Da Party in the Crib (601)

So my parents have been complaining that I haven't been taking any pictures...and they're right. Oops. But my roommates sure have! So I think I have rights to this photo, even though I don't know whose camera it came from. This was taken a week ago today at Niki's birthday party (she's the one in the green stripes). As you can see, we college students know exactly how to throw a party...in fact, we've left all the decorations up and they will probably stay where they are for the whole semester. Sarah (the one who's pulling a vampire face in my direction) re-curled the ribbons the other day while the rest of us were in class (she's off-track right now). So we pretty much think our apartment is the coolest one in the whole complex now because we have decor. I'll post some more embarrassing photos of me later on. Teaser: one involves a hillbilly face, which I know is your favorite, mom :-)

Currently Homesick For:

• Portland Temple
• The McKenzie River
• Early-morning seminary
• Masterpiece Theater on Sundays
• Nintendo 64 with Ike
• Goshen Grange in Winter
• Camp Alpine
• Christmas-tree hunting in Oregon
• 567 Archie, 1338 Andersen, 311 Mint
• Schultz Cabin
• Oregon Coast
• Mercer Lake
• Griffey
• Liz's House
• Liz's Room
• Liz
• Pistachios
• Alpine Loop in Autumn
• Last Chance Trail (Sundance)
• Cocoa and toast
• River Bike Path (Eugene)
• Neptune Beach
• Heceta Head Lighthouse
• A good clean rain
• Homemade bread
• AF Fitness Center
• Dad's old movie collection
• TiVo, and by extension, Eli Stone, The Office, and Pushing Daisies
• Caleb's smile
• Caleb's frown
• Ellie's mischief
• Isaac's kindness
• Mama's advice
• Dad's understanding
• A quiet bedroom
• Mucho Gusto
• Pioneer Used Bookstore
• Church History Museum
• Frozen Yogurt Junction
• River Road Park
• Petersen Barn Park
• WinCo
• Free laundry

Saturday is a Special Day Because...

...It's the day we finally got to do baptisms for the dead in the Rexburg Temple. It only took three tries before we made it to the chapel early enough; if you arrive at or after 11 am, the line to get in the chapel stretches to 5 pm. My rommates and I felt bittersweet about the whole thing. On one hand, a lot of spirits were being baptized into the church and the Lord's work was moving forward like it always is. On the other, we couldn't participate in the work because we just weren't early enough. Yesterday morning Courtney burst in the bedroom from the living room (where she fell asleep the night before) and woke me from my long-awaited weekend slumber. It was past time for us to be at our home teacher's apartment (they were making us breakfast), and we still had to get the bacon!! Blasted meat-loving males.... Anywho, after downing some crepes, Niki, Courtney, Christina and I rushed home to get dressed and to the temple. I said a little prayer beforehand that we would get in. "Please" was the only part I really remember about the prayer. :-) We made it to the doors at precisely 10:50, and I was dreading having to poke my head around the corner and look down the hall at yet another long line. Who says prayers aren't answered? I looked for that line and there wasn't one. We went right inside the chapel and sat down, watching reverently through the glass as another child of God entered into His gospel. As we made our way down the bench (they have a system of rotating people throug the locker rooms because it's so busy), waiting to get our clothes, I started to think about Grandma Great. I am positive now that this was not a random thought concocted by me, because number one, I was in the temple, and number two, I was preparing to do work for the dead. I went back in my memory to the day of her funeral, and I replayed everything that was said that day and all of the silent prayers I felt. I remembered how many of the speakers talked about Grandma's testimony and how she wanted all of her family to have a testimony of the gospel too. That's when I felt her there with me, at that moment, and she let me know that I was where she wanted me to be. I am so grateful that once again, I live very close to a temple, and that I was worthy to enter therein. The Lord loves us so much--if you're not sure of this, just look at the temples. He wants us to be together for the eternities. This is why I love Saturdays.

October on Wings of Ice

It was only a few days ago that I was sweating all the unnecessary water out of my body as I traversed to the Hinckley Building... and now as I look out my bedroom's window I can see little ice droplets hanging from the leaves on the tree out there. So where on earth did autumn go? I'm guessing it's still hanging around in every other city but good ol' Rexburg, Idaho, where snow came down like Frosted Flakes (yeah, I'm talking about the cereal) all weekend. After church yesterday I went to my Relief Society Board Meeting (that's what you get when you're the R.S. pianist) and then to finally get set apart... Sidenote: It was a really cool blessing. Anyway, then my roommates Courtney, Christina, and I all waited for our lovely Relief Society prez Sarah (who also happens to be our roommate) to get out of her meetings so she could drive us home. Home, by the way, is a mere ten minutes from the Smith Building, where our ward meets. All I can say is that this winter will not make a wimp out of me! Oh wait...maybe it already has. And the snow hasn't even stuck yet! We barely squished into Sarah's little red car and then coasted down the hill in neutral because she was practically out of gas. Part of the reason she gave us all a ride, she said, was so we could get out and push in case the car stalled. Relief Society presidents are so compassionate! I just realized that I haven't blogged about Mother's Weekend one bit, even though I'm sure my mom will take care of some of the details. All I can say is thanks, madre, for forsaking the warm Utah weather just to be with your crazy brownish-redheaded (that's right, Jenny, I have red in my hair! and photographic proof!) kiddo. I have plenty more stories to tell, but right now I've got to bundle up for class (ahem...only 5 minutes away).

If I Had Enough Pennies, I'd Ask for the Thoughts of the World

...But since I am currently without sufficent moolah to hand out Abraham Lincoln's face to 6.5 billion people, I will simply have to ask you out of the love of your hearts. I have 8 to 18 pages of writing due for my Creative Writing class on Tuesday, and so far I have a couple of poems....and part of a short story. For those of us who aren't math whizzes (like me), that sure ain't enough to grant me an A I know I deserve, by golly! All I need from whoever reads this is nouns, verbs, places, colors, rhyme schemes, etc., and my writer's block will be cured. This would also help with my "Poem-A-Day" scheme, which I'm a bit behind on. The idea is to have written 365 poems by the end of the year; maybe a third of those being genuinely good poems. Anywho, the point is to let your mind wander--none of your suggestions have to be related. For example, some things I jotted down for a writing exercise last week (which eventually turned into a poem) were: seafoam (a favorite color), pitbull (a noun), fire hydrant (another noun), quixotic (adjective), hibernate (verb which a bear, a train, or a politician can do), awaken (opposite of the last verb), etc. I hope you're understanding this, because once you read it, it is your mission. If you don't accept, you might be thinking about it as much as me, which is definitley not a good thing. I'm the student, remember? You are now acting as my muse.... ready, set, IMAGINE!

Stranger At the Door

I was up in a tree not long ago, from here it was almost cloudy
Perfectly, perfectly, whispering against the windows
But nothing's ever as important as a phone call,
A voice along the gutter lines, pressing too hard leaves marks
This ink might fall away without the words inside
Just like your older mailbox, it never held the truth
Until autumn, sprung its golden threads on our knobs
To trick and turn in the mornings
A Tuesday left me in almost-tears, I couldn't wash
Not enough coins to shatter this windshield
From somewhere beneath a struggling
Came, and that's when
The sidewalk broke apart and gave me
My first real cry in years
She's really letting it go now, as the turn signal repeats
On, off, inhale, exhale
Crossing the paths we never thought we would
In the 5am woods, closer than ever
To the sea, will it ever weep for me?

For Daddy, Happy Birthday
You've always supported me in my writing....this one's for you

Stadium Singing and All That Follows

Every Sunday night here BYU-I, singers and tone-deaf alike gather beneath the stadium across the street from my apartment and sing hymns for half an hour. I'm lucky enough to have friends who can do all of the complicated alto, descant, and soprano parts. Tonight we sang "A Child's Prayer" right when all of the lights went out. At first I thought they had done it on purpose for effect, but later I realized it was just one of those "coincidences" that make life beautiful. Of course I thought of Elder Livingston, who is now asleep in some room in Ohio with his companion, while the Spirit works on him so he can preach the truth. Once again at a fireside tonight I heard the phrase "It is not by accident that you are here on this campus right now." That's probably the fifth or sixth time I've heard those words uttered since I stepped foot on the campus. But lately it's been ringing in my ears... After we finished "A Child's Prayer" we went back to the Hymns, which tonight all had a melancholy tone to them, even the joyful ones like "Redeemer of Israel" and "Dearest Children God is Near You." The lights were still out until we sang the EFY Medley, which is a pairing of "As Sisters in Zion" and "We'll Bring the World His Truth." I have never heard or sang the song quite like I did tonight, with all of the different voices surrounding me and echoing up and out, hopefully loud enough for all of Rexburg to hear. As we got louder and louder, and the Spirit began to fill the atmosphere even more, slowly the lights began to turn back on. Coincidence? I think not.