DELIC(ious)

I have eaten one of THESE:



everyday for the past four days.

I'm hooked.

And I don't care.

My Heart's in Overdrive and You're Behind the Steering Wheel

In order for this post to be effective, you must have this song playing:



Alright. We listen to this song ALL THE TIME in our apartment, and this post is dedicated to my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, splendid, adorable, helpful, understanding, FANTASTIC

roommates.

I couldn't ask for better girls to live with. Almost instantly we bonded. It's almost hard to imagine times where we weren't "doing little jigs" in our kitchen, squealing about boys (usually followed by laughter after we ridiculous we sound), constantly saying "I like you" in a british accent, saying quote-wall-worthy things, doing yoga in our living room, having late-night talks about the gospel, eating way too much food together, singing Disney songs at the top of our lungs, and just being best friends. ("You're my best friend!")

So, one by one, here they are:

CHELSEY



Of course I had to choose a picture that had Skyler in it, because the two of them are far too cute to separate. And they're engaged! Even though I don't see Chelsey all that often, I know that she's always there and willing to talk to me. There isn't an unkind bone in her body. She always has a smile on her face, and you know? There aren't many people left like that. She's wonderful!


ALEXIS



Oh Alexis. Where do I even start?! I barely knew her when we moved in. We had talked a few times, been to In-N-Out burger together, and chatted on Facebook. Now I consider her one of my best friends in the whole world. I feel comfortable telling her everything and I know she'll listen and know the right thing to say. She always puts people's needs before her own, which is why she's affectionately known as our Mom. Some of the times where I've laughed the hardest in my life involve Alexis. Her laugh is completely infectious and she literally can't frown! (She's tried...) I love her so much!


JILL



Jill Robinson. My first friend at USU. I can't tell you how much I love her and her fiery Texan soul. When we think back on it, neither of us can remember when or how we became friends. It just sort of...happened. And I couldn't be more grateful. She has helped me through every problem I've gone through since coming up to school. She's ALWAYS there for me. She has a huge love for adventure and she's passionate about so much. I can't imagine what my college experience would have been like without her there, and quite frankly, I don't want to imagine it! She's the greatest. :)


HALEY



I could honestly write four billion pages about Haley. I love how she can go from being silent in the morning and want to kill things, to the extremely loud, happy girl at night. She's seriously the life of our apartment. Not only that, but she probably has the most quotes on our quote wall because she's so hilarious. She's so cute and I have NEVER met anyone that loves the color pink more than she does. Probably my most favorite thing about her is that while she can be crazy, fun, and goofy, I've had some very good, deep talks with her and she gives good advice. I'm convinced there is nobody out there like Haley Ence. Good thing she's my roommate, because that makes me one lucky girl!


AMANDA



When looking for a picture of Amanda, I found that I couldn't find a picture of just her (so here she is with Amy, who is not my roommate, but I love dearly.) But this is totally a great example of how people always want to be around her! She is just a sweet girl that people love to be with. And holy cow, is this girl nice! You only have to be around her for 6.3 seconds and you can tell that. She's also extremely funny and I love, love, LOVE laughing with her. Her testimony of the gospel is so strong and I'm always looking up to her in that regard. We both overreact to things (especially concerning guys...we're working on it...) and I feel like I relate to her on so many levels. I LOVE HER.


So there you have it. Five people that have influenced my life for the greater.

I LIKE YOU.

In response to earlier posts:

I have appeared sad.

But let it be known:


I am happy.

Really, truly, happy.


And it feels great.

:)

Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence

One of favorite people stopped by my house today.

She showed me a talk.

And while I still have pain, I also have peace.

[Here are some highlights from Jeffery R. Holland's talk, "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence"]

"I wish to encourage every one of us regarding the opposition that so often comes after enlightened decisions have been made, after moments of revelation and conviction have given us a peace and an assurance we thought we would never lose...The reminder is that we cannot sign on for a battle of such eternal significance and everlasting consequence without knowing it will be a fight—a good fight and a winning fight, but a fight nevertheless."

"Sure it is tough—before you join the Church, while you are trying to join, and after you have joined. That is the way it has always been, Paul says, but don’t draw back. Don’t panic and retreat. Don’t lose your confidence. Don’t forget how you once felt. Don’t distrust the experience you had. That tenacity is what saved Moses and Joseph Smith when the adversary confronted them, and it is what will save you."

"With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. “Cast not away therefore your confidence.” Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

"...There may come after the fact some competing doubts and confusion, but it will pale when you measure it against the real thing. Remember the real thing. Remember how urgently you have needed help in earlier times and you got it."

"If we exert all our powers, the light will again come, the darkness will again retreat, the safety will be sure."

"After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel His love and hear the word of the Lord, go forward. Don’t fear, don’t vacillate, don’t quibble, don’t whine. You may, like Alma going to Ammonihah, have to find a route that leads an unusual way, but that is exactly what the Lord is doing here for the children of Israel. Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what? There’s always a first time. With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet. In the words of Joseph Smith, “Brethren [and sisters], shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!”

"I believe that in our own individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us. We may not see it as fully as Moses or Nephi or the brother of Jared did, but we see as much as we need to see in order to know the Lord’s will for us and to know that He loves us beyond mortal comprehension."

"Fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. It is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going."

I love that man.

I don't know everything. I get answers, but don't always realize the affliction that may follow. I trust the Lord and I love him with everything I have.

He. Will. Fight for me.

A Revelation:

Sometimes...

a good
CRY
is the only thing that makes you feel better.

Sure helped me.

And We Are...

...still waiting...



...to find out...


...if I get to see...


...those livin' hills.

My patience is wearing thin.

"What is she feeling, and what is she thinking about how she feels?"

(In case you don't know what this title is referring to: click here. You won't regret it.)

THINKING.

We all do it.

Whether we want to or not.

{Think} about it. How many times do you {think} you say the word

{THINK} in a day?

How many times does someone start a sentence with:

"I think..."

or:

"I've been thinking..."

All the time.

We're taught that thinking is the key to success. In school, that's all we do. Think. How do you complete a difficult math problem (heaven forbid)? You think it through. You think through how you'll outline a paper. You plan out your day, what you'll wear, what you'll do. What is planning, really?

THINKING.

Am I wearing out the word, yet?

What I'm trying to get at here, is that thinking is like breathing. Everyone does it, even if you don't realize it's going on. You can't think about not thinking. Because you're still thinking. Think, think, think.

Here's a [thought].

What if I don't want to {think} anymore? What if I'm sick of tossing and turning at night because I can't lasso my thoughts to where I can actually do a different kind of thinking: dreaming.

At least in my dreams all I have to do is wake up, and nightmares are over. I don't have to deal with the problems anymore.

(That sounded emo and dramatic.
I'm happy, I promise.
There is sunshine in my life.)

Let's put it this way: have you seen 500 Days of Summer? (If you haven't, see it.) There is a scene in there where Tom, the main character, envisions the expectations of a particular party. When he arrives, we see those expectations directly shown next to the reality of the situation, which, as usual, is worse.

This is the problem with {thinking}.

We're left alone with our thoughts and we fantasize how we want something to be, or how we want something to turn out. We want everything to be perfect and to go as planned. We want to look someone in the face and tell them exactly what we've been {thinking}.

And it never happens.


If your nervous, someone says, "Just don't think about it."


Remember what I said?


As much as you try...{THINKING}...never stops.

Bummer.