I Miss the Cornfields!

I was going through some of my stuff tonight and came across two SD cards I forgot about. I was excited to go through them. I was even more excited to see that one of them had a few mission pictures on them. But, boy did it make me miss the cornfields! Here are a few pics for the memories.

A Good Day!

Why today is a good day:
1. I received my financial aid.
2. I got offered a job.(And I'm taking it)
3. My senior project isn’t stressing me out today. (It's a big deal. 1 credit, 50
hours.)
4. I e-mailed my resume and cover letter to a business in Utah I’m interested in doing an internship with and they responded just hours later telling me they are interested in interviewing me in June.(I’m a little early in looking for fall internships).
5. I love my photography class. (By the way, we're going on a day trip to a ghost town in Montana next month! I'm excited!)
6. Tonight is my ward FHE BBQ.
7. I don't have class until 11:30 tomorrow, so even if I don't get all of my
homework done tonight, I have time in the morning to finish it.

And there we have it. Minus the weather, it's been another great day at BYU-Idaho!

Thoughts on the Savior at Easter

Happy Easter! Today has been a beautiful day. It's 50 degrees in Rexburg, sunny, and hardly any wind. I attended my new ward for the first time. It's so nice to get out of church at 12:30. I have the rest of the afternoon to relax!

Church was really good. I felt the Spirit more strongly than I've felt it in a long time. There was a talk given in Sacrament Meeting by a guy who just got back from his mission a couple of months ago. He spoke about the Savior. To end his talk, he talked about some experiences he had on his mission. He talked about seeing people change and grow closer to the Savior. It was really powerful. It made me think about my mission. I really did feel closest to the Savior when I was in the mission field. It was amazing to see people's lives change as they accepted Him.

In Sunday School we talked about Jesus being the Light. In Relief Society we talked about Faith in the Lord and His plan for us. The lesson came from a talk that can be found here. http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/faith-the-choice-is-yours?lang=eng&query=richard+edgley The lesson really hit me. It's so easy to doubt. I don't know what the future holds for me and my life. But, it's so important to trust Heavenly Father and have faith in the Savior.

With it being Easter, I want to share some of my thoughts about the Savior. I'm so so grateful for my Savior. I'd be nothing without Him. It is so comforting to know that He knows exactly how we feel. He knows what we're going through, because He's done it all. He's felt every pain and sickness we've ever felt. When we feel alone, we can turn to the Savior. He walked the path alone. He was betrayed and rejected.

I'm so thankful He loves me enough to suffer for my sins and my pain so I can one day return to live with my Father in Heaven. Without His wonderful mercy, I'd have no opportunity to progress. There's no way I can every repay Him for all He has done for me.

First Day of School

Who feels inadequate today? Pick me! Pick me! What a day it has been. It was my last first day of school and it was overwhelming! My goodness! I had my Advanced Editing class, English 452. I have a cluster in English, so that is why I am taking it. But I tell ya, I am really intimidated by all of the English majors. I already have a group presentation in that class on Thursday. That's completely insane!

I also had my Infants and Toddlers class today. (I have another cluster in Child Development...I had the option of choosing a minor or doing two clusters.) Apparently I had homework due in that class. Too bad the teacher never e-mailed us telling us we did. We were supposed to look online to see that we had homework. I guess I should have figured that out semesters ago. So now I've got to do that homework (thankfully he is letting me turn it in on Thursday) along with Thursday's readings and assignments.

Also today, I came home for lunch only to realize my keys were in the apartment and the apartment was locked. I thought I had my keys because I had a set of keys in my backpack, but they are keys to my parents' house.

Oh, and there's a girl in my infants and toddlers class that was in my ward and lived right across from me for two semesters and I called her the wrong name. I felt so bad.

Another thing, and I know this is silly, but when I realized it it was just another one of those things to make today splendid- I bought a wide ruled notebook instead of college ruled. Bummer.

For tomorrow, my first day of my MWF classes, I have to take a quiz and read two articles.

Boy, do I have a headache! Last semester was definitely too good to be true. Atleast I know it'll all be over in July. (I've just got to work hard so I can pass all of my classes.) Thanks for letting me vent.

25 Years Ago

In just a couple of days I'll be 25. Whoa. I remember when I was younger 25 seemed so old and so far away. And now it's here.

As if I weren't feeling old already, I found three gray hairs today. Bad timing. Because my hair is so dark, I can see myself going gray really young. Oh, the joys of getting "old." Yay. (Ok, ok, so I realize I'm actually not THAT old.)

I've done some research for fun, and apparently the top song in 1986 was "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick. Also on the list of tops songs were "Manic Monday," "Take My Breath Away," "Say You, Say Me," and "Glory of Love." Those were the ones I recognized. For some reason, those songs just remind me of going to the dentist when I was a child. I'm pretty sure I heard them on the radio at the dentist's office. (Random, I know.)

What's really interesting is the cell phone in 1986. Technology has come a LONG way in the past 25 years. I love this video as it shows what the cell phone looked like back then, as well as fashion of the the time and the music.



Also in 1986: Challenger crashed, the first PC Virus started to spread, and the Chernobyl disaster occurred. Other fun facts: In 1986 the life expectancy was 74.7 years, the cost of a gallon of gas was $0.93, the cost of a stamp was $0.22, and the cost of a new home was $111,900. (According to http://www.1980sflashback.com/1986/Economy.asp)

Girls' Night (Plus A Couple of Boys)

Tonight we had girls' night. My little nephew and my Dad joined us as well. As part of girls' night I painted my cute little niece's nails. She calls them "pretty nails." Also, we had cupcakes that Mom slaved away in the kitchen making (from scratch) all afternoon. We all watched Tangled together. It was a nice evening. (By the way, if you are having a hard time keeping track of where I'm at these days, don't worry, I am too. I'm constantly on the move! Right now I'm in Utah for a couple of days before the new semester starts up. There are so many people I want to see and things I want to do while I'm here, but I don't know if I'll get to everything and everyone. I'll be back in July permanently [most likely] and look forward to catching up with everyone! :) )

Another One Bites the Dust

(if I look tired in this picture, it's because I was! Packing, cleaning and moving left me exhausted!)

Weddings, weddings, weddings! 'Tis the season for weddings! (Well, actually 'tis the year for weddings. So far I've been to 3 and I've got atleast 3 more coming up.) This weekend I was able to attend the sealing and reception of my roommate and her new husband. It was the day after the semester ended, and there were 20 weddings at that temple that day! Talk about crazy. There were brides and families everywhere. It was a cold day in Rexburg,(of course) but the sealing was beautiful. I'm so glad I got to be there. The reception was also gorgeous. I loved how it was decorated. Congratulations Jared and Kara! I'm so happy for you guys! (By the way, a lady in her ward made her dress. Amazing!)

Fashion No Nos...Brought to You By Me

I admit I am no fashion expert. I have a simple, conservative style when it comes to fashion. With a small budget, I can't really afford much. But, I wanted to point out some fashion trends that I think are hideous. I apologize if any of my readers take part in them. Please don't be offended.

First, leggings. It bugs me to no end when girls think they can wear them under short skirts. Or, even worse, wear them alone. Leggings are NOT pants.

Second, the excessively large flowers that women put in their hair. Now, I think small flowers are cute for accents, but when the thing is so honkin big it is very distracting and loses its cuteness.

Third, and what inspired this post, is these beauties:

They are called the vespadrille wedge and can be found at payless. I saw these on payless.com for $59.99 (where's the LESS in payless?). I think they are the most hideous shoes ever.

While I'm on the topic of fashion and my dislikes, I'd like to say something about modesty. I'm amazed at the lack of modesty here at BYU-Idaho. There are so many girls who wear really short skirts, particularly. It's really sad.

Conference Weekend

My view from the media room.

Me with one of my mission comps.

On the drive back to Rexburg. Don't worry, I wasn't driving.

Conference weekend was fabulous! In fact, it was so fabulous I nearly forgot I have finals this week! Ha ha. (I say almost because I did do some homework... I had a big project due today.)

Friday night I had my mission reunion in Orem. On my way to the reunion I drove by my old high school in Orem. It's actually a whole new school- they recently tore down the one I attended and built a new one. Driving by there was like driving down memory lane. It's been 7 years since I graduated. I don't miss high school at all. I'm glad life has moved on.

My mission reunion was good. It was fun to see some people I knew and catch up with them. I really loved seeing my mission President and his wife. I think they are some of the greatest people ever. They are such great examples to me. Oh, and some things never change. My mission president's wife had hand sanitizer out by the refreshments. It kind of made me happy. :) (She always had hand sanitizer out at zone conferences.)It was kind of a sacrifice for me to come down for conference weekend, and I toyed with the idea for a while, but I'm so glad I did. My mission means a lot to me, and it was fun to reminisce and see people. I only wish I could have seen all of my mission comps and friends.

On Saturday I went over to Traci and Gary's between sessions. They are training for a 1/2 marathon and asked if I'd be there while they went for a run. The kids were sleeping, but they woke up before Traci and Gary got back. We had a lot of fun. I can't say that I got a whole lot out of the second session, but that was definitely ok. Is that how it goes when you have kids? Ha ha. Well, we played with play dough, colored, and eventually played outside. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday right after the first session, Dad and I left for the second session. I was worried and stressed that we would get there late and wouldn't be able to find parking. I was pleased when we got there plenty early and we were able to find a parking spot. We met a LDS Public Affairs guy at the special "media" door of the conference center. He then took us to get "media" name tags. We then went to the media room. It is located on the main floor of the conference center. It was basically a room full of journalists. Along the back wall were a bunch of people with their macbooks working vigorously. The journalists got copies of the talks right before the session started. I didn't get copies, but I peaked at the talks the people in front of me had. :) Ha ha. We also were treated to punch and candy. It was a really cool experience. P.S. As we were walking out of conference-back to the car- we saw L.Tom Perry leaving with his wife. No big deal. It appeared that they were walking home. They must live really close to the Conference Center. He really IS tall, by the way.

Lately I've been thinking about all of the experiences and opportunities I have available to me right now in my life. I've definitely been blessed. I'm grateful for the life I have.

In just a couple of weeks I'll be 25. For a while that has been hard for me to accept. It still is, but I know that it's ok. Change, improvement, and getting older are all part of the plan. My life plan is different from others' life plans, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Life can be good in whatever circumstances we're in.

So, there we have it. By the way, after this week I have one semester left!!!