August Adventures!

Trip to Flagstaff:

Partners In Crime Unite!

(Elise & Jenn)

We had such a fun weekend together and crammed as much as we could within the 3 days I was there visiting! It was so nice to get away for the weekend and catch up with my best buddy! :)

To keep up with tradition we had to play some tennis! I'm so glad I was able to convince her to play tennis with me in high school our junior and senior year! She improved so much and is an awesome player! She almost beat me and I've probably been playing more than her recently too. That's just shows you how awesome she is. She is pretty much good at anything she puts her mind to.

Then we went to play in the water in Sedona! It was so pretty, but the water was freezing! We still had a great time cliff jumping and hanging out in the beautiful weather! Near the cliff jumping spot Elise and I had some fellas hitting on us who had missing teeth... mmm, my favorite! We felt pretty cool and were flattered, of course. Since I was dating somebody at the time it just didn't work out and to help Elise 

avoid an awkward situation I told the other guy that she was 

pretty much dating somebody so it wouldn't be a good idea for 

me to give them her number (since he was too chicken to talk 

to her himself). haha. They were nice though!

Mario Party 2 Competition! 

VERY INTENSE! Don't mess with the professionals! haha

For a long time we were both bragging about our Mario Party 2 skills and we made sure that when we got together we were going to have a show down. To be honest, I think we are pretty closely matched. When it was time to go back home to Tempe, we were at a tie. (When we played Mario Kart I'm pretty sure I won though. That's beside the point because we weren't bragging about that.) Mario Kart is an awesome game that brings family and friends closer together. I'm sure my family and Elise can testify of that. If you haven't played you might want to check into that, just sayin.

This pretty much sums us up! :)

As you can tell, Elise and I had a great time together and I'm so glad we made this trip happen before the stresses of school and work began. I am very happy we have been able to remain great friends with the distance that college has put between us. I love looking back to our high school days and saying, "WOW, Look at where we are now and everything we have accomplished!" She is truly an awesome person and a great example.

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<<< JAMBA RUN! 
I am so happy my friend Riki is now a fellow Sun Devil! Unfortunately, she is going to ASU's West campus... but I'm glad we got to hang out when she came to visit the Tempe campus to buy a book! lol 

CRAFT NIGHT! >>>

Sometimes Jeevan and I like to do random things together... and this night we made some b-day decorations for a friend. It was         definitely my type of craft... nice and easy! :) The colors of my pom-pom thing turned out kind of ugly, so don't judge. lol

<<< Chillin' at the park! 

I had the fun opportunity to watch my sister, Anna, for a week. When she was behaving and being nice we had a great time! This park experience was pretty funny because she was totally hitting on some 8 year old kid! She stole my camera and was taking pictures of him and kept talking to him! It was hilarious! I never knew she was such a flirt! Overall she is a cool kiddo... just like her big sister. haha!

2nd WARD VOLLEYBALL!! >>>

This is the ward volleyball team that competed during the summer! This was such a fun group of people to play with and overall we did pretty well! Our Monday night practices and Tuesday v-ball games definitely kept me entertained over the summer! I will miss it!

Realization

Welcome to my thoughts:

I have come to the realization that one of the things that annoys me the most about people is *thoughtlessness,* which ties into selfishness. I just can't stand it. This is definitely the "ME Generation." (Click on link to read a talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks about Unselfish Service and the "me generation"). I can't stand to hear comments such as, How does that help ME? What do I get from that? It's not MY problem. I don't care.

When I hear these types of phrases it's sooo hard for me to not get on my soap box and start quoting off scriptures (John 15:12-13, D&C 1:16, 2 Corinthians 9:6, Matthew 16:24-25) or just bluntly say, "It's not all about you and you should care!" I don't know, maybe I'm weird or maybe I get annoyed too easily. Either way, everybody should care more for each other and be aware of what we say or do... and especially what we don't say and what we do not do. What an awesome world this would be if everybody would  lift each other up and always be finding ways to make others happier!

I am so grateful for the people in my life who are very thoughtful and giving. Over about the past 9 months I've had 3 amazing ladies who I served with in the Relief Society presidency to look up to. They have been great examples of being selfless and always thinking of others. With ward boundary changes we are no longer together as a presidency, but I will always remember their faithfulness, love, and dedication. (Becky, Courtney, Ashley... I love you guys!) I feel like I learned a lot from this calling and am grateful for the chance I had to serve in the Relief Society.

Through example and service we can change lives. We don't make a difference by thinking about doing something, we must act. I recently noticed that I sometimes think about all of the stuff I have to do more than I spend time actually doing it. Instead of writing out my To-do lists and gradually checking off the easy ones... I just need to DO. Easy enough, right? haha, we'll see!

School is starting soon... 

and I'm already starting to get a bit stressed! Ahh!!!

 Let's do the math:

16 credits of school + Rep for the NSSLHA club + work + Institute council= 

no time. stess. Adios social life!

I am already worrying about how I can manage my time so I can keep my grades up and have time to study, work, and be able to be involved in my church calling (member of the ASU institute council.) I never realized how much the institute council does until my first meeting today... wowzers! They are a busy group of planners and organizers! The group of people on the council are awesome and you can tell everybody has strong testimonies and unique experiences to bring to the  table. I am excited for this opportunity and new adventure. :)

Well there you have it... a summed up version of my thoughts recently! I know everything will work out if I'm doing my part and I trust in the Lord.

If only life were a musical...

Tunes that I can't help but smile and dance to: 
In case you were wondering... Yes, they are slightly old and kind of random.... And Yes, they are totally AWESOME!


1) You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oats
I have been in love with the song, You Make My Dreams for about 4 months now and I still can't help but smile whenever I listen to it! This upbeat and addicting tune makes my head to bob side to side and forces my shoulders to bounce up and down! At times I would be walking on the crowded ASU campus and I would imagine how amazing it would be if everybody was friendly, happy, and dancing like the people in the video clip! (singing would be an added bonus.) Just thinking about how life would be as a musical makes me all excited and happy! If only...

 Well anyways, take a look at this video because it pretty clearly describes what I would love life to be like... 

2) Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder
For the longest time this song was just an oldie where I knew the chorus, but never payed much attention to it. This marvelous song struck me as I was watching a Glee episode with my aunt and mom, who is now addicted to the show. In this specific part it shows the  character, Rachel, immediately waking up in the morning to "Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride, nobody's gonna slow me down! Oh no, I've got to keep on moving!" And then she's working out and doing this rigorous exercise. As I watched this I thought it was pretty funny, but then IT HIT ME... I thought to myself, "maybe if I set that song as my alarm I will be able to instantly wake up and feel motivated to work out in the morning!!" Although I haven't made it my alarm yet, I have listened to it a ton and it gets me pumped and motivated for life and anything that could come in my way! I feel undefeatable whenever I'm jamming to this song! 
(Oh the 80's... The video is pretty random and weird, but just listen to the song. Especially the chorus!)


If you are ever feeling down I would recommend listening to You Make My Dreams or Break My Stride. They are WONDERFUL!

4th of July!

For the 4th of July weekend Rees and I went up to Yuma, AZ to visit his family and have a grand ol' time celebrating Independence Day! We had a fun attending a couple BBQ's, going to the lake and jet skiing, and playing games with Rees' family! I am so grateful for this country and for the freedoms we have!

I am also getting started with digital scrapbooking... so here is my weekend in scrapbook format! It's much easier and less time consuming than the old fashion way of scrapbooking! No more cutting, gluing, or messes for me! Yay! (I got help with the design from Digital eXpress Scrapbooking and then added my own touches and pictures through photoshop. Let me tell you... I love photoshop!!)

Stroll into the past

I love cute, old looking towns/ streets and I knew a photo shoot was in order when I drove past an adorable street full of old shops, colorful buildings, and just an old town feel. So with Courtney's vintage fashion style and with my photography background we made a perfect team to go conquer this street and make a fool of ourselves posing for pictures with cars staring us down, honking, and whistling. We had such a good time! Enjoy the pictures!

Meet the beautiful lady named Courtney!

I am the master of my fate

"Self-mastery is the ultimate test of our character." -President James E. Faust

Mind is the master power that molds and makes,
And we are Mind, and evermore we take
The tool of thought, and shaping what we will,
Bring forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills,
We think in secret, and it comes to pass -
Our world is but our looking glass.
-- James Allen

I LOVE this poem. I really do believe that our minds have great potential and that we can shape ourselves and our attitudes by mastering our mind. By mastering our minds we are controlling our thoughts, by controlling our thoughts we are focusing our attention to the things that are most important to us, and by focusing on those things we are that much closer to becoming the people we want to become. Like Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do." I could expand on this poem in so many directions... obviously one lesson to learn is how thinking positive and having a good attitude makes all the difference in life. The greatest lesson I learn from this poem is that of self-mastery... mastering our thoughts, desires, and actions.

I control my thoughts, I control my habits, I control how I react to situations, I control my moods, I control myself. One of my pet peeves is people blaming bad habits or a bad attitude on outside sources and not accepting responsibility for themselves.

For example: I'm in a bad mood because of the weather, I pick my nose because of my dad, I can think dirty thoughts because I'm a guy, I'm addicted to shopping because I'm a girl, and worst of all: I get [angry] because "that's just how I am," ... those are random and made up examples, but I think you get the point. Believe me, I haven't got this self-mastery thing down, but I'm at least willing to take responsibility for my choices and attitude. Nobody can make me be mad, angry, happy, sad, annoyed, or overjoyed. People may help influence me in a certain direction, but in the end it's my choice. Click HERE if you would like to read good talk on self-mastery. 

Sorry for that rant. Those thoughts lead me to this wonderful poem...

 "Invictus"

William Ernest Henley 

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud:
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. . . .

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

With all of that being said... the pressure is on. The Lord and I are at the driving wheel of my life and because of that I will act and not be acted upon. I have no excuses for not being happy and loving life. Don't get me wrong, right now life is great and I am very happy! But once school starts up again this post may come in handy for me. School is about the only think I can think of that I blame things on. For example: I can hear myself say, "School is making me go crazy! School is stressing me out. This class is irritating me." This will be a hard one to fix, but I'll try... because "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." 

Diamondbacks Baseball Game

-Rees & I-

Rees and I had the opportunity to go cheer on the D-backs last week and had a great time! Rees has been deprived his whole life because this was his FIRST time at a professional sporting event! Isn't that CRAZY?! I suppose that's what happens when you are from Yuma! lol, jk! Thanks to us, the diamond backs actually won! They should start paying us to attend their games from now on! haha, If that were the case I guess I should actually learn more about baseball so I can follow the game better! BUT just because I don't exactly know what's going on all of the time, doesn't mean I am not a proud supporter! :)

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My Lover

-The Motorola Droid-

Jenn and the droid were united on 6/5/10 and have been lovers ever since. The start of their journey together has been a great one thus far and they plan on living a happy life together... at least for the next year or two, hopefully. <3

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Recent NEW things in my life:

• New phone
• New job
• New hair color
• 3 new fish

I am the most excited about my new job! I am now working at a place called A Special Connection, where we work with kids with developmental disabilities! I just finished training this past week and I officially start this Monday! I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy working there. 

Overall life is going really well and I am truly blessed with all my friends, family, my job, and the opportunities I have in life. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers.