Yay

Today began and ended on 2 rather frustrating notes. However, in between the 2, I secured tickets to a Michael Buble concert in Salt Lake City in March.
That means I get to visit some awesome people, and see an amazing concert of this beautiful man with my bestest friend in the world. And that happy thought makes up for all the other grrrrs of today :)

I have a big fatty crush on Michael Bublé...

My life is a lot less than what I want it to be right now, so to keep myself positive and believing in my dreams, I drown myself in good music and fun movies. It helps me survive reality.

Recently I have been eating up every note from this crooner, and realized that I actually have all his albums... He is adorable and I love his voice - and he's a fellow Canadian! Anyway, his latest is fab, especially a really fun song he wrote himself. It really reminds me to have hope and just keeps moving forward. We'll just pretend it's about me ;)

I'm not surprised, not everything lasts.
I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track.
Talk myself in. I talk myself out.
I get all worked up, then I let myself down.
I tried so very hard not to loose it; I came up with a million excuses.
I thought I thought of every possibility...

I might have to wait. I’ll never give up.
I guess it's half timin' and the other half's luck.
Wherever you are, whenever it's right, you'll come outta nowhere and into my life.
And I know that we can be so amazin'.
And baby your love is gonna change me.
... Yeah bein' in your life is gonna change me.
And now I can see every single possibility!

Someday I know it'll all turn out.
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out.
Promise you kid I’ll give so much more than I get.
I just haven't met you yet...

Yep, love him :)



(Pretty sure if I could find a guy with a boyish grin and dreamy pipes like Bublé, I'd be totally okay with marrying a Canadian boy. And Maybe Ryan Reynolds' bod... ;) just saying! There are some fine Canadians out there! lol)

Age is relative

Last Friday I drove the 2+ hours to Edmonton, got all done up, and went on a date. I was nervous and excited, but I love getting pretty! We had to do a few loops of the city to gather our dates and get to our dinner, but it was so yummy and a fun time. We got to the dance pretty late, and it ended an hour earlier than expected. (If you know of my love for dancing and the 2 months since I last did... you'll understand how tragic that was!!) So we mingled a little, then took our dates home and went to bed.

All in all in was an enjoyable evening. For my first major venture into the Edmonton YSA social scene, I think I did okay, though I'm not sure that there will be many others. Most importantly, I learned something valuable from my date.

From what my friend told me about him, and his pictures, he seemed fun and cute. And in reality he was a nice enough guy. He had the potential to be interesting. However, I was totally uncomfortable with him. It was a struggle to carry on a conversation!!

And it was all in his ATTITUDE!! At 26 years old, he has already given up on singles wards, and casually attends a family unit. He doesn't like to stay up past 10pm cuz it makes him cranky the next day. He said that he didn't bother socializing because it was all meaningless smalltalk, and no one would remember what he said anyway. Several similar negative statements later, I had realized something about myself:

I AM AWESOME!!

I'm really not that old at all! My age may be higher in digits, but I am still positive, vibrant, and alive! I get excited for dates and new experiences. I look forward to the small joys of life. I love learning about people. I thrive on good conversation. I love good music, dancing, and laughing. I love cheesy jokes and teasing. Although I have been to hundreds of YSA activities, I still make an effort to go when I can. I'm open to possibilities, and always up for an adventure! I try not to have expectations, but I like to give people and situations the benefit of the doubt.

Perhaps all my years of trial and error on the LDS YSA scene have given me that perspective - instead of becoming bitter like my date. Well thank heaven!

I am cute and fun and interesting! And someday that will be enough to catch the eye of the kind of man that I want to build eternity with. He won't be intimidated by my travels or life experience. Age will be just a number that doesn't even register with him. We'll be comfortable together, interested in each other's worlds, and inspired to be better with, and for one another.

Yep. He will be awesome. Just like me:)

My brother is officially a geek

This evening our dining room was taken over by my little brother and his friends as they discussed the latest video game releases, and played dungeons and dragons. They chowed down on soda pop and potatoe chips during their weekly geek out, then finished the night with a round of stupid-funny videos on YouTube. Woohoo.
Although it's a little foreign to me, I definitely prefer this to the alternative activities that occupy the lives of far too many 18-year-olds. But wow... it was so bizarre!

One small trip; one giant leap for my social life.

In an attempt to get out of my boring world and fake a social life, I went to Edmonton last weekend. It is the nearest big city, about 2 hours away, and there are a lot of YSAs. I also have a lot of family in the city, plus several of the stores I love, and the temple.

So on Saturday I got to go to Ikea and Old Navy (where I got some SWEET deals), and did a session at the temple. It was very busy: a wedding outside, a youth baptisms trip, and a young fiancee receiving her own endowment, surrounded by family. Happy! I was already pretty content with my shopping and all, but the experience I had at the temple was exactly what I needed. I felt so loved! I'm telling you, God knows us individually, and the temple truly is a sacred place where He can communicate with us more directly. AMAZING!!

That evening I got to catch up with Chelsa, an old friend who is such a doll. We talked and talked and talked and watched 'One fine day.' What better way to cap off a great day then with the young and dreamy George Clooney? :)

Sunday I attended her singles ward and was reminded how fun and interesting that environment is. And they are pretty much the same wherever you go. I need to get back into that scene one of these days...

I spent monday with my cousin Cathy and her 2 little ones. They are about the most active and adventurous kids under 3 I have ever met. So fun! We took them to a play place, crawled through the tunnels with them, talked, ate, and had a grand ol' time. Cathy and I are about the same age, but we haven't spent much time together in a very long time. And motherhood has made her even more awesome, so it was a great visit.

They all want me to move to Edmonton, but I just can't get my head around it. I don't know why but it doesn't feel right... Plus it snows even more there than here! I'm sure there will be many more visits though. Sanity only lasts so long without a recharge.

And this weekend was perfectly that :)

But then the fun continued...

See, there is a YSA Preference formal this coming weekend. Chelsa is going and really wanted me to go too. With my love of dressing up and dances and parties, how could I resist?? The only problem was the date. I know no one... (well almost no one, but the almost is simply not an option)

So Chelsa opened up her facebook friends list and we went shopping.(haha!) She showed me a few guys who were nice, or funny, then she all of a sudden she was like, "Wait, this guy is awesome!! He's so fun, and he's cute!"

She wasn't lying, he's certainly attractive. And approximately my age. And, judging by the photos, way fun.

Hmmm...

So she messaged him to see if he had been asked, and if he was up for a blind date. And a few days later, I got myself a date to the dance. He is a brave soul.

And I'm totally excited!!!

I'll let you know how it goes...

"Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

(Story of my life! Good thing I love to dance... cuz the storms can get pretty overwhelming.)

Glimpses

I believe God gives us little moments, every so often, to remind us what it is that we are working towards. It's these little tastes of pure happiness that help us push through the daily frustrations and little miseries that make the accomplishments of such goals seem so far away and nearly impossible.

This past week was one of those glimpses for me. I got to spend many precious hours feeding, burping, changing, observing, snuggling with, and simply loving my adorable nephew Miles. He is just 11 weeks old, but he is such a strong, sweet, beautiful baby. And he's still so close to heaven! We shared some pretty awesome moments, and that little dude got me teary-eyed on several occasions. I love, love, love him!!! (How can you not?!? Look at that smile!)

The highlight of my week, was Friday night. We gave his parents the night off and I took care of him. He spent the most of the night sleeping soundly in my arms (I know, I spoiled him). It was wonderful. (Thank you soooooo much Terrah and Tyler!! You guys are the best!!)

I want so much to be a mom. I ache to have a child of my own. However, I currently lack the highly important other half to that equation... I hope and pray that I will have the opportunity to have my own sweet little babies someday. And if they are half as wonderful as little Miles, I will be the happiest momma around!

In the meantime, I thank heaven for the glimpses.