Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I Changed My Mind. Again.

For the last year or so, I have been stressing quite a bit about which college to go to, especially lately. Before I moved to Provo, I'd always planned on going to BYU but when my family lived three minutes away from campus... I decided I'd go to BYU Idaho. Then, I realized that I'm not exactly rich and I had to personally pay for my entire education. For a very short while, UVU's full-tuition scholarship sounded tempting. Their nursing program is just as good or better than BYU's. Why not? Free education versus thousands of dollars of student loan debt? Duh. Then, I realized UVU might as well be BYU when considering proximity to home and I didn't want that. But, my family moved and now lives a teensy bit farther away. So, I thought, I might as well go to BYU. I can figure out the money right? Maybe I'll get some random private scholarships. Then I thought about it. There was no way I was going to get accepted to BYU. My decision was back down to either UVU or BYU-I. I decided on BYU-I (hoping that I'd get a scholarship). Then, I did get accepted to BYU. Awesome! But, that just made my decision that much more difficult. BYU it was! Then it was BYU-I. Then it was BYU. Then I decided that money was still a big issue and I would go wherever gave me the best scholarship. But I was still having nightmares about the decision (that happened all throughout this disgusting process). Then, I thought, prayed, and fasted. And I've finally made a decision. A final one. One that I feel good about despite having no idea about scholarships or loans. BYU-Idaho, here I come!!!


As you can tell, this has been a grueling and torturous process (because of my own crazy brain). I have changed my mind nearly one hundred times. But, now, I can quit being stressed and just be excited. And I am! Ever since Sunday afternoon, I've had that nervous, kind of shaky, but sooooo excited feeling that you get the first time that you wait to get on the tram that takes you into Disneyland. I am so so so excited. I wouldn't mind fast-forwarding the next five months and just moving up there right now. I can't wait!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Smile, Darn you! Smile!

If you can smile when things go wrong
And say it doesn't matter,
If you can laugh off cares and woe
And troubles makes you fatter,
If you can keep a cheerful face
When all around are blue,
Then have your head examined, bud,
There's something wrong with you.
For one thing I've arrived at:
There are no ands and buts,
A guy that's grinning all the time 
Must be completely nuts.

Quoted by Elder Holland (I couldn't find the actual author)


Thursday, March 24, 2011

Hilarious!

So, this little video pretty much made my day and I thought that I should share it. I hope that you get the same amount of enjoyment from it as I did. :) 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Gentleman's Day

For the last little while, I have been dreading this week with every fiber of my being. The reason for this is the fact that it is the week of the undercover Men's Week. In the past, Men's week has been quite a traumatic experience for me and many other girls at Timpview. Every year in fact, I have either been attacked by armies of big hairy men in the hallways, had my eardrums burst because of chants of "Men! Men! Men! Men!" in the commons, or even been booed and had unidentifiable objects thrown at me as I walked into the school from Seminary. Let's just say that this year, the Men of Timpview have had a real turn-around. Instead of packs of hairy, mangy beasts roaming through the halls, there have been men with real class. Today, Gentleman's Day, was especially amazing. I don't pay a lot of attention to many guys that don't already have that sort of class but today just made it that much better. Not only were many guys strolling along wearing their suits and ties, but I saw multiple girls carrying bouquets of flowers, and I was escorted to class by one gentleman in particular, Andrew Woodruff. Though (not too regrettably), this is my last year experiencing Men's week, I hope that Gentleman's day is a tradition that sticks.

Let me try to give you an image of the transformation that has taken place:

It went from this
(Photo Credit)

and this
(Photo Credit)

To this!
Photo Credit

Sweetheart's 2011

I realized today that I never posted my pictures from the fantastic date I went on with Andrew last month. So, here they are:


Our group was very large but we had a blast!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Hooray for the End of the Term

Let's just say, I'm very glad that the end of the term is finally over and that I can at last get some quality rest. Yes, it's true. I have been deprived of my sleep because of my own procrastination. However, I am deprived just the same. But now, that can all end. I have dedicated this weekend to my dear friend, who I believe I've mentioned before, my bed.
Sadly, enough, I don't think that's far off from what I actually looked like today.
Photo Credit 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Life

Life:
the present state of existence

Obviously, I don't always have a positive outlook on this gift that God has given us but it is something that I've been trying to work on this year. I have been trying to remember that life really is a gift. It is an opportunity, given to us by our Heavenly Father, to show our love and devotion to Him and to discover who we really are. Many people who don't have the same knowledge of the gospel as I do (and even some that do) fret about the day that life will "end". But really, it's never ending. When life on Earth is over, other unimaginable opportunities will be given to us. When Christ came to Earth, was killed, and then resurrected, that is one of the things that we were given: eternal life. He said, "For behold, this is my work and my glory-- to bring to pass the immortality and the eternal life of man." Every moment is an opportunity to either use that gift or waste it. Either way, you're going to keep on living (even when you're dead) so you might as well make something of it. And many times, when we didn't quite achieve what we wanted to, we start to feel bad and regret things that we've done. We do need to learn from the past, but if we focus too much on it, we're only wasting more of the precious time that we've been given. Yes that time is eternal but what we've got on Earth isn't. Anyway, "you can't go back, alright?, so you might as well live forward in the best way you can". 

Something else to remember, the most important moment in your life is right now!

"Whatever I happen to be doing at the moment is the biggest thing in my life-- whether it is conducting a symphony or peeling an orange" Ardis Whitman

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Little Girls

I think that everyone can imagine that having eight girls in the house at one time can definitely be a miserable thing. But this Sunday afternoon, I experienced one of the perks. It's called a Tay Swizzle and Hannah Montana concert and a rockin' dance party in my very own living room!



Saturday, March 12, 2011

Oh My!

This morning has been quite an excellent one. It started with a nice, hot shower and a bowl of mini-wheat cereal with fresh bananas and only got better from there. After sitting on the couch and visiting with some friends that are visiting from Texas, my Dad, Mr. Korak (one of those friends), and I took a little drive across the street to the Provo river and went fly-fishing. Oh how glorious! I really do love fishing with all my heart. Going fishing is like flipping the "off" switch on the rest of life. You forget all about the mountain of homework waiting for you at home, the fact that you don't have a job, or the stress of making decisions about college. It's just lovely. And aside from just forgetting about all of your stress, you stand right in the middle of the most beautiful of God's creations.

These pictures aren't from my most recent adventure on the river (besides, that's a lake) but they'll give you a little taste of the fun anyway!


Check out my waders!!!
Cheesy but true quote about fishing: "They say you forget your troubles on a trout stream, but that's not quite it. What happens is that you begin to see where your troubles fit into the grand scheme of things, and suddenly they're just not such a big deal anymore," John Geirach

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

He Loves Us

An excerpt of a letter from the Devil's right hand man to one of his newest students in temptation:

"Now it may surprise you in his efforts to get possession of a soul...To us, a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense. The obedience which the Enemy demands of men is a different thing. One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men and His service being perfect freedom, is not [...] mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself-- creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His. We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in; He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself; the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct"

-C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters

Faith

Faith
A Principle of action through 
which power is attained from Heaven

Faith is quite possibly the single most important principle to success in our lives and in the gospel. It is what holds everything else in life together and what keeps us going even when things seem impossible. It isn't simply believing or hoping. It is knowing. And, living life without faith, specifically in the Lord Jesus Christ, is like trying to run up a staircase in the middle of the night with a cup full of water and no lights. When we begin to have faith in our Savior and his servants, it is as if we turned the light on at the top of the stairs. Everything seems easier and more natural. I know that when we choose to have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and His love for us, He will take our hands and guide us where we need to go. 

"Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus we are responsible for our own faith. We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours... Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism." 

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen"

"But without faith it is impossible to please him"

"by faith, all things are fulfilled..."


Faith can do anything and everything!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

I Love Dania

Dania is my favorite person ever. I mean, seriously. She went to Fiji over the summer--that is sweet.




She's hilarious.


She loves bearded men.


She's an amazing runner.


She took my senior pictures. 

You can see more of these here.
And she blogs. 


Her blog is my favorite thing ever. Find it here.

Basically, Dania is the best thing that ever happened to me. What would my life be without her?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

So Sweet

So pretty much, today was one of the sweetest days ever. There are a few reasons why it was so great including the fact that there wasn't any school, I went running and jumped on my bed with my dear Stephanie this morning, and I got sunburned! However, these reasons are not all. Today was also fantastic because I went sledding with a bunch of awesome people on my awesome hill. I love sledding! Really, I do. And, I especially love it when I do it with my favorite people in the world. We pretty much had a blast. For those of you who couldn't come today, never fear. We will have another snowy get-together sometime before winter is over.

You can better see our intenseness by clicking on the pictures to make them bigger.


Seth is too cool for a coat.
Matt, mid-wipe-out.

Yes, I made that face every time (when I wasn't screaming).  But, check out my hair.
Matthew apologizing for almost killing Jasmine when he ran her over going 90 miles an hour.
McKann?


 



   



After a while of just normal sledding, we decided to add a little twist. It's a game we call "Sabotage". These are the basic rules: knock as many people off their sleds as possible and make it down the hill alive. It's pretty much the best game ever and it only added more excitement to the already amazing sledding.

One of the many results of Sabotage
And another
One of the best parts: we didn't have to walk back up. Thanks to everyone who helped drive :)
Sarah, Mary, Rachel.
They took pretty much all of the pictures but not any of themselves so I had to draw one of them. :)
Just a few memorable quotes from today:

Andrew: Don't worry girls. You're just some of the pickin's

Jasmine: Boys laugh at weird things.
Seth: You don't think it's funny? Look in the mirror.

Seth: I am going to get you off of that sled if I have to die.

McKann: Stop trying to hold my hand!

Steph: No! That's just another excuse to hold my hand!

Bronwen: Catie, those were your toes right?
Catie: No... I'm sorry.
Bronwen: Oh no.

Jasmine: (talking about cheese) Wait, you guys all just cut off the mold and still eat it? That's sick!
Andrew: Jasmine, cheese is mold.