Filed under: Uncategorized
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
C.S. Lewis
So nothing in particular that I want to write about tonight, just some things that have made me happy this week.
1. I finished my picnic quilt! And we already had a wonderful picnic on it for my birthday!
2. My mom has a wonderful garden. I love it!! And this week I have enjoyed eating things from it. My favorite things to eat from it are the raspberries and the sweet peas. So yummy!
3.Yesterday I went to a triathalon. Trin participated in it. She is definitely a hero of mine! This is something that I would like to do.I had been thinking about doing a half marathon for awhile, and this actually seems more exciting! The marathon consists of swimming 500 meters. Then they bikefor 12 1/2 meters and run 3 1/2 miles at the end. The biking is the only one that I would really worry about.
4. Speaking of bikes, mom is going to buy me a new one! yay! So we tested out bikes on Thursday, but I still need to look around a bit. I’m not sure what would be best.
5. I have felt content being by myself and not doing 2000 things at once for the first time since getting home from my mission. I think it is a good sign. Not feeling so restless, and feeling a little more content with myself and my life. I still feel I have a ways to go, but I might just possibly be heading in the right direction!
Pink Popcorn!
Next we decided to make lemonade. Before had I did a little preperation and made some fun ice cubes. I froze mint leaves and begonia petals in an ice cube tray. It was a fun little extra for our homemade lemonade.
Next is some pictures of the nephews.
cheeky grin
Do you think he liked it?
I think I like pictures because they say it better than I can.
Then we had a barbeque!!! It was wonderful. And we spread out a blanket and ate in the shade in our yard. I had to jump on the tramploline with the boys in between bites.
We just relaxed and enjoyed eachothers company and then ended the day with fireworks. And no one was injured! A successful day!
Filed under: The loves of my life
I love Elder Holland!! There is a talk by him in the October Ensign about same-gender attraction and it is so good! There is also a talk by Elder Holland in the October New Era about being positive and not fearing the future called “Let Virtue Garnish thy Thoughts Unceasingly”. You can just feel the love that he has for everyone! I love how he addresses hard topics and just nails them! He doesn’t tiptoe around things, he is bold and he doesn’t apologize about it. BUT he does it lovingly too! And he always offers hope! He’s amazing! There are so many landmark talks of his that have given me courage to change my life, answered questions I have, and given me confidence in my beliefs! “Cast not therefore thy confidence”, “Souls Symbols and Sacraments”, “The tongue of angels”, ”The other prodigal”. I really cannot wait until this weekend! I feel like Elder Holland’s way of speaking really works for me but, all of the talks in conference are always so wonderful! Our leaders have such a way of teaching us! I LOVE General Conference!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Well I have a few minutes before I leave for the night, so I decided to write a little. I have been feeling all sorts of wonderful feelings lately! Its FALL!!! Yay!! It makes me SO happy! The crisp air, the wind, the wonderful new colors of the leaves!! Yesterday was the most beautiful day! I love the way fall makes me feel! This crazy excitement and anticipation of something… There usually isn’t really anything specific to be anticipating, But I still feel and love it! This year, though, I am have every reason to be excited! I leave for my mission in 10 days! That is SO soon! In no time at all I will be walking in the streets of Scotland, getting rained on, no doubt, and trying to teach those around me the wonderful news of the gospel!
That’s all for now.
Now, life for a pre-missionary is kinda weird. At least for me. I am kinda in a sort of limbo. Not quite a part of the world around me and not quite yet a missionary. I think the weirdest part about the stage I am in is the dating life. It seems like I was just getting used to how dating is and the whole game of it. But it’s very different right now.
The guys that I go out with know that I am going on a mission…. and soon. So, it makes me wonder why they would even ask me out. Not that I mind. It does give me something to do. And I generally enjoy them. But I wonder what really is the point? For them?
For the most part, it hasn’t been too bad. In fact in some ways I really like it. For example I am learning a ton about what I like about people. I don’t have to worry about how much I like the kid, or why I don’t like him, and instead I can just observe.
But let me tell you about my night last night. Brace yourself, it’s kindof a long story. First I must back track. A friend of mine I’ll call SS has been asking me to go climbing with him and finally I found a day that worked for me so we decided to go on Wednesday (yesterday) But then Tuesday night comes around and I get a phone call from a friend from Florida I’ll call Sam. He tells me that he is coming to Logan and I owe him a date. (I owe him a date?) So I tell him that I am already doing something on Wednesday. But I haven’t seen him in years so I should see him. So he tells me, see if you can get off your date early, but if not, I don’t mind seeing you after. As long as I get to see you before you leave. So I’m think “ok, maybe I can get SS to bring me home a little early” And we get off the phone. Now I will tell you about Wednesday.
Date #1:
SS picks me up about a half hour after work and we head to the Rock Haus. I am slightly amazed that I still enjoy hanging out with this kid because our personalities are pretty different. I am not sure if he is quite as…. silly as me. and I don’t know how much he makes me laugh which is usually really important to me. But perhapse I find it refreshing when I can hang out with someone and we can just be normal and not have to put on a show. So rock climbing was a blast! I love it! We climbed until we physically could not climb anymore. Which is great! So he brought me home at 10:00pm. I had asked him earlier if I could come home early and he was fine with it.
Date #2:
So I called Sam and he was mad! He was mad that I didn’t get home earlier. He said he didn’t care if “this guy’s” time was cut short. And then he grumbled about now not knowing what we were going to do because everything closes at 10:00 and how he WAS going to take me to Hamiltons blah blah blah… Anyway, so I get off the phone with him and he comes to pick me up. We went to Maceys and picked up some ice cream and then went to Ryans Place Park. To eat it and to play on the playground. He wanted to go on the swings and so I sit down and then he goes behind me and starts to push me. Why does it make me uncomfortable when guys I’m not dating touch me? Anyway, so we talk reminissed and I don’t know how it came up but he said that I had a crush on him when I lived in Florida. And I did NOT have a crush on him. And I told him that. I could have gone into detail of why I never or would never have a crush on him, but I refrained. Anyway, we argued about that for awhile, then he decided he wanted to play tag… I wasn’t in the mood. So I chased him a little… and then when I decided I was done. I said “Ok! I’m going to eat the ice cream!” And he eventually came around when he knew I was serious. So the rest of the date he talked about how amazing he was and how he will be the best boyfriend when a girl finally gives him a real chance. Anyway, then I told him my curfew was 12:00. Then he dropped me off. and then he texted me and told me that I was just as beautiful and even more amazing than he remembered me. I don’t get it! I was not the funnest person when I was with him. He wants to go out again before I leave….
One thing that I have found though, is that dating isnt as important to me as it used to be. And the game is quite annoying. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting old, or if its just because I am going on a mission. But I remember when I thought the more dates I had the more successful my week was. Kinda silly huh? Anyway, I hope I feel better about things when I get home from my mission. I have to date before I get married… But I don’t have to worry about that for awhile!
Filed under: The life of an "Almost Missionary"
Ok, this was the title of a post I started to write a long time ago and never posted it. And I looked at it today and I wondered what I had written about this subject. Unfortunately, there was nothing written. I decided to keep the title anyway. Maybe by the end of writing what I had originally planned on, I will think of something to say about me being a pushover. Maybe not.
Ok, life is bueno bueno BUENO! (That’s good good GOOD in spanish) And it really is.
Last night I finally had the desire to work on my picnic quilt and I am in the sewing stage now! The fun part! Only, my mom’s machine (the one that is working) is about a million years old and it kept doing weird things and I never knew how to fix it and after about the 5th time of asking my mom to come down and help me with it I decided it was time to stop. Hopefully she will be able to get the other one fixed so I dont have to use the dinosaur anymore. I really hope that I get this quilt done before I leave on my mission.
Which reminds me, I have a month and 2 more days until I leave. It is crazy how fast it has gone. I have grown so much since I recieved my call but I still feel somewhat lacking. But it is finally setting in that I am really leaving and I find that I really just want to be at home doing things with my family more than anything else. And it’s kinda fun because generally they want to spend time with me too! Today is my day off of work and maybe I will go shopping for my mission. I still have a few things I need to get. Like a camera!! yay! I’m excited about shopping for that! The other stuff…. not so much.
Filed under: me
TAGGED!!!
- What songs/books from your childhood are the most meaningful to you? Well I know that I LOVED the Little House on the Prarie books. I loved the idea of living out on the plains and having nothing to do but chase prarie dogs. When I was younger though my favorite book for my mom to read to me was The Berenstien Bears and the Spooky old Tree my favorite part was “and one with the shivers!!” Read it and you will know what I am talking about. OH and I also really liked a book called Jamberry I think I think that was what it was called. AND there was another one called Something like Sylvester and the magic pebble. A book about a donkey that found a magic pebble and it granted wishes and somehow something went wrong and the donkey turned into a rock. I think one of the most meaningful to me was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Anyway, I had a lot of favorite books. I could go on and on. Each book reminds me of another one tha tI loved. I still love childrens books! But I will stop. And songs, well there are WAY too many to talk about. My mom ALWAYS sings. We would sing rounds on car trips and we had a singing club when I was younger where I learned a whole bunch of silly songs. But I guess the song that sticks out to me the most is the song “I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills” I actually dont know the real name of it. But my mom sang that to me a lot. I am sure I will sing it to my kids.
- If you didn’t have the constraints of family, work, and time what would you love to be doing now with your life? I really dont have any constraints… I basically am doing exactly what I want to be doing right now in my life. Maybe, if I wasnt going on a mission, I would be going to school for all the things that I really want to do but can’t because of money and well, timing. Like interior design, culinary arts, cosmotology, floral decorating… things like that. Mostly I love just learning. And all of those things sound fun! Oh and I would LOVE to visit every museum in the world! Well, maybe there are a few that I wouldnt want to see, but mostly all of them.
- Who did you have the biggest crush on in middle school/junior high – celebrity or real life? Celebrities? Harrison Ford. I once had a dream that he and Willow reseued from a swamp monster. But other than that I think I basically liked any boy that liked me… which probably wasn’t many… because I can’t think of any specific crushes.
- What is something you can’t seem to keep yourself from purchasing? Gumballs. I have a really hard time passing a gumball machine and not putting all the quarters that I have in there.
- What, specifically, have you done in your life that you are the most proud of? Wow, I really cant think of anything that would sound good to anyone but myself. Although, I just got a letter from my friend Ron and he said that I inspired him to start flossing. Which is a BIG thing! And I am VERY proud of that! Oh and one time I gave a police man a bloody lip! That’s pretty cool!
Filed under: random thoughts
This last week I was a volunteer EFY counselor and oh man!! It was AMAZING! In every sense of that word! I had a group of 8, 16-18 year old girls and then I was teamed up with a guy counselor with 7 boys and another girl counselor with 7 girls. We had so much fun! It was so cool to be able to teach and learn about the gospel all day! Except for at the dances of course. Which were also SO fun! They actually expected counselors to be that way! And really it just came natural to me! AND my co-counselor Clif could dance swing! So I got to dance with him and it made him look REALLY good in front of his guys. They were in awe! As a counselor you can basically act as crazy as you want and the kids still think you are WAY cool! Anyway, I learned a lot about teaching the gospel and ways to invite the spirit and things like that. It just made me not so scared to talk about the things that I know. I just can’t even tell you how good it was for me! I am not so sure how much the girls got out of it, but it was life-changing for me!
Here are some of the things that I did that may prove why I wonder if I was the best counselor. First, I started off the week hitting on a married counselor…. yeah…. Who know that they could be married? Apparently in the area sessions they can be. (Area sessions are when the kids just come for the day and then go home at night. Those are the sessions that you can volunteer for) Then… I told my girls that I kinda thought that nose piercings were kinda cool looking. THEN!!! When we were talking to some of the head counselors and the session director (the man in charge of the whole thing) and everyone was quoting the movie Cool Runnings and I said “How ‘bout I draw a line down your head and make it look like a butt?” -Silence- (There I go again) sigh, I think I kept forgetting that I was an example and not just one of the kids. Oh well. I quite enjoyed the week. And I made a few goals to better my life at EFY and I start this week. It’s going to be great!
So now I am back to real life. I talked to a good friend Smelly on the phone today. Funny thing about her nickname. I really do call her that. Anyway, she inspired me. I just got off the phone feeling so empowered! And ready to do what I know I need to do! Something I have been putting off for too long. (long story) Anyway, I got off the phone with her and finished up 5 missionary letters that I wrote today! yay! I love Sundays. BRING ON THE WEEK!
Filed under: random thoughts
I got off work early and I decided to do a few things that I have wanted to do but haven’t had time to do. (go to boarders and just read and listen to music, clean my room, update the blog etc.)
My Uncle who went to England on his mission when he was a lad has been emailing me about my mission and such. He just started this new thing where he gives me a little quiz and as soon as I reply with all the answers he will send me another one. This week’s quiz went something like this:
Define the following terms: Fortnight, Cheerio, Ta, Cars Bonnet, Cars boot
I have figured out most of them. Fortnight– I am not really sure but I think it is 14 days or something Maybe just a week… I dont know. Cheerio–obviously a type of cereal! jk, it’s goodbye. Ta– I have no clue. Car’s bonnet–The hood of a car. Car’s boot–The trunk of a car.
So in my research I have found some other interesting things. Brekkie= Breakfast, Juice= all soft drinks, Tattie= potatoes and toastie= a toasted sandwich. ALSO Sean Connery and J.K. Rowling live in Edinburgh! Maybe I will teach them the gospel!! 
I finally cut my hair! I dontated it to locks of love. And it’s really short. But I am liking it. At first I really wasnt sure how I felt about it and I didnt want anyone to look at me. Now I am realizing that short hair is so much easier and therefore worth it! And I have gotten mostly good feedback. Although my neighbor did tell me that he is now rethinking asking me to be one of his wives… (I took that as POSITIVE feedback)
Work is going well. I had a break from swimming for a month and I am glad to be back! I have 4 classes this time and they are “nice and easy!” I love it! Most of the kids are between 5-7. I can really teel the difference between classes at the begining of the summer and ones at the end. The August classes just seem a lot more used to the water! One of the classes is for the swimming merit badge and so they already know how to swim so basically I just get to play with them! Anyway, I love being busy and it is definitly one of those weeks!
I just got off the phone with my grandmother. She just informed me that there were no huckleberries this year. At least not in the places we usually look! Can you believe it? And I was actually looking forward to picking those tiny little things!
