Dancing, dancing, dancing!

This past year I have discovered a new favorite activity.

I love country swing dancing!!

So last October I was singing a different tune.  I showed up at the Fun Park with my roommate Brittany and my good friend Ashley.  I don't think I'd ever felt so out of place amidst cowboy boots and country music.  I mean, come on!  I'm from a small town.  I grew up on country music.  And I even have a couple of pairs of cowgirl boots myself.  I can shoot my guns, ride horses, enjoy a good rodeo, and I did know a couple of line dances.  But this was different.  Oh yes!

Girls flying through the air, young men stomping their feet to the music.  How was I ever supposed to learn how to do all those fancy moves?

Luckily, there were a couple of guys I knew there who could show me the ropes of this sort of dancing.  Basic step...okay I got this!  This isn't so bad.  Twirl, twirl...I'm a little dizzy, but I think I can handle this.  Oops! I stepped on his foot.  Sorry!!  I think I just elbowed him in the face.  Wow! I will never get the hang of this!

So I pretty much hated it the first couple of times I went.  I took a break for like...hmmm...probably four months.  Brittany kept inviting me and I finally gave in again.  I walked into the building feeling like I might pass out.  People were going to get a good laugh tonight!  I remember the exasperated looks of the guy I didn't know when he realized I had no idea what I was doing!  But ahahaha! It was too late!  He had already asked and he was in it for the duration of the song!

Yes!  I even learned a couple of new line dances this time!  And three guys asked me to dance!  And even though I was apologizing for most of the song for my mess-ups, I enjoyed myself quite thoroughly.

Now I can't get enough of it!  I've learned the majority of the line dances and sometimes guys even ask me to dance!  Sometimes I'm still not quite sure what I'm doing, but with a good leader I can pick it up quite quickly!  I love it!

Not to mention the men who know how to dance and can throw me over their shoulders and lift me off the ground! Now that's attractive!

I think I'll go again this week!

*Good Song:  Wanted by Hunter Hayes
*Good Book:  Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Remembering a Prophet of God

On June 27th, 1844 an event occurred that the world didn't take much notice of at the time.  But I feel it's an important date to remember...the day that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered at Carthage Jail in Carthage, Illinois.

Who was this prophet some might ask?  After centuries of being lost, the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored through a prophet - just as the Lord had restored it in the Old Testament and how Christ set up His Church with prophets and apostles.

So on this day, I would like to remember Joseph Smith and his testimony.  He saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, translated the Book of Mormon, restored the priesthood (the power of God given to man to act in his name), built temples, and worked hard to establish the Church of Jesus Christ back on the earth.

While many may not know who he is, I do.  And I know that he was a prophet called by God to restore the fulness of the gospel - so that we could have the knowledge of the plan of salvation and the priesthood.  How grateful I am for that knowledge!

So thank you Heavenly Father for the restoration of your gospel and your Church!  And thank you Joseph Smith for doing all you could so that we could have this knowledge now!

Canyons and Why They Inspire Me

I am so excited!  Why? You might ask...

Because I am going to see my mom and my bro Clayton this weekend!  And I get to take some of my wonderful friends to see the Grand Canyon - one of the most awe-inspiring places that the Lord has put on this earth.  Going there seems to put everything into better focus and perspective for me.  Seeing the vastness of God's wonders and knowing that even though we can't quite see the bottom, it's still there.

I feel like canyons and mountains are a great symbolism for life.  The view is breathtaking, but the creation of such magnificent canyons took thousands and thousands of years of hard work.  They start out with a small stream running through them perhaps.  A little spot of ground not worth mentioning.  But through the years, that stream cuts through rock and sand to create something incredibly beautiful. 

Life can be difficult, but when we look back at our adventures I hope that there's an incredible view.  We will find that we too have deepened our understanding and our pain and our joy just as those small streams deepen those rocks into massive canyons.  When I stand at the top of my own personal canyon, I expect it to be glorious beyond description!

*Good Song: Just A Kiss by Lady Antebellum
*Good Book: Anne of Green Gables

Work, Work, Work!

Working...it's pretty fun right?

I am pretty grateful for the jobs I have right now...especially because now I don't have to fill out any more stupid applications!  Whoo!  Glad that's over!  So I'm working as a banquet server and also as a custodian at the aquatic center.  Yep, that's right! Two jobs!

Serving food...cleaning up after kids who have been swimming...someday I will have a job where I'm not cleaning up after people! Or perhaps not...I've always wanted to be a mom so I guess this is all in good practice (if that stage of life ever comes for me)!

So while life obviously goes in different ways than we sometimes expect, maybe there is some order in the chaos.  That's what I keep telling myself anyways...

*Good Song: Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars
*Good Band: Mumford and Sons

Detours

This morning I drove to a trail head to go for a run.  The sun was shining and the views of the valley were breathtaking.  After a nice run, I got back to my car and decided I was going to drive a different way to get home.  I love driving that way so I was excited to see the familiar homes and scenery.  Driving, driving, when all of a sudden around the corner, orange signs!  "Road Closed" and "Detour" - arrow pointing left.

Okay so a detour.  I can handle that.  Well, the signs kept leading me away and there was even a sketchy part of the road that I was a little nervous about, a dip with heaps of loose rocks!  I navigated it quite nicely and continued on my way.  While the area was unfamiliar, I felt okay because I knew the detour signs would lead me back to the road that would lead me back to my apartment.

As I was driving, I realized that my life is like this!  I've had this idea in my mind of how I think my life should be.  When all of a sudden, the road ahead of me is closed and I'm on my way into unfamiliar circumstances.  But the Lord has placed detour signs for me along the way.  So even though I might be on a different road than what I had imagined, the fact is that as long as I follow those detour signs I will get back to where I'm ultimately heading - back to my Father in Heaven. 

The detour was even kind of nice - I spotted some adorable little houses and had more time to appreciate the new surroundings.  So it might have taken me a bit longer to get home and I didn't get to see all that I had expected, but nonetheless, it was a great adventure!

And in the end, I still ended up safe, back in my apartment!

*Good Song: Dancing Away With My Heart by Lady Antebellum
*Good Movie: The Avengers

Final Stretch for Spring 2012!

So happiness of all happiness! No more classes until the end of August!

Even more happiness - my World War II final is now optional!  Less happiness...my Chinese history final and anthropology final are going to give me a heart attack! So much studying to do...(but will I actually do it?!)

So here's the thing.  I really love finals week! I know that sounds crazy because most students hate it...late nights...studying...stress attacks...  But here's how I see it: If I've been going to class the whole semester, completing my assignments, and doing my readings I should be okay.  So while I will feel a little bit stressed and I will be doing a small bit of studying, I'm pretty sure I just won't know what to do with all the free time I'm going to have!  So bring on the finals and bring on the summer!

*Good Song: Be Strong With Me by Jenny Phillips

Almost Summer!

It's almost SUMMER!! Camping, fires, swimming for hours, HIKING (!!!), shooting guns, napping in the sunshine. I cannot even wait! One week left of classes and then one week of finals and I'm FREE! So excited!

Okay so now that I've gotten that out, I am planning on staying in Logan for the summer. I don't have a summer job yet, but I'm sure I will be finding one soon. I'm also thinking about taking a summer class helping a professor/archaeologist here at Utah State catalog Native American artifacts. So I think I'm in for a great summer!