year in (p)review

This has been a pretty eventful year—both in the sense that it has been full of events and that is has been full of personal growth. I guess that’s pretty much all you can ask out of a little ol’ year, right? So I thought I’d give a little run down of what has happened in 2013 (in the briefest of detail—ain’t nobody got time for more than that) and a sneak peek into what I hope will happen in 2014 (not to be confused with my resolutions—those are in the works and will be coming over the next week or so). And away we go! 

Year in Review

Took a couple classes that were actually pretty interesting (it seems really weird to think that I was in classes this year…that feels like a lifetime ago)

Tutored ACT English and Reading at Sylvan Learning

Job searched

Job secured

Job started

Lived with both of my sisters

Did a ton of Zumba and Just Dance

Listened to so much great music

Moved out of Provo

Moved home

Moved away from home

Moved to Sugarhouse

Went to Taylor Swift

Went to Hanson

Went to Kelly Clarkson at Stadium of Fire

Saw a bunch of really good movies

Wrote in my journal a lot

Got an iPhone

Went to Disneyland on two occasions

Welcomed a missionary home

Hit the Peaks (Seven Peaks, that is)

Bought a car (sheesh, I almost forgot that, the biggest thing!)

Blogged on and off :)

Became a homemaker/DIYer/crafter (who am I kidding—I was already one of those)

Read almost all the standard works—all that’s left is the New Testament!

Read a bunch of books, too many to keep track of

And, without further ado: 

Year in Preview

Go to One Direction (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (I am a teenage girl, I know)

Send off a missionary brother :(

Have an awesome time in Sugarhouse

Go on at least one epic trip, hopefully more. But maybe not more.

Sew my Shop Hop quilt

Finish The Great Bedroom Redecoration at Logan Avenue

Basically be a dating machine

Create lots of art. In a lot of arty ways.

Finish the Book of Mormon at least once

Progress at work

Keep a faithful thankful journal

Get a TIME magazine subscription and actually read TIME

Have a bunch of parties

Just generally have an awesome time

This has been a good year, overall, with many ups and downs. I haven’t really mentioned any of the downs here—no one wants to hear about my identity crises or breakdowns. All of it translates to good things in one way or another. Onward and upward, my friends. Adventure is out there!

Happy New Year!!

moving out/moving in

everything has been pretty close to the surface over the past couple days. i'm not entirely sure why--every so often i have a couple days where i just want to cry, and pretty much anything will make me cry. combine that with moving to a new place on my own and "leaving the nest" (again), and i've been having a rough go of it.

the good thing, though, is that i know it's going to be okay. even if i don't make a million friends right off the bat or become the social butterfly of the ward or even have everything figured out, things are going to be okay. remember how i have to tell myself that multiple times a day, still?

but overall, i feel pretty good. my space is coming together, and i love all of it. i'm sleeping on an air mattress for the time being (a very comfy air mattress, though) and there are still boxes surrounding me. but it's great. it's going to be great.

special thanks to my family, for so many things, as always: for being here to help me move, for being there to console me, for being the best.

so it's on to new adventures. this sounds so melodramatic, which it probably is. but it feels like a big deal to me right now. so bear with me. i'm sure it will be a fun adventure :)

things i like about winter*

*since winter is sometimes such a hard season to like

freshly fallen snow that glitters in the sunlight

christmas everything

family time

fires in the fireplace

hot chocolate

snuggling under warm blankets

winter church outfits that include hosiery

thinking about new beginnings/resolutions

my birthday is coming up

not as much sweating going on

crisp mornings (though i do prefer temperatures above 10 degrees...)

sweaters & socks

holiday meals

spending more time with the ones you love because staying in the house together is infinitely more appealing than the alternative.

i think winter sometimes gets a bad rep, and i'm at fault as much as anyone else. winter can be warm if i want it to be :)

thankful {part five}: a big ol' list

(in no particular order)

technology

scriptures

bobby pins

regular paychecks

health insurance

laundry facilities

transportation

hammocks

hair products

glittery things

choir music

new music from favorite   bands

just dance

netflix

zumba

byu sports

tailgating

fairy lights

christmas music

family outings

cold medicine

the mountains

church meetings

the office & parks and rec

shoes

concerts

hot running water

plumbing

electricity

comfy bed

funny videos

laughing in general

good books

anti-virus software

founding fathers

joseph smith

modern prophets

general conference

musicals

this american life

disneyland

moisturizer

colored jeans

mocassins

singing

band-aids

puppies

laws

snow and rain

blankets just out of the dryer

sunglasses

hair bows

air conditioning/heat

brownies+ice cream

costa vida

snow boots

prayer

tithing

trees and flowers

chocolate shakes

pie

summer walks

temples

the salt lake temple

gmail

 shakespeare

roller coasters

thai food

indian food

doctors

babies

stories

polka dots

water

thanksgiving food

dr. pepper

good movies

dance parties

dresses

extended family

miguel’s

letters

long-distance calls

family reunions

the plan of salvation

the atonement

thankful {part four}: sunsets

if you've seen my instagram feed, you know i have kind of a thing for sunsets. i'll let you in on a secret: the sunset pics i post on IG are only a small portion of the sunset pics i actually take.

i just can't resist!

is there anything more beautiful than a sunset? is there anything more majestic than the sky? i submit that there is not!! the sky is constantly changing--what you see in one instant is completely different than what you might see in the next. it's awesome!

so, basically, i take a lot of pictures of sunsets/the sky in general. pretty much whenever i can, i take a picture of the sky. i'm outside and i'm like, it's so beautiful! i'm grateful for the beauty of the sky. it's so simple, but so grand at the same time.

the only thing about sunsets and the sky generally is that it's really hard to really capture their essence in a picture. but you know that doesn't stop me from trying anyway :)

 

the above picture through my rose-colored sunglasses

thankful {part three}: little miracles

i've been struck recently by the way that good things happen in my life. i always expect these grand happenings, where i see this beam of light and hear a chorus of angels , whenever i discover what i'm supposed to do or be.

that's never how it is.

and i even know, intuitively, that that's pretty much how it is for everybody (see this talk). but i guess i usually at least want a little voice nudging me along. it's usually not like that.

it usually happens that i have a thought one day to do something, something random that i wasn't really planning on, and then something good, even great, comes from that. really, usually something perfect for me happens. so, i'm thankful for those little nonverbal nudges that teach me to trust in myself along with the Lord. i'm thankful for the tender mercies that i can see in my life everyday.

thankful {part two}: family ties

i am really grateful for my family. it wasn't in the plan to be living at home, especially not for as long as i have been. but it has actually been pretty great. i'm grateful that we like each other as well as love each other--we like spending time together. i'm grateful that my parents were willing to let me stay here while i figured out what i was doing and then, when i did kinda figure it out, they still let me stay.

i'm grateful that i was raised in a home where the gospel was a central theme. along with that, though, my parents taught common sense and common courtesy and real life skills that i think a lot of people my age lack today. i'm not saying i'm perfect or that i know how to navigate every possible life situation, but i'm pretty sure (based on my own experience...) that my siblings and i have a leg up on some of our fellow youths, and that's a direct result of our upbringing.

i''m grateful for each of my siblings. meredith, who is my best friend, my only former roommate i still talk to regularly, the person who knows all my weird idiosyncrasies and random thoughts. bergen, my fellow reader, the one of us who is truly thoughtful and selfless in so many ways, the middle child who IS LOVED AND APPRECIATED (seriously, berg. we love you.). and carter, my hilarious brother, a dedicated future missionary, my basement buddy. we all have a ton of fun together--there's basically no one else i would rather go to disneyland with :)

my family is awesome, and i am so lucky to be a part of it.

thankful {part one}: faith

it's that time of year again, my favorite time, really: the month of thanks leading up to thanksgiving, which leads up to christmas. i'm this close to listening to christmas music, but i'm holding off for at least one more week :) so, in the spirit of thanksgiving, i'm doing my annual series of thankful posts. (hopefully this year i'll be more consistent and not remember in the last week..)

to start:

i am grateful for my faith. this is way more all-encompassing than just one little blog post, but pretty much everything great in my life boils back down to my belief in a loving Heavenly Father who wants to bless His children and see them happy. i know He knows me and knows what i need and what i am worried about and the desires of my heart, and i know He answers prayers. i am sorely lacking in many ways, but i try to raise my voice in thanksgiving when i can for all those amazing things that i have because of my beliefs.

happy november! more thanks to come!

blessed

the other night, as i was saying my prayers, i was thinking about how grateful i am to be a part of the true church and to have a knowledge of the true gospel. i have so many amazing blessings because of these truths. sometimes, at times like this, i start to wonder how it is that i could be so lucky. out of all the churches and all the belief systems, i am a member of the only true one, born into this restored church of Jesus Christ? it seems unbelievable.

then the thought process usually goes like this: what if this is all just a big hoax? what if, at the end of everything, nothing is the way we think it will be and we're all just floating out in the ether, alone? what if our leaders have either been deceived themselves or are deceiving all of us? what if it isn't true?

but then i remember: i know it's true. i've felt it, over and over again. i know the gospel is true, and this is the only true church. i know our leaders are inspired and that they commune with God. i know that i can also receive revelation and comfort and forgiveness and companionship and knowledge. it's true. i know it.

this became a classic quote as soon as president uchtdorf said it last saturday, but that doesn't make it any less true or relevant.

hold to what you know--there is great power in faith, even just a tiny amount. i know that exercising faith leads to more faith and more knowledge, and that's how i know it's all true.

big news

as some may know, for the past couple months (really actually the past year or so), i have been on the job hunt. this was made somewhat harder by the fact that i want to teach and love to teach yet don't have a teaching certificate as of yet. so, the age-old question remained: what can you do with an english major?

job searching isn't easy. you don't feel that great about yourself. you see "now hiring" signs everywhere but none of them attached to a job or place you want to work. only a handful of the applications you send out lead to interviews, and a surprising number never garner any type of response at all. i like to think of those application out there in the nethers of the internet, waiting to be evaluated. i'll probably hear from them in a few months. how do you get a first job, the job that will help you gain real field experience, if all the positions require you to have prior experience? i don't know; i guess i was a little late to this game. i mean, i did a master's program partly because i wasn't ready to go out into the world and leave my little provo life.

i got the job!! and i don't take flattering selfies...

anyway, all this is leading up to the announcement that I GOT A JOB! i heard yesterday, and it's all very exciting for me. i will have a salary! plus benefits! i can once again become a functioning and independent part of society! i'm pretty sure my parents are even more excited than i am ;) i am really grateful that things worked out the way they did and that i have Somebody looking out for me. many somebodies, actually--i have been overwhelmed by the support and prayers of so many friends and family members this past little while.

i will be working at the salt lake/global campus of strayer university, which specializes in career-track online education for mostly adult students. i will be an admissions coordinator, so i'll be working with recruiters and students, helping them get situated. i'll get to know the ins and outs of this kind of higher education. i think it will be pretty cool. i start october 21st.

i still want to teach at some point. i think i'll end up getting my certification in a couple years. or maybe seminary? i would love to teach seminary. so we'll see. for now i am glad to be employed once again. there goes #4 on my list of 25 things to do this year.

get a big girl job: check.

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

a grateful day

i don't know if it's the remnants of love day or what, but i'm feeling grateful today and thought i would put it out there.

i'm grateful for:
--my family--parents, sisters, brother
--sunshiny days in the winter when i can sit on the balcony and read
--the temple and smiling temple workers (and seeing former students in the confirmation room...only in provo)
--health insurance
--netflix
--relief society
--neighbors
--comfy couches
--hair bows
--zebra snuggie
--grilled cheese and tomato soup
--girl friends
--clean dishes and an empty sink
--the savior
--missionaries
--phone calls
--zumba
--warm coats
--new friends in dinner group (and dinner group itself :))
--the office
--blogging
--my talents
--sibling group texts
--all the things that make me laugh
--a car that works and has heat
--school/classes that are interesting
--loose curls
--good things to read
--the prophet
--good health
--the beautiful earth
--the internet
--provo, this wacky and awesome place to live

there are so many things i am grateful for. life is good!

thanksgiving redux

because we were partying it up at disneyland on thanksgiving day, we didn't have a thanksgiving dinner, or even a world-famous disneyland turkey leg. tess didn't really have a sufficient turkey dinner either, so we decided to have our own.

people, i roasted my first turkey yesterday. it was awesome. well, truth be told, it was a little dry, but it was a learning experience, alright? but it was cooked, it didn't explode, and i removed all the gross bits with no difficulty. i felt pretty accomplished.

we also had real mashed potatoes, yams with brown sugar and pecans, stuffing with sausage, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie bars. and delightful dinner conversation, of course.

obviously i wouldn't have traded that thursday at disneyland, even for mom's thanksgiving dinner. but it did feel like something was missing. good thing we are competent and creative people. happy thanksgiving once again!

thoughts and observations from my trip to california

 i can't believe the trip is already over. it was great, though it definitely wasn't a relaxing trip. but it was a ton of fun and i still love my family, which is sometimes a feat after a ten hour car ride :)

but here are some thoughts, in no particular order.

this is not me in a skirt, in case you were confused.

--i rocked a skirt at disneyland all day on saturday. it was awesome.
--i satisfied my craving for clam chowder in a bread bowl (memo to self: it wasn't that good; don't spend the ten dollars again.). but i gained a new, last minute craving for this amazing-looking hot roast beef sandwich that will be calling my name until i visit the magic kingdom once again.

--visiting new temples is the best. it's always interesting to see how different each temple is and especially how different each temple is from the provo temple. and it was great to meet up with family and friends at the newport beach temple.

--world of color at california adventure. see it for sure. i saw it from the back (meaning, without seeing the accompanying video), and it was still amazing. i die over anything rainbow, so i was freaking out over the displays of color.

--sibling hotel room: lived up to all of my expectations. looooooooooots of laughter.
--hot tub conversations with strangers=always interesting.
--we still know how to work the parks like pros. and, in case anyone is wondering and for my own future reference, disneyland is not that crazy over thanksgiving. we didn't typically have to wait for anything longer than 30 or 35 minutes.
--cars land is awesome and the new cars ride is great. maybe one of my favorite things, though i'm glad i didn't stand in line for 2 hours.
--i did not choose wisely at miguel's, which is a serious bummer. you have to take advantage of miguel's when you get it, and i did not.
--meredith had the flu for most of the trip, which was even more of a serious bummer. the flu is the worst and i hope she gets better soon. out sibling hotel room wasn't as much fun without her.

--las vegas is super sketchy. i know a lot of people from there, and they seem to like it, but i really don't like it. sorry, people.
--the disneyland resort is the best during the holidays. one of the greatest parts of going around christmastime is seeing the fireworks show and the snow on main street. this year, the fireworks show was cancelled for us due to "unfavorable weather conditions" (boo), but the snow and the lighting of sleeping beauty's castle still made the night pretty magical. 
--...i didn't get any grading done..but who really thought i would?
--i'm super grateful for my family and for dad, who took us all to disneyland even though he doesn't really love it.

okay, now all i have to do is get through two more weeks of class and then finals and i'm home free for three weeks! just kidding, it won't really be as easy as that since i still have a lot of work to do. but the end is in sight!

thankful 2012: day four

here we go again:

i'm grateful for cars and when they function properly.
i'm grateful for miguel's even though i apparently get something different than the rest of my family and am the black sheep.
i'm grateful for classic rock.
i'm grateful for that feeling when things finally start coming together.
i'm grateful for laughter and for jokes and for word play and puns.
i'm grateful for good friends who make me laugh and let me cry and lift me up.
i'm grateful for hottubs.
i'm grateful for missionaries and all of their sacrifices.
i'm grateful for disneyland :)
i'm grateful for shoes.
i'm grateful for garlic bread, which i crave at almost all times.
i'm grateful for time with my family.

and that's all i will say for today, the eve of day one at disneyland. the internet at our hotel is spotty, and i'm due for a dip in the hottub!

we're going to disneyland!!!

i haven't devoted nearly enough time on my blog to our upcoming beesley family trip extravaganza to southern california over thanksgiving, especially considering how much time we devote to talking about it and thinking about it in real life.

back in like september or so, carter invited us three girls to a sibling text group which would be for the purpose of counting down to our trip, sharing memories of disneyland, and just generally expressing our excitement. so, for the past two months, everyday one of us will send a text saying "58 days!!!!" or "i was running and a car went by and it smelled like autopia" or whatever. it's been pretty funny/a little annoying because it means i get a ton of notifications from the group text since we're all seeing things and responding at pretty much the same time. but mostly it's been an awesome way to get pumped about the trip.

and, we've been trading awesome facebook posts back and forth:

of course, i am jasmine, my all-time favorite princess. berg knows me well :)

we as a family really, really love disneyland. most people who know me/us know that. i have so many great memories, some of which aren't detailed remembrances of specific events as much as general warm fuzziness, of being at disneyland with my family. it's just such a magical place!

so, this week we will spend two days at disneyland and california adventure, thanksgiving day and saturday. we expect a crowded park, which means long lines, but it will still be awesome. the only downside: my disneyland t-shirt, ordered last week per our intention to all buy new shirts for the trip, doesn't look like it's going come in time :( oh well. i'll just have to rearrange my outfit a little bit.

off to the happiest place on earth in less than 24 hours!

thankful 2012: day three

this isn't going to be much more than an awesome list :)

i'm grateful for ice cream and cream puffs. and a whole host of other treats. like the mickey-shaped sugar cookies i've been waiting for for so long that are in the kitchen right now awaiting frosting.
i'm grateful for hair products.
i'm grateful for lovely little accessories.
i'm grateful for a beautiful world and little moments when i remember that, like yesterday when i walked under an arch of leaves that were transitioning from green to brown.
i'm grateful for classy outfits.
i'm grateful for talents.
i'm grateful for church and for the priesthood leaders who strive to make it meaningful each week.
i'm grateful for tithing.
i'm grateful for rainbows.
i'm grateful for cell phones and free minutes after 7 and on the weekends and group texting.
i'm grateful for a place to live that is warm and whole and has a nice bed for me to sleep in. and an oven. and a bathroom. and a refrigerator. and, bonus, a balcony.
i'm grateful for music, in so many ways. for music to sing to, for music to dance to, for music to cry to, for music to smile to. right now i'm especially grateful for the carpenters christmas collection :)

this is all i can think of right now, but there will be more. happy thanksgiving week!

thankful 2012: day two

first, i'm really grateful that i have access to so many great things just when i'm sitting at home. this is not necessarily an "i'm-so-thankful-for-the-internet" thing, but it's pretty amazing that i can look up any conference talk or ensign article online and then either read, listen to, or watch that talk in literally seconds. and, whenever i want to know something, i can just look it up. it's awesome that so much knowledge is instantly accessible.

next, i'm grateful for good food. i've talked about this before--i love food. and my life would not be nearly as happy as it is now without yummy food. i am so grateful that i have enough to eat everyday and that i have so many options available to me. all my weird cravings can be satisfied :)

also, recent events have reminded me how grateful i am that i have the gift of the holy ghost and can receive revelation. i've had some decisions to make lately, and it is always amazing to me how answers come, sometimes unexpectedly and sometimes in ways that hurt a little, but i know that things happen for a reason and that Heavenly Father has a plan and knows what is best. and i am grateful that He lets me know those things when i am doing what i am supposed to be doing.

and i'm grateful for the missionaries. in light of the announcement about the change in mission age requirements, there has been a whole lot of talk about missionaries and missionary work. missions are hard! they aren't just fun 18-month or 2-year vacations. so i'm grateful for those who faithfully serve and sacrifice to spread the gospel and do the Lord's will. and i'm really grateful that missionaries are supposed to write home :)

and, i'm grateful for the temple. i get to study a little bit more about the temple this week, and i am grateful that there is one so close and that there are places on earth where we/i can go to be closer to God and feel peace and comfort.

until next time!

thankful 2012: day one

i have so many things to be thankful for, so here's the first part of the list (which will by no means be comprehensive). but, i am going to at least start off with some of the important things.

first, i am so grateful for my knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. so much of the happiness i feel in my life comes from this knowledge.

second, i'm thankful for my family. it's pretty awesome that we can all just sit around talking for like two hours and have more fun than we would in pretty much any other way. seriously, though. when my dad told us we were going to california over thanksgiving this year, i was most excited (i mean, after thinking about the joy of disneyland) about sharing a hotel room with my siblings. it's going to be a blast staying up late and making prank calls :)

third, i'm thankful for my education. there have been ups and downs, but i love learning and i am grateful for these years i've spent at byu. someday i'll be done, and i'll be glad to leave. but provo really has been good to me.

fourth, i'm grateful for my job, and i'm especially grateful that my job is teaching. it is lovely to have money with which to buy things that i need and want, and i love that i make that money right now by talking to my students and helping them to become better writers. i just hope i can figure out a way to do that for the rest of my life.

those are the important things i can think of right now...i'll be back soon with some other thankfuls.

good news for this week

sometimes i just need to focus on the positives. not that my life is bad, by any means, but it's especially easy for me, as i've said before, to get hung up on the stresses and forget about the good stuff. so, here are some of the lovely things happening lately, in no particular order.

• alias is on netflix watch instantly now. i literally gasped when i saw it. 
• i got a free waffle from the awful waffle thanks to the lovely tess. nutella, bananas, and a whole lot of vanilla whipped cream.
• conference is this weekend, and i get to go on saturday! yay!
• my students are funny. and, when they put their minds to it, they can have some pretty great discussions. 
• i went on a shopping trip with a boy this week. he has this thing for insulting my fashion sense, which is not so cool, but hopefully this successful trip laid that to rest. because now i'm his permanent fashion consultant. according to him.
• my shows are still making me laugh, which is always a good sign. 
• i still love teaching, both writing 150 and institute. 
• zumba kicks my butt, in the best possible way.
• i get to spend all weekend with my family and other people that i love!

so there you have it. life is good.