SNOW in North Crack??

One time it snowed in Durham, North Carolina. The whole city shut down and all of Parkwood neighborhood was out walking on Revere Rd. The Hatch family was a little discombobulated and resorted to makeshift snow gear, courtesy of Food Lion grocer's. Allyson was a little thrown off, too and decided that snow is best enjoyed while being pushed around in a stroller with an umbrella to keep the snow out of your eyes. All in all it was what some would call a Christmas miracle...

Deck the Halls

Christmas Cheer Clothing...

So I once lived with a girl named Shanna who, every Christmas, would wear Christmas colors every day after Thanksgiving until Christmas. This year I decided to give it a try. Although I admit I am getting terribly sick of wearing the same colors every day, it's been a good reminder of the Christmas season.


Outfit #1: Nija Pose
Outfit #2 For the gym. Who said you couldn't celebrate the season while lifting weights?

Outfit #3. This is called a classic Christmas outfit - boring but hey, sometimes you just run out okay?

Outfit #4 Notice the Christmas-y earrings.
Outfit #5: Red coats are always a nice accessory at Christmas time.
Outfit #6. Just a note: half these clothes were purchased at Provo's very own Desert Industries. And may I note that Shanna herself (the one pictured here with her adorable baby!) is the very inspiration for these festivities.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!! May your season be full of less work in a boring office with dangling paper gingerbread men and more time spent with family. Love you all.

(Please excuse the corny-ness of this post...I've been stuck in an office all day by myself, okay!?)

December 15, 2010

My walk to campus today:
I woke up to a blanket of snow. Love that feeling. Yesterday I officially finished my finals. It felt so so good to wake up at 10 am today (I've been sleep-deprived the past few days), make a breakfast of smoothies and Taiwanese egg pancakes, go weight-lifting, sing Christmas carols insanely loud and off-key with my friend Maranda, and then get to walk through a winter wonderland to work. What a morning.

Recently, I've been feeling grateful for tender mercies and all the little things I

about life. Here are just a few things:
1. Snow
2. Being done with finals, and getting good grades on them
3. hip-hop music
4. A clean kitchen
5. Running
6. Roommates that inspire me to have dreams, and help me believe that Heavenly Father will help me achieve them (Kasia)
7. Personality

8. Wearing skirts for fun
9. a good laugh
10. Roommates that listen. Really well (Ronnie)
11. Repentance & forgiveness
12. Chinese and anything Asian
13. Babies
14. Agency
15. my amazing parents
16. holiday cheer (Shanna Christensen)
17. Scriptures
18. Technology! (new.lds.org)
19. Service
20. Christmas

Best roommates ever

This is a tribute to my awesome roommates. They are soooooo fun. And spiritual.

Every night, we gather together for apartment prayer after which we all go around and say:
#1. BPOYD (Best Part of Your Day)
#2. What you did for someone that day.

It's changed my perspective and helped me to try and focus on service every day.

I am so blessed.

Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving in Moab with Angie-poo and Bri-bread. It was so fun. I got spend some of Angela's last moments as a pregnant woman with her. Love. Them.

talk about terrible

I know that most of you check my blog regularly to see if I still look the same, but this post is going to have some substance other than pictures of me. So if that's not okay with you, you might want to skip this one. :)

I've been volunteering at the Utah State Mental Hospital this semester for my Abnormal Psych class. That class has opened my eyes to a lot of evil, a lot of sadness that I'm still unsure that I really wanted to know about. This world is a terrible place! Yesterday at my volunteering activity, I witnessed a crazy episode of insanity with a sweet little 10 year old. Something happened he had a fit of rage where he screamed at the top of his lungs every cuss word I've heard in the greatest density I've ever heard it - it was terrible. He then proceeded to pick up a table that was 4 times his size, throw it across the room, and start beating up another 10 year old girl sitting on the coach. Only after having all 4 limbs pinned to the ground by staff for 20 minutes (still screaming obscenities for the first 10 minutes) was he able to calm down. It was scary. But what's scarier is this kid's background - which is polluted by every kind of abuse you can think of. What a sad, sad life. My heart is broken for him. Life is so so so not fair. But I believe some day it will be, and that's something I just have to trust.

I've wondered about these kids - who are put in the mental hospital with 10 other kids with similar backgrounds. Does the mental hospital even help them? Does removing them from a family situation and putting them in a situation where they are one of 20 really help them? Do they actually have mental disorders or is their family just too messed up for them to live there? I wonder. Sometimes I think that I should help them, do social work - I've got the experience to get into a good program (an internship this past summer, volunteering, pre-reqs) but I'm starting to realize why people say it is incredibly emotionally-taxing. Could I really do that? Hear that? And try to help that? But if I don't, who will? Who's going to help them?

I want to really do good where good is needed.