"To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury,

and refinement rather than fashion,

to be worthy, not respectable and wealthy not rich;

to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly,

to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages,

with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, 

to all bravely await occasions, hurry never.

In a word to let the spiritual unbidden

and unconscious grow up through the common.

This is to be my symphony."

William Henry Channing

I suppose you all want to know what I'm doing with my free time. No? Well I'm going to tell you anyway. Two main things have taken over my life.


1. I'm having hilarious conversations with my self. True story. And I know they're not hilarious. I think I might be going a little crazy.


2. I'm writing a comic book, or more correctly I'm writing the beginnings of a comic book. There is no way I could get it done before I leave. I've been geeking out for a solid week and a half. seriously. Here's are some pictures to prove it. 

The Jade Duchess is going to be so awesome. She is of course going to be uber fashionable. I'm thinking...yeah I'm way too excited about this. Maybe I should find some friends to hang out with.

3. I just found this totally awesome blog and I'm going to start getting crafty with clothes... clothes that I can take on my mission obviously. Although I think I might make a pair of those pink grandma pants that she has made. She's brilliant I tell you. The only problem is she's from Provo and for some reason or other I am really not liking Provo girls right now. Especially zoobs. No offense meant to any of you out there, especially my good old friends. I just...yeah it's a difficult thing to explain. Let's just say another oddity I've acquired from my lack of friends.  

4. I'm so excited for my mission. Oh my goodness. I'm finally past half way there and it's going to be so great. I can't wait to leave. Also I really should be studying and getting ready. I'll start tomorrow, right?

5. I'm working. It's pretty dang exciting if you know what I mean. 

6. I'm experiencing a loss of appetite. Let's blame it on the Hepatitis A&B vacs that I had to get. Don't worry, I'm not going through an eating disorder or anything like that...or maybe I am? Who knows? Because I sure don't, but I do know and I can tell you that I'm not. 

7. I'm going to be playing on a BYU intramural team. Dang, I had better come to terms with my zoob hatred/zoobphobia before I start playing so I don't get banned from the league.  

8. Spanish Fork league is going well. I'm on a new team now. Not my High School team. Did I ever blog about that? I don't know. At the beginning of the summer I was playing with the girls from HS and it was great. We took the championship. This season there was some miscommunication and I joined another team. Which is good because now I'm meeting all 

kinds of new people...they're just all married with kids, or most of them are anyway.

9. I'm trying to mentally prepare for my farewell. I haven't given a talk in church since...oh young womens...? Over 3 years ago. 

10. And now I'm going for a small bike ride with my best friend Brin who is still here, thankfully. 

Mustache March

Just Another Construction Paper Craft

I love Xavi...Puyol...Pique... Messi...FC Barcelona. Spanish soccer is a beautiful thing. It's a game of passing with eloquence. I have never been so fascinated with a team passing as when I watch the Spanish National team/Barcelona play. It's smooth, quick, easy...they can get in three or four passes where a normal team would only get in one. Xavi. I'm totally in love with him. He is like this calm on the field that I can't get enough of. Xavi, where is Xavi? And I panic when he's not on the field, but when he's there it's like no biggie we've got this game. He's a football romantic and it's the best thing ever. Read one of his interviews and you'll understand (this one is pretty great).  Now Barcelona just needs to get rid of Villa. He's to scrappy of a player. Yeah he's Spanish, but he doesn't play like he is. Sure he gets goals, but they aren't pretty in fact they are usually quite ugly. He plays awkward and I really don't care for him. Fernando Torres on the other hand is a really beauty. If they could get him it would be a whole different story. Also I would really like to see Sergio Ramos out there on their defense. He's another one of the Spanish power houses. The days of Real Madrid are over and the days of Barcelona have already begun.This one goes out to my team FC Barcelona. Congrats on beating Arsenal. And yes, it is hanging on my wall right now.

"It was that or die. I'm a romantic. I like the fact that talent, technical ability, is valued above physical condition now. I'm glad that's the priority; if it wasn't, there wouldn't be the same spectacle. Football is played to win but our satisfaction is double. Other teams win and they're happy, but it's not the same. The identity is lacking. The result is an impostor in football. You can do things really, really well – last year we were better than Inter Milan – but did not win. There's something greater than the result, more lasting. A legacy. Inter won the Champions League but no one talks about them. People discovered me since Euro 2008, but I've been playing the same way for years. It is true, though, that I have grown in confidence and tranquillity. And that comes with success."

-Xavi, On being asked if he was a defender of the Faith, an ideologue

Happy Valentines Day

Yes, I realize that it is a month and a day late. I hope you all had a very good one because I sure did. No, for the third consecutive year, oh wait I mean my whole life, I haven't had a significant someone to share the day of love with. Regardless of this fact, I still enjoyed it immensely. I constantly hear people saying that it's "Single Awareness Day." It's true that in the past my views were of a similar nature, but this year it was different. I had three roommates engaged or on the verge of being engaged which left me and Bailey single and, at least for me, far from anything else. The theme of my Valentines Day was not that I was single, but that I was completely surrounded by people who I loved. So I made dinner for my brother and cookies for FHE and valentines for my roommates and family.

For my Mom and Dad

For Jane and Princeton

For Laura, Aaron, and Rachel

Insert Jon and Matt's here. I forgot to take pictures of them. :(

For Cate

Roommates:

For Michelle

For Bailey

For Aubrey

For Hailey