be positive.

"what you find in your mind is what you put there. put good things there."

-mary ford-

i'm afraid i haven't put the best things in my mind. well i have a few but i definitely could have added more this semester but i didn't. want to know how i know i didn't? the scores of my final exams tell us plain as day that i have not put good things in my mind. but i'm reminded to stay positive. by staying positive i will be able to put good things into my somewhat slow and often confused brain. thank you finals for being over. at least for this semester. 

this semester i truly enjoyed the little things. (obviously i didn't care about the big things like learning, test taking, homework doing etc.) here's a fairly small list of a few of my favorite things of winter semester 2011at brigham young university.  

-one day i was walking to school and a guy farted (sorry for using that word) in front of me and then he turned around to see if anyone was behind him. super awkward when we made eye contact.

-enduring through an rm book of mormon class with my good friend willie.

-i absolutely loved the runners. you all know who i'm talking about. almost every day i was on campus i would see at least one person running frantically to who knows where. 

-having lunch with em every thursday at 11 am. 

-i thought it was so funny how hardly anyone stops to actually talk to people they know between classes. i caught myself doing it also. it's such an inconvenience to stop in the middle of the sidewalk, causing a traffic jam and disrupting peoples groove, so a quick hello and maybe a how are you is all anyone has time for. 

-american heritage movie nights with bff karissa and willie.

-there is one couple that i would see every monday and wednesday before my first class and i seriously love them. he has fire red hair and her hair is so blonde it's almost white. they are always hand in hand, she pulls her roller bag around and the guy just looks at the her while they talk the whole time. you can feel their love for each other and they are just perfect together. one day i heard her talking about rainbows and he was lovingly listening. pure bliss i tell you. 

-realizing that brad rigby's cousin was my ta for american heritage. small world.

-one time a guy was just looking up at the cloudless sky, just loving the beautiful weather. it made me want to stop and take more time to recognize the beauty around me.

-this one i kind of hated but it's still a favorite. trying to walk to and from classes is joke. have you seen the bee movie? in their town the bees don't have any traffic rules or lanes to drive in. it's basically chaos. that's how i feel between classes. you seriously have to get the timing right when walking through another stream of people, and you have to walk on the right side or everyone instantly knows your a newbie. it took a while to get used to but i think i have it down. 

-and last but certainly not least is the fact that my american heritage teacher did the entire napoleon dynamite dance for his classes. the class wasn't my favorite but he's a good guy. i loved picturing him practicing the dance possibly in his living room after dinner, in his bedroom before going to bed, out in the garage so no one could see him...whatever he did worked and it paid off. he sure has moves and that dr bradford made a great napoleon. 

i didn't finish out too strong but overall it was a good semester. hopefully in the fall i can become better as far as my studies are concerned and pay attention more in class and not to the things happening around me. until then i will just enjoy spring/summer and all that comes with it...

be good.

"almost everything comes from almost nothing." henri-frederic amiel


i just dropped 85 big ones at shopko today. shopko of all places. i walked away with tights, socks and shorts. seems like a waste but everything was on sale and i needed most of the items. still, i'm out of control. it's not like i have one of these in my backyard. i need to slow down on my spending i think...

be involved.

"life is not a path of coincidence, happenstance, and luck, but rather an unexplainable, meticulously charted course for one to touch the lives of others and make

 a difference in the world." 

-barbara dillinham-

i was supposed to blog on sunday. didn't happen. i was actually supposed to blog the last two sundays. didn't happen. i have found that lately i really haven't been that busy. i'm not working quite as much, school is finishing up, and finals are just around the corner. my excuse for slacking off is that i have none. i have loved spending time talking with my family members, watching a show here and there, and catching up with friends. 

now to get to the real reason of this post. last sunday was april 10th, the birthday of a particular guy in my life. he is doing exactly what the quote above is saying. he is in sweden serving a mission at this time because god placed him there. he put tyson there because he knew he'd be able to touch the lives of others and make a difference in the world. what a fantastic opportunity! the day before his birthday tyson baptized this man named kari who he has been teaching for the last six months. the lord doesn't just put us in certain places or in peoples lives for no reason. there's always a plan and we need to be willing to listen to the spirit so we can follow that plan and know what we can do for the people around us. 

i have yet to spend april 10th with tyson. maybe i never will. i hope i do though. "life is not a path of coincidence, happenstance, and luck..." i know he came into my life at a specific time and for a specific reason. i just don't know yet if that reason will allow me to spend his birthday with him. we'll see. until then pretend elder jenkins will do. happy birthday tys.

        

be open.

"above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. those who don't believe in magic will never find it."-roald dahl

i can't believe it took me 21 years to discover the magic of a cruise. better late than never and i'm so glad i found it. i honestly believe that if this cruise wasn't my first i wouldn't feel this great about cruises. the actual cruise itself wasn't mind blowing. it was wonderful and i am in awe at how much food it held for five days. but i didn't gain too much weight because i loved the food too much for my own good, and i only took one picture of the food and it wasn't because of the amazing plating. but that's ok. the people made this cruise for me; the people i went with, the people i met, the people who served us. my high lights of the cruise are the following:

 

catalina

we rented beach cruisers for the day and just rode around. so beautiful.

karaoke

ok maybe three hours of it was a little too much...

clubbin' at club rex, the comedian, dinner with teri, kristi and wangsa, and the jam sesh.

ensanada

couldn't go parasailing. couldn't swim with dolphins. but i could...drink a pina colada out of a pinapple...get a sweet hair wrap...go to the blow hole...pee for $.50...eat authentic mexican tacos...drink a diet coke (soo good in mexico)... eat ice cream with a cool little boy...buy a poncho and get offered free tequila, a mexican boyfriend and a massage all while shopping at the market...climb on a donkey and hold the-well not that...and i could still make fun memories without the parasailing or the dolphins.

 

day at sea

tanning, spa treatments (kinda. the sauna and steam room were great), our last dinner

the cruise was the main part of my spring break (one i gave myself), but getting there and then back home was seriously just as fun. on the way to california we stopped in st george and stayed with some of rachels friends. we had a blast! thanks to everyone of you for making room for us, bringing your game to our rap battle, and keeping us company the whole night. it was a fantastic way to start out our spring break. 

the ship returned to long beach and us girls and another group of friends that were on the cruise decided to go to newport beach for the day. it was a 15 minute drive and so worth it. we enjoyed a game of football on the beach (i came away with bruised and scabbed knees...), ate a few too many donuts and croissants at seaside donuts, and burned my skin to a nice shade of lobster red. once again lobby the lobster was brought to life. i got to know the people we went with better and began to really love these friends more and more. i haven't laughed that much in a long time. i'm so glad i met these wonderful people!

after a day of fun in the sun i got one last bag of donut holes and we began our drive to san diego where we were staying with gavin's sweet family. kirst had been a pro driver and up until this point we had made every exit and highway change so far. we somehow missed an exit and decided after a little while to get off the freeway and ask for help. the guys inside the grocery store kind laughed at us when we asked where the exit was. we were 30 miles past it and only 5 minutes from the border...a very sketchy, dangerous part of the border. we didn't want to go to mexico again and we were so grateful for the quiet guidance of the spirit to pull over when we did. we got back on and made it to gavin's house in no time. let me take a moment and tell you about gavin's mother, heidi. heidi is amazing. she is one of the most caring, sweet and giving women i have ever met. gavin doesn't even live at home right now and she still let us spend the night. she treated our sunburns as soon as we got there, took us out to dinner, and got us settled in her sons bedrooms...poor houstan had to sleep in the office. in the morning she had bagels, cream cheese, and jam, breakfast burritos, and tea ready for us after we had slept until our hearts desire. she turned on gav's favorite french music while we sipped our tea and talked. it was a great morning and we hated to go.

we had one more stop however, so we were off to cedar city. the drive wasn't too bad and we arrived with enough time to see kade, gavin, and chaz and then we headed over to club rex where we spent the night. they we so hospitable and kind and we had a great time with them. unfortunately some bad news came to sadie early in the morning so we made our way back home in the wee hours of the morning. although the week ended on a sad note i thoroughly enjoyed our entire vacation. time literally stopped for me. i left for this whole different world and my life in provo utah stopped. (besides the fact that i missed a test for a class. whatever.) 

the experiences during spring break 2011 brought me new perspective in some areas of my life. the new friends i made touched me in ways i didn't think they would. i grew as an individual. it sounds funny to have that happen during spring break of your junior year in college. but that's what happened. in the most unlikely of places secrets became secrets no more and i began to believe a little more in magic. 

be generous.

happy pi(e) day everyone. i was grateful for the excuse to do some baking today. pies are one of my favorite items to bake now and i can't get enough of them. today smash and i made two banana cream pies. we both had things going on tonight and unfortunately we had to leave the house while our pie filling was cooling. our parents are wonderful however, and they finished assembling the pies for us. my favorite part about baking is sharing what i've baked with others. i wish i could have sent a little pie to everyone. maybe next year. 

only thing missing was the filling...oops.

i wanted to add on to this post a few things that i meant to blog about last weekend but didn't make the time for it. three wonderful women in my life celebrated birthdays last weekend. my amazing, talented and kind mother valerie b whitaker, my caring, sweet, spunky sister melanie johnson, and my wonderful, strong, sincere sister (in-law) anna whitaker. anna and melanie share a birthday and my mom's is a few days before theirs. i was so grateful for the chance we had to celebrate their births and to take a moment to realize how blessed i am to have them in my life. each one has made a huge impact on my life and they are all such great examples. i honestly come from the best family and count my blessings every day for the chance to be a part of it. these three women are some of the most generous people i know. my mom does everything. she helps everyone and never stops worrying about others before herself. anna is constantly doing specific things for everyone around her. we were talking this christmas about me registering for byu and how i didn't know what professors to get and she took time to send me a link to a website via facebook where students have rated their professors. i can think of a dozen other experiences just like this. she's amazing. mel has such a big heart. she too is always thinking of others and what she can do for them. she has lived away from provo for quite a few years now but she called me on our sisters birthday and asked me to put a few things together as a present from her and the rest of us. and she sent me a halloween package while i was in china. she has sent birthday cards to our mom and dad and they have arrived perfectly on time. she didn't come out for christmas because she felt she needed to help out a friend in new york. she always has others on her mind. i'm so grateful for these three and their amazing examples that i can look up to and learn from. i love you three so much! hope you had a fantastic birthday.

be spontaneous.

"live nutty. just occasionally. just once in a while. and see what happens. it brightens up the day." -leo buscaglia


this is my first semester at byu and i've liked it so far. i haven't liked my test scores as much as i could but thats life. i often find myself saying, oh i'll do better on the next test. sometimes that can be true. most of the time it's not...this time it's definitely not. the reason i will not be doing better on my next test is the fact that i will be missing it entirely. i decided to be spontaneous and have planned to miss school for a whole week to go on a cruise with a few of my besties. i know, i know. this is my first semester at byu and i should be more responsible, take school more seriously and definitely not take a week off...right? i thought all of these things but i also thought that i only have three classes this semester so if i were to ever give myself a spring break it should be this year. i noticed that i had one test scheduled the week of the cruise. it happened to be an american heritage test. in the syllabus it said to call the ahtg office before the last day of the test. i was calling three weeks in advanced so i felt really responsible and good about the situation. the lady that i needed to talk to wasn't there so they got my name and number and said she'd call me back. she didn't call. the cruise went up in price so i had to book it before it became more expensive. sunday night i was on the phone for about thirty minutes booking this cruise. but it was worth it, and in the end it was booked and everything was great. the next morning i called the ahtg office again because the lady still hadn't called me back. in short the lady was a brat and told me that the only reason someone could make up the test was if they were in the hospital the day the test was offered. there was nothing about that in the syllabus. i had already booked the cruise. you bet i'm going to argue and talk to my ta and see what i can do. i hardly think that will work though. i get that it's such a huge class so no exceptions can be made, but they should be 100% more clear about the circumstances for which the test can be made up. i was under the impression i would be able to take the test early. otherwise i wouldn't have booked the cruise...


i'm pretty sure i'll still pass the class and that's all i care about. so here's to being spontaneous. so what if i miss a test? so what if i skip out on a week of classes? i'll live nutty, just this once, and we'll see what happens. i have a feeling that my day will be brighter and that this cruise with some of my best friends will be the source of my brighter day. 

thirteen days...

be.

"life is here and it is now...either we meet it, we live it or we miss it. all life resides in the narrow margin and the broad expanse of the moment. it is in the doing, the dreaming, the feeling and the caring. it is always present in a glorious attempt, a lofty dream, a brilliant insight, an irreplaceable experience, a calming breath, an unbelievable feeling and in irrepressible passion. an unlived life is littered with 'could haves,' 'should haves' and 'if onlys.' each moment greets us full of possibility and leaves us hoping we are better for having met. while it is true that we only have right now, there will never be a time when it's not now. grandma moses said it best, 'life is what we make it, always has been and always will be.'" 

-kobi yamada

for christmas this year one of my very best friends emmy jenson gave me a book titled be. (she knows me so well.) in it are about 40 be ______ statements. be happy. be daring. be humble etc and quotes to go along with each statement. i have decided to title my posts after these statements. i love the book and it simply reminds me to just be. be anything i can and want to be. so now begins my be posts. enjoy.