Ridiculous

I have recently decided that "ridiculous" is the end-all be-all adjective for pretty much every occurrence in life. Here is a list of things/situations* (past or present) it describes so aptly:

1. The back of yo' head- RIDICULOUS
2. Missing your sisters so much that you check their blogs every day- RIDICULOUS
3. When the only option for expanding your wardrobe is "shopping" in the attic, aka looking through boxes of clothes from high school - RIDICULOUS

4. The fact that there are more, and bigger, cockroaches in your home in Durham, NC than you would ever encounter in your normal living residence in, say, Taiwan (a tropical climate) -RIDICULOUS
5. Having your insane fear of said cockroaches motivate you to sleep in the same room as your mother at age 25 (it's the only room you have not spotted a cockroach in) - RIDICULOUS
6. Accidentally signing up for the wrong Verizon plan without knowing and then paying for 1000 texts per text and having your phone bill turn out to be $130 instead of $50 when you have no money as it is - RIDICULOUS
7. Actually sending 1000 texts in one month - RIDICULOUS
8. Having your boyfriend break up with you because he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend who is now married to someone you were formerly interested in dating but who rejected you as well - RIDICULOUS
9. Having your pants rip open unknowingly on a blind date with five other couples and no one telling you about this gash (which extends from the waistband to the knee pit, exposing your butt cheek and thigh/leg) until hours into the date - RIDICULOUS
10. Making a fetus for a project in Ceramics 101- RIDICULOUS
11. Driving across the US to visit your boyfriend's family and then having him break up with you during the road trip home - RIDICULOUS
12. Growing tomatoes the size of your head in your own backyard- CRAZY RIDICULOUS

13.Having to work at a job that you could have gotten right out of high school after graduating from college at age 25 - REALLY RIDICULOUS
14. The beauty of the fall leaves - RIDICULOUS


Feel free to add to this list. It's a good coping mechanism (healthy or not), I promise.

*Note: If these situations were not hypothetical (which they are, of course), than rest assured that I have no hard feelings against any of you.

Thanks, Eve.

"Those who feel no need for mercy usually never seek it and almost never bestow it. Those who have never had a heartache or a weakness or felt lonely or forsaken never have had to cry unto heaven for relief of such personal pain. Surely it is better to find the goodness of God and the grace of Christ, even at the price of despair, than to risk living our lives in a moral or material complacency that has never felt any need for faith or forgiveness, any need for redemption or relief.

A life without problems or limitations or challenges--life without 'opposition in all things,' as Lehi phrased it--would paradoxically but in very fact be less rewarding and less ennobling than one which confronts--even frequently confronts--difficulty and disappointment and sorrow. As beloved Eve said, were it not for the difficulties faced in a fallen world, neither she nor Adam nor any of the rest of us ever would have known 'the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.'"
"The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom" Jeffrey R. Holland

I love the truth that difficulties and challenges are necessary to comprehend real joy, which can be experienced even in the midst of those trials when I allow them to help me come unto Christ. They also enable me to become more compassionate and less judgmental of others. I guess I prefer this route than one of "moral or material complacency" where I feel little stretch to change or grow, with an accompanying lack of depth to life. I am really grateful for the words of prophets and apostles that bring the Spirit to my heart and speak to me like no person could.

How I feel about applying for jobs

A visit with Jana & Kev

It was a lot of fun to go see Jana & Kevin. We went to a Halloween playground/hayride place which I think Adrienne really enjoyed. Later that night we got to watch the BYU vs. TCU game with Catherine & Hunter. Then on Saturday, since I missed my train, I got to babysit Kayla & Adrienne while Jana & Kevin went to Stake Conference. They are such sweet little kids, I just love them. And of course the trip wouldn't have been complete without a game of Settlers of Catan, which Jana won (of course). Classic.

 

Going Solo

What do you do in downtown DC by yourself?

1. Tour the Old Post Office

2. Admire the glory of the Washington Monument & Capital building

3. Soak in the beauty of the fall leaves 

4. Tour all of the FREE Smithsonian exhibits/museums

10 Things I love about my sista Catherine

1. The way she puts on her chapstick

2. Sense of adventure: she'd sacrifice anything for a good set of buckwheat blueberry pancakes...including my train ride back to NC :)

3. She takes me running to cool places like Falls Lake!

4. She loves to eat delicious food & will willingly split everything

5. The chances that Catherine will want to eat gelato or ice cream at any given moment during the day (irregardless of prior intake) is 99.9999999999999999999%

6. She loves to work out & has huge muscles (can you see the bump??)

7. Not only does she have a great sense of humor, but she can be serious, too.

8. Her ability to look better in my clothes than I do. 

9.  Her quiet sense of dignity 

10. She certainly knows how to enjoy fall & the beautiful leaves. 

Enjoying the fair Hatch-style (Round 2)

Step 1: Stop by the Ol' Grist Mill & get some free hush puppies.

Step 2: Go to the gardening section. This is dad's favorite part of the fair. Awe at the plants and try to name all of them. Then proceed to take dumb pictures. :)

Step 3: Eat carmelized corn (!!!!!)

Step 4: Begin to unleash the inner-fatty within.

Step 5: Weep over the trials of life and rejoice that you have friends to eat chocolate with you. That is, if you have friends...

Step 6: Participate in random fair games, like the "Guess your age" exhibit in order to win free prizes worth less than you paid for & boost your confidence (Catherine had two people guess that she was 27!)

Step 7: Wish you wore an ugly sweater, too so that you could participate in this year's most alluring exhibit: The Ugly Sweater Contest of the Goats.

Step 8: Eat to your heart's disease...I mean desires.

Step 9: Take Picture #5890436 of yourself being pregnant with a food-baby & decide to be more moderate tomorrow.