Fasting, fajitas, and friends!!!

I love my life! Today I decided to try making fajitas because I was bored and it sounded like fun. They turned out delicious, and I also got to learn how to mince garlic. I love cooking!!! But I don't think I would have ever found this out if I hadn't been prompted to move out in the first place.

At first I didn't know why I was moving out, and to Cedar City of all places! But you know what? I wouldn't change one bit of it. Living with my awesome roomies, learning how to be independent, figuring out how to cook- living here has been the highlight of my life. And I've really had to learn how to rely on my Heavenly Father. Every day I thank him for having gas in my car and food on the table, things I took for granted before. If it weren't for His inspiration and the generosity of others, I wouldn't have made it. But most of all, the credit goes to my loving parents. Where would I be without them? They are the reason I ate for the first couple months I lived out here. They were the reason I wasn't stranded on the side of the freeway when my car blew up. They are the reason I'm even here! I will be forever grateful to my parents for all they've done for me.

Another person I'm grateful for is my brother, Aaron. He is such an example to me. Little brother, you have taught me the power of fasting. Before I knew it was something you should do, but now I know with every fiber of my soul that it is a powerful blessing that is available to each and every person  out there, even me. My little brother Aaron, bless his heart, decided one day to fast for our father. His health has been declining for years now, and in a variety of ways. My brother decided to fast for him- on a school day, when they were serving a good lunch, when he didn't have to, all because he loved our dad. And you know what? Every single doctor he saw that week said that his improvement was phenomenal. One even claimed that he wasn't sure he was looking at the same patient. This story has taught me to really appreciate fasting, and since then fasting has been a privilege for me. Every time I go to the temple, I fast beforehand. It is such a neat experience for me, and Aaron, I owe you so much for the example you've been for me.

Another example in my life is my dearest friend Brittany. She is about to get married in the temple to one of the best guys I've ever met. And Brittany deserves nothing less. After all she has been through, she deserves a guy who will not just respect her, but treat her like the beautiful daughter of God that she is. She has made a complete 180 in her life, and she gives me so much hope. If she can make that big of a change in her life and earn so many blessings, then so can I, and each of us. The atonement is real, and it's power never ceases to amaze me. It changes people in ways that are nothing less than godlike. Only the Savior could bring about such miracles! I am so grateful to Father in Heaven for all the blessings he provides for his children. "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength, I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do ALL things..." (Alma 26;12)

Snow.....and some of my other ramblings.....

I hate snow. 

It makes driving 

possibly the most life-threatening thing I've ever done, 

I'm late for everything 

(even worse than usual)

 and its 

COLD!!!  

bbbbrrrrrrr.......

But Marsha and I are planning on building an igloo soon, so its not a complete tragedy! 

Oh boy, what a weekend! My bestest buddy got his appendix out, I got to see my baby brother walk (my first time seeing this!), my cousin's baby was blessed, I got to see some of my St. George friends, and 

I GOT SOME SLEEP! .....well, sort of. I would have gotten more sleep, if it weren't for some people.... Anywho, this last week was pretty awesome. I also started my job and I love it! I don't know why people would quit Convergys. Well, okay, the only reasons I can see are that you work everyday (Monday through Friday) from 3:30 to Midnight. And you sit on your butt the whole time. I personally love jobs where I am just running around doing things the whole time, but this is still awesome. My job is great.

However, my kitchen skills aren't always great. As I have already told some, I froze my milk last Tuesday because it was about to go bad and I didn't want to waste it. However, it did not occur to me that putting an entire gallon of milk in the freezer -still in its jug- was a bad idea. When I decided I needed a smoothie, I spent a great deal of time using a butter knife in my attempt to get out some icy milk chips. Alas! my endeavors were a struggle, to say the least. But I have a solution! I'm going to buy an ice cube tray and make frozen milk cubes. Great idea, right? haha I know its a stupid situation..... But I'm learning from it, right? I love my life :)

The power of prayer 

never ceases to amaze me. All of my stupid little problems in life are resolved by this one simple thing. Now granted, sometimes it causes me stress because of the answers I may or may not get, but overall its awesome. And what's the cure for stress? More prayer! And it works! I have had so many totally amazing experiences this past week -thanks to prayer. For example, I was feeling extremely anxious about my new job, so I prayed about it, and when I went to work I realized I actually love my job. And I know it was prayer that helped me. 

All in all, this past week was awesome. I wouldn't trade any of it....except I wish I had more time sleeping.... Other than that though, it was great! ...and you can probably tell I was bored when I wrote this.... 

Love you all!

Friday :D

My favorite day of the week! But not this time. I think it might be Saturday instead. I had to give a speech today in my COMM 1010 class. I recycled my speech from public speaking last semester and presented the topic of Unwed Pregnancies. The first time I gave this speech, it was about 4 min. and ten seconds long. My requirement was 4-6 minutes, so I figured I was good. Guess how long my speech was? 6:40. Story of my life! Anyways, the first time I gave this speech I told my story, but not that I've moved away and nobody here really knows about Claire (expect Marsha!) I didn't want everyone here to know me as the 'birthmother'. So I had to edit my speech and find a way to lengthen it for my class. I didn't think to edit it though until last night, and consequently I didn't get to sleep till after midnight. I woke up this morning and realized how tired I was and the fact that I didn't prepare anything else, like what I'd wear or practicing the speech. I was feeling really stressed about it. Then it suddenly occurred to me- I should pray about this! I don't know why i didn't think about it sooner. So, I prayed that I'd be able to deliver the speech well and that I wouldn't be nervous and that I could effectively get my point across. And you know what? It worked. It went perfect....except for the whole 40 seconds over thing. But my teacher said it wasn't a big deal.

Anywho, tonight I'm going to my roommate's choir concert at 7:30, and after that I'm headed for St. George! I'm going down because I need documentation for my new job and I, being the intelligent person that I am, left it home when I moved out. I'll be working at Convergys, which I hear is just getting paid to sit around and be yelled at by people on the telephone because their cell phone doesn't work. Like its my fault. But, they pay pretty well, and I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I've been through worse, right? I need the money anyways.

But tomorrow is Saturday! I'm excited because I get to see Claire Bear. She is such a cutie, and I am so glad Campbells get to have her. She totally belongs in their family, and I couldn't imagine a better environment for children to be raised.

Well, that's about it! Remember that with prayer, anything is possible, even calming your nerves before giving a speech!

My First Blog! ...I hope I did this right...

Oh boy, what a day. I started it off with laying in bed an extra half hour, and then while I was brushing my teeth I had an accident... Our sink is clogged, so it is always halfway full of water, and when I went to go spit, a glob of toothpaste bounced right back and hit me in the eye. But, after I spent the remainder of my morning getting my eye to stop burning, I went to institute. I love my class by the way. Today the lesson was supposed to be on the harmful effects of pornography, but we ended up talking about modesty instead. I guess I never realized how closely the two are related. But anyways, after that I went home and ate PB&J for lunch. I forgot how yummy it is! I have been doing my best to avoid the typical college student meals and actually cook, but today I felt lazy. After that I watched Net-flicks, and I realized how badly I need a job! Meanwhile, all day long our smoke detector has been chirping at us (again!). So we went and knocked on management's door (since previous experience has taught us that we don't know a thing about smoke detectors), but they weren't home. So what was our solution? We took the whole thing off the ceiling, wrapped it up in a blanket, and shoved it in a drawer. It worked great! Now we can all sleep tonight :) Then Marsha and I put on our work-out clothes (I wore my girls camp 08' sweat pants!) and we went to Zumba. We did my favorite dance today too. Its to the song from Madagascar 2, the one where Moto Moto sings to Gloria "I like 'em chunky". Me and Marsha were laughing the whole time. Then I came home and made spaghetti, but with the swirly egg-white noodles instead. All in all, it was a great day. Oh, and my class was cancelled too! And I finally caved and applied for Convergys, since the DI pretty much told me that they'd hire a monkey before they would hire me because I've already "had my turn". But, things will work out. I'm where Heavenly Father wants me to be, doing the best I can everyday (as you can tell haha!) so He will take care of me.