loving right now

--laughing so hard with my sisters that i can't breathe
--sunshine, particularly of the seven peaks variety
--movie nights
--glitter glitter everywhere
--quesadillas with homemade guacamole
--"national" "days", like water a flower day or national hamburger day. up next: national rocky road day.
--listening to taylor swift non-stop
--doctor who. can't believe it took me so long to get back into it, and that now i have to wait until series 7 comes on netflix.

summertime. gotta love it.

a brief tribute to alex trebek

my love of jeopardy runs pretty deep. i go through spurts of watching, but i always come back to it. it's been a part of my life for about as long as i can remember, and a lot of my memories are tied up in alex trebek.

before yesterday, when i visited his wikipedia page, my knowledge about alex was limited to what i saw on episodes of jeopardy. just from that exposure, i gathered that he is intelligent, cultured, and genial. if i were ever to appear on a game show, my first choice would be jeopardy, and i would be not a little starstruck if i got to meet alex. but hopefully i wouldn't be weird and awkward like some of those contestants. hopefully i would blow him away with my storehouse of useful and useless knowledge.

anyway, alex trebek is great. a treasure, if you will. a canadian, naturalized-american treasure. let's go to the video.

(apparently some people think he's a jerk--from what i've seen, i obviously do not share that opinion. he's just awesome. and jeopardy is the best too.)

a memorial day to remember

this post will have little to no pictures, because i am the worst at taking pictures. i am positive i will regret this when i am old and start to lose it. but anyway.

this weekend managed to be both relaxing and action-packed at the same time. we were up in midway, so we were close enough to park city to stop by the outlets, close enough to oakley to have lunch with dad's home-teachees, and close enough to midway town square to partake of the annual memorial day pancake breakfast. and close enough to get home in under an hour.

friday night it was just us girls, which was delightful. we shopped until we dropped, ate pizza, and then watched a chick flick. saturday we met up with the guys to head to oakley, where we had a few rousing ping pong tournaments, ate some delicious food, and enjoyed the scenery. and we watched skyfall that night. sunday we went to church, ate cinnamon rolls, burgers, and deviled eggs, and watched another movie all together. and the kids went down to the tennis courts and hit the ball for awhile, eventually settling on a game of tennis-ping pong when what little actual tennis skill we have pooped out. (and the ping pong version was a lot more fun anyway.) monday we got up early for the breakfast, laid out by the pool, slept, and ate at tarahumara to round out the trip. i've been talking about making sugar cookies for months, so i finally did that, with the assistance of my sisters, while we watched dan in real life. (side note: it's been a few years since i've seen that movie, and i actually really like it. i'm trying to fill in the gaps in my "cherished movies"collection, and this might need to be the next addition. after our early dinner, our two cars went or separate ways.

i love being with my family. i'm glad we still have these times to spend together as an immediate family unit. and it was great to literally unplug and not have the internet to distract me from important things. and being up there makes me really want to live in midway, if only so i that i can have an "assignment" having to do with swiss days. i just really like swiss days, okay? but really, can it be memorial day weekend every weekend?

summer of fun/love 2013

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this is going to be my last summer in provo, so i've got to make it count. and, berg is living with us, so we should be able to have some fun.

• have picnics. 
• outdoor movies.
• concerts concerts concerts. from taylor swift to the rooftop to stadium of fire to the twilight, this summer should be filled with some pretty good live shows.
• camping.
• boating.
• ride front runner to salt lake.
• seattle trip.
• lots and lots of smores.
• have parties/celebrate life.
• road trip at least one more time.
• use the pass of all passes to its fullest potential. 
• get a tan.
• write something worthwhile.
• bbq.
• dance like no one is watching. 

this is all i can think of right now. anything i should add?

(it's pretty much the best to google random phrases like "summer fun" and just see what images come up. you just have to make sure your search terms aren't scandalous :))

some things i'm grateful for lately

sisters&parents&brother&sunshine&skirts and heels&artichokes&blanket forts&mattresses&scriptures&chocolate milk&bishopric&neighbors&taylor swift&netflix&movie nights&wings&markers&pushpins&zumba&rainbows&green grass&sylvan&ACT students&vaseline&kleenex&chocolate&pizza

the impossible

i've been thinking lately about the idea of impossibility. one of my favorite scriptures is luke 1: 37. i love it for its simplicity:

for with God nothing shall be impossible.

this comes in reference to the immaculate conception, so yeah, i believe that, with God, nothing is impossible. He can do anything--move mountains, calm oceans, raise the dead. i fully believe that miracles happen.

it's harder for me to believe this when it comes to my own life, my own problems, my own worries. i know, theoretically, that, if i rely on God, i can do anything. but it's a lot more difficult in practice. i know that i have limitations, some which i don't even understand, and those limitations let all my self-doubts and fears creep in. i start to think that those things that i want to do are impossible, that i can't be helped.

i'm ready to change my attitude about impossible things actually being possible. the first step is an unshakable belief, right?

Jesus said unto [me], If thou canst believe, all things are possible to [her] that believeth.

the end of the office (may contain spoilers)

 

well, it's done. the office is over. i don't know what to do with myself.

the finale itself was perfect, for me. i laughed, i cried, i screamed--it was perfect. i loved seeing how all of the stories were wrapped up, how the characters have progressed. i didn't want the episode to end, but, if it had to, they did it in such a perfect way.

i jumped out of my seat and shrieked when michael came back, which meant i missed the "that's what she said" until the next morning when i was looking up recaps.

this was one of my favorite quotes from a review from vulture, and i think it sums up my feelings about the office in general pretty well:

In fact, these two [final] episodes were so consistently fine — goofy, clever, surprising, and unaffectedly emotional — that they reinforced the notion that the relationship between a show and a viewer really is a relationship, or at least a self-contained, virtual version of a relationship. There are great times, okay times, and bad times. Sometimes you’re more attentive or affectionate or otherwise invested than other times.  Sometimes you check out emotionally, or give up, then sort of wander back into it for whatever reason and start caring again — really caring, to the point where you feel a bit guilty for not having appreciated its better qualities during the hard times. But if the relationship is fundamentally sound — if, for the most part, it’s making you happy, or at least content — then you consider it time well-spent and become increasingly sad when an irrevocable end draws near. “It’s like a long book that you never want to end, and you’re fine with that, because you just never, ever want to leave it,” Pam told the audience at the panel discussion during last night’s finale. (from matt zoller seitz of vulture)

it's hard to even think about how much i'm going to miss these characters and this universe. it sounds stupid that a tv show has affected me so much, but it's true. and i can't imagine loving any other show more than this one. thanks, office staff: writers, creators, cast. it was great for me. {insert joke here}

seek the Lord's acceptance

i listened to elder kopischke's talk, "being accepted of the Lord" this morning, and it was just what i needed. i loved the talk during conference, and i love it again now. here are some of the gems i like most.

The feeling of being accepted by someone we love is a basic human need. Being accepted by good people motivates us. It increases our sense of self-worth and self-confidence.

The ultimate source of empowerment and lasting acceptance is our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They know us. They love us. They do not accept us because of our title or position. They do not look at our status. They look into our hearts. They accept us for who we are and what we are striving to become. Seeking and receiving acceptance from Them will always lift and encourage us.

We need to know that our hearts are honest and broken. How do we know that? We begin by engaging in sincere self-reflection. The heart is the center of our feelings. As we look into our hearts, we screen ourselves. What no one around us knows, we surely know. We know our motives and desires. When we engage in sincere, honest reflection, we do not rationalize or deceive ourselves. There is also a way to judge if our hearts are broken. A broken heart is a soft, an open, and a receptive heart.

A contrite spirit is manifest by our willingness and determination to act. We are willing to humble ourselves before God, willing to repent, willing to learn, and willing to change. We are willing to pray, “Not my will, but thine, be done.”

Too often we think that the word sacrifice refers to something big or hard for us to do. In certain situations this may be true, but mostly it refers to living day-to-day as a true disciple of Christ.

Having the Holy Ghost as our constant companion is the ultimate indicator of being accepted of God.

Seeking and receiving the acceptance of the Lord will lead to the knowledge that we are chosen and blessed by Him. We will gain increased confidence that He will lead us and direct us for good. His tender mercies will become evident in our hearts, in our lives, and in our families.

pretty awesome, right?

 

our lovely california trip

so a couple weeks ago we went down to southern california to see these guys get hitched

but also for a little vacation. it's good to get out of provo sometimes, you know? 

the thursday we drove down was pretty fun in itself. we got to hang out in corona for a little while and eat at miguel's and then hang out with our family.

friday was beach day. this included (but is not limited to) a trip to target, lunch at ruby's diner in huntington, walking a ton up and down the boardwalk, some body surfing, lounging on the sand, and an abandoned bonfire. after the beach we decided to go out on the town--amy knew of a swanky bowling alley, so we got washed up and hit the lanes.

saturday was wedding day. it was a super early day because meredith was doing cassandra's hair, so we left the house at 6:30 and thus began a long day of fun and driving and friends and a dumb sunburn that i somehow avoided at the beach but got at the temple. i haven't been to the los angeles temple in several years, and it was fun to go back, even if the awesome stake center which i love that used to be behind the temple is gone now. moving along, here's the quick version of the other stuff that happened that day: we cheered for eric and cassandra when they came out of the temple, we took some pictures with them and james put his hand on my head the whole time which i'm sure will look ridiculous, we went to westwood for lunch and ended with DELICIOUS ice cream sandwiches from diddy riese--one of the highlights of the day was when i was officially christened sandwich master--, we drove back to santa clarita, got there way too early, and parked at a park for a much needed rest, then headed to the wedding dinner/reception. it was a long, fun, happy day and i'm so glad we got to be there.

sunday was pretty chill. we went to church at the old ward, chatted with old friends, then took a drive down pacific coast highway to visit my birthplace. it's always fun to see hoag :)

that night we were freaking out because...rain was in the forecast for monday, which was disneyland day. and, while i had a contigency plan for rain, it ruined all of my outfit plans. luckily, our prayers were answered and it didn't rain on us too much, so the day was still awesome. that night we also headed back to corona for one last stop at miguel's (and kenny's donuts...and rite aid for ice cream) and i also met up with andie martin, whom i haven't seen in like seven years, so that was sweet.

and then tuesday was head-for-home day. pretty uneventful since we left at 4:00am so i could get home in time for work. but, we got home safe, rental car intact.

thanks to heather and fam for letting us crash! and thanks to everyone else who made the trip really fun. 

an intro to the trip

i'm not quite ready to post about the trip fully yet--still a little travel sick. and, looking back on it, we did a ton of stuff in five days. each day was pretty jam-packed. so i'll break it down better later (promises, promises--i said the same thing about last summer's lake powell trip and then never got around to actually writing anything. but this time i won't do that :))

and i thought i had more to say right now, but i guess i don't. so see ya later.

today i...

curled my hair for a nine hour car drive. sometimes you just want to look pretty, you know?

ate at miguel's jr. how have i never had a shredded beef burrito before? next time i HAVE to get guacamole. and by next time i mean monday after disneyland.

got a scoop of mint and chip ice cream from rite-aid next to stater bros. memories!

visited with our old across-the-street neighbor and checked out our house. memories!

picked up a dozen donuts from kenny's. pink donuts!

listened to a bunch of cool jams beginning with arcade fire and ending with katy perry. california gurls 4 lyfe.

met up with our california family (some of them--gotta see the rest still!).

this trip is already pretty great, and we still have the beach, the wedding, and the happiest place on earth!