Lazy

Yeah, I'm lazy. What of it? I have a story for you, that makes everything better.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away a silly girl named Jari worked as a Professor of Imagination with some of the greatest professors in the World, Disney World that is. Now two years later it was definitely time for a reunion. My dear friends Courtney and Isreal flew in from Puerto Rico and the 3 of us drove, walked, and couch surfed our way around for a week. It was a dream! We were also reunited with wonderful friends Kim, Edwin, Michael and of course the all-knowing Jeff. All people that I love and have missed terribly.

Happies of the week:

1. Food: Earl of Sandwich, Boma, Biergarten, Azteca, Cotillion, Cheesecake factory, Ghiradelli, Random quick service in Japan, Mama's pancakes. Oh everything was heavenly. Oh the gluttonous life is the life for me.

2. Disney: DISNEY!!! I love this place. Seriously it's pretty much a second religion. Illuminations got me teary-eyed, typical. Truthfully though, I don't even need the attractions and the shows and the fireworks to love Disney. I just love the atmosphere. Being there with eqaully as fanatical friends was a wonderful adventure. The only problem is now I want to empty my pockets to the Vacation Club and offer my soul up to the Mouse in some form of slave labor. Not healthy.

3. Home: EPCOT, my favorite park. My favorite theme. Everything there can make me cry if I think too much about it. (I know I'm a sap, shut up) Everything from innovation to World togetherness. Love it. Specifically, Image is my Disney home. It has Figment and now Captain EO, though it used to be Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Truthfully it is one of the less amusing attractions on property BUT it's my home, so don't knock it. The theme of imagination worked well for me, and it will always be dear to my heart. As will the friends I made there. "We go on..."

4. Wicked: In the middle of all this adventuring I went to see Wicked with my mom and Adam. Have I mentioned how much I love this show? Because I do. Good girl finished last kind of story, I can dig it. I love the thrill of theater, so much more appealing than other forms of entertainment in my opinion. Plus now I have Defying Grafity stuck in my head. I'm ok with that.

5. Courtney and Israel: I adore them! They are my kind of people. I love that even though we all wanted to plan things and do certain things none of us got too bent out of shape when things didn't go as planned. I loved talking to them, laughing with them, taking pictures with them, finding random places to sleep with them. They're great. They need to move to Florida so we can hang out more often. Yes please.

I'm going to stop with my sunshining here, because I can keep going on and on, but it won't be fun for anyone to read; and like I said earlier I'm lazy. Typing is more than I'm in the mood for right now. I can't seem to get myself out of vacation mode, so I'm just giving into it. Season DVD's of House and bag of chocolates, here I come. I'll go back to the gym and work....tomorrow.

Sunday Sunshine

You know, some days I just sit back and think "could my life be any better?" sometimes after I think that my life gets dramatically worse and then I wonder why I would ever jinx it like that. But sometimes it really does get better, and just keeps getting better and better. Oh, I love those sometimes. This week there were a couple of those.

EFY: I now will definitely be working 3 weeks. I may pick up a couple more, but 3 weeks suits me just fine. 3 weeks of games, junk food, scripture study, cows, dancing, testifying, learning new things, meeting new people, convincing teenagers that the standards are awesome...oh how much I love efy.

Africa: So I've been terrified for months trying to figure out where I would live in Africa. Nothing seemed to be coming together. So I sent out a facebook cry for help (it was more of an outlet to complain, but something actually came of it). Next I was messaging a girl from South Africa whose grandmother rents rooms and has a preference for mormon tenants. Awesome, there was only one problem, she lives too far away from the UN office for me to walk to work. After exhausting all my other options I decided to call this sweet South African, mormon grandma. I now have a place to live, someone to drive me to church, someone to drive me to work, American home teachers, university age roommates, dinner every night, and a ride to work every morning. Talk about a blessing! I am so so so grateful. Now I just need my internship coordinator to e-mail me back and I'll be in business.

Florida: The weather is perfect outside, seriously perfect. I ate my dinner outside, read my scriptures out side, let the dog roam around outside. It was so delightful. Another thing I love about Florida, pet names. I love being called baby, sugar, honey, sweetheart, and beautiful by complete strangers. So comforting in such a weird and simple way.

Clean sheets: My bed smells like a meadow.

Ideas: My brain is always buzzing with a new idea. I've got some good ones stewing in there. We'll see where they take me, but I really do believe the cliche "anything is possible."

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing: Listened to it lately? You should.

Countdowns: 4 days until I'm done at work, 5 days until Courtney, Israel and Disney, 39 days until I leave for Africa (I was off on last weeks count), 131 days until EFY...ok all those numbers are exciting except for the last one. I try to live my life in the present, but sometimes the future is so exciting I can't help myself.

Sun

I really need to fix this camera situation. Yep. This past week went by incredibly fast, I'll do my best to recall everything that happened. Hopefully I won't sound like a broken record on some of these things.

1. Sleep: In bed by 9:30 on more than one occasion this week. Oh how I love a good night's rest.

2. EFY: I will for sure be doing 2 weeks of efy, possibly 3 or 4. I am beyond excited! I almost want to start a paper chain countdown. I am truly, madly, deeply in love with efy and am so excited to do it again.

3. Sister, Sister: I know, I know. I talk about her every week. But, she's pretty much my favorite person in the world. This week's adventure included skipping institute to roam around the mall and eat our weight in cinnamon rolls. Mmmm.

4. Birthday: I love birthdays. The concept of celebrating the fact that someone entered the world and is still here alive and well, genius. Complete genius. Annalee said goodbye to her teenage years and is now twenty. I would say that she is now a real woman, but she hasn't produced a child yet, so I'll hold on that. Anyway her birthday festivities included Buca Di Beppo and Medieval Times. Basically we stuffed our faces all weekend long. Perfection!

5. Skype: Thank you for making Rexburg accessible from my bedroom. Love you.

6: Pentel multi-colored pencil: I now own one (again) and it is scripture marking glory!

7: Hiring: I think dad hired someone to replace me, which means I may go to Africa in peace without feeling guilty for leaving them empty handed. Thank heavens. Speaking of Africa, 44 days. But who's counting?

Honestly

I love honesty. I love honesty so much that my brain ends up thinking in segments that always start with "truth..." and then are followed by something about my life. I needed some place to put all of these truths, I figured blogs are good for this sort of thing.

Truth, I flirt with old men for a living.

Truth, I would rather talk about globalization than sports.

Truth, I hate listening to ignorant conversation.

Truth, I read Audrey Hepburn quote books and agree with every line.

Truth, I love lists.

Truth, I think anthropologie is my personality in store form.

Truth, I hate not getting my way. Hate.

Truth, I love surprise parties.

Truth, I'm way more latin than I let on.

Truth, even if I had someone to love I'd still think Valentine's day is the worst idea since white bread.

Truth, I enjoy crying. It's cleansing.

Truth, I want a spontaneous, disney-esque parade scene in my life. Just once.

Truth, I seriously can do just about anything I set my mind to.

Truth, I require affection on a daily basis. In fact, since birth I don't think I've gone a single day of my life without at least a hug.

Truth, I think umbilical cords are the most disgusting thing ever.

Truth, I'm a good listener, but if given the chance I will talk your ear off.

Truth, I hate hate hate being alone. Hate.

Truth, I'm afraid of the dark.

Truth, I can't keep my own secrets to save my life, but I will take other people's secrets to the grave.

Truth, somedays I want my life to turn into a sappy boy-meets-girl love story that Molly Ringwald would be proud of and other days I want to be a career hungry, pant-suit wearing professional who never has time for a man.

Truth, writing this list makes me feel pathetic.

Truth, I'm going to post it anyway.

Sun

Crazy week. So busy. So happy.

1. I have a job. I have a steady pay check. I'm getting out of debt. I may not like it, but it's so good to me. Speaking of work, pay day happened this week. Happy.

2. My sister is the best. I love that I can tell her anything and everything. It doesn't matter how ridiculous, biased, or plain wrong I may be about what I'm saying, she'll listen. Sometimes she'll even laugh at my jokes, how flattering. After years and years of sharing a room with that girl I have no barriers with her, and her company is always refreshing. Also, her husband is the best. I love spending Tuesday evenings with them.

3. Krispy Kreme doughnuts. First of all, their deliciousness knows no bounds. Second of all the people who are attracted to the glory of Krispy Kreme are super nice. I had no cash (that's right, no cash for a 99 cent doughnut) and the card machine was broken. Of course my doughnut had been devoured before I even reached this part of the exchange, but a friendly stranger handed me a dollar with a smile. I love nice strangers.

4. Defrumpification.

I have bangs on my face. Apparently they make me look 13? I don't care, I like them.

5. The Biggest Loser. Probably my favorite television show ever. It's the only television I make time for these days actually. I just really like watching people change their lives for the better. Maybe one day I'll be brave and kick my bad habits to the curb. Until then, I'll just cheer on the contestants.

6. When I'm reading my scriptures and thoughts like "homegirl, prayer isn't a magic-8 ball" come to my mind, and I attribute them to the spirit.

7. This talk it's from the December Ensign so it has a Christmasy vibe to it, but is completely applicable to daily life. My goal for the week is to fear not.

8. Praise by song. One of my dearest friends, Sue Hunter, is the stake youth choir director. In preparation for stake conference she has put together some songs focusing on faith in Christ. She has asked the Young Single Adults to join the choir as well, so I did. The spirit is so strong as we sing, and I really don't have the right words to express the feelings and the special testimony that is felt through song. Instead I'll borrow the lyrics "Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives. I know that my Redeemer lives!"

9. Blog stalking. That's right. I read your blog, your relative's blog, your college friend's blog. I read 'em all. I'm obsessed and I don't care who knows it. It's amazing and hilarious the types of things people choose to publish on the internet. Although, I guess I'm one to talk.

Jari Standard Time

I run on Jari Standard Time. Novel idea, I know. But, it's true. Sometimes I have this obsessive need to be really early to things. Other times I want to be late, even to the point where I tell myself and everyone else that I will show up, and then never do. Then I have the random mixture of showing up right on time, fashionably late, slipping in without being noticed, or just misinterpreting time all together. I can't even read a standard clock. That was just a really drawn out way of apologizing for late sunshine.

Here's another obscure apology. My camera has been MIA for a loooong time now. So long that I should probably just give up and get a new one, but I'm still holding out a little hope...Maybe I'll get a new camera one day though. A really nice one. Then I'll learn all about photoshop and graphic design and become a wizard of these talents. Then I'll produce a beautiful blog that readers from all over the country will ooh and awe over. Of course I'll fake modesty perfectly and say things like "stop it, you're too nice, really."

Until then I will use obscure google images finds and somehow tie them into what I decide to talk about. Like this:

Sunshine at the end of the tunnel (just call me Mrs. Wordplay)

1. Overtime: Say it with me "Ca-ching!"

2. Feeling loved: Sometimes when people love us they make us accept to do hard things. I'm so glad they do. It forces us to grow and learn and depend on our Heavenly Father. So thank you loving people, thank you hard things, thank you opportunity. Now, it's time for me to show you who's boss.

3. EFY interview: Just take awesome people, meaningful discussion, improv games, laughter and the spirit of charity in a mixing bowl and stir. Also the interviewer remembered me from last year, plus.

4. Nights with the Santos Family: I love my family. No. Seriously. They're the best. Friday night we all went out to dinner and then followed it up with a rousing evening at the clinic. Dad irrigated my and Annalee's ears. I screamed a lot, I think that was Dad's favorite part. Adam got a shot in the bum. Then for the grand finale Blake got the toe nails from both of his big toes removed. Ouch! I love talking to them, laughing with them, standing around for hours racing from one topic to another and laughing the whole time. Love. It is love.

5. Accepting the unknown by making decisions anyway: FSU may (I repeat MAY, as it POSSIBLY, as in NOT DEFINITE) save my life. Maybe. I'm playing with the idea of spending a semester there in the fall, but that's just one of many many ideas I have. We'll see where I actually end up come September. I guess I'm just trying to say that realizing this option made me feel a lot less stressed this week.

6. This did not happen last week: Adam, best brother ever! I was having a sad day, and tried to snuggle with him earlier. He's 17 and so obviously was not down for a sister on his shoulder, so he left the house. Lame. BUT homeboy didn't forget about me and my silly bummer mood. Later tonight he came barging in the door blaring "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow. You're always a day away." Complete with Annie as back up, thank you IPhone. It put me in a fit of giggles and completely cheered me up. Favorite brother award? I think so.

Sunshine after the rain

Some weeks are hard. Plain and simple, they're just hard. After a hard week I am so much more appreciative of my Sunday. Taking time to rest and ponder is so necessary. All week long I was dreading having to write up things that made me happy this week; and I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to think of any. Good news, I was wrong.

1. Newborn babies: I know I mentioned this last week, but a week ago today I was holding little Andrew in my arms. I still can't believe how much love I had for that sweet, perfect, little person. I'm not even related to him technically, but I love him. Anyone who can look at a newborn and say there isn't a God is crazy-cakes, seriously.

2. Old friends: Growing up my family moved around a lot so I don't have a lot of people who I can call "old friends." However I do have some. I was able to have dinner with Becky Weaver this week, my best friend from high school. It was fun to sit and talk about how much we've changed since we were 14 and watched Zoom on the weekends. Growing up has it's perks, like making fun of your younger self with others who were just as dumb as you. I look forward to the day when I can look back on these years and laugh at all the silly things I do.

3. Annalee and Blake Russ: These two are my saving grace. Living at home isn't exactly exciting and definitely gets lonely sometimes, but I never get tired of hanging out with those two. They help me laugh at my faults rather than feel burdened by them. They cater to my humor and make the most clever jokes. We have actual conversations, which I don't feel like happens much these days. I find so much pleasure in just sitting around and talking, they deliver.

4. Busy: I'm a busy busy girl. Working 6 days a week makes time go by rather quickly, and I'm so glad for that. Plus, I get to work with my daddy-o. I love that man! And I'm starting to have people recognize me at the gym, that means I must be going an adequate amount. Throw in some institute, and my schedule is jam packed. I like it.

5. Paperwork: Call me crazy, but I love filling out paperwork. If there's a form to fill out please-oh-please let me do it! Lucky me, I've had lots of things to fill out lately. Call me strange, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

6. Friends: I'm so grateful for friends in my life. Being a friend is not always easy; it takes patience, love, service, and sometimes a lot of listening. I am so lucky to have good friends who take the time to call me, to make me feel loved and appreciated, who encourage me to be my best self, who make me laugh and remind me that everything is going to be okay. I am truly blessed with the friends in my life.

7. EFY CDs: Thank you for calming me down when I have road rage.

8. Trials: I don't like you, but I like the person you force me to become.

9. The Mormon Bachelor: Thank you for being the perfect amount of sappy for me to claim you as a secret obsession.

10. Prayer: I'm finally grasping the magnitude of this blessing. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who listens to the prayers of a distressed 21 year old, who is far more prideful and stubborn than she should be. I am grateful for the spirit that accompanies sincere and fervent prayer. I am grateful the relationship I have with my Heavenly Father. I know that he is aware of me, that he cares for me, and that he wants what is truly best for me. I recognize that this sometimes means that I have to endure hard things, and I'm glad he has confidence in me that I will succeed in those challenges. I am mostly grateful for the companionship of his spirit to bring me comfort through it all.

11. Michael Buble: So I can quote this "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good."

Sunshine: the baby edition

So it's Wednesday Sunshine, but I have a good excuse for my tardiness.

Allow me to introduce the Rice Family, featuring their newest addition, Andrew.

(Spencer, Brad, Carson, Tiffany, Andrew, Haley)

Tiffany is my sister's sister-in-law. I've known her and her family for 3 or 4 years now (I'm good at remembering dates, I'm horrible at properly counting years), and I love them to pieces. On 1/11/11 she had little Andrew, 4 weeks earlier than his due date. Her mother and sisters were all unavailable to fly out to Detroit to help with the other kiddos, so I was presented with a plane ticket and sent out to help. It was so much fun, I learned so much, and I grew to love these people more than I already did. (So don't be surprised that my sunshine for the week revolves mostly around this experience)

1. People watching in airports. I don't know if it's the excitement of going somewhere to visit, or returning home after a journey, but airports are always in a happy hustle and I love it! Also, it's amazing how nice people can be in airports. It's the little things like letting someone ahead of you in the line to get off the plane, or offering to help pick up someone's luggage that's fallen over. On both my flights people were incredibly nice and helpful. It was beautiful to see that the spirit of service hasn't died.

2. Andrew Clarke Rice is an angel. It's so crazy to think how recently he was in heaven, how perfect he is. It's just amazing. He also smells like heaven, seriously I could just hold and smell that kid all day long and be in complete bliss.

3. Motherhood. I have a new appreciation for it. Tiffany and I had a lot of time to talk about the subject and it's so amazing to think that Heavenly Father has trusted women to care for and nurture his children. I am so grateful to my mom and all the patience she exercised in raising me. I am grateful that she took the time to make sure I knew she loved me, and took the time to help me develop a testimony.

4. Peanut butter and honey toast, anywhere can be home as long as I have access to my comfort food.

5. Playing. Taekwondo. Zoo Keeper. Piggy back rides. Make up. Puppet Shows. Legos. Tangled for the 3rd time (still amazing!). Thank you Haley and Carson, I had a good time.

6. Spencer has one of the best baby laughs on the face of the planet. He also is a pretty hilarious character himself. Any time that things got a little stressful his laugh would clear the air and calm everyone down. Seriously I think baby laughs have magical powers.

7. Treating this whole endeavor as an "experience" and allowing myself treats pretty much every night. I'll pay for it this week, but oh it was so nice while it lasted.

There is plenty more I could add to this list, however it is 4:30 in the morning and I should probably be sleeping.

(adding more...)

8. Sweet friends. My dear friend Alexie paid me a beautiful compliment, and as much as I realize that I shouldn't base my happiness on what others think or say, it was really nice to hear. A splendid little pick me up, we need those now and again.

9. The unexpected. Generally I'm someone who likes to have my life planned out 9-18 months in advance. It's ridiculous and a problem, I know. Anyway, the last couple months and the rest of this year are kind of up in the air, and I'm learning to enjoy just going with the flow and just taking one day at a time. Speaking of which, if you haven't seen or heard this I highly recommend it.

I used to...

...do a little thing called Sunday Sunshine, and it made me feel like this

(Little Miss Sunshine was one of the happiest people in the world, besides Mr. Happy and Mr. Cheerful...)

So I'm brining it back. This week in sunshine:

1. Sticking to goals. I only had two sweets this week, and I think they both counted as 'experiences.' The first, a chocolate covered cake roll thing. I don't know exactly what it was, but it was the first chocolate I have had all year. Amazingly I only ate two, but it was divine! The second, an apple/sweet potato/tofu pie. That one was definitely counted as an experience, and it wasn't so bad.

2. Florida weather. I love that it is the early part of January, and I am enjoying temperatures of 65. Glorious!

3. Imaginary gun fights. Yep. When my brother and I are home walking around the living room has become a small scale version of this:

4. Knowing Heavenly Father is in charge. I do not understand the order of all things, my mind just can't comprehend it all. But, I do know that Heavenly Father loves and is aware of all his children and provides for them. I'm very grateful for the blessings in my life that are always catered to my needs and my wants.

5. Speaking of blessings, the CES fireside tonight. It felt as though Elder Christofferson was saying "Dear Jari, I know exactly what is weighing on your mind and heart. Here are some things that will help you out." Now a new goal I have is to simply do the best I can one day at a time. Also, I had a lovely driving companion. I truly enjoyed the company of Tori Johnson, it's always nice to share a conversation based around how to better ourselves.

6. Peace of mind. A woman in our ward used to work for the United Nations, and has spent a good deal of time in the Pretoria area. She has offered to put me in contact with people who will help me find housing arrangements for the time I spend there. I am so thrilled! (Only 81 days til I get to Africa, yikes!)

7. Zumba. Dance meets toning. It may be silly, and I may share the class with a bunch of women more than twice my age, but I LOVE zumba. It's just a really fun way to exercise, and it makes me feel a little bit like I'm back in Brazil.

Oh, hey 2011

Where'd you come from?

That's exactly how I feel about this whole ordeal. It's kind of sad saying farewell to such a lovely year, like 2010. So a moment of reflection...

Avatar: To some just a movie. To me, an experience that helped me survive winter in Rexburg. It led to good friends, hot springs, dancing at a random gas station in Utah. Oh the power of the movies.

Meso America Tour: 1 month, 32 students, 4 awesome professors, 3 countries, one of the most wonderful things of my BYU-Idaho career. Yes.

EFY: 1, 2, 3 DEGREES! Matt Reynolds, best co-co EVER! Best kids ever! Hearing my brother bear his testimony for the first time ever! Crying, laughing, and learning more than I ever thought possible in a 6 day period. EFY was a very good idea and I hope to repeat the experience.

Sissy got married: Blake Russ is now part of the family, love him. Annalee is happier than ever, and I'm so happy for her. The brazilians came to town, lovely. It was such a happy and emotional time. Annalee is my very best friend in this world and I loved being a part of this new part of her life. Awesome, just awesome.

The cruise: Such a lovely and gluttonous vacation. Dad actually took a vacation!! Went parasailing with Adam. Ate, ate, ate. Came in 2nd on a disney trivia challenge. Laughed, ate, snorkeled, ate, hung out with the family, ate, watched amazing shows, ate. Yes, it was fantastic.

2010 was awesome, no doubt. However, I have always been partial to odd-numbed years. They have always been good to me. 2005, went to brazil. 2007, started hanging out with the "FPP," graduated from high school. 2009, decided what I'm doing with my life, made amazing friends, lived with my sister in Rexburg, Fall '09 best semester EVER! So 2011 has a lot to live up to.

The resolutions/plans for the year:

Internship in South Africa. My only goal with this is to do the absolute best I can, and not get mugged or raped.

EFY take two? We'll see.

Only eat junk food if it's an experience.

Graduate from college, get my life plan rolling.

Live like this:

Family Matters

I am a member of a dysfunctional family. Now, I say that with all the love and adoration that is generally reserved to describe a sleeping baby or a cute puppy, and I love everyone I’m related to more than anything. But seriously, we’re nuts. However, it is the harebrained environment in which I was raised that helped create the person I am now.

Me and Daddy-O, dancing of course.

My dad is king of the crazies. He seldom sleeps or takes a day off work. He is a huge fan of kicking his leg up to his head when he’s excited about something, or whenever there’s a camera on him. He has a tendency to break into song, usually something by Cher or Madonna. He is smart, loud, sweet, and hyperactive. My dad taught me how to debate, how to see beauty within myself, how to dance like nobody’s watching and sing like nobody can hear (I realize that those are probably song lyrics and make me sound super cliché, but I mean it!), he taught me how to study, how to defend myself, he taught me to have passion, how to be aware of myself, how to be responsible…I could go on and on.

Me and the lady, right after parasailing. She's adventurous, it's true.

My mother is an angel. She puts up with all the insanity our small family provides. She’s the calm one, she’s the rock. She’s stubborn, hardworking, and takes time to enjoy the small things in life. She taught me how to love, even when it’s hard. She taught me how to cook, how to be brave, how to enjoy adventure, how to cherish home, how to depend on family and be dependable to them, she taught me that I don’t have to be the best at everything but I do have to try my best at everything, she taught me to never quit. She has supported me in everything I do in life, and not only tells me that I can do anything, but also truly believes that I can.

All but one of the siblings. This photo started with us standing a normal distance apart, then the photographer asked if we were close, being cousins and all, the hugging was our response.

Then there are my siblings. Biologically I only have two. I claim seven: Annalee and Adam (the actual ones), Lala, Junior, Gigi, Amanda, and Germania. The last five lived with us off and on throughout my growing up. These are the people that I played and fought with. The ones that I wanted to be like when I was older, the ones I still try to emulate now. These are the people who I would build forts with, play cops and robbers with, sneak ice cream from the freezer with. The ones I would pray for by my bed at night. Now that I’m older they’re the ones I go on vacation to visit, the ones I tell stories to my roommates about, the ones who listen to me cry, who listen to and influence my goals, and who make me laugh. I could not ask for better people in my life.

Then there is my extended family. I won’t go into detail. Let’s just say there are lots of stories. I have an uncle who lived in the Amazon, a grandma who faked like her cane was a gun to scar away a robber, an aunt who runs half marathons, another aunt who gives me great books to read and who justifies my quasi-feminist tendencies, another uncle who builds his kids miniature monster trucks, another aunt who takes ridiculous amounts of pictures and is prone to making friends with strangers regardless of the occasional language barrier…

The moral of the story is that I adore my family. I recognize that they are my backbone. Now for the part where this ties in with “the quest.” Mostly I just realized how much I take my family for granted. I love them. My family is an enormous part of who I am. Sometimes I get the "bright" idea to try and detach myself from that fact. However, now more than ever I have realized that is stupid. Why would I ever want to be detached from such wonderful, ambitious, and inspiring people? I wouldn't, I don't. So instead of pointing out their faults and trying desperately to separate myself from them I'm just embracing it. More than that I'm going to take time to appreciate them each. We'll see where this takes me.

The Quest

For Self-Actualization

In Abraham Maslow's "Theory of Human Motivation" he describes self-actualization as "the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for him [the individual] to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming."

So why the quest for self-actualization? It's pretty simple. I want to know myself. I know what I am capable of contributing to the world around me. I want to know what I actually think about life. I want to have goals. I want to have a passion for life; and what better way to do that than to feel myself out and figure out what I really am passionate about? So this is a quest, to learn about myself. Although, I hope to continually be progressing, learning, and growing...so in effect I hope that I never fully know myself.

As my facebook status once said: Today I am a young, silly girl who is prone to foolishness. I laugh, cry, and learn my way through life. But one day I'll channel all these ideas and dreams of mine; and you may not be able to see it yet, but one day I'll take this world by storm.

This is part of that whole channeling all my ideas and dreams process.

So, I may not be sounding clear right now, but that's ok. It's more for me to figure out than it is for anyone to understand.I just want to see what I love in life, what I want, what I see, discovering my own potential kind of a deal. I'm just going to try and look at my life with eyes wide open and see what I love about it, what I want to do with it, and the talents I have that can help me along the way.

That being said, I'm off to do some yoga.

Disclaimer: I spend a lot of time writing research papers...sorry if this sounded to much like one

My Best Friend

This Girl:

is my best friend!

She are and I are 16ish months apart, but really we might as well have been twins. We don't look much alike, and our personalities are definitely different, but she understands me in a way that nobody else on this earth does. She is not afraid to tell me I'm wrong or to hold me to a higher standard, because she always wants what's best for me. She listens to me when I complain about ridiculous things, and sometimes does ridiculous things with me. Together we've gone to Brazil, tackled long road trips, hiked red rock mountains, had Anastasia themed sleepovers, laughed, cried, and grown. I could not ask for a better sister or a better friend. She will always be my role model because she is a woman who courageously stands for what is right, she is smart beyond belief, and she has the biggest heart. Having her in my life has helped me grow into the person I am now, and she has given me vision for the person I hope to shape myself into in the future.

Now she is married to the man of her dreams. She has a new last name, a new place to call home, and a new person that she spends all her time with. However some things never change.

Annalee will always be my little sister, the girl I look up to (literally and figuratively), she will always be my best friend.