Top Memories of My Life

Believing that Santa was in my house because I heard his bells (or my sisters diaper swooshing)

Eating a carton of ice cream with my family for family home evening

Going to my Grandma's for breakfast for the 4th of July

My mom making a Barbie dresses for Julie and I

My friends and I creating our own Babysitter's Club

Going with my Aunt to Knott's Berry Farm

Picking huckleberries at Priest Lake

Finally getting up on water skiis

Exploring the forest at Priest Lake

Going to Lagoon in Junior High with my friends

Eating pancakes as a regular meal in college

Making Fajitas with Heidi and watching people from our apartment and timing them as they crossed the street

Going skiing with my roommates

Reteaching myself how to play the piano

Crying because I had no money and they wouldn't even take my blood for a source of income (listening to the Land Before Time soundtrack to make me and Maryn feel better)

Taking our couch outside to watch a movie in the courtyard of Cinnamon Tree

Eating Japanese food for a semester every night for dinner.

Going to Apt 34 until midnight, then IMing until 1:30 and then going out to Los Albertos for a midnight snack.

Chaos at Midnight

Watching Les Miserable in the Curan Theatre in San Fransisco

Walking through the Nauvoo Temple after taking a class on the life of Joseph Smith

Getting to the top of a climb with out stopping for a break in rock climbing

My first 5K

Going to magic mountain with my friends from Cinnamon Tree

Cuddling for the first time with my first boyfriend

Kissing after looking up at the stars

Eating at a restaurant on the side of the road in Guatemala while we drank out of glass coke bottles and listened to people performing

Swimming in blue-green water in Guatemala

Taking my first amazing photo

My first yoga class

Walking through the streets of New York City

Watching Wicked on Broadway

Walking through Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts

Walking by old houses in Rhode Island

New Kids on the Block Concert when I was 27

Gambling with Jessie and Zach in Las Vegas

Listening to a boys choir sing in Westminister Abby

Seeing my all time favorite painting in the National Gallery and seeing Jesus London Day

Watching Zach talk to the druids at Stonehenge

Lighting a candle in the Salisbury Cathedral

Listening to the chanting in the Notre Dame Cathedral

Eating at a French Bakery and listening to people perform as we ate.

Walking through Montemarte

Watching the Bastille Day fireworks

Eating at an Italian restaurant in Paris after a long day at the Louvre, Effiel Tower, and Statue of Liberty.

Standing in front of the Pantheon, standing in the Colosseum, and seeing the "School of Athens."

Watching a sunset in Sorrento, Italy and eating gelato and pizza

Walking through a concentration camp in Germany

Sitting on the side of the street in Munich, Germany

My first time snorkeling

Listening to "I Wanna Know What Love Is," while sitting all alone on the Beach in Cancun Mexico as the warm bright blue water rushed over my feet.

Superstitious or Realizing that there are Patterns in My Life?

I've recently realized that I am somewhat superstitious. I've come to accept the fact that bad things will happen to me at certain times.

Example 1: January

Every bad thing that happens to me happens in January. Every other year it is a personal thing, and every other year it is something to do with work.

2007: My para went ballistic on me.
2008: My boyfriend broke up with me.
2009:I had a parent raise all heck for me.
2010: I got Diabetes.

Example 2: Odd and Even Birthdays

Every age that is odd, I have a good birthday. Every age that ends with an even number is a good birthday.

I've blocked most of these experiences, but one I remember this year when I turned 28, I got into an accident with my new yellow truck. Case closed.

Some may say these things are superstitious, but I feel like I'm just calling it like I see it.

The Adventurous 2009

I've decided to make a list of all the good and bad things that happened in 2009.

Bad things

I have forgotten what happened in January, February, but I'm sure there were some not great stuff as well.

March

I nearly killed my self finishing up my thesis for my master's program. Each week up to that point I was almost in tears because of exhaustion from working and going to school full time.

April

For my Birthday, I hit another car with my new Yellow Truck. Luckily, you could barely see the damage on my car.

May

My Dad was in the hospital for 3 weeks with Campliflobacter. He recovered and was able to make it to my graduation.

June

My eye doctor discovered that I have no peripheral vision. The result could have been glocoma or a tumor. Thankfully, it was neither which only led to an MRI ($600 later).

August

The reality of the strain of my job set in as I began teaching.

September

Swine flu which lead to several months of not being able to breathe.

October

MRI

My mom stepped on a toothpick and nearly died.

November

Pulmonologist to figure out why I couldn't breathe. I've been on a regular inhaler since.

December

My brother got diagnosed with Diabetes which led me to get and exam and to find out that I had it as well. The medication has caused me to be sicker than I was before I was on the medication.

Good Things

April

I had a great birthday even after I hit another car.

May

I graduated with my masters degree which one of the most amazing things I've ever done.

June

Zach, Jessie, Phinner, and I went to Las Vegas and California and had the time of our lives. Phinner started walking at Magic Mountain.

I spend 2 weeks on the Oregon coast where my niece and nephew said their first words of "hola" and "douglas." We went to an aquarium, sat on the beach, went to a petting zoo where we held baby lions, leopards, and possums. We ate great sea food and had a fun time with family.

July

I backpacked across Europe with Zach, Shelley, and Camille. We saw Westminister Abby, Big Ben, Towers of London, Eye of London, a play in Picadilly Circus, Stonehenge, Hampton Court, Salisbury Cathedral, Kensington Park, National Gallery, Arc d' Triomphe, listened to a prayer in the Notre Dame Cathedral, gave money to a gypsy, walked along the Seine River, walked around Montemarte, saw Sacre Coer, saw fireworks on Bastille day (amazing), went to the top of the Eiffel tower, saw the statue of liberty in Paris, went to the Louve, visited the gorgeous place of Sorrento Italy, got pickpocketed, ate the most amazing pizza, had the worlds best ice cream, watched people dance in Italy, saw the Panthenon, Vatican City Museum, saw School of Athens, Sistine Chapel, greek statues, Rafael Paintings, Colloseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Castl San Tanglo, took a night train to Germany, saw an Austrian Village, walked in the streets of Munich, drank and ate at a famous beer hall, went to a concentrating camp, learned how to use the railway systems in 4 countries, stayed in hostiles, met people from around the world. I had the time of my life. So many of my dreams came true, and I learned so much about myself.

August

I was reminded why I love teaching.

September

I began my journey of watching LOST.

October

I went to Cancun. I sat on the warm beach with bluish-green water and listened to "I want to know what love is"remade by Mariah Carey. I saw the ruins at Tulum and Chich Itza. I went snorkeling in a cenote and in the ocean, I fed a monkey, held a cocodile, let a bird kiss me, and held a snake, I ate a fish with the head still on it, I bargained with the locals in Spanish, I bought a guitar, I slept in a scary hotel, I rode on buses throughout Mexico, I got drenched in a rainstorm, I went to church in a Spanish speaking branch, and I stayed at a resort.

November

I became a registered democrat.

December

I got to spend time with all of my family.

This has been a crazy year. It's been hard, and had some great adventures. As I was in church today, the Bishop said something that rings true to me. The more you advance in this life, the harder it gets, but the benefits also increase. Amen. Here's to 2010. Hopefully everything will continue to increase.

Sitting on the Beach

As I was sitting on the beach in Mexico listening to "I want to know what love is" by Mariah Carey, I realized that I was happy. When I sat in a meeting at work today about a new computer program that is so complex we have had 4-5 hours of training on it and it is still confusing to people, I realized I was not happy.

2 Times the Amounts of Parties

When you are older and single you have twice as much fun because you have twice as many parties. One party for your married friends and one party for your single friends. But sometimes the single parties aren't fun because people are worried about being married which is a conundrum.

Facebook

Whenever I do something fun, I feel the need to take pictures. I don't take the pictures for scrap booking or to show friends and family. I take the pictures to post them on Facebook. In fact, I have found that I do a lot of things so I can post it on Facebook. I somehow feel like it's my validation of being a cool person.

Isn't Technology Great!

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?

My sister and I are in two very different places in our lives. She is a young 22 year old with a 3 month old baby. She was married at 20 and began her family early. I on the other hand am 27, single, and have chosen to focus on my career. It is interesting that though the two of us find great pleasure in what we are doing in our lives, we both wish that we could be in the other's shoes. She longs to be independent, focus on a career, and live the "single carefree life"(which is an imaginary thing). I on the other hand would give whatever it took to be in her shoes. I've been down the career path. I've completed a great deal of schooling and I've had amazing accomplishment. I've loved it, but at the same time, I would trade all of it to have a family of my own. We both do realize that what we have is important, but each of us thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the hill.

Though our problems seem completely different, they are the same. We both struggle with what we think we want. She sees the stress of a crying baby. I see the stress of the demands of parents, district, law, and school officials. She sees me as being independent and doing whatever I want. I see her as someone who doesn't have worry about being lonely later on in life. I don't see her stresses for her baby girl, and she doesn't know the aching and sorrow for the children I long to have.

The fact is that each of us have an important role to play. Each of us have a time in life when we feel like we are missing or have missed out on something. The key to happiness is to realize that God has placed you in the situation you are currently in because you are the only person who can fulfill your mission at that time under the circumstances you have been placed in.

We don't stop to enjoy life enough. We rush and wait for the day for things to take place. We can't wait for the weekend or until the next hour. We wish and want so badly for the next experience to take place that we don't take time to be in the moment. There are so many experiences in life that we lose out on because we are waiting for the next. So the next time you feel anxious, frustrated, or longing to be in a different situation, stop and enjoy the moment.