Visiting Teaching

So we have a program set up for the women of our church that can be pretty amazing or pretty stupid, it's called visiting teaching. Pretty much it's forced friendship. Every girl (or in our case as a Student Ward, every companionship) is assigned a girl or two to visit once a month and deliver a message. That is the basic thing. It's just a way that we can keep in contact with everyone in the ward and make sure that everyone is doing OK. Sometimes the visits are no more than 10 minutes of chatting and a prayer, and sometimes they are two hour long extravaganzas which was my experience today.

Whitney and I went to visit our teachee and we went and chatted and shared a little spiritual thought. We found out that she was being hit really hard with the trials at this point. The first one is that the management is moving her and her roommates to different apartments so that they can make theirs the "show" apartment. We looked through our contracts and found that yes, this is legal and they only have to give 7 days notice and $40 for all the inconvenience. This move would put her on the first floor and most likely in a different ward. Oh, and I forgot to mention that she has no hands and one of her roommates has spinal bifida and wears braces on her legs. Really Alpine village - let's move the handicapped girls cuz it's really easy for them.

The other major trial is a technology explosion. She bought a MacBook Pro about two months ago, and had finished all her papers for this week (one of them being a 10 page monster) just before the hard drive exploded. She took it to the Mac store here in Provo, but it isn't an official Apple store and she bought it at Best Buy. They told her that no info could be recovered and there was nothing else they could do. We took it to Best Buy and they said that it was past the 30 days and so they couldn't do anything. So we called the official apple store in SLC and they said they could help, so tomorrow evening, the two of us are driving out to SLC to get it fixed.

This is what this program is all about. Yes, her friends could help, but we can too. I am so glad that we were there to help her when she needed it. She is such a sweet soul and I am glad to have this opportunity to get to know her.

Indexing!!!!

So our church is really big on doing family history and part of that is indexing. Pretty much all that it consists of is looking at the census record or military record or something like that and deciphering the handwriting and putting it into the grid so that other people can more easily find their ancestors. I was introduced into this when I first started at BYU, they challenged our Stake to get X amount of names done so they taught us all how to do it. I did it a bit but didn't really get into it.

This semester I'm taking a family history class and I am loving it! I have gotten back into indexing and can't stop. I love seeing all the names and places and ages - little boys named grown up names and people from all over the world. I turn on some hulu in the background and sit there and index. This class has also got me interested in some other things. I have decided that the next time I'm home, I am going to start doing some interviews with family members. I realized that I know nothing about my grandfather's life or my grandmother's. I want to interview my aunts and mother to get their parent's stories and I want to get my own parent's life recorded for my children to have. There is so much to be learned from the family. I am way excited. I also want to go visit some graves.

Two Dates - One Day

So I have no idea why I feel the need to blog about every single date I go on, but why not. I went on two dates today: lunch and evening rock band.

The lunch date was pretty much a blind date. My dad was speaking with the mother of one of his really good friends, and as many grandmothers with grandsons to marry off, she mentioned seeing a picture of me and thinking that we should be set up. So information was exchanged and I got an email from him. We just went to lunch at Cafe Rio which is yummy. Everyone has been telling me that I HAVE to eat there. It was good, but people blow food out of proportion, I think. It was food. But we had a nice conversation and I didn't feel like I wasted an afternoon. It was a lovely time.

The rock band date was a group date/hang out thing. The guy that asked me was one of these three guys that come to the Pizza Pie Cafe (where I work) and we chat a lot while their pizza's bake because it's usually not busy when they come in. They are really fun guys and we had fun talking for a while then a bunch of people came and we all played rock band for a while. It was fun and I wouldn't mind going on another date.

I am not really a fan of dating, it really just takes up so much work. I don't like the whole "making friends" thing, I wish that you could just skip to the part where you know each other already. And I mean that with every relationship, the getting to know you part is so not fun and awkward.

How do you feel about making friends?

The Two Happiest Places in Provo

This morning, I went to one of my favorite places, the Coffee Pod (and Simple Foods). I was initially attracted to this place for two reasons: the logo looks like the logo for a grocery chain in England and it's pretty much the only cafe-type place around. They have the best chamomile lemon tea there and while it's pricy for tea ($2.14 for a small? It's hot water and a teabag people!) so I don't go often, but I had some reading to do and I really wanted that tea so I forked out the $. I love this tea because it reminds me of the tea I would get at the Goethe Institut in Berlin during our breaks. They have happy couches and wifi. This is one of my hangouts.



My other favorite place is the Provo Library. It's the old Academy building, so it's got all this history. The actual library is attached to the back and the second story has some huge windows and chairs (they could be more comfortable, but they are comfortable enough). There is something so soothing about being at a library. It just smells like happiness and you can find whatever you are in the mood to find. If you are nostalgic, you can go to the juvenile section and read some of your favorite picture books, or if you want something new you can just look around or ask a librarian for their suggestions. I love this place!

The Most Amazing People

Disclaimer: though most of this post is about couples, I am not complaining that I am not married and I am not searching for that - I'm 20 for heavens sake, I just get fascinated by amazing, successful relationships.

On Friday, I went over to some friends' house and was reminded how amazing these two particular people are. A little background: Nick's family and mine have known each other for as long as I can remember, we are in the same ward at church. We adopted him as our brother eventually. Jordan was in a ward close by and we have also known their family for what feels like forever. She was one of the "older" girls who I always wanted to be when I grew up. They are now married and live in a cute little house on the other side of campus from me.

Like I said, I looked up to Jordan for as long as I have known her. She is just a generally happy person and so smart and beautiful. She is just excited for life and I love that! I have also had the opportunity to experience her spiritual nature on multiple occasions and she just shines with the Light of Christ on a daily basis. I want to be just like that. Nick is the epitome of what a guy should be and reminds me a bit of my dad. Guys like them are just super smart, but they aren't conceited about their knowledge. And then they have MANNERS, which so many modern males lack. Things like opening doors and doing the dishes. Nick is especially creative as well. You should hear the stories of how he asked Jordan to prom and to marry him - so amazing. I'm not doing either of these people justice. Just think of the to most fabulous people ever and then make them more perfect and you have Nick and Jordan.

When I asked if I could visit on Friday, they invited me for dinner and we had some AMAZING garlic cheese fries and yummy homemade burgers. They have the coolest potato contraption that cuts perfect fries. Aside from the lovely dinner and happy conversation, I got to just observe this newlywed couple and I learned something. I learned what the perfect relationship is. It was just a combination of a bunch of little things (that they are probably creeped out that I took this much notice of) that touched me. Like how after we blessed the food they shared a little kiss. It was just a little "You are important to me" reminder. And then after dinner, Nick did all the dishes and cleared up so that Jordan and I and some other delightful girls could visit. We chatted for a bit and then Jordan quietly got up and I heard her just thank her husband for doing the dishes. She didn't wait to express her gratitude until we had gone and when she could have forgotten. She did it in the moment, when it really mattered. It didn't ruin our visiting time at all, and it was such a simple way to express love. I got to look through their "scrapbooks" (awesome printed books of pictures, not the cutesy crap) and they do all kinds of fun things! They go hiking and take trips and share family time. They have adventures together.


Then today there was this older couple that spoke in church. They were amazing. She just went on and on about how much she loved her husband and it was just the cutest thing. They were one of those old couples who still hold hands and kiss right in front of everybody. Oh, it was just so adorable!

Every now and then I notice couples like these and I just pray that I can find someone who makes me as happy as these women have become. I work so that I can take the qualities I enjoy in people like Nick and Jordan and the old couple and take them into my life so that I can be happy like them.

Cabin Fever Already?!?!?!

This winter is much colder than last winter and, I feel, much more icy because of it. I am constantly about to slip and fall and I can't leave my apartment without lots of layers and a big jacket. I have to drive with gloves on because my steering wheel gets so cold. I have been back in Utah for less than a week, how in the world am I going to make it through the whole winter?



True, I do have some lovely warming up items that I got for my birthday and Christmas, but that isn't the only problem. I CAN'T STAY INSIDE MUCH LONGER!!! I need to do my homework at the park, in the sunshine. I need some fresh air in my room. I want to BBQ! I want to go for a hike. All of these things and more require it to be warmer. I never realized how blessed I was with CA winters where it rained a bit but never kept you inside for more than a few days and even then going outside wasn't terrible like it is here. You don't realize how much you need the outdoors until it is snatched away from you.


This is going to be a long long winter.

Another Semester Has Begun

Well, here I am, at the start of another semester at fabulous BYU. On Wednesdays I meet with all my classes so I got to get all the syllabus silliness out of the way in one go. Quite a few papers and a lot of reading, but nothing terrible, especially considering that I have a lot of time what with classes only three of the five days of the week.

The breakdown:
History 202: This is just a regular history class from the Renaissance till today. Quizzes, two midterms and a final, pretty regular. The Professor is this old guy who has a grass skirt mullet...yeah. But he should be interesting (or at least interesting to look at hahaha).
Family History: Ok, so this is going to be a bit more work, but it's going to be way cool and fun. Aside from regular reading, the assignments are things like making a timeline of my life and just getting familiar with how to do family history and figuring out the status of our genealogical work. We have to take a trip to the SLC Family History library. I love this teacher though.
Early American Bestsellers: So when I was buying books we had to buy a TON of novels for this class (10 to be exact, plus a course pack with additional readings). Ashley said that we would probably pick as a class from that list...she was wrong. We are reading all of them. It is going to be a lot of work, but I know that after finishing this class I'll feel so well read. I had this professor last semester and LOVED him and learned a ton so I'm looking forward to that.
Creative Writing: I'm not much of a creative writer, but I hope this class makes me one. The professor is this funny lady and we have some fun assignments and I'm excited. I plan on posting a lot of my work on my blog to get used to people reading my writing.
American Literary History: This is a survey course of all american lit. It's once a week for 2.5 hours and it is going to be super fun. I got in an argument/disagreement with some kid in the class tonight when we were discussing the definition of literature. Everyone was taking sides and whatnot, way fun!

So yeah, nothing too painful. I will be starting my new job next week at the Pizza Pie Cafe Express.

Goals!!!

Every year everyone makes New Year's resolutions and I always disagree. First of all, I think that if you have a goal that takes a year to finish, it isn't a very good goal. Like it only takes a few weeks to break/make habits. Then at that point you can make new goals, so the whole once a year thing doesn't work for me. Also, I'm really bad at goals anyway. I do whatever it is until I get the essence completed, then I usually end up bored with it and move on to the next point of interest.

So for this Semester:
-Get good grades. Last semester I was too overwhelmed to think any more than to just pass the classes so this semester I want to try for as many As as possible. I'm the kind of person that is totally happy with As and Bs, I don't need straight As though - minimal effort with the maximum outcome, that's my motto. But this semester, I'm going to go for it.
-Make some $$$. I believe that I have a job working at the Pizza Pie Cafe Express in my apartment building (we shall see if they still want me, they told me to call in January and they would put me on the schedule). Also, I wouldn't mind getting back in the babysitting scene cuz I miss the babies, but that is hard to do. There are a lot of babies in Provo, but they all belong to poor college students. However, this could go with my next goal of...
-Volunteer work. I have no classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I want to use that time to do something for others. My best friend, Kelli, does all kinds of volunteer work. She tutors and bakes Challah for Hunger(or she used to, I don't know if she still does) and teaches kids how to knit and is just a generally good person and I think that if she can do all she does and get fabulous grades from an Ivy League school, well then I have no excuse. So, I could give out some free babysitting to some friends I know who have kids and no money so they can have date night. There is also an old folks home that I wouldn't mind working at.
-Rekindle some old friendships. This last semester I had to forgo a lot of social interactions due to homework. I had fabulous roommates last year and I only saw them very rarely last semester. I want to hang out with them more. And the girls from home who I had all kinds of plans to take out to fun places which I never did. It's going to happen this semester.