Service in the Form of Costco Hot Dogs

My awesome family waiting for Raeven Noel to be born!! :)

This was a crazy and fun assignment. It was actually not quite BYU kosher at first, which made it even funnier, as it was focused on service. This weekend, I drove back home to Washington to visit my family and to see my new niece be born. Little did I know that I was in for big surprises in the form of a car accident that nearly flipped my car, a series of lucky events that enabled us to get back home, and us getting home just in the nick of time for the early birth of my niece. Along the way, I would go to just about every gas station and buy a chocolate milk or something small and wait in line to see if there was something I could buy for the next person. Unfortunately, every time I waited, the person behind me was going to buy beer or cigarettes. I laughed at myself and decided that I would have to wait until I got home and went to Costco with my mom, hoping that it would be cheaper and be something within the Word of Wisdom kosher list. After barely making it home on time and making it only one minute late to an eye appointment, I ran over to the Costco concessions to get snacks with my niece, Scarlet. Luckily, there was a sweet lady and her daughter behind us that we started to chat with. After buying a frozen yogurt for Scarlet, I gave the cashier money for the lady behind me. She thanked me and gave me the change back. I love how people from the Northwest act. They are sincere and she thanked me a lot, without offering her first-born child as many Utahns do. But, nonetheless, it was a very nice way to thank Heavenly Father for saving my friends and I from a horrific car accident and a nice way to prepare for the birth of my beautiful new niece, Raeven.

Free Fallin'

Exploring the streets of Brussels, Belgium in Summer 2009.

What's behind the door? Adventure. I grew up being the goody-too shoes, the Mormon girl and the "model child". However, I consider myself quite a free spirit. My brother gave me a new nickname over Thanksgiving:hippy sis. I at first thought that it was strange, but have come to see that it is quite true. I am responsible and know where I want to go in life, but I still love random adventures, and am incredibly open-minded and crazy. For instance, the other day at Portuguese House dinner, I was talking with Jake and Miguel about all the career and job options that I would like to pursue after I graduate. Among the list, there was a teacher, a Health Science professor, a nurse, a bakery owner and a coach. I get bored quite easily and am constantly craving adventure and traveling like most girls crave chocolate. Thus, I consider myself, as Tom Petty would say, free fallin' and I would add to that, most proud of it and excited for the adventures life holds in store for the hippy sis.

Happy Dance Like a Chicken Day!!

Kim and I rockin' the polka at Oktoberfest 2009 in the FLSR.

Each month I make a calendar that includes daily holidays, such as Cow Appreciation Day, Talk Like a Pirate Day, or any other random holiday you can think of. Today happens to be Dance Like a Chicken Day, which I believe is a very fitting day for my life right now, as well as in everyone's life. No matter how serious or tough life may be, we have to find time to relax and let loose-even if that means dancing like a chicken. Yes, a chicken, or a giraffe or capybara if you so choose. In the words of the Dixie Chicks, "...Some days you gotta dance, live it up when you get the chance , cause when the world doesn't make no sense, and you're feeling just a little too tense, gotta loosen up those chains and dance.” Today, I may not have danced like a chicken, but I did loosen up to dance and I found that sometimes the best prescription to be happy and deal with life is to take a break, listen to music and DANCE.

True Beauty and the Story of Stephanie Nielson

Stephanie Nielson and her daughter.

Trials come, whether they be in the forms of computers breaking down, gum getting stuck on your shoe, milk getting spilt, your keyboard getting stuck on the letter "h" as you're writing this post, your exam baffling you, getting spit up on by a baby, being woken up in the middle of the night, or any myriad of possibilities. However, the beauty of life is that you can choose the outcome. It is our attitudes that make all the difference. I just watched a video entitled "My New Life" on YouTube, and it is an inspiring story of a young mother and her struggles in surviving a plane crash alongside her husband, and suffering burns and subsequent physical deformities. Even though this could be a tragic and disheartening story, it has turned out to be quite the opposite. She has used this struggle to learn to appreciate the most important things in life such as the Gospel and her family, as well as to focus on what makes her beautiful, besides her physical attributes. In the video she states that motherhood is beauty, and I agree full heartedly with this. It is the daily acts of love and our ability to give love that makes us loveable and truly beautiful.