this is happiness

This last August, we took Petunia, our loving/funny bulldog to the beach for the first time ever in her life.  She LOVED it.

My mom loves to remind me how cold and land-locked I am in Provo by texting me every once and awhile: "Have a great day! Heading off to the beach house!"  Gag me with a spoon.  This happened to me this week right as Utah decided that it's time to be cold.  

Then she made it worse by sending me this video.  

http://sz0144.ev.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/IMG_1764.MOV?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=151660&part=2

I miss my doggy and the beach and my family and Oregon.  There lies my true happiness :)

2+2=4

This semester, I moved to UAC here in P-town and got new roommates.
One day during Church, someone said "laboratory of love" in a comment and it stuck.  We are the Laboratory of Love.
Let me introduce you to my party people.

Meagan Mariah Dalrymple

Las Vegas, NV

UVU--Elementary Education

Sweet dance moves

Kimberly Crowther

Hermiston, OR

Teaches 4th grade in Orem

Really good at making people laugh.

Hilary Maren Glazier

Tualatin, OR

LDSBC

Coolest person around.

We have lots of fun making and eating cake balls and having sporadic dance parties.

Welcome to the 224.

I love October

Since I've stopped being a scaredy cat a few years back, Halloween has become one of my favorite holidays.

This is a list of why I feel this way:

1. I like scary movies including thrillers, suspense, horror, etc.  I especially like a good zombie. My family has a tradition where we watch a couple of scary movies a weekend plus whenever we have free time during the week.  AMC is always on.

2. Cool decorations.  My mom gets something new each year to add to our yard.

3. It's fall time!! Which means weird half-warm/half-chilly weather. Two words: Sweat-turrs.

Last weekend, we kicked off the party with "The Others" and "Poltergeist" and "Insidious."

This weekend, we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point.  It was fun and scary and Anna came down from Sandy so it was extra fun.

{the group  before the haunted corn maze}

{big chair??}

I was scared, but it was still fun. And I saw a girl from my home ward who was a crazy girl in the corn maze and she was like "Do you want to play? heheheheee" (in a creepy voice) and I was like "oh, heyyy Maria! Wait, go and scare those other people now. You're doing great."  

October's only half way over :)

as you wish!

growing up, my family movie was "Princess Bride."  So when I saw this picture, it was an emotional experience!

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father.  Prepare to die."

Follow my random train of thought, now!  I saw this and thought it was funny:

http://youtu.be/uZfRaWAtBVg

If Ben Franklin was alive, he would totally be a rockin' lead guitarist.

warm fuzzies

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." -Mosiah 2:17

I'm taking a Living Prophets class this semester, which means that we study the living prophets of the LDS Church.  This includes their lives and their teachings.  I believe and know that there are living prophets, seers, and revelators on the earth today, just as there was in Biblical times.  I know that Thomas. S. Monson was called of God to act as His mouthpiece for the Lord and that he is the hand for the Lord to direct His work on the earth.  Many have said that prophets stopped being ordained when the 12 Apostles of Jesus' time were killed and the Great Apostasy commenced, but I believe that Joseph Smith was then called of God to restore communication between His people and Himself through a living prophet.  Why wouldn't we need a prophet today?  We don't need to learn how to build an ark or how to free the people of Israel.  So we need modern-day revelation in order to know how to apply the basic doctrine that the prophets of old proclaimed to our day.  I am a Christian through my belief in Christ that I have discovered for myself through tears and work, complete joy and peace.
This is President Thomas Spencer Monson, 16th prophet since the Restoration of the Truth on the earth.
I love this :)
http://youtu.be/8u9bt1Jjk5M

look at me and politics!

I think as members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints, we are different than others. But I don't view us as a cult.  I understand when those not of my faith are not fully informed of what we believe as members of the LDS Church, but I think before you give information about us to thousands of people, you should do a little research.

I  found this today and thought it was interesting:


As a citizen of the United States, I will inform myself about all candidates, both Republican and Democratic, and make a vote based on their platforms and on their characters.  I always try to vote for people in local and federal political positions who have a solid family life and who have good values because they will be good people to have in office.  I'm not supporting Mitt Romney because of his religious beliefs, per se, but I know from experience that LDS members have great values and strong family backgrounds. I'm looking forward to this upcoming election and what it has in store for the members of my Church.

who needs homework, when you can blog?

This summer, I made a life goal of sticking up for myself.  My whole life, I have tried to be the people pleaser and usually it gets to the point where I'm so focused on others' happiness, I forget my own.  I have also encountered people who interpret my niceness as weakness and take advantage of me.  Sheesh, this sounds so cynical so far, but I promise I haven't been tainted and that I don't like to be nice to people anymore.  That's not it.  It's just about time that I take care of my own needs so that I can better help others.  Happiness starts with yourself.
The reason I bring this up is because I had cleared a milestone with this goal this last week.  About a month ago, I left my iPod in one of the machines at my gym.  I panicked when I got home and called right away.  they found it (thank goodness!) and put it in lost and found for me to pick up.  When I went to go pick it up on Monday, it wasn't in the locked lost and found drawer and no one had signed for it in the log.  I still don't know what that means, but I was a bit upset.
Since I hate confrontation, I let it slide for about a week...or two...just asking at the front desk if they had it, but not doing anything about it when they said "no."  Hilary (my roommate) finally made me get the guts to talk to the manager of the gym.  The manager said that she will take care of it.  Another week goes by and I still haven't heard from them, so I call the Utah Valley corporate office.  They say that this is the company's fault since it wasn't signed out and it went missing while it was in their possession.  They were going to look into it and then call me back.  A couple of days later, they called me back saying that there is a new iPod waiting for me at their office.
A new iPod!
Moral of the story:  I was afraid to stick up for myself just because I didn't want to make anyone else upset over my iPod.  But because I was brave (but still polite about it! I didn't once holler at anyone), I got a brand new iPod that was better than the one that was taken.  You get rewarded for sticking up for yourself!

dear future mr.,

Stick around long enough to change my name.
Let's do old and gray.
Drop everything now and meet me in this pouring rain.
Say what you need to say.

That's what's on my mind.
Love you.

-you know.

(lyrics courtesy of: Charlie Worsham--The Killers--Taylor Swift--John Mayer)

michi & momma e

Hey-o! This week/end has been fabulous. So let me tell you about it.

My momma came into town on Tuesday night and we right away made a beeline for nachos and yogurtland. 

Wednesday was the main event, though, the original reason she came out.  Well this and she loves me the most.  We went to the TAYLOR SWIFT concert and sang until our throats were sore and our ears rang from the loudspeakers.  Once upon a time in high school land, Michelle was bugged by this new artist name Taylor Swift who couldn't sing and the boy she liked a lot gave her more attention than he did to Michelle. This same high schooler became a college student and got a roommate who let her borrow Fearless, Taylor Swift's second album.  Taylor began to grow on Michelle, but she still wasn't the best singer.  Then Taylor's third album, Speak Now, came out and Michelle couldn't stop listening to it.  Thus, the conversion of a hater to a lover.  It was a very entertaining show, with acrobats and dancers and actors and fireworks. You give and audience shiny things like a sparkly guitar and confetti and fireworks and you've got a happy audience.  We like shiny things and cute musicians (I mean, hell-looo can I get an amen for Charlie Worsham?).

{she sang in a spinning glowing tree}

Thursday, I got work off and skipped class (much to the astonishment of my grandma, as I discovered later haha) and momma e and I took a girls' day out.  We ate crepes, got our nails and hair done, went shopping, ate Indian food, watched Jane Eyre (can I get another amen for Michael Fassbender? thank you.), and hit up the Chocolate.  You know, the usual.

{nice find at DI}

{second nice find at Walmart in the cereal aisle}

{The Chocolate and my roommates}

{mmmmmmpazookie}

Friday, I had to work and go to class, so my momma came to class with me and even commented (she has an English degree, so it was right up her alley).  We went to the BYU vs. USU game that night and therefore had an emotional rollercoaster (thanks for that, Jakey-poo).

{Museum of Art at BYU}

{so many books!}

{RISE UP!!}

{pretty mountains}

{weiners}

Saturday morning, we went to SLC for General Conference.  This was probably the most powerful session for me in a long time if not ever.  So many good things for me to hear.  

When we were waiting in line to get inside, there was a separate set of doors next to us for those with wheelchairs.  A lady tried to get through the line for these doors with her relative in a chair and so she said, "Part the way! Mrs. Moses is coming through! Part the way!"  It was her real name. We parted the sea of people for Mrs. Moses. So funny.

I miss my momma so much already.  I always get so sad when my family and I have to part, but I'm glad that I was able to spend these last few days with momma e.

Saturday night, I went to a pinterest party hosted by Anna and Leslie to have while the boys were attending Priesthood session of Conference.  Basically, it was an opportunity to make something that you've pinned on pinterest and you've been wanting to make but haven't gotten the chance.  I just love the ideas with mason jars and so I tried the mason jars individual oreo/chocolate/banana creme pies.  And they showed us how to make these bracelets, too:

A bit dark, so here's what it looks like on pinterest:

how crafty of us!

Sunday was a continuation of wonderful Conference weekend.  My roommates and I ate lots of yummy food.  It was a good one :)