If I Could Frame My Mind...

...Where would it hang?

Today, probably in some weird modern art museum. I'm slightly sick -nothing major, no fear- so my brain is doing some odd things. So I decided to write a new blog post. Brilliant.

Earlier today I was listening to The Postal Service. I have decided that listening to their song "Such Great Heights" on headphones sort of makes your brain feel like it's playing ping pong...on a treadmill. See what kind of state my head is in?

Also, I just watched Madagascar 2. It was...um...sort of pointless. Save yourself the hour & 29 minutes & just watch THIS. These are definitely the high points of the movie. You can thank me for saving you some time in your life later.

Until tonight I had successfully been able to avoid watching that cult classic, Charlie & Candy Mountain...or something disturbing like that. But that ended tonight. I think my IQ dropped by at least 20 points. I really needed those points... why my roommates subjected me to such contagious stupidity, I will never know.

My newly found obsession with hyper-linking EVERYTHING probably has something to do with my blogging buddies & hyper-link extraordinaires, the rambling one & the newly found & epically amazing one. However, I wouldn't want to leaving any of my favorite people out, so shout out to King Julien in human-girl form, the ones in India, the two-year old, the one with the Dr. Pepper Curse, the tiny one with the HUGE vocabulary, the crafty one, and the inconspicuous one.

(almost) Last but not least, I would like to announce to the world that along with this sickness there has come an incredibly craving for citrus. Now, if you know me at all, you'll know I get killer cravings that must be satisfied. This one has been well taken care of. On Monday, I purchased two quarts of Orange Guava Juice. It is delicious. It is gone. I have consumed the entire bottle in 3 days - without once using a glass. Yes, I am very sophisticated. sometimes.

& Finally - yeah, I'll really be done after this one, promise- my playlist for this blog currently has 49 songs. I am now accepting submissions for the fiftieth song - a great honor. Songs should either be totally amazing or remind you of me. Hopefully those two conditions coincide. :)

Ignazio Y El Arco Iris

This is a fun little story that I had to write for my Spanish 105 class here at BYU. I know most of you that actually read this blog (Hi Mom, Joyce, Kris, Amelia, Ms.Katalin, & Beazer...sometimes) don't speak much Spanish, but I thought I'd post this anyway. & I know a few que hablas. :D We were supposed to write a myth using past tense verbs & this is what I came up with. If I get really bored this summer I might do some simple illustrations & make it into a little children's book.

Enjoy!

Érase una vez hace muchos años hubo un loro que vivía en la sleva. Sus amigos le llamaban Ignazio. El fue un hermoso pájaro con plumas de color rojo brillante. Las plumas de su cola eran de todos los colores. En su cola, Ignazio tenía plumas moradas, plumas azules, plumas verdes, plumas amarillas, plumas naranjas, y plumas rojas. Fue un ave muy feliz. Le gustaba cantar y volar en el sol para mostrar los colores brillantes en su cola.
Un día, cuando Ignazio estaba volando por encima de los árboles, las nubes llegaron sobre la selva. Ignazio miró el cielo gris y fue muy triste. El amaba el sol - su calor, su luz, y su poder. Ignazio voló a la tierra y se sentó sobre una rama baja de un árbol. Mientras el estaba sentado en el árbol y estaba llorando, pasó un puma muy sabio y fuerte. El puma tenía una suave piel de oro, pero su piel parecía oscuro en la luz gris. Este puma no sólo fue sabio y fuerte, también muy amable. Su nombre era Guillermo. Cuando Guillermo vio que Ignazio lloraba, dijo,
-¿Qué pasa, mi pequeño amigo plumoso?-
Ignazio miró hacia abajo de su rama y vio a el puma sabio. –Hola, Guillermo. Estoy triste porque el sol no esta brillando hoy. Las nubes han cubierto el cielo y tengo much frio y nadie puede ver los colores en mi cola. Y ahora ha empezado a llover. ¿Qué debo hacer? Digame, puma sabio. Necesito tu conseju.-
El puma pensó por un momento y dijo con una sonrisa, -Se paciente, niño. Permita que la lluvia caiga por un poco tiempo. Necesitamos la lluvia para que los árboles y las flores puedan beber y crecer. Después que los árboles y las flores hayan apagado su sed, puedes ayudar a las nubes a desaparecen. Puedes volar hacia el cielo e usar tu cola bonita y fuerte para barrer las nubes lejos. Y el sol brillará otra vez y sus plumas brillaran también. Tenga esperanza y paciencia.-
El loro se sentió de acuerdo con el puma sabio y esperó para la lluvia. Cuando los árboles y las flores habían apagado su sed, comenzó a volar al cielo y empujando las nubes. En su primer intento las nubes no se muvieron, pero el pajarito siguió intentando. Lentamente, las nubes comenzaron a moverse e Ingnazio siguió empujarlas. Pronto, el pudo ver el sol detrás de las nubes. Mientras empujaba las nubes a través del cielo, el sol brillaba sobre las plumas de Ignazio. Estaba tan cerca de la luz del sol que las plumas vistoso en su cola dieron su color a los rayos del sol. Todos los colores brillaron en un arco en el cielo. Cuando Ignazio miró atrás y vio todos esos colores que formaban un arco en el cielo, estaba feliz y orgulloso. Todos los animales en la selva vieron los colores de la cola del Ignazio y se llenaron de asombro.
-¿Qué es eso?- dijo un león.
-No se.- respondió un mono.
Todos los animales en el selva se desconcierta con los colores en el cielo. Pero cuando todos las nubes se habían desplazado, Ignazio regresó a la selva. Los animales se dieron cuenta de que los colores en el cielo habían sido a causa de su cola. Todos vitorearon a Ignazio. El puma sabio sonrió e Ignazio se sintió muy maravilloso.
Y ahora, cuando viene la lluvia, si esperas y miras pacientemente, verás todos los colores de la cola del Ignazion que hacen un arco en el cielo mientras el está empujando las nubes lejos. Por eso vemos un arco iris despues la lluvia.

inturbadio

Do you ever wonder who sits around & makes up all those word verification things that are supposed to heighten internet security? I do.

Also, did you know that the length of the Great Wall of China is equal to the distance from Miami to the North Pole? Yeah. It is. This fact has inspired me. I now plan on going to work for National Geographic.

& last but not least, this new facebook epidemic of 25 random things has sparked a lot of random thoughts in me lately. Here are some of the best random facts about me:

-If I take a nap on my bed, I sleep upside down. There are a few various theories as to why I do this.

-I can think of song lyrics to fit almost any situation.

-I have a lot of freckles, or beauty spots if you like, but not many of them are on my face.

-I like my applesauce frozen.

-I don't laugh when tickled - I screech nonsensical gibberish. But only when I'm feeling really ticklish.

My Purpose

I originally started this blog for a New Testament class I was enrolled in last semester here at Brigham Young University. I was blogging to share my beliefs, my thoughts, my dreams. As of late, I've been slacking off on the spiritual/serious blogs a bit. I'd like to go back to the roots of this blog.

To quote a great children's hymn, "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am; I know God's plan, I'll follow Him in faith. I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ, I'll honor His name. I'll do what is right, I'll follow His light - His truth I will proclaim!"

When I was younger, that was one of my very favorite children's hymns. And it still holds true. So, I am going back to my roots & the roots of this blog & shall again be posting about things of a more spiritual nature. No worries, I'll probably still right odes to my favorite colors & post about cake, but it's been awhile since I've written anything with much meaning. That should change.

Also, if you've just tripped on to my blog, please check out some of the things I've written in the past & leave your comments. I LOVE COMMENTS & if you have any questions, whether about cancer, BYU, the LDS Faith, or just me, I'd love to try and answer them as best as I can.

Forever

I went to an open house for the newly constructed Temple in Draper, Utah last night. When my roommate called to see if I wanted to go, I almost said no. I was sort of grumpy, I had just stepped in a puddle, my swimming class had been a bit pointless, & she was planning on leaving in fifteen minutes. I was currently 10 minutes from home, slightly wet, & smelling of chlorine. But I decided to get over myself & go. I am so incredibly grateful that I did.
A Temple open house is a chance for everyone to go to a newly built temple and see what it's really like before it is dedicated for worship services. Temples are beautiful, peaceful, holy pieces of heaven on earth. As soon as we were within sight of the temple, all my grouchiness melted away. During our tour of this incredible building, I felt a spirit of peace and happiness.

Temples are perhaps the most important element of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormon Church). In temples we are taught important principles of the Gospel, we are given commandments that help us return to live with our Heavenly Father again, and, most importantly, we are sealed to our families for time & all eternity. In a temple marriage, there is no "'til death do you part." We believe that by being sealed to your husband or wife in the temple, you are sealed together forever by a bond that even death cannot break.

I am not a great teacher. I am not a great speaker. But I do have great faith. Because of the beautiful comforting spirit I have felt in the temples I have attended, I have no doubt that my family will be together forever. I know that that blessing is available to every person on this earth who is willing to live the commandments given by God. I don't know all the answers, but I will share what I know.

For a great article about why we have temples, click HERE.

Click here for more general information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Temples.

Also - yes, I am aware that sometimes my music choices to go w/ my blogs are a bit cheesy. But these are two of my favorite forever songs. :D & I like cheese.

A Couple Random Thoughts

First of all, today is a day of celebration because 19 years ago today my fantastic bestest friend Kristen (aka Goober) came in to this world. It has been a better place ever since. This picture goes out to her:

This was quite possibly the most amazing cake EVER. We went through a few different names for it, but finally settled on Pure Chocolate Seduction: The Cake. Kristen & I concocted this hunk of goodness a couple weeks ago when I was home for the long weekend. The pink layer is raspberry cream cheese filling.

My darling Kristen & I have a sort of interesting history full of lots of late nights, crazy quotes, very loud singing, & inside jokes that have great blackmail potential. We will always be friends because if I ever got on her bad side she could probably run my life with all the dirt she has on me. Oh, & I absolutely love her, which is another reason to be friends forever.
This is pretty much the essence of the KH^2 girls.

The first song on the playlist also goes out to Kristen & her epically purple Mercury Cougar complete w/ broken sideview mirror.

A few other random thoughts:

1- I'm ready for spring. I am displaying this readiness to Mother Nature by refusing to wear my winter coats. So far the only results have been very cold hands & a general freezing feeling.

2- I have lately taken to listening to really loud music on my way to campus in the mornings. When I've got my hip hop playlist cranking, I have to work very hard not to start dancing. Sometimes I give in just a little. I can only imagine what the people walking behind me are thinking...

3- Super skinny jeans bother me. I don't think they look good on anybody. Especially not on super skinny guys. Really, gents, I don't know of any girl (besides Chloe) that is attracted to spaghetti legs.

4- I am really hungry RIGHT NOW.

5- I finished my volunteer application to go to India a few days ago. It's crazy. It still feels really surreal, but I can't wait to spend 30+ hours on a plane, spend 4 weeks surrounded by poverty like I've never seen before, work in a children's school in Chennai, & spend some quality time in the leprosy colonies. Really. You can learn more about all the amazing endeavors of Rising Star Outreach at their website or on Ron & Joyce Hanson's blog.

How could you not want to spend 4 weeks surrounded by smiles like this?

6- I feel like a lot of things are all happening at once. To quote the wonderful Switchfoot, "I'm standing on the edge of everything I've never been before." I have a lot of big decisions & adventures ahead of me. I am crazy excited to see what the next few months hold for me.

7- Little fact about me: I'm not very patient. When I want something, I'm usually not very good about waiting for it. I will wait, of course, but I would much rather just have it right now.

That's pretty much all I have to say right now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRSTEN!