"H" is for Hugs. And Humor

Have you ever just been sad or lonely and all you really wanted was a hug?

I'm a hugger. I love hugs. (Except for the awkward ones but even then I'll take it.)

Hugs in my mind can cure a lot. I love the feeling of someone just taking me in their arms to give me a big, loving hug. In my mind, there isn't a better way to show someone you love them, care about them and want them to feel wanted.

Humor is also another way that I feel loved.

Growing up, I had a very humorous family. I still do... Though sometimes it wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear, especially if you were mad, there were times when it just made life easier.

Currently I have a roommate who really knows how to make me laugh.

She's my best friend and she's taught me how to laugh when life just sucks.

I could expound but quite frankly I am buried in a to do list the length of me and just don't have the time. But I am grateful for hugs and humor.

"G" is for Google

Insane?

Yes, I kind of am. But I LOVE GOOGLE.

Honestly!

There are so many times when I say,

"Hmm, what is the name of that song that I can only remember half of the chorus lyrics too?"

THEN BAM! A couple of keystrokes later I am not only given the title of the song but multiple youtube videos and such.

It's a beautiful thing Google.

In fact I use Google Chrome because the web address bar doubles as a Google search bar!

Isn't that BRILLIANT?

I can look up how to spell a word if my pathetic brain can't muster the energy to remember, I can look up the score of a game, I can look up my neighborhood in Kentucky while sitting on my couch in Provo. I can find recipes, blogs, crafts, documents, sales, shoes, clothes, cheap plane tickets, weather forecasts, shipping speeds and SO MUCH MORE! It's an endless pool of information and I can't get over how awesome it is.

Seriously, I think all technology is cool but Google is just plain amazing.

I've tried Bing.

I don't like Bing.

I'm a Google Girl...ALL THE WAY!

"F" is for Friends

I have a lot of friends.

I consider myself to be a pretty friendly and outgoing person.

But I am grateful.

I have moved so many times

and have made a lot of friends over the years.

Some have stayed close.

Others, not so much.

If you're a friend of mine, and you know if you are, Thank you.

I hope you know I love you.

A lot.

"E" is for Electricity

Today was the second day this semester that the power

to our apartment was GONE!

This time, we knew it was going to happen though.

Which is nice. But last time it was NOT expected. I never realized before how much I rely on electricity. It's kind of ridiculous.

I love electricity for the following reasons.

1-Our internet works.

Without electricity my computer can function for about an hour but there really isn't a point to be on my computer unless I'm doing homework which I turn in ONLINE!

2-I can take a shower and not be terrified of the dark.

3-I can apply my make up and get dressed and not realize only when I get to work that I look like a clown.

4-I can straighten, curl or blow dry my hair.

5-I can make toast for breakfast. (The toaster works.)

6-I can make oatmeal for breakfast. (The Microwave works.)

7-The heater/air conditioner works.

8-If it's night time I can actually see where I'm going.

9-It's not dark.

The list can go on and on but I think I'll spare everybody and just say that I am grateful for electricity. No questions asked.

Confession...

I can't stop listening to TJ Fredette's music.

Really. I can't.

It's really good. :)

"D" is for Dreams

I have dreams. I have always had BIG dreams.

(The "I've Got A Dream" Song from Tangled is now playing in my head...

And now "I Have A Dream" from Mamma Mia is there...

it's a weird combination of songs.)

When I was little I used to want to be an actress in Hollywood.

Then it was an actress on Broadway.

Then my dream job became: Director extraordinaire.

Hollywood or Broadway.

It didn't matter.

I'm in school now to become a Stage Manager. I'm absolutely in LOVE with my major

which is so great because I never thought I'd be able to

settle on anything I'd actually enjoy.

Although I love my major and plan to get a degree, and have loved how

my dreams have led me on to bigger and better dreams, and I know that

secretly I'll always wonder what it would be like to be

a famous actress in Hollywood,

I've realized what my true dream really is.

My true dream is this:

I want to be the best mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend as I can possibly be.

I know that might seem strange to a lot of people, especially nowadays, but

it's what I really, truly want.

"Mother":

Too many women in this day and age have no desire to be mothers.

This makes me so sad.

It makes me wonder if they really understand how unique and wonderful being a mother is.

Now, I'm not a mother. I'm not even a wife but I have a mother. I also have a sister who is a mother and I know that they would tell anyone the same thing:

Being a mother is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to women.

In my mind it is one of the most selfless things a woman can do in her lifetime.

When the time comes, I will be more than happy to become a mother.

"Wife":

Well, even though I feel as far from this as A is from Z

(no looping of the alphabet people)

I know it'll happen some day.

I can't wait to be so in love at the beginning that we don't care that we live in the smallest, dingiest apartment in town. I can't wait to be in love and realize that we should probably work as hard as we can to make ends meet. Honestly, I know love isn't a Fairytale.

I know that it's not all butterflies and lollipops.

And honestly, I can't wait for the reality of love.

Plenty of people tell me that marriage is hard, love is hard, love is disappointing.
(Honestly, it drives me nuts when they do because when they do they're trying to discourage me from wanting this dream.) BUT this is my philosophy:

Love is easy. Marriage is easy. WE complicate it by being selfish, uncommunicative and impatient. Love cannot disappoint us, only we can disappoint love.

"Daughter":

Well, let's face it. I was not the best daughter for my parents but I know

that I've grown up. A lot. I don't think this one needs a whole lot of explanation.

"Sister":

I have five sisters, and last night I was able to have dinner with two of them.

After dinner we reminisced about the "good ol' days". How we fought,

how we laughed, how we were raised, how we teased, etc.

Though I've realized it way before last night, something about our conversation hit me in

a way that it had never it me before.

I have not always tried my hardest to be a good sister.

I know how to push your buttons and I can be a Bratty McBrat Face.

But I still love my sisters, even when I don't feel like they care about me.

But we all have bad days, no?

Eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, I hope to be able to

be the best sister that I possibly can be.

"Friend":

Ok. This is the hardest one of all. Why? Because it is a constant struggle.

I get impatient. I get emotional. I distance myself. And then at the end of the day, I'm just a normal person. I love to love people. Really, I do. But on the reverse side of that it's easy for me to dismiss someone if they seem to have no interest in being my friend. It's bad, I know, but I'm working on myself. The person I am now is much different than the person I was two years ago. I'm proud of myself for that but I still have to work on being much better.

I have a long way to go before I am a candidate for the "Best Friend of the Year" award.

Anyway, I know that these are "goals" and not necessarily "dreams" but to me I think they're the same thing, after all they serve the same purpose!

I hope all of you can find your dream today. Dreams are great!

"C" is for Choice

Because of my religion,

many people are under the impression that I am made to do certain things.

They think that I am not allowed to drink. Not allowed to smoke.

Not allowed to partake in pre-marital sex. Not allowed to wear sleeveless dresses.

Not allowed to swear. Etc, etc.

This is false.

I have the choice.

I choose to not partake in these things.

I chose not to drink, smoke, have sex before marriage,

wear sleeveless dresses and whatever else you may think of.

It is a fundamental belief of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that the Atonement, when Jesus Christ suffered in Gethsemane and again on the cross, allows us to chose. It was Jesus Christ who presented the plan that we would be able to come to this earth and chose between right and wrong. We are not made to do anything.

I love that I get to chose.

I get to chose what school I go to, what I wear, what I eat, who my friends are,

what church I attend, if I even want to attend church,

what advice I take, what classes I take, etc.

I have never in my life been made to do anything.

Even as a little girl my parents never made me attend church.

I knew they'd be disappointed if I didn't go but I still had a choice. And I chose to go.

I chose to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

How did I choose?

I prayed to know if it was true.

I studied, and continue to study, the Bible and Book of Mormon. I attended, and continue to attend, church every Sunday for three hours. I am grateful that I have been given the choice to serve the Lord.

Can you imagine a life where you got to chose nothing?

You were simply made to follow a certain religious or political leader, no exceptions.

Can you fathom how awful that would be?

Think of how many choices, no matter the size, that you make every day.

How about every week? How about every year?

It's a lot, huh?

And the beauty of it all is that YOU get to chose.

In a General Conference talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in October of 2007, he said,

"As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all."

Good. Better. Best.

Sometimes the choices we should make in our lives do not simply come down to good or bad. Sometimes it is between good, better and best.

In my life, those have been the hardest choices to make BUT at least I know that I can make them without be made to chose one way over the next.

Jesus Christ suffered.

He suffered for you and He suffered for me.

He was beaten, spit upon and nailed to a cross where He died

so that you and I might live.

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes was are healed." -Isaiah 53 4&5

All of those things He did willingly.

He chose to lay down his life for us. All of us.

Even those who chose not to accept his Atonement.

He loves all of us and is willing to welcome anyone who comes unto Him.

I am so grateful that I have choices but the choice I'm most grateful for is the one that we all have to come unto Christ and continue to come unto Him. No one is too far gone. Choose to come home to Him and He will open His arms and welcome you back. I know that's true. I hope and pray that you'll choose to come home. He's waiting for you.

"B" is for Basketball

I love basketball.

It's really the only sport that I feel confident enough to play on a team.

I played at the YMCA and I played church basketball.

I don't play much basketball now except for the occasional intramural games here on campus but let me tell you this: any chance I get, I take!

BUT aside from my love of playing the sport (not exceptionally well, but well enough, mind you,) BYU has a KICKIN' team this year.

Jimmer.

Emery.

Abouo.

Hartsock.

Seriously, those names send CHILLS down my spine. I honestly can't get enough of these boys. Jimmer with his INSANE ppg, Emery with his criminal steals, Abouo with his come-out-of-nowhere dunks and Hartsock with his "And-you-didn't-think-I-could-make-it-from-here-did-you-shots. (Plus he blocks so many shots with his massively TALL body...seesh!)

I mean, if you haven't seen these boys in action-WATCH THEM! They're CrAzY good!

My love for my Cougars even took me to Las Vegas this year to see them play in the tournament. While they didn't win in the Champ. game against SDSU (barf) they DID beat UNM for the first time this season and it was BEAUTIFUL!

So, what do I do now that the tourney is over?? Two words:

MARCH MADNESS!

I've been infected. Forget "Bieber Fever" or what ever the crazy that is! I have MADNESS MEASLES! You betcha! Bracket filled out and everything.

It's actually really nice. March Madness is the ONLY thing that gets me through March.

Seriously.

"A"ttitude of Understanding

"A" is for Attitude.

What?

Well, let me explain.

I work in an office and while I have a plethora of jobs to fulfill but one of the biggest things I have to deal with is unhappy customers. Customer service is a tricky thing and let me tell you now, the customer is NOT always right. In fact, they are usually wrong.

Okay, maybe not usually but they are wrong more often than not.

Anyway, I'm really grateful for those people who call in and are frustrated, or upset, or any number of things that usually make people unpleasant, but they keep their cool. They realize that it isn't our fault that the USPS lost their mail. They don't yell and curse at you.

They simply have an attitude of understanding.

Aside from work there are other times where other's attitude of understanding has effected me so much. I often run into things that frustrate or upset me, as I think everyone does. BUT there are people in my life who just know how to understand me.

All they have to do is look at me to understand that even though I put on a brave face

I'm not always brave.

They can look at my face and understand the confusion and pain I'm experiencing.

No words. No tears. No questions...nothing!

They just sit with me. Play basketball with me. Joke with me. They give me a hug. They cheer me up without trying to cheer me up.

They understand.

Because I know that those friends and family members understand,

though perhaps imperfectly,

I know that My Lord and Savior understands perfectly.

Nothing that I will ever go through will not be perfectly understood by Jesus Christ who died for me.

So "A" is for Attitude.

ABCs of Gratitude

I'm going to do a project here. Each day I'm going to give one thing that I'm grateful for. Each day will have a new letter to correspond with the alphabet. This will start tomorrow. I'm kind of excited!

Tonight...

SOMEBODY got JIMMERED!

UNM, never underestimate the power of a Cougar'd out arena and a JIMMER! (As well as the FABULOUS team that stand beside him!)

Sneak Peek to my Weekend...

This:

Plus This:

Equals...

Well, I'll keep you posted!

RAWR!

Back To December

So I know that Taylor Swift wrote this song but this is the exact "something" that I would like to say to an old friend whom I hope has forgiven me. Sometimes in life you realize that you've made a mistake and the only thing to do is keep moving forward. I just hope that my ending is a little bit happier than what I think it is most likely to be.