Guest Posts Coming

Happy Monday!
This week I have a few of the coolest people ever contributing to my blog.
I asked them to describe how they, through their own perspectives, see life. And I made sure to make it broad enough that they wouldn't feel limited.

This will be starting tomorrow!! And I am SO excited!!

Here's a little somethin' for giggles.
Kimmi was telling Merinda and me about her 5-year plan, when Merinda interrupted...

Merinda: "What's a five-year plan?"
Kimmi: "A plan for the next five years."
Merinda: "Who does that??"
Me: "Joseph Stalin had a five-year plan."
Merinda: "Who's he?"
Me: "An evil Russian dictator."
Merinda: "Oh, what. So he would take over the world, get married, and have kids?"


*note: We've been studying Stalin in European history...it wasn't that random. :)

Squeals

EEEeooohhhh!!! *that was a squeal.*
Blogger has changed its page, so I was a little confused when I first logged in and things were...different. But good different. It'll just take a little getting used to. :)

Anyways, another shocker--it's FREEZING!! And it's almost May!!!
Last week, I had to scrape frost off the car before I went to seminary. (um..it may have been two weeks ago...) 
I broke out my winter garb on Monday, and have been fully decked-out in my warmest clothes this week.

Spring should not be like this...

(*photo from Finland, April 29, 2010...again almost May!!! AND IT WAS SNOWING! It is WRONG!)

 It should be like this...

"Could you please restrain your...mother?"

My mom and I are different.
Very different.
The time I notice our differences the most is when we're at the store...

She will mosey along down the aisles,
and wander off in different directions.
Shiny!
Something catches her eye,
She looks at it, then at what is next to it.
She takes quite a while at the store.

I think that's one of the reasons she was so excited when I started doing the grocery shopping.

I stay on task,
(most of the time...)
I get all of the groceries.
I follow a list.
Oh, shiny!
Something catches my eye.
But I'm not hooked on it--I go back to the list.
I race to finish.

When we shop together,
I keep us on track.
Then we get to the checkout line.
Mom wanders off...she must have forgotten something...
So I stand in line, praying that she'll get back before I have to pay for the food.
I feel terrible making the people behind me wait.
Then Mom skips back to the cash register, and pulls out the handy dandy card.
I move the grocery bags back on to the cart,
and wonder how we managed to get through a whole shopping trip
without someone telling me that I need to have a leash for her.

There's always next time. :)

(Exhibit A. Why Mom should be on a leash.)

(an example of one of my lists...
oh yeah, sorry, Hannah. I meant to send that letter... um..your birthday's coming up... :) )

Do You Remember Me?

Today was stake conference, and we had the opportunity to hear from Elder and Sister Choi. They are such wonderful people, and even held a special meeting for the 12-18 year old kids before the regular meeting.
Both of their talks were moving, but I was especially touched by Sister Choi's where she began by asking us, "Do you remember meeting me? We've met before."
I could see where she was going with this...
"We met before we were born, in heaven. There was a great battle with the 1/3 against the other 2/3. Can you guess which side you fought on? Yes, you youth were on the front line of the 2/3. You fought on the Lord's side. And what did you fight with? A rifle? Dynamite? No, you fought with your testimony. You were so special that Heavenly Father took you aside and saved you for 6,000 years so that you could come to the earth to prepare the world for the Second Coming."

Of course, I'm paraphrasing most of what she said, but her words were so powerful because of the confirmation that the Holy Ghost gave me. She said that someone (and I feel bad, but I forget who said it) declared that the leaders should not teach the youth, for the youth already know everything, but instead teachers need to remind them.

How great is our divine worth! That our Father in Heaven would save us until these last days to continue the battle against wickedness with the same weapon we used in heaven--our testimony.

Par-tay

This week my dad had a meeting out of town, so at home it was an all-girl party!!
We had so much fun:
watching Despicable Me
making Puppy Chow
going on a walk
having a burping contest (I basically won... :) )
making pancakes
having a dance party
and basically just having a two-day FIESTA!!

At first, Mikaela didn't realize that the camera took four pictures one after the other. Afterwards, she said how she looks the same in each one. :)

...And then she got the hang of it.

We all need Somebody...

These pictures are from several years ago, but they support my post.
First, pull up another window and listen to this song here as you read this post.
"Do this now." ( A student in my class was talking about how he took a standardized test yesterday, and it reminded me of other standardized tests where they have to read the instructions, and we wait patiently--or impatiently--then they say "Do this now.") <--that was completely off topic. Feel free to carry on to the real topic.

We All Need Somebody to LEAN on.

Here are the lyrics:

Sometimes in our lives,
we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But, if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow


Lean on me,
when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on


For it won't be long, 'till I'm gonna need
Someone to lean on


...Lean on me
when you're not strong
I'll be your friend




...We all need somebody to lean on!

Good News, Bad News

Hello!
Today was...Tuesday.
I had a bit of a rough time, followed by some very exciting news!!!

Let's start with the bad...

I had to drop a class today. Well, I didn't have to, but I knew that if I stayed in that class I would fail miserably. So, I texted my mom (during class--don't follow my bad example) and then went to study for an exam for an hour. I prayed the whole way from the building my dad works in to the building where my exam was. After my exam, I continued to ponder on my decision.
It was hard for me. Was I feeling guilty because Heavenly Father was telling me I needed to stay in the class, or was it because I don't like to quit--because quitting to me feels like failure.
I had to give myself a bit of a pep talk, that just because I would drop the class did not mean that I was failing. I would still be graduating, I had already been accepted to college, I had a chunk of credit hours so next year hopefully would be not so stressful.

I could do it.
And so I did.
I dropped that class.
And I felt a burden lift.

On to happier thoughts...

The GOOD news!!!
My spectacular friend Kimmi passed state boards!!!
She got her cosmetology license today!!
Do you understand what this means????
Now she can charge for her haircuts--LEGALLY. :)

(oh, she does more than haircuts...she can do your makeup, perhaps?... :) )

Hanney-Bananey

This is Hannah.
She's my Hanney-Bananey.
We've been best friends for over a decade.
Hanney had good news today.
She got a job!!!!

Congratulations, Hannah!!
You are going to do awesome,
and you are going to be awesome.

*note-Hannah made the collage from pictures of our trip to Finland!

Future: Plan B

Today was absolutely wonderful!!

We had a stake rollerblading activity. It was for 12+, so Merinda was able to come too! We skated for two hours, ate some food, and got all sweaty. Yum. My friend and I went the whole time without falling down, but then during the last song, she tripped and fell (minor detail...).

When we got home we were pooped! We made it to the couches, then passed out, and took a little nap. :)

Then we were able to go to a baby shower, and that was so. much. fun. I absolutely loved it!!

But, here's an important thing to consider from today: while we were driving to the activity, I kept watching my mom's speed, and helping her find the exits. I would give her feedback, "Nice turn--you're really confident on the road; let's ease up on that pedal; whoa! A bit of a lead foot, maybe?"
So, she said that if college didn't work out (here was where I thought she would say how she wants me to live at home and attend community college, but she didn't...), I could always become a driver's education teacher.
:) Yay.
Well, at least if my cat lady future doesn't work out, then I have something to fall back on.

Swimming

The kids I babysit had these two fish a couple months ago. They adored the fish.
One night, after the kids had gone to bed, I kept company with these fish.
I watched them. And watched them. (which I probably wouldn't normally do, but I was exhausted, so it was okay)
These fish were so chill, just hanging out, and swimming around this tiny bowl.

As the school year comes to a close, all teachers are wrapping up the final days with projects, papers, and overwhelming assignments. I was talking to the kids' mom and she sympathized with me, saying sometimes we just have to get projects done, not because we are passionate about them, but to get to our end goal.
So, I will. I will get through these hard, stressful times...and when it feels mundane, pointless, and just too much, I will get down on my knees, pray to my Father in heaven.

Then I will get back up and....




Just keep swimming...

Few Quick Words

I wanted to put up this incredible song that my mom introduced me to (I know, shocker that Mom is the one finding music :) ) but I'm just going to link you to the video instead.

I will rise-- Chris Tomlin and Alex Boye

It is beautiful.


Also, a very special happy birthday wish to my awesome cousin, Jusa, and to one of my besties, Lexi--both turned 18 today!!!!


Ollie says Happy Birthday too!! (that's my pig. Ollie. She's adooorable. :) )

My Brother

This is my brother.

He's a cutie.

And he's kind and loving,





and shows support.




He's the kind of brother who will dance with his sister,






and face challenges with a challenge of his own,




and live to be worthy of the priesthood.






Now he's on his mission, proclaiming the gospel...wherever he can. :)





Yep. He's a keeper.
I love my brother.

P.S. I'm going to have a week of guest posts, and I am SO excited!! It will still be a few weeks, but look for it soon!

My Childhood

Remember the times as a child when your parents would get mad, and take their frustration out on you? (Remember how you obviously weren't to blame...)
Well, when I was a youngen', the usual, "you're grounded" didn't work on me--I could take that.
Unfortunately, my parents realized this, and hit me with something much crueler.

This was my childhood:

Masquerade

Today I was looking through pictures of a photo shoot I did for a family, and there was one picture of Merinda where the lighting was just stunning, but she had a silly expression.
I really wanted her to put it on facebook, but she wouldn't--she said she didn't put silly pictures of herself online.
My mom asked her how she could be silly at home, but not with her friends.
Merinda said she acted differently at school than she did at home.
Mom thought this was silly...



But, don't we all wear types of masks throughout our lives?
We hide our fears from those we don't know,
we suppress the urge to brag in front of those who might feel offended (or, we should),
we put up a front so that we can't get hurt.

I found a poem online that I think captures this feeling perfectly. It's by Zoe Howarth.

Behind My Mask
They think they know me all so well,
But behind this mask I secretly dwell.
I hide my thoughts, my feelings too,
I hide so well from all of you.

I smile away the tears that fall,
I show no sign of weakness at all
I hide behind an empty screen,
I'm different inside, not what I seem.

My hurt and tears get locked away,
And forever behind this mask they'll stay.
No matter how hard they try to escape,
I'll hide away all my mistakes.

I hide me well, every day,
Forever in disguise I'll stay.
I'll smile away the tears that fall,
I'll show no sign of weakness at all.

Are we always hiding? Too afraid to show people who we really are? I certainly hope not. As we grow older, and are more comfortable with ourselves, then we will be more comfortable showing our true selves to others, and we won't have to wear masks with different people. Because, like my mom says, "that's silly."




Today's post was more solemn and meditative...I'll be sure to make my next one lighter. :)

Perfect Alignment

Have you ever experienced a time when everything seemed to fit together? I don't mean that everything was working perfectly for/against you, but that you realized just how intertwined and connected different parts of your life are.

I first noticed just how interlaced everything is at the beginning of the school year. I went from American history to European history, where they would mention some of the same people, or the same concepts. Then, I would go to my English class, and what do you know? We would talk about a specific word that I had learned just that day. Then I would go to Astronomy, and what would we talk about, but the history of astronomy, and some guy we had studied in European history that morning.
I know. You're probably thinking, "Whaaaat?!!? That's craa-azy." Yes, yes. It is. It's completely mind-blowing. But, don't worry. It wasn't a fluke. ...because it happened again.This quarter I'm taking a health class. And I love it! So far, we've talked about general health and wellness, and spirituality's role in health. Guess what. Some of the same things that we talked about in health class, we talked about in my history classes. And then some of the material on spirituality I had read in the health textbook, was described in General Conference (which you can watch or listen to here ).

It is truly amazing how pieces of our lives are fit together. That is something I was amazed by in my Astronomy class. We looked at the universe. Wow. I would think it a miracle how perfectly the orbits are aligned, how the moon is exactly the right distance from earth to be able to be in the earth's umbra (dark shadow) for a lunar eclipse, or to block the sun for a solar eclipse, I would think it all a complete miracle if I did not know for myself of Heavenly Father's infinite power.




Isn't it wonderful to think of what He has done for us? He made this Earth, with its ability to hold life, to hold us; He gave us the beauties that can be found in the rising sun, in the sound of chirping birds, in the fragrance of rain, in the rush of flowing water; and He gave us a way to return to Him, to experience glories that we are incapable of comprehending with our mortal minds, and He did so by allowing Christ to be sacrificed. Our Brother offered to take upon Himself the pains of the world--our pains, and mistakes, and sins--because He knew the momentousness of Heavenly Father's plan that required us to experience this mortal life. And He volunteered, giving all glory to God. Christ loves us enough that He paid the price.

So how do we plan to repay Him?








Happy Easter!

Week with Kimmi

Kimmi's family went to Myrtle Beach...
Kimmi didn't.
Kimmi came to my house...
for a WEEK.

We. Took. Over. The. World.
...
basically.

Monday: We exercised. Majorly. Thanks, Nutrisystem... And then we mowed the lawn like pros.

(pst! That's my lawn mower that I bought all by myself!! :D )

Tuesday: We felt the effects of our workout, but still managed to plan an activity for Young Womens that focused on General Conference. It was a hit!


Wednesday: We babysat...different kids. At first she was going to come with me (and she did for a little bit, until the other family picked her up) and then she went a couple of blocks down to babysit those kids.


Thursday: We painted our nails just because we could. Kimmi was shocked by our spontaneity...I was shocked by her shock. Then we went for a walk on the bike path to get to the movie theater (we were already in Athens, so it wasn't that far of a walk) to see Mirror Mirror!!!...with Abbie too!! (And Mikaela and Dad had their daddy-daughter date) We crossed a main road, and poor kimmi nearly wet her pants from fright. :)




Friday: We watched Charly, and got all emotional... you know how it is with that movie. Later, we cleaned the church (I wish I could say we cleaned the whole building by ourselves, but we didn't...that would've taken a long time.)


Saturday: Kimmi left. I went into mourning...


Oh, well. See you at church tomorrow, Kimmi!