kelly anne clark: November 2011

Monday, November 14, 2011

singles wards....

Singles wards are great most of the time, don't get me wrong. It's nice going to church with people your same age. Ward prayers are great. Everyone working together, fulfilling their callings, and supporting others as we're each trying to find our way in the world.

However, sometimes I get tired of singles wards.

I miss the cute little children and the adorable elderly people. I miss the variety. I miss the moms and the dads and familiar faces that I have known for years.

I miss not having talks about marriage and dating what feels like every Sunday. It gets old having it rammed down your throat week after week. Yet some weeks the message is "don't worry about not getting married. there are worse things in life than not getting married." But a lot of weeks it seems to be "make lists of all the qualities you want in your future husband" "don't date a guy if he's a jerk" "here are the red flags" "be the kind of person you want to attract" etc etc etc....

And don't get me wrong. Those are valid subjects and great lessons for many people. But really...it gets tiresome. And a sensitive subject. Plus, I like to keep things simple and say I'm not getting married until I'm 78. Yep. It's a great age.

Oh and at ward prayer tonight my apartment was in charge of introducing ourselves, giving the thought, and the prayer. My favorite part was trying to come up with ideas of what to do. Someone threw out the idea for the thought to be "date and get married." Yeah. It was great. And Sarah really said it. And people laughed and it was great. And then she gave a real thought :)

I quite enjoyed her saying that. I wasn't sure if she would. In my intro I included that I enjoyed baking. Afterwards, some of the E3 boys told me that if I ever feel inclined to share they would be happy to take some off my hands. Typical boys...but I'm not against sharing :)

Oh. My roommates are using a cootie catcher. Apparently I'm not marrying "boy" but I will marry a hot man with glasses. Of course I will. Almost all old people I know where glasses. I'll be 78. He'll be old too, so therefore he will wear glasses.

Sorry for the rant...but well ya know...sometimes you just have to vent.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Veterans Day

Source: panoramio.com via Kelly on Pinterest

11.11.11

Veterans Day has never really been a special holiday to me. It has always felt like "just another day."

This year it felt a little bit different.

I had just finished class and was heading home and noticed there was a little something set up near the fountain. There were short little flags poked into the grass and a sound system set up. There were two podiums with a large book and person at each. I meandered over that way and walked slowly as I was passing.

"Casualty one thousand one hundred and three..." and they listed a name. "Casualty one thousand one hundred and four..." and another name.

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

As I was walking I was thinking. At that moment those names were just numbers which seemed so sad to me. Each number/name was a real person. A person who gave their life for our country. I was walking by at 9:30 and they were already at over a thousand. So many and yet still so early.

I have known people who have died, yet I have never been close to any of them: neighbors, relatives, classmates. But I have been close to people who were close to them. And I have seen a glimpse of the pain and sorrow they have felt. Each has their own way of coping, some better than others, but the best they know how.

Each of these casualties. Each had a story. A family. People who loved them...and still do.

Source: thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

When one realizes that these names are not just ink on paper or etched in stone it hits a lot closer to home and takes on a whole new meaning.

I've never been too close to anyone who has served in the military either, but that's not to say I don't know anyone who has. I want to thank those who I know, my family and neighbors, and those who I don't. Thank you for taking the time to serve our country. To be willing to ultimately sacrifice your life to protect the freedom and lives of strangers.

I hope that each year I can remember to be more appreciative of those who have served. They have given up a lot. More than I can imagine, I'm sure.

Source: google.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

featured!

woah! I never join linky parties...but one of the few I did I got featured :)

http://forblogs.blogspot.com/2011/11/tasty-tuesday.html
sweet. gotta love pumpkin rolls :)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Halloween 2011

So I was pretty excited for Halloween this year! I liked my costume a lot.

You see...I'm kind of jealous of the fact that my niece Bailey has like five tutus and can wear them pretty much wherever and whenever she wants. After all, she's five. When you're twenty people kind of look at you funny.

And. I have never had a tutu before. But they looked so fun! I had been pinning instructions and ideas on Pinterest for weeks, but when my roommate showed me her peacock costume, I decided that was it. I had to have one. I was jealous of her costume too. You see, I have this thing for peacocks too. But I figured I shouldn't steal her idea. I just wanted a tutu anyway. So I knew I had options. I think I ended up being an autumn fairy or something. Titles aren't important :)

my rad purple tights. and my wand so I was actually "something"

So we went to JoAnns. And I bought WAAAAAY too much tulle. But I have projects in mind :) After all, it's in such pretty fall colors. I'm thinking an autumn wreath. Or a matching tutu for Bailey. Or both.

dark purple, light yellowish(?), sparkly orange, chocolate brown, deep red, and sparkly gold
the gold was my favorite :)

I got extra points in Zumba for dressing up. I may or may not have looked {awesome} walking to and from classes. Because if I dressed up for Zumba...it meant dressing up for computer science as well. I did see a handful of costumes while I was on campus so that was fun! However, I don't consider people in real costumes if it's something that can easily be shoved into a backpack or somewhere. Sorry. If you're only wearing Harry Potter/nerd glasses or the like...you don't count in my book. Learn not to be lame.

Our ward also had a Halloween party later that night. I stopped by for a few minutes before going back home to continue writing my huge paper {but I'm proud to say I cranked out an 8 page paper(...or if you count all the extra pages, 12) in two days! I'm pretty sure my middle name is Procrastination...}.

Here are pictures from the night! {courtesy of Heather's camera} {and Tyler from the HOWL...because her costume is adorable}

Tyler the Peacock!

Savage the Old Man
Heather the Flapper

Sarah {the hippie}, Heather, and me

Heather and Shayna the Pirate

Katie was a pirate as well...they should have had a picture together!

That was our exciting Halloween. Okay. They had a more exciting one than I because they actually got to enjoy it. But it's my fault I put my paper off. They got to play games at FHE and watch scary movies when they came back home.

Maybe I'll learn to not procrastinate...but I have a feeling I won't. Or it will take a while...because I tend to procrastinate dropping the habit of procrastination.

North Logan Pumpkin Walk

Every year since before I was born {heck, before my oldest sister was born} North Logan has held its annual Pumpkin Walk! {October 1982!} Each year they have a different theme. This year it was "My Favorite Things." It sure had a lot of my favorite things! To look at this year {and year's past} galleries visit the website {here}.

Last week {October 25} the roommates, Craig, Brian, Bjorn, and Osten decided to see this year's talent.
I was able to snap a few pictures before my camera decided to die on me. Sorry for the picture overload.