Nerd Alert!

You know you are a nerd when you are jamming out to "Stand Out" from the Goofy movie and all you can think about is how fitting it would be for the artists of Avant Garde.....Oh man. I'm one of a kind.

Little Life Lessons...

My life lessons from the past few weeks:


- Service is good, but the only way to correctly serve others is to also remember yourself. You can't serve another when you don't want to get out bed in the morning. A good friend of mine reminded me that when Enos spent all that time praying and pouring out his soul to the Lord, he first had to ask for himself and then ask for others. He was able to do both.


- There is always someone who cares, no matter what you think you have done wrong.


- Treasure the good days. You don't know what is going to happen tomorrow.


-Laughing makes any situation better.


-An iPod is a saving grace :)


- Stuffing your face while in the company of good friends is really rather cathartic. That and exercising.


AND -Just keep moving.

O Canada!

I like the Olympics. Once in French class when we were supposed to answer which sport we would like to make us famous, I said the Olympics. Partly because I knew the translation of what I wanted to say, but also because this is so very cool! When the Olympics were in Salt Lake, I became addicted.

I liked to watch every event, but I obsessed about Pairs Figure Skating. Not really even for the Americans. My favorites were the Canadians- David Pelletier and Jamie Sale. I was completely wrapped up in the problem of whether they earned the gold medal or if it should really go to the Russians. Obsessed- like I said. I ripped their picture out of Time magazine and taped it up in my locker for the rest of the year. I bought the VHS duo of the competition and the show they put on after competition was over. It was great!
As I obsessed over the skaters, my friend Madison obsessed over Apollo Anton Ohno. We went to Apollo Burgers for her birthday that year, just because the names were the same.
So far, I think my favorites are in the earlier part of the two weeks. Curling? Could someone explain why that is exciting? How did this get to be an Olympic sport? I was watching the Men's Moguls yesterday, thinking the whole time how hard that would be. They must be really fit- think of their muscles. And I envy their ability to ski. I'm still working on that whole thing of not falling down. Yes, some of them fell, but it wasn't nearly as embarrassing. (Well, actually, probably more since the whole world is watching........) But all I know about curling is that they push a bowling ball on ice and hope that it stops at the right place. If they do, they win a gold medal. Personally, I don't think all these events are created equal. Does anybody play curling? Do you play it? or just do it? Curling is an enigma to me. And the Biathalon. I understand the skiing section, but shooting a gun? Interesting.
These next two weeks= pretty much amazingness. I don't think I will ever be an Olympic athlete. EVER---but you can bet I'll watch as much as I can. Drawing the line at Curling, of course.

Aujourd'hui....je suis tres fatigue!!!

I don't know what it is about my body but if I stay up any later than midnight, I struggle to get to sleep at all. It's like it gets recharged when it should be ready to shut off! So then I feel my body go to sleep but my mind keeps going all over the place. It is the funniest feeling. Then- all of today I feel out of it. Super!
Why you ask? Why did I do this to myself even when I know that this is what happens? Because randomly, I have a masochistic streak. I was working all day to be ahead of schedule and not procrastinate and because I was being a good little girl, I lost sleep, jeopardizing all of today. It's not like I'm not stressed enough already. Hopefully I can wake up enough to make a good impression at a job interview!
Ahhhhhhhh!

HEAVEN ON EARTH-according to me

Would you rather be in the mountains or on the beach? My answer?

I choose Mountains!!!

Have you seen these Wasatch mountains without the horrible inversion? I love walking outside just because I stare at the beauty around me. The beach is great, but if I had the choice, there is no competition.

SMILE!!!

I'm one week into the new semester and already I think things are going to be splendid this go round. I don't know really what it is that has caused these feelings in me, but deep down in my gut, I know that life will work itself out. I have miraculously stayed on top of my french homework!!!! Shocker! No need to be frantically writing on the train. AND- I understand more in class. I didn't know that it was possible. I have much more on my plate this semester than last, but I think that is how I function. Give me more than I can handle, or don't give me anything at all. I think I'm weird that way, but I've decided who cares!
School is great! Work is great! I learn so much from this transcription from the church and it always turns into more than just work. For example, the last one that I did was a conversation with Elder and Sister Oaks and Sheri Dew. There were so many great nuggets of wisdom in the entire conversation,(and if you want to hear it, go to the Mormon Channel and look it up. Pretty sure you could find it.) but I keep thinking about something that Elder Oaks said about his wife. He said that he asked her once why she had remained single for so long. Her reply was that she was waiting for a man that would the Lord more than he loved her, and that he didn't know if he met such a high standard. How wonderful is that?!
I keep finding tender mercies throughout my day. I think that if you are having a rough time you should write down five tender mercies that have happened in your day. If that is too easy or doesn't help, make it ten. Write them down and start to look for them. Today- my morning commute to school. I have a class that starts at 9:10 in the morning. Awesome class- awesome professor. But both days of class last week I walked in late. My own fault for not getting going early enough in the morning. So, today I decided that I was going to make it. I was even going to be early. I woke up at 6:30 am, which for me is extra early these days. Got myself ready while the rest of the house was dark. As things go, it took a little longer than I planned to get everything done and out the door. I was sure I had blown the whole plan and was once again going to be late to class. My hero of a father drove me to the Jordan Commons stop through a backway that I wouldn't have even thought through just as the train pulled up to the station. I hollered goodbye and ran. It's happened before that I can run as fast as I can and the train still leaves me. Today? The nice gentleman driving the trax train saw me, smiled, and waited until I could get on!!! And guess what? I got to school with 20 minutes to spare. A whole 20 minutes! I didn't know what to do with myself during all the extra time. These are the things that make a bad day seem okay. It turned my day around. It isn't over yet, and I suppose there are a million things that can go wrong between now and when I go to bed, but that one thing is enough to remind me to smile. Ahhh, I love to smile!
Everything is coming together. Yes, there are still stresses that I wish didn't exist in my life. Money is still an issue. Family health will always be an issue. But I have wonderful friends and family and opportunities coming into my life that I can't help but be happy. It is simply fantastic!Here's hoping the same comes to you!

I like adventures...but I also like to keep my life...

Skiing---check.
Learned how to start and stop---check.
French Fries and Pizza---check.
Conquered a tow rope---check.
Went up for a run---check.
Fell and endangered my life in the process----check.
Will I ever ski again? Hmmmmm.....

I did go skiing. I accomplished a lot. Sure I had a good time. I learned a lot. According to Squirt, I was still doing pretty well for my first and second days. The day after? I'll keep the ibuprofen close at hand. My neck hurts. Yes, my body is sore, but my neck hurts the most. Why you ask? Well, I was starting to go down a Green run and forgot everything that Squirt had taught me. Meaning, I couldn't get my heels to spread out so that I could slow myself down. I was trying to turn and instead straightened out my skis and picked up a lot of speed. The next thing I knew I was in the air, and came down on my head. I could have broken or twisted my ankle, but I figured out how to move the ski the right way before I came down. After my crash and I could open my eyes, my poles were 5 feet away, my goggles and hat had flown off my head, and I was staring up at Squirt's scared face. Awesome.
Told my mom the whole story and she kept saying, "You're lucky you didn't break your neck." I will forever be grateful that that didn't happen.
I haven't exactly given up on skiing. Just give me some time before I go up there again. Thanks to friends and watching little kids learn how to ski, it was a fun time. Thanks a lot to Squirt for trying to teach me. Wednesday was a blast!!!!