Misery

I'm still sick and somehow am managing to feel more miserable as opposed to getting better. I have a Biology midterm tomorrow that I haven't even started studying for. My mind feels like mush and my body aches and my study guide looks forever long. I think I just might get my first F tomorrow. agh... please shoot me. Just thought I'd share my misery with you all.

BYU Memories

In the spirit of posting slideshows I decided to post one I made for one of my best friend's b-days about a year ago. Each of these people left me a better person. Thank you and I love you.

Drug Induced Epiphany

Being sick is really no fun. It's only October and I've already caught something. Hopefully it'll be the only thing I catch this season. I'm normally the type of person who likes to let nature take its course and avoid popping pills at all costs, but being a student I want to make sure I can function as quickly as possible and not miss class. So I've been going against my natural tendencies and choking down over-sized orange and blue/green gel caps. I've noticed my nighttime medicine makes me feel a little funny and well, I had the strangest experience last night.
Maybe this is slightly blasphemous, but for the longest time I've been dealing with... to put it mildly, a bad taste in my mouth about our life here on Earth. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suicidal, but I eagerly await the day this life is over. With what I've been taught about the afterlife, I can't wait to get there. In my woozy thoughts last night, for some reason I started thinking about this whole thing. Daniel gets a little frustrated with the way I feel about this life. He thinks it means that I don't feel anything good has come out of my life on Earth. This is not true at all. I am grateful for all the wonderful things and maybe not so wonderful things that have happened to me while I'm here. I yearn for an ending, not necessarily for myself (while I can't exclude myself entirely), but for the world around me. It seems like the world keeps getting worse and worse and there is so much suffering everywhere. Things are happening that are so evil, I can't comprehend. I get angry for the children in Africa that have to leave their families and live on the run just so they aren't forced into joining some rebel army that commits hideous acts. I am angry for the women and children that are being abused and tormented. My mind cannot grasp how a loving Father in Heaven can let his children go through these things. Do I doubt that he loves each and every one of us? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, my heart aches immeasurably and I find myself wishing it was all over.
Last night I felt this sudden urgency to live life to its fullest. It was the strangest feeling. I felt this fear overcome me that soon this life would be over and I would be looking back and wishing I would've appreciated it more. This life is a gift and I should cherish it, and my Heavenly Father is aware of all the suffering and His blessings will surpass every pain that has been felt or endured. I really need to make an effort to be more faithful. One day I'll understand, but until then I just need need to remain faithful.

Fun Times in Gallipolis, OH!

I decided that Daniel and I need to make the most of our time together and take a break from concentrating to hard on the future. I think in life we spend so much time looking forward that we forget to appreciate living in the moment. So I really want to make more of an effort to make memories. This life is short, why not enjoy it? Seize the day!

Goodmorning Sunshine!

Ok ok, it's true. I don't always look forward to Sundays with the right attitude. Daniel and I made a last minute trip up to Columbus and didn't get home until 1 AM. So when my alarm went off this morning I hit snooze twice and finally just turned it off completely, at the same time pulling the covers over my head. My husband had already been awake since 6 preparing his Sunday school lesson, so I figured it would only be a matter of time before he came in to try and wake me. Wrapped up all snug in bed I managed to convince myself that I was too exhausted to go to church and that I needed a day off from church. Hey, I'm not perfect, nor do I pretend to be! Don't get me wrong. I love my church and have a strong testimony of it's truth and the blessings it has brought to my life, but I most certainly have my moments of weakness. I braced myself for the unpleasant sound of my dear husbands approaching footsteps. The door quietly opened and Daniel gently shook me. Still with eyes closed I pretended to snooze right through. You have to love the persistence of my husband. He is not easily deterred. His gentle shaking became a little more forceful along with a sing song "It's time to wake up, Cyd! 30 minutes until we have to leave!" I groaned and tried to escape further under the covers. I could almost feel his eyes narrowing. He continued to plead and even went to the closet and told me he was picking out my outfit for church. I thought maybe if I ignored him long enough he would let me finally sleep in peace. Not the case. He shook me some more, bounced on the bed and finally resorted to cover stealing. "If you don't come to church I'm going to stand here and make sure you don't go back to sleep!" He yanked all the blankets off the bed and I rolled over to glare at him, ready to give him a piece of my mind. When I saw the puppy dog look on his face, my heart melted and all I could do was laugh. I have a wonderful husband. He keeps me in line and I'm so grateful for him. I made it to church today, thanks to him, and as always, I was glad I went. Thank goodness for righteous persistent husbands.

Nail Kits from the Dead Sea or something like that

Mondays are Daniel's day off and because I didn't have anything going on at school, I decided to take a "sick" day and go play with my hubby. We decided to take a trip to Huntington, WV (the closest city to us) and go shopping, eat dinner, see a movie, etc. While at the mall an overly friendly man in his late 20's was standing at a kiosk with a tray of lotion samples. I had no intention or interest in trying this lotion, but as the tray was thrust in my face along with a big smile, my heart softened and I reached out and took a sample despite knowing what would follow.
The man proceeded to tell me about this wonderful nail filing kit that would smooth away all the ridges from my nails and only needed to be maintained once a month and he even was kind enough to let me smell all 4 scents that they carried.
"Which is your favorite?" he asked.
"Well... uh... I think I like the Olive." As I said this I knew I was setting myself for trouble. I walked into the trap knowingly and now was looking for the most polite way to disappoint the guy. He quickly grabbed a new package of the Olive Box and held it out towards me expectantly.
"Take it." he said. I just kind of stared, at this point starting to feel uncomfortable. "Today we're having a special since it is Columbus Day. Usually this is 79.99, but today we are selling them for 49.99!"
I could already felt the guilt setting in. Ration told me it would be silly to buy this product, especially since I've been suckered into buying something similar a few years back and never ended up using it. But the guy was staring me down with these beady little eyes like he wouldn't take no for an answer. Nevertheless, I said "I don't think so, but I'll think about it."
"Listen, I'm going to do you a favor. Tell me somebody you'd like to get a Christmas gift for."
Uh are you kidding? I just said no, buddy. I just smiled politely and said "I'm sorry, I really don't think I want to pay $50 for this."
He nods and says "just a moment" and then walks over to his cash register to look at some folded piece of paper. He smiles and comes back over. "I have a great deal for you. I am going to sell you the buffer and the cuticle oil for only $25 and toss in these other two things free of charge! Take it!"
At this point, I'm starting to get mad. This guy just can't take no for an answer and now he is being a little too pushy. Still, I managed to keep my cool and hoping the guy would back off I said "Well, I still have more shopping to do, so I will think about that deal and I might come back later."
The guy took a step back and looked as if he was going to chop my head off. "Are you joking with me?! That's less than 1/3 of the original price! I can't believe you wouldn't take this deal!" He was clearly upset with me and for some reason thought he could make me purchase his product by the means of making me feel like an idiot. Sorry bub, I don't think so. Honestly, what is wrong with people? I used to work in sales so I know the pain and anguish of it, but goodness gracious! I hate people who think it's okay to get mad just because they didn't sell their stupid product. I was fuming for the rest of the time we were at the mall and was tempted to go back and take his stupid olive scented nail kit and smack him over the head with it. Luckily my rational husband was there to talk sense into me, but it did take me a little bit to simmer down. He better just hope I don't come back to that mall alone... ;)

Sucked In

So I've been hearing that these Stephanie Meyer Twilight series are all the rage and since I used to live in Port Angeles, my interest was piqued. I acquired the first book in the series and read it in two days. It's definitely not the most amazing book I've ever read, but it's a very cute love story and well... obviously I liked it if I read it in two days. This morning I was about to log into my myspace account and I saw an ad for a trailer for a movie coming out Nov. 21 on the first book. I watched it, and can I just say now that I'm intensely excited? I'm trying to not fall into the masses of swooning women. It's just nice to actually find a nice clean love story and not have to worry about it being too adult. What can I say? I think I'm getting sucked in.