I started writing this on 12/26/12:

I just got back from lunch with these two handsome fellas.

I have a bit of a list going of things I want to do and places I want to eat while I'm home for the holidays.  The lovely gentlemen pictured above, Captain Livsey and Sir Reading, were gracious enough to help me cross one of my restaurants off my list -- Mellow Mushroom.  I thank them for that and for their hilarity.

Another thing on my list was a trip to Disney World.  I arrived in Florida on Monday and I made my way down to Disney on Tuesday afternoon with mi madre.  Last year around this time, we had annual passes to the second happiest place on earth (second to the temple, of course).  Those annual passes granted us discounts to special events tickets, like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  This thrilled us beyond description.  Once Christmas was around the corner, we were so stoked to get tickets to the one and only Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.  However, once we set a date to go, we were informed that tickets were all sold out.  Complete bummer.  Fast forward a little less than a year later, and I'm struggling to pick a gift out for my mom's birthday.  I finally had a real job where I could get her something that showed her just how amazing I think her to be, but I could not come up with an adequate gift.

During my struggle of a search, I was procrastinating on my usual internet procrastination routes.  As I was reading about the New Fantasyland for the millionth time, the thought of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party burst to the surface of my mind and I had found my answer.  It was a little difficult keeping it a secret from my mom until her birthday, but it was so worth it.

So, less than twenty-four hours of me being in Florida, and I was on my way to Disney World.

Once we got through Orlando's hideous traffic and checked in to our hotel, we had quite a bit of time to kill.  So, we decided a trip to Downtown Disney would hype us up even more for our magical time at the park.  We weaved our way through a store or two, including the Christmas store, obviously, and we decided to have dinner at the Irish Pub in Downtown Disney, called Raglan Road.  It's an awesome place.  Sometimes they have Irish bands and it's a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any the evening we were there, but their fish and chips were superb to say the least.

After our feast of champions, we decided to make our way to the par-tayy.  It was a fun night full of plenty of free hot chocolate and cookies.  The parade was so awesome and the fireworks were as incredible as ever.

Two of my favorite things in the world are Disney and Christmas, so to have them together in one setting sent my five year-old heart a little over the edge of happiness and into insane, joyful delirium.  The castle was at its most beautiful and the decorations throughout the park were gorgeous to say the least.

The free hot chocolate and cookies, the million and five Christmas-themed shows, the fantastical fireworks, and the awesome, awesome parade made for an amazing night at one of my favorite places on earth.  However, there were a few aspects that I would like to point out that I'm not particularly sure how to feel about.

Anyone who knows me knows that Disney is one of the many nerdy things that makes me the magnificent creature that I am.  I love it more than any eighteen year old should.  I follow Disney blogs; I freak out when I see something that even remotely resembles a Mickey head;  I covet just about any article of clothing that comes from the Disney franchise.  That being said, I have been counting down the days to the opening of the New Fantasyland, and I basically peed my pants when I heard that the Beauty and the Beast portion would be one of the first parts to open.*

I approached New Fantasyland with my hopes held high and my eyes glistening with the same excitement I felt when I first entered Hogsmeade at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  To be honest, I was a little disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, the attention to detail for Belle's little village was excellent to say the least, but I'm kind of sad the Beast's castle wasn't actually a castle in the same sense that Cinderella's castle is a castle.  I wasn't able to go into the restaurant "inside" the castle because it was kind of packed, so I imagine it would probably heal my wounds of disappointment a bit if I were able to enter its doors.  The castle was atop a hill, and it gave the illusion that the castle was far away, which is exactly what I didn't want.  I'm not going to lie, though, I was more than overjoyed to be able to pee in a bathroom whose theme was based around Belle's world.  Weird, but true.


The Little Mermaid ride was pretty good, but I wouldn't say it was spectacular.  It had the same sort of set up as the Haunted Mansion, minus the ghosts and ghouls, of course.  It didn't breakdown or anything, which is always a plus.  It was exactly like any other Magic Kingdom ride, which isn't bad, but maybe I was looking forward to something new?  I'm not an over-the-top Ariel fan, so maybe that has something to do with it?**  Ariel/Eric's castle-esque building was pretty awesome; I will give you that.

Perhaps my expectations were just too high.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll be happier when I get the chance to eat at the Be Our Guest restaurant.  Until then, let me tell you the tale of something a tad peculiar that I experienced during this Christmas extravaganza of a night.  As was aforementioned, there were about a bajillion shows and features to watch and participate in every second of the night.  One such thing were the "dance parties" held in two locations throughout the park.  One of them being in Liberty Square.  Quite patriotic, Disney.  I have only ever heard the term "dance party" at the nerdy events I have attended, such as LeakyCon, and never have people under the age of ten been in attendance.  My mom and I decided it was absolutely necessary to see what exactly was goin' down at these dance parties.  From the outside, it looked like a full-on nightclub, which was a tad disconcerting considering kids can be quite impressionable and starting them off early with clubbing isn't exactly good for this world's future.  We entered this club of sorts without any clue as to what to expect.  Our eyes beheld what I can only describe to you as my still-lingering childhood dreams.  There, in the center of the dancefloor was Woody dancing with several little kids.  Yes, I felt creepy taking pictures of other children.  Yes, I may have done it to live vicariously through them.  Yes, never have I wanted more to be seven years old again than I did at that moment.  Oh, how I wish I knew how awesome childhood was when I was experiencing it.

There were two showings of the parade, so we decided to ride our rides first, and then see the later parade.  It did not disappoint.  My only complaint is that I failed to get perfect shots of two of my favorite people -- Belle and Mary Poppins.

Also, Mickey had far too much hip action going on to be the Mickey I know and love.

Having been away from home so long, it was so nice to be back to the familiar, which includes Disney. I don't understand how anyone could not want to be there all the time.  Every detail is centered around increasing the happiness of every child that enters the park's gates.  The Disney parks are the result of a father wanting a place to take his daughters for the weekend, where their dreams could come true.  Now that is magical.

*Belle is my favorite Disney princess, in case you were not aware.
**I love her movie's soundtrack, but I am not a fan of the princess herself.

My Temple

Yesterday, I had the blessing and privilege of going to the Orlando temple with the youth of my home stake.  The project for the youth of the stake this year was to do some genealogy work and find a name that has not had their temple work done.  The big sha-bang of a finale was this temple trip, during which the youth who had been working on their genealogy would be able to take those names that they found to the temple and start the temple work for their ancestor.

It was an early start to a morning.  I woke up at the unholy hour of 4:15am to leave at 5:15am.  We got to the stake center across the street from the temple around 7:45am, which is impeccable timing considering Orlando's crazy traffic at every hour of the day.*

There, at the stake center, the temple president gave a talk about symbols of the temple.  After that, we broke off in to three groups.  One went to the temple to do baptisms, one stayed behind to play games related to family history and other church-related things, and the third did a temple grounds tour of sorts.

It was a long day, but it was amazing nonetheless. As awesome as the Provo temple is, the Orlando temple will always hold a special place in my heart.  It is the first temple I ever set foot in.  It is the temple where I have received so many answers to so many prayers.  It is my temple.



For those of you not familiar with the Mormon jargon, temples are sacred places where worthy members of the church, twelve years and older, enter to do work for those who have passed away.**  Work, meaning saving ordinances, such as baptism.  We do not actually go grave-digging and baptize corpses.  That's just nasty.  We believe in the scripture: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  We stand in place of those who have passed away, since they no longer have the physical capacity to receive those saving ordinances themselves.  Those who passed away without the gospel deserve the chance to know it and have the opportunity to live eternally with their Heavenly Father, their Savior, and their family, and it is such a blessing to be able to help them on that road to eternal joy.

I love the gospel so much.  It is a gospel of joy, peace, and strength.  It is a gospel of hope.

*Seriously, though.  Once, I was on my way back to Jacksonville at 3am, and I was still stuck in traffic for an hour.

**It is also a place for living worthy members to make sacred covenants and receive sacred ordinances that can only be performed in the temple.

Labor of Love

So, I know I promised you tales of Disney and End of the World parties, but I have really just been enjoying some family time.

Come December every year, I basically listen to Christmas music nonstop.*  So, I definitely have some favorites.  I heard this song last year for the first time and it is just so beautiful.  A lot of people have lost sight of the "reason for the season."  They post "XMAS" on posters and plaster Santa on their roofs instead of a manger in their yards.  So, it's so refreshing and beautiful to hear a song like this that amazingly reflects the incredible people that raised the Savior of the World (alongside Heavenly Father), the beautiful Mary and the noble Joseph.  This song is just incredibly powerful and I hope you love it as much as I do.

How lucky we are to have had Mary and Joseph in this world so many years ago, full of humility and worthiness to carry and raise the Father's Only Begotten.  How lucky we are Christ was born and walked this earth.  How lucky we are to hold a place in His heart.




*Well, I kind of listen to it all year-round, but I only openly listen to it come December 1st.

Flirtatious Babies and Planes

I have basically zero time to be writing this, but I'm going to because procrastination is my specialty and I want to keep this as updated as possible during this little break from school that I am loving.

First off, Florida is moist.  I hate that word, but there is just no other way of describing my home state.  When I got into bed my first night home, the sheets were damp.  It was the weirdest thing of my life.  To think I had been sleeping in what felt like a pool towel for eighteen years and not realizing it, kind of blew my mind.

The plane ride was perfect.  No hiccups.  I did have to switch planes in Denver, which was a minor change (I was supposed to stop there, but stay on the same plane), but I made it to the other side of that massive airport with plenty of time to spare.  I also sat next to the cutest elderly couple on the way there, met an old bishop and his wife from my home stake who happened to know my mom, and I met the most flirtatious baby of my life*.  I have no idea why people hate planes so much.  You get to freaking fly, people!  Is that not as awesome of a thought to other people as it is to me?

We went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party the next night, which was wonderful, but I'll have to tell you about that and St. Augustine some other time.  I've got an end of the world party to get to!

*OHMYGOSH SHE WAS SO CUTE.

Taming a Beast

FINALS ARE OVER I CAN LIVE AGAIN HALLELUJAH GOD BLESS YE MERRY GENTLEMENEDGNJSDNGJSMORGANFREEMANEGNWNEG;WGW;RGB;.

Sorry.  I needed to get that out of my system.

I now have blessedly beautiful time to do more important things like read for six hours straight or blog about things that happen in my life that only my mom wants to hear about.

I leave for the 904 (Florida) tomorrow afternoon and it still hasn't hit me completely.  As much as I have missed home, I am going to desperately miss waking up to this.

That's right, my love affair with snow is still in full swing.  We've had some kinks in our relationship (I have fallen twice), but we've worked through those rough patches and our love has become stronger because of it.

My weekend consisted of snowmobiling for the first time, putting up the Christmas tree at my aunt and uncle's cabin, and reading more than two pages at a time of Les Miserables.*

Snowmobiling was quite the experience.  I went with two experts -- my uncle and his brother-in-law -- during a trip to my aunt and uncle's cabin.  Luckily, I got the chance to warm up to the beast that is the snowmobile the night before when there was too much snow to drive up the mountain any other way but the snowmobile way.

What made the "warm up" a tad stressful, though, was the fact that it was at night and I had no idea where the road ended and my imminent death began.  I did get used to the sensitive gas clutch eventually, which made the thought of death fade and brought excitement about the next day's 'mobiling trek to the surface.

While it did take me an hour to get used to the tricks of taming the beast and my arms are now drenched in soreness, I had a gloriously awesome time.  I got to absorb the beauty of the mountains covered in snow and the gorgeous animals that inhabit its crevices.  I also got to experience family, which was a wonderful thing in and of itself.

I'm sure my lack of mountain knowledge and my getting the snowmobile stuck a million and five times annoyed my Uncle Ken and my Might-As-Well-Be-My-Uncle Brett more than they let show**, but I'm glad they were there to annoy.  I haven't got to see much of family since Fall Semester started, but it's so nice to have them so nearby and so willing to include me in all of their adventures, even if I can rarely make it.  I am so fortunate to have some family and family-in-law-ish so nearby when I am so far from home.

*This semester has consisted of me attempting to read three books and finishing exactly none of them. At most, the number of pages I was able to read in one sitting probably amounted to six.

**I also flew off once*** and flipped the monster of a machine on a separate occasion from the flying one.

***This is not an exaggeration.  I literally flew, ladies and gentlemen.

Walking Contradiction

As previously mentioned, I keep a gratitude journal.  I've been looking back on some entries.  Stereotypically-speaking, judging by my handwriting and these following entries, you would think I possessed a Y-chromosome.

12/7/12: I am grateful for the free donuts that happened at Wyview this morning.

12/6/12: I am grateful Wendy's has a dollar menu.

12/5/12: I am grateful that I now have clean underwear.

12/5/12: I am grateful that I finally got to watch Bourne Legacy...

12/3/12: I am also grateful that we discovered that Burgers Supreme is not that awful...and for their incredible cheese fries and Oreo shake.

11/30/12: I am grateful for the free pizza at work.

11/28/12: I am grateful that my ghetto stitching job I did on the hole in my blanket is holding up.

11/26/12: I am grateful...that we got to eat with Isabel and Mariangel right after I got off the bus.

11/25/12: I mean, how many roommates hold your hair back while you're puking?  (Well, if it's not a frat party.)

11/22/12: I am grateful for the food.

Yet, just after you're picturing a beer belly and a hairy chest, I say something way too girly for comfort.

12/2/12: I am grateful...that we got to watch Dear John...

12/1/12: I am grateful for how adorable he is.

11/30/12: I am grateful my girls helped me choose an outfit...

11/29/12: I am grateful I had the money to get the Revlon lipstick I've wanted to get for a long time.

11/26/12: I am grateful I got to sit next to (insert boy's name here) on the bus ride to campus.

11/26/12: I am grateful that I got to see...creamery guy twice tonight...

11/20/12: I am grateful I got to paint my nails.

11/18/12: I am grateful that Amelia did my eyebrows and that Mariangel let me borrow some nail polish.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a walking contradiction of gender stereotypes.

An Angel

There are a lot of women in this world that I aspire to be, but there is one on the other side of the veil that I can only dream of becoming anything like.  A year ago today the most beautiful daughter of God I have ever met returned to her home in Heaven, from from the illness that was a part of her entire life, but that she never let define her life.

I often think of her on my dimmer days; I think of how she quite literally lit up a room.  She was and continues to be the most genuine and caring human being I have ever met.  I cannot even eloquently describe the impact she had on so many in her tiny life here on earth in her tiny earthly body.  It was a privilege I will never truly deserve to have had her in my life to inspire me and to show me what potential I have and how important each and every one of us are.  Her compliments came often and were never insincere. Her laugh was contagious and her testimony was inspiring to say the least.  Sometimes I still go back to my old journals that have notes from her lessons and I cannot help to cry, not because I am saddened, but that I am grateful to have known an angel.

I know she is bringing about her Heavenly Father's work on the other side, just as she did on this side of the veil.  There are days when I miss her so much and I just want to talk to her about everything and nothing all at once, but I know she is safe and I  know she is so very happy.  Heavenly Father blessed me more than I will ever deserve by placing Robin and her husband in my life.  Yet another thing I will be forever indebted to Him for; yet another reason I have to be grateful.

"And Jesus listening can hear,

The songs I cannot sing."

Hallmark Card

It's always a bright and shining moment when you're making a snowman on your roommate's car to surprise her and she and her boyfriend walk out of your dorm, thinking someone is trying to hijack her car.

Yes, my beloveds.  It snowed today.  The first real, non-slushy snow.  Not only did it snow today, but it snowed ALL day.  No stops for nothin'.  It was like all my dreams had come true (plus, I saw Brave for the first time, which means all my dreams did come true).  I got hot chocolate mix just as the grocery store was closing and I called my best friend back home.  He described what I was expressing as an "elated rapture" of sorts.  That is exactly what took place.

As previously stated, Christmas is my absolute favorite of the holidays.  It has a magic and a unique beauty to it that no other holidays quite express for me.  The only piece of Christmas that I have never been able to experience, though, has been that wonder that is the floating ice that dances across the sky and makes its way down to earth to cover it with a glistening white blanket; each stitch filled with a gentle joy.  Snow.

(I feel like I just wrote a Hallmark card.)

The only other times I have ever experienced snow have meant slushies of water, but this was different.  This was completely different.

I saw it.  I literally frolicked in it, and -- I promise you -- woodland creatures were singing as I did so.  It was incredible.  I am five years old and it was incredible.  It took everything within me not to plop down and make a snow angel right then and there.

As I stood ankle-deep in snow for an hour or so tonight, just marveling at this heaven-sent wonder, everything was beautiful in the world.  It was illuminated with a comfort.  All was well.

Lead, Kindly Light

This song is ringing true to my heart today.  Our Heavenly Father's view is always greater than ours.  If we just trust Him and put our life in His and Christ's hands, they will lead us to the place that will bring the greatest peace and an amount of joy that is incomprehensible to our mortal view.

My favorite version:



1. Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.

2. I was not ever thus, nor pray’d that thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path;but now,
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will.
Remember not past years.

(3. So long thy pow’r hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!)

6 Weeks, 3 Days

I love holidays in general by an abnormal amount.  You can usually find me on Valentine's Day wearing blinding amounts of red; my Halloween costume is usually planned about eleven months in advance; and I may not pinch you on St. Patty's day when you're not wearing green, but be prepared for some traumatizing scolding.  Of all the holidays, though, Christmas is my absolute favorite.   I just feel this sense of magic once December roles around and the world is alighted, literally and figuratively.  It's also a celebration of one of my favorite people to ever exist, the Savior of the World.

However, Christmas takes on a whole new meaning this year.  I will have been away from home for six months (HALF A YEAR) almost to the date as I fly in to Jacksonville's airport.  I will be reunited with my childhood, and the best part of my childhood: my best friend, my mom.  I will be reunited with the wonderfully awful humidity and the sounds of the city.  I will be able, for a brief moment in time, to escape from the realities of "growing up" and become the me that I was for seventeen of my eighteen years.  I will be able to see friends and family that I haven't seen for an eternity.  I will be able to hear terrible grammar and be fond of it. I will be able to walk into a real WalMart where I fear for my life.  The street crossing buttons won't be weird and I will have the smell of the sea just a few miles away.

I am living for that day, six weeks and 3 days away, where I will be reunited with home.  My home.

Gratitude Journal

I am a sucker for procrastination and this blog does not lessen the enticement of said p word.

Today was another school day.  Another day where I wanted to cry for lack of understanding how and when to study for my two tests that I need to take by Thursday.  I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and watch a movie.

Part of the reason I have been lacking in the blogging department was because I used it as an excuse to not journal.  I felt like if I blogged one day, that meant I didn't have to journal that day too.  I don't want to get carpal tunnel for goodness' sake!  Since ceasing the consistent blogging, I can proudly say I have been super consistent in my journaling.  This is actually the longest length of time that I have been consistent in my efforts to journal.  Sleep or homework or reading a book after reading my scriptures was always so much more appealing to me as I was growing up.  No one would want to read my journals, right?  What is the point of them?

I'm not the world's most fantastic writer and my journal entries can get pretty lengthy due to my obsession to let my posterity know every detail of my every day, but journaling daily has really helped me better express my thoughts and it  has helped me develop a better perspective of my every day doings.

As far as content, though, I have really been putting forth effort to keep the entries short and sweet.  I have heard a million times about gratitude journals for those who never know what to write, but being the me who writes way too much, I just never digested the idea.  However, at a fantastic campus Tuesday Devotional, I was inspired by the speaker's talk of gratitude and his mention of a gratitude journal.  I took a step back and realized while it's always fun to read about the every day lives of my ancestors, what I love most is reading about the happiness of their days.  I'm not saying I want my children thinking I'm perfect and never struggle, but I also want them to know that life is so much more rewarding when we think back on our day and realize all the beautiful things that filled it.

I am going to try to balance blogging and journaling, but no promises.  I am grateful, though, that I live in a world where I can reach out to so many through the technology available.  We truly live in  great and marvelous times.

Divine Struggle

Woah.  I have definitely been M.I.A. these past few months.  All apologies.*

For some reason, Sundays always seem like the perfect day to blog.  I gain this spiritual high from church and then I feel like I can do anything and creativity and thought just feel so abundant for some reason.

Anywho, life has been a bit crazy in my neck of the woods.  As previously mentioned, I am taking classes that are stretching my limits of sanity and I also work basically all weekend every weekend. The thing is, though, I honestly don't mind it one bit.  That sounded super self-righteous, but it has taken me quite some time to get to this point.  A couple of breakdowns and a talk with my mommy later, I have reached that point we reach once a trial has been faced and dealt with with the help of the Lord (and in my case my personal Wonder Woman: my mother).  It's that point of perspective where we have finally reached that light at the end of the tunnel and realize, "Holy crap.  That was totally worth it."  It's worth it because of the fact that we finally see our growth.  We finally realize that whatever trial we overcame has made us progress that much more in our divine progression; we are that much closer to becoming what our Heavenly Father created us to become; we are that much closer to Him and the Savior; we are that much closer to being worthy of our Heavenly Home, and that moment of realization is worth every ounce of sorrow and suffering.

Inspiration from here:

Time Heals Nothing

* I hope that song is now stuck in your head.

Fools

I apologize for the lack of postings since summer semester decided to end.  My classes this semester are insane and I've also started working.  Any free time I have is usually spent with these fools.

Ah-dult

It was not until today, after I took my last final, that I hit that point where I realized I am a full-fledged adult.  This whole time, I've kind of been feeling like this is just some freakishly long summer camp.  On one hand, I'm really upset that I can't be home right now, but on the other I'm really glad and grateful for all the experiences I had this summer.  I have met some incredible people and it has been a dream come true (dramatic?) to be around people who share my exact same values and beliefs.  I no longer have to suppress my biblical jokes, or when someone says a line from a hymn in regular conversation, I am no longer the only one who gets that hymn stuck in their head immediately afterwards.  More than just those values being matched in everyone I meet, I have met people that I have no trouble being my full self around, which is just incredible.  Don't mistake me as putting on some facade.  I just mean, with every friend we have, we magnify some specific personality trait around specific people, but I think I have held nothing back with every wonderful person I have had the privilege of meeting.  I am so excited for what Fall has to offer.