Reflection

Hello all. I know, I know, long time, no see. I got chewed out about it a little today. I'm not even going to try and fill you in. Maybe I'll post some pictures a little later, see if that can sufficiently catch you up.
Instead I'm just going to post a little thing I penned for my Public Speaking class (which is a blast). Enjoy!

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On this peak, overlooking the beautiful blue of bordering mountains and valleys, and the coursing streams that are their veins, we pause to reflect. The word: reflection. What is reflection?

Reflection is looking into the crystal clear current of the river. The river that continually advances and never retreats. The river that contains life and that is continually moving forward, flowing forward, rushing forward.

Reflection need not be despondent, despairing or lamentingly desiring. Reflection is a shimmer, a glimpse of the past to project an even brighter future. It is seeing what has gone before and choosing only the bright, beautiful, brilliant and best. It is not living in the past, but rather moving, flowing, rushing toward that next peak. It is when we linger in the valley, wallow in the mire, and lose ourselves in the looking glass that we stymy our progression. Reflection, then, is a projection of progress, a resolution of will.

Why is it a peak that we choose to reflect upon? Because, we must reflect right before we take that next plunge into the river valley of potential fears, failure and fight.

What are you choosing to reflect upon? Can you only see the ugly scars left from a failed assent? Does it project and inspire you to action, or do you now feel clenched in the fist of Narcissa, caught in a trap of nostalgia or remorse?

Ultimately when we reflect on our past, when we reflect within ourselves and look deeply into our own eyes, I hope we will find there a zeal. A zeal to leave behind the would not’s, could not’s and should not’s of yesterday; to progress toward the action and adventure of tomorrow. The past is pointless if we do not reflect, resolve and respond with action. Resolutely determined to flow on, always advancing, never retreating.

When we reflect let us resolve to have an iron will, like that depicted by Ella Wheeler Wilcox in this poem:

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,

     Can circumvent or hinder or control

     The firm resolve of a determined soul.

Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great;

All things give way before it, soon or late.

     What obstacle can stay the mighty force

     Of the sea-seeking river in its course,

Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait?

Each well-born soul must win what it deserves.

Let the fool prate of luck. The fortunate

     Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,

     Whose slightest action or inaction serves

The one great aim. Why, even Death stands still,

And waits an hour sometimes for such a will.

When we reflect, let us not get washed away in the furious floods of the would not’s, could not’s and should not’s of yesterday, but let us resolve to be a “mighty force” constantly plotting a course through the current; resolutely determined to flow on.

Always advancing. Never retreating.

It may not be too evident from my extremely sparse blogging, but I really do love to write. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I like writing it.

 

Summertime: a Picture is worth a Thousand Words

I know that I won't be able to catch you up sufficiently with words, it would take much too long. So here are some important pictures of my summer. They pretty much go in chronological order.

June:

I was the Assistant Girl's Camp director, here's a picture of all of us by Soldier Creek Reservoir.

One of my favorites: Ezrie heard about my red hat blog and said we had to take a picture so I could add it to my blog.

I was a little nervous that thing was gonna crawl on my face or something.

First summer summit. We'll just call it Molly's.

Ragnar numero dos. See that lady in the purple tank, behind me? Ran the whole last leg with me. Best experience of  the race. Sadly my only race of the summer.

July:

Jake and I in our rodeo duds. Except that Jake actually wears that outfit pretty much everyday.

Provo Peak summit. Me eatin' a delicious homemade cinnamon roll.

Dad on top. Last summer he told me he was too old...

You can see Timp in the background.

First and only family camping trip of the summer. Mom got a hold of my camera on our 4-wheeler ride.

My first crash site. Rolled a 4-wheeler here when I was 9.

August:

Trek Rescuers: 20 of my new best friends. Best experience of my summer, and possibly my life, hands down. If you have an hour or two feel free to ask me about it. :)

Women's Pull up Rocky Ridge

My dad and I at Devil's Gate

Army of tents

Finally fixing my car from my April crash!

Girl's camp, Ragnar, Provo Peak, Camping, Trek, Car fixin', just a few of my summer adventures. Now I'm on my way back to the good ole' BYZoo for another exciting year. Maybe you'll hear more from me then, because I'll pretty much be attached at the hip with this computer, but we shall see. It's hard to always be living an adventure and find time to blog about it too. :)

....

Well this is basically a shout out to my good friend Emily L. She is a much better blogger than I. Always has new and interesting posts to read. (Not to mention that she always bugs me about never mentioning her on this blog :)

This is also a test to see if any of you are still reading my blog. :)

A lot of exciting things have happened in my life, and don't worry I am about to update the 3 people who probably read this. I just need to upload the pictures. A bit more patience would be appreciated. :)

Business as Usual

I know you thought I had died or something. Close but not quite. Really, I haven't been posting because I don't think I can get all the words out in a timely manner. So I'll give you a quick synopsis of what's happened since finals week so I can get back to posting regularly.

I moved home....there was no room for me or my stuff.

Then my parents spontaneously moved their bed upstairs and announced my mom was having a complete hip replacement in her right hip. I'm serious about the spontaneous part. I suddenly became a chauffeur, maid, laundry woman, garden master, and nurse (in other words my family's pseudo-mom) while working my other two jobs and trying to train for a triathlon. At least they said I could throw my mattress in their room for a month or so.

Amidst all that stress I decided to purchase this beauty:

Just don't ask how much. :)

I took these awesome pictures on my inaugural ride.

Timp

Maple Mountain, Spanish Fork Peak, Sierra Blanca...whatever you want to call it.

My mom's surgery went well. I played full time nurse for a day or two, but she is healing up really well. I finally got moved out of my parents room to share with my sister. My mom says I'm forever doomed to have some kind of roommate. 

My cute brother Jake went to Prom.

I also...........got in a car accident. Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry.

The angry Grimace

If you look closely there is a nice goose egg on the right side of my forehead. That and a really sore wrist was all the damage. Besides that I was out a car that I owned for a mere 2 months. You can't see it, but that back axle is pretty bent. I'm looking for another one to swap the engine into. If you want the full story you'll have to call me or talk to me face to face or something. I'll include a couple more pictures.

Dad trying his best to get me to smile.

the airbag

And amidst all that I snuck in a convertible ride with Emily and Catie. Somehow Em ducked out of all the pictures. But Catie found this awesome coat to keep us warm...

Don't mind my face, I was trying to suppress the laughter.

Warming the nose/trying to surprise Rosie

This very special coat was made so you could hold your baby on your back and keep them warm too. Catie and I fit nicely, and I'll have you know I was quite warm. :)

Other than that I've been getting ready for inventory at work, which has kept me mighty busy. I think I'm close to having counted 1,000,000 pens. Two more days. 

And those are my excuses for not having blogged in the past month. I sincerely apologize and will try and keep you better updated.

Finally

After spending the last 9 months practically married to my computer, I think I'd be content to not look at a computer screen for at least another week, but I promised someone a post so here goes.

Freshman year of college is officially over. Finished my last take home final today. All my stuff packed up and out of my apartment, but despite me being home for about 24 hours now, it's all still residing in the suburban. Most likely until after this crazy next week is over. Let's just say after hardly eating any cereal at all at my apartment, it was one of the first 'meals' I had upon my arrival home.

The past nine months were some of the hardest and most fun months of my life. Basically all you post-college folk already knew that. That's the way everyone's freshman year is. So how 'bout instead of telling you why it was so hard and so fun I instead describe the colorful characters that entered my life.

Movie-Quote Generator:
Had a movie quote for pretty much any activity we did. And then always expected me to guess what movie it was from. Most quoted movie: What's up Doc? I'd send some of the quotes your way but I could never remember any to quote back at her, let alone guess the movies she was trying to quote.
Besides being a good movie quoter she was a pretty good dish doer, keeping us all sane and in good eating sanitation. Most importantly she was a good listener. From stories of the day, to why my life was hard, just about anything. Even at 1 am when she had a test the next day, she'd listen if I needed her to.

Surprise Hugger:
Roommate #2. Hailing from Maryland, this girl had an ever ready smile. She could brew the fastest cup of hot chocolate every time Roommate #1 and I were having a rough day. She always had a bright good morning, before I had even found my voice in the morning. And she will forever and for always be held in my memory as the surprise hugger. Come in the door, get a hug. Turn around in the kitchen, get a hug. Run up on you from behind on campus just to give you a hug. Not to mention she was a good apartment decorator. If we started to go into all her saintly qualities we'd be here forever.

Branching out from apt. 276:

The Brain:
When someone starts to use Econ analogies in relation to whether or not to sell back your textbook....you know you've got a brain on your hands. When they consistently come back with phenomenal chemistry test scores that make you beam even though you're not their mother, you know you're in the presence of a genius. Besides the fact that she constantly reminded you you weren't a cookie cutter...

The Rapier:
Those quiet ones will always surprise you. This girl had a wit sharper and faster than a rapier. Most of the time her voice wasn't heard, but on the rare occasion that she would share her genius you could find us all rolling on the floor laughing, and someone running to get her newest joust on the quote wall.

The Hand-Shaker:
You haven't shaken hands until you've had the pleasure of shaking this girl's. I don't know what it is, but her handshakes are pretty magical. I would know, I shook her hand at least 10 times per day. There were many other titles this one could have gone by: Fashion Expert, Business Women, Soon-to-be World Traveler, Loganite.....just to name a few.

The Advicer:
I would have given her the title of Mother Theresa, but she probably wouldn't have liked that. Always full of advice, big smiles, a plethora of pep talks, and the best hugs around. She could not only turn my frown upside down, but usually my whole day. It's a good thing she is rooming with the Quote-Generator so there will be no way that I can be completely anti-social entering my sophomore year.

No complaints about how y'all look in this picture. It's the only one we've got.

There were many, many other wonderful personalities that made my freshman year so fabulous, unfortunately my bedtime is quickly approaching. Just know that you are all loved and appreciated.

Lastly I wanted to share a few gems that the above mentioned would appreciate:

Friends Never Say Goodbye

(Inspired by the last movie I watched in 266).

Don't forget that You've Got a Friend in Me

And last but not least, only those of you who've seen a glimpse of my brief acting career will understand:

Sing along version so you can all join in. :)

It's been fun, much thanks to the great and supportive cast of characters. Love you guys.

I love eggs. And ham.

I'll just have you know, this blogging thing is addicting. My next post quite frequently occupies my thoughts.

Today, biggest thing on my mind: What should I do with my life? A woeful cry I hear echoing frequently around campus. My thoughts on that: the answer should just come to me already. I've spent enough time thinking about it, I have a great desire to DO something, so come on already!

For those of you who I don't get the opportunity to speak to on a regular basis (and those of you who don't pay attention when I do speak), here is the background story: Came to college pretty positive I was going to be a nurse. Took some classes, they were fine, but I couldn't see myself being a nurse day in and day out for the rest of my life. (I may or may not like to tell people to just toughen up and deal with it, I think most patients would prefer a slightly more compassionate approach). Nursing knowledge sounded fun, duties not so much.

So I became an Open Major. And took a Career Exploration class. I liked it, loved my teacher, learned a lot, read plenty of great articles, BUT nothing fell into my lap. Biggest thing I did realize: (maybe y'all knew this already and just neglected to tell me) I've got to do something I'm passionate about. Grinding through boring workdays for the rest of my life does not sound appealing. At. All.

So what am I passionate about? (Feel free to leave your personal opinions about that in the comment section.) I love hunting, playing sports and teaching people stuff.  Maybe not necessarily in that order...I don't know.

The problem that still remains: I'm scared of taking the jump and making a decision. I know you can change your mind and all that. But like I said, I'm impatient, I just want to KNOW already, I don't really want to do this exploring thing anymore. Two things happened the other day that reminded me that making decision and trying something is always better than remaining in limbo. The first was a great lesson I had in Book of Mormon the other day. We were discussing Ether 12, specifically verse 6 where it states, "...faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." Decisions like these are not supposed to be easy. As I looked back on my life I realized that, even though it is difficult in the moment, the Lord has never let me down in the past. The path my life has taken thus far has been extremely guided by His hand, and because He is a perfect unchanging God I know I can rely on that same guidance in the future. But I have to do my part, there needs to be some action involved. The second thing that it reminded me of was a story from my childhood. I read this book so many times I could probably recite it to you, and there was also a certain someone who was constantly reminding me of it when there were things I didn't want to try. The line that came to me was this: "try it, try it and  you may. Try it and you may I say." I don't know whether I will like any of the career paths or majors that are on my mind, but if I don't try it how will I ever know?

Currently I'm working on it. I've narrowed down a couple majors, I've made a plan to talk with a few professors, I'm trying my best to be patient and have faith.

After reading this long post, with no pictures to keep you entertained, feel free to leave any ideas in the comment section. Advice, thoughts, pretty much whatever your heart desires; I'd be delighted to read it. Thanks for bearing with me through this self contemplation. It was a lot more helpful for me than you, most likely.

Craters

I don't really know what is normal to blog about...but I'm just giving you a heads up that there will probably be posts about what's going on in my regular day (warning: what I mean by that is I might give you about every detail of the day, so just prepare yourself) and also past stories that I just want to tell...because I love to tell stories. A lot.

Today started out pretty average. Walking to class, called my mom to see how my little sister was after she had two teeth pulled. This wasn't your average teeth pulling, it involved multiple shots and Loritab. These suckers were like the teeth from Mars. Their roots were wrapped around her upper jaw bone. I have never seen anything so gnarly in my life.

My sister has two giant craters in your mouth.

I went to class, and then the temple before I realized I had forgotten to ask my mom about a big doctors appointment she had the day before. I called her back up only to have her tell me that she was planning on having a complete hip replacement because it was just bone  rubbing bone in her right hip. I was a bit speechless to say the least. But she is very excited for the prospect of being pain free, and I am pretty excited that I might get my jogging partner back. 

Then I went to the doctors for another appointment to try and remove a very stubborn plantar wart. I wouldn't care so much except it feels like I have a boulder in my heel when I walk around everyday and I'm pretty tired of it. We already tried over-the-counter medication, putting acid on it and using liquid nitrogen so this time we went all out. 

 And this was the result, a nice big crater in my foot. Currently I would like to chop it off because it stings like crazy what with all the burning and cutting he did on my heel. But hopefully that will fix it up and I can get on with my triathlon training and just walking around campus in general.

I just liked the magnifiers he wears. Photos courtesy of my mom.

The real highlight of my day was drooling over this:

Finish finals, buy one of these. Those are the two things occupying Syd's head.

The Art of Catching Grapes and Other General Conference weekend Adventures

Emily will probably shoot me if/when she finds out that I wrote about this.

That's 14 grapes that she caught in her mouth, folks.

But hey, it was a highlight of my weekend.
Among other things, like:

Going home because there was nothing in my fridge. And getting overfed while I was there. We had a bridal shower for my cousin Anne, which was a lot of fun. And then more family over for ice cream after the Priesthood session. Whenever 30+ people are over at my house you know that copious amounts of good food will be had. 

And this:

I couldn't breath, so I mowed the lawn looking like a bandit. In my Red Hat, of course. 

Last but certainly not least...there were good amounts of spiritual uplifting to be had by all. Conference weekend was awesome!! All of the talks had bits and pieces of what I needed to hear but I especially liked Elder Scott and Elder Eyring. I won't say that those were my favorites, because I don't think you can really pick favorites when it comes to Conference. Check it out!

And I guess this wasn't really the weekend because it happened today, but:

Melanie and I successfully changed her extremely flat tire. In under 7 minutes. I enjoyed it, anyway.

The Beginning

I've been bugged and bugged and bugged about posting something 'for real' on my blog. The thing is I really wanted to have the first officially post be the background story, and telling that would take time, which I didn't have much of this week amidst all of my awesome homework assignments. Anyway here goes: the Making of the Adventures of the Red Hat.
Tomboy: a girl who enjoys rough, noisy activities usually associated with boys. That pretty much sums up my childhood. If it involved dirt, physical contact, swords, guns, footballs, or anything else normally categorized under what boys do, I wanted in. That included things like having a buzz cut or wearing a suit to church, I wanted to know why I couldn't enjoy things exactly the same way my three brothers did. My mom's compromise, at least for the hair, was that I could keep it at a bowl cut. Which for me usually also meant there was some kind of ball cap involved, because even if my hair was a little longer you could hardly tell when I put a hat on.

A boxing, ski goggle wearing version of Pocahontas.

The summer I turned 12, right before I headed off to the big kids world of middle school, my mom said it was time for me to either wear pink to school EVERYDAY, or grow out my hair. I obviously chose the hair option. That same summer we were headed on a month long trip to the East Coast. Of course if you're growing out your hair and you are headed somewhere infinitely more humid than Utah you're going to want a hat to keep the hair out of your eyes. Well, my mom wasn't a huge fan of my hat collection. It involved mostly a lot of camo. She said it was time for a new hat. Enter the infamous Red Hat. Now at first I hated that hat. I wore it for the duration of the trip, but anytime after that I would continue to wear my camo ones. Little did my mom know that it was this hat I would grow to love. This would be the hat to accompany me on my many adventures, most of which involved a lot of sweat and dirt, 2 things not very good for the life of a hat. Both of which I think add character to anything.

Eating Whoopie Pies on top of Timp. Best thing ever.

Jim and I on top of Timp

At the beginning of this year I really wanted to start a journal or scrapbook of my many adventures and title it something about my red hat, but it never happened. I am not a huge fan of having to write anything by hand or actually copy and paste things with a glue stick. (Yes you can blame that on the generation I was born). Then my friends started pestering me about a blog. They said my stories and insights were really good and I ought to document them (or at least that's what they said to my face) and urged me to start a blog. I really didn't' want to cave to that sort of thing. But eventually I did cave to the pressure and now we have this blog. The Adventures of the Red Hat.

Service project in July with my good friend Madi.

There's always got to be some hunting pictures included. 

In case you were concerned, there certainly are more pictures of me and my lovely red hat. I'll add more from the younger years when I'm at home next. 

Enjoy.

On slightly unrelated note, I really would like some help with formatting this blog from all you experts out there. I may like computer copy and pasting options better than glue, but that in no way means I am tech savvy. Any advice or help would be appreciated. 

Just for You Mel

Alright Mel, I started it. Just for you. There probably won't be anything on here for a couple days, but at least you'll have the knowledge that I officially have a blog. Happy? ;) Also, you're the lucky duck that gets to teach me how to work this thing.