Waking up from Winter Hibernation

Today is my most favorite day of the whole year, the first day of spring! At home I always knew when spring was on its way when I saw those tiny little white flowers that always grew on our property that you could step on and they would pop back up. I always thought it was a good way to start off spring with these little flowers because I felt like because they could always pop back up, they were here to stay and so was spring! Every spring when I first saw the flowers I would ceramoniously dance ontop of the flowers (because it was fun to see them pop back up) with my face pointed up towards the sunshine! The next flowers that would come were the honeysuckles. I would not dance ontop of these flowers because one: they would not pop back up, and two: I fully believed Tammy when she told me that fairies lived in them. To this day I still tred carefully around honeysuckles...just in case. I also love the begining of spring because thats when the birds come out and sing their happiest songs. I feel like their exciting little burst of songs express my feelings exacataly. It amazes me every spring to feel the difference in my body. I definiately get the winter blues, even if I don't notice it much in the winter, I notice the change in the Summer. I get this sudden burst of happiness when I feel that first ray of sun. I get this urge to do all my favoirte things, read all day out on the lawn, sit outside and paint the mountains, sing in the shower, run and get in shape, play tennis, and basically any active thing that involves playing in the sunshine. So happy spring everyone! Wake up with me from winter hibernation and enjoy this happy weather while it lasts!

Lucky Day!

I guess St. Patrick's day really is a day of luck! Today has just been one of those great days where I actually woke up bright and happy, feeling like I got enough sleep, and ready for my day! I even got up with enough time to review for a test I had to take in my first class AND had time to shower! Very rarely do I ever get up with enough time for both! It just starts my day off right when I feel freshly showered. =) I took the serve-safe exam which is the test my whole sanitation class is actually for, to prepare for this test, and I think I did pretty well! After class, just like every Tuesday and Thursday, a very handsome gentlemen was waiting for me to walk me to my next class. I don't know about you, but handsome men are always a happy addition to any day. Especially MY handsome man! I also got asked to cover a work shift today, which normally wouldn't be so great, but with my current schedule of only getting nine hours a week I was more than happy to add a few more hours to my next paycheck! Plus I was asked to cover a shift in the old office I used to work in, which I love because I can get some homework done. Oh and my picture was in the school newspapter today! Its pretty much just my eyes while I'm at work at the Information Desk, but I still thought it was pretty cool. And to top it all off I think its probably in the high 30's today-a warm day in Rexburg! All these happy things and my day isn't over yet! =)

Midterms

I've always tried to get good grades in school. Throughout Jr. High and Highschool I received all A's and B's (with the exception of AP chem, C.) I like the feeling of accomplishment after the school year is over. But my first year here I'm sad to say that I did not live up to my previous grade standards. So after my first two semesters, I vowed that from here on out I was going to graduate with all A's and B's. Midterm grades were just posted for this semester. I have two B+'s, four A's and a pass in a pass/fail class. My goal for this semester is to get all A's for the first time since 8th grade. Wish me Luck! I guess the point of this blog is for me to stay motivated by letting others know my goal, and to ask for everyone to send me happy thoughts this semester as I am trying to accomplish my goals! =)

Whats the big deal?

I am not always the best visiting teacher. My determination to get it done varies from semester to semester; some semesters I am great, others I am not. Last semester happened to be one of those semesters where I am not. So I started this semester with a fresh determination to be 100% in my visiting teaching and to really get to know the girls I am teaching. Because of the restriction of time, and the fact that I was unsuccesful in finding my girl's phone numbers, my companion and I resorted to simply dropping by with treats to introduce ourseves to our girls. Laura was home and we had a nice chat getting to know each other. Inga was not home so we left her the treats and a note.

On sunday I saw Inga and I wanted to say hi to her and let her know we were sorry we missed her. But after a touching lesson in Relief Society about visiting teaching I felt stupid going up to her because I didn't want her to think it was only because of the lesson we just had. So I hung back. But to my surprise she came up to me! She very sweetly thanked me for the treats and continued to tell me that they came at the perfect time. Turns out she had a really bad day and it gave her some comfort to know that somebody loved her. that really touched me! I've never felt like my visiting teaching has ever made a difference, which is probably why I am not always the best at getting it done. But this just taught me that the Lord always has his hand in everything! It was no coincidence that I dropped off those treats on that particular day and it is no doubt that I needed that experience to re-engerize my efforts.

This also got me thinking. Lately there has been so many situations where I have wanted to say hi to someone just passing by, or wanted to express appreciation or gratitude to someone but have held back because I felt "stupid," then later found out that that person said something nice about me to someone else or saw me and wanted to say hi as well, but didn't. I have regreted it every time! How silly is that! I think its about time for me to realize that it does not matter what someone else may think about you , especially if you are only trying to be sincere and say something nice. Everyone loves kindness! Isn't that the whole point to life, to love and serve each other? How sad our lives would be without a little bit of kindness everyday? I say, lets just forget our insecurities, enjoy each other, love the relationships we have, AND LET THEM KNOW IT! =D

Winter in Rexburg...the down fall to BYU Idaho.

Cold. Icy. windy. Gross! But wait, Good news! This past weekend was actually nice and sunny! Well...for Rexburg standards anyway. In fact, so far this has been one of the mildest winters I have had in Idaho. (knock on wood) Its still freezing, but bearable. But this past weekend was actually so nice, in the thirties, that Taron and I decided to go take a walk in the sunshine. The sun felt so nice even though it was still cold. Somehow we ended up taking turns walking with our eyes closed while the other leaded. Not only did it make the walk more interesting but its always surprising to me how much more sensitive my other senses can be just by closing my eyes! In fact I could feel the sunshine even more! Its wonderful! So if you ever see me walking around with my eyes closed and goofy smile on my face...don't worry I'm just enjoying the sunshine. =)

Happy Places

The other day Taron and I found ourselves standing on an empty stage in front of an empty auditorium. That night he found out something about me that I realized most people don't know, so I thought I'd share it. I love the theater! I love everything about it! Whether I'm sitting in the audience watching others or up on stage performing myself...it just does something to me all the way down to the tips of my toes. I can't explain the excitement and energy it gives me. Performing, dare I say it, gives me an even bigger rush than blocking a girl's shot in a high-intensity basketball game... ok...maybe I'm not so sure about that because it feels REALLY GOOD! But I do think its even safe to say that I love the theater even more than I love playing sports or making art. Well maybe tied with sports. I bet you didn't know that! Theater, art, playing sports, musicals, a good fairy tale, the mountains and the TV show Pushing Daisies are a few of my happy places. So standing on that stage, looking out over the empty chairs, I couldn't help but imagine that I was a star! I could see my audience, and they LOVED me! It brought back my happy memories of the few times I have had the chance to perform. Haha I also couldn't help but belt out a few Momma Mia and Greece songs probably much to Taron's horror as my voice echoed through the empty auditorium (but no doubt it was not an empty building.) It felt GREAT! I think I was meant to be a Broadway star!

SURPRISE! Happy Birthday Taron!

Yesterday was a surprise party for Taron. It was so fun planning because everyone I called was so excited to come! Made my job really easy. It was also fun because I think I was actually sneaky enough to pull it off! (I'm not a very sneaky person-terrible for times like these) But I think we really did surprise him! It didn't last very long because it was a Thursday night and everyone had homework and things to do, but all the same, about twenty people came and I was glad I had such a big turn out. Everyone loves Taron! Can I blame them? Just take one look at him...and we can't resist!

Small Town Girl Hits the Big City!

Taron took me to L.A. for the day. Although I would never like to live in a big city I love visiting them! It gets me excited to see all the people everywhere and the big flashy buildings! Mixed in with an incredible amount of traffic first pulling into L.A. I had to wonder how many of these cars were just as excited to visit the big city as I was! Or was it just a part of their daily routine? I wondered if anyone was on their way for an audition or a job interview doing something exciting. We started our day off by first visiting Hollywood. I felt fancy walking down Hollywood Blvd-imagining I was someone famous, or at least imagining I was just someone fancy enough to be walking down Hollywood Blvd. It was fun to see the hand prints and names of all the famous stars! I stood where Steven Spielberg stood and touched the very same ground his hand touched! I took a picture next to John Travolta for mom. =) I wanted to take a picture with Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper in front of the Chinese Theater but Taron wouldn't let me because they wanted money for it. He thought they were just ripping people off but I was one of those suckers who didn't care because how often does a girl get to play in Hollywood! By the time we got to see the Hollywood sign it was too dark to take any pictures but at least now I can say I've seen it! Next we went to the L.A. temple to see all the Christmas lights. It was nice to slow down and enjoy something beautiful and pure compared to all bustle and the sketchy stuff in Hollywood. Next we walked down Promenade in Santa Monica to look at all the street performers and shops ending the night with a moonlit walk on the beach. Ok, maybe it was more the glow of an overly polluted sky rather than moonlight-but a moon was still visible. It was a really good day!