My Simple, Happy, Beautiful Life

I thought of David Henry Thoreau today when I was at Silver Falls. They have 10 large falls that you can hike up to. I remember learning about him in English and getting the impression that we should all move to the woods and live in our tiny cabins and enjoy the simple things in life. Some things about living in cabin with no electricity sound appealing, but I like my cell phone, toilet, showers, and clean running water more than the simplicity of life.  Anyways, It was a beautiful hike. I loved seeing the trees, waterfalls, creeks, rock formations and just being out in nature. There is a serenity that can be felt with nature. I remember going to Girls camp and thinking about God's love for us by just looking at the beauty of the Earth. It reminded me of those thoughts today when I was looking at the beautiful water falls. I had fun taking pictures with my bestie and talking with my family, but I had lots of time to just think and ponder about my life and what I should do. I felt ...

So, I finally feel relieved after a long semester of work in the library in the summer. It was torture this summer. But we went to Boise for the Music Festival. It was really hot and sweaty but I had a blast! I saw Sugar Ray, MC Hammer and Joan Jett. Sugar Ray sang their four hits..haha...but they were enertaining. I noticed in their songs, the phrase "Do it again" is repeated a lot. I think a lot of their songs are about sex. But then again, a lot of songs are about sex. Anyways, MC Hammer put on a amazing show. He was definitely so much fun to watch. He had his dancers and they ended the performance with their shirts off. The girl was very happy that they took their shirt off. She said "I can take you home" extremely loud. Life outside of Rexburg can be shocking sometimes. You don't hear swearing, don't see bikini's, not as much beer drinking, and PDA is put on a lower level (for the most part). So going straight from Rexburg to this concert, there wer...

In COLLEGE! Where did all this time go? I don't know what happened. I feel like I just graduated high school and now I am halfway done with college. I was thinking of all the times when I was a young women talking about college and getting married. I have friends getting married. I have friends buying houses. It is important to prepare when you are young because before you blink you are getting closer to the age of independence. I remember when I was 12 thinking to myself "In 10 years, I will be graduated from college, and maybe married". Well, now that is 2 years away from me. Think ahead and always remember who you want to become because before you know it, you are entering the next stage in your life. Who do you want to become? Know this before you are 22, because otherwise you are going to be graduated from college clueless. Yes, you might have a bachelor's degree but you are emotionally lost in a big world. It just amazes me that I am growing up. Sometimes I en...

Here is a jewish proverb that I am making up right now.  A couple days ago I was trying to find a guy on facebook but my internet wasn't working. I called up my best friend and told her about the guy I liked, and she helped me facebook stalk him. So this is my jewish proverb. "Best friends will facebook stalk the guy you like when your internet isn't working". I think this is funny yet true!

I don't like making decisions. It scares me. What if I make the wrong decision? That is my worst fear. I don't want to make the wrong decision and then regret it the rest of my life. I have learned that each decision you make will have a consequence. We can't chose the consequence, but we can always choose the original decision. So if you want to have a good consequence, pick a good decision. Recently, I have been thinking about transferring colleges. I don't like this idea, but I keep telling myself it will be better for my future because there will will be a better program just waiting for me. I weigh out the pros and cons of each choice in my head all the time. The unknown in the future scares me. I think change is a good thing yet I don't like embracing change once I am in my comfort zone. Can't I just be in my comfort zone forever? I guess you will never learn if you never leave your comfort zone.You will always be stuck in a static environment. So this...

I had my dancing competition today for Social Dance Intermediate. I didn't place in foxtrot, but I got 4th in Night club two step. I just love dancing. I was thinking about how my love has intensified throughout college. I started with Social Dance and I learned the waltz, cha cha and swing. I then took International Latin and International Standard. I learned more waltz, quickstep, foxtrot, samba and another style of cha cha. I took this class and I learned some salsa, mambo, more foxtrot, and night club two step. I have learned through country nights, I have learned merengue and salsa from Latin Dancing. I learned the basic of tango tonight, I feel like the more I learn about dfiferent dances, the more I fall in love with dancing. I danced with this one guy whose specialty is triple swing. I LOVED it! He was so much fun, we were spinning all around the floor. I really don't like foxtrot but tonight we danced to the song "Cheek to Cheek". I loved dancing with my part...

Yes, we do have a lot to complain about. But we have a lot to be grateful for. We have homes, families, friends, religion, plentiful amount of food, beds, tvs, and clothes. I feel like too often we forget about the importance of the simple things in life. Not to put a damper, but the third world countries really do suffer and it is amazing how blessed America is. We don't have to worry about where our shoes will come from because we have them in our closet (for the most part). So, we are living the good life. Of course, there is unemployment, divorce, poverty, eating disorders, depression and other problems we deal with. But, think of all the good things we have in our life. For the most part they outweigh the bad things.  I guess it all depends on your perspective. In what way do you look at life? Do you count your blessings or do you count your problems? Your perspective on life can either make you or break you.

I love them. Last night I went to Idaho Falls with my roommates for one of our friend's birthdays. We stopped and ate at Texas Roadhouse. There breadsticks are my weakness. I ate nearly twenty of them and I think I gained five thousand pounds. But we stopped at Target, and I bought Persausion for five dollars. The best five dollars I have ever spent in my life. And then we stopped at Payless Shoe Store. Bad idea. I found a pair of cute flats that were size 8, not my size, but they were 15 dollars. Usually I will buy a pair of shoes if they are 10 or less. But 15 wasn't cutting it, so guess what I did? I said NO! I didn't buy them. I remember I had no money in my clothes category this month for my budget so I didn't buy them. I think this Money Management class had some effect on me in the sense I have somewhat more self control with my money. It was amazing. This is my triumphant moment of the semester in that I was able to resist my biggest temptation. Shoes. I am temp...

Today, we learned about communication climate today in my interpersonal communications class. It was a really good class period, but I could easily apply everything we learned in my daily life. We talked about confirming and disconfirming communication climates. Confirming shows value to the other person, and disconfirming will show judgment and superiority. We will always make a climate, and we may make one unintentionally. We may give an attitude of judgment yet we are trying to be non judgmental. We talked about verbal abuse and how that can destroy a relationship by making a disconfirming climate. We may try become close with that person but with the negative climate, there is trust issues and hurt that will be carried. We learned something that I think everyone can apply in their life in someway. The climate of a relationship is shaped by the degree people believe themselves to be valued by the other person in the relationship. The most important thing about a relationship is th...

What are your desires? I was thinking about this today. I was just walking back to my apartment and thought of desire. Desires are a good thing. If we never had them, then we would never have motivation to work towards a goal. Sometimes the desire can be a bad thing though, when it can distract you from other better things we should be working for in our life. For instance, the desire to eat food is good because it keeps us alive. If we eat too much food, then we will be unhealthy and can lead to health issues. If we desire to date and lower our standards, then it can lead to bad consequences in the future. So I was just thinking of the power that our desires have in our life. They will either make us or break us by leading us in a certain pathway. Some desires are secret. Some desires are open. But think about what you want the most in life. Just be aware of the effects that desire will bring in your life!

I hope we all had a good 4th of July! I was extremely busy. I went to Provo, Stadium of Fire (which was soooo good!)! I danced in a street party in Provo! Sunday I traveled back and spent time with the family having family dinner, walking around in the gardens, playing frisbree and watching my cute cousins run in the sprinkers. I slept over at my best friend's house and we watched An Affair to Remember, went to the Rexburg Parade, went to a bbq, and ending going flyfishing, getting eaten alive by mosquitos in St. Anthony and Island Park, and making smores. Overall...a pretty good weekend. I didn't get any homework done. I think I will regret that factor. But this weekend truly felt like summer. I relaxed. I spent time with my family and friends. I went flyflishing! And I went to a amazing concert! And I ate way too much food. I will definitely be working out to get off all those chips, hamburgers, jello salads, cookies and good food out of my stomach! Anyways, I am happy to...