.traffic cones. ---> explained.

As you may have noticed, I have a thing for... you guessed it, traffic cones. Weird, right? I KNOW! Well I think I'll dig around in my 'traffic cone past' and do some explaining as to why this is.

The picture to the right was my first traffic cone experience. It wasn't a break-through, it wasn't memorable, in fact, it wasn't even on purpose. As me and Chan were out walking, I snapped a picture of the sideways cone we were passing, with swinging arms and all.. didn't even look at what i was photographing. I realize it's not some amazing picture, but it started something for me! It made me realize something.

Before I get to the point, let's clarify a few things.

• Traffic cones are ugly, i realize that.

• Traffic cones are just about everywhere in Utah.

• I KNOW this is a weird.. habit, i KNOW!

• I am not obsessed with traffic cones, and no, i don't collect them.

Now I'll explain. When I see a traffic cone, just sitting, randomly placed... probably by itself.. and not accomplishing a single thing, i just get this URGE .. and i HAVE to photograph it. I guess I just love the irony in actually caring about something so trivial. Of course we don't appreciate them, they're annoying! But.. why not? Why not have a little fun with simple things in life, like traffic cones? I mean, I actually get excited when I see a traffic cone, so perfectly and unthoughtfully placed. How cool is that? Okay. Maybe it's not cool at all. But i just love it. Traffic cones seem to have nothing to say, no story to be told.. but it's funny to think that they got left at some point.. and will probably sit in that exact place for a very. long. time. <I guess i just think it's cool to find appreciation in things that almost don't make sense.. but when you see them, you get it, and it makes you smile!> I guess that's how i would explain why my favorite number is 1023. it just is.

...before i finish, i guess i should admit something. well.. i do own one traffic cone. i snatched it RIGHT up a few days after i took pictures of it outside my apartment. no one was using it :) and it's actually a nice addition to my bedroom! As you would probably assume, i have a very patient roommate :)

Renovations. Literally.

ALRIGHT.
A little while ago I went to a seminar where I learned about "Living in Truth." I loved loved LOVED it so I thought I would share it. I took some quick notes so hopefully it will do it justice.


Basically, in our lives we have

Necessary and

Unnecessary pain.


Necessary pain is something you HAVE to feel. Like someone dying. You take the pain, and do your best to learn from it.


Unnecessary pain is self inflicted. Basically, we bring pain upon ourselves. We can do this 4 ways.

1. Sinning- pretty simple.

2. Fighting against truth that causes necessary pain.
Back to when someone dies. You will feel pain from it no matter what, but if you choose to fight it, it will only be harder for you. The fact that someone passed away is "truth." If you fight that, you are bringing in unnecessary pain.

3. Fighting against the truth of the world.
-Bad things happen in the world, little things that you're just supposed to deal with. ---you can't change that!!! So.. Like if you break a glass, or spill some milk, nothing good will come from crying, complaining, or hoping it will change. It won't change. But you can fix it. So, don't freak yourself out, clean up the milk, because that's just what has to be done. And laugh while you do it! Laughing about spilled milk definitely doesn't sound like something that will bring pain.

4. Denying Jesus Christ
A. By feeling like we have to do things all by ourselves. When we do this we are denying the gift he gave us. We should turn to Christ before we try to fix everything ourselves. (Obviously for things a little more major than spilled milk)
B. By feeling like we can never be forgiven for the things we've done wrong.
C. Feeling guilty after repentance
D. Comparing ourselves to others. God made me to be me. By questioning this we are denying the divinity and wisdom of God and Jesus. Sometimes if we feel like we aren't good enough, we should just remember that it's alright, because Jesus is.


--Basically, Living in Truth taught me that I should enjoy cleaning up the milk. Things are what they are, we should be happy while we handle them.


Okay. Now most likely you're wondering why I wrote about this. Well for a few reasons. I wouldn't usually feel inclined to put churchy things up online.. I think it can be a little weird. I love this though, because I feel like mostly anyone can apply it to their lives, no matter their religious beliefs. Plus i just really liked it :) AND... I realized how bad I have been at this lately! So I thought I'd share something that happened today.
Well, in my last post I stressed how much I can't stand my apartment. Well, I guess I just had a bad week. Don't get me wrong though, I would never choose to live here again, but I decided I should either do something about it or stop complaining. We contemplated moving, but that's a long shot. So for now, I decided to do what I could at the time. Me and Chan switched up our bedroom COMPLETELY tonight, just on a whim. It was awesome. Of course, Old Farm bedrooms will never make sense or actually fit two people, but it's a lot better. I'm glad I finally decided to do something about my problem instead of being sad about it all the time! I feel much better :) In elementary school I couldn't stand it when teachers told me "Attitude is Everything!" Funny thing, i never stopped to think about it until just a few years ago.

Attitude is truly everything.. after the necessary pain at least :)

Whoa, it's been a while! I almost feel like I should do a recap of my life again, things change so fast.

Real quick:

Logan is cold.
I broke up with my boyfriend :(
Rachie Face had her baby and she's BEAUTIFUL.
College is hard.
Every day I crave sprite and my mom's sweet and sour chicken, especially right now.
I have mini freak-outs about how awful my apartment is probably weekly.
Oh! I got a job. It sucks.
I'm seriously considering growing out my bangs.
My iPod is officially out of order.
Utah State loves to deny me of the one class i would love to take.
My hair is getting blond streaks and its FREAKIN ME OUT.
Sometimes doing the right thing really super sucks.
I rarely listen to anything other than music by Ben Gibbard.
The white comb that is VITAL to my life has been missing for two weeks now.
Tyson Lane Herrick has been on his mission for over a year.
Thriller at Tuacahn was amazing.


Well I think I've finally decided on a major, and then funny thing is, I don't remember ever deciding. It just is that way. Whether I go to Utah State for the next two years, or the University of Utah, I plan to major in Family, Consumer, and Human Development with a certificate in Gerontology and an emphasis in Child Development. I actually have no idea what I will end up doing with this but it's my plan either way. It's nice to be settled, but I have no idea where I'll be living after this year and that SUCKS!

Alexander and Alexandra are no longer one. I never thought the day would come! All I have to say is, I would love for that time to come again. My plan is to find out what has already been planned for me, then I'll be content with whatever happens between me and Alex.

Most people probably think this topic doesn't deserve it's own paragraph, but it's kind of a big deal right now. My apartment is so awful I could cry. Well lets be honest, I've probably already done that. With all of you as my witnesses, I vow to never live in a place such as Old Farm again. I'd rather be back with my brothers, and that's saying a lot. Speaking of family, I miss my mom and dad sometimes :( Is that weird? Well it wouldn't be, except that I've never really been that way before.

I realize this blog probably makes me look like an unhappy person, I'm not! I'm very happy :) Life is great, and overcoming things only makes life greater. I'm learning that :) I am a very lucky girl, i have great friends, great roommates, and great family. And I even get to go to college! College might suck, but i'm sure glad i'm here.



A note to Ryan Snow.
As you can see, this blog is not dedicated to you. That's because it's just not cool enough. Next time, I'll make it a little more exciting. Have fun flyin, be there soon! :)

just drawn to it

It seems these days, that everyone's doing it. Everyone is good at it, and I probably shouldn't attempt to join the competition. Well, I can't help it. I'm not out to compete, but in the last while... I found out just how much I love photography. I've always wanted to take class, but I'm really good at finding reasons not to do things that aren't easy. I should probably work on that huh? Well in this blog I think I'll post a few of my own favorite pictures. I've found that they are almost always of nature, that's probably taking the easy way out again, but at least it's something I love. What I love about all these pictures is they are just moments that I caught.. no plans.. just a little luck I guess. I have a lot more pictures I would love to post.. but I think I'm the only one who sees anything in them. Something about photography.. I am just drawn to it! Hopefully one day I will be cool enough to take a class and learn how to do all this stuff for real.

The Good Kind of Simple

Whoa. My first blog!

I thought long and hard about creating a blog, and after half a sentence, I already know I'm going to love this. I think I'll start with a quick overview of my life, ya know, where I'm at right now and what's important.

So, my 4 months of summer are already gone, I can barely believe it. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't much with my time, but I don't have any regrets. It's been a great summer! I am moving back to Logan in a week, and I am not quite sure, but I think, THINK, I'm excited to start school again. I looked into the nursing program today... not for me.I still don't know what I'll major in. I decided today that i'll end up being something super random like.. Landscape Architecture. That could be fun, right? Well, I still have amazing family and friends, life never seems to get boring with all of them around. I also have a GREAT boyfriend who doesn't like to sit around, so he keeps me going too. One thing I DON'T have is a job! If anyone has any suggestions for employment in Logan.. I'd love to hear them :)
Well my life is pretty simple right now, the good kind of simple. I am constantly overwhelmed with all the possibilites that lie in front of me.. Life happens every day, and every day is a surprise. I still love focusing on the details of life.. ya know, crazy dogs.. traffic cones.. amazing music.. alliteration titles..

I'm sure you'll hear all about it :)