Zoo, Zupas, And A's.

Lisa wanted to get her hair done before the baby comes, so Megan and I were on kid duty. We went up to the zoo, and let me tell you, mid-December is prime zoo-going season. Not a person there! We had the animals all to ourselves. It flurried a bit on us, but we had fun anyway, besides everyone (AKA Lucas) being bummed about the train being closed for the winter. Here are some pictures from our fun morning:

They were both cold. Tigers are humongous.

I'm pretty sure that I haven't been to the zoo in about 8 years. It's completely different, but totally cool. Check out this Asian-looking elephant. So cool.

Yeah, we were pretty much wearing the same outfit. Oh well.

Afterwards, we ate at Zupas. I'd already ordered a salad when I decided to sample the chicken enchilada chili soup. Oh my gosh. So good.

This morning, I took my last final of the semester. Freedom!! It was for my French literature class, which was one of my favorites because my professor was hilarious. I only needed like maybe an 80 to keep my A, but I wanted to do well. I told myself that if I got higher than 92, I could reward myself. Here's how it went:

I love taking finals.

And here was my reward:

I seriously recommend that you try this soup. It's so delicious. I might have to find other reasons to reward myself.

And thus begins Christmas break! Woot! I'm going to try to see how many books I can read over the break, since I don't ever have time for leisurely reading during the semester.

:D

Guess who...

...got a haircut? Me!! And it's darker than before. I like it. I especially like not having to rip my hair out from under my coat and my backpack every time I went anywhere.

Partying it up, Nu Skin style.

I have been looking forward to Nu Skin's Christmas party for about a month, and it did not disappoint.

So I got dressed up, actually did my hair (attempted!)...

My friend Nathan and I took our dates to Smash Burger and then headed off to the party. They served some refreshments (aka dessert for us!) while everyone arrived.

The entertainment for the night: Kurt Bestor. He put on a really good show with his piano skills and trying to impress us with his synthesizer. I really loved his rendition of "Il est né le divin enfant," a French Christmas song. He played some fun songs and his fellow musicians were equally impressive (including Michael Dowdle on guitar).

Next up: Prizes. They had a lot of them. Basically they just put all of our names into one of those little turn-y things, and pulled out random names to come up and get prizes like IPads, a laptop, flat screen TVs, watches, a telescope, a KitchenAid mixer, a powerwasher, a vacuum, etc, etc. If you didn't want your prize, you could pick out of one of their pockets. If you picked a pocket, they basically just pulled out a wad of $100s and had you count it out. This one girl won $1000. She seemed pretty calm. I would've been freaking out.

Here's my friend Nathan (far left) showing off his French with the founders . . .

and winning his $600. Brat.

Finally: GIFTS.

Boy does Nu Skin know how to give a gift.

Each of these four just started "giving out" gifts to all of the employees.

First off, $100 Costco gift card. Woot!

#2- Two weeks extra pay

#3- this fancy body cream that they don't even sell

#4- a leather backpack

#5- $250 American Express card

and number 6 . . .

A Kindle Fire!

Yeah. Pretty. Dang. Cool.

So fancy. I'm excited to start using it.

Have I said how much I love my job?

Thanks Nu Skin!!

Merry Christmas :D

a festive weekend

It's that time of year again!

Props to Megan for getting us all together for our once-yearly beloved tradition that we haven't really done for a while. I still remember going to the Festival of Trees when we were little: dancing the Nutcracker on those little stages, playing in the playhouses that my dad built, and just having fun looking at all the trees. I still love it! :)

Mom was happy that they started having quilts... check out this cool Book of Mormon one.

Jayna sure loved this Barbie tree.

I don't have pictures (maybe my dad does, somewhere? I'll have to ask), but we were glad that Lisa could come too... although we had to wheel her around in a wheelchair! She's thinking up excuses to get the same treatment next year. Not likely, unless she's somehow 9 months pregnant again!

For the rest of the weekend, Megan came down to Provo to visit! Woot! We had fun. Went to a waffle party (awkward much?), Texas Roadhouse (we love ribs! and rolls. Mmm...), and then watched P.S. I Love You and got serious about planning our trip to Europe this summer (maybe we'll find some attractive Irish men? Who knows). It was fun to have her down here for the weekend. One day our plans will work out and we will be able to live together and get away from all of our crazy roommates. Love you Meg!

(Don't worry, I'm getting my hair cut this week. It's a little bit out of control. I'm aware.)

p.s. my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner:

Yeah, don't even ask how long this took me. But it was so worth it!

Belated Thanksgiving

The week before Thanksgiving, I was asked to give a talk in church. The theme? Thanksgiving. Quelle surprise! Anyway, it was really good to have an excuse to really think about Thanksgiving for two whole weeks (they forgot about me and I didn't actually give the talk until the following week). I loved trying to think about Thanksgiving in a different way, and it made me even more grateful for all that I have.

Some great thanksgiving-related thoughts:

"Receive [the Holy Ghost], and take upon you the name of Christ; . . . humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth, and . . . live in thanksgiving daily,

for the many mercies and blessings

which he doth bestow upon you."

-Alma 34:38

"Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things."

-D&C 59:7

"In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is His wrath kindled,

save those who confess not His hand in all things."

-D&C 59:21

"When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives."

-Pres. Hinckley

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,

but rejoices for those which he has."

-Greek philosopher Epictetus

"Do material possessions make us happy and grateful? Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, these are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted."

-Pres. Monson

"He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious, and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundredfold, yea, more."

-D&C 78:10

"Know ye that the Lord He is God . . . Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."

-Psalms 100:3-4

I LOVE this Mormon Message, taken from a talk by Elder Wirthlin:

President Hinckley's first Be:

Be grateful. There are two little words in the English language that perhaps mean more than all others. They are “thank you.” Comparable words are found in every other language, such as gracias, merci, danke, obrigado, domo.

The habit of saying thank you is the mark of an educated man or woman. With whom is the Lord displeased? He names “those who confess not his hand in all things” (D&C 59:21). That is, those who walk without grateful expression. Walk with gratitude in your hearts, my dear friends. Be thankful for the wonderful blessings which are yours. Be grateful for the tremendous opportunities that you have. Be thankful to your parents, who care so very much about you and who have worked so very hard to provide for you. Let them know that you are grateful. Say thank you to your mother and your father. Say thank you to your friends. Say thank you to your teachers. Express appreciation to everyone who does you a favor or assists you in any way.

Thank the Lord for His goodness to you. Thank the Almighty for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who has done for you what none other in all this world could do. Thank Him for His great example, for His tremendous teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help. Think about the meaning of His Atonement. Read about Him and read His words in the New Testament and in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Read them quietly to yourself and then ponder them. Pour out your heart to your Father in Heaven in gratitude for the gift of His Beloved Son.

Thank the Lord for His marvelous Church restored in this great season of history. Thank Him for all that it offers you. Thank Him for friends and loved ones, for parents and brothers and sisters, for family. Let a spirit of thanksgiving guide and bless your days and nights. Work at it. You will find it will yield wonderful results.

Well, they obviously can say it better than I can. But I hope that we can all just think about how to make thanksgiving a part of our daily lives, and that we can take the time each day to recognize the Lord's mercies in our lives.

I did it again :(

Obviously I didn't do very well with keeping my goal. Luckily I didn't even make it out of my parking garage this time. Thank goodness for a roommate with a car who got me to work on time. And to whoever wrote on my dirty car that I don't know how to park: I'd like to see you try to push a car straight into a parking spot with no help. Jerks.

Biggest Loser style...

So a few Sundays ago, I taught a lesson in Relief Society based on the talk from April's General Conference by President Packer in which he talked about the importance of the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and our status and responsibilities as members of the Church. One of the questions that I asked was, "What should a Latter-day Saint be like?" This question echoes those that we often hear about the expectations of living as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. I thought of all those people out there who think that the Church lays all these stringent demands, all these unrealistic or unattainable expectations upon us, but I think those people forget that it's not the Church that asks those things of us: it's God. And with God, all things are possible.

For the student journal that I'm working on this semester, we recently did a first edit of the pieces that will be in the journal. One of the articles I read was by a young woman who expressed her internal struggle and her coming to grips with all the expectations that "the Church" had heaped on her though her life. She felt that she could never live up to what was expected of her, and the bitterness that resulted made her angry at herself and at the Church.

As I drove home that Sunday, I was meditating on all of these things, when suddenly an analogy popped into my head. Granted, this analogy is most likely The Biggest Loser-induced, but I still think it applies.

What do you think of when you think of the word "membership"? Not in the context of the Church, but just in general. For me, I think of a gym membership (thank you, Biggest Loser). So what does that mean, to have a gym membership? Let's say that Ramon (my favorite person on The Biggest Loser right now) gets a gym membership. What is he hoping to get out of it? I think it means first of all that Ramon wants to get in shape; he wants to be healthy and fit and enjoy all the advantages of a healthy lifestyle. What happens when Ramon actually goes to the gym? Do people make fun of him for not being able to do all that they can do? Are the guys over by the weights yelling at him and telling him that he's fat and that he's not good enough and that he ought to just give up? Probably not. Why not? Because the other people in the gym are there for the exact same reason as Ramon is--to be in shape, and to have a healthy lifestyle (except for the creepos who just go to the gym to hit on people)--so of course they're not going to make fun of him (ideally. Granted, some people are just jerks no matter what). Chances are, they're going to encourage him. They're going to say, "Ramon, you can do this. Here, let me show you a good leg exercise that you can do on this machine." Maybe Ramon or even the others who go the gym aren't always constant in their quest for a healthy lifestyle. They might eat one too many pieces of Halloween candy, or they might decide to spend an entire afternoon watching TV and eating potato chips. But they still are striving for that healthy lifestyle. They are still going to try and go to the gym and make time to exercise as well as making better choices in what they eat or how they spend their time.

Now if Ramon is really dedicated, he will not only go to the gym, but he will also get a personal trainer. His trainer isn't going to say, "Okay, Ramon, this is going to pretty much be impossible because you're so fat, and you're probably not going to be able to do it. There's just too much to be done and you're not good enough." Au contraire, the trainer is going to do all he can to motivate and uplift Ramon and help him believe that his weight-loss goals and healthy lifestyle goals are attainable. The trainer is probably going to be really tough on Ramon--he's going to make him work harder than he ever has in his whole life. Ramon is going to want to quit, to take the easy path of his old life. But the trainer isn't going to let him give up because he sees Ramon's potential and knows what the results will be if he holds out strong and finishes what he started. The trainer knows from experience that people can change and that they can lose weight, so now he just has to make Ramon believe that. In exchange, Ramon has to trust his trainer and trust that all the crazy things he makes him do are going to be worth it in the end. And after weeks and weeks of sweat and tears and pain, Ramon finally catches a glimpse of the potential that the trainer saw in him from the beginning. With that glimpse, Ramon has the strength to continue on his journal of becoming healthy, and he can finally achieve all his goals.

Alright. Compare that to our membership in the Church. Yeah, maybe a lot is expected of us as members of the Church. But it's our choice to live up to those expectations or not. It's up to us to go to the gym, as it were--go to Church, be a member of the Church for the right reasons. Compared with the healthy lifestyle that the gym can bring, what are the results that solid membership in the Church can bring? Well, happiness, for one thing; the reassurance of the plan of salvation, the safety of keeping the commandments, the eternity of families, the hope of eternal life. These are goals worth working for! And if can just look at our membership in the Church as a means to accomplish our eternal goals, I think that a lot fewer people would look at the so-called demands and requirements of the Church with more appreciation and less resentment. Gym-goers don't resent the equipment at the gym--the barbells, the treadmills, the machines; we are chuch-goers should not resent the equipment that we have either. And we have the best personal trainer of all--Jesus Christ. He is there every step of the way with us because he's been through all our pains, sorrows, and heartaches. He knows how to mold us into the people we need to become: His people.

I also came across this quote from Elder Wirthlin that I think applies:

"Some mistake the Church for a place where perfect people gather to say perfect things, think perfect thoughts, and feel perfect feelings. May I quickly dispel such a thought? The Church is a place where imperfect people gather to help and strengthen each other as we strive to return to our Heavenly Father. Ever one of us will travel a different road in mortality. We will each progress at different rates."

I for one am so grateful for the Church and how it helps me on my "road." I would certainly have fallen off the path and been eaten by bears by now if I didn't have it. I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (. . . and The Biggest Loser :) ) and how it helps me become better, even though I still have a long way to go.

How time flies.

One year ago today.

A Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief

I love this picture of Christ. The first time I saw it was in my Branch President's office during a time in my life when I really needed it. I love how Christ is depicted in this painting with a smile on His face. You can just see the love and the hope on His face.

There was a devotional a few months ago where the speaker talked about the judgment day. He talked about all of our preconceived notions-- jokingly saying how he's going to have to beg to be allowed into the Kingdom of God. But then he became serious and said that in all honestly, he believes that the person who is going to be begging will be Jesus Christ. He's going to be begging us to just repent of our sins and accept Him as our Savoir. He's going to be pleading with us to apply His sacrifice, His Atonement, so that we may be cleansed from our sins and have a place with Him and the Father throughout all eternity.

This week I had an interesting insight. In my religion class, we watched this Mormon Message about this guy, Chris Williams, who was able to forgive a drunk driver for killing his pregnant wife and two children. It's not the first time I've seen that particular Mormon Message, but it just really touched me once again. I love how at the end, he talks about Christ, calling Him "a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:4). I thought about that all day. Why was Christ a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief? It's not like He was super sad all the time. I mean, He was sad when people didn't believe in Him and didn't accept Him, but I wouldn't say that that was what defined Him. So I turned to the scripture and read the rest of what it said of Christ, that He was:

"a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...

Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows."

I love this. I love how this scripture teaches us that Christ is described such because He has taken upon Himself our sorrow and our grief. Sometimes that's the most important part of His Atonement. I think this idea also helps us become more compassionate for other people and their sorrow and grief. As Chris explains it, we all go through trials, we all have to come to know this Man of sorrows, but by so doing, we learn to love. In his words:

"I'm grateful that God allows tragedies and trials to occur in our lives. Not because they're easy or because they're desired, but because they help us love. And that too is a wonderful blessing. . . . Coming to know a Man of sorrow and One who is acquainted with grief as I've now come to understand, it is really why I was sent here, and it has been incredibly difficult to have to learn those lessons in the way that I've learned them. But I've always ended those episodes of grief with an assurance and a hope that one day, perhaps I will 'see Him as He is.' One day, hopefully, I will be like Him."

So, what I get out of this whole thing is this: Christ is our Savoir. He saves us from sin, from sorrow, from grief.

And I think I have a lot of trials left to go, because I'm so far from perfect and so far from being charitable and all those things that I need to become, but that's okay. Because that's how I'll become like Him and be able, one day, to see Him as He is.

Too much to do, too little Mindy

Two jobs, two majors... too much? Yes, yes it is. Working forty hours a week while trying to keep up with fifteen credits just isn't working for me-- I'm tired of always being tired! I'm going to do something about this today, I hope. So please wish me luck. And pray for me that I can get all my homework done this weekend with the ten hours of work I still have before Sunday.

Oh, Cyrano

I like you a lot.

"I have led thee in right paths"

This week I had somewhat of a tender mercy. I was walking out of the MTC with one of my couples, the Metcalfes, when we ran into my friend Mary, now known as Sister Teichert. Mary and I had a Polynesian dance class together over winter semester, and we also participated in the New Zealand section of the Lu'au together. Mary also knows the Metcalfes because they're from the same city in Montana, where Brother Metcalfe was actually her teacher. Small world! Anyways, so we were just chatting and I was asking her how the MTC is going (three weeks in!), etc. I remember getting a text from her a few months ago announcing her mission call, and I just thought it was so awesome because I hadn't even known that she was thinking about going. I mentioned this to her, and she responded with something along the lines of, "Well I was thinking about going on a mission when I met you and Laurel (my BF who was in our dance class and the Lu'au with us too), and I just thought, 'they are so great: I want to be like that.'" Now, I'm not repeating this to say how great someone thinks I am, but I was just so touched that I had influenced her to serve a mission. I love knowing that in some little tiny way, I was instrumental in helping her make that ever-so-important decision. And now the people in Rome get to have this amazing sister come and teach them.

This experience really took me back... to about 3 years ago. It was 2008, and I was thinking about going on a mission. Or rather, the Spirit was making me think about going on a mission; but I wasn't sure. It was at this same time that I had a phonetics class with two returned sister missionaries: Rebecca and Amanda. Rebecca and I become friends right away, and I remember many a conversation with her about how her mission had changed her life for the better and how wonderful it had been. That semester passed, and going into Spring term, I was happy to find out that Amanda and I were in the same French class. We spent a lot of time together that Spring, attempting to speak in French together, watching French movies, eating crepes, etc., and again, I remember many a conversation with her about how much her mission changed her life and was just the best thing. I also remember the talks that she suggested I read that really helped me make up my mind about going.

Fast forward three years, and here I am: a returned missionary. It was definitely the best decision that I have ever made, and I am so grateful for everything I learned, all the wonderful people I now know and love, and for the way that experience has set the tone for the rest of my life. I'm especially grateful for the way the Lord goes about to accomplish His purposes, especially when it comes to guiding our lives. I know He does, and I am so grateful for that because I know that His plans are infinitely better than my own. I'm grateful that he put those two wonderful girls in my path to make it so much better than I ever could have imagined.

And I'm grateful that I maybe was that girl for someone else.

Laurel (or rather, Soeur Cummins at the time) and I in New Caledonia:

Mary (Sorella Teichert), her sister Celinda, me and Laurel at the Lu'au:

I was so happy and excited to find out that my old friend Rebecca was coming on the study abroad to Senegal with me over the Spring. Here we are in Senegal, filthy, with Rebecca and her wonderful husband, Andrew. (Can I just say how cute they are? Rebecca learned French because he served his mission in France, and he learned Spanish because she served her mission in Chile. Love it!)

Yes, I stole this picture off of her facebook, but here is Amanda and her husband in front of the Hawaii temple (where she served her mission).

Hooray for sister missionaries!

"And from thence, whosoever I will shall go forth among all nations, and it shall be told them what they shall do; for I have a great work laid up in store, for Israel shall be saved, and I will lead them whithersoever I will, and no power shall stay my hand." -d&c 38:33

"I have led thee in right paths" -Proverbs 4:11

"And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." - Isaiah 58:11 (although I didn't really appreciate being made fat in New Cal, I'll take it in exchange for the wonderful mission I had :) )

This also reiterated something that President Uchtdorf talked about during the Relief Society Broadcast:

Love it.

Running on empty.

Sometimes I like to see how far below the line I can go (thanks for the inspiration, Kramer).

I learned this week that it's maybe not the best idea.

I'll be honest, these were my first thoughts:

LORELAI: Oh. Oh, wow.
RORY: What?
LORELAI: I... we're out of gas?
RORY: We're out of...gas.
[Lorelai tries to start the Jeep.]
RORY: Hmm.
LORELAI: I've never run out of gas before.
RORY: Me neither.
LORELAI: Well, here we are.
RORY: Out of gas.
LORELAI: Well, I guess I should ca-- I don't have my cell phone.
RORY: I left mine in my room. Okay. It’s okay. No, it’s fine. We'll just have to get gas somehow. We can do this.
LORELAI: There’s a gas station up ahead, where route 68 goes through Naugatuck.
RORY: Okay. So...we're walking?
LORELAI: Oh, we're walking.
[They both chuckle and exit the Jeep.]
LORELAI: Well, it’s a beautiful day.
RORY: Yes, it is.
LORELAI: It’s weird that it can be so beautiful.
RORY: Yeah. How far is Naugatuck from here?
LORELAI: I don't know exactly.
RORY: I guess it’s walking distance.
LORELAI: [Chuckles] I hope it’s walking distance.

Luckily, the nearest gas station was only about a ten minute walk, and then some guys had pity on me walking back with my little gas can and gave me a ride.

Then when that didn't work, they went into their secret maintenance-guys' building and got me some gas and filled up my tank with a bit more. They waited while I tried to start my car again and made sure it would stay running.

To top it off, one of them asked if I had money for gas, like he honest-to-goodness would've given me a twenty if I'd've said no.

How freaking nice.

So, I've made the decision to not let my tank go below half empty, I apologized to Madame Thompson for coming to class late, and a very special thanks goes out to Kenny and Frank.

You guys are great :)

Rise & Shout

Most of you should know how much I care about football

(on a scale of one to ten...?),

but I sure do love BYU,

regardless of any associated activities.

Here's how Provo has started off this festive morning:

It feels like Fall! Funny how I always think my favorite season is Summer,

until Fall comes. :)

Yeah, seriously.

Do you think this tactic will work?:

Tomorrow, I'm going on a blind date. Thanks (or not, I guess; we'll see) to Megan for finding me pathetic enough to go to great lengths to set this up. This will be the first first date that I'll have gone on in 4 1/2 years. So, I guess you can call me nervous, since I really have nothing to offer anyone of the opposite sex. What are the odds that I'm going to resort to the "if you were an animal..."-type questions? I hope not.

I'm so good at dating.

Nuskin Party: Lagoon!

A big thanks to Nuskin this week for taking us all to Lagoon! There's just something special about that place, right? So much fun, even though my screaming abilities are not what they used to be. The original plan was to try and find a date to go with me, but you should all know how well that would work out for me, so Megan was the lucky back-up (even though I planned on going with her all along, so she wasn't really the back-up).

Here's some highlights:

Our first ride: The Screamer. I figured we ought to get on there while our screaming muscles were still good to go.

Megan got a little bit gypped on her hand stamp. When the guy did it, she made this little sad noise, and I accidentally let out a little snort of laughter; I couldn't help it, it was just so funny. The guy felt bad though, I think, because he did an extra good job on my hand stamp.

The Sky Ride: scariest ride there.

She wanted to see some Asians...

Guess what she won? That's right--she's a winner.

Ironically, we didn't go on the Colossus, because they wouldn't let us take our bags and we didn't want to leave them for that long. Oh well.

The Music Express. I'm not sure why, but we were completely hysterical on this ride. It was at this point that we found out how funny it was to take pictures while on the ride, but I don't know if that's what made it so funny. Either way, I like that ride.

Here's Megan on WICKED.

On the swings. Yes, we were on the double-swing.

Tidal Wave. Kind of lame...

My new favorite ride: Tilt-a-Whirl. Who knew it was so much fun? We went on it what, three times?

Have I said how much I love my job? And Lagoon? Well, I do. :)