Mexico Cruise

I just got back from a cruise with the Harwells to Cabo San Lucas, and Ensenada Mexico. They all got brownie points for putting up with me for five straight days.

LDR

Sometimes 5,818 miles feels lightyears away...

Love affair with Pandora

Have you ever heard of Pandora? No, not the chick with the box, the website. If you haven't, quit reading this and go there now! It's a great website where you can listen to all kinds of music for free! They also have it for your iPhone too and I listen to it every night as I'm falling asleep. I hear some songs that I didn't even know existed, like the one I found on Saturday night for example. The song is called When I'm With You by Faber Drive. I'd never even heard of the band or the song before. It's about two people that are far away from each other and how they're going to appreciate every moment they have together when they see each other again (I bet you can't guess why I love that song so much...). It's on my playlist at the bottom of the page if you want to listen to it. Hooray for Pandora!

I fail...

Ok, I've already failed at the quote of the day business (there was no post yesterday if you're still not following...) but here's today's:

Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways.
-Samuel McChord Crothers

Yeah, I have no idea who that guy is but I really like that quote. It reminds us that failure isn't always a bad thing. Have a good day folks and we'll see ya tomorrow!

Rich in things that matter

Here's today's quote of the day from President James E. Faust:

"Like so many young people do, when I was young I occasionally dreamed of being rich and famous. I am now grateful that that dream was not realized. My understanding of what success really is has changed over the years of my life. It began to change on my first mission to Brazil over 45 years ago.
"One day, my companion and I went out to visit a poor sister who was widowed. In those days there were no stakes or wards in Brazil, only mission districts and branches. Sometimes missionaries looked after the members.
"Finally, we arrived at a humble home in a very isolated area. This home had a dirt floor and open windows without any glass. The wind and the flies could come right through. Never before in my life had I been in a home where people live with open windows and a dirt floor. Despite this, the house was clean and neat, curtains were hung, and the boards on the inside of the house were whitewashed. Despite being primitive, the home had a cozy feeling about it. We asked after this poor widow's health and well-being. She seemed quite happy and contented. We then began to have something of a gospel lesson. She participated freely. We thought that we were the teachers, but it soon became apparent that she knew more than we did. Her faith was deep, and her knowledge of the great eternal truths of where we came from, who we are, and where we are going was very profound.
"I had my eyes opened. It was astonishing to hear this sister in these humble circumstances explain the great purposes of God in the grand scheme of the earth and its creation. I was reminded about what James said in his great epistle: 'Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?' (James 2:5). . . .
"This poor widow on the outskirts of São Paulo made the most of her straitened circumstances—circumstances that could not easily be changed. She realized that she should not make her life miserable by wishing it were otherwise. We ought always to try to improve on the things that can be improved, but there are some circumstances that cannot be changed. This impoverished woman enjoyed her independence, and she owed no one any money. She was industrious and thrifty. She crocheted beautiful cloths which were sold in the city to satisfy her simple wants, but she was not poor in spirit. She was rich in the things that really matter.
"From that experience many years ago, I learned much. I am persuaded that this humble widow who lived in a house with a dirt floor and no panes in the window is an heir to the exaltation of God."

Quote of the day

I decided to start doing a quote of the day on my blog. I know it's a little cliche but I find that some of the wisest words we'll ever hear come in forms that we never expected. So I'm going to google search a quote every day and post it. I never thought I would be quoting Gillian Anderson from the X-files but she's the winner today:

"Well, it seems to me that the best relationships -
the ones that last - are
frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship.
You know, one day you look at
the person and you see something more than you
did the night before. Like a
switch has been flicked somewhere. And the
person who was just a friend is...
suddenly the only person you can ever
imagine yourself with."

I like this one because this is always how I've pictured myself falling in love. Being best friends with someone and, maybe not necessarily suddenly, but finding out that this person whom I swore I could never be more than friends with, is the only person I want to be with forever.

Lessons learned from President Hinckley

I can't believe it's been almost a year since our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away. I'll always remember the day because it was the same day I totalled my first car three years earlier: January 27. Our family watched a movie about his life and those who influenced him tonight. It was called Gordon B. Hinckley: A Giant Among Men. He told a story that I'm sure most of you are familiar with, but still emphasizes a great point. He worked for the railroad for a number of years before he was called as an apostle and one day he received a call from a station in Newark, New Jersey. It seemed that a train had arrived in NJ from Denver where he was without its baggage car. After many hours of searching, they finally found it in New Orleans, LA. A careless switchman had moved the tracks a mere three inches and the baggage car was 6,000 miles away from its destination. It made me realize the importance of the little decisions as well as the big ones. One small mistake can lead to drastic consequences down the road.

Song of the day

Have you ever heard a song and it completely speaks to you? That's how I feel tonight about "Let it be" by the Beatles. It's not the first time I've heard it but I just started singing it tonight randomly. What a great song! I think right now I really just need to learn to CHILL OUT! I'm trying so hard to be patient but there's still that part of me that feels like I just need to know everything now. But the beautiful part about life is we don't get to know. I think if we did, it would be much less exciting, don't you agree? So if you've got time, take a listen. Have a great day!

Stuck in the snow!

You know it's been snowing too much when you can't even leave your street because there's too much snow! I was on my way to work yesterday and I got stuck! Luckily Dad was home to come help me get out. The joys of living in Utah...

Happy New Year!

Ok, I'm not doing so well with this blogging thing. Working retail in December really doesn't leave time for much else, sorry. I thought with it being 2009, I'd set some new goals for this year. The "old year's resolutions" that I set in October sadly didn't turn out so well. In fact, I had to go back to that post to remember what the 3rd goal was. I do have $2,000 in the bank right now though so I guess one out of three really isn't too bad, right? I'm determined not to give up on this year's New Year's resolutions however, so here we go:

1. Exercise every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning at 7 AM (except on the days that I go snowboarding).

If I set a specific time for this one, I'm thinking it'll actually happen. You all just watch out, I'm gonna be a babe! Side note: Ian suggested that I start doing the "6 months to sexy" diet in August. That's the diet that all the missionaries do so they aren't fat when they get home. Do you think that's some kind of hint?

2. Eat 3 servings of vegetables per day.

I really suck at eating vegetables! For some reason, they don't taste very good to me so my diet mostly consists of carbs (although, carbs are the body's preferred food source so you gotta give me some credit) but this year that's gonna change. I'm gonna eat plenty of vegetables.

3. Write in my gratitude journal every day

Melissa gave me a gratitude journal for Christmas and every day I'm supposed to write down what I'm thankful for. She's been doing a lot better at it than I am but I want to be more aware of what the Lord has blessed me with every day so I'm going to start being more consistent with it.

That's all for now. I am determined not to let this year go by without accomplishing all these goals. ta ta for now!