I need a plan...

Recently I have had all of these grand ideas and designs, but I lack the know how, the funds, and the direction that I need to begin. It is kind of frustrating not knowing what I want to do with my life. Or better yet, where to start. There is so much that I want to do and no where near enough time to do it all. How do I start? I just want to have a path, a direction to go. I want to do something that I love. Something that I look forward to doing every day. How do I decide? And once I decide how do I find the motivation and keep it propelling me forward? These are just some of the things on my mind lately. Take it for what it is worth.

Forever Friends

I was talking today with a guy I work with about his relationship with his girlfriend. We talked about how he felt like they didn't get the opportunity to be friends before they started seriously dating. As we talked I started thinking about all of the couples I know that have good relationships and I discovered that they all had one major thing in common... They are all married to their best friends. All day today I have been thinking about friends and the role that they have played in my life. No matter what time of my life I think about my friends are tied in there somewhere. My friends have played an intergral part of my life. They were there for the good times, they were there for the bad times, sometimes causing both. I have been blessed to have the friends that I have. Not all of them have stuck around in my life but they had an impact no matter how short they were part of it. I think it can be summed up by the lyrics to my favorite song from Wicked...

I've heard it said That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led To those who help us most to grow If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit As it passes a sun Like a stream that meets a boulder Halfway through the wood Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you I have been changed for good

It well may be That we will never meet again In this lifetime

So let me say before we part

So much of me Is made of what I learned from you

You'll be with me Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring By a wind off the sea Like a seed dropped by a skybird In a distant wood Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you I have been changed for good.

I just love that. I love my friends. They are amazing. And someday, I want to marry my best friend. And then we will be friends forever.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I totally geeked out when I met these two.

Sometimes I am an accident waiting to happen.

My cute Mommy and I.

This last week I got to go to Disneyland. It was the first time I had been there since I was 6 and it was AMAZING!!! I'm 26 and being there made me feel like I was six again. I was so excited that I was there and it showed. I bought me an autograph book and really enjoyed finding my favorite Disney characters. I geeked out when I found some of them. I am sure that there were people there who thought I was crazy as I screamed for Goofy and Chip and Dale. Mom, Ann, and I spent 3 days there and at California Adventure. My favorite ride out of all of it was Tower of Terror. Although while mom and I were waiting in line my hands were shaking and I thought I was going to die. It was such a good vacation. I loved being able to see my Uncle Lee. He is such a sweet man. I am convinced that Disneyland really is the happiest place on Earth. There is such a magical feeling there and no matter how old I get the inner child in me will continue to geek out when I meet my favorites or when I stand in line for my favorite ride.

Eight is Great.

This last weekend I was able to go and be a part of my nephews baptism. It seems like only yesterday I held him for the first time and now he is eight and it just blows me away how he is growing up. It was fun being able to be with my family. I love my family. They might be crazy, but they are mine and I wouldn't trade them for anything. We have so much fun together. I mean, look at how awesome we are. Aidan's baptism was awesome. He is becoming a fine young man. I love him lots and lots.

Memories: Long lost friends

It is amazing how something simple can trigger powerful memories. It can be something you see, smell, hear, taste, or touch and it produces memories. I have been gathering shirts and fabric for a t-shirt quilt for quite a while now. I was going through the t-shirts and was surprised by some of the things that I started to think about. One shirt, for instance, was my best friend's football shirt. It is completely worn out and fading, one of the many memories conjoured by that shirt was how he smelled. For a long time I didn't want to wash it because it smelled like him and that was a smell I loved.
Another thing I found was a pair of pants. I wore these pants everytime we did service while I was on my mission. I did a lot of painting in those pants and needless to say there is a lot of paint on them. Every paint color has a different story.
The thing I found that brought back the most memories was a shirt from my first year of college. My friend Christian was running for student body president and I was his campaign manager. I remember painting his signs and going to every dorm and apartment on campus handing out fliers. We were also out at midnight hanging up his signs and were up at six rehanging them because it had snowed and they were all falling down. It was so much fun, yet super crazy.

A Time of Thanksgiving

It is almost Thanksgiving and I love this time of the year. I have so much to be thankful for. I have a job I love, family and friends that I couldn't make it without, I am going to school majoring in a field that I am thrilled about, and I have all of you, My Ourstory Family. Each of you have touched my life through your stories and through the sharing of your life with me.
I am grateful that I have the opportunity to have all of you in my life.
I am grateful each day that I wake up, because that is one more day for me to see the beauty a loving Father in Heaven has given me.
I am grateful that my two best friends are my mom and my sister.
I am grateful for the knowledge I have about my Heavenly Father's love for me.
I am grateful for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, and the food that I eat.
I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving

Gone, but NEVER forgotten

Today is a day of tender memories. Six years ago our nation fell victim to a heinous crime. I was at Snow College, my mom called me at about 8:50 am and asked if I was watching the news. I told her no and she told me to go turn it on. I went to the lounge and turned on the tv just in time to see the second building fall. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How could this happen to a nation as great as ours. As the news spread the lounge filled up with people. People who lived in the dorm and people who didn't, who just wanted to be around friendly faces and loved ones.Classes were cancelled and everywhere we went it seemed there were teeming masses around a tv. Some friends and I decided that we were going to go into the neighboring town to the hospital and give blood. When we got there we were told that the only people who could take blood right then was the Red Cross. So trying to escape from the world around us we went to a small soda shop owned by our bishop. There we spent the day laughing and enjoying each other. In the back of my mind I kept wondering how life could go on and what would happen in they had to re-instate the draft. Would all of the young men I knew and loved be called into action?I wish that I could have stayed locked up in that place of peace and love. Coming home that evening I was greeted with another crisis. One of the girls in my dorm met me in tears. She told me that one of the other girls took a wholw bunch of pills and then took off and she needed help finding her. We gathered up as many as were willing to help and set off in search for her. We had alerted the authorities and were on the move. As we were crossing the campus we saw her walking and as we approached her she just crumpled. She received the help that she needed and we later found out the reason she did it. She had an uncle in the pentagon who was unaccounted for.