scripture study

This semester has probably been the weirdest of my entire life. Never before have I had so many ups and downs with friends, family, dating, school, etc. It just seems like this semester everything has picked up in its own special little way. I've had a really difficult semester in a lot of different ways and have been very grateful for peace and comfort through reading my scriptures.

We were really blessed with awesome home teachers this year and I am so grateful for them and for their lessons. In February, we had a fabulous lesson on how to effectively study the scriptures. One of them showed me his document on his computer where he types a question and then reads the scriptures with that question in mind. I had heard of a lot of people doing this and finding it effective, but for some reason I had never tried it. I've been doing that the last couple of weeks/month and it has been a really awesome experience. I feel like not only do I get answers to those specific things I am asking about, but that Heavenly Father also speaks to me and tells me things that I didn't know I needed to know. It has literally opened the windows of communication between me and my Heavenly Father and I don't know that I have ever felt such a close and sweet relationship with Him. I know without a doubt that He lives and loves me. I know that he is involved in the smallest things in my life and am so grateful for his guidance and direction.

I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon, and for the Prophet Joseph Smith and his dedication in translating those plates for our good. I don't know where I would be without those inspiring words that answer my questions and allow me to feel peace and comfort even when I am struggling with something that seems so hard and so never ending. I'm grateful for my Savior and for the knowledge that I have that I never ever have to do anything alone. I know that he is always with me and willing to help me if I will only ask him.

feb/march in pictures

I know I already did a picture post, but now I have so many more that simply must be documented. 

crazy nights in the library

dance parties

yum

Jerusalem reunions

America themed parties

Caitlin's mission call to San Francisco/Oakland

Katie's cute new socks

Bountiful temple trips

finding really cute old pictures.............

cheesy pics

pinterest recipes

a cute new cousin!

cleaning out my closet......

my best friend is getting married

cheer friends at Sarah's bridal shower

filling up the C on my sister missionary countdown AND receiving Dwight and Dev's wedding invite!

ward parties. 

best friends at Sarah's bridal shower

missionary farewells for Jerusalem friends

I don't know.

Palm Sunday Jerusalem Reunion

Feeling grateful for wonderful roommates who heat me up  a neck pillow when I'm stressed

dance parties

I'm not sure why we are sad. That is not my hand on Sarah's head

all the girls at Sarah's shower

with a clean freak like myself...I have NO idea how this happened in my apartment. 

dearelder.com

My best friend is on a mission. She left two months ago and is leaving the MTC for St. Petersburg, Russia this very week!!!

She's the Sister on the left. Isn't she adorable?

I have been VERY grateful for Dear Elder these last two months. Alyssa and I have been best friends for a very long time and it's been really hard not having her around. I write her very very frequently, but this week I have been writing even more than usual. After this Sunday letters are no longer free and same day delivered, so I'm taking advantage of the system.

Do you see all these Dear Elder confirmation emails? Yes I have sent her four letters since last night...one of them was definitely sent at 1:54 AM. (it was important!!!!!!)

Thankfully, Alyssa wrote this week and said that with the new church policy she will be able to email me from Russia every week. Don't make fun of me, I cried when I read that. I was SO happy. Hearing from her only once a week right now is hard enough...don't know how I would have/could have possibly gone months without hearing from her. Thank goodness for technology!!!!!!

It's a Match!

Tinder. For all you married/taken people in the world... Tinder is a lovely iPhone app that pulls up pictures of people in your area. You can either "like" or "reject" people after looking at five pictures of them. If two people "like" each other, they are notified and then can chat through the app. I downloaded it about a month ago because my friend told me it would give me a good laugh. The first thing it gave me was a killer confidence boost. All these boys who I thought were WAY cute thought I was cute too!! Woo! Then I started feeling creepy and creeped out all in one. A few of my matches started talking to me...and I just didn't want to talk. That's when I realized that I was in it more for the confidence boost than the actual dating.
Sometimes super awkward things happen on Tinder. My roommate matched with a boy in our ward that she hadn't ever talked to. They started chatting and connected that they were in the same ward. Then at the next ward party they didn't speak to each other and it has been awkward ever since.
Other times boys ask you for your number and you text a little. I have yet to gone out on a date with a Tinder match, but I've sure seen some cuties. I hope I don't meet my husband on Tinder....that would be the worst story to tell.

Sometimes I enjoy my little Tinder communications, other times I go through phases where I delete the app completely. Either way, I think Tinder is silly. Its like one more way for boys in Provo to be lazy and not ask people out. Come on ya stinkin boys, man up and ask us (NOT over Tinder).

The news, again!

I was watching KSL 5 news the other day and heard a very interesting story about a new drug testing policy in Davis county schools. I grew up in Davis county I started paying attention! They are trying to drug test student representatives randomly (officers, cheerleaders,drill team, athletes, etc.) I think this is a brilliant idea. I know of a lot of people at my high school (and a few teams in particular) that had a lot of problems with substance abuse. Our drill team was pretty much known for their drinking, drugs, and sex and the football team wasn't much better. My senior year, it got to the point where our drill team girls were coming to school and even performing at games under the influence. Other schools would yell at them/ our school collectively and make fun of this widely known problem they had. I don't know why our school never drug tested, or kicked anyone off of the drill team. I was a cheerleader in high school and we would have been kicked off so fast if we had any of those kinds of problems. I think drug abuse is a big problem in high schools everywhere and I would definitely be supportive of random drug testing, especially among student representatives.

Musica

I realized this weekend that the type of music somebody listens to definitely can help you decide what type of person they are. I went on a date on Saturday, and it was really fun! Except that he kept playing hard core rap in the car and it swore a ton. He apologized for it once but then let it keep playing. I wish I would have said more and forced him to change it or something, but I didn't. When I got home and started telling my roommates about the date I realized that after he listened to the bad music I just started feeling like he wasn't somebody that I would be interested in going out with again. And it's definitely because of his choice in music. I may be judging him too quickly and maybe I'm about to miss out on getting to know somebody pretty great, but I was turned off by his choice of music. I know that I will always be more careful with what I am choosing to listen to because it does tell you a lot about a person.

pinteresting

Every once and awhile I go through some killer Pinterest addicted phases. It doesn't happen often, but I'm in a phase right now. I go on every time I have physical science because it's so boring. I love Pinterest! I think it's incredible that there is such a place where everyone can share their creative ideas and steal good ideas from other people. But there is a point where it's a little bit too much. The other day my 10 year old neighbor stared posting things for her wedding. Her wedding that wont take place for at least 10 years probably more. I think Pinterest is great, but what can a ten year old really do with it?!?! That was a little too much for me...especially when I realized that I had just repinned something a 10 year old put up.