I feel like every single day I have found something to be thankful for, and have really been pondering about it lately, so I will do as the hymn instructs, and name a few of them one-by-one.
1. My Job. Yes, I know I complain often about it, about how muchmy wrists ache from cooking, and the long hours, etc., but I am so grateful for the job I have at In-N-Out that allows me to have flexible hours during the semester and pays me enough that I can live comfortably on my own and pay for school on my own. Recently I had been praying for help with finances, the last month I had to take a lot of time off and was really concerned about having enough money, so I paid my tithing as had faith that I would be helped. No surprise, Heavenly Father made sure I was financially stable this month, in several ways. First of all, I got a major promotion last saturday and am now a "level 7", meaning I am authorized to run a shift and that I received a dollar an hour raise. Also, I was talking to my boss about buying Christmas gifts for my family and he mentioned that I should be able to get them something nice because he gave me a bonus on my next check! This blew my mind, I have never heard of anyone getting a bonus unless they were all-starring. I asked him why and he just said that I was doing a really great job and wanted to thank me. Major blessing right there.
2. The scriptures. For some reason I have found lately that all the scriptures I am studying seem to apply to me and really enlighten me, and it feels great. I hope I never take the scriptures for granted and really appreciate what I blessing it is to have easy access to the word of God, and to have a prophet who can help us to understand the scriptures even better.
3. My family. Another thing I might complain about too much. I rarely see my family because they are out in Avondale, but also because sometimes it's so hard for me to be around them for long periods of time because there is so much contention. Don't get me wrong, I love them all to pieces, individually, but once they are together they are quite the handful ha ha. This Christmas I wanted to promote family unity so I bought them all different games for us to play together, and it was a big success! The family favorite is this weird random game called Quelf. On Christmas Eve I played it with Mom, Alli, Ken and his two daughters, and it was so awesome to see my mom laughing and having a good time and everyone getting along for the most part. It was also pretty funny to watch my Mom and Sister do the can-can, as instructed by the card they drew. On Christmas, Alli and I played Quelf with Dad and he too had a good time! There are very few things that we can do together and actually enjoy it, but playing games seemed to be a hit! I am so grateful that everyone in my family is working harder to be more loving and kind to one another, I see such a difference in them and I know they are trying, even my sister seemes to be working at being kinder. I love my family and wouldn't trade them for anything.
4. Addison. Addison is a girl who I work with, she is 17, a member of the church, and is living with me for a few weeks. I am so grateful for her companionship, I know that if I had to be all alone in this apartment until Ash and Katie come home I would be so depressed! Addison is so fun to be around, and she is always cleaning the house! I kind of feel bad about it..but then again no ha ha she seems to enjoy cleaning.
5. Blankets. I have woken up freezing cold almost everynight and am really grateful for all of the warm blankets I received this Christmas, one nice one from In-N-Out and one homemade one from someone I work with through the White Elephant gift exchange, and both have kept me semi-warm almost every night. I think it should be appropriate to carry a blanket everywhere, and am wishing that I could bring one to church tomorrow.
6. Sleep. It has been so weird for me to have the time to sleep more than 6 hours, but I am noticing how much of a difference it really makes. I am more patient, my brain functions better, and I just feel better. mmmm I think I will get some sleep right now!
Goodnight,
Madison
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Dear Fall 2008..
I Hate Your Stinking Guts
I am so glad that I never have to see you ever again
I hate how you made me lose countless hours of much needed sleep
I hate how you made me have classes every stinkin' day instead of only twice a week like last semester! Can't I have a schedule that is more accommodating to my needs, that will allow me to work during the day and have a life at night? ugh.
I hate how your Geography lecture was intensely boring and even when I did try and pay attention, none of your stupid geographical jargon made sense to me and therefore made me feel like an idiot.
Why did you make me take Educational Psychology when the teacher just read powerpoints for an hour while I napped upon my desk? I am grateful for the GPA boost regardless of the fact that I learned absolutely nothing, the A is much appreciated.
I did enjoy, however, your Improvisation with Youth course and will really miss all the people in that class and making super fun, interactive lesson-plans. Thank you for teaching me to have fun and be myself.
Thank you for making me join institute choir, or for inspiring Bro. Hofeling to make me join. Without choir I never would have gained the confidence to sing loud and proud anywhere and everywhere, even though I kind of suck, and to really learn to love music and the power behind music and the hymns. Without choir I wouldn't have taken my mother to the temple visitor's center, and she wouldn't have been invited to take the missionary lessons, and I wouldn't be as extremely happy as I am now.
Thank you for my new living situation and my amazing roommates. They have taught me so much about love and friendship, and are amazing examples to me. They also have taught me so much about myself, many things I was unwilling to learn but am glad that I did. I would like to thank them for teaching me to ask for help and to let other people take care of me when I need it, for staying up til 3 am reading general conference addresses/scriptures, watching cheesy mormon movies, hanging up pictures/coat racks/shutters at odd hours of the night, cooking dinner all the time when I am too lazy to do so, washing the dishes way more than I ever did, holding me and listening when things were tough and rejoicing with me when life was at its best, and most of all for being the best friends I have ever had and for helping me to see what kind of person I want to be and growing towards being that person. I love them both more than they could understand.
hmm..Fall 2008..maybe you weren't so bad after all. Maybe you provided situations for me that allowed me to grow and develop, to see what is really important in life, family, friends, being yourself, and having fun. Maybe I had more fun this semester than I can ever remember having in my whole life. Maybe I gained so many new friends and memories that I will never ever forget. Maybe I will miss you just a little bit. I hope my new friend, Spring 2009, will treat me well and give me as much joy, growth, and memories as you have. Please tell Spring that I hate boring lectures, stupid group projects and that I want to get straight A's this time, I know that's a stretch, but it was worth a try. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Madison
I am so glad that I never have to see you ever again
I hate how you made me lose countless hours of much needed sleep
I hate how you made me have classes every stinkin' day instead of only twice a week like last semester! Can't I have a schedule that is more accommodating to my needs, that will allow me to work during the day and have a life at night? ugh.
I hate how your Geography lecture was intensely boring and even when I did try and pay attention, none of your stupid geographical jargon made sense to me and therefore made me feel like an idiot.
Why did you make me take Educational Psychology when the teacher just read powerpoints for an hour while I napped upon my desk? I am grateful for the GPA boost regardless of the fact that I learned absolutely nothing, the A is much appreciated.
I did enjoy, however, your Improvisation with Youth course and will really miss all the people in that class and making super fun, interactive lesson-plans. Thank you for teaching me to have fun and be myself.
Thank you for making me join institute choir, or for inspiring Bro. Hofeling to make me join. Without choir I never would have gained the confidence to sing loud and proud anywhere and everywhere, even though I kind of suck, and to really learn to love music and the power behind music and the hymns. Without choir I wouldn't have taken my mother to the temple visitor's center, and she wouldn't have been invited to take the missionary lessons, and I wouldn't be as extremely happy as I am now.
Thank you for my new living situation and my amazing roommates. They have taught me so much about love and friendship, and are amazing examples to me. They also have taught me so much about myself, many things I was unwilling to learn but am glad that I did. I would like to thank them for teaching me to ask for help and to let other people take care of me when I need it, for staying up til 3 am reading general conference addresses/scriptures, watching cheesy mormon movies, hanging up pictures/coat racks/shutters at odd hours of the night, cooking dinner all the time when I am too lazy to do so, washing the dishes way more than I ever did, holding me and listening when things were tough and rejoicing with me when life was at its best, and most of all for being the best friends I have ever had and for helping me to see what kind of person I want to be and growing towards being that person. I love them both more than they could understand.
hmm..Fall 2008..maybe you weren't so bad after all. Maybe you provided situations for me that allowed me to grow and develop, to see what is really important in life, family, friends, being yourself, and having fun. Maybe I had more fun this semester than I can ever remember having in my whole life. Maybe I gained so many new friends and memories that I will never ever forget. Maybe I will miss you just a little bit. I hope my new friend, Spring 2009, will treat me well and give me as much joy, growth, and memories as you have. Please tell Spring that I hate boring lectures, stupid group projects and that I want to get straight A's this time, I know that's a stretch, but it was worth a try. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Madison
Sunday, December 14, 2008
I have been born as Nephi of old...
Today was the most intense emotional rollercoaster. Today was one of the happiest days I have ever experienced, yet one of the saddest. We'll start with the saddest, so I can end on a happy note.
Following my mom's missionary discussion (which I will describe next) I went over to Michael and Natalie Parks' home. They are like a big brother and sister to me, Michael baptized me and I feel like Natalie is such a great friend and example to me of the kind of woman I hope to become. Tonight we had to say our goodbyes because they are moving up to Michigan next week. It didn't hit me at all until I was leaving. Before I left their twin four-year-old daughters, Madelynn and Sydona, sang me primary songs, "I am a Child of God" and "I Love to See the Temple" and I couldn't help but cry because I have watched them grow so much and it made me so happy to see them singing these songs that conveys the most important truths found in our restored gospel. I am so upset that I will not be around to watch these beautiful little girls continue to grow :( On my way out the door we all hugged and cried, a lot. As soon as I saw Natalie start crying I just lost it and was pretty much sobbing once I got to my car and for the entire drive home. The Parks family has blessed me in so many ways and it is so hard for me to imagine what it will be like with them so far away. :( :( :(
Now for the news I am pretty sure everyone is anticipating: my mother's very first lesson with the missionaries. She was so cute and excited for them to come over, she even had a fresh batch of homemade sugar cookies waiting for them. It was only the elders, my mom, and myself, my sister stayed in her room because she didn't want to hear the lessons. So at first the elders were just talking and getting to know us, we talked about my conversion, my mom said that it was hard for her at first and had thought that I was brainwashed, ha ha, and they just kind of answered some of her questions and cleared up some rumors she had heard. Then the elders asked my mom if we could start with a prayer and asked her to choose who says it. I was sitting next to her and she put her arms around me and asked me to pray. Following my prayer my mom said, "wow Madi, that was really good!" and I just kind of laughed and told her that I do it everyday so it's no surprise ha ha. So the elders gave her the first lesson, focusing mainly on the restoration and the Book of Mormon. They then invited her to read Moroni 10 and she said she would try, she really hates reading and has a hard time doing it, but she said she would try. At this point I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon being a true translation through the prophet Joseph. Then we all kind of just talked about some things and my mom said that she is really glad they were teaching her and that she is fully supportive of me being a Mormon, that she sees what good things the church believes and practices, especially concerning the family, and that she really liked the things she had learned. She also mentioned that she really liked going to the visitor's center and felt she learned a lot there. She also said she wanted to go to church with me, and this is the part that hurt, she asked me why I hadn't invited her to church sooner...I almost lost it when I heard that. How selfish of me to keep this great gift from her! I hope this experience will teach me to be more bold in sharing the gospel.
This lesson went perfectly. I have never felt like I could talk to my family about the church, ever, for fear of upsetting them or causing problems, but during the lesson I felt so comfortable talking to my mom about the church and bearing testimony, it was as if Heavenly Father had simply used me to convey what he wanted to be said. I still do not understand how I was able to remain so calm and was able to only speak when I felt it appropriate. Considering the circumstances and how long and hard I have prayed for this I worried that I would get anxious and teach things that she was not ready for, or just pressure her to move faster than she is prepared. But I know that Heavenly Father helped me to take control over myself and guide me in my actions and speech. After the lesson I didn't even say one word to her about the church besides thanking her for listening. It wasn't until I left her house that I began to feel overcome with the emotions that I should have been feeling all throughout the lesson and just cried and sang praises at the top of my lungs. I want to thank all the many many people who fasted for my mother, if you were at the lesson it would have been easy to see that she has been truly prepared to take the lessons. I am so excited to continue teaching my mom and hopefully see a change within her. I want so badly for the gospel to bless my family and to one day be able to go inside the temple with them to be sealed for time and all eternity. I love my family so much, although it has been a rough road, I love them regardless and am so grateful for all they have done for me. I am grateful for the plan of my Heavenly Father, I know he has a plan for my family and am trusting that whatever happens, good or bad, that it will be for the most good for my family.
With a Million Rays of Love and Joy,
Madison :)
Following my mom's missionary discussion (which I will describe next) I went over to Michael and Natalie Parks' home. They are like a big brother and sister to me, Michael baptized me and I feel like Natalie is such a great friend and example to me of the kind of woman I hope to become. Tonight we had to say our goodbyes because they are moving up to Michigan next week. It didn't hit me at all until I was leaving. Before I left their twin four-year-old daughters, Madelynn and Sydona, sang me primary songs, "I am a Child of God" and "I Love to See the Temple" and I couldn't help but cry because I have watched them grow so much and it made me so happy to see them singing these songs that conveys the most important truths found in our restored gospel. I am so upset that I will not be around to watch these beautiful little girls continue to grow :( On my way out the door we all hugged and cried, a lot. As soon as I saw Natalie start crying I just lost it and was pretty much sobbing once I got to my car and for the entire drive home. The Parks family has blessed me in so many ways and it is so hard for me to imagine what it will be like with them so far away. :( :( :(
Now for the news I am pretty sure everyone is anticipating: my mother's very first lesson with the missionaries. She was so cute and excited for them to come over, she even had a fresh batch of homemade sugar cookies waiting for them. It was only the elders, my mom, and myself, my sister stayed in her room because she didn't want to hear the lessons. So at first the elders were just talking and getting to know us, we talked about my conversion, my mom said that it was hard for her at first and had thought that I was brainwashed, ha ha, and they just kind of answered some of her questions and cleared up some rumors she had heard. Then the elders asked my mom if we could start with a prayer and asked her to choose who says it. I was sitting next to her and she put her arms around me and asked me to pray. Following my prayer my mom said, "wow Madi, that was really good!" and I just kind of laughed and told her that I do it everyday so it's no surprise ha ha. So the elders gave her the first lesson, focusing mainly on the restoration and the Book of Mormon. They then invited her to read Moroni 10 and she said she would try, she really hates reading and has a hard time doing it, but she said she would try. At this point I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon being a true translation through the prophet Joseph. Then we all kind of just talked about some things and my mom said that she is really glad they were teaching her and that she is fully supportive of me being a Mormon, that she sees what good things the church believes and practices, especially concerning the family, and that she really liked the things she had learned. She also mentioned that she really liked going to the visitor's center and felt she learned a lot there. She also said she wanted to go to church with me, and this is the part that hurt, she asked me why I hadn't invited her to church sooner...I almost lost it when I heard that. How selfish of me to keep this great gift from her! I hope this experience will teach me to be more bold in sharing the gospel.
This lesson went perfectly. I have never felt like I could talk to my family about the church, ever, for fear of upsetting them or causing problems, but during the lesson I felt so comfortable talking to my mom about the church and bearing testimony, it was as if Heavenly Father had simply used me to convey what he wanted to be said. I still do not understand how I was able to remain so calm and was able to only speak when I felt it appropriate. Considering the circumstances and how long and hard I have prayed for this I worried that I would get anxious and teach things that she was not ready for, or just pressure her to move faster than she is prepared. But I know that Heavenly Father helped me to take control over myself and guide me in my actions and speech. After the lesson I didn't even say one word to her about the church besides thanking her for listening. It wasn't until I left her house that I began to feel overcome with the emotions that I should have been feeling all throughout the lesson and just cried and sang praises at the top of my lungs. I want to thank all the many many people who fasted for my mother, if you were at the lesson it would have been easy to see that she has been truly prepared to take the lessons. I am so excited to continue teaching my mom and hopefully see a change within her. I want so badly for the gospel to bless my family and to one day be able to go inside the temple with them to be sealed for time and all eternity. I love my family so much, although it has been a rough road, I love them regardless and am so grateful for all they have done for me. I am grateful for the plan of my Heavenly Father, I know he has a plan for my family and am trusting that whatever happens, good or bad, that it will be for the most good for my family.
With a Million Rays of Love and Joy,
Madison :)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Best Week Ever
This past week was nothing short of amazing. I already told why Thursday was pretty much the best day ever in my previous post so I will now explaing why the rest of the week was perfect.
Friday
Friday night was the ASU Institute Winter Ball. I had asked the night off, but once Wednesday had rolled around I was growing concerned because no male had asked me to go yet. On Wednesday afternoon I went to Panda Express with Ash, Abby, and a guy from the ward named Chris, who I had just met that day. Later that day Ashley forced me to call up Chris and ask him to the dance, which I did, and which I do not regret in the least. I had a blast with Chris! I thought it would be extremely awkward since we didn't really know each other but we had so much fun being dorky and making up our own dance routines ha ha. After the dance we went to Circle K with Abby and Jerod and got hot cocoa and then played Apples to Apples, my favorite game ever, at Abby's place. This night was so much fun, especially since I didn't really expect to have a good time.
Saturday
On this morning Katelin Roberts (my in n out friend), Abby, Mo, Jerod, and I travelled up to Snowflake to get our baptism on at the Snowflake Temple. I enjoyed every second of this entire trip, even the 7 hours we spent in the car dancing and singing to the radio and the speeding ticket I received on the way home by the yummy looking officer. The Temple was beautiful and amazing and I loved it so much, not as much as the Mesa Temple since that is my home, but nevertheless I thought the Temple was a wonderful experience.
After our visit to the temple we grabbed some lunch at the golden arches and headed over to Show Low because Bro. Hofeling suggested we check out his old seminary building. We went to the seminary building, couldn't get in of course because it was the weekend but we had a fun time taking ridiculous pictures to give to bro. hof
This has been a most amazing and joyful weekend and I am really sad to see it go, especially since the coming two weeks are going to be horribly filled with studying and finals and hating of life. December 4-6, 2008 shall be remembered forever.
Friday
Friday night was the ASU Institute Winter Ball. I had asked the night off, but once Wednesday had rolled around I was growing concerned because no male had asked me to go yet. On Wednesday afternoon I went to Panda Express with Ash, Abby, and a guy from the ward named Chris, who I had just met that day. Later that day Ashley forced me to call up Chris and ask him to the dance, which I did, and which I do not regret in the least. I had a blast with Chris! I thought it would be extremely awkward since we didn't really know each other but we had so much fun being dorky and making up our own dance routines ha ha. After the dance we went to Circle K with Abby and Jerod and got hot cocoa and then played Apples to Apples, my favorite game ever, at Abby's place. This night was so much fun, especially since I didn't really expect to have a good time.
Saturday
On this morning Katelin Roberts (my in n out friend), Abby, Mo, Jerod, and I travelled up to Snowflake to get our baptism on at the Snowflake Temple. I enjoyed every second of this entire trip, even the 7 hours we spent in the car dancing and singing to the radio and the speeding ticket I received on the way home by the yummy looking officer. The Temple was beautiful and amazing and I loved it so much, not as much as the Mesa Temple since that is my home, but nevertheless I thought the Temple was a wonderful experience.
After our visit to the temple we grabbed some lunch at the golden arches and headed over to Show Low because Bro. Hofeling suggested we check out his old seminary building. We went to the seminary building, couldn't get in of course because it was the weekend but we had a fun time taking ridiculous pictures to give to bro. hof
This has been a most amazing and joyful weekend and I am really sad to see it go, especially since the coming two weeks are going to be horribly filled with studying and finals and hating of life. December 4-6, 2008 shall be remembered forever.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep"
Tonight the ASU Institute Choir, myself included, sang at the Mesa Temple, and it was probably one of the most joyous nights of my life. I had invited my family, my mom, dad, sister, and grandmother, to come listen to me sing, and all had committed but only my mom showed up. We rode together and got there a bit early so I took her around the visitor's center. This may surprise you, since I come off as being very missionary-minded, but my family knows very very little about the church and what I know to be true. It was difficult in the beginning for them the accept my conversion so I thought it best to not bring up the topic, so they wouldn't feel like I am pressuring them to convert or that I am "brainwashing" them. Anyways, my mom and I watched the movie in the visitor's center, God's plan for His family. If you have heard my conversion story, you know this movie plays a huge role, when I visited the temple visitor's center a few years ago I had watched this movie and felt the spirit very strongly for the very first time in my life, and it was this instance that led to me take the missionary discussions. Back to the present, at the end of the movie the sister missionary was talking to my mom and I and learned that I was the only member, having been baptized about 1.5 years ago, and also, to my shame, learned that my mom didn't even know what the Book of Mormon is. After talking a little bit the sister missionary asked my mom if she would like the missionaries to come to her house and share a message with her so that she could learn more about what her daughter believes.....and.....she said YES! This has been my fervent prayer ever since I joined the church, that my family would have the same opportunity that I had to learn about this amazing, true gospel. I don't know how I did it, but I held my composure until I walked into the room where the choir was practicing.Once I was out of my mom's sight I felt the most overwhelming feeling of joy imaginable and tears streamed down my smiling face. I am overjoyed that I will soon be able to sit down with the elders and talk to my mom about the church and bear my testimony. My Heavenly Father loves me and has heard and answered my constant prayer. I am so grateful to Him and love Him so much. I feel like I am on top of the world and that my life couldn't possibly get any better.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Black Friday
I have never ever gone shopping on Black Friday, for good reason, but this year I decided to give it a shot. After my Thansgiving festivities out in Avondale I came home to Tempe and joined Blake in camping out in front of Frys Electronics. He got there around 5:30 pm on thursday, I got there around 7ish. We played cards, rode our longboards around the lot, watched a movie, did some scripture study and drank a ton of hot chocolate. Jon got there around midnight and we all just chilled on the air mattress, literally, because it was freezing outside. Frys opened up at 530am and it was a madhouse! We were in the front of the line so I was in and out pretty quickly, I wasn't going for anything big anyways, I just got a stereo for my car. Blake on the other hand, did like all of his Christmas shopping and had a cart full of goodies. I had a fun time hanging out all night with the boys, I wasn't really there to shop. The downside is that I have been really sick the past two days from being out in the cold. I had to call in sick to work today and have been in bed allll day. I think I am almost better, so hopefully I will be able to make it to church and to sing in the choir concert tomorrow night at 7. For now, I will continue watching all the Disney movies I own and rest.
Monday, November 17, 2008
November
I am going to officially declare November the month of Baptism. Within our ward I can think of 6 baptisms that occured this month. Derek, Mo, Rebecca, Jeff in the previous weeks, and Adam and Ryan this upcoming saturday. I am not really aquainted yet with Derek, Ryan, or Adam, but I feel particularly close to Mo, Rebecca and Jeff. Witnessing their conversion and how much they have changed, mainly how happy they have become, has been a tremendous blessing in my life. I feel like when I am around them that my own testimony grows and I know I am learning so much from these amazing new members. Mo has taught me to live life with passion, to be excited about everything and to enjoy every second of every day. Rebecca has taught me to always wear a smile and to have a positive attitude, this girl is NEVER angry or upset, ever, and when I think of her I think that I have no excuse for being cranky or thinking that my lot is hard, I should be smiling and "finding joy in the journey" as the prophet said. Jeff has taught me the importance of deep study. He loves the scriptures and studies them so much, I think from Jeff I have learned to truly appreciate the scripture and what a blessing it is to have them with me at all times and at such convenience. Attending all three of their baptism was an amazing experience, especially because each of them had a lot of support from their families. When I was baptized my family chose not to attend, I wish they would have but am not upset or angry about that, but seeing how supportive their parents were made me so happy for these new members. Rebecca's sweet parents had even mentioned how proud they were of Rebecca for her decision. Even though they don't have a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel they could see how important baptism was for her and what a huge decison she was making and were fully supportive. :)
I am so completely overjoyed that November is not the end of the baptism fever that is spreading in Tempe! For the last couple of weeks a friend that I work with has been taking the lessons at my apartment, and today the elders committed her to be baptized on Dec. 6th! We are all so excited for her! It has been amazing for me to watch her grow and change as she learns about the gospel and the perfect plan that Heavenly Father has for all of his children! I love this gospel and know, more than I know of anything else, that it is 100% true and that it is the church of Jesus Christ.
I am so completely overjoyed that November is not the end of the baptism fever that is spreading in Tempe! For the last couple of weeks a friend that I work with has been taking the lessons at my apartment, and today the elders committed her to be baptized on Dec. 6th! We are all so excited for her! It has been amazing for me to watch her grow and change as she learns about the gospel and the perfect plan that Heavenly Father has for all of his children! I love this gospel and know, more than I know of anything else, that it is 100% true and that it is the church of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Shine On
RULES:
1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 Player, or whatever on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
Poor Fool He Makes Me Laugh- Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack
[this one made ME laugh]
How would you describe yourself?
Oh Say What is Truth?-Hymns
[Oh yeaaaah, honest and true, that's me alright]
What do you like in a guy/girl?
Tie the Rope-The Format
[I guess this could describe my current attitude toward the male species ha ha]
How do you feel today?
The Day Dawn is Breaking-Hymns
[Oh this real good, I actually feel like I am almost out of the darkness that is fall semester and can see the light!]
What is your life’s purpose?
Nay, Speak No Ill-Hymns
[Wow the hymns are popular today with the shuffler]
What is your motto?
Give It Up-The Format
[Format also seems to be popular]
What do your friends think of you?
Resolution-Motion City Soundtrack
What do you think of your family?
Choose the Right-Hymns
[bahahaha this does NOT remind me of my parents, maybe because I have to choose the right and be nice to them when sometimes it's hard]
What do you think about very often?
Push Push-Bang Camaro
[basically an intrumental of guitar amazingness, i guess i think about amazingness]
What is 2 + 2?
Electable-Jimmy Eat World
What do you think of your best friend?
Sore Thumb-The Format
What do you think of the person you like?
While Shepherds Watched their Flock-Hymns
[that make zero sense]
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Majesty-Hillsong
[Oh this is good, so this is a song from a Christian band about Jesus Christ, so maybe it's saying that I wanna be like JC, which is TRUE!]
What do you think of when you see the person you like?
The Course of Human Life-the Early November
What will you dance to at your wedding?
Into the Airwaves-Jack's Mannequin
What will they play at your funeral?
Lifesong-Casting Crowns
[This is also perfect, casting crowns is an amazing Christian band and this song is about making all aspects of your life be praise to God "May the words I say and the things I do make my lifesong sing, bring a smile to you"]
What is your hobby/interest?
Dear God-Avenged Sevenfold
[Prayer? I SHOULD make this a hobby, it's a sign]
What is your biggest fear?
Ruthless-Something Corporate
What is your biggest secret?
The Jetset life is gonna kill you-My Chemical Romance
What do you think of your friends?
Catalyst-Anna Nalick
What will you post this as?
Shine On-EFY
[nice]
So I saw this on Kara Morris' blog and hers turned out hilarious, way better than mine, but it was fun to do and try and justify the divine shuffle selection of my iTunes.
1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, MP3 Player, or whatever on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
Poor Fool He Makes Me Laugh- Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack
[this one made ME laugh]
How would you describe yourself?
Oh Say What is Truth?-Hymns
[Oh yeaaaah, honest and true, that's me alright]
What do you like in a guy/girl?
Tie the Rope-The Format
[I guess this could describe my current attitude toward the male species ha ha]
How do you feel today?
The Day Dawn is Breaking-Hymns
[Oh this real good, I actually feel like I am almost out of the darkness that is fall semester and can see the light!]
What is your life’s purpose?
Nay, Speak No Ill-Hymns
[Wow the hymns are popular today with the shuffler]
What is your motto?
Give It Up-The Format
[Format also seems to be popular]
What do your friends think of you?
Resolution-Motion City Soundtrack
What do you think of your family?
Choose the Right-Hymns
[bahahaha this does NOT remind me of my parents, maybe because I have to choose the right and be nice to them when sometimes it's hard]
What do you think about very often?
Push Push-Bang Camaro
[basically an intrumental of guitar amazingness, i guess i think about amazingness]
What is 2 + 2?
Electable-Jimmy Eat World
What do you think of your best friend?
Sore Thumb-The Format
What do you think of the person you like?
While Shepherds Watched their Flock-Hymns
[that make zero sense]
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Majesty-Hillsong
[Oh this is good, so this is a song from a Christian band about Jesus Christ, so maybe it's saying that I wanna be like JC, which is TRUE!]
What do you think of when you see the person you like?
The Course of Human Life-the Early November
What will you dance to at your wedding?
Into the Airwaves-Jack's Mannequin
What will they play at your funeral?
Lifesong-Casting Crowns
[This is also perfect, casting crowns is an amazing Christian band and this song is about making all aspects of your life be praise to God "May the words I say and the things I do make my lifesong sing, bring a smile to you"]
What is your hobby/interest?
Dear God-Avenged Sevenfold
[Prayer? I SHOULD make this a hobby, it's a sign]
What is your biggest fear?
Ruthless-Something Corporate
What is your biggest secret?
The Jetset life is gonna kill you-My Chemical Romance
What do you think of your friends?
Catalyst-Anna Nalick
What will you post this as?
Shine On-EFY
[nice]
So I saw this on Kara Morris' blog and hers turned out hilarious, way better than mine, but it was fun to do and try and justify the divine shuffle selection of my iTunes.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Damsel in Distress
Today I received a piece of information from a male friend that really surprised me! So I was on the phone with this male friend, and just for background, we had discussed in the past few weeks the possibility of us dating. Now it wasn't a big deal, we had just kind of discussed what the pros and cons would be, and what both of our concerns were, and then kind of just left things undecided for awhile because I don't know why. Tonight he called and decided we needed to figure out where we stand. He knew that I really enjoyed his friendship, but could easily swing either way, whether it was friends or dating I really could have gone either way, no big deal. He told me that he had been kind of observing me to see if we would be good together, he didn't want to risk our friendship by dating when it wouldn't have a positive outcome, which is good, I am very glad that he took the time to consider these things rather than rushing something that would have been ineffective. So from his observations he learned that: 1. I am always trying to help others. Ok, I do try hard to help others, I could always do a lot more, but I do my best. This comment didn't really throw me off, I took it as a compliment. 2. I don't really need help from others very often and am ok standing on my own two feet. Yes, this is also true, another trait of mine that I have always viewed as a positive one, one that I really am proud of myself for. Apparently
(and this didn't bother me or hurt my feelings, merely surprised me)he concurred that because of trait #2, it would be unsuccessful for us to date because he wanted to be with a girl that needed him and he could take care of. This blew me away! Guys want needy girls? Wow. If you recall the instance in previous blogging where I changed my own flat tire, my dad had told me very bluntly that I should have had a boy do it because guys do no want girls who do not need their help! Who would have thought that my father actually knew what he was talking about! So, I am unsure about what I will do with this new tidbit of information. Should I remain relatively in charge of my needs and be i-n-d-e-p-e-n-d-e-n-t...OR become the damsel in distress and convince the male species that I am in great need of their help and attention? I think I will need to reflect on what it is that the male species is seeking, in correlation to what it is that I am seeking.
Love,
A thoroughly confused Madison
(and this didn't bother me or hurt my feelings, merely surprised me)he concurred that because of trait #2, it would be unsuccessful for us to date because he wanted to be with a girl that needed him and he could take care of. This blew me away! Guys want needy girls? Wow. If you recall the instance in previous blogging where I changed my own flat tire, my dad had told me very bluntly that I should have had a boy do it because guys do no want girls who do not need their help! Who would have thought that my father actually knew what he was talking about! So, I am unsure about what I will do with this new tidbit of information. Should I remain relatively in charge of my needs and be i-n-d-e-p-e-n-d-e-n-t...OR become the damsel in distress and convince the male species that I am in great need of their help and attention? I think I will need to reflect on what it is that the male species is seeking, in correlation to what it is that I am seeking.
Love,
A thoroughly confused Madison
Monday, November 10, 2008
My Absolute Best
Last week at work my store manager, Jon, took me into the backroom to show me a movie. I was thinking it was going to be some kind of training video from the company about "tomato coverage" or how to count the safe, but I was totally wrong, and was so touched by the clip I was shown from the movie "Facing the Giants", which I had never seen before.
As I watched this movie I couldn't help but cry, yep in front of all the associates who were working at the time, in front of my managers, I just stood there and cried. What stuck in my head about the movie was not what my boss had intended, which is that I have an impact on the other associates and need to be giving my "absolute best", but that Heavenly Father is right there with us, every step of the way. When times get so hard and we think we can't take one more step, He is right there telling us to go just a little further. He sees the divine potential in each of us, and knows what we can become. Although right now, it may seem impossible to go even 50 yards in our journey, Heavenly Father is slowly but surely leading us to the endzone. It was funny because after the movie my boss mentioned something about us both being Christians and about how just as God knows how much potential I have, he also knows that as a manager I have huge potential that I just don't see within myself. My boss is always telling me to have more confidence in myself and that I need to push myself. After watching this clip, I know that I need to be giving my "absolute best" at work, at home, at church, with friends and family, in good times, in bad times, and will make a conscious effort to do so.
As I watched this movie I couldn't help but cry, yep in front of all the associates who were working at the time, in front of my managers, I just stood there and cried. What stuck in my head about the movie was not what my boss had intended, which is that I have an impact on the other associates and need to be giving my "absolute best", but that Heavenly Father is right there with us, every step of the way. When times get so hard and we think we can't take one more step, He is right there telling us to go just a little further. He sees the divine potential in each of us, and knows what we can become. Although right now, it may seem impossible to go even 50 yards in our journey, Heavenly Father is slowly but surely leading us to the endzone. It was funny because after the movie my boss mentioned something about us both being Christians and about how just as God knows how much potential I have, he also knows that as a manager I have huge potential that I just don't see within myself. My boss is always telling me to have more confidence in myself and that I need to push myself. After watching this clip, I know that I need to be giving my "absolute best" at work, at home, at church, with friends and family, in good times, in bad times, and will make a conscious effort to do so.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Let's Just Let it Roll
Ups
1. That Geography test I thought I bombed-I totally rocked it and got an A+! That was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me, well, not really, but wow it felt great!
2. My wonderful roommate Ashley must have been bored or something, but she did a huge cleaning job on our apartment while I was working and it looks great! It just feels so much better to come home to a clean place rather than clutter and mess.
3. Mo's Baptism is on Saturday! Excitement! I am so happy for her and am really looking forward to attending her baptism.
4. My Ensign came yesterday. I have been checking the mail every single day, anticipating its arrival. I am so excitement to review the talks and study the words of modern day prophets :)
5. The weather. It is absolutely gorgeous outside today. This time of year is my absolute favorite because being outside is so relaxing and my world seems to gain a little more peace. I am going to try and spend as much time outside as possible.
6. Christmas songs. I am in the Institute Choir and we have started singing Christmas songs! We are singing this great song called Christmas Bells, which is a version of the Hymn "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day", and this song is so beautiful and brightens my day. I cannot wait for the Christmas season.
7. I bought my first scripture case yesterday. I know I am like a year overdue in getting one but I am so picky! So I just bought a plain black one and I am going to stitch my name on it and some cool spiritual stuff that is personal to me, like a good quote or maybe a hymn verse, like "More Holiness Give Me", mmm best hymn in the hymnal, I will testify of that.
8. My mission to be fearless is showing some fruits. I made a move that was quite bold, for me at least, and the result was not what I expected but it will be quite interesting.
1. That Geography test I thought I bombed-I totally rocked it and got an A+! That was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me, well, not really, but wow it felt great!
2. My wonderful roommate Ashley must have been bored or something, but she did a huge cleaning job on our apartment while I was working and it looks great! It just feels so much better to come home to a clean place rather than clutter and mess.
3. Mo's Baptism is on Saturday! Excitement! I am so happy for her and am really looking forward to attending her baptism.
4. My Ensign came yesterday. I have been checking the mail every single day, anticipating its arrival. I am so excitement to review the talks and study the words of modern day prophets :)
5. The weather. It is absolutely gorgeous outside today. This time of year is my absolute favorite because being outside is so relaxing and my world seems to gain a little more peace. I am going to try and spend as much time outside as possible.
6. Christmas songs. I am in the Institute Choir and we have started singing Christmas songs! We are singing this great song called Christmas Bells, which is a version of the Hymn "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day", and this song is so beautiful and brightens my day. I cannot wait for the Christmas season.
7. I bought my first scripture case yesterday. I know I am like a year overdue in getting one but I am so picky! So I just bought a plain black one and I am going to stitch my name on it and some cool spiritual stuff that is personal to me, like a good quote or maybe a hymn verse, like "More Holiness Give Me", mmm best hymn in the hymnal, I will testify of that.
8. My mission to be fearless is showing some fruits. I made a move that was quite bold, for me at least, and the result was not what I expected but it will be quite interesting.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I am trying so hard not to get caught up
Ok I know it has been forever and a day since I have written on here, BUT I have been intensely busy and I feel like this is the first time I have sat down without homework in front of me in weeks. Ummm where to start? All I have basically been doing is work work work, but I sneak in some sleep every now and then. I was feeling sick at the beginning of the week and missed some classes so I could rest up and recover. Monday night was pretty amazing.. I brought my friend Tara from work to the friendship dinner, we had planned on hanging out that night so I suggested some free food. Over dinner she was asking some questions about the church so I brought the missionaries over to help out since I am not the best with words. At one point I got up to go get dessert, came back to sit down and heard Tara and the elders making an appointment for her to take the first missionary lesson this sunday at my apartment! I am so excited that she wants to learn more about the church and from what I see she is way excited too! At work she is always saying she can't wait until sunday, and neither can I.
Had a Geography test on wednesday..oh boy.. I have no idea how bad I did but if I got below a C then I don't think I will be passing that class this semester, which is really freaking me out. I have straight A's in all my other classes, but for some reason the material in my geography class just makes zero sense to me.
Tuesday I had a hilarious experience in my "Improvisation with Youth" class. Our teacher told us to find our own space in the room and to stand as if we have a 50 pound tail. Then we are informed that the monster we have become can only make little kitten noises. Then we learn that we also have severe body lice. Imagine what 20 students looked like walking around the classroom playing that character. Our teacher posed questions to us such as, "what does your monster look like in love? How does you monster walk when it's sad? How does your monster sleep?" After this monster we were transformed into a monster that has a 50 pound beard, hands that cannot leave the ground, and litte wings that don't lift us very far off the ground but are continually flapping. Interesting class, let me tell ya.
Tomorrow is Halloween and can you just guess where I will be? Yep, you guessed it, working from 5pm to 2am. Ugh. At least there are a lot of fun people working tomorrow night so hopefully we can make it a fun time. I am going to bring in a bunch of cookies to cheer everyone up.
I am addicted to a new song. "'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this, you take my hand and drag me head first, fearless..." I want to be fearless. I admit that there are not many things I truly fear, like in a way that it would affect me, but I do wish I could take more risks and maybe put myself out on a limb more often. I am such a chicken and need to learn to be fearless, in my career/education choices, at my job, with boys ;), and most of all with myself. I know who I want to become but am always unwilling to take risk, or do anything that is out of character and that stops my progression, so my new mission is to be more fearless.
Had a Geography test on wednesday..oh boy.. I have no idea how bad I did but if I got below a C then I don't think I will be passing that class this semester, which is really freaking me out. I have straight A's in all my other classes, but for some reason the material in my geography class just makes zero sense to me.
Tuesday I had a hilarious experience in my "Improvisation with Youth" class. Our teacher told us to find our own space in the room and to stand as if we have a 50 pound tail. Then we are informed that the monster we have become can only make little kitten noises. Then we learn that we also have severe body lice. Imagine what 20 students looked like walking around the classroom playing that character. Our teacher posed questions to us such as, "what does your monster look like in love? How does you monster walk when it's sad? How does your monster sleep?" After this monster we were transformed into a monster that has a 50 pound beard, hands that cannot leave the ground, and litte wings that don't lift us very far off the ground but are continually flapping. Interesting class, let me tell ya.
Tomorrow is Halloween and can you just guess where I will be? Yep, you guessed it, working from 5pm to 2am. Ugh. At least there are a lot of fun people working tomorrow night so hopefully we can make it a fun time. I am going to bring in a bunch of cookies to cheer everyone up.
I am addicted to a new song. "'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this, you take my hand and drag me head first, fearless..." I want to be fearless. I admit that there are not many things I truly fear, like in a way that it would affect me, but I do wish I could take more risks and maybe put myself out on a limb more often. I am such a chicken and need to learn to be fearless, in my career/education choices, at my job, with boys ;), and most of all with myself. I know who I want to become but am always unwilling to take risk, or do anything that is out of character and that stops my progression, so my new mission is to be more fearless.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I'm Ready, So Don't Stop Me
This week has been amazing so far..
1. I have woken up and attended all of my classes, have not fallen asleep in any class and have even participated! I raised my hand, asked questions, made comments and am feeling great about my classes.
2.I went to the Buffalo Exchange and bought a dress and a pair for jeans for a total of around twenty bucks! wwwooooo hoooo cheap clothes!!!
3.Jam session on Monday with Bro. Hofeling, he taught me how to play "Hey Ya" in a higher key so that I could sing it in soprano. My roommates are probably sick of me playing that song but I just love it! Plus it one of the few I can actually sing and play at the same time.
4. The weather. Wow. Just being outside and feeling a cool breeze and being able to wear a light sweater makes me the happiest girl in the world.
5. On saturday my boss sat me down and had a heart to heart with me, started rocky, ended great. He started by saying that he thinks I have a ton of potential that I don't see within myself and that I need to be more confident, that In-N-Out would be lucky to have me for a manager but that I need to push myself to be my best. He also said that I don't have to rush into management since he knows I am seriously considering a mission next fall, hopefully I would be able to do management when I get home. So, the good news is that he wants to give me my next promotion by Nov. 11th, so I really need to push myself but I know my managers are supporting me and I feel much more confident.
6. I put money into my savings account this week!! After paying my tuition this semester without the aid of scholarships or loans I found myself struggling to get back on track financially. I had 16.00 in savings, was living paycheck to paycheck, had more comsumer debt than I felt comfortable with. I have officially paid off all of my debt, school is paid for, credit card is paid off, and I was able to put a couple hundred bucks in savings this month! It feels so great to be on the road again to being financially stable.
7. I love love love my THP 311: Improvisation with Youth class. Last week I was given "pixie dust" and was transformed into a bumble bee, while other students were spiders, butterflies, etc., all bugs that were found in the children's book we were using to create lesson plans to. As a bumble bee I had a fantastic time flying around the room and stinging the other bugs hahaha. The student in charge of facilitating the class that date had a blast with 4 bumble bees soaring around stinging the other bugs, her shouting "BE NICE, we are all friends here at this tea party! We need to play nice with each other!" Love love love that class.
8. I just feel amazing, unstoppable, free, invincible, focused, and overall just really have been enjoying this week, which is weird because I have been dragging my feet so much this semester, but I am finding my usual pep getting back into my step. YAY! I get to be myself again!!
Love love love,
Madison
1. I have woken up and attended all of my classes, have not fallen asleep in any class and have even participated! I raised my hand, asked questions, made comments and am feeling great about my classes.
2.I went to the Buffalo Exchange and bought a dress and a pair for jeans for a total of around twenty bucks! wwwooooo hoooo cheap clothes!!!
3.Jam session on Monday with Bro. Hofeling, he taught me how to play "Hey Ya" in a higher key so that I could sing it in soprano. My roommates are probably sick of me playing that song but I just love it! Plus it one of the few I can actually sing and play at the same time.
4. The weather. Wow. Just being outside and feeling a cool breeze and being able to wear a light sweater makes me the happiest girl in the world.
5. On saturday my boss sat me down and had a heart to heart with me, started rocky, ended great. He started by saying that he thinks I have a ton of potential that I don't see within myself and that I need to be more confident, that In-N-Out would be lucky to have me for a manager but that I need to push myself to be my best. He also said that I don't have to rush into management since he knows I am seriously considering a mission next fall, hopefully I would be able to do management when I get home. So, the good news is that he wants to give me my next promotion by Nov. 11th, so I really need to push myself but I know my managers are supporting me and I feel much more confident.
6. I put money into my savings account this week!! After paying my tuition this semester without the aid of scholarships or loans I found myself struggling to get back on track financially. I had 16.00 in savings, was living paycheck to paycheck, had more comsumer debt than I felt comfortable with. I have officially paid off all of my debt, school is paid for, credit card is paid off, and I was able to put a couple hundred bucks in savings this month! It feels so great to be on the road again to being financially stable.
7. I love love love my THP 311: Improvisation with Youth class. Last week I was given "pixie dust" and was transformed into a bumble bee, while other students were spiders, butterflies, etc., all bugs that were found in the children's book we were using to create lesson plans to. As a bumble bee I had a fantastic time flying around the room and stinging the other bugs hahaha. The student in charge of facilitating the class that date had a blast with 4 bumble bees soaring around stinging the other bugs, her shouting "BE NICE, we are all friends here at this tea party! We need to play nice with each other!" Love love love that class.
8. I just feel amazing, unstoppable, free, invincible, focused, and overall just really have been enjoying this week, which is weird because I have been dragging my feet so much this semester, but I am finding my usual pep getting back into my step. YAY! I get to be myself again!!
Love love love,
Madison
Monday, October 13, 2008
A Picture can say 1,000 words
That is how I feel after tonight's fireside. Tonight I was fortunate enough to listen to Greg Olsen, the guy who painted most of the picture of Christ we see within the church, and loved hearing him speak on how close he grew to the Savior as he painted. He worked very hard at asking questions and trying to think of what Jesus was really like and some of the things he learned and spoke of were just so precious to me.
With this picture he described Christ teaching the child, mainly about our divine potential. A caterpillar could never know what beautiful things genetics had in store for it, that one day it would turn into a beautiful butterfly with wings to fly. So it is with us, that although it is impossible to see how divine and perfect we can and will be one day it is such a wonderful feeling to know that my Heavenly Father created me, knowing that one day this hunk of black coal could be refined into a beautiful diamond.
I think Greg Olsen does an amazing job at capturing the love that Jesus has for us and I can just feel my heart become so full of that love when I see these paintings.
With this picture he described Christ teaching the child, mainly about our divine potential. A caterpillar could never know what beautiful things genetics had in store for it, that one day it would turn into a beautiful butterfly with wings to fly. So it is with us, that although it is impossible to see how divine and perfect we can and will be one day it is such a wonderful feeling to know that my Heavenly Father created me, knowing that one day this hunk of black coal could be refined into a beautiful diamond.
I think Greg Olsen does an amazing job at capturing the love that Jesus has for us and I can just feel my heart become so full of that love when I see these paintings.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Serving the Elders
Many times within the church we are counseled to serve others, and I often hear to aid our missionaries. Well, my roommates and I decided to take action in this area and serve the elders from university second ward since they live in our apartment complex. We served them alright..one big batch of mischief. Elder Irving and Hillyard and us have had a little joke going on for a couple weeks about how we were going to play pranks on each others cars/apartments, and since Elder Hillyard was transferred on wednesday we wanted to really show him we were grateful for his service. On tuesday night around midnight, Katie, Ashley and I took 4 rolls of cling wrap and had one heck of a time wrapping up the elders car. We put a sign on the car that said "good luck hillyard", then wrapped over it, and we baked them cookies as a peace offering. We pretty much had a blast doing this but I was disappointed that it only took them roughly 2 minutes to take all of the cling wrap off. The Elders thought it was funny and had a good time with it I think. Overall I would say our mission was a success.
I would like to close by saying that cling wrap serves no other purpose beyond the covering of cars and other objects for the sake of mischief. Otherwise, I hate cling wrap. It never sticks to what you want it to.
I would like to close by saying that cling wrap serves no other purpose beyond the covering of cars and other objects for the sake of mischief. Otherwise, I hate cling wrap. It never sticks to what you want it to.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Find Joy in the Journey-NOW
I love General Conference. Even though it is at such an early hour and allows me to get about 4 hours of sleep after closing at work, I love the great messages from modern day apostles and prophets. Today I was very grateful to be able to watch general conference in Avondale with The Parks family, I really don't get to see them as often as I like and love when I get the opportunity to spend time with their family. I am exhausted right now, so I will just write a few of my favorite conference moments.
1. Elder L. Tom Perry- The importance of living a simplistic life. He stressed the importance of living within your income and the importance of saving. I was glad to hear this message because it seems like since school started money has been a bit tighter, but when it comes down to it I need to just stick more closely to my budget and not spend money on stupid things, like food when I am too lazy to make my lunch. He also brought up the importance of getting enough sleep, which is something I really need to work on, since 4-5 hours a night probably isn't enough.
2. Sister Allred- Missionary work. I like that she said that in order to be a good missionary you need to have a clear understanding that God loves ALL of His children. I think it is just so important that we do not judge others, even when it seems warranted. Even when someone seems to give us reasons to judge I think it is so important to remember that only the Savior can judge us.
3. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin- Learn to Laugh. First of all I love the story he told about his daughter and the blind date, and second, I completely agree that if we can laugh at the little things that get us down instead of getting upset than we can be so much happier.
4. Elder Gerald Causse- Our Eyes are blind, you have to seek with your heart. The message of the gospel is simple, we should not complicate it and need to remember that knowledge comes from the spirit and through our hearts.
5. Elder Robert D. Hales- True disciples see the opportunity in persecution. Why do we fear pesecution? It gives us an opportunity to share this great message. Yes, it is hard at times, especially when some mock that which we hold so sacred, but we should try to see the missionary opportunities that come with those criticisms.
6. President Thomas S. Monson- In everything give thanks!
1. Elder L. Tom Perry- The importance of living a simplistic life. He stressed the importance of living within your income and the importance of saving. I was glad to hear this message because it seems like since school started money has been a bit tighter, but when it comes down to it I need to just stick more closely to my budget and not spend money on stupid things, like food when I am too lazy to make my lunch. He also brought up the importance of getting enough sleep, which is something I really need to work on, since 4-5 hours a night probably isn't enough.
2. Sister Allred- Missionary work. I like that she said that in order to be a good missionary you need to have a clear understanding that God loves ALL of His children. I think it is just so important that we do not judge others, even when it seems warranted. Even when someone seems to give us reasons to judge I think it is so important to remember that only the Savior can judge us.
3. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin- Learn to Laugh. First of all I love the story he told about his daughter and the blind date, and second, I completely agree that if we can laugh at the little things that get us down instead of getting upset than we can be so much happier.
4. Elder Gerald Causse- Our Eyes are blind, you have to seek with your heart. The message of the gospel is simple, we should not complicate it and need to remember that knowledge comes from the spirit and through our hearts.
5. Elder Robert D. Hales- True disciples see the opportunity in persecution. Why do we fear pesecution? It gives us an opportunity to share this great message. Yes, it is hard at times, especially when some mock that which we hold so sacred, but we should try to see the missionary opportunities that come with those criticisms.
6. President Thomas S. Monson- In everything give thanks!
Monday, September 29, 2008
My wonderful horrible day :)
Today was wonderful in many ways, yet horrible in a few key instances. Shall we start with the horrible?
1. "MADI, did you know we have an exam in geography today?!" Uh oh. Of course I would neglect my syllabus and thus fail to notice that there was an exam scheduled today. And of course it would occur in the class that I rarely attend as of late. So basically I had only learned about half of the material, had an hour to cram in between classes, and was totally insecure about my ability to do well on this exam. I feel like I had to guess on about half of the test, but I am a pretty good test taker so let's hope I received a miracle today.
2. "Oh crap, where are my car keys?" Yep. During FHE at Golfland tonight, at the end of our round I noticed that my car keys had jumped from my pocket at some point. So Vanie and I had to go on a putt putt scavenger hunt and look for my keys. Thank goodness Vanie is amazing and found them, but boy oh boy was I freaking out for a good fifteen minutes!
Happiness :)
1.My Latter-Day Hymns Institute class was amazing. I love what I learn in that class and I love the discuss we have in there.
2. I had a delicious lunch today of ribs and a baked potato, leftover from last night's birthday dinner at my mom's house.
3. I got to sit and chat with Brother Hofeling today about some scripture questions I had, got to play his beautiful 12-string guitar, and listened to Bro. Hof read a talk to me that punked all single male adults in the church, get em' Bro. Hof, lol.
4. I was able to go run today :) I went before FHE since it seemed really cool out today, but I had to run against the wind the whole time and felt like crap by the time I had finished the two miles from my apartment on Priest to In-N-Out where I get a big delicious glass of water.
5. Unexpected Success in an area that I am surely unskilled at. ;)
6. Driving to FHE with the roommates was fun; singing the hymns at the top of our lungs and laughing and joking the whole way. I am so appreciative of them. I honestly don't think I could be happier living with anyone else (except maybe a super amazing husband one day). They are so selfless and righteous and I really wish I could be a better roommate to them. Sometimes I get crabby after so much school and work and stress, but hopefully I can turn my frown upside down and be nicer.
7. Discovery. For awhile I have been having a hard time getting myself to wind down and fall asleep, but recently I have discovered a sure fire way to knock me out. Everytime I play the acoustic rendition of "Hey Ya" I get soooo sleeping, I even fell asleep sitting in my bed once with my guitar across my lap. This is great because I can finally get to sleep, but bad because I love playing this song but I hate falling asleep in the middle of it.
Life is on the up and up.
Love, Madi
1. "MADI, did you know we have an exam in geography today?!" Uh oh. Of course I would neglect my syllabus and thus fail to notice that there was an exam scheduled today. And of course it would occur in the class that I rarely attend as of late. So basically I had only learned about half of the material, had an hour to cram in between classes, and was totally insecure about my ability to do well on this exam. I feel like I had to guess on about half of the test, but I am a pretty good test taker so let's hope I received a miracle today.
2. "Oh crap, where are my car keys?" Yep. During FHE at Golfland tonight, at the end of our round I noticed that my car keys had jumped from my pocket at some point. So Vanie and I had to go on a putt putt scavenger hunt and look for my keys. Thank goodness Vanie is amazing and found them, but boy oh boy was I freaking out for a good fifteen minutes!
Happiness :)
1.My Latter-Day Hymns Institute class was amazing. I love what I learn in that class and I love the discuss we have in there.
2. I had a delicious lunch today of ribs and a baked potato, leftover from last night's birthday dinner at my mom's house.
3. I got to sit and chat with Brother Hofeling today about some scripture questions I had, got to play his beautiful 12-string guitar, and listened to Bro. Hof read a talk to me that punked all single male adults in the church, get em' Bro. Hof, lol.
4. I was able to go run today :) I went before FHE since it seemed really cool out today, but I had to run against the wind the whole time and felt like crap by the time I had finished the two miles from my apartment on Priest to In-N-Out where I get a big delicious glass of water.
5. Unexpected Success in an area that I am surely unskilled at. ;)
6. Driving to FHE with the roommates was fun; singing the hymns at the top of our lungs and laughing and joking the whole way. I am so appreciative of them. I honestly don't think I could be happier living with anyone else (except maybe a super amazing husband one day). They are so selfless and righteous and I really wish I could be a better roommate to them. Sometimes I get crabby after so much school and work and stress, but hopefully I can turn my frown upside down and be nicer.
7. Discovery. For awhile I have been having a hard time getting myself to wind down and fall asleep, but recently I have discovered a sure fire way to knock me out. Everytime I play the acoustic rendition of "Hey Ya" I get soooo sleeping, I even fell asleep sitting in my bed once with my guitar across my lap. This is great because I can finally get to sleep, but bad because I love playing this song but I hate falling asleep in the middle of it.
Life is on the up and up.
Love, Madi
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Too old to be a "teenage dirtbag", yet a year closer to being "21 and invincible"
Yep, today is my 20th birthday, wowzas. Today started off pretty great, church, friend, family, happiness. I got to spend the afternoon with various family members and friends in Avondale, dragging my roommates along the whole way. I had to really laugh at the gift I received from my younger sister: two sacks full of groceries. I had previously told her that I was too poor to buy groceries, so she solved this by getting me some today, which I really really appreciate, it will be nice to eat something other than turkey and cheese sandwiches lol. I also have the best former home teacher ever, Mr. Jerod Hartley, who got me tickets to go see Anberlin for my birthday and I am super stoked to do that, since I haven't been to a show since high school. I am very thankful for so many friends who care about me, perhaps more than I deserve sometimes, and for all of the kind words I received today. :)
I have been caught up in too-deep thought today. I hate days when I find myself thinking way too much. Some thoughts include: the fact that it took me 18 years to find true happiness (through my conversion) and that I really wish I could have found it sooner; I really really feel like sitting alone outside, somewhere somewhat pretty, and just play my guitar and sing, which is a difficult task in itself since I am rather unskilled; the bishop's talk today on the importance of marriage, "just do it", and the conclusions and concerns I am drawing from that; I cannot do everything on my own, and although it is one of hardest things for my stubborn self to do, I have to ask for help, which I did today, and feel extremely yucky about losing a portion of my independency; I am not happy with school, which makes me wonder if I am in the right field, since I dislike 4/5 of my classes; my apartment is way too messy, and I really wish I had more time to devote to cleanliness, but I barely have time to sleep at this point let alone clean; I am feeling this void in my life, it is a very obvious void, only obvious in the fact that I know it exists, because I have no idea what that void is and I really wish I could fill it; I wish I had more time to go running, I miss that freedom so much; Even though it is my 20th birthday, I feel like it is my 30th, ok that's an exaggeration, maybe my 26th lol, just because I have so much on my plate and can feel my childhood slipping through my fingers. I rememeber being so carefree, excited about just life in general, funny, and always wearing a smile, yet lately I feel like I am drained of joy, sleep, and sunshine. oh boy. way too deep thought today. It's my birthday and I will cry if I want to, ha ha.
Love, Madi
I have been caught up in too-deep thought today. I hate days when I find myself thinking way too much. Some thoughts include: the fact that it took me 18 years to find true happiness (through my conversion) and that I really wish I could have found it sooner; I really really feel like sitting alone outside, somewhere somewhat pretty, and just play my guitar and sing, which is a difficult task in itself since I am rather unskilled; the bishop's talk today on the importance of marriage, "just do it", and the conclusions and concerns I am drawing from that; I cannot do everything on my own, and although it is one of hardest things for my stubborn self to do, I have to ask for help, which I did today, and feel extremely yucky about losing a portion of my independency; I am not happy with school, which makes me wonder if I am in the right field, since I dislike 4/5 of my classes; my apartment is way too messy, and I really wish I had more time to devote to cleanliness, but I barely have time to sleep at this point let alone clean; I am feeling this void in my life, it is a very obvious void, only obvious in the fact that I know it exists, because I have no idea what that void is and I really wish I could fill it; I wish I had more time to go running, I miss that freedom so much; Even though it is my 20th birthday, I feel like it is my 30th, ok that's an exaggeration, maybe my 26th lol, just because I have so much on my plate and can feel my childhood slipping through my fingers. I rememeber being so carefree, excited about just life in general, funny, and always wearing a smile, yet lately I feel like I am drained of joy, sleep, and sunshine. oh boy. way too deep thought today. It's my birthday and I will cry if I want to, ha ha.
Love, Madi
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I'm going there today!
This week has been an interesting one. One filled with sleeping through alarms, staying up way too late doing homework, working (but not as much as usual thank goodness), and the strange onset of daily headaches and sometimes dizziness. I know that all of these are a result of me overworking myself, but the good news is that my boss told me that he is worried about me and cut my hours to 25 a week. I appreciate that he cares about my well-being enough to know that I needed my hours cut but was too afraid to ask, he even offered to buy me bread to make the sandwiches I bring to work everyday, what a great guy! So, yesterday I was pretty much feeling like the scum of the earth, I don't know why but I just felt worthless. Last night I went to the temple to do baptisms with Jerod and every stress, worry, and insecurity seemed to escape as soon as I walked through the doors. I left feeling overcome with peace, joy, and the confidence that I can make it through these hard times I am having. I love the temple, and am going to going at least once a week from now on, which is what I did all last semester but couldn't find the time this summer and have sorely missed the blessings that come from regular temple work. I got out of class early and don't have any homework today so I am going with Vanie to the temple, it will be her first time going and I am so honored to share the experience with her :)
Love, Madi
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Becoming something I can't define
This week has been pretty intense, no surprise there. Everyday is the same cycle of school, work, then about 5 hours of sleep. It is getting old reaaaal fast. I am seriously contemplating just getting in my car and driving. My birhtday is at the end of the month and I will get a three day weekend off work, so maybe I will drive myself to the beach, so I can just relax and recoop.
Today in my theater class we started learning about improvisation and we had to do an activity where we are given a topic and had to improv the situation with a partner. It was hilarious. Example:
Instructions: Person A has a crush on person b and you are at a school dance. person a has to try and get person b to dance with them, while person b does not want to dance yet does not want to hurt the other persons feelings.
Julia (A): So, are you having a good time?
Me (B): Ehh it's ok, I am not really into dances
Julia: Well do you like this song?
Madi: I actually have never heard it before
Julia: Really? It's on the radio all the time
Madi: Oh, well I don't listen to the radio, I only listen to my grandparents recordings of organ music
Julia: Oh, well can you dance to organ music?
Madi: Nope, you can only think, deep thoughts, to organ music
Julia: Well, maybe you can try dancing to this song anyways
Madi: Actually I have a doctor's note, no dancing whatsoever tonight
Julia: Why?
Madi: I recently had my left leg amputated, and the doctor said if I dance on my prosthetic leg that it would fall off and disintegrate.
My partner was just dying laughing, we had such a blast.
Last night I went running with my beautiful roommate, Katie Bug, and we were just talking about how much we have changed within the last year, and I realized that slowly I am turning into the kind of person I always envied in high school, the person I wanted to become so badly. The kind of girl who can lay on a bench in the middle of campus and just listen to her ipod, without worrying what other people think; the kind of girl who can be exactly who she wants to be, whether its thoughtful and reserved one day or weird, random and loud the next; the kind of girl who feels a real, true relationship with her loving Heavenly Father (finally, I have been searching for this for years); the kind of girl who feels absolutely free and independent as she coasts on her longboard; the kind of girl who feels confident in herself even when she is beet red and drenched in sweat after a run; the kind of girl who has real friends who she feels 100% comfortable with and who she can't imagine her life without; the kind of girl who sings at the top of her lungs, no matter who is listening; the kind of girl who has absolutely no idea what life will be like in the next 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, 6 months, or even 6 weeks, yet has a perfect knowledge that all things will be for her good and trusts in the one who holds her life in His hands.
I love my life. Every sleepless night, every awkward stumble into a lecture that has started without me, every flat tire/broken water heater/power outage/burned out tail light, every aching muscle after a ten hour shift at work. It's a difficult journey at times, but it would be so much harder if I didn't learn to enjoy every moment of it.
Love, Madi
Today in my theater class we started learning about improvisation and we had to do an activity where we are given a topic and had to improv the situation with a partner. It was hilarious. Example:
Instructions: Person A has a crush on person b and you are at a school dance. person a has to try and get person b to dance with them, while person b does not want to dance yet does not want to hurt the other persons feelings.
Julia (A): So, are you having a good time?
Me (B): Ehh it's ok, I am not really into dances
Julia: Well do you like this song?
Madi: I actually have never heard it before
Julia: Really? It's on the radio all the time
Madi: Oh, well I don't listen to the radio, I only listen to my grandparents recordings of organ music
Julia: Oh, well can you dance to organ music?
Madi: Nope, you can only think, deep thoughts, to organ music
Julia: Well, maybe you can try dancing to this song anyways
Madi: Actually I have a doctor's note, no dancing whatsoever tonight
Julia: Why?
Madi: I recently had my left leg amputated, and the doctor said if I dance on my prosthetic leg that it would fall off and disintegrate.
My partner was just dying laughing, we had such a blast.
Last night I went running with my beautiful roommate, Katie Bug, and we were just talking about how much we have changed within the last year, and I realized that slowly I am turning into the kind of person I always envied in high school, the person I wanted to become so badly. The kind of girl who can lay on a bench in the middle of campus and just listen to her ipod, without worrying what other people think; the kind of girl who can be exactly who she wants to be, whether its thoughtful and reserved one day or weird, random and loud the next; the kind of girl who feels a real, true relationship with her loving Heavenly Father (finally, I have been searching for this for years); the kind of girl who feels absolutely free and independent as she coasts on her longboard; the kind of girl who feels confident in herself even when she is beet red and drenched in sweat after a run; the kind of girl who has real friends who she feels 100% comfortable with and who she can't imagine her life without; the kind of girl who sings at the top of her lungs, no matter who is listening; the kind of girl who has absolutely no idea what life will be like in the next 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, 6 months, or even 6 weeks, yet has a perfect knowledge that all things will be for her good and trusts in the one who holds her life in His hands.
I love my life. Every sleepless night, every awkward stumble into a lecture that has started without me, every flat tire/broken water heater/power outage/burned out tail light, every aching muscle after a ten hour shift at work. It's a difficult journey at times, but it would be so much harder if I didn't learn to enjoy every moment of it.
Love, Madi
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
"Ok to get there just climb down a rope, crawl down this tunnel that resembles a birth canal.."
That was a direct quote of how to get to the "Sign in" room in the Pepper Sauce Caves on Labor Day. The sad part is that they were not kidding about the birth canal tunnel lol, it was a doozy.
So on Labor a semi-large group of kids from 5th ward, and a Phoenix ward went to the Pepper Sauce Caves, also known as the mud caves, down by Tucson for a little adventure. I had no idea how hard this was actually going to be, but oh boy, I am so incredibly sore today it is a surprise I can function. We got to the caves at around 8am and left around 12ish, covered in mud of course. This was a really fun time, we all were cracking jokes the whole time and it was so neat exploring in these caves. The kids that came from Phoenix were hilarious, and I am really glad I was able to get semi-acquainted with them. I totally did not anticipated how hard it would be to manuever in these caves, but there were times when someone would have to boost you up, people were slipping and falling left and right since it was so wet and slimy, I lost my footing and almost fell to my death (thank goodness Mike caught me). There were a lot of areas where we were pretty much squished into a crevice and inching our way along, or army crawling in really low-ceiling areas, walking through the giant toilet water lake, lol. It sounds pretty gross, but overall it was a good experience and I am really proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone and doing something so out of character, and doing it successfully.
Before
After
So on Labor a semi-large group of kids from 5th ward, and a Phoenix ward went to the Pepper Sauce Caves, also known as the mud caves, down by Tucson for a little adventure. I had no idea how hard this was actually going to be, but oh boy, I am so incredibly sore today it is a surprise I can function. We got to the caves at around 8am and left around 12ish, covered in mud of course. This was a really fun time, we all were cracking jokes the whole time and it was so neat exploring in these caves. The kids that came from Phoenix were hilarious, and I am really glad I was able to get semi-acquainted with them. I totally did not anticipated how hard it would be to manuever in these caves, but there were times when someone would have to boost you up, people were slipping and falling left and right since it was so wet and slimy, I lost my footing and almost fell to my death (thank goodness Mike caught me). There were a lot of areas where we were pretty much squished into a crevice and inching our way along, or army crawling in really low-ceiling areas, walking through the giant toilet water lake, lol. It sounds pretty gross, but overall it was a good experience and I am really proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone and doing something so out of character, and doing it successfully.
Before
After
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Hurricane
Thursday night was pretty much the most random night.
I was supposed to go longboarding with some friends from the ward and literally as we are walking to the car it goes from beautiful boarding weather to hurricane status. So Matt and I ended up hanging out at Blake's condo until it was safe to drive home, we sat around in the candle light (power was out) and sang to Matt/Mike playing acoustic guitar, it was pretty fun. Once I got home I could not believe how much worse things were over at my complex in comparison to Blake's. Here are some photos.
I would have you notice that in the last picture there is a white car shown on the left side, just feet away from the fallen tree. Yeah. That's my car. It escaped death by mere feet.
I was supposed to go longboarding with some friends from the ward and literally as we are walking to the car it goes from beautiful boarding weather to hurricane status. So Matt and I ended up hanging out at Blake's condo until it was safe to drive home, we sat around in the candle light (power was out) and sang to Matt/Mike playing acoustic guitar, it was pretty fun. Once I got home I could not believe how much worse things were over at my complex in comparison to Blake's. Here are some photos.
I would have you notice that in the last picture there is a white car shown on the left side, just feet away from the fallen tree. Yeah. That's my car. It escaped death by mere feet.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
I hate covering the space/what do teachers make?
First, in my gph111 class our teacher likes to start the lecture off with a funny video to kind of loosen us up, and this is the one he played on wednesday, and I looooved it. I will put in a disclaimer though: he uses a minor curse word, uses an inappropriate finger gesture, and drops a G-D at the end. BUT this video really says something to those of you who question the motivations of those who choose to become teachers. Enjoy.
Last night I worked until about midnight, came home, did homework until about 2 am, then got into bed feeling proud of myself for all I had accomplished, and went to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I was very upset to see that it was 9:00 am, when my alarm SHOULD have gone off at 6, making me completely miss my institute class, and my ed. psych class. Fortunately, I emailed my EDP teacher and he said he doesn't start taking attendence until next week so I won't miss out on any points, BUT the assignment I stayed up until 2 working on was for that class so now I will have to turn it in monday for half credit, not too bad since the assignment was only worth like 2 points, I was really up that late doing the assigned reading that accompanied the assignment.
Today in THP, my teacher drama class, we played theater games the whole time, one of which I really hated call "cover the space". In this activity everyone walks around the room pretty much randomly, our goal being "if you see empty space in the room, walk towards it, and cover it up" I am not joking, those are the exact instructions. He would make different rules like, only walking in right angles, if you don't hold a partner's hand you have to crawl on the floor, etc. but overall I thought this was the most ridiculous/annoying activity ever ha ha. The other game was pretty interesting though. It was called tilt, we all were paired off and our teacher put a water bottle on the floor in the center of the room. The pairs took turns pretending they were standing on opposite sides of a plate, the water bottle represented the center of the plate, and so if one person moved closer to the plate the other must also step closer or else the plate would tilt and fall. I had a lot of fun with this one because during my turn I kept trying to fake out my partner, by starting to step in one direction and then quickly pulling my foot back, so then she would tip our plate. I don't think she appreciated this, but I laughed everytime, I am sure my teacher thinks I am an idiot, haha. Do I care? No.
Love, Madi
Last night I worked until about midnight, came home, did homework until about 2 am, then got into bed feeling proud of myself for all I had accomplished, and went to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I was very upset to see that it was 9:00 am, when my alarm SHOULD have gone off at 6, making me completely miss my institute class, and my ed. psych class. Fortunately, I emailed my EDP teacher and he said he doesn't start taking attendence until next week so I won't miss out on any points, BUT the assignment I stayed up until 2 working on was for that class so now I will have to turn it in monday for half credit, not too bad since the assignment was only worth like 2 points, I was really up that late doing the assigned reading that accompanied the assignment.
Today in THP, my teacher drama class, we played theater games the whole time, one of which I really hated call "cover the space". In this activity everyone walks around the room pretty much randomly, our goal being "if you see empty space in the room, walk towards it, and cover it up" I am not joking, those are the exact instructions. He would make different rules like, only walking in right angles, if you don't hold a partner's hand you have to crawl on the floor, etc. but overall I thought this was the most ridiculous/annoying activity ever ha ha. The other game was pretty interesting though. It was called tilt, we all were paired off and our teacher put a water bottle on the floor in the center of the room. The pairs took turns pretending they were standing on opposite sides of a plate, the water bottle represented the center of the plate, and so if one person moved closer to the plate the other must also step closer or else the plate would tilt and fall. I had a lot of fun with this one because during my turn I kept trying to fake out my partner, by starting to step in one direction and then quickly pulling my foot back, so then she would tip our plate. I don't think she appreciated this, but I laughed everytime, I am sure my teacher thinks I am an idiot, haha. Do I care? No.
Love, Madi
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
ye shall run and not be weary, shall walk and not faint
Yeah, I could definitely use some assistance in this area 'cause I am definitely weary already, only two days into the school year!
Today I woke up at 6 am and went to my first class, institute, which was The Gospel and World Religions with Bro. Wold, which I can tell is going to be amazing! He has so much energy and his excitement about teaching makes me excited to learn. I am really stoked to learn about other religions and how they have pieces of truth in their doctrine and how I can look at their beliefs and make positive applications to the way I worship God and serve in the church. There was this really great quote brought up in class today that was said by Joseph Smith that says, "One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may...gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons." I really liked that quote because I have experienced many branches of Christian faith and many of them claim to be the only right church and work harder to discredit other faiths rather than support their own. I am so grateful of the open-mindedness of the church and its ability to draw knowledge and truth from so many different avenues. I forget what scripture it is, but there is one that says that everything on the Earth testifies of Christ, so with this scripture in mind it would make sense that we could gain a better testimony of the Savior, even through beliefs that seem to be far from our own, such as Buddhism or Islam. Wow, I am so excited for this class, can't you tell?
My next class was Educational Psychology, which doesn't seem to be too challenging, but was horrifically boring, like whoa. I was borderline falling asleep, but did my best to pull myself together since I was sitting in the very front.
Immediately following EDP I have Improvisation with Youth, which is like a theater class but for teachers, to learn how to respond on the spot to situations in the classroom and how dramatic activities and such can improve a child's learning. This class will hopefully be an easy A, woot woot, and Courtney Spencer, a friend from the Institute, and Kelly Doherty, a co-worker at In-N-Out, also have this class with me, so I am sure we will make it interesting.
Right after class got out at 11:30 I rushed over to work, I was actually scheduled to work 11-8 but I told them tough luck since I had class and I had already given them my schedule in advance so they had no excuse. Work wasn't so bad today, except as soon as I came back from my ten-minute break and had eaten my delicious turkey sandwich, I was ridiculously tired, so much that I was performing way below my abilities at work and some co-workers were actually concerned, ha ha. At around 3:30 I got to take my half hour break and I decided to lay down in the locker room. I turned off the lights, got a sack of clean linen and used it as a pillow, set an alarm on my phone just in case by some miracle I fell asleep, and just relaxed, as much as is possible on a dirty, hard, tile floor, ha ha. At 3:50 I awoke to the sound of my phone alarm and was completely shocked that I just passed out on the floor! When I came out, everyone was asking where I was and was almost as shocked as I was that I capable of just crashing on the locker room floor. I did feel a lot better though after my power nap! Boy was I just physically/mentally exhausted today! HELP!
Love, Madi
Today I woke up at 6 am and went to my first class, institute, which was The Gospel and World Religions with Bro. Wold, which I can tell is going to be amazing! He has so much energy and his excitement about teaching makes me excited to learn. I am really stoked to learn about other religions and how they have pieces of truth in their doctrine and how I can look at their beliefs and make positive applications to the way I worship God and serve in the church. There was this really great quote brought up in class today that was said by Joseph Smith that says, "One of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may...gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons." I really liked that quote because I have experienced many branches of Christian faith and many of them claim to be the only right church and work harder to discredit other faiths rather than support their own. I am so grateful of the open-mindedness of the church and its ability to draw knowledge and truth from so many different avenues. I forget what scripture it is, but there is one that says that everything on the Earth testifies of Christ, so with this scripture in mind it would make sense that we could gain a better testimony of the Savior, even through beliefs that seem to be far from our own, such as Buddhism or Islam. Wow, I am so excited for this class, can't you tell?
My next class was Educational Psychology, which doesn't seem to be too challenging, but was horrifically boring, like whoa. I was borderline falling asleep, but did my best to pull myself together since I was sitting in the very front.
Immediately following EDP I have Improvisation with Youth, which is like a theater class but for teachers, to learn how to respond on the spot to situations in the classroom and how dramatic activities and such can improve a child's learning. This class will hopefully be an easy A, woot woot, and Courtney Spencer, a friend from the Institute, and Kelly Doherty, a co-worker at In-N-Out, also have this class with me, so I am sure we will make it interesting.
Right after class got out at 11:30 I rushed over to work, I was actually scheduled to work 11-8 but I told them tough luck since I had class and I had already given them my schedule in advance so they had no excuse. Work wasn't so bad today, except as soon as I came back from my ten-minute break and had eaten my delicious turkey sandwich, I was ridiculously tired, so much that I was performing way below my abilities at work and some co-workers were actually concerned, ha ha. At around 3:30 I got to take my half hour break and I decided to lay down in the locker room. I turned off the lights, got a sack of clean linen and used it as a pillow, set an alarm on my phone just in case by some miracle I fell asleep, and just relaxed, as much as is possible on a dirty, hard, tile floor, ha ha. At 3:50 I awoke to the sound of my phone alarm and was completely shocked that I just passed out on the floor! When I came out, everyone was asking where I was and was almost as shocked as I was that I capable of just crashing on the locker room floor. I did feel a lot better though after my power nap! Boy was I just physically/mentally exhausted today! HELP!
Love, Madi
Monday, August 25, 2008
LDH, MTE, GPH rule my MWF
First day back at ASU. I wasn't too excited to be back but am pleasantly surprised that so far my classes seem really fun and interesting, and I may be capable of getting A's in both of them, yay! I sure need the gpa boost. My first class was institute, my favorite, I had Latter-Day Hymns with Bro. Calton and it was sooooo cool! He is such a smart man and I learned so much about how the hymns tie in with specific doctrines, and I really just have a higher appreciation for the hymns, after only one class period! By the end of the semester you won't be able to stop me from singing them aloud at all times :)
My next class was Math for Elem. Teachers, which seems to be relatively easy..learning how to teach kids addition and such. My teacher seems really cool/nice AND Abby Christian is in this class with me! So that automatically means a good time. Funny story. So I was walking down the hall in the life sciences building and in walks Abby, "HEEEEEEEY are you going to 302?!" "YES! Wow we have a class together!" We walk into 302 and it is pretty much a storage room, ha ha, so we looked at our schedules and realized that we were supposed to go to PHYSICAL sciences not LIFE sciences, and I am just amazed that at the exact same moment in time Abby and I made the same mistake and went to the same incorrect classroom. Wow. Eventually we did creep in late to the correct classroom, but she had just barely began tlaking so she was ok with it.
Next and final class for the day was Intro. to Geography, which sounded horrifically boring when I signed up, and now seems incredibly cool! Abby is also in this class with me too! My teacher is a riot, I was laughing so much in class today, and the things he plans on teaching sound so interesting, I am pretty excited to learn more about our planet and mainly about sustainability and how I can keep the Earth in good shape for my posterity :)
School is now over for the day, so of course, I am off to work for the night!
Love,
Madi
My next class was Math for Elem. Teachers, which seems to be relatively easy..learning how to teach kids addition and such. My teacher seems really cool/nice AND Abby Christian is in this class with me! So that automatically means a good time. Funny story. So I was walking down the hall in the life sciences building and in walks Abby, "HEEEEEEEY are you going to 302?!" "YES! Wow we have a class together!" We walk into 302 and it is pretty much a storage room, ha ha, so we looked at our schedules and realized that we were supposed to go to PHYSICAL sciences not LIFE sciences, and I am just amazed that at the exact same moment in time Abby and I made the same mistake and went to the same incorrect classroom. Wow. Eventually we did creep in late to the correct classroom, but she had just barely began tlaking so she was ok with it.
Next and final class for the day was Intro. to Geography, which sounded horrifically boring when I signed up, and now seems incredibly cool! Abby is also in this class with me too! My teacher is a riot, I was laughing so much in class today, and the things he plans on teaching sound so interesting, I am pretty excited to learn more about our planet and mainly about sustainability and how I can keep the Earth in good shape for my posterity :)
School is now over for the day, so of course, I am off to work for the night!
Love,
Madi
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Arm Burns and Cheese Pants
School is most definitely back, along with the thousands of ASU students who love to eat In N Out Burger. On friday night I worked the closing shift from 5 pm to 2 am and I pretty much cooked the entire time, and today I worked from 11 am to 9 pm, and I cooked for the entire shift. Wow. My back is killing me, I am exhausted, and covered in new grill/cheese burns, ugh! I forgot how busy we are during the school year and am just overwhelmed by the lines out the door without ceasing. The one good thing about how much business we are getting is that the shifts go by ridiculously fast. I am also glad that I work with such amazing people, and that we can laugh and joke almost all day long in order to keep our spirits up amidst the stress and often cranky and/or completely drunk customers.
On a positive note, I was talking to my manager about how I will be needing an extra day off this semester so that I can volunteer at a school for my major, and he said that his wife is a third grade teacher at a school on broadway and stapley and that he would ask her if I could volunteer in her room! I have been so stressed about finding a good place to volunteer and finding the time to do so, I am so thankful that my manager cares about his associates outside of their work situations and is willing to help me with my school requirements.
I had to take a picture of my work pants last night because I have never seen them ever ever get this messy. I don't think you can tell but there are random pieces of melted cheese all over them, a big grease patch on my right thigh from where I lean against the grill, and a big blotch of spread on my left leg. Mmmm doesn't this make you want to eat a burger?! Ew.
Ah the new burns. The big one on top happened today sometime, I didn't even notice it until I got my break and started to feel the burning. The other ones are from this week, and there are like 4 that aren't visible because one is on my finger, one is on my other arm, one on my elbow, etc. Wow my arms will be COVERED in scars by the time I quit In N Out!
Love,
Madi
On a positive note, I was talking to my manager about how I will be needing an extra day off this semester so that I can volunteer at a school for my major, and he said that his wife is a third grade teacher at a school on broadway and stapley and that he would ask her if I could volunteer in her room! I have been so stressed about finding a good place to volunteer and finding the time to do so, I am so thankful that my manager cares about his associates outside of their work situations and is willing to help me with my school requirements.
I had to take a picture of my work pants last night because I have never seen them ever ever get this messy. I don't think you can tell but there are random pieces of melted cheese all over them, a big grease patch on my right thigh from where I lean against the grill, and a big blotch of spread on my left leg. Mmmm doesn't this make you want to eat a burger?! Ew.
Ah the new burns. The big one on top happened today sometime, I didn't even notice it until I got my break and started to feel the burning. The other ones are from this week, and there are like 4 that aren't visible because one is on my finger, one is on my other arm, one on my elbow, etc. Wow my arms will be COVERED in scars by the time I quit In N Out!
Love,
Madi
Friday, August 22, 2008
"In our lovely deseret..always be polite and treat everybody right"
Today I woke up bright and early at 7 am and headed over to the DI (Deseret Industries, the Mormon equivalent to a Goodwill) to do some volunteer work, and boy was it rough. The work itself was not rough but it was very tedious. For about 4 hours I stood at a table and went through bags upon bags of clothing donations and sorted, buttoned, zipped, and folded the millions and millions of articles of clothing. Although this experience was one I don't plan on repeating anytime soon, I will admit that there were several instances where I was amused, surprised, and even just a little bit wiser.
1. Every person has the capacity to do good and is a unique child of our heavenly parents
I know this is stated often but sometimes it's hard to look at someone and think, "That person is my brother/sister, and we are all equal in God's eyes." I am not being high and mighty or anything, just honest, I don't think there are many people who can say they haven't turned down their nose at a bum on the street, or at the juvenile delinquent on the news. Today when I showed up to DI, most of the people working there were not people I can say I would feel comfortable around, but after working beside them for 4 hours I learned to love them. For instance, the first woman I met there, the head honcho, came off as this mean mean woman, barking orders and putting down other people working, and I was pretty much scared to death of her, but later on I heard her laughing and joking, and she sincerely thanked me for my help. So after my shift I totally changed my perspective on this woman. Another example was the quiet hispanic woman who spoke little english and was often asking other workers, "como se dice?" and pointing to various things, trying to learn the english translations. At around 10 we all got to take a 15 minutes break and this woman sat next to me and shared some dessert-like bread with me that she said her sister made from scratch the night before. I was just so touched by this woman's kindness to me, a complete stranger. Once our break was over the woman asked if I was a member of the church, and I replied that I was, and in her broken spanglish she said that she was too. It made my heart just swell to know that this kind woman knew the same truths that I knew and to feel that Christ-like love that she shared with me.
2. One man's trash is another man's treasure
Sorting through piles and piles of clothes would have been the most boring four hours of my life, if I hadn't decided to entertain myself. Every once in a while I would pick up an article of clothing and try and picture the kind of person that would wear it. Some examples: The nasty, sweat-stained in n out tee shirt could have been dropped off by my former manager, Corey, who is lds, o rmore likely dropped off by his amazing wife Jenna; the Red Mountain HS game day shirt, perhaps worn by a HS freshman girl, standing in the bleachers at homecoming, cheering her face off for the cute quarterback who was in her biology class, surrounded by her favorite girl friends; the faded something corporate shirt, that should be worn by me as I dance and sing around my apartment; the many many BYU and EFY shirts, all worn by the lds kids that I know who are still in high school and attending seminary; a whole pile of onesie pajamas with the built in feet made me chuckle, picturing a christmas card with a picture of my husband, me, and a mini toddler version of me, all wearing these ridiculous pajamas with the biggest goofy, yet genuine, smiles on our faces. Instead of viewing all of these discarded relics as trash, I tried to imagine certain pieces as they were during their prime. It was actually pretty fun and somehwat stimulated my brain for the four hour shift.
If you haven't noticed this about me yet, I am quite the "unique" individual, ha ha. I embrace my individuality. Hopefully you will get a laugh out of my ridiculous thoughts concerning old stained clothes and how wrong one's pre-conceived notions of others often turn out to be.
http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,2022-1,00.html
Much Love,
Madison
1. Every person has the capacity to do good and is a unique child of our heavenly parents
I know this is stated often but sometimes it's hard to look at someone and think, "That person is my brother/sister, and we are all equal in God's eyes." I am not being high and mighty or anything, just honest, I don't think there are many people who can say they haven't turned down their nose at a bum on the street, or at the juvenile delinquent on the news. Today when I showed up to DI, most of the people working there were not people I can say I would feel comfortable around, but after working beside them for 4 hours I learned to love them. For instance, the first woman I met there, the head honcho, came off as this mean mean woman, barking orders and putting down other people working, and I was pretty much scared to death of her, but later on I heard her laughing and joking, and she sincerely thanked me for my help. So after my shift I totally changed my perspective on this woman. Another example was the quiet hispanic woman who spoke little english and was often asking other workers, "como se dice?" and pointing to various things, trying to learn the english translations. At around 10 we all got to take a 15 minutes break and this woman sat next to me and shared some dessert-like bread with me that she said her sister made from scratch the night before. I was just so touched by this woman's kindness to me, a complete stranger. Once our break was over the woman asked if I was a member of the church, and I replied that I was, and in her broken spanglish she said that she was too. It made my heart just swell to know that this kind woman knew the same truths that I knew and to feel that Christ-like love that she shared with me.
2. One man's trash is another man's treasure
Sorting through piles and piles of clothes would have been the most boring four hours of my life, if I hadn't decided to entertain myself. Every once in a while I would pick up an article of clothing and try and picture the kind of person that would wear it. Some examples: The nasty, sweat-stained in n out tee shirt could have been dropped off by my former manager, Corey, who is lds, o rmore likely dropped off by his amazing wife Jenna; the Red Mountain HS game day shirt, perhaps worn by a HS freshman girl, standing in the bleachers at homecoming, cheering her face off for the cute quarterback who was in her biology class, surrounded by her favorite girl friends; the faded something corporate shirt, that should be worn by me as I dance and sing around my apartment; the many many BYU and EFY shirts, all worn by the lds kids that I know who are still in high school and attending seminary; a whole pile of onesie pajamas with the built in feet made me chuckle, picturing a christmas card with a picture of my husband, me, and a mini toddler version of me, all wearing these ridiculous pajamas with the biggest goofy, yet genuine, smiles on our faces. Instead of viewing all of these discarded relics as trash, I tried to imagine certain pieces as they were during their prime. It was actually pretty fun and somehwat stimulated my brain for the four hour shift.
If you haven't noticed this about me yet, I am quite the "unique" individual, ha ha. I embrace my individuality. Hopefully you will get a laugh out of my ridiculous thoughts concerning old stained clothes and how wrong one's pre-conceived notions of others often turn out to be.
http://www.providentliving.org/channel/0,11677,2022-1,00.html
Much Love,
Madison
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Anything you can do..I can do better!
This glorious morning I woke up at 630 a.m. to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes, thanks to my amazing roommate Ashley and the beloved Abby Christian who stayed over night, and also to this..
Ugggghhhh. First I freaked out for half a second because I had about 20 minutes before I was supposed to clock in at work, then I ran upstairs and got permission from Ash to drive her car to work, she is amazing, I would be lost without her. On my half hour break at work I called my dad, the conversation went something like this:
Madi: Hi Dad, so I definitely have a flat tire.
Dad: Well, who do you know that can put the spare on for you?
Madi: Andrew said he would do it, but he isn't off until 9 at night so it would be dark, I think I will just change it myself.
Dad: Madi, that doesn't sound like a good idea to me, can't you just wait for Andrew to get off?
Madi: What, you don't think I can do it? Dad, it can't be that hard, and just because I am a girl doesn't mean I can't do it and I need some big strong man to come fix it!
Dad: If you do it wrong you could get really hurt or killed! Do you want me to drive out there and do it?
Madi: No way, I can do it!
Dad: Well just call me if you can even get the lug nuts off.
Guess what? I DID get those dang lug nuts off, and I totally put the spare tire on allllll by myself!
The picture doesn't show it very well, but my hands were so black! I felt so cool :)
I am so proud of myself! See! Girls can do anything that boys can do! Even Andrew, one of my best friends from work, tried to talk me out of this, "Madi, Just let me change it after work, if not for me then for your poor Dad so he doesn't have to worry about you." What the heck, I don't see why they had so little faith in me but BOO YAH, I totally accomplished this, surprise surprise. I also feel really accomplished and semi-adultish because I also called my apartment complex staff on my break and firmly told them that I had not had hot water in three weeks, I want my some kind of credit towards my rent, and I want a copy of my lease to see what rights and services we are entitled to. I think this kind of freaked them out since they knew I meant business and they pretty much agreed to everything I requested, and the best part of all....I came home from work and HOT water was coming out of the faucet! YAY!!!!! I am so happy right now, I am so proud of myself for taking care of all these situations without asking for any help.
Love, Madison
Ugggghhhh. First I freaked out for half a second because I had about 20 minutes before I was supposed to clock in at work, then I ran upstairs and got permission from Ash to drive her car to work, she is amazing, I would be lost without her. On my half hour break at work I called my dad, the conversation went something like this:
Madi: Hi Dad, so I definitely have a flat tire.
Dad: Well, who do you know that can put the spare on for you?
Madi: Andrew said he would do it, but he isn't off until 9 at night so it would be dark, I think I will just change it myself.
Dad: Madi, that doesn't sound like a good idea to me, can't you just wait for Andrew to get off?
Madi: What, you don't think I can do it? Dad, it can't be that hard, and just because I am a girl doesn't mean I can't do it and I need some big strong man to come fix it!
Dad: If you do it wrong you could get really hurt or killed! Do you want me to drive out there and do it?
Madi: No way, I can do it!
Dad: Well just call me if you can even get the lug nuts off.
Guess what? I DID get those dang lug nuts off, and I totally put the spare tire on allllll by myself!
The picture doesn't show it very well, but my hands were so black! I felt so cool :)
I am so proud of myself! See! Girls can do anything that boys can do! Even Andrew, one of my best friends from work, tried to talk me out of this, "Madi, Just let me change it after work, if not for me then for your poor Dad so he doesn't have to worry about you." What the heck, I don't see why they had so little faith in me but BOO YAH, I totally accomplished this, surprise surprise. I also feel really accomplished and semi-adultish because I also called my apartment complex staff on my break and firmly told them that I had not had hot water in three weeks, I want my some kind of credit towards my rent, and I want a copy of my lease to see what rights and services we are entitled to. I think this kind of freaked them out since they knew I meant business and they pretty much agreed to everything I requested, and the best part of all....I came home from work and HOT water was coming out of the faucet! YAY!!!!! I am so happy right now, I am so proud of myself for taking care of all these situations without asking for any help.
Love, Madison
Friday, August 15, 2008
I'd prefer not to be rescued
Not much has gone on lately, just work work work of course. I still love my new apartment, except for the fact that we still have yet to take hot showers. The maintenance man has come at least 5 times to fix it, and I am getting rather upset about the entire situation. My dad says I need to go to the office and yell but I just cannot be that person! I really wish I could be assertive and not let people take advantage of me but I just can't be mean to people, ugh, I need to man up haha.
Last week I taught my first lesson in church. I subbed for the gospel doctrine class and taught the lesson for Alma 32-35. I was so scared to do this because for obvious reasons I am not very knowledgable about the Book of Mormon stories. I know it's true, that's what really matters, right? While I was preparing the lesson there were so many times when I just got confused and didn't really understand what I was reading or what lesson I was supposed to pull from the story. But I think I did well at pretending to know what I was talking about when I taught.
I have been teaching myself to sew, oh boy, I had no idea what a frustrating task that was going to be. I have been trying to make myself a dress for church, it might turn out okay but I feel so bad for Ash because whenever I work on it I get really flustered and cranky and tend to snap. Poor girl. Hopefully it will be a good learning experience and the dress will be wearable.
I am addicted to Breaking Dawn.
I realized today that there is only week until school starts, and I am totally unprepared. My mind and body are not ready for the extreme stress and lack of sleep it will have to endure, my apartment is not organized/clean enough for me to be able to come home and not feel like I am going to have an axiety attack, my to do list is still way too long, my sleep schedule is horrible and I will never be able to wake up for my 7 30 am institute class. Although I am ready to basically live at the institute and have those wonderful teachers available to answer my millions of questions, for dollar lunch, that feeling of accomplishment after somehow magically finding time for everything, the brand U5 ward and all the newbies that will be transferring in, the opportunity to improve in my classes in comparison to last year, making new friends and loving the life I lead with my current friends, seeing how this year will play out with no plans or expectations (which is really hard for me to grasp, since I have always always always had a game plan). What will I be like when May rolls around? What will I have accomplished? How many amazing memories will I have? I can't wait to find all of this out.
Ashley= scrapzilla, she has been scrapbooking for days, without ceasing. She also has been badgering me constantly to start the scrapbook I bought her for her birthday, I promised to do the first page. There is paper, stickers, ribbon, and paper shards all over my living/dining room floor and table. Oh boy.
Time to go run :) I love how free I feel when I run.
Love, Madi
Last week I taught my first lesson in church. I subbed for the gospel doctrine class and taught the lesson for Alma 32-35. I was so scared to do this because for obvious reasons I am not very knowledgable about the Book of Mormon stories. I know it's true, that's what really matters, right? While I was preparing the lesson there were so many times when I just got confused and didn't really understand what I was reading or what lesson I was supposed to pull from the story. But I think I did well at pretending to know what I was talking about when I taught.
I have been teaching myself to sew, oh boy, I had no idea what a frustrating task that was going to be. I have been trying to make myself a dress for church, it might turn out okay but I feel so bad for Ash because whenever I work on it I get really flustered and cranky and tend to snap. Poor girl. Hopefully it will be a good learning experience and the dress will be wearable.
I am addicted to Breaking Dawn.
I realized today that there is only week until school starts, and I am totally unprepared. My mind and body are not ready for the extreme stress and lack of sleep it will have to endure, my apartment is not organized/clean enough for me to be able to come home and not feel like I am going to have an axiety attack, my to do list is still way too long, my sleep schedule is horrible and I will never be able to wake up for my 7 30 am institute class. Although I am ready to basically live at the institute and have those wonderful teachers available to answer my millions of questions, for dollar lunch, that feeling of accomplishment after somehow magically finding time for everything, the brand U5 ward and all the newbies that will be transferring in, the opportunity to improve in my classes in comparison to last year, making new friends and loving the life I lead with my current friends, seeing how this year will play out with no plans or expectations (which is really hard for me to grasp, since I have always always always had a game plan). What will I be like when May rolls around? What will I have accomplished? How many amazing memories will I have? I can't wait to find all of this out.
Ashley= scrapzilla, she has been scrapbooking for days, without ceasing. She also has been badgering me constantly to start the scrapbook I bought her for her birthday, I promised to do the first page. There is paper, stickers, ribbon, and paper shards all over my living/dining room floor and table. Oh boy.
Time to go run :) I love how free I feel when I run.
Love, Madi
Saturday, August 2, 2008
My calves are killing me
This past Thursday was moving day..ugh. I love the fact that I live with Ash and Katie now, but gosh it was a total pain moving! I had to take two trips from my old apartment to the new one to move all of my stuff and yes, my calves are killing me from going up and down the stairs and I have bruises on my arms from carrying boxes, ha ha, I swear I am not a total wimp. So after everyone leaves Ash says to me, "Madi I have a huge surprise, close your eyes." I walk outside to our front door and see this
My reaction: "No way, we have to move that, or someone will totally egg our front door." haha so we put it in front of our patio door outside. I am seriously not afraid to tell people that I am mormon but to just display it like that is like asking for persecution ha ha, maybe I think this way because I am the only member in my family and I have to kind of be on guard and prepped for persecution, but come on, you know someone would like spray paint profanities on that door mat just to spite us!
Our apartment is totally trashed right now with boxes and junk but I know it will come together really nicely!
Get excited ladies and gents because this is going to be the ultimate lds party place next year. We have already discussed several theme ideas.. and they will be off the chain, fo sho. I am sooooo excited! Let me know if you have any fun ideas!
So funny story, Ash and I went out to get clothes for an 80's party (will post documentation of party later) and just run some errands and when we get home we realized that Ashley's bedroom door is locked, and everything we need to get ready for the party is in her room. Crap. We called the emergency maintenance line and apparantly they don't handle lock outs, we tried to break in with a bobby pin, I then proceeded to remove the door handle with a screw driver, which made us even more confused at what to do because the part of the door that actually opens the door was on the inside of the room. Next step, we said a prayer for help, because whenever we ask for like mechanical help Heavenly Father ALWAYS fixes things..I swear He dabbles in mechanics in His spare time. Then we called my Dad for help and he is pretty much a genius..I tell him the situation and he says the most obvious solution. "Why don't you just unscrew the handle on your door, stick it in Ashley's door and turn the handle?" So I unscrewed the handle, walked to Ash's door, put in my door handle, turned, and voila. Ash and I started screaming with joy, with my Dad still on the phone (he thought we were mechanically retarded, yet hilarious, he laughed the whole time we were on the phone).
I am so exhausted, and stressed, and sore, yet unbelievably happy. Last night was the most fun amazing night ever..I will put up a post soon, the pictures are hilarious.
Love you all!
Madi
My reaction: "No way, we have to move that, or someone will totally egg our front door." haha so we put it in front of our patio door outside. I am seriously not afraid to tell people that I am mormon but to just display it like that is like asking for persecution ha ha, maybe I think this way because I am the only member in my family and I have to kind of be on guard and prepped for persecution, but come on, you know someone would like spray paint profanities on that door mat just to spite us!
Our apartment is totally trashed right now with boxes and junk but I know it will come together really nicely!
Get excited ladies and gents because this is going to be the ultimate lds party place next year. We have already discussed several theme ideas.. and they will be off the chain, fo sho. I am sooooo excited! Let me know if you have any fun ideas!
So funny story, Ash and I went out to get clothes for an 80's party (will post documentation of party later) and just run some errands and when we get home we realized that Ashley's bedroom door is locked, and everything we need to get ready for the party is in her room. Crap. We called the emergency maintenance line and apparantly they don't handle lock outs, we tried to break in with a bobby pin, I then proceeded to remove the door handle with a screw driver, which made us even more confused at what to do because the part of the door that actually opens the door was on the inside of the room. Next step, we said a prayer for help, because whenever we ask for like mechanical help Heavenly Father ALWAYS fixes things..I swear He dabbles in mechanics in His spare time. Then we called my Dad for help and he is pretty much a genius..I tell him the situation and he says the most obvious solution. "Why don't you just unscrew the handle on your door, stick it in Ashley's door and turn the handle?" So I unscrewed the handle, walked to Ash's door, put in my door handle, turned, and voila. Ash and I started screaming with joy, with my Dad still on the phone (he thought we were mechanically retarded, yet hilarious, he laughed the whole time we were on the phone).
I am so exhausted, and stressed, and sore, yet unbelievably happy. Last night was the most fun amazing night ever..I will put up a post soon, the pictures are hilarious.
Love you all!
Madi
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