Best Ever

Yesterday one of my friends noticed my mood was a little more solemn than usual and due to the environment I thought it best to just throw him a lame excuse about being busy at work. Later on though, I texted him to thank him for noticing and inquiring. To which he responded by asking if there was anything he could do, to let him know. Then, almost randomly, he told me how good of a mother and wife I would be, and how amazing he really thought I was.

I, of course, cried my eyes out...and am still misting a little bit remembering it. For some reason that was exactly what I needed to hear. I've realized that of all the things in life, the only thing I've ever really wanted is to be a loving companion and mother. I feel like the biggest influence I could ever have on the world would be to raise a righteous generation of caring, loving, understanding individuals who love the Lord and doing His work more than anything else. I can judge where I'm at myself, but it's always good to hear from a man (especially one that I respect highly) that I'm headed in the right direction.

Best compliment ever.

Pansy

Yup. That's me.

Our story begins with Sarah, the good friend, playing matchmaker: 

In an attempt to set up my two good friends, Brian and Jamee, I planned a Christmas Cookie making double date at my house. Pretty nice of me right? I thought so. However, the other half of the double (me) was dateless. Now this may look like a dilemma, but it was, in fact, completely intentional. I've decided that if boys are going to be dumb, and not ask me on dates, then I was going to take my dating life into my own hands. 

So I picked a boy that I was actually interested in, and decided to call him. It went a bit like this:

Boy: Hello?

Sarah: Hey [boy] it's Sarah, What's up!?

Boy: Oh hey! Just marinating some steaks.

    [Witty banter about steaks, marinating and the like]

Sarah: Well I was just calling to see what you were doing Friday night?

Boy: Friday? Ummm...... Oh yeah! We're having a movie night at my friend's house. But it's pretty flexible. Why what's up?

[Close up of Sarah's panic-stricken face. Music fades to silence and all we can hear is a solitary heart beat growing steadily louder and faster]

Sarah: Oh. Well.....We're having a cookie-making party....... just a couple people over to decorate Christmas cookies.

Boy: A Cookie making party? That sounds excellent! What does that entail?

[Sarah closes her eyes shut and fakes bashing her head off the counter followed by a calm explanation of a cookie making party.]

I'll spare you all the pain and embarrassment of the 3 minutes that followed, and suffice it to say I'll never make fun of boys for being scared to ask girls out again. Fortunately the Lord knew I was a really big baby and gave me a second chance. Jamee realized that she had promised her brother she'd go to a concert Friday night, so she needed to move it to Saturday. Time for redemption. This time I used the less frightening texting option (I know... still lame, but I gotta work with baby steps here). It looked a bit like this:

So there's kind of this long story involving me trying to set two people up with a cookie party, then things going awry and it somehow becomes a double date on a different day but I'm dateless, and confused... so I'll spare you the gory details and ask if you're by chance available for a cookie making date tomorrow night? :D

Yeah, it was still a pansy asking out, but.... I did it. And I went on the date, and it was fun.

Joplin

There are some interesting scenarios I feel are specific to hedgehog owners. For those of you who don't know, hedgehogs hibernate when the temperature drops below 70. And for those of you who still don't know, Utah dropped below 70 in September. So I did my research and discovered that if you let domesticated hedgies go into hibernation, they don't have enough "storage" to make it through the winter. So basically you just have to keep them warm. I went down to the pet store and bought a little tank warmer to help her out, as I was moving into the basement of my new house.

Last night I got home about midnight and went to go play with her a bit, as that's when she's at her height of playfulness, to discover her tank warmer had quit working, and she'd entered hibernation mode, which for thos who've never seen that, looks like this.

Not so friendly right? So what does this mean for Sarah? Instead of going to bed, I spend the night warming up my hedgehog. I picked her up (very cautiously), wrapped her in a hoodie, and turned on the blow dryer. By the time she'd warmed up and calmed down a bit I was super tired, so I picked her up in the hoodie, climbed into bed, cuddled up, and fell asleep. 

I woke up at 3am to her snuggling up to my feet. Hibernation mode deactivated.

Eyebrows Revisited

In a previous post I mentioned the compliment I got from a random girl about how magnificent my eyebrows were. Well, I had the waxed for them first time in probably 6 years. It took about 15 minutes, but the result is pretty spectacular I would say!

Oh yeah, and I should probably mention... my hair is red.

That is all.

It's true. It. Is. True.

In my recent move I acquired a new roommate by the name of Kristine. I met her through a mutual friend, and we were instantaneous friends. She's cool, normal, and generally considered one of the guys....sounds just like me! :)

A brief background of Kristine: she's 23, recently divorced, and hasn't been active in the church since she was about 15. Due to a series of events she decided a couple months ago to try to get back to church...with no real testimony or idea of why. Basically, I was taking a huge chance on being roommates with her, but I felt very impressed that it was something that I needed to do. So I took the leap, and made the move.

Yesterday, church was phenomenal. I haven't felt the Spirit, or received revelation like that in a while. My emotions were very close to the surface and the Spirit was booming the whole time. And it wasn't just me who thought so. After Relief Society quite a few people expressed the same feelings. So when we got home and Kristine said "I'm starting to feel like this whole thing is a lie." I was slightly taken aback. 

I spent the next hour with her in our kitchen discussing the experiences she'd had thus far, what she remembered the Spirit feeling like, how she can feel it again, and comparing my conversion process to what she was currently going through. At the end I actually felt pretty defeated about the whole thing... like I hadn't gotten through at all, and that maybe the doubt was already too deep. So I finished up by just saying "Kristine, I know that you may not know if it's true, but I do. Regardless of how you feel now, you'll know, because this is the Lord's gospel, and He will tell you." She just got really silent and we went off our separate ways.

This morning while I was at work I got a text message from her that said "It's true. It. Is. True." Immediately I felt the familiar joy of the Spirit starting to flood my soul. I texted her back and said "Please tell me we're talking about the Gospel." And of course she was. All day today I've felt like I felt on the mission. There is no better feeling than the one you feel when someone learns for themselves that they are a child of an Eternal Father who loves them perfectly, no matter their mistakes. To know that we're not alone in this life, and we never ever have to make a decision on our own ever again, that there is eternal life after this, a life that we can have with our families...is the most beautiful gift that has ever been given. 

I can't wait to get home so that I can hug her... I've been on the verge of happy tears all day long. I'm so grateful for the Atonement, and what it's done for me. The Savior's love has literally transformed me, and now I have the chance to share it with others. What greater gift is there?

Georgia on my Mind

Just sitting at work today and the Michael Buble version of "Georgia on my Mind" came on, and I couldn't help but just make a little post. I'm coming up on 2 years that I've been home, and I promise that there is not one day that goes by that I don't miss it. It's not just the nostalgia of my mission either. It's the feeling of Georgia. Ray Charles knew what he was talking about. There aren't words to describe the hospitality, the sunsets, or the way you feel as you zip along winding roads through the kudzu covered trees. It has it's little quirks, but it remains forever one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

           

Let the Stabbing Begin

Ok, it's been way to long to update you on everything that's happened since August, so I'll give you the abbreviated list:

1. Went to my greenie's wedding in Seattle, her brother became enamored with me, it boosted my self-esteem, I haven't heard from him since.

2. My dad came with me to the ward camp-out at Lava Hot Springs. AWESOME. He played kickball with us, and we were spotlighted at Ward Prayer. My life has never been so amazing. I'll probably blog about my dad soon :)

3. Visited my mission. The goodness of this cannot be described, also will soon have a post about this.

4. Lots of changes at work: New billing person, new receptionist, new programs to implement, big promotional event coming up all equals really busy.

5. I'm moving. Right down the street from my current location, but still obnoxious, and leading to more busyness :)

So. There you have it, the update. But, what I really wanted to talk about is acupuncture. I haven't been sleeping lately, and no matter what I do I can't fall asleep, or if I do, I can't stay asleep, and I don't wake up feeling, by any means, refreshed. With all that going on, and a chaotic schedule, what's a girl to do? Acupuncture. 

So I found an acupuncturist, a cute little old Asian man who tells me things I already know like "you think too much," "stop trying to control everything," and "you work too much." Thanks Dr. Zou, I know :)

The good news is. It's working! I'm sleeping like a little baby and waking up feeling super rested. And, as a side effect, I'm not freaking out about stuff, I'm way calmer, and much happier. So in that case, Bring on the stabbing!

One Of The Boys...

My newly adopted theme song

INFJ!!

This weekend I went up to Seattle to be a bridesmaid for one of my mission companions (pictures to come), and the whole crew started throwing out random letters to explain weird things they did. Very strange. Anyway, it's the Myer's-Briggs personality test, which was originally created by Carl Jung, and later adapted to be more encompassing.

So, being the intrigued individual I am, I took it and as it turns out, I'm an INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging). Apparently only 1% of the population are INFJ's and we had 3 of them all sitting at the table. We later held a convention.

There's a book called Please Understand Me II that explains in detail all the different elements, but you can read about your type pretty extensively online. It's probably one of the most accurate, and eye-opening personality tests I've taken. So! If you want to give it a go, here's the link to the test.

And it also gives you your "perfect match" apparently I work best with ENTPs, so if you know any tall nerdy ones, send em my way ;)

Trying to remain calm...

I lost my phone last night. Quite frankly, I'm going through withdrawls. : |

You Know Life is Good When...

...You love your job. Today's reason? Water fights.

    I have nothing on my mind but an endless list of responsibilites to accomplish as I walk around the corner into a jet stream of cold water to the face. Flipping instantaneously into survival mode, I propel myself to the therapy room to procure my own water bottle as means of retaliation. Patients stare blankly as I, dripping wet, rush to find the one with the longest range. I smile politely and say "I'll be with you in just a moment," then race back to the front. Stopping at the corner to check the reflection in the picture on the wall, I see Dr. Vance's face peeking through the doorway to Dr. Adams' office, weapon at the ready. Understanding what needs to be done, and ignoring the warning yells from the coworkers behind me, I ninja roll the gap to the front of Chris's desk, dodging enemy fire. Just as I suspected, Dr. Vance is paralyzed by laughter at my complete lack of skill, leaving him unguarded! From my newly found perch I take advantage of the moment and fire several well aimed shots to the face. Realizing he's in danger Vance flees for the break room slamming the door behind him. Recalling my extensive military training I place myself as close to the wall as possible, blending in with my surroundings and prepared for any sudden movement. As the door slowly creeps open my bottle, skillfully positioned at eye level, temporarily blinds the assailant, but not enough as he lunges forward with an entire cup of freezing cold water, paralyzing the left side of my body. At this moment I know I have lost the battle. But like Dr. Claw, I will not be defeated!!

Next time Gadget! Next Time!!!

For the First Time Ever...

I was told I have amazing eyebrows. Strange. I've always been a little self-conscious of them actually, but last night at Family Home Evening the girl sitting next to me told me that they were, in fact, amazing. Later, in the car, my roommate told me that she agreed upon their awesomeness. Apparently my hair says "I'm spunky!" and my eyebrows say "And what're you gonna do about it?" I'm not really sure what that means. "I'm spunky and if you tell me different I'll punch you in the face." Who knows. I have good eyebrows.... I like it.

New Addition

I feel like God, in an attempt to get me married, has put an overflow on my maternal hormones. I don't know if those actually exist, but something's definitely flowing. I was getting lonely in my office at work, so I bought a betta fish. It subdued the surge for about a week, then they came back much stronger than before. Mostly when I was at home because the fish lived at work, leaving me nothing to nurture.

My roommates vetoed a dog, I'm allergic to cats, rats also vetoed, and guinea pigs, mice and hamsters all lack intelligence. So I bought a hedgehog. Her name is Joplin, as in Janis. Enjoy!

Turning the Leaf!

So lately I've been making some life changes. I've hit one of those monk-like moments where I just feel the need to simplify, get back to the basics, and find my inner....me. Here's the list so far:

1. Back on goal to loose weight. For those of you who knew me back in the day, I've lost quite a bit from my original weight, but I've never quite hit my goal. I'm officially back on target (after 6 years) and 12 pounds closer!

2. I deleted Facebook. And there was an uprising. I have a list of reasons, most of which are personal and boring, so I'll spare you the details. The thing that suprised me most was that the people who tried to stop me are the people I talk to on a fairly regular basis...or live right down the street....or my mom. I now feel disconnected from the social networking life...and quite frankly, I like it. I've never felt more liberated. Well, except when I'm naked. But that's a given ;D

3. I'm taking a 3 month dating sabbatical. Again, lots of personal reasons, but thus far it's been smooth sailing!

That's my list. I figure if I get anymore than that my brain might explode due to a perfectionist complex I happen to have. We'll see if I can keep it up. Looking hot in a swim suit and not dating for a whole summer. . . ? Bring it!

Takes Me Away...

That's right. I'm talking about sailing :) If I were more technologically adavanced I'd actually cue the song to come up when you read this...but I'm not.

So two of my friends recently bought a sailboat, just a little catamaran that you can realistically only fit 4 people on...3 is probably safer. It looks similar to the one at the right, and that thing that they're doing there...the whole floating in the air thing? Yeah, I did that. It was amazing!

Basically I've never felt more free in my life. Just imagine: 7pm, perfect summer evening with a light breeze. The sun is gradually getting lower and lower, and you're flying through the water, powered by nothing but the wind. Your feet are on the edge of the boat while you're suspended over the edge, wind blowing in your hair while you drag your fingers through the lake with no destination but the sunset.

It really must be what heaven is like...

Becoming a Masochist

Not what you're thinking! Dirty minds.... ;)

So a couple months ago I decided I needed to be nicer to my body. So I chucked out all my processed stuff, loaded my diet with mostly produce, and bought a gym membership. At about the same time my friend bought P90x, which I was a little jealous about because I hear it's the best way to get in shape.

So to make a long story short, I started doing it with his mom. That's right, I'm doing P90x with a 65 yr old woman, and she rocks it! Basically it works on the philosophy of muscle confusion. It changes your workout everyday, and then changes that every 3 weeks so that your body never gets used to what you're doing, which means you never hit a plateau. And if you follow the workout and the nutrition plan exactly, you'll have your dream body in 90 days.

Now I'm already eating pretty healthy, and I'm not so worried about having my dream "beachbody," I just want to be as healthy as I can be. With that being said, after 16 days of the most intense workout I've ever done in my life, I'm completely addicted. It's a 100% love/hate relationship. I dread it as much as I look forward to it, and while I'm doing it I want to cry as much as I want to do one more rep.

And the best part? It's getting easier! Plus I'm still sore after every workout, which means it's working. And when I'm done I feel more proud of myself than I've ever been. Ever. My life is so good.

But don't worry. I still eat cookie dough out of the tub.

Just not as often :)

Let's Be Happy I'm Alive

When my birthday happens I like to make it a week long celebration, and this years has by far been the best. Here are the highlights:

Monday: Recieved 3 birthday cards in the mail, one from my roommate.

Tuesday: Had "Happy Birthday" sung to me in staff meeting, whispered to me by a Jehovah's Witness (love ya Kel!), and texted to me 25 different times, was told I was one day hotter, recieved homemade butternut squash soup, had an amazing hair day, went to dinner with 2 of my best friends, got Zach Efron as a gift, partied with most of my favorite people at Iceberg, got a free black raspberry-coconut-cheesecake shake, and ended the evening with a fabulous conversation with a close friend I don't see often.

Wednesday: Went to dinner with the office, talked my boss into 7 rolls of sushi, watched "17 Again", stayed up all night talking and cuddling with my roommate.

Thursday: Tried on dresses and realized my normal size was fitting looser, did yoga with a close friend and mom, had a date with my married best friend while her husband was at class

Friday: Had a great day at work, went to a Brazilian concert with my roomie, enjoyed delicious fresh fruit flan.

Saturday: Slept in!!!!!!!!!, learned to use a sewing machine, sewed one single quilt block (it looked freaking amazing!), went shopping with a new friend, found an adorable dress for $7, threw a smashing mocktail party with my favorite people.

All in all....a successful week :)

Look....

I don't know who the guy is that decided that putting the food network on at the gym was a good idea.... but it's not. So to combat said conspiracy, I put this on my planner:

Who's laughing now funny man?

The Junk in the Trunk!

So I had the first weekend off that I've had in a long time this past weekend, and my roommate, Trista, and I went to a Belly dancing festival.

At first I was a little disappointed, cause I'd sacrificed $7 in the name of roommate bonding, and a potentially awesome cultural experience, and it was kind of like witnessing group therapy for women in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Frightening. But then it got better and there were groups that had travelled and had been doing it for years and they were actually quite amazing!

Belly dancing is interesting for a couple reasons:

1. It's completely mesmerising! You can't take your eyes off the dancer. All the flashy jingly stuff moving around real fast. Impossible to try and hold a conversation if you're like me and distracted by shiny objects.
2. Somehow it seems to encompass everything feminine. I'm not gonna lie, the whole time I just kept thinking "Man I want to do that!!!" It just looks like what I'm supposed to do. I was given curves, and by golly I'm supposed to shake them!
3. I don't even know what's attractive anymore...

The more that I watched these women parading around with exposed stomachs I started to realize that what we think is attractive is completely relative. There were pregnant women, older woman who had "lost their figure," ridiculously skinny girls, and everything in between. And let me tell you (Note: reading may not be suitable for the naturally skinny), the oh-so-coveted long torso-ed rail thin bodies looked absolutely ridiculous belly dancing. In fact, it was almost gross.

There was a group of high school aged girls who danced and though they were all amazing, most of the girls were really skinny and it was awkward to watch them. But on the end, there was a girl wasby no means fat, but she had a little extra on her and she looked fabulous doing it. Like she was meant for it.

And this theme continued on through the whole thing. The dancers that looked the most natural and the most beautiful were healthy, but not toned. When they moved you could see muscle tone, but there was also a small layer of padding. It just looked....like we're supposed to look.

It was quite the eye opening experience. I've redesigned my ideal body in my head, and vowed to take belly dancing classes from now into eternity :)

Married People!

Here I will pause from my Italy updates to interject a brief thought.

I love married people. I know I say that I don't, and I complain that my friends get married and then they fall off the face of the earth...but in reality I like them. A lot.

Yesterday I had lunch with my old roommate Julianna. We only lived together for about month, and then she got married, but being the only 2 normal people, we bonded pretty quickly. In our conversation, I invited her and her husband Jeff to an improv show that was happening last night. Apparently she was attempting to dodge some other plans, so they gladly accepted.

After the show, we stood outside talking for a really long time. We were all freezing and Jeff kept insisting that we should just go back to the apartment, and he'd make me a smoothie, but I insisted that I really needed to go home and go to sleep. And then we continued talking. After 3 similar conversations, we finally decided it was time to leave, and went to our cars.

While I was driving home I thought about how much I really liked Julianna and Jeff. Then I started thinking about how much I really like other of my married friends. I've spent a pretty good amount of time with them, and they're all amazing. Really what it comes down to, is that I have amazing friends. And they all married amazing people, because none of them are actually stupid enough to marry a lame person. So in reality while it feels like you're losing a friend everytime one of them gets married, you're actually gaining another great friend!! And to top it off you're just immediately grandfathered into this friendship because all your friend talks about is how completely amazing you are. No effort required. I love it.

So there you have it. I love when my friends get married. In fact I'm excited to get married so that my friends can all have a new best friend.

I love married people.

Episode 3: Christmas in Pisa

I love Christmas. There's that special feeling that you get as it gets closer that you don't get any other time of the year. The time that you get to spend with family, and the chance to refelct on the Saviour is amazing. And as much as you try to "make everyday like Christmas," it's impossible. Because no matter what, when you wake up on Christmas morning, it feels different.

This year when my roommates put up the Christmas trees and started all the decorations, I got sad that I would be in Italy away from everyone. I did it on my mission, but there was a different kind of Spirit there. I had important work to do, and I was spending everyday in the Christmas Spirit anyway. So I was a little worried that this year I would be missing that special feeling that comes with Christmas. However, it will go down as one of the fondest Christmases yet!

On Christmas Eve, we hopped a train to Pisa. There was an older couple (The Snows) that I knew that were serving their mission there, and when I emailed them they were excited to have "kids" for Christmas, so they invited us over. We got there at about 8:30pm, and got a taxi to their house. There was a warm welcome from the Snow's, and the 2 young Elders that were participating in the Christmas Eve celebration. We were fed, had a small Christmas message from the Elders before they headed home, and given warm beds (I got a couch and Randy an air mattress, but comfortable nonetheless).

On Christmas Morning we woke up, had breakfast, read Luke 2 and talked about the Atonement. Then the Snows had a full day planned of meeting with different families in the Branch, so we gladly tagged along with them.

Pisa is one of the places in Italy where they have a pretty large army base. We visited a small family there with 3 little boys and brought them some Christmas presents. Randy and I have both agreed that this was what made Christmas like home for us. The kids were showing us everything they got, and letting us play with them. I introduced Randy to Bakugons and he instantly became an excited 7 yr old. We built some Lego monsters, and then ended it all with a Nerf gun fight. Randy won... but only because mine broke. Jerk.

We visited a few more people and then came home for dinner. The Snows were calling their kids while Randy and I ate dinner. In the middle of our food Randy got up and came back to the table with a box and a note with my name on it. Stinker. So I smiled and went to my bag and came back with a wrapped present.

In one of the many wanderings around the random alleys of Naples we found this soap shop. The man who worked there had spent a great deal of time apprenticing under an older woman in London, and when he came home to Italy he taught his sister, who opened up this shop. It was just a small shop tucked away in the depths of Naples, but there was a magic to the whole shop. I immediately fell in love, and Randy had gotten me some of the soap.

We also found a "Temporary Store" where they set up for a short period and sell random things at pretty reasonable prices, including beautiful Italian silk ties. There was one that Randy loved, but wouldn't buy, so I bought it for him and wrapped it up.

It was a quiet, really uneventful Christmas, but there was a special spirit about it. The gifts were small and relatively cheap, but meaningful. There was thought put into them, and they were bought with pretty much the only money we had to spare, money we needed to survive. Kinda like A Christmas Carol :)