doing dishes

perhaps you remember the post i wrote on honesty back in the summertime? it is something i thought about a lot. however, i discovered that if you don't start practicing honesty and open communication, then it gets really hard to actually be honest in a tight situation. so yesterday i was faced with a choice- to be honest and possibly lose something that i hold very dear, or to continue to hide my true feelings and face getting hurt more later on.

i chose to be honest.

i'm not eloquent in terms of speaking. i fumble and trip over my words. i feel like what i'm saying isn't making sense.
but when you speak from the heart, it doesn't matter what you say, but what matters is that you mean what you say.

what i did yesterday is definitely one of the hardest things i have ever done. it's always scary to put your soul on the line. being honest means that you willingly put your feelings into someone else's hands and they choose what to do with what you say. but then you have to move on.

doing dishes helps.

sometime this will all be something in the past. something that i learned from and that made me a better person. it made me stronger. but i think it's ok to be sad for a while. because loss always hurts. and pain is real. but i am also moving on. i am free for something better in the future.

home

some posts just don't need any words.

here's to a new phase of life!

hyvää syntymäpäivää

that means happy birthday in finnish. crazy right? well, i hope someone is singing that to my brother today because it's his birthday! funny story- he celebrated three birthdays while on his mission because he went into the mtc while he was still 18. it's also spencer's golden birthday today- twenty one on the 21st! therefore this calls for an extra special celebration. 

it has been really great to get to know spencer more as he has grown on his mission in finland. he has learned how to be a better leader. he has been able to work with people from around the world and teach them the gospel. he has learned the power of prayer. he has become a more patient person. he has a firm testimony of the gospel. 

spencer has been given challenges and has faced them with faith. he has overcome disappointment and rejection. it is weird to think that the last time i saw him he was a fresh out of high school and now he is a going to be a returned missionary!  

guys, this boy is my best friend. maybe it's because people always thought we were twins when we were little. or maybe its because we have always managed to have fun with each other- even when i spread his underwear all over his room when his friend was over. maybe it's because we have pretty similar personalities. whatever the reason, he is awesome. i have missed him these last two years! i am so terribly proud of the mission he has served. i am thankful for his example and his testimony. thank you for being my brother spencer! i can't wait to see you in two days! be excited for adventures this year :)

cray cray

this week is going to be cray cray. let me tell you.

monday:

work 10-3:30

lunch with daniel at costa

packing

maybe wash my hair 

tuesday:

work 10-3:30

pack!

laundry

dinner with abby

wednesday:

move 8:30 am

work 10-3:30

buy spencer's physical science book

unpack everything

grocery shopping?

froyo with brian and robynn

thursday:

work 10-3:30

made posters for the airport

go home and probs help mom clean

7:30 spencer arrives home!!!!

partay all night long

friday:

help spencer move to provo

pay day!

visit ms. snow

work 3 pm

bonfire?

saturday:

work 9 am

help spencer get everything else in order

go home to help mom get food ready for sunday

sunday:

shaunzi's farewell (hope i can go)

spencer's homecoming

luncheon and family stuff

nashville tribute fireside (hope i can go)

prep for first day of school!

so yeah.... i do have stuff i want to blog about so i will try to make time for that. and watching criminal minds, of course.

saturday shenanigans in salt lake

i've been working hard this week and been trying to finish my summer bucket list before school starts! on saturday i drove up to salt lake with somers and decided to check off some stuff on my bucket list, mainly Temple Square. our trip was an adventure.

 spending almost 3 hours at the car dealership

somers almost buying a honda civic- black with tinted windows (because she is gansta like that)

wondering how car shopping can dehydrate you

stuffing our faces with Chick-Fil-A

people watching at the food court

my first visit to Tiffany's

getting a good deal at Gap

searching for a bathroom on Temple Square

talking to a cute Polynesian

. . .  and then stalking him secretly for a little bit

taking a bajillion photos of ourselves in the attempt to take the perfect photo

gazing at the Salt Lake Temple

ordering 4 waters from McDonalds because they wouldn't give us 2 big waters

planning adventures for fall

it was seriously so fun! i am so grateful that somers and i have gotten to be friends! she has been a lifesaver this summer and i am excited to have fun this fall. last night was a good reminder that i don't need to go on a date or have a boy in order to have fun! 

you know you've lived in africa for a long time when. . .

.  . . beans and rice is one of your favorite dishes

.  . . seeing two boys holding hands doesn’t even faze you (in Uganda, it is more common to see people of the same sex holding hands than people of opposite sexes. It’s just a cultural way of saying you are friends.)

.  . . you are used to cold showers (and you only shower twice a week. Oh, and forget about shaving regularly!)

.  .  . clothes you would never wear in the States start to look really cute

. . . you are really excited if the power stays on all day and all night

. . . you see a white person and have the uncontrollable urge to yell, “Mzungu!”

. . . waiting for up to an hour for a meeting or a class to begin is normal

. . . your day is made when you poop solid

. . . you find a rock in your food and you keep eating

. . . you see a dead cockroach in your bathroom and you leave it for a few days

. . . you think your clothes are clean when they don’t smell

. . . you start to argue over twenty cents

. . . you cancel your meetings when it rains

. . . you compare your chaco tan lines with others

. . . you think you’re really tan and then you shower and suddenly you’re not as tan as you thought

. . . all your clothes are crunchy because washing by hand you never get all of the soap out

. . . you have to drink all of your soda at the place you bought it because they charge you extra if you take the glass bottle

. . . you’re riding in a taxi and a random African sits in your lap and you’re okay with it because the 14-seater taxi only has 18 people and not 24

. . . you’ve had at least fifteen marriage proposals in the last week

. . . you sit on a motorcycle sideways (if you’re a girl), even when you’re wearing pants

. . . its normal to hold hands with a stranger when you first meet them

. . . you bargain over every price, regardless of what it is

i wrote this a year ago today while i was in Uganda. if you want a snapshot of what my day to day life was there, enjoy this and then go check out my blog for Africa here.
Co-authored by Sarah Blackhurst, Suzanne Whitehead, Whitney Smith, Devin Wengert and Beka Arnesen

22.5

today is my half birthday. you should probably know i love birthdays. really i just love parties and celebrations. so what have i done today in lieu of celebrating?

 i worked for almost six hours. . .
and watched three episodes on Criminal Minds.

guysss my life is so exciting right now!

i have a hankering for boating. and since my road trip for the weekend just cancelled i would die of happiness if i could be on a boat all day on saturday. literally.

so while i decide if i am going to go buy myself an oreo cheesequake blizzard from DQ (i got one yesterday too. don't worry about it.), i'm reminiscing about my half birthday last year. it was definitely the best half birthday i've ever had!

sarah and i went to chat n chino to "work on stuff for the leadership project" and she surprised me by buying me a coke float! what a good friend :)

Richard and Marissa made french toast with pseudo buttermilk syrup for dinner. delicious.

later than night we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores thanks for the american supplies becca brought with her. let me just say that cadbury chocolate is the best chocolate to use when making s'mores. and never did s'mores taste as good as they did cooked over that small coal burning stove in uganda.

now it's my half birthday again. time really has flown. i wish with all my heart that i was in that place again. i would give up my modern conveniences and nice clothes, just to be back there again with those amazing people. 

and celebrating isn't very fun in provo when you are all alone.

that's all.

time for that blizzard.

the happiness project

back in march i challenged myself to go the entire week choosing to be happy. not letting circumstances- grades, the weather, family challenges, dating, etc- determine my attitude. i've had a pretty good summer, but it hasn't been amazing. i haven't been as happy as i could have been. and i think a large reason for that is that i let circumstances rule my attitude. summer is almost over, but thankfully i can keep working on being happy. 

this week i am going to find ways to be happy no matter what happens in my life. i will be optimistic and cheerful. and to kick of the "happiness project" here is a conglomeration of pictures and quotes on happiness.

i hope you have a happy sunday! i'm excited to share some things with you this week that help me be happy!

what's in your purse?

so melissa tagged me in this post like.... six days ago but since i'm such a horrible blogger i didn't realize that i had been tagged until late last night. it was an awkward moment to say the least. i never want to be the person who got tagged who never fulfills her tagging duty. it's just bad blogger etiquette. (also etiquette is a hard word to spell.)
so the only rule is that you can't clean out your purse before doing this. (i threw away some gum wrappers so i hope that isn't breaking the rule. because who wants to see nasty gum wrappers?) 
if you know me you probably know that i really hate carrying a lot of stuff. so don't be bored. i will try to make it exciting.

the purse

i've had this purse (satchel?) since freshman year. so, like, forever. my roommate freshman year named this bag Pacha (like the guy from Emporer's New Groove) and i still call it that. i got it from the mall, not from some cool foreign country. however it is imported from peru so i guess that is pretty legit right?

the contents

wallet: it holds money, cards, and random samples of perfume/cologne i really like. terribly exciting right? 

keys: two sets- keys for my house and then keys for my car. please notice my cool keychains- from mexico and paris (daniel got me these) and harry potter world.

sunglasses: i really have nothing witty to say about them. they make it so i don't squint when i'm driving/walking in the sun, therefore i don't get headaches.

cover girl powder and mary kay lip gloss: a girl's gotta look good. and it's helpful that the powder has a mirror attached. 

mints: from cafe rio. you are probably only supposed to take one, but i mean who really does that?

gum: you never know when you might be needing it, if you catch my drift. . . 

how was that for exciting and interesting? please tell me you are intrigued at how i stay so attractive and get asked out so much when i don't carry that much in my purse. well guys, that is my secret. someday i may share it with you, but for now go have some fun because it's one of the last summer nights!

the abster

today is the birthday of one of my very best friends in the whole world. the instant i met abby at training for HELP International i knew we would be friends. and since today is her 21 birthday let me share with you why i think she is so awesome.

on her birthday last year

- Abby is truly compassionate. she wants to help people and is very willing to give love to everyone. she is one of the main reasons i want to be a nurse.

in Namatala with some babies

- Abby is not judgmental. she is really good at looking at a person's heart and not what they look like on the outside. she helped me look past that many times in Uganda.

- Abby is a missionary. she loves the Gospel and shares her testimony through word and example.

on Esther's baptism day

- Abby is a hard worker. she helped me with so many of my projects in Uganda when no one else would! i am so thankful for her help with the leadership classes and hospital teaching.

- Abby likes to have fun! we had so many adventures in Uganda mainly because of her fun attitude. she helped me to see that every day is an adventure.

- Abby is willing to take risks. she was the first of the new volunteers to eat ants! she really immersed herself in the Ugandan culture and loved every part of it (except maybe posho and matooke).

riding a boda boda with our favorite driver- Habeeb

- Abby is completely honest with me. this is one of my favorite parts of our friendship- we are totally honest with each other. we had to go through some disagreements to get to be totally honest, but now it is wonderful. she is the one friend that i can trust 100%. 

- Abby is awesome because she trusts me with all her black mail photos.... don't worry Abs i'm not going to put any on here :)

science fair. longest. day. ever.

- Abby is a good friend because she is always there for me if i need her. she is willing to listen to me and help me with my problems. she is the type of friend that will come over late at night if i need a shoulder to cry on. or she will come along with me if i need a wing woman. 

- Abby is athletic and motivates me to be a better runner and to work out more. she would do circuits with me almost every night in Uganda! it was great!

at the Source of the Nile

Abby, you are the greatest. i really see you as a sister from another mister. thank you for being my wonderful friend for the past year. i love you so much and i hope your birthday is amazing! may your 21st year bring you peace and blessings! love ya girl, bex.

christmas 2011

august

i know you probably all think i've fallen off the face of the earth, and maybe i have. but i promise i'm going to make a come back this month! i even had a friend challenge me to write more. so i'm going to. promise.
it's time for a recap of my goals for july. ready? ok!

spiritual
*go to temple 2x- done and done! i even drove out to Mt. Timp when the Provo Temple was closed.
*more meaningful prayers- this isn't exactly a quantifiable goal, but i feel like i increased the sincerity of my prayers.
* roommate prayers- we are usually good for the first part of the week but the weekends we are really bad at having them.

physical
*workout 5x a week for at least 30 min.- i actually did decent at this. i got some good new workouts that i like too!
*run 3x a week- fail. boo.
* no chips and salsa- i totally did this! and i didn't even miss them after a while.

financial/educational
*finish 7 habits book- i know i've been working on this for two months and it's still not finished! 
*save half of each paycheck- what with my laptop up and breaking, i didn't get to save anything. but now that i have two jobs i hope i can save some money and not go into debt when i start school.
* spend only $50 on food- again the budget was totally thrown off when my laptop broke. i didn't spend much money though.

social
*do 1 thing from Bucket List each week- i did this! it was great! 
* go to everything i'm invited to- i did this too! which is why i didn't blog much because i was partying a lot :)

it's august- the last month of summer! i can't believe it's almost over, but truth be told, i'm excited for school to start. this summer has been long, uneventful, and somehow boring. don't get me wrong, it's been a generally good, fun ride, but some days i have just wished to be somewhere else- even the library studying my brains out. here are my goals for the month! what are your goals for the last month of summer?

"you're a wizard harry"

as you should know, yesterday was Harry Potter's birthday. [the character, not Daniel Radcliffe.] i've been wanting to celebrate his birthday since. . . well the entire year, and it was on my summer bucket list. so i got together with Somer's and we made it happen! i made the cake and she made the butter beer. we invited a bunch of people and ate food and watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. it was brilliant!

Hagrid's birthday cake

party people

guyssss i love Harry Potter! but then you already knew that. and if you didn't then well just know that i do. so much.
the cake i made for the party was this tie-dye cake. it was so easy too! make the cake mix according to the directions on the box. then divide into six bowls. i used just regular food coloring and colored the batter in each bowl until it was as bold as i wanted it to be.

next pour into the cake pan, one color at a time. you don't have to swirl the colors, simply pour each color on top of the previous color.

finally, cook according to the directions on the box. it's as easy as that!

ps. it's august today! the last couple weeks of summer are upon me! i'm going to be much better about posting, i promise. i may even throw in a few posts about dating, per madeline's request :)