the icing AND the cake

Today, I have been feeling especially happy. I just can't stop smiling. Here are a few reasons for this:

1. I got to go to institute. And it was awesome. It's only 50 minutes long, but it reminds me who I am, where I came from, and why I'm here. It makes me excited to read the word of God from the scriptures and apply those concepts in my life! Brother Calton always challenges us, and makes us do lots of little self-evaluations to aid us in making necessary changes. And I find myself wanting to make changes for the better!

2. Today is Matt's P-Day, which means two very exciting things: I got an email from him today and will get a letter from him in a few days! He sounds so happy right now, which always just makes me happy, too. Heavenly Father always blesses us when we strive to do His will. :)

3. The semester is about half-way over! The end is in sight! And that means Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up quick! Hallelujah! I get to see my family and friends very soon!

4. The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day! I don't know how to explain the effect that this has on me. It's as if the rays beam down and come straight back out my heart. The sun makes me smile, and I can barely contain my happiness. It helps to go to school on a scenic campus. If you ever see a nerdy girl outside in the sun reading (hopefully not a textbook)...it may or may not be me. But it probably is.

5. I am thinking about doing a double major and going to grad school. I can't say exactly why this makes me as excited as it does, but thinking about it just makes me feel empowered somehow. I must confess, there are some days where the prospect of more school does NOT make me excited, but today it does.

6. I just recently started thinking about possibly trying out to be a Young Performing Missionary in Nauvoo, Illinois. Recent as in, like, today. Yeah, it may or may not happen (I would say the likelihood of me getting accepted isn't very good as there are only 20 spots), but it makes me excited to think of it as a possibility.

7. Sometimes I like looking up quotes about random subjects. Today, I decided to look up quotes on happiness. I found this one (which is probably a little tongue-in-cheek):

"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory."
-Albert Schweitzer

But I think this one that I found on lds.org expresses the feelings of my heart in a much deeper way:

"True conversion yields the fruit of enduring happiness that can be enjoyed even when the world is in turmoil and most are anything but happy."
-Elder Richard G. Scott

That is the true source of my happiness--that incredible knowledge that I have of a loving Father in Heaven and his son, Jesus Christ, and their plan for us--ALL of us. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

no thank you, homework

Remember that back to blogging post? I might have been lying. Not intentionally, of course. But lying nonetheless. I can't lie on purpose. Like really can't. At least lie and make it sound believeable. I should never be a spy...

School is HARD this semester. Whoever came up with the idea that classes should get harder as you become an upper-classman? Rude. Not only are they harder, but they are more stressful and MUCH more work. Redundant? Possibly. Whoever you are, I am NOT your number one fan. I'm not even your number one HUNDRED or one hundred THOUSAND fan. That's right. Take that. Now if you could just change that policy, please. Thank you.

I never realized how much time Matt spent calming me down every day as I would stress out about every little thing until he wasn't here to do it. Go figure. However, his letters still do a world of good.

School, I love you.

Homework, I don't. You make my life much harder. I'm trying to love you; they do say that trials make the heart grow stronger, don't they? Well regardless of whether they do or they don't, I'm pretty sure trials do just that. So I'm sure someday I'll thank you. In the meantime...

yep. i do this a lot.

Background:

I have two classes in the same building an hour and a half apart from each other. They are on different floors, but the floorplan on each floor is exactly the same.

Story (for which the Background info. is needed):

So the other day, I walked into one of my classes, and saw a bunch of kids I didn't recognize. This is actually not uncommon for me since I sit in the back and don't normally pay very much attention to the other kids in the class except for those that sit in my direct vicinity. Then a girl that I recognized from one of the past semesters called out to me, "Hey, Katie! Have you been in this class the whole time?!"

I looked around, now uncertain of my surroundings. "Uhh...is this Abnormal Child Psych?"

She gave me a look that suggested she was about to laugh. I knew the answer already. "Haha no," she replied.

"Okay...bye," I said. Then I turned around and walked out.

Explanation (for the Story):

Yep, that's right. I went to the location on the first floor where my class is on the third floor.

Confused? So was I.

Thanks for listening.

my happy place

I have come to discover that there are several small things in my life that take me to what I consider to be my "happy place." (It's similar to "Kate-land," for those of you in my high school choir class...thank you, Ms. Van.) Here are the ones I've recently discovered:

1. Letters/Emails/Pictures from Matt (Duh.)

2. Chocolate (Okay, yeah, maybe I've ALWAYS known this one...but I still had to add it to the list.)

3. Sugar Babies (It just doesn't get much better than that.)

4. Jon Schmidt's Love Story combined with Viva la Vida (Produces uncontrollable dancing...therefore, happiness.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfH2BY5pdLw

5. The early 80's TV show "Scarecrow and Mrs. King." Never heard of it, right? Neither had I until my (awesome) new roommate Jana showed me the first episode and I got addicted. It's definitely not what I would call "intellectual," but heck, I'm in school for like 6 hours a day and then at work for another 2. My brain just doesn't handle intellectual when I get home from school. (That it handles intellectual at all is still in question.) It's cute and romantic and just...cute. Watch it. You'll be happy you did.

http://video.aol.com/video-search/query/scarecrow%20and%20mrs.%20king

6. A 44oz. Mr. Pibb or Dr. Pepper (Okay, so maybe this is another given, but I still have to add it to the list anyway.)

7. Emails from Ashley or Cait. Awesome. (Still best friends even though we're hundreds of miles away from each other. LOVE.)

8. The song "You Can Close Your Eyes" by James Taylor. Awesome memories, good song. Happy Place.

I'm sure there are dozens more (it doesn't take much to make me happy, fortunately), but here are a few for starters. "Count Your Many Blessings," even if it's the small things, right? :)

motto for life

"Now, the most important principle I can share: Anchor your life in Jesus Christ, your Redeemer. Make your Eternal Father and his Beloved Son the most important priority in your life—more important than life itself, more important than a beloved companion or children or anyone on earth. Make their will your central desire. Then all that you need for happiness will come to you."

-Elder Richard G. Scott

You can find the entire talk here. It has become one of my favorites.

ralph the night hair dresser

Possibly one of my favorite things to do in my day-to-day activities is make fun of myself. This happens to come in very handy, because, let's be honest, there is a lot to make fun of. And if I just got embarrassed every time I did something dumb, I would be embarrassed the majority of my time. And that just wouldn't do. I much prefer laughing heartily throughout my day.

That being said, I did something really dumb yesterday. Shocker, I know. I had some leftovers from Oregano's in a styrofoam container that I wanted to reheat for lunch, and I've always heard that putting styrofoam in the microwave isn't good for you. (I have absolutely no idea if this is just one of those rumors that was disproved like 10 years ago, but I've never had the inclination to look it up.) I had planned in my head beforehand that I was going to get one of the paper plates from the kitchen where I work and heat it up on that instead. So I got to the kitchen, got a plate out of the cupboard, poured out the food from the styrofoam container onto the plate, and heated up my meal. It wasn't until I got back to my desk that I realized...

...the plate was styrofoam, too.

I know I've speculated about this before, but my suspicions are getting stronger that Ralph the Night Hair Dresser (he's similar to the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny) not only makes my hair look like a tumbleweed for when I wake up in the morning (seriously, I think he gets a kick out of this) but also dyes my hair brown every single night. There are simply no other logical explanations.

Have I mentioned logic isn't a strong suit of mine?

matt's mission blog

I've started a new blog that I will be working on for the next two years. Specifically the next two years while Matt is on his mission. I will be posting Matt's addresses, regular emails, and any pictures I receive. You can find this blog here.