Worrying does not empty the tomorrow of it's troubles, it empties today of it's strengths

I was reading a conference talk by Elder Cook the other night, and he said "Our day has been described as a time of plenty, and an age of doubt." as I pondered this thought I was thinking of how true it is. We have everything at the tip of our fingers, yet there are so many people who don't believe in anything let alone the belief in a supreme creator. It is hard to understand how we can live in an age of such rich blessings, yet we don't recognize their origins. It is very sad to think of what an ungrateful generation we live in. Anyway, just a small thought for the day.

Cheer up my friends all say

Okay, so I officially need rehab. I have spent SOOO much money in the past few weeks on St. Patrick's Day decorations. Honestly, it's not even my favorite, and I haven't decorated for the holiday since I lived at home, and if you walked in my house right now you would think my favorite color was green. It's wall to wall green, and shamrocks! Don't get me wrong I am very proud of my purchases, and it looks super cute in my house, but really? St. Patrick's day? RANDOM!!! I cannot spend ANY more money on stupid holiday decor. You use it what? Once a year, then stick it in a box in your closet. Not worth it! I need to go to decorators anonymous! I just can't help it when I see a cute little saying, especially if it's sparkles! Yeah, I know, I have a problem!

It does not do well do dwell on dreams and forget to live

I went through a phase where I was absolutely obsessed with the Color Code. I love finding out different personalities, and why people are the way they are. I remember me and my co worker read it, and the whole time we were figuring out what our other co workers were. It is so interesting. I am a Red-Yellow, pretty much half and half. People usually think I am Yellow because I am very social, and talkative, but then the red part comes in, I'm a leader, organized, and things of the red nature. It is so cool to figure out how to better get along with people based on their personality types. If you have never taken the test I definitely recommend it! it's so enlightening!

I am fairly certain that given a cape and a tiara I could save the world

Have you ever lost your cell phone? Is that not the scariest feeling in the whole world! You panic and think oh crap, well I'll just call myself...wait...I don't have a phone. Hum...well maybe if I text so and so and tell them to call me....wait....that won't work! It's so crazy to think how dependent we are on our phones. I have like three phone numbers memorized, and they are all numbers from my childhood IE my parent's home phone, my best friend Elyse's home number, and my mom's cell phone number (even that last one is a little dicey). What would we do without our cell phones? I feel like I would be cut off from the entire world without a phone.

Do you ever catch yourself measuring the worth of you day by how many text messages or phone calls you get? After work when you check your phone it's the saddest feeling ever to see zero text messages, or phone calls. :( Well that's basically all I have to say about that, just a little rant about phones...I love them!

If I had a type, baby it would be you!

So I was listening to my co-worker talk about how she has her slime ball ex-husband in her life forever because they have a daughter together, and I thought, how unfortunately true! In the world that we live in today sometimes people thing, well, just go for it, and if it doesn't work out, get a divorce, but really, if you do end up getting a divorce, and you have children together, you are in each other's lives forever! People really need to not rush into big decisions like marriage. It really is a serious matter! Who you marry determines your livelihood. My co-worker is having a rough time right now because not only does she have to deal with her ex because of her daughter, but now her ex is living with her brother, and still talks to her sisters all the time. AWKWARD! SO morale of the story, make good decisions!

Nine in the afternoon

Random embarrassing moment alert!

So we were out to eat a Hires, and the fries tasted very odd, and they were a darker brownish than usual, and I was trying to figure out what was different, and I said I bet they are wheat! hahahahaha! yeah.....BLONDE MOMENT! Silly Jessica potatoes don't come in wheat!

You can't have two fun parents, that's a carnival

I saw the cutest little girl today, she slipped and dropped all of her cherio's all over the ground, then all by herself, without even being asked, she started picking them all up. Does that ever happen? Usually you have to force kids to pick up their things! This one child I was watching purposely dropped crayons all over the ground, and I asked her to pick them up, and she started throwing a tantrum, and I even started picking them up and told her I would help her. She was not happy. Seeing this well behaved clean child made me sooooo happy! There is hope for the future generation! haha!

Live simply so that others may simply live

Does this ever happen to anyone else...?

When I am in a public restroom, and half of the things are automatic (IE sink, soap, dryers, toilet ect.) I look for the rest to be automatic too. I cannot tell you how may times I've left the water in the sink running when the toilet was automatic, and the hand dryers! haha! Just a random little thought, but really, am I the only one?

PS my absolute favorite thing in the world is the dyson automatic hand dryer! LOVE IT!

Eye opening health experiences I suppose...

Okay, last night was an eye-opening experience for me. I don't know what I am doing at the gym, but apparently not the right things. I got SOOOOO winded walking up this mountain. I had to stop like twice to catch my breath, and get my heart rate back to normal. I don't know if I am just not working out the muscles I was using or what, but it was ridiculous! I mean I go to the gym, maybe not every day like I should, but I was seriously WINDED! I need to work my way up on the stair stepper or something. I need to do some sort of endurance training or something, I mean it was like a 10 minute walk up a steep mountain! I should have been able to do it for 10 minutes right? I don't know I felt week and WAY out of shape!!! :(Well more motivation to hit the gym and to do more specific things I guess!

If you talk you'd better walk you better back your crap up

Sometimes I forget what things were like growing up where Mormon was not the most common religious practice. I went to a Ski competition in Deer Valley last night, and I was surrounded by people not only from all over the country, but from all over the world. I think I had forgotten that in other places of the world the smell of beer and cigarette smoke is absolutely normal. I have been so sheltered here in Utah, that I actually noticed the smell last night, and it bothered me. Where as in Oregon it would have just been like eh, no big deal, I don't do it, but I know people who do for sure. I have been here in Utah for about five years; am I forgetting my roots? Am I forgetting what it's like to have to stand up for your beliefs and take a stand on things you find important? Dare to be different right? Am I still doing that here in Utah, where most of my friends believe the same as I do, and I know I will see them at church, or FHE weekly.

I love my life here in Salt Lake, don't get me wrong, I love my friends, and I love all of the social activities for people my age, and who have my same standards. I don't know if it's winter that is making me feel this way (because I feel like every day all I want to do is grab a few friends and watch a movie, since it's too cold to do much else), or if I just need a change.

Change is really scary especially starting off in cosmetology. Now would be the perfect time to move if I am going to because I don't want to spend years building up a client base only to decide down the road to pack it up and start over again. I really don't want to live in Utah for the rest of my life. I want to see what else the world has to offer me. I mean I haven't even been farther east then Utah! This is sad business!

I have been hearing tons about Paulo Alto lately, that sounds SOOO fun, first off it's California! Love it already. Second it sounds like there is a pretty good LDS single's scene down there, so it wouldn't be too different socially from Salt Lake. AHHh!!! I want to do it!!!!!!!! I wish it wasn't so expensive down in the great land of opportunity CALI!

I feel sort of like I'd just be going from one bubble to another though. Utah is definitely a bubble. I am in my own little Mormon world, where we say "sparit" and "prafit" and "mountn", and go to activities where no drugs or alcohol are served and see each other at least weekly. California is definitley a bubble too, a Hollywood bubble. AHHH!!! What to do what to do...

You loose balance, you loose power

I have had the longing for a few months now to go home to Oregon, and just clean out all the junk I have stored away in my parent's shed. I remember when I first moved away to college I packed away boxes of stuff that I could never part with, and my wise Mother said "Jessica, if you pack it away in a box you will forget about it, and you might as well just donate it to Goodwill(because in parts of the world besides Utah, we have Goodwill's not DI haha) now." Of course I threw a huge pre-adult fit, about how I could never live without my precious jewels, but I just didn't have room in my dorm room for them, blah blah blah. Now suddenly I just want to go look through all of my long forgotten "goodies"! I want organize, and throw away the junk I have forgotten about, just as dear ole Mother had predicted. Will I be pleasantly surprised when I see the old treasures, or will I think man, I have been wasting my parent's shed space! Hummmm....Well I guess to be continued...

It's better to be home alone, then to be home and wish you were alone

Guilty pleasure: The Bachelor! I freaking LOVE that show. Some may say, "Jessica, it's all staged, it's a drama fest, and you don't go onto a TV show to find love." To all of you nay sayers out there I have a little something for you: Let me have my weekly addiction in peace please! This season the bachelor Brad is HOT! Plus he has a Texas accent which equals EVEN HOTTER! They are playing up this whole he went through therapy, and he's a reformed man thing so hard core that it is on the verge of annoying. Also girls, SUCK IT UP AND STOP CRYING! I am sick of seeing girls every single episode sobbing off their mascara! Other then that I love Emily! I like how she doesn't fling herself all over Brad all the time like some of the other girls do. She just waits patiently with a smile on her face for her to come to him. It totally works too! He always comes and makes sure she knows he is interested. Sadly I don't think she will last because she won't allow him in. I mean why would he choose someone who's walls he has to break down when there are so many other girls ready to start a relationship right now with no baggage. It's sad because I really do love her and I think she is the sweetest one on the show.

Also shout out to Ashley who went home this week. She seriously is the second sweetest! I loved how she was nice to everyone, and tried to make everyone feel happy, and didn't treat it so much like a game. Honestly, there is no reason to be competitive. You have to work on your relationship with Brad, not just back stab all of the other girls! Anyway, LOVE it, can't wait to see how it all plays out!!!!!

PS I freaking LOVE Chris Harrison! FAVORITE!

Just for the record, the weather today is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of rain

I have always been jealous of bears because they get to hibernate through the entire winter, and wake up when it's warm outside again! I was thinking about how much I hate winter, and cold, and I guess I do my own form of hibernation I didn't even realize it! It is so cold that no one wants to do anything or go anywhere, all I ever want to do is cuddle up with a blanket (and possibly a boy), watch a movie, and drink hot chocolate! YUMMY!!! What could be better then that!? Well until it's warm outside again, and the weather is great, you can wear flip flops again that is! Okay well that's my rant about winter...hate it! haha! Good news, I've watched TONS of movies this winter!

Reflections of my soul...

I was talking to some friends the other night, and I realized I have some funny/crazy stories/experiences, and I should probably write them down so I don't forget them!!! haha! This might turn out to be a really boring blog, but I'm just going to list a bunch of fun and exciting things I've done in the past few years since I stopped blogging. :)

*Amber Lomenick and I going to 24 hour fitness after working at Ross late at night! One day we were left our towels in the sauna to get warm while we were in the hot tub, and they totally caught on fire!!! It was SOOO embarrassing!!! We almost burnt down teh Provo 24 hour! haha

*I was trying to find a new car this past summer, and I the two Bryan's were with me, and we took it for a test drive, and all was fine, then when we got back BR started asking questions about the title and the guy got super shady. The next thing we knew these two guys with guns and badges showed up and told us that this guy selling the car had stolen the car and they'd been tracking him for weeks! It was a moment straight out of cops! haha!

*I went through a phase of super obsession with the color code. I am a Red Yellow, and for a while that's all I would talk about. I love that test! You can learn sooo much about people and why they are the way they are.

*I went to many rodeos!

*Tim and I tried to go to a Sugarland concert, but Jennifer Neddles got laryngitis, so they ended up not being able to come so the show was Miranda Lamburt, Lady Antebellum, and Kenny Chesney! Still a wonderful show! The next year Sugarland came back, and Tim and I went!!! SOOOOOO great! I was one of the best shows ever!

*For my 21st birthday Drew took me to a Fall Out Boy concert! They are totally my fave! On the way back from the concert his car broke down, and we had to call a tow truck to take us from out by the salt flats to Provo. Shout out to Greg Shaffer for coming and trying to save us late at night!! You rock!

*This last year Cynthia and I planned many a rocking party! I love throwing parties and having people come!!!!

*I bought a new car! It was a crazy experience letting go of Roxy, I've had that car for forever, and I miss the sunroof! The new car is great though, I actually have AC, and after all of the initial repairs it runs great! :) It was sort of frustrating buying it though because I TOTALLY got ripped off, and It wouldn't even pass inspection!

*I got my first salon job!!! It is Studio 603 in Draper! LOVE IT!

*Went to a Train concert! Probably the best concert I've been to next to Sugarland! Pat is sooo wonderful! He crowd surfed, and brought people up on the stage, it was sooo fun! It was an Earth Day concert!

*One night Me, Tim Kyle, Andrew, and Becky sneaked into a resort in Park City, and used the pool and hot tub! After being in there for a good hour or so the resort staff started to get suspicious because there were a TON of people that had sneaked in the night, so they approached us, and we made a run for it! The manager chased us down all the way past the parking garage threatening to call the cops! AH! haha!

*SOO many people I know have gotten married and had kids! Crazy! I was a brides' maid for Kelly, and Britton, and kind of Brea. :) So fun!

*I love living in Utah, but I also love being from Oregon!

*Hate Provo, LOVE SLC

*We used to stay up super late every single night just talking with our friends (IE Roomies, Cyn, Alli, Kim and Jared, Bryan's, John, Alex, Eric)

Bittersweet Symphony

I was driving to work one morning, and it was SOOO utterly foggy, then suddenly without rhyme or reason, a clear blue sky opened up in front of me, clear, and fog free. Sadly it only lasted about half a mile, then I descended in to the fog again. I was thinking...probably a bit too hard about the what sort of metaphor this could possibly be, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks! So here it goes, my metaphor of the fog.

Our lives here on this mortal probation are like being immersed in a thick fog. We cannot see ahead of us, and cannot really even see where we came from. We just trudge along, and try to stay within the lines, and not hit anyone along the way. Once in a while we hit a clear spot. Our minds become suddenly clear, we get some sort of personal revelation. We can see right in front of us, and know exactly where we are going. Once we have a plan in motion again, and sometimes before we are ready, we are again plunged head first into the fog fighting for that sense of clarification we once had. There is a difference this time though, now we have a purpose and a plan, we know that the fog will not last forever. We know that if we just endure till the next clear spot we can make it out, and we will forever be blessed and happy because of it!