book of mormon challenge {results}

i'm happy to report that i finished the book of mormon on saturday, august 31, right on schedule. like i said before, this is the first time i've attempted to read the book of mormon in such a short amount of time, and some days were harder than others, but it was a cool experience.

one of the main things that stood out to me was how often the prophets stressed that they "delight in plainness"--the gospel is supposed to be "plain" to us. the truths of the gospel are pure and simple; if i don't understand a principle, i need to work to understand it plainly. things aren't supposed to be confusing, though there are obviously things that we just don't know yet (the mysteries--i LOVE thinking about the mysteries :)).

reading so quickly, i also felt like i got to know the people a little bit better and that i had a better grasp of the history and the timeline. it was easier to keep track of everybody when i wasn't spending two months reading second nephi.

so, it was pretty great. here is one of my fave scriptures, one out of many.

now, i'm reading the old testament as the next installment in my standard works challenge. i'm sticking with the 8-chapters-a-day regimen, which will put me in the middle of december to finish, also just in time to start the new testament at christmas (which will hopefully help me to stay on schedule). so far, it's pretty cool. some weird stuff, but that's why you consult official church materials for clarification.

in summation, the church is true. read your scriptures.

bring on the fall

as much fun as summer is, i'm always ready for fall by the end of august. i'm tired of the heat, i'm kind of tired of wearing sandals, and i'm especially tired of being sweaty all the time.

fall has so many great things, so many things i love. cooler weather, changing colors, football season, new tv. writing that last one made me think that i've written a post of this sort before, but i'm going to keep going anyway.

this fall is a little different than every other fall before in that, for the first time in twenty years, i'm not starting school. this is the first september i can remember that won't include a first day of school, new supplies, fresh syllabi, interesting classmates. instead, it will include (hopefully soon) a new neighborhood, fresh roommates, and interesting coworkers.

spring is supposed to be the season of renewal and rebirth, but fall has always been that for me.

thoughts on tuesday

--i just finished alma in the book of mormon challenge--i'm on track to finish at the end of the month, and it has been pretty awesome. one thing i've learned is that it isn't impossible to be spending a good amount of time in the scriptures every day. i think eventually i won't have this much down time, but setting aside time will be doable.

--i'm obsessed with
 this song:

this video:

and this album:

--when you move, you care a lot less about the stuff you've been carrying around for years. things that had significance at some point, or especially the stuff that had little to no significance, seems fit for nothing but the dumpster or, for the lucky ones, the d.i. box. but even after getting rid of bags and bags of my stuff, i still had so much to move.

as for moving itself, it wasn't as emotional as i thought it would be. if i start thinking about it too much i tear up, but i've been okay. probably when i don't go back to provo in a few weeks or when i move to a completely new place in salt lake it will really begin to sink in. but, i did try to celebrate provo life by going to some of my favorite haunts, which were mainly restaurants. you know how it is. my last meal as a provo resident? brick oven. my mom thought all of these "last meals" were pretty silly, since there's a 100% possibility that i'll go to all of them again, probably in the next few weeks even. but it won't really be the same.

i don't live in provo anymore.

--i've been doing some creative workouts the past couple days, including some treadmill time, some ab work, and, my personal favorite, the exercise ball aka fitness orb.

here's to getting toned!

--i meant to write a bunch of great flashback type posts about study abroad, taking things from my journal, especially that day that i was stranded in the dublin airport, which was also, obviously, pre-blog. but, that didn't happen, at least not in the timeline i planned. so maybe that story will be told sometime.

--also, today's my half birthday. how did it get to be august, the middle of august no less? time marches on.

family life

a couple weeks ago, we played mom to two different families. being a single person living in an apartment complex full of single people, i don't get to be around kids all that often. and while sometimes kids have meltdowns and it isn't easy, being around families of little kids is really fun.

something i noticed with both of these families is how there was a definite and visible focus on the gospel in their homes. they read scriptures, say prayers, have family home evening, make family goals, talk about modesty. i think about parenting a lot, as is probably evident, since i think the challenges facing kids these days are really scary and unique. so it's cool to see how modern families are working to combat these challenges.

it's also interesting to see how different families can be. different things work for different people, and that's fine. you need to do what's best for your family, your situation. 

another observation i made: i want my home to have a nice big common area, with lots of couches and chairs, so the whole family can sit around. for some reason some houses don't really have that? it's weird when the only place you can really sit is in the bedroom. although, probably when i'm a mom i won't have a spare minute for such things as reading. but it would be nice to have a place where we can all be together.

basically, the week of nannying just made me long to be a mother. does that sound weird? yeah kinda. but oh well. holding a baby is the best. bathing kids, playing games with them, eating together, driving around--all of it is pretty great. good thing they can be forever, right?

a momentous occasion

last week, a big change occurred in my life. i was due for an upgrade, so i traded in my old phone, or, as the sprint guy so disdainfully called it, "that purple thing", for the mack daddy of phones, the iphone 5. it was a pretty big leap.

i have definitely been on my phone more in the last few days than ever in my life, but i'm hoping some of the novelty will wear off soon. i love having the scriptures on my phone, especially during this book of mormon challenge, i've joined the instagram world, finally. i take a few more pictures than i used to. i love the new york times crossword app (no surprise there). i look for cute cases most days. it's cut down on my facebook and twitter use, interestingly. we'll see how else it affects me as the time goes on.

so anyway, here i am, a smartphone user. welcome to the digital age, me!

girl's trip summer 2013: tuacahn

i've been saying for years that i want to go down to st. george and see the shows at tuacahn. we saw south pacific down there one year during girl's camp (girl's camp at a condo with a pool is pretty much the only way to go, by the way), and i loved it. i've wanted to go back ever since, to that amphitheater nestled in a red rock valley.

so, after a week at aspen grove, we decided we needed a vacation from our vacation, hopped in the car, and headed down to st. george, tickets to mary poppins and thoroughly modern millie in hand. i love both of these movies, and i'd been reading the mary poppins books in preparation, so i was pretty psyched.

overall, the trip was pretty laid back, we did what we wanted, hung out by the pool, did a little bit of shopping, and saw the shows. while i love mary poppins, it's not quite as entertaining as a comedy like thoroughly modern millie. both were great, but i think we all enjoyed the second night a little bit more. we lucked out, though, that it wasn't boiling hot--but we were right under the handy-dandy misters for portions of the performances.

then, on wednesday morning, after a filling breakfast at cracker barrel, we made the drive back home, where we slept for two nights before embarking on other adventures (more to come).

i'm so glad we finally made the trek to tuacahn for our girls' trip, especially during the summer when they were playing these two lovely shows. i love you mom and sisters! (and a special shout out to the littles, who so kindly let us stay at their home.) who's in next year for the wizard of oz and joseph?

hasn't quite hit me yet

tonight, meredith and i were driving all around town looking at places for her to possibly live in the fall. as we approached our block, nearing the provo city library, i commented that i haven't gone on nearly enough provo walks this summer. and as the words came out of my mouth, my throat closed up and my eyes welled up. and then, realizing how ridiculous it is to cry about provo walks, i started laughing. but by then i was really crying, which made me laugh even harder, and the whole thing was    very perplexing to everyone involved. which basically sums up my relationship with this crazy town.

i'm out of here at the end of this week, but it might be harder to say goodbye to provo than i thought.