An act of kindness...

My friend, Andy, made dinner for me and a couple of friends last night.  It was delicious!  :)

It was also the first time that I can honestly remember someone of the opposite sex making dinner for me!

He made this yummy Ziti - which I had never had before.  I was in charge of dessert and therefore threw together Nutella Strawberry Shortcake.  It was actually pretty good and the perfect light dessert to that amazing dinner!  I am hoping that if I keep telling Andy just how much I loved his cooking that he will offer again in the future!  After all these years, I now understand why men love having a wife that will cook them dinner!!!  I wanted to put my feet up and yell for Andy to bring me a Diet Coke from the fridge.  Ha! 

I will admit that I had a hard time just turning the kitchen over to him or letting him chop up the onion his own way (I may or may not have pulled out my chopper and showed him an easier way).  I attempted to play the piano and then the guitar because I was hovering - no cook likes that!  But my playing was terrible because I was too distracted by what was going on in the kitchen...  Well that and because I am not very good at either the piano or guitar and I felt bad for his ears!  :)

So, Andy, thanks!  It was really nice to have someone else be in charge of making dinner!

Random Note:  I will be in Jamaica in six days!

February - Valentine's Day

February is a month of mixed emotions for me. 

I don't think it is just because I am single either...

This February is the second anniversary of my changing my outlook on life.  Two years ago, February, was one of the hardest months - I made a lot of poor choices and hurt my family. 

This year it hit me extra hard and I was really struggling - then the worst day of the year was around the corner - VALENTINE'S DAY!  A single persons personal Hell...

But something weird happened - I received chocolate covered strawberries from my brother and his family.  They were delicious and helped lighten my dark and sour mood.  The next day I received flowers from another brother, homemade Valentine's from my sister and  her kids, yummy cookies from the parents and then even MORE flowers from my other sister. 

I went home that night and found a lovely card from another brother and a sweet homemade Valentine with yummy suckers from my sister and her family.  It completely made my mood change!

I was brought to tears by the love that my family has for me!  And I know that not because of the flowers, strawberries, cards, suckers and/or cookies....  But because the past two years, they have really been there for me! 

Emailing me loving words of encouragement
Holding me up when I couldn't hold myself
Flying out to see me when things were a little rough
Purchasing a Wii because they knew it made me happy (Thanks Dad - not only am I grateful, but so are all of my Wii Dancing friends!)
Helping me move into a more suitable environment
Cleaning my room of hazardous materials - thanks Erin and April!  :)
Crying with me on the phone when I don't understand things

That to me is L - O - V - E!! 

Family - you mean more to me than life itself...  I am here today because of the love and strength you have shown me!  Thank you for everything. 

I LOVE YOU!!! 

World - here I come!!!

This year I decided to spend my vacation time not in Utah but traveling the world!!  :)

I am lucky enough to be flying to Jamaica in March, London in April, and then going on a cruise this September in celebration of my turning 30!! 

Things are exciting in my life right now.  School is keeping me really busy at night after work...  So I literally fall into bed exhausted!!  But, the courses are only 8 weeks long and so I am a quarter of the way through!  Ha!  :)

I am enjoying my roommates and love the location of where I am living right now!  My roommates and I get along famously and I just enjoy getting to see them and catch up every night!  I just inherited a HUGE television from Erin and therefore ready to have Wii Dance Parties with friends. 

I haven't done as much cooking lately as I would like, so I am hoping to change that.  Especially when I am trying to save money for all of my world-wide adventures.  I think that I am even going to attempt learning to eat and LIKE leftovers....  ugh!!

To Whom It May Concern:

With the New Year - one of my resolutions is to become the person that I want to marry.  This song has been one that has been rolling around in my head the past few weeks.
To Whom It May Concern - The Civil Wars

I am going to work out more often
I am going to study the gospel
I am going to be a more kind and gentle person
I am going to allow myself to love and be loved
I am going to have more confidence in the awesome person I am
I am going to finish my degree

I would say that I am turning a new leaf, but I believe at times in my life I have tried to accomplish everything on this list already...  This time it is different though - this time I believe in myself. 

Mary's Little Child

This is a season which is my favorite of the year. It is a time that I reflect on my feelings of the Savior and his ultimate sacrifice for all of us.

But these last few days I have been thinking about Mary, his mother.

I wonder how she felt as she wrapped the babe in swaddling clothes and laid him down. How did she feel as people came and spoke of angels visiting them and proclaiming the arrival of her son.

What an amazing thing it must have been for her to gaze into his eyes and know he is the Son of God. To know of the greater mission he was born to fulfill and the lives he would forever change. At the same time I wonder if she was praying for constant guidance to help teach Jesus the lessons of love and forgiveness he would in turn teach in his later years.

Mary was a perfect example of a woman I would like to become. She never questioned God and her part in his plan, but she accepted it fully.

She showed obedience and faith in God.

When Christ was found teaching in the temple at the age of 12, when she found him she wasn't angry with him but simply asked him why he stayed behind and accepted his answer when he stated he was doing his Father's business.

She showed patience and understanding.

And then we come to Christ's death she was there... How hard this must have been for her.

She showed love and forgiveness.

Yes, she is a wonderful example of the woman I would like to become.

Friends

Day 26 - What do you think about your friends?

When I think of all the friends that I have had in my life, so many faces and memories run through my head. And I realize just how many people I have gotten to know over time and just how lucky of an individual I am to call them friend.

One of my earliest memories of friendship was a touching one - one that I reflect upon often. I had this friend named Stephanie and I was talking to her about going to church and being in Primary. That was when I found out that she wasn't a member of the same church that I was and therefore I thought that meant the friendship must end. I remember crying all the way home and my mother promptly asking what happened.

I informed her of Stephanie's religion and explained how I thought it meant we couldn't be friends anymore. I know that my mother could have laughed and just told me to grow up or something... :) But she didn't.....

Instead, she pulled me over to the table and sat me down and explained that it doesn't matter what religion, race or lifestyle a person was - as long as they treated me well then they were true friends. I happily went to school the next day and explained everything to Stephanie and apologized - we happily held hands as we ran into class and things were great!

At a young age, my mother knew the importance of what a true friend should be to me and taught me what to look for. I know that my family and some friends would agree that I have not always picked the best friends, but I believe that there is good in everyone. Sometimes it is through some strong and bitter walls that you have to help peel off or break down before you see the person that individual can really become or who they are deep down inside.

I know the importance of friends and how they can be the support one needs just to hold themselves together.

I know that friends quickly forgive and love us even when we make childish mistakes.

I know that friends will really tell us exactly what we need to hear - even when it is hard.

I know that friends shape us into better individuals and teach us things about ourselves that we didn't know or couldn't see.

I know that I am grateful for the friends I have made over the years and I hope that as they see me, my friends will be proud of the individual they helped shape over the years.

Museum? No, I went to the NEWSeum!

So, I attended a members only Open Vault night at the Newseum. It was so much fun! I wish that I would have taken my camera because some of the displays were amazing and hilarious!

The event welcomed the new CEO of the museum and it was a fond farewell to the old. They had cheese and dessert bars and quite a few people! Of the museum only three (3) levels where open but the set up of the actual museum allows you to see a tad bit above and below you.

I saw a moose character head that was used in an SNL skit. I saw a DOW Jones scroll from the day that President Kennedy was shot. It was pretty neat to see part of the Berlin wall that is on display there as well although I couldn't actually stand in front of it (it was below us).

My favorite part of the night was viewing the Pulitzer Prize photograph gallery. The story behind how the image was captured by the photographer was just as amazing as the image itself. Some of the pictures brought tears to my eyes and others feelings of an overwhelming sense of gratitude for where I live and what I have.

After checking things out my friend and I decided it was time to grab a bite to eat. He had been wanting to try out this Mexican place up the street a little bit and I was all game! Little did I know what an interesting place it would turn out to be!

On the menu they had fried pork belly, grasshoppers, tongue, sushi and other delightful choices. We ended up trying a stuffed pepper, fried pork belly, tongue and a delicious mushroom taco! I am sooo tempted to get the grasshoppers - but I ended up chickening out at the last minute! OH well - there is always a next time, maybe when the parents come for a visit... he he he....

It was a fantastic night and I can't wait to go back to the Newseum to check out the other exhibits!