26 Candles

Birthday wishes coming true:

1) Not contracting swine flu



2) Lots of traffic up to SLC = Mega bonding time with Kari, mission connection




3) Super cool temple session--went through for someone from Boston. TMOL.



4) Dating a football player. Or at least wearing his disgusting helmet.

Photos from Seven Days of Summer

Temple Love.



Watching The Paper Chase with Women's Law Forum



Impromptu Date...free food, free entertainment, free boys



At some sandwich place which now escapes my memory with all my companions from Boston (except Laub) after one of the most spiritual and defining moments of my life. I love you sisters!!!

Seven Days of Summer- Days 2-6

Okay, so I was going to wait to update until I actually had pictures, but it's been a long time coming, so I'll just list them now and put up pictures later.

Tuesday: Attended the temple

Wednesday: Played volleyball with friends

Thursday: Watched a dorky movie about law

Friday: Sang hymns with cute boys :)

Saturday: Drank a tall mug of hot chocolate while reading a good book.

Life can be so wonderful.

Seven Days of Summer-Day 1

Monday’s “30 minutes or more” of Summer, took about 90 minutes and I was thrilled. I took my best friend, Meg, to my favorite Italian place (that is comfortably becoming my least favorite because of how much I eat there), Carrabba’s. We had delicious food, deep conversations, and funny photo ops.



We took the above photo, but then I thought the light was not adequately portraying how I looked that night. So I took the initiative:



I like candid shots, so Meg and I decided to pose...candidly.



But really, we just love each other. Meg and I have known each other, for better or for worse, for the past seven years. There is nothing I can't tell her; there is nothing she can't tell me. She has been like a sister to me while all my family is grown up and in Texas. Last night, we talked about how much we've learned, how much we've changed, and how much fun we've had since those early days of 2002. It is so great to grow up, and it's great to look back and realize the Lord's hand in everything. I know the Lord's hand was in it when Meg and I met.



Favorite Memories With Meg:
- Del Taco runs
- Avril Night at Pizza Pipeline
- Sleeping in a twin bed
-Listening to "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds on repeat
-Coming to visit me at my mission farewell
-Playing kickball with the missionaries
-Delivering a clandestine letter late at night (wink, wink)
-Laughing together
-Crying together
-Her constant "meows" via g-chat
I really could go on forever. And I hope we do.

Seven Days of Summer

Although Autumn is by far my favorite season, right now Utah is not being very Autumn-like. It feels more like the prelude to Winter. So I would like to channel the virtues of summer a bit. This week is the law school's Fall Break, which means that we get a break from going to class while we scurry around trying to digest the information that was force-fed down our throats the last two months. But it also means we get to sleep in as late as we want, stay out as late as we'd like, and do whatever with our days without feeling guilty. If I don't study for a class tomorrow, I'll be just fine in the long run.

So, this week I will be bringing a little "30 minutes or more" moment to my life. Why did I reference "summer" in this blog? It's because summer brings sunshine, warmth, and sunbeams. That is what this "30 minutes or more" moment will be for me--just a 30 minute ray of sunshine in my day. So no matter how stressful, busy, crazy, depressing, or utter failure my days become, I will always have my summer moment to know that life is beautiful.

Yesterday was a good start, but most of yesterday was phenomenal, so it's hard to choose. I will choose to highlight the moment, though, that I will probably remember most in later years. So stay tuned. Once I have the photos loaded, I will post.

Aren't you just so anxious to find out?

(PS-I find joy in the simplest things...like watching a flowing river and crunching fall leaves with my boots, so don't expect daily trips to Disney World during this experiment. :)

Persistence

Hello there. I listened to the Prophet speak at Devotional on Tuesday. His summary of Heber J. Grant's life really impacted me. A lot. That man embodied persistence and diligence. I will now be embarking on a systematic review of his life so I can closely have a role model to follow in my quest for perfection. What a marvelous man. I loved these quotes, and then found some more to add. I hope you love them as much as I do:


Persist in all those things which are good and noble.
-President Monson, remember President Grant's legacy

Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; While others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before. - Herodotus

That which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

All our losses will be made up if we are faithful. -Joseph Smith (movie)

Road Trips

I was talking to a friend last night who made it very clear that road trips with a loved one somehow indicates that two people are destined to be together. I guess I am an anomaly. It worked for my sister.

The genius of the indigo girls

During the time of which I speak it was hard to turn the other cheek
To the blows of insecurity
Feeding the cancer of my intellect the blood of love soon neglected
Lay dying in the strength of its impurity
Meanwhile our friends we thought were so together
They've all gone and left each other in search of fairer weather
And we sit here in our storm and drink a toast
To the slim chance of love's recovery.

There I am in younger days, star gazing,
Painting picture perfect maps of how my life and love would be
Not counting the unmarked paths of misdirection
My compass, faith in love's perfection
I missed ten million miles of road I should have seen


Meanwhile our friends we thought were so together
Left each other one by one in search of fairer weather
And we sit here in our storm and drink a toast
To the slim chance of love's recovery.
Rain soaked and voice choked like silent screaming in a dream



I search for our absolute distinction
Not content to bow and bent
To the whims of culture that swoop like vultures
Eating us away, eating us away
Eating us away to our extinction
Oh how I wish I were a trinity, so if I lost a part of me
I'd still have two of the same to live


But nobody gets a lifetime rehearsal, as specks of dust we're universal
To let this love survive would be the greatest gift we could give
Tell all the friends who think they're so together
That these are ghosts and mirages, these thoughts of fairer weather
Though it's storming out I feel safe within the arms of love's discovery

Day One

Anyone see 500 Days of Summer? Well, today is my Day One, and because art imitates life and I will feel robbed if my life doesn't turn out like a movie, I am expecting today to be GREAT!! Today should bring lots of suitors, lots of chance meetings, lots of professional success, and lots of destiny determining my life.

Nevertheless, the last 143 days have been beautiful. Simply beautiful. Almost like a fairytale. And I will always remember them with a grateful heart and tender feelings...maybe a few tears.

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