Sunday Journal Time =)

Because...

Because he walked with man

i know the way

because he calmed the raging storm

i'm not afraid

because he made the leper clean

he can make me whole

because he called his sheep by name

i know i'm not alone

because he was condemned

i am redeemed

because he broke the chains of death

i am free

because he bowed beneath all things

he lifted me above

because he shed his blood for me

i know his love

and i will praise forever

the savior of the world

and i will sing together

with all the saints on earth

because he gave to me

everything

he had to give

i breathe,

i see,

i hope,

i love,

i live.

because he conquered death

i'll live again

because he is my constant friend

i'll follow him

because he wants to ease my pain

he makes my burdens sweet

and when he comes to earth again

i'll kneel before his feet

and i will praise forever

the savior of the world

and i will sing together

with all the saints on earth

because he gave to me

everything

he had to give

i breathe,

i see,

i hope,

i love

and i will praise forever

the savior of the world

and i will sing together

with all the saints on earth

because he gave to me

everything

he had to give

i breathe,

i see,

i hope,

i love

i breathe,

i see,

i hope,

i love

i live.

All Hallows.. what?

It doesn't feel like Halloween =( and its one of my favorite holidays =(

boooo.

TwM

Tuesdays With Morrie

"Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent.
Detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience
penetrate you.
On the contrary,
you let it penetrate you fully.
That's how you are able to leave it.

If you hold back on the emotions-
if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them -
you can never get to being detached,
you're too busy being afraid.
You're afraid of the pain,
you're afraid of the grief,
you're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails.

But by throwing yourself into these emotions,
by allowing yourself to dive in,
all the way,
over your head even,
you experience them fully and completely.
You know what pain is.
You know what love is.
You know what grief is.
And only then can you say,
'All right. I have experienced that emotion.
I recognize that emotion.
Now i need to detach from that emotion for a moment.

When you learn how to die,
you learn how to live.

Okay. This is fear.
step away from it.
step away."

The best forwarded e-mail i've ever recieved.

This is an "actual letter" from an Austin, Texas woman sent to Proctor and Gamble regarding one of their feminine products.




Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts.

But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.'

Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'
Error! Filename not specified.

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong'.

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullsh!t. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always. . ...

Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

Have a Happy Period?

{Over} the Rainbow

Play the song while reading haha

it'll give the full effect i think.

Can you see it?

After my Mission Prep class,

I get in my car, and turn on my i-pod,

Ingrid Michaelson starts singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

and then i pass the temple.. and see a beautiful Hawaiian rainbow.

=) Happy Thursday

Lots & {Lots} of thinking.......

I was reading my blog from April & May..

and to be honest i remember being a lot more sad than i seemed from my blogging haha

that made me happy,

but......

sometimes i just want to ask him.

"why do you hate me so much now?" ugh i wish i knew.

Life..

is handing me bushels of both lemons and strawberries.

don't worry... i'm making strawberry lemonade and enjoying the sweetness =)

"Accept what you are able to do, and what you are not able to do."

"Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it."

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life.

They seem half asleep,

even when they're busy doing things they think are important.

This is because they are chasing the wrong things.

The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself

to loving others,

devote yourself to your community around you,

and devote yourself to creating something that

gives you purpose and meaning."

"The most important thing in life

is to learn how to give out love,

and to let it come in."

-Tuesdays with Morrie

{oh the only way to really know... }

cute wittle kitty

These may or may not be the cutest pictures ever taken.

And i may or may not be the luckiest aunt ever. just sayin...

Sunday Journal Time =)

Ps Happy Fall =)

I guess all I can say is that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true.

And i don't know it because my parents do,

or my siblings,

or because my leaders have been telling me that all my life.

I know because i've experienced it first-hand.

I've prayed and prayed and experimented with prayer,

and seen how everything people say it's cracked up to be, it is, and much much more.

I know that the temple is a sacred place,

and is the most sacred place on earth, and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

visit their sacred homes on earth.

I know that Heavenly Father is trying every day for us to listen to him,

and find out what he wants us to do.

So.... here is my announcement, and some reasons for it.

(i'm keeping this a secret from my mom, so don't tell her ;) haha she doesn't read this very often..... so hopefully no one tells her to get on and read it. if i find out anyone did, i'ma gonna be real mad.)

I'm going on a MISSION!!!

If you've kept up with my blog, you've seen that i've been struggling a lot with what i was going to do with my life.

I wanted to do something else. because Hawaii just hasn't felt right this semester.

And i knew the Lord was pushing me to ask him for an answer.

So i prayed and worked on some stuff, and the answer eventually came.

It was short, simple, sweet, and miraculous.

and every day since i've felt this entirety of peace with the decision.

There is a reason for everything.

and a LOT of things that have happened in the past year

have prepared me for this decision.

I'll be done with my papers in about 2-3 weeks and hopefully

get my call before the semester ends in December.

I'm going to move home with my parents in St. George until i leave,

so FINALLY i get to be closer to my family for a little while!! yay!

so whoever reads this Sunday Journal today

number 1, don't you dare tell my momma!!

number 2, i would tell you that you should pray and ask if you're doing what heavenly father wants for you right now.

and number 3, keep this sabbath day holy =)! haha

Happy Sabbath Sunday!

*Favorite Things

{Creativity in journaling}

"Those who keep a book of remembrance keep the Lord in their remembrance."

"The most important word in the gospel is "remember"."

HOly SpagHEtti gUYs...

i am so blessed.. and i'll tell you why.

I have 3 callings (still...) and one is the enrichment committee chair.

Soo.. i have to organize all of the enrichment activities and delegate assignments.

We had an activity last night.

it was supposed to be epic,

we were gonna do some speed dating, and have a journaling workshop.

instead only 7 girls showed up,

so we just did the journaling workshop.

We are so lucky to have miss Ambree Klemm in our ward.

she volunteered to do the workshop.

She did study abroad last semester in VIENNA.

and took a journaling class.

Let me just tell you.. it was one of the BEST enrichments i've ever been to.

It only lasted about 45 minutes, and we didn't really do anything but listen.

But it has completely changed my outlook on writing in my journal.

MY EXPERIENCES:

I've kept a journal (literally written in it every single month) since i was in 5th grade.

i've completely completed about 5-6 journals.

Also i know the kind of effect a journal can have on posterity.

When i visited my grandma over the summer, she showed me a little journal that my great grandmother kept, and just to see her handwriting was the coolest thing ever.

Another experience is when i lived in Georgia my mom and i got super close.

we would have long talks about dating and what my mom did when she was young,

and how she felt about different things. I am so lucky.

anyways she told me about her life, and that felt like she was reading her journal to me.

My mom has also told me really cool spiritual experiences she's had, and was reminded of after going back and reading her journals.

CREATIVITY:

During Ambree's little schpeel, she told us how she gets creative with her journal.

A rule her professor gave her with their journals was: no lines. the pages had to be completely blank.

Throughout her trip in Vienna, she would do different things:

~take a napkin from a restaurant she liked, describe the place or rate the food ON the napkin, then glue it in her journal.

~put in stickers

~take a postcard from places

~ticket stubs

~receipts (to remember how much things cost)

~maps

~she made a calendar and glued it in with all her plans (to remember what days she did things)

~have a friend write something like a story in it

~movie reviews

~magazine cut outs

~funny Facebook statuses

~song lyrics

~poems

~quotes

~scriptures

~press flowers in

LISTS:

~baby names

~good recipes

~goals (and report on them later to stay accountable)

~when i'm a mom what i will/won't do

~happy list

~things i hate

~favorites

~shopping lists (if i had $1 million i would buy...)

or entries like

"today i'm wearing, doing, watching.."

~~or every time you want to write in your journal, you can find a journal prompt online.

like an example would be "write about butter" and Ambree's turned into an old cute childhood memory about mac and cheese and baking cookies.

Anyways... i'm changing the way i write in my journal.

and i'm really excited about it!

I think anywhere i go, i'll just collect a little thing like a napkin or something

and then write about it in my journal with a little thing to remember it.

it'll be awesome!!

ALSO,

remember! blogging is a way of journaling, and the website you have you will never lose because the internet will be here forever, so be creative on your blog too!!

(i need to be better at that haha)

It could help us see AND enjoy the little things in life =)

HAPPY ALOHA FRIDAY =) =)

Parachute/Enjoy =)

{Fall}

Dearest Fellow Bloggers,

I love Fall.

and i know a lot of you do too.

I love how Hawaii feels different, even though its the same season all year round.

It gets a little colder, and the days feel beautiful.

My sweet mom sent me a Halloween package a few days ago.

Included was a caramel apple kit.

so i bought some chocolate, and rice krispies

and made thee best caramel apples in the world!! hahah thanks mommasita! =)

i love pumpkin carving

buying school supplies

finding halloween costumes

eating pumpkin bread and cookies

baking (its the holiday season again!! woot woot)

and college life is thee best life ever right now!! =)

i hope you're enjoying your Fall as well.

I Love to See/Clean the Temple =) I'm going there someday (soon!!!)

Do you see this Beautifully magnificent building?

My roommate and about 25 other students

spent the morning working on the grounds

cleaning it up for the open house that starts tomorrow.

and do you see that beautiful reflection pool?

We cleaned the tile in it with Pumice Stones

So i spent a beautiful morning in the reflection pool of the temple cleaning the tile.

An amazing way to start my day =)

90/10

"The longer i live, the more i realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
it is more important than the past, the education, the money,
than circumstances, than failure, than successes,
than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company... a church...
a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past...
we cannot change the fact that
people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have,
and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me
and 90% of how i react to it.
and so it is with you...
we are in charge of our attitudes."

-Charles R. Swindoll

Its for {reals} this time

HAPPINESS:
good fortune; pleasure; contentment; JOY

I got my answer this morning,
and the process has begun.

Desire.

DESIRE: an expressed wish.

a longing or craving for something that brings

satisfaction and/or enjoyment.

. . . . . . . .

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weight thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away."
-Dinah Craik

Action = {Reaction}

Devotional was good today.

I loved how in the opening prayer the guy prayed for all of us to receive comfort with the things we're struggling with.

I totally fell apart during the musical number.. i have cried at every devotional during Fall.

I'm a cry baby and have been all year.

Well ladies and gents...

i've started my mission papers

AND on top of that

I've talked to my sister Julie (who's on a mission in NY)

she wants me to do a mini-mission and go stay a few weeks with her there.

That would be AMAZING. I'm going to do everything I can to do it.

ALSO

I want to go to BYU Jerusalem. I'm going to apply in a few weeks.

I want to get away from BYU Hawaii for a while.

I love it here, like more than i can even say.

I don't want to leave.

I feel like i've made more awesome friends,

and done more crazy things and just lived

better now than i ever have since coming here.

But there's other things calling my name

and i really really just don't want to hold back just because i love it and have gotten comfortable.

I'm still pretty lonely too.

I want someone to cuddle with and tell me I'm beautiful.

There's nothing wrong with that, right?

That's what i should want at this point in my life.

So i'm living, and helping, and serving, and trying,

and growing.

But i'm going to go and add experiencing/experimenting

to the list.

Ya'll should give me your opinion on what i should do.

(i know prayer is also involved.. i just want to know what YOU would do if you were me.

ps keep in mind, i'm halfway through my undergrad.. haven't started my full on major classes and its the perfect time to go have fun before i dive in.)

Jerusalem

Mini-Mission

18 Month Mission

transfer to Provo

or something else?

{BreakEven}

Like a handprint on my {Heart}

Sunday Journal: (for miss deany weeny)

I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason.

I believe that i meet the people that i do for reasons that i will either know right away, or find out later.

I know that I am living the life i am for a reason.

I know that my heavenly father knows so many things about me that i don't know.

I know that when i pray at night, i only catch a glimpse of the immense gratefulness he has of me for asking his advice, opinion, and revelation on what i need to do to please him.

I've been focusing too much on me. Too little on service. Too much on imperfections, and too little on optimism.

I don't tell my friends enough how much they mean to me.

How much they lift me and help me and show me how to be better.

I haven't told my siblings how their criticisms and opinions shaped me into me.

I haven't told my parents that their decision to give me my agency throughout my life has blessed me tremendously.

I haven't thanked all those leaders that have cheered me on, and shown that they cared about what I did, even when I didn't.

Anyways.. thanks for reading guys.. whoever you are.

I'm glad someone cares =)

and i hope you're happy

and i hope you're doing more good in the world

than i have been doing lately...

=) keep on keepin on

trashy to {Beautiful}

I think you're pretty

without any makeup on

i think you're funny

when you tell the punch line wrong

i knew you got me

when you let your walls come down

down

before you met me

i was alright but things were kinda heavy

you brought me to life

now every February you'll be my valentine

valentine

let's just talk all through the night

there's no need

to rush

we can dance

until we die

you and i

will be young forever

you make me feel like i'm living a

teenage dream

the way you turn me on

i can't sleep

lets run away

and don't ever look back

don't ever look back

my heart stops

when you look at me

just one touch

now baby i believe

this is real

so take a chance

and don't ever look back

don't ever look back

when you're around me

life's like a movie scene

i wasn't happy

until you became my queen

i finally found you

my missing puzzle piece

i'm complete

let's just talk all through the night

there's no need

to rush

we can dance

until we die

you and i

will be young forever

you make me feel like i'm living a

teenage dream

the way you turn me on

i can't sleep

lets run away

and don't ever look back

don't ever look back

my heart stops when you look at me

just one touch

now baby i believe

this is real

so take a chance and don't ever look back

don't ever

i will get your heart racing

in this teenage dream

if that's what you need tonight

let you rest your head on me

if thats what you need

in this teenage dream tonight

tonight tonight tonight

tonight

Deep Thinking

My friends Bree, Erika and I are watching A Walk To Remember =)

whilst watching, we were discussing proposals and how we want to be proposed to.

(haha I'm such a loser but oh well...)

So

dear future husband,

#1 we will fall in lub with each other. #2 you should get to know my best friends. #3 There will be something important that they will have to say to you for when you decide to propose to me. It is vital that they tell you this information, because if you don't find out in time to propose, i will be vastly disappointed.

Love,

your babycakes

haha

also, i came up with a good quote today

We were talking about relationships and how i don't agree with the phrase,

"it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all"

and then i said,

"you can wish things into your life, but you can't wish them out"

it's pretty deep and thoughtful, yes? i thought so.

Happy Aloha Wednesday =)

{I} Love them i {LOVE} them i love {THEM}

goodness gracious i'm the luckiest aunt in the world.

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Save the Drama for Your Mama

Skipping class to write papers...

and I'm blogging.

haha excellent... let's see what i have to say...

- it's OCTOBER already!!!! holy flipping moly that is insane.

-have i ever told you fellow bloggers how amazing my house is? every night we have like 10 people over watching a movie and making treats or playing games. It's seriously a party every night at the casa... even on school nights. i get from 3-5 hours of sleep every night haha... i make up for it on the weekends so no worries.

-speaking of casa adventures.. we're having a scary movie marathon leading up to Halloween!

(we also do that for the 25 days of Christmas in December)

-the temple re-opens soon!!! i am sooo excited to help out with the tours and to go to the open house and go do baptisms. Some friends want to do weekly baptisms, and i am so down.

-The temple re-opening kind of just reminds me of the huge decisions i'm making right now. But its more of a blessing because i know going to do baptisms and being in the temple will bring me some kind of special revelation.

and lastly but definitely not leastly....

The Salsa Hula will help me get my man. =)