I love to see the temple!

Yesterday I was rather stressed because I am in a nasty situation with a roommate who appears to be pretty spoiled. I am guessing she was really spoiled at home or something like that. Well she got all mad at me yesterday because I'd mentioned that she needed to do her dishes instead of expecting roommates to do it. Basically it seemed like she had this idea that just because we're over 30 we have no life and sit around all the time at the apartment. Well anyways I happened to go to the temple as more a way to get out of the apartment. And to get away from this really rude roommate as well. It turns out I was at the temple and at the end this girl walked up to me. I recognized her as a temple worker I'd seen earlier and she was like 'I noticed that you seem really spiritual and I'm way impressed.' Then she walked away before I could really say much to her. Well I was quite surprised of course, but realized that sometimes you might not think about things like that. But if someone else is heavily in tune then they would recognize it. I concluded that this girl obviously had to be really spiritual as well. It was pretty cool! And it did make the day better due to going to the temple, so I'm glad that I went even though it was snowing outside. I decided that I should thank my roommate for the fact that she got me to the temple. I probably wouldn't have gone if it had been a good day especially with the snow last night. Aren't temples great? I'm pretty happy to have one in my town and several in nearby towns! :D

New Years Day 2017!

I decided that I should write something else, since yesterday I just was talking about New Years related stuff. Anyways I actually read a book by Lance Richardson this week, it's called 'The Message'. I looked into it and the author died in the early 2000's, but in the book it seemed like the author thought it wouldn't be a very appreciated book. Due to that I decided that I'd spread the book around for others to know about and possibly read.
Towards the end of the book the author talked a lot about service and it being a very important part of life. I'm sure a lot of people did the service suggested for December and we even talked about that at church today. (I think it was called light of the world) Anyways I decided that since January is sort of the slowest month of the year that I should do service everyday of January. And of course all of the year, but specifically every day of January. So you should all join me in this 'Service Quest' and invent service opportunities every day of this month!! :D And if you have time then you should read the book 'The Message' by Lance Richardson if you haven't previously read it before now.
In my parents ward there has been quite a few people with cancer in 2016 and one of those people was my mom. Several died, several had surgery and so the majority of these people are still alive. My mom is one of those who did surgery and is still alive. But I found out that my parents ward is very into helping each other, in fact they are great examples of service!! :D :D
Are you all going to join me on doing service this month? :D

New Years Eve 2016!

I happen to have a sister named Caralee who still writes on her blog! I don't know to many others who write on blogs still, but I decided that I should write on my blog today after like 18 months.

Anyway I know plenty of people who say that 2016 was a bad year! But I actually thought 2016 was a bit better then 2014 and 2015. (at least job wise) I was happy with 2016 since I had a great job all year and managed to get through all my graduate classes the last 3 semesters. It is kind of wierd living in Logan as a non USU student, but I'm pretty used to the mid singles ward now. So it's not to bad and I'm more involved with the community now vs when I was living over by campus.

I have been trying to use ASL still so that I won't forget it after having been out of ASL classes for 2 years. After 2 years I finally recorded a new song in ASL, it's a church song but not a Christmas song. Since most of the ones I've signed to have been Thanksgiving or Christmas songs!! I actually was driving from Logan to Roosevelt right before Christmas and happened to be listening to a CD that had 'There is a Green Hill Far Away' on it. And as I was driving I came up with the whole song in ASL, but unfortunately I didn't record it that day. So I forgot some of it and had to practice a whole bunch before making a final recording.

But since tomorrow is Sunday you should all listen to this new song:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcBEeb4u_jA


And since this is the last day of Christmas break I'll say a final Merry Christmas for 2016 right now! A lot of people have really liked this song I signed for a class that got put on youtube. And I'm sure you'll all like it too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqTwKfzhUdg&t=12s

I have to say it's been super sad seeing 2016 close because I thought it was a really good year! Farewell 2016!! :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(:(

To 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW5mo-RI8cA

Yeah I know 2016 isn't a person, but it's always sad to see good things end!! Hopefully 2017 is great too!! :) Happy New Years 2017 friends!!

Interesting!

So as most know by now I'm moving away from Logan. I'm by far one of the ones whose stayed in Logan the longest. Since most people only come to Logan for college and then move when they graduate. And some stay just because they were married while in college so they stay due to a job or something. And then there are some who are single who stick around due to getting a pretty good job related to their major in Logan. Well in fact I was not one of any of those since I am still single and haven't gotten a job with my major in Logan.

I actually shouldn't have come back after my mission, since my main purpose in Logan was done with. But yesterday I decided to go take pictures for memory sake before I actually moved. Anyways I had two realizations along the way while taking pictures. :)

So coming back to Logan was actually completely different then the first time I was in Logan. But for two different reasons...

1. Originally I came to Logan just to go to college and get a degree. In which case I didn't have a specific major in mind, but I did like the Family Life classes. So I ended up doing FCHD (Human Development) mainly because I liked the classes. So along the way before I actually graduated I did have a job with the major. But I didn't actually like the job unfortunately, although I had to stick with the major due to not having alot of semesters left. Anyways I did fulfill my main purpose in being in Logan the first time. Which was getting a Bachelors degree in Human Development, but it didn't lead to a job. Due to how I realized it wasn't my thing when I had that job before graduating.

So while taking pictures for memory sake I took a picture of the family life building since that is where I was at my first few years in Logan quite often. I actually am really glad I did the Human Development classes. Because they were really informative and I had to take some teaching classes. Which did help with things while I was on my mission, since all you do on a mission is teaching.

Well after my mission I became very into following the spirit. Which of course I did before, but it became alot more obvious after my mission. So when I came home alot of people tried to talk me into moving to Salt Lake then. Well strangely enough I had the huge impression to return to Logan, which I was okay with since I did like Logan. But my main reason for coming back to Logan was because I was going to do graduate school with Deaf Education. I didn't know much ASL then so I took ASL classes. (sign language) Anyways after 3 semesters I didn't have money for it and I wasn't fluent enough with ASL to continue. At least I didn't think so, in which case I knew the graduate program wasn't going to work. So I still love ASL and have practiced it on my own, by signing to songs and things like that.

Anyways it was interesting because I had a cousin who was working at DI and due to that we ran into someone I had previously known. (but forgotten) It was the hiring manager at DI and so we ran into him at Wal-Mart one day. Which oddly enough was a day that I was suppose to be out of town actually, but had come back a day or so early. But we ran into him and he recognized me from having worked at DI the few months before my mission. And so he actually suggested that I apply at DI again, although at that time I had a job with USU. But later when I needed a job I did go and talked to him at DI. In which case I ended up working there again and in fact helped like 2 or 3 friends get jobs there as well. (In which case DI had a huge influence on those particular people) But due to working at DI there came a time that I was offered an internship. So I don't even know how it happened at all, but when they asked me what job I was trying to get after DI it just randomly came to me to say the library. I mean libraries are cool and all, but I'd never been planning to work at a library after college. In fact family had suggested doing a library job, but I'd never taken it seriously. Anyways it randomly just came to me and I told DI that I wanted to work at a library. Due to that I ended up doing an internship at the Logan library. It was way rough because most people who did these internships got jobs at the location. But several of us at that time did our internships and then didn't actually get jobs at the location. I did find out that I could volunteer and they'd count that as library experience when I applied later. Well I was rather lamed out when I volunteered for a year after that and didn't get a job with them. But it was interesting because I did end up having the 'inspiration' to do Library Science grad school. So I applied for that and thanks to reference letters from the library staff I did get into the graduate program. Also thanks to the library staff I found out about schools I could apply at that would be really good schools.

So my first conclusion is that I came to Logan the first time to get a Bachelor's degree, which was good of course. But the second time of coming to Logan was alot more of an influence in my life. Due to returning to Logan I didn't just get a Bachelor's degree, but I found the job I really wanted and that is what pointed me in the direction of Library Science graduate school. In all reality if I hadn't of done library internships and volunteering I might not have gotten into graduate school as easily. And the truth is that I might not have decided to do graduate school if I hadn't of been involved with the Logan City library. Because I didn't want to have to take the GRE test to get into graduate school, but due to volunteering I found out from another volunteer that she was in graduate school doing Library Science. (but she didn't do the GRE) So returning to Logan most definately has been life changing and even though I have worked at not the best jobs in the last 3 years I don't regret coming back.

2. When I lived in Logan the first time I just came because I knew people who lived in Logan. Which was fine, but alot of the friends I made the first time were usually connected with the people I previously had known. So I really only made a few friends who I still associate with now from then who weren't somehow connected to people I'd previously known. The two particular girls I'm thinking of right now are ones I met my second to last year and then the last year we were roommates. Sadly they both moved away from Logan for graduate school while I was on my mission.

Anyways when I came back to Logan I have made quite a few influencial friends that I wouldn't have met if I hadn't of been here this time. The ward I have been in for the last 2+ years has helped alot with that as well. It's kind of funny but we all live on this one little block and somehow this one block constitutes a ward a whole ward. So by coming to Logan the 2nd time it really helped prove that I can live somewhere without having friends there before. A good example has been this summer has been a little rough, since everyone in my apartment is super busy. So we aren't connected very well, but it really hasn't mattered. Because I have so many friends on the block that I'm really not alone at all. So if anything I'm glad I came back because I've been in the best ward in Logan literally. (actually if you met someone in the 38th ward they'd argue that though) :)

The first time in Logan I never had any connection with the Amphithreate really. But our ward has had great connections at the Amphithreate in the summer. Which is because we do ward prayers at the Amphithreate. So this spot on campus won't be forgotten, of course it is all because of being in Logan the 2nd time.

It's been really nice being in this particular ward, because I've had alot of music major students in my ward. So there never is a dull moment in our ward when it comes to musical numbers and such. Along with that I've had alot of these same ward friends do their final recitals at the performance hall. Several of these people are on missions, but quite a few are still around. But I have been to several piano recitals and vocal recitals. Which has been super great, because in my return to Logan I've been trying to be better about using my music talents. I'm most definately not as good at music as alot of these friends are. But they've improved in the last 3 years I'd say anyways. :) 

It suddenly got dark really fast, but I'd say the same thing about the fine arts building as well. It's been great for being unified with these music friends I wouldn't have found if I'd gone straight to Salt Lake a few years ago. :) 

So anyways that's the moral of the story on why I came back to Logan 2 different times. Although I could totally be like my original Logan friends and be somewhere else with a much better job. But in the end I'd have less friends and probably be working at a job I didn't even really like either.            

Life!

So I have been applying for jobs out of Logan the last like 6 months and never got called for a single interview. Well finally I got called to this interview in Ogden and so I was super happy, because it's not all that far away. And then I could maybe just commute if needed, so I was all set on getting this job. Well I went to the interview and it was interesting, not the job I wanted after all. So I left thinking 'I can't take that job if I even get an offer.' I really wanted the job anyways and so I was highly considering still taking it if I got the offer. But turns out I happened to go to the temple last night and at that point I hadn't heard anything back yet. Well I was at the temple and anyways while there I had a moment of finally realizing 'I can't take the job.' I still wanted it and in the end knew it couldn't work after all. So luckily I started job hunting again last night and found more jobs to apply at that are similiar, so we'll see how it goes.

BUT I got the best letter to day in my life, in fact it was the first time I was ever so HAPPY to get a 'you didn't get this job' letter. I mean in the end I was going to say no thank you, but it was nice I didn't have to do that and they decided on taking someone else.

Sometimes I'm just really grateful that when it comes to a serious decision in life that God isn't going to let you go to far off course. Even though it is super hard and I really just wish the job I want would just show up somehow. Anyways it's been a huge trial lets just say and that's all there is to it.

But anyways tonight I happened to run into this quote from a women's conference I was at a few weeks ago with the Stake. It was by a guy whose about 23 and due to an accident on his mission is 3/4 blind. And has alot of problems going on, which is super awful since he was on a mission after all. Anyways here goes the quote:

'There have to be challenges and trials in our lives, to make us rise just a little higher, do just a little better. It is those challenges and trials that shape who we are, and depending on how we react to them, we can become ever better, strong and more prepared.  Even though, in our lives, when it seems we're doing so good, working so hard and being so righteous, there are challenges. Because, as we are doing what is right, yes, we are doing good, but, there is no way to continually get better without challenges. There is a famous quote that says, 'just as a gem cannot be polished without friction, a man cannot be perfected without trials.' Challenges and trials are a part of this life. We agreed that they would be a part when we accepted Christ's Plan. I don't believe that God makes things happen to us, but he allows them to happen because knows that it is through those challenges and trials that we will become better, and that we can become the best we can.' -Britten Scherts

Anyways remember this when you think your life is terrible and remember your not blind either. :) So this guy should be complaining more then the rest of us, but of course is quoting things like this. :D

Happy Valentine's Day!

So we had this nice girl in our ward give a talk last week related to Valentine's Day. And basically it was along the lines of how we should be more sincere about the holiday and if we're single to not just say 'oh it's single awareness day'! But actually take it seriously and if anything give valentine's to friends or something. It reminded me a little of two years ago when my roommates all concluded that technically valentine's day should be great for everyone, because we all love our friends or relatives. So we can think of it in relation to that instead of boy friend or girl friend. Anyways in recent years Valentine's Day has been better I think, because I've started thinking of it more like that.


Last year I think it was I had a co-worker who was like 'I hate valentine day because I don't have a boy friend.' So anyways I've thought that before as well, but this year has been super great because I decided to make it better. Just as the girl in our ward was talking about and yes it was already something I'd thought of doing before.








Of course all it really goes back to is just having a good attitude in life, because if you haven't noticed life never goes how you want it. Even if you've got the perfect plan going it's still not going to go as planned. So anyways interestingly enough I still have many friends getting engaged these days as usual, so nothing has really changed at all. But this still has been a better holiday then past years, because I've decided that I really am great being single. AND I have concluded that single people can do lots of great things in life in fact probably more. :) So be happy with what you have got!!








Happy Single Aware...opps! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!




p.s. If any married people read this I am meaning single people can do more in relation to things such as traveling. :)

Parable of the Poincetta!

Well I've officially decided that putting pictures on blogs is a bit of a pain, because the blogger machine doesn't seem to like to be workable. So I did have this fine picture I was going to show, but sorry it's not going to be here this time. But anyways it was pretty interesting because during Christmas we had this Poincetta and I guess it got over fertilized, because suddenly over night the plant died. Well oddly enough there were 3 leaves that never died and every single day I looked at the plant thinking the leaves would be officially dead. But they never were and so somehow these 3 leaves just stayed alive even though they'd been over fertilized. Well I decided that this is like us in life and how many times tons of bad things happen to us. So we could easily give up, but as many of you know that isn't the way to do it. And the best people alive are those who had the worst trials, such as being over fertilized. But were also the people who didn't give up when life got hard. So remember to be like the 3 leaves on the Poincetta that should have died, but didn't die.


This actually reminded me of a guy I once knew who had been living with his sister in his parents house while they were on a mission. Well some sort of electricity explosion happened and the house blew up with them in it. The sister was upstairs and he was down stairs, so the sister wasn't burned as bad since she was on top. But since the guy had been in the basement the house caved on top of him. I don't know how he even survived, but basically he ended up with a lot of burns and health problems. Which was super sad since he was only like 30ish, but when I originally met him I would have never guessed anything. Because he totally didn't act like he was bitter about something and I actually found it out from someone else. So anyways I was just super impressed that this guy kept on with life and didn't give up, even though it was a pretty serious ordeal.


Sometimes we might wonder the purpose for major trials, but I just ran across this video. I'm sure most of you have heard the story, but you should listen to it again!! :D


And just remember to be like the Poincetta and NEVER give up!!


And there is a purpose to it all of course, just check this little video out and you'll see what I mean!! :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDrhvm9EnJ4