Sunday, April 21, 2013

Phone Famine

A week ago, my friend Tyler challenged me to go a week without using my iPhone and if I could do it, he would give me a prize. He challenged my sister and another friend but they both immediately said they couldn't do it. Even though it made me super nervous to even think about going without my phone for a week, I accepted the challenge and guess what?! I won!

I turned off my phone completely and didn't even touch it for a week. The first couple of days were the hardest, mainly because I use my phone for everything, just like everyone does. I had to figure out other ways to connect with my family and friends, which I realized was the hardest part of not having a phone. It was as if just knowing that I can just call my family on my phone was a kind of security and not having that was hard. I felt a little disconnected from everyone and everything. By the third or fourth day, I was mainly just annoyed that I didn't have it, but other than that I was fine. I started using sticky notes again like I used to. If I had a planner, I would have probably used that, too, if it was to last longer than a week. The best was having to look up directions to girl's house on googlemaps and then having to write down the address so that I could know where to go. I was a little worried some emergency would happen and I would have needed my phone to get help, but fortunately nothing like that happened.

I learned a lot of things from this experience, though, that made it all worth it.

Things I missed the most:
Quick texts to my mom and sister
Taking pictures on my phone and sharing them via instagram or facebook
Using my phone for good things like: contacting people when I think about them or they need help, scheduling, taking notes, reading scriptures and conference issues, hymn book, contacting home teachers and visiting teach-ees, getting directions when lost

Things I didn't miss:
Checking my phone when I didn't need to (bad habit I realized I had)
Going on it when I was bored and didn't need to (okay, I missed this a couple times...)
Allowing my phone (including texts and email received and to send) to distract me when I was studying the scriptures or doing other things, particularly visiting with people in person.
(TEXTS CAN WAIT, EMAILS CAN WAIT)

What I did instead:
Actually read a book on my short break at work
Facetime with my family
Emailed my family a little more often
Had focused scripture study and prayer
Had more focused and meaningful interactions with people

In today's world, I believe phones are necessary for many reasons, but this little experiment shows that someone like me can live without one for a little while. I guess the biggest challenge for everyone is to take note of how often we use our phones for the unnecessary things that get in the way of the more important things like face-to-face meaningful and focused interactions with people.

In case you are wondering, the prize was worth it. :)

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Institute

This semester I took an institute class at UVU called Women in the Scriptures by Sis. Colleen Terry. It was amazing! I recommend this class to girls AND guys. For the final I wrote this short paper that summarizes some of what I learned from the class. I feel like this paper doesn't really do justice for all that I really gained from this class, but that's okay. :)

    Through this class, I've learned about so many amazing women. Thanks to the spirit, they have really come alive for me. It's very difficult to choose one woman that has influenced me over the course of this semester because they each have taught me something that has encouraged me to be a better daughter of God. But there are two women who stood out to me the most, who I have thought about many times since we studied them in class- Rachel and Hannah.
    When you talked about both of these women, you prefaced the lessons by teaching us that barrenness is the equivalent of unrealized righteous desires or unforeseen difficulties. This really hit home to me because, like so many others, I am single, 27, and have absolutely no prospects for marriage and haven't really dated for 7 years. Like any other single, LDS woman, I have a deep desire, even yearning, to date and marry a righteous young man and create a family of my own. Life has definitely not turned out how I thought it would. As you may remember, I lived with and took care of my grandma for a year and a half until she died last August. That was definitely an "unforeseen difficulty" that affected me in more ways that I ever thought it would. As I learned about these women and thought about how I could apply their lessons to my life, I found myself being healed by the Spirit and able to see where I was, what I learned from that experience, and see where I am now and all that I can do to keep moving forward with happiness in my life.
    Rachel taught me about faith, hope, and happiness. Even though there are moments that I feel that it is impossible to find and attract a good, righteous (and attractive) young man to date and marry, I know that God has promised me that it WILL happen and God will not forsake me or forget that promise. As I read my patriarchal blessing, those promises stand out and seem set in stone. The "barrenness" or "singleness" will end. It's not permanent-it's temporary! Rachel also helped me to have a better understanding of why it is so important to be happy now by making goals and working toward them. Thinking "when I start dating someone or when I get married I will be happy" will only lead to more unhappiness even when those things happen. Instead, I can make this year my best year. I can do those things on my bucket list like plant a flower garden or own a pet chameleon. I can use my china dishes and watch plays at a theater. I don't have to wait for dating and marriage to be happy now! I knew this all before, but learning about both Rachel and Hannah helped me to really FEEL it.
    From Hannah I learned that true happiness comes from my connection with the Lord. Her sacrifices are what made her happy in the end. I feel like I'm still trying to understand everything that can be learned from her example. Sometimes it's hard to put into words because it is so deeply personal and meaningful. I am not perfect, so to know that the Lord accepts my offering and that He works with what I have and doesn't ask for me to give more, is so amazing. He knows me and my situation, talents, desires, and everything perfectly and as I give it all to the Lord, He promises that He will bless me. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I haven't dated anyone in seven years. It would be very tempting to ask, "What's wrong with me? Am I not righteous enough? Am I not trying hard enough? Am I trying too hard?" Hannah taught me that it hasn't happened or isn't happening not for anything that I've done or haven't done. There isn't anything wrong with me. I can have full confidence in God's promise that I will date and marry in this life and I can be happy as I continue to pursue righteousness and improve my relationship with God. As I strive to be a better handmaiden of the Lord, fully consecrated to Him, I know that He will delight to bless me with the righteous desires of my heart.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

I'm so HAPPY!!

My roommate and I took a stroll on "stalker trail" between conference sessions. I named it that. :)
Bowling with friends!

Amanda, Tyler, Me, Becki

Bowling- Please Spare Me!

Meet Fred. My roommate named my preschoolers' caterpillars Fred.


My first 5K! 42:12

My awesome ward friends!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

365 Days

It's been a year since I posted a very "popular" blog post about my status in taking care of my Grandma Kelly as she suffered from congested heart failure. It's amazing to see how much has happened in that year.

This past week I was shopping in the area, so I decided that I would go visit my grandma's grave. Someone has kept it looking very nice with flowers and the bear sign that was always by the front door. It was nice to be there again. I feel that it was a way of showing myself that I have been healed and can look back now and feel good about everything that has transpired. It was also nice to feel that both my grandma and grandpa are pleased with all that I did while living with grandma and have done this past year, even until now.


I decided to go ahead and also stop by the house. As I drove the familiar streets and pulled into the driveway, a rush a memories flooded over me. What kind of surprised me was that the memories that came to me were all very happy. Things like sitting on the porch swing after going on my run up and down the steep hill, fixing sprinkler heads, pulling weeds, planting and taking care of my strawberry plant, taking out the garbage cans, picking up the newspaper for grandma, etc. I went around the house looking in the basement windows where I used to live. As I looked, I thought about how I did everything I could to make the basement look inviting and homey, including pin up bed sheets on the unfinished walls and hang up pictures. Many personal and meaningful experiences with my grandma came to mind that reminded me of the many wonderful life lessons I learned while living with her. That time with her and the innumerable growing experiences I had while living there are priceless. I am so grateful that I had that opportunity.




39 days and 18 hours and counting...

Or 24 more teaching days until summer vacation! I'm not excited at all.

For the past few months I've been rehearsal for a ward roadshow. It wasn't really a "roadshow," it was more like a play we put on for the ward. I loved it! I was a little hesitant to do it at first, mainly because I'd never had a major part in a play. In the Nauvoo Pageant I only danced and mimed, but in this I was the narrator. Now, this narrator not only had lines, but had a solo, too! YIKES! I usually only sing things like hymns or sing along to the radio, but this?? This was definitely out of my comfort zone and a real challenge. I just about quit a few times out of pure frustration, but I know the director would have killed me if I had.

Surprisingly, I wasn't worried about all my lines. It took me some time to memorize them, but I was able to say them most of the time without any problems. The solo on the other hand was a hit or miss. It was hard for me mainly because it was a completely different style of music than I'm used to, it was a song I wasn't familiar with, and they changed the words so I couldn't just listen to the recording and memorize it that way. After A LOT of hard work and a priesthood blessing, I did it! I gained the confidence I needed to perform. I got all the words and melody memorized and figured out techniques to do in my head that would help me to remember all the lyrics and not get distracted when I was actually performing.

The night of the first performance, I was definitely more excited than nervous. Even right before I was to start the show by singing my solo, I felt just fine. I'm so grateful for that! I made it through the whole song that first night! I forgot to sing a very minor part of it, but no one probably noticed except the cast. I felt very proud of myself. I had so much fun that night, I couldn't help but smile the whole night.

The second performance I got super distracted by who-knows-what and completely spaced two parts of the song. I just smiled, held up a finger that kind of said, "wait for it..." until I could get back into the song at a good point and then I finished it just fine. I did fine for the rest of the play, but I still feel that the first performance was my best. I'm just super glad they recorded the play on the first night! I'm excited to watch and see it all.

After 2 1/2 months of rehearsing and seeing these 11 people almost everyday of the week, I've made some really great friends. We made a lot of really fun memories together and even some inside jokes. If I could, I would write them here, but it wouldn't do them justice.

I am grateful I participated in the roadshow not just because I made such great friends, but because it helped me to feel the peace and happiness that I'd been lacking for a long time. Being a part of the roadshow helped heal my soul in more ways than I imagined it would. It also increased my confidence and helped me to see that I could do more than I thought I could when it came to acting and singing. It actually makes me want to audition for the Nauvoo Pageant core cast again... We'll see about that when the time comes.

On another note:
I'm super excited for summer! With the weather slowly warming up, I'm getting the itch to start going hiking again. In the meantime, I've been trying to walk/run 1-2.5 miles almost everyday and I'm loving how it makes me feel. My summer plans include finishing my Utah temple tour. I have 4 more temples to go to, not counting the 3 under construction or announced: St. George, Monticello, Brigham City, and Ogden. All of these are kind of far away so I'm thinking to make a trip out of them and stay over in a hotel one night when I go. I want to plant a garden, since I have the space to do that here and it's all my own! I also want to go geocaching, go to plays, and use my pass of all passes to do things. I'm planning on applying for another position at my work that pays a little more and will give me administrative experience, too. If I get that, I would start working again in July, so that means I don't have much time to waste if I am to do all this stuff!!

Here are some pictures from the roadshow. Thanks for reading my ramblings...
"Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows..."

My Solo- "Christie Lee"

"You creep!" (He deserved that)

"I'm going on a mission!!"

"Now, my French is a little rusty, but I believe what he tried to say there was..."

 "I like the vacuum the floor. Indeed, I forgot the disco ball. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"Where is the toilet, you'll need surgery, but it's not my fault!"
"Your hair smells like garbage, but of course! You look like a great big monkey!"
"A little birdie, a dove to be precise, told me..." "It was actually MEEEE!"

"Riddle me this, why is it that Canadian bacon isn’t really bacon? It's just ham!"


Spiritual push-ups


It's all in the game


Backstage-the unseen fun


Christie Lee!!