Amazed.

As I sit here in Hawaii looking out from the balcony and seeing this absolutely breathtaking sunset I feel very amazed. Hawaii is a beautiful place with sounds, smells, sights, all of which are beautiful. I feel like God had himself a good day when he created places like this. How could you not? I am also feeling very blessed for being able to be here and to see these beautiful things. It's times like these when I realize that God knows me. He really does. He knows that even though I really wasn't that stoked about coming to this beautiful place (gasp!), it was exactly what I needed and for that, I am very grateful.

And now, a super random survey. Is it dumb that I kind of like doing these? Maybe. But I don't care. If you think they're annoying, don't read it.

if i were a month, i’d be OCTOBER.

if i were a day of the week, i’d be SATURDAY....unless I'm working. Then I would be Sunday.

if i were a time of day, i’d be evening time. Like around 7:00ish.

if i were a sea animal, i’d be a seaturtle. I have always thought turtles are adorable.

if i were a direction, i’d be EAST. Everywhere I want to go is east.

if i were a gemstone, i’d be a RUBY.

if i were a tree, i’d be a REDWOOD. I just the love the majesty of those gigantic trees.

if i were a tool, i’d be a level or a tape measure? I like to make sure everything is perfect. (what kind of question is that?)

if i were a flower, i’d be a Hydrangea or a lily (minus the smell. barf.)

if i were a kind of weather, i’d be RAINY.

if i were a musical instrument, i’d be a PIANO.

if i were a color, i’d be green or pink.

if i were a fruit, i’d be a LIME.

if i were an element, i’d be water.

if i were a food, i’d be PASTA. I heart carbohydrates.

if i were a place, i’d be NEW YORK CITY, baby!

if i were a material, i’d be a lace.

if i were a scent, i’d be Peppermint oil. Delicious.

if i were an object, i’d be a vacuum or Windex. Love to clean.

if i were a song, i’d be She's Every Woman by Garth Brooks. I'm obsessed with that song.

Cheers.

P.S. I do realize that I'm not good at blogging. I'm not going to promise to try and be better. Mostly because I know it probably wont happen. Not to mention, they (meaning the blogging gods) took the background off and I am annoyed by it. But, the worst part is that I'm too lazy to pick another one out. Whatever. Life is good, even without a perfect background.

What blog?...

I suck at blogging. That's it. I have no argument. I just suck at it. My apologies (kinda...). Anyway, my friend Meg put this on her blog and I really liked it so I thought I would copy it.

I AM... honest. Sometimes a little too much.

I THINK...I'm pretty funny. Seriously.

I KNOW.. the church is true (Good one Meg!).

I WANT...to get through school.

I HAVE... so many things to be grateful for.

I MISS...my friend Trish every single day.

I HEAR.. babies crying/talking/laughing. And John Mayer on my ipod like 97% of the time.

I SMELL...Armani Code (I wear it everyday).

I CRY.. when school stresses me out.

I CRAVE.. water. I love it. A LOT. And Paradise Cafe.

I SEARCH..for answers to things that I cannot understand.

I WONDER.. why can't everything go MY way. I'm only half way kidding...

I REGRET.. not doing college classes in high school and graduating with my associates degree

I WISH.. I could just be done with school. I hate it! But I know it's important, so I do it.

I LOVE.. babies and little children. Oh how I love them!

I CARE..deeply about my friends and family. I'm not the best at expressing it though.

I ALWAYS.. wear the same ring on my left middle finger everyday. I feel so out of whack without it.

I WORRY.. in my head a lot. I am definitely a closet worrier.

I AM NOT...a good gift giver. I usually don't buy anything for people (even for b-days! I'm so rude...). But, I don't expect anything either.

I REMEMEBER...everything. Mostly because I write EVERYTHING down in my planner.

I BELIEVE.. in God. And I believe that he knows my heart.

I SING...a lot! I love to sing. I'm not very good though. I wish I were better at it.

I AM NOT ALWAYS.. tactful, but I'm working on it.

I ARGUE..very rarely (surprising for out outspoken I am). However, I'm up for a good argument if needed. I can usually stand my ground and argue with the best of them!

I WRITE.. notes in class. Tons and tons of notes!

I LOSE.. my momentum in school toward the end of the semester. Usually right before finals. It's awesome.

I LISTEN...to little children talk to me and I really love it. They are incredibly insightful and full of truth.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND...why some people are the way they are. It's hard for me sometimes.

I CAN USUALLY BE FOUND.. WORK, School, or home. Don't be jealous of my super exciting life.

I NEED...to make heads or tails of a specific situation in my life that I do not know the answer to!

I FORGET...what exactly I did in heaven to have been given such an incredible family.

I AM HAPPY...when HE is around. ..don't ask, because I won't tell you. Seriously. ;)

Yep, kindof a fun little survey, right?

Blessed

I don't know why I live in relatively uneventful place while people just like me live thousands of miles away with buildings crashing down around them.

I don't know why I have never really had any major health issues or concerns but helpless children and good people get diagnosed with horrible diseases everyday.

I don't know why I was born into an awesome family with absolutely incredible parents while some people in this world will never know how that feels.

I don't know why I have been so blessed to have not one but TWO extremely stable jobs that I absolutely love while people all around me cannot find a job-no matter how hard they try.

I don't know why my Mother beat cancer while others who fought just as hard as she did lose their battle to such a horrible disease everyday.

I don't know why I am surrounded daily with friends and people that I love and admire while some people feel like they don't have a friend in the world.

I don't know why I was born into a household where God is VERY real and I learned from a very young age that I belong to the ONLY true church on this earth when other people in this world have no clue who God is or if he even exists.

I don't know why I have been so blessed in my life. I don't know why I am so lucky. What I do know is that I am SO GRATEFUL for my life and for all of my blessings.

Life is SO good. It's not easy, but it is SO good.

Rambling.

If you still read this poor blog, bless you. If not, it's cool. Let's be honest, it's not that exciting. Let's do a small (holiday) recap...

Thanksgiving: I worked til 3 ish. Got home in time to see my family and in time to eat the D-lish food. Found out that my super cute Great Grandma choked when she was eating her Thanksgiving dinner and my Uncle had to give her the heimlick (that's spelled wrong, just sound it out). Glad she worked that one out. Overall it was a great day.

Christmas: I DIDN'T WORK! Wooo. I have worked Christmas or been scheduled to work Christmas for a few years now. It was so nice to have it off. My family woke up at 8 (if I remember correctly) and we had an excellent Christmas morning. Did the usual routine. Great day.

New Years: I LOVE my friends. Love them. I forget how much I miss them until they all resurface around the holidays. I had an excellent start to 2010 in the presence of some of my favorite people. Good friends, good food, good times. Loved it.

Anyways, things are going well. I'm writing in purple so that's good, right?

Speaking of that, I LOVE purple these days. Like, a lot!

Currently I am listening to the good J. Mayer. Love him. Well, love his music mostly. He seems kind of odd to me. Attractive? Yes. A little arrogant? Yes. (disclaimer:I do not know him, this is just my observation.)

I have a GIGANTIC Biology test on Tuesday which I should (technically) be studying for.

I worked my entire shift at the hospital yesterday. I don't ever work the entire shift (on Saturdays because they aren't my favorite) so this was a big deal.

I COULDN'T CARE LESS about the freaking Superbowl which happens to be going on right now.

I am happy.

I feel pretty content (for the most part. There's just this ONE thing I need to make heads or tails of...)

I love that my parents love me. Sounds cliche, right? But seriously, I know they love me and that makes me happy.

School is going surprisingly well. Surprised? I was too. I don't hate it (which I thought I would) and I'm doing pretty well (which I somehow always knew I could do).

I really wish that I could go to Haiti to help. The whole thing makes my heart hurt.

WhEn PeOpLe WrItE LiKe ThIS iT rEaLlY bOtHeRS mE.

It rained on Friday and Saturday this past week and it put me into an awesome mood for the start of this week. Is it supposed to rain this week? I sure hope so.

Valentines Day is this weekend...that should be...ummmm, fun?...

This week is going to be great, I just know it (minus the Biology test. Shoot me. Shoot me right now.)

Wish me luck, okay?

Cheers. :)

Just some thoughts...

My car is SO close to being paid off. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Woooo!

Congrats to my dear friend, Paige. She got married on Saturday! Paige is easily one of the most beautiful people I have ever met (in all ways one can be beautiful), but she was absolutely stunning on Saturday. So happy for her!

I really wish I were patient. I admire PATIENT people SO much.

I am madly in love with John Mayer. Seriously, he's hot and he can sing. Love him.

I love this time of year. I love that it's finally getting cold outside (I prefer cold over hot any day). I love that I can listen to Christmas music. I love that Costco has all their holiday decor up already. I love that CHRISTMAS is just around the corner.

I really really really want to go to Alaska.

I really really really want to own a cabin somewhere, anywhere.

I need a vacation. I will even settle for St. George.

Not all little kids are cute, some are down right naughty little brats.

My scrubs are fitting looser lately. Love that.

It's my little sister's birthday today! I don't tell her enough but I love her alot.

I am so sick of football being on my T.V. I could actually throw it against the wall. It's just noise to me!

I had the best time with some old friends last Christmas break, I hope this one coming up is just as fun.

On that note, I miss my friends. I really really do.

I HATE Christmas shopping for people if I have no clue what to get them. If I have an idea, great. If not, I loathe going in blind. It is SO stressful to me.

My cute little Grandpa turned 69 yesterday. I love him. He is great.

I'm working for noon to 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving day. Jealous, much?

However, I have all of Christmas OFF!

My cute friend Jessica is getting married this Saturday to a nice kid named Kevin. It's going to be a great day. So excited for her.

My other friend Sean is also getting married on Saturday! It seems like getting married is the "cool" thing to do these days...I (apparently) did not get the memo and I am so ok with that.

I hate working Saturdays.

I love working Thursdays.

Last but not least, I'm going back to school. Kindof a big deal...

Anyway, Happy Monday!

Life is Good.

Today was easily one of the best days I have had in a long time. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and say that it is on my top 5. This is why...

• I slept til 9:55 (just in time for Conference)
• Because of Conference, I got to stay in my jammies ALL day long! That in and of itself makes for a REALLY good day. Just sayin'.
• I got to listen to General Conference which in my opinion was absolutely wonderful. Did anybody else hear Elder Holland's talk? Incredible, yes?
• My Mama made one of my very favorite meals. Because I am the pickiest one, I sure do love it when she does that.
• I am now sitting and watching I Love Lucy (I never watch T.V.-the whole 60 hours a week thing gets in the way of that)
• I will probably be in bed within the next hour. Just the thought makes me happy!

I have had a lot of really good days lately. Not that I usually have bad days and it's not that anything super out of the ordinary has happened, it has just been reaffirmed to me a lot lately that life really and truly is good (pretty sure that was a run-on sentence. Don't care. Too much effort to fix it).

I had one of the funniest conversations with one of my 6 year old (I will call him Jackson) patients on Friday. It went something like this...

(Preface: At work, when I check kids in, I ask their parents certain developmental questions based on their child's age to make sure they are where they need to be developmentally. I was asking Jackson's Mom developmental questions on the 4 year old brother who was there for an appointment as well.)

Me (speaking to the Mom): Does he (the 4 yr old) draw people?

Mom: I don't know. I don't think so? Maybe he does...

Jackson: I have been trying to teach him. He just doesn't get it. I don't know what we're going to do with him!

Me: You have been teaching him to draw people? Wow, that's pretty cool. I'm pretty sure you have probably done a good job.

Jackson: That's what I think (shrugging his shoulders), he just doesn't get it...

I love love love my job. I have little conversations like this with kids nearly everyday of my life. How awesome is that? It's basically impossible to be in a bad mood. I love it, all of them keep me on my toes!

Anyway, that kindof ended up being a quite random blog post. Whatev. I like it like that.

Until next time...

Lessons Learned.

I have learned alot lately. I have learned alot about myself, people I work with, what I do on a daily basis etc. I want to write some of those things down. Mostly because it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to be able to reflect on later. Keep in mind that I am still mastering alot of these things. Actually, I'm pretty sure that most of them are a continual work in progress.

I have learned that some people never change. (Accept it and move on, you're not going to change it by being mad at them)

I have learned that not everything has to be perfect (according to my standards) all the time.

I have learned that you feel better if you talk about what you're feeling instead of bottling things up. (This one is so stinking' hard for me!)

I have learned that there is absolutely no way to prepare yourself for a Dr. telling you that your mother has cancer. If any of you have experienced this, you know the feeling. It is absolutely horrifying.

I have learned that first impressions are not always correct. (I have been SOOOOOO wrong about some people in the past. Also, people have been wrong about me too.)

I have learned that it is therapeutic to sing in the car. I have learned that the louder you sing, the better you feel. (I'm also pretty sure that I sound exactly like a mix between Celine Dion and Whitney Houston when I sing by myself in the car. Don't be jealous. Not all of us can have talent like Me, C and Whit do. Yep, we're on a first name basis)

I have learned that it doesn't matter how popular you were in high school. What matters is what you are doing now.

I have learned and truly believe that there is a reason for everything. (even if it is completely hateful, there is a reason for it)

I have learned that if you make it a point to have a positive attitude. It is absolutely amazing how much good you will find. (I have done this "be positive" things lately and have noticed a HUGW difference)

I have learned that if you try to look for the good in other people, you will usually find it.

I have learned that people are generally good. Some of us are crazy and totally out there but generally, there are good intentions behind all the crazy.

I have learned that if you talk to children like you would talk to adults, like they are important and you care what they say, they will respond better to you.

I have learned that children are the most honest people on the planet. If you want a true and honest answer, go ask a 3 year old what they think. They'll tell ya. (I like kids, can you tell?)

I have learned that there is no age limit on friendship. (Some of my besties are older than me, others are younger than me. It doesn't matter. What matters is that we're friends!)

I have learned that if you speed, you'll eventually get a ticket (or two). This one has taken me a LONG time to grasp. (My Dad will be thrilled that I have finally gotten this one through my head)

I have learned that people in your life are put there for a reason. Learn from them, it is amazing what you can learn.

I have learned that some people simply feel that they are better than others. If you don't agree, just walk away.

I have learned that if you read your scriptures and pray before you start you day, your day will be better. That's just all there is to it. (I am not perfect at this. However, I do KNOW this one to be legit!)

I have learned to (try) to be kind to everyone. Because everyone is fighting some sort of battle. (One of my very favorite quotes)

I have learned that I am not right all the time (gasp). And that's okay! (I know, you're all shocked. It's okay, I was too when I figured this one out. ;) )

Anyway, by no means do I claim to be an expert on how to live life. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and say that I am the farthest thing from that. I have just had experiences from time to time that have made these "I have learned..." points very real to me. I am so so grateful for those experiences.