Girl's Night!

For the Priesthood Session of General Conference, I got some girl time with my old roommates Carolyn, Emily, and Tawnya. It's amazing how time flies. We enjoyed catching up. Sadly both Carolyn and Tawnya are moving away from Provo soon, so we probably won't be together like that again! Pictured are Carolyn, Lainey, Baby Holderness #2, Emily and Taylor, yours truly, and Tawnya and James.

which one is not like the other?*

Just for fun, I dug up this picture of our get-together a year ago. Lainey was the only baby then! And I am sure I went on and on about Kevin to them . . . we weren't quite engaged yet!

Another exciting thing about Conference weekend was having my brother Scott come down for a night from Rexburg. He sang in the Priesthood Choir. He was so excited since singing in the conference center has been one of his dreams for a long time. It was great to be with him, even if it was so short!


*That's right, I'm the only blonde.

The Spin Zone

I don't actually hate doing laundry. It does feel like more of a chore since I take it to the laundromat, but I have had some interesting experiences while sitting in "The Spin Zone" (the laundromat by the dollar store on Freedom). When I was in there the other day, this 13-year-old kid was with his parents. I was trying to listen in on their conversation, but it was to no avail since they were speaking Spanish. I did gather a bit of what was going on. The son successfully convinced his parents to give him some money to use at the vending machine (which is right next to where I was sitting). I watched him walk triumphantly over to the machine and put in all the change: 70 cents. There are items in there for less than 70 cents, but the good stuff is 75 cents. He left the vending machine to go ask for more money, continually keeping his eye on the machine to make sure no one would take it. I don't know how long it took him, (at least a drying cycle) to convince his parents to completely subsidize his purchase.

Witnessing this made me pause to appreciate childhood. As a jobless kid, you rely on your parents for everything. I had at least fifteen dollars worth of quarters in my purse right then . . . why didn't I go over there and buy one of each vending machine item? And when did that transition take place that I was suddenly mature enough to not do such a thing?

When I told Kevin this story later, I'm sure his thought was, "And how did YOU know that the good stuff costs 75 cents?"

Well, I guess I can't completely claim that I don't do such things.

Never, never, never, never give up!

Today I went to the Missionary Training Center to be an investigator for missionaries that will be going to Romania in 2 weeks. Being at the MTC this sunny April day reminds me of four years ago, when I myself lived there for nine weeks.

The top photo is with none other than Aubrey Janzen (now Lee), who was an amazing companion and is an amazing friend. One discouraging day, when we were entertaining the idea of leaving our missions early and not even go to Romania at all, I told her I would tackle her in the parking lot with my skirt on. Thanks for saving others from seeing that show, Aubrey. :)

The MTC was quite the experience--the beginning of the period in my life that I really felt like I was in the world, but not of the world. I look at that picture of me with my parents and two younger brothers and wonder how I didn't bawl my head off since I wouldn't be seeing them for 18 months, and I would only get to talk on the phone with them twice. Thank heavens for the internet and that we could at least e-mail weekly! (Sidenote: I did bawl my head off. A little bit when we went our opposite ways and then even more when I got to my room. But I survived! And so did they!)

I loved being a missionary. I wanted to be one for as long as I could remember. I loved wearing my nametag and having my life be all about testifying of Jesus Christ. I had a lot of hard times, and I had a lot of good times. If during one of those hard times, someone asked me if it was worth it, I probably would've said no and the head-bawling-off would commence. The good times in between those hard times definitely made up for it. I wouldn't trade the whole experience--including the highs and the lows--for anything. I am so grateful that I got to go and that I didn't give up.

Now here's a word I have to say about not giving up. One of the elders that was teaching me today was not very confident with the language. My heart went out to him because I could tell that he was discouraged and wondering if he was ever going to make it. I thought of my brother Nathan (the 11-year-old boy in the above picture) and how in four years, he will be in the MTC. It was an overwhelming feeling. So, this is to Nathan, who will likely only read this when I tell him to. DO NOT GIVE UP! There will be hard days, but overall it is worth it! The one Romanian sentence that elder said today with confidence was "Dumnezeu ne iubeste." (God loves us.) He said it every time it was his turn to speak. If he will remember that, he will be able to overcome all his challenges and trials. And there is someone, or perhaps many, people in Romania that need him to tell them that message. God loves us and has not forsaken us. He stands at the door and knocks. What will we do to let Him in?

I must also give myself this advice of not giving up as I now face a less-than-pleasant situation: job hunting. My temp-to-hire status at LexisNexis was never actualized, and they ended up letting me go. I took it rather well when it actually happened, since they had been threatening this type of thing for months. I have a really awkward story to share about that whole thing for another time. Right now, the job market awaits me.

Reasons why I'm a barrel of fun today and some blog envy

The last few mornings have been especially difficult for me to get out of bed. I have a runny nose, watery eyes, and a headache. I have used a ton of toilet paper in attempts to control this. I feel bad going to the secretary's desk every two seconds to take real tissues, so unless she's not at her desk and I can take some unashamedly, toilet paper it is. (kind of ironic to think of using toilet paper for tissues as less embarrassing than taking tissues from the secretary, but whatever.)

Thankfully I planned dinner ahead (for the second time ever) and already made the pasta salad that will go along with our hamburgers tonight. And, maybe it's my upbringing, but Kevin will be making the hamburgers. My dad always did it while my mom got the fixings ready, and that has been a legacy we continue (so far). Then I'll curl up under a blanket and hopefully finish reading Three Cups of Tea while Kevin works on his homework (the semester is over on the 22nd, so he has a lot to do). Wow, the prospects of our Friday night are lookin' so great!

Speaking of which, Three Cups of Tea is an amazing book. It has taken me longer than the three-week allotment of time the library grants, so I am now choosing to pay 10 cents per day to finish it. No renewals on books that someone else requested. So if you're the one that has requested this book from the Provo Library, I apologize for my selfishness in keeping it so I can finish it. Trust me, it's worth the wait. One of the many quotable parts of this book includes this:

Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything.
-Mother Theresa-

Not to abruptly change the topic or anything, but I have a confession to make. If you are into reading blogs, even of people that you don't know, you should read these ones. Oh boy do I have blog envy. I don't even know how I stumbled upon these gems, but I have to share with those of you that might want to know. I can't believe I'm outing myself on being such a blog addict, but at least if I get embarrassed later, I can blame it on the congestion that is my head right now.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, these blogs are awesome:


Momisodes {http://www.momisodes.com/}

What's up my nerds? {http://heidiluxe.blogspot.com/}

The Mormon Child Bride {http://mormonchildbride.blogspot.com/}

NieNie Dialogues {http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/}

C Jane Enjoy It {http://blog.cjanerun.com/}


Any others you'd recommend? I am looking at having a lot of time on my hands in about a week . . . more details to come on that drama later. Stay tuned.

a sincere form of flattery

Whilst wasting my time on facebook one day, I was looking at a photo album of a recently returned missionary that served in Romania. It showed up on my page since some of my friends were linked in it. I was casually browsing through when I saw this:

That. is. my. sweater.

I was so tired of all my missionary clothes that I only brought home what I was wearing and left the rest to those that remained. I have never met this girl and have no idea who she is, but it made me happy that my green sweater is still stomping around Romania.