Don't Worry. Be Happy.

Sometimes people post on Facebook just the thing I need to read...and today it happened twice.

“So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness, a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial. The older we get, the more we look back and realize that external circumstances don't really matter or determine our happiness. We do matter. We determine our happiness. You and I are ultimately in charge of our own happiness.” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

and 

It's a bad day. Not a bad life.

I won't lie.  Today has been a rough day.  Not sure why....just a lot of little things adding up.  And I'm not sure how it goes for everybody, but I know that when I'm having a bad day, it's so much easier to see my flaws and all the inadequacies in my life.  And that was just making life worse.

But what's nice about life is that a day can only last so long.  After twenty four hours, a new one is given to us.  So no matter how bad it may be, it can't last longer than that.  For me, sleep helps a lot of things.  So I'm kind of excited to go to sleep tonight and leave today behind.

Semi-related side note:

As I was flipping through pages on iTunes,  I found this gem.

Fun Fact For Ya {triple-F-Y}:  This song totally reminds me of family road trips to Boise.  We had a cassette tape I feel like we always listened to.  And I'm pretty sure this was the first song.  I only remember a handful of other songs on it....and even though the road trips felt long, this tape is a good memory :)

killer

The past two weeks have been killer.  Not as in killer awesome, but as in killer "I want to die."

Okay.  Not really.  Not that far anyway.

Just lots of little things...and something that seemed like a big thing to me...from last week just added up.  They made me stressed.  They made me tired.  They made me worried.  They made me irritated.  They made me...ugh.

And then...it became time to prep for finals.  With no time to recover.  And I studied.  And studied.  And studied.  And took a test.  And got a 77.  Which is AWFUL in my book.  But I also knew there were concepts I didn't understand...and wouldn't understand no matter how much I studied them.  So I feel okay with that.  And then I took my open note/open book test and got a 96(?) which is just grand!

Then I went home to Bountiful.  And studied.  And did a job shadow.  And studied some more.  Then drove back to Logan.  (Why I chose rush hour....who knows?)  And Katie and I exchanged recaps of our day.  And now I should be studying.  But I'm not.  Not yet anyway.  But I probably shall.

Then I'll sleep.  But not long enough.  Never long enough.  Not until Friday am I allowed to do that.  And I don't think I'll ever be able to catch up...but I can try.  And I'll wake up.  Maybe study some more.  And take my final final.  And yes.  I did just say final final.  Or if that's too complicated for you...last test.  But final final is more fun to say :)

And then I'll write my paper about my job shadow.  Which shouldn't be difficult.  I love easy projects.  2-3 pages double spaced.  Easy.

And then I'm free.  Free to take me and Katie home.  Free for three weeks.  Or three and a half I believe.  The half totally counts.  It makes such a big difference.

No homework.  No tests.  Nothing I'm supposed to read.  Nothing I'm supposed to do.

Actually I'm sure there will be plenty I'm supposed to do...but nothing school related! :)

Although the freedom will be short-lived, it will be greatly appreciated.

And here's a picture of narwhals.  Just because I can.

source

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.