Why Today Was Awesome

1.) I found out a friend from back home gets to be my roommate next semester! Huzzah!

2.) Although I'm fighting a head cold (and I think I'm winning!), I'm no longer throwing up! Double huzzah!

3.) Mask making class... I was pretty much useless, but it was good to see people since I haven't seen them for a week! Plus they give me hugs! I love hugs!

4.) Wasting way too much time on Facebook talking to awesome people

5.) Bekah's imagery of pre-mortal spirits fighting each other just for the chance to be my children. Priceless!

6.) My teacher wanting a copy of an assignment I'd turned in because it was apparently that awesome (don't get too excited. It was only a t-analysis!).

7.) I'm attempting to write a letter to someone I don't even know. Haha that should be fun...and random. The whole situation is entertaining to me if nothing else!

I'm sure I could think of more, but seven is pretty good. I still have a bunch to do, and I'd claim that I just don't have enough time in the day, but I know I waste so much of my time that I have no right to complain! Besides, life is good! It's not always easy, but we shouldn't expect it to be. I just had hot cocoa and I think I'll have another glass! Make that number 8 on the list! Okay, now I'll be a good little girl and write a story for my class tomorrow.

Have a good week! Remember to let someone know you appreciate them or say hello to someone you haven't spoken to in awhile. It could be the pick-me-up they've been looking for!

A Quick Little Update

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving! It was good to get out of town for awhile and see my relatives. I'm already missing them. I got to see some of my family that I haven't seen in years! That was fun. I've got some really awesome people in my extended family :)

Yesterday was kind of the depressing day of my vacation as I was hit with a 24 hour flu that had me throwing up starting at 2 o'clock in the morning. That wasn't fun. But I'm glad it happened at my aunt and uncle's instead of at school because they had everything I needed. I would have been a lot more sad if I'd been in my apartment I think.

I am officially back in Rexburg and school starts back up tomorrow. Three more weeks and I'll be heading home for Christmas. I am so excited for that! I've got a few more things I need to to do before I'm off to bed, so I should probably stop waisting time on here!

My brief thought for the day: Be happy because you are loved. Share that love with others!

Because We All Have An Influence On People

You know, probably 90% of the time, we will never actually know what affect we have on people, for good or for bad. We may get the occasional 'thank you' note, or maybe someone will actually come up to us and tell us face to face. But more often than not, we will never know the impact we have on people.

We may take this to mean that we have no impact at all--that our lives are insignificant. That is not the case. Maybe the whole world doesn't know our name, but that doesn't really matter. We influence every life we come in contact with, even if it is just for that moment. Heck, we may influence lives that we didn't even realize we had a part in (like when someone overhears something you say and potentially makes fun of you for it. Haha).

You probably don't realize what you mean to some people. I probably don't express my appreciation enough, which is probably why some people don't realize how much I care about them. I try to express it through actions instead of just words--sometimes trying to find the right words while at the same time not making things awkward is a difficult task.

Anyway, this is just something that's been running through my mind lately. You don't always know if you've made someone's day by something simple that you do. I guess the moral of the story is that people care about you, even if they aren't always the greatest at expressing that, you have an impact on people, and even simple actions matter.

There's my thought of the day. I hope everyone is having a good week! Thanksgiving is in a few short days! Remember to be thankful and express that thanks!

Don't Text and Drive

So basically by posting this video on my blog, I'm attempting to boost my friends pride. Ha ha. He's a communications major and spends a lot of time putting little movies/clips together. He posted this on his wall on facebook asking people to watch it so he can get the views up. Thus, I'm making you all watch it to boost his self-esteem...well ok we'll stick with pride. It's sad but good and I know everyone in the video which makes me feel extra special! Take a look. And, if you feel so inclined, check out some of the other things he's done on his youtube profile.

Contemplating Emotion

I'm not sure I have and answer to this, but as I am attempting to do my homework (sometimes a very difficult process, especially since I would love to be asleep right now), I starting thinking and came up with this question: are people, in general, subconsciously afraid of emotion, particularly strong emotion, and are we taught (or do we teach ourselves) to suppress or hide these emotions?

I was thinking about how a lot of times I don't even realize how much something means to me until I talk to someone about it. Sometimes, for example, I know I'm hurting. We get hurt--it's a part of life. But when I think I've gotten over it, I'll start to talk to someone and then I realize that I'm still hurting. In fact, in that moment, it may hurt more than it seemed to in the first place!

I think maybe we hide will sometimes hide emotion, negative emotions in particular, because we've convinced ourselves it's a sign of weakness. Or maybe we just don't want to admit something is wrong because we don't want to talk about it. Or maybe we don't want people to think we're just a silly little whiner. Maybe it's because we're afraid no one will understand. Maybe we hope that if we ignore that emotion, it will just go away or whatever it is that caused that emotion will go away. There's probably not just one answer.

What do you think?

The Best Way to Ask for a Christmas Present

I've helped Breanna with yet another video! I don't appear in this one but I did pretty much all of the camera work and I helped plan out some of the shots. I'm pretty proud of myself :) haha. Anyway, this is a music video that we put together for her to ask her dad for a specific camera for Christmas. It's set to the tune of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me." I think it's cute even with our mediocre skills! I hope she gets the camera after all this effort! Anyway, check out my awesome camera skills!! Oh...and Breanna too. I guess you can check out her skills :)

Don't Make Excuses

Being an English major with a creative writing emphasis, perhaps I should share some of my infinite wisdom I've been adding to as I've gone through my education. It's impossible to explain all the things I've learned since I first stepped on campus all in one sitting (and my wisdom is not infinite, but don't go telling people that! I've got a reputation to maintain!), but perhaps for all you other aspiring writers out there, some of the things I'm learning may be beneficial to you. You may be tempted to discard my knowledge as my credentials are somewhat lacking (i.e. never officially been published...in anything that really matters anyway. There was that one time in high school but...anyway...). But I'm learning through experience, and that's what I'll share with you. When I begin another attempt to make it into the published world, I can give you advice on that too, but for now, you'll get some perspective from a soon to be holder of a bachelor's degree. Huzzah! But enough of that.

First of all, let me recommend a book to you, and it is probably advice from said book that I will focus on for this post today. This was required reading for my creative writing class. I really enjoyed it and it gives very helpful tips for writers. And it's a quick and enjoyable read! It is called "The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And how to Avoid Them)" by Jack M. Bickham.

His first piece of advice is to stop making excuses. It kind of reminds me of how I always say there is no time to exercise. I let that excuse hold me back. We do the same thing with writing. Published writers don't have unlimited time either. You have to make time. If it really is important to you, you will make time. Sometimes that means giving up something else, making some sort of sacrifice. Maybe you get up a little earlier or go to bed a little later. Maybe you spend less time on facebook...or blogger (pah! Never!). Or you can relax a bit on your video game obsession or put your favorite TV shows on hold for a bit. "But those are the essence of life" or "But I need those things to help me relax" you may say. Understandable...well the second one is anyway. I spend way too much time with those things too! The important thing is time management. Organize your time. It's possible to have time and sometimes you need a little break between work or classes and writing because writing is work too. Just don't let those things take up your whole day.

You don't have to go writing all day either. Just set an allotted amount of time to it, preferably on a daily basis, and pretty soon you'll have a bunch of short stories or be well on your way to finishing your first novel. I make it sound so easy. Let me assure you that writing is not all fun and games, but even with where I am as a writer, I can look at what I've done and tell you wholeheartedly that it is worth it.

So I guess that's my writing advice for the day. Don't let excuses get in the way. Writing takes practice, so dedicate time to it, and being well read can help too. The more you read, the easier it is for you to pick up on styles or even correct grammar and characters and plot, etc. that will help you with your own writing.

Take a look at Bickham's book! He addressed a lot of my concerns. Don't give up. If you want to write, do it. Don't expect miracles to happen. Writing takes a lot of work and usually a lot of rejection before it's accepted. Sometimes you get lucky, but if you aren't one of those, don't be discouraged.

Have a good day and happy writing to you all :)

The Simple Things

You know, things don't always happen the way we want them to. Sometimes we hope that things will be easier than they actually are or all our troubles will disappear when we wake up tomorrow morning. But you know, even with all the rough times in between the good times, life is good. One of the highlights of my day: I was at a friend's apartment and two of his friends from Idaho Falls were visiting. One of his friends, her name is Ellis if I remember correctly, was saying something about debate back in high school and she said something about labyrinth. Someone asked her what she meant and she said, "Do you know what Labyrinth is?" My immediate response (although technically directed towards no one in particular) was "David Bowie." That's all it took for us to form some sort of deep probably spiritual connection. She turned to me and said "I love you," and then continued on with whatever she was saying originally. For some reason, that was very amusing to me. I'm glad people appreciate my random outbursts like that. Maybe you just had to be there. In short, don't be afraid to be yourself and life is good. The end.

The Love Languages

You've all heard of the 5 love languages right? Well in case you haven't, they are Physical Touch, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, Acts of Service, and Words of Affirmation. I'd taken the test a while ago, but I didn't remember what my results were. It seems to be something that is brought up a lot, so I decided to retake the test. I was expected Words of Affirmation to be my top love language. I thought about it some more and realized that isn't always the case, but I was still willing to bet on it. Well...Words of Affirmation is number four for me. Here are my results:


Acts of Service 30%
Quality Time 27%
Physical Touch 20%
Words of Affirmation 17%
Receiving Gifts 7%


So there you have it. Now if anyone asks me what my love language is, I can tell them, and we'll know right then and there if we are compatable. Ha ha.

I learned something about myself today. I learned that acts of service mean more to me than words of affirmation. Who would have thought? Want to know what your love language is? Take the test here!

So Scared I thought I'd Wet Myself

This post is dedicated to Megan. She just wrote a post about our discovery of the Tower of Terror at California Adventure in August 2008. The above picture is the second time we went on (she said she couldn't find it so I decided to put it in my post). To see the first time, look here.

The first time, Megan and I went with our brother, Josh, and our cousin, Michael. They were determined to keep straight faces for the photo, which they accompished. Megan and I on the other hand, were screaming for our lives! Before we went on, I thought it wasn't going to be a big deal. I thought, "It's just a few drops. How bad can it be?" Well, the ride is Twilight Zone themed and you watch the story behind the haunted elevator and how you are going to relive the experience that made it haunted. You see the ghostly figures of the people who died tragically when the elevator fell. Michael was sitting next to me, and he said, "We will start falling right after you see the images of the people fall." I was still thinking it wouldn't be a big deal, but I was starting to get a little nervous. As the images of the people seemed to get smaller and farther away, Michael said, "Okay, we are going to drop....now." As soon as he finished talking, we began the first drop, and I began screaming like there was no tomorrow!

It was horrifying! A lot worse than I'd expected. I suppose you could also say it's exilerating. The second time Megan and I went, we went with our dad. He made fun of us the whole time we were waiting in line because we were freaking out...a lot! I think he understood why once we started that first drop!! Since I knew where the camera was this time, I smiled for the picture and then immediately resumed screaming.

What I love about the picture is that the shadows make it look like Dad had two giant sweat marks! Haha He was so scared!

Will I do it again? Maybe...but I'll probably whine whilst waiting in line even more than before.

Letterboxing: My Latest Adventure

For one of my English classes I have to write an article about making your own fun in Rexburg. I was inspired by Laura, and decided to discover the joy that is letterboxing. I looked it up on letterboxing.com and found one right here on campus!

It's near here!! Go find it!

Letterboxing is kind of like geocache. People make homemade rubber stamps and hide them. You then go and find said stamp based on the clues they give you. Once you find it, you get to use their stamp to add to your own little book and then you stamp their book and you can leave your name, etc. Make sure you are curtious, and hide the box back where you found it (the stamps are usually in some sort of food storage container).

I made my roommate, Talia, and my friend, Breanna, go with me to share in my adventure. We semi-cheated as we don't have our own stamps (I'm going to get one though!! Huzzah!). So instead of stamping the book, we drew pictures that we thought represented us.

You'd think I'd draw a book or something, but no. I most definitely drew the triforce.

We found a little bionicle man inside as well, so we took some pictures with him. It was all very exciting.

Here is a picture of the stamp that was there. You know you want to start a new hobby and go find it for yourself :) Maybe is sounds kind of weird and maybe even dull, but I assure you, it is quite fun!! Go have yourself an adventure! You never know what good times you'll have along the way!

Good luck with all of your adventures!!

If My Life Had A Soundtrack

Last night after watching "The Sound of Music" and "Phantom of the Opera," I was helping my roommate put together her very own blog. As part of this project, she asked me to help her figure out how to get a playlist on her blog. She also asked me to help pick out songs...but I wasn't very good at that. Most of the songs she was adding to her playlist were by people I'd never even heard of before. She was looking for chill, happy music, and the only ones I could think of are ones that are over done. I kind of laughed as I mentioned how unlike her chill playlist that she was afraid would make her look like a depressed kid, the playlist I've created on playlist.com is a lovely mixture of 80's, broadway, random songs I know line dances too, and others.

I listen to a lot of different styles of music. It kind of depends on my mood. The only thing I don't really like much of is rap. So when people ask me what kind of music I listen to I always say, "A little bit of everything," which is true. But sometimes that's not good enough for people: they want more specifics. So here you go: you are about to get a list of just a few of the songs on my computer, and you can judge my music style for yourself :) I'll even give you specific songs and that way you can discover their awesomeness for yourself!

"You Might Think" by The Cars
"Eye in the Sky" and "Talk About Me" by The Alan Parsons Project
"Save Me" by Remy Zero (you might know this song better as the Smallville theme)
"Pinball Wizard" by The Who (this song cracks me up! You should listen to it!)
"Days Go By" or "Somebody Like You" by Keith Urban
"On the Radio" or "Samson" or "The Call" by Regina Spektor
"Let Love In" by The Goo Goo Dolls
"Take a Chance on Me" or "Mamma Mia" or "SOS" by ABBA
"Northwest Passage" by Stan Rogers
"I'm Gone, I'm Going" by Lesley Roy
"Reptillia" by The Strokes
"Potential Breakup Song" by Aly and AJ
"Come What May" from Moulin Rouge
Pretty much anything from Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables
"Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root
"Dreams" by the Cranberries
"Here Comes the Sun" or "Hey Jude" or practically anything by The Beatles
"Anywhere is" by Enya
"Within" by William Joseph
"Calling America" or "Mr. Blue Sky" by E.L.O.
"Learning to Breathe" by Switchfoot
Excerpts from Handel's Messiah
"Devil in Disguise" by Elvis
"Run" by Snow Patrol


So there you have it. A brief list of some of the songs on my computer! Those are just some of the first ones that come to my head. What kinds of music do you listen to?

I was just trying to think who it is who can take credit for my love for music or for certain types of music, and I realize I can't just give that credit to one person in particular. Some of it I discovered on my own, some from Rockband/Guitar Hero, some from my parents, and some from friends. Thank you, Dad, for some of the music you introduced me to! My childhood wouldn't have been the same! Haha plus I don't think I would have the same love for things like "Phantom of the Opera" and what I know of The Cars if it weren't for your influence. Mom, I think you deserve some credit too :)

One Thing That Gets Me Through The Day

First of all, a little update. After I wrote my last post, I ironically started to slowly fall into a state of stress and unhappiness. Tuesday was a rough day. It was one of those days where you are so stressed out that you start to worry and get upset about things that don't even matter or aren't even related to the thing causing you stress in the first place! Plus it didn't help that I'd forgotten some things I had to do so I was up until 2:00 am and had to wake up five hours later to make it to my first class of the day. I enjoy my sleep...It was very hard to keep my own advice of not complaining.

It was interesting to me because it almost seemed like there were things building up to that moment. It made me think of how my roommate said a few days ago that there have been so many times in her life that she knows God has prepared her for something before it actually happens--not necessarily big things, but still...I know He helped me through that day even though it was really hard.

Here's the other thing that got me through the day:

That woman there on the right. The person on the left (me) was not what got me through the day. I know I'm pretty awesome like that, but I'd be lying to say I can make it through this life all on my lonesome. Sometimes I like to think I can, but I need a hand every once and awhile. We all do.

Anyway, the woman whose having just as much crazy fun as I am in that picture is my mother. She is a great blessing in my life, and I don't know what I'd do without her. She's inspirational. She always seems to know what to say to make me feel better or what to say because I need to hear it even if it doesn't make me feel better at the time. But in those cases she's always there to give me a hug and tell me that it will all work out, which it always does. It just doesn't always seem like it will at the time. She's let me cry many times and never ever thinks I'm stupid or weak for those moments, a fact that I'm so greatful for because in those moments I'm the one who thinks I'm being weak or stupid. She cares so much about people and doing the right thing. She's so willing to serve others, and she sets a great example. I don't think I can adequate express how much I love her, but hopefully you get the idea.

Thank you, Mom, for encouraging me and reminding me of simple truths that sometimes I'm tempted to forget in those moments where I reach my lowest low. I can't wait to see you again!

Oh, and although I still have a lot to do, my stress level has gone back down. The sun is shining, it's unusually warm for this time of year in Rexburg, and I still have time to fit in a walk which might be slowly becoming part of my daily routine. I'm beginning to realize that even places like Rexburg can be beautiful in its own way.

Until next time! Have a very enjoyable November 5.

To Complain or not to Complain...

I suppose this is really obvious, but sometimes we need a reminder of the obvious because it's those things that we so frequently put aside and ignore, right? So I was just thinking today how easy it is to complain. Each of us, quite easily, could find one if not many things to complain about in a single day. Or if we don't complain we at least look at things in a negative light which will inevatibly put us in bad spirits as long as we allow those things to bring us down. For example:

My hair is being dumb today (something I've thought on more than one occasion :) )

I really wish so and so would contact me

They did so much better than I did or could ever do

Nobody ever cleans up around here

I've got too much to do all the time!

These are just some of the thoughts that might come up, and I've experienced them all at one point or another, so I have a little bit of an idea of what I'm talking about :) But here's the deal. In a lot of these situations, I've come to realize that we want to blame other things or people other than ourselves. We could sit around a mope that certain things are the way they are or how we wish something would just magically happen, but the chances are that it won't get you anywhere. If you want those things to happen, do something about it! If so and so hasn't contacted you in a while, why not try contacting them? Many times it seems that we try to put all the fault on something and disregard the fact that some of the fault lies with us as well. So nobody is cleaning up around the apartment. Take a moment: are you guilty of that as well? You can't rightly complain against other people if you aren't even willing to do your part and put forth some effort to change things. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

Complaining gets you nowhere. In fact, it leaves you worse of than before. It will make you grumpy and irritable and depressed, and it will negatively effect those around you too. No one likes a whiner. It's so easy to pick out the negative things in our life, but if we truly wanted we could see all the good in our life as well. We can make it into a habit, and we will be happier because of it.

I've come to realize that much of happiness depends on our own choice. Really, sometimes it's as simple as telling ourselves, "Okay, I'm done with being grumpy. I'm going to be happy!" If you really mean it, you have the ability to rid yourself of the sadness we so often bring upon ourselves. Now I recognize that it's not always that easy. Sometimes we need help to get out of those ruts. For some people it's just harder, but all people are capable of happiness.

So instead of focusing on all the negative aspects of your day, focus on all the good things in the day. Can't think of anything? What about all those things you take for granted on a daily basis: family, friends, home, food, nice weather, letters, blogs, crafts, whatever it is that you enjoy. If you're having a bad day, change it. You can't control all things that will come your way. Some days just suck. There's no getting around it. But even in those times we can find the good.

I feel like I'm starting to repeat myself. Hopefully that means you'll get the point! Recently, my way of helping me sort things out, get my emotions back in order, or as I like to say, refocus my chi, is by going on walks. These walks can be with someone or on your own. Personally, I like to have the alone time to get away from everything that may be bothering me: school, people :) , etc. I like to walk to one of the parks around here, take some time for introspection, or to read a book, or to write in my journal, or something of the like. Sometimes it's just nice to get out and just let your mind rest. So my tip for the day: take a walk! Besides, if you're any where as busy as I claim to be (the truth lies more in my procrastination I believe), it's a good excuse to make time for a little exercise :)

Remember to take some time for you. Don't let your brain go on overload. Been there. Done that. It's not a fun experience. You need a break every once in a while. Just don't let those breaks talk over all your time.

So in conclusion, try to focus more on the positive in life. Complaining won't help you in this endeavor. In fact it won't help you in any endeavor, and it will hold you back more than anything. Here are just a few things I'm grateful for today:

1. The snow this year hasn't lasted for more than a day at a time thus far. Quite an unusual phenomena for Rexburg.

2. There are so many great people here I've had the pleasure to meet and become friends with!

3. I'm getting an education. Yeah, I complain about that a lot, but really, it's a great blessing.

4. It's sunny :)

5. I did better on my midterm than I thought I would. Huzzah!

6. I've officially registered for my last set of classes without any further troubles! I was a little worried about some things, but it all worked out.

So there you have it! Those are just a few. What are you grateful for today?

And of course I'm grateful for these people. Love you family :)