Sorry about the lack of posting, this semester is kicking my butt and I really don't have a lot of time for blogging!
Recently I have discovered something interesting. I have learned who my BEST friends are at this time in my life.
The first, quite obviously, is Tony. I could not ask for a better husband to be with. He understands me and sticks with me through my silly adventures I have in this life. He loves me for who I am, not for what I'm supposed to be or expected to be. He is so loving and accepting. I really don't think I could have married a better man for me. I can talk to him about everything I'm feeling without fear of judgment or criticism. He is my bestest friend and I'm glad I have him as a forever friend :)
The other, which I'm finding funnier by the day, is the little girl I spend most of my days with: Grace. This girl loves me so unconditionally it isn't funny. I realized that she was my best friend a week ago when we went to the mall for a "girls day." (it was her idea.) We tried silly clothes on, and she gave me her opinion on how things looked on me, whether they made me look silly or as beautiful as a princess. I feel good when I'm around her, and she told me that she likes being with me as well. I think it's hilarious that the one girlfriend I trust most is going to be four in a few weeks. I have a feeling that being a mom is going to be fun someday, if it's anything like hanging out with Gracie-Head Maisey.
I know this is a random post, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I feel like I'm beginning to relate to all of you mothers out there. I can imagine that your adorable children are among your best friends.
3/19/10
2/16/10
Emerson Hits Home
I know that every middle-schooler who comes across Emerson's work quotes him like crazy because they feel so "misunderstood" and "misread", and it is my goal in this post to talk about how my recent reading of Emerson's "Self-Reliance" impacted me without sounding like a misunderstood pre-teen.
Recently I have felt like people, even those closest to me, simply don't and won't understand the thoughts I'm having and the things I'm feeling. I've been struggling with this for several months now, trying to figure out how to fix the discomforting feeling that accompanies my views. There are basically two sides to this fight: one, I be who I want to be, think what I feel is right, and have people think less of me, scorn me, tell me "how sad" it is that I feel this way; or two, I suck it up, put on a pretty smile and make the world around me happy all the while feeling horribly guilty and empty on the inside. As you can see, these are two pretty extreme and opposite results so the decision on how to act is a very serious and difficult one.
In my English class I'm taking to finish up my general education courses at school, we've been delving into personal narratives. I kind of find them hard to read and very long and boring, but I try my best to keep up. One exception was when we read Emerson's essay entitled "Self-Reliance." I loved reading this work! In case you aren't familiar with it, it is essentially an essay about not being a conformist to make people happy, and living your life for you--not for the sake of others. If you're interested in reading the entire thing, you can find it here. It really gave me some hope for the hard time I'm having and I felt that it was almost a pep talk for me to just be myself, and live my life for me. Forget everyone else, there's no need to do things simply to please others. It was really inspiring and I'm so glad I read it at this time in my life.
Here are some of the quotes from Emerson that really struck me:
Recently I have felt like people, even those closest to me, simply don't and won't understand the thoughts I'm having and the things I'm feeling. I've been struggling with this for several months now, trying to figure out how to fix the discomforting feeling that accompanies my views. There are basically two sides to this fight: one, I be who I want to be, think what I feel is right, and have people think less of me, scorn me, tell me "how sad" it is that I feel this way; or two, I suck it up, put on a pretty smile and make the world around me happy all the while feeling horribly guilty and empty on the inside. As you can see, these are two pretty extreme and opposite results so the decision on how to act is a very serious and difficult one.
In my English class I'm taking to finish up my general education courses at school, we've been delving into personal narratives. I kind of find them hard to read and very long and boring, but I try my best to keep up. One exception was when we read Emerson's essay entitled "Self-Reliance." I loved reading this work! In case you aren't familiar with it, it is essentially an essay about not being a conformist to make people happy, and living your life for you--not for the sake of others. If you're interested in reading the entire thing, you can find it here. It really gave me some hope for the hard time I'm having and I felt that it was almost a pep talk for me to just be myself, and live my life for me. Forget everyone else, there's no need to do things simply to please others. It was really inspiring and I'm so glad I read it at this time in my life.
Here are some of the quotes from Emerson that really struck me:
"It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."I am not becoming some sort of hippie transcendentalist or anything, I just wanted to share some of these quotes because I really loved them. Sorry if this was too much. :)
"Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. -- `Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' -- Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood. "
"There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean "the foolish face of praise," the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us. The muscles, not spontaneously moved, but moved by a low usurping wilfulness, grow tight about the outline of the face with the most disagreeable sensation. "
"The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them."
2/1/10
Gettin' Stuff Done
This probably makes me sound like an old lady, but recently I have found great joy in getting stuff done during the day. This usually never involves cleaning, but I mean setting up appointments, paying bills, getting things straightened out so that I am less stressed. Today was one of those days where I woke up dead tired, looking like death warmed over. But, I got a lot done and my day that could have been quite miserable turned into a pretty good one! I have less to stress about because I got a lot of things in order. Yay!
1/29/10
I Liked This Video
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word - Two-Faced | ||||
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1/22/10
Granulation
On Wednesday I made the trip into my academic advisor's office to discuss graduation. After a 5 minute process of looking to see if I had the right classes, she cheerfully told me that I could graduate in August.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Then, looking a bit concerned, turned to me and said "you did a 9-credit-hour internship?" I reluctantly replied with a yes, fearing that my previous good news was going to be taken back somehow. "That means you can waive one of these upper-level classes you're taking. You'll get an A in it automatically." Whose side were the gods on that day? MINE. I couldn't believe that BYU was giving me two pieces of good news in a row. Now, I have 20% less school to attend three days a week, and I can look forward to donning the cap and gown in August. The only negative thing about this is that my Senioritis has doubled in its intensity and I am so looking forward to the end of the semester. I love how some good news can just brighten your day!
What good news have you guys had this week?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Then, looking a bit concerned, turned to me and said "you did a 9-credit-hour internship?" I reluctantly replied with a yes, fearing that my previous good news was going to be taken back somehow. "That means you can waive one of these upper-level classes you're taking. You'll get an A in it automatically." Whose side were the gods on that day? MINE. I couldn't believe that BYU was giving me two pieces of good news in a row. Now, I have 20% less school to attend three days a week, and I can look forward to donning the cap and gown in August. The only negative thing about this is that my Senioritis has doubled in its intensity and I am so looking forward to the end of the semester. I love how some good news can just brighten your day!
What good news have you guys had this week?
1/11/10
Christmas, Presents, Cupcakes, and School
Holy moly, I haven't posted a real post in so long! While I have some time before bed I will try to recap everything that has happened from Christmas until now. It's been exciting, let me tell ya.
We spent Christmas this year in Indiana with my family. It was a pretty long trip, but a nice break from reality and a nice opportunity to spend time with family and see some old friends. Morgan and I thought it would be a good idea to make some "Ugly Christmas Sweaters." Here's a picture our Christmas Eve sweater contest. Can you guess who won?
Tony and I decided that we would have "our" Christmas when we got home from Indiana so we didn't have to lug our gifts to each other in our suitcases. We couldn't do it before because we were just too dang busy! We had a really nice little Christmas. Tony got me a really nice manicure set, some much needed cold-weather running clothes, and a litter box, cat food, a book called The Idiot's Guide to Getting and Owning a Cat, and a piece of paper that says "this is good for one date with Tony to pick out a KITTY!"
We had talked about getting a pet (a cat...never a dog...I can't handle dogs...) but this was such a total surprise! I was so thrilled and I thought it was so thoughtful. Tony tried his hardest to come home with a cat, but decided in the end it would be better if we both picked one out together. So, that following Saturday we headed up to the Humane Society and found our new friend that we shortly re-named (her name was really dumb) Pepa. She isn't a kitten but she's a perfect fit for us and so loving. Sometimes she acts more like a dog than a cat! We love her a lot and she's teaching us a lot about caring for another creature. She's about 6-7 months old and she's a Tortie (?).
Here are some pictures of our kitty:
She loves to snuggle for naptime.
She ALWAYS has to be a part of whatever action is going on. She gets jealous when we play on our laptops and tries her hardest to prevent us from paying attention to something other than her.
This past Saturday when Tony was getting his haircut, I noticed a place that was newly opened called Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe. I HAD to see what this was about. We walked in and it was the cutest little store! They have all kinds of coffee, hot cocoa, and lots of CUPCAKES! These aren't your Betty Crocker box cupcakes, either. These are gourmet. Simply beautiful and SO delicious. I had to take some pictures of them before we scarfed because I am a nerd. Tony got a cupcake called "Party in My Mouth" It's a chocolate cupcake wit h Nutella in the middle, cream cheese frosting and chocolate drizzle. I can't remember the name of mine (but I liked mine better) but it was a milk chocolate cake with sweetened condensed milk on top with a delicious buttercream frosting topped with almonds. These were not only insanely delicious...they were HUGE! They come in a cute box all packaged with a fork and napkin for you. Simple things please me, if you couldn't tell. They have a BLOG that you should check out...it's such a fun place! I just loved looking at all of the cupcakes through the glass! I think that's such a fun thing :)
Aside from kittens and cupcakes, I began my last semester on the campus of BYU last Monday. It's really hard to adjust to a new work schedule, school schedule, a kitten that cries at night and wakes me up, and trying to finish homework. So, if I don't post for a while...you'll understand why.
Life is good, we're having fun and we're getting through these crazy times!
We spent Christmas this year in Indiana with my family. It was a pretty long trip, but a nice break from reality and a nice opportunity to spend time with family and see some old friends. Morgan and I thought it would be a good idea to make some "Ugly Christmas Sweaters." Here's a picture our Christmas Eve sweater contest. Can you guess who won?
Tony and I decided that we would have "our" Christmas when we got home from Indiana so we didn't have to lug our gifts to each other in our suitcases. We couldn't do it before because we were just too dang busy! We had a really nice little Christmas. Tony got me a really nice manicure set, some much needed cold-weather running clothes, and a litter box, cat food, a book called The Idiot's Guide to Getting and Owning a Cat, and a piece of paper that says "this is good for one date with Tony to pick out a KITTY!"
We had talked about getting a pet (a cat...never a dog...I can't handle dogs...) but this was such a total surprise! I was so thrilled and I thought it was so thoughtful. Tony tried his hardest to come home with a cat, but decided in the end it would be better if we both picked one out together. So, that following Saturday we headed up to the Humane Society and found our new friend that we shortly re-named (her name was really dumb) Pepa. She isn't a kitten but she's a perfect fit for us and so loving. Sometimes she acts more like a dog than a cat! We love her a lot and she's teaching us a lot about caring for another creature. She's about 6-7 months old and she's a Tortie (?).
Here are some pictures of our kitty:
She loves to snuggle for naptime.
She ALWAYS has to be a part of whatever action is going on. She gets jealous when we play on our laptops and tries her hardest to prevent us from paying attention to something other than her.
This past Saturday when Tony was getting his haircut, I noticed a place that was newly opened called Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe. I HAD to see what this was about. We walked in and it was the cutest little store! They have all kinds of coffee, hot cocoa, and lots of CUPCAKES! These aren't your Betty Crocker box cupcakes, either. These are gourmet. Simply beautiful and SO delicious. I had to take some pictures of them before we scarfed because I am a nerd. Tony got a cupcake called "Party in My Mouth" It's a chocolate cupcake wit h Nutella in the middle, cream cheese frosting and chocolate drizzle. I can't remember the name of mine (but I liked mine better) but it was a milk chocolate cake with sweetened condensed milk on top with a delicious buttercream frosting topped with almonds. These were not only insanely delicious...they were HUGE! They come in a cute box all packaged with a fork and napkin for you. Simple things please me, if you couldn't tell. They have a BLOG that you should check out...it's such a fun place! I just loved looking at all of the cupcakes through the glass! I think that's such a fun thing :)
This is the inside of the store. CUTE, huh??
Aside from kittens and cupcakes, I began my last semester on the campus of BYU last Monday. It's really hard to adjust to a new work schedule, school schedule, a kitten that cries at night and wakes me up, and trying to finish homework. So, if I don't post for a while...you'll understand why.
Life is good, we're having fun and we're getting through these crazy times!
1/10/10
Awkward Workplace Photos
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