How this Utah Girl met her Cali Boy, part 7

On my Southern Utah trip for Fall Break, I found out that I had won a photo contest through UPC (Union Programming Council) at the U. The prize was tickets to that upcoming Monday's production of Thriller at Kingsbury Hall.

I was torn. Monday Night was FHE at the Corn Maze, aka prime time to see if there was anything with Cam. Monday was also my parents anniversary...which turned out perfectly. I ended up giving the tickets to them so that they could celebrate, and not with the YSA ward.

So, the time for the Corn Maze came. I was stoked. I was also happy because since it was the first week after Fall Break, the new rounds of clinicals hadn't started yet, so I was able to go to FHE at all. I met at the church, but then ended up driving myself because I stopped by my house to grab a bigger coat.

The rest of the corn maze is kind of a blur, but I remember that we all started out in a group, but then at some point Cam and I ended up going off on our own, away from the group. It was a dream come true. We went around the maze together, but he didn't hold my hand at all, even with me making it very available to be held.

We got to the exit of the maze before the rest of our group, so we decided to just wait at the exit for them. We started joking about how I am always cold so that I was glad that I went home to get a bigger coat, while Cam was just wearing a little jacket and said that he wasn't cold.  That led to me stating that my hands were still cold, which FINALLY led to Cam holding my hand...for like 5 seconds. Ha ha, he then heard our friends coming out of the maze so he let go pretty quick. (Don't worry, I have called him a chicken many times since then).

After the maze, we went on our frequent Monday Night outings to Applebees. Cam and I ended up driving together, so then we sat next to each other. I was really happy and excited...then Cam spent a good portion of the time talking with the girl sitting on the other side of him, which was a new girl to our ward. I was bummed. I was sure that he was into her more than me. So I spent the rest of the time at Applebees trying to make the best of it, which is actually the night that me and my friend Chase kind of bonded and became good friends.

I thought that any chance of something happening between Cam and I was dwindling before my eyes.

How this Utah Girl met her Cali Boy, part 2

No, Cam was not at the Summer Snowball Fight. BUT, a bunch of the people that he hung out with in the ward were! After the fight, I was invited by Ryanne and Chelsa to come to Jamba with a bunch of other people in the ward.

I was STOKED! Up until that point, I didn't feel like I belonged in the ward, seeing as how my parents are pretty much who I hung out with the majority of the time at ward activities. After that night, I felt like I could make it in the ward.

I went to other FHE activities and had a good time, but still felt like I was going mostly because my parents had to be there.  I started school up again in August and I had my Pediatric clinicals on Mondays. They were to go from 6:45am to 6pm, so I didn't know if I would be able to make it to FHE anymore, not on time at least because I had an hour long trax ride home.

My first week of clinicals I was pretty nervous, mostly just from starting something new. To help to curb those nerves, I wore my stylin' Buzz Lightyear hoodie (which is fitting to wear into a children's hospital, right?). Little did I know that that hoodie would change my future forever.

Read Part 1 here.

How this Utah Girl met her Cali Boy, part 1

May 2014:

There was a knock at the door. It was the Stake President of the Young Single Adult (YSA) Stake. Earlier in the year, my parents were called in to be interviewed for a potential calling in the YSA Ward Bishopric. The Stake President then said to my dad, "We would like to call you to be the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric."

I had been debating for a few months if I should go to the singles ward, but had been very anti-singles ward for a while. I guess that Heavenly Father had gotten fed up with my attitude about it and this was a way to almost force me to go. (jk, my parents are great and need to be in the ward, it wasn't all about me.) A lot of people in my home ward had that same opinion and let me know it! (in a very loving way)

The Sunday that my dad was officially put into the bishopric, one of the lady's that my mom and I visit taught in the home ward was blessing her baby. Because my mom had to be in the singles ward for when the change was announced, I stayed at the home ward for the baby blessing. After the blessing, I headed to the singles ward.

As I walk into the chapel of the singles ward, my mom is up bearing her testimony and talking about her kids. I walk in the door and stand at the back as she says, "My middle daughter will be coming to this ward, and oh, she just walked in!" Eyes....lots of eyes turn around and look at me. Thanks Mom. Ruined my plans to lay low in the new ward.

Fortunately (or so I thought at the time) I was going to Ghana in June, and then Young Women's Girl's Camp was in the 2nd week of July, which I was Assistant Camp Director. So, I didn't end up going into the singles ward OFFICIALLY until the 3rd week of July.

As the 2nd Counselor couple, my parents were in charge of going and helping with Family Home Evening (FHE) each Monday night. Once I got back from Ghana, I started going to FHE at the ward each week. I didn't really talk to a whole lot of people there....until the Summer Snowball Fight, where everything changed for me in the ward.

Plan of Salvation in Union Square

A few weeks ago, one of my neighbors tagged me in a post on Facebook containing this video. 

So, I watched it.

As I watched, I realized it was in New York. 

My brother is serving a mission in New York.

Then, I saw him. 

And I bawled. Cause I'm an emotional wreck all the time. 

My brother, Elder Fotheringham, is wearing a light blue shirt, jeans, and black shoes with green soles. In fact, that is his arm in the picture before you start the video. 

This video has gone viral, at least around Utah it has. The Zone Leader (the missionary at the very beginning of the video being interviewed) has a blog and decided to do this Plan of Salvation Project and would then post pictures from it on his blog. Then, one of the members of the church in the area came and filmed it for them and made this video. 

Within 72 hours of this project, the Zone Leader's blog, "Reach" My Gospel, had received over 14,000 views!

Then, Deseret News heard about the story and decided to make a call to New York! You can read the article about it here.

Missionary work can be done in various, creative ways. It is not just about knocking on doors. If missionaries in New York can draw the Plan of Salvation in chalk in the middle of Union Square, I can talk to those around me about the gospel that I love so much. 

In this words of Al Fox Carraway, #UseTheInternetForGood :)

What does your "BUSY" mean?

This story was told in sacrament meeting today and it really makes me think and want to sort out my priorities.

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, but steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do," said the devil: "Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families and friends. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. I guess the question is, has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!

Does "busy" mean:

B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Author Unknown

While this summer hasn't been busy really at all for me, I think my non-busyness has almost had the same effect. I didn't know what to do with myself, so I just didn't do a whole lot of anything. 

There is a fine balance of staying occupied, but still having enough time for the Lord. School starts in a week, and I still need a job, so I think that my life will most likely get a whole-lot busier. I just need to always remember to make time for the Lord and make sure that it is my most important relationship.

Happy Sunday!

I Know.

This last week I had the opportunity to go to Young Women's Girls Camp with my ward. I have the calling of "Assistant Camp Director", which is part of the reason why I am still in my home ward and not going to a Young Single Adult ward, cause I refuse to grow up and move on from going to Girls Camp ;)

The theme for this year's camp was "RODEO", with it being an acronym for "Respecting Ourselves, Demanding Excellence, and Obeying the Lord". Each day was assigned a topic within that saying and the Young Women leaders and the YCL's would each give devotionals throughout the day having to do with the topic for the day. 

I am so grateful that I was able to go up to camp and to hear those devotionals. It allowed me to reflect on my life, on what I am doing, on if I am progressing or just staying stagnant. And I learned a lot, not only directly from what was said in the devotionals, but also from the Spirit that spoke to me in those moments of reflection. 

This post is really hard for me to write, but I know that I just have to get everything out in the open, to let others know of not only my beliefs, but also of my struggles and trials that have come. 

As many of you know, I am not serving a full-time mission for the LDS church at this time. (read more about that in this post.) When that decision was made and the reality that my plans had changed set in, I struggled. I didn't know what to believe anymore. At that point, I was just going through the motions. I went to church, went to institute, read my scriptures, said not the most meaningful prayers, and fulfilled my responsibilities and callings. I wanted to believe, but because of the hustle and bustle of life, I didn't take the time to truly re-find out for myself. 

Then, I was presented with a choice. A choice between having a life with someone who treated me like a princess and loved me and could talk anatomy with me and was standing in front of me with open arms, or choosing the Lord and His plan for me. So, I had to find out for myself if I truly believed. 

It was hard. And I spent many nights crying and I still do. But now I not only believe. 

I Know. 

I know that the Lord has a plan for me. I know that there is a worthy priesthood holder that will someday be my husband. I know that His plan is worth waiting for. I know that times are and will be hard, that there will be times that I won't want to wait anymore. 

But I also know that my Heavenly Father knows me. He knows me personally! And He knows what is best for me and what will help me to grow and achieve greatness in my life! He knows of the struggles that I go through each day, when I feel that I am alone. 

But I'm not alone. 

My Savior, Jesus Christ, knows everything that I go through, every feeling of inadequacy and doubt. And He is right next to me, holding me up. He is my best friend, a constant companion, and a shoulder to cry on. I am so grateful that I have this knowledge that I am never really alone! The amount of peace that this simple truth brings to me is indescribable! 

I am so grateful for the trials and heartache that I have had to go through. They have taught me so much about myself and about my Savior. I love this gospel! I am so grateful that I have been able to be raised in a family where the doctrines and principles of it have been taught! I am so grateful for the priesthood leaders in my life, for the example that they have been to me, for showing me the kind of man that I want to marry someday! 

I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father with all my heart. I testify of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I say these things in the sacred name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I Blogged, WHAATT??

Remember that one time I blogged? Yeah, me neither.

It's been a while. Lots has happened. Some good. Some not so good. Some pretty fantastic. 

So, here is an update on me since March :)

School has basically been my life. So not much to report there. 

I got a new calling! I am the Ward Bulletin Editor! That means I make the paper program each week for Sacrament Meeting. So if anyone has any tips or things that have been in your Sacrament Meeting paper programs that you loved, please comment below and let me know! Or email me at beccafoth@yahoo.com.

I made it through the semester without Advanced Anatomy destroying my GPA! I ended up actually doing fairly well and getting an A- in the class! Only 1 person got an A so I am feeling pretty great about my A- :)

"Rocked the U" for Cancer Research! I danced for Lizzie Hammer! :)

I found out that I got into Nursing School at the U! I am so so excited! I start my program in the Fall and it is a 2 year program, so by the time my brother gets home from his mission, I will be a nurse! :)

Road Go-Karts at Miller Motor Sports Park and had a blast!

Hiked up Ensign Peak with the silly parents and crazy brother :)

Yes, my mom is making a duck face. 

Went to "The Really Big Cooking Show" at Thanksgiving Point with my mom and now want to be domestic and make food and treats all the time :)

Was chosen as a new member of the University of Utah's Student Alumni Board! This group is so great and I'm so excited to be able to be a part of it next year!

Went Cosmic Bowling with the brother (and Muffin) for his birthday! Then stopped for Smile Fries from Sconecutter! We were 5 year old hooligans with a driver's license and our mom's credit card ;)

Had Easter Saturday up at the Cabin with the HamFam, and Easter Sunday at home with Bro!

Finished up the semester and school year with my awesome Spirit of Place LDSSA Committee at our traditional breakfast at Village Inn for the last meeting :) I love these kids and am going to miss those who won't be back next year! 

Fell for a guy and was twitterpatted for a while. Then experienced heartache because of the situation. This guy is an amazing guy and reminded me what it felt like to love and be loved, to care and be cared for, and I am so grateful for that. I have no bad feelings towards him in anyway and I wish him the very best in life and in love. Thank you T for giving me a great month and helping me get through many days and nights of stress and worry with school and grades. It meant the world to me :)

Now, it is Summer time! I am excited for what is to come in my life and to embrace whatever comes my way :)

Going to the RODEO!

I am one of the three Assistant Young Women's Girl Camp Directors in my ward, (cause let's be honest, I still don't wanna grow up and go to the single's ward) and this year our theme for camp is 

"Going to the RODEO",

with RODEO standing for Respecting Ourselves, Deserving Excellence, Obeying (the Lord). 

Everything at camp is going to be a Cowgirl/Western-type theme.

I have been assigned to start thinking of ideas for crafts and service projects that the girls can do while up at camp. 

I have a feeling that Pinterest could be a great resource in this situation! 

Do you have any awesome ideas on crafts we could do, and especially on some fun service projects? 

Please share your wisdom if you do! It would be much appreciated! 

Thanks!

The week that an Apostle comes to visit!

This week has been an interesting one. 

My emotions have been on quite the rollercoaster (California Screamin' to be precise)

I have been so happy and so sad, so excited and so confused, so motivated and so bleh. 

On Wednesday, I went to the temple. The Salt Lake Temple. 

I had never been inside the SL Temple to do baptisms before, so it was a really cool experience. 

My best friend Kara, she just knows me so well. Whether she knew I needed to go to the temple or not, she was influenced by the spirit on exactly the way to get me there. Once I was in her car, driving to her apartment (like we normally do on Wednesdays), she told me that her and Jordan (her husband) were going to the temple that night to do a session and that I should come with them and do baptisms while they were in their session. I felt stressed with school and really felt I needed to study anatomy, but I kinda couldn't just stay at their place with them gone.

So I went. And it was exactly what I needed.

Fast forward to today. 

I walk into church and into my Sunbeams classroom. The new teacher is in there already, and a few minutes after I come in, her husband comes in the door and says, "I can't remember his name, but one of the 12 Apostles is here!" 

So she leaves to go and see who it is and comes back to report that it is 

Elder Dallin H. Oaks!

Of course I then have to go see, and sure enough, he was sitting at the front of priesthood meeting. 

The first 2 hours of church go by as normal with my adorable little beamers. Then, I get to sacrament meeting and he is still here, just sitting on the stand.

I asked my mom why he was here and she said, "He just told the Bishop that he wanted to visit a ward and see how the church was doing in West Jordan." And he chose our ward! How awesome is that??

Lets just say that I have never seen a Fast and Testimony meeting where there was a constant stream of people sitting on the stand, waiting for their turn to bear their testimony. 

It was such a great meeting and the spirit was so strong. It's not everyday that an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ is in your midst and your are able to shake his hand. He is such a great man and the spirit testified to me that he is a true Apostle of our Heavenly Father. 

I am so grateful to be able to live in this time where we have a living Prophet and Apostles upon the earth to teach us and guide us. I don't usually bear my testimony on my blog, but today I just feel that it is what I need to do. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He loves me and knows who I am individually. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church upon the earth and that the Power of the Priesthood has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

I say these things in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Superbowl Surmises

Watching the Superbowl

Eating great food

Lets get this Niners

A win would be good!

I would like to recognize that I just thought that up in a period of about 30 seconds. 

It is the 4th Quarter with 4:28 left in the game and the 49ers are down by 2. I gotta have faith that they can pull it out! 

Anyways, vegging on the couch, eating my weight in bread and spinach artichoke dip, and feeling guilty that I haven't been working on my homework at all, I decided that to not feel so guilty that right now would be a good time to think and blog. 

This weekend has been a pretty interesting one. Friday day I got to watch my High School Drill Team, the Copper Hills Azurettes, take state for the first time! Then, I got to go over to my great friend Whitney's house and watch a movie with some great friends and some fairly attractive men :) Eye Candy is always great right??

Then, Saturday was interesting. I had my LDSSA retreat up at Camp Tracy. We had dinner (Cafe Rio, awesome as always), then had some leadership training, then went sledding. It was a pretty fun night, but I just felt out of the loop with everyone. Maybe it was cause the sledding was kind of terrifying and the hill was way longer than I expected. 

Then on the way back to the institute,there was a conversation in the car I was in that I had to hold my tongue multiple times. Turns out, the other girl in the car had the same thoughts as I did. To sum it up, one of the guys in the car was talking about how he was glad that girls could go on a mission sooner so that he wouldn't have to wait as long to marry a returned sister missionary that was younger than him, and that he only wants to marry a returned missionary because they "are better" than women who don't go on a mission (Those weren't his exact words, but that was what I took from what he said). The other girl in the car is in the same boat as I am. We want to go and have always thought about going, but we are meant to stay here for right now. 

Alright, now to what I really wanted to post about. Is that really what young single adult men are thinking? That if a girl isn't going on a mission that something is wrong with her? I don't know if any guys read my blog but I am really wondering this. Now, I am sure that not all guys think this, but is it pretty common nowadays? 

Anyways, the Niners just lost. Boo. But it's ok, I'm not super upset about it. 

January Jumble Jamboree!

School is crazy, so I don't post. I'm sure if I prioritized my time better it could happen more often, but I have yet to perfect that skill. 

Alas, here is a look-back at my month of January.

Week 1:

~New Years with the Parents

~Cleaning up Christmas Decor at home and the Institute

~Dentist Appointment=No Cavities!

~Stake Conference

Week 2:

~School Started

~Bagels at the Institute

~Went down to Orem to have Dad set up a computer for Brother

~Electronic Interview for Nursing School Application

~CES Fireside with Pres. Uchtdorf and my Bro in the Choir

Week 3:

~Picked Up 40 Dozen Donuts for the SOP Day of Institute LDSSA Week

~Finished and Submitted my Nursing School Application

~Learned how to organize/Update house/played with an adorable baby at a Relief Society Activity

~Had my first Advanced Anatomy Lab

~Worked at the airport as a Greeter for Diamond Limousine for Sundance

~Saw Jane Lynch at the Airport

~Went to the Red Rocks Gymnastics Meet with Muffin/Lisa Johnson

~Headed up to my Cabin above Oakley after church

Week 4:

~Spend MLK Jr. Day up at the Cabin- riding snowmobiles, putting together 550+ piece puzzles, finding out-houses and playing in the snow

 ~Made Cupcakes

~Took an incredibly tough Skull Quiz in Advanced Anatomy Lab

~Brother's Mission Call came on Thursday instead of Wednesday  

~Found out Elder Michael Fotheringham will be serving the Lord for 2 years in the New York New York North Mission, preaching the Gospel in American Sign Language, entering the Provo MTC on June 26th, 2013

~So Proud of my Little Brother and am grateful for the example that he is to me everyday

~Went to Dinner with the Fam in celebration of Michael's Mission Call

~Went Visiting Teaching

Week 5:

~Exams on Monday and Thursday

~Studied for days

~Got home from school on Tuesday at 10:50pm

~Slept over at Kara's House on her couch Wednesday Night

~Wanted to drop Advanced Anatomy

~Played with a Skull for a total of 4 hours in TA lab hours

First 2 days of February:

~Watched the Copper Hills Azurettes Sweep the State Drill Competition at UVU

~Watched a movie at Whit's house, then stayed for 2 hours after everyone left, the majority of the time spent laughing

~Now sitting on my couch, avoiding homework that I really need to do

~Tonight going to an LDSSA retreat at Camp Tracey

And the majority of all of this happened while trying to make my way through freezing temperatures, blizzards, slushy roads and sidewalks, and the one weird day of freezing rain!

I am now ready for a Fantastic February! 

It's my birthday month! Woohoo!

Plans Change

I've been wanting to write this post for a while now, but never really knew everything I wanted to say and how to say it. But I know that I just need to get it out there for everyone to know what is going on with me. 

Plans Change. And sometimes it sucks. Right now it sucks. But I've come to accept it.

Ever since I can remember, I've been planning on going on a mission. The plan has always been to go to school until I was 21 and then take a 18-month break to go abroad. 

Then the announcement came that girls could go on missions now starting at 19. 

When I was 19, I was full-on angry that I had to stay here while all of my guy friends got to leave on missions. I didn't feel it was fair that they got to go and I had to wait, but I accepted it then. 

Then a few months ago, before the announcement, I met with my bishop to talk about getting mission papers. I was so sure of myself, I thought, making the appointment and walking into his office. 

Then, I broke down. I wasn't sure of what I was really supposed to do with my life right now. My bishop then gave me an assignment to go home, talk to my parents, weigh the pros and cons of a mission, and to make a decision. Then, I would take that decision to the Lord. 

So, I did just that. And I came to a decision. One I wasn't very happy about, but it felt right.

I'm not going on a mission.....right now.

I don't know exactly why this is the answer, especially because I'm not dating anyone right now, so the whole marriage thing isn't getting in the way.

I have talked to people who were also planning on a mission, but a man walked into there life and they went that path instead. 

I think that is why this is so hard and confusing for me. I don't have the reason of marriage for not going, and all along that was the only thing that I thought could make my plans change.

If the announcement that girls can now leave at 19 had come when I was 19, I would have been gone in a heartbeat. I would have been one of those girls that called their bishop that day to get their papers going. 

When the announcement came, I was devastated. Why didn't that happen just 2 years earlier? 

But I know why, at least the why for me. 

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't have been an Anatomy TA. 

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't be involved with the Spirit of Place Committee at the SL Institute of Religion.

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't have met my best friend.

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't have the amazing friends I have now. 

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't have met my bloggy-friends.

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't be applying to nursing school next month.

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't be so close to my adorable cousin Lizzie Hammer.

If I had gone at 19, I wouldn't be the person I am today. 

And for that, I am grateful I didn't go when I was 19.

TSO 2012!

I have a strict No Christmas Music before Thanksgiving Policy.

But, I made a small exception this year. 

My friend Danny invited me to go with him to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert. 

One Word=AMAZING!

I have never been to a "real" rock concert before, and I think this was a good one to start with. It was intense but sophisticated, all at the same time! :)

So, it started with a whole story-line about how God sends down an angel from heaven to meet people and change their lives. And this angel meets a man who is very hard-hearted on Christmas Eve. Through the course of different things happening to this man, his heart is softened and the angel returns to heaven, where he is praised by God for his good work.

It was sort of a spiritual experience, in a Trans-Siberian kind of way! 

The Gospel means "Good News" and that's exactly what it was :)

 

Then, after the story-line portion of the show was finished, that's when "the real party started!" 

The man guy of TSO came out and asked if we had a couple more songs in us, and of course we did! Then he said, "Let's show you what this stuff can really do!" (talking about all of the special effects) 

Now that, was a rock concert-Christmas style! 

Here is a video of the finale, "Carol of the Bells" 

Thank you so much Danny for letting me experience that with you! :)

It was incredible!

Dear Boys 26

Dear Monson,

The announcement is great. 2 years ago would have been better though...

Love,

Becca

Dear Brown,

Do I try, or do I just let go?

Cause I don't think I'm ready to let go yet...

Love,

Becca

Dear Cupcake,

Nope. Please just stop.

Love,

Becca

Dear Hide-N-Seek,

I still think you're pretty rad.

Call Me Maybe?

Love,

Becca

Dear Perfect,

Are you serious? Is this even real?? 

Thankfully,

Becca

Dear Breast Friend,

I would love to just pick up the phone and talk to you. 

And then go get some J-Dawgs. 

Too bad you're in another country. 

And only reachable by letter or email. 

And you only have limited time to write anyone back. 

I miss you.

Love,

Tight Like Unto A Dish

Dear Woodland,

You are kinda attractive.

Who knows if I will ever see you again.

Love,

Becca

Dear Boys 25

Dear Perfect,

Sorry I give you crap. And probably annoy you. But it's your job, so I don't feel too guilty about it.

Love,

Becca

Dear Brother, 

I wish you were at the U. It would be a Party!

All day!

Love,

Sister

Dear Canada,

Why are you the only one?

Love,

Becca

Dear Brown,

Hmmm....

Love,

Becca

Dear Piano Man,

No. Never with you.

Love,

Becca

Dear First Presidency, 12 Apostles, and All other Officers hereby constituted,

I'm real excited for this weekend! 

Love,

Becca

Dear Jazzy,

Also, No. Never with you.

Love,

Becca

Dear All of my friends on missions,

Thank you for being such an amazing example to me! 

Love,

Becca

Not Just Another Valentine's Day Post

I'm sure you have all seen a bunch of stuff on Facebook and Twitter and the like about Valentine's Day and flowers that guys surprised their girl with, yada yada yada. Well, last year I ranted about why I hate the holiday in this post. I don't feel the need to rant again about it, so I won't.

Instead, I never really did a New Years Resolutions post at the beginning of the year. So I will now!

I haven't ever really liked making New Years Resolutions before because I never end up following through with them. SO, I figured this year, if I make a few goals starting in February, maybe I will follow through. So here it goes :)

1~Go to the temple at least once a month, but striving for more

2~Figure out a work out routine and stick to it

3~(Going along with #2) Get a 6-pack (abs, not cans of soda ;) )

4~Keep up with my school work/don't procrastinate to the last minute

5~Talk to new people/make more new friends

6~Cut down on TV and Internet usage (like Facebook and Twitter)

7~Learn to cook

8~Find a job that can give me clinical experience for my future career

9~Live on my own

These aren't in any particular order, (though #1 is probably the most important one), but I hope to be able to achieve most, if not all, by the end of the year!

On a totally random other subject, I love this song. And you all should too ;) Jk, you don't have to, but I bet if you listen to it, you will love it too!

This song helps me to keep going a lot of the time. It is so inspiring and reminds me that I'm not alone. The Savior walked on the water and with faith, I can too in my own way! 

Dear Boys 6

A little late I know, but it's been a busy/awesome week :)

Dear Breast Friend,

I miss you more than a......I don't know how to finish that sentence, but it is a lot!

Yesterday was the best day ever, cause I got a letter from you! You crack me up :)

Love,

Tight Like Unto A Dish

Dear Brother,

I'm super excited for everything that is happening for you right now! You're future is bright :)

Love,

Sister

Dear Pancake,

You are kind of awesome! We should for sure hang out more :)

Love,

Becca

Dear That Kid (like always),

I'm just gonna be friends with you, but if you were to ask me out, I would for sure not say no! *hint hint* ;)

Love,

Becca (aka FB Stalker)

Dear Dad,

Thanks for always editing my papers for me :) You are the best! (for more than just that though)

Love,

Daughter

Dear Stats Prof,

You get way too excited about some things. I mean, I'm all about enthusiasm, but this is a little over the top.

Love,

Becca

Dear Chem 2 Prof,

You repeat things WAY too much. It's annoying, especially at 7:30 in the morning.

Love,

Becca

Dear Hank,

I love coming to your class, but gas is expensive...so I probably can't come too often. But last night was a great class and a great chat!

Love,

Your Utah Girl

Dear Charlie,

I am so glad that you are all better now, even though you almost left me stranded at the U! It's ok, I forgive you ;)

Love,

Becca

Dear Finn Hudson (yes, I know I am a gleek),

You are super cute with Rachel, but you should really think about marrying me instead. Just sayin' ;)

Love,

Recovering Gleek

Dear Christ,

Thank you for everything you have done, do, and will do for me in my life. I would not be here without your love for me. I am so grateful to have you as an elder brother.

Love,

Becca

That's all folks! Have a great weekend!!

I Choose Happiness

I guess this post is somewhat of an update on life in general. A couple months ago I was.....not happy, to put it simply. For instance, there was this post. I was not in a good place in my life. Then it got a little better after that for a couple weeks, but I never was truly happy. Well, things have definitely changed.

The week of Thanksgiving, I was walking through the institute and decided to help make grilled cheese sandwiches. That day changed my life. I met a girl, Izumi, who invited me to join the Spirit of Place Committee at the institute. She doesn't know it yet, but I owe this all to her. She is what started it all. At that time, we only had like 2 meetings before Christmas break, so I didn't really get to know the other people all that well yet. 

This semester started, and I wanted to be better. I wanted to make new friends, and the institute was the best place for that :) On my committee, I have met some of the greatest people! I have made friendships faster than I ever thought possible, but it is because of how loving people are and how accepting they are. I cannot express the love and gratitude that I have for those people and for the institute in general :) 

So, I can finally say it. I am happy again. I know that I will have some down days every now and then, just like everyone else. But those down days aren't the majority any longer. They aren't going to define who I am anymore. Pres. Thomas S. Monson said in the First Presidency Message this month, "We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude." I can choose to be happy, no matter what is thrown at me. School is still going to be stressful, boys are still going to be confusing, and making decisions is still going to be hard. But I'm going to be happy through it all. 

Sorry if this ended up being more of a "testimony" post, but I owe my life to the gospel, and it made me who I am today. I love institute and the feeling of peace, comfort, and love that get as soon as I walk through the doors. I love being able to learn about the gospel every Monday and Wednesday between Chemistry and Physiology, and then early on Thursday mornings for our committee meetings. I just cannot express enough the love that I really feel for this program in the church.

Anyways, I hope that you have all had an amazing Sunday and that you have awesome week this week!

A Weekend to Remember

Alright so this weekend....basically awesome. Let me tell you about it :)

On Saturday, nothing super amazing happened, but it was still a good day. I worked the 4-10pm shift at work with Chinedu, which was pretty fun, basically because Chinedu is fun to work with and we usually always both get stuck working the 4-10pm shifts on Saturdays together. When I got to work though, I found out that someone had reserved the laser tag after hours, so both me and Chinedu had to stay an hour late at work. I thought that it would be super horrible, but we were both so tired that EVERYTHING was funny! We watched the sports highlights while waiting for the group to be done and were just laughing at everything, because apparently football and basketball are 1000x funnier when you are dead tired! Ha ha! Anyways...

Then on Sunday, it wasn't my week to teach (I teach the sunbeams primary class, just fyi) so that was nice, but our class was just crazy (as usual). But, we got on the subject of batman and his muscles, which was quite entertaining :) Then, we played follow the leader around the room and little Addi always wanted to be the leader and he would twirl his arms around and everyone had to follow what he was doing. In Sacrament meeting, my brother had to speak, so of course I made faces at him the whole time! It was great :)

After Church, we got home, picked up the salad and my car, and went up to my grandparents house to have a dinner/birthday party for my cousin Matt that was in town with his girlfriend Kristyn from Oregon for the week. There was some delicious food, as always :) Then, at 6:30pm, I left the dinner to head up to the U Institute for the Welcome Back Fireside! It was such a great fireside, for more reasons than one :) Right when I got there, I found some of the people that are on my committee, so I had some people to sit with :) Then, the fireside started and the Institute Singers sang some amazing and beautiful songs! Then Brother Chad Webb, the head of all the institute programs in the world, came to speak to us. His talk was about a bunch of different things, but I felt like over half of the time he was speaking directly to me, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. I love talks like that :) Then afterwards, I was walking around and found my friend Karli that I sat next to in one of my classes last semester! It was fun to be able to see her, because we don't have any classes together this semester :( Then, I was going back to get some refreshments when I saw.....Yep, Institute Boy :) :) I wanted to say hi to him, but he was talking to a group of people, so I just walked past instead. Then......I heard a beautiful sounding male voice say my name, so I turned around, and he was walking towards me :) :) So, I said "Hey" and thought that he was just saying hi and would then go back to his group, but then he kept talking to me, and then asked if I wanted to go get refreshments! So we did, and then we went and sat down to eat, and we talked for almost like an hour straight!! I was in heaven! We talked about school, hobbies/sports, institute, family, etc. Then, we helped clean up, cause by then it had cleared out quite a bit. Then we parted ways, and I drove home in a daze :) Once I got home, I was one happy girl! I was full of energy, so I didn't go to bed for quite some time. I stayed up and watched Numb3rs instead (one of my favorite shows of all time!). 

Then, I woke up this morning (late of course because of the MLK Holiday), and my mom had fixed us french toast with Kneader's Cinnamon Bread! It was SO GOOD! Also, it was snowing a little bit, so that made to happy too :) Then a little bit later, I looked out the window and it was a BLIZZARD! It was so awesome! But alas, that only last a couple of minutes, because the next time I looked outside it had stopped and was completely clear outside. I was ok with that though, because I wanted to go and get my hair trimmed, but I didn't want to drive in a blizzard, so it was perfect! So, I went and got my hair trimmed and my bangs cut, then came home and started on the homework that I had put off all weekend. As of now, I have gotten my Stats and Chem homework down, but still just need to read for Children's Lit, which shouldn't be too bad :) 

Well, that was my weekend! I hope that yours was just as good, if not better :)