bloggin about blogs

One blog, always leads to another blog. It's the blog circle of life, it's beautiful, and it's how I stumbled upon this blog, from another lovely ladies blog, and it may be the funniest blog currently on the blogosphere. 


The point is, if you haven't yet, you MUST read this blog.

some thoughts before I start my weekend

- 3 dreams about Justin Bieber in 1 week. I'm not sure if I should be thrilled, or concerned.

- I won the little contest at my job, and I'm feelin' pretty proud.

- "Zombie" attacks in Florida, AND in Maryland... What. the. heck. This world is becoming a pretty scary place people, and only the comic book and Walking Dead nerds are prepared.

- I got eyelash extensions as a birthday gift to myself. Barely over a week later, I have officially picked them all off. One of my quirkier moments in life to be sure.
Some mascara and eye liner, and you can hardly tell I've only got stubs for lashes.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

at this exact moment

I feel like this woman is speaking to me.
Honestly, whenever I take the time to read her thoughts they speak to me.
Sometimes I feel daunted by the lengthy-ness of posts, but always leave feeling inspired.
She speaks truth, and I figure we all could use at least a little of that rarity.

Today I read this:

"comparison. always, always comparison. comparison isn't just the thief of joy, it is the thief of the present moment and the slippery slope to what feels awfully akin to insanity."




She's good. 

Kony 2012

Just a moment ago, I was thinking about how I wish little-old-me could do something more.

Have an adventure. Make a difference.
Then I stumbled on this video, since it happens to be taking over my Facebook wall, and it inspired me.

This is a cause I'm ready to sign up for. 

Just watch it, and pass it on.

for the Fun of it.

This is what we have been listening to lately.

We're pretty excited, so I thought I would share.

You're welcome. 

Janelle is a fabulous addition.  

And for those of you who know me real well, anyone else thinking he looks an awful lot like an ex-boyfriend of mine? True story. 

2:32. ridiculous.

when you've been at home with your thoughts uninterrupted for 24 hours

Sometimes I wish my life was just a little bit different.
I wish I was sky diving, and seeing the world.
I wish I'd read, and fully understood all the classic novels.
I wish I looked something like Rachel McAdams and sang like Adele.
I wish I was off saving lives in 3rd world countries.
I wish I was off teaching the gospel in 3rd world countries.
I wish my house looked like something off HGTV.
I wish I was a disciplined ballet dancer.
I wish I was a witty writer, or a clever speaker.
I want an adventure, is that too much to ask for?

You see, I was up sick last night, so I spent today resting.
Resting and healing is what I am pretty sure my parents would of told me to do if I was still living under their roof, so I did what I thought the responsible adult I am supposed to be now would do.
It turns out resting all day, is rather boring.
So now the day is spent, and I fall back on the bed, where I am supposed to be going to sleep for the night, as if I haven't been sleeping all day. And I ask Zane,
"What are we doing with our lives?!"
He laughs at me, knowing exactly how I am feeling, and gives me a little list.

I am a student.
I am a wife.
I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a grand-daughter, a niece, and a friend.
I was married in the temple, and am building a family.

It's a short list, and maybe not a very impressive one to some, but it means the world to me.

Some things, like traveling the world, reading all the classics, and maybe even preaching the gospel in other countries, may come with time.
Others, like looking like Rachel McAdams, were never really an option.
Regardless, this is my life. Sweet and simple.

Not that we shouldn't have goals, and strive to be more. We should.
I just think we need to learn how to be more grateful, and accepting, and honestly content with what we already have.

Or maybe all of your lives really are as fabulous as you make them seem on facebook, and it's just me.

Date a Girl Who Reads

Sometimes I get a little distracted and at times a bit discouraged at all of my worldy desires. 

I want. I want. 

And then I read something like this and I remember,

There is more to life and more to me than clothes, style, "hot bodies", and money. 

I should spend less time on Pinterest, and picking out outfits, and more time snuggled in bed with a lovely book, or this little blog. 

learning about the world, and maybe helping other people do the same. 


I'm grateful everyday that I'm a girl who reads. 
and occasionally writes...

Date a Girl Who Reads by Rosemarie Urquico 

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by God, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

To The Class of 2011

Today is graduation for many of the friends I left behind at Timpanogos.

Congrats you guys, you got through high school!!!

Whether they were the worst, or the best years of your life, I want to give you all a little advice for your next step.

I just finished the adventure that you are about to embark on. 

I didn't do everything perfectly, learn from me. 

But I did do a lot of things right, follow me. 

1. Don't peak in high school. 

Don't let high school be the best years of your life. Decide today that whatever you are doing next, you are going to be better, you are going to work harder, and play even harder than that.

2. No matter how you feel, get up, get dressed and show up.

I might have stole that from a list Alysha shared with me, but it stuck with me.

No matter how bad you don't want to go to class, how badly you don't want to answer the phone call, reply to the text, go on the date, to the game, to the dance, the party, get up, get dressed, and show up. And my mom always adds, "If you're going to bother showing up, then show up big." So go ready to learn, wear a fabulous outfit, and an even more fabulous attitude. I can promise you, you will never regret following this rule. In fact, choosing to ignore this advice will bring the biggest regrets of all. 

3. Find Balance

This is the most difficult, if it's even possible, but making a conscious effort at trying to be balanced will leave you better off than if you don't try at all. You have to find a balance that works for you, and it won't be the same as anyone else's. Make time for yourself, for your roommates, for your family, for your lover, for your old friends, your new friends, make time for work, and for your school work. Discover how you can be completely happy, and fulfilled. Don't let school overwhelm you, your lover drown you, your friends control you, or your family pressure you. There is a balance, find it. 

Those are the big three for me. There are a lot more.. 

keep your body healthy, it matters more than you might think. ALWAYS be nice. Include others. Get good grades. Date. Grow up. Have fun. Don't burn bridges. Buy a laptop. Do what you are supposed to do, don't make someone else do it for you. Take pictures and write it down {start a blog}. 

The list could go on and on, but the three I chose are all encompassing, what I wish I knew a year ago, and what I'm still trying to master. 

Congrats class of 2011. It only gets better from here,

 if that's what you want.

Love,

Someone who was exactly where you are one year ago.

Time flies. 

Rain Rain, Go Away.

The cure for rainy day blues?

Listening to my roommate Missy sing her heart out to Adele in the shower. 

It literally puts a smile on my face. 

I think I will have to go sing in my own shower now. 

I dare you to go do the same :)

Math Equals Misery

Math is pure misery.

There is a plethora of terrible things I would rather do than even think about math.

They include...

-Clean toilets.

-Run a marathon. (if you know me, you know this is big.)

-Eat beans and vegetables.

-Watch golf on TV.

-Wake up at 6 in the morning

-Have my fingernails ripped off.

Unfortunately I'm doing none of these things. 

I am sitting in a classroom listening to math lingo that is so painful I am considering changing my major; Mastering the custodial field sounds like heaven right now. 

After A While

My roommate asked me what my favorite poem was today, for one of her school assignments. Because of a poem my high school english teacher once shared with me, I know the answer to that question in a second.
And I loved having a reason to reread it.

After A While

By: Veronica A. Shofftshall

After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises.

And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.

And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans, and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. .

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to leave you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure;

You really are strong, you really do have worth.

And you learn, and you learn

With every goodbye you learn.

Oh Facebook.

I am debating deleting my Facebook.

I think my relationship with FB is unhealthy 87% of the time.

I stalk pictures of people I don't really know, for no apparent reason.
And posting my own pictures sometimes feels like a contest (Im not really sure who I am competing against) of who has the best life.
Who has the cuter boyfriend, the crazy fun experiences, the cutest clothes, the most friends, the  most extravagant vacations.
Pictures become less about the moment, and the people and more about proving to someone, or maybe even proving to yourself, that you are happy.

A family friend once told my mom, from my pictures it looked like I have the most happy and fun life he's ever seen.
No doubt I am blessed. But is the reality of FB really reality?

Most days I feel like Facebook is just a way to either cut others down, or cut our selves down because we don't measure up to others.
A way to exercise pride and vanity.
I feel like I would feel a little less worldy the day I deleted my profile.

BUT, sometimes Facebook is healthy.
It is fun to look at pictures of my best friends, and family that I don't get to see as often.
It is nice to have another way to communicate with people I am away from.
It is sometimes nice to be able to share parts of my life with friends and family who are curious to know what I am up to.

So, what to do, what to do?!?!