Joy

Main Entry: ¹joy

Pronunciation: \ˈjȯi\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French joie, from Latingaudia, plural of gaudium, from gaudēre to rejoice; probably akin to Greek gēthein to rejoice

Date: 13th century

1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety 2 : a state of happiness or felicity : bliss 3 : a source or cause of delight

Institute is awesome. I really feel like a lot of lessons have been there for me to feel better about moving. Today at Friday Forum, we watched Pres. Monson's talk: Finding Joy in the Journey.

Amazing talk. I really have to find joy in the journey that is soon going to happen. I was talking to my roommate last night and said something that I have thought about a lot. Utah is going to be the place I grow up. Its going to be the biggest growing experience thus far. I think its going to have a special place in my heart and I am going to have to learn to find joy in this journey!

Some food for thought:

“You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

"If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place

among the noblest of virtues."

There are so many things I have been learning in the past couple of weeks.

Last night, we talked about covenants and true conversion. For years I have wanted to help my ward be more unified and have made this an active thing to think about. Yesterday, I finally learned how. We were studying the last of 3rd Nephi and 4th Nephi. Its all ab

ut being truly converted. This means doing all things for the right reasons, l

oving others, and becoming HOLY. When a person does this they are making a differen

ce. This does not mean that everyone around a truly converted person will suddenly be a "zion" like people, but it does mean that people's lives can be touched and th

at there will be more joy.

Joy!

I might be crazy....

So tonight I went to Charlie's house. 

Last night he invited me over to do P90X!

Tonight was an hour and a half of yoga!

It was intense, but fun and manageable. I was going to try it tonight to decide if I should really do this as a workout. 

Lately, I feel like my body is slowly getting fatter and more out of shape (these are obviously undesirable)! So I am going to do something about it. I called my friend Katie Horton up to see if she was interested! We have discussed several ideas about working out. We now have a plan!

So P90X is a six day a week workout (you don't even have to do it on Sundays). It has several workout sessions that keep it interesting. It also has a nutrition side. These are each organized into 3 phases (30 month periods). Each workout is an hour long...yoga is an hour and a half long. So this is a real goal! Charlie started 3 weeks ago and is loving it! 

I hope that I can do this and stay up with it! I guess we will see!

The Life of Pi!

So this weekend was fabulous.

Saturday:

-watched my nephew

-went to lunch with my mom and brother

-went to the lab

-went to Wal-Mart with Melanie

-Chris and Cathy came over and we made pie crust!

Sunday:

-lost an hour = :(

-made a pumpkin pie and turned dough into crusts

-prepared a lesson over the gift of the Holy Ghost

-went to church, which was great

-Pi DAY!

So Pi day was fantastic!

We had almost 20 people come!

The pies were wonderful and delicious!

I made a blueberry pie, which turned out amazing. Here is the recipe:

Blueberry Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

• One double recipe for all butter pie crust dough

Filling ingredients:

• 6 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces

Egg wash ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

METHOD

1 Prepare the crust. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured work surface, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges to a 1/2 inch over the edge all around the pan. Put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.

3 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash.

4 Remove the unbaked pie from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 cuts (so steam can escape while cooking). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven with a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking pan positioned on the lower rack to catch any filling that may bubble over. Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling and have thickened. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

I love having people over to celebrate pi day!

I got to talk to several people that I really wanted to talk to, one in particular.

This event will be celebrated every year!

The U

So this past weekend I went to Utah for an interview.

It was great.

The faculty. The campus. Great!

I love when I talk to scientists and feel inspired by them. I really love learning about the possibilities that can occur with science.

 I did feel different there, but for different reasons! It is very weird being LDS in Utah. 

I also go to see Sam, Jeff and Kali! We had a blast going to see the conference center and temple square! I rode my first train! Went skiing! Experienced my first flight delays!

Then yesterday, I got accepted to the Molecular Biology Program at the University of Utah! I am very glad to hear that. Today I got accepted to the Biology Program there! 

Now is the time to make a decision. 

I don't want to move....

I don't want to have to make new friends...

AND the bottom line....is I'm scared!

Layover

So...I am in Albuquerque (before arriving I didn't know how exactly to spell it). I have a three hour layover.

I am on my way to salt lake city. I am so nervous about this trip to the University of Utah. When my plane was leaving the flat ground of Lubbock, I had a feeling of sadness wash over me. I really don't want to leave Lubbock. I love it so much. I think thats why I have been dragging my feet so much about this trip. I think there is a real possibility of me moving to Utah. That makes me so sad...not only do I have to leave the great state of TEXAS...but I have to leave everything I have ever loved. Writing that makes my eyes water.

Lubbock - I have lived in that area since I was 7 years old. Thats a long time. I remember when we first moved and even at seven I acted like a senior in high school at the thought of changing schools and moving to a new area. I am a little older now and my reaction is different in so many ways. I wish I could stay so badly. Maybe I should start praying to get married so I never have to leave (or at least never have to leave alone)! lol. I'm still a silly girl.

This move is going to change my life forever. Not only will I live in a new place, I am going to have to redefine myself. I associate Lubbock with a particular me. In Lubbock, I am confident, friendly, know how to get places, know where to find great cheap mexican food, know the stake, and most importantly I have friends there. But where ever I move all of these things will change.

Now I just sound mopey!

On a different note - airports are great to people watch. There is a catholic priest not too far down from me with a HUGE cross on. An older couple with a baby (could be their child or grandchild). A family with three children who also have tiny computers (wow is the world being changed by technology). There are so many elderly people. I am really not looking forward to my body getting older. When I travel I wonder why people are on the airplane. Who are they? Where are they going?

I feel like I should be productive with all this time. I think I will look over the people I am interviewing with to get a sense of what they do.

I really hope this weekend goes okay. I have at least 8 interviews, skiing, and seeing my sister Sam.

I do LOVE her and can't wait to see her!

Friends who poop on your floor

So this weekend was really great!
I'm at work with nothing to do :( So what do I do, blog postSo as the previous post says...
I lost my phone to an automatic toilet :( ! I have a new phone, so :) !
Then on Saturday, I had to work and then I watched my nephew Kaleb!He is such a cutie! Kaleb stayed over night and boy did he kick that night. Good thing hes still cute.
Melanie and I had a record for the number of people who came over (not in a party setting) yesterday!Breakfast- I made crepes again! So...we thought we should invite people

-Charlie-Garrett-AldenWe had a good time....I really do love crepes

Melanie had a presidency meeting as well-Cathy-Shayla (middle one)-Meekayla( Right one)
Then my family stopped by
-Kim
-Josh
-Kaleb
It was nice to just chat and visit
Then church....I really do love that every week I get to go and take the sacrament and feel uplifted. Its great! I really am going to miss my ward when I have to move. Its just like home to me. I've been attending for almost four years. The people have changed, but its still home. There are so many things that I love about it.
There was a funny moment...I went to the bathroom (It seems lots of funny times occur in bathrooms lately)....There was something wrong with one of the toilets in the girl's bathroom. The water would not stop running. So I go out into the hall and tell a member of the bishopric that there is something wrong. Well "pretty blue eyed boy" (lol) pipes in and says hes good with toilets. So then of course we go into the bathroom together. It was just funny, talking with a "pretty blue eyed boy" over a toilet, at church alone, in a girl's bathroom. Our conversation was funny also. We were discussing graduate school and he told me that right now I am at prime marrying age and if I go to Austin (and don't find a boy) then it might be to late to head up to Utah. Just a random story.

Dinner- Melanie and I made "Shrimp Chicken Goodness" or that is what Chris called it.
-Chris (Far Right)-Isaac (Sad no pictures of Isaac and I)We had a wonderful evening full of laughter. We made a good dish and ate a lot. Then we played Liverpool Rummy. Issac won. There were lots of good things that we laughed at...

My favorite part of the evening was when Melanie was in the living room and shouted "CHRIS!"
He replies "I didn't do it." Me and Issac looked around with confused faces! Melanie had just went to the bathroom...so in my head I was thinking something terrible had happened in there. However, apparently PJ pooped in the bathroom on our blue rug. LOL. Chris saw it but didn't say anything...but when Melanie came in it sounded like she was accusing Chris.

So the moral of the story is- don't invite Chris over because he poops on your floor...and talks bad about your state! lol.