Blessed.

So I am a lame sauce blogger, but I'm in South America. Valid excuse? No. My alibi? Yup.

I managed to go the whole month of November without posting anything, however that doesn't meant that I'm not grateful. On the contrary. I feel like I am quite the most lucky girl alive at the moment. I mean how many people get to see this.....?

Not very many.
But that's not why I feel blessed
(not the only reason anyway).

I have a family who loves me. I have a knowledge of a plan of peace and happiness for this life. I have a healthy body. I have a Heavenly Father who knows my name and is looking out for me when I go gallivanting through South America. I have seen His hand in my life every day, and for that I couldn't be more grateful.

"What I've learned"

One of my friends on facebook posted this today:

Would you all be willing to take 3 minutes and write a quick paragraph for me? And for a 92 year old grandma? :) Just go to this google doc and it will explain everything! Thank you thank you!

Intrigued, I opened the document just to see what people were writing, not really feeling like writing a deep philosophical paragraph about my life. But as I read the explanation it started me thinking, and when I start thinking it makes me feel like writing. (kind of like when you give a moose a muffin....(: ) So I thought I'd share the story and my answer:

I have a favor to ask all of you. I have the wonderful opportunity of being a hospice volunteer to a wonderful lady named Joan Glad. I visit her weekly and am so honored I can help her be happy and feel loved! Joan is a 92-year-old woman who is extremely intelligent, charitable, loving, and endearing. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology and practiced it for many years. She absolutely loved her profession! I have loved learning about her.

Recently Joan decided she wants to publish a book titled "What I've Learned." Throughout the past year she asked people to submit a response to what they have learned throughout their life. She has received about 50 responses and told me she originally hoped to get 100 responses. When she told me this I saw how important this was to her and offered to help her reach her goal. I realize this is quite a task, as I will be pretty much publishing this book for her, but right when I saw the joy in her eyes as I offered to help her publish this book and more importantly reach her goal it made it all worth it! She would love responses from all ages--so if you are young and feel like you don’t have any experience or haven’t learned a whole lot, I bet you have!
I will be extremely grateful if you all just take 2 minutes to write a response to this so we can all help this wonderful woman reach her goal. If you are willing, please respond as soon as you can! I will keep you all updated as to when the book is published (by January 2011) so you can look at it if you wish. You will be in a book! :)

My answer:
Looking at the entries of the other people here, no one has said listed a fact they’ve learned in a book or a piece of information pertaining solely to their area of study or expertise. All of the lessons have come from living. Our time on Earth is all about learning, and while learning from books greatly enhances the quality of life, the most important things are learned in the doing. You can read about dancing in a text book, but you won’t know how to dance until you get out on the dance floor. You can read about the love of God, but you won’t really know it until you go and serve someone. Everyone has different life experiences because they need to learn different things. However, we need to have the courage to go and do. Trusting that each lesson we learn and every opportunity we have is not random. All of us have a loving Father in Heaven who puts things into our lives so we can live and learn. For better or for worse, life is for living!
Kate Erekson, 21 years-old, BYU student

I feel like my answer is very reflective of my Peruvian experience. Looking back this could have very easily not happened. I just knew it was right so I trusted the Lord and went for it, but seriously- coming to Peru by myself for three months not speaking Spanish???? Super crazy! But I couldn't be more grateful that I did!

What have you learned in your life? It's kind of a broad question, but I'd love to hear your response if you're feeling philosophical and I'm sure my friend would appreciate more responses! :)

Fireworks in Peru. Random? Yes. My life? Yep. Awesome? You better believe it!

This will make your day.

Or your money back!


It's my kids dancing to a song from The Sister Act!!!! SOO cute!!!
I have like a million more videos but it takes forever and a day to upload them!! Any suggestions on making it faster??

Hello Beautiful

Where have you been all my life, Cherimoya???

Let's be friends. Best Friends.

Me gusta

I've seen some quality youtube videos the past couple of days, so instead of filling my facebook feed with them, I turn to blogging. Mostly so I have some where I can find them easily later :) Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjCLQaTFXx0&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlW5c4tInvY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkd5dJIVjgM&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82yZVB7IDlE

Random side note and comment on the title of the post: I switched my Facebook to Spanish in hopes of me picking up some phrases or something, and the "like" button says "me gusta". Which makes sense. Because that's what it means. But it always makes me smile :)

Gets me every time....

I. love. this. video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E

It just touches me. I'm not a Mom (yet). I'm not a burn victim. I don't know her. But it gets me everytime.

"I am not my body"

Watch it. Love it. Live it.

Is this true life?

Every now and then I look around me, and I have to think, this is really happening. Wow. This is my life right now. How random?!? But so divinely inspired! I don't know exactly why I'm here, but it's been amazing!! SO since I last wrote, I listened to Conference,attended FHE, went to the temple, had my first peruvian sleepover, and ate the heart of a cow and a chicken! That's my incentive for you to keep reading what is bound to be a long email!

So Sunday morning I woke up at looked at my watch and sat bolt upright because it said 10:30, and church is at 11! SO I jumped out of bed, washed my face, went into the kitchen to ate some cereal, then noticed the car was still in the garage and no one else was getting ready. Turns out my phone died in the night, and my watch was on timer, not the time. It was really 7:30. Nice. So I decided to take a shower, and then I practiced the piano for a little bit. Then I brought my computer out to the dining room with Gabriela. She watched it on her computer in Spanish, and I watched it on mine in English. It was great!!! President Monson’s talk about gratitude was inspiring. I have SO much to be grateful for!!! Then in between sessions, we went to eat at their favorite Chinese restaurant in China Town. (My second China Town of the week!) (and again with the eating out on Sunday!) It was really delicious! Muy rico! When we were driving home, I felt like I understood the conversation for a while and I got really excited! Then I got completely lost, but I had it for a second! It was like my happy thought in Hook. So then we came back and watched the closing session. I just love conference so much! It makes me want to be better. After the afternoon session, I cracked down on my Spanish. I made some handy dandy charts, went through flashcards, and listened to a talk from conference in Spanish. I can do this! With the Lord’s help of course!!
Monday- No school!! These are the days where as Mom says “I do nothing and then rest from it”. I forced myself to sleep in (it was actually really hard! Why is it that when you can sleep as long as you want, you pop awake at 7:30? Come on body, work with me!!) which was until 9. Then I had to go to the bathroom, so I woke up.. Later, I was able to talk to Emily on webcam!!! It was really fun talking to her and the girls!! Juan Carlos came home for lunch, and Sabrina made cau-cau, a typical Peruvian dish. It was good- it reminded me of something though…chicken noodle soup in potato and some Peruvian vegetable form maybe…

They invited two families over for FHE tonight! Mafer, from my class (my translator!), and her sister and Dad, David Torres (He went to law school at BYU), and Syrielle (she gave a talk the first Sunday I was here and wants to make me Thanksgiving dinner!) and her husband and daughter Nicole, and their son’s friend came over later as well. It was a lovely evening! We all ate (they ordered chicken, fries, and salad again), luckily I sat by David and he translated most of it for me! He and I had a nice talk about his decision to go to BYU. He’s great! I really enjoyed talking with him! Then David gave a spiritual thought, and they asked me to share my testimony and David translated it. It was kind of weird having what I said translated, but whatever. It was a great night! FHE in Peru- check!

Today I got up the nerve to go run in the park by the house, and it was great! It’s a nice park, and I feel very safe running there! There were policemen patrolling everywhere and there were a bunch of older people walking around, and I think it’s a nicer part of town…There were two old ladies doing tai chi! It made me think of Emily Fitzpatrick! So I came home and took a shower and got all ready. Then I ate lunch with Juan Carlos, Gabriela, and Clara! We had soup and then ravioli with this DELICIOUS red sauce! It was excellent!! Then I read scriptures for a little bit, and took a nap. Then I played piano for a while. Then I got ready and Juan Carlos dropped me off at the carpool bus to drive to the temple. I sat by myself but I talked with Katty, and another guy in the ward. I could understand the guy’s Spanish pretty well! I don’t know why, but I just understood almost everything he was saying! Jajajaja! (As the say here…) A girl name Merloni came and started talking to me and I talked to her for probably 30 minutes! She was very nice! She’s 28 and the young single adults representative I guess? She just moved to Lima and is a teacher! She wants to take me around to see places in Peru! So we’ll see what happens there! I don't know if it's just the nature of people here or because I'm an "exotic" American, but it seems like these people just instantly decide to be my new best friend! I hardly even say a word! Maybe that's why- they want someone to listen to them. Who knows? When we got to the temple, we had to stand outside for a little bit, I don’t know why, but it was cold. I definitely packed wrong for this time of year!!! We finally got to go inside- it’s a beautiful temple inside and out! Especially compared to the dirty city that surrounds it! But we sat in a chapel for a little bit and they gave everyone a Book of Mormon, Spanish of course, to read. I read in 3 Nephi 11, because I thought I had a pretty good idea of the plot that I could try and figure out what it was saying. It was beautiful in Spanish, and it really hit me about the universality of Christ’s love and Atonement. I always picture the Savior speaking in English, because that’s what I know, but people in Peru picture Him speaking Spanish because that’s what they know. But the Savior speaks ALL languages, and knows and loves ALL people!! It’s also changed how I see people; walking around the city I try to look more at peoples’ individual faces and imagine Christ seeing them and try to feel more loving toward them; it helps a lot! So after reading in the chapel for a little bit, they called up some girls to get their suits (wrapped in plastic…) and go down to the baptistery. The sister gave me a medium, but I knew it was going to be small, because medium on a Peruvian is not going to be a medium on me! But I didn’t know how to say “I want a large” in Spanish…”Yo queiro un grande?” So I just conceded. And sure enough, it fit ok, but the length came to a few inches below my knee. Oh well. Both the baptisms and confirmations affirmed my suspicion that they speak Spanish SO fast!!! I could read along with what they were saying and I couldn’t even read it as fast as they were saying it! Oy! But it was still beautiful! The font was little, so I had to stand right up next to the edge so I could go down! After I finished and got dressed, I went out and waited for Gabriela in the lobby. There were two older people and a younger boy who were Americans, and from BYU on a church tour!! So I talked with them for a little bit, and then the others as they came out. One of the temple workers came over and was so cute and was like “Thank you so much for coming! What are you doing in this neck of the woods?...wow! Quite the experience! Well thank you so much for coming!” My pleasure! Really! So then Gabi came and went talked to more people (a guy named George translated for me- so many nice people that speak English! I’m so grateful for them!!!!!) then we got on the bus to come back. Gabriela bought some snacks from some random kid that got on the bus and started selling them. Gabi told me more about her trip to Europe (she sang in a castle in Edinburgh! With people playing bagpipes!! ) Then she told me how she met Juan Carlos- he was an elder in her ward, but she was engaged to someone else! It all turned out ok in the end of course! ) Then we took a taxi to get home! It was a great day!

So Tuesday I talked to Amanda yesterday about what time we were going to get together on Wednesday, and she told me 9 o’clock. So, Wednesday I decided to get up early to go running before I went with her. So 7:30, I woke up and went running at the park. Then I took a shower and got all ready. Then I waited. And waited. I decided to read my scriptures and then sleep while I was waiting. I woke up when I heard the doorbell, but it wasn’t Amanda. Then I decided to practice the piano while I waited. Finally, at like 12 Juan Carlos came and said he was going to drop me off at Amanda’s. When I got to Amanda’s "Mama" (that's what I call her (: ) was there to welcome me, and told me I missed Lucy’s school play (which was why I came over in the first place ): ) I guess Amanda called Juan Carlos and he told her, he would drop me off at 10. Alas. So Amanda was at the school, so I helped Mama get lunch ready. We had pasta with sauce with some kind of meat and hot dog cut up along with chicken noodle soup, Peruvian style with spinach, and a whole chicken leg in it! Amanda got home and ate with us (when they come home they come in and say “yoo hoo!” I love it!) After we ate, we talked with Mama for a little bit, then we went to Plaza San Miguel! It’s a huge outdoor mall! We mostly just looked, but Amanda bought me a cute pen and I bought her a little thing for her phone! It was fun! We also stopped in the Apple store for a little bit and we took pictures with the in computer camera, which I guess Amanda had never done before! She loved it! Heck, I loved it!! Then we got gelato! It was muy bien!! RICO!! Then we bought a churro for the road. When we got home we had hot chocolate and bagel kind of things, which turned out to be dinner. Then I talked with Mama, Amanda, and Lucy for probably two or three hours. It was great! We talked about everything from my favorite music, to typical dances of Peru and America (including demonstrations!) and traveling to the U.S.! It was fun talking with them! There are such great people all over the world! That’s why I love traveling! Lima really isn’t the prettiest city I’ve seen, but the people are great! Oh! And Moma told me I have a very good accent! Especially for only having been her 15 days! (only 15 days?? is it true? I don't feel like actually counting...) But first step accent, next step, language domination! Then we went up into Lucy’s bedroom and sat on her bed and talked and watched T.V. Then Mister called at like 11:15 pm and we decided it would just be easier for me to sleep over. So then we got ready for bed. I’m pretty sure both of their beds are just like wooden boards. That’s what they felt like. Seriously. It wasn’t terrible for me, but I definitely didn’t get my best nights rest…but yay for Peruvian sleepovers!

The next morning however, I woke up feeling tired and sore. But we had a really good breakfast! Mama was gone when we woke up because she went to the hospital with Amanda’s dad who has problems with his nerves and suffers from depression. Most days he just lies in bed all day and sleeps or stares at the ceiling. Mama is such an amazing woman to me; she dedicates all her time to looking after her mom, her husband, and her children, and she’s always happy. I know that's pretty much what all moms do, but she is just so great! She made food before she left and left it out for us! It was eggs with some kind of meat and a grilled banana in a roll! So good!!! Then we walked to the school, and had a meeting with all the teachers. It was long and I didn’t understand most of it, but I came out of it with a few jobs. I am going to be the MC for the play in a couple of weeks, and I am going to help write a script for something (again I don’t know what…) and I’m going to help them plan then Halloween party so it’s an authentic American Halloween party! American culture is everywhere here and it fills me with mixed emotions. Part of me is happy to see something familiar, but the other half of me is sad that we’re coming in and enforcing our culture into theirs. They have such a rich history, with dances, and foods, and people- I don’t want it to get lost in the commercial America. I just realized that ironically enough I helped Amanda cut out pictures and letters for a poster about Christopher Columbus. Columbus was no doubt inspired, but he did manage to ruin a people and a culture to make way for a culture that is going to go and do it again throughout the world. But Peruvians think of America as this great place full of opportunity and happiness. It really is great, but it’s definitely not without its problems and corruption unfortunately. But the grass is always greener. Anyway, off random tangent, back to my day. Someone bought a huge cake and we ate it for Amanda’s birthday. I didn’t really like the cake, but I liked the frosting, which there was a lot of! Then everyone left, and I checked my email for a little bit and found out Michael has been called to the Roseville, California Spanish speaking mission!!!!!!!! I am so excited for him!!! He is going to be an amazing missionary!!! I saw in the apple store that he got his call, but he didn't say where and it was KILLING me all day to know!!!!!!!! YAY!! After that I was there alone with Mister and Sylvia who were doing financial stuff. I drove with Mister to Callao, which is an ocean side city next to Lima, to drop off stuff for his accountant. We saw a set of Elders while we were driving, and it made me happy and think of Michael. Then we drove back to the school and picked up Sylvia and went to dinner. I had my first anticuchos (cow heart and chicken heart!) It was MUY RICO!!!!!!!! Probably one of my favorite dishes!! That's what I get for being brave :) Dad would be proud! (Actually, he'd probably be jealous!! (; ) So that's all for this report! Tomorrow we're headed into the country at 6:30AM! Who knows what adventures will be in store for that trip!! Stay tuned!!

Tender Mercies

So the day after I wrote my last email was pretty rough. As Kristen said, it was one of those “I love you not” days in my teaching book. But I guess it’s good to have opposition. I was going to wake up early and take a shower, but I was too tired, so I just pushed snooze and opted for a no shower morning. Then Juan Carlos was running late for school, so he was rushed. Then the teachers weren’t particularly talkative at the gate this morning. I was in Miss Jenny’s class again. The kids went to music class after devotional. It was in the same room as robotics, and with a similar atmosphere. All the boys were being so rambunctious but the girls were being really good! But the boys were all all over each other! Jumping, punching, kicking, strangling, threatening. Oy. But every kid has their own recorder, and the teacher called them all up one at a time and had them play something. Then she had them get into lines and pretend to be trains. There were three different lines, and each line would move to a certain chord. Then she played some music and had them draw the instruments they heard in the music. Then she did the same thing, but she played individual instruments behind a door and they had to write the names down. Lots of good, fun music ideas.The boys were just crazy!! Then when we came back to class, Miss Jenny divided the class into three groups to work on math/money some more. I was assigned to work with one of the groups. Really? You trust me to teach these kids math in my Spanglish?! Ok…so I did it. I started on an individual basis and kind of worked with each kid first. Then eventually I worked with the whole group and held up amounts and gave them fake money and asked them to give it to me. I think it worked pretty well. The kids were really cute about it. When we were done, we ate lunch. I ate with the kids again. After lunch, we went and practiced for the play again. It was chaos. The boys were being crazy as ever, and I had to come back to the classroom with Joaquin and Angelo. Not that that did much good, because they weren’t listening to Miss Jenny, let alone me because they don’t know what I’m saying. Finally the end of the day came, but I had to wait like 40 minutes for Juan Carlos to come pick me up. I did get to go with Gabriela to her to her institute class. The traffic was crazy because Bon Jovi was performing at a local university! But the class was good- it was about honoring your spouse and making sure you focus on them while you are married, especially when you have children. It really struck me that it’s so important to find someone you really just enjoy being with, because even though you’ll have kids, they grow up one day and then its just the two of you for eternity and I want to be happy with the person I’m with!! When we got home, Gabriela and I studied the Book of Mormon in Spanish. She is quite the amazing woman.

Mom sent me one of those corny religious pass along emails, but I really liked one of the quotes, especially after today:

“Do not give into sadness or desperation for what you are going through today. God knows how you feel…God knows exactly and with perfection what is being allowed to happen in your life at this precise moment”

He did, and does know, because the next day was just that much better because of that bad day!

Thursday I felt like three months isn’t going to be long enough. The morning was ok, I was really tired, and I was kind of feeling daunted by the routine. I decided to try and be more loving toward Joaquin so he would behave better, and it worked! Kind of…They had robotics this morning again, and they didn’t really listen to me anymore, but at play practice I was able to maintain somewhat control of Eros and Joaquin, which I consider to be quite the feat!!! At the end of the practice, Mafer and Danielle came and gave me a big hug! It always surprises me when the kids get really cuddly, and the kids who are cuddly changes regularly! I think that’s what draws me to them, is trying to get them to like me…Then at recess we played tag, kind of, with the kids. It mostly consisted of the teachers running after the kids, tickling them, then chasing other kids. That was good bonding for me and Joaquin because it created interaction where I wasn’t scolding him or restraining him! (And I had a blast!!) I went to the bathroom afterwards, and I stopped by the sink to wash my hands, and Amanda called me into her classroom. She asked me what I was doing after school (at first I thought she meant after I was here in Peru, but she clarified for me) and I told her nothing, so she asked if I would be interested in going home with her. I said yeah! So she said she’d talk to “Mister” (Juan Carlos). That gave me something to look forward to!! Looking back, it could have been serious reason for concern, I mean I hardly know her! But I just didn't have time to worry, and everything turned out great! Then at the end of the day we listened to The Ugly Duckling by “haans chreestian andersohn”. (Hans Christian Anderson) They had a song they sang with the book and the kids LOVED it! It was in English, but they all pretty much sang it verbatim! The power of music! You ask them to say anything without singing, and they're done for...Then it was the end of the day!!!!!! I played the Peruvian equivalent of ring around the rosy with some of the girls for a little bit, then Amanda was ready to leave, so we started walking home. It was probably a 5-10 minute walk. When we got to her house, and I met her mom and grandma. Her mom is simply a doll!!!!!!! I love her to pieces!! We watched T.V. for like 5 minutes, then her mom fed us a delicious meal (I felt like a hobbit today- first lunch, second lunch, third lunch…) Then we played “yengha” (Jenga) and started a puzzle. Then she asked how often I talked to my family, and I told her I had only talked to them once, so she was like, let’s go call them! So we walked down the street to the local international telephone store, and tried to call my mom but she didn’t answer. It costs money to call though, and both Amanda and her mom were totally like, Go! Call her!!! Their generosity was so touching! It’s not like they have a ton to spare! Then we stopped and bought some eggs on the way home (she just asked for a certain amount and they put them in a bag!). Then we helped “Momma” peel potatoes (with our hands!) and then arrange the table with food for her party. We were talking about holidays and food, and Momma asked me what food I don’t like and I said I don’t drink coffee or alcohol, and they were totally cool with that, like they weren't shocked or surprised or anything! Amanda doesn’t either!! Then people started arriving. There were only about 15 people there- just friends and family. I felt really honored to be there! I mean, Amanda hardly knows me and she invited me to her family birthday dinner!? That goes above and beyond! No one else from school was there! Amanda was really good at trying to keep me in the conversation! I was still a little lost and didn’t know what people were saying. I’ve decided it’s exhausting trying to guess what people are saying all day…Amanada’s sister Lucy came home from teaching pre-school at like 7:30! I really like her too!! She’s very sweet! Before we ate lunch and dinner, Amanda asked me to pray! So I did! Later, we got out the cake and we were about to start singing to her, and I realized, wait! I don’t even know how they sing happy birthday! When they started singing ‘happy birthday!’!! They also had some other songs they sang that I didn’t know, but I could join in on the happy birthday part. I like their songs better though…then we took pictures (I’m pretty sure I was a good foot taller than most of the girls there, as usual….) and ate cake! I didn't have my camera though because she invited me at school and we just left from there:( Triste! (Sad!) Then people started leaving, and I talked with Amanda and Lucy waiting for Juan Carlos to come pick me up. Both Lucy and Momma asked me if I had a boyfriend! One of their first questions! Too funny! But the evening was simply lovely. I love that family so much! They filled my arms with food to take home too! Momma asked when I was coming back- muchos pronto of course!!! Very soon! I felt very much at home with them! I told Momma I wanted to learn Spanish, so she was talking to me in Spanish and translating ish for me all night! Too cute! Juan Carlos came and I had to leave, and they all said their goodbyes in Spanish , so I don’t know exactly what they said, but I think it was to the effect of “We love Kate, she’s welcome anytime!” (At least I hope that’s what they said…) So I hope to return many times!!

Friday, Welcome October!! How? How is it already October?? Time is flying!! Today was a pretty good day. I thought we were going to go to a ballet during school, only to find out that it’s at 7:30 p.m., so no missing school for me. The kids were really excited when Miss Jenny wrote October on the board instead of September! (They celebrate Halloween in Peru!) But the morning was pretty much business as usual. At one point, Miss Jenny took a girl out to get sized for her costume for the play and I was left in charge of the whole class. By myself. I handled it pretty well I must say, and the kids were VERY well behaved! (for once) I read them a different version of the ugly duckling that Mafer (her dad went to law school at BYU, and she was born in Orem. She's my little translator! Priceless!!) brought from home. It was kind a weird version, like the English was old English-esque, but the pictures were beautiful. I was surprised how attentive they were, especially since I’m sure they didn’t understand most of it. Then I dismissed them in groups to go wash their hands and get ready for lunch. We all ate our lunches without incident or injury! Miracle of miracles! ;) Then Miss Jenny came back and saved me! Then we went up and practiced the play. All the girls wanted to sit on my lap! At one point I had Ximena and Mafer on my lap, and Jocelyn, Angie, and Arianna leaning against me! They are sooo cute! But then, my boys had to go be their crazy selfs, so I had to go back to the classroom with Joaquin and Angello. Luckily Miss Erica was there to give the appropriate reprimands and instructions. When the whole class came back, we did math, combed and brushed their hair and got all packed up. I feel really bad, because I'm pretty sure I made one girl cry for brushing too hard! But they just kind of do a mass fast paced line, so I wasn't paying much attention. (She is still talking to me though :) Got to love kids!) Then I finished reading the Ugly Duckling, and they went through their lines one more time. I had a little knick on my thumb today, and all day the kids would see it and say something in Spanish, I’m guessing to the effect of, “oh no! what happened??” It was precious! Then I went home with Mister (that’s what everyone at school calls him “meester”) and took a nap. Of course, Diego (the member of the church who speaks really good English) called about the activity that night while I was asleep so Senora Clara came into my room with the phone and was like “hola, la telephone” –wake up call, literally :) Unfortunately, I couldn't go to the activity because of the ballet :( But that woke me up, so I started getting ready for the ballet. After picking up some dry cleaning, and picking up Jessica and Miss Jenny from the school, we were off to see the ballet. It was called “La Hija Del Faraon“, (The daughter of Pharo). The costumes were very beautiful and the set was great! We all went to dinner afterward (which I would have preferred skipping seeing as it was 10:30…but alas) and then came home. Apparently there are tests tomorrow, so more school :P school, school, school. And no conference because other broadcasts are banned because of elections. Moui triste! Miss Erica asked me tonight if I had a boyfriend! Is that a normal question to ask in Peru or something?? No boyfriend for me. Why as Mamma asked? Ask the boys.

At the play with some of the teachers from the school. Please note the apparent height difference.

So Saturday we came into school for two hours for the exam. I’m not sure what it was for, but I went into the school regardless. Afterward, they had something they called a promotional, and they sold food! Hot dogs on a stick w/ mayonnaise and ketchup (Peruvians love mayonnaise!!) tartes (chocolate cake, jello cake, crème Brule kind of cake) and sandwiches, and soda. I had a hot dog and a chocolate cake. Then I went with Mister to go get his car washed. We went to this little parking lot and they hand washed the whole thing. While we were waiting, Mister asked me if I have a boyfriend. Oy. I said no, and he was like, why?? You are a pretty girl! Well thanks, tell that to the boys my age! Then we picked up Gabriela, and went to a seafood restaurant for lunch. I actually liked it! I had octopus!! And who knows what else…but it was good! I feel like I’m always eating here! But it’s good food, so it’s ok. The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, I talked to Amanda and her Mom on facebook chat :) I think we're going to go to the zoo next week! I also listened to Elder Holland's talk, SOO Good!!!! He gets me everytime.

Sunday morning I woke up at looked at my watch and sat bolt upright because it said 10:30, and church is at 11! SO I jumped out of bed, washed my face, went into the kitchen to ate some cereal, then noticed the car was still in the garage and no one else was getting ready. Turns out my phone died in the night, and my watch was on timer, not the time. It was really 7:30. Nice. So I think I'm going to be taking a nap later. They're not allowed to watch Conference in Peru this weekend because they have elections today (Sunday) and everyone is required to vote. But I'm going to try and catch a few minutes here and there if I can online!

I’ve been thinking, wondering why I don’t have funny stories about why my kids say to me. Then I realized; I don’t know what they’re saying, so they probably are saying really cute things, I just don’t know it. So sorry I don't have any stories about cute things my kids say. Those will probably come later! Well, I love you all! Everything in Peru is great! (Except I wish I had my rice sock...alas!)

What I've been up to!

"Hola! Como estas? Bien, bien! Yo soy le nueve Professora de Ingles! Much gusto!! Chow!" That there ladies and gentleman is my Spanish vocabulary. Thank you, thank you! Ok, I know like five more words than that, but I'm getting along ok with that. Today I looked outside the school on the posters they have out, and there was my face plastered on an 8X11 piece of paper, with bright colors and balloons saying welcome our new English teacher with a little bio! Wow...Now I'll be famous in Peru!! ;) But let's see, a lot has happened since my last email...three days ago, no? (even though I don't know Spanish, I feel like I'm starting to think in Spanish kind of, like how they would talk) So I went to church on Sunday and it was moui bueno! I helped pass out the programs, which was the perfect job for me because it only required saying "Bueunos Dias, programma?" Oh! And Peruvians ALWAYS give a kiss on the cheek when they say hello. So if when I come home and I do that to you, don't be alarmed! I'm sure it's going to become a habit. I really like it though! It instantly melts any kind of barriers and I automatically feel more comfortable with the person. We do it with the kids at school too. Its cute :) During the announcements they said my name and the counselor motioned to me to stand up, so I did and looked around a little and sat down. No idea what he said about me. I think the talks were good. I couldn’t understand them, but the people who gave them were very animated! I like singing, because you just have to say one syllable at a time pretty much, and it doesn’t require you knowing what you’re saying! As soon as I sat down, the elders motioned me out of the classroom. One of them is American and told me I was going to go to Gospel Principles with them. Ok? We sat down in that class and the teacher asked me (Translated by the Elder) if this was my first time in the church and I said no, I’ve been a member my whole life. Both Elders stared at me and said really? Apparently they introduced me over the pulpit as an investigator. Hahaha!!Some favorites from the day : Tito (man, who speaks un poquito English.), Diego (Sunday School teacher who has lived in the US and went to BYU Idaho before his mission and speaks very good English- hallelujah!) Margaret (sp?) (doesn't speak a lick of English but kept having me sit by her in the meetings, very very nice!) (P.S. I have to hear people's names like three times before I actually remember them, well any name really, its terrible.) and Cyrielle (26-ish woman who is married and has a little girl. She speaks a little English and said she wants to cook me Thanksgiving dinner since I won't be going home :) )(P.S. People in Peru don't really wear wedding rings, I guess because they could get stolen?) Juan Carlos took me out to eat Sunday, and I didn't want to be like oh, no. I don't like to eat at Restaurants on Sunday to a Bishop! SO I figured it was more respectful to just go with the flow. He also ordered take out chicken and fries for dinner, oy! The wife was out of town and just got back yesterday, so maybe that's why? I REALLY REALLY like the wife, Gabrielle! She is SOOO nice!! Love love love her! but I'll get to that later... (p.s. sorry this is so long, skim as you will! It just feels good to talk/type in English and have people actually know what I'm saying without repeating it three times! ;) )
So Monday was my first full day of school and I was in Miss Jenny's ("Mees Yenny") classroom all day. All the teachers a girls, and they are all very nice! Tabatha (ta-bat-a) is the name of one of the girls (she always wears the cutest panda beanie!!) . She loves me, and wanted me to sit by her all day! She’s adorable, but the girl takes ten hours to do anything! At lunch she wasn’t finished with her writing, and she kept saying she was hungry, so I figured she would speed up once she got her food. Oh no. She took forever to eat her lunch too. Tiny little bites five minutes apart. So that meant she didn’t get to run around and play, which wasn’t exactly a problem because it’s not like she had any extra wiggles or anything. At one point in the day, she and danielle were trying to teach me Spanish! It was so cute and fun! I could have done that all day! It was kind of like playing charades, only I didn’t even know how to say the words they wanted me to guess. But still fun. In the morning the class went to “robotics” which is a class where they build stuff with legos I guess. It was pretty much sheer pandemonium though. Kids screaming, throwing legos, the teacher yelling to get their attention. Crazy. Good idea in theory, even though the teacher went around and pretty much built every group’s car. When lunch time came around, I began to wonder if Juan Carlos (dad) was going to come get me and take me home for lunch or if he forgot about me. Miss Jenny asked if I had a lunch, and I told her I didn’t so she gave me a piece of cake for lunch! SOOOO nice of her! Later, Miss Sylvia brought me a lunch, which I downed half of and got back to class. I also used the bathroom at the school for the first time. I guess the adults just use the same one as the kids, but again, I’m like a foot taller than the stalls, so I was like ducking while I went to the bathroom. I’m not sure if this is a Peruvian school thing, or just this school, but you have to get the toilet paper before you go into the stall- luckily I remembered before I went in! However, I did go into the boys bathroom first. I’d say that was a successful experience!

After Gabrielle (the mom) got home, some arrangements were made for dinner, which I didn’t quite understand.( I wish I understood Spanish, have I said that recently?) However, it entailed Juan Carlos dropping Clara (Gabrielle's mom) and I off at a restaurant (Lalena- I remembered a name finally!!), leaving me, just me, to eat while he went and took an exam, and Clara and I walk home when I finished. I wish I could have intervened! I would have been perfectly content to eat at home!! But, out we went, Clara and I sitting there, neither of us completely understanding each other. But I had fettuccini alfredo with chicha morada. The drink made of black corn. While I was eating I just had to laugh at the situation. I never would have imagined it in my wildest dreams- in Peru eating Italian food with a 70 year old Peruvian (well technically Colombian, but whatever) woman.

Today, tuesday, was another full day of school in Miss Jenny's class. The first half of the day was ok, but I felt like I was just kind of in the way. But the second half of the day I was helping kids right and left ( "Mees Kayte Mees Kayt!") and I even taught a segment of the class (English!)! The kids are also putting on a play in English so I helped them memorize their lines and then we went up on the roof and practiced. Some of the kids learned a dance too, and I laughed out loud. Literally, when the music they turned on was from the sister act. Like straight from the soundtrack! hahahahahahaha! It seriously made my day!!
This is the song the kids are dancing to, in case you were wondering! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ZbdgDKfbI
The script is in broken English, but its so cute to hear the kids say their lines, most of which are unintelligible. (They are in first grade and don't know as much English as the older kids) One little boy, Jose Ignacio, was obssessed with my watch today and was always running around the classroom and misbehaving and then calling for me. Oy! He's a trouble maker for sure. Oh, and Tuesday is Karate and Ballet day. All the boys go to Karate for an hour, and all the girls go to ballet. ("ball- et" :) ) I went upstairs (there are four stories! talk about stairs!!) and watched the girls for a bit and they all came to the window and would wave at me, even the ones who never talk to me in class, but they are still so excited to see me! They are SOSOSOSO cute! I could eat them up! They all changed into their leotards and tutu's behind the teacher's desk, and all the boys sat at the other end of the class room :) A lot of the things they do here would never fly in U.S. schools but I like it. Like you can be way more affectionate with the kids- giving them hugs and such here! And at the end of the day, they brush all of the kids' hair (with the same brush...) and redo their hair so they're more presentable I guess. I go back and forth every day, every hourr really, on whether I would want to teach as my profession. We'll have to see what three months of this does to me :) When I got home from school I asked Gabrielle if they had wireless internet and she said yes!! So hopefully I'll be able to keep a better corespondence now!!

Viva Peru!

So you might have heard about my recent Peruvian development. You might not have. You might not have heard of me at all. Either way, I will relay the experience of my past week for all to read and enjoy!

SO. I guess it really starts back at the beginning of this summer. Actually it really starts in 6th grade at Ladue Middle School with my math teacher Ms. Nishiwaki, who I did not like AT ALL! She bred a dislike of math deep into my soul! SO then fast forward to college 2008. I went to BYU fully intending to study Elementary Education. Then first day of spring term 2010, first class, 8am, I went to my teaching math for Elementary Education. I then remembered- Oh yeah, I really don't like math. So I went to the Academic Advisement center and talked with Alberto Puertas. He suggested I drop my classes and take his career exploration class. SO I did! Then I decided I thought I wanted to be an English teaching major. Then first week of Fall semester I went to my English classes. And they stressed me out!!! And I was not enjoying them, so I dropped them and decided to try out sociology. Then my older brother Greg talked to me and I realized I wasn't so sure about sociology either! At that point, I was really in the dark. Not El Ed, not English teaching, not sociology, what on earth should I do with myself?!?! Take random intro classes? Drop my classes and work? Take classes part time? Serve a mission? I was lost. Real lost. So I decided to go back and talk to my good friend Alberto Puertas and see what he had to say on the matter. I went into his office on Friday afternoon at 3:30 (with the add/drop deadline being Monday mind you...). I asked if he thought if it was a good idea for me to drop my classes, and take a break- he said, oh yeah! That's a great idea! So I asked if he knew of any internships or trips I could go on with this short of notice? "Do you want to go to Peru?" "Well, yeah...." "Ok, I'll send you to Peru!" He informed me I was going to go to an orphanage and teach the children English and how to use computers and just play with them! So a few forms, a check, and a plane ticket later, 6pm Friday night, I am heading to Peru till December!!!

Not until I got home and got interrogated by my roommate Chelsea, did I start thinking about details. What the living conditions were, who was in charge, diseases, what the weather was like, etc. It just felt so right I didn't even think about that stuff!! Very luckily for me (and probably not by coincidence) my TA for my career exploration class, went to Peru this summer and is now in my ward!! So I talked to her and she gave me the contact information for some people who were at the exact orphanage I'm going to be at! ( One of them happens to be the current roommate of one of my roommates from freshman year! How crazzy?!?) So I've been talking to them getting more logistical details, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm actually going to my family reunion at the Outer Banks first (YAY!) and then leaving from there to go to Peru!! Do I know Spanish you might ask? No, no I don't! But I'm going to learn! Hopefully quickly too!

I went to a Peruvian Restaurant on center street with my roommates to celebrate, and later I read in my journal from a year ago (curious to see what I was doing on Sept 11...) and realized exactly a year ago I went on a date to a Peruvian restaurant! what are the oddS?!? AND when I went to the temple earlier the main New Era article was about a kid from Peru! AND my old roommate's new roommate served her mission in Peru, AND one of my best friend's husband served his mission there too!!This country is EVERYWHERE! :)

Everyone has been so supportive of me too, which has definitely helped matters! My family probably foremost, with my almost incessant phone calls of "what should I do?!? I don't know what to do! help me!!!!!!!" SO i've definitely appreciated their help! I am going to miss my amazing roommates terribly! They have been my support through this crazy process and I love them to pieces! ("come on, come on, I love you" that's for you Chelsea!) Oh, and I still need to sell my contract, just sayin....I'm also going to miss my little brother who finally came out to BYU, and then I hightail it out of the country! But he is so great and is about to serve a MISSION so I know he'll be just fine without me!! Also all my STL homies who finally joined me out here (AnnaLeah, Kaitlin, Kat, Travis, Scott, Jacob, Kathryn)! AND the new people in my ward that I've gotten to know have been so great, that it makes me sad to leave! But only kind of ;) It'll probably be good incentive for me to come back...It kind of sounds like I'm dying, but I'm not. At least I sure hope I'm not! ;)

So anyways....

I can just see the hand of the Lord guiding my life! It just amazes me and this process has simply taught me so much! I am so grateful for the power of prayer and the opportunity for me to talk to my Father in Heaven while trying to figure my life out! He's definitely got a better idea of what's going on than I do thank goodness!!! So ready or not, I'm heading off to a wonderful Peruvian adventure for three months, thanks to my loving Heavenly Father, my supportive parents, siblings, roommates, professor, and ward, and an inspired chain of events!! I'll keep you posted!!!!!

I should blog more often....

.....but I'm not going to today :)

Just thinking...

I was just looking at this picture of my roommates today:



and it made me smile and miss them. This is a pretty good summary of our apartment

Brittany: doing something stupid, yet entertaining
Kaitlin: Being nice and helping her
Chelsea: Documenting with her phone and laughing the whole time
Kate: Documenting with my camera, telling B she is doing something stupid and then telling her to get down so I can have a turn!

I loved living with these three girls this summer! They definitely helped me maintain my sanity! Well, it could be argued that they simultaneously contributed to my insanity, but we won't go into that.

Even though I love these girls to death, I have LOVED being home!!!!! It is so nice to have nothing to do and no where to be!!! I can do whatever I want! And I love it!!! I'm reading the book Ender's Game, for fun! No homework on it or anything!! (it's really good, by the way. you should read it!) This is probably the only time in my entire life this is going to happen, so I am going to soak it up gosh dang it! Let the summer rollllll
:)

Honey and Lime Enchiladas

So I thought I'd put up recipes I like so a. I have an easy place to find them and b. so my fellow readers can too enjoy in the amazing deliciousness that is the food created by them. So here's my pilot recipe. And it is STINKIN GOOD! And pretty dang easy! I got it from www.forcedtocook.blogspot.com- great website! Try it, you won't regret it!

(Pictures are a must! Mine didn't look quite like this, but its still soooooo good!!! Mmmmm! I want it now!!)

Jessica Haslam's Honey Lime Enchiladas

1 1/2 pounds chicken, cooked and shredded

Sauce:

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice

1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 (10 ounce) cans green enchilada sauce

1 pound (or less, you decide) Colby Jack or Mexican blend cheese, grated

18 taco sized corn (or flour) tortillas

Mix together sauce ingredients then add to shredded chicken.

Let the sauce soak into the meat for about 30 minutes.

Lightly spray 9x13 baking dish with PAM. Pour enough green enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Lay six corn tortillas over the surface of the dish. (The will be overlapping.) Top with half of the meat mixture, then cover with cheese. Layer another six tortillas and cover with some enchilada sauce and the rest of the meat. Sprinkle cheese on top. Layer last six tortillas on top and cover with the remaining sauce and cheese. Be generous with the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
http://forcedtocook.blogspot.com/2010/05/jessica-haslams-honey-lime-enchiladas.html

This could be a problem

We always joke in our family about how we're all night owls because of our dad. Coming to college I realized I am not nearly as much of a night owl as I thought I was. I appreciate, nay require, at least a good seven hours of sleep to function at normal levels, though preferably more. Quantities of smaller proportions produce levels of either severe exhaustion or insanity. Both undesirable, though one provides more enhanced levels of entertainment. If you were beginning to think my jargon sounds as if I've been writing papers, you my friend would be right. And therein lies the cause of this post. I've had ample opportunities today to read my homework and write papers associated with said reading. Did I utilize any of them? No. I waited until after i went running, went to campus, took an hour and a half nap, laid out by the pool, consumed inordinate amounts of cookies dough, attended institute and played (and lost) a good round of hearts with my roommates to concede to my lamenting and break down and do my homework, to find I could finally concentrate enough to produce (arguably) coherent papers. And here lies my night owl parentage problem. I find this burst of energy and inspiration around ten o'clock, that gives me just enough motivation to get what I need to done, when I should be winding down and finishing up my homework. I haven't been inflicted with this condition for a while, and I think I may have discovered its origin.....Summer. yep. My system is used to staying up late this time of year, but it is NOT accustomed to being in school mode. So to compensate, my body somehow finds that I should stay up late to feel like its summer to do homework so it feels like its school. No bueno. I like sleep. So I'm hoping my respite from school in August, despite its brevity will jolt my system back to its focusing capabilities while the sun is out. Until then, to the end I must endure. Come what may and love it eh? Well I'm hoping what is coming is a school free summer next year...THAT i would love. I'm also hoping my future contains more enjoyable English classes. These two are killing me. softly. with his love. oi! bed time!

Have you ever tried scowling and smiling at the same time?? Try it. That's kind of how I'm feeling today....

Mind Wanderings

I don't really have anything to say.

That's a lie.

I just don't really know what I want to say. I feel like I should say something. seeing as I haven't posted anything for like three weeks. Normal family blogs put up cute pictures of their kids when they go somewhere, or do something fun. I however don't have any cute kids, and it just feels odd to me to post cute things i've said or done. It just doesn't have quite the same effect. Maybe I should start doing it for my roommates....I must say I do a fairly decent job in the photograph documenting department, but I kind of struggle in the arena of the written word.

SO...I just thought I'd jot down a few ideas bobbin around in this head of mine.

In one of my English classes we're reading Jane Austen. I have a love of Jane Austen engrained into me because of one of my best friends in high school, Lauren Milburn. She LOVED Jane Austen and we watched countless movies, talked about her....and....well that very abbreviated list occupied many hours, so regardless of its pitiful length, my ears perk up whenever I hear Jane Austen. I realized though, that I'd never actually read any Jane AUsten. until now. We were assigned to read Persuasion (in one night mind you...welcome, self to the joys of being an english major)And I loved it! It was kind of hard to get started and Jane (we're tight like that...) can insert characters like there's no tomorrow. BUt I LOVE her subtle humor and societal commentary! It was a very entertaining read! And of course I'm blogging about it instead of writing my paper about how the title plays an important role in conveying the theme....but I'll get to that later. I'm preserving records for my posterity. Priorities. So reading it also made me realize I am SOO glad I live in the 21st century. All the societal rules; you must do this, don't do that, who's invited to what party. blech. but at the same time, I came to the conclusion that things really haven't changed all that much. I was surprised how often I was going through and I totally related to what Jane was talking about. Who knew. DId you know Jane Austen was never married?? I think I knew that at one point, but it totally made sense because the story was chock full of girl's love life fantasies. Aside to men happening to read this- Read Jane Austen. Get a clue.

That's enough of my little book review.

I am loving life in Provo. It is SO fun being out here for summer! Everyone told me it would be, but I never realize the truth of statements like that until I actually do it. I should. but I don't. Ok. My time here has come to an end. I must return to my duties. "dead guy duty. cooking duty. Maybe I need some better duties!" Nacho Libre

Just some tidbits from life in happy valley:

My birthday motorcycle ride.

My adorable roommates with the poster Brittany made for my B-day

Hiking some random trail. Well, there was a rather lack of a trail really. We just scaled this mountain :)

Don't Worry, Be Happy

I had a really weird dream last night. That's not necessarily abnormal. I have weird dreams all the time. About the most random things. And the most random people. Dream analysts would probably go bizzerko if they had a go at my brain. Which is why they never will. ANYWHO...last night I dreamed that I was just depressed and upset with everyone and bitter and I was pretending to sleep and I could overhear everyone talking about it, and it made me even more mad, but kind of trapped because I didn't know how to change myself! It was kind of stressful! And emotionally draining, I woke up tired, which is the worst! But this is one of my few dreams where I feel like I can actually learn something from it, unlike the other dreams I've had this week (one involved a formed roommate being pregnant and another involved a fireball tornado tearing through Provo.....) but I've decided being happy is a blessing you can give yourself! And in the words of Cusco in the Emperor's new groove:

"it's a birthday present to me! I'm so happy!"

of course his context was selfish. but hey, I'm taking artistic quoting license.

Moral of this post: I'm making up my mind to be happy.

not that I wasn't before.

but now I am for sure.

k.

peace n blessins.

this picture makes me happy because

1. chelsea's face makes me laugh

2. we struggle sometimes, but it's really entertaining

3. it reminds me of many good times in front of our mirror

4. I just love pictures of any form!

Answered Prayer!!

Ok, I was just looking back at one of my older posts and saw that I said I couldn't find my memory card adapter, and to stay tuned for an answered prayer- well, stayed tuned paid off! Now you get a story! Good blog stalker you! ;)

SO I'd been praying that I could find my adapter, and I looked EVERYWHERE! I asked my roommates, looked all over my room, kitchen, living room- everywhere! That sucker was not to be found. So the morning before I left to go home, I was kind of half awake half asleep at like 6am, and I kind of saw myself finding the adapter underneath a some papers in my desk drawer. So I woke up and looked where I "saw" it and there it was!!!!!!!!!!!! It was crazy!!!!!!!! And a miracle! I'm so grateful for answered prayers!!

Lazy May-z Day-z

In an attempt to post pone attacking my somewhat daunting homework load, I decided to blog about life instead of live it ;)

So mostly the reason I haven't been blogging is because I've been kickin it up with my new wardies! I LOVE MY WARD!!!!!!!!!! It is by far the funnest ward I've been in at BYU. I was a little nervous at first because everyone told us it was kind of an older ward, but everyone has been so welcoming and made us feel right at home!! There is seriously something going on pretty much every night! For example this week:
Monday- Ward FHE- auction to raise money for a charity for kids in Belize! ( I got a $1 backpack, a summer bucket-o-fun, a brand new $25 straightener, and a guy in our ward paid $80 to go on a date with our apartment!!! It was way more fun and got a lot more money than I thought they would!)
Tuesday- Personal Interview with Bishopric member, Institute, Ward softball game, Ward soccer game, P90X
Wednesday- Frisbee game on campus, ward kickball game, movie w/ a group from the ward
Thursday- ward temple trip, stamp party

Another reason our ward is so fun is we take our ward inturmurals very seriously!! We ALWAYS have at least 10 spectators at every game!! It's so fun to go and support/ be supported by ward members! It definitely builds unity!

So moral of that story= my ward is da bomb diggity!

On another note- I think I finally decided what I want to major in!! Drum roll anyone? ba dum dum dum dum- ENGLISH EDUCATION!!!! I've thought about it before, but now I'm getting serious about it and I'm REALLY excited!! I LOVE reading and i enjoy writing, and I want to help kids to learn to love reading and write better! I've had such amazing English teachers that have inspired me and I can only hope to be as good as them!! As I looked around at other majors, I think I realized that I really do want to teach, but teaching all day, every subject, everyday seems a little daunting to me...so I wanted to narrow my focus so I can (hopefully) do a better job! So that's where my life seems to be heading at the moment...

Another reason I haven't blogged recently is becuase I got to go HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED LOVED LOVED being home!!!! I DID NOT want to come back, but alas, classes beckoned. And I've had fun since being back, so I guess it's ok....I should probably do a seperate blog about that...hmmm...we'll see about that one...ok. My creative juices are sucked dry. And my early morning swim is starting to get to me. a nap beckons. as does my homework. so.

peace n blessins!

Isn't it wonderful?

Life seems to have a way of working out. Those less intelligent members of the general population attribute it to luck, but! I happen to be more intelligent than those less intelligent members and know it's because my Heavenly Father is watching out for me!!! (they're not less intelligent by the way, just misinformed!)
Sometimes I feel kind of bipolar being bummed out by some problem and then realizing how good I've got it and how AMAZING life is! But ya know, I think that's just life for ya! Last week in church someone said "we're not human beings having a spiritual experience. We're spiritual beings having a human experience" Too true, church speaker, too true!
So I've had a couple bumps in my little life road trip the past couple days, hours, weeks, heck life! But really I hardly remember most of them and the ones I do remember just seem to work themselves out so swimmingly that I can't complain!
I'm just so grateful for the Lord's guiding influence!!! I for truth could NOT do it without His help!! And I'm super grateful for new friends which I'm making oodles of in my new ward which I LOVE!!!!!! I just love people and our ward does stuff all the time and I get to meet new people at like every activity it seems like, which is SO fun! All I can say is, this spring is lookin good! Let the good times rollllllllll!!!!!

Family Finance teacher quote enchanted today which made me think of one of my favorite quotes he said the other day:
"So the prodigal son went to his dad and in essence told him he wanted him dead because he wanted his money! Well that's just a little bit north of rude!"

I love that guy!

On a sad note- I can't find my memory card adapter!!!!!!!! Sadness! So I have no super recent pictures to share with the general public. alas. Hopefully stay tuned for an answered pray and more pictures or a dent in the financial pole(?) Figurative pole of course. OK, I'm going to go to bed now!
As Glozell would say...
Peace and blessins!

The Only Thing Constant is Change!

The times...they are a changin! And boy oh boy are they changing. I made a rather life altering decision this week. At least, that's what it feels like at this point. So let me back up a little and give some background history: so the past couple months I've just kind of been thinking about my major, and I just haven't felt very settled on it, but I just kept going with the program because I didn't know what else to switch to. So the first week of Spring term, first day actually, I went to the math class for El Ed majors at 8 in the morning, and I was like ummm I don't know if I want to do this....so I went to the advisement center in the Wilk and talked with Alberto Puertas- he was like I think you should just drop all your classes and take my career exploration class. Life is full of encertainties, but you want to have 80% known, not 80% unknown. So just try it! And the good thing is about life is you can always make a u-turn! So- I did it! I dropped all my classes and signed up for career exploration, guitar, and german (which i later switched to Spanish and then Family finance) This kind of thing is very unlike me, but it's felt pretty liberating I must say! I feel like I can do anything! The world is full of potential!!!!! Now I just have to decide what exactly it is I want to do....but I'm takin a little leap of faith here and seeing where it takes me!! So let the good times roll! And hope some major or occupation falls into place along the way!

we watched Pocahontas last night (which I have wanted to do for the last like 6 months!!) :

Pocahontas: The ripples.
John Smith: What about them?
Grandmother Willow: So small at first, then look how they grow. But someone has to start them.

Here goes my ripple!!! :)