Diversity

Today is March 31st, the last day of the month. Where has the time gone? Seriously, though. How is tomorrow already April 1st––the fourth month into the year. I mean, next month (May) is my birthday. That’s nuts.

Once I was done with work today, I was walking to pick up my graded sources paper, when I ran into Olivia (my sister). Naturally, as I was trekking across campus to get to the JKB, I was all business. I was walking quickly, looking at the ground, and then up at the occasional tree when all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, someone walks up to me very closely and begins to follow me. I was a little bit creeped out, but looked up to see who it was. It was, in fact, my silly sister. She said she had also finished working for the week and was asking where I was going. I said I needed to pick up my paper, and so we went over together.

Walking home with Olivia was a nice change. We don’t sit down and just talk about things in general that often. So spending the fifteen minute walk home with her was refreshing. Olivia is a superb sister. While we don’t have all of the same interests, I am grateful that we are so different from each other. She has such different ideas than myself, so she helps me understand things in a different light––something that I treasure deeply. In fact, all of my siblings are very different from myself. But from our diversity, we learn in ways that we never could if we were all the same. Our different methods for doing things helps us all to appreciate the unique qualities of the individual. I can’t express how much I love my family. We are all different, but are all perfectly compatible.

Trusty Old Clock

In my family’s study, there is a clock. This clock has been, quite literally, hanging around four the past twenty years or more. It has been a sturdy, long-lasting old soul. That is, until about this last week. It gave up the ghost. The once trusty old clock has become a senile old clock. The weird part is that the pendulum keeps swinging, but the hands won’t move. The time has been stuck at 6:45 for the past week. I thought this was the end of old clock-y…until I noticed it just needed new batteries.

There are three types of people in the world: the poopers, the pointers, and the scoopers. Meaning, that there is the one who makes the mess, one who complains about it, and then the one who takes action solve the problem. All week, our family has been in “the pointers” category. Any time someone looked up to the clock to see what time it was, but then realized that it wasn’t working, they would complain. All week we acted this way. But on Saturday, we took action: we put double A batteries on the grocery shopping list.

Finally, we were able to put new batteries in, and the old clock had become trusty once again. But now the pendulum keeps hitting the side and making a “thunk” sound every second, literally. But I don’t want to fix it––I’m too lazy. I’ll just stick to being a pointer for now.

Philosophical Questions

Last night I decided think on a philosophical level. I posed multiple questions to myself, with the first one being: if the world is round, how does a leveler work? Deep, I know. But really, what is the science behind a leveler being level if we live on a round earth? I would like someone to explain it to me. Also, if you were to put something into a time capsule fifteen years ago, what would you put in? How do you even decide what would be important enough to put into a time capsule? And why do we value really old things or really new things? Why don’t we find the things in-between old and new to be fascinating enough? And why do we get bored? How is that a thing? What determines whether or not we decide ourselves to be feeling bored? Also, since no one on earth can completely comprehend and understand everything that exists, how can we be comfortable being so ignorant? When was it we passed the specific point from wanting to know, understand, discover, and invent everything to being content at not knowing everything? Or are we not content? And why does human hair absorb so much water? Isn’t that a counterproductive evolutionary trait? What good does absorptive hair do for us? I guess it can clean up the oil spills, but what else?

Sometimes I find myself confusing myself…

Why Sleep?

Why is sleep a thing? Why do our bodies get tired and need to rest for hours? Maybe we are meant to sleep so we can dream and think up things that are outside of our reality. Perhaps that type of creativity is crucial to our well-being. I think that a lot of inspiration can come from dreaming. And dreaming helps us escape our lives and create another world. Somewhere for us to escape to.

Or maybe we sleep so we can remember to say our prayers more often? Maybe sleep is just one way for us to better remember Christ.

…

Well, I just fell asleep while writing this post. How kairotic and ironic.

The idea that we rest, rejuvenate ourselves, and then keep going is really nice, though. We have a fresh start each day. I think it goes along well with the idea that when we repent, we have a chance to forget the sin and move on. I also think that if we were to never sleep, it would be harder to understand that we can restart, if we never actually had an instance of “restarting.” I’m not really sure, but maybe that is one reason we were created to sleep.

Spiritually Fed

I love the rain quite a lot. I love how vibrantly green everything becomes outside. The timing of the rain is also remarkable. I mean, not this last Saturday, but the one before, I was outside doing some yard work and noticed how dead our lawn was. I was feeling discouraged about it because our sprinkler system is down since we are trying to remodel our yards. And our water is also still turned off outside, so I felt hopeless in trying to help our yard come back to life. Having this rain pour down all week has been such a blessing. 

I am constantly amazed how the plants thrive from the rain that comes from the sky. God created the plants on the Earth so they don’t have to solely rely upon us mortals to take care of them. If that was the case, we would barely have any plants. Instead, God takes care of his creations consistently. While some plants only need water a few times a month, or even a few times a year, they need the water regardless. It’s interesting to compare our situation on the Earth with the plants. Nothing can thrive on this Earth without the consistent help from God. Just for us, we need to look for Him to be spiritually fed every day. Just like when Moses and the children of Israel were in the Wilderness and were fed by God with Manna every day, we need to be spiritually fed each day. This can be through daily scripture study and prayers. We can’t expect to thrive in our environment and go places by only looking to God a few times a year. God is always present, so we should be too.

Happier Times

Sometimes all I can think about is how badly I wish things could be back to the way they used to be. Just far back enough to have everyone from our family back here on earth. That would be great if time would simply reverse and I could be with my whole family again. But that is an unrealistic hope for this life. As I have mentioned before: I am grateful that time keeps moving forward. While I still have those days where I miss the “happier" parts of my life that included having my whole family together, I know that God has designed things for everyone to help us reach our highest potential. For some, reaching their highest potential includes having their whole family on earth, together, throughout their mortal life. For others, it is a different story. But the motives behind such events is the same: to help us become more like Christ and be the best we are capable of being.

Thinking back on what I have learned over the years, and who I have become today, I honestly don’t know who I would be if I didn’t experience the joys a pains I have felt so far. I seriously can’t comprehend it. At times, it can be extremely difficult to try and align my will with God’s, but I just need to have the faith that He is all-knowing and has marvelous things in store for me to do. I wonder why it is so hard, though. Why did God create us to be able to think for ourselves? Why give us agency? Especially when we, at times, think that we know better than God? Why create rebellious children who develop their own logic––logic that carries a high chance of denying Him? I believe that God created us this way in order to let us discover the truths of the Gospel for ourselves and become truly converted to Him. Understanding this reasoning, and then thinking about the amount of faith God has in us is astounding. So the least we can do is have faith in Him.

Kickstarter

So, today I decided to do something out of the blue: I decided to back a project on Kickstarter.

Sitting at the kitchen bar tonight, I thought I would go see what Kickstarter had to offer. I was browsing around, until I came upon a project titled: Eat Offbeat: The Cookbook. I was intrigued, so naturally I watched the video. It turns out that a few refugees, from all over the world, decided to make a cookbook of their families’ greatest recipes. These chefs, who were only home cooks back in their home country, came to New York and were professionally trained to work as real, restaurant chefs. Then they decided to make a cookbook with a lot of their recipes—recipes that have been handed down in their families for generations and that haven’t been written down. I honestly cannot tell you how excited I am to get this cookbook. I have been wanting to have my own, real cookbook for forever (since the only cookbook that I had ever purchased before was when I was eight and it was a Disney child’s cookbook––naturally it didn’t offer that much). The only downside is that I will receive the recipe book next year. But I guess that is the norm with all of the Kickstarter projects: to take a while to fulfill the promises made to the backers. Nonetheless, I can’t wait until March 2018.

The Good Times

For my Book of Mormon oral midterm, my group talked about how easy it was for the Nephites to go from prospering in the land, to becoming prideful and ultimately forgetting God. It’s an interesting trend in the Book of Mormon: the people go from experiencing some of the hardest, most humbling trials, and coming closer to God, to doing well in a worldly sense and ignoring God: the one who blessed them. The funny thing is that I would smirk at them, thinking, “they are ridiculous. Why can’t they just be grateful and always remember God?” However, I am a hypocrite for thinking that.

There have been countless times in my life where God has blessed me so generously, but I never fully thanked Him. I would get caught up in the moment and think that since things are going well, there is no need to call upon God. But that is a huge mistake. God isn’t only there for the hard times, He wants to be there with you to celebrate the big accomplishments along with the little victories. He is the one who has given you your understanding of happiness and joy, so why wouldn’t He be there during the happier times too?

Christ is happiness, joy, and love. It’s sometimes easier to find Him when things get hard, because His genuine desire for our happiness and well being is what helps get us out of those depressing times. He is the solution. I guess it’s just easier to recognize His goodness when it’s juxtaposed with all of the agonizing life events. But we shouldn’t forget that He is also the one who celebrates our accomplishments with us––both the big and little accomplishments. I can’t express how grateful I am to have a loving, caring God watching over me. One who understands my pains and helps me work through my feelings, but also one who understands my joy and rejoices with me. I just hope that I will be better at remembering where my blessings came from, and thank Him for being with me in the good times too.

Ramblings III

Hi there. I don’t know what to say, so this will be a rambling post…

March is nearly over. I can’t believe how fast time flies by. My school work load is pretty average at this point in the semester. The rain is great. Smelling the fresh air is a wonderful blessing. There is some construction going on today down the street. The sidewalk is blocked off, so I have to walk to school on the other side of the street. I don’t think I could ever be a good construction worker. I’m not skilled in that type of craft. I just respect any one who chooses to be a construction worker. Really though.

Well…this is dragging on. I still can’t think of anything that great to share. All I am doing is writing whatever pops into my head. For example, I just randomly thought of Brick Oven. I don’t know why, but I did. As a child, my family and I used to get pizza there every Friday night when Mom and Dad would go our for their date night. Apparently it was a big deal for my older sisters to sign for the pizza from the delivery man. They recently told me how nervous they would get opening the door, making small talk, signing the receipt, and taking the pizza. I can’t blame them though. I stress out too easily whenever I talk to people. So I normally don't say that much…

Any who, that is all.

Motherhood

I feel no shame in wanting to be a mother some day. Many look down upon the idea, but they should really respect the women who choose that path. Living in the world today, it is so easy to be concerned about your own wants and needs, and not look beyond yourself. Worldly matters can seem more important than anything else at times. However, I am not saying that I disrespect the women who choose not to have children, I just feel they are missing out on a precious opportunity.

When you think about it, Heavenly Father has given women this amazing gift to create other humans and bring them into their mortal experience. These spirits, who were just residing with Heavenly Father, are put into your care. You are trusted enough to take care of one of Heavenly Father’s beloved children. I don’t know about you, but being given that much trust and respect from Heavenly Father makes me beam with joy, but also humbles me. So many times I have planned out my future to be just a career with only me and my future husband. It makes sense to plan for easier things, but that leaves behind so much undiscovered happiness––depths of love you won’t be able to reach.

For the women who try to have children but cannot: they can still partake in the blessings of having children. Whether they adopt children here on earth, or wait until the next life, Heavenly Father has meticulously planned things out for them so they can experience the joy that comes from parenting.

I am grateful for the blessing it is to be a woman, and I hope that some day I will be trusted enough to raise children of my own.

Time

I cannot tell you how many times I have wished to have the power to pause time. There have been so many instances where I have had a huge list of things I needed to get done, but barely had any time to do it. Or, I would forget to do something important, or I would be too tired to finish a big project, or I would be just a few minutes late to something…the list could go on forever. I’m sure we have all felt the desire to halt time and do things we needed, or wanted to do. But thank goodness we can’t. I say this because if I could actually pause time, I doubt I would do all of the things that would need doing. Or I could see myself pausing time for so long to do useless tasks that ultimately are not worth it. I feel like I would become easily exhausted doing things during the paused time that I wouldn’t want to keep going when time would start back up again. I believe that there are more disadvantages than advantages to having the power to pause time. I am grateful that God designed things to be this way, because I believe that we only progress by constantly moving forward. Life is to be lived in the moment, and is not to be stopped to try and complete frivolous tasks that ultimately have no purpose in the eternities. I rejoice in the fact that time keeps going, that I keep living life, and that God is there to help fix any problems that time won’t stop for.

Pure

Today was my Grandma White’s 86th birthday! She is about as close as you can get to feeling the pure love of Christ on this earth from another mortal. I simply know that when Heavenly Father sent her forth to serve her mission here on earth, He had miraculous plans laid out for her. While the plans may not have been to be a successful, famous, known-to-the-world individual, He sent her forth to to be a shining example of his love, grace, humility, and to ultimately bring others to Christ through her good works.

I cannot express how grateful I am to have her as my grandma. Any time I go to visit her, she is never caught up in the worldly matters, but it is as if she has a second sight: sight to see the bigger picture––to see the eternities. Never will she share a negative, pessimistic thought, opinion, or judgement. She only ever points out the prevalent, but sometimes hard for us to see, truth and light. We all need someone like Grandma White, I believe. They are the individuals who help keep you going down the right path that ultimately leads you back home.

Keep Going

Today I briefly visited my breaking point. I froze with fear, anxiety, despair, and grief. I felt that God had forgotten who I was, and how much I could handle. All I knew to do was cry, wish I was living an easier life, and want to erase my memory, my responsibilities, my purpose––I was done with it all. I didn’t want to be fatherless any longer. I didn’t want to be working two jobs. I didn’t want to carry the responsibility of being my mother’s caretaker. I didn’t want to have to go to school. I didn't want to have to worry about finances. I didn’t want to have to worry about my social life, or lack thereof. I didn’t want to live the life I was living any more. I just didn’t want it.

But that is where I completely missed the mark.

God didn’t give me an easy life because smooth sailing makes for an inexperienced sailor. All my life I have constantly been praying to want to develop Christ-like qualities. But ultimately, I have shut out anything that would help me do just that. I have wanted to develop compassion like my mother and integrity like my father, but I have failed to notice how to get there: to experience life for what it is. I have come to realize that God has not only been answering my prayers, but making something greater out of me than what I can comprehend––something greater than what I could ever hope to pray for. All I need to do is let God guide my ship, and be thankful that someone who knows the seas––who actually created them––is steering my life to be the best darn thing I could ever hope for.

I’ve shed my tears, so now it’s time to keep going.

Unique

Thinking about the individual is mind-blowing. It’s interesting to think that while you grow up in the same conditions as your siblings, you are all completely different from each other. How does that happen? Why do we develop our own likes and interests? How can we be unique in a world with over 7 billion people on the earth?

Many of us develop similar interests, but no one has the exact same everything. Even thinking about school, no one has the exact same schedule as me. How does that happen? Why do we develop our own interests––how is it possible to develop into a unique individual?

The even crazier thing is that God knows everyone. He remembers everything that is unique to each of us. He really does know us better than we know ourselves. And it’s amazing that He didn’t make it easier for himself by creating a few traits to apply to everyone. Rather, He created us to all differ and be 100% original. I truly appreciate that fact: that He lets us be our own person. That He doesn’t limit us by who we can be just to make things simpler for himself. And I even more appreciate the fact that He puts in the effort to have a personal, one-on-one relationship with each of us. It’s truly amazing.

Good Reads

Yesterday my family and I all went over to Barnes and Noble. Originally, I was just planning to go over with Matisse quickly to get a book I was interested in reading, but everyone decided to come along––which I do not mind at all. The book I wanted to get is “The Knowledge Illusion,” written by Steven Sloman and Phil Fernbach. It is a psychology-type book that talks about how we individually cannot know everything and are not always as smart as we think we are. Instead, the majority of our knowledge comes from society as a whole; we all collaborate together and share our knowledge on the few subjects we are experts in. I just started reading it today and I have found it really quite fascinating.

However, while I was at the book store, I saw another book titled “Subliminal,” written by Leonard Moldinow. Along with the title, it reads, “how your unconscious mind rules your behavior.” I also thought this would be a riveting read, so I decided to get it too. I haven’t started reading it yet, but I think I might just need to. It looks so good, that I just can’t resist not reading it right now. Here’s to reading over the weekend!

Pink Petunias

Planting the pink petunias in Spring with Dad was one of my favorite things to do. It was always a wonderful surprise to have Mom and Dad show up at home after one of their date nights or after grocery shopping with the pink beauties. It always signified to me that I could spend some quality time with my family, but more especially, with Dad. And this time was not only time spent together, but time that brought beauty to our home and appreciation for the changing seasons and all that God has created for us.

Every year, we would re-plant the flowers. And every year they would begin small, but grow into these glorious pink bushes that would attract all of the butterflies and bees. Watching the flowers become something so beautiful and established would constantly remind me of God’s handiwork. Paraphrasing what President Eyring said, God’s creations are like little love notes. God didn’t have to create a beautiful Earth for us, but He chose to just so we could always remember His goodness and have a daily renewal of hope––hope that something about this life we are living is marvelous. God is so good, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

Arrived

Today Lex and Aaron arrived! It is seriously the best thing to have them back. Now Sunday dinner will have nine people, instead of seven. I love it when the whole table is crowded with everyone, and we all simply talk about whatever is on our minds. Honestly, Sunday is the day I look forward to every week. And now that Lex and Aaron are back, Sunday is even better.

I am seriously amazed that they made the long 2,300 mild rive from Boston with both of their cats in the car. I mean, who can live to tell that tale? When Lex and Aaron arrived home, they brought their kitties in the house and let them loose for a little bit. I could just tell that they were so grateful to get out of that ity-bity cat carrier. It was exciting to have some cats back home ever since Cato had to be put down. Didot ran upstairs and hid behind my bed next to the window to have some peace and quite, and took a nap. Felix was lumbering around the house trying to find her, so I can’t blame her for wanting to get away for a little bit.

All in all, I am very excited that Lex and Aaron––and their kitties––are back.

Balloons

Oh boy, this morning Matisse took me over to campus early in order to decorate Mark’s office (her old Russian professor and dear friend). Yesterday we went over to Zurchers to get some balloons, confetti, and streamers. She had planned to put some of the confetti in the clear balloons, blow them up, and fill his office with them along with some other solid colored balloons. She also wanted to put streamers everywhere.

So, we went over this morning to his office, but since we didn’t have a key, we had to ask the secretary to open his office for us. However, the secretary said it was necessary that she had to stay with us and couldn’t leave us alone in his office. So, we put her to work to help us blow up the balloons by mouth. Surprisingly, I didn’t get that light headed.

We sat there for about 20 minutes decorating his office and blowing up balloons. Matisse was texting his wife to make sure he wouldn’t be going to his office around the time we would be there, so we felt confident we would get away with it. However, after blowing up a million balloons, I glanced down the hall and spotted him! I told Matisse, and we booked it out of there. He most likely saw us, but we abandoned everything, closed the door, and ran down the hall around a corner. We waited a few seconds and heard him open his office door. He was amazed and kind of embarrassed. All of the other Russian professors were there and were celebrating, and laughing with him. It was a sight to see. After a couple of minutes, we went to go say “hi” and wish him a happy birthday. It was a shame we didn’t get away in time, but I think it was still a successful surprise.

Life Lately

I don’t have a lot to say today.

Lex and Aaron have been driving for the past little while. They are supposed to be here by Wednesday. I don’t know how they do it driving with two cats all the way across the country. They have to travel 2,300 miles in an old (and not particularly reliable) PT cruiser. However, they have made it this far (to Nebraska so far), so I think they should be safe in making the rest of the trip.

Tonight I made some cupcakes for Matisse’s old Russian professor’s birthday tomorrow. However, they didn’t work because I forgot about them in the oven (since I was distracted by dancing to the La La Land soundtrack with Chris and Mati) and they got a bit crispy. Pook. The recipe looked promising; I just wish they would have worked. Oh well.

Well…I have been doing a lot of cleaning around the house. I spent about two hours cleaning up the kitchen after last night’s dinner. I love making Sunday dinner for everyone, but I should think about not using so many pans next time. However, dinner was delicious, so I think it was well worth it.

Procrastination

I am feeling stress right now. Probably just because I am tired right now, but I do feel intimidated by everything I need to do. For some reason whenever I am tired, I get grumpy and/or stressed. (Especially if I fall asleep on the study couch, or something, and someone tries to wake me up from my slumber.) My problem is that a lot of the time I procrastinate a lot of my homework assignments until late at night. Not all of them, but usually most of them, especially since I have had a lot of things going on lately. Whenever I do my homework later at night, and if I do it too late, I become a “Negative Nelly.” Or as Matisse describes my nighttime transformation: I turn into my form of Mr. Hyde. I honestly can’t disagree with that. I really can become grumpy and have a give-up attitude on the homework I would be working on, or become grumpy and not want to wake up. At all.

My dilemma right now is that I still have things I need to finish for tomorrow, but it is so late and I need to get up early to give Mom her antibiotics. Oy. At least I took a nap today…

Cats and Cars

So, long story:

Alexis and Aaron began to drive back home today. They had this awesome road trip planned out to go touring though a lot of states. It was an awesome plan. Before the road trip, they drove over to the airport to put Felix and Didot on a plane to Salt Lake City Airport (since road tripping with two cats in a PT Cruiser would be heck). They dropped them off at 4:45 am, and then finished getting ready for the trip ahead. After a few hours, the airport called and said there was a “weight imbalance” on the plane and that they would not take the cats. What?! They decided to reschedule the plane trip to 2:00 pm, but by the time the plane would reach the SLC airport, the animal division at the airport would be closed. And they are also closed on Sunday, so Lex and Aaron would have to wait until Monday to put their cats on a plane. That wasn’t worth it. So, Lex and Aaron decided to road trip with their cats across the country.

Lex and Aaron had to cut out a few trips along the way, since the cats wouldn’t want to stay in the car that long. Their goal for today would be to make it to Niagra Falls, a seven hour drive. Dang. They also left pretty late in the day, so they will arrive at 2:00 am. Hopefully all is going well.

Lemons

Lemons are my favorite. Lemon flavored anything is my top choice in food, too. I absolutely love lemon bars, lemon drops, lemon cookies, lemonade, lemon pasta and lemon anything!

At first, I didn’t really like lemons that much. When Matisse would make her lemon bars, I thought they were disgusting––this citrus, gooey, seemingly under baked “dessert” did not seem worthy to be a dessert. However, one day I actually decided to try it with an open mind, and I loved it! Ever since then, lemon flavored anything has been my favorite.

My all-time favorite dessert now is lemon bars, too. Tonight I decided to make some lemon cookies instead, since I had a sweet tooth. Naturally, I searched on Pinterest for a highly rated recipe (because any bad lemon dessert recipe could go South quickly). I eventually found these delicious-looking, highly rated, simple lemon cookies. Since I spent the evening with my Mom, I decided to try and make them. And oh my goodness, I am so glad that I did. These are some of the best cookies I have ever made. They are so light and fluffy, yet dense and rich. The lemon flavoring is perfectly balanced, I couldn’t have been more pleased. This is one recipe to save for the future.

Cato

Today I have been missing my cat like crazy. She had to be put down on Valentine’s Day last year because she had a tumor in her stomach which was causing her terrible amounts of pain.

She went through a lot of names at first, but Cato eventually stuck. She went thought having the names Kitty and Eclipse. However, she always had her nicknames Cato baby, snookie pie, snuggle muffin, sweetie, snookums, putty, pusser, and so many more. I couldn't get enough of her. She was the most calm, gentle, loving cat you could ever have. She had three litters of kittens before we got her fixed––our bad. But I am so glad we decided to keep her after adopting out the kittens. Mother cats are always so gentle, patient, and loving. Cato would love it whenever we would rub her tummy. At least once a week we would hold these “snuggle sessions” where we would bring her inside––she was an outside cat––and pour out our love for her. We would flop her on her back and give her tummy rubs (which she loved), play with her, scratch her chin until she drooled, kiss her, and just indulge in all of the kitty goodness for about an hour.

We had Cato for about 10 years. She appeared on our doorstep one day and we gave her a spoon of butter. Then she kept coming back every day. Then she decided to have a litter of kittens in our window well on Mother’s Day. That was an awesome day. My little child heart couldn’t handle all of the cuteness and love. Before we had Cato, we hadn’t had a cat for years since Mom is terribly allergic. So going from wishing and begging for a cat to having one randomly appear and have kittens just about killed me with happiness.

The day we had to put her down was one of the worst days of my life. I held her in my lap at the vet. She was whimpering from the pain felt in her stomach. I couldn’t handle to see her suffer. After seeing Dad an Spencer suffer from the pain they went through, I couldn’t handle it. The vet came into the room after giving us some time alone, and then she injected Cato with the shot that would gently put her to sleep. It was truly heartbreaking to hold Cato in her last moments on this earth. Watching as her little head drooped onto my lap is still so present in my memory. I love that cat, and I always will. I just hope I will be able to meet her, and Dad, and Spencer when I go to heaven. That will be the best reunion ever.

National Women's Day

Today has been a day of cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry. Once I got home, I just started to clean. Sometimes all I need to do to relieve my stressed mind is to clean, cook, or do laundry. It simply numbs my nerves. I also administered antibiotics to Mom as according to the schedule. I also made Mom some lunch and dinner. She said she really liked what I made, so that made me feel happy that I could make something yummy. At the hospital, some of their food was bland, so she didn’t really like it. I’m just glad I am helpful to Mom now that she is back home.

Today was also National Women’s Day! Apparently this holiday is really big in Russia, so in my Russian class my teacher gave flowers and candies to all of the girls. It honestly made my day. I felt pretty special carrying around a flower all day, too. I am grateful for all of the amazing women in my life. Just as I was texting my visiting teacher, the mom in my ward I help every week, my sisters, and my mom I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. They are all such good people. I thank God everyday that they are in my life.

Medicine

Tonight Chris got accepted to the advertising program!!! I am so excited for him! He has been waiting for this day for quite a while, so it has been such a relief and a joy. To celebrate, Chris, Olivia, Britny (our cousin) and I all went to Yogurtland. I haven’t been to Yogurtland in quite a while, so this was a nice time go back. Gosh, I am just so happy and excited for Chris. I know he will do an amazing job.

It was nice because today I got a nap in. Since Mom has been back from the hospital, they have her taking two antibiotics everyday. I am the “certified nursing assistant” at home, so I administer the antibiotics to Mom. The first one has to be given every twelve hours and it takes 3-5 minutes of sitting there and slowly injecting it. The other one needs to be given every eight hours, and it takes an hour to administer it. So, I give them to her at 7:00am, 7:15am, 3:15pm, 7:15pm, and 11:15pm. It’s hard because the ones given at 7:15am, 3:15pm, and 11:15pm take an hour. This means that I give her the one at 11:15pm, have to wait until 12:15am to end it, but then have to giver her her next one at 7:00am (a.k.a. I am always really tired now). I am always happy to help Mom, but this will be a bit tricky around finals week with me being tired and all. But hey, she is doing well, and I am okay, so things will work out.

Ramblings II

I don’t know what to talk about. So I am just going to ramble. Ramble ramble ramble.

Today’s weather was chilly. The snow just came out of nowhere. Sunday’s wind was especially crazy. Everything on our back porch flew off and went down with large bangs. It was quite frightening. But the forecast looks promising. However, my brother told me there is probably going to be even more snow. I am really happy we are able to have a record-breaking amount of snow this year, but I am ready for spring. I am ready to break out the short sleeves, shorts, eat dinner outside, go on evening bike rides, watch movies in the yard, go camping and do so many other things. However, I am not looking forward to Daylight Savings. That is this Sunday. Yuck.

So…school is going well. Russian is really challenging still, but it’s fun. So far, I think I’ve enjoyed my Biology class from last semester the most. Something about that class just felt right. I honestly don’t know if I want to major in Biology, but I have enjoyed it all of the different times I have taken it. We will just have to see what the future holds.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Happy 30th birthday Spencer! I can’t believe it’s been nearly five years since you left us. While I can’t say I had the closest relationship with you––since there is an 11 year difference between us––I miss you like crazy.

I remember when you were sick and were given six months to live; that was the time we began to grow closer. I used to come in and read some of my favorite children’s chapter books to you. I apologize for my young taste in literature (with me being 14 and all). But thank you for bearing through it with me. Sharing those peaceful moments with you in your bedroom reading my favorite books to you is something that I will always cherish. I am sorry I was never that consistent with visiting you each day and reading to you. I still feel guilty about that: you being bed ridden and I never kept my promises to come read every day. I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me for that naive mistake.

Growing up I always remember you being so meek, humble, soft-spoken, but being a never-ending pit of service, love, and charity. I looked up to you more than you could ever know. I feel like I hit the jackpot in heaven with you being my older brother. Heavenly Father gave me an amazing example to follow, so thank you. You showed me how to come closer to my Savior and live life the way God would have you. You were always willing to submit to God’s plan. Your courage during your trials was inspiring. Your peace amidst the storm of life seemed to come from a higher understanding. Thank you for all you have done for me, Spencer. I can’t wait to reunite with you in heaven and continue getting to know you.

Coming Home

Well, Mom is coming home today. We still haven’t gotten a recliner, but hopefully we will soon.

I just got back from helping Sam and Myrtle move their furniture into their new apartment. The apartment is quite nice: it is large, is cheaper than most married housing, has good windows, has a fresh coat of paint, and is super close to campus (like two blocks away).

I still can’t believe they are going to get married in May. It’s such a crazy thought: my little Sambo getting himself married and moved out (let alone, this being his first ever relationship). However, as I have mentioned before, I am so ready to have his bike out of the kitchen! Mainly because it takes up a lot of room, but also because he get tire skid marks everywhere. And since Mom is coming home today, Chris and I need to make sure that all of the floors in the house are especially clean. We can’t afford for any infection to get into Mom’s healing foot. That would be a nightmare. (Side note: the infection that got into Mom’s toe wasn’t anything unusual. The doctor said that it was just the bacteria that is usually on your skin, so Mom could have gotten the infection in the tub, walking around on the floors, etc.)

Well, I need to go finish revising my Op-Ed and email it before 1:40. And I need to finish mopping, cleaning the bathroom, and tidying up the house. (If the house isn’t clean enough when the nurse comes with Mom, then Mom will have to stay in a different facility for six weeks. Mom doesn’t want to do that so the pressure is on the clean up the house.)

Recliners

Today Matisse and I were going to all of the furniture stores we could think of trying to find an electric recliner that would lay flat but also push you out of the seat. Mom is coming home tomorrow and since she has recently had an amputation, she cannot put ANY pressure on her foot. Meaning, that she won't be able to go up or down the stairs very easily, so she will be sleeping downstairs for six weeks. So, she need a comfortable recliner that will lay flat to sleep but will also help her out of the chair.

First Mati and I went to Hank’s and Son’s––a family owned business in Springville. They had quite a few recliners but they only had 4 that would push you out of the chair. The one that laid the most flat and would push you out of the chair was the most expensive one and by far the ugliest one. The design of recliners is an abomination. I mean, is it that hard to create a good looking recliner?! Come on people!

Then we headed over to RC Wiley. They had a lot of options, but they cost an arm and a leg and only one did the things we needed––and it was still hideous. So then we went to Ashley Furniture. They simply didn’t have any recliners that did the things we needed. Bah.

In the end, we didn’t get any recliner. We will have to get one on Saturday––the day Mom comes back. ):

Physical Science

Physical Science. Physical Science. Physical Science. Why dost thou hate me? Why hast thou treated me so poorly? Why art thou so hard to comprehend?

Thy tests are like a fools errand unto me. I hath no chance for victory. While I take thy test, my hopes rise like the morning sun––I feel as though there is a chance for prosperity on the horizon. However, after grieving through mine trial of taking thy tests, I find that my scores stinketh. What blasphemy is this? Why dost thou give false pretenses of success? Why dost thou taunt me? How art thou able to sleep come nightfall?

Oh the pain and anguish thou dost cause me! The torture! The horror! The distress of my soul! If only thou hast known of the grieving induced slumber I have undergone every gloomy night! There is no rest for the souls of the students enrolled in thy course! No peace! No sense of achievement! Only weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth! The renting of garments! The cries of agony! Oh the despair!

Why dost thou haunt me? Why hast thou come knocking at my chamber door? I look forward to the day when I finish my dealings with thee and will have to think of thee nevermore!

Cats and Planes

So, Lexi and Aaron are coming back on the 18th of this month. No wait…I can’t remember now…oh, yes––they are. They are going to road trip from Boston Massachusetts to Utah in a week. It is such a long drive, so they decided that they are just going to drive in their own little car and make stops along the way. They are planning to have the movers move their things separately. I love road trips, so I am really jealous about all of the different activities they have planned.

Lex and Aaron’s cats––Felix and Didot––are not going to be in the car with them (thank goodness––can you imagine trying to drive across country with two full grown cats in a small PT Cruiser for a week? It would be a nightmare). Instead, they are going to fly them over on a plane back to Utah before they leave on their trip. Matisse and I are supposed to go pick them up at the airport on the 11th. The last time Lex and Aaron moved to Boston, they were also road tripping so they had me and Matisse drop off their cats at the airport to be flown over to them once they had arrived. It was heartbreaking to hear their little nervous meows when we were driving them to the airport. Lex said that Didot was paralyzed with fear and was hiding under her blanket when they picked them up at the airport in Boston. I just hope they are okay going on another airplane.

But oh man, I am SO excited for Lex and Aaron to move back!!!