Acca-xuse me.

So the movie Pitch Perfect is hilarious.

Me and Schwieg went to see it a few days ago and it was SO FUNNY

A Favorite Moment of Mine

 But we had a little time before the movie so we did a little window shopping:

I didn't even tell him to pose. This just happened.

And then there were suddenly little hats

Notice the height difference

And now suddenly it's smaller

Thanks to these. Which I almost died in after about 2 seconds.

Yay for new things!

So I got a new hair cut and Ben got a new camera (super nice camera)! Put those together and that means that I have a few pictures of the new hair cut!

Here's a nice one!

 here's an artsy one. 

And here's the yummy Cranberry Bliss Blast 

(or something like that) and tea we were munching on

And this one kind of just happened... 

This next one was super funny because Ben came back from the break and was like 

"I have a surprise for you" 

And I'm freakin' out cuz I love surprises.

When I go over to his place he says 

"So, I know you're afraid of whales"

And I said "Yes"

And he said "Well... I found the smallest whale ever and thought you could start with this one and work your way up a little bit every week until you have a full sized whale and you're not afraid of it"

And then gave me this:

We immediately named him Steve

I was able to hold back for a little bit about the fact that he's 

a killer whale because seriously, 

look at him, 

he's the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

So apparently we're working our way up here... 

but secretly I think I'll just stick with Steve!

Somewhere Only We Know

Ok, Ben showed this to me and I keep having to search for it whenever I want to listen to it and then I thought "Why don't I just put it on the blog... then I never have to look for it..." So here it is! For me and the 4ish people who read this blog... isn't it beautiful?!

The Alchemist on Realization

I was so excited to find this because this is exactly why I changed the name of my blog from "A Day Without Laughter is a Day Wasted" to "A Day Without Realization is a Day Wasted" The word Realization is fascinating in its different meanings, the two I play around with are so deeply meaningful. 

To stumble across or accept some new bit of knowledge or to make something happen. 

A conversation between a boy who dreams of going to the pyramids and a man who dreamed of going to Mecca:

 “Well, why don’t you go to Mecca now?” asked the boy. 

“Because it’s the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. That’s what helps me face these days that are all the same, these mute crystals on the shelves, and lunch and dinner at that same horrible café. I’m afraid that if my dream is realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living. 

You dream about your sheep and the Pyramids, but you’re different from me, because you want to realize your dreams. I just want to dream about Mecca. I’ve already imagined a thousand times crossing the desert, arriving at the Plaza of the Sacred Stone, the seven times I walk around it before allowing myself to touch it. I’ve already imagined the people who would be at my side, and those in front of me, and the conversations and prayers we would share. But I’m afraid that it would all be a disappointment, so I prefer just to dream about it.” 

-The Alchemist

One of Pi's Many Prayers

“I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.”

-Life of Pi Chapter 53

Pi's Discoveries about Fear

Over the next little bit I think I'll put quotes I find in books I'm reading, just as I think of and find them. Here's the 56th chapter from 'Life of Pi' about fear that I thought was particularly interesting:

I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy. Doubt meets disbelief and disbelief tries to push it out. But disbelief is a poorly armed foot soldier. Doubt does away with it with little trouble. You become anxious. Reason comes to do battle for you. You are reassured. Reason is fully equipped with the latest weapons technology. But, to your amazement, despite superior tactics and a number of undeniable victories, reason is laid low. You feel yourself weakening, wavering. Your anxiety becomes dread.

Fear next turns fully to your body, which is already aware that something terribly wrong is going on. Already your lungs have flown away like a bird and your guts have slithered away like a snake. Now your tongue drops dead like an opossum, while your jaw begins to gallop on the spot. Your ears go deaf. Your muscles begin to shiver as if they had malaria and your knees to shake as though they were dancing. Your heart strains too hard, while your sphincter relaxes too much. And so with the rest of your body. Every part of you, in the manner most suited to it, falls apart. Only your eyes work well. They always pay proper attention to fear.

Quickly you make rash decisions. You dismiss your last allies: hope and trust. There, you've defeated yourself. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you.

The matter is difficult to put into words. For fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation, such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end, nestles in your memory like a gangrene: it seeks to rot everything, even the words with which to speak of it. So you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.

Thanksgiving

As it is Thanksgiving it's of course appropriate that I post something on my blog about the holiday!

A short and not comprehensive list of some things I am grateful for, in no particular order:

• That yesterday my blog had no pageviews but for some reason today I have 47. Apparently all I really needed was to post a video of a car dance.
• That today when I was talking to my brother about Thanksgiving he said that it just felt like Sunday because it was pretty much the same thing. A big meal and spending time with family. 
• That one year ago I got home from my mission in Hungary to find myself shell-shocked and scared out of my mind. I actually had a dream last night that I was back there and while it was a little different because a bad guy was chasing after me it was still great to see the bridges again.
• That I have a family that makes me laugh and learn constantly. We're a group of very sarcastic people and it just never gets old. That makes it all the more meaningful when we also look out for each other and love each other. 
• That I have incredible friends that always know what to say. I can't tell you how many times I've needed to hear something or just needed specific company and just the right person pops up. Sometimes I wonder where these people come from. You know who you are. :)
• I'm grateful for good books that make you realize that the mind is limitless (Can you tell I just finished a great book today? "Life of Pi" is incredible).
• Good music that expresses exactly what you're feeling or what you would feel if you were a shameless celebrity.
• I'm grateful for prayers answered and prayers given. 
• And especially for this adorable fool who thinks she can ingest mashed potatoes through her nose (which, yes, technically she can):

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sometimes You Just Need to Get In the Car...

and dance.

And that's exactly what Caitlan and I did.

There's another one but it's apparently too hot for 

blogger because it won't upload... which is a serious 

shame because it was a recreation of a song we did about 

5 years ago. I would just give up but it's Billy Ocean's

"Lover Boy"

I'll keep working on it.

P!nk. Hot Dang.

Ummmmm this is just incredible... how are stupid and not talented artists winning things when P!nk can fly around the stage and sing at the same time?

Was that Carly Jeppson at the end? What a contrast... 

Brandi Freakin' Carlile

Going to a Brandi Carlile concert on the 13th of December! 

SO EXCITED

!!!!!!!!!!!

We All Need A Good Finger Painting Sesh From Time To Time

As I was frantically finishing research papers and putting together a portfolio that I thought was due after Thanksgiving (turns out it's due right before... which is next week) Ben thought it would be a good idea to finger paint. 

And he was right.

The top row is my work. By way of clarification:

1) the first one came about when Ben said "I'll make one to celebrate our friendship" and I said "ok, me too!"

It's the "FUN" song from Sponge Bob captured in a picture. So no, it's doesn't say:

Friends

utme

NY thing

 It says: 

Friends
U+Me
NYTHING

2) The second picture was when Ben's sister said "You should draw a dinosaur, a pirate ship and a ninja army" but I'm sure you could tell that that's what it was anyway.

3) The third is when we decided to paint each other. I promised Ben amazing cheekbones and I think I delivered.

The bottom row belongs to Ben.

1) Remember that the first came from when he said "I'll make one to celebrate our friendship" It says:

Friends ~ Sort of

I like to think that's his way of telling me we'll be Best Friends Forever. A simple BFF would have sufficed, Ben.

2) The second was a potato, then a yam, then a mushroom, then a tree. He gave it everything he had.

3) And the third is me, of course. I don't know why it looks like my dog just died but he said it was a "Mona Lisa" smile. He also accidentally made parts of my hair green.

So if anyone is looking for an activity to do when you really need to

 be doing other things I strongly suggest finger painting!

Or blogging...

 I gotta go...

I Give In

Turpentine

Ok I've been trying to hold back on posting this song because it's so dang sad BUT I love Brandi Carlile and I love singing to this song so it shall be posted. I haven't actually listened to this version but this is what blogger offered me. 

What Starts With Percussion Tends to End in Crazy

Contribution from Ben:

"Modest Schmodest
Drummers Are Hottest"

Ok so Ben said this and I was all "What? Are drummers not modest?" and then he went on to explain that drummers may or may not be modest but the point is that modesty does not measure hotness as well as being a drummer does. 

Now he is contemplating making a shirt that says

Front of Shirt -> Modest is Hottest?

Top of back of Shirt -> Modest Schmodest.

Drummers are Hottest.
 

Bottom of Shirt -> A picture of a Flaming Drum Set
(To be designed) 

Anyway, this is how this conversation started/ the night went:

First, there was a percussion performance and Ben is an avid drummer
so we hopped over to see it

It was awesome and Ben pointed out some awesome things that I totally didn't

 understand so it made it more awesome.

But first we ran into these guys. 

And this is what happened after the show.

It turns out that they have an Andy Warhol exhibit going right now and I don't know what claim
Warhol has on silver balloons but this was our favorite part of the whole thing.
Video 1 is Ben emerging from his balloon cocoon. 

Video 2 is me displaying my amazing power over silver balloons.

 And this one was apparently me in my natural habitat.

Ben clarifies that this is not apparently my natural habitat it actually is.
"I've never seen you so free"

It was a good night! Now we'll finish it by watching "The Kite Runner" (which we were inspired to watch when I was looking up a movie for someone on Netflix and found a Bollywood called "Kites: Remix"... we just assumed it was a remix of The Kite Runner so we figured we should watch that one first

See how we came to that conclusion?

Relating Stuff to Life

So today I went climbing and I have to admit I felt pretty weak. I was tired, hungry and a little overwhelmed but really wanted to get on the wall. So I started with a good 5.9 to get warmed up, something that's usually easy and found myself thinking with every grip "you're going to fall".

But every single time I just put my hand out and pulled myself up. And I didn't fall, not even close. I could push more into the metaphor about how there was also someone belaying me so I couldn't fall but what really hit me was that I was stronger than I thought and as long as I kept going I could get to a place again where I could readjust and then push forward. It's so easy to underestimate your strength.

By the end of the day though, I had inched myself up a 10c with a little overhang so who knows what I'll be able to do when I feel better!

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

A day late but still great! Since this is Ben's favorite movie it was super easy to get a hold of, so we just kicked back and enjoyed!

Some Spirichalness

So the other night I went to the MTC to help the Hungarian speaking missionaries practice and they gave us a nice lesson about what happened to the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon (in Ether chapter 2 toward the end of the Book of Mormon). This is a very common story to those who read the Book of Mormon so me and the other person I was with were familiar with it but while it wasn't new, I did find a very interesting application for what the elders said.

In this part of the Book of Mormon a group of people were told by God that they need to build some barges and sail to a new area of land. The elders focused on the end of the chapter where the brother of Jared asks a few questions such as:

1) We've made these barges just like You said... but they are completely closed off, how are we going to be able to breathe?

And the Lord answers with "Put a hole in the top and bottom that can be closed off when you go under the water."

2) How are we going to steer the things?

Answer "I'll provide wind to give you a little push"

3) How will we see when it's all closed off?

Answer "What do you think we should do?"

This chapter is a really good depiction of different ways that God answers our prayers. Sometimes He just gives us the answer, sometimes He gives us a little push and sometimes He asks us to suggest some ideas. In all three cases He's always watching out for us but is still creative in how He helps us.

So the experience I related this to was when I was deciding to go on a mission. I knew from a pretty young age that I wanted to go but when the time came I realized that I hadn't really consulted God on it. I had the prospects of education, marriage and a mission in front of me and when I took these options to God I felt... nothing. I got no answer! I was SO frustrated! So I went ahead and put my papers in since it was what I wanted but still didn't know if it was what God wanted for me.

So a month or two after I get my call I'm still worried about my decision and am feeling no sort of peace about anything! Then one day a few friends and I were going to go to the Salt Lake City temple but it was closed for cleaning. So instead we went to the Joseph Smith Movie, a movie about the first prophet of God since the days of Jesus himself. Jesus Christ established His church and gave His power and authority to His apostles so the church could continue after His death. Unfortunately people that didn't accept Christ killed His apostles so that power and right to perform acts such as baptism was gone. Then when the world was ready, that power came back! It was restored by God and Jesus Christ through a man named Joseph Smith and this awesome movie is about Joseph's life. It's a really great movie and if you'd like to see it here it is!

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/film-about-joseph-smith-now-available-online

Anyway, so we go to see this and to be honest we had all seen it like 4 times but there's no harm in watching again! During part of the movie Joseph Smith is imprisoned falsely and is really poorly treated. The guards over him start to describe really horrendous things they have done to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith stands up and basically tells them that either they will stop talking or someone (whether it be Joseph or the guards) will "die this instant". It's a really awesome part of the movie, really powerful. And then in the next breath he says "The worth of every soul is great in the sight of God".

I just remember feeling this very powerful love and picturing the faces of the Hungarian people in my head. I could tell that this was not a command to go but instead a reason to. In essence, God gave me the wind. He gave me a little push but expected me to get out of the barge at the end of the trip and plant my feet firmly on the ground of my decision. I'm so grateful that He gave me that moment because it inspired me to go and have the incredible experience of serving people. It makes me think that maybe I need to look for times more often that are examples of when God has given me wind and let me take it from there.

Best Friends Know Exactly What You Need

I told Ben I was pretty down about 

something and this happened:

My favorite beverage, extra buttery popcorn and one of my favorite movies. Best friends know exactly what you need.

PARAGLIDING

So me and 2 of my best friends decided to go paragliding and it was awesome!

At first we were a little nervous but were too excited to back out!

And then we took of and it was the most graceful ride!

The view was incredible and the flight was so relaxing. 

The next air adventure will be skydiving!