The Misadventures of Miss Independent

The End. The Beginning

2011-06-14T23:29:00.000-06:00

I have a somber announcement. This will be the final entry in The Misadventures of Miss Independent. As a newly married woman, I can no longer claim the title.

The good news is that I have a new blog: http://www.thelovinlebarons.blogspot.com so you can follow my new married life blog and get your daily dose of Carly awesomeness.

Peace and Love!

Now I Know I'm in the Right Field

2011-04-19T17:57:00.000-06:00

I just had a really cool moment that I wanted to record, specifically for myself when times get tough. I received an email that I had been assigned a new therapy case in the Clinic I work at. I opened my our case management system (CMS) and began reading the intake. At the very end it said, "Would like to be seen by therapist referred to them named Carly Larsen."

It always gives me a little lift when I feel like I'm helping my clients. But it is so cool to know that your clients like you enough and think you are helping the enough that they would refer friends, family, and other loved ones to you.

As I went back to the main page of CMS that lists all my clients, I realized that half of the cases on my list had requested me as the therapist due to referrals. This blows me away because once you get out of school and start working in an agency or in your own practice, most of your business comes from referrals and word of mouth. So, as a business-minded therapist, it thrills me to know that I have the capacity to succeed in this manner.

On a personal level, my eyes started to tear up and I had the overwhelming assurance that I am in the right profession. It can be really discouraging and incredibly difficult to be a therapist. But it is so wonderfully rewarding at the same time! It feels so good to know that I am making a difference in people's lives. It's more than I can ask for and everything I could want!

That's all I really have today. It feels good to know I'm in the right place.

LDS General Conference

2011-04-02T12:22:00.001-06:00

I love Conference!

That seems like a pretty obvious, cliche statement, but it's true.

I have my deepest and most poignant testimony-affirming moments listening to the prophets and apostles.

There are so many things that I love about what I've heard so far, and it's only just after the first session!

I loved the talk by Sister Stevens about how children can influence us to be more like Christ, especially the story of the little boy doing radiation treatments. He knew that if he could only hear his father's voice, he would be okay in the room alone. How deeply significant to how we feel about our Heavenly Father; if we can just hear Him, we find comfort!

I loved Brother Richards' emphasis on the importance of pain and suffering in bringing us to humility and bringing us closer to the Savior. "No pain we suffer, no trial we experience, is wasted." I truly believe that. An especially beautiful story was that of the young girl having a tumor removed from her spine who woke to tell her father of their loving family, all deceased, that tended to her bedside and later related, "All little kids here have angels." As my sweet cousin faces his own fight with leukemia, I know with a surety that that is true for him as well. Tanner, angels tend your bedside. Those who love you, who have passed on, stand just outside your vision, but not outside your feelings, and strengthen you during your fight.

The most influential for me has been the mention of temples. As I prepare to enter the Temple to receive my endowments and then, soon after, marry the amazing man my Father in Heaven prepared for me, my heart is full and my testimony is strong of temples and eternal families. I cannot wait to marry you, Kevin Ryan LeBaron, and share our lives for the rest of forever.

I can't wait for the rest of Conference to lift and encourage me!

Ph.D. of Death....ok, not really

2011-03-27T09:13:00.001-06:00

I woke up a little earlier than I had planned today and I don't have church until 10:45, so I'm going to finally talk about school stuff!

Up to this point, I've been thinking, "Wow, this Ph.D. thing ain't too bad!" We didn't have to take tons of classes or see as many clients as I did during my Master's, and our research is mostly self-motivated. I was feeling pretty good about it all.

Then I found out this week that there is a boatload of extra stuff that we have to do that I wasn't aware of! AND I just happened to find it out at the end of the semester when all of my big papers and projects are due... And when I am scrambling to finish wedding stuff with only 68 days until The Big Day... And to top it all off, I just got approved for submission on a manuscript and they gave me 30 days to fix what they asked me to fix or they won't publish it. Great timing, JFR...haha!

So, needless to say, I'm a tad bit stressed out about school right now. Okay, more than a tad bit; a TON bit!

Other than that, school is going great. I'm doing well in my classes and getting really into my research. I've selected my dissertation topic: Self-esteem in women across the lifecourse. I might try to use it as a predictor variable for other things or see if it's endogenous to something else, but we'll cross that statistical bridge when we come to it. Right now I'm focusing on another paper: Marital Power as a Predictor for Marital Happiness in Women in Midlife, which I have to finish a poster of by tomorrow for the MLF Conference at BYU (hmm, perhaps I could be working on that instead of blogging...nah). Then I'll be doing two more papers using Growth Curve Analysis; one on Women's Personality over the Lifecourse and another on Affection in Marriage over the Lifecourse. I'm working out of a longitudinal data set for the first time and it's awesome to be able to compare time points for the same people instead of doing so cross-sectionally.

We only have two-three-ish more weeks of classes; one of my classes is done meeting formally already and next week is the last time for another class. Then, just 1 more week of SEM (advanced statistical methods) after that and my 2nd semester of my doctoral program will be over! No finals, just big projects to finish and turn in!

The new "boatload of extra stuff" I referred to earlier is my Ph.D. Portfolio (a.k.a. Comps), a Professional Development Internship, and then my actual Internship during my 3rd year (which I can't start until I pass Comps and defend my Dissertation Prospectus). The Portfolio is a bunch of professional papers, presentations at professional conferences, manuscripts submitted to journals, case presentation, etc. that I have to start planning for now or I'll never get done on time. I can also start working on my Professional Development stuff so I can start accruing hours towards that.

I'm also teaching a couple classes when they need me. I teach a Graduate level course in the Fall with my bff/sidekick Lauren and I'm working with a professor in SFL to find me a semester to teach a section of the undergraduate Marriage Prep class. I definitely want to do some part time teaching at the university level once I graduate because I enjoy teaching a lot!

I'm still seeing about 5 hours of clients a week, which isn't nearly what I was doing at the Master's level (it was more like 8-12 hours then) because the Ph.D. only requires 200 hours in 3 years to graduate compared to the 500 hours in 2 years at the Master's level. But, I'm still going to work towards 500 hours during my Ph.D. so I can accrue enough hours to take the national licensing exam (it requires a total of 1000 face-to-face client hours, half of which have to be relational therapy hours) and get my full MFT license. So, since we only have Practicum during Spring/Summer terms, I'm going to try to increase my client load over the summer and get those hours adding up!

All in all, I'm a busy girl, but I'm really enjoying the experience. I've got a great Ph.D. cohort (classmates) that really help and support each other. I've got a wonderfully supportive and hard-working fiance!

Life is pretty darn good.

Dress Bliss!!!

2011-01-23T22:31:00.001-07:00

I FOUND MY WEDDING DRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it's BEAUTIFUL!!!

It's the only dress of the 20+ that I tried on that I got emotional in.

I didn't think I would be the kind of girl that would "just know" when she found the right dress, but I guess I am.

It was the first dress that I tried on and I just kept going back to it.

I guess that's how I knew. I couldn't stop thinking about it!

After I had tried it on for the third time (in the third store I went to), I stood in front of the mirror and didn't want to take it off. It fit me like a glove, had all the elements I wanted, and made me feel like a bride.

Let's just hope it comes in on time to get it altered before the big day!

And sorry, no pictures of it or mention of what it is get to be posted on the blog. Wouldn't want my groom to get curious and accidentally stumble upon it and ruin the surprise!

Matrimony on my Mind

2011-01-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay. I've been debating about whether to post this or not because I keep hearing horror stories about girls that constantly talk about their wedding and the friends and families of those girls that want to stick whole wedding cakes in their mouths to shut them up. However, I don't think I've been one of those girls up to this point. I pretty much keep my wedding plans to myself, Kevin, and my mom. So, that means I have a little leeway to be able to talk about this exciting day that pretty much consumes 50% of my brain power each day. Plus, I like to think that the few people that actually read my blog are interested enough that they'll want to hear how wedding planning is going!

Here's my only caveat on posting wedding stuff though: I really want people who attend to be delightfully surprised by the theme we've picked and all the little details that we're putting into it. So, I won't be going into too much detail about what we're up to so that I can preserve the element of surprise!

Let's start with one of the most exciting things: I'm going dress shopping on Friday!!! I seriously cannot wait. Just thinking that there is another day and a half before I get to go is almost killing me. I'm more excited for this than I was for Christmas, haha! This is probably one of the only things that I will take a picture of and let people see because I think it will be such a different look in person with the dress/hair/makeup/wedding-day-glow that people will still be surprised!

Like I hinted at earlier, we've picked a theme! It took me two solid months of jumping back and forth between what I wanted the feel of the day to be and I just couldn't think of anything that fully encapsulated all of the things I wanted on our special day. But then, one day, like a bolt of lightning, it came to me! And it's....a surprise. Teehee! I know, I'm killing you guys. But I promise that it is super awesome, wonderful, and very much Carly/Kevin-centric. I will tell you that it's whimsical, fun, colorful, and vintage-y. But that's all you're getting...for now!

Next, we've been super lucky with finding vendors that are right for us. We are super blessed to have some great friends that have been in the wedding business for years that will share this special day with us.
1) One of my oldest and dearest friends, Jessica Smith, will be doing out Photography. She does such beautiful work. Check her out here and here and I promise you won't be disappointed!
2) Our family friend, Julie Stenquist, will be doing our cake for us. She's been in the cake business for over a decade and branched out to decorating and event planning. You can find Fairytale Events by Julie here.
3) My uncle is a chef at the Coppermill (a great restaurant in Logan, if you've never heard of it before), so there's our caterers.
4) We found the cutest venue for our reception. I'm also going to keep that one a secret for a while because it links in to our theme a little bit! But it's so beautiful and close to the Logan Temple.
5) I fell in love with the perfect bridesmaids dresses and will be ordering them soon too. (Another secret that I might post about later)
6) We found an amazingly nice and amazingly affordable DJ. If you're looking for one, check out Allstar Events here. We met with Josh last week and he was so great and easy to work with.
7) We also found another affordable vendor that will be supplying us with two very special surprises for our guests at the reception. Ooo, I'm so excited about these ones that I totally want to spill the beans, but it would ruin the fun!

My mom and I went wedding crazy over the Christmas break and got a lot of stuff done. We have the majority of the decorations, centerpieces, etc. I'm a big fan of DIY-ing (Do-it-yourself-...ing) so I have about five projects that I'm doing for the reception and my mom is doing a big project for something else (also a surprise). I just love putting stuff together for the wedding that add a very personal touch. I'm also having one of my bridesmaids, my awesome friend Sarah, help me come up with some designs for signs and stuff. I'm so excited to see what she'll come up with (she's a wiz at graphic design)!

We've got a busy wedding-related schedule this weekend. Like I mentioned, wedding dress shopping, meeting with the lady who might do our invitations, picking up some old-fashioned-y secret stuff, then meeting with a potential videographer. Whew! With all that stuff done, we'll only have to get the suits for the guys, find a florist, and find a hair/makeup person for me, then we'll be pretty much set!

On a post-wedding related note: Today, Kevin and I went apartment shopping and we've narrowed the choices down to 3. We just have one more that I need to see in person (Kev has already seen it) before we make a decision. We're looking at Cambridge Court, Union Square, and Nelsons Apartments. We're definitely going to need to make Pro and Con lists to make the choice!

I think that's the extent of it. I've heard how stressful wedding planning can be, but I've actually been okay so far. I think most of that can be attributed to our 8 month engagement and doing a little bit at a time. Now that it's coming closer, I'm a little bit more time-pressured, but I'm still doing good. I've been super blessed to have great support from Kevin and SO MUCH work and help from my amazing Mom!

That's all for now. Can't wait to share more in the future!

Long Time, No Blog

2010-12-03T19:26:00.001-07:00

It has been an age and a half since the last time that I blogged about anything. I guess I've just been caught up in the fervor of being newly engaged, being a new doctoral student, and the crazy loops that life throws my way. But I'm having one of those rare, wholly content, tear-welling-ly peaceful moments. I just put dinner into the oven, turned out all the lights in my living room and kitchen, plugged in my beautiful Christmas lights, and popped in one of my favorite Christmas CDs. As I sat down to wait for my dinner to bake, I thought, "What a perfect time to catch up on some blogging."

First, life as an engaged woman: It. Is. Amazing! I highly recommend it to everyone! I don't think I have ever been this happy in my life. I am so incredibly grateful for my wonderful fiance/future husband, Kevin. I honestly can't imagine a man better suited to be my eternal companion. He is the perfect mix of silly and sincere, humble and confident, encouraging and patient, passionate and relaxed, and wonderfully giving, aware of and responsive to my needs. I can talk to him about absolutely anything and everything! He is my best friend. We are so blessed to have each other and we thank God every day for the manner in which He brought us together! I'm so excited because we are getting married exactly 6 months from today!!!!

Second, I swear I will finish the chronicles of my East Coast Adventure...eventually.

Third, I'm a little late posting this, but it's important enough to go back to:

What Puts the "Thanks" into my Thanksgiving:

1. Kevin Ryan LeBaron (see above)

2. My amazing, dedicated, talented mother

3. My hard-working, patient, kind father

4. My tenacious, high-spirited, loving big sister

5. My sweet, energetic, precious nephew

6. My adorable, sassy, beautiful niece

7. For the new man in my sister's life who treats her and her kids like the sacred gifts they are

8. My future in-laws: their kindness, warmth, and welcoming

9. My comforts: Roof over head, food in my belly, warm clothing, and financial security

10. My education and everyone who has helped me get to where I am with it

11. Good friends, old and new, that make my life shiny and delicious

12. My Father in Heaven, without whom I am nothing and have nothing

13. My Savior, Jesus Christ, my Comforter and constant, loving companion

14. My faith and knowledge of the gospel: It provides me with comfort, direction, and peace

15. And all the other wonderful people, places, and things that the Lord has provided me

Fourth, I'm knee deep in planning my wedding and I couldn't possibly be having more fun. I'm so glad that we have as much time as we do so we can plan the perfect event.

(No, this isn't my dress. I haven't gone looking yet)

My mom is so wonderful, helping me with every avenue of the planning, so kind with her time and energy. I love you mom!

Fifth, did I mention that I'm getting married?!?! ...What? ...Oh... ...I did? Ok...moving on then...

Sixth, over Thanksgiving, I went out to California to meet Kevin's family for the very first time. It was so much fun and totally busy. His mom did not only Thanksgiving, but planned an Engagement Party for us the Saturday afterwards! She went so far out of her way for us, it was truly humbling. All of Kevin's friends and family welcomed me into the family with open arms, for which I am very grateful! The food was great and super fancy. (Speaking of food, if you like Mexican food and you are ever in Martinez, CA, head over to Los Panchos! Mmmmm, delicious!)

Seventh, Trans Siberian Orchestra is just about the best Christmas music ever. If you love Christmas and you love rock'n'roll, give them a listen.

Eighth, I'm turning 25 in two weeks. It's a little bit surreal. I feel like I'm not nearly that old. But I also feel like I'm eons older than that. It's a strange combination. I've always been told that I have an old soul, so maybe that's what I'm feeling there. On the other hand, 25 seems to be a pretty good number. Does that mean that I'm due for a mid-midlife crisis? I'm not feeling very crisis-y...but maybe I will in the next few weeks...

Ninth, my family is going on vacation to Florida at the end of the month and I am SOOOooOososo stoked! We're going to Universal Studios, to the new Harry Potter attraction. And Disney World, of course. It's going to be so much fun! My nephew is going to flip when he finds out on Christmas Eve that it's his Christmas present. I can't wait to see his little face light up!

Tenth, I don't really have anything else to say. It just didn't seem right to stop at nine. Although I could talk about school...I don't know if I want to start out my weekend that way. Maybe I'll talk about school another day. It's going well, to be vague and mysterious. I like my research. I won't bore you with it.

Now for useless facts that I'm going to type for no particular reason:

It's cold outside.

Snow is white.

...except when it's not...yuck.

Milk is creamy.

Music is soothing.

I can cook.

My phone is neat-o.

22 days until Christmas.

Blankets are cozy.

Cheese is tasty.

I like to sing at the top of my lungs.

........ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH!

Zumba is fun.

I am silly.

I am loved.

I am grateful.

I am blessed.

I Can't Stop Smiling!!!

2010-10-10T16:06:00.003-06:00

We interrupt the recounting of my East Coast Adventures for this important announcement:

I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!

That's right, Miss Independent is no longer quite so independent! I'm engaged to the most wonderful man that has ever graced my presence. Kevin is the cheese to my macaroni, the peanut butter to my jelly, the potato chips to my bologna sandwich...yeah, maybe that one only makes sense to me. When it comes right down to it, he is my puzzle piece! We fit together so naturally and wonderfully that I can't imagine my life without him.

For those of you who don't know our story, here's the Reader's Digest version. We lived in the same apartment complex (The Crestwood) between August 2008-August 2009 and we were in the same ward. However, we didn't officially meet until February 2009 after a ward activity. I started hanging out with his group of friends and Kevin and I started to get to know each other. We really started hanging out and becoming good friends during the summer of 2009. We officially started dating in August 2009 and dated on and off until February 2010. We took a short break to figure ourselves out; we ALWAYS loved each other, but there were some things we both needed to figure out. Let me just say that I have an incredible testimony of the Lord's timeline and how important it is to find and marry the right person, in the right place, at the right time. We were still best friends throughout our break and we both received confirmation from the Lord that it was finally the right time for us to be together in early September 2010.

Which brings us to today and the story that you've all been waiting for:

I had a strong inkling that Kevin was going to propose to me on Saturday, October 9, 2010 and I wasn't disappointed. Kevin told me the day before that he needed me to be ready for our "date" by 1:00 in the afternoon, so I primped and fussed to look as cute as I could. I got a text from him that day telling me to dress comfortably and he asked me earlier that week to find out where the Clyde building was on BYU campus, but those were the only hints I had. I was ready at 1, but he texted me and told me to be patient. It wasn't until 2 that he sent me a simple text message... "Open your door."

So I did. And this is what I found:

...an envelope taped to my door...

...and inside it was this note...

A Scavenger Hunt!!

I knew exactly where to go. We had met playing Cops and Robbers in the Clyde Building on BYU Campus with our friends. I was a cop and Kevin was a robber. As I was making my way down to the robber safe zone, I heard running footsteps and so I ran towards the place where the hallways intersect. When I got to the juncture, I literally ran into the fleeing Kevin mere feet from where he would have been safe. He put up a fuss about being so close that he considered himself safe, but I stood my ground and called him out, haha! My first impression of him..."Hmm, he's really cute. But cocky as heck!"

So after I read the clue, I drove to campus, went to the Clyde Building...

...and went straight to the robber safe zone where I found the next envelope with this clue inside...

I had to think about this one for a minute. Our first serious conversation was in front of our friend Jessie's apartment at the Crestwood, but that was at the end of June. This clue said March, so I thought for another minute... Then I had it! My roommate and I had joined Kevin's FHE group to go get root beer floats at an A&W once where Kevin came over and chatted with me after finding out that I was from Logan. He told me that he served part of his mission there, then we finished our small talk and he awkwardly walked away. :)

So I drove to the A&W/KFC where we went that night, and found the spot...

...I checked in between the space and found another envelope propped up with a Book of Mormon...

...inside the envelope was the next clue...

I knew where this one was right away, too. That night, Kevin had texted me and invited me to come to Comedy Sportz with a group of our friends. I brought my friend Benton to be my wingman since I didn't know these friends as well as our main group of friends.

I drove to Comedy Sportz and tried to figure out where the next clue would be. I texted Kevin to make sure that I had the right spot and he reassured me that I did...

...I peeked next to the tree in front of the Comedy Sportz building and found my next clue...

This one was easy. Our first kiss was in the kitchen of my old apartment at The Crestwood!

I found my next clue taped to the bottom of the fence...

We had our very first date at Carrabbas, an Italian restaurant in Provo. Fighting the game day traffic, I drove to the restaurant and pulled into the parking lot. As I was looking for a parking spot, I spotted Kevin's best friend Marc and Marc's fiance Ashleigh walking towards the restaurant. When they saw my car, they darted behind another car and hid. Yup, I was in the right place. As I walked toward the restaurant to look under the benches, Marc and Ashleigh were peeking out from behind the car they were hiding behind, so I smiled at them and laughed.

Finding my next clue, I walked back to the car, getting a mocking "Ca-caw!" from Marc as I left.

I drove to Carriage Cove, texted Kevin, and he came down with his backpack. We were going hiking, he only brings his backpack when we go on a hike. Ah yes, dress comfortable, now I get it! Kevin gave me a kiss, took the driver's seat, and we drove to get some cash from the market. He didn't tell me where we were going, just drove with a big smile on his face. By that point, my cheeks were sore from smiling, and it wasn't over yet!

I waited in the car while he got some cash, then he came back with a pack of my favorite gum...

...he'd given me the same thing as a present on our first date!

We drove on I-15 for a while then took the Highland/Alpine exit where we ended up at the entrance to American Fork Canyon. This road is called Alpine Loop, it's a magnificently beautiful drive through the mountains connecting American Fork Canyon to Provo Canyon.

We stopped at the entrance, bought our pass...

and drove on...

My cute, amazing, sweet, fantastic, wonderful boyfriend (now fiance)!!!

The mountains were so beautiful and the fall colors were breathtaking! I rolled down the window and breathed in the cool mountain air. It even smelled like Autumn!

We stopped at a little area that we had hiked before with our friends when we first started dating. There isn't an official name for it, but our friends and us call it Twilight Meadow because it looks like the meadow from the Twilight movie. We had taken our first picture here as a couple! We hiked that trail and just about as we got to the meadow, we came across a chubby, bearded hippie in a tank top and camo shorts who lectured us for 10 minutes on black bears, haha. A little paranoid after that, we continued on to the hill in the middle of the meadow and stopped at the top.

Kevin told me that he was going to get out the lunch that he brought for us, so I turned away to take a picture...

"Carly, I forgot the food..." After he said this, I turned back around and there was Kevin, down on one knee, smiling up at me. He took my arms and told me how much he loves me and how he can't wait to spend the rest of his life with me. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a lovely wood box, opened it and asked, "Carly, will you marry me?"

I beamed back at him, told him "Yes!! Of Course!!" and he slipped the ring on my finger. He stood up, beaming, kissed me, wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around. We hugged and kissed, overjoyed to be officially engaged!!!

I took a few pictures of my ring...

...had Kevin pose for some pictures for me...

...and took the obligatory "We just got engaged!" picture...

Here is my beautiful ring!

And there you have it, our engagement story!

East Coast Adventure: Day Three

2010-10-06T19:08:00.000-06:00

East Coast Adventure

Day 3

After an awesome day of walking all around D.C., I woke up around 9 the next morning. Lexie's sweet mom made us a breakfast casserole for, well, breakfast. She also made this delicious pumpkin bread that we snacked on, too.

While Colette and Marietta sleep in a little, Lexie and I drove down to the beach by her house right off the Chesapeake Bay.

As is my tradition, I walked barefoot with my flip flops left abandoned on the beach. Lexie and I combed the beach for interesting shells, while avoiding stepping on beached jelly fish. There were little families, dogs, and the beautiful vistas that you can only find at the beach. I even found a crab leg left abandoned in the sand; it was such a pretty blue color!

We reluctantly drove back to the house to get ready to go jet skiing. After we were loaded up with drinks, swimsuits, lifejackets, and lunch, we headed out to the home of one of the Pfeifer's ward members who live right on the bay. They had this great little dock that came down to the water and two of the cutest and funniest dogs I've ever seen. I got super excited as I saw my first live crabs and jellyfish swimming in the water.

I was a little nervous to go jet skiing for the first time in my life, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. We spent a long time cruising around the Bay, racing each other, and watching Colette and Dave throw themselves off their jet ski. I would have been much more willing to join them in the warm water except for the ridiculously excessive amounts of jellyfish polluting the area. Everyone that got thrown into the water got stung at least once, so I avoided getting into the water as if it would wash away my winning personality, haha!

Since I sunburn like an albino, I took a little break on the dock with my book ("Eat, Pray, Love" which is an excellent read if you are looking for a fun, insightful jaunt around the world) and watched the dogs chase crabs and watch their reflections in the water.

Once we were done jet skiing the day away, we went back to the house and got cleaned up. Then Lexie's parents took us to a local steakhouse for dinner. Everyone got big steaks or fancy seafood but I went for the chicken fingers with honey mustard dipping sauce, mmmm mmmm! Yes, I did get teased for my safe/boring choice, but I know what I like! And what I don't like...seafood. I guess I just have a very refined taste...or I'm just plain picky! :)

We drove back to the house and drove past the Reba concert in progress. Lexie's mom dropped Lex and I off so we could stand outside and listen to the last part of the concert that was being held in an outdoor amphitheater. Lexie loves Reba and I think she's pretty frickin' awesome too, so it was cool to listen to her sing live.

Once we got back, we had a little pow wow about our plans for the next day. Lexie, Dave, and Colette decided to go jet skiing again the next day and Marietta and I decided to go back into D.C. and do some more sightseeing. Then it was time for bed around 11:30 for me!

East Coast Adventure: Day Two

2010-09-22T10:07:00.000-06:00

Alright everyone, I finally got the rest of the pictures from my trip, so get ready for the rest of my East Coast Adventure...

East Coast Adventure

Day 2

For our first full day on the East Coast, we woke up around 7:30 a.m. (which just so happens to be 5:30 a.m. MST). After getting ready, having a little breakfast, and packing some lunches, we headed out from Lexie's parents' house in St. Leonard, Maryland to the Reagan Airport to pick up Marietta's roommate/friend, Colette. It was raining like crazy as we drove, so we knew it was going to be a rainy day as we walked around D.C.

After we collected the adorable Colette, we drove back to the Branch Avenue Metro Station. So here's the deal: There is little to no parking in D.C. itself and the parking that is there costs big money! So, most people take the Metro, which is like a cleaner version of the subway.

You can buy an All-Day Pass that lets you ride as much as you want for about $9, or you can put specific amounts of money on a metro card and use it for several days in a row. Needless to say, we used several different types of metro cards and several cards throughout our week stay there while we tried to figure things out, haha!

Anyway, we took the green line from Branch Avenue, switched to the Blue Line at L'Enfant Station, and took the blue line to the Smithsonian Station. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about doing the whole public-transportation-in-a-big-city thing, but after that first ride, it was easy and even fun to navigate the Metro System.

Me and Colette on the Metro

Marietta and Lexie on the Metro!

Coming out of the Metro, we started to wander around in the sprinkling rain to figure out where we wanted to go first. We ended up on the steps of a building that we thought was the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, which it was, but it was actually the office building where people work, not the tourist location. Luckily, the doors were locked, so we didn't accidentally enter a government building without authorization... Turns out the tourist location was right across the street. We went there and someone came to the door and told us that we needed to go get tickets for a tour on the other side of the block, so we decided to divide and conquer. Colette and I went around the block to get tickets for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving tour and Lexie and Marietta went to get tickets for the Holocaust Museum, which was right next door. We met back up inside the Holocaust Museum and got ready to take the tour.

Important Note: If you ever go to Washington D.C., you MUST, and I repeat, MUST, go to the Holocaust Museum! It is one of the most powerful, touching experiences you will ever have. Ever! One of the unfortunate things is that you are not allowed to take pictures inside the Holocaust Museum, so I am going to attempt to explain my experience to you in the most in-depth way possible.

As you enter the area where the tour begins, you pick up a booklet according to your gender (women pick up female booklets and men pick up male booklets). Each booklet, or Identification Card, contains the story of a person from that era, your own personal tour guide through the horror of the war, the Nazi occupation, and the Holocaust.

My card was that of a lovely young Jewish mother named Rozia Grynbaum.

One of the employees came over to a large group of us and led us on to an elevator. The Holocaust Memorial Museum, she explained, is a four-floor self-guided tour. You are asked to maintain a spirit of reverence and respect as you guide yourselves through these floors, starting at the top and working your way back down to the entry level. Opening my Identification Card, I saw that it instructs you when to turn the page and read more about your person. The Museum tells the story of the Holocaust in a timeline beginning before the war and working its way to Post-war Europe. By turning the page when instructed, you travel this timeline in perfect sequence with the person in your Identification Card.

As we rode the elevator up, I read about Rozia... "Rozia was the second-oldest of nine children born to religious Jewish parents in Starachowice, a town in east-central Poland. Their small one-story house served as both the family's residence and their tailor shop. The tailoring was often done in exchange for goods such as firewood or a sack of potatoes. Rozia worked in the shop sewing women's clothing."

Stepping out onto the 4th floor, there were videos, pictures, and stories about what life was like in Pre-War Europe. Smiling faces, cultural celebrations, and singing abounded. Then they began the story of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. It was interesting to be reminded of how simple and benign Hitler appeared to the world as he made moves through the political sphere in Germany. It's a grave reminder that we must keep our leaders in check to ensure that their ideals are in alignment with truth, justice, and mercy.

In the museum, the air hangs heavy with a kind of sadness so thick you can taste it on your tongue. Unlike most other museums, no children laugh or play or run. Instead, they stand with solemn faces as their parents try to convey the weight of what happened in words they can understand. But the words don't seem necessary...the events are so deeply ingrained in our collective psyche that these young children seem to already understand; as if we ache from the very center of our genes.

There is so much I could say about all of the things that I saw, but I will only focus on some specific rooms and areas that I visited that had an immense effect on me. One area was modeled in the fashion of a concentration camp bunk house. In that room there were actually bunks taken from concentration camps. I don't believe in too many "supernatural" ideas, but I do believe in things retaining energy, especially when we assign meaning to these things. If I hadn't believed in that before, I certainly would have believed it after seeing these bunks. Standing mere inches from the "beds" where countless men and women were crammed in horrifying conditions gave me ice-cold chills. It is a feeling that I simply cannot describe. The words are just too inadequate.

Mere feet from the bunks was a raised concrete pit that hid TVs that were playing pictures and videos of the terrible experiments the Nazis conducted on camp prisoners. The TVs are placed there in order to prevent children from seeing these disturbing images; but I think its there too because even some adults would not be able to stomach these awful sights. I stood watching for several minutes. These haunting images created a slow-burning anger that started from the center of my chest and spread through my veins. How could this happen? Why? I had heard endless stories of these travesties throughout my education, but now the stories had faces. Faces...

Then there was the Shoe Room. A room filled only with piles of shoes taken from concentration camp prisoners right before they were led into gas chambers and murdered. A room so tragic and heart-wrenching that I had to fight the urge to drop to my knees and cry, with my forehead pressed up against the glass barrier that separated me from those shoes; big and small. I knew, without a doubt in my mind, that had I done so, every person in the room would have quietly walked over, knelt down beside me, put their arms around me, and cried too. These shoes were the final witnesses to the horror that men can inflict on their brothers and sisters.

...So many things make me want to turn away. But I don't. To turn away would be to disrespect those who suffered. So, in some small, small measure, I suffer with them. It only seems right...

At the end of the second floor, there is a large white marble room known as the Hall of Remembrance. Lining the walls of the circular room are black shrines with the names of concentration camps engraved in the dark marble. Under each of these are rows and rows of candles, some lit, some not. Here I had the opportunity to light a candle in remembrance of all those who died and all those who survived those unspeakably awful places. I lit a candle for Auschwitz. This moment cemented the entire experience into my memory. Everything that I had seen sunk in and I let a few tears fall.

Walking down the stairs to the first floor, my traveling companions caught up to me. One of them turned to me and ask, "Did you survive?" pointing to the Identification Card I clung to. Did I survive? Not she, I. For her to phrase it like that was so unexpected that I stood speechless for a moment. I turned the last page of Rozia's booklet... "At 4 a.m. one morning in October 1942, SS guards herded the town's Jews into the marketplace. The guards segregated the 'able-bodied' adults-those who could be used as forced laborers-from the children and the elderly. Rather than be separated from her two young daughters, Rozia joined them in their line. By 10 a.m. the selection was over; the column of 4,500 Jews where Rozia, her daughters, and her mother stood was marched to waiting cattle cars in the rail yard... The transport was sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, where Rozia, her daughters, and her mother were gassed." No. No, we did not survive.

What a powerful experience.

The Quote on the back of the Holocaust Museum.

After we left the Holocaust Museum, we realized that we had about an hour before our tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, so we walked over to the Washington Monument and ate our sack lunches.

We also got tickets to go to the top of the Washington Monument later that same day.

Sitting at the foot of the monument and munching my sandwich and chips, I watched countless families walking around D.C. It was so much fun to be able to see and appreciate all the different kinds of people-black families, Latino families, middle eastern families, even an Amish family-as they explored our Nation's capitol!

Next we headed for our tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, which I've mentioned several times. For those of you who don't know, they make the money there!

We walked in and they showed some kind of video clip...which I didn't pay attention to because I was G-chatting with Dave trying to arrange how we were going to pick him up from the airport. Then the tour guide came in and introduced herself. Most importantly, they warned us to be sure that our shoe laces were tightly tied... What? Yes, tightly tied. Why?... Because we would be going up an escalator...yeah... Anyway, they showed us three separate stages of how the money is printed (actual workers who probably get sick of being gawked at several times a day, every day). This time they were printing the brand new style of 100 dollar bills which won't be released until February 2011. It was so overwhelming seeing that amount of money in one place at one time. There was a sign down in the workers area that read, "Just think how I feel. I just printed my life salary in a matter of minutes," and another that teased, "Free Samples! Tomorrow." Again, no taking pictures inside or you might find yourself wearing some shiny silver bracelets and facing a federal offense...

You end the tour in the gift shop, of course, so we played around in there for a while.

Colette and some giant money!

Marietta is $1,584,400 tall!

After that, Lexie went to pick Dave up at the airport while Marietta, Colette, and I went back to the Washington Monument to go to the top. The guy who ran the elevator was a total riot. While we were getting off the elevator, he chatted our ears off about how he personally escorted President Obama and his family around the monuments. When at the top of the Monument, you are 500 feet in the air and you can look out tiny windows on all four sides of the building and see the rest of D.C. laid out in front of you.

I took pictures out each window, but it was so gray and stormy outside, that it's hard to see anything, so you get the pictures of the guides.

Back down the elevator we went and off to another adventure!

Looking up at the Monument from right below it!

Cool pic of one of the flags outside the Washington Monument!

As we were walking, it started to rain really hard so the 3 of us had to try to stay dry under the one umbrella. It proved to be pretty impossible and we all ended up getting pretty soaked!

But we made it to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in one piece.

We stopped in the bathroom to dry off a little bit, haha!

One of the first things that we saw in the Museum was the Easter Island Head from the movie "Night at the Museum." (As a side note, when I told my nephew that I saw the "gum gum, dum dum" head from one of his favorite movies, he was so excited!)

There were so many things to see and do in the museum! We saw a real, dead, giant squid (eww, squishy), saw...

...what we would have looked like as early human neanderthals,...

ME!

Colette!

Marietta!

...saw dinosaur bones (including the T-Rex from Night at the Museum),...

...the infamous Hope Diamond,...

...lots of other breathtakingly beautiful jewels and jewelry pieces, and tons of other stuff! After wandering for hours, we met back up with Lexie and Dave and then left the museum.

We got back into the car and started driving around to the monuments. First up was the Lincoln Memorial, which was so cool! He is just as majestic and amazing up close and in person as I had always imagined.

The Lincoln Memorial

We snuck up behind them for this pic!

So Cool!!!

I wanted to get a picture that looked like the back of a penny with Abe peeking out between the pillars!

Next was the Jefferson Monument!

The man himself!

Huggable pillars...

And beautiful vistas!

On the way back to the car, I saw my very first fireflies! Dave even caught one for me so I could see it up close. So awesome!

Then we took some pictures in front of the Capitol.

Finally, we drove back to St. Leonard and had dinner (lasagna, fresh bread, and salad) and great conversation with Lexie's mom. Then we settled in to watch a movie. What movie, you ask? "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" of course! Then bedtime! Whew, what a long and wonderful day!

East Coast Adventure: Day One

2010-08-29T19:55:00.001-06:00

Since you all are dying to here about my trip, I'm starting to do the posting of my adventures! I can do Day 1 today, but it may be a couple more days before I can do the rest since I'm still waiting to get some pictures from my travel companions. But here we go!

East Coast Adventure

Day 1

Day one started off REALLY early! Marietta’s friend, Shay, took Marietta and I to the airport at 3:30 a.m. I had been up until 1:00 a.m. finishing up cleaning checks at my apartment, so I got about 2 hours of sleep the night before. Shay dropped us off at the American Airlines terminal and we walked in to see a huge line of departing missionaries checking in at the one open check-in desk. So, needless to say, it was a bit of a wait to check-in and check my baggage but it was funny to see the super-excited and somewhat nervous guys getting ready to go out and serve the Lord!

When we finally got on the plane, I was seated right next to one of the Elders that was on his way to Baton Rouge. We chatted with him for a little bit (Marietta even showed him a picture of her little sister to hook him up), then he promptly fell asleep, along with most of the other people on our 6 a.m. flight. I read for most of the way, listened to a little music, and we landed in Dallas for our layover. Still exhausted, we chilled by our gate and got on our connecting flight to Reagan Airport in D.C about an hour and a half later.

Once we landed, Lexie picked us up at baggage claim and we started on our grand adventure… and promptly got lost trying to find our way out of D.C. and towards southern Maryland, where Lexie’s parents live… As we were driving though, I had plenty of time to awe at just how many trees there were everywhere. For those of you from Utah, driving in Maryland is like constantly driving in the canyon of the mountains. There are trees all around you and you never get a chance to see very far in any direction to orient yourself. It was seriously like being in a forest the whole time!

Somehow we magically ended up near the D.C. temple (which is the opposite direction we were trying to go), but we took this blessed opportunity to stop and see it.

Reflection Pool!

We went into the Visitor’s Center...

...and there were a few people sitting in front of the Christus talking to the missionaries.

No matter how far from home I am, seeing that beautiful statue of my Savior makes me feel right at home!

One of the sister missionaries came over to us and told us about a wonderful sculpture exhibit on the life and ministry of Christ that they were running in one of the side rooms. All of the sculptures were breathtakingly beautiful!

I loved the one of the adulteress woman,...

...the one of Christ raising Lazurus from the dead,...

...the one of Christ in Gesthemane,...

...the one of Christ walking on water and the quote following it,...

...Heavenly Father and Jesus appearing to Joseph Smith,...

...and Christ healing the leper.

But my absolute favorite was the life-sized sculpture of Christ.

I’ve seen many different representations of the Savior, but this one was so lifelike! It was a combination of the material (bronze) it was made from, the fact that it was literally lifesized (not huge like the Christus or small like the other statues in the collection), and the look on His face. Standing there, staring into His eyes, it literally felt as if the statue would come to life and speak to me. It was overwhelming to the point of tears getting this small glimpse of what it will be like to one day stand in His presence.

Seriously, I wish I could convey the power of that moment! If you get the chance to see it, go!!!

After we left the temple grounds, we were debating the idea of taking the Metro (which is like the subway, for those of you who don’t know) to Georgetown and going to a cupcake shop Marietta wanted to visit. We even stopped at two different Metro stations and argued the pros and cons. We decided to wait for another day when we were already going into the city in order to save money since the Metro costs! So we made our way to Lexie’s parents’ house in St. Leonard, Maryland. We met Lexie’s mom and she was absolutely delightful! She welcomed us with open arms to her home and offered us food (which, if you know me, won my heart immediately). We spent the rest of the night just hanging out and then went to bed pretty early because we were pretty dang exhausted.

I'll leave you with a picture of a quote in the D.C. Temple Visitor's Center that pretty much sums up this day for me:

Love List

2010-08-10T23:46:00.000-06:00

Top Ten Things I Love Today:

10) The feel of soft, freshly cleaned carpet on my bare feet

9) Air conditioning

8) Being treated like a lady by the nice fellas at Jiffy Lube

7) Sassy high heeled shoes

6) Funny Youtube videos

5) Freshly baked banana bread

4) Donating things to charity

3) Drinking lots and lots...and lots of water

2) Slacker radio on my FaBuLoUs phone

1) Excitement and anticipation for new things to come in the new school year!

'Tis Better to Have Loved and Lost...

2010-08-02T23:20:00.000-06:00

I've been considering doing this post for a long time knowing that it would require a big risk on my part. It will require me to be really vulnerable and to talk about something that is very close to my heart. Even as I start typing this, my eyes are welling up with tears...

But I'm trying to be real. And this is incredibly real to me.

What pushed me over the edge? One of my favorite movies: Becoming Jane.

The first time that I saw this movie, I loved it...until I saw the way it ended. The amazing love story didn't end the way that most Hollywood love stories end. Jane and Tom, who were passionately in love, don't end up together. And I hated that! It went against every fairytale, every love story I had ever been told. It didn't feel right. It just wasn't fair! I vowed never to see that movie again.

...But that was before I had ever been in love...

A few days after I broke up with Kevin, I decided to give the movie another chance. I bought it and watched it alone in my room to avoid distraction (and to avoid being seen in tears since that was an almost constant state of being for me during those difficult times). Towards the end of the movie, I cringed, preparing for the end that I had so despised the first time around. Like all movies, the ending stayed the same, but this time something was different...

From the moment Jane changed her mind about their elopement up until the final credits rolled, I sobbed. Not a disappointed sob, not even an "Oh, how sad for them" sob. Something was definitely different...

I was different.

I knew, with a new, painful depth, that sometimes, love just isn't enough.

It was an absolute life truth that resonated from every fiber of my being.

And every time that I've watched it since, I've cried for the same reason. But now, it feels a little different. That second viewing I cried because it was such a fresh wound, a painful truth. Since then, I cry because it's a faded ache, a beautiful truth. One that has made my life so much more real and vibrant.

I think of it this way: Before I had been in love, my spectrum of experience and emotion was pretty normal, maybe a little bit more developed than the average person. After love and loss, my spectrum widened immensely. For a long time I thought just the one side of the spectrum got bigger; the bottom half where I experienced emotional pain so acute that it became physical pain. But I have a testimony that along with the pain, the Lord gifts us an increased capacity to love. I've seen the top half of my emotional spectrum blossom more than I ever thought it could. I love deeper, I appreciate greater, and life tastes sweeter.

There's so much more to the story, of course. ...But there always is...

I'll leave you with some wonderful quotes:

"People come into your life for a reason; to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you, and to make you into the person you were meant to be."

"People change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they are right. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."

"Giving up doesn't mean you are weak. Sometimes it just means you are strong enough to let go."

I'm Too Sexy

2010-07-31T22:21:00.000-06:00

The title of this post says it all!

As you browse these awesome pictures that my bestie, Jessie, of the soon-to-be-famous Sugar on Top Photography, took for me, make sure you push play and scroll away!

Spring Cleaning

2010-07-27T20:52:00.000-06:00

I know that I'm a season late for Spring Cleaning, but it feels like all I have been doing lately. Around this time of the year, I'm usually packing up and getting ready for a move to a new apartment. And during the packing process, I always sift through stuff that I don't use anymore. For a college student, I have accumulated an enormous amount of stuff. I tend to have some packrat-esque habits, so I'm trying to cleanse myself of unnecessaries. Plus, donating stuff I don't use anymore feels great; knowing that someone less fortunate than me will be using it instead of it sitting under my bed or tucked in the far recesses of some drawer.

However, for the first time in 6 years, I'm staying in the same apartment. I'm not even switching bedrooms! So, this has presented a problem. If I'm not packing things up, when will I sort? So I just started diving in to my stuff one day when I had nothing else to do. And I caught the bug! Something strange about me is the addictive nature of cleaning to me. I don't often get in the mood to clean, but when I do, I tornado clean for hours.

For example, I'll go in my bathroom and see that the sink needs to be cleaned. So I clean the sink. Then I figure, I might as well clean the counter while I'm at it. After I do that, I clean the mirror. Then sweep the floor, then mop, which leads me to the shower, then the toilet. Then vacuuming the rug. And while I have the vacuum, I vacuum the hallway, and maybe my bedroom. Then I start cleaning the bedroom...and so forth. It gets out of control!

The good news: I have 4 garbage bags full of stuff ready to head to the D.I. and fewer things to clutter up my life. Realistically, I could probably afford to go through some more of my stuff, but I guess I have to wait to get infected by the next cleaning bug!

Alphabetta' Use 'Em Now!

2010-07-20T17:33:00.003-06:00

Obscure words that I really like (or just like how they sound) and think we don't use enough (one from each letter of the alphabet):

aplomb [uh-plom, uh-pluhm] noun: imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance.
Synonyms: composure, equanimity, imperturbability.
Use in a sentence: She handles herself with great aplomb!

blarney [blahr-nee] noun: deceptive or misleading talk; nonsense; hooey
Synonyms: flattery, smooth talk
Use in a sentence: Now that's just a bunch o' blarney you're feeding me!

canoodle [kuh-nood-l] verb: To engage in caressing, cuddling, or lovemaking
Synonyms: caress, fondle, or pet amorously
Use in a sentence: I saw a couple canoodling over by the duck pond.

didgeridoo [dij-uh-ree-doo, dij-uh-ree-doo] noun: a musical instrument of Australian Aborigines made from a long wooden tube that is blown into to create a low drone.
Synonyms: N/A
Use in a sentence: I'd love to stop and chat, but I'm late for my didgeridoo lessons!

effervescent [ef-er-ves-uhnt] adjective: vivacious; lively; sparkling
Synonyms: bubbly, animated
Use in a sentence: Doesn't Carly have such an effervescent personality?

froufrou [froo-froo] noun: elaborate decoration, as frills, ribbons, or ruffles, esp. on women's clothing.
Synonyms: fussy, showy dress or ornamentation
Use in a sentence: You're putting too much froufrou on Fifi's tutu!

grandiose [gran-dee-ohs] adjective: more complicated or elaborate than necessary
Synonyms: pretentious, extravagant, flamboyant, splashy
Use in a sentence: That's quite the grandiose pompadour you're sporting there!

hootenanny [hoot-n-an-ee, hoot-nan-] noun: a social gathering or informal concert featuring folk singing and, sometimes, dancing.
Synonyms: hoedown, square dance
Use in a sentence: You host one heck of a hootenanny, Hank!

inordinate [in-awr-dn-it] adjective: not within proper or reasonable limits
Synonyms: immoderate, excessive, extreme, outrageous, disproportionate
Use in a sentence: He has an inordinate amount of Power Puff Girls paraphernalia...

juxtapose [juhk-stuh-pohz, juhk-stuh-pohz] verb: to place close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast.
Synonyms: put beside, put together
Use in a sentence: If you juxtapose those jigsaw pieces they just might fit!

kooky [koo-kee] adjective: of, like, or pertaining to a kook; eccentric, strange, or foolish.
Synonyms: balmy, barmy, bats, batty, strange, crazy
Use in a sentence: You've got a kooky style and I dig it!

luscious [luhsh-uhs] adjective: richly satisfying to the senses or the mind
Synonyms: delectable, palatable, delicious
Use in a sentence: Those peaches smell luscious!

mollycoddle [mol-ee-kod-l] verb: to coddle, pamper.
Synonyms: spoil, indulge, cosset
Use in a sentence: He's never going to move out of the house as long as you mollycoddle him.

nefarious [ni-fair-ee-uhs] adjective: extremely wicked or villainous
Synonyms: flagitious, heinous, infamous
Use in a sentence: You could see a nefarious plot forming in his eyes

ostentatious [os-ten-tey-shuhs, -tuhn-] adjective: characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others
Synonyms: grandiose
Use in a sentence: Well, aren't you quite the ostentatious little actress.

persnickety [per-snik-i-tee] adjective: over particular, fussy
Synonyms: nitpicking, finicky
Use in a sentence: He is really persnickety about the arrangement of parsnip collection.

quell [kwel] verb: to suppress; put an end to; extinguish
Synonyms: crush, quash, overcome, defeat, conquer
Use in a sentence: We must quickly quell this lemming uprising.

robust [roh-buhst, roh-buhst] adjective: strong and healthy; hardy; vigorous
Synonyms: powerful, sound
Use in a sentence: He's quite a robust young athlete.

supercilious [soo-per-sil-ee-uhs] adjective: haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
Synonyms: arrogant, scornful
Use in a sentence: The way she looked at me with that supercilious expression made me scoff.

torpor [tawr-per] noun: sluggish inactivity or inertia
Synonyms: indifference, apathy, listlessness
Use in a sentence: I got very little sleep so I feel like I'm walking around in a torpor.

ubiquitous [yoo-bik-wi-tuhs] adjective: existing or being everywhere, esp. at the same time
Synonyms: omnipresent
Use in a sentence: He never feels very far away; his presence is ubiquitous.

vanquish [vang-kwish, van-] verb: to defeat in any contest or conflict; be victorious over
Synonyms: subjugate, suppress, crush
Use in a sentence: I want to vanquish my opponent in beanie baby collecting.

willy-nilly [wil-ee-nil-ee] adverb: in a disorganized or unplanned manner; sloppily.
Synonyms: disorganized, sloppy, nonchalant
Use in a sentence: Don't be waving that wand around all willy-nilly, you'll blast someone's nose off.

xanadu [zan-uh-doo, -dyoo] noun: a place of great beauty, luxury, and contentment
Synonyms: Utopia
Use in a sentence: After 9 years of college, I will want to run away to Xanadu.

yippee [yip-ee, yip-ee] interjection: an exclamation used to express joy, exultation, or the like
Synonyms: whoopee, yahoo, woohoo
Use in a sentence: I'm graduating! Yippee!!!

zen [zen] noun (jargon version): To figure out something by meditation or by a sudden flash of enlightenment
Synonyms: enlightened, peaceful, accepting
Use in a sentence: I feel very zen about my decision.

Teenage Love at the Movie Theater

2010-07-17T14:33:00.001-06:00

My friend Jessie and I went to "Eclipse" last night at the University Mall Theater and I got a little more teenage lovin' than I had expected.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie. Just the right balance of romance and action.

And thank heavens both Bella and Edward were more likable characters in this movie.

And Riley was another eyecandy-liscious addition to the already attractive cast.

My teenage googley eye overkill came from the slightly-skeevy teenage ticket taker. As Jessie and I approached the guy, I said a friendly "How's it going" as I handed him my ticket. He then proceeded to look me up and down slowly like I've only ever seen in the movies and say creepily, "Great. How are you?"

I answered with a simple, "Good, thank you."

And with another painfully slow I'm-undressing-you-with-me-eyes look, he said "That's good to hear," *insert weird smile here*.

I didn't know whether I should run or laugh, so I just waited for Jessie to get her ticket stub back and headed into the theater (at which point I did burst into hysterical laughter).

Well, at least I know I can still drive the fellas crazy.

Hopefully next time it will be one a lot closer to my age bracket.

Hahahaha!

Yoga Master

2010-07-15T22:35:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to brag about how I mastered Side Crow Pose during my Yoga class tonight!

Woohoo!!!

Old Spice Man Goes to the BYU Library

2010-07-15T15:26:00.001-06:00

I'm suddenly very proud to be a BYU student!

Hahahahaha! AWESOME!

Shh! It's Following Me...

2010-07-13T23:11:00.000-06:00

This song is officially stalking me..

Seriously!

In one day, I heard it 6 times on the radio. Literally every single time I got into my car that day.

I was joking about it with my roommate Emma, and both times we've gone somewhere together since, it's been on the radio.

So, I'm embracing it!

At least it puts single life into a poppy, catchy light.

Selective Attention Test

2010-07-13T22:41:00.002-06:00

I took the older version of this test when I was a fresh face in the world of psychology. This new spin is great!

See how you do:

Senior Moment...

2010-07-12T15:49:00.000-06:00

I had a Senior Moment today.

And, no, I'm talking about a school kind of Senior.

I mean OLD.

I was doing my hair this morning and saw something that looked weird.

At first I thought it was some kind of fluffy from my towel or my shirt, but it wasn't.

Then I realized...

It was a hair.

And not just any hair!

A WHITE HAIR!!!!

Gray I could handle, a little one maybe.

But this hair was at least three inches long and PURE WHITE!!!

Hmmm...

On the bright side, I think pure white hair is beautiful on older ladies, so I won't complain when my hair goes snow white...

...in 50 or 60 years.

Total Eclipse of the...Dinner?

2010-07-07T21:13:00.001-06:00

I have one question:

HOW DID BURGER KING KNOW I'M TEAM JACOB??!?!?!

But seriously folks...I swear that I'm not a... ugh, I struggle to even use this term because it irks me... a .... Twi-hard.

I will admit that I both own and have read the series (multiple times, in fact).

I will also admit that I enjoy the series; both the movies and the books.

And I'm not ashamed of it.

Twilight has been a hot issue lately, probably due to the opening of Eclipse, so both the lovers and the haters have been out in force. I put myself in the camp of interested observer...not on one side of the fence or the other.

It is pretty interesting for me, as a keen observer of the human condition, to see how much passion the Twilight series evokes, whether it's obsession or utter disgust.

I can see both sides of the coin: I'm entertained by the books and there are certain characters and scenes that I really embrace. However, I agree that Edward and Bella have an extremely dysfunctional relationship, one that borders on abusive and is certainly controlling and codependent (definitely NOT a relationship that anyone should desire or model their own after).

As a side-note, I really am Team Jacob. With a clear comparison between the different relationship Bella has with Jacob and Edward, her relationship with Jacob is certainly a healthy, realistic, legitimate kind of love. A love that grows from friendship, respect, and a deep consideration and connection. I like to compare the relationships like this: Bella-Edward is very much like a high-intensity high school crush (which usually burn out just as quickly as they light) and Bella-Jacob is a more psychologically and emotionally mature relationship.

Before you worry, yes, I am aware that this is fiction. But with media as pervasive and influential as it is these days, fiction has a much bigger impact than reality sometimes. Look at how many girls have eating disorders to get as thin as the photoshopped and airbrushed models in the magazines.

So, I definitely have my own opinions, but rarely get up enough energy about the topic to be too vocal about it. It will be interesting to see how long this lasts in popular culture and what kind of long-term impact it will have...

The Great Paper Chase

2010-07-01T17:46:00.001-06:00

Thesis.

Oy!

This may be an old picture of my thesis attacking me, but I still feel similarly towards it.

I spent 2 1/2 hours running all over campus with Lauren and James S. trying to survive the world's most confusing paper chase.

Writing my thesis is nothing compared to the flaming hoops you have to jump through to get it submitted to the University and get it bound.

The good news is that I got my Signature page signed by everyone, my ADV form turned in to the college dean's office, my thesis converted to PDF and bookmarked, and submitted my ETD copy to the University today.

That means my thesis has been approved by my chair, my committee, and my department coordinator. Now I just have to wait for approval from the ETD people and the Associate College Dean.

THEN...take ADV Form 8D to the Library with my printed out theses (which must be printed on 24 pound acid free laser compatible paper on a high resolution inkjet printer) and a copy of my abstract and title page for binding. Get my form stamped, THEN take it to the Grad Studies Office.

Then I'm done.

Officially done.

Hopefully two weeks from today, it will all be over!

Not My Kind of Gown...

2010-06-29T19:55:00.000-06:00

I went to the Grad Fair today for all graduating students. They held it in the BYU bookstore and the main reason I went was for the free t-shirt and iPod drawing. A nice lady helped measure my head, then I signed up for the obligatory Alumni Association stuff, then I won a full sized candy bar (I was the only one to win that day) by spinning a giant wheel, entered for the drawing, and got a cookie and some popcorn.

I was thinking about the misnomer of a graduation gown. Gown sounds so elegant and beautiful. In reality, a graduation gown is shapeless, schleppy, and indistinct. If we have to wear gowns to graduation, wouldn't it be so much cooler if we all went out and chose actual gowns?

Maybe I just hate blending in with all the other shapeless, gown-wearing masses.

I also hate that when you wear a graduation gown, if you wear a short skirt, it looks like you are naked underneath. That's a little awkward, maybe even moreso at BYU...

But I guess I can appreciate what it stands for: hard work, dedication, sleepless nights, stress-ulcers, loss of social life, a strange romantic relationship with your laptop since you spend more time with it than actual humans, lots and lots of containers of Cup'o'Noodles, grumpy mornings, printing fees, textbook fees, tuition fees, breathing fees (not really, but it seems like it)...etc.

Now that I'm a graduating Grad student, I also get to wear a "hood." I don't know why they call it a hood because it doesn't go on your head, it goes on your back. And I hear that it's really difficult to figure out how to put on.

And can we talk about the hat please? I have yet to see one person that looks attractive in that flat-topped monstrosity. Again, it's traditional, yada yada yada, but still... Really? Maybe I should make charms to hang from it or something funny like that... or put a potted plant on top, yeah, that would go over real well.

Despite my pessimistic attitude about the "costume" we have to wear, I am seriously excited to have another degree under my belt. It was a LOT of hard work and I am very proud of it. So if that means wearing a silly outfit for a few hours, I guess I can take it.

WOOHOO!!!!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2010-06-26T18:33:00.000-06:00

This quirky, upbeat comedy is one of the best movies I've seen ever! And I've seen A LOT of movies! While I was watching it this morning, I jotted down a few of my favorite quotes. Some are just silly and funny, but there were a few others that really got me thinking...

1. "I wanted to run away that day, but you can't run away from your own feet."
After poor young-Flint gets made fun of by his classmates for his spray-on shoes, his voice-over says this as he is running down a rainy street. This makes me think of something that has been on my mind a lot lately: accepting your whole self. Though this is said facetiously, it's so true. Whether it's our past, our quirks, our mistakes, or our insecurities, they are a part of us. We can't run from them. It's only when we turn and embrace them, that they no longer feel so overwhelming.

2. "Do you know what you are, Flint Lockwood? A shenaniganizer! A tomfool!"
I love Earl the police officer, he's just hilarious!

3. "America! Hi! I didn't see ya there! I'm Sam Sparks!"
The aspiring weather girl, Sam, says this while trying out different ways to introduce herself to the camera on her first assignment.

4. "I've never even been in a snowball fight. Is there a point system or is it...to the death?"
Flint doesn't have a lot of social interaction besides his talking monkey, Steve... haha!

5. "Researching. Role playing. Dialing. Waiting. "Hello?" Hanging up. Regretting. Re-psyching. Saying what I'm doing."
Flint does his own narration while he's working. It's pretty darn funny! This quote is when he's trying to ask Sam out on a date for the first time.

6. This next bit is a dialogue between Flint and Sam on their Jello date:
     F: Why do you do that?
     S: Do what?
     F: Say something super smart and then bail from it?
     S: Can you keep a secret.
     F: No... But this time, sure.
     S: Okay, well, it was a really long time ago, I too was a nerd.
     F: Too?
     S: .......(She tells how her classmates made fun of her for wearing glasses and being smart).... so      I got a new look, gave up the science-y stuff, and I was never made fun of again.
     (Flint has her put on her glasses and makes her a jello scrunchie to put her hair in a ponytail)
     F: Wow. I mean, you were okay before, but now you're...beautiful.
     S: No, I'm not. I can't go out into public like this.
     F: Well, why not? I mean, this is the real you, right? Smart, respectable, who wouldn't want to      see that?
There are several reasons why this is so awesome. First because it's about being the real you. I've blogged enough about this that I don't need to repeat myself, but you get the drift. Next, I love that when Sam says that she was a nerd too, Flint replies with "Too?" That says to me that Flint doesn't consider himself as a nerd. He knows and loves who he is, so it doesn't bother him that other people think he is nerdy or weird.

7. This one is a short dialogue between Flint and his Dad:
     F: Aren't you proud of me?!!!
     D: Isn't this steak a little big.
     F: When are you going to accept that this is who I am?
Flint takes his dad to "The Roofless" restaurant where he excitedly tells him all about how the Mayor is going to make him (Flint) famous with the falling food. Flint is constantly looking for his dad's approval and he just can't get it in the way he understands. Through the work that I've done as a therapist, I see that we never stop looking for our parents' approval, no matter how old we get. What a difference it makes when a parent and child can connect using a common language and the child feels uniquely understood.

8. "I tried to help everybody but I just made it worse. I'm just a piece of junk, so I threw myself away."
This part tugs at my heartstrings like crazy. Flint says this as he is laying in a garbage can and his dad finds him there. This is essentially what I hear from clients all the time about how they feel useless or broken. The good news is, there is a way out, and I get to see that every day!

9. "Come on, Steve. We've got diem to carpe."
Love it. Don't we all have some diem to carpe?

10. "You're a pilot too? Yes. I'm also a particle physicist. Really? No, that was a joke. I'm also a comedian."
Manny the cameraman, who is also a doctor, is so funny, too!

It's Carly Time

2010-06-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

So, I went to the Clinic today for the first time in a week and a half. It doesn't seem like that long, but when you've spent the past two years there at least 5 days a week for hours and hours a day, it IS a long time!

...That's besides the point. Anyway, I went into the Intern's office to get something out of my box and I found a random magazine...

I didn't remember leaving a magazine in my box, so I pulled it out and looked at it.

It was one from the Clinic, a Time Magazine.

I turned, puzzled, and asked the girls who were in the Office if they knew who put it there. Chrissy walked over, took one look at it, and said, "OH MY GOSH! That looks like you!"

Then I really looked at the cover, and this is what I saw:

Close up!

Haha! Wow.

They stole my face.

What do you think?

Is it a close likeness?

Reality Check

2010-06-22T15:11:00.000-06:00

I know you've all been dying to hear an update on the new, more real Carly, so here it is:

I feel like I've been doing better in some areas, and not so much in others...

1. I made a small amount of progress with some of my professors at my thesis defense, by being a little less accommodating and blindly accepting and asking more questions and why they wanted me to change certain aspects. This one is still tough for me because they ultimately have the power and I like to pick my battles.

2. I feel more real with my friends, but they are the safest people to experiment with because I choose my friends carefully and only stick around with the ones that truly care and understand me.

3. I'm super real at my job at Women's Services and that's really freeing!

4. I also had an awesome conversation with some of the people in my grad program, Andy and Lexie, about being single and the pressure of dating in our culture. I don't really like to cry in front of others, but I sincerely tapped into my feelings and was emotionally present and honest, and it was wonderful!

5. I am trying to get out and be more social, especially in my Ward and apartment complex, and this is where I am hitting a snag. Even though I have an awesome, gregarious personality, I clam up like crazy when I'm around people my age that I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out why and I think it comes down to fear of rejection. If I was really real with them, would they like me or label me as a pariah?

For example, I seriously struggle with talking to cute guys, so one such guy was talking to me and I felt so fake in the way I was interacting with him because I was nervous. I really wanted to say to him, "You know, I'm acting a little nervous because you intimidate me because you are so attractive."

But did I?

Nope.

Because I was afraid of the way he would react to that.

It's so hard for me to risk with people that I'm not sure if they will take it in stride and see it as another facet of my adorably quirky personality or as some kind of social awkwardness/ignorance.

In summation, I'm still working on being the real me, but its really hard!!! I take comfort in the idea that this isn't going to be a quick process. It took 24 years of socialization to get me into this mess, and it's not going to be different in a few weeks.

So here's my request...

To my blog readers: if you see me being fake or if you can tell that there is something going on for me that I'm not vocalizing, challenge me on it. Do so nicely, please, but let me know that I've fallen into the trap. Sometimes I don't notice it and I need to be made aware. Other times I just need a little push to feel confident enough to speak my mind.

Thanks for your help and patience in this process!

Yoga-ga

2010-06-17T23:08:00.000-06:00

I'm gaga for Yoga!

Every Thursday night I go to a Yoga class at Gold's Gym. The teacher, Andrea, is the best Yoga instructor I've ever had, and that's saying something.

I went to my first Yoga class my Freshman year of college at Weber State University, then I took a Yoga class my Sophomore year at Utah State. Ever since then, I've been hooked!

It's the perfect workout for me: it's low impact and focuses on building strength, flexibility, and balance. I'm already super flexible, so it's hard to find something to help push me to the next level, and Yoga does that for me.

Also, Yoga is the best way for me to center myself and find inner peace and tranquility.

If you've ever wanted to try it, I highly suggest it. You don't have to be super flexible or anything like that: there are different variations of each pose for beginners straight on up to experts yoginis.

Welcome Home

2010-06-16T16:07:00.000-06:00

I saw these Youtube videos and cried all the way through them! God bless our troops and their families!

They Grow Up So Fast

2010-06-16T10:39:00.001-06:00

For the past 3 weekends I've been able to go home to see my family in Hyde Park. In addition to seeing that family, I got to meet a new little family that has taken up residence in our backyard.

These first two pictures I took during Memorial Day Weekend:

There's Mama sitting at home, watching the kids!

Here are the sweet little babies, getting ready to come into the world!

The next weekend I went home for Madi's birthday party and the babies had hatched!

They look a little weird, like mini-aliens, but how sweet the gift of life!

Then, the very next week the babies had grown to actually look like birds!

Sadly, one of the babies didn't make it, but these 3 look healthy and happy!

How fun it is to watch these little creatures throughout the beginning of their lives!

Little Drummer Girl

2010-06-15T15:43:00.000-06:00

I love Rock Band!

There, I said it.

As a girl that has loved Nintendo for as long as I can remember, Rock Band is just another fantastic addition to my collection.

Yesterday I had one of my first "relaxing" days in a long time. I'm finished with my client hours and as of today, I've defended my thesis (woohoo!!), so there isn't much for me to do anymore besides go to the gym and work at Women's Services.

I sat down in my room, popped in Rock Band 2, and drummed my little heart out. I usually play on Hard but I am thinking of moving up to Expert to see how far my skills go.

Plus, I just LOVE Rock'n'Roll, especially the stuff they have on Rock Band 2 because it's a lot of the music that I grew up with (thanks to my rocker parents).

I also love that Rock Band is one of the few games that other girls can get into. For some reason (that I will probably talk about in a future post), girls aren't in to video games (except for a select few, like me.) So it's nice to have something like this that can get everyone, boys and girls, together to hang out, have a good time, and let loose!

The Real World: Provo

2010-06-11T23:56:00.000-06:00

If you happen to be my Facebook friend, you've probably noticed my status. It says:

"Carly Larsen is making an effort to be more real this week. So if I say anything that seems out of character, surprises you, or maybe even offends you a little, that's just me trying to be more honest about my thoughts, feelings, and needs. Bear with me while I try to find the right balance."

I have been doing supervision with the director of our MFT Program. She's the only female faculty member, and the only person that has ever challenged me to stop being such a people pleaser. Why is that? Well, she thinks (and I agree) that no one ever calls me out on it because I meet their needs. And who is going to complain about me when I do what they want and never make waves?

Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is when you do it all the time and when you do it in spite of your own needs. For the past 24 years of my life, I've gone out of my way to make other people happy, to protect their feelings, and to meet their needs, most of the time shelving my own wants and needs.

No more.

I'm done pretending to be something that I'm not.

Yes, I am a great person. I'm kind, sensitive, compassionate, considerate, thoughtful, respectful, and a thousand other good things. But that's not all of who I am.

Sometimes I'm angry...

...Sad...

...Frustrated...

...Bothered by what someone just said...

...Annoyed that I'm asked to do more than my share...

...Pissed that I'm not allowed to speak my mind...

...Exasperated that people expect so much from me.

I have so many more dimensions than the ones that I show.

I AM NOT PERFECT!

I don't want to be the golden child anymore. Or the golden student. Or more of a trophy than a human being.

I am not my achievements.

I am flawed and that's okay.

So get ready world. The real Carly is starting to emerge. And you may not like that she doesn't just smile and say "yes" all the time.

But the people that matter, the ones that really count, will stick around. They will appreciate my openness, honesty, and vulnerability.

Now, don't get me wrong. This doesn't mean that I'm going to turn into a psycho, or be mean, hurt people's feelings, or go out looking for a fight. It just means that I'm not just going to let things slide if they are important to me. I'm going to dig deeper in conversations, talk about hard things, be less afraid to cry, speak my mind when it's important to me, and stop trying to hide from what's really going on.

And if the world doesn't always approve of me, or pat me on the back, or give me good grades, or tell me what a great job I'm doing, that's okay because...

I'll finally be me.

And that's worth the risk.

The End is Near

2010-06-09T21:44:00.000-06:00

This little cardboard robot has it right!

The End is Near!

This is the last week that I'm seeing clients!!

And next week I am defending my thesis!!!!

What does that mean?

It means that all of the requirements for my Master's degree will be done by this time next week!!!

My life is almost complete...well, not really, but it's that much closer.

This also means that I get the rest of my summer to work for WSR and just bum around.

I totally want to go on a few trips, too.

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!

Wooooooo!!!!!

Lots to be Grateful for...

2010-06-08T22:52:00.001-06:00

I'm currently in a mood that can only be described as buoyant! I wish I had more days like this, so I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that I soak in every minute of this blessed feeling (including blogging about it)!

Life is beautiful.

I was walking to my car after work and I just looked up at the mountains near the Y and just stopped in my tracks. It has been so long since I've seen such a beautiful green as that!

I'm finishing up with my clients until I start my Ph.D. program, and I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn so much from them. I feel so blessed that they were able to trust me enough as a bumbling first-time therapist to share the beautiful intricacies and struggles in their lives. To all those whom I've counseled, I truly have learned so much from you and I can never fully express my gratitude for your trust, hope, and courage. It is never too late to change, grow, forgive, love, trust, risk, and accomplish. The human spirit is so much more resilient than we give it credit for!

Friendship. What a supernal blessing! I am so grateful for the people that have touched my life and extended love and support to me when I least deserved it, but most needed it. My Jessie, who I just spent an hour with and who brings out the real me and never judges what I do or say. Stacey, who has been my Sista'-from-another-Mista' all 24 years of my life and will continue to be my dearest friend until we're old and senile. Sarah, who just gets me, keeps me on my toes, and taught me the art of taking lots and lots of pictures of yourself. And all the hundreds of others that I could name and thank!

Family. To watch my niece and nephew grow and change is so enlightening. It is so wonderful to watch a whole life develop right in front of your eyes. I'm grateful for my family who has taught me that no matter how bad things get or how hard things get, that love sticks together and never gives up. Mom and her craftiness, kind and giving heart, sensibility, strength, and fire. Dad and his soft approach to love and life, passion for the gospel, incredibly hard work, and for teaching me to box people out with my butt while playing basketball. Jamie and her courage, dedication, honesty, and love.

Roommates. Even when I'm a crazy recluse, they reach out to me; for keeping the house clean; and genuinely caring about my life. Emma's perspective and humor. Mallory's realness and love of movie quotes/random bursting into song. Maura's wit and warmth. Current and previous have all taught me lessons that will be invaluable as I raise and nurture my future family. I'll treasure the silly talks, the exuberant enthusiasm, and the compassionate arms during the tough times.

Women's Services. I can't even begin to express how wonderful the last year of working there has been. LaNae, my boss, is a fantastic example to me! And the girls I work with now have become some of my most cherished friends! Lauren, who is my right arm (literally, so much a part of me that I would feel like I lost a limb if she wasn't a part of my life) that puts up with my craziness, who tells me things that I need to hear (no matter how difficult they are to say), and who has stuck by me in some of my darkest hours. Brooke, who is such a strong, capable woman that I hope to grow up and be just like her some day. Bianca, who is like my personal sunshine and a support during rocky romance drama. And all the other girls that have come and gone!

My Cohort. Don't leave me! There will never be words to describe what these people have been to me and for me for the past two years of my life. There is something unique and beautiful about each one of them that will bless the lives of those they counsel and those that are lucky enough to be a part of their lives in other ways. I love you guys from the bottom of my heart, with every fiber of my being, and with all that I have inside me. You are my best friends, my confidants, my supports, my cheerleaders, and truly, truly a part of me. You are my brothers and sisters in truer ways than most siblings are capable of.

Kev. For teaching me about love.

It's been a tough year in a lot of ways, but I feel so much gratitude that my whole heart could burst. It really comes down to the people in life that make all the difference. To all those that have touched my life in some way, I love you!

Passin' Out Smiles!

2010-06-07T10:19:00.002-06:00

My mom emailed me this video and I love it!

Enjoy!!!

A Highway Safari

2010-06-05T23:45:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again!

The Utah State animal is out en masse in its natural habitat.

What? You don't know what the Utah State animal is? Well, here's a picture of a large group of them:

Ah, yes, the orange construction barrel. How I've missed thee.

As I was driving from Logan to Provo tonight, I had 13 separate opportunities to observe these noble creatures up close. I must say, I saw A LOT of them, so it makes me think that this must be post-mating season and they multiply like bunnies!

Here are a few observations that I made about The Orange Construction Barrel (Henceforth referred to as Oraconbas):

Oraconbas have distinct personalities: some are rather shy and spend most of the time on the shoulder of the highway, trying to stay out of sight, while others stray right into the middle of the road, startling nearby drivers. Then you've got the drama queens who keel right over where they stand and just lay there, making a scene. Some are diva-esque celebrities that require their own police protection and others stick pretty close to their orange-vest wearing handlers.

Oraconbas are easily trained: Their handlers settle them where they want them to be and they just stay there! It doesn't matter how long, they sit and wait as long as they're told. The only thing that has the potential to budge them is when one of them gets hit by a car, which is a terribly sad sight to behold. Other than that, they seem like very patient animals.

Sometimes Oraconbas travel with their smaller cousins, the orange cones (orones). They seem to be pretty protective of these tiny versions, so they are often found grouped around them.

I'm sure there is much more to learn about these brilliant animals, but that's all for now.

Do You Hear What Horton Hears?

2010-06-02T18:42:00.000-06:00

I went home to visit my family for Memorial Day weekend. My sweet little nephew, K-Diddy came up to me and said, "Sissy, wanna watch a Horton and a Who with me. I want to spend some quality time with just you."

Awww!

So we settled down to watch Horton and his speck on a clover.

I've seen this movie before, but I'm in such a different place this time around. I was so struck by Horton and his attitude. He was so willing to believe in himself even when the rest of his "society" was telling him not to disrupt the status quo. At the same time, the Mayor of Whoville was fighting the same battle, struggling to stand up for what he knew was right while his bosses, friends, and even his family at one point, were telling him to just keep smiling and pretend that everything is ok.

I felt a kinship with the Mayor. I have a hard time doing something if I know it's going to make waves, even if I know that it's what's best for me. It's really easy to stand up for others and for the people that I love, but I often leave my needs behind in favor of avoiding a battle.

But it's time to listen to my speck. My speck is the real me, the bright light, the confident woman, the optimistic, friendly, funny, clever Carly that sometimes takes a backseat to the other roles I have to fulfill to please other people.

There's one point where Horton starts dancing around and talking about how wonderful he feels,. "Perhaps it's my new sense of purpose," he muses.

You're right, Horton! Having a sense of purpose is exactly what we need to feel dancingly-fantastic! As for me, I'm going to try and be as brave as Horton and the Mayor in being true to myself!

Great Adventures with Grass

2010-05-28T15:47:00.000-06:00

Grass.

There's just something about it.

Without it's white winter blanket, that old familiar green stuff is starting to show!

Whenever I'm sitting on the grass, I can't help running my fingers through it, feeling the texture on the tips of my fingers, and picking it right out of the ground. You can roll it into balls, braid it together when it gets too long, make a miniature bird's nest, and add it to your mudpies for a little flavoring.

Not a summer goes by that I don't spend time laying in the grass, staring up at the clouds. Feeling the soft tickle on my bare skin, smelling the sweetness of it right after the lawn has been mowed, and hearing the low rustle as I move around takes me back to a simpler time.

Simply imagine the whole world the exists below it; the microscopic lives that are sheltered by the green wonder! I love to get my face real close and down low to the ground and watch what signs of life are skittering around outside my awareness. It makes my world seem a little more complete.

When I was little, one of my favorite movies was "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." If you're not familiar with the story, a scientist creates a shrink ray that his kids and his neighbor's kids accidentally activate. They all shrink to a minuscule size and get taken out with the trash, so they have to travel across the now massive backyard to get back to the house and let their parents know what happened. In the movie, grass plays an enormous roll taking on gigantic proportions to these tiny teens.

There's now a 3D experience called "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" at Disneyland, but when I went to it, there was something missing. Grass! I wanted to slide down the blades, seek shelter under them, and see the blades towering about me. It just wasn't the same.

Grass is one of the main reasons that green is my favorite color. The symbolic meaning attached to grass and the color green represent renewal, a reawakening, and a new start. What more could a girl need in life than that?

Grass.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

2010-05-27T20:50:00.000-06:00

I was walking through the BYU Bookstore yesterday and saw a sign that said something to the effect of "Books: they are a lot of fun, so why not buy another one?"

After I read that, I laughed to myself. The Bookstore seriously underestimates my addiction to books. Had I had my wallet with me, I probably would have said "Ok!" (out loud even) and frolicked off into the book section and bought more books than I can afford.

There's just something about books that I totally love; the way you can lose yourself in them for hours at a time, the way you can tell the difference between the "voices" or your favorite authors, the pearls of wisdom hidden in the text, I just love them.

If I ever go into a Borders bookstore, I am inevitably in there for hours at a time perusing shelves and flipping through pages of obscure and well-known books alike. Give me a recommendation for a book and I'll probably run out and read it, as long as you have a compelling reason why you love it so much!

I just can't help myself from making a Top Ten list of my favorite books (even though you are probably getting sick of Top Ten lists and want to blog about something else...I will later, promise!):

1. "The Hobbit" by J. R. R. Tolkien
This is one of the first books that I can remember falling in love with. My dad used to read to me and my sister and the two that stand out the most to me are this one and "James and the Giant Peach." There is something so magical about The Hobbit! I loved it when I was little, to this day I still love to go on the big adventure with Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the dwarfs, and I know that I will still love it when I get old and wrinkly.

2. "Weep No More My Lady" by Mary Higgins Clark
I love mysteries, suspense stories, and scary stories! When I was in high school, I randomly went to the library and picked this book off the shelf. I'd never read anything by Mary Higgins Clark, but I wasn't ten pages into the book before I realized that I had found my favorite author. This book in particular was about the love of a sister that continues on even after her death, believing in your intuition, and finding out who your real friends are-all set in a murder mystery/suspense novel. After reading this book, I looked for every Mary Higgins Clark novel I could find and loved her even more when I realized that all of her main characters were strong, capable, intelligent women. Seven years later I own 20 of her novels and still read them over and over again.

3. "The Harry Potter Series" by J. K. Rowling
I could separate these books into 7 separate favorites, but that would take up the rest of my list! So I'm lumping them all together even if they do deserve a spot each. My favorite book of this series is the 3rd book, "The Prisoner of Azkaban." Harry spends his whole life feeling alone and, for most of the book, believing that his parents' best friend betrayed them to their death. The best part of the book is when Harry is in the Shrieking Shack with Sirius, Lupin, and Wormtail and learns that Sirius, his godfather, never betrayed Lily and James. My heart leaps with joy every time I read Sirius' suggestion that Harry move in with him. For the first time in Harry's life, he feels wanted and loved. Beautiful!

4. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown
When I first read this book, it was right after I took a Western Civilizations class at USU, so I was absorbed by all the history that I had just learned. The way the story was woven was fascinating to me and to be kept guessing until the very end was something that doesn't happen to me very often. Since I'm such an avid reader of mysteries and suspense, I usually can guess whodunit pretty soon, but not here! It was awesome.

5. "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
I just read this one last year and I was so touched by it. The moral and ethical dilemma that having a living donor creates is a very provocative idea. I loved the way the author had each chapter from the unique perspective of each different character in the book. I highly recommend this one to people who want a complex moral issue to consider and a sweet story to appreciate.

6. "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen
I saw the movie before I read the book, so I was worried that either the book or the movie would be ruined if I experienced both (that's how it usually goes for me, I love the book and think less of/hate the movie). However, I read the book and was just as swept away with it as I was with the movie, even moreso, but it still managed not to ruin the movie for me! I just love that Jane Austen is such a strong female figure and how tuned in she is to females of her own, and my, century all at the same time.

7. "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy" by J. R. R. Tolkien
How can I mention the Hobbit without mention its sister books, the LotR Trilogy? Again, I saw the movies before I read the books and it was still an awesome experience to get the full story when I read the books. I have so much respect and admiration for Mr. Tolkien's incredible creativity in imagining a whole world, and even his own unique language for a group of his characters! So wonderful!

8. "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer
Now don't judge me before I can talk about this one! I know that Stephanie Meyer is the infamous creator of the Twilight universe and that there is a lot of skepticism about that, but I was truly impressed by her first adult novel, "The Host." It kept me thinking about deeper issues, spoke to the depth of loyalty and love, and the complexity of relationships that take you by surprise. Even though the majority of the book takes place in one main area, the colors and tones of the story never bored me.

9. "Some Sweet Day" by Jennie Hansen
This is my only sappy romance that makes the list. First because it makes several mentions to the LDS religion (in a positive light), second because the main character's name is Carly, and third because it's a sweet love story about finding beauty and safety in difficult, frightening circumstances. To some extent, we are all surrounded by fear and hatred, but its up to us to find out how to manage to give love and receive love in a world that isn't always safe.

10. "Disneyland: Then, Now, and Forever" by Bruce Gordon & Tim O'Day
This one isn't a novel, but at least one of the books on this list needed to be dedicated to my love of learning about behind-the-scenes information. I have to say that I love Disneyland! Love, love, love it!!! So, the last time I went there, I bought two books about all things Disney: this one and "Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real" by the Imagineers. Did you know that the Indiana Jones Ride is capable of 160,000 unique journey combinations and that you drop 130 feet from the Tower of Tower and reach top speeds in less than 1.5 seconds!!! Now you do!

So, that's a quick list of some awesome books that I love! I recommend each of them in a strong way.

P.S. Just as I was finishing this up, I remembered one area I didn't cover. My favorite self-help book is "How to Avoid Falling In Love with a Jerk" by John Van Epp. I think that every single woman should read this book (maybe even married ones too). It changed the way I think about dating, relationships, and even myself.

BYUnique

2010-05-24T19:55:00.000-06:00

"But whenever I try going to the Old Navy $1 Flip Flop Sale, all the cute ones are sold out by the time you get there." -Carly

"Oh, the dangers of life in a college town. Lots of cheap-os crazy to pay a dollar for something that is normally two dollars." -Maura

It was at that moment that I realized that I have never NOT lived in a college town: 21 years in Cache Valley (North Logan, Hyde Park, and Logan)- home of Utah State University, 1 year in Ogden- home of Weber State University, and 2 years (and counting) in Provo- home of Brigham Young University.

Whenever I go home to Logan, it is inevitable that someone will ask me about BYU. Apparently there are a lot of myths and crazy beliefs about "the Lord's University" that people are just dying to know the truth about.

All of these queries have compounded in my head until they blossomed into an idea for a blog post on my way from the aforementioned bathroom back to the WSR Office (I swear, I drink a lot of water, I'm not just oddly fascinated with bathrooms).

Anyway, I've kind of felt like a super secret spy for the past two years going to BYU because I don't really identify myself as a Zoobie, even though I am currently being educated at the BYZoo. I tell my friends from home that I'm just an Aggie in Cougar clothing...but that comparison doesn't really fit since I only own 2 items of Cougarwear and still own and wear around 20-30 Aggie articles of clothing... Hmm. But, as a graduate student who has only had 3 classes on the main campus in two years (my program is based in a building on the very, very eastern edge of campus, across the street from main campus, so it feels like we are a separate entity), I feel like I'm far enough removed from the classic BYU culture to be able to see some things that true blue Zoobs don't see/notice/think are weird.

So, I decided to write yet another Top Ten List consisting of some of the weirdest/oddest/most unique things I have noticed about the oh-so-strange yet oh-so-delightful BYU culture.

1. Piano Playing in the Terrace. In the Wilk (the Student Center) lies the Cougareat, a food court, and right across from the Cougareat is the Terrace, a big space filled with lots of round tables for people to eat at. Basically, the Terrace is the place to sit if you don't want to eat in the Cougareat, which feels like an older version of a high school cafeteria. Anyway, there is a small piano that sits to one side of the Terrace and quite frequently random people will sit down at the piano and play magnificent pieces of music. I was thinking one day after such an occurrence how strange that would look to the uninformed eye. Imagine this: You walk into the Terrace without knowing anything about Mormons (and their musical gifts) or BYU and hear beautiful piano music while students sit around eating their Subway sandwiches and rice bowls. What do you think? Perhaps, 'Wow, this University is ritzy. It pays someone to serenade it's students while they eat lunch!' Strange indeed!

2. Lots of Pregnant Women and Baby Strollers. With 25% of the student body married and Utah County having one of the highest (if not the highest) birth rates in the nation, it's no surprise that there are a plethora of prego mamas and baby carriages. Yes, there are pregnant women and babies on other campuses, but nowhere else is it so expected and accepted as here at family-friendly BYU.

3. The Dating Obsession. Let's face it; if you are single and attend BYU, you are undoubtedly inundated with dating and marriage pressure. Believe it or not, I was at Yozone (a frozen yogurt place) with a friend and a group of young Zoobies walked in the door all atwitter about something. Then I overheard one of the girls, who couldn't have been more than 18 or19, say, "Oh my gosh, if I'm not married by the time I turn 20, I'm going to die." ....yeah...

4. The BYU Language. Each University has it's own lingo for buildings, things, and places, and BYU is no different. But, combine the LDS culture with the University culture and you get a pretty interesting list of commonly used/heard words and phrases. Examples: DTR (defining the relationship), NCMO (non-committal make out) , Bish (bishop), Mish (mission), Devo (devotional), FP (fat potential...seriously?), PMA (post-mission awkwardness), sweet spirit (most guys say this because they are too "nice" to say that she's not attractive), ground zero (when you run out of dating options and have to find fresh meat), etc.

5. The shocking amount of naive/clueless people in one place. Let's face it, the Mormon culture does lead to a little bit, or maybe a lot, of naivety. But I am surprised by the number of people at BYU who can be so socially unaware. Now don't get me wrong, they are sweet in their ignorance, but it's beyond entertaining to see just how little some people know about "the world." Just take a look at the Facebook group "Overheard at BYU" to see what I mean!

6. The Midnight Exodus. I'm sure most of you have heard of the rule that you can't be in the apartment of a member of the opposite sex after midnight 6 days a week (curfew is 1:30 a.m. on Friday nights). So this creates quite a humorous mass exodus out the doors of multiple apartments at the exact same time. Apparently the dorms are the worst offenders for the midnight exodus, like some kind of silent alarm has sounded and people scatter in all directions. It does make for some funny opportunities to watch awkward DSAs (oh yeah, another BYU term meaning doorstep action).

7. Getting picked up at the library. This is something that I personally have never experienced, and hope never to experience. I've heard that there is a place in the Library, known as the "No Shh Zone" where people go solely for the purpose of getting a date, boys and girls alike. Hmm, I was under the strange impression that you went to a library to study...weird.

8. Devotional. BYU (and BYU-I and BYU-H) are famous for devotionals. Every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., pretty much the entire campus empties out toward the Marriott Center for Devo. Even the campus offices have to close down for devotional. I, however, constantly forget about it since most of my days tend to blend together, so I am baffled at the sudden shut down until I remember what day it is. Oh yeah, devo day.

9. The "Police Beat" and "Letters to the Editor." Most school papers have similar features, I know that USU has sections like it in their school paper, too. But the Daily Universe of BYU has something that most others don't: Ridiculosity. More often than not, I read the Police Beat and say aloud, "Someone actually called the cops for that?!" Even we were in the Police Beat when someone called the campus po-po because they found "a suspicious white, powdery substance in an unused refrigerator." Our mini-fridge started to stink, so we unplugged it, took out the shelves, and covered it in baking powder to absorb the smell. Apparently, someone assumed that a mini-fridge in a student office is the perfect place for someone to hide their cocaine, or anthrax, or dandruff... yeah. The Letters to the Editor are equally entertaining because sometimes you can't tell whether someone's uber-conservative opinion is serious or sarcastic. I don't know which one worries me the most; someone who really thinks like that or someone that jokes like that.

10. The Infamous Honor Code. The most recognizable part of being a Zoobie. Let me clear some stuff up: yes, we can wear shorts, capris, and flip flops (BYU-I is the one with the rules against this); no, there is no facial hair allowed besides mustaches unless you have a beard card (yes, a beard card); the midnight rule we've already discussed; and everything else is pretty basic-no drinking, smoking, drugs, sexual relations, etc.

With all the intricacies that go along with going to BYU, I won't be surprised if I can write a brand new list in the next two/three years.

Habit-tat

2010-05-22T23:21:00.000-06:00

I really needed to pee.

Really!

So I got up from my desk, walked out of my office, and through the main door of Women's Services towards the conveniently located bathroom right around the corner. Then I walked into the third stall from the left and did my business.

When I got back to my roll-y chair and spun back around to face my computer, I realized that I always use the third stall from the left. Always!

Why?

I have no idea. I guess it's just a habit.

And that got me thinking about what other weird habits that I have:

1. When I get ready in the morning, I like to stand on one leg with the other leg resting up on the bathroom counter. Why? I dunno...habit, I guess.

2. I never read just one book at a time. In any given month, I'm in the middle of at least two different books. This month it's "The Secret Life of Bees," "Man's Search for Meaning," "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

3. Sticky notes. I'm addicted. I write notes to myself on them and then put them in my planner, put them all over my walls, . Why don't I just write the notes in my planner and save the sticky note?

4. I sleep with four pillows, a sheet, a heating blanket, a comforter, and four blankets. No, not because I like to sleep hot (I actually prefer to sleep cold), but it's just one of those things (yup, a habit [getting sick of me saying that yet?]).

5. The toilet paper roll? Gotta be over, not under. Do I have a logical argument for it? No sirree.

6. Dancing around the kitchen. Just ask my mom! I can't help but twirl around. Do I dance like that in any other part of the house. Nope, just the kitchen.

7. Dressing up for no reason. Even as I type I'm wearing a hat. It's 10:50 p.m. and I'm in my Hurley hat and my pjs. It's not particularly comfortable and it limits my range of vision, but it's there.

8. Talking to myself. It's not infrequent to find me mumbling to myself as I walk around my apartment. Most of the time I don't even know that I'm doing it!

9. Saving the butts for last. No, it's not what you think (get your mind out of the gutter). When I start eating through a loaf of bread, I bypass the first "butt" piece (the end piece) and eat all the middle pieces. That way, the last two pieces I eat are the butts.

10. Swaying my head back and forth when I am trying to think of something. Unless I'm in front of other people, when I'm stuck for ideas or words, I find myself slowly moving my heads around in different patterns. Maybe I'm subconsciously trying to get my brain juices flowing.

Habits are a funny thing. And it makes me wonder what other people's weird habits are...

Simple Joys

2010-05-01T22:26:00.000-06:00

I got the chance to go home for a couple of days this past week and I got to spend a lot of time with my niece and my nephew, Madison and Kaden. They are ridiculously adorable and I love them to pieces! One of the things I did was go to Kaden's soccer game. Kaden turns 5 in June and he is such an active, happy, sweet little boy. The thing that I loved about watching these cute little kids playing soccer was how they were out there just to have fun. There was no competitiveness, no frustration, no tantrums; just ten spots of blue and yellow running around the field after the ball, laughing. It was so awesome to sit with my mom and sister and just laugh hysterically at their antics!

Kaden having a ball (no pun intended, haha!)

Kaden about to practice his scoring skills.

All the action out on the field!

What did I learn from this? That I need to take more time to just enjoy my life without concern for competing to win or be the best. Having more fun with less concern for performance would be so freeing for me. I think I'll try it out.

My Silly Cohort and Me

2010-04-19T14:28:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't know, I have this amazing group of colleagues/classmates/confidants/friends known as my Cohort. Since our Master's Program is wrapping up, I made this little film for our End of Year Banquet with help from all of them.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Grandpa

2010-04-03T21:31:00.005-06:00

I've been thinking about my late grandfather, Darwin W. Larsen, a lot lately. It would have been his 87th birthday today. I sure miss him a lot!

I'm starting to finish up my thesis and on one of the pages, you write Acknowledgments, basically a "thank you" page to everyone that has helped you get to this point in your academic career. My Grandpa Dar was the very first person that I thought of when I started to think of who I wanted to include. Let me tell you a little bit about him:
My Grandpa loved to hunt and fish and did so for pretty much his whole life. I remember him taking my sister, my dad, and I up to Twin Lakes in Idaho and teaching Jamie and I how to fish.

He was an incredible businessman. He received his Bachelor's degree in business from Utah State. From his family business, Al's Sporting Goods, that his dad started (my great-grandpa Alvin Moroni Larsen), Grandpa created his own off-shoot business first inside the Sporting Goods store and then to its own location; the birth of Al's Trophies and Frames, Inc. My dad, an amazing man in his own right, still runs this business today; a family legacy! Without Grandpa's gumption, good business sense, and hard work, my family wouldn't be where we are today.
Grandpa was also very involved in the community that he loved: Logan, Utah. He served in public office and remained involved in the politics of the Valley for many years, standing up for what he believed in. Always.

Grandpa was a great entertainer. He spent a lot of time entertaining wards and stakes around Cache Valley, playing guitar and singing! I remember one Christmas before he passed, my cousin gave her husband a guitar. Grandpa picked it up and sang for us as we sat around his feet, all of us granddaughters in our late teens and early twenties. It's a memory that still brings tears to my eyes and one that I will treasure forever.
My Grandpa was a man's man. A man's man that was blessed with only grand-daughters, haha! So what is a man to do that is a grandfather to only little girls? Well, my grandpa taught us that we were just as good, if not better at some things, than boys. He never made us feel like we were less than, or should feel disempowered, because we are female. In fact, he created a Family Trust Fund that funded our educations. Now, thanks to his faith and financial help, his eldest granddaughter has a Master's degree in Secondary Education from Harvard, another has a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from one of the best Nursing schools in the country, and I am about to begin my Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from the top producer of MFT research in the Nation.

Aside from all those things, I always knew that my Grandpa loved me. Up until he passed away on Easter Sunday five years ago, he had a big hug for me and a big smile. I can't wait to see him again one day and thank him for his faith, his example, and his love.

So, Happy Birthday, Grandpa! We love you!

The White Tie Ball

2010-03-22T13:46:00.004-06:00

I'm officially taking a break from re-posting stuff from the Women's Services blog to here. It takes a lot more work than I thought it would.

Instead I am so excited to talk about the White Tie Ball we sponsored on Friday that was completely amazing!

When I first started to work at BYU Women's Services and Resources (WSR), my boss LaNae asked if we could find some stuff to promote violence awareness and prevention. Thank heaven for Google, because I found an amazing idea for a big event based on the White Tie Gala Dinner put on by the White Ribbon Foundation of Australia. It's basically an evening to promote awareness and raise money for the cause of ending violence towards women.

Now, we are launching a great campaign at WSR called Voices of Courage which encourages bystanders to step in and stop abuse in its earliest stages and promotes healthy relationships between men and women. So, we put a little twist on the White Tie Gala Dinner to make it stand for ending relationship violence.

It took months and months of planning, lots of calls to Catering, locations, bands, pianists, singers, and lots of long discussions at Staff Meetings to plan, but we pulled it off. Thanks to my trusty sidekick, Kimi, we were able to get everything in place and the day finally came!

On Friday, we all got dressed up in our best formal evening wear and filled up the Hinckley Center Ballroom (which is a beautiful venue) with 120 of our guests. We enjoyed a lovely dinner while Jared Collette played the piano, I introduced our campaign, we showed our campaign video, had a musical number by Lindsay Aline, and then Mindy Woodhouse from the Center for Women and Children in Crisis spoke about making a difference in the lives of the abused.

Afterward, we had a live Jazz Band play while our crowd got up and danced! When it got dark outside, they opened the screens so we could look over Provo and see into the beautiful, clear sky dotted with stars!

It was a fun, uplifting, beautiful evening!

Judging Others

2010-03-01T15:40:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted September 24, 2009

Something has kept popping up this week in the work I have been doing and the things I have been reading that has been bothering me. Since it has come up a few times, maybe that means that it's a message that I need to think about or a message that someone else needs to hear about, so I want to share it with you today. The following is a selection of an article written by President Monson, published in the Liahona:

May You Have Courage, by President Thomas S. Monson

"May I speak first about the courage to refrain from judging others. Oh, you may ask, “Does this really take courage?” And I would reply that I believe there are many times when refraining from judgment—or gossip or criticism, which are certainly akin to judgment—takes an act of courage.

Unfortunately, there are those who feel it necessary to criticize and to belittle others. You have, no doubt, been with such people, as you will be in the future. My dear young friends, we are not left to wonder what our behavior should be in such situations. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior declared, “Judge not.”1 At a later time He admonished, “Cease to find fault one with another.”2 It will take real courage when you are surrounded by your peers and feeling the pressure to participate in such criticisms and judgments to refrain from joining in.

Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

As you can probably tell, I have been concerned at how much unnecessary judgment of others I have come across lately. The first thing that comes to me when I think about this is a letter to the editor that was in the Daily Universe this week about young women not placing the decision to date/marry a young man solely on whether or not he has served a mission. Today, there were several letters to the editor in response to that one arguing the opposite view; that the decision to date/marry a young man who has not served a mission is bad in some way.

This issue strikes me particularly because my father did not serve a mission. Had my mother taken the counsel given by these individuals in the paper to not consider marrying a man who had not served a mission, I wouldn't be who I am today. In fact, I wouldn't be me. Period. I know the arguments that are about to follow; that times have changed and the counsel to serve a mission is more encouraged than it was back then, but the concept still remains the same. The decision of a young man (or a young woman, for that matter) whether or not to serve a mission is a sacred decision between that young man, his ecclesiastical leaders, and the Lord. To make a base judgment of all young men who have chosen, for whatever reason, not to serve at that time in their lives is unjust. Also, to judge a young women who has chosen to date a young man who hasn't served a mission is equally unfair.

Another issue that arose this past week was while Lauren and I were preparing a presentation on Baby Issues (see Lauren's previous awesome post) to give at an Enrichment. We were discussing how some people seem to always be giving advice to young couples about when to start having kids, how many kids to have, how far apart to have them, etc. Some people believe that LDS parents should have many, many children and those who don't are selfish or materialistic. This is yet another topic that hits me hard because there are only two children in my family (myself included) and people are often quick to make judgments. Though my parents tried for more, the Lord had a different plan for our family. So, during our presentation yesterday, we made it a point to encourage these wonderful women to make these sacred decisions with their spouse and the Lord instead of heeding the judgments and/or criticism of others.

Obedience to the counsel of the Lord and his apostles and prophets is essential to living a happy, full gospel life, but each one of us is free to chose to obey/not obey this counsel. Also, we are encouraged to judge others righteously, but for ourselves, not to judge others for the sake of judging others. If you have the conviction to marry a man who has gone on a mission, that's wonderful. However, another young woman may make a different decision for herself, and that's okay too. Some parents may decide to have 8, 10, or 12 children and that's fabulous! But some parents may decide to have fewer children in order to provide for them what they can, and that's great. It is up to each of us to decide, or "judge," these matters for ourselves.

N. Eldon Tanner once said: "The reason, therefore, that we cannot judge is obvious. We cannot see what is in the heart. We do not know motives, although we impute motives to every action we see. They may be pure while we think they are improper.

It is not possible to judge another fairly unless you know his desires, his faith, and his goals. Because of a different environment, unequal opportunity, and many other things, people are not in the same position. One may start at the top and the other at the bottom, and they may meet as they are going in opposite directions. Someone has said that it is not where you are but the direction in which you are going that counts; not how close you are to failure or success but which way you are headed. How can we, with all our weaknesses and frailties, dare to arrogate to ourselves the position of a judge? At best, man can judge only what he sees; he cannot judge the heart or the intention, or begin to judge the potential of his neighbor."

My hope for all of us is that we can replace judgment and criticism with love and understanding. We are all striving towards the same goals and we need all the help we can get. I want to leave you with one of my favorite scriptures on the subject:

“Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7.) "

All You Need is Love

2010-03-01T15:36:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted September 17, 2009

Mormon Messages never fails me when I am looking for something inspiring to share with everyone and this video is especially poignant. President Monson has always been one of my favorite LDS speakers because of the plain, yet beautiful way he is able to deliver his messages to the members of the church. I'll let this video speak for itself:

As I watched this myself, I began to think of one of my dear friends and former roommate, Casey. We lived together during the 07-08 school year at Utah State. During that time, she was dating a wonderful guy and they decided to get married in August of 2008. It was such a blessing to see how happy they were together when I went to their reception! Fast forward a few months to Christmas Eve of that same year. I was home for the holidays, visiting my family, when I got word from a friend that Casey's husband, Eric, had been killed in an avalanche on Mount Logan earlier that day. My heart dropped all the way to my toes; My friend, who had been married for just four months, was a widow at 22.

Since I was home, I was able to go to his funeral with our other roommate, and close friend, Brooke. Brooke told me that when she and her husband, Malcolm, had gone to the viewing the night before, Casey had grabbed Malcolm by the shirt and, with tears in her eyes, told him, "Tell Brooke that you love her every day."

How vitally important it is that we show love to those we care about. We may not have to suffer the same kind of terrible loss that my friend Casey did, but it is just as important for our loved ones to know that we care. This life is about striving for perfection and we simply cannot be perfect without our families and friends.

So, along with President Monson, I want to challenge you to go out of your way today and tell the people that you care about just how much you care. Don't be afraid to say, "I love you," give hugs, kisses, shoulder pats, send texts, or call the ones you love. They may not understand why, but they will definately be touched by your gesture.

Giving a Voice to the Silent

2010-03-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Originally Posted September 10, 2009

One issue that I am particularly passionate about is violence against women. It's an issue that is very close to my heart because several of the amazing women in my life have been victims of abuse. This topic used to be incredibly taboo and still is to a large extent, but as our society continues to get more aware of this problem, some courageous men and women are stepping forward and speaking out, and I am proud to join their ranks.

I'm sure some of you have heard in the news that the singers Chris Brown and Rihanna were caught up in a domestic dispute and he lashed out against her, causing her serious physical injury. We hear constant reminders in General Conference about the spreading poison of pornography and the demoralizing affect it has on women. We see news reports of young girls being stolen from their homes and hurt in ways that no child should ever have to suffer through. Stories like these abound in the media, but it hits a little bit closer to home than we may think.

Here at BYU, we like to think that everyone around us is living according to the word of the Lord and treating one another with the love and respect that each of us deserves as sons and daughters of God. It's easy to believe that if we are living righteously and treating our neighbors as we would have them treat us, that so is everyone else. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Going to BYU doesn't mean that we are exempt from the trials and tribulations that the rest of the world must endure. But here we have a greater responsibility to speak up and speak out against abuse because of the lives we are asked to live as members of this gospel and as students, faculty, and employees of this university.

But what can we do? How can we stand up for injustice when we feel like we are just one person? Here are a few ideas:

1) One of the new programs we are running here at Women's Services is called "Voices of Courage" and our first event is the 5K Against Abuse (happening this Saturday the 12th; Registration is Free here in WSC 3326). Come and get educated about the growing problem of abuse and take a stand in your own way by saying you will be a Voice of Courage against this awful crime.

2) Volunteer at a local Women's Shelter.

3) Simply become educated about the issue. Read literature, visit websites like www.ndvh.org (National Domestic Violence Hotline), www.ncadv.org (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence), and www.domesticviolence.org, or attend speeches or lectures given by previous victims of violence.

4) Most importantly, if you or someone you know is currently in an abusive relationship, Get Help! Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (open 24/7) or call the Provo Center for Women & Children in Crisis. And, of course, you are ALWAYS welcome to visit us here at Women's Services for a confidential consultation with one of our counselors.

Remember, just because we don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And when we do see it, it's up to us to be a Voice of Courage.

Break the Silence, Speak Out Against Violence.

A Present for Everyone!

2010-03-01T15:28:00.000-07:00

Originally posted September 3, 2009

Today I wanted to post about the importance of appreciating the present. Oftentimes I find myself so busy looking into the future, anticipating happiness, that I forget to live in, and find joy in, the present.

I like to think that they call it "the present" for a reason; it truly is a gift. Every breath, every moment, is a precious gift from our Father in Heaven.

I decided on this topic as our director, LaNae was reading the spiritual thought for our Staff Meeting today. As she spoke, I was reminded of an experience that I had last summer while camping with my family. My sweet nephew, then 3 years old, was obsessed with my dad's binoculars. He would walk all around the campsite with them firmly pressed against his little face. The problem with him constantly looking through the binoculars was that he could see for miles in the distance, but he couldn't see what was right in front of him.

It got me thinking... When we are so eager for the future to arrive, when we spend all of our time looking through binoculars, we simply cannot see what is going on right in front of us. I often hear friends and family talk about "When this happens, my life will be better/easier/happier..." For example, "When I'm married, I will be happy." "When I have kids, I will be happy." "When my child is potty trained, I will be happy." "When my kids are in school, I will be happy." "When my kids are done with school, I will be happy." ...And so on.

It's wonderful to plan for the future and it can be very rewarding to look forward to things, but if we get stuck in the "When this happens, I will be happy," cycle, we forget to live in the moment. With binoculars pressed firmly to our eyes, we can see the flowers in the distance, but we are missing the beautiful flowers at our feet; the ones that we can look at up close, admire, smell, touch, and enjoy.

From the musical "The Music Man," the main characters tells us, "You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll be left with nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays." This couldn't be more true!

Lately I have been in love with posting videos to the blog. Mostly because they very often communicate things in a way that I can't simply with words. This song by Trace Adkins puts this sentiment so beautifully:

You're Gonna Miss This @ Yahoo! Video

My challenge to all of you is to learn to appreciate your todays. After all, what better present do we have than THE present!

Feeling Alone?

2010-03-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted September 2, 2009

Hello, all you darling bloggers! I've missed you while I've been away and I'm sure you've missed me (or maybe not...) :) But it looks like Brooke has taken excellent care of you while the rest of us were off pursuing other endeavors. (Kimi's married!!! Can you believe it?) Anyway, let's jump right in.

It's the beginning of a new school year. I don't know about you, bloggers, but after the first week of school I am exhausted, and oftentimes discouraged. I look at each syllabus from my classes and allow myself to become overwhelmed with everything that lies ahead of me academically. And then I remember that I have to add work, church callings, family, friends, and dating to the list and I really get overwhelmed.

I went to the Mormon Messages channel of Youtube today to get some inspiration for what to blog about and I found the perfect antedote to the feelings of being overwhelmed and alone. Sister Elaine S. Dalton delivers an incredibly touching message to us that I would like to share with the WSR Blogosphere:

What an amazing reminder! We are never alone. Period. Our kind, loving Savior knows, with perfect clarity, what we are going through. Through Him and our Heavenly Father we can find the strength within to rise up and face whatever is in our path.

One of my new favorite quotes is from a wonderful movie "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" (if you haven't seen it, seriously check it out, SO CUTE!). Mr. Magorium is passing on words of wisdom to his protege, Mahoney. He tells her, "Your life is an ocassion. Rise to it!" Through faith in our Father's plan for us and courage to reach our potential, we can take Mr. Magorium's advice.

Finally, I wanted to say a heart-felt "Welcome" to any of you readers who are new students or transfer students here at BYU. Going into my 6th year of college and after experiencing life at 3 different universities, I especially want to reach out to you. You are not alone. This transition is exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time and there may be times where you feel like you are just one single strand of hay in an enormous haystack; that no one knows your name or cares what your struggles may be.

To those of you who may feel this way (whether you are a Freshman, a transfer student, a new student, or a student who has been here for years), I want to say two things: 1. He cares about you, He loves you, and He knows you. The Savior will be there next to you whenever you need Him. 2. We care about you. Here at Women's Services and Resources, you beautiful, talented, and wonderful women are our lifeblood. When you walk through our doors, it absolutely makes our day. We want to see you. We want to know you. Please come in and talk to us if you have any need! As long as we reach out to each other, We Are Never Alone.

Well, that's all that I have for this post, my friends. May I wish you the best of luck with your new school year, peace of mind and peace of heart to see you through your struggles, and the courage to reach the glorious potential that you undoubtedly have.

Frankie Says Relax

2010-03-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Originally Posted August 13, 2009

Livestrong.com comes through for us again! While tracking my daily food intake and exercise this morning, I found a section on the website about Stress Management. I thought to myself, "Self, you have been feeling stressed lately. Don't try to deny it because I know you...well, I am you. Anyway, Self, let's learn how to better recognize and manage our stress, ok?"

After that rather strange conversation with myself (See I really do talk to myself! [see previous post titled "Are You Talking to Yourself?"]), I clicked on an article about Stress and found some great information that I would like to share with all of you! Enjoy!

What is the definition of stress?
Stress is defined as a person's response to his/her environment. Stress is measured in terms of arousal or stimulation. As such, stress must be present for a person to function. Each person has his own normal (homeostatic) level of arousal at which he functions best. If something unusual in the environment occurs, this level of arousal is affected.

There are three phases of arousal:
Phase 1. Alarm phase: When an unusual (or stressful) event occurs, the output of energy drops for a short period as the event is registered in the person's mind.
Phase 2. Adaptation phase: Next, the output of energy increases above the normal level; arousal is heightened as the person seeks to deal with the situation. Adaptation responses available to humans include physically running away, fighting, freezing (self immobilization), suppression emotion or learning.
Phase 3. Exhaustion phase: Finally the person's available energy is expended and his capacity to function effectively is reduced.

Personal Life Events Analysis
To learn the level of stress (distress) in your life, identify the events you have experienced from the following list, write down the value next to the event, then add up the numbers once you have selected each event that applies to your life in the past year.

* Death of spouse--100
* Divorce--73
* Marital separation--65
* Jail term--63
* Death of close family member--63
* Personal injury or illness--53
* Marriage--50
* Fired from job--47
* Marital reconciliation--45
* Retirement--45
* Change in family member's health--44
* Pregnancy--40
* Sexual difficulties--39
* Addition to family--39
* Business readjustment--39
* Change in financial status--38
* Death of close friend--37
* Career change--36
* Change in number of marital arguments--35
* Mortgage or loan over $10,000--31
* Foreclosure of mortgage or loan--30
* Change in work responsibilities--29
* Son or daughter leaving home--29
* Trouble with in-laws--29
* Outstanding personal achievement--28
* Spouse begins or ceases working--26
* Starting or finishing school--26
* Change in living conditions--25
* Revision of personal habits--24
* Trouble with boss--23
* Change in work hours or conditions--20
* Change in residence--20
* Change in schools--20
* Change in recreational habits--19
* Change in church activities--19
* Change in social activities--18
* Mortgage or loan under $10,000--17
* Change in sleeping habits--16
* Change in number of family gatherings--15
* Change in eating habits--15
* Vacation--13
* Christmas season--12
* Minor violation of the law--11

How to analyze your score: Add the values together. If your total score is more than 150, find ways to reduce stress in your daily life so that your stress level doesn't increase. The higher the score, the harder one needs to work at staying physically well.

Suggested uses for personal Life Events analysis:
1. Become familiar with the different events and the amounts of stress they promote.
2. Put the list of events where your family can easily refer to it several times a day.
3. Practice recognizing the stress level when one of these events happens.
4. Think about the meaning of the event for you and identify your feelings.
5. Think about the different ways you can adjust to the event.
6. Take your time in arriving at decisions.
7. Anticipate life changes and plan for them well in advance whenever possible.
8. Pace yourself. It can be done even if you are in a hurry.
9. Look at the accomplishment of a task as a part of ongoing daily living; avoid looking at such an achievement as a stopping point. Congratulate yourself and push ahead.
10. Recognize that your internal mechanism of coping with stress is directly tied to how your health and well being will be influenced by it.

Note: This scale is derived from the Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Scale. Holmes, T. & Rahe, R. (1967) "Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale," Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. II.

I took the test and scored a 219, so I wanted to know what I can do to relax a little bit. Once again, the website came through for me with this great relaxation technique:

Relaxation Training Technique Record these directions for yourself by reading them slowly. Use the tape daily to practice the relaxation response: Settle back as comfortably as you can and close your eyes. Let yourself relax to the best of your ability. Now, as you relax like that, clench your right fist. Just clench your fist tighter and tighter and study the tension as you do so. Keep it clenched and feel the tension in your right fist, hand, forearm. Now relax. Let the fingers of your right hand become loose, and observe the contrast in your feelings. Now, let yourself go and try to become more relaxed all over. Once more, clench your right fist really tight, and notice the tension again. Now let go, relax; your fingers straighten out and you notice the difference once more. Repeat that with your left fist. Clench your left fist while the rest of your body relaxes; clench that fist tighter and feel the tension. Now relax. Again, enjoy the contrast. Repeat that once more. Clench the left fist, tight and tense. Now do the opposite of tension: relax and feel the difference. Continue relaxing like that for a while. Clench both fists tighter and tighter, both fists tense, forearms tense. Study the sensations. Relax; straighten out your fingers and feel the relaxation. Continue relaxing your hands and forearms more and more. Now bend your elbows and tense your biceps, tense them harder and study the tension feelings. All right. Straighten out your arms, let them relax and feel that difference again. Let the relaxation develop. Once more, tense your biceps; hold the tension and observe it carefully. Straighten the arms and relax; relax to the best of your ability. Each time, pay close attention to your feelings when you tense up and when you relax.

Now straighten your arms. Straighten them so that you feel the most tension in the triceps muscles along the backs of your arms; stretch your arms and feel that tension. Now relax. Get your arms back into a comfortable position. Let the relaxation proceed on its own. The arms should feel comfortably heavy as you allow them to relax. Straighten the arms once more so that you feel the tension in the triceps muscles; straighten them. Feel that tension relax. Now concentrate on pure relaxation in the arms without any tension. Get your arms comfortable and let them relax further and further. Continue relaxing your arms even further. Even when your arms seem fully relaxed, try to go that extra bit further; try to achieve deeper and deeper levels of relaxation. Let all your muscles go loose and heavy. Just settle back quietly and comfortably.

Wrinkle up your forehead now; wrinkle it tighter. Now, stop wrinkling your forehead; relax and smooth it out. Picture the entire forehead and scalp becoming smoother as the relaxation increased. Now, frown and crease your brows and study the tension. Let go of the tension again. Smooth out the forehead once more. Now, close your eyes tighter and tighter. Feel the tension. Relax your eyes. Keep your eyes closed, gently and comfortably, and notice the relaxation. Now clench your jaws, bite your teeth together; study the tension throughout the jaws. Relax your jaws now. Let your lips part slightly. Appreciate the relaxation. Now press your tongue hard against the roof of your mouth. Look for the tension. All right. Let your tongue return to a comfortable and relaxed position. Now purse your lips. Press your lips together tighter and tighter. Relax the lips. Note the contrast between tension and relaxation. Feel the relaxation all over your face, all over your forehead and scalp, eyes, jaws, lips, tongue and throat. The relaxation progresses further and further.

Now attend to your neck muscles. Press your head back as far as it can go and feel the tension in the neck. Now roll it to the left. Straighten your head and bring it forward. Press your chin against your chest. Let your head return to a comfortable position and study the relaxation. Let the relaxation develop. Shrug your shoulders. Hold the tension. Drop your shoulders and feel the relaxation. Neck and shoulders relaxed. Shrug your shoulders again and move them around. Bring your shoulders up and forward and back. Feel the tension in your shoulders and in your upper back. Drop your shoulders once more and relax. Let the relaxation spread deep into the shoulders, right into your back muscles; relax your neck and throat, your jaw and other facial areas as the pure relaxation takes over and grows deeper, deeper, ever deeper. Relax your entire body to the best of your ability. Feel that comfortable heaviness that accompanies relaxation.

Breathe easily and freely in and out. Notice how the relaxation increase as you exhale. As you breathe out, just feel that relaxation. Now breathe right in and fill your lungs inhale deeply and hold your breathe. Study the tension. Now exhale, let the walls of your chest grow loose and push the air out automatically. Continue relaxing and breathe freely, gently. Feel the relaxation and enjoy it. With the rest of your body as relaxed as possible, fill your lungs again. Breathe in deeply and hold it again. That's fine, breathe out and appreciate the relief. Just breathe normally. Continue relaxing your chest and let the relaxation spread to your back, shoulders, neck and arms. Merely let go. Enjoy the relaxation. Now let's pay attention to your abdominal muscles; your stomach area. Tighten your stomach muscles, make your abdomen hard. Notice the tension. And relax. Let the muscles loosen and notice the contrast. Once more, press and tighten your stomach muscles, make your abdomen hard. Notice the tension. And relax. Let the muscles loosen and notice the contrast. Once more, press and tighten your stomach muscles. Hold the tension and study it, relax. Notice the general well being that comes with relaxing your stomach. Now draw your stomach in, pull the muscles in and feel the tension this way. Relax again, let your stomach out. Continue breathing normally and easily.

Now pull your stomach in again and hold the tension. Push out and tense like that; hold the tension. Once more, pull in and feel the tension. Now relax your stomach fully. Let the tension dissolve as the relaxation grows deeper. Each time your breathe out, notice the rhythmic relaxation both in your lungs and in your stomach. Try and let go of all contractions anywhere in your body. Now direct your attention to your lower back. Arch your back, making your lower back quite hollow, and feel the tension along your spine.

Settle down comfortably again, relaxing the lower back. Just arch your back and feel the tension as you do so. Try to keep the rest of your body as relaxed as possible. Try to localize the tension throughout your lower back area. Relax once more, relaxing further and further. Relax your lower back, relax your upper back. Spread the relaxation to your stomach, chest, shoulders, arms and facial area, these parts relaxing further, further, further, ever deeper. Let go of all tensions and relax.

Now flex your buttocks and thighs. Flex your thighs by pressing down your heels as hard as you can. Relax and note the difference. Straighten your knees and flex your thigh muscles again. Hold the tension. Relax your hips and thighs. Allow the relaxation to proceed on its own. Press your feet and toes downward, away from your face, so that your calf muscles become tense. Study the tension. Relax your feet and calves. This time, bend your feet toward your face so that you feel tension along your shins. Bring your toes right up. Relax again. Keep relaxing for a while. Now let your self relax further all over. Relax your feet, ankles, calves and shins, knees, thighs, buttocks and hips. Feel the heaviness of your lower body as you relax still further. Now spread the relaxation to your stomach, waist, lower back. Let go more and more. Feel that relaxation all over. Let it proceed to your upper back, chest, shoulders and arms, right to the tips of your fingers. Keep relaxing more and more deeply.

Make sure that no tension has crept into your throat; relax your neck and your jaws and all your facial muscles. Keep relaxing your whole body like that for a while. Let yourself relax all over. Now you can become twice as relaxed as you are merely by taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly. With your eyes closed you become less aware of objects and movements around you, thus preventing any surface tensions from developing. Breathe in deeply and feel yourself becoming heavier. Take in a long, deep breath and let it out very slowly.

Feel how heavy and relaxed you have become. In a state of perfect relaxation you should feel unwilling to move a single muscle in your body. Think about the effort that would be required to raise your right arm. As you think about raising your right arm, see if you can notice any tensions that might have crept into your shoulder and arm. You decide not to lift the arm but to continue relaxing. Observe the relief and the disappearance of tension.

Just carry on relaxing like that. When you wish to get up, count backward from four to one. You should then feel fine, refreshed, wide awake and calm.

Compassion: Pass It On

2010-03-01T15:23:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted on August 11, 2009

Yesterday for FHE (that's Family Home Evening for our friends who aren't fans of acronyms) our bishop gave a great spiritual thought about Compassion. He started with a story about how his father would encourage all 9 of the children to memorize scriptures and then would ask them to recite them at the table. Like any children who are asked to do such a task, the kids would look for the shortest scriptures they could find to repeat back when their names were called at dinner.

Can you guess which one was their favorite?

I bet you can.

"Jesus wept." John 11:35

After giving us this introduction, he asked us if we were familiar with the story associated with this passage. In short, during Christ's ministries here on Earth, he received word that his dear friend Lazarus was very ill. He was delayed in returning to the town where Lazarus lived, so when he arrived, Lazarus had already passed away. Martha, Christ's friend and Lazarus' sister, came to the Savior in her sorrow, mourning the fact that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would have been saved. And she wept. Christ knew what was going to happen next, he knew that Heavenly Father could and would grant him the power to raise Lazarus from the dead, but instead of explaining this to Martha, the Savior simply wept.

Why?

He wept because Martha wept.

Our Savior, who knows with perfect clarity the full extent of our pains and suffering, felt so fully the sorrow and despair of his friend Martha that he wept despite his knowledge of what would happen next.

What an amazing lesson for us to learn. We are frequently encouraged to be our brother's (and sister's) keeper; to keep watch over those we love, and to tend to those who are in need:

"Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—" Mosiah 18:9

One of my greatest blessings that comes along with becoming a therapist is the continual opportunity to perform these tasks; to "mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort." Since our Savior and our Father in Heaven cannot be here on Earth to do these things, they depend on us to do them for each other.

Showing compassion to those around us is the most glorious kind of double-sided blessing. Each person in the interaction gets to walk away with a smile on their face and a glow in their heart. When we extend to others the kind of love Christ would, we cannot help but love the person we encounter. How can we when we are, for a brief moment, seeing them through the eyes of our beloved Savior?

My challenge to all of you in the WSR Blogosphere: Go out of your way this week to show compassion to those around you; especially to those who may be lost, lonely, or sad. I promise that you will feel differently about yourself, your fellow men (and women), and this beautiful world we live in.

Fan of the Tan?

2010-03-01T15:21:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted on July 30, 2009

So I have been using this great website called Livestrong.com to read up on health and nutrition, track my daily calorie intake (including seeing how much sodium, cholesterol, and sugar I consume), and recording the amount of exercise I do. It's so enlightening to actually see what's in the food that I eat and how I have been nourishing my body.

While I was recording what I ate for lunch today, I noticed this article and since it's something I feel strongly about, I thought it would be beneficial to share with all of you:

Study: Tanning beds cause cancer

A study performed by international cancer experts has found that tanning beds cause cancer in humans. Ultraviolet radiation emitted by the tanning beds have been added to Group 1, reserved for the most dangerous cancer-causing materials. Cigarettes have also been put in this level in the carcinogenicity classification.

An analysis of roughly 20 studies found that the risk of the skin cancer cutaneous melanoma is increased by 75 percent when tanning beds are used before the age of 30. The study also noted evidence of an increase risk in ocular melanoma—skin cancer found on the eye— associated with tanning bed use.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer experts published the results online by The Lancet Oncology, a research journal. The IARC is a part of the World Health Organization, and these results reinforce current WHO recommendations to avoids tanning beds, sunlamps and excessive sun exposure.

One of IARC's experts told the Associated Press that people need to be reminded of the risks that tanning beds pose.

"We hope the prevailing culture will change so teens don't think they need to use sunbeds to get a tan," he said.

Older studies had found that those using tanning beds regularly are eight times more likely to get melanoma that people who never use them. The American Cancer Society has been encouraging people to try self-tanning creams or bronzers instead of tanning beds.

CNN.com reported that United Kingdom's Sunbed Association has come out against the results, saying that a link between using sunbeds and cancer has not been proven.

"The relationship between UV exposure and an increased risk of developing skin cancer is only likely to arise where over-exposure and burning in particular has taken place."

Skin cancer is the world's most common cancer. More than a million new cases are reported in the United States each year.

Resources

More information can be found at the WHO's website.

The original article is located at The Lancet Oncology.

For more information on Skin Cancer, go to the Livestrong topic page here.

--By Charity Scott

As an extremely fair-skinned female (I joke that my skin is only ever two colors: white or pink), I've always had to be very aware of how long I'm out in the sun, what level SPF my sunscreen is, and how quickly a day of fun in the sun can turn into a week of painful, pink-faced, aloe vera slathering. I started doing research on sun damage and here are some of the facts I've learned:

>The sun's rays, which are called ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays (UVA and UVB rays) damage your skin.

>Being in the sun often over time, even if you don't burn, can lead to skin cancer.

>A tan is the body's desperate attempt to protect itself from the sun's harmful rays!!!!

>Makers of [tanning] booths may claim that they use "harmless" UVA rays. But both UVA and UVB rays cause skin damage. While UVA rays take longer than UVB rays to damage the skin, they go deeper into the skin than UVB rays.

>A number of things may put you at higher risk of having skin cancer some day:

Having fair skin, red or blond hair
Having light-colored eyes
Sunburning easily
Having many moles, freckles or birthmarks
Working or playing outside
Being in the sun a lot as a child
Having had a serious sunburn
Having family members with skin cancer
Tanning in the sun or with a sunlamp

>Remember that clouds and water won't protect you--60% to 80% of the sun's rays can get through clouds and can reach swimmers at least one foot below the surface of the water.

>Use sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or more. Put the sunscreen everywhere the sun's rays might touch you, including your ears, the back of your neck and bald areas of your scalp. Put more on every hour if you're sweating or swimming.

--Source: Familydoctor.org

Something that I didn't know until I heard about it in a medical anatomy and physiology class is what a tan really is. We all know that our skin tans when exposed to the sun, but why? Everything our bodies do have a purpose, so a tan must serve some kind of purpose, right? Tanning is our body's defense mechanism from the sun, which means that if our skin is tanning, it is getting damaged. In simpler terms, tan skin=potentially damaged skin!

"Sunlight partly contains Ultraviolet light, which can cause DNA damage, which can lead to cancer. In intense light the body protects itself by moving 'pockets' of melanin around the nucleus of cells, which is where the DNA is. Melanin is a dark pigment which absorbs the UV light, so protecting the DNA. This is why people tan. However, the amount of melanin that can be produced is dependent on genes (so the DNA itself). If you can produce a reasonable amount of melanin then the skin tans; if you don't have very much then you will burn before it can build up."

If tanning is so harmful, why has our society turned tanning into such a chic phenomenon?

I have some thoughts of my own, but you think?

Create!

2010-02-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

For FHE yesterday my Ward hiked to Stewart Falls in Provo Canyon. If you are a fan of hiking (or not a fan of hiking, for that matter), I highly recommend this beautiful trail. It's a pretty easy one, so if you aren't an avid hiker, never fear! We passed tons of families on the way up and back (even a family that was blindfolded except for the 10 year old son who was guiding them), so it's definitely doable for all ability levels. Plus, the view at the end is totally worth the hour-ish long stroll through the mountains!

As my ward family sat on an out-cropping of rock next to the falls, I couldn't help but appreciate the incredible beauty of the world that our Heavenly Father has created for us. Even with my eyes closed, the feel of the wind on my face, the sound of the waterfall, and the feel of the cold droplets of water on my skin reminded me of our Creator.

As President Uchtdorf says in this address to the women of the church, we all have an innate desire to create the way our Father in Heaven creates because we are his children. When I was younger I used to be one of the girls that thought she couldn't be creative. Lucky for me, God blessed me with an infinitely creative mother who taught me how to access and foster my own creativity. Starting with small things, like painting little ceramic figures, she showed me how fulfilling and fun it was to create. Now, I just can't get enough of it!

For all the ladies out there that still think they don't have a creative bone in their body, you're probably out their creating things every day without even realizing it. You chose your outfit today, right? You put several pieces of clothing together to make an ensemble, correct? Well then, you created your outfit! Did you cook a meal this week? Have you tried one of the delicious recipes from our blog? Then you created a meal! See how easy this is!!!

Here are some more ideas of things you can do to be creative:

Make a delicious dinner for you or friends/family!

Draw a pretty picture!

Make some scrapbook pages or cards to give out!
If you don't like to scrapbook because it takes a long time and you feel like you sit for hours on one page and don't know what paper, ribbon, or glitter to use, try one of the many online scrapbook generators. A cool website to try is www.shutterfly.com because you can put your pictures together in a little book with their prepared fonts, layouts, and decorations! Then they print it out, bind it, and ship it to you for a reasonable cost.

BLOG!!!
What better way to create something to share with the world than to blog or journal. You get a chance to reach people that you wouldn't have been able to otherwise!

So, the moral of the story is Get Creative about Being Creative! There are tons of blogs and websites that can give you wonderful ideas about creating things, so check 'em out!

Are You Talking to Yourself?

2010-02-25T16:49:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted July 23, 2009

"Carly, who are you talking to?" My roommate shouted to me from the kitchen.
"What?" I asked, curiously.
"Who are you talking to in there?"
"...Uh...no one...I mean...it's the T.V. ... yeah..." I responded as I blushed.

You see, I hadn't realized that I was talking to myself out loud or that I was talking to myself loudly enough that my roommate could hear me. It's one of my quirks, I guess; chatting amiably to myself most every day. I blame it on the year that I spent living alone in a studio apartment my sophomore year of college. After spending so much time with only myself and my pet African Dwarf Frogs (who aren't very chatty, which is a good thing...or that would have meant that I really am crazy) to keep me company, I got really good at talking to myself.

"What's the point of this rambling?" you ask. Well here it is! I have started noticing a trend in the interactions that I've had with other women lately: self deprecation. I wanted to make sure that I was using the right word here, so I looked it up on dictionary.com and the definition of self deprecation is: belittling or undervaluing oneself; excessively modest (yup, right word!).

I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "You are your own worst critic" and I definitely think it applies in most of our cases. But something I've come to believe is that we all have the power within ourselves to be our own #1 Fan (giant foam finger optional)! So today I would like to share some of my favorite quotes (my favorites are bolded) about this topic in hopes of encouraging all of us to start talking to ourselves more positively... don't worry, you don't have to do it out loud, but give it a shot this week!

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not. ~Author Unknown

Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right. ~Henry Ford

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong. ~Peter T. Mcintyre

Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. ~Norman Vincent Peale

People are crying up the rich and variegated plumage of the peacock, and he is himself blushing at the sight of his ugly feet. ~Sa'Di

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. ~Thomas Alva Edison

Always hold your head up, but be careful to keep your nose at a friendly level. ~Max L. Forman

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. ~William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, 1604

I've spent most of my life walking under that hovering cloud, jealousy, whose acid raindrops blurred my vision and burned holes in my heart. Once I learned to use the umbrella of confidence, the skies cleared up for me and the sunshine called joy became my faithful companion. ~Astrid Alauda

If I am not for myself, who will be? ~Pirke Avoth

Self-love seems so often unrequited. ~Anthony Powell

Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. ~Veronica A. Shoffstall, "After a While," 1971

If you must love your neighbor as yourself, it is at least as fair to love yourself as your neighbor. ~Nicholas de Chamfort

I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship. ~Louisa May Alcott

How often in life we complete a task that was beyond the capability of the person we were when we started it. ~Robert Brault

Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be.
~Karen Ravn

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles," 1992

Finally A Chance to Post

2010-02-25T16:43:00.001-07:00

Originally Posted July 17, 2009

Hello to everyone out there in the WSR Blogosphere! My name is Carly Larsen and I am the elusive new addition to the wonderful world of BYU Women's Services and Resources. Let me take a moment to introduce myself...

I'm from the beautiful town of Logan, UT and have lived there for 21 out of 23 years of my life. I have two great parents, a fantastic older sister, an adorable nephew, and a beautiful new niece. I started off as a Nursing Major at Weber State University my Freshman year, then changed my major to Psychology and headed back home to Utah State University for the remaining years of my undergraduate education. I have my Bachelor's degree in Psychology and now I'm a soon-to-be second year graduate student in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program here at BYU working on my Master's Degree.

Along with the work I am doing for my Master's, I am a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern at the BYU Comprehensive Clinic. I love my work and I am super excited to bring my passion for helping people here to Women's Services! If you are ever in need of some help or just need someone to talk to, please come over to our office (3326 WSC) and chat with me (or my good friend, Lauren)!

For my blog contribution this week, I wanted to talk a little bit about exercising. A few weeks ago, if you had asked me to write a list of my least favorite things to do, exercising would definately have been on the list. My philosophy used to be "Run only when being chased," because I just couldn't find joy in running just for the sake of running (and hopefully getting into shape), so it was really hard for me to stick with any one exercise regimen.

The good news: I've finally figured something out that works for me and I hope some of my insight will work for you too. I talked myself into buying a gym membership because I thought, "If I spend money on this, I will want to workout so I don't feel like I wasted my money..." Well, after about two weeks, I had only been to the gym twice. "Rats," I thought, "there is a fatal flaw to my brilliant plan... I still don't like to workout..." Lucky for me, Lauren goes to the same gym and introduced me to some of the classes they have and we agreed to help motivate each other by planning out which classes we wanted to attend each week. And --voilà!-- I haven't missed a day at the gym since.

So, here are the basics of what I've learned...
1. Find a buddy that will keep you motivated and expects the same from you in return. I found that I am less likely to skip out on going to the gym when my friend expects me to pick her up at a certain time or expects to pick me up.
2. If you don't like running on a treadmill for an hour, find an activity or a class that burns calories and is something you enjoy. Lauren and I love Zumba and Pilates at the gym. Outside of the gym, I love to dance, so anytime I get a chance to go dancing, I burn calories and get fit without feeling like it's exercise.
3. Plan ahead! It's a good idea to decide what activity to do each day of the week at the beginning of that week (or even the week before). That way, you commit to yourself (and your buddy) a specific activity, time, and place which can help you to keep your resolve.
4. Strive for consistency. After I got into the habit of going to the gym every day (and kind of started to like going to the gym...), it just became part of my routine. Get up, go to the gym, come home, get ready, go to class, go to work, go home...repeat. It's a wonderful thing to develop healthy habits!

Anyway, I hope some of those tidbits are helpful. And I hope to see some of your smiling faces around our office and at our activities in the future! Have a beautiful day!

FYI

2010-02-25T16:36:00.003-07:00

So, my poor personal blog is very often neglected because I am busy posting once a week to the Women's Services and Resources Blog. So I decided to take all of the blogs that I have done for WSR and post them, one by one, here on my personal blog. Hope you enjoy!

Yours,

Miss Independent

Tanner's Make a Wish

2010-02-20T11:35:00.003-07:00

A few days before his 16th birthday and his very first date, my cousin Tanner was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer). After rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, he is now in remission, but goes back every couple of months for CT scans to keep an eye on things. Tanner is an incredible inspiration to me and our entire family with the positive attitude he's displayed while going through something that no teenager should ever have to endure.

One of his favorite pasttimes is parading around as his High School mascot: Griswald. As part of his Make a Wish, Tanner chose to meet the Jazz Bear. So, a few weeks ago, he was invited to be a part of the Jazz Bear's birthday celebration and work out with the Bear and several other NBA mascots. I was incredibly lucky to get the chance to go watch him at the game with lots of our family members.

So, I wanted to share his story with all of you:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

iPod Love

2010-02-11T22:36:00.004-07:00

Love, love everywhere!!!

More fun Valentine's themed stuff!

My iPod asked me if he could tell you his favorite Love Songs. He picked them out, not me, so it's all him! (In non-crazy terms: I put my iPod on shuffle and wrote down the Love songs that came up). These are all songs that I totally love, so if you haven't heard them, go on and give them a listen. Enjoy!

She Loves You- The Beatles

I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song- Jim Croce

Crazy Little Thing Called Love- Queen

Lost in this Moment- Big & Rich

Waiting for a Girl Like You- Foreigner

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy- Queen

Fallin’ for You- Colbie Caillat

She is Love- Parachute

We Belong Together- Gavin DeGraw

I Believe in a Thing Called Love- The Darkness

All You Need is Love- The Beatles

You're the One that I Want- Olivia Newton John & John Travolta

Can't Stop Lovin' You- Van Halen

Keep on Loving You- REO Speedwagon

I Melt with You- Jason Mraz

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing- Aerosmith

My Girl- The Temptations

I Want You- Savage Garden

I'd Rather Be With You- Joshua Radin

I'm Yours- Jason Mraz

1, 2, 3, 4- Plain White T's

The Way You Look Tonight- Frank Sinatra

Everything- Michael Buble

Blogthings!

2010-02-11T21:23:00.004-07:00

There's nothing I love quite as much as having a 2-10 question quiz that was probably written by a 13 year old tell me about my personality, hence my obsession with blogthings.com. So, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, here is a special Love Edition of blogthings:

You Have a Serious Heart

You believe that love is not a mystery. Love is respect, nurturing, and affection. Love is not drama.
You love with your head before you love with your heart. It's not love if it doesn't make sense.

Your heart is not easily tricked or fooled. You only have feelings when it is the real thing.
Your love life is only a part of your whole life. Love has its place, but you don't obsess over it.

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out.
Your heart is open to where ever love takes you!

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out

Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking

What turns you off: fighting and conflict

Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

You Fall for the Guy or Girl Next Door Type

You think that people make love too complicated, and what you want in a partner happens to be pretty simple.
You're content with someone who's nice, attractive, honest, and normal. So how come that's so hard to find?

You are fairly traditional, and you value security in relationships more than most people. It's important for you to find someone loyal.
When you find the right person, you don't expect much from him or her. You're just happy to be together.

Your Heart Takes Love Seriously

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when your lover is creative and never lets you feel bored.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

Your Love Style is Agape

You are a caring, kind, and selfless partner.
Unsurprisingly, your love style is the most rare.
You are willing to sacrifice your world for your sweetie.
Except it doesn't really feel like sacrifice to you.
For you, nothing feels better than giving to the one you love.

Your Love is Blue

When you love someone, you give your heart entirely to them. You believe love is an unconditional, unselfish act.
You don't love half-way. You are "all in" whenever you are in love, and you don't hold back.

You find it easy to fall in love. You accept people as they are, and you even can love someone's flaws.
Because you are so loving and caring, you are incredibly easy to love in return. Your heart is open and ready to be filled.

Top Ten Reasons to Love Yourself

2010-02-01T21:03:00.004-07:00

I went to a wonderful Yoga class tonight and the instructor talked a lot about being good to yourself and listening to your body. Our focus during the Yoga class was on the quote, "Always take the chance to be good to yourself."

Seeing as how I am a grad student at the tail end of her last semester in a very stressful program, I sometimes forget to love myself. AND... as a woman in today's body-loathing society, I often forget to love my body, too. It was very nice to take an hour out of my day to be in tune with myself and turn my focus inward, so I wanted to do yet another Top Ten List (I know how much you love them) with this new insight in mind.

Top Ten Reasons to Love Yourself

10. Your physical body is a miraculously designed instrument with millions of uses. Your heart beats between 5,000-6,000 quarts of blood every day for 70-80 years (that's between 127,750,000-175,200,000 quarts in a lifetime)! You have over 600 different muscles that allow you to run, jump, stretch, laugh, breathe, and smile. Your skin (which is the biggest organ in your body and accounts for about 5% of your body weight) is a protective barrier to water and chemicals, but still allows you to let sweat out, be flexible with movement, and heal itself when injured!

9. Each one of us has special talents and gifts. Sometimes we may not feel like we are good at anything, but if we make an honest inventory of our inner selves, we can find something that makes us special and unique. I am uniquely kind and empathic. My patience and sweet presence has blessed the lives of many people I have come in contact with. What's special about you?

8. Think of how much information your brain can store! One of my favorite examples of this is to try and consider how many songs in the history of all music that you can either hum or sing along to. I have nearly 7,000 songs on my iPod and I can at least hum along to about 90% of them. Then, add to that your brain's ability to remember the layout of cities you've lived in or near, amusement parks and malls you've visited, routes that you take to familiar places, names of people you went to high school and/or college with, birthdays, phone numbers, names of foods, animals, and other things, important information from jobs you've worked, and an endless amount of other things (including useless trivia and Jeopardy knowledge).

7. Consider your creative potential. I did an entire blog about creativity on our BYU Women's Services blog (http://byuwsr.blogspot.com/2009/07/for-fhe-yesterday-my-ward-hiked-to.html). A lot of people think that being creative has to involve painting, sculpting, cross-stitching, knitting, or other similar activities, creativity is so much more than that. Cooking, designing, taking pictures, writing, doing makeup, putting together an outfit, and tons of other stuff counts as being creative.

6. There is nothing more resilient than the human spirit. This is a lesson that I am learning firsthand while practicing to become a therapist. I have witnessed awful things in life and heard of even more horrendous things that have happened in the lives of the people I serve and it simply amazes me that people can still heal, grow, and learn to love again. You have that same ability and resiliency resting inside of you.

5. For the ladies: Though we are inherently different from the fellas, we are just as valuable and valued. I'm currently in a Gender & Ethnicity class and we just talked about the obvious and not-so-obvious messages that society delivers to women about how they are somehow less than men simply because they are women. This is absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt, fundamentally false!!! Our opinions, feelings, and values are wonderful and wondrous, so never think that you don't matter or that you matter less because you're a girl. Another quote I love about this matter is as follows, "Woman was created from the rib of man: Not from his head to be thought of only, nor from his hand to be owned, nor from his foot to be beneath, but from under his arm to be protected, from his side to be equal, and from his heart to be loved."

4. You are a multidimensional being. We are physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, sensual (as in the five senses, not the other way), and social beings. Even if you feel inadequate in one area, there are other areas that contribute to your strength. Creating a balance between the many dimensions of yourself can only contribute to the betterment of the whole self.

3. "Whether you think you can or cannot, you are right." Believing in yourself and your potential can give you the power to do amazing things! One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Thomas Edison (who did amazing things powered from his belief in himself), "If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves."

2. Think of all the people who have loved you throughout your lifetime. The first people on the list being your family--parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, husbands/wives, nieces, nephews, etc.--then moving on to everyone else you've encountered--neighbors, ward members, teachers, classmates, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, bosses, coworkers, and even a stranger or two. All those people can't possibly be wrong about how lovable you are!

1. Both our bodies and our spirits are precious creations of a loving Father in Heaven who wants us to be happy. What better reason could we ask for to love ourselves?

That's it for this list. There are so many other things that I could say on this matter, but this is a good place to start.

Masquerade! Paper Faces on Parade. Masquerade!

2010-01-30T15:41:00.012-07:00

Alright, so we have already established how much I love to dress up! I think that part is quite clear. So, when my friend, Jessie, told me about a Masquerade Ball that she found out about on Facebook, I was totally in!

Jessie and I decided to ask two of our favorite men in the world to accompany us as our dates for the evening: My fabulous (and oh so patient) boyfriend, Kevin, and his roommate and awesome friend, Aaron. Kevin wasn't super stoked on the idea at first, but he is willing to do anything to make me happy, so he agreed to go. Aaron is always up for organized silliness, so he was in too.

So, on Friday evening, Jessie came over to my house and we started getting ready for our night out. It was almost like being transported back to high school and getting ready for a dance. Jessie is going to hair school at Marinello, so she did our hair and make-up, which turned out incredible and sassy!

We were quite proud of the finished product:

And then we put on our masks to finish up the look:

And then we went to pick up our dates:

We went to Provo's Historic County Courthouse, where the Ball was held, and saw dozens and dozens of couples dressed up in an array of costumes, prom dresses, suits, and tuxes. There were a lot of really cool masks: some Carnival masks, some phantom masks, some masks that were painted on, and everything in between. We had a blast dancing around together, people watching, and seeing a couple get engaged! It was an awesome night!!!