Remembering a Great Friend.

I have a music minor.  This music minor requires me to have four semesters of choir.  I finished three semesters of choir before my mission and now I have one more semester of choir to go.

Last Friday, I found myself walking through the halls of the familiar music building.  I have spent many hours there, learning music theory, playing the piano, and singing my little heart out.  I've also had the opportunity to make some incredible friends in that building.

Time came for choir to start and I was surprised at how incredibly hard it was for me to step back into that room as part of the women's choir.  I looked at the front row where I used to sit.  Then I looked to the seat next to mine where my dear friend Celeste used to sit.  Freshman year...an incredibly hard time of life...moving out, making new friends, being out on my own.  That's when Celeste and I first became friends.  She had an incredibly lovely smile and an infectious laugh.  I was super jealous of her hair, because it was thick and curly!

We were both second sopranos and we had the greatest time laughing at people and just enjoying music!  She moved into my ward the summer before I left on my mission, but I ended up moving home.  I went on my mission and when I got home and everything had settled down, I was devastated to learn that Celeste had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma about the same time I got home.  She had just barely graduated with her degree in Music Therapy the month before.

I kept close tabs on her progress by reading her blog.  I prayed and prayed for her recovery.  I got to see her when she came to Logan to attend a benefit concert that some of the music therapy students were putting on for her.  She was just as happy as ever and she played the piano so beautifully that night.  I was ecstatic when the update in January said that she was in remission!  She was so strong and I knew she was going to be okay!

A month later, she found out that the lymphoma had come back and that it was much worse than when they had first found it.  On April 9th of this year, she passed away at the age of 22.

Walking into the choir room this last week made me realize how much I missed her.  As I think about it, I'm reminded of how important it is to cherish every moment spent with the people you love.  Life happens so fast and you never know when somebody is going to be taken from you.

But I do know that when I make it to the other side, I will see Celeste again.  And she will have that beautiful hair of hers that I'm so jealous of!  And I am going to give her the biggest hug!  And we are going to sing some good songs!

*For more information on God's Plan of Happiness for us and what happens when we die, visit http://mormon.org/plan-of-happiness

Let It Begin!

It has begun...the school year...

Striving to stay awake in class, swallowing extreme dislike for students who raise their hands and make comments every 5 minutes (come on! The professor knows a lot more about his or her subject than you, so can you please just let him or her teach us what they know?! We don't care about your weird stories, endless questions, or your ignorant opinion!), studying for hours, losing myself in historical archives, and knowing that I will always have a mountain of more reading to do...even when I think I'm caught up!

I'm only taking thirteen credits this semester - which doesn't seem like a lot, but I am going to be BUSY!  Senior thesis (I'm actually really excited for this because I love historical research, but also extremely nervous because it's going to take up a lot of my time!), being an undergraduate teaching fellow for an American history class (which I'm also excited about!), working part-time, taking an archaeology lab, and trying to stay on top of my other classes!  Oh...and I'm looking at grad schools and getting ready to take the GRE soon!

I have also started a new job at the rec center here.  I will be working the front desk.  I'm happy about this job, but there's a lot to learn.  Sometimes I wonder if my brain can hold all of this information inside of it!  :)

So bring on the late night studies, the extreme fatigue, the endless stress, and the beautiful joy of learning!

*Good Book: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

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!