GOOD NEWS

I disabled word verification. 


It never makes me verify anything when I comment, so naturally I just assumed y'all had it the same, and for all this time! (I'm so embarrassed.) Ah, the perks of being a blog owner. Anyway, I find those things supes obnoksch, so unless I start getting blogspam up the wazoo, you will never again have to prove you're not a robot on this blog. 


So comment away, everyone. 




PS: Someone please really do comment if you notice it's not actually disabled. Because I will feel like a fool. Kthanksbye.

Technically this all happened on Jul 31 not Aug 1

Today I did not wear any makeup or do my hair. 
I also did not leave the house except to fill my car with much needed gas.


I did cut almost 200 squares of flannel for a quilt I'm making. 
And I ate some dang good food. 
And I told Harry happy birthday. 
And I read some letters from Mexico.
And I watched a boatload of Olympics.


'Twas a rather lovely kind of day. And I think I shall stay home with no-one-but-Mom more often. 




Funny video HERE.
Even more laughs HERE.
And this thing just keeps making me smile. I dunno what it's from, but don't they just look happy? I love sisterly love.

A taste of my fave kind of vacay

A few weeks ago, we took a weekend and went north to visit my mom's cousin and her family. For living so close to these guys, we definitely don't see them enough, so this was quite a treat! I mentioned earlier that this kind of vacay is the best kind of vacay, and I was dead serious: anything that keeps me close to home and close to the people I love is a good thing. But I really came here to show off some pictures, so let's cut to the chase.


We went stargazing with cousin Spencer, who is a master with that telescope. I've always wanted to try a real telescope, so this was quite exciting. We saw a star!

We always, always, ALWAYS play games after the young'uns go to bed when we get with these particular family members. It's tradition. However, we don't usually play Cadoo...that was Brian's idea, and he didn't realize it's made for kids until we, um, finished playing. So then we switched real quick to Apples to Apples.

Rye wanted her thumbs-up in as many pictures as possible...

Then we all slept long and hard. I wrote and sent a letter to that one missionary in the morning, and we played Candyland, and then we visited the Hill Aerospace Museum. Pictures of this coming later because those planes were super cool and I want them to have their own post. Yeah, apparently I like planes. Anyways... So then we got pizza. And then I played with my camera's macro function (it's kind of my favorite activity). And then we saw a rainbow!

And then we must have come home because I have no more pictures. All in all, 'twas good times! Now it's their turn to come here, right? Right? 

...*crickets*...

Ok yeah, we'll be back up there soon. 

Hand-foot-mouth is almost as bad as swine flu.

Well, this was going to be my week to post a bunch of pictures of my adventures lately with family and friends, and then I went and got all sick. And I understand that blogging is one thing you can do while sick, but I'm kind of just really really super lazy. Fevers make me wanna cry. Also, I have an irrational fear that if I touch any of my stuff while I'm sick, it will get germy, and then when I come back feeling better, I'll get the same disease all over again. I know it's ridiculous, but I really do think that sometimes. Needless to say, my computer and I were living in separate quarters until today. 


But good news: today I feel great! I got out of the house and everything, so that is good progress. Except I just realized that I felt pretty good yesterday, too, and I left the house to go shopping, so part of the excitement here just became null and void. ANYWAY, I am on the mend and life is looking up and so I shall share some updates.




:: I got a new calling in church as 1st counselor in the Relief Society presidency of my ward. It's perfect timing. Everything about it is perfect. I'm so incredibly excited to get to know the girls in my ward better and to have the opportunity to serve them, and I just hope I can fill the place I need to at this time! 


:: This week is exciting because some amigos and I are watching a Harry Potter movie each night leading up to July 31, when we will watch both movies for book #7 and celebrate Harry's birthday with a cake and a party. Can I get a "woot" for the crazy party up in here?


:: My new bag arrived! Check it out:

I usually wouldn't do a photoshoot with it, but it was requested that I send a picture to the company I won it from when it arrived. Unfortunately, that was my worst day of sickness, and I was not remotely happy with actually getting dressed and being in pictures. But the bag looks great, eh? I love it with so much of my love right now.


:: I did some productive things, even while I was sick. Like I watched a movie with Dad that I've been meaning to watch since...a long time ago. (It's been just waiting on my bedside table where, sadly, a lot of things must wait a lot of long times.) And I read a book. And I started another book. And another book. I also managed to shower every day, which is good news. So I wasn't completely useless all week, people! (Of course, I know you weren't thinking that.)


:: I am rather enjoying this song and this song lately. Like really a lot.


:: I saw the new Batman movie today. That thing is stinkin' 2 HOURS and 45 MINUTES long!! Ok, I am not a huge movie person, just as a general rule, and I think every movie should be under two hours, just for the sake of wasting as little time as possible (yes, I just said movies are a waste of time, I'm sorry for it already, don't hate me ok?), so this one was a serious stretch for me to go to. BUT I did get to go with Madi, which was lovely, and it was honestly better than I expected, and Christian Bale is always a solid "yes," so...I suppose it was worth 5 bucks (matinee times rock). But heavens, that Batman stuff is pretty dark. 

Yeah, ok, I guess I could watch it again...

So anyways...that's what all's been going on round these parts. I'll be back in the near future with pictures of actual events, so feel free to look forward to that. And look Mom! I posted a blog post. :)


Ok, peace out.

In which I tune to the music of faith

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks of England, speaking to Roman Catholic leaders last December at the Pontifical Gregorian University, noted how secular some parts of the world have become. He stated that one culprit is “an aggressive scientific atheism tone deaf to the music of faith.”

Today in Relief Society, the lesson was based on this talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook. Although I quite enjoyed the lesson, I got stuck on this phrase: "tone deaf to the music of faith." As one who enjoys making and listening to music, I really connected to the idea of faith=music, and a couple comments from other lovely ladies just got me thinking about a few things that I want to record. 


One girl commented about how music brings such joy to those who really love it in a way that is often difficult to explain. I would add that for those who don't have a connection to music (or even to a specific kind of music), it probably sounds like unwanted noise. The music of faith can go either way as well: there are those who take joy in believing things that cannot be proven simply because such belief gives hope, and there are those who refuse to listen because they cannot make a connection with something that isn't concrete.


Then another girl (a music major) commented that people who are literally tone deaf can still hear and appreciate music; they just have difficulty reproducing it. Applying that to faith, then, meant that although one may feel or believe or even know things of a spiritual nature, they do not allow that belief to transfer to others. Because of a lack of scientific proof, they keep their beliefs private, which action has the potential to gradually turn belief to doubt. 


Another comment came from our bishop's wife, who responded to a question about how we can become "tuners" of our faith. She compared this to tuning a piano: a piano tuner learns how to listen so intently that they know when a note is right and they know when a note is just slightly off. The best tuners have sort of an extra sense that just cries with joy when everything finally lines up. So then, to apply this to tuning faith, she said we should hone our own skills in listening for things that ring true and forever be tuning ourselves to that music of faith. 


While hearing all this, I thought to myself about how much music means in my life, and how empty certain aspects of my life would seem if it were suddenly taken away. Similarly, if my faith--in my church, my relationships, my future--were taken away, I would feel empty, but it would touch every aspect of my life. Keeping in tune with the music of faith is what allows me to continue if/when times get tough. It is something that I delight in, and it's something I wish to share. I love learning things of a scientific nature, and I love the using the scientific process, and I believe in many scientific theories that may not correlate exactly with scriptures I learned growing up. But I also believe in a loving Heavenly Father, and I have felt the support and influence of Jesus Christ in my life, and I know that my faith in these unseen beings is far more lasting than fallible theories and formulas. In my life, science is sure cool, but the music of faith is necessary. 


So back to Elder Cook... I hope that I can forever keep my life faith-based and secularly-enriched, rather than the other way around. Please, let's all tune to that beautiful music of faith. Happy Sunday, folks! And good night.

Please, call me Katniss

This was my hair today (except by today I mean yesterday because I'm posting past midnight):

And I'm super proud of it.

Also, we hiked the Y tonight, which basically felt like the Utah equivalent of winning the Hunger Games, so... You can tell how athletic I am by that. Tomorrow will be such fun when I wear heels to church, right? Right. Apparently it's time for me to get in shape, but that doesn't actually mean I'll do much to get there, if I know me (and I like to think I kinda do).

Anyway, proud of my hair. That's what I came here for. And now I've shared that. So I'm gonna go sleep now. 

Peace out, homeslices.

Please meet my newest most prized possession.

The other day, my mom found hidden in our piles of papers a true treasure:

It's the 4-leaf clover I found at the age of two!! I've been looking for this for years, no joke. And it came with a note from Grammie, which means we now know the real story of that day. All these years, my mom thought I remembered finding this clover, and all these years, I only "remembered" what people told me had happened. So now we have a direct witness (kinda). The note reads:

"5.14.95...Alyssa picked this from the back yard and brought it to me, not even being old enough to know it brings good luck. Years and years of good luck, little one."

And maybe it made me cry the best kind of cry. I miss my Grammie.





Oh, and then yesterday, I won a blog giveaway! 
So it looks like things are working smoothly as ever around here.


I almost bought a one-of-a-kind purse from AmyKathryn last week because I totally fell in love, but I restrained myself because I couldn't justify spending as much money as it cost on something that was more trendy than classic, even if it was all sorts of cute and good for the environment and would last more than a few summers. (I'm a cheapskate, and I'll be the first to admit it.) And then she hosted a giveaway, and I just had to enter, and then I saw this post, and then I wanted to scream with a lot of joy. 
This little lovely is on its way to my house now:

And I cannot wait for it to arrive. Hello, that whale tail??! LOVE. Many many many everlasting thanks to AmyKathryn, whose blog I will follow 'til the end of time! And since I'm a proud beneficiary, I'm going to go ahead and suggest you all follow as well. They're adorable. And maybe you'll win a future giveaway.
Seriously. So much love. 
This bag will be almost as prized as my 4-leaf clover.




P.S: We have our good friends from Japan in town this weekend, and we are having a party up in here! I just had to tell someone, so there you go. Pictures forthcoming...