Finals Week

Finals are coming up.  Can I get an "oh, crap!!"?  Hopefully I'm not the only one who's stressing out about them.  But I've discovered some invaluable coping techniques.  They involve arduous studying interspersed with man small breaks and distractions, good food, attempting to sleep (and mostly failing), and copious amounts of chocolate. 
It also helps to think that I have a month-long break following finals. 
I can't help but feel like this is another "how do you eat an elephant" situation. One minute at a time, one assignment at a time, one final at a time.  Until it's over.  
With life so busy and hectic at the moment, it tends to be easy to forget what else is going on right now:  it's almost Christmas!  Actually it's only nineteen days away now (not that I'm counting or anything though).  Anyway this is just my little reminder that life is good. 
To all my friends in college, good luck for the next couple of weeks.  You can do it!!  And when we get done...we have an entire month to forget absolutely everything they just tested us on.  :)  What a lovely thought.  Eat plenty of vegetables, try and sleep if you possibly can.  And stuff...  Who am I kidding, we're going to eat like crap and what on earth is sleeping?!
To all of you who are NOT in college...I hate you.  No, I'm just kidding.  But I am super jealous of you.
To whom it may concern, my birthday is in five days.  Oh, here, happy birthday from Utah State--we'll schedule finals week to start the day after your birthday. 
Good luck, friends!  Keep it real. 

first snow

Ah, the month of November!  When it's finally cold enough to snow!  I often hear people complaining about the snow here in Cache Valley, but I have to be honest...by the time it finally snows for the first time, I'm so ready and so excited!  Snow means blankets, hot chocolate, fireplaces, good books, snuggling, popcorn, Christmas movies, snowball fights, igloos, snow angels and snowmen, sweaters and knee-high socks and the beautiful sight of those microscopic crystalline wonders of nature known as snowflakes. 
The amazingness of the first snow happened just last week.  There is something totally magical about the first snow of the season, something that is never duplicated any other time it snows.  I love the first snow, and I have a few reasons for loving it as much as I do. 
The first reason is that it simply signifies the ending of one season and the beginning of the next.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love autumn--it's my favorite season--but by the time it snows, I'm so excited for winter that I'm absolutely ready for fall to be on its way.  Especially this year, where we had a lovely, long fall where all the leaves changed color and fell before it snowed.
The second reason I love the first snow so much is that it means it's time to pull out all my knee high socks!  Don't ask me why I love knee high socks so much, because that's one thing I've never been able to explain even to myself, but I truly do love them.
And the final reason that the first snow is so purely excellent is the complete silence that falls over the whole world, and when you go outside it's like you're in your own private little bubble of hushed atmoshpere with little puffs of white coldness floating slowly down from the sky like tiny frozen feathers.
Friends, we have entered the season of snow.  Here's hoping we can all enjoy its beauty today, tomorrow and as long as it lasts.

Elder Harker

Wellllllllllllllllllllll...basically I'm a slacker and I haven't dedicated enough time to update this.  It was a month and ten days ago today that my dear friend Nathan Harker left on his mission.  o_O
My bad.  Sorry Nathan, hope you're not offended.

The Nathan we all know and love...

Nathan was always so much fun.  His dry sarcastic comments never failed to put an exasperated smile on my face.  Yeah, he was sarcastic.  He was dry.  He was sometimes a little bit of a homebody--occasionally it was all we could do to get him to come hang out with us.  But he knew how to have a good time.  He's laid-back and easygoing and fun to be around.  His contrariness, I'm sure, will keep his companions entertained for a long time yet.  There's no doubt in my mind that the people of the Dominican Republic will love him as much as we do here.  Good luck Elder!  See you in two...well a little less than two years now!!

As a 3-hole-punched version of himself for Halloween

Wearing the Kermit the Frog hat that he never let us steal from him.  Lame.

He LOVED dating.  :)

loVe stoRy

On Saturday, July 30, 2011, one of my very best friends got married in the Rexburg, Idaho temple for time and all eternity to the love of her life.  This post is to celebrate the union of Kimberly Regan Smith and Andrew Sheldon Goetze.

 

 

 

 

 

The lovers

Regan was the daughter of one of my dad's mission companions.  We didn't get to see each other very often--maybe once a year, if we were lucky--but we were so similar that it didn't matter how long it had been since we'd last seen each other, we still managed to chitchat and giggle like we'd hung out every single day.  I don't remember a lot of the things we did when we were smaller, but I do remember some things...
For a time, Regan's family lived in a cabin near Deer Valley ski resort.  They invited us to come there and go skiing with them one year for New Years'.  That time, we made tiny clay animals and built homes for them inside of shoe boxes while watching "Gilligan's Island" and eating pieces of kiwi on fondue forks.  I also remember, on that trip, we told our little sisters to make a cake for when the parents got back from skiing so they pulled out the cake mix and we told them that a secret ingredient, one they don't list on the box but one that makes the cake the most delicious, moist cake possible is vinegar.  And they totally believed us!  They asked us what kind of vinegar to use, and we told them they'd know it when they smelled it, and we spent the next half hour watching them sniff the different kinds of vinegar and laughing at the expressions on their faces!  (Not to worry--we didn't actually let them add any to the cake mix.)
The next time we went to Lake Powell together on the houseboat that Regan's dad bought, complete with two jet-skis, a DVD player, and an Xbox 360, plus Rock Band.  Regan, her cousin Owen, and I made a band together on Rock Band and played it all the time when the heat of the day was too much to be outside.  That was also the year that Regan introduced me to one of my favorite toys of all time--the jet-ski.  :)  We took turns driving, and threw each other off of them several times--Regan with her speediness, and me with my crazy obsession of going over the biggest waves I could find. 
Last summer, I saw Regan again at her family's cabin in Island Park.  We had movie parties in the theater room, hung out in the hot tub, teased Owen for being so shy around me, rode the jet-skis, sunbathed on the boats, wakeboarded, surfed, and generally had a good time.  And like girls do, we talked instead of slept at night.  That was the trip I first heard about Andrew.  I heard everything about him--his family life, the way he'd asked her to date him.  Everything.  And I knew then that she had every intention of marrying this man.  I simply didn't know when.
But now I do. And I'm so happy for her!  And I'm so grateful for all the things she taught me and showed me.   Be well, Regan, I love you with all my heart, and I hope to see you again sometime!

the beautiful Regan, in her dress from Spain

As per Regan's request, the women at the wedding dressed up in '70s costumes and danced to an ABBA medley.  :)  One of the funniest things I've ever seen!

Rather than decorate the newlyweds' car, they decorated a jet-ski.  :)  Regan's favorite way of transportation.

Elder Mickelsen

All these missionaries leaving--it's so exciting!!  :)  Today's post is about one Brayden Mickelsen.  Brayden entered into our group of friends in a bit of a different way than the other boys, he was a part of the group known to us as the "Cupcakes".  (The story behind the name:  We all went to the dance, and the only boys that didn't dance with us--or maybe the only ones that did?--happened to sit at the table right behind ours during lunch; we made them cupcakes as a bribe to dance with us--or to say thank you, I don't remember which story is right--and they wouldn't take them!!  Thus, they became the Cupcakes.)

Brayden was in CAP (Civil Air Patrol) all through our high school years, and was so dedicated to it he received scholarships from the Air Force and has spend the past year of his life at Basic Training.  His testimony of the Savior is incredible, the way he knows without a doubt that He can give us strength when we feel we have none left.  He's intelligent and very funny, he was somehow able to keep all of us laughing all the time, it was fun to spend any time with him at all, he was so clever and witty.  And one of the things I admire the most about Brayden is his motivation.  In everything he does, he excels.  He works hard and doesn't settle for anything less than his best.  That's just one of his qualities that will serve him well in the mission field, and in the rest of his life's endeavors.  We're proud of you Brayden!  You're going to do great!!

That's Brayden strangling the elder from the last post, Cameron, on one of Cameron's return visits to Cache Valley.  I think they were fighting over a ball...

That's him on the right with some of the other Cupcakes :)

Brayden also ran cross country and track while we were in high school.  And he was GOOD.

Elder Cox

Today we bid farewell to another missionary (this one I'm not related to--well, not exactly).  Cameron Cox left today for the Missionary Training Center.  He will be departing from there to the Taiwan Taichung Mission.  I remember when he was taking Chinese class during high school, and he found out all the things he won't be able to use on a mission--"hot girl", "kiss", things like that.  :)  Cameron was the glue that kept all of us together, and we loved him so!  I think it's even safe to say that Cameron is the reason that I met many of the friends I was closest to during high school.  When Cam moved in to my neighborhood, it was the beginning of a whole new game!

Cameron sure made life fun while he lived in Cache Valley, and it was hard when he moved to Wyoming.  We all missed him, especially me.  We kind of thought of each other as siblings, even though we weren't actually related.  We had so much fun together!  He's got a great testimony too.  I remember when he turned sixteen, and all of the girls in our group who didn't live near us came to our ward to hear him bless the sacrament for the first time.  That was a really cool experience for all of us.  It was amazing to see the support he had from all of us.
Cam was a great example to me of what a young man is like when he's focused on the gospel and yet still able to have fun and play with his friends.  I love that kid with all my heart, and I have no doubt of the amazing things he will do as a missionary.  Good luck, Cam!  We'll all be at the airport when you get home, waiting to hear all of your stories and to welcome you back with open arms.  We love you!

Always the ladies' man.  :)

As you can imagine, we teased him incessantly for this one!!

Our last fling before he left for Wyoming.  He said it counted as a date for all of us who he hadn't taken on a date yet.  (Which is why there are so many of us with him.)

At Last...

Okay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but my first-ever professionally recorded song is now available for purchase!!!!  Here's the link in case you're interested:
Empty Hands
The inspiration for this particular song came from a watercolor painting I saw on a high school art tour, entitled "The Hands of Haiti".  It had been painted shortly after the huge earthquake they had down there a couple of years ago, and the painting haunted me for months after I saw it.  The image of those empty, reaching hands simply would not leave my mind.  What struck me the most about it was that the hands were, indeed, empty, and they looked like they were waiting for something. 
Thus, my single (OH MY GOSH!!!!) was born.  I wondered aloud who was going to fill those hands, wondered whether maybe I would be able to.  And so I wrote it all down, played it for a few people, took note of their critique, and then talked to a friend of mine who has a recording studio.  He helped me with the details, and I've just been working on making it available to the public.  And now....it finally is!!  And I am officially a published indie artist!!!!  :D  (Feel free to celebrate with me if you'd like.)

Life's Little Pleasures

Today my apartment was in charge of what our ward refers to as "Sunday Sweets".  At ward prayer every week a different apartment introduces themselves, and following ward prayer, the entire ward goes to their respective place of dwelling for treats. 
I went home to make cookies at my parents' house.
So there I was, making cookies and minding my own business, when suddenly all the flour I'd just put in the mixer decided to see if it could fly.  It was everywhere, all over the countertops, the clean dishes, the dishtowels, and me.
Then my bishop walked into the kitchen, because Mom and Dad were hosting a barbeque.  "Hey, Ash," he said jovially, "whatcha making?"
I looked down at the flour dusting my skirt and strewn all over the kitchen, then looked back up at him.  And said, honestly, "a mess."

just breathe...

"How do you eat an elephant?" was the question posed to me today.  I didn't really get it.  Who'd want to eat an elephant?  They seem like they'd be awfully tough and tasteless.  But the answer, when it came, was obvious: (putting aside the fact that I still don't want to eat an elephant)
"One bite at a time."
I know that, for me at least, I tend to forget that I'm allowed to take life one day at a time.  In fact, that's the only way I'll actually make it through.  I tend to look at everything I'm expected to do or accomplish in my life and throw up my hands, thinking "I can't do this.  This is impossible."  But then I remember the story of the tribes of Israel, wandering in the wilderness for forty years.  And how God did not provide them manna for a year, for a month or even for a week, but for that day and that day only.  In this way He taught them to endure and to lean on Him one day at a time. 
Same with me.  I got here, to my own apartment attending college at Utah State University, with a calling in the Family History Committee and working towards becoming a music therapist, one day at a time.  Such a small thing didn't seem like it would bring as much comfort to me as it did, but truly to be reminded of something so simple was indescribably nice to hear.  (And so I thank Morgan Summers for teaching it in Relief Society today.) 
So here I go.  Deal with today first, then tomorrow.  Then the next day.  And eventually, a day at a time, the future will be here.  And I'll deal with it then the same way I do now.  A day at a time.

Elder Wood

Today, my cousin Braeden left for the Missionary Training Center.  It's weird for me to think that he's actually going to be gone for two years (not that I saw him a whole lot; he lives in Canada).  Braeden and I are the same age, and I remember so many things we've shared together.  Some of my favorite childhood memories I share with Braeden.  (Including his least favorite nickname that I called him all the time:  "Brady Bunch".  Whenever I called him that he used to chase me down and threaten to beat me up.)

There is no doubt in my mind that he will be an amazing missionary.  I know that he will love and be loved by the people in Chile, because we sure love him!  Good luck Braeden, and see you in two years.  :)

With his brother and sisters at Kalli's wedding

He's always loved soccer :)

Flying a kite at my house when we were little