Believe. Learn. Do.

NEW BLOG

2010-07-10T10:52:00.004-06:00

My new husband and I have a new blog:

http://w-a-t-s-o-n-a-t-o-r.blogspot.com/

Change it on your blog lists and stuff. The new blog is still under construction so not everything is just right yet. It is kind of fun to realize that with this new blog I am closing one chapter of my life and writing a new chapter. YAY for new things!

Popcorn Trees, Pizza and Exhaust Oh My

2010-04-21T18:27:00.001-06:00

Popcorn trees, Brick Oven Pizza and exhaust fumes: three smells that make my 3 mile run around the outside of BYU Campus almost unbearable. Popcorn trees have the worst, vomit with a mix of smelly feet, smell in the world. Some cars have incredibly strong smelling exhaust fumes that make me feel like I’m going to get black lung disease by inhaling. Brick Oven Pizza is usually a delicious aroma, but not at the tail end of a run with a stomach already upset by the Popcorn trees and exhaust fumes.

I’m not fully recovered from my knee injury yet. I’m trying to take it real slow so I don’t mess it up worse. It will just take some time before I can run my usual 3 miles a day. For now I run between 1 and 3 miles a few times a week. SO SAD.

I went to a Bridal Extravaganza last weekend. I was a finalist for a love story contest. We had to wait until the very end to hear the winner’s announced. What we witnessed was pure chaos. The announcer guy was just giving away gift certificates valued between 50 and 500 dollars. Brides of all ages were jumping up and down, charging the stage, almost knocking down the stage, and pushing other brides out of their way. Some of them did push-ups, some of them showed their white legs, some of them revealed their old age. I think some of them lied in order to get the prize. Yeah right, like that lady in the back left really just got engaged that day, on a Saturday before 5:00 p.m. And the red-head who won the photography shoot, please, like she is really getting married in a week and hasn’t booked a photographer. That was the requirement to win: the girl getting married the soonest who had not booked a photographer yet. My favorite was the girl in the front row, who we later found out was almost 38 years old. She jumped up and down to try to get EVERY prize. She finally won the one he gave to the tallest bride. Even after she won she continued jumping up and down to win more, More, MORE. Free-stuff can make a person go crazy. It was super entertaining to watch. I knew the lady who had rounded up all the certificates for the extravaganza. It turns out, she would have just given me a prize if I would have caught her attention sooner, and I wouldn’t have had to show her my white legs or stretch my leg behind my neck. She looked for something for me, but everything was gone.

I didn’t leave empty handed though. We got a bag and a stomach full of yummy treats, and we got a 2 night’s stay for 2 in any of 20 selected cities for a total of $40. That’s what I got for being a love story finalist.

Kameron is the best fiancé in the world. He is so patient with me, even though sometimes I’m a meanie. We’re just 2 months away!

Worry or Not

2010-04-10T17:54:00.004-06:00

I went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead with my roommate Jing. She was baptized in January and this was her first experience in the temple. We had a really good time. She said she felt the spirit while she was there. She also got really excited when we started telling her that you can actually do genealogy to find your relatives who have passed away and do their temple work for them. She started asking us how she can find her family. We told her to start by asking her mom and dad about their grandparents etc... She said something about not even knowing who her great great grandma is. Anyway, that was a neat experience.

I went to a BRIDAL FAIR today!! It was a lot of fun too. Free food, discounted tuxedos, men's rings, Dj's and photobooth's. I'm glad my roommate came with me, I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to keep track of all my free stuff and enter all the free drawings.

I'm a worrier by genetics. My dad worries, his mom worries, his grandparents worry etc... I'm pretty sure it's genetic... So I have a LOT of things to worry about now that I'm on my way to get married. I instituted a worry jar awhile back so I could place all my worries that I have no control over in that jar and just way for them to work out. I hadn't put anything in it for a few months and just remembered about it as I was worrying to Kameron the other night. I put 15-20 new worry things, which I think doubled what was already in there. I am the kind of person who needs to actually do something in order to let go and move on. I've smashed pumpkins, thrown flowers in the lake, let go of helium balloons, and now I have my worry jar. It's only symbolic of course, but it does WONDERS for me.

One of my worries just last night was about finding an apartment and being able to afford to furnish it etc. etc. etc. Kameron kept telling me it would be okay, and I know it will be. My dad said they used to say about his worrier grandma that she was really good at worrying because nothing she ever worried about actually ended up happening. I read a quote this morning by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland while I was in the temple:

“I am not saying you shouldn’t be very careful about something as significant and serious as marriage. … Yes, there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been genuine illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. You can find an apartment. You can win over your mother-in-law. You can sell your harmonica and therein fund one more meal. It’s been done before. Don’t give in. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants everyone to be miserable like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence.’ Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you.”

Perfect, don't you think? I'm glad to know that if all else fails, I can sell my harmonica and eat one more meal. Oh no ,wait!!!! I DON'T HAVE A HARMONICA! I guess we'll starve Kam. :)

These are some pictures we had my mom take of us really quick one day. The second one is really funny to me.

I Knew It.

2010-03-31T21:38:00.003-06:00

The first time I remember meeting Kameron I immediately had a crush on him. I guess that is only half true. What I thought was my first time meeting him actually wasn't. We took a Driver’s Ed class together the summer before my junior year. I can’t remember him from that class AT all. I remember our friend Mickey was in the same class, but not Kameron. Oops. It was his smile that got me hooked. There was something in the way he smiled at me when I met him as we were passing each other in the hall...it told me he was a good person. I knew right away that I wanted to be around him more. I wrote in my journal about 5 months after our hall meeting that I found the person I wanted to marry, and his name was Kameron Watson (that was in 2005, near the end of my Junior year).

It was kind of that same way when I saw him again for the first time after his mission. I just knew right away that I wanted to be with him again. Something about Kameron speaks to my soul ( I know the doctrine of ‘soul-mates’ is wrong—that’s not what I’m talking about here). For all the time that I have been near Kameron, I have felt such a strong connection. When he left on his mission the connection diminished, I mean, come on, he was gone for 2 years…what can you expect? Really, I still get sad every time we talk about the fact that I sent him a ‘Dear John’. I almost blew it, but he forgave me.

The purpose of this post is to tell you about my Wedding Dress shopping experience. When I walked into our 4th dress shop of the day, I saw it. It spoke to my soul. The worker, Jill, took it right off the mannequin and brought it to my dressing room. It was beautiful! It doesn't have any lace or beads or jewels or anything-- it's just simple and elegant, and I fell in love. It was a fun experience and I'm glad I found the right dress, and the right man. I love you my dear Watson!

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON

2010-03-22T21:27:00.005-06:00

You know how sometimes really big events happen in your life? Like, birth, baptism, bar mitzvah, birthdays, graduation....marriage?

Well, you're invited to my bar mitzvah!!

Just kidding. Actually, I'm getting married. This is my ring:

And this is my fiancé, he is the best in the world. Really. We're getting married June 26th in the Oquirrh Mountain LDS temple. Every time I tell someone what temple I'm getting married in, I feel like I have to say it in a hard southern accent: ahm getun married in the oKer mountn' temple. Can you hear it? Well anyways, Congratulations to me and Kameron!!!

I LOVE YOU KAMERON!!!!

Where Have You Been?

2010-02-27T16:26:00.005-07:00

Dear readers, why have none of you been commenting on my blog posts the last couple of weeks? It really makes a girl feel sad when no one comments on her blog. Only kidding, I haven't written a blog post in over a month...woops, I have been busy. Today I had to say no to seeing Avatar in 3D just so I could have time to write on my blog. Hopefully the world of blogs has not fallen apart in my absence.

A few things: For my job I sat at a booth in the Wilkinson Center (the main student center at BYU) trying to recruit volunteers for BYU's Scouting Merit Badge PowWow. If you can guess, my booth is never as happening as the booths all around me that have candy or cheerleaders and gymnasts. I do have free t-shirts to offer, but only AFTER attending a meeting, which, who wants to do that?? It is hilarious though to sit and watch people pass by my booth, read the sign that says "BYU Merit Badge PowWow Counselors Needed" and then make this awful face that I'm guessing has something to do with the way they feel about scouting. I don't get it, my older brothers LOVE scouting and would jump up right away to volunteer for anything Scout related....right guys? Maybe I have that backwards. During my watch at the booth I saw a 24-ish year old guy wearing a fanny pack. Two days later, I saw him again wearing the same fanny pack! I shuttered with disgust both times and still can't get it out of my mind. I used to get SO embarassed when my mom would even suggest that I wear a fanny pack on my field trip to the zoo or museum or something. I don't know what it is, but me and fanny packs just don't mesh.

Bad news: I hurt my knee. It's the darn miniscus. I have been doing physical therapy, taking perscription strength Aleve, and wearing a knee brace. I have also NOT been running. It is making me really sad. Lately the physical therapist said I could run a mile on it, unless it started hurting and then I have to stop. I have been able to do it maybe 3 times out of 6. Everytime I have to stop, I get upset. I JUST WANT TO RUN! Hopefully my knee will be healed enough by the time the weather starts getting really nice and staying light later.

My sister's husband got a job in Oregon so they are moving. They have lived in American Fork (15 minutes away from me) for 2 years. I'm really sad to see them go, I'll really miss their family a lot, but I'm grateful they have such a good opportunity. They don't have a house yet so I think they will live on the streets, which will also be a good learning experience for everyone. ha ha. J/k, they'll have temporary housing until they do find a house.

I finally cleaned my room, and my car (thanks to Kameron's help on that one), so my next goal is to stay more up to date on my blog life.

We went to a big band dance at the Orem Institute Valentines weekend. It was SOO fun. Everyone was dressed formally and we danced to the live big band all night long!

Here we are (me and Kameron) looking stunning, as always.

HOLD ON!

2010-01-21T20:28:00.004-07:00

This month's ENSIGN has an article by President Uchtdorf called "Hold On a Little Longer." It's just what I needed to hear. It is easy to become discouraged, to lose faith and start to fear when none of your life plans seem to be sticking. There were 2 other times in my life when I was unemployed and desperately seeking for a job to help replenish my savings and fill my life with something to do. Both times, just in the nick of time, I was finally able to find work. I knew because it happened before that it would happen again if I could just be patient. Kameron and I were talking about it on Wednesday, how something would come up and I just need to wait for it and not let myself break. Oh, did I mention that Kameron and I are dating....again? We dated for two and half years before he left on his mission, and about a year in I wrote him off. I feel really bad about that, but it was the right thing for me to do at the time. But, I begged for his forgiveness :) and now we are dating again! I love that he's home. He was my bestfriend for those two and a half years and it feels so good to have him back.

Anyway, back to being patient...The next day after Kameron and I had our be patient discussion, I was offered a job at BYU that I interviewed for last week. I am a Program Assistant for the Continue Education, Conferences and Workshops division. I'll be working full time, all year, on preparing for BYU's Education Week. I think it is my dream job and I am so excited about it. Knowing that I'll be working for a solid, sturdy, honest, organization and for good, honest men (one of whom is in the Stake Presidency in my parent's stake) is so comforting. To me, that is worth more than all the money in the world.

So, holding on a little longer has proved its course. Heavenly Father has been preparing me for these blessings and I'm grateful he has trusted me with them. So now I've got Kameron, and a great job, and the peace of knowing that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers, and that if I will endure hard times faithfully and with patience, He will bless me in the end beyond my capacity to understand. YAY!!!

This is our midget-of-a snowman.

Don't we look cute......?

You're Not Cool Unless You Pee Your Pants

2009-12-30T19:16:00.004-07:00

I was going to write a post about how much I love High School Musical, but that one will have to wait for a little bit.

I went to Concord, California to visit my brother and his family. We decided to take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) to San Fransisco and then take the cable cars to the part of the city we wanted to be in. A nice homeless man, "the best dressed homeless man in the city" walked us to a cable car up the street that had no line. If we would have stayed where we were originally we would have waited almost an hour. Thanks to that homeless man for his kind service. Anyway, I grabbed Xander (my 3 year old nephew) and jumped up on the cable car. In San Fransisco it's every man for himself. You literally have to push and shove your way into everything and you had better do it fast.

You know, I used to be a bed wetter. I guess that's not something you should admit on your blog. It hasn't been a problem though since I was very young--I haven't had an accident since I was 8 years old. I have a friend who, up until like last year, she still would lose control of her bladder when she had to go on scary rides like the Mouse Trap at Lagoon. :). I was sitting there with Xander on my lap in the CROWDED cable car dying of heat. We thought it would be cold so we all bundled up pretty good. Xander fell asleep and I was having a great time sliding up and down on the bench when we would go up and down the steep streets of San Fransisco. Well, when we got off the cable car and I gave Xander to his mom, this is what we found:

Don't be alarmed: my "staying dry" streak has not been compromised. This is not MY pee. This is Xander's pee. Have you ever had someone else pee your pants? Well it's gross. No one really seemed to care. They laughed a little and then we mozied on over to a bathroom. I tried to wipe the pee off with a wet paper towel, but I think all I did was to soak the pee further into my pants and legs. It was quite funny, and although I didn't enjoy walking around with pee on my pants, I had a great time and I still love Xander.

Jesus Wept

2009-12-24T22:55:00.003-07:00

Sometimes when I feel like life has thrown me into a washing machine the only thing I want to do is WRITE. It’s at these times I wish I had my friend Marcie’s ability to put my thoughts into words.

It’s Christmas Eve. Caleb and I will be up at 6:30 AM to open our presents. I’m grateful Caleb still gets excited to wake up early. I would be embarrassed if at 21 years old I was the only one still excited about it.

Tonight we gathered at my grandma and grandpa Porter’s home to eat and do our traditional white elephant exchange. My nephew Luke was upset after it all because he wanted a different present or another present or something like that. My sister Hannah turned to me and said it is so hard to teach little kids to be grateful for what they have. They just always want more or better, and can’t understand being content with what they are given.

Yesterday I watched my sister Betsy’s kids for a few hours. Porter all of a sudden started whining that he wanted his mom. If you know Betsy’s kids you know that is unusual. They are the most easy going kids I know and rarely ever ask for their mom when someone else is babysitting. Anyway, I told Porter that she would be home later, but he kept crying and saying “I want her now.” I tried to explain that I know he WANTS her now, but there is no way she could come home at the moment and he was just going to have to wait.

Jesus Christ often counsels us to become as little children. Observing these two experiences with my 3 and 4 year old nephews I realized I’m a lot like a little child. I often want more and better without being grateful for what I already have. I also have a hard time being patient: when I want something, I want it NOW. Unfortunately, I’m sure that’s not what the Savior meant when he told us to be like little children. I drop to my knees and plead for one thing or another over and over again, and I can imagine Him saying to me as I said to Porter, “I know you want it now and I want you to have it, but you just need to wait.” I can hear Him telling me that it’s so hard to teach His children (meaning me) to be grateful for what they already have.

We read accounts in the scriptures of Jesus weeping. He wept as he visited the Lamanites and Nephites as a resurrected being in 3 Nephi. He wept over Jerusalem’s wickedness in the book of Luke. He wept when he came to the tomb of Lazarus, his friend, in the book of John. He wept in the book of Moses over His people who had forgotten their Creator and chose to hate and do wickedness. I’d like to think that He has wept a hundred thousand times more with me. It is comforting to know that He has felt what I feel and he has wept tears of sorrow and tears of joy with me. The King of Kings has wept with ME. Tomorrow as I open presents to celebrate the Savior’s birth, I will be thinking about how I couldn’t ask for anything more than what He has already given me. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Mission Statement

2009-12-06T23:49:00.004-07:00

Do you have a mission statement? I've come to realize that most organizations do, but most individuals don't. It's probably true that most individuals have no idea what any organization's mission statement is, and they probably don't really care to know either--most likely they care less about developing their own mission statement. I know BYU's mission statement is "enter to date go forth to mate".....just kidding. That is what my non-LDS roommates religion teacher told the class of non-LDS students to make them laugh. I thought it was a funny joke. Anyway, BYU's real mission statement is "Enter to Learn go forth to Serve". In the book "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" by Sean Covey (yes I read the one for Teens because we were supposed to read it when I worked at the high school--but I think what I'm about to say is also in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) it talks about the importance of individuals having a mission statement. I decided I'd like to have one.

My mission statement is "Believe. Learn. Do." I created this to help me face the challenges that came up as I worked at Merit (the charter high school). I wanted to believe in myself and my own abilities, but most importantly I wanted to let the kids know I believed in them and their abilities. I wanted to learn everything I could about how to help parents, faculty and students and how to do my job efficiently. I wanted to not be afraid to DO and I wanted to help the students not be afraid to DO. Sometimes that's the hardest part right? You can find out a way to believe in yourself, and then learn what you need to do, but when it comes to the actual doing part it gets a little harder. It turns out my mission statement is really applicable to every aspect of my life, and I have placed it in the title of my blog to help me remember. It gives me a little extra courage. When my life is over I want everyone to know that I was a believer in my self and others, that I learned every chance I got, and that I wasn't afraid to do what I knew and learned. In General Conference Elder Bednar said rather than just continuing to know more stuff we should make sure we are also doing more of what we know is right.

Advice from the 7 Habits book: there is no right way to write a mission statement. It can be long or short, it can be a quote someone else already said, it can be a poem or just 2 simple words. Once you write it, put it in a place where you'll see it often.

These picture are of my roommates and me at Jing's 20th birthday party. Today Jing said the closing prayer in Sunday School (she is not a member) and she said it in Cantonese. I think it's cool that God speaks every language there is and that he hears Jing's prayer in Cantonese or Mandarin just as well as he hears mine in English.

My Favorite Things. Plus one thing I Hate.

2009-11-30T14:15:00.004-07:00

The other week I was on a date and the boy said "tell me your favorite thing in life, ready...go." I felt pressured because I had to respond so quickly. He was not going to give me any time to think about it. I shouted out, "running!" Then I said, I mean, "my family...or wait, the Church?" I was thinking one of the last two should have been what initially came to my mind, but I was under so much pressure. Maybe my mind was thinking the first two were a given so I actually blurted out number 3 on my list of favorite things in life. Number 4 would be honey (the creamed kind from New Zealand, or 2nd best from Trader Joes). For some reason the apostrophe on my keyboard is not working at the moment, so please excuse me for not including apostrophes in their proper places.

One thing you will NEVER find on my list of favorite things is money. I hate money. I often wonder why it has to exist. If everyone agreed to work for free and if no one in the world charged money for machinery, materials or the final product, we would never have to spend money. The familiar phrase "I can't afford it" (hey! the apostrophe worked!)would cease to exist. The charger for my laptop stopped working (after 2 years it was about time). I went to Best Buy to get a new one: $80. Lucky for me it was only $70 at Wal Mart. Not like I can afford to spend $70--I'm jobless for crying out loud. For me, a computer is an absolute necessity though, so I spent the money and I'm trying to forget about it. I also bought a new cord for my camera so I can finally put pictures on the computer. Once again it was much cheaper at Wal Mart than anywhere else. Wal Mart is the bomb. Yay for pictures.

My new nephew Nathan. He was born on Thanksgiving. Remember how I'm really good at taking pictures of myself? I got us both in this one. True talent.

This is my roommate Kaylee. She is SO cool. We were playing around with the setting on my camera that automatically takes 3 pictures in a row. We didn't know when they would take so it caught us at our best.

Halloween. I was a Gold Digger :). My dress is a table cloth and my gold tights are..well, gold tights. I love having gold tights in my possession.

Jing and Kaylee weren't really anything...they just dressed up funny. My hair looks really big doesn't it? I kind of like it that way.

Skill Me

2009-11-25T21:51:00.002-07:00

It has been almost a month since my last blog....I can feel the pressure from all my readers. If I don't post soon I'll lose your interest and may have to shut down my blog. I've been waiting because I lost the cord that connects my camera to the computer. I have some fairweather readers who will not read a blog unless it contains pictures. Sorry to give you a pictureless blog.

The other day I was standing all day putting leather leaf and boxwood into a centerpiece. (Leather leaf and boxwood are names of greenery used in floral design). I spent 8 hours doing it and the centerpieces, turkeys, and cornucopia's seemed they would never end. I was working with a handful of other women, most of whom were married. One girl (not married but with a boyfriend) said after a long day, "who is going to go home and have their significant other give them a back rub?" I was the only person at the table without a significant other. I thought about it for a minute then I commented, "nah, I think I'll just go to Costco." Have you ever sat in the massage chairs at Costco? They massage better than any human being ever could. Who needs a boyfriend when you've got a Costco membership?

I've started to realize that my instant reaction to a boys shoes may be hindering my ability to get to know the real man. As hard as it will be for me to overlook his shoes, I will try. Maybe I'll move on to things like, what are his skills? Does he play in a band? Does he run really fast? Can he sing? Does he have a black belt in karate? Is he an artist? Will he look good in our engagement picture? These are all important, wouldn't you say?

Okay, okay, all kidding aside, I have been seriously contemplating how I am ruling out or in certain boys. The Lord says to Samuel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." The Lord doesn't look on the shoes or whether or not he plays the guitar--He sees straight to the heart. I'm grateful the Lord exercises this type of righteous judgment on me; for without it, my life full of mistakes would not allow me to measure up.

I have a determination to avert my eyes from the shoes. I refuse to look at them. I promise to give every boy an equal chance, whether he has amazing nun chuck skills or not.

The Asian in Me

2009-10-27T14:43:00.004-06:00

My sweet roommate called to see if I wanted to go to the devotional at BYU with her. Seeing as how I am now jobless and have always enjoyed BYU forums and devotionals, I said yes. I got ready in 10 minutes flat and ran up to campus. It was a man named Greg Mortenson, author of the Best-selling book, "Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to promote peace...One school at a time." He talked about the importance of educating the young people in impoverished countries. Especially, he says, young girls. He shared the African Proverb that if you educate a boy you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a community. Brigham Young (the 2nd prophet of the LDS church) changed that a little when he said if you educate a woman, you educate a generation. I had a strong confirmation during Mr. Mortenson's speech that the opportunity a woman has to educate her children...or any children around her... is priceless.

I have a roommate from China. Her name is Jing and she is SUCH a light and joy in my life. She is not a member of the LDS church, yet she attends school at BYU: a private LDS university. She is taking the discussions from the missionaries assigned to Asian investigators in Provo. She comes from zero religious background and is having a hard time knowing if she even believes there is a God. She doesn't know how to recognize the spirit if she is feeling it. Last week we sang "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" in Relief Society. Jing turned around at the end of the song and asked me and her visiting teacher what the song was called. Her visiting teacher said "you liked it didn't you?" Jing said she loved it! Her visiting teacher asked her how it made her feel and Jing said, "happy!" We told her that was the spirit. I was so happy. One of her missionaries is going home this week at the end of his 2 years. She cried and cried and couldn't really understand why. This girl is as pure as they come and I'm so grateful for her in my life.

I used to say I never wanted to go to China or Japan or Korea...I just wasn't that interested in the Asian culture. I think someone is trying to teach me a lesson by filling my life with Asians. They are bringing out my inner Asian. Maybe I'd like to go to China and Japan after all.

I was really in the mood the other week to entertain people, so we had a caramel apple party at my apartment. It was a huge success.

This is my Japanese friend Yohei...another Asian.

2009-10-04T17:27:00.002-06:00

I think I've told this story before. Oh well. When I was in New Zealand I attended a funeral of one of our friends from the branch, Brother Bennett. Sister Kawe-Small, the Relief Society president, bought a lot of helium balloons for us to write messages to Brother Bennett on. After his grave was dedicated and the service was over, sister Kawe-Small (who is Maori) delivered a Maori chant as we let go of our balloons and watched them float to heaven. It was an awesome experience. Well, yesterday my roommate Kaylee and I, in an attempt to find something fun to do, purchased helium balloons. We wrote messages to the world on them and took them to the park to release them. We didn't do a Maori chant but the experience was a fun one anyway. It was cool for me to think back on the experience with Sister Kawe-Small at Brother Bennett's grave. Kaylee and I had good time taking pictures and trying really hard to get good jumping pictures. We really struggled :).

Dear Marathon, I DID IT, Love Abby

2009-09-23T19:15:00.002-06:00

View Image

Shared via AddThis

Click the words VIEW IMAGE to see the lovely pictures of me running and then Scroll down to read about My marathon experience.

Dear Marathon, I DID IT, Love Abby

2009-09-23T18:53:00.004-06:00

I couldn’t sleep the night before. I woke up almost every hour from 2:00 AM on. Finally it was 4:45 AM and time to get ready. I slept in my running clothes and set out everything I would need before I went to sleep. Betsy (who also didn’t sleep, just for me) and Hannah drove me to the park where I caught the bus. I drove what must have been 30 minutes or so and chatted with the nice woman next to me. This was her third marathon. I was trying to take my mind off how long we were driving, because I knew I would be running the entire way back.

The bus stopped and I ran to the longest row of port-a-potties ever. Even though there were around 40 or 50, the line for each one was about 15 people long. I waited and tried to warm my freezing limbs. I was trying not to think about how gross it was not only that I was going to pee in a port-a-potty but that I could see how many people had gone in before me to use the same pot. As I was trying to take my mind off my upcoming run, I began humming “tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag” from Mary Poppins. Talk about motivating. Then, inspired by a story Hannah told me on the way to the bus, I started saying in my mind: I’m a runner, a MARATHON runner, my legs are strong, my feet are mobile. Cheesy or weird as that may sound, this little sentence proved to be a strong motivator.

The race started and I practically flew down the canyon. I started out way too fast because my legs already hurt by mile 10. I finished 13 miles in 2 hours 3 minutes. My family was waiting for me at mile 17 where they took pictures and wrote my name in chalk on the sidewalk. When I hit mile 18 I started to struggle. I whipped out my ipod and sang at the top of my lungs. Also weird, but who cares, I was running 26.2 miles. I continued to repeat my motivator: I’m a RUNNER….my legs are STRONG. After barely surviving until mile 23, I finally started to feel the finish. I sped up and continued telling my self: MY LEGS ARE STRONG!

Mile 25 I went even faster and kept saying: I’M A MARATHON RUNNER..MY LEGS ARE STRONG, STRONG, STRONG. Only now I was almost screaming it. I turned the corner and raced to the finish line where my family was stationed once again. Thanks family, I love you guys. Stevie was there too! It was 3 years ago that I watched her cross the finish line of her first marathon…only she was much faster! Total time: 4 hours 12 minutes but you can bet I NEVER STOPPED. I loved it. My legs hurt like crazy but I’ll definitely run more marathons. I couldn’t wait to start running again and today my legs felt strong enough to go for a small run. YAY.

A First

2009-09-17T21:21:00.003-06:00

In exactly 24 hours from now, I will be 9.5 hours from embarking on what may be the hardest physical event I've ever participated in. Many have done it before, many will do it with me for the first time, and many will do it many more times to come. I am going to attempt to run 26.2 miles in under 4 hours without stopping. Under 4 hours isn't a fast pace by any means--my main goal is to finish without stopping. This being my first marathon I'm not really concerned about how fast I go. By 'not really concerned' I mean I'm trying REALLY HARD not to care. I don't like to get passed by other runners, so I'm working on some major brain tricks to control my ego to allow some people to pass me. Some people come out of a marathon swearing to never run again (like my dad for example). Dad says that after every marathon but he has run 7 or 8 in his life time. When I ran 20 miles I was loving it afterwards. I wonder if the extra 6.2 miles will make me swear to never run again.

For those of you who won't be there in person cheering me on, at around 11:00 am just let out a little cheer wherever you are....I'll hear it. If you really feel bad about not being there in person, you could let out a big cheer instead of a little one. That would suffice.

To be continued....

Livin' It Up

2009-09-14T20:58:00.004-06:00

Me and JR partying at the Gallery Stroll

This is Thomas my cousin: he is leaving on a mission in less than a week!

I saw my favorite employee at the running store today. We laughed about how I have a picture of my family on my debit card and how he'd like one too--not a picture of my family, but of his. I told him I'd stop coming to the running store after my race this Saturday and he said "don't say that!" Okay, I thought, I'll come back. Everyday. How will I be able to come up with excuses to go into the running store if I am no longer training for a race? As I left the store he wished me luck...twice.

I drove home, raced to put my running clothes on and started my run. I hoped it would start raining on me, and it did. I lengthened my run about 10 minutes just so I could stay in the rain a little longer. I passed a boy on a scooter and he laughed at me and made some comment about being soaked.

I finished my run, stretched, talked to Jenny on the phone and then helped myself to a d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s piece of bread covered with peanut butter and honey. Is there anything better? MMMMmmmm.

At the end of the night I went to Sonic to get a lemon berry real fruit slush. Do you know how many of those I've had in my life? Probably a million or more. I never get sick of them. Or maybe I just never get sick of driving to Sonic and being served by people on roller blades. The last 2 boys I dated made the comment that they had been to Sonic more times with me than they had been in their whole lives. I also made an appearance at my favorite grocery store, Macey's. I didn't buy anything I just walked around. I LOVE MACEY's (Kendall, that was for you).

Now I sit on the floor in my bedroom, listening to my newly chosen blog playlist and writing about my day. I'm also thinking about all the little good things in my life. I don't love my job, but that's only part of who I am. There are a million or more wonderful things about everyday living and I'm so grateful for that!

Oh darn, I can't find my running socks...I guess I'll have to go buy more.

The Door Bell Ringers

2009-09-05T17:00:00.003-06:00

The other day my doorbell rang 2times in a row. With each new ring came a very interesting surprise.

Ring #1: I open the door and this boy holding a 1/2 full bottle of LA Looks gel pushes his way into the house. "I'm in dyer need" he says. He had just put 1/2 a bottle of gel in his hair and needed to borrow a blow dryer to make it stay slicked back. He was wearing pants that came up past his belly button and his shirt was tucked in. Apparently he was trying out for the ballroom team and needed to get his hair to stay slicked back. I grabbed my blow dryer and he used the living room mirror to get his hair in order.

Ring #2: This time I opened the door to a girl. She said "i just noticed that you were growing things" as she pointed to our garden in the front yard. Lauren and Suzanne worked hard to plant our little garden and we harvest zucchini and tomatoes like crazy. I nodded my head and then the girl said, "i was just wondering if you're going to pick those things." Um, duh. I very happily said "Yes!" and she looked a little disappointed. She was scheming to get our vegetables. So I went into the kitchen and gave her a zucchini we picked like 2 weeks ago and sent her on her way. It made me wonder how many people are so kind as to pick our vegetables for us, without us ever knowing.

Last night I walked the Gallery Stroll, sampled Latino food and did a little Latino dancing at the Latino Americano festival, did some more dancing at the Penny Royal cafe, and then went to sleep. I woke up at 5:10 AM to head up Diamond Fork Canyon for a 10-12 mile trail run. My favorite part of the run was dodging the mine field of cow pies, and then dodging the mine field of cows. Here are some pictures of Fiji.

This is Fiji. That water is warm all day long.

These are the frogs they raced at our resort in Fiji.

This is the sun set view from our resort.

Racoons, Fire, 20 Miles, and a Crush

2009-08-29T14:31:00.002-06:00

RACCOON Crossing!!! I swear every animal in Provo has been genetically mutated to tolerate people a lot more than animals in most places in the country/world. I see deer, ducks and now raccoons just hanging out at their pleasure no matter who is around.

This is fire. I went to a bonfire last night. It was fun. I made new friends and roasted starbursts.

This is me being weird and my new roommate Erika (notice the fire behind us, we worked hard for that).

So we look like dead people, but the funny part of this picture is the stranger in the background who is absolutely LOVING her chip.

This is what Jenny and I look like after running 20 MILES and eating french toast & egg sandwiches and Kneaders.

These are my new running shoes. Brooks Ravenna. The guy at Runner's Corner who sold them to me was real excited about them (they're a new shoe and he thinks they're awesome). So I may have left the store with a slight crush on him. Jenny said she has to go to Runner's Corner sometime this week to buy socks---needless to say, I'll be going with her :).

When the Runner's Corner guy was talking to me about my shoes he told me the best thing about Brooks is they give this special advertisement in every box of shoes. It is paper that you can plant that will turn into a flower. I think that's cool, and I think I'll give it a try.

Leaving a Legacy: A No Pictures Post

2009-08-24T21:47:00.003-06:00

Having a career is kind of hard. It's taking me some time to get used to the longer than 9 hour work days with no lunch break. I love being busy and I love having a job. I really love getting to know the students and their parents and making our high school run smoothly. Teachers will send students to the front office for something, like a visitor pass, or a tardy slip and we don't already have those things in place, so right then and there I get to make something up. I created our visitor passes, mail system, tardy/check-out slips, payment contracts, and our student planners. That's pretty cool.

After feeling completely wasted at each day's end for the past 2 weeks, I have realized a couple things I need to change.

1. Stop complaining. This morning I woke up with a new attitude. I didn't care how long I had to stay at work--I was going to be happy about it. And I was.

2. My number one priority should always be my relationship with God. I can't allow myself to suffer spiritually because I'm tired or exhausted. I believe that if I will make a dedicated effort to continue studying my scriptures, serving, attending the temple and praying, that God will help everything else fall in to place. Spiritual things come first, then everything else.

When I tried these things out today I was surprised at how much time I had to spare. I was able to go running, go to the store, fix dinner, read a little bit of a book and catch up on the blogs--and I even stayed an hour late at work. I made sure to drink lots of water at work and I ate a real lunch as well. It's amazing how much of a difference those small things make.

The cool thing about my job is that when I no longer work at Merit Academy, what I have created will remain. They will always remember the first secretary they had who helped them get on their feet. I am creating a lasting legacy.

Stoplight Entertainment

2009-08-16T16:54:00.005-06:00

Whhhhhhhheeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. That was me exhaling. I am the front desk secretary at a charter high school in Springville and our first day of school is tomorrow so we have been working hard to prepare. We got a new school building that we couldn't move in to until Wednesday of last week, and then we had a back to school night at the building the next day.

Yesterday I was stopped at a stop light and was surprised to enjoy some high quality entertainment. There was a woman (I think) holding a sign for Little Ceasar's pizza dancing around on the side walk. I have only seen cartoons dancing the way this woman could. She would shoot her legs out to the side really fast one after the other and then she shot them out a little higher. She was doing grapevine's and step-together-steps to the left and right. All of a sudden she shot her left leg back behind her and did this weird bend with it like a snake. All of her movements were short and fast and quite hilarious. The funny thing about this is she was just dancing to her own beat--there were NO headphones in her ears and no stereo system playing music. How did she DO that?

I spent some time in California with my oldest bro and his family. We did a little sword fighting and I did some rear-end-kicking. Mom caught our sweet action on camera which is what you enjoyed at the beginning of this post.

The Premature Romantic Dinner

2009-07-26T19:20:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I sit up at night and rack my brain for something to blog about. That's when I know either I'm not having enough fun or I'm not bringing my camera around enough. I feel like I've been doing a lot of fun things lately, so it must be the latter.

Saturday I went on a date with my friend Adam to the Spanish Fork Rodeo. I made us dinner before and my sweet best friend Jenny picked a few things up from the store for me for our dinner because I was at a family reunion. When I came home I found that she had also set the table for me! She included a vase of pink and red roses, floating candles and rose pedals all over the table, wine glasses and a Lego candy heart. What a good friend wouldn't you say?

Unfortunately it is a little too early to be having a romantic dinner with my friend Adam, so I laughed and then quickly re-arranged our table setting, switched the cups, moved the roses and destroyed the Lego heart. My roommate Mikayla came home and saw the table setting before I had and she told me she was thinking "oh no Abby, that's TOO much you can't do that!" She was glad to hear it wasn't me after all.

Here are some incredibly attractive pictures of Jenny and I at my b-day celebration a few weeks ago:

Freedom Run

2009-07-08T16:10:00.003-06:00

This year for the 4th of July I decided to celebrate my freedom by running a 10k. I didn't feel like it would really be much of a celebration unless I got some kind of prize at the end. So I went ahead and came in 2nd place out of 97 women in my age division. They gave me a sweet crystal with an eagle and American flag inside of it. Actually, I didn't plan on placing, I was just running so fast that it kind of happened. In reality it wasn't THAT fast but fast enough compared to everyone else running in my age division. I made a patriotic tutu which you can see in the pictures below. I swear that is what made me run so fast. Will I ever place again in a race? Probably not, but heck at least I did it once in my life right?

Also to celebrate the 4th I watched 10 people take an oath of citizenship and finally become citizens of the United States of America. It was so patriotic.

This is Mallory and me up at Stewart Falls--I just thought I'd throw this one in to the mix.

Here is my tutu and the shirt we got for running the race. I'm trying to have a really patriotic face in this picture.

Jenny, Stephen (my friend), Me, and Thomas (Jenny's cousin, so practically my cousin too).

This is my victory crystal.

My Day with Brigg

2009-06-26T15:11:00.003-06:00

I got to spend a whole day with my nephew Brigg in Logan. This is what we did:

We visited Utah State University

We swung on swings at Adam's Park

We went to the Logan Temple (my favorite) and this light was his favorite.

Then we went shopping...

And then we ordered pizza! He ate 2 pieces :).

The Best Run of My Life

2009-06-22T17:57:00.002-06:00

Isn't it true that most normal human beings will, when given a bag of trail mix, pick out their favorite nut or non nut. Or when given a bag of starburst, choose the pink and red ones over the orange and yellow? I think we are a pick-outer kind of people. Yes I made that word up, get over it. Some people hate the idea of picking out the best stuff and leaving the gross stuff for everyone else. The way I figure it, those are just the slow people who don't get there in time to pick out what they want so they complain a lot.

I am definitely a pick-outer so to give you an idea of what it was like to run the Wasatch Back, I'm going to pick out the best stuff.

On my first leg, the best part was passing the guy in the yellow shirt. Ashley (one of my New Zealand friends) pointed him out to me before I started. He left a few minutes before me and I didn't think I'd be able to catch him. Well, I did. I passed him about 10 feet before we were to exchange our baton (a slap wrist bracelet) to the next runner. VICTORY!

On my second leg the best part was passing a guy who passed me about 2 miles before. That means I had more endurance to keep my same pace (or get faster) over time, and he didn't. When you pass someone it's called a road kill. I think this one was especially sweet because he had passed me before. I wanted to yell: YOU SHALL NOT PASS, but I didn't of course because I was worried he'd mistake me for Gandolf or something.

On my third leg my favorite part was the young boy who was practically bouncing off the walls saying this was the best run of his life. He was helping me have a better attitude because I was pretty tired on this last run. He was probably 15 years old and was faster than me which kind of hurt my pride, but we ran neck and neck for a minute and he had such a great demeanor about him. Thanks buddy. My next favorite part about leg 3 was FINISHING.

Overall favorite part: our whole team picture at the very end of the race. I loved being on a team and we weren't ever all together until that last moment. My next overall favorite part was that this race kicked my butt. It was hard, and I am SORE, and now I feel like I can do anything because I did this. I love running- how can I describe the way I feel about running? Running will never break up with me, or grow old, or expire. Isn't that comforting? :)

Some people do drugs, I just run.

Last But Not Least

2009-06-17T23:46:00.002-06:00

Okay, last one. By the way, I'm going to hang these signs up on the team van as I run each leg (my sister was wondering).

Finally, after a lot of internal debating (kind of like internal bleeding, but less fatal) I picked a final contestant for Leg 3. Actually I picked the final contestants-plural- for Leg 3. Last year I spent 3 amazing months in Invercargill, New Zealand. We met a lot of incredible people and I could easily dedicate this last leg to every person I met in New Zealand, but that isn’t specific enough. I chose to dedicate Leg 3 to the faithful members of the Invercargill, New Zealand Branch. The Nau Nau’s, Setu’s, Ngahooro’s, Kawe-Small’s, Waivaru’s, Kerr’s, Bro. Bennett, and many others. A Branch is like a Ward (a geographical grouping of members of the LDS church) only smaller. Never in my life have I met people who had so little and yet were so happy. Some of the members couldn’t even read or speak very well, and yet every week they would diligently fulfill their callings to the best of their ability. I was touched by the faith of these people. My life will never be the same after my interaction with the members of the Invercargill Branch. They have probably already forgotten me, but I will never forget them. As I run my last leg I’ll be thinking of the many ways these people have changed my life.

Leg 3: 3.1 miles, flat, MY FINALE, for the members of the Invercargill, New Zealand Branch.

Leg Two

2009-06-17T10:46:00.002-06:00

Next I thought of someone I knew in Jr. High and High School but who I haven’t seen in 3 years. He was in all my choir classes, and a few others, and we became great friends. He ran track in high school and was part of our high school's amazing 4X4 relay team. He was fast…way fast. I had a lot of friends on the track team mostly because of my association with this kid. His name is Chris Bringhurst. He has been telling me for YEARS that I should be a runner. One day we were on a bus for some reason and he said, “Abby, you have HUGE calves!” He assured me that was a compliment. I looked at him funny and told him I’m not sure that is the kind of compliment a girl wants to hear. He said that means I would make a good runner. Once, the track team slept over on my front lawn because they wanted to have a yard sale in a high traffic area. I live right on a busy road so they used our front lawn. His coach talked to my dad and found out he was a runner, and then I never heard the end of Chris and Coach Benson telling me I should be a runner. Well Chris, I’m finally a runner—so leg 2 is for you. I think he is in Ukraine on a mission right now, so I’ll have to send him a letter or something. If anyone reading this knows for sure where Chris is right now, tell me please!

Leg 2: 8.1 miles, gradual uphill, at about 1:30 AM; dedicated to Chris Bringhurst.

Leg Numero Uno

2009-06-16T10:31:00.003-06:00

To clarify, the Wasatch Back is made up of 36 'legs'. Each of the 12 members on my team will run 3 legs total. I am not running 188 miles, I'm only running a total of 18.1.

It was easy to decide who I would dedicate my first and hardest leg to. Stephanie Santistevan—otherwise known by me (and a few others) as Stevie, and occasionally Stevo.

Stevie was my freshman roommate—I’ve mentioned her a few times before on my blog. She was a runner long before I ever decided to pick it up. Not only is she a runner, but she actually WINS races. Freshman year she ran the St. George marathon and won first place in her age division. And you can bet that wasn’t the last race she won. But that’s not why I think Stevie is a champion. This girl has faced some hard challenges in her life, but she always comes out victorious. She has this incredibly joyful attitude that lightens any situation. She is beautiful, smart, and super talented. I love being around her because she makes me feel important. When I feel like I have it rough, I always think of Stevie and all that she has conquered, and she gives me inspiration to push forward. She is in Belgium for an internship and then she’s going to hop on over to Italy to live and nanny there for a year or so—that is a dream she has had as long as I’ve known her and probably much longer.

Leg #1: 6.9 miles with a killer downhill (drop 1200 feet in 3 miles-mostly gravel), dedicated to Stevie.

I'm Not Just Running a Race

2009-06-15T17:03:00.001-06:00

A woman who writes for the Deseret News and who also runs the Wasatch Back every year, wrote an article with a few tips for first time runners. The Wasatch Back is a 188 mile relay race from Logan to Park City. There are 12 members on my team and we’ll each run 3 times within a 24 hour period. They call each of your 3 runs “legs”. I’ll tell you more about the actual race after I run it on Friday and Saturday. This post is about one of the woman writers’ tips. She said she dedicated each of her 3 legs to a different person. She said it added to the fun of the race, because it is supposed to be fun, and it helped her push a little harder knowing she was running for someone else.

After reading the article I turned off my light, got under my covers, and instead of sleeping thought desperately about who I was going to dedicate my legs to. I have a lot of people in my family, and they inspire me on an almost hourly basis. I’ll spend the rest of my life being inspired by my family members so I decided not to choose family members. Besides, how could I pick just 3?

I want to share with everyone each of my 3 selections and a little background as to why I chose them (sorry Jenny and Mom and a few others who have already heard).To save you all from reading a novel in one sitting I’m going to post one a day for the next 3 days. So stay tuned! (This is all part of my ‘get psyched up’ plan.)

Sometimes I go to New Mexico

2009-06-08T16:28:00.003-06:00

I went to New Mexico this last week to visit my sister Sarah and her kids. Sarah's oldest daughter Kaitlyn just turned 8 years old. In the LDS church 8 is a pretty important birthday because it means you can be baptized into the church, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was really neat to be there for Kaitlyn's baptism.

Let me tell you a little about Sarah's life. I got there Tuesday night and then woke up Wednesday to tag along as they went about their normal routine. The girls have swim team at 8:00 AM, then they come home for a short break before they all go to swim lessons at 11:45 AM. Straight from swim lessons the girls go to Children's Music Theater practice for 3 hours while the two youngest go home to play and take a nap. After CMT they have about an hour to rest until dinner and then their dad comes home, they get ready for bed, have family scriptures, read Harry Potter or other stories for the little ones, and then finally lights out and they go to bed (theoretically). The next morning they start the whole thing all over again. I was EXHAUSTED after one day.

My parents and little brother drove down and got there Friday evening. We played kickball Saturday morning and then just sat around until the baptism. Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting and then drove home. I fell asleep to the melodious sound of dad cracking his sunflower seeds, eating the actual seed and then placing the shell in a cup. Over and over and over and over for 10 hours. When we got home we found my car and our Mazda parked on our front lawn instead of in their respective places at the side of the house and in the garage. We knew it could only be two people: Betsy and Russ. So I pretended like my ipod got stolen out of the car because it was parked on the front lawn and the automatic lock button doesn't always lock all 4 doors. I only kept up the lie for like a minute but it was still fun--I think I scared Betsy and Russ for at least 30 seconds.

Pictures of me and Kaitlyn--she has my curly hair and my huge gap in between her two front teeth. Many of you who haven't known me all my life don't know that I suffered a severe case of gapped teeth until I finally got braces in high school. I looked pretty much just like Kaitlyn.

If You Meet a Guy With A Uni-brow

2009-05-28T22:36:00.002-06:00

My sweet nephew Porter asked me today if I got married in the temple. I told him that I’m not married yet but when I do get married it will be in the temple. He asked me why I’m not married yet and I told him I wasn’t old enough. I figured that was probably the easiest answer. It didn’t bother me that Porter asked of course, but someone else asked me that question the other day too--a 21 year old man in fact. And I've been asked the question before. I'm never sure what to say. Are people who ask that question looking for me to blame the stupid boys, or to say some self-destructive thing about what’s wrong with me? Of course blaming the boys is more fun, and blaming myself is more natural but completely untrue. Porter accepted my ‘I’m not old enough’ answer pretty quick so maybe I’ll use that one when other people ask me too.

Or maybe I’ll say something like, “I’m not married yet because I have an aggravated fear of abandonment and my hands are out of proportion with the rest of my body.” (Only Sandi will understand the joke-sorry everyone else). I mean come on, that’s like asking someone “why don’t you have any talents,” “why are you so bad at playing sports,” or “why is your sister a lot cooler than you?” All of these questions put a person in a position of either blaming themselves or someone else. Moral of the story: don’t ask a kid with a uni-brow why he has a uni-brow. It will either bring out pent up feelings of anger towards his parents and their gene pool-- causing him to curse his heritage, or it will remind the kid he’s ugly and weird because he has a uni-brow, and he’ll feel all sad and messed up. Just let the kid have a uni-brow and be content about it. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll discover tweezers and realize he may not be able to control the fact that he was born with a uni-brow, but he can pluck and tweeze and make his future a heck of a lot brighter.

True story: my friends Mallory, Celes, and I saw a guy in his mid-twenties at the temple with an honest to goodness uni-brow. He was married to a beautiful blonde girl and seemed quite happy. I bet she doesn’t even notice his eyebrow.

Malad & Course Changes

2009-05-10T19:55:00.006-06:00

I went to Malad, Idaho last weekend. You ever heard of it? Don't worry--most people haven't. It's a small town, so small in fact that I got a tour of the whole town in just about 5 minutes. My old roommate Liz lives in Malad and she's going on a mission soon so I went to visit her. She lives up on a hill that overlooks some of the houses and fields. There are just as many cows, horses, and sheep as people, and you have never seen so many tractors. I loved sitting on Liz's porch swing looking out over the fields and animals and tractors. I also loved going to the Malad Drive-In to get a Glamour Burger and a slushee. Oh yeah, and I got a silver ring from the quarter machine. Small town life is so simple and laid back. I thrive in those kinds of situations.

Yesterday I went for a run around the neighborhood. When I left the house I had in mind a route I was going to take. It was a route I'd done before that included a good amount of up and down hill to help me train for the Wasatch Back. At the top of 4th east I was supposed to turn left to go down 2000 North. Once I got there though I just decided I would go right instead. The rest of my run was a course I chose just on the spot. It ended up being a great run, a little more challenging than the original plan but good nonetheless. If it had been a bad course at least I would know not to go there again. I was thinking that is kind of how life is. You can spend your whole life with a planned out course, one you've taken before or one you've heard is a good course from others who have taken it. But in an instant your course can change. Either the course will turn out to be a good one, or one you can learn to avoid in the future. My guess is that if you are trying to do the right things in life--no matter how many course changes you face it will always turn out to be a good one. If it is more challenging than you expected, then at least your legs will be stronger when it's time to run the actual race.

This is the tractor I watched go back and forth from Liz's porch.

Glamour Burgers!

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-07T17:49:00.003-06:00

Have you ever had an experience where you are learning a new language and then one day all of a sudden you can understand 100% of what your language teacher just said? Or you carry on a conversation with someone in the language you're learning and you suddenly realize you're speaking as if this new language was your native tongue? Yeah, me neither. I did have quite the opposite experience though this week. My friend Jenny served a mission in Chile and one of the Chilean Elder's she knew just moved to Provo to learn English. With alacrity I accompanied Jenny on her visit with Elder Mora and got to sit and listen to them speak Spanish. I took Spanish 1 in Jr. High so with that background and what I could gather from their facial expressions, and what I picked up from listening to the Spanish radio station on my way to Provo, I understood about 25% of their conversation. I thought it was really cool to be so out of my element. Poor Elder Mora probably has that experience everyday living in a country who's language he doesn't speak.

We visited him on Cinco de Mayo (which he didn't care about because they don't celebrate it in Chile) and then we went to a Cinco de Mayo party. We came a little late and missed the eggs-full-of-confetti smashing fun but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. In order to avoid any ennui (prounounced ahn-way) amongst my readers I will include pictures of how cool Jenny and I looked at our Cinco de Mayo party. In fact, we were so cool that one of the guys we met there was telling us we HAVE to come to his late-Cinco de Mayo party next week because we're so fun and festive.

I homemade these sombrero's. I found the hat at the dollar store and stapled fabric to it. I also homemade the tiny maracca's you see us holding.

Jenny is really feeling the rhythm of those maracca's.

May Pole Dancing

2009-05-03T11:50:00.002-06:00

The Provo City Gallery Stroll is held on the first Friday of every month--and it's a day I wait for with much anticipation. We walk up and down University Ave and Center Street and check out the local art hung in the shops. Most of the shops give free refreshments too. This month they had a vintage flea market inside Velour (a concert hall of sorts for local bands) and a free dance party and slurpees at Sammy's (a cool hole-in-the-wall burger joint just off Center Street). My friends Lauren and J.R. even got themselves drawn as a fruit (J.R. was a raspberry and Lauren a strawberry).I've been doing the Gallery Stroll monthly for almost a year now. I've discovered shops in Provo I never knew existed.

When we were checking out the vintage flea market my friend Jenny ran into a girl she knew. The girl handed her a flyer and told her to come to the pre-season Farmer's Market the next day to do a May-pole dance to bring in spring. We were a little skeptical about what a May-pole dance could be, but we figured it was appropriate considering the Farmer's Market is kind of a family thing. It was raining Saturday morning but Jenny and I went anyway. We bought a cookie from the market and waited for the May-pole people to show us what to do. No one was coming and we waited for awhile. Finally we found the people we saw setting the pole up and asked when it would be starting. They said the instructor didn't come because of the rain and said we could just try to figure it out. We gathered 12 people and luckily there were some little kids who had done this before. We weaved in and out while holding our ribbons and created a cool braid on the pole. Then we had to unwind, all the while dancing to music played by a blue-grass band. It was SO fun to bring in spring with an unusual ritual. Well anyway, I made the paper. Here's the link: http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/307723/17/

Old Friends

2009-04-22T16:29:00.003-06:00

This morning I got to spend time with some of my oldest friends (old as in I've known them for a long time, not as in age). Lauren Tyler first became my friend in AP U.S. History with Mr. Williams. We decided we were going to hang out with this cool group of boys who ended up being our best friends for the rest of high school. We're all still friends and occasionally we get together with whoever isn't on a mission. This morning it was Richie and JR. I love being around them-we have so many good memories together and always have so much fun whatever we do. Lauren and I made a deliciously healthy breakfast and then we played the guitar for a little bit.

I moved all my stuff out of my apartment today. With each trip I made out to my car I got sadder and sadder. I decided I hate change. I hate saying goodbye and leaving people I love. I told my roommate Liz today that she can't go on a mission anymore because I want all my friends to live within a minute of me all the time. I'm going to sleep at my apartment one last night before I say goodbye to my girls for a long time. Luckily my good friends Jenny, Lauren and Mallory are going to stay in Provo so I can still see them whenever I want.

The Good Things

2009-04-17T08:46:00.005-06:00

Lately I'm having a strange desire to just write all the time.

No one can easily come up with good things about a break-up. Truth is they just suck. I don't usually say that word but how else can you accurately describe them? I have thought long and hard and decided maybe I have come up with some good things.

1. I get to spend quality time with my favorite friends. I am convinced there is nothing greater in life than the love of a true friend and I am lucky to have some of the best friends (including my family members) ever.

2. I can feel justified in eating a few more treats than I would usually allow myself. At the same time, my appetite is not at it's peak so I don't eat too much of anything. It's maybe the one time when I achieve a perfect balance-eat what I need but no more or less.

3. I feel prettier. Probably because I'm conscious that when I look good I feel good so I make sure to look good every day. But also because I look in the mirror and tell myself I'm beautiful, capable and desirable--because it's a time when maybe I don't feel those things as naturally. One man's loss is another man's treasure.

4. Independence. My sense of 'there is nothing stopping me from doing whatever I want' is at it's best. I have this much more time as a single individual to really do a lot of cool, fun, and good things.

5. I can do weird things. Yesterday I drove to Utah Lake. It was freezing and the wind was blowing. I opened my arms to the wind, threw my head back, made a wish and then through a lily into the water. It was relaxing and freeing. When I have a hard time letting go of things I like to do something that at least symbolizes the act of letting go and breaking free. My excuse for doing weird things like that? My BF just broke up with me :).

So there you have it. I at least found 5 good things about a break-up.

You can see my orange Lilly floating in the water.

Utah Lake is actually kind of pretty! Who knew?

I went to Red Robin with my roomates and our best friends down the hall.

I Must Have Been a Dancer

2009-04-15T00:05:00.003-06:00

Today in my Parenting & Child Guidance class we watched a short clip ABC did like 10 years ago about teenagers. They were saying that teenagers are at a different stage of cognitive development from adults that makes them think completely different. They said teenagers have more creativity because they essentially answer questions with the part of the brain that goes off instincts instead of logical reasoning. They have so much ability to be creative because they don't think about their limits--about what they can't or shouldn't do. Obviously this is a problem for some teenagers--it's why they are notorious for getting into trouble. But imagine if we could, as parents and teachers, help our teenagers channel that creativity and fearlessness. Young people truly do have the power to make the world a better place--nothing stops them from doing what they want.

I was thinking about that a lot today and I wonder when the cut off is. When do you stop thinking like a teenager and start thinking like a 'practical, reasonable' adult? I left my teenage years behind not even 2 years ago so do I still have some of that thinking? Did I ever think that way?

I performed in my ward talent show on Monday. I sang "Orange Colored Sky" by Natalie Cole. I was so nervous but had more fun than I've had in a long time. You know on Saturday's Warrior how Pam is dancing in heaven and says everything will be fine on earth as long as she can dance her way through life? Pam was born with a birth defect that caused her to be in a wheelchair all her earth life. I kind of think I was a good dancer in heaven because I am very passionate about it as a means of expressing emotion--only I was born super uncoordinated. I kind of look funny when I try to incorporate any kind of entertaining moves into my vocal performance. It was interesting but fun.

These pictures are from a few years ago but I was looking through my pics and kind of liked these.

I Can Do Hard Things

2009-04-09T11:36:00.003-06:00

2 weeks from tomorrow I'll be wearing the second graduation robe and hat I've worn in my life. I'm not so sure it will be the last time I wear that garb either. Yes, I'm not quite 21 and I'm graduating from BYU. "What are your plans?" is an all too familiar question I've been asked at least a million times. Usually I try to come up with some answer that sounds good and sounds like I've got my life together, but really the honest answer is I have no clue!

All I want to do is teach aerobics and work as an office secretary until the "i'm sick of school" wears off and I apply for graduate school. So I guess that's my plan. In light of recent circumstances I find myself alone, again, and quite out of energy to be a part of the Provo dating life. Bitter? Nah, just tired. I'll finish up my aerobics certification in June, run the Wasatch Back and then hopefully pack up my bags for an experience outside of Utah for awhile. Going to New Zealand shortly after Kameron left on his mission was the greatest choice I ever made, and I think another change in scenery will do me some good this time around too.

One of my favorite Family Life professors, Jeff Hill, makes it a point to teach three important lessons to his classes. They are lessons he teaches on the first day of class, show up on every test and throughout almost every class period--and probably the only things I remember from the classes I've taken from him. These are lessons he learned through a difficult time in his life (his wife passed away from cancer a few years ago leaving him with 8 children).

1. When things don't go as planned, don't get frustrated--make the best of it.
2. Life is hard--but we can do hard things.
3. Things take time.

I've brought these lessons to my mind on many occasions to help me through difficult times, and they have served me well once again. I can do hard things....and like Paul said to the Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

California

2009-03-26T19:09:00.002-06:00

My recent trip to California was slightly different than my usual California trips. This time I didn't get to go to the beach or to Ghiradeli Square in San Fransisco. We didn't drive up to the Oakland Temple or get ice cream at Fenton's. This time I changed diapers, gave baths, went to the library, ate ice cream at Tucker's, warmed up lasagna, and drove to the zoo and back (without actually staying at the zoo). Even though it was different, I had a lot of fun. I was pretty tired at the end of every day but my nieces and nephew's were so good for me. I was especially grateful that we didn't have any major breakdowns, everyone stayed dry all through the night, and everyone was somewhat reverent during Sacrament Meeting. And I can't forget how grateful I was for C.J.'s help. She is not quite 10 but she is so smart, helpful and competent.

I'm pretty glad that motherhood only happens one child at a time (for most people at least). Most likely I won't have to become a mother of 3 at the same time...I think if I take it one child at a time I might actually be able to survive. Knock on wood---I better be careful what I say or I might end up with twins or triplets on my first pregnancy.

An Adventure

2009-03-20T08:23:00.003-06:00

Today I'm going on an adventure! My brother Ben is going to Hollywood to accept an award for the animation short he worked on his Senior year at BYU. His wife Valerie really wanted to go with him this time so they are flying me to their home in Alameda, California (near Oakland) to watch their 3 kids. I can't wait to see Xander, C.J., and Mia.

I love going to the airport. It is seriously one of my favorite things in the world to do. Perhaps is the shake'n'bake mix of people, cultures, lifestyles etc... It's also because I love coming in contact with people who are different than me. People who believe different things, love different things, do different things, wear different things...the list could go on. It opens my eyes to just how incredible this world is, and how individual each of us are. The cool thing is that God made us all, and even cooler is that He loves us all. How does He do it? I guess the answer is just that He is God. He can do everything and we can't comprehend it all right now.

BYU doesn't have a spring break so this is my made up individual spring break. I'm so excited!

Run, Baseball, and Part-ay

2009-03-15T13:23:00.004-06:00

I woke up Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m.--an hour before I actually needed to wake up. I couldn't fully fall back asleep because I was so excited: race day! Brett and I ran the Rex Lee 10k. The Rex Lee Run is held annually at BYU to raise money for cancer research. Rex Lee was a famous lawyer and president of BYU, who died of cancer. I haven't participated in an actual race since my 1/2 marathon in July so I was psyched. I've been working on getting a little faster than I was last year and was anxious to see how my work had paid off. I ran the 6.2 miles in 49 minutes 27 seconds. That calculates to about 7:59 minute miles! Under 8!!!! I had never done that before, so as you can imagine I am very pleased. It feels so good to reach another goal. I finished 26th out of 156 in my age group and 176th out of about 500 overall. Brett did it about 4 minutes faster than me and finished 107th overall.

I also attended my first BYU baseball game....EVER this Saturday. Brett is a huge baseball fan so I'm trying to learn more about it. I really enjoyed the game more than I expected to. It was actually HOT outside and we got a little bit of sun. People were asking Brett all day yesterday if he went skiing because his sunburn kind of looks like he was wearing goggles. BYU's baseball team beat the University of Utah 11-3. It was sweet.

Then we went to a birthday party for one of Brett's friends from Indiana and ate some of his cake that his wife made to look like Mater from Pixar (Tow-mater?). It looked really great, and tasted great too!

Finally we headed to Jenny's to celebrate Pi day!! Did you know yesterday was Pi daY ? 3.14 (March 14th). We ate banana cream pie, pumpkin, apple, cherry, and rocky road pies, and had conversations about math and random trivia about pie. Do you know the first civilization who used an approximation of pi? Do you know which book contains the earliest approximation of pi? Well I do. We even sang a Pi song to the tune of Oh Cristmas Tree, and Jenny had pi rounded off to like 50 decimal places on construction paper all the way around her living room.

What a great saturday! These are just some pictures I've taken in the last few weeks.

Gettin a sun tan at the baseball game.

My nephew Reid making a silly face.

My nephew Porter smiling big for the camera.

Sing Us a Song You're a Dinosaur

2009-03-05T15:12:00.005-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, I have a new niece!! My sister Betsy had a little girl yesterday afternoon: Afton Anderson. I got to see her in the hospital yesterday and she is adorable. I helped my mom watch Betsy's other two children, Porter and Reid yesterday and today. This morning we were watching Little Einstein's (on Disney I think). They always have a classical song that they base their episodes after. Today they turned dinosaurs into musical instruments to tell their heroic story. The Piccolodactyl (instead of pteradactyl) had a baby who was scared away by the Bass-asaurus Rex (T-Rex). It was up to the little einstein's to play their own piccolo to find the lost baby piccolodactyl. I've been thinking all day about the different kind of musical dinosaurs I could create. I came up with triangle-tops, Tuba-saurus, and Viola-Raptor. It's strangely entertaining.

The other day I was walking to institute in a skirt, with my scriptures in hand. It was dark and I was walking fast. I walked up behind an older, heavier set professor-looking man who could have easilybroken my arm. He turned and looked at me really quick, and then looked straight ahead. Then he turned again and said "I thought you were going to catch me and mug me!" I laughed and just said, "nope, not me!" It was really funny.

My sister Hannah got mad at me for not posting any of the pictures she took of herself with my camera over President's Day weekend, so these are for her:

Painting and Bill's Advice

2009-02-21T17:17:00.003-07:00

Last night Brett and I pretended we were experienced artists and painted what some would call a masterpiece---or I guess masterpieceS because we did 2 each. I think we've got real talent, wouldn't you say?

Today I met a nice man named Bill who works in the appliance section at Home Depot. He told me the best way to make a presentation good is to make whatever visual aid you have EXTRA big. He says the bigger the visual the more people think you know. It worked for his son when he had to give a presentation on Greece, so I'm sure it could work for all of us too.

This is by far my favorite painting. Brett started out painting Curious George and then it turned in to something like a creepy guy smiling at you from behind the tree.

This is my first painting--it's abstract. I call it: Celebration of Shapes.

Brett did this one. It's a beach with a Brazilian flag in the sky.

This one is mine. It is a statue of an African gospel singer with a colorful robe.

BaLogan

2009-02-16T21:07:00.008-07:00

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY!!!
I'm so glad we have a day to celebrate the presidents of the United States....or at least the one's who did great things for our country. To celebrate this very special day I dressed up like Abraham Lincoln and recited the Gettysburg address in front of my nice new friends at Macey's grocery store. Do you believe me?

This weekend Brett and I went to Logan to hang out with my sister's and their families and with his sister and old mission companion. I had A LOT of fun. For some reason I just love that little city. The Logan LDS temple has always been my favorite out of all I've ever seen.

One of my favorite things about this trip was eating dinner at a place called Angies: Where the Locals Eat. Yeah.....about those Logan locals......they're really, cool. :) We also got to watch Sammy and Luke dress up like Batman and Spiderman. Every once in awhile we would get confused and start thinking they were the REAL Batman and the REAL Spiderman....so sometimes they would pull up their masks and say, "It's just me, Wuke" or "It's me Sam".
We hung out with Betsy and Russ too on Sunday and ate some good food with them and Hannah and Kendall.

Brett got me High School Musical 1 and Remember the Titans on DVD....it was the BEST Valentine's Day gift ever! Not to mention the day before V-day he decorated my front door with balloons and chocolate and I had flowers waiting for me at my house when I got home from work. Pretty great, huh? I am so excited to finally own High School Musical!

Oh yeah, and on Sunday night Hannah, Kendall, Brett and I played LIFE. I lost big time and learned never to choose to go to college, but instead go straight for a career. Calm down mom and dad, I just learned that as a good strategy for the GAME, not real life. Enjoy some pictures of my fun adventures in Logan.

And of course, I got Valentines Day candy from the Bookstore with Stevie, as is our tradition!

Brett and Spiderman

I was trying to make a superhero face but um, it doesn't really look like one.

Heart-shaped pancakes on Valentines Day! Hannah is really good at making them look like hearts.

Stevie and me on Valentines Day at the bookstore in 2007

And here we are again, same spot, in 2009.

Knight Games

2009-02-07T09:16:00.004-07:00

Those of you who go/went to BYU-- do you know about the Quill and Scroll club? Well they ALWAYS dress in medieval period garb and sometimes you see them with big wooden swords having fights on the lawn. They're real serious about what they do. A friend of mine had the "King" of the club in his ward and he even wore a crown almost 24/7. They are...well...interesting. I'm not trying to denigrate the Quill and Scroll club--I'm just trying to give you a picture of what they are. (Denigrate was the dictionary.com word of the day today meaning: to attack the reputation of, or defame.) Anyway, last night BYU put on an event called Knight Games---home sweet home for the Quill and Scroll club. Rose dipping, chain mail making, sword fighting, a labryinth and a masquerade sounded like a lot of fun to me too-- AND it was free which was the real selling point. It was one of those things were you think....that was kind of cool.....or weird. We had a lot of fun though, and I think Brett is even seriously considering joining the Quill and Scroll club now. Okay, maybe not :).

I met up with some of my NZ friends: Marcie, Cameron, Kirsten and Becky (Becky is a sister of an NZ friend).

We spent most of the night with Jenny and Daniel. They are so much fun to hang out with.

This is Jenny and Daniel entering the Labryinth. We even had to answer 2 riddles in order to continue through the maze and then to get out.

This is my homemade chain mail--it could protect me in a sword fight. Do you believe me?

This is called 'boffering'. They made padded swords and shields and we just beat each other up with them. We played it like army dodgeball. If you got hit in the leg you had to hop, then if you got hit in the other leg you had to kneel.

Meet Brett

2009-01-31T09:57:00.003-07:00

I realized that because I don't have facebook anymore, some of my siblings have probably heard nothing about my current relationship status (which is no longer single), so I wanted to introduce everyone to Brett David Noble. He's from Muncie, Indiana, served his mission in Brazil and his b-day is July 11---the day after mine. (We have the same zodiac sign!) He has been in my ward and FHE group since the beginning of last semester. I started liking him in the middle of November-ish and he finally caught on and decided I'm not so bad myself.....but only AFTER I flat out told him that I like him. I'm impatient and sometimes it makes me do crazy brave things. We tried really hard to get a good picture of us last night, but I kept having a hard time being normal. (Is that surprising?). My favorite kind of pictures are the one's where everyone kind of looks funny---like the picture below where my eyes are closed and he looks drunk. Some people like to keep quiet when they're dating someone especially when it's so new, but I decided Brett is so great that I want people to know--so now you all know.

Peace Out

2009-01-22T11:30:00.004-07:00

I have been reading the last two days about Peace. Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the LDS church said that "Peace is the very essence of happiness below, and bliss above." As I was reading I was trying to decide when I've felt that peace in my own life. Immediately, thoughts of my experiences in New Zealand came to mind. I remember one Saturday morning I set off on my bike to volunteer at a horse-riding place for disabled children. It was a long bike ride and I was never able to find the place. I decided since I was already late, that I would just keep riding my bike. I rode on a small gravel road through a few farm-like neighborhoods. Then I made my way over to the beach, about 8 miles from home. I locked my bike to a tree and just walked along the sand. It was early and kind of cold, so there were only a few people there walking their dogs. I found a log and sat down to watch the waves. It was peaceful. I kind of felt like I was the only person in the world and I knew that God was completely aware of me. You know, God gave us the Holy Spirit to help guide and protect us through life. Everyone can at times feel a prompting from that Spirit--whether it be a warning to stay out of danger or a thought to help someone else. I've found that when I listen to those feelings I get, which I believe come from the Spirit, I feel the same peace as I did that day on the beach in Invercargill, New Zealand. I feel the same closeness to God--probably because I am doing what He would have me do.

My friend Sandi's mom had a magnet on her refrigerator when we were in 7th or 8th grade. It said something like, 'Peace is not the absence of noise and chaos, it's the ability to remain calm in your heart when there is chaos all around.' I really liked that, and although I can't remember the exact wording the concept has always stayed with me.

Enjoy some pictures of my beautiful New Zealand.

MLKJD

2009-01-17T23:59:00.002-07:00

In case anyone is really worried about what they are going to do to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day—I have an idea.

To commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, BYU students, faculty and community members are invited to participate in a Walk of Life candlelight procession. The walk from the Carillon Bell Tower to the Wilkinson Student Center will be followed by a special program. And guess what….I’m singing in the Gospel Choir that will be performing during the special program. They usually have about 1,000 people come and it’s supposed to be a really good program. Our little Gospel Choir is small but we’ve got soul. We have been learning our song the true Gospel choir way…without music. Our instructor sings our part and we sing it back. It’s amazing how quickly we’re able to learn and memorize the song. Anyway, come if you’re bored and want a cultural experience.

Monday, January 19^th 2009

5:30 PM Carilon Bell Tower (the one that sings Come Come Ye Saints every hour) for the candelight walk, or the program starts at 6:00 in the Wilkinson Center ballroom.

Abby The.......

2009-01-16T21:28:00.002-07:00

Today in my History 202 class we talked about a few emperors in Chinese history who were known as Emperor Shulyeman the Great, or Emperor Kimchi the Magnificent...or whatev. So our teacher says, take a minute to talk to your neighbor about what word you would choose to be known as. One girl said "the friendly"...ahh precious, right? Other guys said "the righteous", "the wise" and my personal favorite, "the chill". Then my professor said too bad none of us will ever get to go by these names because we'll never be significant enough in history. That was kind of sad. I thought long and hard about what I would choose, even though my dreams of ever being known by it were crushed. Here's what I decided: Abby the Determined.

I make goals and I like to reach them. My sister Hannah might put it, Abby the Stubborn, but that's not really inspiring. Guess what? Did you know that determined is another word for stubborn for real? It's listed in the Thesaurus as a synonym for stubborn. Great.

The Magic of 1000 Paper Cranes

2009-01-14T21:53:00.004-07:00

I've really had a lot of things I have wanted to blog about lately so you might get a few in a row pretty quick.

First one: Oh and everyone should know that my camera is out of batteries so I haven't been taking pictures. All I need to do is plug in my battery but I keep forgetting to. Actually, before I finish I'm going to go do that right now. Okay, done. I also plugged in my ipod which I've been needing to do as well.

Now that I'm all plugged in and charging I'll continue. Today I had the opportunity to participate in something great with a group of people who are really going to change the world. There is an adjunct professor in the Romney Institute (where I work: we are the main center for the Master of Public Administration students) named Kimball Young. He's probably in his 60's and has three different types of cancer. The MPA students took a class from him last semester and apparently really liked it and him. He is one of those entrepreneur's who started out writing obituaries but ended up making a lot of money starting businesses, and has a lot of really inspiring things to say about business and life. Anyway, the students really wanted to do something for him.

Have you ever heard the story about the little Japanese girl Sadako Sasaki who had leukemia, was really sad and lonely, and her classmates or friends or somebody decided to fold 1000 paper cranes to give her as a gift? An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane has sort of become a symbol of world peace because of the story of "Sadako and the Thousand Paper cranes". The MPA students decided to give this peace, and wish to professor Young. Out of the goodness of their hearts they organized a time and place that the students could fold paper cranes. I got to help because they needed extra help and invited the non-MPA student workers. It was so much fun. I had never made a paper crane before, but now I have mad paper crane making skills. It was just really neat to see how the students are so capable, and so good. These are our future state and local government leaders, and CEO's of Non-profit organiziations. Like I said, people who can really change the world. Maybe it shouldn't have been such a touching experience, but it was for me. On so many levels, I was inspired by it. Can you imagine how professor Young will feel when he gets 1000 paper cranes strung as 25 strands of 40 delivered to his home? It's magical.

Precipitation in the Form of Ice Crystals

2009-01-07T15:50:00.003-07:00

Okay, I swear it snowed non-stop for two days in a row. Maybe it stopped while I was sleeping but I will never know. What I do know is that there is snow EVERYWHERE. Let me share with you all a few funny things that have happened in accordance with the snow the past 2-ish days.

1. I was walking home at about 6:00 pm through the streets of Provo. I came to a place where I had to cross the street but the cars didn't have a stop sign so I had to wait for them. There were 2 stranger girls in front of me (stranger as in I didn't know them, not as in stranger than me or someone I know). One of these girls said, "oh, don't mind us we're just out here in the freezing cold." I thought it was funny because it's true--the people driving their cars were nice and warm yet they wouldn't stop for the freezing pedestrians.

2. Yesterday while I was walking to school I heard a boy comment to the girl he was walking with: "I wish I could punch every snowflake in the face."

3. Today I walked up the stairs to campus and all along the stairs someone had built snowmen in strange forms. It was like they were art sculptures. One of them was of a snowman couple hugging--or most likely kissing. There was one built all around the railing, another looked like a giant monster fighting with the smaller monster across the way. Whoever the artists were, obviously had a lot of fun and I wish I could have been with them. They also left a note in the snow only visible from the top of the staircase. I couldn't see all the letters but I thought that was cool too. It must have been the aliens.

4. Of course I've witnessed about 4 complete slip-and-falls because of the snow. Those are always funny.

A lot of cool things happen as I walk to and from school. I decided that was because I do it at least twice a day and sometimes up to 6 times a day, and there is no other activity I repeat more than that in a day.

El Cabino

2009-01-01T14:47:00.006-07:00

I just spent 3 days up in Cascade Idaho at my grandma’s cabin with my ENTIRE family. That means: Mom, Dad, their 7 kids, 5 kids-in-law, 17 grandchildren and, grandma of course. I think that adds up to 32.

There’s not much water pressure at the cabin so the rule is: if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown…flush it down. And we’re serious about that rule. There are only enough rooms for one per family (I have 5 married siblings with their own families) so no one slept very well (except mom, dad, and grandma who checked into a hotel).

We built the two best snow forts in the history of snow forts. Picture the music: da da da da da..duh duh duh (you know, the music they play for a cowboy duel?) It’s the Porter’s against the Non-Porters, and it’s a battle to see who can knock down the other team’s fort. Overnight it rained and then froze so we are dealing with practically cement forts here. First round, everyone throws an ice ball to try to cause some damage. Next round we use our bodies (some of us bruised shoulders, almost broke ribs, and had the wind knocked out of us) then the final round we hack away with shovels and axes. They both finally fell, but the

Non-Porters won (to our great shame).

It was loud and crazy and incredibly FUN…because even though we were miles and hours away from where we live, we were Home, because we were with our family.

My entire family minus 1 or 2 sleeping babies and 2 unborn babies. This is the Non-Porter fort that held up strong through the demolition.

Sitting on the couch at the cabin.

My nephew Jeston and a beautiful view of the lake and mountains in front of the cabin.

Me and Grandma! (I had a big red zit in the middle of my forehead the whole time we were up there...so it's also there in EVERY picture.)

The Porter fort, complete with crenelation and even a window (which you can't see). This is my dad and my oldest sister Sarah.

Signs of the Zodiac

2008-12-25T09:25:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-23T16:52:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-16T21:49:00.003-07:00

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

2008-12-12T14:17:00.005-07:00

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

2008-12-05T16:34:00.003-07:00

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.

P-p-p-PIE

2008-11-30T20:20:00.002-07:00

In reverse order (because that's the way Blogger uploaded my photos) here is what I did for Thanksgiving:Last, we hiked around a place called Tent Rocks. These cool looking rock formations were all over the place. We walked through the windy slot canyons and then up a few switch backs to a beautiful view of Tent Rocks and beyond. Everyone did it, even Jared and Ellie.
The day before, we went to Santa Fe and saw the oldest house in the United States (pictured here) and also went in the oldest church in the United States.
Santa Fe is a an artist town...which is really cool to me, but boring for the kids. There were so many Art Galleries that it could keep me busy for a whole month probably. It was really fun to walk around and see all the sculptures and statues.
I'm trying to be just like this red man.
The night before that we played Taboo. It was girls against boys and from the picture below, you can see for yourself who won. Scott even tried to start the score over hoping they would have a better chance, but the girls were too good.

Here is us eating our Thanksgiving Lunch
This is the pie we ate every meal for about 3 days straight.

and here is mom carving the turkey!

I LOVED This Thanksgiving. Thanks Sarah, Scott, Kaitlyn, Brynn, Jared, and Ellie! I love you guys!

What makes a hero?

2008-11-24T22:50:00.004-07:00

So I have decided to write a paper exploring the idea of what makes a Hero. It's for my Greek and Roman Mythology class. We had an entire unit dedicated to studying Greek heroes, only I don't know how many of them are actually heroes. So what makes a hero anyway? Some Greek heroes are demi-gods--one of their parents are immortal. Because they are also half mortal, they are deeply flawed. For example Hercules got drunk one night and killed his wife and kids. Odysseus slept with at least 2 Goddesses while his wife Penelope remained faithful to him for 20 years, not knowing if he was dead or alive. Agamemnon, a great Trojan War hero sacrificed his daughter and then brought home the concubine Cassandra as a victory prize. Odysseus is also known for being able to tell great lies...he is a 'speaker of words' as is typical of a Homeric hero. So these great heroes aren't really great people. Sure, Hercules goes into the underworld and brings back Alecestis from the dead, but he also has an extreme appetite for wine and women. Frodo Baggins is a sort of hero, but he's a scrawny wimpy hobbit who is sometimes mean to his friends. Is it the great challenge that he overcomes that makes a man a hero, or is he only a hero if he also lives a life worth exemplifying? Who is the ultimate hero? Are there everyday heroes, and what makes them so? Jesus Christ, half immortal, came to earth and overcame the greatest of all challenges: he suffered for the sins of all mankind. Their are a lot of similiarities between Christ and the Greek heroes, but there is also one giant difference. Christ was perfect. He was faithful, kind, not murderous, disciplined etc. Understandably no one else in the world is perfect, so we can't expect to have other perfect heroes, but should they at least possess good qualities?

Anyway, I'm interested in what everyone thinks, so take my poll (to the right), leave a comment or send me an email....but don't facebook me.

Growing up

2008-11-17T01:17:00.004-07:00

It's 1:17 AM and I'm blogging with my face about one inch from the computer screen. Both pairs of my glasses broke recently and they're unwearable so I can't see a thing once I take my contacts out. The screen is actually kind of burning my eyeballs.

This weekend I had sort of a cleanse. We had some pumpkins left over from Halloween that we never carved so my roommate and I decided to smash them. We wrote things on them (like code names for boys we were mad at) and then took them to the park and smashed them. It was symbolic of letting go and moving on I suppose. Mostly it was just REALLLY fun. Then on Saturday I deactivated my facebook account. I had been thinking about it for months and finally did it. I was hesitant because it seems like when you're single, in order to be in the 'game' you have to have a Facebook. It's a way for people to learn more about you and adds another medium for flirting. Anyway, I decided it was pointless and also adds one more medium to complicate life. So, I let it go. It's amazing how good I feel....like I gave up smoking or something. I guess I don't really know what that feels like, but it's probably close. I feel all grown up now.

My friend Elliott said to me today "Abby, today is the best day of my life." "why?" I asked. "Because we're not friends on facebook anymore." I think that secretly means he is really upset because I'm his favorite facebook friend. Here are pictures from my pumpking smashing fun. Don't worry mom and dad, we cleaned it up when we were done. :)

Rain

2008-11-10T16:50:00.001-07:00

It rained today…all day. In fact I think it’s still raining. I don’t mind it so much because at least it’s not snowing. I don’t love the worms that come out on the sidewalk, but my roommate says worms love wet, damp stuff so a rainy day is like going to the beach for them. They lay out all over the sidewalk and soak.

Something about rainy days makes me move much slower. I slept in, took an extra long shower, walked really slow to and from class, and I even feel like I talk in slow motion. I guess I probably don’t though. I was walking to work today and passed a gigantic puddle in the driveway to a church. Someone put a yellow rubber ducky in the puddle. I laughed and pushed a little so it could float. As I continued down the street there was another puddle and another rubber ducky. It made me smile.

At work we got a Despair Inc. magazine and this was one of the new Demotivators:

BLOGGING: Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.

I thought that was great.

H to the alloween

2008-11-05T12:49:00.002-07:00

This shower guy was my all-time 2nd favorite costume I saw this year.

I had a pumpkin party the Wednesday before Halloween. We had a million pumpkin things to eat, and then we all sat around and watched Pajama Gladiator on my roommates projector.

Jenny best friend as a mime. She was the best mime ever. She teaches school at Provo Canyon, and she went the entire day without talking even to her class! She also did a few box and balloon blowing performances on Center Street in Provo. She is so cool.

This is my costume. I won the "most original" award at my Ward Party, and a woman at work's daughter copied my costume, with my permission, and also won at her school. It just so happens that Jenny lives in an extremely colorful house, and I fit well in it with my costume.

Leafs

2008-10-30T11:49:00.007-06:00

(I took all these pictures my self 2 Sunday's ago.)

I got locked out of my apartment today so I sat outside under a tree and did some reading. My mind started to wander to the tree I was perched beneath. (can you be perched beneath something?) I often walk by a tree and pick a leaf to observe as I make my way to class or church or whatever, and I have always wondered if all leaves from the same tree are alike. To my eyes they appear to be exactly the same As it turns out, they aren't. Just like snowflakes and people, there are no two leaves alike. It would be obvious to a tree-lover that two leaves came from the same tree, but upon closer inspection one will discover that the notches, or edges, or little vein things in the middle are slightly different.

My next question was, so why exactly do trees lose their leaves anyway? I'm sure I learned it in like 4th grade, but I was thinking about it again today. As the days get shorter, the trees are no longer getting the same amount of energy from the sun as they do in the Spring and Summer. So in order for the whole tree to survive, it cuts off nutrients from the leaves and stores those nutrients and energy in its trunk and branches. The leaves must fall in order for the whole of the tree to survive. (Interesting that they are called LEAVES, because that's what they do; leave the tree).

The beautiful thing is, the tree stores its energy so IT doesn't die, so that it can bring forth leaves again in the Spring. The leaves make a sacrifice for the tree, and essentially mankind. If the leaves refused to fall, the trees wouldn't have enough energy to sustain them, and therefore die. If all deciduous trees died, there wouldn't be enough energy and oxygen to keep us all alive. What a beautiful process huh! It makes me wonder how much I'm willing to sacrifice in order for something else bigger and better to stay alive. It also adds support to what I already knew: that when I fall, there are better days ahead, there is hope to be born again in the Spring.

Pumpkins

2008-10-22T23:51:00.003-06:00

Everyone in my family has posted something new on their blogs in the last few days so I was feeling left out.

Monday I carved a pumpkin with my friend Christine for a ward FHE pumpkin carving contest. We carved a piece of cheese into it.

Two of the groups of boys carved vomitting pumpkins, which is disgusting but kind of cool at the same time.

Comfortable In My Own Company

2008-10-17T11:33:00.007-06:00

Although some people would vehemently disagree, I feel very lucky to attend school at BYU. Where else could I take a marriage prep class that would be chalk full of ways to apply gospel principles to marriage?

Today we talked about happiness. Our teacher posed the question "Are you comfortable in your own company?" We talked a little about what that means. One option is, do you feel comfortable being at home a lone on a friday night when all your roommates are on dates? Another option is do you recognize who you are, and are you happy with it? Are you comfortable with what you and the Lord have made of yourself?

The point of our discussion was to encourage us to stop looking for someone to 'make us happy' and start realizing that whether or not we are happy will depend mostly upon ourselves, and our relationship with God. If I can be happy alone, then when I get a husband I can still be happy even when he doesn't always make me happy. I don't really know, but from what I hear husbands aren't perfect...which is weird, because wives are...right? :)

So, being comfortable with who I am alone, is going to set me up for being comfortable and happy and having joy in my marriage, and every other aspect of life as well.

Something that helps me be happy each day is when I start out by saying to my self: Self, you are GREAT no matter what anyone else thinks. Not that people don't think I'm great, because they do :), but you know how easy it is to make up that someone doesn't like you because they made a funny look at you when really they were just about to sneeze or something.

Wow, I made myself laugh when I wrote that last paragraph. Self, you are so funny.

My sister tagged me to place my 4th picture from my 4th album on my blog. I wasn't going to do it because I was embarrassed about this one. I had just received a haircut and straightened my hair for the first time since the cut, so I took a bunch of pictures of myself. I guess maybe I'm a little too comfortable in my own company?

My Song

2008-10-11T14:53:00.004-06:00

I wrote a song. It's not way good but I'm proud of it. It's called Last Letter. You can view it by going to this website: It's not refined in this recording because I'm still working a few things out. I'm mostly only posting it so my siblings who live far away can hear it.

Enjoy.

Legacy of Lovers

2008-10-04T20:32:00.001-06:00

This is part of a paper I had to write for one of my classes last year. A lot more people could be added to this, but I had a page limit :).

I have been blessed with an opportunity to be in a family full of incredible women. Grandmas, sisters, sister-in-laws, and of course my own mother are all major examples of what it means to love, and to teach the sacred purposes of life through everyday living.

One of the most wonderful things about my mom is that she knows how to do, as I like to say, everything. An avid quilter, she has patiently directed me as I have struggled to learn to sew. I wanted to re-upholster an incredibly comfortable and equally distasteful chair I purchased from Deseret Industries. Mom showed me the best way and would give me direction as I asked for it, but let me do it on my own and learn from my mistakes. Her talent in this specific area has transformed many a prom dress to fit our standards of modesty. I was able to find inexpensive dresses which mom fixed up so professionally that it was difficult to believe I had not spent hundreds of dollars to find a beautiful modest dress. She helped me live my values and standards so that I could become closer to my Heavenly Father, and closer to her. Much of what mom did for us I took for granted. I never knew it was hard to be a mother, for she made it look so easy. I love her for her strong testimony that has been a light in my life guiding me towards developing my own testimony. She taught me to love to do what is right.

My oldest sister Sarah has always been my ‘second mother’ so to speak, and thus I have learned a great deal from her example. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was nine years old. I did not quite understand the seriousness of the disease, but I did know that it was possible my mom could die. I came home from school one day and raced up to my room only to find that mom had made my bed and cleaned my room--even though she was sick and weak from chemotherapy. Immediately tears began to pour down my face because I realized how much I love my mom and wanted her to stay with me. I ran to Sarah for comfort. She gave me a hug and asked questions to get to the root of my feelings. I was able to open up to her and express all my worries and concerns. Her comforting words reassured me that we were all scared, but that we could get through this hard time if we stuck together as a family.

Even to this day Sarah is my easiest sister to communicate with. We can talk about anything and she is always interested in what I have to say. She is not so much concerned with giving advice as she is just listening. Sarah has taught me principles of good communication especially of the value of being able to listen.

Although she is four years older than me, my sister Hannah is my closest sibling in age. She is also my best friend. I spent the most time with her as we were growing up and I wanted more than anything to be just like her. She was and is a shining light in my life. One of the qualities that Hannah has taught me is the importance of being a good leader. Hannah has always been able to envision and then execute almost any plan. She served on her high school’s student council and then graduated from BYU with a degree in education. In both cases she has demonstrated her ability to incorporate everyone to be in line with the plan. I always go to Hannah for advice on the best way to get a job finished. Her ability to lead brings structure to her home. She can compromise and improvise in order to make any goal obtainable. Her leadership abilities have helped me realize the importance of setting and reaching goals; the ultimate goal of course being to return to our Heavenly Father.

Hannah has also taught me the joy of laughing. We often joke that it does not take much to get Hannah to laugh, and oh is her laugh contagious. She brings joy and laughter to any situation. She has taught me that it is so important to find something to laugh about even in difficult situations. Daily happiness that comes through laughing brings an enhanced ability to feel love from Heavenly Father and to share that love with others. Life does not seem so hard if there is something to laugh about. I am confident that Hannah will bring that same joy to her little boys as they grow up learning to laugh and smile like she does.

My third sister Betsy was born after Sarah but before Hannah. I remember a time when my parents had gone to Atlanta, Georgia for an overnight temple trip and contention among our siblings was building. I was the youngest at the time and feeling very picked on. I was upset and burst into tears. Betsy ran up to my room to see what the matter was. I explained that my feelings had been hurt and I felt left out and unimportant. She said very strongly that my siblings did love me and if I was ever having problems with one of the older kids that I could just tell her and she would help me work it out. That ability to serve selflessly has never left Betsy’s character. She and her husband are the greatest examples of service that I have ever encountered. They have an innate ability to recognize how they can help those in need. The service they render is unique, creative and adapted to each individual’s needs. I greatly admire Betsy’s desire for service and pray that I will be able to develop that same ability to serve selflessly in order to help other’s feel God’s love for them.

The greatest thing that I have learned from these women is the ability to love. Whether I look behind me to my past or beside me at my present, I have examples to help me understand the importance of raising a family to learn to love the Lord. Now as I begin to look in front of me to the future, I am excited to practice the principles I have learned from this legacy of lovers that I have been so blessed to be a part of. I hope to teach my children as my mother taught me, and my sisters teach their children, to have a testimony of Jesus Christ.

CELEBRATIONS

2008-09-27T14:36:00.003-06:00

At the beginning of the month I plugged my camera battery in overnight so it could charge. When I woke up it still wasn't charged. It's one of those rectangle lithium ion batteries and apparently it finally ran out of juice. It lasted a year so that's pretty good, but when I bought a camera I hadn't planned on having to buy a new battery every year. It was really surprising when I looked on line and found they cost about 50 bucks.

Amazingly, I happened to find a check for $50 in my wallet that I got a few weeks ago for babysitting. I had forgotten to deposit it so as it turned out, I had an extra $50. I finally went to circuit city and bought a new battery. Now I can start taking pictures again, and therefore have more to blog about.

I got stung by a bee today while my friend Jenny and I were hiking in the mountains. To my knowledge I have only been stung one other time in my life. It was kind of exciting to celebrate my 2nd bee sting, and buying a new camera battery in the same day. I felt bad for the bee--isn't it true that if they sting you they die? He was just sitting on my shirt collar and when I lifted my hand to rub my neck I must of landed right on his stinger. It could have all been avoided if he would have just landed somewhere I could see him. I guess I don't feel too bad because they really bug me when they crowd me while I'm trying to eat my lunch.

Lessons from Grass

2008-08-30T19:17:00.005-06:00

Today I walked from my apartment to the LDS Temple in Provo. It was kind of a long walk in a dress and heels, but the journey is half the experience right? I'm not complaining because my walk was only about 30 minutes, and there are people who sometimes walk days and spend every cent they own to get to the temple.

The final stretch to the temple is the walk along the missionary field (literally a soccer field for the missionaries in the Missionary Training Center). I saw a stretch of grass between the missionary field and the temple with a sign pressed in it about every 15 feet. As soon as I was close enough to read the sign I laughed: "I'm trying hard to grow, so please don't walk on me"---BYU Grounds. Apparently the grounds crew at BYU is now giving the grass its own voice. Perhaps to appeal to our emotions and keep us off the grass.

The funny thing was I immediately thought of all the times I've wished I could have that very sign placed on my forehead. "I'm trying hard to grow so please don't walk on me." Doesn't it sometimes feel like you're getting walked on from so many different directions? That really puts a damper on things when you're trying so hard to grow stronger, and better. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just put up a sign that says don't walk on me right now? Wouldn't it be so much easier to grow?

Unfortunately even if we did tape a sign to our foreheads it is inevitable that we'll get walked on through our life journey. Then I thought; contrary to grass, the more we get walked on the better, more refined we become. Can you imagine going through life without any struggle, without ever being trampled, picked, stepped on, dug up? Seems like we would never learn from our mistakes, and never be allowed to grow stronger by overcoming the hard times. We would never recognize the need for something or someone of a higher power, more perfect than ourselves to help us through.

I think I would rather have my sign on my heart, not my forehead, with these words: "Father in Heaven, I'm trying hard to grow, so if I must be stepped on please help me to grow anyway."

My Heroes

2008-08-22T18:58:00.006-06:00

Porter definitely ready for boating.

Luke was kind of cold so we wrapped him up in his towel.

Jesse and Sam on the boat.

These are my girls and me on the boat. The top is Livy (she's making a silly face). Next is India and last Addie. They are 3 of my brother Joe's kids.

I took these three pictures by my self; impressive huh? They're of me trying to look like I play the guitar. I love the top one. That is Reid. He loves to hit the fret board while I'm trying to play. So precious.

Abatha tabatha puddin in pie, kissed the boys and made them cry. Mom used to say that to me all the time and I guess she was right! This is my nephew Brigg, not happy about me kissing him.

Jeston and his marshmallow.

Reid in his wetsuit and floaties.

Mira getting into the sunscreen.

Last weekend I went to Bear Lake with my siblings. Some of them have already blogged about our eventful weekend so in order to avoid being a copy cat I will not blog about it. Instead you can just look at these pictures.

I have 17 heroes. CJ, Kaitlyn, Livy, Jeston, Brynn, Addie, Mia, Jared, Sam, India, Porter, Xander, Luke, Ellie, Reid, Mirabella and Brigg. Those are all my nieces and nephews. I love chasing them around to give them a hug and a kiss and I love it when they sit on my lap and talk to me about life (even if I have to strap them down to talk about it). Sometimes out of the blue one of them will say “I love you Abby.” It makes me melt like the cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich. (Get the picture?) This summer I got to see every single one of them. I don’t know 17 other people quite like these kids. I love observing my brothers and sisters as parents. Somehow they are all so good at it. What a tender blessing to be able to watch my siblings teach their kids about life, love, Jesus Christ, family, boats, bugs, not biting, death, prayer, gardens, reading, and hurt feelings. What an incredible charge they have been given! Even though I know it is hard they manage it all so well. I hope I can be as good a parent as I see in my siblings and their spouses, and of course as I see in my parents. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to see so much to help prepare me for when I’m a parent. And I’m lucky that I am able to be a much better person because I have the 17 most wonderful nieces and nephews in the world. I have one coming sometime in March-ish, which will make 18. I can’t wait to meet that one as I’m sure I’ll be able to learn from her or him as well.

Basically, my nieces and nephews are super lucky to have such great parents, grandparents, uncles…and such a great aunt of course :)

California

2008-08-07T23:37:00.003-06:00

I went to C-A-L-I-F-O-O-O-R-N-I-A last week. I was visiting my brother Ben and his family. Ben works at PIXAR (yeah, I know, my brother's cool) so we got to tour the facilities. We also went to the beach on a very hot day. Okay, as hot as it gets at a beach in San Francisco. So basically it was cold, and the water was freezing but the sun was shining! My dad put on his water shoes and lead us into the water. Ben and Caleb were soaked up to their necks (but Caleb's neck wasn't wet) and it was a lot of fun. Ben kept telling Caleb to body surf but Caleb didn't want to get his neck wet. So I was wearing my swimming suit and decided I would body surf. It wasn't really body surfing because the minute my body was in the water it froze so I couldn't really relax and let the waves take me. It was fun though. We had a lot of really good food. Ben and Val are the best cooks; they should open their own restaurant. I loved spending time with C.J., Mia, and Xander--even though Xander wouldn't give me the time of day. Ben, Val, Caleb and I stayed up one night playing combat and Hugger Mugger. I should have won every game but I didn't. I got a new job at the Romney Institute of Public Management (it's the alumni institute for the Business school). I'll be making more money and it seems like a faster pace, higher energy environment. I was getting bored at the Women's Research Institute. I had to give two weeks notice today and it was really scary. I was nervous but it worked out.

Oh, and I love my family!

Not Just a Duck

2008-07-24T14:28:00.004-06:00

Located on 800 N. in Provo, just down the street from Brick Oven, is a famous duck pond. It mostly gets its fame from all the couples who like to go have a romantic sit (a.k.a make out) around the pretty disgusting looking mud hole. The only reall cool thing about this duck pond are the ducks (and the turtles, but then I would have had to say 'the only really cool thingS' and I didn't feel like it, so I'll just talk about the ducks.) These ducks have the highest IQ out of any duck I have ever met. A few weeks ago I was crossing the street right at the duck pond. AFter I finished crossing I heard a car honk so I turned to make sure they weren't honking at me. To my surprise they were honking at a pair of ducks that decided to walk across the street using the crosswalk, instead of by flying. They stayed in between the lines the whole way across: they are so lawful.

A few weeks before that I went for an early evening run. I ran right past two ducks on a date. They were sitting next to each other under the tree far away from any of the other ducks. Good on them for realizing that the nasty pond isn't really all that romantic.

One more story, and this one is my favorite. Just this week I walked down the 150 stairs that lead right to the duck pond (I have to do this to get to and from work, that's why I see the ducks so often.) One duck passed in front of me and then proceeded to the bushes on my right. I didn't think much of it until I saw about 6 other ducks scattered, hiding, beneath this bush. The duck that crossed in front of me quickly took his seat under the bush with the other ducks. None of them were sleeping, they were just being really quite. And it hit me: They were playing sardines! The duck I saw finally found where everyone was hiding and, as the rule goes in Sardines, had to hide with them.

I won't go into detail about the duck that flew right into my shoulder while I was talking to my sister on the phone, or about the baby ducks that like to run full speed and head first into the small birds. Basically, I could watch these ducks all day long. Perhaps they were genetically altered.

1/2 Marathon

2008-07-20T21:08:00.002-06:00

A few months ago I decided to run a 1/2 marathon. It has been a New Year's Resolution of mine for many years to learn to like running. This year I decided to give it a go one last time. I thought that in order to really feel like I tried, I was going to pick a race to train for. I found one that looked fun and that was within a days drive. I invited all my family members who wanted to run it with me, you know, like a family bonding thing. I had just learned about families and recreation in New Zealand so I decided to put what I learned to the test.

It was so fun to train and talk about the run with my Dad, sisters Sarah and Betsy, and sister-in-law Andrea. Of course there was never any competition, it was just plain fun :). It was really neat for me to be able to do a few long runs with my dad and sisters. We talked the whole time and I think it brought us closer together.

Okay, race day. We all stayed in this cute cabin thing; one room, 3 beds. We had to blow up 2 more mattresses in order to fit us all in. No one got much sleep the night before. We woke up at 4:30 am and headed to the bank in Tropic, Utah. I was not really nervous about being able to finish, I was however, nervous about needing to go to the bathroom during my run. I knew I didn't want to stop at a port-a-potty and my friend said that she sometimes ended up peeing her pants during a run. That made me really nervous. Anyway, I didn't end up even needing to go while I was running.

The run was mostly down hill the whole time, so a little hard on the knees. It was incredible! I loved the feeling. I also loved reaching a goal, even exceeding it. I ran the race in 1 hour 55 minutes which is 15 minutes faster than I expected. Oh, and like a said, we weren't competing against each other, but I did happen to beat all my family members. :)

My running days definitely aren't over.

#20

2008-07-15T22:02:00.002-06:00

Last week my birthday happened. It came, went and then I was 20-- and I wasn't a teenager. Surprisingly it feels very different. I feel older and wiser. It was one of the best birthday's ever. I had a party with my family the day before and I got money and an awesome Murder Mystery Dinner Party kit. I'm using some of the money I got to put towards an airplane ticket to go visit my brother Ben and his family in California the last week of July. The rest of it I used to buy Tevas. I was going to get Chacos but they're too expensive. So I settled for the Tevas. They aren't cute, but then again neither are Chacos. They are however, very practical for hiking in (and waterproof too so I can forge through raging rivers).

My friend Jenny (she's the one with me in the first picture) had flowers delivered to my work, my friend Camron took me to lunch and my roommate April did my cleaning check jobs for me. My Visiting Teachers (for those who don't know within the LDS church they pair each of the sisters up and assign them a few sisters to visit shortly once a month. They are there to comfort, listen, and inspire, and just to be a friend) anyway, they gave me a card that sings a song when you open it! I got phone calls, text messages, facebook messages and cards all day long from kind people who took time to wish me a happy birthday. I was very grateful for such good people in my life, and inspired to be a better person.

Later on in the week I went to the Payson Scottish Festival. I got a kilt and dressed up like I was Scottish. So did Jenny and a few others from the ward. Someone even told Jenny that they liked the tartan in her kilt. We learned that a tartan is the design in the kilt; each clan has a different design. A clan is a family group. I looked up my last name in the Scottish clan book and I found it! That means I'm slightly Scottish!

On the way home from the Scottish Festival we stopped at an aluminum statue sale. They had giant horses, gorillas, alligators, giraffes and as you can see in the picture, rhinoceroces. I have no idea how to spell that.

Before I close I have to say that I love my new friend Jenny. We got free slurpees on 7/11 day even though they claimed to be all out (thanks to Jenny's craftiness), we dressed up at the Scottish Festival, saw an improv comedy act, we play the guitar together, sing together, laugh together. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and hope to be like her when I get older. She's the best and I'm lucky to have a friend like her! Oh, and here's a shout out to her mom Kathy! Thanks for reading my blog Kathy!

The 6:00 AM Crowd

2008-07-02T19:47:00.002-06:00

Last week I woke up on a Thursday at 6:00 A.M. to go running. It is always nearly impossible to peel my body away from my sheets at such an early hour, but something about this day was different. I laid with my eyes opened for 5 minutes after my alarm clock went off trying to decide if I should wake up or not. Welp, I said, I'm already awake so I might as well. There is something indescribable about being awake and outside at 6:00 AM. Somehow it's as if my mind works in ways it can't at later hours. I ran through a set of sprinklers that had formed a puddle on the sidewalk and I thought, Man, these sprinklers have been awake now for probably 20 minutes. Think of all the things they were able to see in those 20 minutes of extra awake time.

I concluded that people who wake up at 6:00 AM are the truly interesting people in the world. What brings them to wake up so early on a regular basis? A Job? A healthy life style? A baby? A hobby? Insanity? Whatever their story, the 6:00 AM crowd is neat. We all wave to each other no matter what 'fraternity' we belong to. For example the runners wave to the walkers and the guy on his 250 cc scooter waves to the walkers and runners too. You don't have to be part of the same group or genre to get a hello from a fellow 6:00 AM crowd-er.

But then the hour turns to 7:00 and more and more people are out now. The 7:00 AM crowd isn't quite as cool or unique because a lot of people get up at 7:00.

The 6 AM hour is sort of addicting. Even though the experience is rewarding and exciting, my back is magnetized to my bed and the force keeping us together is constantly getting stronger. Maybe I need to sleep on my stomach....do I have a magnet on my stomach?

How Old are the Empowered, Tap Dancing, Siamese Kittens

2008-06-18T09:57:00.004-06:00

I have recently felt empowered to do anything and everything I want. I am currently training for a 1/2 marathon and the other week I ran 10 miles for the first time in my life. That is something I thought I would never do because I've never really enjoyed running. With this new feeling of empowerment I decide to undertake another thing that I never thought I would be able to do. I am learning to play the guitar. I started on Saturday with a guitar I found at my parents house, and already I know half a song and like 10 chords. I guess I just got sick of always saying I wish I could play, when for heaven's sake, what was stopping me? So the fact that I know 10 chords is further (farther?) than I ever thought I would be. It's slow going of course and I have blisters on my fingers, but as long as I stick at it I will be able to soon say, "I play the guitar."

The other day I was driving to the store and I saw a sign that said "Siamese kittens: $20" I thought that was funny because the first thing that popped into my mind was a picture of actual Siamese, or conjoined kittens. Where are they conjoined, I wondered. Then I started really wondering if there was such thing as conjoined kittens and sure enough, I found this picture and others like it.
This morning I was running along Canyon Road in Provo and I saw this sign:
Oh great, I thought. There is a man with a top hat doing a tap dance ahead. Needless to say, I never saw him. Maybe he was taking his morning break or something.

I went to my friend Megan's house yesterday and met some of her friends. She introduced me to a guy named Mike who then said, "nice to meet you Abby...now how old are you?" I looked at him funny for about 30 seconds thinking why on earth he needed to know how old I was. Like ohhh you're 19, okay cross you off my list. Or what if I was 25 would he be thinking, welp, too old for me? I told him I was 14 attending EFY and just here visiting my friends. He finally realized how it was a little strange to say that and then we all started laughing. Apparently he thought I was a different Abby that he and my friend Megan had been talking about earlier, and it would have made more sense if I was her. We had a few good laughs about it.

Dating is like Job Hunting:

2008-06-08T16:45:00.004-06:00

Since I was recently spending a lot of time job hunting, I realized how incredibly similar it is to dating. Here is why: You go to the board (at the Student Employment Office at the WILK) and look around the jobs trying to find which one's you're interested in. Some people prefer late night or on-call jobs, whereas others prefer more stable and regular day time jobs.

A person who is job hunting reads the qualifications to decide whether or not he/she is fit for the job. Some people reach for the stars and apply anyway to places they are not qualified, while others don't even look twice at the jobs they feel they can't get. Some people are so desperate that they just apply for any and every job that comes their way hoping to find one quick. Others are more picky, wanting a specific kind of job at a specific pay and therefore tend to take longer to find the perfect job. .b. and sometimes never find it.

After applying for jobs some people are so lucky that they end up interviewing at 5 or 6 places and their dilemma is just having to choose which one. Others aren't so lucky and don't have as many choices, if any, to choose from. Sometimes a job tricks you in its advertisements, making it look like a fun, worth-while job; then later you find out it was all just a facade and actually the job is boring and no good. Sometimes (though less often) the job is actually cooler than the advertisement made it look.

Most people are absolutely elated when the finally find that perfect job. Some people stick around in the job for a long period of time and end up moving up and staying for good, while others get bored easily and are more inclined to 'job hop' between jobs every 6 months or so. Sometimes a person will accept a job and then after a week of working get a better offer and take that one instead. Some people aren't even serious about having a job, they just want something to fill their empty time, so they show very little commitment but get all the benefits of the work place anyway. Those are my least favorite kinds of employees.

Can you see what I mean? Job hunting and dating are pretty similar.

Stuck in a Toe Jam

2008-06-01T15:50:00.004-06:00

Upon returning from New Zealand three of my fingers went through a grueling infection. The infection was acquired from a little thing the Kiwi's like to call Bush Lawyer. Our instructor told us they are just as mean and nasty as the lawyers we have here in the US. It's just a thorny vine all throughout the bush in New Zealand. The tiny thorn's grab hold and don't let go so if you continue walking with a bush lawyer stuck to you it rips up whatever it is stuck to. In my case it was my middle finger. I don't know how the other two fingers got the infection but it was quite nasty and at times painful. It started about 3 weeks before I got home and ended a week after I got home.

I thought the nasty, ugly infections were gone for good, which they kind of were because it didn't come back in my fingers....instead it migrated to my 'pointer' toe. I complained to my mom that it was a little tender one day from a blister that had been there and popped. She said it was just new skin and would be tender until it calloused over. The next day my toe swelled to almost the size of my big toe. It was about an inch taller than the big toe too (which for some people is normal, but I was fortunate enough to be born with toes that are slightly smaller than the toe to the left of it, producing a nice gradual descent.)

It was purple and nasty looking under the surface and it hurt like no pain I have felt before. I walked with a limp because I couldn't let my toe touch the ground. It hurt bad enough when I was just sitting down, so I didn't want to add pressure. I couldn't even fit my foot into my shoes. I showed my dad and he told me I had to go to the doctor. So I paid 15 bucks to have the doctor tell me nothing about what it was. He just said to take the prescribed antibiotics and soak the toe 3 times a day for at least 20 minutes each time. Oh, then he shot me with antibiotics in each hip.
I started to soak and soon enough the nasty purple stuff on the inside popped to the outside and the toe began to drain. The pain was gone after that and I could even run again! I'll let you look at the pictures to see what happened from there. I'm happy to say that it is almost completely better now. There is just a small scab looking thing on the top, which the doctor told me I can't pick, and it is still slightly large. Apparently when you have an infection it digs underneath the skin and lifts up some dead skin. I can't really describe it but in all of my fingers and my toe I had a pocket of dead skin ready to be peeled off.

1. The first few days of the infection. Notice the size of my pointer toe compared to my other toes.

2. After it drained 3. You can see the white pocket of dead skin I was talking about. It
went all the way around the toe.
4. This is how it looks today...almost better! (Still unusually tall)

Idaho and Love Sac Lypo

2008-05-19T10:11:00.002-06:00

This last weekend my mom called Friday morning and said she was going to Idaho to see my grandma and cousins and asked if I wanted to come. I LOVE spur of the moment things, and I haven't seen my grandma for awhile so I jumped on the opportunity. We had so much fun! Of course, anything is fun with my mom and grandma. I also got to see some cousins and aunts that I haven't seen in over 10 years. So we drove to Boise and then back and then sat around outside on the porch (like old folks). I scored about 10 dresses from my grandma...dresses she wore 30-40 years ago. They all fit me and I think they're all beautiful! When I got back to my parents house I used mom's sewing machine to alter some of the dresses so they are a little modernized. What a find! I think it is so special that I have my grandmother's dresses.

When I got back to my apartment in Provo my roommates and I and our friend Drew did lypo on my love sac. It was stuffed too much so we took out some of the stuffing. The stuffing is made up of hundreds of little cut up pieces of foam. We had two garbage bags full of stuffing and needed something to do with it, so we got creative. We doorbell ditched some of our friends and threw it at them, and we taped garbage bags across their doors and then put the stuffing in between the bags and the door so it opened up on them when they answered the door.

We got to my friend's apartment to pull our prank but accidentally rang the door bell before we had thrown the stuffing between the door and the bags. So we had to run and hide a little early. My friends ran down the stairs to a good hiding place but I ran upstairs which only lead to more apartments. One of the doors was opened and this boy was standing at the door looking at me funny. I just told him to 'shh' and then waited while he continued to look at me like I was retarded.

Luckily the kid who answered the door just said, "thanks guys" and then shut the door without removing the garbage bag wall we had made (ha ha sucker!). So we went back and poured our stuffing. On our way down the stairs I ran into one of the boys that lives there. I was hoping he wouldn't remember me because we had only met twice. Well I made a suspicious face when he walked passed me and as soon as he saw his door he turned around and said (real whiney like) "oh c'mon Abby!" Apparently he does remember me. It was really funny, although he laughed at us for doing it at 11:30 pm when people are still awake instead of 3:00 am when no one would catch us. Yeah right, like I'm going to wake up at 3:00 am.

So it was an eventful weekend and I think we may have started a war.

Oh, I got a job!! I'm working as a secretary at the Women's Research Institute here on campus at BYU. I start this afternoon so I don't know much about it yet. I'm so grateful to have found a job so quickly. The only problem is it is only part time for the summer and I kind of need a full time job this summer. If anyone knows of a place hiring part time just for the summer, let me know.

Fun Fun Fun

2008-05-12T09:55:00.004-06:00

Well, life has been pretty good since that first week back from New Zealand. I am having so much fun at my apartment in Provo I can hardly stand it. I went on a week long trip to New Mexico to visit my sister Sarah and now the job search is officially on. I'm running out of money so I need a job...quick :) I meet new people everyday and just enjoy life! Here are some pictures of what I have been doing since I moved to Provo:

I bought this dress for $6 at D.I. My roommate and I went around campus taking pictures of us in our cool dresses. This picture is in the Library.
This is a picture of me at the Zoo in New Mexico. Those are vultures above me. Apparently my nephew Jeston got pooped on when he stood below these birds, but I wasn't so unfortunate.
Janessa (my New Zealand Roommate) and I showing of her excellent birthday cake that some of us made for her.

My friends Julia and Ben and I at Battle of the Bands at Muse Music in Provo. I was rockin out.
This is everyone outside the Zoo in New Mexico. All four Porter Sisters and their kids.

Oh, you look Relaxed

2008-04-24T20:29:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm home now. It has been quite an experience. I love hanging out with my family, they're cool, but I am having the I miss New Zealand Blues. After spending over 3 months having 'flow' experiences as Mark Widmer would call them, where we were having such great learning experiences that the way we look doesn't matter to us, I am quite astonished at what I saw at the mall today. We live in a technology driven, appearance driven world where people are constantly competing for the biggest, best, cutest and skinniest.

I walked into Banana Republic wearing sweat shorts and a long sleeved jacket, classes and un-styled hair (which is a typical outfit for someone who can't comfortably fit in her old clothes and has a sore throat and throbbing headache.) Anyway, one of the male associates at Banana started asking me how I was doing and how my day was. I was friendly and responded that I was having a really great day (after all, I sat on the couch watching T.V. all day because it was snowing outside). He said, "oh yeah? really relaxed?" Like obviously by the way I was dressed I had a relaxing day. I think he and I both knew that I did not belong in Banana Republic.

The newest clothes I have I purchased from the local second hand shop in Invercargill. Oh, and yesterday at my friend Janessa's apartment some people were throwing out clothes and just put them on the lawn for people to take. I scoured the pile to find something because hey, free clothes. I was surrounded at the mall by people who care a lot about appearance and I was slightly uncomfortable. My sister told me I needed to get my eyebrows done...what is that all about? Some of the girls on our New Zealand trip didn't shave their legs the entire time and no body cared. No one told anyone how to dress or look or made anyone feel alienated for not dressing appropriately while shopping. Who makes the rules about how we should look and what we should wear?

I don't know about this. It's slightly disappointing.

BULA!

2008-04-19T15:36:00.001-06:00

Well, saying goodbye to Invercargill was a bitter sweet experience. I was so sad to leave what had become my second home. The experiences I had and the friendships I made in New Zealand will never be forgotten.

After New Zealand I spent 5 days in Sydney, Australia. It was way fun but I got tired of seeing the same old buildings every day. I wanted to go out and see the bush a little bit but it was just too hard because we didn't have transportation. The Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are amazing. It was neat to actually be in Australia. Next we spent 2 days in Fiji. We stayed at a beach side resort and literally sat on the beach or by the pool for 2 days straight. Oh, except for the time we took a bus ride into town. Nadi (pronounced Nandi) is a small city; there is only one road through the entire place. All the Fijian's are so kind. Everywhere you go they greet you with a Bula! (which means hello). They live very simply in small homes with almost no posessions, and yet they are still happy.

Now I am home and anxious to get back to my normal life routine. When I got home I got a huge cuddle from my nephew Reid and then today I got one from Sammy and India too. I missed my neices and nephews like craz

Enjoy the Journey

2008-04-02T19:17:00.001-06:00

For the course of my stay here I have had the privilege of working with some of the greatest instructors out there. Our SIT outdoor recreation instructors have an amazing teaching style that I have never before experienced. They give us a surfboard, show us what to do and then send us on our way to do it. They don’t allow time for, I don’t think I can or I’m scared. They have complete confidence in us and our ability to figure things out. It’s not so much about getting from A to B with them, it’s about enjoying the journey. They say things like cool bananas, and that’s cool aye, and we’re just trees so you have to figure it out on your own.

We had an awesome chance this week to figure things out as a team on our own without the help of our instructors. They gave us a map, compass and a destination point and just let us decide where to go. It forced our groups to communicate and reach a consensus instead of just going off on our own way. I wasn’t allowed to be in front and take the lead which I am prone to do so it was really cool for me to step back and be a team member not a leader. I learned so much about team work and I have never been so proud of my group.

Day one was a beautiful tramp through the bush. When we arrived at our destination we made our own bivvy and we all crammed under it. It rained that first night and all the next day so we ended up soaked and freezing. Day 2 was a cold, wet and windy hike but we pushed on through the Spaniards and the Bush Lawyers. Night 2 was cold but not wet. The morning of Day 3 we awoke to a layer of frost on everything. My socks and hiking boots were so frozen it took about 5 minutes to get them on. My contact solution was frozen too. As soon as we started hiking though, the sun came up and our journey ended with beautiful weather.

Life is not about getting from point A to point B as fast as you can. Life is about learning how to enjoy the journey—given the elements and obstacles that hinder our way. When the rain comes you learn how to enjoy the journey wet. When you must move quickly but don’t want to, learn how to enjoy the journey at a faster pace. I believe that learning to enjoy the journey of life, to embrace trials and tribulations and poke them in the face (like the Spaniard bushes) is the best way to learn and grow and have a good life. It may not always be a happy life but learning to push on through the hard parts will make you stronger next time around.

Now that I have bush wacked, surfed, kayaked, and rock climbed I feel like I can do anything. Thanks to John Kappa and all the Adventure Southland boys for teaching me to enjoy the journey and allowing me figure out for myself that it actually works.

Culture At Its Finest

2008-04-02T19:02:00.006-06:00

Saturday all of the BYU students put on a Hangi and an Umu for the Branch and all of our Homestay families. It was one of my favorite experiences. I felt for the first time that I was actually able to dive into the native New Zealand and other Pacific Island cultures. The Hangi is the way that Maori people cook their meat and vegetables. They dig a large pit in the ground and fill it with wood and iron pieces. They heat all that stuff for a few hours and then place the pig and other vegetables on top and fill the pit up again. It becomes a huge underground oven. It takes about 4 hours to cook and the meat tastes really smoky and good. The Umu is the Samoan way of cooking the meat and vegetables. It’s essentially the same thing only it is done above ground on hot rocks and then covered with wet newspaper. We had some Maori and Samoan people from the branch helping us know what to do. Traditionally the men kill the pig, gut the pig and prepare the fire while the women cut vegetables, make stuffing and steamed pudding.

It was supposed to rain all day Saturday which would have really slowed the cooking process down. Our friend Brother Nau Nau asked us to pray that it would at least not rain until after they heated up the rocks and wood. So we did and lo and behold our Heavenly Father blessed us with much more than we asked. It was such a beautiful hot, sunny day right up until we pulled the meat out of the pit and the umu. God hears and answers prayers. I think it was Brother Nau Nau’s unwavering faith, but he thinks it was ours.

There was an awesome variety show for people to enjoy as they ate the food. My favorite part was the Maori and Samoan singing and dancing that the natives did. It was inspiring and filled my heart with so much love for the people and their culture. I actually got to learn a poi dance (with a poi ball that I made) and performed it with some of the other girls from the program.
It was only kind of hard to eat the pork after watching the gutting process in the morning. I have a lot of really nasty intestine pictures if anyone wants them.

Tramping and Caving but Not Hunting Eggs

2008-03-25T20:45:00.003-06:00

Raise your hand if you got almost a week off of school and work because of Easter. In New Zealand, Good Friday is a public holiday so nothing is open. On Saturday things stay open until about noon. The Monday after Easter they decided to make a public holiday as well and then they take an extra day just to rejuvenate, so Tuesday we didn’t have school either. That means Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are all dedicated to the celebration of Easter—as it should be I think.

The pace of life in New Zealand is so much slower and more relaxed that I think they search for reasons to have another public holiday. Although to some that might sound like the equivalent of laziness, the Kiwi’s seem to have a much higher quality of life than most Americans. We need to slow down and take a chill pill every now and then. It’s amazing how much we try to shove into our lives. We are masters at managing our time well which only means that we can find ways to cram more things into one day. It has been interesting not to have a cell phone. We are required to be more reliable because there is no way to get hold of someone if we decide not to come to Rugby night or something like that. I just hope I can find ways to bring this lifestyle back home.

I went tramping for 3 days and 2 nights on a track called Kepler. The weather was beautiful and the 60 kilometer hike quite nice. On day 2 we were hiking up the mountain with 50-60 mph winds to help us along. At times we had to sit down because we were getting blown off the track which was surrounded on either side by drop-offs. I felt something like a soldier as I quickly responded to calls such as “down!” and ‘go go go!”. When the wind got so strong that it was blowing Mark Widmer off the cliff he would tell us to sit down and we waited for a lull in the winds at which point we stood up and ran as fast as we could. My camera was out of batteries so I wasn’t able to take pictures but I did get some from my friends that went. The people we met while staying in the huts became our good mates. We played cards together and talked about Mormon’s and our beliefs. People who travel are so interesting. They’re all in the same boat just trying to make friends and connections to help them along their way. There is a feeling of, “let’s help each other” among these travelers. I love it.

I Will Rock You

2008-03-16T19:41:00.005-06:00

This was an incredible week for me. Monday morning we drove 4 hours with our class instructors to a place called Wanaka. We had a camp site right on a beautiful lake. In the evenings it would get really windy and the lake would form mini waves to make it look like the ocean. At night the sky was so clear we could see millions of stars. The Milky Way Galaxy was vibrant as well as some other galaxy clusters. We could see Orion’s Belt except it’s upside down here. The second night I slept outside beneath the stars and had the most peaceful sleep.

During the day we went out rock climbing. On Day 2 it kept switching back and forth between rain and sunshine literally every ½ an hour or so. Since New Zealand is a long skinny island surrounded by water the weather changes quickly. It would start to rain so I put all my warm rain gear on and about 5 minutes later the sun would be out and I'd take my gear off just to put it on after another 15 mintues. It was funny.

Day 3 we were out climbing as the sun was rising. It was miraculous. I really enjoy rock climbing and the scenery provided made it even better. I climbed this giant cliff called Tombstone. Once I made it to the top I clipped into a safety line and off of my belayer to just sit there until the next climber came up. It was such a peaceful feeling to be on top of a 50 foot cliff that I had just climbed.

I guess Utah has some of the best climbing and I have never taken advantage of it. Luckily I made some friends here who have gear back home so as long as we stay friends I've got the hook ups. It can be a pretty expensive hobby. I will say that the most essential of climbing gear equipment is a good pair of climbing shoes. I guess a rope, harness and a belayer would be good too, but man those climbing shoes make a huge difference.

Here's to Us

2008-03-05T21:30:00.002-07:00

Have you ever had those times in your life when you just want to do something really challenging? Something that will press your buttons in every way, that will make you cry and shout for joy at the same time? Try throwing 34 college aged students into a new home, new school and new country. Start your challenge by shoving them in 3 small vans and all their bags in 3 small trailers to drive through the country in 2 weeks. Make it harder by telling them they have to pack all their stuff for the next 2 weeks in one bag and the rest of the stuff goes in another bag that they can’t get into until the 2 weeks are up.

You can imagine that after 2 weeks of being in the same van with the same people, having forgotten your Sunday clothes or your shampoo in your other bag that you can’t get into, life would be slightly irritating. This is how it was for us the first two weeks after arriving to New Zealand. We were definitely ready to get out of the vans and away from our annoying van mates and our mean old fart of a driver (of course I’m talking about the drivers in general not just you Jakapo J ) It is funny though that as much as we were ready to get away from each other, I frequently hear things like, “I wish our school groups weren't split up, I miss the other half of our group!” or, “oh my gosh I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” We now find ourselves making up excuses for the whole group to get together.

These 33 people, plus Mark and his fam, have become my family over the past 2 months. Each of us are different and each of us are so important to making this the optimal experience.

Among all of us there are heaps of experiences, hardships, weaknesses, strengths, humor, talents and not to mention volume. There is always something to laugh about when 2 or more of us are together. I have really been amazed as I watch our group interact with the people here in the community, in the branch, and other strangers we meet as we travel. There is so much kindness and fun lovin’. I have seen our ability to touch lives individually and collectively.

I just wanted to give this shout out to my new family and thank you all for your examples. I have a learned something uniquely wonderful from all of you and feel gratitude for the opportunity to be here with you. Life is good here isn’t it?

Arohanui to you all!

2008-02-28T17:46:00.002-07:00

It seems a strange phenomena that I often find myself struggling to understand the New Zealanders even though we speak the same language. Sometimes asking a Kiwi to repeat something leaves you even more confused than you were before they repeated it. I find the best way to communicate is to periodically ask them to spell whatever the heck they just said. The only problem with that is if you are talking to a Kiwi who can't spell.

Communicating becomes much easier after you learn the differences in what things are called. For example if a kiwi says, Grab your jandals and your togs and I'll meet you at the beach, they mean, Grab your sandals and your swimming suit and I'll meet you at the beach.

Sometimes they throw out phrases like "sweet as mate" (no I did not spell that middle word wrong). Sweet As means : I confirm that whatever you are proposing is good. They don't have friends here they have mates.

If you choose to wave at someone on the street they might say something like, "how you goin?" That does not mean what form of transportation are you using to get from here to wherever you are going, it just means how are you.

If someone asks you if want some chips don't expect them to hand you a bag of your favorite sour cream and cheddar chips. Instead, they'll hand you french fries.

If you had a lot of shoes in your closet don't tell a kiwi " I have lots of shoes in my closet" say, " I have heaps of shoes in my closet."

Candy is called Lollies, and 'good on you' is a way to congratulate on a job well done.

I'm starting to catch on, slowly and will probably have it down by the time I get home. I love the Kiwi language. :)

ARe you Read for a TIM TAM SLAM?

2008-02-19T13:38:00.005-07:00

Last week we had Tim Tam Slam Tuesday. Tim Tam's are really good chocolate cookies filled with chocolate or caramel or raspberry or anything really. THey're native to New Zealand. This is how you have a TIm Tam Slam Party:

First, you ride your bikes to your friends house and park them in the back.

Next, you whip out the Tim Tams

Get the Milo. Milo is an energy drink that all Kiwi kids love. It's basically chocolate milk. You heat up the water and put a couple spoonful's of Milo in the cup and stir it up.

Next you add cold milk so the milo is the perfect temperature and creaminess.

You then proceed to bite off two diagonal ends of your favorite Tim Tam.

Dip the Tim Tam in your Milo and suck through it, using it as a straw. Once the Tim Tam becomes slightly melted, eat it and ENJOY.

Most people think this is the best way to enjoy a Tim Tam. I think it makes for a great party at Helen's, but I prefer my Tim Tam's hard and crunchy, not soggy.

2008-02-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

click here to see photos

Well my first week in Invercargill has been so eventful! The first day I got here I went to the river and showed off my knee-boarding skills to a bunch of old (by old I mean in their 30's) men who were saying knee boarding from the middle of the lake instead of the shore was too hard. I showed them! I biked to the beach (9 miles) and back, swam with dolphins and met some of the most interesting people in my life! On Sunday I played the piano in Sacrament Meeting for my first time. I was really nervous but my new friend Tori (she is 3 years old) Walked up and sat right down beside me and began playing the closing Hymn with me. It was really funny and nobody could hear my mistakes over her pounding! I ride my bike everywhere including church and most of the time I like it. The bruises on my butt are almost healed. We had a picnic with the branch yesterday where I did a sack race, egg throw, wheel-barrow race, and 3 legged race (which are all things I haven't done in a long time!) We played volleyball with the branch on Friday for 3 hours--volleball with the polynesians is BRUTAL! But it was fun. I learned how to play touch Rugby and I ate pavlova. It's a dessert that tasts like foam with cream and fruit on top.

Tomorrow will be my real day of Adventure New Zealand 101. We're doing confidence exercises in the pool and then by next week we'll be learning kayaking, surfing, rock climbing and tramping.

I live with the sweetest lady in the world. Helen von Randow is her name and she is magical. She cooks the best meals and has the most interesting life history. She's so sweet to Janessa (my flatmate) and I, we really love her. I have some pictures of her home and our room and her dogs. Janessa fell on a slide in Christchurch and got her tooth knocked out--it was really funny. She has a temporary denture for now and will fix her self permanently once we get home. The weather here is beautiful! I love every minute of it!

Kia Ora, I am a Kiwi

2008-01-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

Alright I have 30 minutes of free wireless internet. This is what I've done this week: Went Blackwater Tubing in Waitomo (tubing through caves), watched a gigantic rabbit get sheared, went zorbing (explained below), hiked the trails of Mordor and saw Mount Doom, went to Church in a tiny branch and had kena afterwards (sea eggs and the most disgusting thing in my life), went to the toilet instead of the bathroom, and threw my garbage away in the rubbish bin, took a ferry ride, went luging (lugeing?), saw an official Maori Haka done at the Maori welcoming ceremony by real Maori's, and learned how to play a 4 chord progession on the guitar.

A Maori Warrior on his canoe carved out of a tree. They said the uglier the better. He looks pretty ugly.
Me with my hair blowing in the wind as I ride the ferry to cross to the South Island.
This is Zorbing. Katie Jo, Marcie and I got in that giant hamster ball that they filled with water, and rolled down the hill! This picture shows Jacapo and Ramsay getting run over by the ball which we all got to do. It was A LOT of fun-worth all $44 New Zealand Dollars.
This is the LDS temple in Hamilton. I was trying to do a cool thing where the flowers are clear and the temple is blurry in the background and it worked. It was a small temple but way pretty. New Zealand is in a draught, no rain for over 30 days, so things aren't as lush and green as usual.
This is me in front of Mount Doom on the path of Mordor. Probably the hardest 12 mile hike I've ever done in my life, and the most spiritual as well.

This is the gigantic rabbit. Well it's only gigantic until they stretch it out and shear it, then it's really skinny. Did you know that rabbits cool through their ears? They get really hot with so much fur and will die if they get too hot or if their ears get covered.
This is Kena. After church the Branch President and the rest of the branch took us out to the parking lot and whipped these babies out. We all sat around and talked and ate Kena or sea eggs. It was so disgusting. The minute I put it in my mouth I wanted to throw it back up; but they love it! It was a really fun after church activity.

Elder Hanson and some branch members eating Kena.

So basically I am having a blast. I love everyone and every minute. I have never felt so close to Heaven as I do when I'm here. Heavenly Father really loves New Zealand. I have to run but I love you all!!!!

Day 1: Airplanes and Auckland

2008-01-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

Obviously I don't have any really cool pictures yet because we've just been on airplanes and driving from the airport in Auckland to a hotel but I've already taken a lot of pictures. The weirdest thing is people driving on the different side of the road. I got my permit to drive a 12 passenger van so I'm going to practice on some back roads. Not only is it the wrong side and a giant van, the van's are manual transmission. SWEET! I'm having fun already. I feel relaxed here. The air is great and everything is so green. It's a little cloudy but the weather feels great! My friend Maggie and I packed 24 suitcases in that tiny trailer. It was a great accomplishment. The top picture is just on the side of the road.Until next time!

Too Lazy

2007-12-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

If you had to pack 4 months of your life in 2 suitcases what would you bring? Keep in mind that you have to make room for your tent, sleeping bag, wet suit, hiking boots, and nalgene bottles (16 oz.). Also keep in mind that you can buy a lot of things once you get down there like a blow dryer so you're not bringing that. What would you bring?

I'm done with school for the semester except for finals that is. I'm headed out of the country Jan. 10th but first my ENTIRE family is coming to visit after Christmas. I can't wait because that only happens like once a year.

Kameron is doing well. He's serving in a town called Cameron, Missouri. Ironic isn't it? Basically he's excited about being a missionary. I was a good little "girlfriend" and sent him a Christmas package which he thoroughly enjoyed. Cameron is a pretty small town: population is 10,000 4,000 of which live in the prison. Down Town Cameron looks like my backyard with an automart and post office put in it but mostly it looks beautiful. Kam got to go to Far West the other week at night with just he and his companion. Far West is one of the early settlements that a lot of the Mormon pioneers or the parents lived in during the early days of the church. Kameron said he could feel a great spirit about the place considering it's historical significance to our church.

No pictures. I'm too lazy.

You're So Vain

2007-11-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

I got a new haircut. I like it.

I wasn't ready for this one (above)... how can you not be ready for a picture when you take it yourself?

Beautiful Blogger Girl

2007-11-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

I needed something cool to post on my blog so last night I went to a Thai dessert party. It was at my friend Jenna's apartment. She works with me at the good ole' HBLL. Anyway I told her I was going to bring my camera for a new blog post so right when I walked in she took my camera and took a picture of me and these strangers. I guess they aren't strangers because I had known them for a whole 3 seconds. One of them called me beautiful blogger girl. It was great because I always struggle trying to find a title for my post and that was perfect. Fitting isn't it? :) Anyway, the dessert was really good and then I stayed up with Jenna and her roommate Lindsay watching 13 going on 30. I haven't stayed out that late in about 3 1/2 months. When you have a boyfriend with a mission call who was asked to be in at 10:30 everynight by his stake president, you don't have many late night movies like that. I don't have a letter from Kam yet but it should come in the mail today!

This is my new Post

2007-11-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well I have been having a lot of fun lately. My family signed up to have a 14 year old Japanese student stay at our house for a week. His name is Yuya and we really enjoyed him! He brought us Japanese food and candy and tried to teach us how to do Oragami. We went laser tagging, bowling, and to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point while he was here. He really liked playing card games with us and dad said he loved pancakes. We told him to come visit us again sometime and he said "okay, and you come visit me in Japan sometime." That would be fun. Caleb, Yuya and I carved pumpkins together. You can probably tell from the picture who did which pumpkin.

Kameron leave for the MTC on Wednesday! I can't believe it is finally here! I've been anticipating this day for over 2 years now. I'm sad but I'm not sad at the same time. How can I be sad that he is leaving to serve a mission? I know the Lord has a great work in store for Kameron. But I'm going to miss him. We went shot-gun shooting yesterday. I liked it, but I didn't like the sore shoulder I had afterwards. I'm not very good at shooting. I might have hit 2 clay pigeons but we couldn't tell if it was me or not. We also went to the BYU football game on Saturday. It was Kameron's last football game for 2 years. He was really happy to go and I was happy to be there with him.

I only have a month and a week left of this semester, and 2 months from next saturday until I leave for New Zealand. A couple who lived in New Zealand for 18 months came to our prep class and showed us pictures of the area we'll be living in and of people in the branch. It made me even more anxious to be there. I'm excited to learn to love the people in Invercargill and the people from BYU who are going with me.

This is Kameron, his brothers and one brother-in-law. They were heel-clicking so we took a picture. Talk about a manly thing to do at the shooting range. :)

Me Jumping.

Kameron got a 12 gauge shotgun for his birthday. He is the one closest to the camera, his sister Lexi is in the middle and then in the back is his brother Seth. Seth was bald when he came home from his mission and so was their oldest brother. Kam doesn't have a chance.
Kameron and I went 4-wheeling with his parents last week. It's hunting season so we had to wear orange! Kameron's shirt is very attractive don't you think?

I was a butterfly for Halloween and Kam was a redneck cowboy. This is us at Kameron's house with our good friend Mickey and his girlfriend Kiana.
The one in the middle is Yuya's. Doesn't it look like a Japanese pumpkin?

Sisters

2007-10-19T14:48:00.000-06:00

I made this in Photoshop because I was bored. I wrote the poem all by myself. I had to say that or else someone might think I plagerized seeing as how the quality of my poem is high. If you click on it you'll see a more clear picture.

Link

2007-10-17T15:12:00.000-06:00

I posted a link to a website on the side of my blog (under Visit these other blogs) that will tell you what time it is and what the weather will be like where I'll be in Invercargill New Zealand. Obviously I'm not there yet but you can refer to that often once I leave so you never miss me too much.

I'm a Movie Star: No Really.

2007-10-01T19:36:00.000-06:00

Last week the YSA in my home stake had an Academy Awards night. The week before we got in groups and filmed movies to watch and judge at the Academy Awards. I edited my movie and it got best overall film AND I got best actress. The Academy Awards were spray painted Mrs. Butterworths (which came filled to the brim with syrup.) It was a lot of fun. I put tons of work into getting the decorations, flyer, and movie ready, but I'd say it was worth it. Oh AND I was defintely the best looking one there. Just kidding. I used the grandkid's dress up gloves and mom's spare sun glasses and gaudy rings to top the outfit off.

I purchased a wetsuit for $33.40 off ebay, a zero degree mummy bag on sale for $20.00 and my next buy is hiking boots. Hopefully there won't be much more to buy after that. I'm getting really good deals though because I don't care so much about the brand like some people in the group do. This is a picture of my actual sleeping bag.

Kameron bought me the new Rascal Flatts cd and I'm in heaven. I listen to it at least twice a day so I can master all the songs. If you are from Utah (or if you are my dad) you will probably have a hard time saying the name of this album: Still Feels Good. Or is it Still Fills Good or Steel Fills Good or Steel Feels Good? Kameron was lucky he got the cd on sell, I mean sale.

The other day I was walking down the stairs at the library to go into my office. I looked over at the bathrooms and saw a girl walking out of the girls bathroom....and then I saw an old man walking out right behind her. He walked out the door and made the turn into the boys bathroom. It's a mistake we've all made right? I don't know why but it was hilarious. I think it was the look on the man's face. He was wearing a Mr. Roger's jacket with his pants up past his belly button and just a hint of a smirk. It made my day. It just reminded me of the time I went into the men's bathroom at the movie theater just 2 years ago. The people outside tried to warn me but it wasn't until I saw the urinals that I knew I was in the wrong place. Luckily the bathroom was empty.