman’s body from this upward angle.
- She wasn’t wearing very many articles of clothing…and what she did have on was…extremely revealing.
- She turned around most of the way up the stairs to ask where our bathroom was. (?!?!?!)
- She stayed in there for a few minutes, and then came out and said, “Nice house,” and left.
- We checked to make sure she hadn’t stolen anything,
- And appropriately named her “the Hooker.” Believe me, she fit the part.
- Interestingly, there were “track marks” in her arms from too many needle drugs…prohhhbably not the prescription kind. If I had to make a guess.
- We didn’t find any drugs hidden inside our toilet.
- Or behind our shower curtain.

Third strange occurrence for the night:

- Our front door handle broke. So we were locked inside and had to take the door handle apart. At 1:00 in the morning. Thanks, Cockroach. Thanks, Hooker.

What an eventful night. Here is what I have learned:

- I am a sissy. [Cait says I should have figured this out from the Litterbug post.]
- My roommates are sissies. [But not as much as me. Maaaybe I should have mentioned that when I said "we" sprayed the bug, what I really meant was "they" sprayed the bug.]
- Don’t let strangers in your house…especially at night when they look like they’re druggies and/or hookers. [Just say no.]
- I could be a handyman. [Except for the fact that my roommates did all that work, too.]
- I am tired. [But I wasn't too tired to go get slushies from QT at midnight with Katie and Chantal. We needed comfort food.]

And, last but not least:

- I have awesome roommates. We have a ton of fun in weird situations. [Even cockroach-infested, full-bladdered-hooker, broken-doorknob situations.]

Lots of laughing ensued after (and even during) all this craziness.

Good times.