Friday's Favorites

When stresses come our way, it's good to think of things that make us smile or laugh. Finals are coming up (in fact, I already had one), so I decided that a Friday's Favorites post would be good.

Favorite laughs:

I know, this video gets a little gross near the end, but I can't help but laugh hysterically! My family and everyone that I've shown it to usually goes red in the face and their cheeks puff up from trying to hold in laughter, but then the laughter bursts. It's great.:)

This is funny too:

(Which is why I can't see Breaking Dawn. I would probs laugh during the whole movie.)

Favorite recipe:

Truth is, I haven't been cooking that much lately. I usually come home every day after a long day of classes, work, and then the gym. However, even though it's not too special, I have enjoyed this tutorial on how to make the perfect brown rice. For some reason it tastes refreshing and it feels great to eat healthy food.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/08/how-to-make-perfect-brown-rice/

Favorite smiles:

Alright, there's a few this time :)

This one is guaranteed to make you smile :)

I'll admit something..I love cute couples :) I'm not planning on getting married for a long while since I still have a ways to go, but I still love to hear about good date stories and engagements. I love sweet wedding pictures and couples that are just right for each other. I saw this post on Pinterest that I found adorable :) The quick summary of what happened: 
Up proposal -He sat her in a chair loaded with balloons and then gave her a personalized adventure book for the two of them. How sweet is that? :)

With Christmas coming up, I saw this as well. I don't care...I am planning on making Santa cookies. There. But, why not throw in some "tiny donuts" for his little elves?

Here are a few more smiles as well:

With finals coming up and pressures accumulating, sometimes a lot of us feel that this is the best thing to do. Well said, Michael. Well said...

Favorite quotes:

great perspective I often need to remember

-John Lennon

-the Princess Diaries

Giving Thanks

There is a lot to be thankful for. Thanksgiving is a special holiday to take time and think about who we are surrounded by and what we have. I feel so privileged to know such incredible people who have inspired and helped lift me.

First of all, I have an incredible family. We have held through tough times this year while facing a lot of changes. Changes will always happen, but we have kept our faith through the knowledge that families can be together and that in the end we have each other. My family has supported me throughout the hard times and offered encouragement when school and life in general has had its bumps in the road.

I'm grateful for the many friends I see each day and for the laughs shared, encouragement given, and their kindness. I have incredible roommates and am sad to see half of them leave. I have also been sad to see that many of my friends will be leaving on missions, but it helps me appreciate them even more when they are around. This leads to my gratitude has increased for how quickly the gospel is spreading. I have friends who help give pick-me-ups when we're all stuck in the math lab as well as friends who offer encouragement when I have been studying for a while and falling asleep at work while doing so. I have friends who are incredible examples in all that they do, and I am so grateful for them!

I am sooo thankful for good health. The days where I'm not able to breathe as easily help me appreciate the days where I fully can. The times where I can't eat as much because I ate the wrong things help me be even more thankful for the times I can eat more. Honestly, I feel a little too dramatic sometimes. I'll be wondering why I have a 90% PFT instead of a 96% or so, and I will see a post by a CFer that will be along the lines of "My PFTs went from a 50 to an 80-(something)!!! I am so blessed!!" Then I feel guilty, and remember that God has helped me all along. Yesterday was my clinic visit, and my oxygen level dropped a little and my PFTs stayed at a 91 FEV1, but I couldn't complain because it felt so good to be healthy! I feel so blessed to be able to hit the road to run several miles at a time with hardly any stops and go to the gym about every day to lift weights and take exercise classes.

Nothing beats reaching the top of a hill like this during a run and seeing such a sight :)

I am grateful to be a member of this church. I know I talk about my religion a lot, but it's because it helps me every. single day. and I never take it for granted. I am thankful to know that Christ knows how we feel at all times--every joy, pain, sadness, grief..every emotion because he suffered for each of us and knows us personally. I'm thankful to know that through this gospel, we can always come closer to knowing feeling pure joy by coming closer to our Heavenly Father, and that he is always there. He cares for and loves us for who we are, including our emotions, well-being, the activities we participate in, our interests, and so much more because we are his sons and daughters. I'm glad to know that this gospel brings people together to serve one another and lift each other up, for the leaders we have who help us, the sources we have to learn of believers who faced trials and kept their faith, and for the blessings that come if we do what's right. I'm thankful for the power of prayer to bring peace, comfort, and direction at all times.

There are many other things I'm thankful for, which include:

-Surrounding nature, as it helps me see how God's hand is in all things and that he provided such an earth because he loves us.
-A superb education and job.
-Food/Chick-Fil-A/ice cream
-Youtube videos that make me laugh nonstop uncontrollably
-Music
-Movies/Disney
-everything vintage
-technology
-sleep
-my hair straightener
and more

Thank you for being who you are, and many of you reading this have shaped my life in many positive ways. Thanks for everything!

So, the question is, what are you thankful for?

Treatments...Behind the Scenes

I made one of these posts before, but every once in a while I'll catch myself trying to keep myself at least a little entertained during treatments. In fact, I doubt my roommates know this is sometimes what I do while I shake for a couple of hours a day. Jk, I promise it's not all I do, but studying, reading, or Facebook and Pinterest can only last so long, ya know?

So, to any other CFers out there, what are some things you do to pass treatment time?

Trick and Treat

Here is a rambly and sort of random blog post about Halloween this year.

I went to a Halloween ward party dressed as Merida from Brave, but not many people showed up and people kept asking if I was people such as Annie, Daphne (from Scooby Doo), and more, but I thought my (brushed out) curly hair would give it away, but I guess not. Luckily my friends Chelsea and Jess were there, so we were able to dance the way we wanted to to music from decades up to 7th grade year while the lights were on.

A few days later, I promised myself I would not be distracted from the studying that needed to be done while at work. But then my awesome supervisor put a pumpkin on my desk. I jokingly said how I would love to carve it, and he said, "Sure, I have a knife in my office!" So there I was, feeling pretty awesome for carving a pumpkin at work. I started carving a pumpkin carving face I saw on Google, but wanted something not so scary and more funny. It ended up being created into an inside joke that a few people at work and I understand--long story short, we knew someone in the office who ate cat food on accident, and we all (including himself) were joking about it. His daughter got in on it, then we did too, so there's been a lot of blackmail material going back and forth from this whole thing (which is why on the pumpkin, he said he was going to "Zombify me" which is taking a picture to make me look like a zombie. Luckily we aren't Facebook friends so it doesn't matter.) It probably wasn't as funny as I thought it was, but oh well, it's Halloween which is supposed to be fun, right?

Anyways, that was about it for some-what traditional Halloween events.

But then when yesterday arrived, my roommate's mission call also arrived. We had many people crowd into our living room, waiting to hear where she was going to go. Although the mission age has changed, Dana still would have been able to turn her papers in since she is a little older than the rest of us. She has been one of the most prepared and excited people I have ever met to serve a mission. Turns out, she's going to Milan, Italy!! We are all so thrilled for her but will miss her!!

preparing to pig out on pasta, salad, and breadsticks at Olive Garden

I believe that this Halloween has opened my eyes as to how much we are all growing up. It was the first time that I wasn't too sad about not going Trick-or-Treating, but instead reminiscing on how great it was while being a kid. This year wasn't so full of Halloween parties, dressing up, or having time for scary movies, (but I had an I still ate junk food and candy yesterday.) Although I didn't participate in so much of the traditional Halloween events or atmospheres, (even atmospheres here in P-town can be very sketch for parties, dances, etc--I learned the hard way from one night that I have to be more careful), I couldn't have been happier to see my roomie open her call. It's weird how time flies, but it's exciting to see my fam and friends progress in their lives. :)