Signs of the Zodiac

I had a roommate my freshman year, Stevie, who would check her horoscope daily. She would also wish on the clock when it hit 11:11 or she even went as far as 12:12 and 4:04. She just wanted more chances to make a wish. I would laugh at her and tell her she was crazy. I sometimes thought she really believed her horoscope and that her wishes would actually come true. Well, I have a secret confession. I now check my horoscope EVERYDAY!! It’s scary sometimes how right on it is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I use my horoscope to guide my life or anything, but it is SO fun to see what it says. Sometimes it has really great words of wisdom, like yesterday it told me to serve others. Last week it said a lot about trusting others, being forgiving, and not being too emotional. Today it said something about going to my coworkers for advice…which I do often (because most of my co-workers are boys who are engaged or almost engaged, and they give the best dating advice)…but it was one of the lamer horoscopes. Another confession….I wish on 11:11, 12:12, 3:33 etc… but my favorite to wish on is 4:44. (4 is my lucky number). Actually, sometimes I don’t make a wish but I always notice when it is those times and I think about making a wish. I mean, that would just be silly to believe those wishes come true.

An update on my roommate Stevie: she now checks 3 different horoscopes every day. I guess it’s all about finding the right one. For example, I love the Yahoo horoscope. For me, Yahoo is the most accurate, but for Stevie, she needs 3 to be as accurate as possible.

Checking my horoscope is just part of my daily routine now. It’s fun and exciting…especially when it’s right on! I’m a Cancer…what are you? I found this great link that tells you how well you match up with people of other Zodiacs...like if you are considering dating someone, or married to someone, it tells you how you fit. Here's the link in case any one is interested (because I know you all are) http://www.eastrolog.com/horoscope-love-match/

I got a lot of really great and useful things for Christmas…stuff I have needed for a long time. I didn’t have many surprises because mom gave me money and told me to get what I wanted. My favorite surprises though were A) a Capo (pronounced kaypo) for my guitar so now I can finish writing a song I’ve been working on, and B) THE DAVID ARCHULETA CD!! It comes complete with a poster of him which I will surely hang on my wall when I get back to the apartment.

Feliz Navidad!

This is me and Stevie our freshman year. Neither of us look very different. I'm pretty sure the date on the camera is wrong...considering I didn't even meet her until over a year later.

This is (from left to right) Celes, Jenny, and Liz (and me!) up at Temple Square a couple weeks ago. We got tickets from my grandparents to see the MOTAB Christmas Concert. It was really great. My favorite line from the concert: I love Christmas...and do you know what else I love? I love animals!

My New Friend

The other day I had a hankerin' (my Dad uses that word all the time...is it a real word?) to build a snowman. So I did. Jenny, Brett, and James assisted me in my creation. Mostly they complained that the snow wasn't good enough, but I never lost hope. Jenny and I raided my apartment for random things to dress-up our Man, and here's what we found: His nose is a spider Halloween ring (that I still wear occasionally); his eyes are chocoloate chips; he has a cheerio smile, cookies as buttons, a scarf for a scarf, oven mits for hands, sticks for arms, a Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat hat (I wear that too), a race metal for some bling (I wear that too), a crepe paper streamer belt, and reindeer ears just to touch it up. Oh, I forgot he has stockings for boots too.

Impressive don't you think? It was hard to make him because the snow wasn't really packable...and of course the next day we had much better snow. When my dad picked me up to take me home the next day he said "hey, you've got a little rabbit in your front yard."

I checked on him today and I'm happy to report that he is still there! His nose and eyes have fallen off, and he's got snow up to his middle...but at least he's still standing. I'm predicting he'll last until February 12th.

You're Not Invited

The other day I was riding in the car with Sammy and Luke (my nephews from my sister Hannah). I told Sam I was sad he had to go back home and that I wanted him to stay with me. Then Sam told me I wasn’t invited to his house because only really happy people are invited. He said if you listen to God and do your prayers and your scriptures, then you are invited to my house…and do your dishes and clean the floor and listen to Heavenly Father, and Jesus and the Holy Ghost. I was taught simple truths from a 3 year old. All you have to do to be really happy is listen to God and then you’re invited into his home. It was really precious. I pray Sam will never forget those things.

The first time I meet a boy I tend to look at his shoes. I feel like the shoes a boy chooses to wear really say a lot about his personality. Most boys only have 4 or 5 pairs of shoes: Sunday shoes, tennis shoes, 1 or 2 pair of everyday shoes and sandals. Those 1 or 2 pair of everyday shoes they decide to wear are what really tells me a lot about them. Are they skater, 80's, too stylish, do they run, are they gay, weird, normal, way cool, nice etc. You can tell a lot...I promise. I told my mom the other day that I am really trying hard to look at the heart and not the shoes. I'm in to the normal shoes: tennis shoes or diesel-like shoes. I just like normal guys ya know?

Tonight I went caroling at an elderly care center for the disabled. It was really fun. One of the residents grabbed onto my belt-loop and pulled down pretty quick. Lucky I have hips to stop my pants from coming down, and the worker guy caught it and helped me out. It was really funny.

Documenting Life

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how little I take pictures. I decided, what if I die tomorrow and the most recent picture I have of myself is 6 months old? If I were to die soon I would want my loved ones to know what I did the week before; I'd want them to know the people who are part of my life right now, and the way they inspire me. Taking pictures of what I do in life (the big things and the little things) is a good way to ensure that there will be enough documentation of the life of Abby Porter if I were to die tomorrow...which I don't plan to, but it's kind of like food storage. Here is documentation of some of the people I love, and some of the things I've done in the past 2 weeks:

Stefanie Tanner and I at the Beehive Bazaar (a craft fair in Provo)

Me mailing my letter to Santa

Some of the ward friends at game night. This is the ladies man Romain from Jamaica.

My roommate Liz mailing her letter to Santa.

My friend Abe standing alone under the mistletoe.

Lauren and celebrating at the Gallery Stroll.

My good friends Brett and Peter and me at our ward FHE last Monday. We were supposed to dress up in Christmas clothes for a big family picture. They didn't dress up so I brought them some reindeer ears.

My visiting teacher Heather biting Peter's antlers.

My favorite picture ever.

This is what I wore for our FHE family Christmas picture...let's just say I was pretty much the best dressed person there.

Spread the Love

A couple of the professors at BYU put together this music video called Joy to Everyone. The pictures were taken by the photographer at BYU. He travels all over the world and really does a great job at capturing people. I really liked the video--it helped bring me love for my brothers and sisters throughout the world. It has a message of peace, rejoicing, and love that the Christmas season brings, with an overall theme that Jesus Christ is the reason for that peace, rejoicing and love. You should watch it, and share it too! Here is the link: http://www.joytoeveryone.com/download.htm

WOULD YOU JUST SPREAD SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER ALREADY?

p.s. I wrote a letter to Santa Clause. I will be sending it in the mail tomorrow. I addressed it to 90 degrees north latitude where the longitudes converge, North Pole, USA. Then I realized the North Pole is not in the USA, so I had to fix it. I sure hope it gets to him.