Life is...

Well, boring. Nothing very exciting is going on for me lately. I am doing a little bit of Christmas shopping, a little bit of baking (like always), a little bit of dating (don't ask), a little bit of singing, and a lotta bit of working. Work is going okay, I no longer make mistakes while cashiering, and I very rarely feel overwhelmed. Which is a great thing. I have found a few girlfriends to talk to, but I REALLY miss my friends. I wish everyone lived close so I could have friends all the time, and not just when they decide to visit! But I realize that life is tricky that way. Everyone has to go their own way at some point. Hopefully I can get some more posts up now that I have a CAMERA! Yay! So until then, arrivaderci!

Life is funny that way...

Isn't it funny ho some things in life can surprise you? Just when you least expect it, BOOM! POW! It hits you. Most of the time, in my experience, it has been a good thing to be taken by unawares by life's little surprises. I can't complain. I have had it easy compared to many, many of God's children. I am so blessed to be alive and healthy with a college education, a loving family, and a job. How could I possibly complain when I have been so tremendously blessed? I have to say, it makes me so full of joy to look back on my life and reflect on the trials I have come through with my faith in the Lord intact. I am so grateful for my parents' example, for the opportunities I have had to learn and grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so happy that I have great friends that also have a knowledge of the Savior, and of His atoning sacrifice. I love Sundays with the chance to meet other Saints and to increase in my knowledge of the Gospel, and the many opportunities to share my own personal talents and testimony with others. I sincerely hope that if I can continue to live in a way that is pleasing to my Heavenly Father, that I can continue to see the blessings unfold in my everyday life. I love you all, and goodnight!

Bored at Home

Saw this on a friend's blog and decided to try it! In italics are the things I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a Mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a Lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (I've been to Venice, so I'm counting it.)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (BYU-Idaho paper)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Jessica Simpson)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Graduted from College

Having Faith

It's been an interesting few weeks. I am still waiting to hear back about a job rolling burritos at Chipotle, but I am almost positive that I got it. Not that it's my dream job, but it pays, and it's busy most of the time, so the time goes fast. Hopefully I can move up in the ranks quickly! In the meantime I am still applying to government jobs, hoping to make more than $8,000 a year. Because I do have a degree, however unmarketable it is. I still don't really know where I'm headed in the job department, but I do know I want to possibly go to Grad school sometime in the near future. I just love the idea of being a librarian! I love books, I love talking about books, analyzing books, and just the feel of a solid block of paper in my hands! So I think that may be a good thing for me to work toward.

Singles Ward is still...interesting. Most of the people there are either close to 30, or barely 18. So being in the middle is weird. There are a few people here that are in the middle with me, but it's going to take some time for me to get back into the "in" crowd. And by that I mean the crowd that hangs out outside the designated activities. So far all I've gotten is the weird guy who hits on every new girl, hoping he'll get somewhere before they figure out how odd he is. But I am determined to be nice and try to be friends with him, without giving him the wrong idea. Why do I always get the weird ones? Seriously? Oh well.
On the plus side, I have a wonderful family, great friends (who happen to be far away...) and a loving Father in Heaven. So all I need now is the faith that He will help me to figure out where my life is headed, and the strength to endure to the end. I know that the Church is true. I know Christ atoned for my sins. I now Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord, and that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet today. I know that He loves me, and that I am a child of God. I am so grateful for everything that I have been blessed with in my life, and I am so grateful fr a Heavenly Father who knows me by name!

Two weeks

So I'm two weeks in, and nothing. Nada. Zilch. When it comes to good jobs, I might as well be living in employment Siberia. Really. (Those of you who know me well know that I tend to exaggerate. But seriously, I am having a rough time.)
One of the biggest problems is that I really have no idea what I want to do right now. Do I want to take another dead-end job? Not really. But do I want to settle into a job that pays the bills, if I hate every second of it? Nah. What about just settling for anything that pays decently and has benefits? Maybe, if there were any jobs like that. But there aren't. And it's beginning to look like I may have to just settle for anything. Even if I hate it. Even if going to work every day makes me sad. Because let's face it, I have student loans. And a cell phone bill. And I am going to need a car at some point that isn't a huge red van that guzzles mid-grade gas. So what do I do? Wait for a better job to come along, or take whatever opens up, regardless? I don't know yet, but I hope to find some direction soon! In the meantime, I am trying to stay busy by getting back into the single's scene! I attend one of the local single's wards, and I have tried to show my support at FHE, ward choir, and all other activities, as well as attending Institute choir and classes. It has helped a bit, to be anxiously engaged in something. But I have still felt really lonely here at home. Hopefully I can make some new friends and visit my old friends soon! I miss having friends! It's a good thing I have so many all over, because I could practically drive cross country and never stay in a hotel! I may do that one day, just so you guys know... :)

Colorado

It is so beautiful here! I forgot how amazing the sky can be, and how sunny Colorado really is. I am grateful to be back, although the same lingering fear of having to make big decisions looms over me. I have had a few opportunities open up, and then close just as abruptly. Live and learn, right? But hopefully something will open up at the right time, in the right place. For now I am content with getting back into the Institute scene, and I am excited to attend my first class tonight.
Well, nothing much else is going on at the moment, except I really miss my friends. All of you! I hope to be visiting soon enough, just as soon as I get an amazing job that pays 100,000 dollars a year...haha. I'll make it happen! Love you all, and see you soon! <3

In the End is a New Beginning

So I am at the end. I have exactly one day left in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the German town I have called home for the last 13 months of my life. And boy, has it been a roller-coaster! I started out HATING it...and now I'm a little bit scared to leave. Over the past year I have learned a lot about people, and even more about myself. I have learned some of my weaknesses, and also some of my greatest strengths. I have seen a lot more of the world, and I am much better for it. I thought I would make a short list of the things I will miss, as well as some of the things I will NOT miss. I'll start with the things I am going to miss the most-

1. People-I have made some incredible friends here, and I hope that I can stay in touch with all of them for the rest of my life. I have been truly blessed by their friendships here in Germany!

2. Food-Bakeries especially, but also chocolate, Schnitzel, and many other European delights!

3. Walking everywhere- Colorado Springs and most other big cities in the west have very little public transport, and it's impossible to walk everywhere. I have loved being able to get anywhere without a car!

And now some things I will not miss-

1. Drunk People- I'm pretty sure it's a German hobby to see how drunk you can get at any point in the day.

2. Beer- the smell of it, how it transforms people from normal to stupid in one pint flat, how it is such a huge part of the culture here.

3. The two hour commute to church- Woof.

I am so grateful for the experience of living in Europe, and getting to travel so much. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to broaden my horizons a little bit more, and learn so much. I hope that the next chapter in my life will continue to help me learn and grow, and that I can be an influence for good wherever I might be!