a post with pictures

You read right, my friends.  This post will have pictures. 

November 2011
I fail at Easy Mac once again

No-Shave November

Thanksgiving with the Duvalls

December 2011
Last "finals week" ever  (At least at this point...hint hint)

Blue Man group with Kimber

Christmas with the Irvings

Ice skating with Chelsea

January 2012
Start two externships to finish up my degree

24th birthday (complete with 24 acts of service)

Recieve my endowments in the Oquirrh Mountain temple

Become too lazy to put the extra roll of toilet paper away

February 2012
Girls lunch with former roommates

Sister-date with Chelsea

I shovel the first real snowfall of the season

talk about inconvenient

Some of you may have wondered  why my blog is titled "something inconvenient".  Isn't there a rhyme and a reason for everything?

The title originally came from a website that gives quotes upon quotes upon quotes.  I was doing one of those silly activities your friends post on Facebook that ask you to find a picture from "this" website, then a quote from "this other" website, then something else from "another" website...the rules go on and on.  The quote  I found originally stated "There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it" by Denis Diderot, but I decided to only use the something inconvenient portion to title my blog (although now that I'm reading the quote again, it's profound!).

As I've sat here and typed my many, many thoughts on life (and how it rarely goes where you expect and/or want it to go), I've come to realize how inconvenient my life has become.  Again (and I'll make this very short), my life has not gone where I thought and wanted it to go; I'm in a place I'd never thought I'd be (thus the inconvenience of it).  BUT, I am beyond happy.  I've been pushed and stretched beyond my limits, I've been through the trenches and back again, I've been built up, torn down, then built right back up again.  And through it all, I've become a better me.  I'm becoming who I never realized I wanted to be. 

So, my peeps, here's to an inconvenient life.

The Big 2-4

So...

My 24th birthday came and went.  No big deal, right?  (Especially given the fact that I've been saying I'm 24 since last fall...and my birthday fell on a Sunday.)

To commemorate turning 24, I stole an idea from a blog I found on Pinterest.  A woman performed 38 acts of service on her 38th birthday.  Brilliant, right?  After reading what she did, I quickly "pinned" the idea myself (and tried to think of alternative acts of service I could perform given that most of hers required mucho dinero).  A couple of months later, my birthday came to pass and the time to perform the services was upon me. 

1.  Cleaned the stove for dad.
2.  Took Misti on a walk.
3.  Put a neighbor's garbage can away.
4.  Did the laundry for mom.
5.  Sent *** flowers.
6.  Sent *** flowers.
7.  Visited grandpa's grave.
8.  Baked treats for the OC meeting.
9.  Visited ***.
10.  Visited ***.
11.  Visited ***.
12.  Wrote *** (a missionary) a letter.
13.  Took *** cupcakes.
14.  Baked treats for ***.
15.  Talked to *** on the phone.
16.  Sat with *** at church.
17.  Visited grandma.
18.  Prayed for ***.
19.  Called ***.
20.  Wrote a letter to a soldier.
21.  Visited *** in the nursing home.
22.  Visited *** while he was sick.
23.  Wrote my testimony in a Book of Mormon to give away.
24.  Wrote a "thank you" card to ***.
*** Names have been removed.

I don't think I could have spent my birthday any better way.  Not only was I not focused on the fact that I was turning 24 (which, actually, has been really great to me already), but I was focused on helping others.  And you know what, I re-discovered something:

Service = Love.  Love = Joy.  Service = Joy.

I am so grateful for the opportunities I had to serve those around me.  I know that many of these acts seem menial, and there are a few repetitions, but I truly believe that the smallest things can make the biggest difference.  

This is definitely a tradition I'd like to keep going for a long time coming.

Domestication: Part Two

Remember my last 3-week break between semesters?  Remember how productive I was and all the things I accomplished?

Yup, this 3-week break has been NOTHING like that.

The semester ended, I decided to take a week from school before starting to study for my Praxis exam in three weeks (smart move?...probably not), I re-learned how to stay up until 4 a.m. and sleep in until noon, Christmas came and went, and now I'm semi-celebrating Kwanzaa.

Below you will find a small(ish) list of the things I had hoped to accomplish during the break.

1.  Babysit the niece.  (done)

2.  Craft each of my Christmas gifts to my family.  (half-done)
--> I used this idea for my brother's and sister-in-law's gift.  It was a hit!

3.  Read plenty of good books.  (not even close)

4.  Catch up on my LDS readings.  (done-ish)

5.  Attend the temple.  (soon to be done!)

--> Oquirrh Mountain temple in South Jordan, UT

6.  Bake something delicious.  (working on it)

7.  Work out, run, do me some yoga or pilates, etc.  (seems to have slipped my mind)

8.  Study for the Praxis.  (just started today...)

Looks like I've lost my domesticated ways.

Santa is My Best Friend

Santa came early this year.

He brought the most incredible gift I could have ever been given.

And thanks to Santa, my sister/best friend/other half, Chelsea, and I will be going to see Coldplay in Portland, Oregon on April 24, 2012. 

Can I get a "HUZZAH!"???

And luckily, the end of the world doesn't happen until after the concert. 
*Side-note: Santa is spelled with the same letters as Satan.  Morbid, right?

When All is Said and Done

It's the truth.
I'm one semester away from graduating with my Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology.

I've taken my final final (pun half-intended).

The Praxis test and two internships are all that stand in my way.

As I look back on the past year and a half of my life, I can't help but be grateful.  Grateful for the challenges I encountered, the friendships I made, the love I earned but lost, the clients I (think I) helped, the tests and papers I spent hours preparing, the nights I didn't sleep, the tears I shed, the times I just smiled and laughed.

I wonder who and where I would be if my life didn't take this course.  I wonder if I'd be writing for The New York Times while living the single life in Manhattan.  I wonder if I'd be married to a wonderful man and starting a family.  I wonder if I'd be traveling the world until my money (and sense of adventure) ran out.  I wonder if more items on my "bucket list" would be crossed off.  I wonder if I'd even have some of the same items on that list at all.  I wonder if I would have experienced even half of the trials I've experienced.  I wonder if I would have grown in the gospel as much as I have.  I wonder if I'd be as pleased with who I've become.

No matter what could have and "should have" happened, I'm grateful for how my life has played out, curve balls and all.  I'm grateful to the Lord for shaping me into the person I am today.  And I know that if I continue to seek to know His will for me, I will continue to be blessed and guided. 

Pitch me the next curve ball!

Keep Your Pants On

Background of title: I'm currently on the second disc of season 2 of Gilmore Girls.  Luke just yelled that lovely catch-phrase (okay, so it's not exactly a catch-phrase but close enough) across his diner at Lorelai. 

Ask me how much I love my life.

The answer is: "Too much to handle!"

Now it's time for my weekly list of complaints. 
-It's December, and it hasn't snowed in ages.
-One of my kiddos bombed a test today.  I still haven't learned to "leave my work at work".  That's gonna take a while.
-I'm loving wearing leggings (I realize that's not a complaint, get ready for it).  Go ahead, throw your immodesty arguments at me, I can take 'em.  If you think they're immodest, that's your opinion (that's the best complaint you're gonna get out of me regarding this issue).
-I'm sick of eating take-out and leftovers.  Wish I had time for real food!
-I need a job.  I have no money.  Literally, none.  Feel free to look at my bank account, there's nothing to steal.

Aaaaaaaaaand now it's time for my weekly list of awesomeness.
-It's December, and it hasn't snowed.  I love snow on the trees, grass, houses, even sidewalks, just not on the roads.
-I love my kiddo that bombed a test.  S/he's great.  I will miss him/her.
-I'm still drinking Diet Coke.  Yum.
-Only one more week of school.
-Two more tests.
-I made a real funny joke today.  About a man in my program not being able to read orange signs.  Y'all missed out.
-It's Friday night.  I took a four hour nap.  And I'm totally okay with that.
-I love showers.  Like, the showering kind.  Complete with hot water, shampoo, conditioner, loufas, and body wash.  Oh, and razors.  I opposite-of-love other kinds of showers.
-Skim milk is still my first choice of milk choices.  It just can't be beat.
-I'm down to wearing smaller sizes of pants and other clothing than I wore in high school.  Holla!
-I still wear my retainer to bed.  And I'm proud of it.

Okay, that's enough for this week.  Feel free to leave comments of your own complaints/awesomeness...I welcome them whole-heartedly!