You Oughta Know...

I'll be in Utah three days from right this second.






That's all.

Good Sunday



Two of my sisters and me at home before the Dairy Queen.

...and a pretty good weekend, too!

Friday night: Went to Dairy Queen with the fam to celebrate my 26th birthday which really happens this coming Saturday. We celebrated early because I won't be here this weekend; I'll be in UTAH! I'm so very very excited.

Saturday: Most of the day I participated in CPR and first aid training for work. Lots of mouth-to-mouth, chest compressions, back blows, cheesy first aid video acting, and scenarios later, I better have passed! Also got to hang out with family and talk to Ben*.

Today (Sunday): Got to church a half-hour early to have a Relief Society presidency meeting. Then I heard some nice and odd (there are always a few it seems) testimonies during sacrament meeting. Then we had a fantastic lesson in Sunday School about the beatitudes in Matthew 5, and learned about the "more excellent way" from our excellent teacher. And then I had the fun opportunity to teach the Relief Society lesson on balancing our busy responsibilities with the gospel (the number one priority, of course). I'm grateful to Ben* for helping me prepare for the lesson with lots of great general authority talk, scripture, and object lesson ideas. He's the best! And now I plan on wrapping up this blog post, taking a nap, talking to Ben* on the phone later, and attending the CES fireside tonight.

Hope your Sunday and weekend were great!

*Ben: Okay, Reader's Digest version for now--Met him through a mutual friend in January. Seeing him this weekend. Lots of phone calls and emails in between. Further inquiries? Ask me personally. :)

The Single Guy's Guide to Facebook Profile Pics

I really laugh out loud (as opposed to the fake LOL that we're all guilty of overdoing sometimes) when I watch this video that Ryan over at The Singles Ward posted on their blog.

"It's all about the gaze. G-A-Z-E."

The Last Four Years



I was recently "tagged" in this photo on Facebook. It was taken with my roommates almost four years ago near the end of my senior year. I was 22 (a baby), almost a college graduate, and about to venture on an ecclesiastical mission. Life seemed pretty certain for the next 18 months, but it turned out to be nothing but certain. Four years later, I have returned from a short-lived mission, have become a substitute teacher, went attended grad school in teacher education, worked as a marketing assistant for a couple of months, continued school and subbing, got my teaching credential, got a preschool teaching job, held various church callings, became the Relief Society president of my singles ward, dated occasionally, have met a great guy,  will be taking a short trip to Utah next weekend to see him and my best friend, and have had many adventures in the mix of it all.

Life is busy. Life is good. And the best is yet to come.

Zion or Bust!



I'll be here (the city in all caps on the map) in exactly one week, and I can hardly wait! Zion or bust!

High Standards

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is persecuted. Now, it's not persecuted nearly as much as it was in the past, but there still is some backlash. We must be doing something right if lame people will expend their energy into trying to tear us down.

So you can imagine my delight when our (and BYU's) standards and codes were found "refreshing" by some ESPN sports commentators. Check out the segment here. I know views are changing. Peoples' hearts are being softened. I have hope that others' perspectives will continue to change for the better.



And a friendly welcome to my new follower, Elise Frederickson!

Choose to be Good and to Love

I'm on my sweet lunch break right now, and thought I'd share a few good finds.

First is an inspiring quote by Boyd K. Packer:

"I will not consent to any influence from the adversary. I have come to know what power he has. I know all about that. But I also have come to know the power of truth and of righteousness and of good, and I want to be good. I'm not ashamed to say that--I want to be good. And I've found in my life that it has been critically important that this was established between me and the Lord so that I knew that he knew which way I committed my agency. I went before him and said, 'I'm not neutral, and you can do with me what you want. If you need my vote, it's there. I don't care what you do with me, and you don't have to take anything from me because I give it to you--everything, all I own, all I am,' and that makes the difference."

Second is a cover of Carrie Underwood's So Small. I love the message the song shares about how everything but love is just a minor detail (although it may seem monstrous), but how love is what conquers those details. I like the cover, but I think I like the original better.



Now for the original...



Here's to resolve to be better and to love more.