obscurities

Sayid

2012-02-18T17:47:00.001-07:00

Every time I work at the mall I come home with cravings to watch LOST.
Sayid works at a store next to me.

Blah

2012-02-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

I was feeling all good and fine about myself today until I had to work Valentine's Day night at the mall...

Now I feel like a complete failure at life.

Stupid how something like that happens just because of a holiday.

Time to go bury my head in textbooks since that's the only thing I'm good at right now.

A Baby, A Vegas Trip, A Birthday

2012-02-11T16:18:00.001-07:00

First thing on the agenda: I became an aunt. Finally. February 5th was the day! Little baby Evelyn is honestly the most adorable, perfect baby. (Click here for a lovely little picture of her) I know that everyone says that about their babies but I'm in all honesty here. She didn't come out with any cone-head weirdness going on. She was just perfect.

Second thing on the agenda is I just got back yesterday from a Vegas trip! I know that your thinking it's about time that I got a break from school and how busy my life been but don't get too excited, this trip was for school. There was a radiology conference going on there so some of the girls and I decided to go. It was good. Michelle, Kryshelle, and I got a good 4 hours of studying done during the drive down there and then probably 3 hours on the way home. The conference had some good classes that I appreciated, but it also had some let downs. But I can't complain because we got credited hours for our clinicals so now I'm ahead even more in my hours. We played around and wandered the strip one night and went shopping to the outlets and the mall the last night. We played some intense rounds of Egyptian Ratscrew. (I forgot how much I love that game and how incredibly competitive I get whenever I play it.) I did learn a lot about different personality types. I learned that I need to be way more patient, (as always). We had multiple people ask us if we were from Utah only to answer back with the statement that they could tell by the way we walked. I didn't realize people from Utah had a specific walk. (?) Oh well. I'd rather be assumed that then something else.

Pictures to come later once people post them on facebook so I can steal them.

Last agenda for today is that IT'S MY BIRTHDAY AND I'M NOW 21. Big deal, I know. I think I'm most excited to get a new drivers license. Woot woot!

I had lunch today at Zupas with two of my favorite girls. We have honestly had this plan of getting the chocolate fondue plate for two years now and it finally happened today. It was delicious. And my sandwich was amazing.

Tonight is going to be a crepe night with some friends.

Happy Birthday self.

Family

2012-02-03T11:07:00.001-07:00

"When we have sampled much and have wandered far and have seen how fleeting and sometimes superficial a lot of the world is, our gratitude grows for the privilege of being part of something we can count on - home and family and the loyalty of loved ones. We come to know what it means to be bound together by duty, by respect, by belonging. We learn that nothing can fully take the place of the blessed relationship of family life." - Thomas S. Monson

I started reading his biography. Good stuff. I love biographies.

Life

2012-02-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

My last semester at BYU-Idaho I lived in the basement of a house with 7 other girls. Lauren was one of those girls. I adore her. She would always sit and eat nutella on graham crackers with me. She was hardly home. She would wake up, go to class, be at school all day, come home to change and then head off to work until late at night. This semester I've turned into Lauren. I am never home. It makes me sad. As much as I know that I don't have a ton of friends, I don't care because I love being at home. But this semester is full of running around from place to place. It's good though. I have a job. I'm doing well in school. I'm doing things that are important to me. Life is good right now. And busy.

Monday's Music

2012-01-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Beware This Street

2012-01-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

Monday's Music

2012-01-16T13:51:00.001-07:00

Switching

2012-01-12T18:58:00.002-07:00

Switching from Teachings of the Living Prophets institute class to Parables of Christ was the best decision I've made so far this semester. This class is going to be fantastic.

Would you like to know something about sectional anatomy? I've always thought that when you are looking at an axial slice (a slice cut through the body horizontally), it's from the view of you looking down. That would mean that at the top of the page you have the front of the body, at the bottom you have the back, the left side is the left side of the body and the right is the right. Well guess what? I'm completely wrong. It's as if you are looking up. So you take the picture and hold the slide above your head and look up at it and suddenly you realize that the patient would be facing you which now means the the left side of the patient is on the right side of the page and the right side of the patient is now on the left side of the page. And you are looking up. Up! I can't even describe how much of a difference that makes. My brain had a serious issue trying to get over that fact and understand what I was looking at in class. Ridiculous.

But don't worry. I'm catching on. The workbook is making sense as I guess and check my way through the slices.

In other news, I leave for Vegas in a month. Which means that my birthday is in a month.

Let's See That Axial Slice

2012-01-04T22:00:00.002-07:00

Sectional Anatomy...
This class completely scares me.
I thought I had anatomy decently understood. I passed all of my anatomy labs with flying colors. But this, this is a whole new level of having to know EXACTLY where things are. Having to know that the carotid artery is always more medial and smaller then the jugular vein. Having to know that the sternocleidomastoid muscle is lateral to the strap muscles. Blah blah blah.
Doesn't this sound exciting?

And apparently the anatomy and positioning class and the physics class are both on the same day now. My brain is not going to like Mondays.
I have a feeling that this semester might kick my butt.

Monday's Music

2012-01-02T10:20:00.002-07:00

New Year

2012-01-01T22:51:00.000-07:00

I remember last year, looking around trying to find my new years resolutions from the year before to see how I had done and was unable to find them anywhere. I resolved to be more aware of my goals and I've improved immensely. A couple of my goals were completely out there, never even got close to accomplishing them. Wishful thinking on my part. But there were others that I was aware of every week of the year. Some of my old goals I'll continue into 2012 either because I still need help in that area, or because it was just a great goal to keep. But I'm excited for the new one's I've made. It's going to be good.

Last year I lived in the basement of a house, 8 girls total. I didn't know anyone. They are some of the best girls I have ever lived with and that semester was definitely my favorite. It was one of my best decisions to stay that winter semester and finish my degree early. I got my associates and graduated from BYU-Idaho. I got accepted into my radiology technician program through Weber. I went to Disneyland. I got a job that lasted a month. I found out that I was going to be an aunt. I had a second cousin ask for my number at a dance. I learned a lot more as always from dating someone. I posed for a portrait painting art class. I got a 3.95 GPA on my first semester in my program. I started an x-ray collection. I started learning how to decorate cakes. I started training to run a 5K. I got a new job.

Life is good. I am incredibly blessed. I'm a lucky girl. Happy New Year.

Getting Ahead, Trying to

2011-12-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get nervous for next semester. I keep thinking about how I'm going to manage my schedule and so far it just overwhelms me. It doesn't help that I only have half of the details. I keep trying to get ahead on my homework thinking that it'll relieve some up coming stress. (How do you even get ahead on homework that hasn't even been assigned yet?) I feel like the small free moments in my life are going to be consumed with driving to where I need to go. Whether that's Provo, American Fork, or Murray, I'm going to be in the car a lot. Yay..... Last semester seemed so easy. By the end I was questioning all the stories of "my life will be taken over and consumed, and it's challenging", blah blah blah that I had heard. But things will probably whip into shape now that I have 1 1/2 jobs. (The 1/2 is a clinical study that I'm in which means I get to fit in a drive to Murray once a week.) It's okay. I'm so grateful that I'm finally earning some money now. It's been desperately needed and is immensely appreciated. Oh to wonder how life would be if I was actually getting paid for the 24 hours a week of hospital work I put in.

Monday's Music

2011-12-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Monday's Music

2011-12-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to upload the song I Pray on Christmas by Harry Connick Jr. It's one of my favorites. But alas, there are no good youtube videos, only random family slide shows.
So instead I'm going to share two absolute classics, sung by the originals with pure emotion.

Kids and Christmas

2011-12-14T18:45:00.002-07:00

Stuffed Chicken Breasts Italiano

2011-12-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to cook more meals while I'm living at home. I have time, I don't have to pay for the ingredients, and I don't have to cook for just one person. It's a win win situation. Here's what I tried out yesterday.
Stuffed Chicken Breasts Italiano and Bloomin' Onion Bread.

I was slightly uncertain about how things would turn out as I was preparing the main dish. But it was really good actually. And easy.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts Italiano

4 lg skinless, boneless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz. container ricotta cheese

2 T each of chopped ripe olives, Italian parsley, and chopped onion

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 can Prego pasta sauce

1 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pkg. (12 oz) fettuccine pasta, cooked and drained

Carefully slit a lengthwise "pocket" in each chicken breast, starting at the thick side, and cutting approximately 3/4 of the way through the width of each breast. Season the inside and outside of each breast with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, combine ricotta cheese with olives, parsley, onion and garlic salt. Place approximately 1/4 C. of this filling into the pocket of each chicken breast. Arrange stuffed chicken breasts in a 9X13 baking pan and cover with pasta sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is done. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top; return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve on fettuccine pasta, garnished with sprigs of Italian parsley, if desired.

So the recipe said it serves 4 but that's only if you each eat one of those huge chicken breasts. I'm going to say it feeds more around 8 people or so.

The Bloomin' Onion Bread recipe was found here at this site. I'm not really a fan of sourdough bread but this was fantastic. We didn't use poppy seeds and it turned out just fine. The trick though is cutting the bread. It's a pain. Also serving it proves slightly tricky but eventually everyone just rips pieces off for themselves.

Lost In Music

2011-12-13T13:15:00.001-07:00

I've noticed that when I become interested in a new Broadway, I suddenly take at least three times as long to do absolutely anything. The time I take to get ready extends itself to fit the length of the CD. And right now I'm interested in two Broadways. Expect me to take my time with things as I listen and memorize music. I know it sounds ridiculous but you really have to give your attention to the CD in order to understand the story. You have to pull up the synopsis of the story with the lyrics on another screen. You get stuck on songs with superb melodies and harmonies. You wish you already knew all the words so you could sing along. It's a process.
Let me introduce you to what has my attention wrapped around its' musical finger:

Ragtime

Ghost the Musical

I can't get enough.

Monday's Music

2011-12-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Monday's Music

2011-12-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

A Fast Sunday

2011-12-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

For the past two months my Sunday rotations for my program have fallen on fast Sunday. And in my weakness I decide not to fast so that I can have energy to work at the hospital. But today I was able to come to my singles ward and hear some amazing testimonies. Home singles wards are never looked upon with excitement. No one wishes that they were living at home attending the singles ward. But as with all things, there is good. And you have to give yourself time to find it. I sat by myself a lot when I first moved in. I hardly knew anyone and the people I did know were more of acquaintances instead of good friends. But I decided to put myself out there and try going to the family home evenings. The Lord responded to that decision by calling me as a FHE coordinator. I know a few more people now. I have friends to sit by and talk to. I'm starting to remember names. And even though I still have times where I sit by myself, where I feel like I go unnoticed, Heavenly Father is always so good and sends me little reminders, little pick me ups through the members of the ward. Whether it's a text message from a good friend I made in the singles ward or a compliment on the FHE activity from the other night, I am reminded that I have people caring about me and watching over me.
I really do have a pretty good ward. There may be some things I wish were a little different but I have an amazing bishop, people that come to fhe and enjoy themselves, people that get up and share sincere testimonies, and now some actual friends that I look forward to seeing.
Again the saying comes to mind: "you find what you look for".
As much as people dislike the home singles ward, it is only because they haven't given themselves the time or opportunity to see the good in the church and the members of the ward.

Monday's Music

2011-11-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

Cake Making

2011-11-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

If you don't already know this about me then just understand that sometimes I look at something and decide that I could probably do that if I tried. So I do. Example. Example. Example. Example. Example. Example.
Guess what I've gotten my hands into now?
Cake Decorating.
Yup.

I made my first attempt cake yesterday night/today.

Crumb coating.

I didn't have the right size of coupler but I didn't realize that until it was already in the bag with frosting... So duck tape came into the rescue to help me with the piping.

Are you slightly impressed?

I feel good about this being my first decorative cake. Granted the frosting is kind of messy looking, but this was my very first time piping frosting.

I found the idea for the decorating here and decided that since those flowers are pretty forgiving, it would be a good first attempt idea.

Frosting recipe was a Buttercream Icing which was really good. But the recipe hardly makes any. Of course I used a ton for the flowers but with one batch it wasn't enough for the filling and crumb coating, let alone adding all the flowers on top.

The cake was a Hersey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe which was really good and moist. I obviously didn't use their chocolate frosting but I think it turned out well in the end.

It was a really fun experiment! I would love to take some classes though, just the basics so I'm not stumbling around like a chicken with its' head cut off. There are so many details!! What kind of cake? What kind of filling? What frosting? Colored? What decorations? If you want the flowers to harden then it's one recipe, if you want them to soften up then it's another. What freaking frosting recipe is good?! What tip to use for piping? Remember how painting is a complete art and science all it's own? Cooking decorative cakes is exactly the same way. There is so much that goes into planning a cake.

Thanksgiving Leaves

2011-11-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful the most for my family and the gospel. Those are the two things in my life that will always be there for me. And those are the two things that I need most in this life.

Thanksgiving this year was simple. At home, with family, relaxed.

Thanksgiving "dinner" was eaten at 2:00 in order to maximize our lethargic digesting stage while still spending time with each other. A movie was watched. Pie was served. And leaves were played in.

Let me introduce to you my cousin Doug's children...

Emalyn and Liam.

Basically the cutest little kids out there.

It was a grand ole time to say the least.

I'm thankful for the beautiful Thanksgiving Day weather.

Monday's Music

2011-11-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

Seven Miracles

2011-11-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a book called Seven Miracles that Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope, by Christ Stewart and Ted Stewart. At times I get so frustrated with our country, our education system compared with other countries, some of the people leading our government, the debt that we are in... it's hard to appreciate the greatness of this land. This book helped me gain more of an insight and a better appreciation for the things that have happened here. It showed without a doubt God's hand in preserving this nation. In every single miracle, men were guided by a divine intervention. It's clearly seen. Our nation truly is blessed. The author made an interesting note at the end of the book. He said, "A person might ask, by what right do any people claim that God would select a particular people or country for special blessing? It is important to understand that He accomplishes this not by diminishing other nations, but by lifting a nation up. And if He raises up a nation, it is with the expectation that that nation will then lift up others."
The seven miracles they talk about are these:
-The Miracle of Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
-The Miracle at Jamestown
-The Miracle of a Summer Fog
-The Miracle of Our Constitution
-The Miracle of Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Gettysburg
-The Miracle at Midway
-The Miracle of a Fraction of an Inch

You'll have to read to the book to find out what these all mean, but here are a couple quotes from great leaders in our country.

John Adams observed, "I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in or to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."

In a speech to congress in 1862, Lincoln encouraged his colleagues not to become discouraged: "We know how to save the Union. The world knows we know how to save it. We - even we here - hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free... We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth."

Monday's Music

2011-11-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

They Never Wavered

2011-11-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this book I was reading? Well I finally finished it today. It's taken me well over a year to read (mostly because I only read a few pages every Sunday) but I'm grateful for this book. I'm grateful for the lives that my ancestors have lead. I'm grateful for their examples. Let me share with you some excerpts from the book.

While a POW, Forrest Packard kept track of the days of the month and on the first Sunday of each month he would fast. He would give his allotted portion of food to another POW whom he felt needed the food for then he did.

Esther Packard had 11 children to support alone. Ward and stake priesthood leaders came to exempt her from paying tithing during the time her husband was a POW. Her answer was, "You wouldn't deprive me of that?" She then pointed to her eight boys, "with eight strong boys like these? And you want to deny me the blessings of tithing?" During all the rough times, she always paid her tithing.

Esther Packard also said, "I am even thankful I have two babies dead, that I may have the privilege of raising in a time when sin and temptation will have no place."

Forrest was given a blessing May 8, 1941 in the Hawaiian Temple before leaving to Wake Island. "Brother Packard, I bless you that you will return to your loved ones unharmed and in happiness after much trial and hardship. Your family will be in good condition and their number increased. You will be blessed on land and sea. Eventually you will return and find your family chain unbroken."
Forrest was also told in his blessing to obey his temple covenants. Many on the other men worked in shorts with no shirt. Forrest wore bib-overalls, a shirt and his metal hat. It was said that Forrest would hook his thumbs in the straps of his overalls and smile at you as he talked. On a side note, there was a heat wave in Wake Island soon after Forrest arrived, and no wind to cool them down. But he never strayed from obeying his temple covenants.

Forrest was caught between some of the buildings when the bombs started to fall in Wake Island. He heard a small voice tell him to lie down. At first he hesitated but the voice said as clear as day, "Fall on your face." So he fell down on his face until the bombing was over. In one direction 60 ft. away a bomb had dropped, in another direction 90, in another 120 ft. He was surrounded by bomb craters. A coworker did not lie down and was mowed down by shrapnel. If he would've remained standing, he would have been killed.

Esther wanted to continue carrying out the traditions she and Forrest had started. She prayed for guidance and help. The answer she received was to play games with her children. As a result she had two purposes; first, to improve herself and her own skills so that she could earn a livelihood, and second, to spend every possible moment "living it up" with her family.

Esther would play games with them every night, often until 1:00 AM or later. While they were playing, she would teach the principles of the gospel in an atmosphere that was easy to accept. There wasn't much arguing - if there was, Esther would stop the game. One time when they continued to bicker, Esther threw the game into the fire and burned it.
Bill Packard said, "A team of horses couldn't have pulled up away from home. If there was a choice of playing with mom or our friends, we always chose mom."

Forrest never did any wheeling and dealing when it came to the Red Cross boxes and trading. He just exchanged with the fellows the things he did not use for useful food. He did not take advantage of the others.

Esther would encourage her children when they had the hard farm work. "She would keep encouraging us to do it, so we developed the attitude that we could." Someone would have to ride the cultivator in the raspberry patch so it would get down in the ground. They would get all scratched up from the vines. Floyd said it was a "miserable, miserable job, but we did everything we could to make things work, because our mother convinced us we could."

"Probably the only time Forrest was beaten was when he was defending another, or when he would be working and the workload was such that he couldn't carry his load." - Lloyd Nelson

Even with all the abuse, Forrest did not have ill feelings about the Japanese people as a whole - "just certain individuals were bad." He never said anything bitter about them. He never called them Japs, but Japanese. He tried not to turn against them even though he was certainly hit and abused during his internment. A common sentiment by the former POWs was that Forrest did not become hateful or hostile; he didn't become bitter or antagonistic toward the Japanese. We learn a great lesson from Forrest: It is possible to overcome obstacles harassment, and abuse we may face without losing our dignity and goodness. And we can face prejudice without becoming prejudiced in return.

Forrest's personality was tempered by his experiences as a prisoner. His faith was strong. Every survivor who knew him said he was a good man; a spiritual man; a peacemaker; a man of sterling character; a man who lived his religion; a man who helped many others survive their prison ordeal; a truly great man; a man who quietly relied upon his Heavenly Father for the strength to endure those terrible indignities.

21 Guns

2011-11-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

What the? When did American Idiot by Greenday get turned into a Broadway?

Portrait Painting

2011-11-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

People surprise me.
Steve is one of the techs at the hospital that works graveyard shifts. He's older, a grandpa actually with 15 grandchildren. But he's also so nice and helpful when I work the swing shifts. The other night he brought in some of his paintings that he did in Zions National Park and also a portrait of his son. Blown away. That's what I was. It was like he was a double agent living this night life of x-ray tech while painting the days away. He teaches an art class in Provo. He told me that he's always looking for models to come in for his class to paint. (Portraits mind you.) I was immediately interested for reasons that I wasn't quite sure of at the time. It sounded like a new opportunity to do something (slightly strange) that I had never done before. If anything, I would most likely just get an intriguing story from it.

The class is held above a cozy little art shop on the corner of Center Street and Freedom Boulevard in Provo. The tables were splattered with paint and easels were stacked in the corner. There were only a few of us. I'm guessing the other students were intimidated by the idea of painting a portrait so they didn't show up. I don't blame them.

It's amazing and humbling to find out how much you really don't know about something. For one, the beginning process of painting a picture. The questions and preparations astound me. Lighting? Plain white canvas or painted canvas? Colors to use? Method? Sketch with pencil or paint? Placement on the canvas?

Steve likes to prepare all of his colors first. It's a mathematical equation mixing those colors. It's a science, an art. Understanding color and then being able to see it takes skill I don't understand and can't explain.

I feel like I can hardly describe in an adequate way the learning I gained just by being a model for this small art class. I wish people would take more time to understand the complexities and skills of other hobbies and trades. There is so much that goes on under the surface of everything we do. I'm starting to understand that with my x-ray program. Especially with my physics class in learning how exactly x-rays are made, how they interact with matter, with film. How kVp and mAs affect the type of x-rays you're producing. There's so much more then just pushing a button. There's anatomy, understanding body placement and positioning, physics and pathology.

I want to learn and understand everyday. I want to try out new experiences. That's what I loved so much about being a portrait model for this art class - the opportunity to be around something I don't understand, to see the process. It was a new experience. One that most people have never done. (Of course everyone I told about modeling for an art class looked at me weird with that I-hope-you're-modeling-nude look.)
But it gave me an appreciation. One: for the people capable of such art and two: for the opportunity that people have to enjoy the arts. John Adams once said, "I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."

October = Halloween = PUMPKINS

2011-10-30T23:11:00.000-06:00

I have never been to a haunted house or a haunted corn maze. I have a hard time thinking of something I want to dress up as and finding a costume. I don't know if I care incredibly much for Halloween parties because it seems like an excuse for girls to dress up like skanks. I don't like scary movies and the only scary stories I look forward to are my Grandma Croslands'. But do you want to know what I love?
Pumpkins.
I love everything about pumpkins in the month of October. Carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin seeds, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins. So amazingly delicious.
A couple years ago my family invested in a second garden located in a community garden location. We've been growing mostly our corn and pumpkins there. And for the past two years I've been up in Rexburg during Halloween which means I have missed pumpkin greatness. Well, this year I wasn't going to miss out and we were going to have a fantastic pumpkin episode. We ended up having 88 pumpkins grown this year. Most of them were on the smaller scale but they looked fantastic spread out all over in our yard.

Brilliant right?
Well just wait until you see what we've carved.
(Warning: lots of photos coming up.)

Boogie Man carved by: Nate

Smiley Jack and Sally carved by: Megan

Boo carved by: Amie

3 Pumpkin Tower carved by: Dad

Michael Jackson and Thriller carved by: Megan

Zero carved by: Megan

Angry Birds carved by: Nate, Megan, and KaLee

Neytiri from Avatar carved by: Mom

Cheshire Cat carved by: Natalie

Mad Hatter carved by: Megan

Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog carved by: Nate

Angry Birds carved by: Amie and Grandpa Packard

Batman carved by: Heather

Jolly Rogers carved by: Jake

Pretty sweet huh? I enjoyed myself and I've gotten my fill of pumpkin carving for the year. Time now to make some goodies.
I hope the trick-or-treaters enjoy our display.
Happy Halloween :)

We Are Young

2011-10-19T14:41:00.000-06:00

The Trolley Song

2011-10-17T13:03:00.000-06:00

Remember how I was obsessed with this Judy Garland song earlier this summer?

Well, here's another song that I became obsessed with as well.

The Trolley Song

Mom surprised me with a gift she found at an antique store: sheet music for The Trolley Song from the movie Meet Me In St. Louis starring Judy Garland.

Completely fantastic.

Judy Garland, she's brilliant.

Faith Hope Assurance

2011-10-12T23:37:00.000-06:00

I was reminded the other day of the correlation between hope, faith, and assurance. It's a thought that has stuck with me throughout my religious classes and I find myself consistently coming back to it.

Define:
Hope: to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. To believe, desire, or trust.

Ether 12:4 "Whoso believeth in God might with a surety hope for a better world, yea even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith."
Ether 12:32 "Wherefore man must hope or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared."

Define:
Faith: To hope for things which are not seen, but which are true. To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.

To me, hope is a level of faith. You cannot have one without the other. Moroni 7:40-42 says, "How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope."
Hope is a level of faith which then leads to action.
You should have hope (desire and look forward with reasonable confidence) in the atonement of Christ, in the power of the resurrection. By first desiring and looking forward with confidence you gain the level of faith that will lead to action.
Helaman had faith in the Lord during the war period, which led to hope of deliverance through Christ. Once he had this faith he took courage and it led to action.
Faith = Hope = Assurance.

Romans 15:13 "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost."
Faith and hope will enable us to act and to be filled with the Holy Ghost giving us assurances. Acting is a present thing which leads to assurance in what the future holds. As we look to the past we see evidence of the Lords blessings which will give us faith and hope in what we are doing in the present, leading us to act.
Action = present.
Assurance = future.
Evidence = past.

Faith
Hope
Assurance

(I think one of my favorites things of the gospel are the correlations between everything. It reminds me of this post.)

Shirt/Skirt

2011-09-26T22:40:00.000-06:00

Mens button up long sleeve shirt = skirt

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

2011-09-26T15:59:00.000-06:00

Remember how Borders was having their 90% off sale and I bought that ridiculous CD? Well, I also bought a couple of books and so far they have been a complete success! The best $1.50 I have ever spent. Let me introduce you to Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. "I was not abused, abandoned, or locked up as a child. My parents were not alcoholics, nor were they ever divorced or dead. We did not live in poverty, or in misery, or in an exotic country. I am not a misunderstood genius, a former child celebrity, or the child of a celebrity. I am not a drug addict, sex addict, food addict, or recovered anything. If I indeed had a past life, I have no recollection of who I was. I have not survived against all odds. I have not lived to tell. I have not witnessed the extraordinary. This is my story."

I think that's what I love the most about this book. The way that she's completely ordinary. And also the fact that she has a fantastic writing style. Here are some posts that I connected to...

TAKING UP SOMETHING NEW
"When I take up something new - say knitting, or the Nordic-Track - there's a period of time where I think, Who knows, this may be just the thing for me. From this point on it will be part of the way people define me. As in: Oh yeah, Amy, I know her; she's the one who kits those hats. It's galvanizing, this new thing, partially because it is fun and interesting, partly because it is simply new, and largely because of the prospect of it becoming an integral part of my life and identity. I will always have knitting needles with me. I will know all the good knitting stores. I will become an expert on yarn. While there are things that have stuck since I fell into them (I dye my hair red; I like yoga; I am known for concocting salads and dressings), it seems, in many cases, the new things slip right off me. It's as if their sticking were nearly impossible, that to try to adopt them would put me head to head with my destiny."

STUPID SLOW DRIVER
"When I see a really slow driver, I have to pull up alongside him to see what this person looks like, to confirm my suspicions. I am certain I will find a distinctly stupid-looking person. Ah, yes, he looks totally stupid. Stupid slow driver."

DISHWASHER
"It is very difficult to try to load someone else's dishwasher; everyone has their own method. Glasses stacked in this row, bowls this way, silverware facing up, down - it's a highly personal thing. The few time someone outside the family has loaded ours, I open it up and am disoriented, dismayed even, to find plates in the wrong slots, bowls on the top (the top?!), and even a skillet crammed in there. It's just too counterproductive and unsettling, even though it is nice of them to try to help."

ANSWERING MACHINE
"In most cases, it is more satisfying to get a friend's answering machine and leave a cheery, tangible trace of your sincere commitment to the friendship than it is to engage in actual conversation."

AYN RAND
"Ayn Rand seems so mysterious, privy, snobby - in a cool way. I'm pretty sure it's the y."

CONVERSATION
"Standing in a doorway and chatting is safe; one has, literally and figuratively, an easy out. But the slightest gesture - taking a step in, glancing at a chair in the corner, unraveling a scarf - signals a commitment to a full-blown conversation. Similarly, if one is interrupted while reading a book, a thumb in the book signals an allegiance to the book, and the interrupter should expect only the most cursory reply. But if the book gets shut with a bookmark, or placed down open-faced,, a full conversation will most likely follow."

POTATO CHIPS
"When I eat potato chips, particularly the crunchy kettle kind, I find myself looking through the bag for the good chips. Somehow a good chip is one that is extra thick looking, and curled onto itself or folded, as opposed to straight and flat. It is a treat, a victory, to find a really good chip and pluck it from the bag. The thinner, straight, or broken ones aren't nearly as pleasing.

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

2011-09-19T18:18:00.000-06:00

This album is going to be fantastic.

2011-09-19T00:16:00.000-06:00

Just saying.

Antony and the Johnsons

2011-09-17T14:11:00.000-06:00

CD, New
"I love the moment when I get a new CD and it holds the promise of being the best CD ever - all that potential, so many good songs to fall in love with, the dense liner notes to inspect. But then I realize, This song's not so great, neither's the next one - ew, what's with that harmonica solo? - and in the end I like maybe two songs, love one, and within a few days it disappears under a stack of other loose, orphaned CDs. And going back to those two or three favorite songs - I feel bad listening to them exclusively, that's somehow cheating. I must listen to the CD in its entirety, to not play favorites so to speak, and when those killer tunes come on, well, I've earned the privilege fair and square. This is not unlike my policy of occasionally rotating my least favorite jeans into the mix - There. I wore them. Happy? - and feeling justified the next morning in resorting once again to my beloved worn-in pair."
- Amy Krouse Rosenthal, "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life"

I almost died this when I read this in a book I recently bought because I also decided to buy a new CD with the hopes of discovering fantastic music.
Borders, 90% off, last day of the sale before they completely close their doors.
Of course I'm going to go look around.
They had a tiny little pile of CDs that I was browsing through and I came across one that looked like it had potential. Mind you this is only from looking at the name of the artist, cover art, and song titles. It was a $1.60. I had one of those urges to just buy something at complete random without doing any research into whether the music is even good. I think we've all wanted that at one time or another. Just to buy some CD, underground artist that no one knows about and have it transform itself into your absolute favorite. That's what I wanted. So I bought the CD.
It was the absolute weirdest CD that I have ever heard. I have no words to describe it. His voice is unique but not in the good unique way. You feel like he's swirling you with smoky mist and confusion. There's only one song on there that I can listen to all the way.
All I have to say is I'm very glad I could have this little experience for only a $1.60 and not for the full price that it would have normally been.
Enjoy!

Grandpa's Bonsais

2011-09-12T18:06:00.000-06:00

In this next bonsai Grandpa tried to imitate nature by having a branch that was dead from maybe getting struck by lightning. He talked about how we all have our own scars that stay with us throughout our life, but they are also what make us unique and ourselves.

Redirecting branches.

You can see all the precise pruning that has been done on this tree in order to keep the shape.

This is the tree that came to my grandpa half dead.

Miners not Miners

2011-09-06T20:45:00.000-06:00

George Tyng: Newspaperman, businessman and miner died here (Miller Hill) January 19, 1906.

That's where I went for Labor Day, Miller Hill. My dad took me for a 4-wheeling drive up to see George Tyng's grave and to see some of his old mines. We ate breakfast where there used to be a bunkhouse for his men that he employed there to mine.

Mountain man breakfast of course.

I did a little scavenging around and I have to say that one of my childhood dreams was realized as I uncovered history. That's right, I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was younger. I don't know what happened to that ambition but it's okay because as I was looking around my eyes spotted something in the dirt that looked suspiciously like the heel end of a sole of a shoe buried in the hillside. I grabbed a rock and began digging!

Yup I discovered a boot! Is this not the greatest thing you've ever seen?! I mean think of how old this could essentially be... George Tyng who owned the mines up here died in 1906. That means I have at least a 100 year span.

Here's some of the mines that we went to check out.

Obviously they're closed off now but stuff like that never stops me.
(If you look closely you'll see that there's a nice gaping hole to the right of me with precarious wood going across it. No wonder it's closed off.)

After that we decided to do some more exploring. And by that I mean climbing up the mountain side.

This was a lovely bit that we somehow climbed up.

Over there in the distance is the nicely paved trail that we were going to climb...

But we decided that these kind of trails would be way more adventurous.

I just have to say that it was the scariest hiking I've ever done. But don't worry, we made it to the top.

It was absolutely stunningly beautiful. I felt like I was reliving my climb up the mountain in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

Of course I had to get my macro shots. You know how much I love those.

There's the back of Timp.

Sometimes I wish I lived back in the day when people really did walk out of their cabins to views like this. I guess I could always just move to Crans-Montana, Switzerland... that way I would have a decent house but still have the beautiful mountain right in my backyard.

The meadow that we came down the mountainside from.

All in all it was a full day of outdoor goodness.

Decor

2011-08-31T22:42:00.000-06:00

Remember this crafty project we did?

Don't you think it looks so much better all spread out along the window sill?

I think it looks awesome.

We Are All Bonsai Trees

2011-08-30T13:06:00.001-06:00

I learned a little something today and I've decided that God is a Bonsai gardener.

My Grandpa Crosland owns a small army of bonsai trees. They vary from pine, maple, multiple kinds of juniper (buffalo, sargent, and nana), ficus, spruce and elm. Basically you can take any tree and transform it into a bonsai tree with the right pruning.

Now the tree determines the pruning needed. Some trees grow all summer long, like the junipers, and they need to be cut back a few times a year to keep the shape you want. Some trees only grow in the spring like the pine so you only prune them once a year.

In order for the tree to develop into the desired shape there are multiple and long steps that need to be taken. First you need to inspect the strength and health of the roots and trunk. My grandpa had a tree that came to him half dead so he had to strictly work on saving the roots for a couple years and then progress from there. Once you have a healthy growing tree the shaping comes from winding wire around the branches so that they will grow in the direction you want them too. You have the start the wire far enough back so that the branch is supported, which typically means from the trunk. When you prune the tree it causes that branch to shoot out more leaves or branches causing the leaves to grow together, giving the desired "cloud look effect".

The trees must be watered everyday. In the winter you bury the pots in saw dust up to the lowest branch. At first I wondered if you could just bring the trees inside to protect them from the snow but my grandpa replied with, "They need to go through everything else that other trees go through. If you bring them inside they'll die. They won't become strong enough."

Heavenly Father knows exactly what shape we are capable of becoming. Some of us require diligent work first on our roots and trunk. We need to develop a stronger foundation, gain a testimony. Some of us need our branches to be redirected. We have to be wired all the way back to our foundation and then out to the furthest tip of the branch in order to grow in the direction that Heavenly Father wants us to. Some of us get cut back more then others. Some are fine just being pruned once a year. But no matter what, we all need to go through some pruning. Trials are the only way that we get tested and can have better growth. It can take years to get to the desired shape but it's the only way that we can turn into that beautiful bonsai tree that God is shaping.

That's why I think that God is a bonsai tree gardener.

Stevie Wonder

2011-08-29T21:42:00.000-06:00

Just some more music goodness.

Goodbye Stranger

2011-08-27T15:19:00.000-06:00

I feel I should sing this after I finish getting an x-ray of a patient.

"Goodbye stranger, it's been nice, hope you find your paradise.

Tried to see your point of view, hope your dreams will all come true."

Painting Jars

2011-08-19T11:06:00.000-06:00

(1 tbsp glue + a little more, 1 tsp water, food coloring)

(1 drop blue) (3 drops blue/ 1 drop green) (4 drops blue/ 1 drop green)

(3 drops green/ 1 drop blue)

We're thinking of adding some rope or wires around some of the tops. We'll see what happens.

Feeling Better

2011-08-16T10:12:00.000-06:00

It's been interesting the span of emotions I've had from getting accepted into the radiology program. It's gone from ecstatic joy to uncertainty. There's four of us that will be doing clinical hours at the American Fork hospital and when I found out that two of them have shadowed there for over a year and already know everyone I felt discouraged. I felt like they would have a leg up on me and already be more advanced and in sync with what's going on. This morning a few of us got together with the clinical instructor for an orientation at the A.F. hospital and I feel a lot better now. The girl that shadowed is just as lost as I am. Granted she knows her way around the building more but she's just as nervous and unsure.

I realized today that I'm going to love having my clinical hours at the A.F. hospital instead of the Provo hospital. A.F. is small, cozy, relaxed, fun. Everyone is nice and willing to help you out. There's only four students there which means more learning for me with less competition. And it's very likely I could get a job there even during my two year program. They're in need of man power and they depend on the students. I like that. It forces me to get a handle on things that much faster.

Anyways, I'm just really excited to start. I'm ready to be busy in school work again. I'm ready to start working in a hospital.

Hearts

2011-08-15T11:29:00.000-06:00

Average beats per minute: 70
Average beats per day: 100,000
Average beats per lifetime: 2.5 billion

Average blood pumped per beat: 2 1/2 ounces
Average blood pumped per day: 1,980 gallons
Average blood pumped per year: 660,500 gallons

Thank you dear heart for the constant care you give my body.

Motorcycles

2011-08-15T00:42:00.000-06:00

I can now officially say that I've ridden on a motorcycle.
Lots of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Plus we had the added bonus of watching lightning. How much better can you get?
And not five minutes after I got home, it started blowing like crazy and dumping rain.
We have perfect timing.
I would say all in all it was a successful ride.

The Conversion of Saul

2011-08-14T19:49:00.000-06:00

We talked about the conversion of Saul today in church and I had this song playing in my head the entire time.

Cookie Cups

2011-08-12T16:32:00.000-06:00

Great idea yes? I know, that's exactly what I thought. And let's just look how how easy this is. I mean, cookie dough, back of muffin pan, cook, peel off, stick some ice cream in there, done! So my friends and I decided to try it.

First piece of advice: always start with less.

I think you'll understand what I mean when you check out the next picture.

It kind of turned into a ridiculous mess.

And it didn't come off the pan very well at all.

So we ate cookie crumbles and ice cream in a normal paper bowl.

My second piece of advice: do not put on the oven cleaner if you have big chunks of cookie dough sitting in the bottom.

Yeah, that's what we did. And there were flames inside the oven. And tons of smoke billowing out of the oven sides. I sat there questioning if that was normal. It wasn't. No worries nothing horrible happened. We canceled the oven cleaner and I cleaned it out this morning. No harm done. Next time I'll just try things a little bit differently.

Cousins

2011-08-08T18:33:00.000-06:00

I ran into my singles ward bishop today. He game me sound advice as I headed to the library. "Go meet someone there." Okay bishop. Since I'm having so much luck with meeting people. Let me explain.

I went dancing last weekend. I love swing dancing. And even though some of the guys there are just.... yeah. They can at least dance, and as long as I get some good swing dancing in I'm happy. But there was a pretty good looking guy there that night that I saw right when we walked in. He actually came up to me after the dance exclaiming that he knew me from somewhere.
I've never seen this guy in my life.
But he asked me to dance and we continued talking. Although not very well because lets be honest, how much of a conversation can you get in while constantly spinning and trying to yell over the music? Not much. He was really nice and still hadn't figured out where he knew me from. But I continued on my way, dancing with whoever asked me. (I was practicing my body language while standing, aka trying not to stand with my arms crossed, which I have to consciously think about and it really works! Thanks to the little workshop at the YSA Summer Summit I got asked to dance on every song.) Anyways a slow song came up and the guy asked me to dance again, so we could actually talk. Still no progress on how he knows me.
The next thing to happen (if actually planned) would have been perfect from that workshop on dating techniques. But even though it wasn't on purpose, it worked all the same. Chelsea and I went outside to get something from her car and the guy saw me leaving. He ran out and yelled for me, asking if I was leaving. Nope. Oh. Well I'm leaving soon... can I get your number?
Ha! Score. See the trick is you have to make the guy work to get your number. If he has to work a little harder then he'll be more likely to call you. (This is all according to the workshop.) If you just give him your number without him asking for it, he won't be as likely to call.
He sent me a text later that night with his name so I would know the number. And guess what that name was?
Brandon PACKARD.
Yeah, I know. Packard. Meaning, we're probably related.
And long story short, we're second cousins (I think that's how it works out.) Our grandpas are brothers, his dad and my mom are cousins.
He was definitely bummed when we figured it out the next day. Oh well, Packards are always cool.
They just happen to be taking over the world is all.

For What It's Worth

2011-07-28T23:14:00.000-06:00

Sing it Buffalo Springfield

Where To Live

2011-07-26T14:28:00.001-06:00

I've been doing a little apartment shopping for when I move down to Provo next year and I'm not fully sure which direction to go. I've lived with 4, 6, and 8 people. I've lived in on campus apartments, off campus apartments, and a house. I've had a washer/dryer in my apartment, and coin operated ones. I've always have had a dishwasher. I haven't always had cable. I've never had my own room.

I've been checking out a few places on vacancy.com and I'm liking the idea of Heritage House.

Now from my few experiences I have come to find some very necessary details.

1. Washer/dryer in the apartment is a HUGE plus. I absolutely hate the coin machines. I hardly ever use cash which means I hardly ever own quarters, especially in copious amounts just to wash a load of laundry. Also, who likes carrying their dirty laundry across the apartments where everyone can see? And I swear I'm always cursed with the apartment furthest away from the laundry room.

So far, Heritage House is looking good, washer/dryer included in the amenities list!

2. I really don't mind sharing a room so private rooms aren't a necessity for me but I have found that I enjoy living with a good number of people. (Good number meaning more than 4 but 8 is probably the limit.) Well, Heritage House has 6 private bedrooms, that would be a first for me but I definitely won't argue with those living arrangements.

3. Bathrooms are very important. They can either make or break an apartment. My last semester we had tons of counter space, lots of mirrors, and plentiful outlets. (Just a reminder that I was living with 8 girls so that was an absolute need.) We didn't have the greatest showers, and essentially it was 4 girls to a bathroom but it was really just one large space. There are lots of fond memories in that beloved space. Do you remember our beloved chair? Oh the loved memories of staying up late in the bathroom talking, nail painting parties, headbanging parties, music as loud as it will go while you shower, constant singing. Twas a good bathroom.

(I don't think Heritage House will have the same magical qualities but it's okay, we've taken the number down to only 3 to a bathroom.)

4. The kitchen is another area of large importance. I love dishwashers. And sadly, Heritage House doesn't have one. Instead it has 2 fridges, which is great when you live with 8 people, but there's only 6 living there. I think I would much rather have a dishwasher instead.

5. And lastly the living room, the area of living, plays an important role in social entertaining. The house I lived in last semester was lacking serious proportions for the ideal living room. It was seriously tiny. But no matter. We made due and had a blast anyways. (Picture below shows how we would rearrange the living room for projector movie watching. It was terrible trying to get in or out of the apartment with the furniture this way. You could hardly open the door because the love sac was right in the middle of everything.)

But don't worry, the living room looks acceptable in Heritage House and after dealing with the Sunset Hall living room, I'm sure anything else will be just perfect.

Anyways, check out Heritage Hall and if you have any suggestions for me on other lovely abodes to live in, tell me!

http://www.vacancy.com/utah/provo-apartments/heritage-house-763-2-priv-fwss-contracts/photos/

Slightly Oxymoronic

2011-07-26T13:53:00.000-06:00

A very upbeat song to have lyrics like this...

p.s. why are there so many different ways to spell "Megan"?

July

2011-07-23T22:34:00.000-06:00

Tonight I heard fireworks.
So I ran around the block barefoot,
searching for the best viewing spot.
I thought about last years month of July,
and the July before that.
I don't like the connections I found,
they're not very promising.
But being barefoot was nice.
I felt like I was living in an older America.
"The American Dream"
I found the big dipper, the north star, and Cassiopeia in the sky
amid all the fireworks.
It was nice,
could have been better.

Bath

2011-07-20T10:35:00.001-06:00

I forgot about these pictures until Amberly reminded me with one of her posts. Lucky us Kamo has been declawed so no casualties on our end, except for how ugly she looks when she's wet.

The Secret Island of Dr. Quandary

2011-07-19T10:30:00.000-06:00

Please tell me that someone out there remembers playing this PC game...

Whit and I basically relived our childhood watching all 7 parts of this guys walk through. It was fantastic and completely worth it.

Benjamin Franklin

2011-07-16T23:14:00.000-06:00

So I've been reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and I am so impressed by this man. Firstly he was raised by a wise father who "liked to have, as often as he could, some sensible friend or neighbor to converse with, and always took care to start some ingenious or useful topic for discourse, which might tend to improve the minds of his children. By this means he turned our attention to what was good, just, and prudent in the conduct of life." I can only imagine what a huge impact this had on Franklin for he seemed on improving himself for the rest of his life. There was no petty gossip in his teenage life. He made friends with those who among himself, loved reading. They would go into the woods and read aloud to each other and discuss ideas, themes, poetry... I can't even imagine a group of boys in high school reading to each other like that. Too bad though, Franklin makes a good point later saying, "Influence upon the private character, late in life, is not only an influence late in life, but a weak influence. It is in youth that we plant our chief habits and prejudices; it is in youth that we take our party as to profession, pursuits and matrimony."

Another quote from him that I thought was very interesting about the religions of that time, "These I esteem'd the essentials of every religion; and, being to be found in all the religions we had in our country, I respected them all, tho' with different degrees of respect, as I found them more or less mix'd with other articles, which, without any tendency to inspire, promote or confirm morality, serv'd principally to divide us and make us unfriendly to one another."

A few years later Franklin tells about 13 virtues which at that time were necessary and desirable to him. He gives his own definition of what they mean and puts them in a specific order at which to work at attaining them.
1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
"Temperance first, as it tends to procure that coolness and clearness of head, which is so necessary where constant vigilance was to be kept up... This being acquir'd and establish'd, Silence would be more easy. This and the next Order, I expected would allow me more time for attending to my project and my studies. Resolution once become habitual, would keep me firm in my endeavors to obtain all the subsequent virtues; Frugality and Industry freeing me from my remaining debt and producing affluence and independence, would make more easy the practice of Sincerity and Justice, ect., ect."
Franklin goes on to say, "I was supris'd to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined; but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish."

Now can you imagine any leader of this nation right now having this on their mind? I would be shocked and surprised if any of them were striving like this to better themselves.

Anyways, one last quote.
"In truth, I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order; and now I am grown old, and my memory bad, I feel very sensibly the want of it. But, on the whole, tho' I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it."

Tolerance

2011-07-15T11:05:00.000-06:00

"Until recently in our national history, tolerance referred to racial and religious non-discrimination. It meant civility in the political arena; in other words, respecting the right of others to express their views, even if we do not agree with them. It meant treating all people with decency and respect.

"Today, however, the world is in danger of abandoning all sense of absolute right or wrong, all morality and virtue, replacing them with an all-encompassing "tolerance" that no longer means what it once meant. An extreme definition of tolerance is now widespread that implicitly or explicitly endorses the right of every person to choose their own morality, even their own "truth," as though morality and truth were mere matters of personal preference.

"Curiously enough, this new modern tolerance is often a one-way street. Those who practice it expect everyone to tolerate them in anything they say or do, but show no tolerance themselves toward those who express differing viewpoints or defend traditional morality.

"Now let us go one step further. Even in its original and correct connotation, tolerance is surely a secondary virtue in comparison with the far higher virtue of love. Certainly it is good to be tolerant of those who are different than we are, treating them with kindness and civility. But love, or charity, is the highest of all, and it is far better to genuinely love those with whom we differ."

"Life is not like a river but like a tree."

2011-07-13T18:24:00.000-06:00

"We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the centre: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork you must make a decision. Even on the biological level life is not like a river but like a tree. It does not move towards unity but away from it and the creatures grow further apart as they increase in perfection. Good, as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good." - C. S. Lewis

Interesting thought no? I've been thinking about his phrase of life being more like a tree than a river, but not in the religious good and evil sense. The other night I helped a friend prepare things for her wedding reception. I haven't seen her in a while and it was good to catch up but it seems that all old friends can catch up on is what everyone else is up to. I'm afraid I find myself slipping into those conversations more then I like but it's hard when you haven't seen someone for a long while. Things aren't as natural as they used to be. It's like you have to go through a polite greeting/get to know you again before you can delve. But then the delving isn't must deeper then the level of the kiddie pools. Life is like a tree. You all branch off in your own direction, move into your own life. You become more distant from each other, spreading into different regions, growing next to new branches. Then those branch off and you continue down your course in life. How many people from my high school do I still keep in touch with? There's a handful but everyone else is sporadic. How many people do I keep in touch with from college? I'm trying harder to stay with them, (let's be honest I was done with high school long before I graduated.) they're the more recent ones in my life. I seem to have difficulties with loosing touch with people but also with not caring about loosing touch. What a sad dilemma.
But through all these changes, I'm always closest with my family. That's more important then my friends I think. I know that people are put into my life, and I hope that I'm utilizing what they're teaching me, but my family is here to stay.

Get Happy

2011-06-28T23:26:00.000-06:00

Another Judy Garland song that I'm obsessed with right now.

And guess who's leaving for Washington and Oregon Thursday morning? Yes sir, me. Family reunion and then the beach house. Perfect place to throw my cares away and get happy.

Freedom and a Memory

2011-06-26T23:10:00.000-06:00

Remember how I was having a really hard time with my job? Well, after I posted that my sister called me the next morning to talk with me about how things were going. She told me I should just get a different job! I know that seems completely obvious, but I honestly thought and felt like I was trapped in this job and wasn't going to be out of there anytime soon. Which added to the dread. But then it was a light bulb and I thought, "this is America, I can get a different job if I want!" I know, little ridiculous that it hadn't struck me before. So last Saturday was my last day working, and now I am free of that job. I haven't heard back from hardly any of the places that I applied to so I'm still looking. I would really love to find any type of work in a hospital or radiology office so I can work more towards what I'm going into. Find a job that will help me with my career. We'll see how that goes. But it's nice to be free for these next few days before my family jets off for a vacation. Once I get home I'll start to job search again. Any suggestions?

On another note, I found this movie on youtube today. Can I tell you how much I love this song? When I was visiting my dear cousin Caitlyn in Georgia when we were both very young, we decided we wanted to learn this song! Well, the lyrics are absolutely no where online and we couldn't find anything about it. (I think this was 8 years ago or so and I'm sure the internet was nothing like it is now.) Anyways, we stayed up until 2 or 3 that night, watching this scene on VHS, pausing it, writing down the lyrics we could remember, starting the scene up again while trying to write everything, pausing, writing, rewinding, over and over again until we had written down all the lyrics ourselves. Next we went on to memorize the different parts and perfect the enunciation. I sung the guys lines (because I was slightly sick and couldn't sing high at all) and my cousin took over the girls lines. We performed it the next morning to my aunt and anyone around that would listen to us. To this day we still slightly remember the lyrics and laugh about that night every time we talk about it. I love spending time with cousins.

Get Together

2011-06-23T16:58:00.000-06:00

Remember how I went on a choir tour to Europe? Well, I miss all of those lovely friends that I made on that trip. We periodically have reunions which make me miss Europe and our adventures that much more. But it had been a long while since our last reunion and since I am now known as "dictator Megan" in our group, I was asked to plan another reunion.
This was the first reunion where all of our guys are off on missions! It was strange, and there were only a small handful of us that could get together. But no matter, I loved it all the same.

I got us dinner reservations at Buca di Beppo at their kitchen table. If you've never been there, go. It's so good. And I must pass along the advice given from my sister to get the Italian pear soda. It's completely out of this world good. I can't even describe it except that I wanted 10 to-go cups to take home with me.

We played around at Gateway while waiting to go to a concert and of course we had to try on the most ridiculous outfits we could find.

I honestly don't know how they make money stocking the store with garbage like this.

Angel, Mary Jane, Brianna, Me

Of course we had to hit up the tracks. It's practically a necessity with a trip to Salt Lake.

Love those girls so much. I miss being with them all the time. I miss all the inside jokes that got created from our circumstances. As strange as it sounds I miss always watching out for Brianna. (I'm pretty sure we saved her life/saved her from getting lost almost everyday in Europe. No joke. I really don't know how she's lived this long.) But life never stops. I'm just glad we get the chance to get together every now and then. It honestly needs to happen more.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T20:58:00.000-06:00

I love you dad.

Child Stars

2011-06-18T17:27:00.000-06:00

Firstly, I'm absolutely obsessed with this recording and listen to it daily. I love Judy Garlands younger voice. (I love her voice anyways but this is just good.) She's 16 in this recording, which baffles my mind. She looks so much younger! But her voice is mature.

The next child star I want you to listen to is Julie Andrews. She's 12 in this recording and honestly I don't even feel like singing after I hear her because I have no chance.

But still, her voice is exquisite and she is truly talented.

Last one, and she is not a child star in the sense of talent, but more just because she became a hit off of disney channel and now she thinks she has the voice of the ages.

All I have to say is, what happened to real talent? I mean I know there's amazing talent out there in kids but why the heck is all the publicity on people like Miley Cyrus?! (And yes I completely dislike her.)

Mission Call

2011-06-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

Have I ever introduced you to my brother before? Well, this is Nate. Sometimes I call him Nathaniel. (No his full name isn't Nathaniel, just Nathan, but I like giving it that extra bit.) I love this boy with all my heart. He's about a year and a half younger then me, turning 19 in September which equals a mission. I can't believe that he's old enough to go on a mission. It weirds me out because he shouldn't be that old and it means I've been out of high school for two years now.

Right before going downstairs to open up his call. (Yeah, he was nervous and shaking.)

I'm so proud of my little brother, for living the way he should and for the choices he has made in his life. We've been able to grow a lot closer ever since being in high school together. I remember when Nate got angry at me for not telling him about dating someone or whatever was going on there and so ever since then we made a pact. He would give me updates on everything and in return I would tell him everything that was going on. It's been fun. When I was living up in Idaho I would get random calls from him sometimes and he would say, "Okay Megan, here's my update. Now tell me yours..."

Goodness I'm going to miss him when he leaves.

October 5th, 2011. MTC, and then off to Cleveland, Ohio.

Love you Nate.

A World of Half Trees

2011-06-11T18:46:00.000-06:00

This post is dedicated to all the trees out there that sacrificed their limbs for human advancement. Thank you.

Work Sucks

2011-06-07T20:42:00.000-06:00

Okay I'm facing it, my job sucks. And I know, I'm lucky to have a job... But jeez best way to kill a summer is with a crap-o-la job that you dread going to every night before you go to bed. I don't think my body likes it either. I've been having a lot of weird reactions going on lately, stomach flu, allergic reactions, coughing, more allergic reactions. I'm starting to think it's the work place. (Okay so I'm stretching to blame everything on work). I wish I was back in school right now. I love school. I can't wait to start my program in the fall. Holy crap the end of this month can't come fast enough. Because guess what? Once we hit June 30th, I am out of here on vacation for a good week and a half! Goodbye work!! And then I'll just have to last through to the school year. I've already decided this is only a summer job. No way I'm working there and trying to figure out this program. Talk about more stress than I care for.
Anyways that's about as exciting as my life is right now. Dread work, work, get home and enjoy not being at work, start dreading work again.
But I will have to say, today was my day off. (Praise everything.) And it was a fantastic day. Worked on mostly everything I wanted to and more. Love not working.

Bella

2011-05-28T21:14:00.000-06:00

Okay so remember how my dad has this talent for finding amazing movies that I love? Well, here's another one. Bella. If I wouldn't have had work in 15 minutes after watching the film...flat out would have cried. Wouldn't have even cared. Except for I had to go to work so my eyes just brimmed with tears. It's a gorgeous movie with beautiful statements about family and children. The characters have depth, and meaning. I feel like I look for that a lot now. Are the characters stock, or flat? Or do they seem realistic and developed? What morals does the movie represent?

Anyways, the movie is completely worth a look into. Check it out.

P.S. Dad how do you find these?!

"You Non Contributing Zero"

2011-05-23T18:21:00.000-06:00

We were shown this video at work and I was dying. Every point he made is so true! And I totally agree that the best stuff is wasted on spoiled idiots. Now I don't think myself an idiot but I'm sure I don't appreciate technology as much as I should. What kills me is when I see 10 year olds with cell phones that are more advanced then mine. What do they need a cell phone for?! So they can text their besties and their jr. high loves and just omg brb LOL. :) Ughh my goodness! Death to every cell phone that is owned by anyone under the age of 16. And I know the excuse of "I might need to get a hold of my mom!" Well guess what, the world contacted mothers just fine for many a year, you can survive. One more little rant about phones... anyone who doesn't use correct language and punctuation is... extremely frustrating to me. Sorry if you do that but really? Adding apostrophes really isn't that hard. Nor is spelling words correctly.
Okay sorry for the rant! Technology is great and it's the reason that I have a job right now.
And I would love to see people that excited every time they got on a plane. Wouldn't that just make your day? I think we would all be a much happier people if we were happy and excited about more things.

Oh my dear family

2011-05-22T11:33:00.000-06:00

I don't know if you know this, but I've been so privileged to have the family that I have. Extended family included. I love that we're singers and busting out in song is in regular occurrence. (Especially in Ethel Merman impressions now.) I love that we relish in old movies and recently got the girls together to watch Call Me Madam and Annie Get Your Gun. I love how many of us there are. I love that we are a game playing family and Make-a-Million is the staple Packard game. (I'm considering the idea of finally learning how to play that game since we have huge Make-a-Million tournaments at our family reunions.) I love that we always seem to quote The Three Amigos and The Scarlet Pimpernel. I love that we are chocolate eating people. I love that our dinner traditions are living on from generation to generation. I love that we have a family reunion this summer. I love this family.

Packard Family Reunion 2009

Looking Scary

2011-05-17T18:24:00.000-06:00

Don't ask what happened, I don't know. All I know is that I have temperamental skin.

This broke out all over my legs the day before I was to go to Disneyland. It made my feet itch like crazy.

It was mostly gone at Disneyland except for the back of my heel.

Then on Mother's Day I broke out with this all over my arms. Little red itchy bumps.

Stupid skin. I looked like a leper.

But don't worry. My rashes are finally gone (well mostly, the one on the back of my ankle doesn't want to completely go away.)

But come on now, I can't be without some deformity to show people!

You can't see the nail of my middle finger as well but just know that it got a good squish in the garage door.

Complete accident and incredibly bad timing in every point of how it happened.

I'm oh so pretty.

Little Teary Eyed

2011-05-13T22:43:00.000-06:00

Somethings wrong. I don’t know what happened, or what changed. But I’m starting to get weapy…like emotional…like tearing up during television shows. (Bones has gotten me twice now.) How incredibly absurd is that?! I’ve never done that in my life and crying is a very rare occurance as it is. It normally takes a lot to get my lacrimal gland open and pouring.

I still have a chance to shut this down though, so far I’ve only been getting watery eyes. That’s like half of a cry. You can wipe that away and hide it pretty easy. No blotchy face to deal with. Just act like you were about to sneeze and ta-da, problem fixed.

Why do I dislike crying?

1. It gives me a headache.

2. Salty tears running down my face does not equal very attractive.

3. It makes me feel like I have no control.

4. It normally happens when I have something that I need to say; obviously something I’m emotional about. And then crying destroys any chance of being understood and instead you stand there, blubbering like an idiot trying to make some poor human understand what is so extremely important to you, or what is upsetting you.

5. It looks like your just crying to get your way, playing with others emotions by acting emotional yourself. In my opinion, this is a very feminine characteristic which I don’t really care for. I don’t want people to give me my way just because I start crying.

I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be so anti-crying. This is probably my subconcious self going against any norm it chooses. (Believe me, it does this. Just take a look at my favorite movies, books, and music and you’ll find that it’s normally not in the average stream. It’s not completely out there, but if an author has two books, and one is wordly known, I tend to like the other book that’s less known. My way of going against society I guess.)

Anyways, enough of this discussion.

Why I Love Disneyland

2011-05-08T21:56:00.000-06:00

1. It's located in California, and just a half hour from a beach. One of our better ideas: leave extremely early in the morning in order to get there and lay out at the beach for the rest of the day. Brilliant.

2. Hopper pass. It's unheard of in our family to go to Disneyland and not California Adventures. Those are always a package deal. How do you not go to both parks?

3. Being with someone whose experiencing Disneyland for the first time. Oh it's a blast and adds a different sense of enjoyment.

4. Theme rides. I know those little kid rides are meant for little kids enjoyment... but they're so classic and I love riding through the movies of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. (side note: The Snow White ride, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad's Wild ride are quite possible the freakiest little rides I've ever been on. No joke. How do little kids enjoy those?! I'm surprised kids don't come off those rides terrified and crying.)

5. Thrill rides. Some of these are theme rides also, but everyone loves a good thrill. Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Hollywood Tower Hotel, California Screaming, The Ferris Wheel. (Ferris Wheel you may question? Oh, it is the most gut dropping ferris wheel I've ever been on.)

See how some of those carts can swing? (Hopefully you can see it in the picture.) Yes, they swing a lot. When I went on this ride when I was much younger, I cried my poor little eyes out. (And whoever was on it with me was standing up and making it swing even more). It was a horrible ride. Well, I'm much older now and I had Whitney with me, who I decided needed to experience almost every ride. We didn't think it would swing that much anyways since we weren't going to be forcing it like before. Oh no... it swung just as much and I was facing backwards. Imagine sitting in the cart and having it suddenly start moving backward and then swinging back so you are now looking downward. I relate this ride to the haunted forests at Halloween. It's a scary fun. While you're there you're thinking "this was the dumbest idea" but afterward, you're craving more and thinking, "that was the greatest idea." The ferris wheel has this intense scary fun feeling to it that drove me and Whitney back to ride it again the next day.

(Yes we are holding on to the back of our seats for dear life.)

6. The music. The music on the rides, in the shops, as your walking along the streets just as this wonderful childhood innocent goodness to it. And yes we bought the CD that has the songs from most of the rides and park areas of Disneyland and California Adventure.

7. Lastly, the atmosphere. It's like the music, innocent goodness. (Aside from the completely immodest clothing worn by many Disney-goers. You just ignore those people.) Other then that, it's great.

Better

2011-05-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

So the full title of this book is Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande. I've never understood it, but I get a lot of questioning looks when I pull out one of my medical books to read. My grandma asked if it was a textbook that I was reading for school the other week. No. Just a book, for fun. I love a good medical book. They are some of the most interesting books I've read. (Especially as far as learning new things goes.) I have another book by this same author, Atul Gawande, and I love it just as much. He writes in a fantastic way that brings things to a lower level (so you can actually understand what he's talking about), but you don't feel like he's dumbing it down. He just makes it much easier to understand.

In the book, Better, he talks about the struggle in medicine to perform well in circumstances that aren't always under your control. Gawande divides the book into three sections, talking about diligence, the challenge to do right, and ingenuity. I loved his examples in the book, the cases that he talked about and what worked and what didn't.

Here's a quote from the book.
"Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try."

At the end he gives five suggestions to make a worthy difference, or to be a positive deviant. Now he's aiming these all towards the medical field but I think they're completely applicable in any other field of life.
1. Ask an unscripted question. "Ours is a job of talking to strangers. Why not learn something about them?"
2. Don't complain. "Nothing in medicine is more dispiriting than hearing doctors complain... Resist it. It's boring, it doesn't solve anything, and it will get you down. You don't have to be sunny about everything. Just be prepared with something else to discuss."
3. Count something. "Regardless of what one ultimately does in medicine - or outside medicine, for that matter - one should be a scientist in this world. If you count something you find interesting, you will learn something interesting."
4. Write something. "Writing lets you step back and think through a problem. Even the angriest rant forces the writer to achieve a degree of thoughtfulness."
5. Change. "Be willing to recognize the inadequacies in what you do and to seek out solutions."

"So find something new to try, something to change. Count how often you succeed and how often you fail. Write about it. Ask people what they think. See if you can keep the conversation going."

Writing Letters

2011-04-29T10:26:00.000-06:00

Firstly, writing, sending, and getting letters always brightens my day.

Second, I got sealing wax for Christmas... and it makes sending letters even better.

I'm sure the elders out in the field are like, "what the..."

But come on, it's like "Hello Hogwarts I'm off to be a wizard!"

Who wouldn't want a letter sealed like this?

Even more fantastic, the first letter of my name.
I feel like the Scarlet Pimpernel.

"Sink me"

I wish we wrote letters more. And sealed with wax.

Le Papillon

2011-04-28T22:36:00.000-06:00

One of my good friends saw this movie in a class and thought/knew I would love it. She knows me well. It's adorable. And I will probably buy it. During the end credits they play this song. It captures the back and forth nature of Elsa and Julien; Elsa always asking questions, Julien answering with riddles. (The first comment under the video has the translation for when they speak in the middle of the song. Check that out too while you listen.) Anyways, I loved it. I loved the piano music throughout the movie and the song at the end. I loved the actors for Elsa and Julien. They played the part perfectly. Very cute movie.

Experimenting

2011-04-27T10:15:00.000-06:00

Natalie and I got looking at different hair styles online, (braids were of course included) and we came across this Halo Braid. So I decided to try it out on her. (I am not talented enough to try it on myself.)

It's hard working the braid up the side of someone's head. I'm sure it gets easier as you do it more but for the last couple of years, I've only braided downward. It still turned out pretty good. And that's with Natalie's extremely thin, clean hair.

Pretty cool right?!

The second hair style I tried was a combination of multiple things we looked at. Basically, I just tried whatever I wanted. :)

Overall, I'm pleased with how this turned out. It did take all of my bobby pins and I doubt it would be extremely comfortable to wear all day. And it would've been much easier if I had been working with day-old hair. I know, it sounds gross, but hair that has had a day to...get dirty I guess... is so much easier to work with. And Natalie's was not day-old hair.

But hey, she was a good sport about me shoving bobby pins willy-nilly, ratting, and hair-spraying her hair to death. I enjoyed myself.

Flipped

2011-04-26T23:22:00.000-06:00

My family got this movie for Christmas and I finally got around to watching it. And I'm blogging about it so it obviously was a fantastic movie. The movie has the same feel to it as Little Manhattan. Okay, it's pretty much exactly the same, but Flipped has a bit more depth to it, more of a story, more character development, and both sides are shown throughout the movie. Plus I love the time period and the look of the cinematography in Flipped. And honestly, that boy is straight up adorable. Adorable sounds strange, but I am 20, and he is portraying a boy in jr. high and I don't want to sound completely creepy. But come on, that face has major potential. I mean what 16 year old looks like this?! Ah the injustice of life. But hey, someone has to get all the looks right?

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T12:32:00.002-06:00

Jane Eyre

2011-04-23T15:15:00.000-06:00

I tried reading this book a long time ago when I was younger, and I was just so bored and couldn't get through it in the least, so I left it untouched after that. Well, I have trained Natalie in my good taste of books and for her to be so in love with this book, was questionable to me. And I couldn't allow my younger sister to surpass me with reading and loving classics that I haven't read all the way through so... I of course had to attempt the book again. Plus there's a Jane Eyre frenzy going on right now with the new movie released so I jumped on the bandwagon. And I love the broadway music for Jane Eyre, so why not read the book and get a much clearer understanding of the storyline?
I don't know where I got stuck in the book when I was younger, because I did not think any of it was too slow, or dragging. I love that language. I wish we still spoke like that. I love the conversations they have, Mr. Rochester's personality is completely bewitching and I love it. Jane is fantastic, she is a perfect mix of independence, womanhood, strength, values, intelligence etc...
Also, what a great love story! And it has substance and depth to it. I love how they study each other out in silent ways for months, learning character by actions done. Neither Jane nor Edward are extremely attractive and gorgeous, (except in my mind, Edward is completely handsome) so it's not just vain, superficial love. They do think each other is attractive, but they are in love with the person itself and not appearance, because appearance was not what first attracted them.
Anyways, I'm just in love with this story. And side note, the broadway music is fantastic and guess what else? They use direct lines from the book in the lyrics. Basically I was hearing Jane/Edwards voice in my head (from the soundtrack) while I read the book. Completely fantastic.

Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano

2011-04-22T18:50:00.000-06:00

Found this recipe the other day and decided to try it out. This is the second time I've made it and I'm still loving it.

First, start cooking the meat (I added meat to the recipe, much better), and get the noodles boiling.

Next we make the sauce, composed of basically lemon zest and juice, Parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and extra virgin olive oil.

The cheese will melt and turn into more of a paste once you add the pasta and pasta water.

Once the sauce has been made, we add the chicken and pasta.

Sprinkle in some fresh basil leaves.

And finish! You have a delicious chicken/pasta dish. Honestly it tastes so light and fresh. It makes me picture warm, warm summer days with an ice cold lemonade.

Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano
3/4 box of spaghetti (I used either fettuccine or linguine. I just like thicker pasta.)
Coarse salt
1 lemon
1 1/2 cups finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3-5 Tbsp. pasta water, to thin sauce
Handful fresh basil leaves
Chicken (I added the chicken into the recipe and just cook up whatever amount I think works, but cut into bite sized pieces).

1. Boil spaghetti in salted boiling water (DON'T TOSS OUT PASTA WATER) and start cooking chicken in olive oil.
2. Grate zest from lemon into large mixing bowl (not a lot of zest). Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into bowl (again very little).
3. Add Parmesan cheese, pepper, and a pinch of salt, mix in olive oil to form a wet paste.
4. Once pasta is cooked add 2-3 Tbsp. of cooking water to lemon/cheese mixture. Add spaghetti and chicken to bowl, adding more cooking water if necessary. Stir.
5. Roughly tear in basil leaves.
6. Serve with a sprinkle of salt, pepper and few gratings of extra Parmesan cheese.

Eric Hutchinson

2011-04-21T10:54:00.000-06:00

Alright so he hasn't got the whole look down of singing and playing the piano at the same time, little goofy there but still, I love his music. (And the effects with the lyrics in the video... I basically just watched the video to watch the lyrics.) He's got this Jason Mraz feel, Nathan Angelo/James Morrison sound, and some Jamie Cullum piano. (No artist is truly original anymore.) Some of you might know him from his radio hit song, Rock & Roll, which is classic goodness. I mean even he can't resist the rhythm of his own music, he bobs up and down during the whole music video. But he's not a one hit wonder. The rest of the songs on his CD are just as good. So if you're in the need of some music, check out my friend, Eric Hutchinson.

Singles Ward

2011-04-17T20:51:00.000-06:00

So I'm officially graduated from BYU-Idaho. Not anything grand, associates in generals, I know how extremely exciting... But! Hey now all my credits will transfer nicely. My radiology program starts in the fall and it's a 2 year program. Most of my time will be at the American Fork hospital, which means I'm going to save money and live at home.
Brief update, I have not lived in one place for more than 4 months for the past 2 years of my life. I've moved into a new apartment every semester, new ward, new roommates.
And now I'm here, for 2 years, attending the same singles ward for this period of time. Weird for me.
But I've decided to change some things. Like my attitude.
Before my attitude was along the lines of, what can this ward do for me and where are the cute guys?
My mom would always lecture me about instead seeing what I can do for the ward. But did I listen? Of course not. That speech went right over my head and I kept my attitude.
But like I said, change is happening.
I'm trying to become involved in this ward.
FHE, ward prayer, institute, ward temple night.
I don't really have any friend friends in the ward, I sat by myself again in sunday school today. But guess what? I don't care. I was taught some great things, and had some of my own great insights. Isn't that what church should firstly be about? Church? Taking the sacrament? Learning the gospel?
I shouldn't just hang up a ward after a quick glance through the menu.
That's just being selfish.
I'm trying.
It's hard to completely involve yourself sometimes.

Mousy

2011-04-15T12:20:00.000-06:00

Meet Jerry. (You know, like Tom and Jerry, the cartoon.)

He's a new addition to our home.

Question: What girl would ever answer a guy to prom by giving him a mouse in a mouse wheel?

Answer: Whoever Nate is taking to prom.

We didn't know what to do with Jerry and afraid of him getting out of his box, we put tin foil over the top and poked appropriate air holes.

We also fed Jerry croutons.

For an extra measure we stuck the box inside a tote. (We shut him up in Natalie's room for the night and I would've felt terrible if Jerry got out and was wondering around in Natalie's room.)

See that big hole near the bottom side of the box. That was Jerry's doing.

It's a good thing we stuck the box in a tote because later when I went down to check on him, he was sitting on top of the box. Yeah we freaked out a little.

Nate put another crouton inside the box to get Jerry in there again.

Well, Jerry only got to spend the night at our house. Mom made sure that he was disposed of and gotten rid of before she got home.

Our first option was to feed him to the Larsen's snake. (Terrible sounding right?) But alas, he was too small.

So we released him into the wild (a field). I don't know how he's going to survive without his croutons. Maybe we should have tied some to his tail for a meal later.

Color

2011-04-13T14:49:00.000-06:00

I love color. I love organizing color, seeing color, using color.

So of course, organize clothes by color order with matching hangers.

Who wouldn't?

I've seen bookshelves that are organized by color and so I decided to give it a go.

Pretty awesome right?

Too bad not all my books can fit when organized in this fashion.

I had to throw the color idea and go with keeping the series together.

Don't ask how I managed to fit everything in...

Oh that's right, I hid the unimportant books behind.

Work On This

2011-04-09T22:49:00.000-06:00

Dear Future Husband,
Can you just read this talk and work towards having some of his traits?
I would love that so much.
Don't worry, I'll work on having those traits in myself too.

Much love,
Megan

Batik

2011-04-05T12:44:00.000-06:00

Batik. Have you ever heard of it? It's art. And it's basically amazing and kind of blows my mind away. You must start off knowing exactly what you're picture is going to look like. It has to be all planned out.

Essentially you start off with a white cloth, you put hot wax on the areas that you want to stay white for the ending picture. Then you dip the cloth into a bath dye of the lightest color. After it's dried you put wax on the parts that you want to stay that lightest color. Then you dip again in a darker color and repeat until finally you have dipped the cloth in all the colors and you have wax over almost the whole cloth. After that you hot iron the cloth between sheets of absorbent paper to remove the wax, and done, you have your image. I know it sounds slightly simple but check out these images. I'm thoroughly impressed.

I think this needs to be added to my art projects to try. I did find a place that offers lessons for a mere $400 for 3 months... but alas the class is located in Southeast Asia.

Introducing...

2011-04-04T11:22:00.000-06:00

Me, a soon to be (in 2 years) radiology technician! Yes this means that I got into Weber's Radiology Program! So remember those 2 interviews I had to go through, one for the program in the Provo area, and the other for Ogden? Well, I had the Provo interview last Monday and lets just say that I did not feel good about it at all. I felt like I was giving the wrong answers, I wasn't saying what they really wanted to me...on and on. But I will say that at least it was a relaxed atmosphere. Which helped a lot. I mean they have a long table with 6 people questioning you on one side, while you sit on the opposite side of the table right in the middle. Talk about hot seat. But they were all joking around, laughing, just really relaxed. Which I loved.
Ogden's interview came on Thursday and I felt 10 times better about that interview. Oh it was perfect. They were asking questions that just set me up beautifully to give answers that I had prepared in order to make me sound worth it. And the people interviewing me were just as friendly, nice and relaxed.
Anyways, Friday a letter came from Weber State saying I had been accepted into the Provo Radiology Program. Which, I just about died because 1) I thought that interview did not go over well, and 2) I really wanted to get into the program in Provo. I'll be doing my clinical hours at the American Fork hospital, which is 5 minutes from my house. Fantastic yes? I can live at home and save money!
I still haven't heard back from Ogden yet, I'm assuming I'll get a letter sometime this week, but I have do say I feel slightly confident that I'll be accepted into the Ogden program also.
Can I just say that I can't believe I'm in the program and in just 2 short years I'll be certified?! Of course it's only in x-rays but then I can specialize and goes who knows where from there.
I'm just flat out excited.

The Screwtape Letters

2011-04-01T21:34:00.000-06:00

Have any of you read this book yet? Because if you haven't...you should really get on that. It's completely life changing, eye-opening. And the fact that it's written by C.S. Lewis just adds to it's greatness. A friend of mine posted on her blog about the book and after reading it I knew that I needed to read the book again. (I think I read it for the first time maybe a year ago.) But here's the problem. You cannot read this book fast. Which is what I tried to do the first time I read it, and... it was not the greatest idea. The ideas and intellect behind this book are so deep, that you really can only read one letter a day. (The book is written in letters that are from Screwtape, an advanced devil, to his nephew Wormtail who is a beginner devil.)
But here is my idea for the next time I read it!
I am going to make a huge gospel study out of it. Because this book is loaded with gospel jewels, gleaming and shining, waiting for you to see them and understand. So my idea is to take each letter and study it out as if I were doing one of my scripture studies. The letters are written in how to best tempt the human, so I would twist that and write up notes on how best to avoid that type of temptation in my life. I don't know if you understand how epic this study is going to be, but if you've read the book...oh, you know.

But as I always do, I will leave you with some quotes from this beloved book. (Mal has some great quotes on her blog so I'll post some different ones for you.)

"If you can once get him to the point of thinking that 'religion is all very well up to a point,' you can feel quite happy about his soul. A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all."

"Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

"The Enemy wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favor that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents."

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

Radiography

2011-03-21T22:32:00.000-06:00

If you didn't hear, I've been called back for interviews for the Provo and Ogden radiography program. Over 250 people applied for the Ogden location, they interview about 100 and accept 50 applicants. Provo had over 100 applicants. They interview 40 and accept 20 into the program. I cannot even explain how ecstatic I was to hear that I was called back for BOTH programs!
But holy cow I didn't realize how badly I wanted to get into this radiography program until I was given a sliver of hope. And now I'm going crazy with worry and nervousness. A friend once made the comment to me about never telling a perfectionist how good their doing, because you'll just end up putting them in more stress. Can I say how true that is? It is. I fall asleep imagining my interviews, what I'll say, how the conversation will go. It's on my mind all day. To help myself prepare, I'm doing a mock interview through the college where they film you and give you feedback and critic on how you interviewed. I know it's just a mock interview but good grief I'm nervous for that too.
My prescription for all this worry and nervousness: bury myself under homework.

Wine Bottle

2011-03-17T14:24:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how many pictures you can take of a wine bottle. Of course things are always a little more interesting when the cork ends up inside...
Cooking wine, let's just clarify.
And we didn't have a cork screw to open it so... we did what we had to.

Chef-ness

2011-03-16T19:39:00.000-06:00

So sometimes I like to try out new things. Well, okay really I try out new things quite a bit. The new thing that I tried out was cooking with my roommate. (Yes I do normally cook, it's not like this was my first time.) But we searched for recipes from different countries, and Switzerland was the winner! We made Rippli which is pork loin ribs that are cooked with potatoes, bacon, carrots, cabbage, celery, tomatoes...just flat out goodness.

Me and one of my wonderful roommates: Becca (p.s. she knows what she's talking about when it comes to cooking. I was her little grasshopper pupil.)

Doesn't that look delicious? Allow me to inform you that it was.

We also decided to make a dessert, Swiss of course. We made Schokolade Kuchen which is chocolate cake. Can I just say that it was the most bizarre chocolate cake that I've ever made. There was absolutely NO flour involved. Weird. But it was delicious. It definitely has more of a dark chocolate side, but don't worry if you're not a huge fan of dark chocolate. The powder sugar frosting will make up for the lack of sweetness.

I like us and our cooking ideas. Hopefully we get in a few more recipes before the end of the semester.

For details on how these recipes were made check out our apartment blog. www.stepintotheden.blogspot.com. I'm sure we'll get the post up there in a couple days or so.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

2011-03-15T15:25:00.000-06:00

This book is different. It is about a boy named Christopher who is autistic. The book is told through his view point which makes it completely interesting. You are just so intrigued by the way Christopher thinks, the way he reasons. He's insanely brilliant. The huge downer to this book though was the swearing. Why oh why do books have to do that? It was such a perfectly good book until it started swearing.

But here is my favorite part of the book.

pg. 24
Mr. Jeavons, the psychologist at the school, once asked me why 4 red cars in a row made it a Good Day, and 3 red cars in a row made it a Quite Good Day, and 5 red cars in a row made it a Super Good Day, and why 4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks. He said that I was clearly a very logical person, so he was surprised that I should think like this because it wasn't very logical.

I said that I liked things to be in a nice order. And one way of things being in a nice order was to be logical. Especially if those things were numbers or an argument. But there were other ways of putting things in a nice order. And that was why I had Good Days and Black Days. And I said that some people who worked in an office came out of their house in the morning and saw that the sun was shining and it made them feel happy, or they saw that it was raining and it made them feel sad, but the only difference was the weather and if they worked in an office the weather didn't have anything to do with whether they had a good day or a bad day.

I said that when Father got up in the morning he always put his trousers on before he put his socks on and it wasn't logical but he always did it that way, because he liked things in a nice order, too. Also whenever he went upstairs he went up two at a time, always starting with his right foot.

Mr. Jeavons said that I was a very clever boy.

Perfectionism

2011-03-14T20:56:00.001-06:00

Oh life, you seem to like to nudge me here and there. You come around and give me little wake up calls, slapping me back to attention. I guess I appreciate it.

I did really well on a test today. I mean it was a slap-happy easy test, ridiculously easy. But I only missed one. One. ugh. I can't believe I missed it. So incredibly frustrating. How did I miss that question?! Completely irked about that.

Well after taking that test I started doing some reading for another class. And of course I came across this quote, "Perfectionism leads to undue stress because perfection is an unattainable goal."
....
Well, I still could have gotten 100 on that test... dah

Taking a Break

2011-03-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just need a day or so where you can be completely and utterly unproductive as far as school work goes. Yesterday was that day. Sure, I tutored in the morning and then went to the computer to start homework, but as I sat there searching, I honestly did not have barely any homework to do!
So of course I'm going to come home, paint my nails, clean the kitchen, attempt some homework which ends up turning into playing computer games and listening to music. I ended up having an hour or so before my night class so I started an episode of Pushing Daisies. Have you ever seen this t.v. show friends? If not, look into it. It's awesome. Well, after my class my tutoring session got canceled which left me an open night! It was filled with the goodness of Lauren and Sara's friends who were so kind to let me hang out with them. I had so much fun.
Anyways, it was just nice not stressing about school work. I fear this attitude has creeped into today...

Fahrenheit 451

2011-03-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I last read this book. Can I just say that I love Ray Bradbury's way of writing? Well, I do. And I'm right along with him in believing that burning a book is like burning a soul. Should never ever be done. Let's just remember how much I adore and worship my books...
It's interesting how my views on technology have changed as I've gotten older. I do like it, and I use it everyday of my life, but sometimes I wish things were simpler. I worry about how the world is going to end up like. Fahrenheit 451 shows a world in which technology is absolutely everything. It's your friend, family, get away and every waking/sleeping moment of your day.
Very interesting to read.

Good

2011-03-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

You know what's really nice?
Going to the temple Saturday with all the roommates home.
Want to know what else is nice?
Sleeping in the living room.
Guess what else?
Hot showers.
And blow dryers.
And having a crepe party tonight.

Dear Future

2011-03-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

So I was going to tell you all about how I found a song with my name in it! But my roommate told the story in a much better fashion so I will share hers, which you can find at our apartment's blog! It really is a fantastic song, and I love it.

So this semester I discovered another something for my future husband. Remember this? Well, another thing that's going to happen along with reading aloud, is hair brushing. My poor roommate made the mistake of brushing my hair one night and I've become addicted and she now brushes my hair at least a couple times a week. How have I gone my whole lifetime without having someone just brush my hair for a lovely amount of time?! It just astounds me that I've gone so long without this joy. So in my futuristic mind, my husband gets to brush my hair while I read aloud. I know, it'll be fantastic. I hope he's alright with all this.

Do you want to know what I'm going to do when I get rich? I'm going to buy amazing ingredients so I can cook fantastic food. The movie Julie and Julia is definitely inspiring and has made me want to find a cookbook and make every recipe in there. The only problem is that all those great recipes are much past my budget. So this will all be happening once I actually have money.
Except today, my roommate found a wonderful little cookbook at the D.I. which we plan to make some good use of this last half of the semester. It's called the Avon International Cookbook. Exciting yes? Quite.