Today was a fairy tale

So this is going to be a really short entry, but I wanted to let you all know that today was a fairy tale, to steal the words of Taylor Swift.

I am so very happy! Ecstatic is probably the best word for it. This is the first time that I have done things in the right order, that I have let them happen in the right order. I'm hoping that this trend of doing things differently continues and that they will continue to happen in the right order. Thank goodness for my ribcage, it's about the only thing keeping my heart inside of my body right now!

Oh my. :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Ice Cream it is my friends. As if that wasn't already one of my favorite desserts!

MLIA

So today at work I was occupying myself and instead of doing something productive like reading or something to that effect I was reading MLIA. I decided that I would share a few of my favorites in a blog:) Enjoy!


I have been reading MLIAs about people who find out they did awesome stuff when they were younger, and i wished i was that cool. Today my mom showed me an assignment from 2nd grade. It told us to name an accomplishment we were proud of. I put training the velociraptors to eat my brother. MLIA

Today, i tried number 9 in 333 ways to get kicked out of walmart, where you dress up as batman and yell " come on robin, to the batmobile!" i was doing this when a old man came down the isle ( with red shirt and black pants ) and yelled ' HOLY MACKERAL! BATMAN! WHERES THE TROUBLE?!" we both ran down the isle singing the old batman song until the manager kicked us out of walmart. old people rule :) - MLIA

Today, I actually said "Excuse me" to my dog. I felt pretty silly, until he kindly moved out of my way. MLIA

When my daughter was 6, I took her to get her flu shot. While I was talking to her the doc snuck up and gave her the shot and she didn't notice. When we got to the car she asked, "What about my shot?" I told her she had already gotten it. She then grabbed her arm and started to cry. She grabbed the wrong arm. MLIA

Today,I was in health class and we were disscussing things that annoy us,my teacher told us to find a partner and annoy them,my bestfriend came up to me and said he would annoy me,i said ok and he then proceded to pull out new moon and read it aloud to me.I knew we were friends for a reason.MLIA

Today, I was tutoring a second grader in math. After I helped him learn how to add and subtract quickly, he taught me how to make my pencil look rubber. Fair trade? I think so. MLIA

Today, I was late for class so I had my band teacher write me a late note. As I was heading to math, I read what he had written as my excuse - "Excuse [name] for her lateness because she is armed and dangerous". My math teacher actually smiled. MLIA.

I was bored, so I went to MysteryGoogle. Instead of typing something in the box and clicking search, I instead left the box empty and clicked search. The site then said "please don't type gibberish". So because I felt dared by the site, I then typed "gibberish" into the box and clicked search. It responded "well aren't you clever?". So then I typed in "Yes, I am clever." It then proceeded to take me to a Wikipedia page about Tater Tots. MLIA.



And after reading all of these I realized that I had one of my own moments last night....
I was sitting at the table with Danny and it was about 11:30 at night. Apparently I am much more sleep deprived than I thought due to my reasoning about productivity. The thought popped into my head that I could save time the next morning in my getting ready routine if I ate breakfast then, before going to bed. Good thing Danny already knows I'm crazy, because that thought was definitely vocalized. :)

Hope this gave you a smile!

Fresh Starts

As I was working the other day at the Pit, I was thinking about how much my life has changed in the past couple months. I would assume that it is safe to assume that just about everyone knows, at least kind of, what happened so it doesn’t need to be rehashed. Looking at my life now compared to what it was reminded me of new beginnings and fresh starts.

Back in Yucaipa we weren’t blessed with a lot of rain, and for about 2 months out of the whole year, the hills turn green with the tender shoots of grass. I spent a good deal of time running around town and appreciating the clean air and the fresh green color that painted our usually barren landscape. I remembered all of those times and I realized that my life is very similar to that right now. I am finding beauty in everything, the tulips blooming in the islands around Provo, the sun rise as I walk to work, and the wonderful friendships that continue to bless my life.

Speaking of friendships, one of my very close friends made my DAY just recently. We will call them Super Friend in order to hide their identity. I was at work and I received a picture text from them. Here is what Super Friend sent me:



All awkward strange connotations aside and with regards to my first blog the message this picture carried was very important to me. Truly, I AM blooming. I am not longer feeling lost blown about by the wind, but grounded and blooming. It took me a while but I’m coming into myself again and I’m so happy again! I was asked yesterday by a friend “how are you doing Selina?” not the passing “Hey what’s up!?” But the sincere heart felt… no really Selina, how are YOU doing?. And I could honestly say that I was happy all the way through my toes! I am happy again! :D Being able to answer the question like that is exhilarating.

“Selina is Blooming”

I'm coming out and sharing my smile with the world. No longer will I hang my head, but I will BLOOM. Look towards the sun and share the color of my life and myself with everyone around me. I’m stretching in the sun and soaking up the light and warmth.

Like a little flower after a long winter, I’m opening up and becoming who I want to be.
Thank you Super Friend for helping me get to that point and encouraging me to bloom:)

Casting Stones

Sin comes in a multitude of shapes and sizes. For some of us that sin is worn on the outside, apparent to everyone around us, while others seem to have perfected the art of appearance-- but that is beside my point.

Extra piercings and tattoos are disrespectful to our God given bodies, but how much more disrespectful is it to discredit a son or daughter of God because they chose to decorate that way? Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I am not condoning that behavior, I still firmly believe that it is wrong. But since when is it okay to condemn someone for that? Our friends, our brothers and sisters who made those decisions don’t need to be shunned or exiled from our society. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” and who are we to even start picking up rocks? Not only is it rude, but we would be missing out on the company of some amazing people and condemning ourselves in the process. While we may not embrace the actions, we can and should embrace the people. They are good people and oftentimes have good desires. How can we claim to be Christian without being willing to love those that have wandered? Every person needs love, and if a friend happens to be doing things they know they shouldn’t, it is not the time to retract that love for them, but to increase it.

Maybe the old phrase “love the sinner hate the sin” isn’t so cliché after all.

We live in a confusing world. The “straight and narrow path” earned the name for a reason; compared to the offers of the world, the path seems small. It is easily lost if you take your eyes off of it. The distractions of the world are flashy and frequent; all too often we forget who we are and where we are going when all the confusion of the world suffocates us. Society bombards all of us with information, with bone skinny models and bulky body builders. Those on popular television seem to have the glory of the world handled while they participate in all sorts of immoral behaviors. With these subliminal messages every, can we really wonder why it affects so many in our society? Why it affects those we love so deeply?

There is a better option and there are better role models. But they are quieter than the world’s and don’t demand the attention that the famous do. The world tries to drown those noble people out as “boring” or “lame”. Because the world tried so very hard to cover them up, it becomes a quest to find those examples who hold true to moral values. We need to learn to look past a person’s exterior and really look at them and try to understand who they really are. Every person wants to be loved and wants someone to appreciate them and their efforts. Some of our friends know what they need to do, but are struggling with the “higher law”. Perhaps those things that you find them lacking in are hard for them but easy for you because they are so thoroughly engrained into your mindset. In Acts 15:28 Peter said “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things”; My mom brought this scripture to my attention and then asked [paraphrased]: How often do we lay unnecessary burdens on our brothers and sisters because of the standards that we hold for ourselves?

Do you remember the last time that you decided that you were going to change something, that you were going to try harder, or get rid of a bad habit? Perhaps even start a new good habit? Have you ever been shot down by someone that you shared that goal with? And do you remember that sinking feeling? Even if they were “just kidding”, it still hurt didn’t it? And would if they weren’t kidding? What it if they legitimately didn’t believe that you could do it? How deep would that wound go? How far would it penetrate? How long would that ache?

Knowing how much that little moment hurts, how often do we crush another’s dreams of improvement with our sly remarks and backhanded scoffs? We are all children of God, no matter what walk of life we are in. The Atonement is infinite for a reason. Through it Christ reaches out his arms of mercy to every single person. He loves them and he died for them. Who are we to discount what God has glorified? How can we dig up what Christ has buried?

Let us be Christian people.

Idaho Potatoes

So, this weekend plans changed like 3 times but I ended up going to Blackfoot Idaho with LeAndra.
Let me start from the beginning. I was at work making pitas and LeAndra texted me to say that we could leave Idaho sunday night so I would be able to make it back to provo in time to work at 7am monday morning. Then we had a rush but I had a couple hours to prepare mentally for leaving for the weekend. Danny came and visited me at work and stuck around to give me a ride home because he is just so nice like that. No, Danny this is not your official appearance on my blog, but you did make it ;)
Anyways, so I stuck around talking to him and told him what the plans were. After saying goodbye I walk into my new apartment and I smell paint. The kitchen is now painted! Can I just say that I love my new roomies, and a lot of the reason is because they will randomly do things like that.
So I rush around for an hour putting away clothes and throwing some things together to go to Idaho. And eventually I'm ready to go. LeAndra's friend drove us up to Idaho in his little blue geo. I sat in the back and thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, If we get hit I'm going to die." We drove a tin can up to idaho, but hey, it's a car right?

We stopped by in Malad to say hi to it for Danny. SMALL town. oh my. But it was cuteish, we didn't spend much time there. The drive overall was really pretty, the clouds were big and fluffy but not pure white and not threatening. The sky was blue and spots of sunlight kissed the rolling hills. Wide open spaces are therapuetic. The scenery was pretty much the same the whole time but I didn't mind it.

We arrived in Blackfoot and I'm not sure what time it was but it was fun seeing someone else come home and meeting LeAndra's family. That night we hung out with some kids, hitting up the Local Wal-mart (apparently the thing to do if you want to run into people you know. Then we played Quelf (oh yes it WAS excellent). In the last year or so of my life I have decided that I really enjoy just talking with people and getting to know them.

That night LeAndra and I crashed on the floor at the house and I was OUT. I guess that happens when you work a 53 hour week without a whole lot of sleep. I can sleep just about anywhere nowdays.

Sunday morning we went to a Singles ward that held their services in a funeral home... strange? yes, but it was really pretty. This sunday was also my first time bearing my testimony in a ward that I was only visiting in. I don't know why, I just felt like it would be a good thing to do and let me tell you: I got such a high off of it! :D love it.

Anyways, afterways they showed me the giant potato and a few other spots around town and I just woke up from a little nap.

The rest of the weekend should prove to be just as good. We're celebrating LeAndra's birthday tonight and it should be excellent.

It was a good plan coming to blackfoot.

The adventures of Summer are beginning. Next Weekend: Logan.