You Can Do It

I have been rereading a lot of talks from previous sessions of General Conference and an underlying recurring theme I have noticed is:

Adversity

Maybe that sounds a little negative or doomsday but it's not!  The talks focus on faith through adversity, hope, perseverance, patience and love.  What I have gotten from this is that life will never be perfect, we will have our times of trial and our times of joy.  Sometimes the hard times outweigh the times of peace.  We need to figure out how to come through the times of trial even stronger than before.  

Wallowing is unattractive and makes the good times less stellar.  Life never slows down - after we resolve one trial it is typically replaced by one or TWO more.  We just need to go forward with faith, knowing that if we are good to ourselves and others, the Lord will provide.

Life is grand, am I right?

Me & the Moon

Went on an hour walk tonight.

Moon was my only companion.

Warm air, stars coming out.

More please!

I went to a scholarship pageant tonight (MARIA WON MISS CONGENIALITY!!!!!!!) and one of the girls said that she met President Monson and he told her,

"Be loyal to the royal within you"

I love it.

More on Maria later....if she'll let me....

"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn."

- David Russell

Validation

Me: "Ok, I know I'm a crazy person and I just need you to tell me it's okay"

Super Friend: "Well, I like your kind of crazy"

Good friends always do!

The Story

On Monday morning I called Gallaudet's Deaf Studies department to try to get more info on when they would be mailing out acceptance/rejection letters.  The secretary said that they would try to mail them this week.  Grrrr.....

My mom was in Utah Valley that afternoon to take care of my sick brother, Taylor.  I told her to not be rushing to the mailbox just yet because the letters hadn't even gone out yet.  I gave Gallaudet my parents' address because it is permanent, whereas I tend to move every 32 days or so.

I had a job in Salt Lake until 11:30pm (bleh) and when I was done I had a text from my mom asking me to text her.  I did and she asked what my schedule for Tuesday was.  (Luckily) I had no work so she let me know my letter had come in the mail that day.  She got home around 10pm and was shocked to find it, especially because I had just told her to not expect it!

I drove home immediately!  Oh, and a light in my dashboard went on, so of course I ignored it.  I got home at 1:30am and my mom came right out.  She can't sleep when she knows we're traveling or there is big news on the way (she's awesome).  She handed me a regular sized envelope and said, "I expected a big manila envelope".  So did I.  I told myself that envelope size didn't matter and I wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't manila and large.

We went into the kitchen, I opened it and saw, "On behalf of the Deaf Studies department I am pleased...." and I stopped reading.  I said, "I got in" and we both started crying and hugging in the kitchen at 1:32am.  Awesome!

The next morning I was awoken by my mom telling me that one of my tires was completely flat!  That's what the light on my dashboard was!  I was incredibly lucky (blessed) to make it to Logan without incident.  

I'm in.  That's one worry off my mind!

I'm In....

.....here.....

Accepted for a MA of Deaf Studies: Cultural Studies for Fall 2010.

Whole story coming later - I have to go teach my class!

(How the heck did I ever get here?!? Never thought I'd be a teacher and going to grad school)

As a sign language interpreter I occasionally run across a client who doesn't understand sarcasm OR I just can't seem to interpret it effectively.  The look of confusion is not a treat for anyone.

Am I alone with this?  I know other interpreters read this dumb blog so your input would be appreciated!  I should have this skill down pat (what does that even mean?) because I was raised on sarcasm...and casseroles.

Gah.

"friendship"

I love these quotes...they remind me of Mean Girls (the movie).

"If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague."

- Jerry Seinfeld

"A true friend stabs you in the front"  

- Oscar Wilde

Isn't this beautiful?  Someday....sigh.

Have an extra lovely weekend!

Post Secret

Last night I went to a Post Secret event at the U of U.  The founder of Post Secret, Frank, spoke for about an hour about his experiences since his social experiment began.  It was funny, touching and a safe place to cry.

He left time at the end for people to get up and share their secrets.  Some were funny, many were sad, and one broke my heart.

I'd go again in a heartbeat.

"Assert your right to make a few mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections, that's their fault."

- David M. Burns

Have You Seen This???

This is the new "sandwich" from KFC.  The bun is not a traditional one made of bread - this one is made of boneless chicken breast.  Inside you'll find bacon, cheese and mayonnaise.

Who is going to try it first?  

Seriously, I need to know so I can have a defibrillator and a hot EMT ready to bring you back to life.

Two Happys Make Me Happier!

This is happening right now -

Next Tuesday....I cannot wait!

It reminds me of this -

I miss my FRIENDS

(don't you love the Norman Rockwell inspired covers?!?)

Marilyn

Fun fact time!

When Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were married they purchased two crypts at Westwood Village cemetary in LA (what an odd pairing, am I right?) .  They were stacked on top of each other, with Joe ending up on top and Marilyn eventually on the bottom.  When they divorced, Joe decided to sell his spot to a friend.  

Before the new owner passed away in 1981, he asked his wife to bury him face down so that he would spend eternity staring at Marilyn Monroe.  Ha!

His widow recently put the crypt up for sale on eBay and got around $1.5 million for it.  She said she wanted to move him to a simple plot and pay off their house so that their children aren't left with any debt.  Crazy!

Also - Hugh Hefner bought the crypt to the side of Marilyn for $75,000 back in 1992.

I love trivia!

Martha Does It Right

Check out these fabric insprired wedding cakes found on MarthaStewartweddings.com , I love!  

I have no idea which one is my favorite....they are all gorgeous!  Martha is amazing!  Even if she doesn't come up with all the ideas she is still a savvy enough businesswoman to hire the right people.

#500

This is my 500th post!  Crazy!  When I started blogging about 2 years ago I didn't expect it to become such a fun outlet for me.  Thank you to all of you who read and comment on this ridiculous blog of mine.  Thank you to those of you who I don't know, but still read my blog - it's very flattering.

I look forward to many, many more posts!