Veteran's Day

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,

who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,

who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag,

It is the VETERAN who serves under the flag.

Thank you to all those who risk their lives every day to save those they love, and those they've never even met. Thank you for protecting me, my family, and our freedom. I will forever be grateful. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Never Forget

9/11/2001

We will never forget.

I was 10 years old on 9/11. I woke up that morning in September with no idea that that day would be the single most devastating event in US history. 

My mom was in the kitchen making breakfast when my dad called to tell us that a plane had just flown into a building in New York. I remember her telling me that it was probably just a small plane that ran off course and everything would be okay. I got ready for the day and went to school not expecting the horror that would unfold minute by minute on the TV set in my class room.

I arrived at school just in time to watch the 2nd tower fall. I remember people crying, my teacher in particular was in complete shock. No one knew what to do, so we just stared at the screen for hours watching the chaos in NYC, the devastation at the Pentagon in DC, and an open scar in a Pennsylvanian field.
I remember crying with my friends, so scared and so hurt not only for my country, but for all those involved and all of their loved ones and friends. I remember thinking, "How could anyone do this to other human beings?" The hurt never went away, it has been 9 years and I still remember that day clearer than any other day in my life.

May God be with all those who lost parents, children, brothers, sisters, spouses, friends, and co-workers. And may all 2,976 people who lost their lives that day rest in peace.

May God Bless America!




Where were you on that September day?


"Justice will be served and the battle will rage:
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.
And you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.
'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way!

Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the Red, White and Blue."

Wow

Sorry about all these random videos, but I was so excited about this one that I had to share it with someone!

These kids are amazing! I wish I could have gone to this elementary school!

And is it just me, or is the teacher extremely attractive?

May/June Obessions

Good news friends! I finally got my laptop fixed! I accidentally cracked the screen a few months ago and it was really difficult to see what I was writing. I was just going to live with it since fixing it through Apple would be almost $400! But then my friend referred me to MacReboot, which is WAAAAY cheaper! So thank you Neil and thanks MacReboot! I would definitely recommend them to anyone who owns a Mac and needs some repairs.

So without further ado, I will now share with you some things that I have loved the past two months...

1. Neon Trees

I just love this band... I heard their song Animal on The Hills a few weeks ago and decided to look them up online. I ended up getting their album Habits and have been listening to them ever since! I also found out that they are right here from Utah! My personal favorite is their song 1983, it's super catchy and perfect for summer :]

2. doTERRA

My mom introduced me to this company. They are also based out of Utah, and they are the only Essential Oil company in the world that manufactures their oils organically, and every oil is 100% pure! They don't add fillers or nasty preservatives like other companies do. Personally, I don't like taking medicine. It usually just makes me more sick and the side effects are horrible. But this stuff is completely natural straight from Mother Nature herself! People have been using oils for thousands of years! They were so valuable, in fact, that some of them were worth more than gold! We bought a kit about a month ago and it has really blessed our family. I am planning on doing a post all about doTERRA in a day or tow, so I will go into further details then. 

3. Hot Topic Nail Polish

I bought a bottle of Shocking Pink about a month ago and between my sister and I, we have used almost half the bottle already! All of Hot Topic's colors are super bright and fun! They even have clear nail polish that glows in black-light. How fun would that be when you go out dancing?

4. Arbonne Cosmetics

This is the best makeup I have ever used. I have the Makeup Primer, Creme Concealer, Perfecting Liquid Foundation with SPF 15. This stuff is magic. It doesn't get all cakey like most foundations, and it honestly lasts all day. Love it!

5. Bed Head Self Absorbed Shampoo and Conditioner

I have always liked Bed Head, their products smell amazing! I bought this kind last week and have fallen in love. It smells just like orange soda, and makes my hair super soft. The scent is perfect for summer and   all the vitamins and nutrients help repair hair damaged from all the sunbathing. 

6. African Ice

Nothing says summer like shaved ice on a hot day. What makes this place special? Well, besides the fact that it tastes a million times better than all the other snow shacks, they help change the world one cup of shaved ice at a time. Half of every purchase goes to someone in Africa trying to build a business. Every shack has an are with three or four yellow funnels with pictures of someone from Africa and a little description about who they are and what kind of business they are trying to build. When you buy a snow cone, you get a little coin that you put into the funnel of your choice. Every coin represents $1. My favorite flavor is banana coconut with lots of cream! Mmmmm! 

If you are ever in Utah during the summer, make sure you stop and get an African Ice!

Create

I love this video. It has a great message and the music is beautiful too. 

It really doesn't matter what you believe in, but I think this video rings true for us all. And I think it's really neat to know that the things we create will live on far after we ourselves have left this world. When we create, we will never be forgotten.

This day...

Yesterday was one of those days that I was set to autopilot. I rolled out of bed, got ready for the day still half asleep, drove to school without thinking, didn't pay any attention in class, then went to work in a daze. Nothing special happened. Probably because I wasn't even aware of what was going on around me. 

Today I promise to open my eyes and see the beauty that is everyday life. I don't want to think back on what I accomplished each day and not remember anything... Just another day wasted.

Here are 17 ideas to to make today AWESOME!:

1. Have a deep conversation with a stranger.

2. Crack out a coloring book and crayons and have at it!

3. Go for a walk somewhere you've never been before.

4. Dress up in something crazy and have a dance party in your kitchen.

5. Send someone flowers anonymously.

6. Make little notes of encouragement and leave them places people will find them. (Library books, car wipers, restaurant menus, bathroom mirrors, etc.)

7. Take a Zumba class. 

8. Wake up at dawn and watch the sunrise.

9. Make smores over you toaster.

10. Watch your favorite movie in a different language.

11. Forget walking, skip!

12. Go to the nearest Hobby Lobby or any other craft store and spend no more than $10. Then make something to decorate a room in your house.

13. Make cookies and give them to your neighbor.

14. Buy a pet goldfish and give him the silliest name you can think of.

15. Paint or draw your self portrait.

16. Go out to eat and pick your meal by closing your eyes and pointing at the menu.

17. Volunteer for charity.

What are some things you do to make each day special? 

#19 Festival of Colors

On the last full moon of the lunar month, Hindu's and many other people all over the world celebrate the end of Winter and the arrival of Spring. They do so by having a Holi Festival, aka the Festival of Colors. Thousands gather together and are given, or purchase, bags of vibrant colored flour/chalk and count down until a full blown "color war".

The biggest Holi Festival in the United States is held at the Lotus Krishna Temple in a small town here in Utah called Spanish Fork. People fly in from all over the US to attend, and thousands of Utah residents make the drive to Spanish Fork every year. Well over 30,000 people participated this year and 50,000 bags of colors were imported from India and were completely sold out.

I had the opportunity to go to the second session yesterday and it was honestly one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I went with some of my close high school friends and we almost didn't make it on time. Spanish Fork is about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City and normally takes about an hour to get there. There were so many people on the freeway driving down there that it took almost 2 hours. People were parking up and down the streets all over the town and we had to park about a mile or so away. We got there just two minutes before the countdown started and when we went to buy the bags of colors they had been sold out for over 20 minutes. So we just headed down into the crowd and counted down with the tens of thousands of other people.

When the countdown ended handfuls of colors were thrown up into the sky, and into people's faces :] The air was so thick with colors that we could hardly breathe for a few minutes.

We sang, we danced, we celebrated!

Charity, Melissa, and I

Me and Mary Joy!

Will's face!

My eye.

Charity's eye.

Laura and I.

Charity and Mary.

Melissa and I.

Llamas!

Here are a few videos of the festival... MAKE SURE TO WATCH THEM!!

I love learning about other cultures and religions and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. I think a lot of times people fear things they don't understand, and some of the time they don't want to take the time to understand because they have already made their own assumptions. If we would just take the time to get to know people and learn about what they believe and where they are coming from, we will realize that despite our differences, we have a lot in common. We are all human and we all share this world.

Going to this festival really opened up my eyes and made me realize even more that we are all in this together and despite our differences, we need to love and take care of each other. It doesn't matter where you come from, what you believe in or what color your skin is: we are all alike in some way or another. 

This festival was all about bringing people from all different backgrounds together to celebrate something we can all relate to. Nobody cared if you were Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or any other religion and it honestly gave me hope that someday we can all put our differences aside and learn to finally get along and learn to live together peacefully. 

Needless to say, I am making the Festival of Colors an annual tradition from here on out. It was honestly one of the greatest things I have ever had the chance to be a part of and I can't wait to go again next year.  

If you ever have the chance to go to this festival DO IT! Just be prepared to get super messy and sneeze out rainbows for a few days after. I promise you won't ever regret it!

The Buried Life

If you have never seen this show then you are seriously missing out. I stumbled upon it not too long ago and it has honestly changed my whole perspective on life. 

It's about four (very attractive) Canadian boys,  that were fed up with racing through life with no direction and decided to slow down and focus on what's really important. They made a list of 100 things they wanted to do before they died, bought a big purple bus, got their own show on MTV, and then set out on the road to accomplish their goals. What makes their efforts even more memorable is the fact that for every item they do on their list, they help someone else cross off something on their's. 

I want to be able to look back on my life when I'm lying on my deathbed and honestly say that I don't regret a single moment. I want to be able to say that not a second was wasted and that I accomplished, or at least tried my absolute hardest, to achieve my goals and dreams. I want to be able to say that life didn't scare me, that I took every chance that came my way and made the most out of what God gave me. When I die I want a part of me to live on through my stories and through every person I touched.

 I want to die knowing that I lived. 

So here is the question...

Here is my current list! 

Free Rice!

FreeRice.com

I found this website a while back and had totally forgotten about it. I was doing some research on how I could help with the efforts in Haiti and just happened to stumble upon it. It's an amazing website that not only donates rice to struggling countries, but also sharpens your noggin. 

It gives you trivia questions in a variety of subjects: Geography, Spanish, French, math, vocab, chemistry, art, etc. For every question you answer correctly, they donate 10 grains of rice! Right now the majority of the proceeds are going to the people of Haiti. 

Please take some time to check out this website and make a difference in the world. It may not seem like much, but your contribution will change someone's life.