Lemonade

I think it's ironic that my goal for last week was to find happiness in the little things.  I must have been inspired when I made that goal because Heavenly Father knew something challenging was coming my way. Life is really good at handing out lemons, and sometimes it gives you a lemon so big you think there is no way you are going to get any lemonade from it.  I know it's all part of life.  Life is challenging.  It's supposed to be that way, and I get that.  I 100% believe that everything we go through can be a learning experience and make us a better person if we let it.  This week has tried me, heart and soul.  There have been many tears and many moments of prayer as I've been on my knees begging my Heavenly Father to make everything be okay.  It's hard seeing someone you love, someone you would do anything for, go through something and knowing there is little you can do to help because they have to do it by their self.  

I know there is much to be grateful for after this week, and I recognize those tender mercies.  Those tender mercies are what is seeing me through.  I'm not trying to be all 'Whoa is me' or anything like that, and I'm sure everyone has had those moments where all they want to do is scream at the top of their lungs because they don't know what else to do.  These moments remind us we're human and that we're learning and that life is a test and dang hard one at that.  But even though the test is hard and the lemons are bitter, there are always tender mercies to remind us that there is a way to make lemonade, even out of the most bitter lemon.

 

Monday. Ugh.

Monday.

That's all that needs to be said and people know the feeling.

I am determined this week will be productive.  It actually has to be because I have 1 presentation this week, 2 next week, a lesson plan due, and 2 tests.  So I either be productive or get a bad grade.  On the upside, it is getting colder outside. Yay cold weather! And I am going to Yogurtland this week with Ashley which is great because I have been craving it.  I really want to try their Pumpkin yogurt.  There is also a drive up the canyon planned for this week.  Can't wait to see the leaves! And I'm thinking about dying my hair.  I am getting so sick of it and I'm really tempted to chop it off, but I think I'll try more layers and color before I resort to scissors and inches.

Random tidbit of the day:  A couple weeks ago I got a new shirt.  And new socks.  Lovin.

Here's to this week.

Well there goes a piece of my childhood.

I just barely got around to seeing Harry Potter.  Not because I didn't want to, but I couldn't find anyone to go with me.  I even contemplated going by myself, because I wanted to see it that bad.  But I didn't and I finally got to see it tonight with a couple of my sisters and . . .

Wow.  Harry Potter rocks!

I grew up with Harry Potter.  I remember reading the first book when I was in 6th grade.  I remember falling in love with Hogwarts, and with the idea of a magical land where witches and wizards really lived.  I hated the fact I was a muggle, and wished I would get an acceptance letter from Hogwarts. (Mostly so I could have a wand and apparate. And meet Harry).  As Harry grew up, I grew up.  We were about the same age when the first books came out, and we were about the same age when the series ended.  Watching the final movie is like a conclusion of a part of my childhood.

Could the space of my fingers get any bigger? Seriously, that's the widest peace sign ever.

Overcast days make me happy.

This is gonna be one random blog post.  There is no rhyme or reason to it.  At all. 

First things first, it's mostly overcast today and that makes my happy.  Don't get me wrong, I love the sun, but overcast days are my favorite.

Secondly, on a much more exciting note, WEEZER IS DOING A CRUISE! HA! How cool is that?  It's in January, and I have no idea where they're going, but does it really matter?  It's Weezer.  For only $799, I could be jammin' out to The Sweater Song in the middle of a tropical ocean.  Too bad I am a poor college student.

Thirdly, I watched Penelope last night/today, and I just have to say that I love that movie.  It's a really cute story with a really good message.  I love Penelop's style, and I love Reese Witherspoon's hair, and I love all of James McAvoy.  Especially when he sings "You Are My Sunshine."

Fourth, I made a budget today.  Well, not a budget by the standard definition of a budget, but a plan to save money and pay off school and be better at spending.  Budgeting sounds like such a grownup word, and I sometimes listen to Disney music and think it's hilarious when someone farts in public, so clearly I'm not a grownup, BUT it is always good to be smart with money.  I took an amazing family finance class while attending USU and we had to read a book called "The Automatic Millionaire."  (It's such a great read, and actually pretty entertaining) that really changed my way of thinking about what I spend my money on.  Now I just need to apply it.


Fifth, I am making good on my goal to read the entire Book of Mormon by my birthday (October 25! BEST DAY EVER!)  I've missed a few days, so I might be a little behind, but it's been a great experience thus far.

Sixth, Sara Evan has always sung to my heart.  "I Keep Looking" is pretty much my life, and "Born to Fly" is my theme song.  It seems her lyrics are always something I need/relate to/are just great.  She has a newer one "A Little Bit Stronger" that has been my favorite lately, so I made this little thing for it.

Seventh, (and my final bit of randomness, I promise), it really makes my day when I check my email and see that people have commented on my blog.  Or when I notice a new follower.  I'm sure all people who blog feel that same way.  I didn't make this blog with the intention of writing for an audience, or trying to get followers, or anything like that, but it does make me happy that other people look at it, and care about what I have to ramble about.  So thanks.

Happy Tuesday :)

Remember

I once heard that remember is the most important word.  There is a scene from the movie "The Lion King."  Simba is trying to decide what he should do, whether he should go back to his home or not, and this scene takes place:


Rafiki: [after guiding Simba to a spot where he says will show him Mufasa] Look down there.
Simba: [looks into a pool of water] That's not my father. That's just my reflection. 
Rafiki: No, look harder.
[touches the water, as it ripples Simba's reflection changes to that of his father]
Rafiki: You see? He lives in you.
Mufasa's Ghost: [from above] Simba. 
Simba: Father?
Mufasa's Ghost: [apears among the stars] Simba, you have forgotten me.
Simba: No. How could I?
Mufasa's Ghost: You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.
Simba: How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be.
Mufasa's Ghost: Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember...


It is so easy to forget why we are here.  It's easy to forget past feelings and promptings, and we get so caught up in the here and now that we forget.  I love those days when I remember. 

When I remember that I am a daughter of God, and that I have a purpose. 
When I remember that no matter what I've done, I'm loved and I'm wanted. 
When I remember why I am here and what really matters in life.

Somedays you just need those little reminders, and today was a reminder for me.  I hope, that if I do forget again, I remember soon.

The Sisters I Choose For Myself

Growing up I never really had any long term friends.  I blame this on the fact that I went to 4 different elementary schools.  I never had a problam making friends, but I was never around long enough to have those friendships last more than a couple years.  As I got older, I had a hard time opening up to my friends because I was so used to getting new ones, and I just thought, "What's the point."  In high school I had a pretty good set of friends, but I would usually hang out with my sister. 

It wasn't until college that I met my "friends."  The ones I know I'll be friends with forever.  The ones I know will love me no matter what.  There is one friend in particular who helped me see how great friendship could be.  Because of her, I can now say that I have one of those friends you can tell everything too, be silly with, tell them about stupid mistakes, all of those things that make friendship so great.

The past week has kinda been a roller coaster of emotion for me.  Today I checked my email and this friend had made a slideshow story complete with voice narrations and pictures. 

It made my day.

I got a little teary eyed knowing she cared enough to make it for me because she knew I was having a hard time.  I am so grateful for her.

(I know you read this, so love you :)  
you're actually standing by me right now and have no idea I'm writing this, hehe.)

All You Need Is Love

I finished "A Wrinkle In Time" today while I was getting my oil changed.  I forgot how good of a book that is.  For those of you haven't read it, the premise of the book is Meg, her brother Charles Wallace (somebody please name their kid that and always call him by his full name) and their friend, Calvin go to Camazotz to save Meg's father.  He is being held there by IT (yes, IT) which is this big evil thing that controls this planet and takes away everybody's ability to make decisions. 

The ending of this book really got me thinking.  (Be warned, I'm about to get deep on you guys).  Meg is going back to Camazotz to save Charles Wallace, and Mrs. Which tells her that she has something that IT does not, and this thing that she has will help her save her brother.  She goes there and she tries to use her hate for IT as her power source to be strong enough to withstand, but IT feeds off the hate.  Then she remembers that before she had left to come back to Camazotz, Mrs. Which had told her that she loved her.  Meg remembers love and uses love to totally kick IT in the face (figuratively of course) and save her brother.

Earlier in the book, Meg was talking to a creature she called Aunt Beast who lived on a different planet.  She was trying to explain light, but Aunt Beast wasn't understanding it because they didn't have light on their planet the way Meg did on Earth.  Aunt Beast asked what it was used for and Meg said that they used it to see.  Then Aunt Beast said "We look not at the things which are what you would call seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporal.  But the things which are not seen are eternal." (Deep for a children's book, right?)

How does this tie together?  Well, I'm not sure, but it got me thinking about love and hate and all those unseen forces that drive our world.  I think as humans we tend to look at things in terms of what is tangible, what can be seen right in front of us.  And if we do branch out into the unseen forces, it's usually hate or discrimination that we use, because it's easier to hate something we don't understand than to love it.  We always fight with hate and intolerance, but what if we fought with love?  Love is just as tangible as a gun, and it has more power than even the most hateful feeling.

Awhile ago, Patch Adams came to my college, and in his speech he asked why we don't teach love in school.  We spend so much time teaching students reading, math, and history, but we don't take any time to teach love.  How do you teach love?  It's not tangible like math.  You can't see it.  I can't check the back of the book to make sure the answer is right.  But does that make it less important?

I think The Beatles had it right when they said, "All you need is love."



New Current Read:  The Lightning Theif by Rick Riordan

Sometimes I Think I'm A Lot Cooler Than I Really Am

Do you ever look at pictures of yourself "back in the day" and realize how dorky you were, even if you thought it was really cool back then?  I do that a lot.  I think I'm a lot cooler than I really am.  Or a lot funnier than I really am.  I crack myself up all the time.  But that's ok because that means if I ever get stranded on a desert island, I'll be having a great time.

My Sobe cap today told me I was cool though, so I think I'm gonna believe the Sobe cap. 

It made my 365, because I have to document that.

Happy Friday the 13th!

A Post on Procrastination

One of my talents is procrastinating.  Seriously, I am sooo good at it.  If they had an award for procrastination, I'm pretty sure I would win.  

What I usually do is everything I don't have to do before the one thing I do have to do.  For example, let's say I have to do homework.  I'll come into my room and see that it is messy.  And you can't study in a messy room so I have to clean it.  That'll take up a good hour, because I tend to take my time on the menial task because this is what expert procrastinators do. 

After that I'm probably thirsty or hungry from all my hard work and everyone knows you can't study on an empty stomach, so I'll head down to the kitchen for some nourishment.  I'll eat something to regain my strength, and then I'll probably see someone (like my brother or my sister) in the kitchen because that seems to be the hang out place in our house, and I'll have to talk to them because it's rude to not say hi and see how they're doing.  This conversation might take awhile because you can't cut a heart to heart short.  

After our talk, I'll head back up to my room fully motivated to do my homework, but I'll have to check my phone to see if anyone tried to get a hold of me with something important to tell me.  While checking my phone I'll notice the time and see that it is way to late to start studying.  Everyone knows you can't study and fully function late at night, so I'll have to go to bed, because if I don't I'll be dragging the next day which would probably effect my homework-doing-abilities the next day.  

And thus the homework is pushed off until the next day. . .

But you should all be happy because this pointless post was brought to you by none other than procrastination.  I would make a safe bet thought that most people reading this are also procrastinating . . .

Don't worry though, I procrastinated even more and found some pictures!

All Photos courtesy weheartit.com

Plan to be surprised . . .

Do you ever have those days, or those situations in your life where nothing works out?  You plan something, it doesn't go through.  You want something, it doesn't happen. I wonder why I work so hard to make something happen, or make something fit into place, to see it all fall apart.  Recently I've had one of those things happen where I just want to lay in my bed and cry my eyes out.  I'm not trying to be all depressing, or all "whoa whoa is me" but it just got me thinking about my plans, and what's worked and what hasn't.

I really believe that things have a way of working out.  If something is meant to happen, it will.  That doesn't mean I can sit idly by and do nothing, but things have a way of falling into place.  Anything in my life that I've tried to force has fallen apart.  Whether it be what I should do with my life, relationships, changing my major, whatever.  You can't fit a square peg in a round hole.  I've found that things that I'm supposed to do have worked out.

Have you seen the movie "Dan in Real Life"?  If not, you should because it's great.  But I love this quote from the movie:

“I want to talk to you about the subject of plans…

life plans and how we all make them,
how we hope that our kids make good, smart, safe plans of their own.

But if we’re really honest with ourselves, most of our plans don’t work out as we’d hoped.

So instead of asking our young people, ‘What are your plans?

What do you plan to do with your life?’,

maybe we should tell them this:

Plan… to be surprised.”