Little Pockets

You ever get those moments where time just sorta stands still and you realize the small things in your life that are great and suddenly the world seems like it's made of marshmallows and pastel-colored candy?
Ok.....so maybe you don't, but whether it's my child-like imagination, or subconscious sweet tooth - I do.

I'm not saying that my life is a piece of cake (really liking the sweet tooth analogies today), I still have aches, pains, work, and difficulty to encounter, but today I just had a brief "little pocket of sunshine" moment, so I thought instead of sharing all my stress with the world, I'll share the sunshine.

First off, I had my first professional day at school, which means I got to wear my uniform and feel the excitement of looking the part that I one day will play.  I was a little sad not to be able to attend devotional today, but that's the great thing about lds.org, you can look up talks and devotionals all the time!

A short while after,  I saw a picture of a friend's new baby on facebook.  A tiny little girl, so precious and small. 
 Then I looked at my phone and saw the picture of my own little nephew that my Mom had sent me.  He's folding his arms lopsidedly and squinting his eyes in a prayer - It's adorable.  There's something special those tiny ones that just makes me smile.

So many small reminders today of the goodness that is all around us - especially in little kids. 
Never underestimate the power of those small smiles.

Streisand

Dear Barbara Streisand:

Every time I watch the ending of Funny Girl, I get chills, my heart flutters, and I feel like I'm about to burst.  Please don't think that I am accusing you of any wrong-doing;  on the contrary, I am constantly in shock and awe at your ability to suck me into loving Fanny Brice almost INSTANTLY. As soon as she comes into view in that silly red dress in the beginning of the movie and talks about her future with that gleam of hope in her eyes - I'm stuck. 

My love for her character grows as I watch her confidence catapult her into stardom.  I am charmed by her and her glorious sense of humor.  You have supplied the women of my family with endless quotes such as, "I'm a bagel on a plate full of onion rolls!", "Hello GORgeous", and my personal favorite, "you gonna shoot da shwanz?  MY Shwanz girls?  Whatta ya, dumb?".  

..and then my heart breaks with hers as she delivers this final song.  So thank you Barbara, for bringing such a powerful emotion to the life of Fanny Brice - It's truly unforgettable.

Something Beautiful :)

I'm slightly obsessed with this song lately.  It's just so catchy.

                                        

"Something Beautiful" - The Newsboys

I wanna start it over

I wanna start again

I want a new beginning

One without an end

I feel it inside

Calling out to me

It's a voice that whispers my name

It's a kiss without any shame

Something beautiful, yeah, yeah

Like a song that stirs in my head

Singing love will take us where

Something's beautiful

I've heard it in the silence

Seen it on a face

I've felt it in a long hour

Like a sweet embrace

I know this is true

It's calling out to me

It's the voice that whispers my name

It's the kiss without any shame

Something beautiful, yeah, yeah

Like a song that stirs in my head

Singing love will take us where

Something's beautiful

It's the child on her wedding day

It's the daddy that gives her away

Something beautiful, yeah, yeah

When we laugh so hard we cry

All the love between you and I

Something beautiful

sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia

sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.  The technical term for "Brain-freeze".  This discovery was brought on by the fact that today is none other than:

Free Slurpee day at 7-Eleven

Free Slurpee day marks the convenience store chain's 84th birthday. On free Slurpee day, or "7-Eleven Day," customers get 7.11 ounces of the frozen, carbonated, sugary treat for free.

• 

ENJOY!

 

I'm gonna be edumacated!

A year ago, almost to the day - I opened up an e-mail from the BYU college of nursing to the following greeting:

Dear Student:

Your application for acceptance to the College of Nursing for Fall 2010 has been carefully reviewed.  You were one of a large number of exceptionally qualified students who applied this semester. Unfortunately, we are not able to admit you to the nursing program at this time.

...etc...

Yesterday, I opened a new e-mail.....the first line simply said:

Hello New 1^st Semester Students!!

It took me until I was about half way done with reading the e-mail to realize what it all meant.  Hahaha! I sat stunned and then ran tippy-toed through the office to tell the only person close by that knew how much this meant to me - Jenny Brooks :) She's been there with me through the past year - through all the ups and downs, the questions, and the guesses. 

I don't know if I can fully explain how much I have wanted this - it's my dream to be a nurse, and now I don't have to give up the friends I've made here in Utah.   I get to stay right here - with the friends I love - and start learning the subjects I love.  It's been a year of hard work...including squeezing a chem class into my lunch break; but it paid off. 

The permanent smile on my face yesterday was a welcome new beginning.  Everything seems to be changing lately, but - with some work - it's all looking up :)

I'm the happiest girl in the world, and I'm gonna be edumacated!

Weekend of Freedom and Fun

Saturday, Jess and I became a biker gang.  After returning her bike for the second time to Walmart, we set out on a day of adventures.   First, we biked to campus, stopping by the library so I could stock up on books for the coming weeks.

We went to stop by Jamba Juice only to find it was closed....so, we biked down to the one off University Parkway.  We got a dollar off our fancy smoothies and a coupon for half off our next jamba! 

Then we biked back home and jumped in the pool.  It was super fun, but we decided that pool toys would make it even MORE fun.  So, being a biker gang and all - we rode to Shopko in our swim suits, bought super cheap pool toys and rode back home where we jumped BACK into the pool and splashed around for a while. 

We eventually got out of the pool and showered.  Then we went and got a pizza and crazy bread.  Crazy Bread may be one of my favorite things in the world after realizing it was only $1.  I learn something every day.

Stadium of Fire:



              

Later that night, I watched the Stadium of Fire with Troy.  We found a good spot on a hill behind our apartment.  The Jets came right over our heads - it was incredible, and I got to hear my secret crush David Archuletta :)  I can't say I paid as much attention when Brad Paisley sang, but the fireworks were amazing and definitely caught my attention again.

On Monday I joined a different biker gang  and rode with Josh and Troy down to Utah Lake.  Yep - Utah Lake.  It sounds far.....come to think of it, it is far, but the ride wasn't bad.  We found snakes, ducks, and even cows along the way.  The water was super choppy and smelled horrible, but it was a fun trip anyway.  When we got to the lake we tried playing hacky sack.  I had to get over the fact that I felt immensely silly and eventually I did ok at it.  Maybe one day I'll be like this guy:

The evening was pretty low key, but a perfect end to the day.

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!

For every blade of grass

There are some moments in life that force you to step back and really take a good look at everything.  It's easy to get caught up in asking questions, "why?", "how?", "what?!"

I've always thought that life doesn't turn out how you plan it, and I stand by that.  Sometimes it turns out better, and sometimes worse. 

This is a week for me that has brought me down to the level where the fog of my standard, routine life is swept away and I actually open my eyes and start to appreciate everything around me. 

It's one of those moments when all reasoning and logic say that I should be miserable, distraught, and feeling like a tiny speck again...but, I don't. 

I spent part of the day sitting on the grass looking at shapes in the clouds, admiring sunsets, and swinging on a playground. As I let my mind wander, I realized that everything around me was beautiful.  I know that sounds like a story carved out of straight CHEESE, and I'm not trying to be over the top, but it was just nice.  Really nice.

I sat in the grass and felt each tiny little blade brush against my hand.  A friend had just joked with me earlier that I needed to count my blessings.  So I did.  I started thinking of little things in that moment, like looking at cloud shapes, enjoying sunsets, and having a listening ear.  Then I slowly branched out to my friends, my family, and all the people that I care about.  The more I thought about it the more I realized that there are an infinite number of things that we can appreciate, which are only ever limited by the walls in our mind. 

Take for example, the little potato bug crawling across the sidewalk, seemingly insignificant.  I'm my mind, I wouldn't think of it as terribly remarkable in any way.....until I remember that when I was little, these little rolly-polly bugs entertained me for hours.  I thought they were the funniest things; I'd always try to pick them up without having them curl up into their protective shell.

I suddenly realize that I’m smiling – remembering something as small as a little potato bug – and to me, that just proves the point that things to appreciate are almost innumerable; as if for every blade of grass, there is a blessing.