Dear Friends

I think we can all agree that friends are pretty great.

I like having them anyway.



Yesterday I was having an especially downer day. 

I had to work (working on Sunday always makes me grouchy).

I was thinking some serious thoughts.

I knew this week was going to be super busy.

All in all, not one of my finest days. 

But my amazing friends...I just love them all.  I got 2 super nice voicemails, a super nice e-mail, several super nice texts, and some super nice comments on my facebook.  I hadn't told anyone that I was having a bummer day, but they all seemed to just know.  Even my boss at work was really nice to me.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am grateful.  I have so many wonderful people around me that, for some reason, think I am worth their time and attention.  I don't want to sound too cliche, but how blessed am I?  Seriously Heavenly Father, wow.  Thanks!

Introspection

I've been in kind of a contemplative mood the last few days. Lots of my thoughts have been focused on sorting out some feelings or figuring out what is right or wrong.

When I get in these kinds of moods, I find I'm drawn to introspective musicians. Lately I've been on an especially big Ingrid Michaelson kick. Her melodies are beautiful! And her lyrics are so off beat and a little quirky. Some of them really make you stop and think.

Here are some of my faves:

1) So glide away on soapy heels, and promise not to promise any more. If you come around again then I will take the chain from off the door. - The Chain

2. I can do any thing I want to. I can do anything my heart tells me to. I can be anything that I see.- Lady In Spain

3) I want to change the world instead, I sleep. I want to believe in more than you and me. All I that I know is I'm breathing, all I can do is keep breathing, all we can do is keep breathing now. - Keep Breathing

4. Oh what a way that we died. Plenty of tears were supplied. My eyes are rung out and dry as a bone, but I taste much better alone. Something good...now that you're gone, I can roll on to something good. - Oh what a day

5) Let's get rich and by our parents homes in the south of France. Let's get rich and buy everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance. Let's get rich and buy a house on a mountain making everybody look like ants from way up there, you and I. -You and I

6. Happy is the heart that still feels pain. Darkness drains and light will come again. Swing open up your chest and let it in. Just let the love, love, love begin. -Everybody

7) They say you're really not somebody until somebody else loves you. Well, I am waiting to make somebody somebody soon. - Are We There Yet? (Actually, I just adore this whole song.)

8. You call me a mountain. And I call you the sea. I'll stand tall and certain, and watch you swallow me. - Mountain and Sea

9) I'll buy you rogane, when you start loosing all your hair; sew on patches to all you tear. Cause I love the way you call me baby. And you take me the way I am. - The Way I Am

10. Six pounds and seven ounces. A ball of bones and flesh and tears were you. Now your hands, your tiny pink hands grew larger than my hands ever grew. We don't say a word. There's nothing to say that hasn't been heard. How you've grown my little bird. I'm regretting letting you fly. - The Highway

Bonus: I will live my life as a lobster man's wife, on an island in the blue bay. He will take care of me, he will smell like the sea, and close to my heart he'll always stay. I will bear three girls, all with strawberry curls, little Ella and Nelly and Fay. While I'm combing their hair I will catch his warm stare on our island in the blue bay.

Some of them are better in context, so you should go listen to the songs! :)

Ummm...huh?

Have you ever been blind-sided by a peice of news?

I was this week...

and I didn't like it.

At all.

It was not good news at all. But what makes it worse is that it came from someone who I should be able to trust.

Anyway...

Enough of that! :)

I will post something more up-beat soon!

I promise!

Invisible Rebellion

In my new spirit of positive-ness, I feel I need to lighten up after last weeks post.

But I'm kind of drawing a blank.

It's been a bit of a roller coaster week, and I don't want to fall off

the Happy Wagon

and back into my old gloom and doom

habits.

So, I have decided to blog about something very near and dear to my heart this week.

...That's right.

Socks.

Let's be real, Dumbledore was right...you can never have too many socks. Socks are Great!

Here is why I think so:

1. You can wear something CRAZY with out anyone knowing. It's like an invisible rebellion. For your feet.

2) It is so cheerful, on a cold winter day, to come home, take off your shoes in front of the fire (or, at our house, pellet stove), and have flying pigs smiling up at you. Or turtles. Or flamingos. Or whatever you happened to be in the mood for that day!

3. I hate shoes, but my feet are always cold. Solution: slipper socks...problem solved.

4) They keep your feet from getting dirty when you walk around the house with out shoes on (like I do...did I mention I don't like shoes?).

5. Socks are a great gift when you don't know what to get someone.

6) Toe socks are probably the most controversial variety; you either love them or you hate them.

I love them! Come on, don't you want all your little piggies to have their own space?

7. They keep your shoes from stinking.

I think that is something we all can appreciate!

8) Feet get abused enough. The least you can do is put some super cute or soft socks on them.

9. It makes other people smile when they see a little flash of candy cane stripe peeking out from between the bottom of your pants and the tops of your shoes. You can make someones day with out even doing anything!

10) Good things always seem to happen when I'm wearing my wildest socks.

I just love socks!

Just a small P.S. Who was it that ever decided your socks have to match? Live dangerously...mix it up!

God's Family

For my mom's Young Women lesson yesterday, she asked me to come and talk to the girls for a minute about friendship. I was more than happy to. I am a firm beleiver that we are an eternal Family and that we are here to take care of eachother.

As I was preparing for this lesson, I felt like kind of a hipocrite. I can be pretty harsh and judgemental sometimes, and once I form an opinion, it is hard to get me to change my mind.

(Those two paragraphs are a perfect example of how what we think and what we say can be totally different!)

Anyway, it was just a good refresher for me.

I used part of President Uchtdorf's talk, "Happieness, Your Heritage." In it he talks about creating. Creating is one of our most basic desires as children of God. When we tear other's down, we degrade ourselves; we are taking part in something that is totally contradictory to who we are at the core. Why don't we build others up more?

He also talks about how being happy is our heritage from God. When we make others feel unhappy or upset, we are robbing them of that heritage. That thought really struck me yesterday. I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth and not think before I speak. Now, though, I am going to try to think of it in those terms...Who am I to take away one of my brother/sister's heritage?

Anyway, just some things I've been thinking about the last few days.

HOT CHOCOLATE!!

Those of you who know me best know of my hot chocolate obsession...yes, obsession is the only word that covers it. It is my most favorite thing!

In the freezing cold of winter or the blistering heat of summer, a steaming cup of coco is the perfect start to the day!

Here are the top ten best places to get it:

1) Hatch Family Chocolates, 390 E 4th Ave. They do a dark hot chocolate which is super rich and delicious. It is almost too much...notice I said almost :) And they make it with whole milk so it's super creamy.

2) Tesoro, 200 S 1300 E. I know it's a dumpy gas station, but they seriously have THE best hot chocolate EVER! And every December they have a special where you can get any size for 99 cents! My friend Lindsay and I go there once a week during school for our hot chocolate Wednesdays.

3) Any Starbucks. Shut the front door delicious.

4) Dolce Coffee, 1300 E 2100 S. It's just down the street from my work, which is a little bit dangerous for me.

5) Cafe Perk... Frozen hot chocolate. Sounds bizarre and it kind of is. But it is one of the best ideas any one has ever had.

6) Any diner-type restaurant, especially Denny's. It is always yummy and I love the fancy looking whipped cream they put on the top :)

7) The Library Cafe at the U's Marriot Library. It's the perfect pick-me-up on a cold winter day after trekking up and down all those wet, icy hills.

8) Kneaders. I think they put cinnamon or something in theirs. It's yummy!

The last two are ways to make your home-made options which are the best of all.

9) Food storage hot chocolate. It is SO GOOD! And you can get it in those huge cans so you'll never run out (unless, of course, you are an addict like me)! It is especially good with a little coffee creamer in it. My personal favorite is the vanilla caramel.

10) Stephens Raspberry hot chocolate. Just the smell is enough to make your mouth water!

BFFs

It's that time of the week again friends...time to fill you in on my week. It's been a whopper, that's for sure. Lots of changes are happening.

I want to talk about 3 constants though.

Probably the biggest constant in my whole life is my older brother. He is my big brother, my mentor, my protector, my nemesis at times, and probably the person I'm second closest to in the whole world. This week I watched him make what I think is a very bad choice. And I let him know it...I had to. It's too big a deal to be quiet about. I'm just afraid that this disagreement will ruin us.

I also reconnected with an old friend this week. She and I used to be super close...like, sister close. We've drifted apart the last few years; nothing bad happened, just our lives are going in different directions. But today it was just like we picked up where we left off. It was really nice, and kind of a relief to know that things haven't changed as much as I thought. It was so fun to catch up!

Enough of that serious stuff though! The top ten for this week is the top ten reasons I LOVE my "sister" Andrea. She moved out on her own this weekend, so this is to celebrate how proud I am of her for taking this next big step in her life :)

1. We can pretty much read each other's minds. We think so much a like!

2. Somehow, she always ALWAYS knows when I need her. She will call or text out of the blue with just what I need to hear. She has been an answer to prayer more times than I think she knows.

3. She doesn't judge me when I'm a total dork :)

4. Watching Andrea with people is like watching magic. She has this way of setting everyone around her at ease and becoming friends with complete strangers faster than most people can say, "Hi my name is..." I think it's because people can see the sense of dignity and respect she has about her.

5. We like pretty much all the same movies and TV shows. One of my favorite memories of Andrea is when the two of us, my mom, and my brother, went to see Hairspray in the movie theatre. She and I were dancing practically out of our seats! I thought poor Wade would die of embarrassment, but we didn't care. Such a good time! And we once had an all day movie marathon. 8 hours, pj's, movies, jamba...it doesn't get better than that!

6. She is so generous with her talents and skills. She is always making something for someone, taking pictures of someone, or just helping out!

7. Seriously, her hair is a-ma-ZA-zing! I know that sounds shallow, but if you saw her luscious red locks in person, you would understand.

8. She is always so put together and collected, even when she's not. If that makes any sense at all... Andrea is one of those people who always can work things out and work them out well.

9. Andrea took me under her wing at a time in my life when I was super vulnerable and unsure of myself. I don't think she realizes how much she has taught me about how to be my own person. She is an amazing example of standing for what you believe in.

10. I can tell this girl ANYthing and she always knows what to say. Always. Maybe more importantly, she knows what not to say and when to say nothing and just let things come out.

So, my dear friend, I hope I didn't embarrass you :) I just love you so much and I am so proud of you! You are my hero babe!