bored.

I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

2011-10-11T06:31:00.001-06:00

With so much in the media these days about Mormonism, I felt impressed to share my testimony of the Gospel I so dearly love.

I know that God exists and that we are His children. I know that He knows and loves each and every one of us individually and wants us to be happy. I know that He gives us trials and tribulations to refine us so that when this mortal life is over we can return to our heavenly home to live with Him.

I know that Jesus Christ is His son. I know that Christ came to this earth to teach us about our Heavenly Father and His plan of happiness for us. I know that Christ suffered and died for each of us. I know that whether or not we choose to accept this gift, it's there for us. I know and have felt the wonderful blessings in my life as a result of using the Atonement to develop a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I know that Joseph Smith sincerely prayed to God about which was the true church, and that God revealed the Book of Mormon to him. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and that it's true. I know that Christ visited the Americas and built His church. I know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible support each other.

I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true and living prophet on the earth today. I know that God guides and directs us through him.

I know that God works miracles, and I have seen it in my own life numerous times. I know that if we believe in Him and obey His commandments, we will return to live with Him after this mortal life is over. I know that that is the only way to find true joy.

These are the things that I know to be true. I say them in the name of my Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Just Another Day . . .

2010-12-06T14:25:00.010-07:00

Six years ago, I moved to the great state of Utah. During that time, I've used public transportation off and on and worked in close proximity to the homeless shelter in downtown SLC. I've met many people from all walks of life, and today I decided it was time to share my experiences with the world . . . er, at least the 5 people that read my blog :)

Now, I've seen a lot in my travels. There was the old homeless man on the bus with his hair so matted around his head that I threw up a little in my mouth every time I saw him. I think a bird could've lived in that nest of hair.

On my way to work the other day, I saw this on the ground:

Shirt, pants, bra, panties, and both socks. That's right, it's an entire outfit! So many possibilities as to how these ended up here . . .

On two separate occasions I saw these guys on my way to work:

Yep, they're moving a piano by bicycle. That's gotta make you smile :)

Speaking of bikes, while I was waiting for the bus one day, I saw this guy:

Boxes stacked on the handlebars . . . That's talent!

Now, it's a pretty common occurrence to see people get on the bus with multiple sleeping bags and buckets full of all their belongings.

Just today I saw a shopping cart on the bus:

But my favorite is when they get on with an unusual item like giant garden shears, hoes, and other large metal objects that are unrecognizable. I even remember one guy getting on with an ax. The bus driver made him wrap his jacket around it. That did help it look less threatening.

Sometimes you get the real crazies, like this guy that kept snapping his fingers and yelling to someone in the back (mind you, no one was in the back):

Seeing all of these people can be pretty entertaining, but nothing compares to making new friends! Once I met a drunk Native American man on the train. He told me he could tell I was a religious woman and said, "I'll take you to church." Unfortunately, I couldn't find a dress shop close to the train route and had to decline his marriage proposal.

I also had the EXACT same conversation with the same man two days in a row on the train. Both ended with him trying to get my name, address, and phone number so we could meet up at the Chuck-A-Rama for a date. I never heard from him, though . . . He must've forgotten about our chat.

Another day, I had a kid next to me start asking me questions about who I lived with. He wanted to know all about my roommates. His mouth was covered in crusties and he was inviting me to his birthday party. I convinced him that not only had I forgotten my cell phone that day, but I couldn't remember my number either.

These days I'm working at a plasma center near downtown in a low-income neighborhood relatively close to the homeless shelter. Everyday I get to meet interesting people who wanna help save lives and earn a little extra cash while they're at it.

Now, the first time you come in to donate you have to have your veins checked. One day a man (or so I thought) was brought back to me for this purpose. As I checked his arms, he said, "I know where the veins are in this mortal body." He proceeded to tell me all about how he was from another planet and how this body was serving him pretty well. Unfortunately, his veins were too small and I had to turn him away. Before he left, though, he pulled a wad of cash out of his fanny pack and said, "It's ok. I got money!" You also have to have a permanent Utah address to donate, so I'm not sure he would've made the cut anyway.

On occasion, people get upset when we turn them away. We had a bounty hunter threaten to "cut" one of our medical supervisors. Another lady threatened to stand and stare at one of our managers just to annoy him (she left right after everyone, donors included, started laughing at her). One guy threatened to wait outside for one of my co-workers because we took one extra gram of plasma (and just to clarify, it has to be at least 6 grams to be considered an overdraw).

I'm sure there are tons more stories I could add to this post, but these are some of my favorites. I love this stuff because when I'm having a hard day I think, "If these people can make it through, so can you." I hope you got a good chuckle :)

Family Ties

2010-10-17T12:17:00.012-06:00

Remember the show Family Ties? Alex P. Keaton was probably my favorite, but who didn't love Michael J. Fox? Here's a few bloopers:

I was supposed to have a girls night with some of my co-workers last night, but it fell through at the last minute. I got a text from

though, inviting me to dinner. I should've gone home and done homework, but I took them up on their offer. Scott was nice enough to pick me up from work, and when we got to Katie's house dinner was ready. It was a delicious and healthy, mexican-esque dish. Then we decided to go to the dollar theater and see

Scott and I talked about politics all through the opening credits. We all enjoyed the movie, and then went back to Katie's house to play

It was just such a fun, low-key night with the family.

We were also talking about how excited we are to see more of our family next week at Sean and Annie's wedding!

Mom and Brent will be here with Justin,

and Barb and Jeff with all the kids!

And I'm pretty sure Nichole's coming and bringing her kids, who I've never met!

I am just so grateful for my family. We've been through some rough times, but we've come out ahead. They really do mean the world to me! I'm so grateful to have Scott, Katie, Sean, and now Annie so close! Mom and Brent are just a hop, skip, and a jump away in California. I miss when Kali just lived in Provo :(

But I can't wait to go visit her in DC!

2010-09-13T00:34:00.005-06:00

So, today in sunday school, we watched a clip from the show Shaq VS. He was challenging Justin Bieber and it was so cute, haha :) So I finally listened to his song "Baby" and it's been stuck in my head all day. Here' s the music video:

Anyway, I also heard this great quote at ward prayer tonight. It's from Elder Wirthlin in 2007:

"Sometimes the greatest love is not found in the dramatic scenes that poets and writers immortalize. Often, the greatest manifestations of love are the simple acts of kindness and caring we extend to those we meet along the path of life. True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us. We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it. Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming."

I really liked that. I know there have been times in my life when I haven't shown charity to others like I should have, and there have been times when I really have felt that pure love of Christ towards others. And I've experienced those two opposites reflected towards myself from those around me. It makes me grateful for the people in my life that can express their love for me even when I make mistakes. And when people don't show me that unconditional love, although it makes me sad, I remember the times I was in their shoes and it helps me to understand.

I've recently been reminded how important our attitude is in this life. How much positive thinking really affects us. And I'm trying really hard to count my blessings and think about all the wonderful things I do have, instead of all the nice things I wish I did.

Life is good, people. Just remember that ;)

School House Rock

2010-08-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

Guess who's finally going back to school . . .

MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

And guess what I'll be studying . . .

POLITICAL SCIENCE!

And here's the best part . . .

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

That's right people! After a 5 year hiatus, I'm FINALLY going back! And I couldn't be more thrilled! Classes start next week, eek! Sometimes I just can't believe it! But it's so good to be motivated about something again :)

Here's a little School House Rock for your viewing pleasure:

Haha! Doesn't that take you back?

The Life and Times . . .

2009-12-15T00:01:00.022-07:00

So, here's what's been going on lately:

I. I named the fish Penelope.

II. The leaves changed colors and Jed and Vicki played in them.

III. Jed was sad when we told him the leaves looked so pretty because they were dead and he left.

IV. Vicki's Twin Mattress + My Twin Mattress + Jenni's Queen Mattress = Monster Bed in the Living Room!

V. Sometimes we like to send mom pictures of us "killing" each other. She tries to act upset, but everyone knows she loves it.

VI. Birdman Nation above! If you know the rules you have to play this stupid game.

VII. Trying to take family pictures at Thanksgiving.

VIII. Our "way cute" Christmas Tree!

XI. Karla's "way cute" baby in her "way cute" winter jumper!

X. Prom pictures at ward mingle!

XI. Other fun pictures with the random balloons we found at church.

XII. We decided to take the balloons home and decorate for ward prayer! They didn't quite fit.

Just Keep Swimming . . .

2009-11-06T15:14:00.003-07:00

Today I met up with my sister Katie for lunch. Katie happens to work next door to a Petco. I decided to go in and look around. Now I am the proud owner of a BEAUTIFUL Double-Tail Betta.

I just can't come up with a name, though. I've decided it's a girl and I want a really pretty name. Maybe a little old fashioned. Something like Thaddeus or Reuben, but those are boys names. Please help!

My Vegan Week . . .

2009-11-03T00:32:00.010-07:00

So, I have this great friend at work that just happens to be Vegan. I have never had the desire to even be Vegetarian, let alone Vegan, but I was rather intrigued by her lifestyle choice. So I decided to try it out for a week.

Now, when I first started I really was excited. I thought to myself, "This will be a piece of cake!" (As long as it's Vegan cake.) I looked up recipes and bought lots of vegetables and beans and lentils. I even bought a turnip which I've never had!

So I went to work on Monday with some delicious veggie sandwich fixins. I figured a week was nothing. A person could do anything for a week, right? Right! Tuesday came and went with no problems. I was still going Vegan strong!

Wednesday was a bit of a rough day for me, and I actually wanted a hamburger on my way home from work. I convinced myself that a hamburger would still taste just as good next week, so I got a small fry and went home and made some vegetable soup instead.

I didn't think Thursday would be bad because I decided to get a cheese-less pizza! It was delicious, but I just kept thinking about how it would be so much better with cheese on it. I just kept telling myself that I could do it.

Friday was the real clincher, though. It was my first day off all week. I'd been eating the same vegan dishes for lunch all week, so I was starting to get sick of it. I was hating food! Everytime I would even think about the veggie soup I'd been eating half the week for lunch, I wanted to throw up. I went to a party that night and I couldn't eat anything. I was in a grumpy mood all day.

And that's when I decided to just screw it. It's not like I was doing it for any good, moral reason. I just wanted to see what it was like. I figured five days was plenty of time. So, Saturday morning I went to brunch with my sister and had eggs, bacon, and toast with real butter! It made me so happy I even bought some flowers for my roommates on the way home! And what's funny is that I didn't even make the connection! Vicki's the one that noticed I was feeling much better after eating some protein.

So, the moral of the story is this: Unless you like hating your life, eat Meat! And Dairy! And Eggs! . . . Also, I don't like turnips :(

Quite the Productive Morning!

2009-09-03T10:32:00.009-06:00

So, after a night of not-so-good sleep I awoke at 4:30 this morning and decided to just get up for the day. I thought I'd go to the temple first, but I realized that it wasn't open yet. Then I figured I'd clean.

I popped in my headphones so as not to wake Jenni and started some laundry while I cleaned the kitchen, worked my way into the living room, and then ended up in my bedroom. All of which weren't very messy so that didn't take much time. Then I decided to get updated on all of the blogs I follow. That actually took awhile.

Once that was done, it was time to go to the temple (mind you, it was still only 6:30). I was all ready (I even left Jenni a "Have a great day" note), but I missed the first bus. I had a half hour to kill, so I thought I'd turn on the yoga video I checked out from the library.

That was a little difficult to do in a dress. But then Jenni got up and I chatted with her for awhile. Then I finally made my way to the temple (but not after missing the bus again). At the temple I happened to see

Elder Richard G. Scott!

And

Haha! JK! JK!

But I did also see Elder Quentin L. Cook!

After the temple, I went to the bank, got some breakfast, came home and took a shower. All this before 9 am! Whew! I think it's about time for a nap.

Pulling Teeth

2009-06-25T23:27:00.008-06:00

Okay, so I've never had any of my teeth pulled, but it does not look like my idea of a good time.

Bayside is one of my favorite bands. They're a little dark at times, but I love their lyrics. They have a great line that I've been thinking about a lot lately.

"You're pulling out your teeth, and I'm the Novocaine you pump in your cheek."

So, this line really got me thinking about what I like to call our "guilty pleasures" in life. The things we do to make ourselves feel better when life sucks. I feel like most of the time (if not ALL of the time) this turns out to be self-destructive. Alcohol, sex, drugs, food, cutting . . . pick your poison. I'll admit that it's great at first, but pretty soon it's "feel good" powers start to wear off. Then you find yourself doing it just because you don't know what else to do, and you still feel like crap. Actually you feel worse about yourself. Man, it's such a great song! I keep listening to it over and over again. If you wanna check it out, it's called "They're Not Horses, They're Unicorns".

Anyway, I didn't mean this to be a dramatic post. Just something that's been on my mind the past few days . . .

Everyone's Got A Body, Right?

2009-05-16T00:09:00.003-06:00

I always wondered what our bodies were made of, and Dr. Steve Brule shows us in a slightly disturbing but extremely funny way.

Save Second Base!

2009-05-11T00:12:00.016-06:00

About a year ago, Vicki and I decided to do the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It's probably one of the best things I've done in my life. The race was held again this past Saturday, so Vicki and I decided to do it and to recruit some of our friends, Mandy and Dave.

We even talked Scott and Sean into doing it with their roommates, Brenton and Tyler!

There were so many people there to support the cause, it was great! There were great teams like "Show Your Support" and "Tutus for Tatas"! Our favorite was "Save Second Base"!

It was a great experience to be able to see so many people come together! There were definitely some sad moments. Everytime I saw a sign that said "In Memory Of . . ." it just broke my heart and kinda choked me up a bit.

But then it was so great to see the happy ones that said "In Celebration Of . . ."!

Overall, it was one of the best days ever! And not just because of this:

But because we helped make a difference and lifted each others spirits. This was my favorite T-shirt of the day:

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

-Walt Disney

Cemetary

2009-05-03T23:32:00.004-06:00

So, today I went to the local cemetary with the roommies and Tyler. It was a great way to spend an overcast Sunday afternoon. There were some really great headstones. Some of them were HUGE! I'm not sure what kind of one I would like. Maybe something in the middle. Not too big, not too small, you know? It was kinda sad to see some of them broken. I think it would be cool to know some of their stories. Like what kind of life they led, and maybe how they died. We happened across a couple of sections that were just children and it seemed so sad :( I think that would be a very hard thing to lose a child. Even with the gospel in my life it seems like it would be pretty devastating. There was also a section for servicemen. It was cool to see some from men that fought in the Civil War and the Spanish American War. Overall it was a nice sombering experience.

There were a ton of deer in the cemetary.

I also saw some geese with their little . . . are they called goslings? Or is it just that actor's last name that I'm confusing it with?