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List of Happiness

Who doesn't need a little more happiness in their life right?! I decided to make a list of the little things that make my day better!! 

1. Make your bed (seethisgirlrun, swears by it
2. Exercise
3. Shower (seriously this will make your day better!)
4. Look in the mirror and tell yourself that you are worth it and pretty good looking!
5. Say Hello to an old friend
6. Write your feelings down (journal, blog, etc.) 
7. Give a compliment
8. Greet those you pass on your walk to class or work
9. Look for the beauty around you (Rain or Shine there is something beautiful)
10. Count your blessings
11. Say a Prayer (Remember Whose you are!) 
12. Eat a healthy meal
13. Unplug and take a power nap (even twenty minutes makes such a difference)
14. Avoid junk food and soda (honestly choosing fruit over a candy bar will make you feel much better)
15. Take time for a hobby (knitting, reading, biking, painting, singing, you get the point...)
16. Spend time with loved ones and just be with them! 
17. Look for a way to secretly serve those around you (clean the bathroom, leave a sweet note, wipe the snow of someones car..) 
18. Make someone laugh.  I love just saying something silly to lighten the mood
19. Clean up after yourself (I always feel better the next day knowing I'm not waking up to the mess from dinner last night)
20. Give to yourself (maybe twenty minutes of uninterrupted pinteresting?, a froyo, mani/pedi.  Seriously everyone deserves something!)

What makes your day Happier?! 

Moving

Moving! I still can't believe it... This year has possibly been the most life changing year of my life and for a thousand different reasons, some BIG and some small but for the most part I've felt the need to be patient and wait! I've been trying so hard to move forward with my life, move toward some worthy goal and I kept feeling that I need to just wait.  So I did, I took a job in Logan for the summer instead of one out of town and after three months I decided to quit and take some time for myself.  The week I thought I was taking turned into a month, which for me was incredibly liberating.  I haven't taken a month off of work since I was sixteen, except for the eighteen months that I chose to do a different type of work (It was a lot more enjoyable)! And now after eight months of waiting ha and learning patience it is finally time to start moving.

I won't lie it is with some reluctance.  I finally accepted that maybe all these silly plans I had for myself weren't really what I was suppose to be doing and that I needed to accept my unchanging life. But ya know what? It feels right.  It feels like it is time I make some changes for myself.  I hope that I'm being put in a place that I can learn better how to help others and give of myself.  Can I just say? That is when I'm most happy, when I'm doing something for others, oh and when I'm shopping.. Ha! But I love serving others in any capacity. So on ward and upward.

I guess you will all want to know how exactly I am moving in my life.... Well I was just offered a job in Salt Lake working as a Child Development Specialist.  It is probably the coolest job in the world. I basically go into a lot of different homes to work with families that have a child 0-3 with some type of developmental delay.  I don't know if I could pick a better job for me, I get to work with families and babies!! I can't even wait to start! (clearly I learned how to wait...)  I know there will be a lot of learning going on, especially because I feel so young ha and have never had a family of my own.  But I'm so EXCITED!! And to actually have a job in my degree (Yeah family studies and human development doesn't usually turn out that well).

I will hopefully be keeping up my blog more! It is definitely a goal of mine :) I have some pretty funny things that I've decided that need to be shared with the world.

Here are some pictures from my most lovely summer:

Dating Advice

Yep I'm writing about dating... I probably could have a whole blog about the awkward, hilarious moments in the life of a girl that is trying to find love. But I guess I want to keep some of my life personal...  A few weeks ago I was participating in a dating class as a kind of demonstration for one of the classes for my degree. I've never once thought about taking a dating class.  Not that I wouldn't take one, it is just that it has never occurred to me that there is such a class.  Most people I know just date and get married with no education needed.  I guess for those of us, who dating doesn't come so easy to, they have dating classes. HA! This one is taught in the community for anyone to take, but particularly for those in the dating years.  I am only taking a portion of the class but I would recommend it if you are wanting some advice on how not to date a jerk, that is actually the title of the class "How to avoid Dating a Jerk or Jerk-ette."  There is more info about the class here. ANYWHO!! I wanted to share some of my new found knowledge to all of yall that are looking for a little help in this stage of your life.

The best dating advice that I heard was to first figure out who you are! The best time to seek out a committed relationship is when you feel that you don't need one, when you aren't seeking someone to fill any unmet needs.  The truth is we aren't meant to be alone and we all have that innate need to be loved. We all come with pasts and weaknesses. But it is harder to foster a healthy relationship when needs that should be met aren't and then we seek them from someone else. We need to first love ourselves before we can love another, especially that deep love that all of us look for. If we can cope with life challenges on our own how great will it be when we can share them with someone else.  My challenge then to you, is to find ways to love yourself today.  Whether that be cooking yourself a lovely dinner, renting a movie you've been dying to see, a little retail therapy, reading a book, taking a walk in the park

, or just taking ten minutes to stop and think about the great things you've done today!

What is some good dating advice that you've received?!

hermanas {part 1}

I know so many sweet sweet girls that already have their calls or are putting in their papers to serve a mission  and I am absolutely so so so EXCITED for them.  I wouldn't change those eighteen months of my life for anything and because I absolutely loved my mission and will take up any chance I can get to gush about my mission I'll take it.  This post is dedicated to the things I wish I knew before I left.

• Read and KNOW Preach My Gospel!! Every mission is a Preach my Gospel mission and you will be such a wonderful missionary if you are already, at least familiar with the book!   If you are worried about not knowing your scriptures or the lessons I would suggest looking up the scriptures in the boxes under each section of a lesson.  Those made all the difference for me, I tabbed my scriptures and by the end I was so grateful that when I needed a scripture on the three kingdoms of glory I could know exactly where it was. 
• The month or so leading up to when you leave I would suggest starting to live the mission life... integrate more spiritual music into your ipod, try and get to bed earlier and wake up earlier.  Especially for those of you coming from apartments with cute roommates that gab (ha this is totally me) ten thirty seems incredibly early.  Make time in this last month before you leave to visit friends and family.
• Depending where you serve I would say some clothing must haves are cardigans and scarfs.  You can dress up any skirt with a cute cardi and a floral scarf!  And currently sisters and can wear pretty much anything.  It kind of ages me but when I got my call we still had to wear skirts that were plain colors mid calf or longer... do you know how hard those are to find?!  But thankfully all you beautiful sisters can wear patterns galore and the cutest skirts.  
• If you serve where it is cold I would invest in warm cute coats.  I served in Western New York and for a big chunk of my mission all I did was wear a coat.  It was too cold to really worry about what was worn underneath.  So I was grateful to have a cute coat! 
• SHOES: hmmm...  I wish someone told me that it was okay to bring a lot of cute flats... Some of the shoes I ended up wearing the most were flats from H&M (cheap and cute) and some a sister gave me from Target.  We definitely did our tracking but for the most part we didn't need heavy clunky scary looking shoes.



here I am with her at the Hill Cumorah Pageant
Love you Hermana Garcia

• CONFESSION!! I had some pretty stylish companions especially my baby!! She is from San Diego and seriously a babe! I trained her my last two transfers (well she came trained...) and I was so frumpy by the end that she was definitely  a princess to my plain jane style.  She knew how to be modest and cute with bright blue skirts, cute belts, my favorite flats from FOREVER21, and cute cute scarfs.  Anyways I learned a lot about style from her. Love that sister!! 

Changes

Oh goodness.  I've been gone for a bit... A good eight months... Well I'm back! I'm trying to be better at this whole blogging thing not because I'm good at it but because I feel that it is some sort of journal and a healthy way to put my feelings out there.  Also one of my bestest friends, Alyssa, started a new blog and I realized that I haven't posted for ages.

Well all I can say is that life in all its ups and downs is beautiful.  I can't believe how incredible it all is.  I was just driving to school this morning and started giggling, I couldn't help but smile at the beautiful world we live in. The last few months have been trying ones for sure but ya know what? Everything ALWAYS works out. Thankfully we don't even have to go through it alone, I'm so grateful for friends and family that have helped me go through some odd transitions in my life that were very unexpected.  I am most grateful though, for my Father in Heaven.  He has blessed me with extra goodness lately! I was thinking how great the works of our God are! How magnificent is He who created us?! This is why I have been able to feel so happy the past few months even with a broken heart and uncertainty about my life in the next few months.  

So guess what?! I'm 24 yep the big two four! Weird.  I secretly love it and any chance I get I find myself saying, 'yeah well I'm 24...' What a great age to graduate from college and to start on my many adventures.  Having said that though,  my life is full of adventures, NOW!! Such a fun life.  My advice of the day is to look for opportunities to just exclaim how much you love life.  Try it right now.  No matter where you are, whisper it, shout it, sing it; I LOVE LIFE!! I promise you will feel better.  Well anyways I'm back and am committing to be a more faithful writer. 

P.S.  I got a new, beautiful camera for Christmas so hopefully I will be able to share in my learning how to use such a incredible piece of technology.  Look how happy I look!!! 

SUMMER

Okay yes this post will include a lot of pictures, it is just that I've been seriously running around and playing this summer so much that I haven't blogged.  And... today a friend pointed out that I hadn't blogged in a while so here is my life in pictures from June on.

First was the big trip to PUERTO RICO!!! OH man it seriously was paradise.  I met some pretty incredible people and saw so many wonderful places.  The food was to die for and every where we went was gorgeous.  My beautiful puerto rica sister, Laura, showed me around with her lovely fiance.  Oh they were just the best hosts. To finish off my trip was their wedding.  Does't she look beautiful?! 

                                                                                   I helped at a girls camp called LTC, it is for 17 and 18 year olds. The theme of the camp was 'look to Christ.'  It was such a blast and we got to meet Torah Bright an olympic gold medalist. This is our moment of fame with her. Aren't my girls cute?! 

                                                                                                                          I went golfing for the first time with my brother and mom.  It was such a blast.  I think I might take it up, I was pretty good... I've been trying to fit in as much reading as I can which is what summer is all about right?!

 okay and lastly this weekend we went to WICKED!!! Oh my goodness it was incredible.  Seriously more epic than I thought it would be.  I went with all these lovely ladies and we had a wonderful night with a little P.F. Changs and dressing up.  Thankfully one more month of summer, hopefully I can squeeze all the splendidness of summer out of it as I can.

 The gorgeous ceiling of the Capitol Theater