Perspective

Sometimes, when a good day turns bad, you just have to remember why it was good in the first place. That was the lesson I learned today. There's a long story behind this involving an educational crisis, but I figured I won't waste your time making you read about it. The sun is shining, the weather is nice (for February), and things will work out the way they should. That's all.

Nut-ell-a, [nuh-tel-la] -noun A delicious tub of fat and chocolate

Today I was looking at one of my favorite food websites, foodgawker.com, and I learned that it is World Nutella Day. So I would like to celebrate by listing some of my favorite things/memories that involve Nutella.

1. Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake cupcake at The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe.
2. 39 girls going through tubs and tubs of Nutella in London. The poor Schuellers couldn't keep up with our demands!
3. Nutella on fruit
4. Nutella on toast
5. Nutella milkshakes
6. Nutella won-tons (my specialty, thank you to Giada de Laurentiis for the recipe)
7. Nutella right out of the jar with a spoon
8. The gallon-size tubs of Nutella available at Marks and Spencer in England. You just can't find that in America.

Today I encourage everyone, if you've never had it, to try some Nutella. You won't regret it! :)

Lists

I saw this on my friend Kylie's blog and thought I should have some fun. Someday I'll do all 100!

Bold the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visted Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. got flowers for no reason
64. donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. gone sky diving
66.visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

54! I'm slowly getting there. Not bad for only being 20! :)

English 375

Here is why I love English.

Today in my Victorian literature class we were studying Matthew Arnold's poem, "The Scholar-Gypsy." We spent most of the class period comparing the scholar gypsy's quest of educating people through nature to Harry Potter's quest to collect Horcruxes. Then we discussed how the scholar-gypsy's goal was to have the ability to control the minds of men. My teacher compared this goal to the Imperius Curse. Awesome.

Patience

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." Helen Keller

I've been doing some observing (surprised?) this past week. And the thing I want to observe about is patience. Now, I am not a patient person. If you know me you know that. I avoid long lines whenever possible, and waiting for something that I know is coming up (a date, a vacation, etc.) kills me. But this kind of patience is different. The kind of patience I'm talking about is...I don't even have a name for it. Maybe I'll call it Inadvertent Patience. This kind of patience is when you're waiting for something that you might not even realize you're waiting for. I'll just describe it and maybe it'll make sense.

I have a great friend who has been waiting for something to happen for a while. She has friends who have it, and she has always set goals for herself to do in her waiting time knowing that eventually it would come to her too. In the time that she started waiting for this, she has had some struggles and challenges, and some have been harder than others to overcome. But in the past few months she has been given some opportunities that have made her blossom. I have watched her work so hard to be good, to do the things she is supposed to do. She is constantly giving service to others by writing notes, delivering cookies, listening to friends who are dealing with break-ups, always putting herself second. She is content with herself, happy with where she is and what she id doing. And in the past week or so, her patience is paying off. Something good is happening to her, and it is making her so happy!

I believe that good things come to those who wait. Sometimes, seeking for something doesn't make it come any sooner. I think God tests us to see how good we are when we are inadvertently waiting for something. And my friend has been doing great! This is just something I have been thinking about, and it's something I need to work on. Being selfless and content with who you are makes all the frustrations, tears, and struggles worth it, because it always pays off.

Leggings

I just have to ask a question, and hopefully I don't offend anybody, but this has just gotten me curious lately.

Since when did leggings become the new pants?

I love leggings...under dresses, skirts, and long sweaters. But to wear them with a top that doesn't go past your hips? I'm not sure about that. I guess I'm just self-conscious and don't want the whole world seeing every nook and cranny of that area of my legs and waist. Maybe you're okay with it. But anyway. Thoughts?

2010

Happy New Years! So far 2010 has been a pretty good year. School started last week, and it is definitely going to be a challenging semester, but I am looking forward to it. I'm well into my major and minor, and I love both of them! Here's the schedule:

Public Relations: My professor has worked in the field of PR for over 30 years, so he knows his stuff. He's very professional and expects the same from us, and I'm ready for it.

Victorian Literature: I LOVE this class! We're reading Dickens, Browning, and many other Victorian writers. This is my favorite literary time period, so I'm excited for this one.

Humanities: I LOVE art, and this class has been great. Right now we're studying the Northern Renaissance (Germany, the Netherlands, etc.), and I love the religious symbolism in the paintings we've looked at. Plus we get to study Hamlet!

Persuasive Writing: This class is going to be fun. I'm a bit of an arguer, so I'm excited to write some papers where I get to persuade people why they should do something. Plus it will help me with my PR class a lot.

And finally, a Linguistics class titled "Modern American Usage." Not my favorite class ever, but it's going to help me in my editing emphasis.

So that plus 20 hours of work per week and lots of homework is going to keep me nice and busy. I love BYU!