Best Mommy Ever!

It turns out I have the best mommy ever. I got in the mail today a package with 12 Days of Christmas gifts for all the days until the 23rd when I'll be home! She also sent me a nativity set to put out along with my Christmas tree, so now I finally have some decorations here in my room in California :) Seriously, it was the best package ever!!!!!

10 Ways To Know You Live In A Hick Town In The Middle Of Nowhwere

This post is inspired by a conversation I had a week ago with a couple of co-workers. We were talking about how we were all from small towns and were wondering which of us lived in the most podunk town. I don’t think we ever came to a conclusion, but upon further reflection I feel like I should win that award, because not only do I come from a hick town, but it is also in the middle of nowhere. My co-workers live in towns that are remote, but within an hour can get to somewhere a little more civilized, whereas I have to travel about 3 hours before hitting a “big” city. And so here it is, my ode to living in Central Oregon, 10 ways to know that you live in a hick town in the middle of nowhere:
#10—You give directions like turn at the pine tree.
#9—Names are ever so descriptive, like Alfalfa, where everyone who lives there grows alfalfa. Or Bend, so named because that’s where the river bends. Or Crooked River.
#8—In 150 miles from the border of California to my home town I passed more national forests, state parks, lakes, volcanoes, lava caves and mountains than I did towns. By like a factor of 20. At least.
#7—Have you ever heard of Oregon Institute of Technology? Me neither. But they exist. And clearly they don’t get many students, since they still haven’t invented technology akin to a snow plow, since I drove 150 miles on pure snow, on a sunny day.
#6—I once saw a postcard that had a picture of an old dude in a cowboy hat glaring at a UFO. The caption said “Must be those darn Californians again”. It’s a pretty universal view.
#5—The #1 most coveted job in high school is working at the ghetto bowling alley. Only the really cool popular people can get that job. The rest have to work at gas stations. High school jobs often become life careers as well. Unless you’re lucky enough to get hired by Wal-Mart after graduation.
#4—The most happening time of the day is Happy Hour at the fast food burger joint Sonic, followed by the social outing of the day at Wal-Mart.
#3—Our county fair is mostly like any other fair, with all the rides and carnival games, but there’s also a bazillion barns full of every kind of livestock imaginable. And let’s not forget the ginormous rodeo that’s going on all days of the fair. And pretty much the only musicians that come to our county fair are country singers. Unless you count Weird Al.
#2—On Thanksgiving morning me and my mom had to run to the grocery store to pick up some last minute supplies. And so we went in pajamas, hair not done, no make-up, no shower, no bra. All that was missing was the slippers, but there was a foot of snow outside, so that wasn’t going to happen. The best part, everyone else in the grocery store was dressed EXACTLY the same.
#1—Chainsaw Creations. I’ve never been inside this store, but every time I drive by it makes me want to laugh. There are literally giant wooden totem pole-like bears, or any other kind of animal you could want. All made from chainsaws. Really???

The Goose is Getting Fat

Christmas is coming!! I love Christmas so so so much, and one of the MANY reasons that I love it is because of all the wonderful traditions that my family has. Here are some of my favorites:

Decorate on Thanksgiving
Every year after we have our Thanksgiving meal, we decorate our house for Christmas. We put up the tree, bust out the Christmas music and drink egg nog for the first time! Nothing gets me more excited for Christmas than getting out all of our fun decorations that have so many amazing memories attached to them!

12 days of Christmas
This is my absolute favorite tradition. Starting the 13th of December, we start the 12 Days of Christmas. As a family we open a present each night, celebrating Christmas. The present we open usually is something like a new Christmas CD, or a new decoration, or a pair of Christmas socks for each of us, or new ornaments for the tree, or a Christmas movie, or something crafty like a gingerbread house kit. Then, on the 12th Day of Christmas, Christmas Eve, our present for that night is a new pair of pajamas to wear to bed that night! This tradition is by far the most fun!

Mom’s Christmas “Play”
This tradition started when I was really little of me and my brother re-enacting the Christmas story for my mom on Christmas Eve. As we’ve gotten older and my sister came along, it’s progressed a little into something of an annual creative desperate last minute production, which has produced such classics as last year’s Youtube video, a puppet show, a children’s picture book, and home videos including the “Hogwart’s Christmas special” with guest star ‘Donny Osmond’, “The 3 Wise Men” starring my sister as all 3 wise men, and “Best of Christmas Scenes” featuring our most illustrious celebrity guest yet, Hickberry herself (and in the words of that legendary persona, “huh, that’s a gud’n”).

Christmas Cookies
Every year I have 5 specific Christmas cookies that I must bake, and must give away (special bonus if they’re given away by ring’n’running). I always make wreath rice krispy treats, chocolate mint snaps, peppermint bark, chocolate chip cookies with Christmas M&M’s as the chips and sugar cookies with colored frosting and Christmas sprinkles!

Those are just a few of our annual traditions, but really I could go on forever describing things like Grandpa’s chocolate advent calendars, the Garfield Christmas movie and the Muppet Christmas Carol, camping out together on Christmas Eve, our special Christmas breakfast of tea rolls and soufflé, dinner of tree shaped pizzas, caroling with friends, etc, etc. Yep, Christmas is definitely the best time of the year in my family!!

Nightmare on El Camino Street

So this story actually starts a couple days ago when I had a nightmare that I was at work, and 7 patients randomly showed up at the same time and then were super angry and said that when I made the reminder call I told them the wrong time. The very next day in real life, a patient actually showed up and got angry because they claimed I said the wrong time in the reminder call. So then I got kind of paranoid to have dreams about work again. And then this crazy nightmare happened. If this one comes true, I’ll probably pass out from terror. Behold, the Nightmare on EL Camino Street:

It starts off as a fairly normal day at work, with the therapists, aides, front desk girls and patients all in the clinic. Then suddenly it starts to storm, and there’s tons of torrential rain and lightning and thunder. All of us workers have an emergency meeting to discuss how to handle this catastrophe, since no one can leave the clinic due to the horrible weather. So we all circle around, leaving the patients in another room, and probably the meeting was had, but I wasn’t paying attention because I was talking to one of my co-workers, Karen, who was also not paying attention to the meeting. She turned to me and said excitedly “I think Trevor is secretly in love with Jenny!” To which I replied “Jenny has a boyfriend.” Karen rolled her eyes and said “That’ll never last” and I was horrified because all I could think about was how Jenny just adopted 2 kittens, and I was acting like if her and her boyfriend broke up the kittens would be psychologically harmed, akin to kids going through a divorce. Clearly. I was so traumatized that I left Karen to go find Janet and Mary, who were randomly studying for a test, so I decided to help them. We were studying until suddenly Adonis comes up to us and says “What are you guys doing?!?!?! We have to find rooms!!” We didn’t understand what the heck he was talking about, so he adds “Weren’t you paying attention at the meeting? Everyone has to stay the night here because we can’t leave because of the weather! All the patients are getting rooms, we have to find some before they’re all gone!” At this point Trevor randomly appears, then says “That’s boring, you guys go do that while I go stand in the rain for a while” and then he walks off. Mary says she has too keep studying, and Janet just walks off, distracted because Brenda suddenly brought out a couple cakes. Adonis also runs off, and I decide to go look for a bed as well, and as I look around the clinic has suddenly turned into a ginormous 20 story mansion with billions of secret hidden rooms and secret passageways and it’s like a big maze getting from one room to the next. As I start to look for an empty room I run into Brian, who has decided he needs to make money for all of us so we can all have food to eat, so he set up a carnival booth for the patients. I keep looking for rooms with empty beds, but I can’t find any without patients in the crazy maze-mansion. At one point I run into Adonis and Trevor again, and no one has found a room yet, so Adonis runs off one way and me and Trevor go another way. After a few rooms we find Jenny and she joins us in the hunt. Finally us 3 reach the 20th floor which only has one room, and as we open the door to the room, we run into lasers, like you would find as a security thing in a museum or in a spy movie or something. We had accidently run into the lasers, so we were confused when no trap was set off, but then Trevor found the remote control to turn off the lasers, so we turned them off. Then we found a random old lady that had been tied to a chair and given a sleeping potion, kind of like Sleeping Beauty, except it was more like Sleeping Granny. Jenny was helping to revive Granny when I notice one of the patients coming up the stairs and to the door, and suddenly it clicks that the patients trapped Granny there on purpose, and the lasers were to let them know if anyone tried to rescue her. The patient came in and calmly yet evilly explained that now we knew the secret, so now they would have to kill us as well as Granny. He also showed us how the entire thing was live on TV, so the rest of the patients in the mansion could watch, and as we turned to the screen we could see Janet, Mary, Adonis and Brian trying to fight off evil patients. While me, Trevor and Jenny stare horrified at the screen, Granny suddenly yells, “So long suckers!” and punches a few patients and runs away, leaving us to fend for ourselves. We start running down secret stairs with patients yelling in rage chasing after us. I’m in front, and at one point I stop and turn around to see if Trevor and Jenny are still alive. I see Trevor turn the corner, but as I’m waiting to see if Jenny comes, I’m suddenly woken up by the sprinkler system going off right by my window. So I guess I’ll never know if everyone else made it out alive….

I left my heart in San Francisco

Today I went to the San Fransisco Zoo and saw a snow leopard!!!!!!!! I'm pretty sure I took a billion photos, plus a little video, plus I hung around the exhibit for like an hour, and I might have squealed out loud with joy and said things like "I LOVE YOU KITTY!!!!" Best day ever!!!!

My Snow Leopard Video

Josh Groban is probably my soul mate

In honor of facebook telling me that Josh Groban's new album "Illuminations" is coming out in November, this post is dedicated to the vocal angel that is Josh Groban. I forgot how completely in love I was with his music. Oh buddy. I'm pretty sure it is completely illegal and unfair that one person can have so much talent and be so good-looking and have such an adorable personality, but alas it is true, and now I will never find a real husband I'm sure because I'll always be comparing any guy I meet to Josh Groban. At least with Mr. Darcy you know he's complete fiction so of course no guy that perfect can exist. Not so with Mr. Groban. But enough of my rambling, lets get to the goods. Josh's new single, "Hidden Away", is now available on iTunes, and you can preview it here on his website:
http://www.joshgroban.com

Sometimes Commercials Are Hilarious

For some reason I cannot get enough of these GEICO commercials, they make me laugh sooooo hard every single time. If only all of Hulu's commercials were this funny....
Piggy
Honest Abe
Therapist
Snowball

Squirrel Jungle Gym

Every morning I pretty much wake up laughing, and this is why. Right outside my bedroom window is a squirrel jungle gym. There are multiple trees outside and early in the morning the squirrels love to climb up them as fast as they can and jump from branch to branch then to the roof then back to another tree and then they race down that tree and then start all over again. It is soooo entertaining to watch squirrel after squirrel fly past my window as soon as I open my eyes each morning, listening to the multiple thumps that come as they land on the roof. I love my life :)

Forse, Round 2

Even though I already posted this poem that I wrote earlier in the year, it reflects the exact emotion going through my mind and heart today, so I thought I'd post it again, just for kicks. Here it is, an ode to indecision, full of hope and dreams, and failure and heartbreak: Forse.

La parola più bella, piena di speranza, piena di opportunità: Forse
Ma anche la parola più brutta, più ingannevole, ti tradirà alla fine: Forse
Vale la pena sacrificare tutto per un sogno quasi impossibile? Forse
Ti importerà nella fine tutto che hai lasciato dietro di te nel cammino? Forse
Avrai la felicità? Avrai il successo? Troverai l’amore? Forse
Avrai il dolore? Sarai pieno di tristezza? Vedrai gli orrori? Forse
Il più grande il tesoro, il più grande il rischio
Ma devo tentare lo stesso?
Forse

Do we fight for the right to a night at the opera now?

I don't remember when I first fell in love with opera. It was probably the influence of my friend Nisha who got me hooked on musicals as well. I loved opera even before I started studying Italian and learned what they were actually saying, but I love it even more now. I even love the German operas. I especially love the opere buffe, or the funny operas. I think my brother enjoyed those too since I always forced him to come with me, and I think the tragedies bored him. In fact I'm pretty sure he fell asleep a couple times. My favorite all time opera that I've seen was Il barbiere di Siviglia, which I saw when I was in Venice. Oh buddy was that fantastic. On my bucket list I have still left to see Aida, which is in San Fransisco this fall, so if I can convince someone to come with....
I am also overly obsessed with musicals. I have seen quite a few fantastic ones, though my musical bucket list still includes Wicked, Lion King and ironically enough, Aida.
While I'm on the subject of opera and musicals, I guess now would be a good time to talk about my love of Shakespeare plays as well. My Shakespeare bucket list is too long to detail out here, but my all time favorite play is the Tempest, and I have still not seen that live, so one day it is a must!!

JONAS

So I’m going to use this as a little confessional. I like the Jonas Brothers. So sue me. It’s not that I’m the biggest fan of their music, in all honesty I rarely listen to it (though I may or may not have all 5 CDs….just in case). But I respect the fact that they are good Christian boys with amazing standards and are willing to stand up for these standards in the face of a nasty Hollywood society. And for that fact alone everyone else should support them too. Also their TV show is ridiculously hilarious, and I love to laugh, so I will keep watching it for as long as it keeps running. So if you want to keep making fun of me, that’s fine, I’ll take it, but just remember while your Hollywood idol is getting put in jail for the 3rd time, mine are supporting no sex before marriage, no drinking and no smoking. All while touring the world and writing hits that earn them millions.

MOCHI

I tried Mochi (Mochi--Wikipedia) for the first time yesterday. This is what happened. As I took my first bite, I started to giggle. It felt like eating a little fluffy Japanese anime character. I couldn't stop giggling as I ate the Mochi. I definitely recommend this delicious treat!

Totoro, TO-TO-RO!!

One of my greatest obsessions in life has to do with Studio Ghibli films, which is, using a not so good analogy, kind of like the Japanese Walt Disney. I was first introduced to Studio Ghibli thanks to my parents, who both served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Japan in their early twenties, before they knew each other and were married. Because of that, me, my brother and sister often grew up with Japanese influenced things, like yummy food (which I still LOVE to cook!!), random phrases, Japanese shoes (geta) and kimono, and of course, anime. Blessed, blessed anime. When we were little we watched the movie “My Neighbor Totoro” for the first time. I’m not going to lie, Japanese cartoons can be a little confusing if you’re not really familiar with the culture, but oh buddy are they worth it. Pretty much ever since watching “Totoro”, I’ve wanted my very own forest spirit living in my backyard, especially a ginormous fluffy one that I can cuddle. Adorable. Since “growing up” (as if that is even possible), I’ve become very attached to “Spirited Away” as well, it always helps me gain the courage to get through the rough parts of life. I’ve also recently fallen in love with “Howl’s Moving Castle”, as you could probably note from my earlier post “The Perfect Guy…”. “Ponyo” is also fantastic. Is it odd that I want my love life to reflect that little friendship of two 5 year olds? Probably… I’m slowly working my way through the rest of the Studio Ghibli classics. Hopefully this is an amazing tradition that I can pass on to my kids as well, because let’s be honest, these movies are much better than most American cartoons by far!

Dream Vacation

I think my dream vacation at this point in my life would be to go to the Louvre in Paris. I’m not the biggest art connoisseur in the world, but this museum would be so amazing to go through! Though one has to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo while there, I think the pieces I’m most interested in seeing are David’s Coronation of the Emperor Napoleon, David’s Oath of the Horatii, Delacroix’s Barque of Dante, and Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. I think that while I’m in Paris I should also stop by the Musee Rodin, in honor of my favorite sculptor Auguste Rodin, and see his masterpiece The Gates of Hell, inspired by Dante. The Gates of Hell include Rodin’s two most famous pieces, The Thinker and The Kiss. Technically there is a copy of this work here on the Stanford campus, but it would be so much cooler to see the original, in Paris no less.

When I Look At The Stars...

Stars fascinate me. I love looking out in the night sky and getting lost in the stars. They are so incredible and mind boggling. One of my favorite childhood memories is one night when me and my brother and sister spent the night on our trampoline outside, and my brother taught me and my sister all the constellations using a flashlight and a little star map he got from Scouts. My favorite constellations are Orion, Drago and Scorpio. One of my favorite classes at BYU was a random astronomy class, even though it had absolutely nothing to do with my major or minor. I would love to be able to discover all of the mysteries space has to offer. Staring up into the stars always makes me think of the scripture in Alma 30:44 when Alma says “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.”

Mi affascinano le stelle. Amo guardare al cielo nella notte e perdermi nelle stelle. Sono molto incredibili e fantastichi. Uno dei miei ricordi più bello della mia infanzia è stato una notte quando mio fratello, mia sorella ed io siamo stati fuori una notte , e mio fratello ci ha insegnato tutte le costellazioni da una mappa che ha ottenuto degli Scouts. Le mie costellazioni preferite sono Orion, Draco e Scorpio. Una delle mie lezioni prefereite nell’università è stata la lezione di astronomia, anche se studiavo la medicina dello sport e l’italiano. Mi piacerebbe scoprire tutti i misteri che contiene il cielo. Guardando le stelle, sempre mi fa pensare nella Scritura in Alma 30:44, nel Libro di Mormon, quando Alma dice “sì, e tutte le cose denotano che vi è un Dio; sì, anche la terra e tutte le cose che sono sulla faccia della terra, sì, e il suo movimento, sì, e anche tutti i pianeti che si muovono nel loro ordine stabilito testimoniano che vi è un supremo Creatore”.

Switchfoot--Stars Music Video
Switchfoot--Stars Boston Live Excerpt
English Lyrics & Testo Italiano

My Best Friend Blizzard

One of my greatest memories of all time happened when I was 12, but to get a better understanding of the awesomeness of it all, I have to start when I was 7. On my 7th birthday I went to the zoo to celebrate, and as a present I got to choose one thing from the gift store. I chose a ginormous snow leopard stuffed animal, which I promptly named Blizzard, and he immediately became by all time best friend in the entire world. Blizzard slept in my bed, was a part of every game I played, and I may or may not have talked to him and thought he was real. 5 years later, my family went to a petting zoo near the Oregonian coast, and this petting zoo had many baby animals that people could pet or hold with a zoo-keeper by their side. On the day my family was there, they just happened to bring out the little baby snow leopard cub….named BLIZZARD!!!!!! It was my dream come true!! I don’t think I’ve had a happier moment in my life then when I held that little cub. I still want a pet snow leopard, but one that won’t eat me. I want a couple of them actually, then they can be like a Royal Guard and walk by me and look menacing as if I am an important princess they are protecting. But then of course they’d be super friendly and cuddly with me, not mean. Yeah, that’s the life…

The Motherland

So a good part of my family comes from Austria, and since the internet isn’t giving us any help in trying to search for our ancestors the only logical next step would be to take a massive trip to Salzburg to try and find the town that doesn’t exist that my Great-Grandpa claims to have come from. Clearly I’ve already started to prepare myself by listening to Tokio Hotel and learning German from their music, though at this point I think I could only really have conversations akin to breaking up with someone, stopping someone from committing suicide and talking to an alien who has come to our planet for a friendly visit. Regardless, fluent in German or not, my search for a mythical city is going to be a fantastic adventure fit for the movies, since all searches for mythical cities always end up in movies, like El Dorado or Atlantis for example. This is definitely one trip that I will have to take my camera on. Now if only I could magically earn a million dollars and make this trip happen…

Flavor of the Day

I have to share this new fabulous song I have discovered. My friend Kristin gave it to me, which was ironic because usually it’s my brother that is always giving me music from all of these random no-name quasi-Christian bands, but this AMAZING gem was discovered by Kristin. I love love love love love this new song! Behold, Castaway, by the band Chasen:

Voglio condividere questa nuova canzone meravigliosa che ho scoperto. La mia amica Kristin mi l’ha dato, ed è interessante perché normalmente mio fratello mi da tante canzoni di band mezzi cristiani che non sono conosciuti, ma questa gemma fantastica è stata scoperta da Kristin. Amo tantissimo questa canzone! Ecco Castaway, da Chasen:

Castaway

Lyrics in English/Testo italiano

The Perfect Guy....

So I was talking with a friend the other day about some of the attributes I would want in my ideal guy. They aren't your typical attributes though, because I am drawn to the most ridiculous characters and long for some of their amazing traits. For example:




Howl--He's not afraid to be dramatic or emotional. Like weeping himself into a puddle when he is no longer beautiful. He also looks out for the little guy.









Shawn Spencer--He's adorable and charming and caring. And soooo cunning and mischievous and immature. And sooooooo HILARIOUS!









Zuko--Quick to anger, sarcastic, the intense inner struggle between good and evil, his good heart, his honor, his courage, he's not afraid of the pain of his past and he uses it to make him stronger







Severus Snape--In addition to the typical Slytherin-like qualities Snape possesses, like cunning, ambition and a certain disregard for rules, he also masters the attributes most prized by the other three houses: loyalty, intelligence and courage. The perfect wizard.







Luca or Diego Fainello--Rock star. Italian lover. 'Nuff said.








Mr. Darcy--HOT. Prideful. Rich. The list of Mr. Darcy's goodness is never ending, because let's be honest, Mr. Darcy=perfection.









The Beast--Yeah, I'd totally marry a beast if he gave me a library too. Especially if it had wheelie ladders. Now that is true love.








Eugenides--His infamous thievery talent is exceeded by none, and when the Queen chops off his hand as punishment he falls in love with her even more.







Moral of the story: My perfect guy is an all-powerful fire emperor, thief, wizard warrior, Italian rock star and fake psychic detective with a British accent and a ginormous library. That should be pretty easy to find.

Naked Giraffe

I still sleep with stuffed animals. I’m not ashamed. In fact, I can’t sleep without one. I guess I just have to cuddle with something at night, and until a better option comes along, a stuffed animal is what it’s going to be ha ha ha. For the past 6 years my stuffed animal of choice has been a giraffe. His name is Naked Giraffe. Actually he was originally named Geoffrey the Giraffe, but then a friend of mine once commented that if Geoffrey took off his sweatshirt he would be naked, and then proceeded to make a ridiculous song. Naked Giraffe has stuck ever since.

Dormo ancora con i peluche. Non mi vergogno. In realtà, non posso dormire senza un peluche. Ho bisogno di coccolare con qualcosa, e fino a quando posso trovare qualcosa migliore, coccolerò con un peluche ha ha ha. Il mio peluche preferito adesso è una giraffa chiamata Giraffa Nuda. Originariamente è stata chiamata Geoffry la Giraffa, ma un giorno un amico mio mi ha detto che se si toglie la felpa, sarebbe nuda, e poi lui ha inventato una canzone molto buffa della Giraffa Nuda. Da allora Giraffa Nuda è stato il suo nome.

HOLLA!!!

In honor of the start of the brand new season 5, I LOVE PSYCH! BEST TV SHOW EVER!!!!!! I can’t even begin to describe how happy this TV show makes me. Best part of Psych: pineapple, myopic chihuahua, what?!?!?!, Lassie’s hair, Mrs. Pickles, Buzz, the Blueberry, Lt. Crunch, Gee Buttersnaps, what doesn’t Gus know about taxidermy? , angel baby wrapped in cloud candy, Creamcicles, Mary’s stint with racquetball, Señor pantalones del fuego, Old Sonora, and last but not least….WILL SHAWN AND JULIET EVER GET TOGETHER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
If you understood all this gibberish, then you are probably my best friend. If not, you are missing out on all the best life has to offer. Repent, and sin no more!
The Process

Goodbye Boston

So today I left Boston forever and moved across the country. It’s such a weird feeling. The only thing I can compare it to is like waking up suddenly and realizing that you’re not in Narnia anymore. I feel as if this past year was a dream, or a figment of my imagination. Did it really just happen? It’s always so hard to move to a new place. I always feel like I’m leaving a part of me behind, a part of me that I’ll never find again. It’s a part of me that I wish I could share with other people, but I know that they would never understand. I can tell them about the good times and the hard times, but they won’t really be able to internalize it, to feel the joy, to feel the despair. I’m off to start a brand new adventure again, and just like all the moves before I’ll end up a completely different person when I’m done. It’s such an interesting feeling, to be standing at the threshold of such a pivotal point in my life, looking out at the future knowing I can never go back and that I’m about to become someone that I can’t even imagine yet. In the immortal words of Jon Foreman: “Life begins at the intersection.”


Oggi sono partita da Boston per sempre è sono traslocata nell’altro lato del paese. È così strano traslocare. L’unica cosa con che lo posso paragonare è svegliare all’improviso e rendersi conto che non sono più in Narnia. Mi sento che questo ultimo anno è stato un sogno, che questo è tutta una mia invenzione. Davvero è successo? È sempre molto difficile traslocare ad un luogo nuovo. Mi sento che lascio dietro una parte di me, una parte di me che non ritrovò mai più. È una parte di me che voglio condividere con altre persone, ma già so che non possono capire. Posso dire loro di tutti i buoni tempi e di tutte le esperienze difficili , ma non possono interiorizzarlo come io l’ho fatto, o sentire la gioia che ho sentito, o sentire la disperazione che ho avuto. Sto cominciando una nuova avventura, è come gli altri traslochi, diventerò una nuova persona. È molto interesante essere qui in questo punto della vita così cruciale, imaginando il futuro, sapendo che non posso ritornare mai. Come ha detto Jon Foreman: “La vita comincia all’incrocio”.

Trust

In the past two months I’ve gained an amazingly strong testimony in trusting God and how His hand is guiding our lives in every step. In early May I failed out of my graduate program, but I have seen so many blessings in my life because of it. I have been able to grow closer to the Lord and learn more about what His will is for me and I have felt His love and his support for me in every step. Even though it seems like a rough path to follow, I know that he is constantly guiding me and that the end will be worth the journey. As I make choices starting out on this new path in life, I know that He will continue to guide me. I am once again moving across the country, and even though I am sad to leave so many amazing friends behind, I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me and what new adventures will come my way.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

In questi ultimi mesi, la mia testimonianza è cresciuta tantissimo nella capacità di fidarmi di Dio e come la sua mano ci guida in ogni momento. Nell’inizio di Maggio sono stata terminata del mio programa nell’università, ma ho visto tante benedizioni nella mia vita grazie a questi avvenimenti. Ho avuto l’opportunità di essere più vicino al Signore e imparare di più la sua volontà per me, e ho sentito il suo amore per me in ogni momento. Anche se sembra una strada molto difficile per caminare, io so che me guida costantemente e il fine valerà il viaggio. Adesso che faccio le scelte in questa strada nuova nella mia vita, so che Lui continuerà a guidarme. Vado di nuovo all’altra parte del paese, e anche se sono molto triste per lasciare i miei tanti amici, sono molto emozionata per vedere tutto che il Signore ha per me e tutte le avventure che verrano.
“Confida nell'Eterno con tutto il tuo cuore e non appoggiarti sul tuo intendimento; riconoscilo in tutte le tue vie, ed egli raddrizzerà i tuoi sentieri." (Proverbi 3:5-6)

President Uchtdorf

These two talks from President Uchtdorf saved my life. The first one of my really good friends told me I needed to listen to and is from the Priesthood Session of the 2010 April General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The second one my sister told me I needed to listen to and is from the Young Women's Broadcast from March 2010. President Uchtdorf is my favorite :)
Priesthood Session
Young Women's Broadcast

Ti capisco

So my epiphany of this week can best be described by this Harry Potter quote:
Luna Lovegood: We believe you, by the way. That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you fought him, and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you and Dumbledore.
Harry Potter: Thanks. Seems you're about the only ones that do.
Luna Lovegood: I don't think that's true. But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel.
Harry Potter: What do you mean?
Luna Lovegood: Well if I were You-Know-Who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else. Because if it's just you alone you're not as much of a threat.

I think that was one of my biggest problems in life, feeling absolutely alone in the fact that nobody could every really understand the problems that I had in life. But that’s not true, that’s just what Satan wants us to think. Probably one of the best gifts God has ever given me is a friend looking me in the eyes and saying “I understand,” and me knowing that this person actually meant it. It was like this huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, there is so much power that comes from the knowledge that you’re not in a battle alone.


Allora, la mia epifania di questa settimana è molto simile a questa citazione di Harry Potter:
Luna Lovegood: Noi ti crediamo. Che Colui-che-non-deve-essere-nominato è tornato, che lo hai battuto, e che il Ministro e il Profeta stanno cospirando contra te e Dumbledore.
Harry Potter: Grazie. Sembra che siete gli unici.
Luna Lovegood: Non credo che questo sia vero. Suppongo che lui voglia che tu senta così.
Harry Potter: Cosa vuol dire?
Luna Lovegood: Quindi, se io fossi Tu-sai-chi, vorrei che tu senta isolato da tutti gli altri. Perché se tu sei solo, non sei tanto una minaccia.

Credo che questo fosse uno dei problemi più grande nella mia vita, che sentivo definitivamente sola nel dato che nessuno realmente capisce tutti i problemi nella mia vita. Ma non è vero questo, è solo quello che Satana vuole che crediamo. Probabilmente il regalo più grande che Dio mi ha dato è un amico che mi ha guardato negli occhi e ha detto “Ti capisco,” e io sapevo che realmente era la verita. Era come un gran peso è stato sollevato delle mie spalle, c’è tanto potere che viene dalla conoscenza che non sei in battaglia da solo.

Applause from Heaven

I absolutely love the new song from Lost, “L’Applauso del Cielo” (Applause from Heaven). This song is so inspiring and so amazing. The thing that makes me the most happy is that Lost has so much talent and they are using it to give people hope and to help them change their lives for the better. They are not only some of the most amazing musicians ever, but they have such big hearts and amazing human beings. I recommend this song and this band to everyone, we need to support those people who are doing everything they can to make a difference.

Io amo tantissimo la nuova canzone dei Lost, “L’applauso del cielo”. Questa canzone è meravigliosa e mi ispira tantissimo. La cosa più brava è che i Lost hanno molto talento e lo stanno usando per dare la speranza alle persone e aiutarle a cambiare le sue vite e farle migliore. Non sono solo musicisti fantastici, ma hanno anche cuori grandissimi e sono umani meravigliosi. Vi raccomando questa canzone a tutti, dobbiamo sostenere le persone che fanno tutto il possibile per fare la differenza.

Video with English Translation
Buy from iTunes

Swim

This is the song that saves me when I feel like I can’t go on. It helps remind me that even though the storms of life happen and there’s nothing we can do about it, we’re not alone and we have to keep pressing on. This song always makes me think of the story in the Bible when Peter sees the Lord walking on water, and he asks to try as well. Even though he starts off walking on the water, he gets scared and starts to lose faith, and thus starts to sink, but the Lord is there to grab him and save him. I know that sometimes life can get rough an seem unbearable, but if we keep swimming we’ll find our land of promise, and it will have been worth the storm.

Questa è la canzone che mi salva quando sento che non posso continuare. Mi fa ricordare che anche se vengano le tempeste della vita e non c’è niente che possiamo fare per evitarle, non siamo soli e dobbiamo andare Avanti. Questa canzone mi fa pensare nella storia nella Bibbia quando Pietro vede il Signore camminando sull’aqua, e vuole provare anche lui. Anche se comincia camminando bene sull’aqua, viene la paura e Pietro perde la fede e comincia ad affondare, ma il Signore sta vicino e gli salva. Io so che a volte i problem della vita sembrano troppo difficile, me se continuiamo di nuotare, troveremo la terra promessa, e tutto sarà stato valso la pena.

Swim Lyrics
Swim Video

My Best Friends :)

Today I want to write about my two biggest heroes in life: my brother and my sister. My brother and my sister are the two coolest people that I know, I love them so much!
My brother is so amazing because he is always there for me. He is so kind and so caring, and he is always willing to sacrifice anything for someone he cares about. He is my greatest example of Christ-like living. I’m so proud of him because he has gone through so much, and he uses his trials to help others. When he was younger he suffered through a lot of depression and is was very hard, but now that he is better he is studying to be a therapist to help other people overcome their problems just like he did. He is also such a hero for me because he has always been there for me. Ever since our father attempted suicide multiple times, I felt like I didn’t really have a father anymore. But my brother has been so amazing, and even though he is younger than me he always tries to take care of me and my sister and act as a father figure for us. It is so wonderful to have his support whenever I need it!
My sister is also such an amazing person! She can always make me laugh, no matter what is going on in my life. She has the greatest sense of humor and has the best wit of anyone I know. She is also one of the smartest people I have ever met! Her writing skills are amazing, and I still can’t believe that at age 13 her favorite author was Oscar Wilde, even though most 30 year olds that I meet still have no clue who he is, let alone have read something of his! She is also very caring and has a big heart! She always wants to do whatever she can to help ease the suffering of other people. Her life too has been full of sorrow and trials, but she doesn’t let that get her down. She never lets fear or doubt turn her away from a goal that she has, but she works hard to get what she wants out of life.
I love both my brother and my sister so much, they are my best friends in the entire world! They are also such amazing heroes to me. I don’t know how I could live without them! I’m so grateful to have them in my life!!

Oggi voglio scrivere dei miei eroi più grande nella vita: mio fratello e mia sorella. Mio fratello e mia sorella sono le persone più mitiche che conosco, gli amo tantissimo!
Mio fratello è molto buono perché sempre sta lì per me. È molto gentile è carino, ed è sempre disponibile a sacrificare ogni cosa per qualcuno che sia importante per lui. Lui è il mio esempio più grande di come vivere una vita come la vita di Cristo. Sono molto orgogliosa per lui perché ha avuto tanta avversità nella vita ma usa la sua avversità per aiutare le altre persone. Quando era più giovane era molto depressivo e la vita era molto difficile, ma adesso che si è migliorato, sta studiando per essere un terapista per poter aiutare tutti gli altri superare i loro problemi come ha fatto lui. Lui è anche un eroe per me perché dopo che il nostro padre avesse tentato di suicidarsi io sentivo di non aver più un padre, ma mio fratello è così buono ed è sempre stato preoccupandosi per me e per nostra sorella e anche se più giovane che io, lui sempre tenta di essere come una figura paterna per noi. È meraviglioso avere qualcuno come lui che sempre mi sta appogiando.
Mia sorella è anche molto mitica! Sempre mi fa ridere, non importa cosa mi sta succedendo nella vita. Ha il migliore senso dell'umorismo in tutto il mondo ed è molto spirituosa. È anche una delle persone più intelligente che ho conosciuto! Non posso descirvere come è buona al scrivere, e non posso credere che quando aveva solo 13 anni ha scoperto che il suo scrittore preferito era Oscar Wilde, anche se la maggioranza delle persone che conosco che hanno più di 30 anni nemmeno sanno chi è Oscar Wilde, né hanno letto qualcosa che ha scritto! È anche molto carina e ha un cuore grande! Vuole sempre fare tutto il possibile per aiutare le altre persone. Anche lei ha avuto tanti dolori e avversità nella vita, ma non si frustra per questo. Non lascia mai che la paura o il dubbio la ferma di ottenere le sue metà nella vita, ma lavora sempre per quello che vuole.
Amo mio fratello e mia sorella tantissimo, sono i miei migliori amici in tutto il mondo! Sono eroi fantastici per me. Non sarebbe possibile vivere senza loro. Sono molto grata per avere mio fratello e mia sorella nella mia vita!!!

Great Book!

Today I’m going to write about I book I read recently that I really liked a lot. It’s called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows. I loved this book for many reasons. I really liked the way that it was written, because it was written not like a normal book, but in letters that the characters wrote to each other. It talks about a woman in London who starts writing letters to people on the island of Guernsey and finds out about a book club they have and learns all about them through their letters and eventually takes a vacation over to the island to meet them. It is such an amazing story because it really describes so many different characters and lifestyles and how different people react to danger and trials differently. It is such a heartwarming story about the strength of the human soul and how one good person can affect an entire group of people for better. I highly recommend this book to everyone! You won’t regret reading it!

Oggi voglio scrivere di un libro che ho letto recentamente che mi è piaciuto tantissimo. Si chiama La società letteraria di Guernsey da Mary Ann Schaffer e Annie Barrows. Amo questo libro per molte raggioni. Mi piace come è scritto perché non è come gli altri libri, ma si è scritto con lettere che i personaggi hanno scritto l’uno all’altro. Si tratta di una donna da Londra che scrive lettere alle persone dell’isola di Guernsey per sapere di più di un gruppo di lettura e lei comincia a conoscere tutte queste persone grazie alle lettere e la donna decide di fare un viaggio all’isola per vedere tutti i suoi nuovi amici. È una storia buonissima perché descrive tanti personaggi e stili di vita così diversi e come queste persone reagiscono al pericolo e alla avversità in modi diversi. È una storia molto toccante che tratta della forza dell’anima umana e come una buona persona può influire un intero gruppo di persone in meglio. Raccomando questo libro a tutti! Non lo rimpiangerai!

Why I Believe

Ecco la storia del profeta di Dio, Joseph Smith:
Prima Parte
Seconda Parte

Io so che Joseph Smith era un profeta di Dio e che la Chiesa di Gesù Cristo esiste di nuovo nella terra. Sono grata per la conoscenza che Dio è mio Padre Celeste e che mi ama tantissimo.

The Ode to Dante Inspired by Baseball

Faith thy color is white
Like snow on a cold winter’s night
Though outside the world is bare
Yet below, a seed, planted with care
The rest of the world, unknowing, blind
But to us the gift of peace of mind
Our desires not seen enlarge our soul
Pure, clean, firm, eye on the goal
The others, they can shrink with fright
But with thee, oh Faith, our courage is bright.
For I reckon that the sufferings of
This present time are not worthy
To be compared with the glory
Which shall be revealed in us.

Hope, thy mark is green
Evidence of our patience seen
As spring is come and grass shoots through
We in growing assurance remain true
Our refuge, our anchor, our ray of light
We shall trust forever in thy might
A world reborn and with it we too
Breathe in a life that is brand new
Oh Hope thou dost make our life serene
And on thee forever we shall lean.
For we are saved by hope...but
If we hope for that we see not,
Then do we with patience
Wait for it.

Charity thy existence is red
And just like the wise man said
You are the greatest gift of all
Evidence of One who heard our call
You are the fruit we shall partake
The flower that compassion did make
Thy color, like blood, so all will know
That love is given like a deep warm glow
With thy great reward we are fed
Oh Charity our noble, kind, strong head.
For I am persuaded, that neither death
Nor life...nor height, nor depth, nor any
Creature, shall be able to separate us from
The love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Forse

La parola più bella, piena di speranza, piena di opportunità: Forse
Ma anche la parola più brutta, più ingannevole, ti tradirà alla fine: Forse
Vale la pena sacrificare tutto per un sogno quasi impossibile? Forse
Ti importerà nella fine tutto che hai lasciato dietro di te nel cammino? Forse
Avrai la felicità? Avrai il successo? Troverai l’amore? Forse
Avrai il dolore? Sarai pieno di tristezza? Vedrai gli orrori? Forse
Il più grande il tesoro, il più grande il rischio
Ma devo tentare lo stesso?
Forse

giochi da tavolo :)

One thing that makes me super happy are board games and card games. I love playing games so much! I love being with family and with friends and enjoying time together and having fun. I also am super competitive, so I love to win the games too! I don’t have a lot of times these days to play games, and my family is far away too, so I miss them and being able to be with them so much!

Un’altra cosa che mi fa felice sono i giochi da tavolo ed i giochi di carte. Amo giocare a questi giochi tantissimo! Amo stare con la famiglia e con i amici e divertirci insieme. Sono anche molto competitive, quindi amo vincere tutti i giochi! Adesso non ho molto tempo per giocare, e la famiglia è molto lontana, mi manca tantissimo, è dificile stare così lontana!

Temple Work

The most exciting thing that happened to me this week is that I became a worker in the Boston Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I get to work two Saturdays each month. I’m so happy, the temple is such a wonderful place, full of peace and full of the Spirit of God. Despite my rough school load and lack of time because of all my homework, I can’t be any happier because I know that I will be serving God and his children, my brothers and sisters. This will be one of the biggest blessings of my life!

La cosa più emozionante di questa settimana è che adesso lavorerò nel tempio di Boston per la Chiesa di Gesù Cristo dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni! Avrò l’opportunità di lavorare due sabato ogni mese. Sono molto contenta, il tempio è un luogo molto speciale, pieno di pace e pieno dello Spirito di Dio. Nonostante che sarò molto impegnata, senza tempo di fare quasi niente, con tutti i compiti che ho delle mie lezioni dell’università, non posso essere più felice perché so che starò servendo il mio Dio ed i suoi figli, miei fratelli e sorelle. Questo sarà una delle benedizioni più grande della mi vita!

Le mie montagne

I have to give a shout out to my mountains! I forgot how much I missed them until I went home for Christmas vacation. The Cascade Mountains in Oregon are the most beautiful mountains in the United States! I’ve seen the Rockies, I lived next to all the mountains in Utah, but NOTHING compares to the glorious and majestic mountains of Oregon! Their peaks and lines are so sharp and defining, and they are always white and gray and GREEN, no matter if it is summer or winter!!!! Mountains are my favorite thing in nature, and I also love the beautiful evergreen forests that surround them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again until the day I die, Oregon is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STATE in the United States! There’s a reason we’re all tree-huggers! ;)

Ho bisogno di elogiare le mie montagne! Avevo dimenticato quanto mi mancavano fino a che sono tornata a casa per le vacanze di Natale. Le Cascade Mountains nello stato di Oregon sono le montagne più belle in tutto il paese! Ho visto le Rockies, ho visuto nelle montagne dello stato di Utah, ma NESSUNA montagna può paragonare alla gloria e maestà delle montagne di Oregon! Le loro cime e le loro righe sono così taglienti e distinte, e sono sempre bianche, grigie e verdi, sia l’estate o sia l’inverno!!!! Le montagne sono la mia cosa preferita della natura, e amo tantissimo anche le foreste evergreen che circondano le montagne. L’ho detto prima, e lo dirò di nuovo fino al giorno che muoio, Oregon è lo stato più bello in tutti gli Stati Uniti! C’è una raggione perché tutti noi siamo “tree huggers”!