Marriage, snow, and Idaho!

One of my dearest friends/ roommates was (finally) married and sealed to her new husband on May 1st. What an adventure for her (for the rest of forever) and for us, the roomies this weekend. She looked so beautiful with her hair all done, in her beautiful dress, smiling because she was finally going to be with the man she loves forever! He couldn't stop smiling all weekend... pretty cute. :)


I was able to attend the ceremony/ordinance and oh what a special treat that was for me! The sealer brought up some wonderful points regarding eternity and the couple's centrality to eternity for their family. Both previous generations and future posterity. It was quite the concept to ponder and I couldn't help revisit my own marriage and what we were told on our special day. I was also able to apply some new knowledge into my own marriage and was able to talk about it with my husband. A special moment for us. I am so grateful to know I get to spend eternity with such an amazingly wonderful man! :) (sorry mushy again... i shall refrain...)


The snow on the mountain was big, cold, and wet as they were getting ready to come out of the temple. As a result, the bride was a little unhappy. They will get to take pictures on a sunnier day, but it still makes a bride cringe a little when you plan for the sun to shine... Luckily, the Bountiful temple has a little atrium inside that they were able to take pictures with their friends and family there. As we were standing in the hall, chatting as we waited for the "friends" picture, we were right in the pathway of some of the temple personal. When we moved closer to the wall, Ica looked at a group of men coming toward us, recognized one and smiled. While passing, just inches from my shoulder, he said hello to Ica as he walked passed and she responded. By the time his back was to us we all realized that who should have walked past us but President Eyring! *gasp!* I was about to tell a story, if I had, I might have hit him as he walked passed! *blush* So yes, I thought it was cool enough to blog about... :)

P.S. that skirt was made with a little help by yours truly! There is much love in that skirt! :)

The luncheon was in Bountiful, the reception was in Burley, Idaho where his parents live. Yes, we drove out to the reception, and I was able to provide some support as our dear bride was getting ready as her brother was in the emergency room with a burn cornea... and her parents missing... and trying to take some pictures. It all turned out in the end, but as a bride it is easily the end of the world. I was very happy to be there with her and wish her and her husband the best of my very best wishes...

Bryce's brothers both live in Logan. So we stopped by for the night and went to church with Layne and Alison. We got to see Colby and Megan's new little home (which is such a great home!) and had some delicious stuffed french toast (thank you krustbuster!). It was fun to spend some time with them, and laugh a little with them. Thanks guys for letting us stay with you! We also got to spend some time with my family to share Sunday dinner, and plan some future meals. (Cinco de Mayo is gonna be awesome!)

What an awesome adventure this weekend was. I am so happy to have such a wonderful life, wonderful family, and wonderful friends! As enjoyable as this weekend has been, we are still glad to be home and back into our regular school/work life for a few days before the next crazy weekend. :) Life is great! :) Happy Spring everyone!

Ready, Set, Goals!

But with the beginning of a new year we all set goals for ourselves and depending on the goals set, more often than not fail to comply within the first month... am I right? (unless your goal is to continually breath air... I would hope that gets accomplished!) As for my list... I tried to keep a realistic outlook when I wrote it up. I have learned that I do better with small steps working toward a bigger goal. For example: I want to learn how to cook. Solution- my goal is to try two new recipes a month this year... So far... I still have a couple of recipes to try this month... :)

As a couple we made a goal to have a 3 month food storage supply. We definitely don't have the room to store 1 year, and honestly two of us couldn't keep up with it to keep things from going bad... well, with the most recent case lot sale (thank you Macey's) we have just about reached 3 months. We might even have the rice to feed Asia for a year... but don't quote me on that...

Usually I write up my goals on January 1 and then by January 3 I have lost all hope. This year I have tried something a little bit different. In my Nutrition 100 class we are talking about nutrients called vitamins and minerals... and how food contains them. Crazy, I know... But the other day we talked about how every country around the world has their own version of the "food pyramid." We compared them and noted that the new USDA pyramid is the only one in the world that emphasizes how important exercise is to your health, as well as your diet. It also implies that you need all food groups (that includes oils and fats) in order to reach your fullest health.



When I got home I decided that I would get onto the website to see where I am with my own diet... what I found has literally changed my life... or at least my outlook toward food and my diet. When you go to the MyPyramid site, you can look up a food and it can give you information on you. If you take note of what you eat for a week, input the information, it can tell you what you are lacking in your diet... but even cooler is a new program I found. MyPyramid has a menu planner with a 7 day tracker. For fun I put in what I had to eat and it calculated how I was doing according to the dietary guidelines and the 2000 cal. recommendation for my activity level... I was surprised as how well I was doing... and how far I still need to do.

When you sign yourself up (a name, age, and activity level) it will give you your personal guidelines and oh fun you can have! I admit I got a little carried away... but its fun to hear the little 'ding' as it calculates your food intake... But more importantly under the "reports" tab you can choose to look at your daily menu, a weekly menu, a family menu (I added Bryce to my account), food details, and (my favorite) the "my next step" program.

It will show you what you need to work on and then lets you choose one to work on. It will then take you to a list of simple ideas for how to improve a particular part of your diet/activity. For example: I was low in my whole wheat grains. I chose the idea to have oat meal for breakfast. So I did and my feeling of accomplishment is fairly high... all I had to do was eat oatmeal instead of fruity pebbles... wow...

There is also a program on the website that takes you to "MyPyramid Tracker" which lets you input your specific activities, and your food intake, then will show you your energy balance for the day according to calorie intake and output. Pretty exciting...

I admit, every time I have wanted to become healthier, I have been overwhelmed with the immensity of the goal and have not even begun. But with the new outlook I have now... that all it takes is a little decision here and there... I really believe that I can do it!

I was so excited about it, I talked with my old roommate who told me she wanted to improve her health habits and we have set up an exercise schedule to work out together and we have our own "family" so that we can track each other and thus have a little accountability for our eating habits. Bryce is interested and so is Ica and together we want to improve our health! Yay for inspiration!

I greatly encourage any who are interested to check it out. Let me know what you think! Are you going to re-arrange any goals? :)

Life Continues

The funeral services for Annie were held this morning. It was a wonderful service of celebration of a wonderful life lived.

The first speaker was a President from BYU. He brought with him a message of love and sympathy from the leaders of our wonderful university. The flag on campus was lowered to half mass today in honor of Annie. He also read a letter sent from the Dean of her school...in it they explained that Annie was in her last semester of college before she would graduate. The Dean and his committee looked over her requirements and found, that with all of her advanced math classes (she really liked math) she had reached the graduation requirements. They want to present her family with her Bachelor's in Economics as well. It was really a nice start to a beautiful memorial.

In her life sketch her brothers (who happen to be twins) told a story of how she used to make them Macaroni and Cheese when they were kids. (One of the twins is about to be married, the other is on his last month on his mission and has flown home for a week to be here for this...) They remembered how it always tasted better when she made it and she told them that she had a secret ingredient. She would boil the noodles and when it was time to make the sauce, she would send them out and shut the door, knowing that they were listening through the door trying to decipher just what that ingredient was. Years later they were told that she was just following the instructions. :) She would move around and open random cupboards and things just to keep them guessing. She definitely had sass... :)

All in all it was a great service. It left me with a desire to be better, to love harder, and to live life to the fullest. Annie is on the other side with those pass along cards finding anyone she can who will listen to the message of the Gospel. Everyone in attendance today knows that. She loved the Lord more than anything. Her simple lifestyle, and desire to serve with that unfailing smile has served everyone around her, everyday that she spent here. I don't know that I ever saw her without that smile. :)

Thanks to all the love and support. Life continues on and because of this simple fact I pray to have the strength to be better. I love you, my family and friends and I love my Heavenly Father with this amazing plan he has for each of us. This is my testimony, that we are all meant to be happy. The church is true!

Life

Nothing can prepare you for the inevitable... rather ironic, but hey, that's life. But what really does it include? What is a life well lived? What are we doing with that "dash" between the years?

Life includes love. A family that loves you and supports you as you grow up and mature into adulthood (hopefully into and through adulthood as well... ;] ), Friends will come and go and yet they are so important to growth and identification as the teenage years come around. Then eventually you find that one who you would love nothing better than to spend eternity with them and life just seems to make sense. Of course, who can forget the comforting strength of a roommate when things get a little bumpy...

But how is one supposed to feel when news reaches your ear of a child, not yet two passes on into the next life? Sure, there is some comfort knowing they are exalted... (Thank goodness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ) but it doesn't make it easy. Or what about a grandmother who has watched her children grow up and move on... What sort of time is considered a life well lived?

Life should be lived, not imagined, not stressed about, and certainly not put off for "tomorrow". What you have is today, make it worth while. Who knows what tomorrow will hold for you...

Let me tell you about Annie Jones. The day she moved into our apartment, box in hand, smile on her face I could feel something very special about her. I could feel the love the Savior had for this particular daughter and reciprocated love she shares with Him. With Annie, what you saw is what you got. There was no hidden meaning, just true honesty. She always had a smile and would never really complain about anything... She was a great cook and made us chocolate chip cookies almost every single day. We have grown to love her perfected recipe... Her standards were being lived with everything she could bear. A perfect example of how to live the Gospel.Her boyfriend, Sam would come over and always make us laugh. She was as happy as any 23 year old could be.

She spent the weekend in Bryce Canyon with Sam and his family. The plan for their return trip back to us was to drive Friday night to be home by Saturday. Annie, wearing her seat belt, was in the back seat. Sam's nephew was driving early in the morning... he fell asleep at the wheel and ran the car into the barrier. He came out of the accident with a couple of bruises, Sam has no physical injuries (thank goodness), and Annie... well... she was killed on impact. She did not suffer... but Sam did attempt to do CPR for 20 minutes...My prayers are for her family. One of 11 children and on of the oldest, this has come to a sudden and difficult blow to handle. But most of all, my heart goes out to Sam... Annie's uncle told us that Sam bought her a ring and was planning a surprise proposal very soon...

The news has come as such a blow and shock to us.Her family came yesterday to tell us, and get her stuff... it was only hours after it had happened... One minute she was here and now... we are all still almost hoping she will walk through our door... but we all know in our hearts that she wont be... For as little time as I have known her, there is... a hole... something, and someone missing. It is a different experience to have someone so close in age, in proximity, in circumstance... at the prime of their life, be suddenly gone. The bishop told me to keep my chin up.

The interesting thing is, I have no sadness... I know it sounds a little heartless... but our apartment has been blanketed with a kind of quiet, comforted peace... it is difficult to explain but I know that Heavenly Father knows what he is doing. I know that Annie was living the way she was supposed to and that she is in good hands. Those who are hurting are those left behind.
The trick? Keep on living life. If we halt, if we stop to worry and stress about the inevitable... then death will come and we wont be ready. Keep the perspective eternal and carry on. Life is beautiful, precious, and fragile... it would be a shame to waste it.

The Dash Poem
by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
With your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

© 1996 Linda Ellis

Finals, spring fever, and some change

Finals are over and with their demise so went another semester... Time sure does fly... My tests this semester didn't finish me off... I live to fight again! I got a 91% on my New Testament final!!! After I finished I checked my score on the little monitor screen they have displaying them and next to my score was a little "Way to go!" *giggle* Its possibly the first "good job" comment I've gotten here at the Y... I am just a terrible test taker...

Anyway, Bryce graduated with his BS in Business Management (emphasis in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources)... wow that's a mouthful... We went to commencement and convocation this past weekend. Commencement was really interesting and I am glad I went. President Uchtdorf was given an honorable doctorate and he and Elder Nelson spoke along with a couple other pretty good messages. The convocation was the next day (the 24th) and just for the Marriott Business school. Still, It started at 5:00 and lasted until 8:00. Bryce's younger sister, Lindsey and I had the opportunity to sit and chat for a while though... :D It was great to be with his family and support my boy. Plus, he is pretty attractive in that gown of his... ;}

My darling Ica left me on Saturday for another... She left me for some Walt Disney character... *sigh*... She'll be back, she has to. I still have most of her clothes! :D That being said, there are only 4 in our apartment right now. I have two new roommates. Annie is pretty nice and very patient. She is from Provo and likes to run and ride her bike anywhere. She has randomly gone for a ride up the canyon the past couple of days since the sun has started shining...

Our other new roommate and I are the two sharing the room. Her name? yep I'm sure you guessed it... Jessica. :) And I am not kidding... I really like her. She is really nice, rather quiet but we've enjoyed some late-night chats once or twice. Jessica is from Washington, Seattle area as I understand and has a brother about to get married here in the next couple of months. She served her mission in Tulsa, Texas and just got home. She's kinda missing it but we're breaking her in! ;)

Just a quick update on the goings-on down here in Provo! Hope life is going great for ya'll!

Twenty Years Old!!!

Yep that's right! I am officially not a teen any longer! I cannot believe that I am old enough to be twenty though... I am constantly finding myself in the crossroad decisions that for all my life I have thought of them as a distant future.

My roomies took great care of me this weekend by throwing me a surprise party on Thursday(and it surprised me about 4 different times...). Every birthday Megan has decorated a surprise cake for the birthday girl and is getting very good. It was amazing!!! When they first went to "reveal" the cake they showed me an empty pan and Megan said, "oh no! The cake is lost!" The party was a luau theme corresponding with the cake. Yes, my cake was shaped and decorated like the island from LOST. It was pretty fun and rather exciting. :D I've never had a surprise party before. My roomies also took me to lunch at Tucanos between sessions on Saturday. That was a great meal too! (although it was just after we had listened to the whole "provident living" talk by Elder Hales...) I just love these girls and I also discovered that I do have friends. Believe me, that was a welcomed discovery. :D Thanks to all who came to celebrate with me.






After the party Ica, Bryce, Jake, and I all went out into the torrential rain and found some amazing puddles to jump in. A few minutes after we left we were drenched to the bone! We played until we got numb and finally went back in to dry off. For someone who is turning such an age, you would think I'd be over the whole puddle-jumping phase...



On Friday Bryce made me feel like a princess. :) He gave me a beautiful bracelet that sparkles a little and actually fits! (my wrists are a little on the small side...) I am quite impressed. :D After classes I was taken up to Luganos (Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City) for dinner and then to Monsters vs. Aliens 3D. It was a great movie I enjoyed it. The 3D was very much worth it, and Bryce agrees with me. ;) While we were standing there waiting to be seated a little girl came up to us and told me that I looked very pretty tonight and that I would love the movie! :D She was so cute and it totally made an already great day even better. It was a spectacular evening and I am so head-over-heels for that boy I could stay in the clouds forever... ;) (sorry a little sappy... but its true...)





Saturday Mom and I got to spend some time in the evening together. We ate a Zupas, found some cute shoes, visited with Grandma and Linda, and watched Mama Mia. Another great movie I really enjoyed. Sunday we celebrated Easter/Jessica's family dinner together. It was fun to have the family around. Plus, I got a giant skillet/pan... thing!!! I am so excited and I am currently hiding it from my roommates... I also got an adorable apron from my mom and I LOVE it! I will show it off as soon as I have a good picture...

All this partying has made me very tired... or I'm just getting old and can't get around as easily as I used to... (I personally think its the latter... but I am constantly told otherwise) *sigh* another year older, there is question as to whether there is wiser included... It is interesting to look back even just over the past year to see just how much I have learned about life and have grown in my testimony. Its mind-boggling to think about where I was a year ago... I can't wait to see what the next year will hold in store for me!!!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

That is what MY girls are made of! :)

Heavenly Father has, for some reason, deemed me worthy to receive the blessings that I call my wonderful friends. They take care of me and cheer me up every day here and I can't even begin to express my gratitude and love for each of them.

I can't imagine life without my amazingly wonderful roommate Ica. I don't think anyone who knows us can either. The whole "joined at the hip" idea is not truer for anyone than us! :) She takes care of me everyday. Her happy smiling face can brighten everyone's day and never fails to brighten the apartment. Even when I know she's having a not-so-good day... or has to go to the ER... she always makes effort to make sure everyone else is alright and happy! I get these little random love notes attached to my bed, in my car, or just randomly all over the place. She is a sweetheart. We have had some amazing times over the years and they just keep getting better. I wouldn't have it any other way! I also don't think I could watch LOST without her... it has created a special bond between us... :) I will not know what to do with myself when she goes off on her adventure to Disneyworld... all I have to say is that it had better be a great souvenir... ;) I just love her so much and I thank the heavens that she puts up with me as her roommate and friend. :)


My next little blurb is for Megan. There is a quote that I believe describes our apartment and mostly Meg. I quote Po (the panda), "there is no charge for awesomeness, or attractiveness." We have to remember to only take about 10% of what she says seriously, but when it is serious she know how to be. We laugh and worry together and have had some really great times. She's the psych major and I think she couldn't be in a better apartment of girls. :) Meg is a wonderful example to me of patience and unconditional love. She gets things done and also knows how to have fun!



Alyssa is the one who has promised to beat up any boys that break my heart. :) (Bryce, don't pay attention to that last sentence...) She has made that promise to all of us. She's a girl who knows where she is going and what she needs to do. I admire her for her perseverance, honesty, and easy-going attitude. She doesn't really complain and I am hard pressed to find her in a really bad mood. She usually greets me with a smile and a "how was your day?" :) It is nice to feel so loved! I will say, when I first moved in, she was a little intimidating... but I have found a wonderful friend and I wouldn't trade her for anything! I will miss her when she moves away from me. *sniff*

Julie and I have a special relationship... :) and by that I mean only the best! We love to tease each other because we make each other laugh. She has the best faces! If there is a potentially awkward topic of conversation we (the other girls and I) often find ourselves competing to see which one of us can get "the Julie face." I can usually win with a "*gasp!* JESSICA!!" and a good wide open mouth. :D She thinks I have weird eating habits... which I do... and will constantly pay attention to my meal times. I thinks she's just impressed with my mad skills of making everything safely unhealthy... :D One day Jules... its only a matter of time...We're pretty tight and I love her to death. There have been some pretty deep and wonderful discussions. It also makes me laugh when she comes out on the couch at night because she doesn't want to go to bed, and then immediately falls asleep... only to have me drag her back to her bed... good times. I am so excited that she isn't abandoning me over the Summer months. We are planning some gand adventures together. (take that Ica! :D ) She inspires me to be better everyday!



Katy is a brand new bundle of energy that keeps all of us hopping. She loves dance, her family, and playing cupid's little helper. It has been fun and interesting to get to know her and she is a sweet girl who has a lot to offer the world. She just got home from a mission in Argentina and has some great stories to tell.



This seemingly random post comes up as all of try to decide where we are going to live in the upcoming months. I wanted to publicly acknowledge these wonderful girls and thank them for all they have done for me. I have grown spiritually and physically so much since moving in with them. I truly believe that Heavenly Father placed them in my life to teach me the lessons that I have learned about friendship, relationships, and service. They are such great examples of Christ-like people that its impossible to find a better bunch of girls.