My So-Called Life.

Nealster

2011-10-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

This little boy started high school this fall and I honestly still don't believe it. I wish I could be home for it so so bad. Neal is the sweetest and most thoughtful SIXTEEN [crazy!] year old boy I know. I really miss his hugs every time I walk into the room he's in. Even if they crush me and make me want to punch him in the face. Hah miss you Nealster!

2011-09-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

alberta.

that's a spider, by the way.

lake louise, banff

our home-made campfire

my view on a daily basis

san juan bautista

2011-09-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

This semester I'm taking two religion classes: Islam and the Gospel, and Survey of World Religions. These classes (minus the stress they cause due to quizzes) are the highlights of my week. Living in North America, we are sooo blinded and ignorant of what's really out there. In my reading for one of these classes I came across the following quote and it made me really excited. There is so much to learn and so much to experience. I can't wait to learn everything I can here at BYU and then venture off somewhere (hopefully cool) and learn more and more and more. Here is the quote (hope it makes you think):

Out of the more than 3.57 billion people in the world today, one in seven is a Hindu. To understand why Hinduism, with its intricate framework of mysticism, is espoused by such a large number of people, it might be helpful to examine the Hindus’ contemplative approach to life through the eyes of a student of Hinduism. Here is a comparison between Eastern and Western thought made by Hari N. Dam, a Hindu and former student at the University of Minnesota:

“You live in time; we live in space. You’re always on the move; we’re always at rest.

“You’re aggressive; we’re passive. You like to act; we like to contemplate.

“We always hark back to the past; you always look forward to the future. We pine for the lost paradise; you wait for the millennium.

“We accept the world as it is; you try to change it according to your blueprint. We live in peace with Nature; you try to impose your will on her.

“Religion is our first love; we revel in metaphysics. Science is your passion; you delight in physics.

“You believe in freedom of speech; you strive for articulation. We believe in freedom of silence; we lapse into meditation.

“You first love, then you marry. We first marry, then we love. Your marriage is the happy end of a romance; our marriage is the beginning of a love affair. Your marriage is a contract; our marriage is an indissoluble bond.

“Your love is vocal; our love is mute. You delight in showing it to others; we try hard to conceal it from the world.

“Self-assertiveness is the key to your success; self-abnegation is the secret of our survival.

“You’re urged every day to want more and more; we’re taught from the cradle to want less and less. Joie de vivre is your ideal; conquest of desires is our goal.

“We glorify austerity and renunciation; you emphasize gracious living and enjoyment. Poverty to you is a sign of degradation; it is to us a badge of spiritual elevation.

“In the sunset years of life, you retire to enjoy the fruits of your labor; we renounce the world and prepare ourselves for the hereafter.”

Also, did you know that 1.5 billion people and 23% of Americans believe in reincarnation?

Such a bizarre concept to me.

'oh, baby, it's not a gain'

2011-09-05T21:45:00.000-07:00

I recently became obsessed with Eisley's new album The Valley and shortly after my friend informed me that they were playing in Salt Lake...Words cannot describe how amazing this show was. If I could make music, this is exactly what it would sound like. The band is basically a family (pretty sure its three sisters, a brother, and a cousin). If you want to check them out, The Valley and Ambulance are my two favorite tracks from their new album. This song I posted is a really good one, too. I chose this particular one because the beginning is exactly how I've felt a whole lot of times lately. Gah I'm seriously being such a girl. Just stop reading this blog.

Eisley - I Wish

2011-09-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

I thought it would only be appropriate to start blogging on the first day of classes because as sad as it is, I haven't posted a thing since finals last spring. I really don't know why I keep this stupid blog but I think I'll stick with it for a little while longer. Today being the first day of classes I've been reflecting a little bit on this past summer and I have mixed feelings about it. I accomplished something that I didn't think I could-which I'm quite pleased about. Last Spring it came to the point where I felt sick and just wanted to hide and cry every time I thought about the situation. Despite that feat, I look back on the summer with regrets but they were things that I had little control over. So can they still be classified as regrets? I don't know. To tell the truth I feel bitter and frustrated. Hopefully that will pass and I can start to focus on all the really good things that happened. This is starting to sound like an extremely vague journal entry. Sorry, I'm done! I'll be getting some film back soon, so Instagram will have to do for now!

my sucker

bannock bread over the fire

cliff jumping in Many Glacier

mmmm

laurel lee's fishy

gah

new bedframe from the 30's

max's sailboat

harley ride to Twin Butte General Store!

r.i.p

Old Chief

typical

salamander crossing + christopher

1 cast, 2 fishies

waterton lakes

colours

P.s I wrote this a week ago.

2011-04-19T19:54:00.001-07:00

Finals week is pure insanity. That is all.

2011-04-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

MUUUUUST HAVE!

On the Menu:

2011-04-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Parmesan Parmigiana

I bought an eggplant. I don't believe I've ever tasted one in my entire life, but I bought one! Thirty seconds later the question of 'what to do with it' arose. After searching for a recipe on line and in recipe books, Laurel finally made my mind up for me- Eggplant Parmigiana! She's had it twice now so it must be good, right? Well I'mma gonna make it this weekend so I'll let you know!

recipe

while alone on the prairie

2011-03-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

these are some things i want to experiment with while i'm all alone in southern alberta this spring/summer

despite the fact that all my friends are currently not in southern alberta, i think picking up a million new hobbies will be really fun. i'm excited to hike and bike and run and swim and plant and make and eat and hopefully i'll love every minute of my lonely summer.

something to read

2011-03-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

What If Love Were Our Only Motive?

RUSSELL T. OSGUTHORPE

Russell T. Osguthorpe was the Sunday School general president
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, director of the
BYU Center for Teaching and Learning, and a BYU professor
in the Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology
when this devotional address was given on 8 March 2011.

© Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Complete volumes of Speeches are available wherever LDS books are sold.
For further information contact:
Speeches, 218 University Press Building, Provo, Utah 84602.
(801) 422-2299 / E-mail: speeches@byu.edu / Speeches Home Page

Thank you, President Samuelson. It is great to be here today. As that choir was singing, it reminded me that my wife and I met with our seats assigned in a choir just like that a few years back, and we’ve been sitting next to each other ever since.

This place is really like a second home to me. I spent a good part of my adult life at BYU. When people ask me how long I’ve been here—which they do at times—I say I came with Karl G. Maeser. So this is where we met, and this is where our children received their education. It’s where I came to understand that learning can go on forever. I love the students here. I love the staff. I love the faculty. I love games like the one we had with Wyoming on Saturday. I like championships. I love BYU.

When I’m walking across campus, I like to say hello to as many people as I can. I especially like it if they say hello back. I guess it’s my retro way of doing social networking. I once looked at a student approaching me on the sidewalk. She was on her cell phone—which oftentimes we are—but she still gave me a cell-phone wave. Quite often those I pass on the sidewalk are using headphones. But sometimes I even get a headphone nod. And this morning I got a headphone smile.

Once I was sitting outside a conference room in the library working on my laptop. A student approached me and asked a little awkwardly, “So, what are you doing?”

I explained that I was waiting for a meeting, but then I closed my laptop, stood up, and said, “You know, students never do that to me. They never just come up and start a conversation. Why did you do that?”

He responded, “Well, I thought I might learn something.”

We had a memorable conversation. He had just returned from a mission, and he shared some of his favorite experiences with me.

Meeting new people can enrich our lives in miraculous ways. My wife and I recently visited Bucaramanga, Colombia, on a Church assignment. Bucaramanga is a city of 1.2 million very friendly people. In fact, they pride themselves on being the friendliest city on the planet. When we arrived, many were there to greet us. They made us feel like we were the most important people they had ever met. We had never been to this city before. We had never seen the people who were greeting us. And yet we felt their love.

Love is one of the most powerful positive forces in existence. It is one of the strongest statements in all of scripture, and it occurs twice in Moroni: “If ye have not charity, ye are nothing” (Moroni 7:46; also see verse 44). No matter how competent we might be, how bright, how talented, how athletic, how attractive, how hardworking—if we are not acting out of love, we are nothing. Those people in Bucaramanga were not thinking of themselves. They were not trying to prove anything to anyone. They were simply reaching out to us in love. And that student who approached me in the library literally made my day. His willingness to step outside himself for a minute lifted me.

While teaching a missionary preparation course, I asked students to keep track of key indicators, as they would be doing in the mission field. One of the key indicators was to talk to people. Just saying “hi” to someone was not enough. They needed to have a real conversation with each new person they met. I explained that on their missions, all day every day, they would be meeting people for the first time and they needed to practice this skill prior to their mission if they wanted to enter the field prepared. This assignment did not count toward their grade, but students invested themselves in it with real energy and commitment. Each week they would text or e-mail me their results for the week.

One week a student reported having conversations with 72 people he had never met before. That’s impressive. I asked him in class, “How did you do that in one week? How did you visit with so many?”

He responded, “Oh, I was standing in lines a lot this past week, and so I would just ask the person next to me to hold my place in the line, and then I would move through the line and introduce myself and talk to as many people as I could.”

I recommend you try this, by the way, because this is what he told me in the end. He said, “You know, Brother Osguthorpe, the surprising thing is that I really think I made some friends I will have the rest of my life.”

Think of that for a minute. All he did was just meet people.

There is real power in simply reaching out to others and becoming acquainted. I once asked a student on the sidewalk how things were going. He said, “Hey, BYU’s all right, but I just don’t know anybody yet. It’s pretty lonely at times.”

My hope is not only that BYU will be known for its high rankings in academics and sports but that it will, like Bucaramanga, Colombia, be known as the friendliest place on the planet.

Being friendly is a great thing, because it’s the only way we can move from acquaintance to lasting friendship. Several weeks into the semester in my missionary preparation course, I received an e-mail from a student who up to that point had never come to class. I assumed that he had dropped the course. The e-mail simply said, “I haven’t been coming to class. I don’t know if there’s any way I can still complete the course. Could I come and talk with you?”

I set up an appointment to see him. He came to my office accompanied by his resident assistant. The resident assistant explained, “I overheard him last night saying that he had never attended his missionary prep class, so I suggested that he e-mail you and come and talk.”

I told the student that he had missed a number of assignments and that he would need to complete each one or he would fail the course. I explained that if he could complete all the past assignments, come to every class for the remainder of the semester, turn in all future assignments on time, and successfully complete the final, he would be able to receive a passing grade. The next day he sent me a detailed plan for meeting all the conditions we had laid out. He never missed another class period, handed in every assignment, did well on the final exam, and passed the course. The resident assistant helped him along the way. He even attended the first class with him to make sure he had a good experience on that first day.

I asked the resident assistant what had motivated him to help this student. He explained, “Well, I made a commitment during my mission that when I returned to BYU, I would help freshmen prepare for their missions.” In other words, for the resident assistant, the needs of a freshman took precedence over his own needs. He cared enough for this freshman student that he helped him write the e-mail message, came with him to visit with me, and kept in touch with him until the freshman had completed the course.

I saw that freshman on the sidewalk the following semester. He was with some friends, but he ran up to me and told me that he was about to submit his application to serve a mission. He thanked me for permitting him to complete the course and said, “I don’t know what would have happened if you had not helped me.”

I said, “I didn’t really do anything. It was that resident assistant who made the difference in your life.”

I keep asking myself, “What if our only motive were love? What if everything we did, we did out of love?” There are all kinds of motives out there. And many of them are not pretty. We might be motivated by revenge or envy or greed. Selfish motives are abundant. As students, we might be motivated only by grades or by our desire to get into graduate school or to begin a career. These are not necessarily evil motives, but they’re not enough. We might get straight As. We might get into the best graduate school. Or we might land the best job offer imaginable. But, again, as Moroni taught: “If [we] have not charity, [we] are nothing.”

We can even do good things with less than laudable motives. Quoting his father, Mormon, Moroni wrote that if we give “a gift, [and] doeth it grudgingly; . . . it is counted . . . the same as if [we] had retained the gift; wherefore [we are] counted evil before God (Moroni 7:8; see also verse 9). Motives matter. They matter a lot. In the end, why we do things is probably more important than what we do. Evil acts are always motivated by evil motives. But acts that might appear to be good on the surface may not be fueled by pure motives. And one of the purest motives of all is love.

So is it possible to do everything we do out of love? Is it possible to study because we love the Lord and His children? Is it possible to be motivated by love when we take a test, read a chapter in a textbook, complete an assignment, or answer a question in class? Is it possible to love someone who has wronged us? Can love be our only motive?

We know what it feels like to have compassion, as did the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:31–33). But we might also know what it feels like to ignore someone in need, as did the priest and the Levite as they passed by the wounded man, worrying more about themselves than about the one in need. Motives matter.

It’s important to remember that we should not try to judge another’s motives. But we can judge our own motives. We need to look inside and take stock. Are we doing what we do out of love? Or has some other motive taken over?

We can easily relate to the story of the prodigal son. We have likely all made decisions that led us away from what is good and right. Then, like the prodigal son, we have “come to ourselves,” woken up, and repented (see Luke 15:17). But we might also be able to relate to the brother of the prodigal son, who resented his brother for all the positive attention he was getting from their father. The father’s only motive was love for both of his sons. He freely forgave the one and eagerly entreated the other to come in and celebrate the return of a family member.

We need to have a special kind of love to rejoice more in the success of others than in our own successes. When Alma met Ammon and his brothers following their mission to the Lamanites, Alma rejoiced in his own success, but he rejoiced even more in the success of his brethren: “Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy” (Alma 29:16).

When others’ needs start to matter more than our own, and when others’ successes are more exciting to us than our own, we are beginning to experience the kind of love that our Father in Heaven and our Savior have for us. It is a love without dimension. It has no boundaries, no limitations. It is pure. It is infinite. It is eternal. Oh, how I want to have more of this kind of love for others.

My wife’s brother Steve became less active in the Church at the age of 15. He married outside the Church and for many years asked that home teachers not visit him. This is how Steve tells his own story:

I was assigned a home teacher. When he called me, I said something like, “I don’t want to be contacted, and my wife is not interested.” He asked if he could at least make contact once in a while and made sure I understood he was there for us if a need arose.

For 22 years, every month, I faithfully received a postcard from that home teacher with a kind thought or just a “hello, hope things are going well for you.” I had never met him for the first 18 years, yet every month he made his home teaching contact the only way he could.

That contact became very important to me when we found out my wife had brain cancer in 1996. We never had children, and so I was the primary caregiver for her during her 23-month illness. I was helped by 12 wonderful women who were friends, neighbors, or co-workers.

One day the ward Relief Society president came by our home to offer help. My wife was asleep at the time, and I didn’t want to wake her, so that visit never happened. But that contact by the Relief Society president was more important to me, I think, as it softened my heart. My wife of 31 years passed away 10 days later.

Following his wife’s death, Steve needed help in planning the funeral. Who do you think he turned to for that help? To his home teacher of 22 years—the one who had faithfully written all of those cards! How easy would it have been for that home teacher not to complete his calling? Some of us have a difficult time home teaching people who do welcome us. But he stayed with it.

Five years later, Steve remarried. His second wife was a faithful member of the Church. His pathway back to full activity in the Church began. Last year Steve was ordained a priest, and then he received the Melchizedek Priesthood—all after 50 years of inactivity in the Church.

When we care for someone, we want to do something for them. Steve’s home teacher cared enough to do something—to write literally hundreds of cards to the one he’d been assigned to visit. The Relief Society president cared enough to visit at exactly the right moment for Steve. I’m convinced that there are people all around us who need that kind of caring, that kind of love. All we need to do is open our eyes and our ears and our hearts so that we can know what we need to do for others.

We’ve likely all noticed how our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, shows his love to others. Following a program in the Conference Center, in which 7,000 youth performed on stage or in the aisles, a 12-year-old deacon sang as part of the finale. Following his song, President Monson motioned to the young man to come to him. The young man made his way off the stage to the front row in the audience where President Monson was sitting. They greeted each other while everyone in the Conference Center waited in silence. Then the young man went back up on stage and got swarmed by all the other youth in the cast. Everyone wanted to shake the hand of someone who had just shaken the hand of the prophet.

At the end of the evening, President Monson stayed to greet as many young people as he possibly could. We watched as a prophet of God expressed his love to the youth of the Church. At one point he went on stage and shook the hands of all in a row of young people in wheelchairs. These were youth with multiple disabilities. Some could not acknowledge President Monson’s handshake with speech, but I am quite certain that each could feel his love.

While serving as an Area Seventy, I once accompanied Elder Russell M. Nelson to a stake conference in which a new stake president was being called. As is the usual practice, we briefly interviewed approximately 30 Church leaders in the stake. Elder Nelson asked the stake clerk to attach a picture of each leader to the leader’s one-page bio. After we had issued the call to the new stake president and his counselors, we had about 45 minutes before the priesthood leadership meeting was to begin. Elder Nelson and I were in the stake president’s office preparing for the next meeting. I was reviewing the message I was planning to deliver, but I noticed that Elder Nelson was going over the one-page bio sheets of each Church leader we had just interviewed.

I wondered why he was reviewing the information so carefully. Then, when Elder Nelson stood to speak during the priesthood leadership meeting, I understood. As he taught, he called upon Church leaders by name. He would say, “Brother Johnson, Brother Anderson, would you stand and tell us about how this happens at your ward?” These men were those we had interviewed for only a few minutes each, and he was calling them by name. He had never met these leaders before interviewing them, but he knew their names. While I was preparing my message for the meeting, he was memorizing their names—looking at their pictures and their bios—so he could call upon them by name in the meeting. He would likely never see most of the leaders again in his ministry, but he took the time to learn their names.

When I have shared this experience with others, they often say, “Yes, Elder Nelson has a remarkable memory for names.” But where has that skill come from? He cares enough about others to learn their names. Most of us could memorize 30 names in 45 minutes. But many of us may not think to do so. I know that on this campus we have faculty—even those with very large classes—who make a serious effort to learn students’ names. It is a simple thing, but it can change the whole learning-teaching equation. When love underlies our actions as learners and teachers—as human beings—everything gets better.

The Savior’s earthly ministry was a time of teaching, a time of miracles. He established His Church on the earth. He called the Twelve to become leaders in the Church. He taught everyone who would listen. He healed the sick and raised the dead. And why did He do all these things? He had only one motive—love. His message to us is that we need to be good and do good, but we need to do it for the right reason. This is precisely why the two greatest commandments are the greatest: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39). The motive means everything.

We are all on our way to somewhere. We are all making our way forward in life. We may be looking forward to marriage, or, if we’re married, we may be looking forward to having our first child. We might be looking forward to graduate school or to entering the workforce. We are always on our way to somewhere. My first mission was in Tahiti. I love the way Tahitians greet each other. The literal meaning of their greeting word—ia ora na—means “life to you” or “that you might live.” We are either giving life or taking life from each other as we move forward on our way.

Harsh words take life away from the one who receives them and even from the one who utters them. But words spoken in love give life. The student who approached me in the library gave me life. This happened again yesterday. Someone asked me if I was speaking at the devotional; that action gave me life, gave me a little boost, just by saying hello. The resident assistant gave life to the freshman and actually to me as well. The home teacher and Relief Society president gave life to my brother-in-law, Steve. President Monson gave life to every young person he greeted in the Conference Center that evening. And Elder Nelson gave life to those Church leaders he called by name. What if all the words we spoke were motivated by love?

The Savior’s life on earth was short, but He was always reaching out in love every step of the way. He helped so many while He was on His way to help someone else. He noticed what others needed, reached out to them, and helped them—sometimes in simple ways and other times in miraculous ways. Every miracle He performed, every word He spoke, He did out of love.

He loved those He taught. He cared for their spiritual well-being, but He also cared for their temporal needs. When they were hungry, He fed them with five loaves. When their souls hungered, He inspired them with the truths of His gospel.

He cared for those who lost their way. He cared enough to find them and bring them home. He never forgot one of His own.

He loved the young. He loved the rich. He loved the poor. He loved the sick. He loved the sinner. He loved all of God’s children. When He saw them suffering, He healed them. When He saw them sorrowing, He lifted them up. When He saw them in pain, He comforted them.

His life on the earth was an example of what it means to do good. But it was also a singular example of what it means to do good for the right reason. Every act of the Savior on earth was done out of love. Even in the great premortal council His offer to the Father was motivated by love for others, while the adversary’s was motivated by selfishness. The Savior’s mission was to give us life by allowing us to choose to love the Lord and follow Him. (See Moses 4:1–3.) The adversary’s goal was to take away our agency and thereby make it impossible for us to love, because it is impossible to love unless we choose to love. Love must come from within. It cannot be forced upon us. So for purposes of his own selfish aims, the adversary would have made it impossible for us to keep the first two commandments. He would have made us into nothing.

Christ had a clear mission in mortality. He came to earth to save each of us. He knew how His life on earth would end and how His act of love for us would change everything. Each of us has a clear mission as well, but, like the Savior, we need to remain open to the needs of others we pass along the way. Our calendars can never be so packed that we don’t have room to show love to those around us.

We are studying the New Testament this year in Sunday School. This book of scripture is a story of love—the love of the Father for the Son and the love They have for each of us. We cannot fully comprehend this love. But we can feel it. We cannot fully emulate it. But we can “pray . . . with all the energy of heart” that we might be filled with it (Moroni 7:48). It is a love that transcends all of our mortal experience. It is a love that lifts and builds and strengthens, that calms and comforts us. The only way for us to increase our capacity to love in this way is to feel the love our Father in Heaven and His Son have for us. The more we feel Their love for us, the more we will increase our capacity to share that love with others.

The Savior never stopped teaching us this lesson of love. Even among His final words were words of love. Even when He was on the cross and ready to complete His mission, He reached out in love to those who were literally taking His life: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Even when He was suffering more pain than any of us can imagine, He still had love for those around Him, including the very people who were nailing His body to the cross.

The Savior is our example in everything—not only in what we should do but why we should do it. His life on earth was a life of invitation to us—to raise our sights a little higher, to forget our own problems and reach out to others. I know that we are all loved by God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Their love is infinite and eternal. I know that They live. I bear witness of that. I know that They are mindful of our needs. They have called prophets in this dispensation to help us learn what we need to learn to return to Their presence. They have given us the scriptures to guide us. They have given all this because They love us. My prayer is that we will feel that love every minute of every day and that we will share that love with everyone in our path. I bear that testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

2011-03-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've been craving crepes for about two months now.

I think todays the day!

Miss this boy

2011-03-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been really missing Tayt Low. I'm almost certain its because I live in Provo...Don't get me wrong- I'm sure I would miss Tayt if I were living some place else, but Provo really emphasizes the fact that he is gone on a mission for two years. Main reason: in Provo you can't be friends with guys! Hardly ever. I completely understand the mentality behind this, but its seriously lame. I guess I'm one of those girls who enjoys hanging out with boys rather than girls, so here in Provo my friend circle is pretty dang limited. Guess I need to change that, eh? Anyways...I'm going to go ahead and step off my soapbox before this gets too detailed. The second reason Provo makes me miss Tayt is the fact that if he were still living here, he would live 20 seconds away from me. But despite the fact that I could really use some Tayt in my life right about now, he is serving the Lord and loving it. Letters from Tayt remind me that Heavenly Father knows each of us so well. He knows that sending little nineteen year old boys on missions will bless the lives of those who are taught the gospel, as well as those who are teaching it. Through Tayt's letters I have clearly witnessed a change in him and his attitude towards life and the principle of service, and through his testimony I have gained so much knowledge and continual reaffirmation of the truthfulness of this Church.

lovely!

2011-01-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to express how much I love taking pictures with my film camera. Today when I got one of my rolls developed I was smiling from the second I got into my car to pick them up at Allen's, to about a half an hour after I uploaded them onto my computer. Its SO fun to look through all the pictures you took months ago of things you had completely forgotten about. I don't even know if I want to buy a digital SLR anymore! I love the idea of each picture on your roll of 24 or so pictures being unique and one of a kind. With digital cameras people take hundreds of pictures in a matter of an hour! Its crazy to me. I've thought about future generations and how different it will be because they probable won't be able to just sit down and look through a couple of photo albums that represent key moments of ones life. Film is just the best.

Early Spring Till

2011-01-04T12:11:00.001-08:00

02 Early Spring Till by Rounder Records

2010-12-06T17:41:00.001-08:00

job.

2010-11-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

I think it's about time I write a little something about my JOB. So I work for a man named Jon McNaughton. Jon is from Utah and is a fine art painter. He is such a kind hearted, talented person. I've only worked for him at McNaughton Fine Art Company for about two months now, but I already take genuine pride in what I do and for what purpose it is being done. When I first started out, I was working in the warehouse where we would physically package each painting that was ordered via the website, print off the shipping label, and ship it off to the customer. Shortly after that I started working one shift a week in the gallery Jon has over at the Provo mall. The gallery shift has two pros: one, we get to sit behind a desk and do basically whatever we want (for me it was homework assignments, browsing the internet, reading...) and second, we get to watch people's facial expressions right when they see Jon's 'Forgotten Man' painting. If you haven't seen it yet, you should probably check it out. Most people have a look on their faces like "I can't believe someone actually painted this". I've yet to encounter someone who hates it and takes offense, but according to the 'chief of mall security' there have been some issues in the past involving a gallery visitor being kicked out of the mall? I was honestly a little bit afraid of working at the gallery sometimes! Working at the warehouse and the gallery made it very clear that Jon has some very devoted fans, but it wasn't until I started doing some marketing stuff that I saw just how many 'followers' Jon has. Most of the time, just seconds after posting something on Facebook Jon would have like three people that 'like' what he posted or there would be a couple of comments. It's craziness! Anyways...It has been a really great experience working for such a unique company and person. The company itself went through TONS of changes while I was there so its been fun to see it grow and to even help it grow in some ways. My supervisor/ boss Ryan makes working there really fun and is completely open to any new ideas to help the business run smoother. Next semester I'll be pretty busy with my first semester at BYU but I may be able to stay with the company and possibly work from home?! I'm excited.

McNaughton Fine Art WEBSITE McNaughton Fine Art BLOG

2010-11-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

I am so into fall. And when I see this sort of stuff I reeeaally wish I had someone/something to make cool things for. I'm really into presentation so when I make things for only myself it all feels like a waste because no one can see it! So lately I just don't put the effort in. As far as I'm concerned the only solution is to buy an extremely nice camera and take pictures of them!? Eeh?

1 2 3

2010-10-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

Click on that baby!!!:

Yep, after taking classes at the BYU Salt Lake Center for three semesters, I have finally been admitted to BYU. I've never been so terrified to open an email in my life, but now I can finally get on with my education, decide on a major (I've already chosen business as my minor), and feel like I BELONG somewhere. Yes! Commuting to Salt Lake City twice a month is officially getting old what with the traffic, accidents, and construction 24/7. This past Monday it took me two hours to get home and on Wednesday, an hour and a half. Oh and I will definitely not miss filling my car up every 9 days. Lets just say I'm beyond excited with life right now. As a little gift to myself...I sort of bought this backpack. But I really do need it! I've had the same backpack since grade eight. Stupid, I know.

Herschel Supply Co.

i got mail

2010-10-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

My wonderful brother Clark sent me this in the mail! He promised to make me a CD and this is what he sent. For some reason I can't stop listening to one particular song though... Its really weird.

Right when I heard it, I automatically loved it. I've probably listened to it 100 times and all the other ones maybe twice. There is just something about it, ya know? It is called The Dreamer by The Tallest Man on Earth. One day I'll learn the guitar and I'll be able to play it! The lyrics are so so good.

I just about died.

2010-10-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express how much I love this ring. Pretty sure I will think of nothing else for at least the next month? Yeahhh.

2010-09-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

I want it!!

2010-09-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Alright. This weekend at our Regional Conference/ CES Fireside I was

fortunate enough to hear from:

President Boyd K. Packer

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Elder Richard G. Scott

Sister Julie B. Beck

Elder Steven E. Snow

and Elder Glen L. Rudd

Oh! And on Tuesday I'll hear from:

Elder Robert D. Hales

Brad & I were able to sit on the third row for Regional Conference. Normally I really don't care where I sit for things like this, just so long as I'm there- but sitting that close to such amazing and powerful people was a really great experience. I loved watching them off the camera. I absolutely love how the prophets and apostles treat their wives. You can just see how dear they are to them. I know the apostles and prophets are inspired by God to bring us certain messages but Sister Beck's talk wasn't a talk at all- it was her straight up telling us what Heavenly Father wanted us to hear. Soo cool. Elder Scott's talk was my favorite though. First of all I was with a really fun date. But the icing on the cake or whatever was when he just walked over to a little set up on the left side of the microphone where his grandson and new wife sat on sofas with a nice little coffee table and plants. It was the best. I think you'd have to see it to understand how strange and funny it was. Here's the link if you care. He mostly talked about his wife who died twelve years ago. He told us of their family life and every story he told about his wife and children made me tear up. I can't wait to have kids to love. He mentioned that him and his wife would leave little notes all around the house for each other to find. He still has one in the kitchen that says something like "Its time to say I love you". Yep. Wonderful. Basically, even though I felt pretty down on Sunday- My day/weekend was too amazing to not be uplifted. Our church is true. It just IS!

2010-08-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

My first antique!

2010-06-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

my project for the day:

...let the sky be grey.

2010-06-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Its a liiittle bit hard for me to get out of bed in the morning when 1. It has been raining for two days straight 2. Its my day off and 3. Small lakes are forming in my garden that I planted earlier this week. And since I finished my first book on my summer reading list (Jane Eyre), I figure I can get away with a good session of browsing the internet! Right? This is what I found:

source

1. source 2. source 3. source

Film Camera- Trial Roll

2010-05-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

I took these with my grandpa's old Canon film camera but I don't know how to use the settings yet!

2010-05-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at work I got to work the store by my self for six hours and things got a liiiitle bit boring stocking shelves and such, so I tried to make my day better by putting some music on that I actually enjoy. Instead of the up-tempo country/Taylor Swift/We Shot the Moon playlist that gets played over and over again, I turned on Chicago! I love this band I think, mainly because my dad would play the greatest hits cd in our old house in california along with Natalie Cole on occasion and would teach us kids how to dance. So as my Chicago playlist is playing and I'm stocking, Saturday in the Park (my ultimate favorite) came on and as soon as it did, I could hear this man humming and whistling along as he waited for his wife while she was trying some stuff on. He slowly made his way over to me and commented on my choice of music. I love talking to older people (not the grumpy ones) that come into the store. They're usually so witty, clever and polite! So the point of this story is that this man and I started talking about how unique the classics are like Chicago and Pink Floyd. All in all we agreed that the majority of popular music today lacks talent and class. (Side note- he was originally from London so it made the conversation that much better). As soon as he left I went through my ipod to kind of analyze the kind of music I've been listening to lately and found that some of my favorite artists really are talented and unique. My number one- She & Him. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward got together a couple of years ago and made an almost anonymous album simply titled Volume One, then later a Volume Two. They wanted their music to speak for itself. I love it! Zooey writes the songs and M. Ward produces and arranges them. To me, their music is the epitome of springtime.

She & Him - In The Sun

2010-05-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

While I was unpacking my room last week I ran into a problem. Where should I hang my jewelry?! Back in my Utah apartment I did this:

However, now that I've moved back home to my lovely room that was dry-walled only about 2 years ago--I can't nail a ton of holes in my wall.

Solution:

I hardly EVER wear jewelry (earrings=never), so this is more just for looks and a way to get my jewelry out of a box. Idea inspired by this.

2010-05-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Alright ya'll. I made the pizza crust! When all was said and done, I really liked it. During the process, however, I was a bit skeptical. It seemed too easy- just a tablespoon of yeast and a tablespoon of sugar? The weird combination of ingredients also threw me off, but the end product was sooo soft and yummy. The sea salt definitely did its thing! I over cooked mine a tad but still good! Lou Lou- give it a shot, its extremely easy.

Sunshine!

2010-05-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last week my best friend and I road tripped it down to Thousand Oaks! I haven't been back there for about 2 years and it felt AMAZING to have my car down there. I moved when I was fifteen so I never got the chance to drive around. It was the best feeling to know exactly where everything was even though I had never driven there before!

Of course, the first day we got there it was raining, so we just went to my favorite beach El Matador to cuddle up in some blankets and listen to the ocean (below) but the next day the skies were clear so we headed to Zuma all morning and soaked up as much sun as we could!

Unfortunately, we over-did the sun-soaking and got ridiculously burned. And now I am peeling like crazy...Ooops?

Driving in the canyons with only our swimsuits on and the windows down, listening to Vampire Weekend and the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack made the trip for me.

And these are some of the things I LOVE about California:

protraro, nordic nursery, the 101freeway, green everything, flowers, palmgrove avenue, squirrels, lynn road, the oaks, Greenmeadow park, el matador, Zuma, NPHS, lizards, seagulls, home, orange trees, in n out, the sun, cleanness, Longs, Baja Fresh, strawberries, good drivers (ha)!

This is me posting instead of studying.

2010-04-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I bought this SEA SALT to make this recipe! My cousin Stephanie posts recipes on this website thingy and she claims it is the best pizza dough recipe, so I'm going to give it a shot when I have some time. I'm hoping its good cause it looks soo easy. Oh, and I just love the packaging of Morton salt...

Today

2010-04-13T08:55:00.001-07:00

I am so happy!

source

Introducing:

2010-03-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

My new leather jacket! Owning a leather jacket was a completely foreign concept to me about 6 months ago, but ever since my best friend Julia bought one I've been slowly warming up to the idea. I finally decided a black leather jacket was something I wanted, so I looked EVERYWHERE for the kind I like--no luck. Anyways...I finally found this one at Urban Outfitters on sale!

2010-03-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

I just watched Dirty Dancing for the first time and loooved it--Especially the clothing. This is what I wish I could wear everyday this summer. Mmmmm

GOLD BABY!

2010-02-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

Stuff You Missed In History Class

2010-02-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have found a new pastime! My sister first discovered these amazing (and free) podcasts, and now I'm hooked. Along with many other topics on howstuffworks.com , Stuff You Missed In History Class podcasts have very interesting history topics you can download straight from iTunes onto you iPod--So great for road trips. The podcasts are typically discussed by two girls, both of whom are very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to.

Pretty Little Photos

2010-02-20T22:23:00.000-08:00

These photos are representative of things or ideas I LOVE.

I like this band.

2010-02-20T21:24:00.001-08:00

Bon Iver first entered my life when my oldest brother Clark came for a visit from Hawaii, bringing with him all him amazing, different, and very indie music with him! I've just recently gotten into the lyrics and I have to concur with Clark that Justin Vernon is a genius. My personal favorites of his are For Emma & Blindsided. Check him out! This is a perfect picture of him--It's exactly how I feel when I listen to his music.

My life lately...

2009-10-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

I made this little agenda the night before (Sunday), and come Monday I actually followed it quite well!
Except I didn't go to bed 'till 2 (Oops).
Any one want to come save me? Please?

Baywood #402

2009-10-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

Conference Weekend!

2009-10-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

The weekend started off with the BYU vs. USU football game. Front Row seats, baby! We got a big group of people together (mostly friends from California) to buy all-sports passes and we were fortunate enough to get front row seats for every football game!

Before going to the afternoon session of conference on Saturday, we went all around Salt Lake City to cute little shops like Koo De Ker & Hip and Humble. This picture was taken just for you Mom! I was in heaven in this store. Soo many kitchen supplies and home decor- now I can't wait to have my own house!

Here we all are at conference!

Aaaand here we are at the Gateway.

Graduation. What?

2009-06-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

I LOVE SPRING TIME!

2009-06-10T18:00:00.001-07:00

...So much. But there's not much to do outside when you live in the country, so last spring my Dad and I built a little swing in a grove of trees. I usually just go sit on the swing when I'm bored or want to read in peace.

I love it!

This spring, I wanted to try something new to get me out in the sunshine-- a raised garden! Although the weather has been horrible (we got snow the first week of June?!), the whole family managed to have a fun time together building and planting. My garden is quite small, but I figure with the full time job I have this summer... small is the only way to go!

Summer

2008-09-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2008-06-07T18:10:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Mommy

I Love You!!!

High School.

2008-06-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

"My parents keep asking how school was. It's like saying, "How was that drive-by shooting?" You don't care how it was, you're lucky to get out alive."
"Things were getting to me. Just how people are. How they always expect you to be a certain way. Even your best friend."

"Sometimes someone says something really small and it just fits into this empty place in your heart."

"It just seems like, you agree to have a certain personality or something. For no reason. Just to make things easier for everyone. But when you think about it, I mean, how do you know it's even you? And, I mean, this whole thing with yearbook - it's like, everybody's in this big hurry to make this book, to supposedly remember what happened. Because if you made a book of what really happened, it'd be a really upsetting book."

- My So-Called Life

Atlas Shrugged

2008-04-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

The best book ever. And longest.