answers

I am so good at answering questions...I like this a lot better. Anyways, I had a decent flight home. Okay, I'm lying, it was terrible. I got to Salt Lake right on time and boarded as soon as I got to the gate. We were a little late because of de-icing the plane and all the snow, but got to Denver just barely in time to board my next flight to Chicago. This one went off without a hitch. I even talked to the man sitting next to me (a rarity for me) and he convinced me that I should take tae kwon do. So there's another thing for my bucket list. I actually would love to though -- I think it would be fun and very good for me. I got to Chicago fifteen minutes before my roommate who lives there. She had a nonstop from Salt Lake and should have gotten there two hours before but had gotten delayed on the runway in Salt Lake. So, I ran to her gate and welcomed her back home. I then found my gate and saw my flight was delayed by an hour. Every time that I subsequently checked it was delayed ten minutes later. I saw some missionaries on their way home and shared some snacks with them. They had come from Italy and were delayed for six extra hours. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. FINALLY, 2 gate changes later, 2 and a half hours late, we boarded for Memphis. I slept the whole way -- didn't even realize that we had taken off. I arrived back to Memphis at 1:30 in the morning to find that they had lost my luggage. Long story short, Hollie picked me up, I survived Saturday in her clothing and got my suitcase back that evening.

The other answers are not nearly as exciting. I don't carry a purse and I haven't read for enjoyment in at least a couple years. I've read the Bible and the Book of Mormon and my textbooks...do they count? I just feel too guilty when I sit down with a book because I know I have so many other things to do...maybe someday. Next semester I'm taking: Dance History, Modern Technique 3, Dance Composition Intermediate, Women Entrepeneurs, Doctrine and Covenants, and Kinesiology. I really am trying to avoid school at all costs right now though. When I think about it I start to get stressed out.

All right...any more questions?

fine.

Okay, look, see? I'm blogging. YAY! I just don't have anything to say...what do you say in a blog when you no longer are required to blog? Well, I'm home (hallelujah choruses are still ringing in my ears!). Tennessee is beautiful and much warmer with A LOT less snow than Utah. The semester ended brilliantly. I did better than I thought I'd do. And...um... I've made lots of Christmas cookies. Sugar and gingerbread and pumpkin cookies. The gingerbread are adorable if I do say so myself. If Clayton will teach me how, then I'll post a picture of them up. And we've made muddy buddy's and strawberry bread, and, honestly, I've eaten much too much for my own good. Also, unless anyone has any request on what to write about I really don't know at all what to say. So, leave a comment and ask a question and I will answer in my next post. Otherwise, I have NO IDEA what to say... Sorry I'm so very very very bad at this... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Umm...I don't have to blog anymore

So, it's weird not being required to blog anymore. I'm finished with that class and now I feel like I don't have anything to say. Sad...um...yeah, never mind, I don't have anything to blog about. I have FINALS!!!!!!!!!!! this week. I have one starting in nine hours... maybe I should sleep? or study? or get off the phone? or just stop blogging and concentrate on my conversation? Last year I had to spend twenty minutes twice every week typing without stopping. We called it word-vomit. It was for my english class. I should do that one day. It's very very fun. Interesting thoughts come up. They are sometimes very deep. And sometimes they are just plain weird. So, yep, I've now come to realize that I have too much studying to do to blog, but I tried!!!!

Traditions

The most shocking thing to happen to me in the past couple months was to have my mom call and confirm my suspicion: we are NOT going to be in Pensacola for Christmas this year. This will be the first Christmas of my life outside of Florida. Instead we will be at our new home in Lebanon, TN. When I consider my upcoming vacation, I get a little anxious, because I have no idea what is going to happen. I mean, of course Santa will find us no matter where we are (we were always assured of this when we left our house for Florida), but will we read the same book and still have a talent show on Christmas Eve? Will we have watergate salad for Christmas dinner? We won't have all the extended family around, and we'll actually be sleeping in our own beds! (Well, I'll share Taylor's like I always do). This is quite the improvement from the pull out couch that all the girls sleep on Christmas Eve that slopes down so your head is lower than your feet no matter how many pillows you sleep on. :-) But, what will we do with ourselves all day since we won't be roaming the neighborhood seeing everyone's new presents and gathering for family meals? It will sure be different. But, I'm very excited to have a more quiet Christmas for once. I think it will be well worth the sacrifice.

Seeing how hard it is for me to break tradition about something as simple as celebrating Christmas, I can start to understand a little bit more fully what it must have been like for the Jews in Christ's day. He asked them to change their whole lifestyle! This was not just how they celebrated Passover, but how they lived and interacted everyday. He asked them to change their view of salvation! It is little wonder that Christ exclaimed so many times of their resistance to break from traditions of their fathers, the elders, and men. It may be a little bit of a stretch, but we are all resistant to change. I don't like it much myself. If you were a Jew in the time of Christ, would you be willing to change everything because of His word? It would be very difficult. I think we should all be a little more wary of judging the ancient Jews as well as people around us. Change is HARD. Especially when you've been doing something one way for a long, long time.

TENNESSEE!!!!

Well, in case you didn't know, I was very privileged to go HOME for Thanksgiving. I'm still home, for the next 10 hours or so... :( But Christmas will come soon. As I was running down the road in my parents' new neighborhood, I realized that I am a much more fun person when I am at home. I get so sucked into my schoolwork out at school that I get very boring. But at home, I'm with my sisters and I get to be completely myself. I love it! I've done a very LITTLE bit of homework this week, as I was trying to maximize my time with my family and Clayton. I might be a little frustrated about that decision come next week when I'm closing four days at Subway, but it was worth it. I've also got a dance project to choreograph, a test to take, an enrichment meeting to plan and a Relief Society lesson to plan this week, but, life goes on. And I'd much rather spend time with all the people I love than have special handouts and treats for Relief Society. We've had a blast eating and shopping and baking. I've made and consumed SO MUCH FOOD this week. But I can take one for the team... :) My family is so amazing. We got up at four in the morning to go shopping yesterday and did not get home until almost noon. We made sugar cookies and studied anatomy (for Taylor) and set up our Christmas tree. Clayton got to spend the day with us on Thanksgiving. We played Scrutineyes -- we all lost miserably to Clayton (I figure I'll get him back next time we play scrabble). We played my favorite game, Taboo, where my team won (not much thanks to me though). I spent Friday afternoon going up to Clarksville with Clayton and spending a little time with his family. His dad made ribs for me. They were wonderful. Then he came home with us and helped set up the tree. It's a wonderful tree. We always have multi-colored lights with ornaments from when we were all in elementary school and brought them home to our Mom. It's really a modge-podge of decor, but it's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen. And those ornaments could tell hundreds and hundreds of stories. My family may not be very proper or politically correct, but it's just the way I like them!

The home should be the center of family and gospel activities, and I love to be home. My family has been blessed to have the gospel in our lives. We are all tied together with our beliefs, and we all believe that families are eternal and important. I'm glad and truly blessed to be able to spend forever with mine.

Thankful Thoughts

I'm thankful today for my good grades. One of the wonderful ironies of BYU (and universities everywhere I'm told, but don't know first hand) is the fact that every professor on campus will tell you that the grade doesn't matter; it's the process of learning. However, for those of us on scholarship, we have to keep a high GPA to retain the funding that is enabling our process of learning. Oh the hypocrisy! Anyways, I just thought I'd be thankful for the many times I've received excellent grades when I'm pretty sure I don't deserve them. Don't get me wrong, I put my time in. I do all my homework, and about 90% of assigned readings (come on, it's impossible to do it all). I was just amazed last night to find out I got the highest score for the entire 200 person class on our economics midterm. I've been complaining all semester about how hard it is... Anyways, not to brag or anything, but just demonstrate how blessed I've been to be able to put in a little work and understand concepts that are honestly very challenging for me.

That thought leads into my next topic of grattitude, and that is for answered prayers. I pray all the time for help with exams that I'm positive I'm not prepared for and for help to get through everything that has to happen that day. Also to stay awake in history, to enjoy work, to have the energy to dance my best -- the list goes on and on. But everytime I really need something, I've never been let down. It amazes me. I called the mom of a friend who died in a car accident this summer and just started chatting with her. A couple minutes into the conversation, she just stopped and said, "Erika, did you know you're an aswer to my prayers?" What do you say to that? I honestly didn't know, so I said so, and sat back amazed as she explained her week to me. She'd just been having a terrible week and didn't know what to do, so she prayed that someone would be able to help her. I wasn't the only one that called her that day, but knowing that the Lord can answer prayers through me is an incredible feeling. A humbling feeling. And I hope that I can continue to do that.

John 14:13 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do..."

No loners in the church (hopefully)

To continue with the theme of everyone's blogs this month, I'll also write about what I'm thankful for. First off, I am thankful for the gospel and consistency therein. I would like to tell the story of when I moved to Nashville. It is a common story going around Clayton's family about how they met their significant other. I won't bore you with the story again, but I will share a few thoughts on the matter.

Although my family has moved around its fair share of times and then some, I've never been one to be particularly outgoing and make friends immediately. So, I've always gone to church to make friends. We almost never had neighborhood friends and very rarely had school friends. We just went to church to socialize. Don't worry, nothing has changed. We still do that. So, while I was in China this June, my family moved from South Carolina (I had no friends or even acquaintances there anyways) to Nashville. I got there two days after I left China, and was very very tired. And lonely. Mom decided I needed to make friends, so she sent me to institute. I went. It was terrifying. I didn't talk to anyone and I left right after I got the refreshments following the lesson. The lesson, however, was wonderful, and I liked the teacher, so I determined that I would return. While there, a girl leaned over and asked if I wanted to go white-water rafting that Saturday. It sounded like a wonderful idea to me, and she could no longer go, so the spot was available and paid for, and I went. I think I tried on about ten outfits that morning before I found one to my satisfaction. Basketball shorts and a black t-shirt over my swimsuit. Yes, I am NOT very fashion concious. My Dad dropped me off Saturday morning (on time, just like I like to be) and I was TERRIFIED. As in, so scared I wanted to run and hide in the bushes and pretend this trip did not exist. I introduced myself, after everyone asked who I was, and tried to talk, but was definitely afraid that I had nothing interesting to say, so I just stood around waiting. I did find an escape to the bathroom, where I took as long as I possibly could. There was one guy there who wore dark sunglasses the whole time we were outside so I couldn't see his eyes (that bugged me). However, I thought he was really cute, so I was quite excited when he actually took the time to talk to me. He offered a ride, but I'd already been offered one by someone else, so I went with them. The whole trip up there, everyone in the car kept trying to make me say something, but I was RIDICULOUSLY quiet the entire ride (two hours). I probably said about ten words the whole trip. Mostly yes or no's. They kept asking, "Why are you so quiet?" Funny thing is, if you really knew me at all, you would not think I was very quiet.

Once we were there, I looked around for that guy again, I didn't even remember his name, but he had talked to me a couple times. I don't think I ever found him and I didn't want to be following him around, because I was sure he had friends there. I didn't figure anybody really wanted to talk to me anyways, so I just kind of hid in my corner and did what I was told. The trip down the river was very fun. I wanted to do the fun stuff like "ride the bull" (ride in front), but other people wanted to and I'd done it before, so I didn't feel the need to be assertive about it. Wait, I didn't feel the need to be assertive at all that day.

After the river, that one guy came and talked to me again. YAY! I figured out his name this time, Clayton, and he was really sweet. And a lot better at keeping conversation going than I was. I'm surprised he persisted, because I wasn't giving him anything. Turns out, however, that he can be very determined. We went to a picnic afterwards and he was throwing a football around with a guy. I must confess, I have very little talent for football (the ball is just too big) but I was bored and wanted to hang out with this guy. So, after taking LITERALLY ten minutes to muster up the courage, I walked over and asked if I could join. I was really hoping that they wouldn't be annoyed with a girl coming over and playing catch with them. Later we talked and he asked me to go water skiing with him the next weekend. I was so excited. And I was really hoping my parents would be so proud, because I was making friends. YAY!

We got back to the church late in the evening and kicked around the soccer ball. I displayed my mad skills at that… :-) It was fun. Clayton asked if I wanted to go hang out and watch a movie with him and Josh (another guy in the ward), but I was sure that my parents wouldn’t like that and I was honestly exhausted. I had only been back from China for a week and jet lag is BAD! Anyways, my long story does have a point, I promise.

I just wanted to say how thankful I am that the church is the same everywhere. It's really really comforting to know that wherever in the country you are going home to (or in the world, actually), you at least will have the same church, the same gospel, and the same truth. You can find people that you already have at least one thing in common with. Also, since the gospel is a lifestyle, you generaly have many things in common with them; you don't have to worry about being the different one, or the loner. Since I'm already good at being by myself, it's one less thing I have to worry about.

A Trip to the Museum

This last Thursday, my New Testament class took a trip to the BYU Museum of Art, more commonly described as the "MOA". They have a collection of religious art there that is really fascinating including the painting of Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethseda. If you don't know what painting I'm talking about, trust me, you've seen it. I'm pretty sure every Christian in the world has. But it was really neat to me how I was able to identify more with the artwork once I learned about some of the symbolism used in them. I had never realized before how much more a painting will draw you in if someone in the painting seems to be looking directly at you. Also, just trying to analyze a painting. For example, why did the artist place a garden outside the window? Why not a city? Or a beach? Or a tree? For what reason are the subjects of the painting in a specific color? What does the positioning of their hands mean? What does their expression convey? When an artist only has a canvas so big, he has to maximize his space and make every aspect of the painting count. Most artists, especially religious artists, are not trying to convey one word with their painting. They are expressing a story, an emotion, or a person and his or her character. With this new outlook on art, I hope that I can more fully enjoy looking at artwork and learn to appreciate it for its beauty and meaning.

Getting to know me...getting to know all about me...

1. I went to five elementary schools.
2. I broke my wrist when I was five after roller skating across a ramp I built...
3. I LOVE Disney princesses...yes, they are on my sheets, and my pillow, and my calendar, and my tupperware. Don't laugh -- it's cool.
4. My favorite candy = the mellowcreme pumpkins that only come at Halloween
5. I love musicals.
6. I love lima beans.
7. My favorite state is Tennesse.
8. I used to collect rubber ducks -- I have eighty something in boxes at home...somewhere.
9. I am terrified of foxes and sharks. And heights.
10. I hate elevators -- I'd rather take the stairs.
11. Macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese happen to be my favorite foods. No, I never did grow out of them.
12. Milk and chocolate are just plain gross. and cherries. yuck.
13. I hate cold. I love summer. Why did God create snow?
14. I can go past 180 degrees in my right and left splits. No, it's not painful.
15. I've worn glasses since I was five.
16. I broke my big toe and had a boot and crutches for six weeks.
17. I dance on pointe (on the tips of my toes) and I call it fun.
18. I am paler than everyone I've ever met.
19. I played wallball and ate cheetos by a lake we hiked to on my first date. Probably one of the best I've ever been on.
20. I was the girls' wallball champion in fifth grade. I beat a bunch of the boys too.
21. Favorite flower= tulips!
22. I love Chinese food!
23. First kiss: in a park by a lake...I see a pattern here?
24. My clothes rarely match.
25. I've donated my hair to locks of love twice.
26. favorite princess: cinderella
27. I used to hide in the bathroom and read all night long because I hated to put down a book I was reading.
28. I don't believe in dinosaurs.
29. favorite scripture: Omni 1:26
30. I bruise VERY easily.
31. I have a scar from when I was 10 and making pancakes. The pan slipped off the counter and I caught it -- reflex gone bad. It's still there. I guess I'll never forget to not touch hot pans.
32. I can't stand it when people make noise when they spit.
33. I can't grow my fingernails long and HATE fake fingernails.
34. I always keep my toenails painted.
35. I love to teach dance.
36. I have a hot pink digital camera.
37. I met my best friend Hollie when I was seven -- and we've been best friends ever since.
38. I've done a handstand on the great wall of China.
39. I've been seranaded to by a Chinese man.
40. I've eaten pig's ear -- GROSS. I don't recommend it.
41. To entertain myself while at the orthodontist I would make up stories about getting abducted by terrorists and living in Afghanistan.
42. I was homeschooled for four years.
43. I was private schooled for a year.
44. I was public shooled for eight years.
45. Somehow I ended up with a scholarship to BYU...
46. I love softball and baseball.
47. I can't throw a football. It's terrible.
48. I know I'm a dancer, but when I try to kick a soccer ball I miss...really.
49. I love Disney movies.
50. I never watch t.v. I don't have any idea what plays on any night of the week.
51. I can't sit down for more than about fifteen minutes without getting very, very bored.
52. I'm allergic to penecillin and ceclor -- the only antibiotic I can take is Zithromax
53. I've been to Disney world three times.
54. I sang in the Basilica San Marcos in Venice.
55. I sang for President George W. Bush at the white house with my choir. We got background checked by the FBI and got to wear badges that said "talent". I thought it was something.
56. I've never stayed out all night.
57. I've never seen Titanic.
58. I love polka dots.
59. I like to go rock climbing.
60. I climb an average of 250 stairs every day.
61. I hate mountains -- they make me feel claustrophobic.
62. I'm constantly cold.
63. I love swimming and jumping on trampolines.
64. I've played piano since I was three and taught since I was thirteen.
65. I love wearing hats but do not look good in them.
66. I decorate in pink and orange. Period. Are there any other colors?
67. My favorite position in softball is catcher.
68. My sisters are the cutest things on the planet! (well, that's kind of about me)
69. I've worked on nine different campaigns. And had lots of people yell at me.
70. I work at Subway...and LOVE it. I guess making sandwiches brings me joy.
71. I'm terrified of dying my hair.
72. I was in an earthquake this summer that was a 7.5 on the richter scale. If the ground shakes beneath me I freak out. Royally.
73. My first car was a bright yellow truck. It had no air conditioning.
74. My truck would die randomly while I was driving. As in the engine would turn off.
75. The radio would only work at speeds of 40 mph or higher.
76. The driver's seat would not move and I could BARELY reach the gas pedal. And if it said you were in drive you were really in 2nd. If it said you were in neutral you were really in drive...weird. Needless to say, people could not borrow my vehicle without a crash course.
77. My boyfriend threw a softball at my so hard that I missed it and it broke the fence -- about twenty feet behind me. He's really not violent... I promise.
78. I choose water over every other drink. Even at breakfast.
79. I love oatmeal.
80. I like writing in pencils better than pens.
81. I wore a poodle skirt to school one day in eighth grade. because I could. And it was the fiftieth day of school.
82. I played the bassoon in middle school band.
83. I like eating leftovers cold. For breakfast.
84. Peanut butter goes well on everything. That includes spaghetti noodles.
85. I used to bite my brother when we'd get in fights. I was always bigger than him (he's two years older) and still am. I always won.
86. I got every single try-it badge as a Brownie girl scout.
87. I've repelled off a 200-foot cliff.
88. I like singing at obnoxiously loud levels and playing the piano for fun.
89. My sister and I have competitions to see who can keep a straight face the longest. Believe it or not, I always win.
90. I can't wait to graduate!!! In 1 1/2 years...and counting.
91. I look forward the most to raising my own kids.
92. I make an excellent pound cake and sugar cookies. My roommates always complain I'm making them fat... but hey, I can't eat it all!
93. I've gone on three different dates (with three different boys) in one day: including breakfast in Nashville, a movie in Collierville (suburb of Memphis), and a dance in Memphis. And I was the girlfriend of the guy in Nashville...um...my bad.
94. Tennessee BBQ is the only BBQ worth eating. With banana pudding...yum!
95. I used to run laps in my backyard because I wasn't allowed to go running by myself -- all the while waiting for the guy I liked to call me... As he did every night.
96. I owned a vending machine business in high school. It paid for my whole first year of college.
97. The first time I ate a habanero sausage with cheese I squirted cheese on my boyfriends' parents' kitchen curtains. Yep. I'm that cool. I never eat spaghetti with a white shirt on and rare is the meal that I make it through without spilling on myself. My mom asks if there's a hole in my lip.
98. The first time I met Clayton I kept wondering why this incredibly attractive young man kept watching me and was really hoping that he would come talk to me. He did, so I guess he made all my wildest dreams come true... :)
99. I'm incredibly good at breaking up with guys, but incredibly bad at making the break-up last.
100. I love a man named Clayton and he makes me smile every day! He also told me to do this... but it was fun, so i guess it was worth it.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home....er... to Provo?

Isn't it wonderful how your daddy can just make you feel good? My Dad came up to Provo this weekend and I got to spend the whole weekend with him! YAY! It was so wonderful to see him and just enjoy each other's company. You never really miss your family until you can't see them. Families, I think, are taken for granted all the time. Provo gets pretty lonely on occasion, and I don't really have ANY family out here, so it's great to see them when I can. I was having a few problems with my parents and my dad came out here and listened to me and smoothed a lot of things out. I was just so sure that I would get disowned or something terrible, but I should have known better. Dad told me I was silly to think so, because he loves me way more than that. Sometimes I guess I just overreact.

So, in that context, food for thought: Matthew 7:9-11 "Or what man is there of you whom if his son asks bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

Sometimes I just hate to ask for things, even if I need them, because I want to be independent and responsible and self-sufficient. However, I really wanted to do a couple things and my dad was able to pay for it so we could do something special. It was really neat. Now then, if my dad, who isn't exactly a money tree, was able to drive me up to Salt Lake to go see a Body Worlds exhibit (very very cool, by the way), then how much can Heavenly Father do for me, if I'll just ask? Interesting thought. Also, something I'm definitely trying to learn this year: if it seems like nobody else is there, Jesus Christ is with you every step of the way.

So, even though my dad cannot come up every weekend, I can receive blessings every day from my Heavenly Father. One of those happened to be my dad coming to spend the weekend with me! Now I've got to catch up on my homework that I didn't do on Saturday... :-)

Leaves are falling all around

This weekend my best friend Hollie drove the seventeen hours from Stillwater, OK, to Provo, UT. That is commitment... :-) On Saturday we drove up the canyon to see the leaves change. I was told it was something that I HAD to see. So, I took the opportunity to go. We spent about three hours up there and saw all the wonder and beauty of the fall. As much as I hate the fall, because it signifies that winter and cold are coming, the foliage is beautiful. There was a little bit of the first snowfall on the ground as well! I just couldn't help but think..."what a wonderful world!" What a creation. The Earth is amazing. What is even more amazing is knowing that the earth is not God's greatest creation; that award goes to the human body! Sometimes I have trouble thinking why I would want my body with me forever and ever. However, learning about how magnificent it really is helps me to take care of it better.

There have been so many times in my life that I've seen something in nature that simply took my breath away. Then I think about how many times I see people who do the same. To follow Jesus' example of loving everyone, I've got to learn how to not judge others -- especially by their appearance, because, the human body is just as magnificent as Niagra Falls. Jesus sent out his gospel to every human being on the planet. That gives me the example to love everybody equally. And I'm working on it.

On a second note, I'm learning what an intriguing thing the mind is. It controls your body and your emotions. In dance I've been learning how my attitude affects my movement quality. If I have confidence, I'm able to do things that I can't do otherwise.

This complex body we have is all interconnected, and the health of body, mind, and spirit affect it, just like pollution, weather, and wildlife affect nature.

ABC's about me!

About me A to Z

A. Attached or Single? attached

B. Best Friend? Hollie
C. Cake or Pie? on my birthday, cake, on pie night, pie
D. Day of choice? April 15th, it's not too hot and not too cold, all you need is a light jacket!
E. Essential Item? my cell phone
F. Favorite Color? pink
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? gummy bears...my sister can sing you the theme song
H. Hometown? well, wherever I choose it to be :-)
I. Indulgence? ice cream
J. January or July? july...who likes january?
K. Kids? absolutely none
L. Life is Not Complete Without? my sisters
M. Marriage Date? ask me next year
N. Number of Brothers and Sisters? 3 wonderful sisters and a brother, all blonde
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples
P. Phobias? foxes and losing my scholarship
Q. Favorite Quotes? "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no impact on society." Mark Twain
R. Reasons to smile? Clayton, Hollie, Taylor, Mariah, Rory, Kylie, Heather, Faith
S. Season of choice? Summer. I don't need a jacket.
T. Tags? too bad I don't know any
U. Unknown Fact about me? I hate bologna.
V. Vegetable? sugar snap peas. of course.
W. Worst Habit? talking on the phone for too long
X. Xray or Ultrasound? Neither. They're both uncomfortable.
Y. Your Favorite Food? anything free that's not chocolate or spinach
Z. Zodiac Sign? Taurus

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

The past couple weeks have been INSANE! I've had projects and tests and extra hours at work and my new calling in the Relief Society Presidency at church. I just haven't had much time to sleep and relax. Friday I got this randomly terrible back pain while at work and by Saturday most of the back pain was gone, but my stomach started hurting terribly. Five days later, it still hurts. And the doctor has no clue. Awesome. It's hard to dance when your stomach is in pain...

However, when it rains it pours and I'm just adding new experiences to my repertoire. I was reading in St Matthew 6 and really enjoyed verses 28-30 and 33. I decided to try and apply it to my life. I'm just trying really hard to trust that God will provide. He definitely did this morning when I was terrified that I would fail my history test. Somehow He knows exactly how to help us. I just need to give up all the trust I have in my own performance skills, and sometimes that is hard. Not that I think I can do a better job, but it's simply easier when you're in control. You can blame yourself if and when you mess up.

To make a long story short, even with my unidentifiable stomach pain, it's been a good week. I've been able to really push myself and see how far I can go. And more importantly, I'm learning to trust in someone bigger than myself.

Ice cream

Today I went to a lecture about being true disciples of Christ. There are several steps to that, but it involves obeying with all your heart and your mind. Once you learn a principle, you are supposed to act upon that principle. How many times in my life have I said to myself, "oh yeah, I can totally do that!" and then I get lazy and give up. I'll try for a little while and then decide it is too hard. I can parallel this to my experience with ice cream. I love to dance. I love ice cream. I'm trying to eat healthier and limit my ice cream intake. However, sometimes I just completely give up and eat a huge bowl of ice cream just because I'm tired of trying. If I truly wanted to be as healthy as possible, I would learn to eat ice cream in moderation just like I've been taught.

Becoming a disciple of Christ is very similar. I've been taught to do this, that, and the other, and I want to do them. I want to be perfect and do everything I've learned; however, the learning part is the easy part. It's implementing the plan that's the hard part. I just need improvement. I think that is part of being a disciple, too. Always improving, always growing, and continually trying harder. One of my favorite sayings is, "Heavenly Father doesn't expect you to be perfect. He only expects you to be progressing." So, even though I'm sure I'll go for that big bowl of ice cream many more times in my life, I know I can at least improve my track record, and maybe one day I'll get at least a close to perfect score!

Lights

Friday night I had an adventure. I went to the birthday party of a friend from back in Memphis. I've known her for eight years, so we go back. Well, I surprised her when I showed up and the look on her face was priceless. After we caught up for a few minutes, I set my stuff down in the living room and saw a guy sitting on the couch that I knew I knew from somewhere, but I had no clue about how I knew him. He said, "I know you," and I replied, "I know you too." After several minutes we figured out that we had been in the same anatomy class last semester. I sat down on the couch and chatted with him and his roommate joined us. After some small talk, the roommate came up with a brilliant idea. He would write a story, anatomy guy would narrate it, and I would do an interpretive dance to it. It was my birthday present to Lauren. So, they wrote the story and I wasn't allowed to ready it. Then he narrated while I did an improv interpretive dance about a king who got his head eaten by a lion and then the lion was king. Really a good story. However, it was a very unique experience for me because I never put myself out in the middle of everything for everyone to see like that. And I learned something. It was a BLAST! I loved it. I made everybody at the party laugh...especially the birthday girl!

As I was thinking about this experience, Matthew 5:14-16 came to mind. It's the classic "let your light so shine before men" scripture. I thought about how I have so many talents (singing, dancing, entertaining...) that I hate to share simply because I'm scared about how people will perceive me. But if I really want to use them for good and make other people happy, I'm not allowed to hide them under a bushel. I guess it's really important to use the blessings that you have for good so that you can grow and receive more and more. All in all, it was a very fun experience and now that I've done something a little outside of my comfort zone, I'm way more likely to do it again. Maybe I can let my light brighten someone else's day!