.2011.

Favorite Moment of 2011:
 Probably sending Thuglas off on his mission this spring...I felt about a million different emotions during that time. I was sad to see him leave and bummed to lose one of my best friends, but also so so excited and proud of him and just felt an out pouring of love within our family right before he left.

Least Favorite:
I was working at dear old Iron Gate Grill over St. Patrick's day...they had this live Irish band come play and  I felt like I was in a scene from PS. I love you....buttt as the night went on the customers just got more and more hammered and we were working later and later into the night (we usually closed at 11 and it was like, closing in on 2 in the morning by the time we went home) It had been a way stressful shift and I was exhausted and upset that I had been there so long...Just then, some inebriated young lass puked all over on her way to the bathroom and guess who my miserable manager sent to go "take care of it?"......this girl. I was scooping up vomit with a dustpan and thinking to myself....I'm getting paid like, 2 dollars an hour for this..
Total low point. Sent me straight back reminiscing about the dorms at Iowa Western...*shudders*


Music/Movies/Books: This year I was lovin' on the Civil Wars, the Black Keys, Noah and the Whale, Ray Lamontagne, Kiersten Holine, Sara B, Justin Vernon, and Angus & Julia Stone.

Umm, in the cinema category; I was thrilled with HP 7.2,  and JB's Never Say Never, The Help, the newest Sherlock Holmes annnd 17 miracles.

Books: Finally made it through Jesus the Christ this summer. Then Articles of Faith, Divine Signatures (on Brooke's recommendation) annnd over Christmas break I've just been plowing through the BOM trying to get done before the end of the year. So. Not a lot of recreational reading :/ your suggestions would be appreciated for 2012...


Love Interests:
1) The old seed of faith/parasite growing in your heart guy.
 I thought we ended on good terms, but he's mad at me lately and I don't really know why. I wrote him a christmas card to apologize but I never sent it. I never really knew what I was apologizing for...?
2) The Roommates.
Stalked the one, got asked out by the other. Tried to make it work....but just...no spark.
3) The kid from Dad's ward.
He's so sweet. But I'm worried its another Chavez situation.

Good people, no dice. Dating gets real discouraging sometimes.
But, you just gotta keep. moving. forward.
...right?

Resolutions:
I can't really remember what my resolutions were.
I know I wanted to get a job. And get more involved on campus. And read through the Book of Mormon. And probably get a boyfriend. Ha, so I'm sitting at about 2.7ish out of 4.
meh.


Regrets:
Ohhh nothing is really coming to mind.
I kinda wanted to on a mission this summer but it's not really eating away at me. I think I made the right choice.
No regrets :) Happy to report it.

2011...thanks for the memzz.

Wishing You and Yours a Merry Christmas!

Sincerely, Me.  

And Mine.

This semester at USU..

Interviewing & Counseling with Dr. Barcus 

• Dr. Barcus grew up on an Indian Reservation in Montana--so naturally, she also has a native american alias. She is known to all her native american compadres as, Bear Woman. (picture the cutest little old lady..like 90 something) Hilarious. Bear Woman.  Cute-little-old-lady-Bear-Woman said the F word approximately, ohh 30 times this semester. It shocked me all. 30. times. 
• She specialized in counseling for rape and sexual assault victims. Her age seemed like it was gonna be a realll setback the day she couldn't figure out how to use the doc-cam for 20 minutes and rolled out an overhead projector, but it was fascinating to hear about all the experiences she'd had over the course of her life. Twice in her class I straight up started crying as she relayed stories of her past clients. 
• I don't want to be a professional counselor, but I think the communication skills I learned in this class will benefit every interpersonal relationship I will have for the rest of my life. Being a good listener takes some effort. Who knew? Here's somethings she talked about this semester that stayed with me..
• "You can never change with words what someone learned through experience"
• A counselor's job is not to fix people, it is to help them discover what they want and how to get there.
• Dr. Barcus said she had two goals for every client that walked through her door, 1) to be able to have responsibility in their life 2) to be able to have intimacy..to have worthwhile relationships that bring life meaning.

Natural Disasters with Blair Larsen

• Holy cow this class was misery. The lecturer was just kind of a dud..She did just what was required of her and nothing more. She had no passion for the subject material or for how what she was teaching would benefit her students. We had a guest speaker a couple weeks ago and it was the highlight of the semester having him come in and talk about Global Warming. 
• I'm honestly having trouble remembering something that stood out to me...

• Oh! I know, get this, a hurricane weighs more than 365 whales. And you can take that to the bank. Thanks Blair!

 Educational Psychology for Teachers with Carrie Madden

• This night class was just once a week. Monday nights. I had the hardest time remembering it..Ha, but it didn't matter because it was painfully easy. Again, I was disappointed in the teacher for not having a bit more passion and investment in her students--I find this subject matter FASCINATING! But somehow she put me right to sleep every Monday night. 
• I learned....um....what NOT to do when I am a teacher someday. Thanks Carrie! 

Consumer Health with Donna Gordon and Adolescence with Camille Odell

• These last two classes I took online, and what I learned was, if you take an online class, its like paying for an A. You do zero work and the tests are a breeze. But that is one expensive A...

Institute

• God requires things of us. We can't be saved just because..I don't how how some people contend so strongly against this. It seems like such a plain and simple truth to me.
• There is such a thing as absolute truth. There is right and wrong. No matter what Lady Gaga says..
• I love the scriptures..? I don't know if I've ever been able to say that so honestly in my life. Ha, I have never been as dedicated and diligent in my scripture study as I have this semester and it really has made a difference. I look forward to my time in the scriptures instead of just doing it out of a desire to be obedient. Huh. Whaddyaknow.

So there ya go...another semester down, feels like forever still to go..

I did some other awesome stuff this semester but I'll have to blog about that later because I'm tired and I'm sure you're probably tuckered out too from all my ramblings..back to studying for finals..sigh.

PeaceN'Blessins.

Country Swing. Ya'll.

Surprise of a lifetime:

I may or may not have gone country swing dancing with some girls from my old ward last night.

..and liked it?

The first 30-35 minutes were an epic fail. I sat on the wall and felt like a total tool for being there.

Eventually, I awkwardly made my way to the dance floor and clumsily tried to pick up the steps..

Next thing I know I'm swinging my legs up over some guys head and getting flipped and spinned and dipped...

It was so fun.

Country Swing Dancing..
never thought I'd see the day.

Go Aggies.

I heart C.S. Lewis.

Recently I heard someone use an analogy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to teach a principle, and it has really stuck with me so I'd like to share it. In honor of the Christmas spirit :) 

One of the kids, I don't know...lets say Peter(?) Shows up in the Winter Wonderland..Narnia? ..Right? (Sorry if I botch names, I actually haven't read the book since elementary school..but anyway) So he runs into Azlan (the Lion guy) and they are so excited to be reunited because they haven't seen each other in a while..
 Azlan comments on how big Peter is and how much he has grown in the last year...and then Peter remarks how much bigger Azlan is as well...and asks, "Azlan, have you grown a year older too?"
"No, I have not," Azlan replies, "yet each year you return, you will find me bigger."

C.S. Lewis intended for Azlan to typify the Savior.. And this little dialogue really hit home to me. Each year I grow older, Christ does grow bigger in my eyes. He is God, and is unchangeable. He is already all-knowing and all-powerful, and He does not grow any bigger...yet every year, as I learn more, and as I am better able to recognize my dependence on Him, as He strengthens and carries me through all my life's experiences... I continue to find Him bigger and bigger. 

This year is no exception. As I reflect on things I've learned this last semester, the more I know, the more I realize I will never know the depths of His love, or his power, or his mercy... My testimony of Jesus Christ is that He is everything He said He was, and that He has done all He said He would do. And that His hand is outstretched still. He will never, ever give up on any of us. Ever. We can all look to Him, admire Him, worship Him, and rely on Him without any reservation because He is perfect in every way. 

I hope this doesn't come off cheesy, but I think this is what Christmas is really about. And I think it's important to share.

As we wind up for the holidays, I just hope that the real reason for it stays in the forefront of our minds...

Merry Christmas!