Houston Day 2

It was Sunday so it wasn't too grandiose and I imagine today isn't going to be much more so. It's interview prep day! I may sneak out to take care of those tweezers and some no-show socks! But before that I'll post this sucker and get some free breakfast!

I took a relaxing morning and then headed off to Church. It was only about 15 minutes away, which was nice! I got in there and sat by myself at first, but I decided that wouldn't work because I was trying to figure out if I wanted to live there! So I picked up my things and headed up a few rows to a girl that had smiled at me.  She didn't know she was volunteering herself to let me to sit by her and then take me to Gospel Doctrine and then Relief Society, but she was.

It was good idea though because she was so nice! Sweet Amy gave me all the juice on Houston and the ward was great! After sacrament, they do announcements and as part of that they said: okay stand up if you're new or visiting here and introduce yourself so we can get to know you.  Needless to say - I did NOT stand-up, even though Amy kept looking over at me.

Several people asked me who I was and it was so nice to feel so welcome! I may just like this place! There are three YSA wards here, but I went to the main one! Good find LDS.org!

After Church, I headed out to do some touristing. There is something called the "Waterwall" near the Galleria, which is apparently quite the shopping center. As it was Sunday, I avoided the glorified mall and headed straight to the Waterwall.  The wind made it very cold - like a windy spring day in Wyoming.  So ... I took a few pictures and then headed back to my car after some minutes of pondering on a bench. It was quick easy and painless! And it was pretty neat. I can see that it would be an awesome place to go in the Summer -- it's cool and misty near the Waterwall.

Until tomorrow:

Houston: The First Day

Travel Tips from an Inexperienced Traveller

• Never have try to make a quick connection when your winter travels take your through Denver - your plans will go awry -- mine did not go that awry - but several of my passenger friends did have some issues going through Denver!

• Don't rent a car until you are 25.
• If you rent a car online before you are 25, just know that the little bill they give you online is about HALF the amount you'll actually pay. Say goodbye to your dollars.
• When you do get a car and drive it an hour away from the airport to a sketchy motel, and you realize the car doesn't work that well -- just know you can get a replacement car for FREE! 
• If you show up right as the rental car place closes and the worker tells you can't get a new car even though you called ahead to tell her you were coming to get a replacement, look as if you are on the verge of tears and ask when they open the next day - you will get the replacement car AND "a FREE upgrade for your trouble." Goodbye junky Ford Fiesta (former car of my dreams -- good thing that dream went unfulfilled - I may have had a terrible transmission for the rest of my life) HELLO NISSAN VERSA that smells slightly like smoke (don't charge me Dollar-Rental Car).
• After you realize you've spent WAY more than you'd ever thought you'd spend on this trip - get the rest of your meals at Wal-Mart:
• 2 Cups of Noodles (Beef)
• 2 Pizza Pockets
• Apple
• Southwest Salad
• Turkey and Colby Jack on Croissant  Sandwich 
• Party Aisle Plates and Plasticware (cheap and in smaller quantities!)

• After you've bought that food and a few other essentials, except for the very important tweezers (no one hires a wild-eye-browed-gal - you got to tame those things if you want the job!) - you realize you'll spend less than 30 bucks on food for the whole trip. SCORE!
• Don't swim in the pool at the skeezy motel - it's outside and has Raman Noodles Wrappers floating in it.
• Speaking of hotels, DON'T just book the cheapest hotel Travelocity gives you -- CHEAP HOTELS = SKEEZY HOTELS.

Hopefully these Pro-Tips help you on your life journey!

Pittsburgh in Pictures!

BEAUTIFUL PITTSBURGH

The week before Halloween, I made a quick trip to Pittsburgh to visit my beautiful sister and fantastic brother-in-law and their family. It was fantastic!  I observed in my time in the 'Burgh that the key to the vistas is the rivers. The rivers provide a break in the scenery and allow you to admire the city lights, the rolling hills, and the millions of trees!

The picture above and the others that I'm wearing this outfit in were taken at Mt. Washington. Bryan took a night off his studies to help show me the town.  This was one of the best stops! I loved the view! Especially at night -- there's just something about the city lights that's beautiful!

I know these pictures are blurry I know, forgive me. 

But isn't the content of the picture worth the blur? 

Isn't Camilla a darling?

 

There is a fro-yo shop below Bryan's lab, so after he gave me the grand-tour of his lab, we went to get some. For Dawn and Bryan this was a experience native to Pittsburgh, which is something I cannot forgive them for.  THEY LIVED IN UTAH and the FIRST time they had Fro-Yo was in Pittsburgh. That's like living in the South and having your first BBQ in Wyoming. So while I do love their cute fro-yo place, it's like comparing a candle to a bonfire - there's just no comparison to the fro-yo places of Utah.

Aren't they sweet?!

We made Halloween cookies, but it turns out Dawn and I could improve our cookie making skills. I was distracted and added too much flour and Dawn misread the recipe and added too much cream to the frosting, BUT they were delicious and fun to make Camilla is a pro-decorator.

 We also made Camilla's Halloween costume - she was a super hero and it was so cute and fun to make. Dawn is a fantastic mom and goes all out for her babies -- considering she hates Halloween, it was quite the sacrifice to travel to the 'burbs, pick out the fabric, and sew the costume!

We went out to eat and got Camilla grilled cheese sandwich and some broccolini. It was a GOURMET sandwich, which Camilla didn't eat. She did seem to enjoy the broccolini though!

We also visited this really tall building on a college campus--see below. It's one thing to take the babes on BYU campus, it's a totally different thing to take them to a normal campus. I felt like we stuck out, but we braved it anyway, for something to do!  It was so fun to adventure around Pittsburgh with Dawn, and I'm so glad they let me sleep on their couch for a whole week!

Asian Adventures of Two Amuricans

Since arriving home, I've been craving Chinese food from China Town (our local Chinese place), but, alas, we blew our eating-out budget at a small diner/grill in Yellowstone, where I had, no lie, the BEST bacon cheese-burger I've ever had (also the the only). It was amazing. It could have been the intense hunger or it might have been the burger. Either way, I was dying of love for this burger while my parents choked down their grilled chicken sandwiches. Sad healthy choices.

The Best Burger. Ever.

And now we will return to the main subject of this post.

So I've been craving in particular this amazing beef and broccoli stir-fry.  So I decided that my mom and I would make this along with fried rice.  So we got out our elk roast and thawed it all day long and I cooked some rice to make fried rice with later today.   Then I headed out the door to Toni's house to have a Girl's Only Party with sweet Toni, Aubrey and Brynn.

I showed up at 6 and barely stopped my parents from eating left-overs.  I pulled up my recipes and was determined that we would eat this TONIGHT. We looked at the recipes and quickly realized we were missing some key ingredients.  So we decided to go rouge! Our experiment as Asian cooks switched to Asian chefs! We threw in ingredients at our leisure and created what I would call two wonderful dishes. New recipes are so much more fun now that my taste-buds are dying, and I'm less of a picky eater! The elk still tasted a little elky, but the broccoli and rice were spot on!

Not bad for two Amuricans

Although, it turns out you can't please everybody.

That's ketchup folks!

In Which I Weigh In: Modesty

It seems that in recent months my Facebook news-feed has been filled with videos, quotes, and shared blog posts about modesty.  I'm not sure if this is a topic that actually concerns that world at large or just the few, the proud, the Mormons.  Regardless, the topic of modesty is, and has been for quite some time, an interest of mine.

The most recent uproar has been this post, in which a women with three sons and daughter, writes to teenage girls of the world letting them know that the provocative selfies they post on Facebook are actually viewed by people, in particular young teenage boys. And their parents (awkward). Girls who post such things are blocked, no second chances in that home.

As you can imagine, there have been several rebuttals to that post.  I read one in particular that I thought was well-thought out and also had some good points. She basically says boys can see girls in a respectable way after such pictures have been viewed and that people should be given second, third, and fourth chances.

After reading both posts, I would like to share my take on modesty.

1. Modesty is about motives and attitude. One time I saw two girls in bikinis. One of them was modest (which is not to say that I believe bikinis are modest clothing - but rather a statement about the attitude of modesty).  Those two girls wearing bikinis were different.  One of the girls was wearing her bikini with the intent to show off her hot bod to all those wrestlers sharing our hotel. Her body was helping her get attention and she liked it.  The second girl was wearing a bikini simply because it was the swimsuit she brought.  She did not appear to be seeking attention in the least. It was here that I learned that the specific clothes you are wearing have less to do with modesty than why you are wearing them***.  Are you clothes enhancing your full self - mind, spirit and body? Or are they being worn for the sole purpose of showing off that hot bod of yours?  When these are your motives, just about any clothing could be immodest -- no matter how skimpy or covering.  You are a daughter of God -- your body is housing a SPIRIT -- something divine. I wonder if our eternal spiritual selves (the part of ourselves that can remember living with God as just a Spirit person) cringe a little when our physical bodies are used for such short-sighted purposes such as high-lighting our bodies in a purely physical way.  You don't need to be a display - your body is given to you create, to do, and to accomplish great things. Don't sell yourself short thinking that your body was meant to be only an object to be looked at - you are in all reality better than that. 
2. It's not hottest. Stop telling me that. Now to everyone that has ever said, "Modest is Hottest." It's not. We know that. So you can just stop.  I will not be hotter or sexier or more seductive by being modest. BUT THAT'S OKAY! I do want to be attractive, but I want to be attractive in a way that compels someone to know more than just my appearance.  Hot implies to me a limited perspective. It's something you say about a model/actor/actress/someone you see across the room. So maybe we could all just stop pretending that modest is hot, because honestly that's not the goal.  Modest is respectable, wholesome, and pure, but it's not really hot. So let's just let that phrase go... and soon...
3. I'm not doing it for you, but I am aware of you. For all the ladies out there that say I shouldn't have to dress so that the young men out there can keep their minds out of the gutter: YOU ARE RIGHT. You don't.  For me, modesty is about understanding my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have a potential to become something much like Him.  He has given me this body as a gift with a purpose.  Knowing these two things helps me to know that my body should be cared for and covered up.  With that said, it's very Cain-like of us to say, it's not my problem what's going on in somebody else's head. Can't we all help each other succeed?  So while I dress the way I do for myself and because I know who I am (a daughter of God), there is definitely added bonus that you get to be your brother's keeper in just a small way! (This blog-post talks about Young Men talking responsibility for their own thoughts! I love this article!)  So if the men of the world help themselves by keeping their minds clean and the women of the world keep themselves clean -- we're all winning! Cool huh?

My Testimony of Modesty:
    As I've said, modesty has been a topic I have studied for a while now.  The things I was hearing just weren't making me feel motivated to be modest.  So I thought to myself, what would I tell my 14-year-old self that would make me want to be modest for more than just obedience purposes? Then I went to work figuring that out.  And for me it all comes back to the Plan of Salvation. I have been given a body with a purpose to progress and return back to my Heavenly Father. This body I have is a further extension of the spirit I have had for much longer! To respect my spirit and the Father that gave me this body, I wear modest things. I know that I have been blessed by this choice.

***Disclaimer: I think the clothes you are wearing are IMPORTANT.  I think the Prophets and Apostles have given us guidelines to help us understand in a world that would easily confuse us as to what's appropriate and what's modest.  The statements made in #1 are simply me exploring the doctrine BEHIND the guidelines.

You Haven't Lived till You've Lived in Colorado

At least that's what the Coloradans will tell you.  

For example, I went hiking in Colorado, with a group of Coloradans.  At least three people from the group/that knew about the hike said, "This is your first hike right?" in actual astonishment at my lack of hiking experience.

As if to say that if you haven't hiked in Colorado, you haven't actually hiked. 

They also call the Continental Divide Trail the Colorado Trail there.  (Let me remind you the Continental Divide spans the CONTINENT, lest you forget.) Talk about extreme amounts of state-pride.  My friend Amanda calls it "state-ism" (like nationalism on a state level). And Colorado has a pretty bad case of it (we'll be fair and say Texas takes the cake though).

As a girl with her own state pride, I must remind you that the Rockies also run through Wyoming, and although we don't have any 14-ers, we do boast the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains outside of Colorado, coming in at 13,800 feet. (Who even cares about that extra 200 feet anyway?)  And I myself have hiked a mountain in Wyoming that comes in at 12,841 feet! Which, by the way, is HIGHER than my Colorado hike.

Life from 12,800 feet

Priceless photo-bomb to show just how rough Wyo-hiking is.

What I'm trying to say is Coloradans are crazy about Colorado.  And while I know that life can and is lived very well there -- turns out it can and is lived very well outside of there as well! 

I will say for Colorado that the prettiest road trip I've ever been on was between Denver and Provo last Saturday. 

Glenwood Canyon was my favorite part of the drive!

Such beautiful mountains and canyons and skies.  So I guess they do have something to be crazy about, and now that I'm back here in Wyoming... I think I may possibly miss them and their state just a little bit, or maybe a lot a bit.

You Know What I Love?

Families.  

I love them.  I love mine and I love other people's. 

That has been one of the highlight's of working at Craig (and the low points, but mostly the high points).  It's truly heart-breaking and heart-warming to see the families at Craig.  As you can imagine, if you end up at one of the top rehab hospitals in the country, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

So even when your brain stops working and you become virtually a new person, with perhaps a completely different personality, families stand by each other, love each other, and advocate for their injured member.  Even when they don't understand at all what's going on or why the doctors and therapists are doing what their doing. They are there and doing their best to love and support the person they used to love, and still love despite not really knowing them.  

Or when your body stops working and all you've got left is your eyes and your face muscles and that beautiful mind stuck inside a body that for the time being seems useless. And yet your family still leaves their jobs to be at your side so they can move your sip and puff control to your mouth at the click of your tongue and to help you realize that you are more to them than you ever realized.  

You being you is all they ever needed. 

Isn't that both great and terrible? 

Another part of families that I absolutely love is siblings.  Especially the kind that love and respect each other.  It's been so fun to see the siblings I know here in Colorado be together.  It brings me joy in the very middle of my heart.  When they help each other in their callings and save seats for each other and when they do their best to make their sibling look funny or smart or whatever it is their trying to be.  Maybe because I've been family-less for the majority of the summer, I've been more sentimental about the great friendships I see in all the siblings I know.  It's just so sweet and it makes me miss my own sweet siblings who are forever encouraging and confidence-building for me! 

God created families for a reason. I'm so grateful that He also created a way for me to have mine forever!