So you're going through a style revolution...

So you're going through a style revolution, so am I...
I just realized that every new article of clothing I buy or even just lust after is different than what I have ever liked.
I just realized that my old wardrobe consisted mostly of shirts left over from 8th grade.
I just realized that even though I own 92 pairs of shoes I only wear about 3 of them.
I just realized that I keep looking up ways to change my hair.
I just realized I stopped buying drugstore makeup and started splurging on things like Bare Minerals and Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palate.
I went in for a trim and ended up taking off 5 more inches.
I started hoarding every trendy nail polish color.
I started online shopping from stores I have never even set foot in.

I am sick of my routine.

So why not change it up?
Why not chop off your hair?
Why not change your wardrobe?
Why not hoard nail polish?
Why not donate more than half of your wardrobe to the DI?
Why not splurge a little every now and then?

So I did.

A Very Special Day

Today is a very special day.  Today my baby brother turns 16. Crazy right! 16 years ago when we lived in California my parents told me and my sister Lauren that we were going to have a new sibling. They asked us wether we wanted a brother or another sister.  My sister answered right away that she wanted a brother. I on the other hand wanted a sister. Much to my dismay it was a brother.  I never would have thought that 16 years later he would be my best friend, my partner in crime, my star-wars-watching buddy, my lunch going friend, my cohort in surprising my mother, and my favorite sunday drive buddy.  I am sure it is not easy being my brother but he sure does a great job! Who knew a 16 year old could be so amazing.

Happy birthday to that stud in the middle.

Christmas

Sometimes it just hits you, what is really important.  You realize as you are surrounded by torn and crinkled wrapping paper that all that money spent on Christmas presents that even after all the hours spent meticulously wrapping box after box none of this means a thing. Sure, your family and friends love you but receiving and even giving are not the reason for the holiday. Even though major amounts of commercialism have managed to sneak into this most sacred holiday the reason is still the birth of our Savior. I am guilty of being swept casually into the wave of consumerism that ebbs and flows through the world this time of year and that fact I will never deny.  But something special happened this year.  I amongst the many gifts I was ever grateful to receive this year I got two wonderful gifts, or treasures. The first is a simple silver necklace in the shape of a tear drop upon which an artist carefully replicated my fathers handwriting, a simple send off at the end of a letter that is now immortalized for me to wear close to my heart. A treasure, not just a gift. Second was a painting I have been admiring since I returned home from Africa.  I am a lover of art and I find pictures of my Savior to be specifically compelling.  In this painting Christ is holding a small African child. Again, not just a gift but a treasure.

Even though Christmas is over I hope we all remember why we celebrate and we carry that spirit throughout the next year.

Merry Christmas.

3 Down Who Knows How Many More to Go

Meet Hank.

As of today Hank has gotten me through 3 finals weeks. He is covered in mascara stains, has a few holes and even a spot that was melted by a flat iron.
This week not only did Hank get me through all 4 of my tests he also got me through:
3 all nighters
2 nervous break downs
14 hours of crying
8 showers to get warm
32 hours in the library
10 rounds of ibuprofen
6 skipped meals
4 McDonald's runs and
lots of Diet Coke

All I can say is I am so glad this week and this semester is over.

Angels

Did you know that there are Angels everywhere? They are watching out for us, guiding us, and still loving us from the other side of the veil.
Genesis 25:8 says:
 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good ^aold age, an old man, and full of years; and was ^bgathered to his people.
Abraham was "gathered to his people" or his family. 

"The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work... Enveloped in the flaming fire, they are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained there with."

-Joseph Smith

The spirits of our loved ones past, present, and future, are with us, they walk beside us, they know our thoughts, our pains and our emotions.  They guide others to help us, they comfort us, they help direct us in paths of righteousness.

Over the past few years I have watched the hand of the Lord in my life, the life of my friends and family and I have come to the conclusion that our loved ones never really leave us.  They stay with us.  The veil is so so very thin. I have watched random acts of kindness that prove that we can be earthly angles to those around us.  We can be the hand by which our father or the spirits of our ancestors help others.

I am so blessed to have many angles looking out for me. My dad, my grandma, my aunt Jenni, and my friends Paige and Tiffany.

D&C 42

 45 Thou shalt ^alive together in ^blove, insomuch that thou shalt^cweep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not ^dhope of a glorious resurrection.

 46 And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not^ataste of ^bdeath, for it shall be ^csweet unto them;

We made it 2 whole years

Today marks 2 whole years since my dad passed away.  I honestly cannot believe it. Today, in order to keep myself from crying all day and spending the day in bed under my beautiful down comforter, I decided to do everything I could to celebrate everything my dad was. Eat his favorite foods, do things he loved, and celebrate his life not mourn his passing.  So I chronicled my day (past couple weeks) in pictures.

a few weeks ago Elder Zwick came and spoke at our Stake Conference.  He was a good friend of my dad

This morning I ate oatmeal for breakfast, my dad's favorite breakfast

Last weekend when I went home I visited my dad.  This is my favorite place to think

A day/week in honor of my dad would not be complete without cheesy scrambled eggs

Before

And a not very good after pic

13 inches donated. 2.5 years ago I decided to grow out my hair to make a wig for my dad.  Today 2 years after his passing.  I chopped it all off and donated it to someone else who could really use it

ice cream.... that is pretty self explanatory

Ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse with some awesome friends.  It was so wonderful to know that Leah was looking forward to this as much as I was all day. It was also so wonderful that Yusuf and Nadir decided to come along. A nice steak dinner was in order after a very long emotional day.

(unrelated to my day of celebration, but we had a lot of left overs)

ya know, it is still really hard.  There are days where all I do is cry and cry and cry.  But my dad would want me to be happy. So today was all about being happy and celebrating his life not mourning his death.  It has still been a really hard day but I am getting through it.  My dad is still my best friend and my hero, and he always will be. 

This song is one that means the world to me. It really hits home

thanks for all the love and support

The Big 4

So if you know me you know that I am a huge fan of making lists, goals and bucket lists. Well lately I have been thinking a lot about my future and what I want to do with my life.  I have settled on 4 goals, or the Big 4 as I have come to call them.  These goals have been thought about and prayed about to a point where I feel so so very excited about my future.  Well without further adieu here they are

1. Travel to every continent and do humanitarian work (I will visit Antarctica but I do not know if you can do any humanitarian work there)
2. Start a Non-Profit
3. Work for Huntsman Cancer Foundation/Hospital
4. Become a motivational/inspirational speaker

Maybe since I have put them here some of you who read this will help hold me accountable.  You can be whoever you want to be.  You can do whatever you want to do.  The only thing holding you back is yourself.

Now a bunch of random pinterest quotes if you care to read them