Happiness in Poetry and Song

I actually already posted this on my other blog, but I'm pretty sure happiness is something we can never have too much of. So I'm posting it again. Anyway, this semester I am taking a poetry class and we had to read a myriad of poems and then choose one to which we would write a response of sorts. I really liked one called The Secret by Denise Levertov.

The Secret


Two girls discover
the secret of life
in a sudden line of
poetry.

I who don't know the
secret wrote
the line. They
told me

(through a third person)
they had found it
but not what it was
not even

what line it was. No doubt
by now, more than a week
later, they have forgotten
the secret,

the line, the name of
the poem. I love them
for finding what
I can't find,

and for loving me
for the line I wrote,
and for forgetting it
so that

a thousand times, till death
finds them, they may
discover it again, in other
lines

in other
happenings. And for
wanting to know it,
for

assuming there is
such a secret, yes,
for that
most of all. 


And here's my attempt at poetry...


In response to:
The Secret

There is a truth
universally known:
We want what we 
can't have.

Ageless beauty, endless life
sought after by all
and lost looking for
the Fountain of Youth

Temporary fix, forgotten troubles
late nights drowning in that liquid gold
but with the morning light
regret comes knocking.

Every cupboard and corner
is meticulously scoured
searching for that awe-inspiring treasure:
the key to happiness.

It is accepted 
that such a thing
does not exist
but...what if?

What if there was
a key to happiness, a secret
and we could have it?
Would we take it?

What if happiness was 
as simple as 
loving your neighbor:
your friends, your family, your God?

What if happiness was 
not about having what you want
but wanting what you have?
What if.


Well there you have it, my first poem of the semester. Keep in mind it's only a rough draft. Anyway, hope you liked it! Smile and be happy today! Remember, your Heavenly Father loves you and is always there for you if only you're willing to ask. President Obama gave a very good quote during his inaugural address. He said, "We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." That's how our Heavenly Father works. He is willing to help us, he is begging for us tolet him help us, carry us even. We just have to ask and allow Him into our lives. If you need a little something else to brighten your day, play the following song. It's a sure-fire way to put that extra bounce in your step and give you that feeling of "I'm awesome and I can do this!" 

Make it a great day! =)

Life. Is. Wonderful. =)

So classes have started up again, and I have been so insanely busy and stressed that I don't even know what to do with myself. And it's only been one week. Basically, I am going to have absolutely no life this semester as I will be locked away studying. Don't believe me? I'm a sophomore. I only have 3 1/2, 4 years of Spanish under my belt. And I am supposed to have a 15 minute presentation on 16th century literature. In Spanish. I am the only one in my Spanish class that isn't a senior, a "super senior" (an undergrad of 5+ years), or a grad student and hasn't been to another country to study abroad. And they are complaining that it's tough for them. Anyway, this all had me so stressed I was about in tears so I called my mom and vented to her. I didn't know what to do, what if I wasn't taking my education/life in the right direction? She asked if I had prayed about it and I told her I had...sorta. Okay, I'll admit, I hadn't prayed about it as much as I should have and I know I didn't listen the way I needed to. So, for the rest of the week I prayed and fasted hardcore. However, I still didn't know. This happens to me a lot. I once had a talk with the sister missionaries and they told me that, sometimes, the Lord let us figure it out on her because that was his way of letting us know that he trusts our decisions. So, finally, I decided that this must be one of those times and I made a decision that I felt good about. (Which was switching my major to Journalism and minoring in Spanish.) I had a nice little conversation with my Heavenly Father and told him what I had decided to do (even though he already knows) and asked for him to please just let me know afterward if I had made the right choice or not. I went and got my file from the College of Arts and Sciences and talked to a few advisers, made my way to the College of Journalism, and let them know that I would like to switch colleges. They let me talk to a man who was an adviser of sorts in the Journalism field. My main concern was whether or not any of my generals would still apply since I was switching colleges or if the past year had been a complete waste of time. Turns out, all of them transferred! I hadn't wasted a dime! We then covered all of the areas I needed to study and how long it would take me and when we got to foreign language he asked how many years I had in high school. I told him three and then some last year too. So he went to the highest Spanish section on the sheet of paper and said "I'm guessing you're in 202 then right?" "Well, no. I'm actually in 311 and 314." "Good grief, girl!!" He exclaimed as he scribbled out the whole segment "That's the highest anyone has ever been in this college! Ever!" That made me feel pretty good. =) I then asked him if there was any chance of getting more scholarships in this college. I had a pretty decent ACT score and my first adviser told me that I probably could have gotten a fairly good sized scholarship for it had I not been in the College of Arts and Sciences: it is too large. He told me that I had a very good chance of getting that scholarship, which is basically a full ride, when the Spring semester came around. He said that it was perfect timing because if I had waited until next semester to switch I wouldn't have had that opportunity and I would have to wait until next year to even be considered. I asked him if there were any journalism classes that I could start taking now even though classes started a week ago. He said, unfortunately they were all full but there was poly-sci that was required and the professor had just said that he wanted two more students to join his class. Perfect! He won't be upset with me for missing the first week because he asked for two more! And que suerte that I was one of the first ones to get in there so I didn't miss my chance! Am I just that awesome with my timing that everything lined up perfectly? Definitely not. Heavenly Father had a hand in all of this and I feel amazing about this decision. It's like a weight is gone. I am much less stressed because I no longer feel like like I'm wandering aimlessly trying to figure out where to go with my life. I made the change I needed to make and everything fell into place. I cannot deny His hand in this, in all of my life. I am thrilled about life right now and nothing can possibly bring me down.

Here Comes the Sun =)

So today was my first day of classes...it was lovely. I wrote all about it on my new blog,http://theyellowglove.blogspot.com/2011/08/first-day-of-classes-clearly-success.html, Most definitely a must read. Check it out because I'm too lazy to write it all out again. Last night as I lay in my very own bed in my very own apartment, I was scared. I didn't want to start all over again, especially without Seth. As I awoke this morning though, everything seemed better. Isn't it amazing how sunshine and a little sleep can really brighten your outlook on life? Today I feel much more confident and I know, I know, I can do this. I will do this, and I will do it well. This song is my anthem for today:

Thank you, sun. You make the world a much better place. =)

Wisdom Teeth=Date??

The other day I got my wisdom teeth out. All four of them. (^^Notice the puffy cheeks ^^) The laughing gas made me cry, no clue why, it was actually kinda embarrassing because I don't like crying...and I had no good reason...and I couldn't control it. Apparently the chemicals have different effects on different people and that's happened before, so that made me feel a little better. So there I am with a fat numb face and I feel like I'm drooling, attractive right? So I wipe it off only to realize it's blood. Anyone who knows me knows I do not do well with my own blood. *Breath* Okay. I got this. I go to change the gauze and suddenly I know...I am going to pass out. (This has happened plenty of times over the past 19 years so, by now, I recognize the feeling.) I warn my aunt "I'm gonna pass out I'm gonna pass out I'm gonna pass out," and then I'm out like a light. She's never seen this before, so of course she's panicking until my mom gets out to the van. (She had run into Walmart to grab me an ice pack for my swollen cheeks.) Anyway, I woke back up and everything was fine, no big deal.

 So we get home, I take some ibuprofen, and a few hours later I get asked out. Twice. I mean, I have spent time and hung out with some really nice, awesome guys since Seth left, but I wouldn't consider those dates. They didn't actually plan something and take me out, we just chilled. I have agreed to go on dates, (it's a hard thing for me to turn down a nice guy who got up the nerve to ask me, a frightening girl, to dinner or a movie), but things never seemed to work out. Quite honestly, I always had some sort of excuse to why I couldn't follow through. I guess I wasn't really ready. So now I just got my wisdom teeth pulled and all of a sudden I get asked out twice in the same night. And it was a Wednesday night. Strange? I thought so. Well I agreed to go to a movie with a RM who used to serve here after warning him that he was taking out a chipmunk, not a person. Afterward he took me to get ice cream since I couldn't eat anything else. And you know what? It was fun. I am not interested in him in that way and he is not interested in me, we are just friends, which is great. In fact, half of the time we talked about Seth. Lovely date I'd say. No pressure, no confusion, just two friends hanging out and for a first date in a long time...that ain't too bad. =)

A Connection!!! =) =)

So about a month ago this random guy added me on facebook, well I had no clue who it was, so I rejected his friend request. Then I got a letter from Seth telling me about this guy down there in Argentina who is thinking about going on a mission and he was saying how cool he was and all that jazz and then he said he was trying to add me on facebook but couldn't. Well that's because I accidentally rejected the guy. lol Soo, as I was SUPER excited to have this connection with Seth, I immediately got on facebook and added this fellow. I apologized for rejecting him, explaining that I didn't know who he was at first. Now I am talking to him and it is so great!!! It's so exciting to be able to hear from someone who knows Seth and sees him on a regular basis!! =D =D  I think I had a minor heart attack when I saw Omar returned my message. In case you can't read this....

He said that Seth was the best missionary he had ever met in his life! 'Atta boy =) =) So proud of him!

Weird/Happy

I stole this idea from a girl I know, actually, I don't know her. I just blog lurk on her blog. Anyway, I wanted to do it. Here are 7 weird things about me and 7 things that make me happy...

Weird
1. I love old books. Almost to an obsession. I think they're beautiful and I try to imagine who else has held those books in their hands, what their life was like. Seth and I once went through the library at UNL and searched for the oldest book...I don't remember what the publishing date was anymore but it was old.

2. I love being sore. You're probably thinking okay, what kind of psycho is this? It's true though! I love the feeling of my muscles aching, it means I have actually accomplished something, I have gotten better. I love having sweat drip down my face. Truth of the matter is, I love working out..once I actually start. I just hate getting up and getting going. It's true that the first step is the hardest part.

3. I hate the sound of fingernails on jeans. Not the stretchy comfy jeans, but the heavy denim that work jeans are made from. That sound of scratching on it just...ugh. Stimulates the gag reflex.

4. When I meet people the first two things I notice are their teeth and their eyes. I am a teeth freak. I brush my teeth for at least three minutes two to three times a day. I have had my braces off for a couple of years and I still wear my retainer all the time. Geeky? Maybe. Do I care? Nope. I'd rather have straight teeth.

5. I hate the feeling of wet grass on my bare feet. I love swimming and I love walking around with bare feet, I just do NOT like mixing them. What's an example of this horrible experience you may ask? Slip and slides. It's great while going down but as soon as you get off and the gross grass sticks all over you? Blech! Gag.

6.  I'm a little protective of my missionary. I don't like sharing him with too many people other than his family. I know, maybe I'm a bit of a freak but it hasn't always been that way, no. What changed things? Once Seth and I were sitting there and an old friend of his sent him a message asking if she could write him on his mission. He looked at me and asked if I cared and I said no, of course she could. She then proceeded to send a message that said "Okay great. Just don't tell your girlfriend." Omygoodness. That was not one of my favorite memories. Made me a little leery of sharing his address with others. So call me crazy for not wanting to share it when other girls ask for it...Call me crazier for doing it anyway because I feel guilty.

7. I randomly burst into song and dance on the spot as does the rest of my family. We have been told that we are like the Von Trapp family and that being at our house is like being in High School Musical. And you know what? I love it.

Happy
1. Being in the sun. I absolutely love the feeling after a day outside. It's brown and you can feel the heat radiating off of your skin. Ahh sweet summer time.

2. Making music videos. Ever want something to cheer you up? Grab some friends, put on some music and a crazy outfit and dance around in front of the camera. Never fails.

3. The gospel. Whether it's music, reading my scriptures, FHE, institute classes, going to church, it doesn't matter. It's an instant pick me up. Loove being a mormon. =)

4. Romantic comedies. What's better than a little love and a lot of laughs? Not a whole lot.

5. Good books. I love good books. I love reading. I used to get grounded from reading. What child gets grounded from expanding their mind? I did.

6. My family is absolutely amazing! They make me happy. They are my biggest support system. We are goofy and loud and I just love them.

7. Seth. Gosh, I cannot express how happy I am when I'm with him. One time we watched a scary movie except it wasn't very scary at all. I used to love scary movies. Not so much anymore, they just give me a creeped out feeling and that's what this movie did. I knew I would never be able to fall asleep because of this aura of creepiness. So, being the baby that I am, I asked Seth to stay with me a little longer until that feeling went away. I asked him to tell me something happy. He began to rub my back and then he said "Well, I'm going to marry you and we're going to be together for eternity." "Tell me more nice things." "We're going to start a family and someday we're going to be in our rocking chairs next to each other, still in love." And then, this boy of mine who refused to sing in front of people, usually even me, he began to hum. He hummed and rubbed my back and guess what? The creepy feeling went away. And I fell asleep. =) What a great guy.


P.S.- My little cousin just saw a picture of Seth and I and she asked, "Is that the one you are going to marry?" I said I hoped so. "Because you love him?" Yes. Yes I do. =D

P.P.S.- I keep procrastinating going to work because today is email day and I don't want to miss it. Can't I just tell my boss I don't want to work on Mondays because I have a very important date with my laptop and the refresh button? Would that be acceptable?

The Missionary's Girl

We are so much stronger than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. Hopefully this gives you strength and reminds you of exactly who you are!

The Missionary's Girl

Somewhere between the whirl of teen-age dates and the responsibility of matrimony, we find a lone creature called the Missionary's Girl.

They come in two varieties... engaged and hopefuls. They come in assorted sizes, weights, and colors, blue being the most common.

The missionary's girl is found at home, missing parties, staying away from dances, paying her own way to the movies, and buyingstationary by the gross.

Missionaries love them, young girls look up to them, parentstolerate them, postmen hate them, and weekly letters support them.

A missionary's girl is a composite. She has the appetite of a hormonally unstable 18-year-old girl, the enthusiasm of a wet noodle, the patience of Job, the persistence of a stainless steel salesman and the imagination of Scherazade.

She likes letters from the mission field, invitations to his home, long distance telephone calls, items for his scrapbook, pictures of him, and other girls who are waiting.

She isn't much for Saturday nights out on the town ; people who say, "Two years is a long time"; or “Don’t waste your time” or the classic “ so much can happen in two years” , new clothes with no one to wear them for; sad movies and music; movies with love scenes; knitting; wedding receptions; little sisters who date; calenders; and "Dear Janes."
A missionary's girl is an odd object: She can get lonesome, discouraged, and temporarily lose faith in the whole missionary system. No one else can write such cheerful letters in such a rotten mood. No one else can get such a thrill at the end of the day by the words, "Why yes, there is a letter for you." Nobody else is so early to bed and so early to rise. A missionary's girl is virtue with no chance to be otherwise, faith with twenty-four months to wait, prudence with 69 cents in her savings account, and beauty with no one to give a darn.

Yes, she is all this, but it will all be forgotten the day he receives his letter of release and, upon his arrival home she will probably utter the words she once considered trite, "It hasn't seemed like any time at all!"
~ Dan Valentine

A Letter!!!! A Letter!!!!

Sooooo...if you didn't guess from the title...after almost three weeks I finally got a letter today! Actually, I got two! =D Apparently he forgot to send the first one, and since he doesn't have a post office nearby, he had to wait until the next time he was somewhere he could send it. Which wasn't for awhile I guess. I also got my very first two page letter! I know that doesn't sound super exciting, but Seth isn't much of a writer so I have only ever received single page letters. He also sent that picture of a temple...

and on the back it said...

"One day we are going to go there...together."

Loove him!! =) =) 

So that was amazing. Also, yesterday I moved into my first apartment and I LOVE it! It's such a cute little place and I love decorating my own space! It's the first time I have ever had my own room. Ever. I definitely don't mind sharing a room, in fact, there are a lot of things I like about it. It's comforting having someone there to talk to about...life. This summer I've been home with my family and my sister and I have laid awake in bed and talked almost every night. I cannot believe summer is already over, I feel like I just came home. As excited as I am to go back to Lincoln and be with my awesome friends, I am not ready to leave my family again. 

Yesterday as I was walking through Walmart I almost began to cry because it hit me once again that I am going to be going there alone. That seems so simple and silly, but it's just another little thing Seth and I did. The few months we had in college together were amazing, we were absolutely inseparable. We met every time the breaks in our schedules matched up, we went to church together, did homework together, ate together, went home on the weekends together, and even went to Walmart and ran all of our errands together. If one of us needed to get something, we both went. That's just how it was. In fact, the second semester after he had left people saw me walking alone and often made comments about how that was the first time they had seen me without Seth. I laughed like it was so funny, but inside I was crying, missing him like crazy. You would think I would be used to it by now, but going back by myself still brings a shock to me. I don't want to not have someone waiting for me outside of my lecture hall. I don't want to go places without him. I don't want to drive those three hours with no one to keep me company but the radio. I don't want to be the only one comforting me when I'm having "one of those days/nights." I don't want to be alone. I want my best friend. I miss him. Time will help though. I know that. It already has. Being there and having reports to write and papers to analyze will take up a lot of my attention and then, of course, there are the terrific friends who I cannot wait to see again and they will make the biggest difference of all. Thank you so much, all of you. You have no idea how much you truly help me and it is a huge blessings of which I'm sure I will never be worthy.

Remembering the Past and Pondering the Future =)

This depicts Seth and I so well. We were/are best friends, we talked about absolutely everything, and we were always goofing around and teasing each other. Gosh I miss him. I have watched this over and over and over again. I can't stand the thought of forgetting his voice...so I watch this video. Love it. Always makes me laugh. =)

Oh, also, I realize that I sound like a bit of a gold digger in a part of this video...but I'm not. lol He always tells me how we're going to be rich someday when he's an orthodontist, which is fabulous, but quite honestly I could  care less if he was a road worker or brain surgeon. I just care that he's mine. I'm going to love him whatever his career choice may be. I know this sounds strange but I'm actually very excited for when we're poor newlyweds. I know it won't be easy, but I want to start at the bottom and work our way up together. I want to really appreciate everything we have because we've earned it. I don't care if we have no furniture at all for the first five years of our life together, I'll be happy just having him with me. I told him that too, many times. He didn't seem to share that same desire with me, he'd rather not be poor. lol The way I see it, we're going to be poor anyway with all of our debt from college, especially from his 11 years. I'm going to be the bread winner until we're 32. I actually wouldn't be too heartbroken if he chose something with a little less schooling, which sounds terrible I know, but we will want to start a family somewhere in that time period and I don't want to be working when we do. The problem is, if he goes to work and only goes to school part time he'll be in there even longer and then who knows how long it will be before we can actually get started with our normal, out of college, life. Oh well, we will face that obstacle with a lot of prayer when it arises. For now, we have a couple of years before we need to worry about that too much. At the moment we will just focus on the next 19 months. (I can't believe I'm finally in the teens!! =)

MGs Never Give Up

*Sigh* Still no mail. Every morning I run down the stairs and see if I have a letter and each morning I don't dad says, "That dang boyfriend. He must not love you. You'd better just dump him and stay with me forever. Your ol' dad will take care of you." I tell him thanks, that's both tempting and comforting. Then I tell him he can still take care of me since I feel like I have an imaginary boyfriend anyway. Of course he's just kidding, my whole family loves Seth. I'm just his oldest daughter and I'm sure it's a daddy thing, he just wants to hang on. Sometimes when I leave to go back to college he just stands in the doorway and watches me drive away. It breaks my heart every time. Anyway, back to the mail. The last letter I received was dated over a month ago.  =( So, to ease this depression, I decided to look through some old letters! Here are some of my favorite parts:


"Thank you so much for always being there for me. You truly made this last year and a half the best of my life and helped me become the person I am today."

"My favorite quote 'The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence.' Before my mission I always thought of that as referring to sports, school, etc. but now it refers directly to my mission. Also the commitment to excellence that I had in having the best girlfriend in the world led me to you and I know that you are the best that there is. I cannot wait for the day when I know that we are together for eternity."

"Each time I go through the temple my thoughts drift to the day when we will be going together."

"Do you remember that pink tie I had? Well apparently a lot of the Elders want to trade me for it, but I won't trade it with anyone because that tie has some of your mascara on it."

"I cannot wait to hold you in my arms and be beside you again. I love you with all of my heart! I miss you, babe, but I know this experience will make both of us better. Quiero que sepa que te querre con todo mi corazon por siempre. Yo prometo."

"June 1st at 12:02 a.m. is the anniversary of the first time I ever kissed you so it's the 2 year mark for that event in our relationship."  (We lived in two different time zones even when we we're dating so after this had happened...much later...he told me that our first kiss took place on June 1st my time and May 31st his time. Pretty cute huh?)

"Guess what? Since your letter went to the apartment of my district leader (we don't have a mailbox) he told me that it was his duty to make sure I was dating someone worth the time it takes to write letters and the money it takes to send them. After I showed him the pictures you sent he just said 'Well done, sir.' And then he told me that I need to do everything I can to keep you he even said that I need to write you more because I need to take care of you so you are not married when I get back. I agree with him because you are everything to me! I love you! I always will."

"I've been thinking all week of what I was going to write you this week. I thought I would start with the most important thing to me, which is that I love you. I can't wait to tell you that face to face again."

"Every once in awhile I get to kiss you in my dreams. Those are my favorite."

"Yesterday, I got to wish at 11:11 a.m. and you know what I wished for? The same thing I always do. That after I get back from my mission I will have the opportunity to spend an eternity with you."

"While I have been on my mission I have really come to appreciate the time we had together and the person you are. I miss you. I miss being able to just talk to you about anything."

"Justin Bieber is just getting popular here. Lucky me."  You can tell he's a huge fan lol

"I was just thinking about how after a fireside I kissed you on the sidewalk outside the stake center and told you that I loved you for the first time. You were so happy you skipped across the parking lot. After that on my way home dad wasn't too happy with me and told me it wasn't appropriate to kiss you outside the church,  but I was too happy to care."

"I miss my best friend."

"I have pictures of you in my scriptures and on my desk. I show them to whomever I can. I pray for you every day. I catch myself thinking about the things we are going to do or how I am going to ask you to marry me. I love thinking about that. I love thinking about you in general."

"Thank you for being in my life and being my best friend. Thank you for the letters that you send me. I love reading them, I read them over and over again." I do that too. =)


One time he sent me a bunch of little squares of cut up paper, each with a number on the back. After I put them all in order and glued them down, this is what I got.

Gosh I love this boy. =)

You know what? This did help. I feel better already and there's always tomorrow right? Because I guarantee you in the morning I'll be sprinting down those stairs again. That's one thing about us MGs...we never give up.

Wait For Me

All of a sudden I really started to love the Sons of Provo soundtrack! It's absolutely ridiculous and makes me laugh every time I hear it. It makes fun of boy bands and ourselves as mormons. (Isn't it interesting how we don't want anyone else poking fun at us but it's hilarious when we do it to ourselves? Kind of a funny concept.) Here are the lyrics to one of the songs that I found fitting for this blog, it's called Wait For Me. (Note: This is NOT how I feel lol Seth didn't ask me to do any of this except, of course, wait for him. I told him I didn't want to be with anybody else, and he actually encouraged me to date because he wanted me to be happy and healthy. All he asked was that a) I didn't tell him about my dates and b) I was still here when he got back. I think I can handle that.When he discovered that you could actually be engaged and still go on a mission, we already knew we weren't going to do that, but we discussed it anyway just for the heck of it. He told me that he would never do that to me because, if I did fall in love with someone else within the next two years, he didn't want me to feel tied down and like I had an obligation to him. He would just want me to do what's best for me and be happy. Doesn't that just melt your heart?! It does mine! What a great guy. I love him. <3  =) Anyway, here are those lyrics:

No more cussin', lyin', no more parties no more flirtin',
Going off to serve the Lord beyond the "Zion Curtain"
Yes, I'm afraid of what's to come as I travel cross the sea,
But what scares me most is that you might not wait for me.

Chorus
Oh, oh, oh, What's it gonna be girl?
Oh, oh, oh, It's me against the world
With every fiber of my being I'll be true to thee
As I magnify our love as a missionary
I'll come back a Bible scholar baby wait and see
So put a blind fold on for two years honey... And wait for me.

I'll think of you as I convert the heathen and the sinner
And the tapeworms in Brazil will bring me home to you much thinner
We're too young to tie the knot, though my love weighs a ton
Once I'm home, we'll be much wiser at a full-grown twenty-one.

Chorus

If you'd swear to not wear make-up and to wear these hooded veils
And don't go out in public or converse with any males
Our love can be assured to stay alive and keep on track
Just put your life on pause, we can fast forward when I get back-ack-ack-ack


Oh, oh oh What's it gonna be girl?
Oh, oh , oh It's me against the world
Oh, oh oh What's it gonna be girl?
Oh, oh , oh Don't be a naughty girl.
Oh, oh oh What's it gonna be girl?
Oh, oh , oh Don't make me have to hurl.
Oh, oh oh What's it gonna be girl?
Oh, oh , oh Don't date my best friend Merle.

Look it up here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3WoKUgASRM It's so funny!

Ft. Collins, CO

Ugh. Checked the mail this morning. Nothing. It's been a little over 2 weeks since I got a letter. When Seth first got into Argentina I didn't receive a letter for a month, so I know everything is fine, the mail just takes a long time to get from his country to mine. He promised he would write every week, so I know he has. I just don't know why the postal service is so dang slow.
Anyway, I promised I would tell you all about my awesome time in Colorado but where to start?
We chose Ft. Collins, Colorado because we wanted to go white water rafting which was super fun! The guide even asked me if I wanted to go to the back of the raft and try it out, so of course I pounced on that chance. Needless to say, I was not an amazing guide and he probably regretted giving me the choice. It was still pretty cool though. If I could have changed anything it would have been to make it scarier and tougher. It was already a level 4, but hey, I like a challenge.

We also hiked 7260 ft. up to the top of Mount Horsetooth, which doesn't sound like it would take that long but all uphill and stopping to take pictures along the way, it took us over an hour to get all the way to the top. Once we got there though...wow. Talk about an amazing view! We also found a rattle snake up there. Now you must know something about our family, we love animals. We have raised countless hurt/dying babies when their mothers have been killed, lots of birds, rabbits, we had a pet squirrel for about a year and this summer we raised 5 baby raccoons. (Super cute, by the way, my dog thinks she's their mother) None of us girls are afraid of snakes or bugs, I'm not saying we absolutely love them crawling on us or anything, but they don't frighten us. My brother has let snakes and turtles loose in our house and once we even had a rattle snake for a few days. Don't worry, that one stayed in a jar. Anyway, all of this goes to show, we aren't afraid of wild animals. So when we found the rattler on the top of the mountain, my little brother kept trying to mess around with it and provoke it to make it move, meanwhile he's about to fall off the ledge of a mountain. Luckily, everything turned out okay, no one was bit by a rattle snake and no one fell of the top of a mountain.
While we were there I saw tons of hippies and tried gelato for the first time, which I loved. I kept thinking about how Seth used to tell me that, even when you're full, you can always eat ice cream because it goes in the cracks. On Sunday we were able to see three babies blessed. =) I absolutely loove little kids. My favorite job, by far, is when I get to nanny. At the end of the day, when I have to go home, I want to stay with the kids I watch so bad it almost aches, I want them to be mine.  Not right this second, of course, I know Heavenly Father has a plan and an order for everything and right now is not the time for me to be a mother. When that time comes though, I will be ecstatic.
I also discovered that there is a temple being built in Ft. Collins! I'd forgotten about that! I cannot wait to see it! =D
On the drive home I read a book called The Help. I loved it. I want to write something like that someday. Not necessarily a novel, but something worthwhile. I want to write something controversial, not because it's bad, but because it's good. Because it makes you think. Because it makes you take a step back and look at your character, at your thoughts and actions. Someday I'm going to write something that needs to be said, even if it isn't easy to hear. Most everything I write is like that, or at least I try to make it that way. Someday, though, someday someone besides my professors will read it and then it will matter.

Be Back Soon!

So I haven't been posting the last few days...Sorry! At the moment I'm on a family vacation in Colorado before I have to go back to school. I'll tell you all about it when I get home! It's ammaazzinng!!! =) Also, Jessica if you're reading this, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your surprise party!! I really wish I could have, I definitely would have been there if I was in the state! I hope it was amazing and I hope you have an amazing birthday tomorrow! Love you!

Pictures and Random Thoughts

I can't send Seth packages often (only twice a year with his family's stuff) or send anything of any value whatsoever. (tried that, it was stolen right out of my letter before it got to him) So I have been trying to send him creative little things that I can fit in envelopes. Here's my latest one...Thanks for the idea, Desiree. =)

I realized the other day that I haven't put any recent pictures of Seth on his mission up yet. So here we go!

We both LOVE little kids...therefore I love this picture. =)

Bringing others to the Gospel...'atta boy!

This last Sunday I was able to listen to some wonderful speakers! One of them spoke on waiting. (Not exactly about missionaries or anything, but I thought it applied very well.) She said that waiting was not just sitting around being idle, it is preparing oneself for whatever it is that he/she is waiting for. I liked that. A lot. Reminds me that I can't just be twiddling my thumbs and sitting around waiting for the day Seth comes home, not if I want to be ready when that time arrives. If I want to keep up with him and his progression I have to be working hard! I like to think I'm doing a decent job, but I can definitely do better. I feel like I'm never quite where I need to be in my life. That's natural though, right? 

Speaking of where I'm at in my life, in ten days I move into my very first apartment! Yikes! I am a little nervous, but mostly excited. I don't really feel old enough to have my own place yet.

Since I'm kind of skipping around between random subjects, here's another. In exactly one week I'm going to be getting my wisdom teeth pulled. Nooot excited about that. I can just imagine if Seth were here, he would tease me relentlessly for my puffy cheeks and out-of-it mentality. Strange as this may sound, I wish he were here to give me a hard time. 

Another random thought, at the moment I'm watching the Disney movie Tangled with my younger siblings. I was so excited when it came out that Seth took me and one of my besties to see it in theaters. I loved it so much that, when we were leaving the theater, I held his hand and danced and skipped across the street. Nothing like good ol' Disney to bring out the little girl in me. Love it. Love him.

Also, is it just me, or did summer go by really fast? It's almost over already! One summer without Seth down, only one more to go. =)

P.S.- The other night I had a dream that I got a letter. That's it. That was my whole dream. Kinda sad, huh? lol Even when I do get to see him in my dreams, he's still a missionary. Guess my mind is finally getting used to the idea.