My heart is happy moments (:

These past few days have been so awesome! So many just fun, happy, awesome little things have happened. Little things in life really make the biggest difference. Some things that happened:

I picked up oreos & gift cards at Walmart, and counted out the money from church in my battered envelope to make sure I had enough, and this super sweet old man walked up and told me I look pretty and asked if I had enough money. So cute!
I went to Quantico for the first time! For all you who don't know, it's the Marine base. All different military branches kind of have their own feel, and I think Marines are my favorite! If I were a man, and weren't diabetic, I would totally join the Marines. Except I'm glad I'm not, because their so handsome (:
Having a coworker named Whitney - Whit squared! - who has so much in common with me! Both of our parents thought we were going to be boys, and we both think military guys are super attractive! She's hilarious!
Fire & Ice Dance - awesome!! I met tons of awesome people, danced a bit (which is a lot for me!), saw some amazing examples of decorating, and maybe have some fun dates lined up
I worked out to Frank Sinatra this morning, and my little brother Adam ran in, grabbed my weights, and started totally dancing his heart out to "How You Look Tonight"
then Peter came in and skipped and danced to Sinatra as well. Their adorable (:
While I was working out, my other little brother Jacob came in, and told me "Whitney, I've noticed your room is a bit disorganized. Would you like some help organizing it?" Hahaha. I love him! Disorganized is a bit of an understatement right now (life is so insanely busy, and I have nowhere to put anything because my 'room' is tiny.. but I'm not complaining! It's awesome!) and it was so cute how polite and kind he was. I told him no thanks, because it's my mess, I can clean it up. But it was so sweet (: He's a cutie
My Mom bought me a beautiful white calla lily plant. So gorgeous! Their the flowers that grew in the sidewalk in Oregon, and now I have my own! Soo pretty! I think they may be some of my favorite flowers. Their very elegant
Also my Mom made homemade bread, with honey and butter and sugar free jam (: Yum!
and now I'm off to stake conference & Logans, for some awesome spiritual moments, hanging out with friends, and cracking peanut shells.
I really love life (:
and my grammar and English were terrible, so please forgive me, but oh well!

I loooove DC (:

Absolutely love it.

Loved taking pictures, spending time with a great friend,

and seeing the Washington memorial, other memorials from a distance, the White House, the Capital...
and the atmosphere is so cool.
There's so many different people

I could spend soo much time here

Absolutely adore it (:

Things I want to do here in the future:

• Go to the Holocaust Museum
• Go paddle boating on the river
• See the Constitution
• Visit the Archives
• Go to every branch of the Smithsonian
• Visit the art museum

and I would love to go to Arlington Cemetery again, and Mount Vernon, and Monticello...
... okay, I pretty much want to see everything. Haha
I think I might even dare driving up there myself!

I love the East coast!



And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood




Capital at sunrise




I look like such a nerd haha


and these pictures brought back some old memories, so here's some of my older favorites (:





Great News!!!!

Okay, I am not a blog a holic & definitely do not feel the need to write a ton, but I thought I would share this - I went & spoke to the head of the English department (I was so nervous!) and it went great! She allowed me to have an alternate assignment based on a biography of the author & the post colonialism of Columbia - probably still a depressing subject, but I don't have to read about incest or explicit sexual encounters.
Score!!
Prayers & wanting to do what's right paid off.
Now, I'm off to work to get a good grade (:
Awesome day!

My Valentines Day...



probably one of my most favorite romantic photos ever!

I know I blogged yesterday, but I'm stuck in the library between classes & it's Valentines Day! So I'll write a little bit (: To be honest, this Valentines day I've got a pretty hot date... with frozen yogurt and working register for a ton of cute couples going on dates! Haha. Yeah, I'll be working. Fun, right?
Luckily I'm not one of those girls who vehemently despises Valentines Day. I like it. I think it's fun :)
Boys are sweet, there are usually a few funny/odd/cute experiences, and it's just a cute holiday! If you don't have an attractive hunk, no big deal! You can hang out with your friends. You can go shopping & scope out cute guys, & point out the cute old couples holding hands while your out there. It's fun to make cupcakes (or a healthy snack) & watch chick flicks with your best friend, or your sister, or even by yourself! It can totally even be a Legally Blonde girl power kind of day, or Pride & Prejudice awesome romance kick kinda day.
Even if your working at a frozen yogurt shop (:
However, I think it's funner (more fun?) to spend it with other people. I love how my family does Valentines Day.
My Daddy always writes my Mom a super sweet card, with little drawings on it, and it is so cute! She always gets flowers too.
I made cupcakes with my Mommy yesterday, with pink funfetti sprinkles and strawberry frosting. They were so adorable!
It's fun to see wedding pictures & pictures of my parents from over the years. Pretty crazy!

I have some pretty fun & crazy stories about Valentines Days past.
However, my favorite Valentines Day memory, and the one that encompasses the type of feeling I like about this holiday, is when I was really little. All I remember is wearing a pretty dress to my kindergarten or first grade class, and as I was about to leave for school, my Daddy came to me and gave me this beautiful gold charm necklace and a huge hug. I absolutely loved it!  and felt so loved by my Dad. Just simple and sweet.

Thanks to my friends & family who make me feel loved all year long!
and hopefully someday I'll have a handsome, strong, funny best friend who will get me flowers and write me sweet love letters (: I'm excited for that day!

Happy Valentines Day!

To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world
-Brandi Snyder

It is a curious thought, but it is when you see people looking ridiculous when you realize how much you love them - Agatha Christie (It's funny how often true this statement is haha)

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”
-Audrey Hepburn

Never frown, you never know whose falling in love with your smile (:

When you look for the good in others, you discover the best of yourself - Martin Walsh

Standing With Courage

So, pretty much every Conference, I feel like there's always at least one or two talks that fit the theme of my life for a few months. Pres. Monson's Dare to Stand Alone and Stand in Holy Places are definitely for these past few weeks

What do  you do when your asked to read a book in your college course that is completely inappropriate, and reading it would go against your moral & religious standards and beliefs?
 The more I read, the more I felt uncomfortable and knew because of my standards, I should not be reading it. I kept wondering and wondering what to do, because technically it was for school, and I'm not reading it for entertainment, and I would never, ever read it in casual life. But then one night I went and read Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley's Way to Be.

Among the chapters I read, I read the one titled Be Clean, and these parts really stuck out to me.
After telling a childhood story about cleaning wallpaper & how doctors would put up signs for smallpox to avoid contamination in society, Pres. Hinckley says this

Thus we learned that things look and feel better when they're clean, and to stay away from areas that were not clean. Those practices have served me well, for we live in a world that reeks of evil. It is all around us. It is on the television screen. It is at the movies. It is in the popular literature. It is on the Internet. It is in the lyrics of popular songs. It is available through the telephone. You can't afford to watch or listen to it. You cannot afford to let that filthy poison touch you. Stay away from it. Avoid it. Shun it like the plague.
Pornography... is like corrosive salt. It will eat through your armor if you expose yourself to it. It will corrode your morals, your values, and your sense of self worth... Stay away from pornography as you would avoid a serious disease. In essence, place a bright orange warning sign with black letters in front of any source of sexually salacious material.

The book I was assigned wasn't a dirty magazine, or a movie. But the things it contained had the same feeling around them. I knew I couldn't read it without compromising my values & staying clean.

So I talked to my professor. I told him I understand how important it is to study and understand other cultures and human experience. Those things are really valuable. But the author of this novel addresses the issues in such a way that I knew I couldn't read it without compromising my moral & religious values. He was very kind, and I knew he would try and help me. But he stayed firm in saying that he wouldn't give me an alternate assignment. I was disappointed. I was frustrated. I knew I could easily get an A in the class, and I take school seriously. I'm a hard worker, and put a lot of effort and time into getting good grades. I told him that. But then I respectfully informed him that I would not read the book. I would work as hard as I could in all of my other assignments to still get a good grade and be a hard working student in his class, but I wouldn't read it. I told him I knew I wouldn't get the best grade, but I knew it's worth the sacrifice.
That was a really cheesy end line, and I'm sure I could have worded it better, but oh well. Sometimes cheesy is effective.
Anyways, I am stressed. I can't help letting some of the stress get to me, I'm human. But inside I know that it'll work out. Hopefully I'll be switching into another class after meeting with someone in the University. I'm going to work so hard to get a good grade and still learn, whether in my class or in the one I switch into. But even if I end up barely passing because  I'm behind, I know it'll be worth it. Looking at the eternal scheme of things, one withdrawn class or failed class isn't going to mean much. As big a deal as it seems now.
Later, as I was talking to my Mom, she said something that gave me a totally different perspective. She said that with paying tuition, paying for textbooks, doing all the homework, reading and everything, really the details I learn in class probably won't be there too long. But the lesson I'm learning now, to stand for what I know to be true and what is right - that lesson is more valuable then anything else I could learn in that class!

I also thought more, I've been thinking a to - o - on, and this is probably going to sound silly, but I thought about my future kids and family. I thought about the type of people that I want them to be. and I knew that to realistically want and help them to be like that, I need to set an example, even in my life now.
So, with these perspectives, I know it will be okay. Of course it will.
I'm thinking of transferring to another school. It would be so nice to be in an environment where I wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this. I'm not sure if I will yet or not. I've applied. But we'll see. But whatever happens, I'll be true to myself and to God, and I know the rest will fall into place. I know it's worth it!

Be Still, My Soul

This song is my heart and life theme for the past few weeks, and the coming ones.

Be still, my soul
The Lord is on Thy side
With patience bear Thy cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy God to order and provide
In ev'ry change
He faithful will remain
Be still, my soul, thy best,
thy heavn'ly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end

Be still, my soul
Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past
Thy hope
Thy confidence
let
nothing shake
All now mysterious
shall be bright at last
Be still, my soul,
the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below

Be still, my soul
The hour is hastn'ing on
When we shall be
forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys
restored
Be still, my soul
When change and tears are past
All safe and blessed, we shall meet
at last

I will keep my hope, my confidence, my faith that the Lord's hand is in my life
He's watching over me, and is guiding me & helping me become who He wants me to be
He knows my needs, and my cares, and my worries, and my joys
no matter how seemingly 'big or small' they seem to anyone else, even me
I know I will always find comfort and strength, and joy in life!
What a beautiful hope it is, to know that pain & sorrow won't last forever!
There is hope for peace, joy, and confidence for the future
I have a feeling some pretty big changes are coming up..
We'll see.
Sorry for the cheesy post. I just felt I should share this today

Goals

So, yesterday I went to Walmart with Jacob, Adam, and Peter. My 3 youngest brothers, ages 11, 7, and 5. Their absolutely adorable (and go absolutely crazy at Walmart! Gotta love them.) Anyways, the cashier was commenting on how cute they are as they were picking out candy bars, and she turned and asked me "are they... your brothers? or yours?" Whoa! "Their my brothers," I answered right away. She laughed and started telling me about her family. But that experience got me thinking.
I look old enough to be a Mom. That is weird.
But it's also a bit of a wake up call, because although it's years away, it's probably going to come alot faster than I think it is.
So it made me think, am I on the right track to being the type of Mom I want to be?
I can definitely be a lot better in some things.
So... I'm going to work on being more patient. and trying to see things from other people's perspectives more. and be more compassionate. and learn how to cook atleast 3 good dinners. and make sure I go to the temple more often.

Awkward & Awesome





Awkward

Wearing heels that I discover are a bit too big on the way to class (I tried them on with socks on in the store... thought size 6 would be okay, I'm size 5 1/2, but thought wrong... not the brightest move) and find I am totally hobbling. I can't walk above, like, 1 mile an hour! So I stopped in a bathroom to shove some toilet paper at the back of my shoes, made it safely to class, sat through, then hobbled/attempted to walk back to my car... I made it all the way to the sidewalk, then wham! I tripped, totally duked it out off the sidewalk into a pile of mud.. right in front of a guy walking my way. He grinned, and I just didn't look at him, my face bright red, as I ducked back in my car (the passenger side, because it's the closest and I felt so stupid, so I just pretended I was waiting for someone in my own car... haha) Embarassing.

Told my family this funny experience from class. Story is, girl saw guy was checking her out all class, when class got out guy stayed in his seat waiting for girl to get up, girl gets up really fast, gives her paper to the professor, and goes out the door kinda quick so guy wouldn't walk with her... I feel a bit guilty admitting this. Anyways, my brother cracks up and informs me that I'm a guy's worst nightmare. (I totally deny this statement.)

Driving down the freeway to work, right after English class. Looked in my rearview mirror, and saw an unmistakable poof of curly gray hair - my English professor was driving right behind me! He took the I-95 toward Washington exit, off toward home I'm guessing. Weird that this average joe holds my grade for this semester in his hands.

Awesome

Drawing professor. I reached a point on my drawing where I didn't know what else to do, so I started filling in patterns that looked kind of 3d. He came to me and said, "What are you doing? You are a talented artist, I've watched you. This pattern stuff - this is filling in. This is not you!" I laughed, because he was dead right! I was totally just filling in. He critiques in a way that totally inspires me to do better and work harder. So I immediately set to work on drawing over the patterns "with a purpose" instead of just filling in. He's awesome! I'm learning a ton!

Going with the missionaries for discussions with another girl at UMW! Spirit is so strong, have an awesome time, and hearing the most astounding stories from the Elders.

Having comfort that tough things bring strength, and can add depth to character & help one to gain compassion for others who are going through the same thing or much worse.

Actually being social for once! I thought college would be a total party? Yeah.. no. I mean, yeah. But after work, school, church, and everything else, it is so hard to have the energy to go hang out with someone. But I had a much needed spontaneous girl's night with Tatiana, this super fun girl, and it was great! Bought shoes & feather earrings (totally out of my fashion comfort zone), went to Crave (I'm so addicted), went to Wegman's (ate seaweed, Japanese candy, & Japanese soda with a marble in it), went to Charming Charlies (adorable), tried Chick fil A sauce for the first time (amazing) and listened to Jack Johnson! I've been feeling like a 30 year old woman lately (not that that's a bad thing) so it was sooo nice to do something my age again.

I would like to defend myself in one thing, before I end today -

I'll admit I'm not smooth with the flirting/dating scene. Honestly, when I wrote that I laughed, because not smooth is a bit of an understatement. However, in my life I've experienced a lot. Through these experiences I've learned that other things, like being kind, a hard worker, selfless, honest, and just good are a lot more important. These are the things that I try to focus on, and it doesn't leave much room for caring that much about, let alone being, smooth or flirtatious.There are much worse things then not being good with guys! And all that matters is being good with one, or finding one that see's the qualities that really matter. He's going to have to be a pretty awesome guy to get past my awkwardness, but I'm not worried. I know he's out there somewhere (: As my Daddy loves to say, with so many diverse, different people in the world, there is truly someone for everyone. I don't mean there is one specific dream person, as much as I mean there is the knowledge that there is atleast one guy out there who will love me despite my awkward moments. In fact, maybe they will make him laugh, and he'll find them endearing! And once I really know someone, the awkwardness goes away. I'm not awkward with people I really know & feel comfortable with. That just takes time to build up. It's just getting through that first stage that's a bit interesting sometimes. So, there is my defense. There you go, Dexter (: