Random Ramblings #6

65. There's a friend from my mission who's headed down to Peru to visit. I asked him if I could send some letters down with him so that he could deliver them. Cool, huh? Free postage to however many people I want to write!! Yeah, but it ended up that I wrote about 50 letters. Oh boy, that was a lot! I only typed a few, and since I was too lazy to put the accents in as I was typing, I handwrote them in later. I don't much mind if I never hear back from some of these people, but mostly I just want them to know that I love them and that I miss them.
66. I finished reading another book today. I started it last night, and I finished it this morning. It was about extreme child abuse, so it probably wasn't the best choice to read right before going to bed.
67. I went for a run this morning, and the weather was absolutely beautiful! The thermometer at the bank said 43 degrees, but I think it was a little warmer. The sky was just enough overcast that I only sneezed twice when I was outside.
68. I think soy milk ice cream tastes funny. It's all crystally tasting.
69. One of my favorite scenes from Harry Potter is from the 4th book. Harry has the golden egg, and he's wandering around the castle under his Invisibility Cloak. He gets stuck in a hole in a staircase outside of Snape's storeroom, but then Mad-Eye Moody joins the scene. And with Mad-Eye's mad eye, he can totally see Harry Potter. I don't know why, but I really like that scene . . ..
70. My home teacher changed the oil on our car, and inspected it for free. What a great guy!
71. Between chili one night and burritos the next (dinner group!), I sure have been farting/pooping alot.
72. Oh, and I went on a date last night. And it was the first date that I can remember (in quite a long time) where the guy actually asked me out! What a deal, eh? =) I had a great time.
73. A few months ago one of my best friends gave me a hand-decorated journal because she knew I liked to write so much. I now type my journal, but I still wanted to put that notebook to good use. So I started using it as a boy journal. I like to write many things in it . ...first impressions of some guys, what I like about some guys, what frustrates me about boys, dating experiences, etc. It's a fun little journal. I update it occasionally.
74. I don't know what else to write about right now . ..but I think I'll add a random picture instead. It's from when we dyed eggs at Mom's house for Easter. Later we took another picture; notice the candy! It matches our shirts. We are sooo cool!

Peruvian Post

I was invited to a mission get-together several weeks ago, but I didn't go. I don't really remember why. One of the guys asked me why I didn't go, and I told him . ..and I committed to going to the next one.

So that's what I did tonight! We went to a Peruvian Restaurant in Orem called La Carreta. It was my first time eating there, and it was actually quite yummy. (Nope, still haven't been brave enough to try ceviche!). I was a little worried about getting there and not knowing a bunch of the guys. You know, as sister missionaries, we all know each other, but there's probably fewer elders that we know. And I've always been awkward around guys . ..that's a known fact. And I've only been home for a few months, so . . .I'm still a newbie in the returned sense. So now you know why I was a little nervous as I was driving over there. My friend Lisa said that it was normal . .. I mean, seeing each other as civilians for the first time . ..it's okay to be a little weirded out, right? I borrowed Heidi's Michal Buble CD to listen to in the car to not get nervous. I totally cranked up "Haven't Met You Yet" (how appropriate for those elders I don't know, eh? =) and listened to it about 3 times before getting out of the car.

But guess what. I HAD SO MUCH FUN!! I knew almost every single person there! Of all the people that were there, I had only seen one of them since coming home, so it was fun to catch up. There were two guys that brought significant others, so I tried talking to them a bit more (knowing that they don't have any Peru stuff in common). And besides the fact that some of the guys and long-ish hair (totally normal, right?), I learned that they are still the same cool guys I knew. We're just doing different things in our lives now.

Funny things: the tres leches dessert was really just a fruit/shortcake thing. The waitress thought the guy next to me and I were on the same ticket (heck, all the other guy/girl couples were on the same ticket!).

Other good things: saltado mixto. So good. Especially the shrimp. I finally gave Hna. Jewkes the picture CD I was supposed to give her since being home. There were two other guys that came home from the mission with me, so I wasn't the only recent one. A random lady came up to our table and just gushed over us because we had gone to Peru. All to Trujillo. And she thought it was a coincidence that we had all gone to the same mission.

Peru things: talking about people/areas we've had in common. Mixing up Spanish and English like none other. Mixing up Ud. and Tu like none other.

Feel-good things: Laughing. Joking. Eating. Sharing the news of other mission people that we know. (aka, what we've gleaned from facebook).

Awkward things: The only regret is that our table was long and narrow, so I hardly said a word to the guys on the other end of the table. And I only got one or two awkward side hugs from a couple of the guys. (p.s. I hate those! haha)

Will I go next time?! Most definitely yes! =). And I won't have to listen to Michael Buble to not feel nervous either!

Winter vs. Spring

We all love winter, right? The smell of Christmas, making snow angels, and being freezing cold, etc. Right . .. but I love springtime even more! Rain, flowers, blossoms that fall from the wind in the trees, shorts, flipflops and pools. But this spring is different. For several reasons.

1. I'm not the only new person in the ward.
2. I'm not the only one that's not in classes.
3. I actually have a job.
4. I don't feel so bad being lazy all the time because other people are lazy, too.
5. I can actually go outside more often instead of being stuck inside all day.
6. I'm back to my normal post-mission self . .. I think, anyway.
7. I get to play .. .even more!

So you see, springtime is my favorite. This springtime . ..man, it's even better!Plus also, tulips are my favorite flower.

Reflections on the Resurrection

Easter is coming up. The other day I was thinking of a very nice lady I met on my mission named Rebeca. She was one of the very few Rebecas I met in Peru, and for that I felt something special for her. We found her when we visited her neighbors who were a part-member/less active family. Down their street somebody had died, and they had the viewing canopy in front of the house of the mourning family. We went back a few days later and visited that elderly sister. She was pretty old, and she just kept saying that she was so glad we came to visit her . ..that we had remembered her. I remember we sang the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," and by the end she had tears in her eyes. I don't really remember what else we said, and I know that the words which we said gave her a sense of hope for the resurrection.
I thought of her the other day during the Sacrament. How is she doing? We only ever visited her once. Obviously, I never got to see the full fruits of her accepting and fully believing the Gospel and eventually being baptized, but I hope that someday she will.
I love the Resurrection. President Monson stated the beautiful doctrine so simply and wonderfully in a recent Conference Address. Here's just a snippet of it. I am so grateful for the Resurrection. It's the most wonderful miracle of all, and it extends to each one of us. Without overcoming the physical death as such, it would be impossible to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. So, to all those dear elderly widows named Rebeca, or even for the troubled sister in Chimbote whose father passed away, or for the cousin who struggles over the declining health of his parents, or whoever you may be. Know that He lives. And because He lives, we will live.

"Ye Must Pray Always and Not Faint"

Today I woke up, and I rolled out of bed on my knees to pray. As usual. What wasn't usual was that as I said my prayer, I felt rill light-headed. I don't even remember if I finished my prayer or not. I thought maybe I was gonna throw up, so I crawled on over to the bathroom to hover over the toilet. But I didn't throw up.


I fainted.

And I have no idea why.
Weird. Plus also, it's always a little scary when you come to.
But hey! At least I still pray always . . . .

A New View on Relationships . . .

"I asked them to tell me the things they most wanted. Some of the answers were commonplace enough. . . .Marjory White, aged ten, wanted to be a widow. Questioned why, she gravely said that if you weren't married people called you an old maid, and if you were your husband bossed you; but if you were a widow there'd be no danger of either. The most remarkable wish was Sally Bell's. She wanted a "honeymoon." I asked her if she knew what it was and she thought it was an extra nice kind of bicycle because her cousin in Montreal went on a honeymoon when he was married and he had always had the very latest in bicycles."
-wisdom from Avonlea's own, Anne Shirley and her students

A Very Happy Day

Today was a very happy day. For many reasons. I spent the majority of the day with my friend, Lisa Christensen. Oh boy, she makes me laugh. A lot. We went to a Nauvoo Mission Reunion together. We played in the band, and we made a whole bunch of old former senior missionaries rill happy. We laughed, mingled, ate, and overall just felt way too happy and excited to see all of our wonderful older friends again. Like the Blackintons, Hylands, Westwoods, Clarks, Moffits, Ebmeyers, Wards, Cranneys, Maxfields, Randalls, Sis. Stratford, Sis. Mills, the Dawsons, the Dukes, the Mitchells, and so many wonderful others. We ate, chatted, and relished the dear fond memories of old Nauvoo. It is so amazingly difficult to feel unhappy in that heavenly place, and as such, you feel happy all the time while you're there. Plus also, you have the added spirit of the pioneers, the added love of 50+ sets of adopted grandparents, and the added enjoyment of music and entertainment. It doesn't get much better than that. And remembering it . ..it's just as wonderful. It was a very very happy reunion. I imagine the Celestial Kingdom will feel just a bit like that.
Later today, I went to the Salt Lake temple with some of my young missionary friends. Another wonderful experience.
Even later, I went to my dear friend, Tara Hill's clarinet recital. She played some great pieces, and did a wonderful job. I was once again reminded how wholesomely wonderful my music friends really are.
Today was a very very happy day.