Another Onsalught of the Lovely Texts My Phone Sends Me

1. "If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves."  - Thomas A. Edison
2. "You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming." - Pablo Neruda
3. "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." General George S. Patton
4. "After about three lessons, the voice teacher said 'Don't take lessons. Do it your way.'" - Johnny Cash
5. "Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves." - Princess Diana
6. "Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!" - Jane Austen
7. "The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness." - The Dalai Lama
8. "I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got." - Walter Cronkite
9. "Better to live one year as a tiger, than a hundred as a sheep." - Madonna
10. "One can be very happy without demanding that others agree with them." - Ira Gershwin
11. "I'm hoping that someday some kid, black or white, will hit more home runs than myself. Whoever it is, I'd be pulling for him." - Hank Aaron
12. "If we stopped trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." - Edith Wharton
13. "My hope still is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here." - Jim Henson
14. "Friendship makes prosperity more brilliant, and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it." - Cicero
15. "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." - Marcel Proust
16. "Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or help you sleep at night." - Marian Wright Edelman
17. "If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti
18. "I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine." - Bruce Lee
19. "The true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good." - Ann Landers
20. "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance." - George Bernard Shaw
21. "There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you if you don't repeat it." - Pearl Bailey
22. "You can't win unless you learn how to lose." - Kareem Abdul-Jabaar
23. "Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it." - Buddha
24. "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy
25. "Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes
26. "You cannot depend on  your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain
27. "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive." - Anais Nin
28. "There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
29. "Happiness is good health and a bad memory." - Ingrid Bergman
30. "To be without some of the things you want is an indispensible part of happiness." - Bertrand Russell
31. "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson
32. "Always do the right thing. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain
33. "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." - Oscar Wilde
34. "When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." - George Washington Carver
35. "You are not judged by the height you have risen, but from the depth you have climbed." - Frederick Douglass
36. "Uncertainty and expectation are the joys of life." - William Congreve
37. "Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes." - Goethe
38. "Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom." - Albert Einstein
39. "Lost time is never found again." - Benjamin Franklin
40. "Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." - Henry David Thoreau
41. "Do not fear mistakes. There are none." - Miles Davis
42. "You are only as good as the team you have behind you." - Jim Palmer
43. "I must govern the clock, not be governed by it." - Golda Meir
44. "We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men." - Herman Melville
45. "Do not seek to follow the footsteps of the men of old. Seek what they sought." - Basho
46. "Be careful what you set your heart on, for it will surely be yours." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
47. "If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment." - Georgia O'Keefe
48. "The act of acting morally is behaving as if everything we do matters." - Gloria Steinem
49. "If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." - George Patton
50. "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - William Shakespeare
51. "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglass
52. "Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly." - Robert Schuller
53. "What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
54. "Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life beautiful." - Joshua J. Marine
55. "Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for kindness." - Seneca
56. "When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
57. "A real friend is the one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." - Walter Winchell
58. "Anger is never without reason, but seldom a good one." - Benjamin Franklin
59. "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
60. "Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it." - Ella Williams
61. "The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves." - Helen Keller
62. "I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird." - Paul McCartney
63. "It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich." - Henry Ward Beecher
64. "When we see men of contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves." - Confucius
65. "What I know for sure is that what you give comes back to you." - Oprah Winfrey
66. "An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh." - Will Rogers
67. "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." - Robert Frost
68. "Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be stong to live, as well as to think." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
69. "Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time." - Steven Wright
70. "If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work." - Kahlil Gibran
71. "He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know." - Lao-tzu
72. "Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted  was once eccentric." - Bertrand Russell

As We Express Our Gratitude, We Must Never Forget that the Highest Appreciation is Not to Utter Words, but to Live by Them.

That title is a quote by John F. Kennedy, and I think it's brilliant. I've never been good at directly expressing gratitude verbally, so instead I try to come up with lots of other ways to say it - gifts, service, hugs, whatever else may come to mind depending on the situation. But here I'd like to verbally express some things that I've become more deeply grateful for over this year, especially in the past few months.

1. Old Friends That Never Get Old. I've managed to hold on to a lot of these. And I love it. There is nothing that makes me happier than a call or text, out of nowhere, from someone who I've been friends with for a long time. I think there is a sweet joy that comes only from a friendship that doesn't require constant attention, but is still in perfect condition when you come back to it. When you find those people with whom you know affection will never strain, you receive a peace that is unique and satisfying in a way that cannot come by any other means.

2. New Friends that Bring New Life. Lately I've made a lot of new friends that have really opened me up to a lot of experiences and perspectives, and my life has become so much richer through their influence. Especially recently, their philosophies and the experiences I've had with them have helped me figure out a lot of things I've been struggling with...for years in some cases. And I am so glad that my life crosses paths with so many interesting and wonderful people. I adore them.

3. A Quirky Family Full of Weirdos. And they are all proud of it. It is easy to discover who you are and not be afraid of it when you have a family where no one is afraid of being "the crazy one." We're all crazy on this bus. And that's what makes life fun. And we all know we are valued. YAY!

4. The Drama and Struggle that's Unavoidable in Life. Some people might think this is nuts, but having experiences in my life that are stressful and unhappy...make me happy. Like an Olympic athlete who has to train every day, who has to push themselves until their muscles, lungs, and heart are screaming - the feeling of your muscles expanding and becoming stronger keeps you going, and when your endorphines kick in your feet don't even hit the floor anymore, and the second you cross the finish line or make that point, all the pain and tediousness of the training is worth it. So it is with trials: you feel whatever part of yourself becoming stronger, at some point, the angels come down and pick you up, then suddenly, it all clicks and the pain is worth it. That is you've really achieved something...that is when you are invincible.

So I hope everyone can recognize the daily sweetness in their lives that comes from...life. I sincerely believe that everything you need to be happy in life is present before you, always. Sometimes you just have to look at a different angle, or just pick it up and dust it off. Man was made to have joy, so go have it!

How Dove Chocolate Inspired Me to Change My Life

Today some of us were not having the best day at work, so I bought a bag of Dove milk chocolate caramels and shared them around my team.

Dove chocolates have this great campaign where they have little sayings inside the wrapper. The first chocolate I ate said "Dare to love completely." It made me stop, because I've actually been thinking about that a lot. I really don't think that I do that...not just with guys, but with everyone. I love those ladies who call everyone darling and sweetheart...why can't I be one? Then it changed to: why shouldn't I be one? I can be one just as well as anyone else, I just have to work through shyness issues first.

Then I got a chocolate that said "You're gorgeous." And it made me very sad, because that, I think, is an ultimate compliment. Better than hot or sexy, or even beautiful. And I didn't want to hear it from a chocolate wrapper. I wanted to hear it from someone.

Then I imagined some poor morbidly obese girl, watching 80s teen movies and bawling her eyes out while stuffing her face with chocolates, reading the wrappers and believing every word. And how sad, I thought, if she believed the chocolate wrappers and didn't think she had to change herself or work to become better. And what if that girl was me? What if I was unwilling to chnage something I needed to change in order to accomplish my goals and dreams, simply because I don't realize it's a problem?

Then I thought: There are probably tons of other girls who wish someone would tell them they're gorgeous. There are probably tons of guys who need some kind of ego boost as well.

Then: synthesis. If I work to change my shyness by letting people know positive things I notice about them, I will resolve all four of the above problems.

I've made goals loads of times in the past to be better about being friendly to people, complimenting people, smiling, saying hi; you know all those things that people say you should do all the time, because you never know how it could make someone's day or change their life. And it's worked for a while. But I've never quite gotten over that part of my brain that says "don't talk to people you don't trust, and don't trust anyone who hasn't given you years of evidence that they can be trusted." Kind of a road block. Also, I don't really do small talk. I'm socially handicapped in that area.

But this year has been all about stepping out of the swamp and onto higher ground. So here it goes: I'm going to express positive things about everyone around me when I notice something. Because everyone deserves to hear that they're gorgeous in some way, and expressing appreciation is a huge key to loving completely. I'm going to take Dove's advice, and I'm going to live better, and help others live better.

In April's conference, Elder Ballard gave a talk on this very subject: Finding Joy through Loving Service. His points about patiently building up a cache of small services, and small joys, and how evenutally that will overflow and bless your life with the ultmate blessings is the important thing to realize. I think that was my problem for so long...giving one person a compliment each day doesn't seem like it's going to make a difference in anybody's life. But it does, especially the person giving the compliments. And I want to be that person.

So, for those who read this, you're gorgeous. :)

Heroes: Ann and Nancy Wilson

So, a few weeks ago, Jill and I went to see Heart and Def Leppard in concert. It was the third Def Leppard concert we've seen together. But it was Heart that I was really going for. Heart is definitely one of my top three bands of all time (with Muse and Foreigner). And I always worry that I won't get a chance to see my favorite classic rock bands in concert before it's too late, so I always grab the chance.

I've seen a lot of concerts, but something about this one was different. I know a bit about the story of Ann and Nancy Wilson, and I'd been looking forward to seeing them in concert, interacting with each other, observing the sisterly bond. It was there: they complimented each other and talked of the support and talent they'd provided for each other over the years. I found that quite remarkable.

But the thing that really got to me was the courage of their concert. As a concert goes, the lighting was very simple, wardrobe simple, effects practically non-existant. But the energy flow from Ann and Nancy, and their performance - unmatchable. Nancy, a 57-year-old woman, was jumping around on stage during her guitar solos - she did a toe touch in the middle of the intro to "Crazy on You." And Ann...was unbelievable.

Usually in concerts, the songs are a little different from the recordings. Notes held a little longer, a few extra runs thrown in, whatever. But Ann was totally unafraid to mix up the tempo and sing whatever in the world came to her head, and pulled it off completely brilliantly. I wish I had a recording to share. But for example, after the second chorus in "Crazy on You," she slowed down so much, people thought the song was over (I knew better because I'd been waiting for my favorite line which hadn't come yet!). And I already knew she knows how to bust it out...but live, it was mind-blowing busting. She just sang...as though to stop singing meant to die. I felt like her heart, the spirit and the emotions, was tangible through the sound of her voice. I know it absolutely doesn't make sense, but I'm still blown away.

Knowing Ann's history, I thought about the things she must've gone through mentally to become what she is. To be able to stand on that stage and blast the ears and minds of thousands of people...you must have a ton of confidence, or a ton of gumption (probably both).

So I realized something, between "Crazy on You" and "Barracuda" somewhere. What's the point in holding back? Sing, whatever you want, as loud as you can. Do it differently than what people expect. Do it the way it makes you happy. You'll discover your boundaries and limits, and you'll become stronger within them, and gain the ability to stretch them. And no one in the world can rightly scoff at you for passionately pursuing something you legitimately love. It will be hard work, and you'll have to keep trying and keep getting up every day, but when you right the right note with the right power, the whole world will stop and notice. So just keep singing until you get there.

 

Thank you, Ann Wilson (and Nancy cause that toe touch was awesome!).

Inspiration. (Lots and lots of quotes.)

So I meant to blog about Peru, and the Heart concert, before I did this...but I really need to clean out my text inbox. Haha. So, here is a huge slough of awesome quotes (seriously, a ton of these are amazing!).

1. "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." - General George Patton
2. "An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo
3. "In order to live free and happily you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice." - Richard Bach
4. "The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." - Victor Hugo
5. "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now." - Goethe
6. "If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." - Alice Roosevelt Longworth
7. "The truth is more important than the facts." - Frank Lloyd Wright
8. "Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." - James Baldwin
9. "Happiness is the full use of your powers along lines of excellence." - John F. Kennedy
10. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi
11. "When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before." - Mae West
12. "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix
13. "How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself." - Anais Nin
14. "Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real." - Tupac Shakur
15. "Whatever you fear most has no power. It is your fear that has the power." - Oprah Winfrey
16. "The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances." - Martha Washington
17. "It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." - Bill Gates
18. "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." - Nelson Mandela
19. "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." - Dalai Lama
20. "Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." - Babe  Ruth
21. "Imagination is more important that knowledge." - Albert Einstein
22. "Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them." - Leo Tolstoy
23. "True happiness is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." - Helen Keller
24. "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun." - Katharine Hepburn
25. "Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly of having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." - Hank Aaron
26. "You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try." - Dolly Parton
27. "Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change." - Jesse Jackson
28. "Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." - John F. Kennedy
29. "Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation on how it shall be spent." - Samuel Johnson
30. "Cherish all your happy moments; they make a fine cushion for old age." - Christopher Morley
31. "The crisis of yesterday is the joke of tomorrow." - H.G. Wells
32. "He who knows enough is enough will always have enough." - Lao-Tzu
33. "It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
34. "Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration." - Igor Stravinsky
35. "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." - Edith Wharton
36. "Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that one becomes rich." - Sarah Bernhardt
37. "Look and you will find it; what is unsought will go undetected." - Sophocles
38. "The world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself." - Henry Miller
39. " It is only with the hear that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Antoine de Saint-Exupery
40. "A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." - Francis Bacon
41. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
42. "Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend." - Albert Camus
43. "All our dreams come true...if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
44. "Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." - Benjamin Disraeli
45. "If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal. Not to people or things." - Albert Einstein
46. "You are never a loser until you quit trying." - Mike Ditka
47. "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." - Confucius
48. "Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is an attitude." - Martin Luther King Jr. 
49. "It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the end." Ursula LeGuin
50. "How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world." - William Shakespeare
51. "Since you get more joy out of giving to others, put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give." - Eleanor Roosevelt
52. "Never injure a friend, even in jest." - Marcus Cicero
53. "Please all, and you will end up pleasing none." - Aesop
54. "To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance." - Oscar Wilde
55. "There are only two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein
56. "There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult." - Rainer Maria Rilke
57. "We've removed the ceiling above our dreams. There are no more impossible dreams." - Jesse Jackson
58. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
59. "Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship." - Epicurus
60. "You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one." - Henry David Thoreau
61. "If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives." - Vince Lombardi
62. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle
63. "To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind." - Pearl Buck
64. "Never apologize for showig feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth." - Benjamin Disraeli
65. "Find the ecstasy in life. The mere sense of living can be joy enough." - Emily Dickinson
66. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
67. "Energy and persistence conquer all things." - Benjamin Franklin
68. "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou
69. "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." - Herman Melville
70. "Ideas are the beginning of all achievement." - Bruce Lee
71. "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." - Anais Nin
72. "If you haven't cried, your eyes cannot be beautiful." - Sophia Loren
73. "Life itself is the proper binge." - Julia Child
74. "Re-examine all that you have been told...and dismiss that which insults your soul." - Walt Whitman
75. "The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding." - Leoardo da Vinci
76. "A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life." - Charles Darwin

July: Month of Action! 4th Weekend

This weekend was also most excellent, but first one event from the previous weekend I forgot to mention: I tested for my blue belt in karate!! I tested after only being in karate for seven months, which is pretty awesome because usually it takes 9-12 months to get to your blue belt. :)

So on July 21st, a Thursday, a wonderful event happened. My dear friend Remington came down from Rexburg to go the the Foreinger and Journey concert with me!! It was spectacular. Foreigner is one of my top 3 favorite bands (with Muse and Heart), and I had previously gone to a concert where they played, but missed their entire act because traffic was so horrible! So I was STOKED when I found out they were coming again. And Journey is just disgustingly awesome, and no one can deny it.

So we went to the concert and it was incredible! Night Ranger was the opening band, and even though I only recognized one of their songs they put on an awesome show. Respect. It definitely set up the right mood.

Then Foreigner came on....oh my heart had wings. They played all my favorites, "Urgent," "Cold as Ice," "Hot Blooded," of course, and came back for an encore with "Juke Box Hero"! which is probably one of the most brilliant songs of all time! Remington and I found out we are both associated among our separate circles of friends with that song, and I bought the shirt for it, too. Beautiful. Wonderful!! I was in rapture.

By the time Journey got to the stage, it was too dark to get very good pictures, plus their light show was amazing (almost as amazing as Muse!) so that made it even more difficult. But they were completely rockin' in concert!! The new singer is incredible! He sang with ultimate intensity and was jumping all over the stage and totally melting everyone's face off. The lead guitar rocked the solos too....it was just brilliant. Without doubt, this was the 2nd best concert I've ever seen!

The next evening was Alyssa's wedding reception, which was a brilliant masquerade ball. I thought that was pretty much an awesome idea and I'm a little sad I couldn't use it first...but I'm sure I'll come up with something equally brilliant. My favorite part was of course, the exotic cheese selection, but followed closely by the fact we got to wear a little bit fancier dresses than normal and wear masks all night! Sarah, Kristan and I went around the wooded areas (it was held in a park) and took a lot of vanity pictures. So I'll end with those and for more practical details of the receptions, see Jill's blog post.

Also, Saturday, July 23rd, was my one year anniversary of graduation from BYU-Idaho. :)

July: Month of Action! 3rd Weekend

The third weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the one I'd been looking forward to for months. Because you all should know, HARRY POTTER CAME OUT!!!!

My supervisor at work really doesn't care for anything that isn't reality, but he's a pretty cool guy anyway, and he'd been teasing me all week about Harry Potter. He asked me to wear my costume to work on Friday and called me "Gryffindor" all day. I didn't have the heart to tell him I'm a Hufflepuff (how Hufflepuffish of me. :) ).

If any of you know my sister, you know that we had a kick awesome party before the midnight showing. For very complete details about what we did, read this. But I'll sum up with: we hunted for each horcrux, ending in a slaying of Nagini; we had a Honeydukes corner, lots of good Hog's Head food, and there was a prize drawing in which I won the grand prize: a Harry Potter lego set! But I traded it with a little boy who'd won a movie poster. I collect movie posters anyway, plus I'm pretty sure he'd get more use out of the Legos than I would (some of my sisters are still bitter).

Then we headed over to the theater, my sisters and I dressed up as the Holyhead Harpies in quidditch robes Camilla made. There were so many fantastic costumes!! I will share my favorites:

Let me say this about Harry Potter: real literature, and I'm talking literature, not books, inspires something deep within you, not just you, but in everyone who will allow it. This is not because it whacks you over the head, but because it harnesses the essence of humanity within its characters and situations. Harry Potter may be fantasy, and it may be modern, and it may be easy to read, but that does not make it mediocre. Trust me when I say there is enough intelligence left in humanity that mediocrity will still never sell as well as brilliance (although certain book series that shall not be named are cutting it way too close). Harry Potter is true literature that will stand the test of time to inspire, uplift, and challenge readers for decades to come. It is the stuff of dreams, even the stuff of myths. Thank you, J.K. Rowling. Thank you for sharing your genius.

July: Month of Action! 2nd Weekend

So the second weekend, on the 8th, was one of the best nights ever!! The Karaoke Cafe, where my friends and I often go to sing our hearts out and have the greatest fun, was having an 80s party. So I went with my sisters Camilla and Sarah, and my friends Rachel Fishetau, Rachel Lund, and Rio Zirker. It was so awesome!!

They had a costume contest, so you know I got all into that. I actually made it into the final round, but a kid dressed up as Prince won. I am happy to admit his costume was way better than mine. It was pretty legit.

All in all, we were able to sing a bit, although we weren't able to sing together as a group as much as we wanted. I personally sang: "Jessie's Girl," "Shot Through the Heart," "Sweet Child O' Mine," and "We're Not Gonna Take It." That was pretty fantastic. :)


Then on the 9th I had a wedding reception of a dear, wonderful friend, the older brother I never had, Mark Shepard. He married an awesome, sassy girl, Kirstin, whom I am a big fan of. They got married on June 18, but had a wonderful (I'm sure) 16 day honeymoon in Hawaii, then came home and had their receptions. :)

 

I guess that weekend wasn't quite as adventure filled, so since the next one is, I'll spill into the next week on this post. :)

On the 12th, Kristan and I went to get our vaccinations for Peru. Normally people don't get very excited about shots, but when they are crazy South American diseases and they mean that you are one step closer the the adventure of a lifetime, they are awesome! Plus I've got kind of a sick things for needles, as in I like donating blood and plasma and stuff. I know.

So we got Yellow Fever shots and Typhoid pills full of live bacteria!! Whoo!! For some reason I think it's awesome to be blood-full of exotic diseases...maybe it makes me feel dangerous?

Well, more on the next two weeks later!

July: Month of Action! 1st Weekend

For some reason, July has been incredibly busy. I seriously think it's been weeks since I got a full night's rest. I had made all these goals about finally being good at this blogging thing and keeping it up, but July kinda swept away in a frenzy of adventure! So I will try to quickly recap.

The first weekend of July, I took Kristan up to Rexburg to introduce her to the concept of BYU-Idaho. We got there on Friday night, too late to go to the play we planned on seeing because there was an insane traffic jam between Idaho Falls and Rigby (it took us an hour to go 3 miles). So instead we rounded up some of my friends, former roommate Laura Denton, former FHE brother Keith Rose, and favorite literature friend Remington Jarvie and went up to the sand dunes. We rustled up some random wood and bark and Laura, the wilderness survivor, made a fire. Laura and I analyzed everyone else's personalities, and it was quite delightful.

Saturday morning, we went with former FHE brother Travis Moffat and Remington to hike R mountain, a large hill with an R painted on the side. It was lovely fun, and Remington had a jolly old time throwing rocks down the side of the mountain.

After that I met up with former Jacob Lakers, Laurel and Alison Greathouse and Brianna Malone, along with Travis, and we went to Rexburg's new waterpark, Rexburg Rapids. Don't ask me why Rexburg has a water park. It's a good idea for 3 months of the year... (I didn't get pictures :( ).

Then we went to dinner with Travis and his roommate Cory, as well as some other friends, Daina Nielson and Maryna Polonska. After that we met back up with Remington, and we decided to do the most reckless and dangerous thing I've ever done in Rexburg! Let's just say I'm glad I'm not a student anymore, otherwise getting caught would've been a lot more terrifying. :)

On Sunday, we went to church with Laura and then to dinner at Remington's; he made us egg rolls. :) That night I met up with more former roommates/friends, Bethany Hirsh, "Dello" DelloStritto, Mike Wilson, and Michael McCormick and we played games.

The next morning was the 4th of July, and we went to the Rexburg parade with Laura and Remington, and Brianna met up with us. My favorite part of it was the little Phillipina woman who joined us, Early. She was so awesome. Also, I got a picture with Darth Vader. :)

After that, Kristan and I headed back to Utah to have fireworks in Morgan with our family and Aunt Sandi. Which is always lovely. I really like the fireworks in Morgan, because from Sandi's house you can see a lot of different people setting off their personal fireworks in every direction. So you get a pretty sweet show. I'm not the hugest firework fan, but this year was pretty spectacular.

So it's become clear to me that it's impossible to make this short. So there's my first weekend of July. I will break up the rest of July by weekends and continue this blog post in a moment. :)

June 25, 2011=Crazy

So I meant to write this sooner...once again I suck at this updating thing. But here it is.

So June 25th was probably the craziest day of my life thus far, and I really need to document it correctly. I left the house at about 10:15 a.m. (thank goodness it was that late of a start) and drove to the Bountiful temple where my friend JoNeale Graves was getting married. Just a word on JoNeale: we've been friends for 22-23 years. She is one of the most incredible people currently on the earth. We've had so many adventures together, and our friendship only gets sweeter and richer. In over two decades, I'm sure we've never had a disagreement. We've kept in close contact through her living in the Phillipines twice, me living in Germany and Arizona, and going to different colleges in different states. Best friendship ever.

JoNeale's ceremony started at 10:40, but the Bountiful temple was so packed with weddings that rumors were going around that pretty much all the weddings were delayed about 15 minutes. This was not good news for me. Finally I found JoNeale's family coming out of the ceremony (she has 11 siblings - 8 brothers and 3 sisters). Then JoNeale and her new husband Jon came out. They looked great!

JoNeale is super chill and not into formality so they weren't taking pictures for very long. Since I had pressing matters to attend to, I only stayed to take lots of pictures of JoNeale and her family and one of us together. :)

Then I sped away from that temple and went straight to the Salt Lake temple where my friend Larina was getting married. Her ceremony started at 11:40; I left Bountiful at 12:20. I am not afraid to admit I took a 45 mph road at 80+mph to get there. I got there right after Larina and her new husband Josh got out of the temple, so a little later than I would prefer, but still on time! A word about Larina: we've been friends since 7th grade, and we have been huge supports to each other through all the drama of teenagehood, college, her mission, and everything we've ever been through since we met pretty much. We have been temple buddies for a long time too. :) She and Josh were SOO happy!! :)

Afterwards was Larina's luncheon, which was delicious and I got to spend some time with my other excellent friends Laurel and Rachel. :)

 

Then I had to leave the luncheon a little early to go to a meeting for my trip to Peru in August!! So excited!! We talked about getting our vaccinations, planned out our service to two Peruvian villages in the Amazon jungle, and also talked a little about going to Cusco and Machu Picchu!! WHOO!! I'm just stoked out of my brain. August 3-17. Come back to my blog after then for more details. :)

Then I headed straight to Larina's reception at This is the Place Heritage Park. It was a beautiful reception. Got to catch up with some old friends. Definitely fun. :)

 

But alas! I had to leave the reception early too, in order to make it to the PTC performance of RENT!! It was brilliant! Rent is probably my favorite modern musical. I love it for so many reasons. I should probably write a separate blog for it. But that was my crazy July 25th. 12+ hours straight of awesome happiness. :)

More Quotes and More Thoughts on Them

More quotes I've received from my phone, since the last time I blogged about the quotes I got from my phone! :)

1. "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one."  - Malcolm Forbes (a true teacher understand this, and a teacher who doesn't believe this should get out of the system in my opinion.)
2. "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying  about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus
3. "What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? If that's the case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet." - Woody Allen (Um...ok. I was upset at first when I read this one because even if everything is an illusion, we can't get out of it so might as well go with it...but then I thought, there's a nice thought about materialism...it is utterly pointless if you actually look at it head on.)
4. "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it." - Harry S. Truman (I want to be this kind of parent!)
5. "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once the child grows up." - Pablo Picasso (I'm definitely noticing this in teaching primary.)
6. "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on." -Mark Twain (Oh, thank you for your endless cynicism. :) )
7. "My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake." - Aristotle (Hard to find, that one is.)
8. "Charity sees the need not the cause." - German Proverb (good old Germans!)
9. "I have never been hurt by what I have not said." - Calvin Coolidge (unless it's "I love you"...)
10. "Glory is fleeting, but obsucrity is forever." - Napoleon (still not sure how I feel about this one, especially considering who it came from.)
11. "I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it." - Mae West (don't we all?)
12. "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." - Plato
13. "It is absurd to divide people into good or bad. People are either charming or tedious." - Oscar Wilde (You would say that, Oscar.)
14. "I have always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific." - Lily Tomlin
15. "Time passes, and little by little everything that we have spoken in falsehood becomes true." - Marcel Proust
16. "A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough." - Bruce Lee (go martial arts!!)
17. "Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?" - Cicero
18. "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."  - Erica Jong (so true!)
19. "The heart wants what it wants. There's no logic to those things." - Woody Allen (I don't know how I feel about him altogether because I don't entirely agree with anything he says apparently.)
20. "In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield." - Warren Buffett (not just the business world, buddy.)
21. "Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening  fruit." - Aristotle (I've noticed this a lot lately, that even if I get along with someone great from the beginning, and we get really close really fast, they still aren't nearly as dependable as those I've been friends with for years, or decades, and in the end I'm still not as open or myself around them.)
22. "What we aniticipate seldom occurs. What we least expected usually happens." - Benjamin Disraeli
23. "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants." - Sir Isaac Newton
24. "Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." - G.W.F. Hegel
25. "Never go to a docot whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck
26. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life." - The Bible (pretty sure that's not the King James version though.)
27. "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (sure, when you're BFF is Henry David Thoreau, I'd say the same thing!)
28. "Develop your senses - especially learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else." - Leonardo DaVinci (a little Eastern philosophy? I think so.)
29. "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." - Henry Ford
30. "Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves." - Rainer Maria Rilke
31. "Success isn't permanent, and failure isn't fatal." - Mike Ditka
32. "Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." -Harriet Beecher Stowe
33. "Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down." - Jimmy Durante
34. "If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow." - Chinese Proverb
35. "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." - Mother Theresa
36. "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.
37. "To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead." - Bertrand Russell

Now if you can stick with me after reading all those quotes, I will tell you why I bolded some of them. See, there is this wonderful thing called tender mercies of the Lord. I've been making some changes in my life, as well as had a potentially major trial thrown at me, and those were the quotes that I received on the exact day when I needed to hear it. Each addressed some issue I'd been pondering. For example, I'm trying to be more attentive to others' needs, and be willing to be friends with everyone. I'm trying to be a more affectionate friend, and to be patient when others frustrate me. I'm also facing up to a lot of attitudes and habits I've been carrying around for a long time that I never should've picked up. And all those quotes were just the little encouragement I needed exactly at the right time to take the next step when my legs were too tired (or frustrated) to move. Cause God is awesome that way. :)

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Eternal Wisdom #1

So a little while ago I was talking with one of my most favorite people and he said something to me to the effect of "God's paths are straight, but He sure takes you for a crazy ride." I thought to myself, they may be straight, but they definitely go up and down. Then the next day, or maybe the day after, I was studying Alma 7, and verses 9, 19 and 20 stuck out to me:  

•  9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying—^aRepent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God ^bcometh upon the face of the earth.
• 19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his ^apaths straight.
•  20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot ^awalk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.

And I thought of the Serpent's Pass episode of Avatar (season 2, episode 12). Team Avatar is trying to make their way to Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom. In order to get there, they end up having to take what is called the Serpent's Pass. When looking on the map, the Serpent's Pass looks like a very narrow but very straight strip of land across a sea. But when they reach it, it looks like this:

It's straight all right, but has some altitude diversity issues. On the entrance to the Serpent's Pass, there is a post that says "Abandon Hope." But Team Avatar presses forward, because they don't have any other options.

At one point, the path is submerged in water. Until then, the biggest challenges have been climbing up and down the rock without causing a landslide (easy when you've got the greatest earthbender alive travelling with you). This challenge seems a little more daunting, but between an airbender and a waterbender, travelling through the water in a bubble seems like a simple solution. Until the Serpent swims by. Then they realize what trouble they're in. So now the bubble is burst, and Team Avatar needs to find a way to get across the rest of the water, as well as destroy the Serpent's power.

I won't spoil the action for you, but they get safely across and defeat the Serpent. How does this relate to the scriptures/life? Even though the path was straight, it carried them through ups and downs. And at one point, they had to face the serpent in eye and swallow all fear and doubt to conquer him. Sounds like life, does it not?

Straight paths aren't always easy or dangerless. And when we embark on them, we can never abandon hope, or we won't make it across. God wants us to make it across, He wants us to struggle through the climb, and He wants us to face that Serpent and defeat it. :)

Jacob Lake Adventures: Revisited

So I started this post right after I returned from this trip, but for some reason at that time I was unable to upload the pictures. It only took me a few months to fix that problem...but here it is. My President's Day Weekend:

I visited a dear friend, Joseph Weatherford, at Jacob Lake this weekend with my other dear friend, Heidi Collins. We left on Saturday and returned Monday (thank goodness for national holidays). My family kept asking me why I went back to Jacob Lake since they thought I had been miserable there. Well, I wasn't completely miserable: there is no way to be miserable when there are opportunities to be epic in nearly every moment of the day. Jacob Lake is where I started running, where I took an hours long off-trail-adventures, where I hiked across the Grand Canyon, where I made a perfectly symmetrical sweet roll and perfect bread. I did a lot of awesome things there.

Friends were one of the most epic parts of Jacob Lake. Heidi worked with me in the bakery, and Joe and Chad worked in the service station. The four of "Us" hung out all the time, stargazing at the Grand Canyon, singing "Lake Ponchartrain," and walking up the road a mile to climb the fire tower at night. Also, we played the question game a lot, so of course, they quickly became some of the best friends I've had.

So that's the background of this weekend. Well, when we got to Jacob Lake, there were two feet of snow on the ground, and another foot fell on Saturday night.

 

We decided it would be a brilliantly epic idea to hike the mile uphill to the fire tower in the three feet of snow, then climb the 80-foot tower in a blizzard:

 

After that, we played cards and watched August Rush. That night, we played the question game in our room until we all fell asleep (don't worry, Joe was in a different bed!)

On Monday morning we hung out in Fredonia, Arizona, which is the most sad place I have ever been. Haha. Don't go live there. Then Heidi and I drove back up and on the way we found this sign in Orderville, which we thought was fantastic. :)

Although it seems simple, it was a fantastic weekend. I finally was able to buy my Mexican hoodie from the "Guns Ammo Lotto Beer" gas station in Fredonia. I mean, it was wonderful. And now I can tell my kids and my grandkids that I once had to walk a mile uphill in three feet of snow. Besides, the best kind of friends are the ones where it doesn't matter if you do epic things or not, because every moment together is epic. :)

The MOST Important Things for a Friday Night

So I've been slacking at doing things I need to get done with my life, for example, it took me six weeks to get my friends' wedding scrapbook done, when it should've taken two at the most (especially when I have another I need to do, and will have 1-3 more I need to do in two weeks). So I decided this weekend I was going to get a lot done and not let my friends distract me.

But tonight, I got a lot more done in a shorter amount of time than expected. So around 8:30, I started thinking that maybe I should do something with friends...only problem is...I don't know where they are! I hadn't heard from anyone for hours. So, of course, I started pitying myself and such.

So I was shopping on Barnes & Noble.com and trying to come up with Father's Day gift ideas, when suddenly I just kept thinking I really need to check and see if Harry Potter midnight tickets have gone on sale, since my sister Jill left me in charge of buying them for our large midnight going group.

And there they were, on sale!! Because of my promptness in buying tickets after they went on sale, I was able to buy 23 sitting together. And now 23 people will be able to thoroughly enjoy the final installment of Harry Potter at midnight!!

That's when I realized there are more important things than friends. Things like Harry Potter, and seeing it first. :)

I also got a lot done, like cleaning, laundry, working out, my lesson for Primary, etc. And now I'm going to spend the rest of the night working on my book. :)

A New Life

So I have this wonderful friend who is also a writer, much, much better than I am, and we bounce ideas off each other, critique each other's work, edit each other's grammar, and everything fantastic and English nerdy. The other day he emailed me a synopsis for a novel that he wants to write, and just the synopsis was so inspiring that I decided I needed to change my life. Haha. Which is a good thing, because until I told him how amazing it was, he was going to scrap the whole idea and the world would've been deprived of a fantastically written and truly inspiring sci-fi novel. :)

As a step in my new life, I have come up with a New Life Theme Music cd. I could probably write an entire blog for each song and why it has affected me so much lately, but I'll try to be more brief (haha! like I was ever brief!)

1. Easier to Run - Linkin Park. I like this song right now, because it recognizes how hard it is to change, especially when you are struggling to overcome a shameful/dark/broken past. The speaker says it's easier to run, but he never says he does run. And I have felt that way many, many times since moving back home in November.
2. A New Life - from Jekyll and Hyde sung by Linda Eder. I think this is kinda self-explanatory given the name of the mix. Haha. But this song is about the hope, and also the reality of starting over. There is uncertainty, but conviction that you will make it through.
3. Never Too Late - Three Days Grace. I was telling my friend last Thursday about Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah and how they went from the "very vilest of sinners" (see Mosiah 28:4) to men whose power would shake the jaws of hell (Alma 48:17-18). I told my friend I loved that idea...that no matter how far you've gone, it's never too late to start over. And if you're granted enough time, you can even make it to the extreme opposite. :)
4. Breaking the Habit - Linkin Park. I used to despise this song because of the people it reminded me of, and I still don't love it, but it has merit. First of all, it says "I'm breaking the habit tonight," which again indicates that idea of turning around, and immediately. There's no point in waiting. Also, I love the line "I don't know how I got this way; I know it's not all right," because sometimes...you don't know why something happened, and you don't need to know. You just need to fix it.
5. Candles - Hey Monday (I have the Glee version though). This song is about getting over someone, and being okay with being alone and on your own for a while. Honestly this idea is pretty new to me, not that I always felt like I needed a boyfriend or anything to feel worthwhile, but I do think that I used other people to define me...and I don't need to. I can define myself.
6. Many a New Day - from Oklahoma! This song is specifically about not mourning about losing a man in your life, but the message I'm taking from it is there's no need to dwell on or regret something that happened to you. It happened, it's done, now move on. And I don't think I'm always good at that (I'm probably better at it when it comes to guys, but not other things...).
7. Winter's on the Wing - from The Secret Garden. Snow and cold melting into green, warmth, and new life. Plus the singer has a hot Scottish accent. :)
8. Blackbird - The Beatles (again I have the Glee version). The image in this song makes me think of a little bird standing on the edge of a darkness...a tunnel, forest, whatever, about to take flight into it. This is a pretty common idea...taking a leap of faith into the dark and trusting it will turn out okay. I also like the lyrics: "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise," which to me indicate that the bird will take this chance to fly higher than it ever had before.
9. Thank U - Alanis Morissette. This song pretty much exactly describes a lot of the little goals and things I want to clean up in my life, like "How about stopping eating when I'm full up?" Also, "How about how good it feels to finally forgive you?" because there are a few loose ends that have been tangling me up for a while, and I finally took care of them. Other lines I really love: "How about me enjoying the moment for once? How about no longer being masochistic? How about remembering your divinity? How about unabashedly bawling your eyes out?"
10. Say the Same - Hoobastank. This song is about parting ways with someone who was a big part of your life...also something I've been trying to do.The great thing about the song is that it isn't a parting because of hate or strife, it's simply because that person's purpose is done; you're just going separate ways. It addresses appreciation for having these people in your life, admiration, adoration, etc, but in the end, you're just separating, and that's fine. Being back at home sometimes gives you this sense of obligation to bet together and bff again with the people you used to be bff with. But...truth is, you've all beem apart and grown and you're all different now. And that's ok, you don't have to be bff again.
11. Hello - Lionel Richie (also covered by Incubus, but I have the Glee version which is fantastic). This song is just plain beautiful. Also, the way I interpret it is an address to a future lover. I'm trying to follow the advice to become the person you want to marry...so this is something that influences a lot of my decisions.
12. As If We Never Said Goodbye - from Sunset Blvd (also covered by Barbara Streisand, but I of course, have the Glee version). This is another one on the theme of coming home. Ever since I went up to school for the first time, being back in Murray, or Utah at all (except Logan for a few days at a time...sometimes), was absolutely miserable. I didn't keep it a secret that I hated being back in Murray. But this time, since I don't know how long I'll be here, or how I'll escape, I decided I need to face the music and find a way to enjoy it. I've taken up some new hobbies, new hang outs, and most importantly, addressed some unfinished business that makes living here much more pleasant.
13. Moving Forward - Hoobastank. I think the name is self-explanatory, but these lyrics are even more telling: "I'll take the first step of a million more, and I'll make mistakes I've never made before, but at least I'm moving forward." I'm definitely a perfectionist, and I don't like making mistakes. So I've been trying to keep this song in mind as I explore uncharted territories.
14. He Lives in You - from The Lion King (the Broadway musical). Gotta bring The Lion King in to take this to a spiritual level. I can't forget how important it is to stay true to who I am, a daughter of a Heavenly Father, and keep Him a part of me while I take my life in a different path.
15. The First of Me - Hoobastank. This song addresses the challenge of being true to yourself and not selling your soul out in a world that is constantly offering so-called prizes in exchange for that soul. This is something I believe very strongly in, and is something that I will take any measure in the world to maintain.
16. Born This Way - Lady Gaga (but I put the Glee version on this mix cause it's better!). It's also important to remember where you've come from and what good things you bring into the world. Everyone has talents and gifts to offer the world, and everyone is beautiful in their own way. And God doesn't make mistakes! So all those pieces of you that are good...those should stay, and you should cultivate them and harness their power. :)
17. Raise Your Glass - Pink (but once again, I put the Glee version in my mix. :) ). This one is just on there because in the end, I want to accept who I am and party with it. :)

Before I end this, I must make another note. I originally made this list without the Linkin Park songs, but I felt like something was missing. I kept thinking, there must be a band who sings about the pain of change, because so far everything else was so optimistic and upbeat, but I also wanted to address the reality of change, especially when you're trying to change your character. It hurts, and it's hard. Back in high school, I loved Linkin Park because I felt they exactly expressed a lot of the pain/frustration/anger I felt during that time of my life. So I don't know why it took me a few days to realize Linkin Park was the band I was looking for, but I am grateful that pain is something universal, and I'm also grateful for what I learn from it. :)

Avatar Nerdiness

My sister Sarah sent me this picture, and the following conversation ensued:

Laura: Appa?
Sarah: Nope, Corduroy. That's what will happen if we don't ever shave him.
L: Appa...Corduroy...it's all the same. Corduroy is Appa's reincarnation. :)
S: That's true. Lol.
L: Which means the Avatar can't be far! Maybe it's Camilla!
S: Yes...maybe....No, it's probably Kristan because Camilla isn't an airbender.
L: Well maybe it's an earthbender because dogs like to dig up stuff. The animal companions would go through the same cycle as the Avatars I think.
S: Maybe. And just because he's a sky bison doesn't mean that it's the Avatar's.
L: He's not a sky bison! They are extinct now, and we only have inferior one species animals. Haha. So over hundreds of years the Avatar's animal companion keep reincarnating into lesser animals until it got to Corduroy. Lol
S: Haha touche'.
L: It explains the stranger danger. Watching out for Fire Nation and others who want to disturb the peace.
S: Ahh, yes. What companion is Stacey most like?
L: Some fancy dog that belonged to Toph's family.
S: You mean a flying boar?
Yes, something like that...that's why she gets bored!! Haha, some Sokka humor for you all. :)

And that was the end of that.

Mowing the Lawn: A Romantic Take

I haven't mowed my parents' lawn in 6 years, since I graduated high school, but with my parents and my two youngest sisters out of town for 2 weeks (since one of them usually takes care of it), I had to mow it today. And I was quite surprised at how much I learned while pushing that ancient mechanical vegetarian around.

I hated mowing the lawn as a teenager. If my parent's hadn't paid me for it, I probably would've suffered a lot of nagging for my neglect of the chore. But today I learned lesson number one: Somewhere between now and then, I learned to love physical labor. I'm going to say this was at Jacob Lake, although it had probably been building up since Germany. Working in the bakery at Jacob Lake was the most physically intense job I've ever had, and nearly every other activity at Jacob Lake, that I engaged in, was physical as well. I went running 5-6 times a week, and on my days off I went hiking or swimming for hours almost every single week. Not to mention hiking across the Grand Canyon in one day, which I still need to blog about. After that experience, I can say that I am not afraid to use my body for work because I'm much more aware of what it can do. Karate is helping with that, too. I'm very glad that I changed from a soft, spoiled teenager into a hard-working, borderline-athletic adult. :)

Next lesson was more gradual over the course of 90 minutes of mowing.  See, the lawn hadn't been mowed in a while, and had grown quite tall because of all the rain we've been having here. To give you an idea, the dogs looked like lionesses on the hunt in the grasslands of Africa as they ran around the yard. I remembered as a kid begging my dad to let the grass grow that long at some point, because I just knew it would inspire something fantastic in me, not to mention be less itchy. He never let it grow that long, but I was right, it would inspire something fantastic in me, because it did today.

I had forgotten something very important: I super love nature. Being in the backyard for that long brought back a lot of memories (as a child, if I wasn't down the street at the Cards' house, I was in the backyard crawling around on my hands and knees), especially concerning the cherry tree we have growing on the hill, where I spent many hours reading books among the branches. Back then, it was much easier to just go outside and be happy, and I want to get back to that fundamental value. Whenever life is stressful, take a stroll through the park. Walk the dogs. Fall asleep in some grass. Admire some flowers. Even a few minutes of this is rejuvenating.

I think this is why Germany and Jacob Lake and Rexburg are such happy places in my life. All three of them are surrounded in wilderness. In Rexburg, I lived across the street from a park for most of my time there, plus there were the sand dunes, wide open fields, short hikes, caves, and abundant places for bonfires within half an hour of everywhere. In Germany, the cities are like little pockets of civilization contained in the vast recklessly majestic forest. And Jacob Lake was just a group of maybe ten buildings with 40 miles of forest in every direction before you hit any more buildings. I think I'm a country girl with better taste in music.

So, how is this Romantic? It's "big R Romantic," meaning from the philosophical era of Romanticism. Commune with nature, free yourself from inhibitions, dare to dream...

I've been having a lot of epiphanies around these kind of subjects lately. I guess I'm in a growing period. But I can't talk about them all now, so look for upcoming entries on Glee and Avatar: The Last Airbender. :)