Goodbye 2012!

I'm not very good at setting good new years resolutions, so I've pretty much stopped. Instead, I like to spend some time reviewing the last year, things I did, learned, experienced and why I am so grateful for the year I had. Here are some of the highlights starting from the end of the year and working backwards (some things may be out of order).

1. I got married to my best friend, love of my life, goofball, make me laugh everyday, understand when I'm being a weirdo, wipe the snow off my car, give me his jacket, give me his giraffe biscuits, kiss me with my morning breath, and ask if he can rub my feet husband. We met in February and have loved every minute together and will continue to do so. This is the highlight of my year :)

2. Along with getting married, I got a second family. I love them all so much and it's crazy that I really haven't known them for very long at all. I feel so blessed to have Marty, David, Christopher and Emily as part of my family and I am grateful that they have accepted me so readily. 

3. Last Winter Semester was really hard. Thankfully, I had teachers that understood that I was going through a hard time and worked with me on deadlines and such. I still think of them fondly. 

4. I lived with some awesome girls. Tina and Cami were both engaged when I lived with them but somehow we all still got to be friends. Jess and Sarah were awesome, but I already knew that. Now Jess is engaged and Sarah is living in poop Idaho.  We miss her. Most of my awesome roommate experiences this last year were with Marie and Jessica (and Lyss).  From the nerts competitions, Bones marathons, random McDonald's runs, the Bachelorette party, the sweet blanket fort, sun burns, the pranks and being scared of Samara we had some pretty sweet times. I can confidently say that if I had not gotten married I would have lived with them for the rest of college, if they let me. 

5. I did a few things for the first time: Went to the Everglades, flew in a private plane, pulled an all nighter for school,went to a bar, and fed a giraffe. 

Overall, this has been a fantastic year. There have been a few rough spots but overall much better than I could have imagined a year ago. 

I also like to look forward to the new year: 

-I get to spend my first year as a married person! YAHOO :) Hopefully that means some sweet financial aid as well.

-I'll get at least 2 more nieces and nephews. (hopefully one is on the way right now)

-Jess is getting married- that will be a blast :) 

-Because I am getting closer to finishing school I get to take a lot more teaching classes which I am thrilled about. 

-2 Family Reunions over the summer!

- I'm hoping to: play more racquetball, go to the archery range a few times, do well in classes, and cook more. 

Politics

Okay, we all know that this election has been and will continue to be of major importance. I've also been meaning to write this blog for a long time.

Before I delve into recent thoughts, I have to include a disclaimer:
I am a republican at heart. I believe in small government and my moral view of the world has a huge impact on how I vote. If you choose to be offended at the things I say after this disclaimer, it is exactly that- a choice. This blog has not been composed with the idea to offend but to merely offer my opinion. Thank you.

One of my English classes this semester is based on the premise of doubt. As a class, it was defined as "Landlessness". Working through doubt is like treading water and trying to find land. To go along with that theme our teacher asked us to keep a "doubt journal"; a compilation of our thoughts and reflections on a topic that we felt doubtful about. Now, we don't have to turn in the actual journal but simply report that we worked on it for 20 minutes.

I decided to research the presidential campaign and figure out who I would vote for this November. I knew, from the gate, that I would most likely vote for Mitt Romney. It started as an assumption. And the last thing I wanted to do was vote for someone because everyone around me was voting for them. For me, I need to know why I am voting for them according to the policies that I have researched. Researching both sides was particularly interesting because I had a more liberal backboard to bounce off of, thank you Jessica. My roommate is an Obama supporter and we had several late night/early morning conversations regarding our political views and different things that we had researched.
Here is what I learned from our discussions:

I believe in small government. Before I probably assumed that most people believed that less government we had, the better. That is not true. I'm not saying that it is a bad thing, but there are differing foundation beliefs that often get overlooked in the war of words.

I think, in regards to Political campaigns, there is no way I can know everything let alone have an opinion on everything. This is more of a personal revelation. But if you visit either website, you'll see how many issues there are. There is no way I can research all of those issues and decided which one adds up to the best candidate. Which leads me to my next point....

The issues I have an opinion on, I will research, those I don't, simply get less attention.  I primarily researched: education, economic recovery plans, taxes, and Russian foreign policy. The last one seems random I know.

Both candidates do things that make me uncomfortable. We're talking primarily about the debates here. Not really a topic I feel I need to expound on.

So here is goes, my opinion on each candidate.

Obama- 
I'm just going to say it, I'm not a huge fan of this one. A lot of those differences come in from the fundamental  differences about how government should work. I do feel like we should help people, but I don't want more government programs and I don't want to encourage people to try to live off of what we can give them. I feel that welfare has its place, I'm a huge fan of welfare that attempts to help people be self-reliant. It's a delicate topic and I understand that. But I feel like Obama is feeding the nation with his words and promises, but I'm not sure how much he has actually helped. The more I've listened to the debates and read his platform and policies, I just trust him less. I feel like he is using key words like, "middle class" and "folks". These words don't really reflect his policies but rather his desire to connect with the people and make them feel like he will take care of them.
http://www.barackobama.com

Mitt Romney-
Here are a few reasons that I like Mitt. I like that he favors small government. I like that he wants to give power back to the states. At first, thinking about that policy made me nervous (California can handle their funds really well), but now that I've spent some time thinking about it I like the idea. I like the morals that he brings to his office. I appreciate having someone in politics who has a moral foundation that I understand from my perspective. His tax plans make sense to me. I realize that his plan for economic recovery will take a long time. Much longer than the american people are willing to give one person. But I think, if employed that his policies would in fact improve the economy, and that is something that is important to me. I feel like I can trust him, at least as much as I can trust a politician. I don't like his idea for portable title one funds... but you can't have everything.
www.mittromney.com/ 

Other sites I referenced for my information: 
http://www.factcheck.org/

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/platforms.php

Upcoming Fall Semester

I'm nervous. I'm taking 9 credits of English classes, 1 English language class and a religion class. I'll be working 18 hours a week and trying to plan a wedding. 

Regardless, I am excited and here's why:

1) I just moved into a new apartment and it's significantly better than my last place.

2) I have a private room with my own desk

3) I love my roommates. (There is one weirdie but that will be fine, we can handle that). 

4) I work with fantastic people. I especially love that the girls are helping me plan the wedding. 

5) I'm getting married! (how do you not get excited about that)

6) Most of the wedding is already planned or will be planned before school starts on Monday

7) My actual class schedule isn't too bad, I have breaks for homework.

8) I just picked up Racquetball and it's super fun. 

9) I got time off to go home for labor day weekend. 

10) the weather isn't so blazing hot anymore:)

The story that we've all been waiting for

Sometime in early or mid june I went to my temple prep class and left Jonathan with my roommate Lyss for an hour or so. I felt bad but it was early evening and I knew I would be back soon. The class was just getting started when there was a knock on the door. Jonathan and Lyss were standing there and wanted to talk to me. It was then that Jonthan invited me out to Florida with him. His mom found some sweet flights out but they were expiring that night. So, on a whim, I decided to go on vacation with Jonathan to visit his family in Florida at the end of July. 

Time passed and before I went to Florida, I decided that I would no longer be serving a mission. (see my previous post). 

We had been ring shopping, but Jonathan and I "had an appointment" with our Jeweler when we got back from Florida. 

July 24th- Pioneer day. We flew out to Florida and from the airport there drove 3 hours out to Key West for some serious "lobstering". There I went snorkeling for my first time, saw Florida lobsters for the first time and got to watch the sunrise over the ocean. 

Our first plane ride together!

Those Lobsters really did scare me....

 Anyways, because we hadn't gotten very much sleep, we were all pretty tired. We came in from the boat and we couldn't check into the hotel yet so Jonathan, Emily and I were desperate for something to do to keep us occupied and out of the sun. Upon checking the local movie listings, we found this little cinema that was supposedly showing an otter documentary. After a frustrating drive and finding parking, we walk up to the small, sketch cinema, only to find out that they weren't showing the otter movie because of some technical difficulties. We settled on what we thought would be our next best option... a movie call "Moonrise Kingdom". Essentially, it was a hipster film that weirded me out pretty bad and I tried to sleep through part of it. Afterwards, we finally got to go to the hotel and get cleaned up. Let me tell you, after the ocean, the humidity and that movie theater, a shower was the best thing I could have asked for. After we were all feeling human again, we started out again so that we could meet Christopher's friend and take a private plane over Key West.

Quick side note about the plane ride: Only a few days before we left, Christopher asked Jonathan and I if we wanted to have a private plane ride. Of course we agreed! Little did I know that it was the beginning of this brilliant plan.

Anways, so it is this tiny plane, only seats 4 people. So it's our 17-year old pilot and Christopher (Jonathan's brother) in the front and Jonathan and I in the back. Jonathan kept saying how nervous he was and I kept telling him that it would be fine. I thought he was nervous because of the plane... little did I know....

The microphones on our headsets weren't working. Luckily for us, Jonathan has been teaching me some sign language. So we were signing to communicate, talking about how incredible the view was and everything. Then, just as we are flying over the reef he turns to me and signs "I have a secret for you". I'm thinking Oh how cute, he's going to say 'I love you'. I was wrong in the best was possible. He signed to me and asked me to marry him. About the same time I was processing what he was asking, he pulls out a ring and I understood. I'm still surprised that I even remembered to say yes because I was freaking out so much! I think I just ended up nodding my head! I was THRILLED! He pulled it off. He had surprised me.

Yeah I love him like crazy- This was a great moment :)

By the time we landed, we had texted this picture to my immediate family and some close friends. His family was waiting for us with a sign that said "We hope she said "Yes!". That is where the sign came from in the picture below.

I love him so much. I'm blown away everyday by how real this feels. I feel so lucky to have him and I can't wait for the day we get to start our forever together:) The date is set for December 21st, 2012 in the Redlands Temple. 

Just a few pictures for your enjoyment :)

Thank Goodness for Butterflies!

At some point growing up in the church I went to a class. In that class, I don't remember when or from  who,  I was given a small piece of paper, and on that paper was an anonymous quote.

"Without change there would be no butterflies."

That quote has stuck with me through all these years. It is a profound and beautiful concept; one that many people, including myself, struggle with. Regardless, I believe that change more often than not, results in beautiful things. I spend so much of my life trying to figure out what changes to make in my life, which ones will make me the most happy. More importantly, I've been trying to follow the spirit, even if the prompting is faint. I've stopped stressing over every little detail and found that when I simply do what feels right with the guidance of the spirit my life is happier. So I try to follow promptings even if I don't know why I'm being told to do that.

This summer has been a summer filled with promptings and changes. First, I was supposed to go to Mexico- and I bailed on that because I decided that I should stay home. Second, I was supposed to quit my job and go on a mission.

I know what you are thinking..."Supposed to go on a mission??? Say what???'

That's it kids- cat's out of the bag! I'm staying home.

It started really small, I started dating Jonathan. I was in denial for a while but by the time I admitted to myself that we were officially dating I was hooked, so incredibly hooked. I'm not sure how he did this but he swept me off my feet and I was more than happy to oblige. I kept telling people that if I wasn't okay with the idea of losing him I wouldn't go on a mission but I would live therefore I was still going on my mission.

Then I started to realize that I didn't want to be apart from him. So I considered staying home. I started considering it. I told Jessica that I was was still 95% sure that I was still going but I was considering going. Within a week and a half the tables had completely turned and I was staying home. I could only make the decision after calling my Dad and asking his advice.


So that was it I decided to stay home and get married to Jonathan :) Just as a note to all those people who I told in the past that I didn't understand how people get married: I get it now :D

Called to Serve

I was at work, the back of my mind wondering if it would come today. What if it got delayed? What if it got here today? How would tell everyone? Would we have enough phones? Where in the world would I be called? I tried to answer phones and act like things were normal. That was, until I got a gchat from my roommate Jessica:

"Jessica: I took the rent checks to the mailbox, and I left something that belongs to you there."

I freaked out. I couldn't handle it. I took a ten minute break with Jess (another old roommate) because my head was spinning and there was no way I would be able to do my job. 

The rest of the day spun and drug on all at the same time. I went home on my lunch break and took some pictures with my big white envelope. I had decided to wait until 8:30pm to open the call so that Marie could be there. Waiting turned out to be harder than I thought. I had NO idea that I could possibly be that excited and anxious. I got off work at 6 and went to dinner with my family and Jessica, Lyss and Jonathan.

We went back home and started arranging who was on skype and phones and such. As it turns out Marie got home way before 8:30 but then I had to wait for everyone else. Around 8:25 people started showing up and within 5-10 minutes my apartment was full.

The last person to call was my Dad because he had to step out of meetings in order to take the call. Once he was on the phone and on speaker I started opening the call. I struggled to open the envelope because I was so nervous it took 3 or 4 times for me to get the whole envelope open. People kept calling out "Remember to cover it with the other paper" Well... to be honest I couldn't find the other paper I was supposed to cover it with... So I pulled some random papers and didn't realize what they were until after I read the call. Turns out they were passport application papers. haha go figure. Anyways... this is what I read: 

"Dear Sister Adams: You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Brazil Porto Alegre South Mission."

There was general excitement in the room and I kept reading to make sure there were no surprises. I was to report on October 10th, to the BRAZIL MTC. Freak out number two. I choked up and didn't know how to respond. I really hadn't even considered the possibility of not going to the Provo MTC. And straight to Brazil..... wow. I'm floored. I still have a hard time thinking that this is real! Don't get my wrong. I am BEYOND excited to go.

This is it. I'm going on a mission. This is real life!

Anticipation

So... I'm getting my mission call this week. I'm praying that it comes on Wednesday (aka TOMORROW) because that works better for the people that I really want there and have already talked to about it. So I'm at work and I can't focus and I don't know what to do with myself..... So I found a list of all 370 missions......

Listed here for your browsing enjoyment:

1.     Alabama Birmingham

2.     Alaska Anchorage

3.     Albania Tirana

4.     Alpine German-Speaking

5.     Argentina Bahia Blanca

6.     Argentina Buenos Aires North

7.     Argentina Buenos Aires South

8.     Argentina Buenos Aires West

9.     Argentina Cordoba

10.   Argentina Mendoza

11.   Argentina Neuquen

12.   Argentina Resistencia

13.   Argentina Rosario

14.   Argentina Salta

15.   Arizona Mesa

16.   Arizona Phoenix

17.   Arizona Tempe

18.   Arizona Tucson

19.   Arkansas Little Rock

20.   Armenia Yerevan

21.   Australia Adelaide

22.   Australia Brisbane

23.   Australia Melbourne

24.   Australia Melbourne East

25.   Australia Melbourne West

26.   Australia Perth

27.   Australia Sydney

28.   Australia Sydney North

29.   Australia Sydney South

30.   Baltic

31.   Belgium Brussels/Netherlands

32.   Belgium/Netherlands

33.   Bolivia Cochabamba

34.   Bolivia La Paz

35.   Bolivia Santa Cruz

36.   Brazil Belem

37.   Brazil Belo Horizonte

38.   Brazil Belo Horizonte East

39.   Brazil Brasilia

40.   Brazil Campinas

41.   Brazil Cuiaba

42.   Brazil Curitiba

43.   Brazil Florianopolis

44.   Brazil Fortaleza

45.   Brazil Goiania

46.   Brazil Joao Pessoa

47.   Brazil Londrina

48.   Brazil Maceio

49.   Brazil Manaus

50.   Brazil Porto Alegre North

51.   Brazil Porto Alegre South

52.   Brazil Recife

53.   Brazil Ribeirao Preto

54.   Brazil Rio de Janeiro

55.   Brazil Rio de Janeiro North

56.   Brazil Salvador

57.   Brazil Salvador South

58.   Brazil Santa Maria

59.   Brazil Sao Paulo East

60.   Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos

61.   Brazil Sao Paulo North

62.   Brazil Sao Paulo South

63.   Brazil Teresina

64.   Brazil Vitoria

65.   Bulgaria Sofia

66.   California Anaheim

67.   California Arcadia

68.   California Carlsbad

69.   California Fresno

70.   California Long Beach

71.   California Los Angeles

72.   California Oakland

73.   California Oakland/San Francisco

74.   California Riverside

75.   California Roseville

76.   California Sacramento

77.   California San Bernardino

78.   California San Diego

79.   California San Fernando

80.   California San Francisco

81.   California San Jose

82.   California Santa Rosa

83.   California Ventura

84.   Cambodia Phnom Penh

85.   Canada Calgary

86.   Canada Edmonton

87.   Canada Halifax

88.   Canada Montreal

89.   Canada Toronto East

90.   Canada Toronto West

91.   Canada Vancouver

92.   Canada Winnipeg

93.   Cape Verde Praia

94.   Chile Antofagasta

95.   Chile Concepcion

96.   Chile Concepcion South

97.   Chile Osorno

98.   Chile Rancagua

99.   Chile Santiago East

100. Chile Santiago North

101. Chile Santiago West

102. Chile Vina del Mar

103. China Hong Kong

104. Colombia Barranquilla

105. Colombia Bogota North

106. Colombia Bogota South

107. Colombia Cali

108. Colorado Colorado Springs

109. Colorado Denver North

110. Colorado Denver South

111. Connecticut Hartford

112. Costa Rica San Jose

113. Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan

114. Czech Prague

115. Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa

116. Democratic Republic of Congo Lubumbashi

117. Denmark Copenhagen

118. Dominican Republic Santiago

119. Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East

120. Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West

121. Ecuador Guayaquil North

122. Ecuador Guayaquil South

123. Ecuador Quito

124. El Salvador San Salvador East

125. El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize

126. England Birmingham

127. England Leeds

128. England London

129. England London South

130. England Manchester

131. Fiji Suva

132. Finland Helsinki

133. Florida Fort Lauderdale

134. Florida Jacksonville

135. Florida Orlando

136. Florida Tallahassee

137. Florida Tampa

138. France Paris

139. France Toulouse

140. Georgia Atlanta

141. Georgia Atlanta North

142. Georgia Macon

143. Germany Berlin

144. Germany Frankfurt

145. Germany Hamburg

146. Germany Munich/Austria

147. Ghana Accra

148. Ghana Cape Coast

149. Greece Athens

150. Guatemala Guatemala City Central

151. Guatemala Guatemala City North

152. Guatemala Guatemala City South

153. Guatemala Quetzaltenango

154. Guatemala Retalhuleu

155. Haiti Port-au-Prince

156. Hawaii Honolulu

157. Honduras Comayaguela

158. Honduras San Pedro Sula

159. Honduras Tegucigalpa

160. Hungary Budapest

161. Idaho Boise

162. Idaho Pocatello

163. Illinois Chicago

164. Illinois Chicago North

165. Illinois Chicago South

166. Illinois Nauvoo

167. Illinois Peoria

168. India Bangalore

169. India New Delhi

170. Indiana Indianapolis

171. Indonesia Jakarta

172. Iowa Des Moines

173. Ireland Dublin

174. Italy Catania

175. Italy Milan

176. Italy Rome

177. Jamaica Kingston

178. Japan Fukuoka

179. Japan Hiroshima

180. Japan Kobe

181. Japan Nagoya

182. Japan Sapporo

183. Japan Sendai

184. Japan Tokyo

185. Kentucky Louisville

186. Kenya Nairobi

187. Korea Busan

188. Korea Daejeon

189. Korea Seoul

190. Korea Seoul West

191. Louisiana Baton Rouge

192. Madagascar Antananarivo

193. Marshall Islands Majuro

194. Maryland Baltimore

195. Massachusetts Boston

196. Mexico Chihuahua

197. Mexico Cuernavaca

198. Mexico Culiacan

199. Mexico Guadalajara

200. Mexico Guadalajara East

201. Mexico Guadalajara South

202. Mexico Hermosillo

203. Mexico Leon

204. Mexico Merida

205. Mexico Mexico City East

206. Mexico Mexico City North

207. Mexico Mexico City Northwest

208. Mexico Mexico City South

209. Mexico Mexico City West

210. Mexico Monterrey East

211. Mexico Monterrey West

212. Mexico Oaxaca

213. Mexico Puebla

214. Mexico Tampico

215. Mexico Tijuana

216. Mexico Torreon

217. Mexico Tuxtla Gutierrez

218. Mexico Veracruz

219. Mexico Villahermosa

220. Michigan Detroit

221. Michigan Lansing

222. Micronesia Guam

223. Minnesota Minneapolis

224. Mississippi Jackson

225. Missouri Independence

226. Missouri St Louis

227. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar

228. Montana Billings

229. Mozambique Maputo

230. Nebraska Omaha

231. Nevada Las Vegas

232. Nevada Las Vegas West

233. New Hampshire Manchester

234. New Jersey Cherry Hill

235. New Jersey Morristown

236. New Mexico Albuquerque

237. New Mexico Farmington

238. New York New York North

239. New York New York South

240. New York Rochester

241. New York Utica

242. New Zealand Auckland

243. New Zealand Wellington

244. Nicaragua Managua

245. Nicaragua Managua North

246. Nicaragua Managua South

247. Nigeria Calabar

248. Nigeria Enugu

249. Nigeria Lagos

250. Nigeria Lagos East

251. Nigeria Lagos West

252. Nigeria Port Harcourt

253. North Carolina Charlotte

254. North Carolina Raleigh

255. Norway Oslo

256. Ohio Cincinnati

257. Ohio Cleveland

258. Ohio Columbus

259. Oklahoma Oklahoma City

260. Oklahoma Tulsa

261. Oregon Eugene

262. Oregon Portland

263. Panama Panama City

264. Papua New Guinea Port Moresby

265. Paraguay Asuncion

266. Paraguay Asuncion North

267. Pennsylvania Harrisburg

268. Pennsylvania Philadelphia

269. Pennsylvania Pittsburgh

270. Peru Arequipa

271. Peru Cusco

272. Peru Lima Central

273. Peru Lima East

274. Peru Lima North

275. Peru Lima South

276. Peru Lima West

277. Peru Piura

278. Peru Trujillo

279. Philippines Angeles

280. Philippines Bacolod

281. Philippines Baguio

282. Philippines Butuan

283. Philippines Cagayan de Oro

284. Philippines Cauayan

285. Philippines Cebu

286. Philippines Davao

287. Philippines Iloilo

288. Philippines Laoag

289. Philippines Manila

290. Philippines Naga

291. Philippines Olongapo

292. Philippines Quezon City

293. Philippines San Pablo

294. Philippines Tacloban

295. Poland Warsaw

296. Portugal Lisbon

297. Portugal Porto

298. Puerto Rico San Juan

299. Puerto Rico San Juan East

300. Puerto Rico San Juan West

301. Romania Bucharest

302. Russia Moscow

303. Russia Moscow West

304. Russia Novosibirsk

305. Russia Rostov-na-Donu

306. Russia Samara

307. Russia Vladivostok

308. Russia Yekaterinburg

309. Samoa Apia

310. Scotland Edinburgh

311. Scotland/Ireland

312. Sierra Leone Freetown

313. Singapore

314. Slovenia/Croatia

315. South Africa Cape Town

316. South Africa Durban

317. South Africa Johannesburg

318. South Carolina Columbia

319. South Dakota Rapid City

320. Spain Barcelona

321. Spain Bilbao

322. Spain Madrid

323. Spain Malaga

324. Sweden Stockholm

325. Switzerland Geneva

326. Switzerland Zurich

327. Tahiti Papeete

328. Taiwan Kaohsiung

329. Taiwan Taichung

330. Taiwan Taipei

331. Tennessee Knoxville

332. Tennessee Nashville

333. Texas Dallas

334. Texas Fort Worth

335. Texas Houston

336. Texas Houston East

337. Texas Houston South

338. Texas Lubbock

339. Texas McAllen

340. Texas San Antonio

341. Thailand Bangkok

342. Tonga Nuku'alofa

343. Uganda Kampala

344. Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk

345. Ukraine Donetsk

346. Ukraine Kyiv

347. Uruguay Montevideo

348. Uruguay Montevideo West

349. Utah Ogden

350. Utah Provo

351. Utah Salt Lake City

352. Utah Salt Lake City South

353. Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square

354. Utah St George

355. Venezuela Barcelona

356. Venezuela Caracas

357. Venezuela Maracaibo

358. Venezuela Valencia

359. Virginia Richmond

360. Washington DC North

361. Washington DC South

362. Washington Everett

363. Washington Kennewick

364. Washington Seattle

365. Washington Spokane

366. Washington Tacoma

367. West Indies

368. West Virginia Charleston

369. Wisconsin Milwaukee

370. Zimbabwe Harare