YES!

Today, I met with the Stake President and now my papers are officially turned in! Let me just say that there are some amazing men in the Stake. They are so kind and genuine. I have been blessed and I am so grateful with how fast everything has come together. I know that I am supposed to go on a mission and share the gospel with others as well as gain a stronger testimony of my own. I cannot wait to find out where I will be called, the anticipation is killing me! I want to see the faces of the people I will be serving already!
I think I have had an adrenaline rush these past couple of weeks and now I am having such a hard time focusing on school work. There are only a couple weeks left so let's hope I can pull through.

I Hope They Call Me

When I turned 21 back in June, I was tossing up the idea of staying here in AZ and going to school, or putting in my papers and going on a mission. I had the feeling I should go on a mission but I went against my gut and stayed here instead. I have come to find, that my wants and needs are not always the Lord's wants and needs. I have been stuck in this rut for the past few months and I think it was the Lord's way of telling me, "I have a plan for you but I need you to open your heart and listen."
This past Sunday I prayed and fasted for guidance as to what I should do. Tuesday night I got my answer. I had just gotten home and went upstairs to do my homework. A short while later my mum came home from spending the evening at the Temple. She said she was thinking about me and my situation and a thought came across her mind. She then asked me, "Have you ever thought about going on a mission?" My heart skipped a beat and I near about lost my breath. It was an answer to my prayer. I can honestly say that God works through other's and I couldn't be more grateful. I was scared and nervous about this answer, so I asked my dad for a blessing yesterday and this blessing just confirmed to me that I need to go.
So there you have it, I am going on a MISSION! I am so nervous and haven't had much of an appetite today but I am so excited. I know that this is the right decision and I cannot wait to get out there and serve where I am needed. I know God lives and that He loves us. He answers prayers and He knows our needs. I know Jesus Christ lives. He is our Elder Brother and our Redeemer. This gospel is true and I am blessed to have the light that it brings into my life.
I'll keep everyone posted on my progress :)

The Chain

Alright, so I went with another Ingrid Michaelson song. I really appreciate all the love that I got from the last video and smile just thinking of how supportive you all are. I am not a singer by any means but I love music and I have picked up the guitar a lot more. I think the aucoustic guitar was meant to have a voice along with it. This song is one of my favorites by her.

Ingrid Michaelson

So let me first start off by saying that I NEVER do this. I am a person who doesn't voluntarily post my shenanigans online but I did decide to post this. I got this guitar for Christmas a few years ago and have picked up a few songs here and there. I can't do the fancy handwork or strumming by any means but I can play the easy chords. Oh, and I have never really tried to play a song in its entirety. And the second thing is, why did I wait so long to learn an Ingrid Michaelson song? I love her music but never thought to try and play it. I picked up this song yesterday and this was the easiest song ever to learn!

3

I have been doing my juice fast for the past three days and I am definitely seeing results. I am down 7 pounds already. I have been drinking plenty of water and went on a fantastic walk today. I have been experimenting with different juices and have found I like some but others not so much. It has been hard! I miss food but this reboot means more to me than a plate of chicken fettuchini alfredo with a side of breadsticks. Although, writing that just made my mouth water. They say the first three days are the hardest. Today, I definitely felt the side effects. The tiredness and headache caused me to be a bit short with my family this morning which I am not too proud of. I mean I've been angry before but I literally could not control myself from my emotions this morning. Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.
I have been learning so much about the fruits and veggies we eat which most of us don't eat enough of. The benefits of these foods are absolutely phenomenal. Did you know that celery is a coumarin which have been shown to help in the prevention of cancer? Did you know that apple's help in the prevention of Alzheimer's and lower cholesterol? Did you know that carrots reduce the risk of a stroke and nourish our skin? So my parents were right. Veggies are good!

Cleansing

A couple weeks ago, my family and I watched a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. It was one of those random finds on Netflix but it opened my eyes to a whole new side of will power and the fight to become healthy. If you do have Netflix, it is totally worth the watch. Go to the link and check it out. This movie was brilliant! It was very moving and made me want to change. This movie was a bit more entertaining because the man who made it is from Australia. If that's not incentive enough to watch it, then I don't know what is.

My mum and dad decided, after a long discussion, to buy a juicer and we'd give it a try. We got the juicer a few days ago and have been having fun playing around with different juices. I have decided to go for 21 DAYS!!! I am starting this Saturday and am excited about it. This is where you say "What the hell?" It may seem ridiculous to drink straight up fruit and veggie juice for that long of period. But, after doing research, I found that it is okay to do this kind of juice fast every once and a while. Our bodies need it. We build up toxins in our body and doing these cleanses can give our body a reboot.

I have been yo-yo dieting for a couple years and I am so sick of it. I hate getting on the scale and looking down. I torcher myself in that way. Then I think "Oh well, what's another couple pounds going to do?" So I eat more and more while the belt notches get further and further away. It's not a good mentality to have and I am SO done. This week I am concentrating on preparing my body for the cleanse. This week is about cutting out carbs, sugar and processed foods. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT BREAD! I think I inherited the carbohydrate gene from my mum. Although while she can eat and hardly gain a pound, I on the other hand put on the pounds like crazy!

I am really trying to focus on becoming healthy and break my addiction to food because that's what I think I have. An addiction. And it doesn't do me any good. I would love to be able to feel more confident and healthier about myself. I want to find out how much will power I can have. God give me strength! I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Living the HI life

So...I'm here in Hawaii and life is good. I was supposed to get here on the 31st but things didn't go exactly as planned. I woke up at 4:30am and got everything together then headed out with my mum and dad to the airport. After saying our goodbyes I went through security and waited at gate 5 for the HA35, 8am flight, to Honolulu. After buying a water bottle from the gift store I headed back and found a whole bunch of people frazzled with disappointing looks on their faces. I asked the man closest to me what was going on and he said that there was a 6-8 hour delay! I quickly called my mum asking what I should do. I was going to stick it out but that only lasted till noon because of the fact that my plane was now supposed to leave at 9pm. I politely asked the assistants at the desk if I could change my flight to the next day. Surprisingly the lady said that there was only one seat left! Let's just say that the Lord blesses us more than I will ever be able to comprehend. I spent he rest of the afternoon sleeping and had a very relaxing new year's eve. I woke up New Years Day and headed out on my flight. Lucky for me there was a girl that I new back when I was young who was also going to school there. When we arrived we found our transportation easily and arrived to campus.
I will never take the beauty of this earth for granted again. It is so lush and green here. Heavenly Father ceases to amaze me with the beauty He has surrounded me with. I cannot believe I'm here. It's like I'm in a dream, not making it to a full reality yet.
I miss my family but I know at this time, this is where I am supposed to be. In a blessing given to me, I was told that the places I saw and the people I met would be familiar and I can honestly say that I feel the familiarity. I know I am going to love it here and live this experience to the fullest.
Pictures coming soon. Loves all around!