Mocktail from Now On

Last night Jessie and I had a combined birthday party.

It. was. awesome.

Fairly simple, but I think it turned out pretty well. We told everyone it was 1920s themed, and that we would be serving mocktails. So basically we dressed up and drank virgin pina coladas and strawberry daquiries, and had a great time. :)

Jessie and I wore tiaras. It was our birthdays, after all.

Us with a few dapper gentlemen who stopped in.

Something Positive

Earlier today a friend and I were discussing the content of our blog posts and I realized I should post something positive. The last few posts have been rather somber. Or at least less than cheerful.

Things have actually been pretty good lately, outside of dating anyway. Just a short few points on the matter- I have had the opportunity to run into a couple close friends I haven't seen in a while, and when the question inevitably comes up (not that I'm avoiding it- I obviously love the topic of dating and what I do and don't love about it) it's slightly comical because nothing. has. changed. The names are different but the situation is really the same: A few boys here and there- some I am interested in, some that are interested in me. That one that things almost happened with but it ended up not working out, which has caused a new list of self realizations and goals for next time. A few insignificant, but still worth mentioning updates on, long standing crushes in the mean time. Yep. Always the same.

In my classes we talk about data and the ability to predict the future with it. Somewhat cynically but mostly amused, based on the given data I can surmise what the coming semester will bring. Let us look forward to the same things! And so it goes. At least I always have a good story to tell!

In other news, my life has taken a turn for the awesome. A scary car wreck on Christmas Eve lead to a brand new car (as in, I am the first to drive it!) and an experience with the miraculous healing power of the priesthood. Long story short, I had whiplash that was so painful I was on the brink of tears all day every day. I received a blessing, and by the end of the next day, the pain was gone and hasn't returned since. Truth! (lds.org)

I LOVE love love my classes. Sociology is the best thing that has happened to me in terms of BYU classes, and I am also extremely pleased with my International Development minor. It is fascinating and I am always looking forward to lecture. I am glad I didn't just stick it out with one of the previous majors I tried simply because I am so legitimately pleased with this course of study. So what I'll be almost 25 when I get my undergrad- I will be as happy as can be on my way there. :)

Also, I am still so in love with our little townhouse. And my roommates are awesome- 4 rad RMs just living life.

And lastly- the last district I had was probably the most adoring I've had yet. That's not my goal for them- I of course want them to grow as missionaries and develop their testimonies as much as possible. But I do kind of love when they love me. :) This is one of the comments one of the missionaries left that made me laugh and think, "Haha yes, I love this part of my job."

"Sister De Arton is the absolute best teacher that the MTC has! She made my experience the best experience possible at the MTC. She listened to the spirit and "punched my soul" (in a good way) with the spirit. I loved having class with her every day!"

So, all in all, I have much to be grateful for. And at least my little baby missionaries always provide some sunshine. :)

Feelings Talk

I think emotions are ridiculous. And interesting (hence my studying people and how they work). A conclusion that my roommates and I have come to is that you cannot control how you feel, but you can control what you do with those feelings. I personally don't trust my feelings unless they endure for more than a week. Sometimes I feel like my emotions are like the weather- it can be sunny, rainy, or perhaps a thunderstorm, but you wouldn't really know if it was summer or winter unless it was sunny consistently, or the snow stayed. Sometimes it rains in the middle of summer, and sometimes winter surprises us with a warm day. Enough with the metaphors- the point is that I am ridiculous, and rarely even take myself seriously so I would hope others wouldn't either.

I think that's about all I had to say. I felt a lot of emotions this week, but I've just come to the conclusion, again, that it's important to wait things out before taking action. This week has lead to a solid bit of disappointment, but I think it would have been less disappointing had I been more patient and waited for things to endure before taking them seriously. So, lesson learned, again, and here's  to a brighter tomorrow.

Even if we have to learn the same lessons we've learned before, at least it's some sort of progress. It's tempting to be irritated with myself for my delayed ability to catch on, but that too will pass, and everything will be alright.

Too Much Awesome

A nice quote for you: "Every person is different and has a different contribution to make. No one is destined to fail." -President Henry B. Eyring

On I think Tuesday night, I went over to Brock's and we had one of our deep/interesting conversations. As we mentioned to his roommate's girlfriend, our conversations usually entail how pleased I am with my hair or a new cardigan, his latest idea for a good date, and maybe a spiritual tidbit or two. This week, however, our conversations have included how to have an increase of the Spirit into our lives so that we can be the sort of people that radiate goodness, and stem cell research. I know, the connection is so clear.

So anyway, in our discussion of having an increase of the Spirit, we talked about how much more awesome your life is when you do things God's way. So, that became the goal: to make life awesome.

Here's the crazy thing- it worked! I started looking for opportunities to be good. I figure you can't radiate goodness if you're not doing and thinking good things, so that became my mission. It was nothing major- just holding doors open, smiling more, having a better attitude when driving, little things like that. As I've tried to be a little more good, however, I have been amazed at the change that's taken place within myself. First of all, I'm in a way better mood. And I have found that being in a good mood makes all of my stresses a lot less weighty. I get less headaches, and it's easier to live with myself.

Also- and this is what matters most to me currently- work has been going so well! I was really worried about my missionaries because things were good, but I knew they could be better. It was stressful because I really didn't know what to do, and as their teacher, I felt a lot of personal responsibility. I'm sure there are multiple factors, but as I've tried to make my life more awesome, or more filled with goodness, I've been a lot more inspired as to what I can do to help my missionaries. It has been great.

So, this week has been really good. And I like feeling like I'm doing good things. The only bad thing is that I woke up today feeling rather ill. Perhaps I just wasn't used to the awesomeness that was this week. So, I'm sleeping it off today, and hoping to gear up for another awesome week. Which, it is finals week, so... I better go back to bed.

Lashes, Laughter, and Prose

I have made some recent discoveries, or at least had them recently confirmed, on what I am looking for in a man.

But first, let's start with what I am not looking for. I placed prose in the title because it is important to me that a man be intelligent on paper. I understand that spelling and grammar may not be everyone's forte. However, it will take some strong positive traits for me to overlook the wrong your/you're.

On to the positive. Someone who can make me laugh, sincerely, wins my heart every time. Marilyn Monroe once said that if you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything. I'm not sure what she was insinuating, but humor is my love language more than anything else.

Anything else, that is, except for eye lashes. Long eye lashes literally make me weak in the knees.

I just paused for a good 3 minutes just thinking about boys with long lashes.

That is all.

Run It Out

I have a couple of ever-present goals in life. Of course the ultimate goal is charity, but in the mean time I am also striving to be legitimate, classy, and a master of my own emotions. The first- legitimacy- is just that whatever I do, I'd like to do it well. Whether my job is to add toppings to waffles or help missionaries prepare to teach the Gospel, it's important to me to leave a respectable impression. The second- being classy- is really just because I love tasteful people. And let's get real, every girl secretly wishes to be classified with Audrey Hepburn.

       
     Yes I know, I'm almost there. You've met your match, Audrey.


Anyway, the third mentioned goal- master of my own emotions! is slightly tricky because they keep changing. What once bothered me affects me no longer, and what I was once indifferent to now leaves me rather ruffled. This also ties into handling difficult situations well. For example, tonight a sister in the mtc was talking about some rather non-missionary related topics in the hallway. I pulled her aside and honestly gently corrected her. It was crazy- the tension immediately became so thick I could have cut it with a knife. (Luckily they don't let us bring those to work) Thankfully, I remained quiet while she went off on who knows what and told me it wasn't my place to correct her. (Here's the crazy thing- it's not only my place, it's my job chica) She said her piece, I encouraged her to read the white handbook (a booklet of guidelines for missionaries), she went off again, and then stormed away. I was so stunned after she left that I sat down for a solid 2-3 minutes and just stared at my computer screen. I had definitely held my ground when talking, or listening rather, with her, but afterward was just shocked. I think an earlier version of myself would have snapped back and come up with a few clever zingers to make her feel stupid, but I didn't. I barely said anything. And I wanted to cry a little bit- she was so mean! But- I thought to myself- crying will not only ruin my makeup, it will give me a headache. Running, however, will make me feel great and allow me a healthier option for sorting my thoughts. So, off to the BYU indoor track I went. Thankfully, I had the foresight this morning to pack a gym bag in case... well just in case I needed to run. I will never go without it again as it was a lifesaver today! I have had a few things on my mind lately (Let's get real, I always have a "few things on my mind") and so running was perfect. As I continued lap after lap in my earphone-induced solitude, I just ran it out. School, roommates, dating, not dating, good missionaries, bad missionaries, church callings, and then that old familiar feeling whenever I go to a gym- the good old glory days. And I always think the same thing, "I loved being fast. I should get fast again. Everyone has to start somewhere- from where I'm at is totally possible. I'm going to get fast again." As these thoughts progressed, they made their way back to this missionary, and the other things weighing on my mind. And it brought me back to a commitment to excellence. No one can stop me from being fast except me, and I also can't be stopped when it comes to standing for what is right. Because I am excellent, and I handle things well. Or will soon.

Thank You, Mr. Gardener

This story has always been especially powerful for me. It's likely so poignant just because it hits home. I always tend to feel so entitled to having things my way that when something disrupts me, I'm almost offended. It's like I can't believe life has the nerve to not go the way I want it to. So, as I'm sure you can imagine, this concept of God being in control and me learning through trials is something I learn fairly often. It's good though. Life would be much less interesting if we ever arrived instead of experiencing a constant progression. And now for one of my favorite quotes:

"If you seek praise more than instruction, you may receive neither." -Henry B. Eyring