A Word on Moving

Moving...oh the joy!

So I'm only moving across the street from where I was living this past year, but I have mixed feelings about moving.  On the one hand, there's all the cleaning I had to do to get out of the one place.  And realizing that I have accumulated far too many things that I do not need!  (I was really surprised to see how many books I had in my tiny apartment - with many big fat ones on the Civil War!)  There is also the nervousness of new roommates...are they going to be nice? Weird? Crazy? Messy?!  (Good thing my best friend Brittany is still going to be my roommate - at least for this year!!)

On the other hand, there is the opportunity to discover how much I have that I don't need and then get rid of said things.  And the excitement of new people and new opportunities!  And getting organized!  And planning on keeping everything organized!  I set this goal every couple of months and it usually only lasts for a few days!  :/

So with that said, I get to move in to my new apartment today.  Bring on the new ward, the new people, and the new memories!!

*Good Song: I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz
*Good Book: Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi

Being Patient.

Today was a great day for me!

I've been working most Saturdays throughout the summer.  And even on the Saturdays I've had off, I've had things going on.  Well, today I had work off so I decided I needed to do something fun.  My plan for something fun was going to Hyrum Reservoir to go swimming.

I'll just find some friends to go with me!  Well, nope, the few I texted or talked to were busy.  Looks like I was flying solo!  So I jumped in my little Toyota Corolla and drove off on my lone adventure.

The sun was shining and there wasn't a whole lot of people there.  I parked my car at the top of the hill so I would only have to pay $3 instead of $6. (I'm a poor college student k?!) Once I got to the water, I'm sure I was quite the image to behold - super tan below the knees...super white above!  Super tan just past my shoulders and down my arms...super white on shoulders and back!  Walking across those rocks to the water....HAHA!  I almost fell a few times.  I was even laughing at myself.

I finally made it into the water and it was just joyous!  The little waves lapping at the shore, the murky water hiding my multi-colored body, the mud seeping between my toes.  Loved it!

So after a couple of hours of swimming, laying in the sun, and reading my book I decided it was time for me to head home.  I have a rodeo to go to tonight!

Climb back up the big hill to my car and what do I find?!  The back tire on my car is completely flat!  What?! How did that happen?!

Ok, I got this!  One of my best friends from high school had taught me how to change a tire and I knew I could do it!  Grab my jack, my spare and get to work!  Okay, I finally got the hub cap off!  Who knew it could be so hard?!  Now to get the tire off! 

So here's the thing - I'm not very strong.  At all.  I'm pulling on my loosener (what do you even call those things?!), doing a little bit of jumping on it.  I can't even get those stupid things to budge.  Meanwhile, a few cars have driven by and the more time I spend trying to get my tire off, the more I start getting angry at all the people that drive by without stopping.

Can't they see that I have a flat tire?!  And that I'm a short little pudgy girl in a swimsuit?!  I need help people!

After a little while, a middle-aged gentleman comes walking towards me from a house up the street.  He asks me if I need help.  "Yes, thank you! I can't seem to get my tire off!"  Well he just grabs the little loosener tool and pops those things right off!  What?!  How am I that weak?!  So my tire had been worn through on the inside and the little wire things were popping out all over the place.  The man said that he was surprised that the tire hadn't blown on me when I was driving.

We put my doughnut tire on and just my luck! My doughnut tire is flat too!  Bahaha - I can laugh at it now, because it's over.  Well, lo and behold, this kind man has an air compressor at his house!  So he fills up my tire for me and I was soon on my way!

What did I learn from my adventurous day?  Okay, here comes more analogies!  So there I was in a circumstance I didn't like.  I saw other outcomes or circumstances that I would've liked better - like one of those people stopping and helping me.  I got frustrated because things weren't going my way.  But even in this small inconvenient happening, the Lord knew what I needed before I even did.  I didn't know that my doughnut tire was going to be flat!  But He did, and He sent me exactly what I needed.

If my tire would've blown on the road or if one of those other people would've stopped to help me, I still would've had to have my car towed back into Logan.  But the one person who did help me had everything I needed to make it back safely.

So even though I sometimes get impatient with life and want things to go a different way, the Lord still knows what I need and if I'm patient and wait for it, everything will work out in the end!  That is what I learned from my flat tire!  And to be grateful that things aren't worse than they could be!

What?! It's August!!

Ok I can't believe that it's moving on to the middle of August already! What?!  Where did my summer go?!

I made a list of goals at the beginning of the summer and I don't think I've even accomplished half of them!  Not completely my fault as my job schedule turned out to be less than ideal, but what can ya do?!  I have an education to pay for!

I've only been camping once, made s'mores maybe twice, went on maybe three hikes, and went swimming once! I haven't even been to a lake or a reservoir!  What kind of summer is this?!  I was going to become best friends with Logan Canyon, get skinny from all the swimming, and smell like campfire at least once a week.  But alas, that has not happened.

I was hoping to have a summer fling, but we all know where I'm at in the dating scene - nonexistent.  :)  I guess I'm just too awesome for guys to take on dates!

So school starts back up in like 2 1/2 weeks...oh freak I didn't even realize it was that close! Bah! I'm excited to be super busy with studying again, but I will be taking my capstone course which includes my 30 page senior thesis.  I should just accept the fact that my social life is over...I should've accepted that fact at the beginning of the summer when I realized I would be working every night!

I haven't seen my good friend the campus library in months, but we will be getting reacquainted very soon.  And dear Old Main, how I have missed climbing those three flights of stairs to enter my beloved History Department.

But I do still have 2 1/2 weeks left! So now to accomplish floating down the Oneida River, exploring the canyons, camping at least one more time, swimming in a lake or reservoir, finding a man to take me on a date, work on my novel, write a song, move to a new apartment, and order my textbooks!  All while still working most nights...so little time left...

Hopefully the shooting ban is lifted so I can go get some stress relieving target shooting done!!  :)

Oh and there's a rodeo this weekend!!  Happiness!!

*Good Movie:  Newsies  (I get to watch it with some friends tonight!)
*Good Song: (Kissed You) Good Night by Gloriana

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