Walking back from the Institute fireside last Sunday night, Ash and I came upon the baptist church that is on the block of where we live. If you need to know anything about Ash, her two loves are food and dancing - get them in the same place and she is there. The door was open with Mexican music and the smell of extremely good food wafting out. Ash was like a moth to a flame, walking in the door, leaving me standing alone, awkwardly on the sidewalk. After a couple minutes, she pops her head out the door and waves me in.
Confused, I go in and immediately get handed a Mountain Dew by a smiling Mexican woman, and find an entire (extended family included) Mexican family, celebrating a birthday party, with a Mariachi band playing. They shake our and hands and ask our name and offer us food which of course was fantastic. Why is it that ethnic family gathering's food is always super good? They were so warm and welcoming, and did not even ask why we stopped by. Ash said she just walked in and asked what kind of party they were having and they invited her in and told her to stay and see.
We stayed for about an hour, chatting with anyone who came near to see why there were two white girls along with the family and played with the kids who looked at us curiously. Two guys came and chatted us up, I think they had a game plan because one gave specific attention to Ash and one to me. When it came time to cut the cake, we even sang the Feliz Cumpleanos song with them (the 5 years of Spanish sure paid off right then). They took pictures of cutting the cake with all of the family and even waved the "surprise guests" to come join in. It was so random, but so nice. I absolutely love the Mexican culture that they were so inviting and eager to share, we pretty much felt like their less tan relatives!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
I have been the worst blogger in the world!
I apologize that this post is not too detailed, but something is better than nothing right? Things I think of note that happened in the last couple months up until now:
Summer 2011
I went home to Wyoming for the summer and was all alone. Three of my best friends from Powell all had great adventures going on during the summer months (check out their blogs) and I went back to selling fireworks. Not to complain, because I really did love living at home again, sleeping in my own bed, having my mom take care of me, making and saving some money, but there really was nothing too interesting to report about the summer except that I...
....And my mom continued our annual tradition of running in the 5 mile Montana Women's Run. I made it until 500 yards to the finish line before I puked, having taken cold medicine prior to the race. Hopefully next year will go smoother....but we still shaved off about 6 minutes of our last year's time!
....Saw the midnight showing of the last installment of the Harry Potter movies (with a date......and my mom) which was AH-MAZING!
....Drove 24 hours for a two day trip to St. George after the midnight showing
....Brought back four year old Mr. Q, who puked 2 hours into the 12 hour drive
....Made friends with plenty of bikers toward the end of the summer that were coming through for Sturgis, I got many invites to the bars (all of which I declined).
Funny/Embarrassing Story:
One night these two middle-age guys came in to the store to stop by to look at the fireworks. Towards the end of the summer, I love whenever anyone comes in because they will usually chat and entertain me for awhile since there's really not a whole lot to do in a firework store in August. These guys were talking to me and asked me to take them around the store to show them what was good. They were very friendly, making jokes and teasing me and challenging me on my knowledge of fireworks. When we got to the roman candles, they asked why there were different sizes and I immediately respond, "Oh it's because those ones have smaller balls." They didn't even have a second to crack a joke or make it awkward because I turned bright red and started laughing uncontrollably. If it wasn't obvious before, it was clear that I was very young.
....Watched tons of movies...the only ones really worth remembering were The Adjustment Bureau, Limitless, and Unstoppable
....Read The Help and 1,000 White Women both very good, and have been the only novels I have read since Breaking Dawn was released
Fall 2011
--I started my junior year of college with an Associates of Arts degree, and am looking at about another four years to get my degree in Math Education. Good thing I'm excited about it! Calculus is a beast after having gone a year and a half without giving the slightest after thought to math, but I love my education classes, and I am sure that I am heading in the right direction.
--There was a YSA Conference where John Bytheway AND Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to speak! The day was truly a day of spiritual feasting, I learned so much! It was just like EFY with hints (maybe not so subtle) to get married. I absolutely love the Institute program in St. George! They sure take good care of us.
--My roommate of two years, Camilla, got married!!!! She was absolutely stunning, and the day was just filled with so much joy and beauty, it's hard not to imagine how anyone would settle for anything less than a temple marriage.
Summer 2011
I went home to Wyoming for the summer and was all alone. Three of my best friends from Powell all had great adventures going on during the summer months (check out their blogs) and I went back to selling fireworks. Not to complain, because I really did love living at home again, sleeping in my own bed, having my mom take care of me, making and saving some money, but there really was nothing too interesting to report about the summer except that I...
....And my mom continued our annual tradition of running in the 5 mile Montana Women's Run. I made it until 500 yards to the finish line before I puked, having taken cold medicine prior to the race. Hopefully next year will go smoother....but we still shaved off about 6 minutes of our last year's time!
....Saw the midnight showing of the last installment of the Harry Potter movies (with a date......and my mom) which was AH-MAZING!
....Drove 24 hours for a two day trip to St. George after the midnight showing
....Brought back four year old Mr. Q, who puked 2 hours into the 12 hour drive
....Made friends with plenty of bikers toward the end of the summer that were coming through for Sturgis, I got many invites to the bars (all of which I declined).
Funny/Embarrassing Story:
One night these two middle-age guys came in to the store to stop by to look at the fireworks. Towards the end of the summer, I love whenever anyone comes in because they will usually chat and entertain me for awhile since there's really not a whole lot to do in a firework store in August. These guys were talking to me and asked me to take them around the store to show them what was good. They were very friendly, making jokes and teasing me and challenging me on my knowledge of fireworks. When we got to the roman candles, they asked why there were different sizes and I immediately respond, "Oh it's because those ones have smaller balls." They didn't even have a second to crack a joke or make it awkward because I turned bright red and started laughing uncontrollably. If it wasn't obvious before, it was clear that I was very young.
....Watched tons of movies...the only ones really worth remembering were The Adjustment Bureau, Limitless, and Unstoppable
....Read The Help and 1,000 White Women both very good, and have been the only novels I have read since Breaking Dawn was released
Fall 2011
--I started my junior year of college with an Associates of Arts degree, and am looking at about another four years to get my degree in Math Education. Good thing I'm excited about it! Calculus is a beast after having gone a year and a half without giving the slightest after thought to math, but I love my education classes, and I am sure that I am heading in the right direction.
--There was a YSA Conference where John Bytheway AND Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to speak! The day was truly a day of spiritual feasting, I learned so much! It was just like EFY with hints (maybe not so subtle) to get married. I absolutely love the Institute program in St. George! They sure take good care of us.
--My roommate of two years, Camilla, got married!!!! She was absolutely stunning, and the day was just filled with so much joy and beauty, it's hard not to imagine how anyone would settle for anything less than a temple marriage.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Sneaking Out Game
We created this game to add some excitement to our lives for this week. Yes, we have accepted the undeniable fact that we are weird - but we have lots of fun!
As a member of Chancellor #6 participating in the Sneak Out must follow these guidelines:
- All members of aforementioned apartment must follow the agreed upon curfew/bedtime for the week of March 6-12 of 11:00 p.m.
-Members must be picked up by a non-roommate friend(s) and participate in some cool/crazy/legal activity
-Members must leave the apartment and re-enter the apartment without detection by other members of the apartment
-If the members' absence is noted, the discoverer of said absence sleeps in the bed of the "sneaker" and awaits their return
*Members may not set alarms to do periodical
checks of the other roommates.
checks of the other roommates.
-In the event that a "sneaker" is caught, they owe Chancellor Apartment #6 ice cream.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
What I did for President's Day
There are no pictures of me actually doing it because I was too busy clinging to the ropes for my life, so you're just going to have to take my word for it.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Mountain Biking
After discovering that each of us have pretty awesome bikes, Willy and I decided to make it a weekly tradition of biking on Saturdays. I once signed up for the mountain biking class in my first semester here at Dixie, but it started at a not very opportune time, and I dropped it. I have always been meaning to do it again, but I just never got around to it. Last Saturday, Willy took me to a paved trail just outside of town and we have a very pleasant ride, chatting and getting a little outdoor exercise on the occasional hill - or bump - in the road.
This week he decided I could handle a more rougher terrain, so we went a lot more out of town.
There were no paved roads. There was no flat ground. And there was no chatting (I was too focused on getting air to my lungs). The first fifteen minutes was going up a hill. I was ready to call it a successful bike ride when we got to the top, but little did I know that was just the beginning. The next part was going down, which sounds easy enough except there are rocks poking up everywhere that when you're zipping down at fast speeds, you feel very out of control when your bike gets thrown around, all the while trying to stay on the path. I was way out of my comfort zone.
We got to the bottom of that which I will admit, I walked my bike down most of it, preferring not to crack my head open. Now the trail began.
Willy served his mission in the Colorado mountains and all they did was bike, so he is very experienced, making jumps, riding up the sides of inclines, to name just a few. I followed along behind him as best I could trying to not appear that I was breathing like a jogging 60 year old chain smoker. Along with the heavy breathing, I was still not too sure on going over ridges of rocks, having never biked on anything more intense than a country dirt road, and would stop and walk my bike over the ones that looked especially scary. I was hot and I was tired, and it was very frustrating that I couldn't stay on my bike for longer than 10 seconds.
I could feel the verge of tears of frustration, wondering how I was ever going to last however long this trail actually was. I was not going to cry though because a very stubborn and prideful part of me was not going to let such a confident, highly attractive guy see me in a vulnerable way. This was going to be a challenge. I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, drank a sip of water, changed my gears, and kept on pedaling.
The trail continued on, and little by little the bumps didn't seem as scary. I was able to follow right behind him. It actually started to become rather enjoyable. I found myself even veering towards more rocky parts just to add a little challenge. Next thing, I knew we had been at it for about an hour and had looped back to the top of the hill. It was, quite literally, all downhill from there.
I feel very accomplished. As noted from the post before, lately I have been doing a lot of thinking and leaning on things that maybe aren't giving me much of a challenge because I have a such a small perspective. Sometimes it seems the easier route is the better one. Sometimes a year and a half seems too long to wait. Sometimes I just want only a job to worry about. It's inevitable, I'm going to sound like an after school special, but I think I learned a good lesson on my bike ride today.
In a general conference talk I read by Robert D. Hales, called, "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure," he says, "We cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now... I testify that if we will be obedient and if we are diligent, our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish, our fears will dissipate, light will come upon us, the darkness of despair will be dispersed, and we will be close to the Lord and feel of His love and of the comfort of the Holy Ghost. It is my prayer that we can find the faith, courage, and strength to endure." I gained a truth that by adjusting your gears, and help from our Heavenly Father, our trials are "but a small moment," (D&C 121:7) and in the end you'll come out better than you could have imagined, and anything that is worth getting, takes work.
Now if I could just keep reminding myself that.
This week he decided I could handle a more rougher terrain, so we went a lot more out of town.
There were no paved roads. There was no flat ground. And there was no chatting (I was too focused on getting air to my lungs). The first fifteen minutes was going up a hill. I was ready to call it a successful bike ride when we got to the top, but little did I know that was just the beginning. The next part was going down, which sounds easy enough except there are rocks poking up everywhere that when you're zipping down at fast speeds, you feel very out of control when your bike gets thrown around, all the while trying to stay on the path. I was way out of my comfort zone.
We got to the bottom of that which I will admit, I walked my bike down most of it, preferring not to crack my head open. Now the trail began.
Willy served his mission in the Colorado mountains and all they did was bike, so he is very experienced, making jumps, riding up the sides of inclines, to name just a few. I followed along behind him as best I could trying to not appear that I was breathing like a jogging 60 year old chain smoker. Along with the heavy breathing, I was still not too sure on going over ridges of rocks, having never biked on anything more intense than a country dirt road, and would stop and walk my bike over the ones that looked especially scary. I was hot and I was tired, and it was very frustrating that I couldn't stay on my bike for longer than 10 seconds.
I could feel the verge of tears of frustration, wondering how I was ever going to last however long this trail actually was. I was not going to cry though because a very stubborn and prideful part of me was not going to let such a confident, highly attractive guy see me in a vulnerable way. This was going to be a challenge. I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, drank a sip of water, changed my gears, and kept on pedaling.
The trail continued on, and little by little the bumps didn't seem as scary. I was able to follow right behind him. It actually started to become rather enjoyable. I found myself even veering towards more rocky parts just to add a little challenge. Next thing, I knew we had been at it for about an hour and had looped back to the top of the hill. It was, quite literally, all downhill from there.
I feel very accomplished. As noted from the post before, lately I have been doing a lot of thinking and leaning on things that maybe aren't giving me much of a challenge because I have a such a small perspective. Sometimes it seems the easier route is the better one. Sometimes a year and a half seems too long to wait. Sometimes I just want only a job to worry about. It's inevitable, I'm going to sound like an after school special, but I think I learned a good lesson on my bike ride today.
In a general conference talk I read by Robert D. Hales, called, "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure," he says, "We cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now... I testify that if we will be obedient and if we are diligent, our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish, our fears will dissipate, light will come upon us, the darkness of despair will be dispersed, and we will be close to the Lord and feel of His love and of the comfort of the Holy Ghost. It is my prayer that we can find the faith, courage, and strength to endure." I gained a truth that by adjusting your gears, and help from our Heavenly Father, our trials are "but a small moment," (D&C 121:7) and in the end you'll come out better than you could have imagined, and anything that is worth getting, takes work.
Now if I could just keep reminding myself that.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
My Mid-Semester Crisis
My history teacher makes it very hard to comprehend what he is talking about during class. This gives me a lot of time to think of things not pertaining to the early years of our American government and stray from my afore mentioned theme for my year of 2011. These were my thoughts yesterday:
Why I am even taking this class?... Oh, I need it for my Associates. ...What good is an Associates? ... I'm sick of school, what can I do with an Associates?... Do I even want to be a hygienist?
all of the way until....
What am I doing with my life?! Where am I headed?! I am going to end up on the streets because I don't have a plan!
So I left class none the wiser of the founding fathers' idea of Democracy and full of complete, irrational, unnecessary stress. I went home and tried to weigh out my options. For those of you that know me, know that I absolutely DESPISE spending money when I am not making it due to this innate, penny pinching quality I have. One thing that I decided I could do was apply for jobs. This is something I do sometimes to qualm my fears of if worst came to worst and my savings absolutely depleted - I would at least maybe have a source of income even if the job was completely awful.
I literally spent a total of 10 careless yet therapeutic minutes creating a brief resume of my work and college experience on a job hunting site for St. George, and sending it to jobs that sounded mildly appealing, with the thoughts of, "Well it couldn't hurt."
Then not even an hour later, I received a call back for a receptionist position at a business called Synergy. I went in for an interview and had to be assessed for my typing skills. Turns out, they had filled the position of receptionist and offered me a part time job as a telemarketer which I am still debating. Not bad, though for a class period and a couple more minutes of impracticality I would say.
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