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.

Pigs, Pickles, Plump, and Pups

North Carolina State Fair: Round One. Fried zucchini, funnel cakes, Harris Teeter deli meat in animal form, The Swings (best ride ever), and more calories than you'll ever consume in a lifetime. Classic.

Jordan Lake at Sunset with Highschool Friends

The Skirt

What do I do when I am unemployed, you ask?

I ask myself the same question every day.

In the past couple of days, I sewed this skirt. Once I re-learned the lingo of sewing patterns, it was quite easy, actually. I think I am officially ready for fall to be here.

nostalgia

Living in NC has brought back all sorts of nostalgia: Running in the thick forest sweating up the hills of Woodcroft, driving past Patterson's Mill and remembering the old musty smell as I would trade my hard-earned penny for a piece of candy (chosen after a long time of deliberation), changing leaves and the fresh Autumn cold that's just a little bit different than Utah's dry cold, the State Fair (coming up in two weeks !!), complete with carmelized corn-on-the-cob and funnel cakes, mowing the lawn and shoveling dirt as the morning dew evaporates...the list could go on forever.

One such fond childhood memory I have remembered lately is the Parkwood Flea Market. I've always been a stickler for cheap finds at thrift stores, but there is something special about this flea market. Maybe it's the early-morning feeling, or the familiarity of the faces I see there year after year, or maybe it's that same booth that always sells boxes of Gap/Banana Republic clothes every year...well, this year I knew I couldn't miss it, after my 7 year hiatus. I hit it up with $4 cash in my pocket, thinking I've surely curbed my adolescent impulse-spending habits.

7 sweaters, 1 jacket, and 2 shirts later...

...And $40 poorer, I came home after an overly-productive shopping trip to the Flea Market. Maybe I haven't changed all that much after all.

the joy we seek

My move from Provo, UT to North Carolina. To say it has been hard to adjust to a completely different environment is an understatement. Call me dramatic, but it has been challenging. Not only has it been hard to adjust to being unemployed, with every day full of...nothing...but it has been difficult and also enlightening to be out of "the bubble" of Provo, as it is affectionately termed, and into the "real world." Many of you may not know what I'm talking about. Allow me to elaborate.

I went from living in a religiously homogeneous environment, with the "false reality" of undergraduate lifestyle, to living in the real world of unemployment, responsibility, and, at times, loneliness. I hardly ever listened to the radio while living in Provo (mostly because I didn't have a car), but now I listen to it almost every day. I have been bombarded with false media messages about sex, the purposes of life, and the true sources of fulfillment, all of which I was more or less sheltered from living in Provo.

This past month has led me to question the purpose of life and the main sources of joy and fulfillment. I have questioned my own motives as I have looked back on my college experience and the past years of my life - all of which have been filled with activities like group dates, multiple road trips, hiking adventures, ward activities, along with the occasional late-night study session at the library. I have questioned my own actions and motives, thinking I have been immature in my priorities at times. Granted, those activities are all fun and mostly innocent, but were they really the best use of my time? What have I gained from those activities now? If there was no depth in them, nothing that made me stretch and grow, they are of no use to me now.

This is a pretty huge epiphany. Especially since I am a clean 50/50 split between blue and yellow (personality tests).

So this has all led me to really wonder what the real purpose of life is - is it to work? Earn money? Have fun? Have families? What about people who don't have the opportunity to have families? What about those that are poor and don't have money? What about those that are rich? There has got to be a different answer.

As I have turned to the scriptures and other various talks, I have found a lot of light and truth. The Book of Mormon states, (2 Nephi 2:25) "Men are that they may have joy." What is joy? It's not just fun. It's not just happiness. It won't come through money.

I found the beginning of my answer in this amazing talk by our church leader, Richard G. Scott:

"The joy we seek is not a temporary emotional high but a habitual inner joy learned from long experience and trust in God."

I could break down that quote and dissect it, but I prefer to let you do that on your own. There is a lot of solid, hopeful truth in that quote. The words of this modern day apostle have helped me gain perspective as I better understand my purpose every day. These words have provided answers to the questions I have been pondering, as well as described a means to obtaining this type of joy and developing the discernment needed in a world filled with so many conflicting voices and influences. Love it.

My Sanity