Well, I did it...I bought a house, sort of. I've been living in an apartment since I came to BYU, but I've always secretly had a desire to live in a house. It's a little bit of a different scene and I feel like it would feel more like home.  As I was thinking about what I wanted to do for housing next year, I decided that I would look into signing at a house.  My apartment right now is kind of expensive, but super great.  It has been a hard decision.  All that being said, I think the house is the right decision.

I went and looked at the house on Saturday with a friend that I am going to live with and it was amazing!! It's super tiny, but I love it all the same.  It just feels like home :) It has a beautiful living room and the cutest little breakfast nook in the world! I'm excited to move in and being my adventure of living in my first house!
Today in Relief Society we had a wonderful lesson about how the scriptures can be an asset in our lives.  Our teacher based her lesson on Richard G. Scott's talk The Power of Scripture.  In his talk, Elder Scott creates a metaphor concerning the scriptures and friends. Both our friends and the scriptures can be called on in times of distress, worry, trial, and weakness.  I am grateful for the blessing of the scriptures in my life and do think of them as my friend in many ways.  They have brought relief in so many instances and a myriad of circumstances. As we discussed this in our class, our wonderful instructor shared with us her 'best friends' from the scriptures.  She chose one from each book.  Immediately I decided that I wanted to do the same. Here are those that I consider to be my best friends:

Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

2 Nephi 25:26
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a redemption of their sins.

D&C 121: 7-8
My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Moses 1:39
For behold, this is my work and my glory: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

This list could be so much longer! There are so many verses that I simply love, but these stood out to me today and I was perusing through my scriptures. :)

Well, I'm only 18 days late in posting my New Year's Resolution list :) And since this is 2012, it is probably the last time I'll ever have to do it so I need to make some quality resolutions.  I have been feeling the pressure.  Ok, not really since I don't believe that the world is ending, but I digress. Here is what I want to accomplish/experience/become/etc. in 2012!


  1. Still need to learn to play guitar....maybe I should focus on buying a guitar to begin with....
  2. Travel somewhere amazing! I spent the summer in Israel so this one is going to be hard to compete with.
  3. Read read read :) I want to devote time on Sundays to simply reading a delightful book for no other reason than I just love it.
  4. Talk to my parents more.  I used to call them all the time but I have recently been failing quite fantastically at this. 
  5. Run a marathon.  I already have one picked out and am well on my way in training, although 6:30 comes awfully early...
  6. Cook more and become a baking goddess.  I feel like this one is self explanatory. 
  7. Buy a sewing machine and then learn to use it.  While initially this may seem impractical, I think in the end it will pay for itself. 
  8. Become an avid journaler. I was doing super well on this goal when I got home from Israel, but it has since fallen off so I'm rededicating myself. 
  9. Soak up as much of the Gospel and all it has to offer as I can.  I think this is by far the most underused blessing that I have in my life. And also trust in the Lord's timing...He's got it all worked out. 
  10. Take the GRE and find clinical hours for PA school.  I'm graduating in about a year and a half and I need to get going on things! PA school is right around the corner, which is scary and exciting and I need to get ready for it.  (I narrowed down my list!) 
  11. Don't be bitter about snow.  You live in Utah for heaven's sake, Angela.  It comes with the territory :)   
  12. Be happy and live my life :)

Here's to an amazing year! 
I have always secretly wished that the wonderful world of Harry Potter was real.  There is something utterly enchanting about castles, magnificent feasts, and candles lighting the way.  Each time I go home for break I can't wait to get my hands on one of there marvelous books.  It doesn't even matter which one.  Each catapults me into this wondrous world filled with adventure, quests, and not a little laughter.
I love being the fourth wheel on each of Harry's adventures.  The terrific trio seems to be unstoppable.  He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, hereafter known as Voldemort, has not been able to topple these teenagers.  I wonder if he ever felt like his life had not ended up like he planned.  Besides the whole almost dying thing, he spent the next seventeen years chasing after a teenage.  That is not exactly what I would call success.  It's no wonder that he's temperamental. He's not even a successful villain in the long run.  A group of under-trained wizards are his downfall, despite all of the measures he takes to prevent this. Poor Voldemort, he should have stuck to working at Borgin and Burke's.  Clearly, with evidence found in the Penseive, he was quite the charmer.  It's entirely probably that he could have risen through the ranks and been senior salesmen. May we all learn from Voldy, that the path of darkness is not for the faint of heart.  Better luck next time.
There is more to this enchanting world that fighting the good fight, however.  Every time that Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to a feast, I begin to salivate. Mama's cooking is good, but she's never made me York pudding or Cauldron cakes.  And I've never had the pleasure of washing down a scrumptious meal with a flagon of pumpkin juice.  Just once, I want to walk into the Great Hall and have my meal appear before my very eyes and then run up to my dormitory and gorge myself with sweets bought at Honeyduke's the weekend before.  That is heaven, people!
I think the best part about Harry Potter in real life is Hogwarts. Who doesn't love an enchanted castle? Even Belle was smitten! Sure, skipping the occasional vanishing step would get cumbersome, but the pros completely outweigh the cons.  For one, you never have to worry about forgetting your key to get into your apartment.  You simply tell the dear old Fat Lady the magic word and you're good to go! Also, at Christmas time you don't have to worry about commercials interrupting your carols on the radio because the suits of armor will serenade you endlessly, with the occasional original verse :) Then there's the moving pictures, the ghosts, secret passageways, the lake with the Giant Squid, and a whole host of other treasures simply waiting to be discovered.  Hogwarts is the happiest place on earth. Sorry to break it to you, Disneyland, but I think Hogwarts is going to take the cake on this one.  With Hogwarts come everything a person could ever want!
This delightful, unplottable school is not all fun and games, though. I like school as much as the next person, but Hogwarts sounds amazing! I want to learn to give my pesty brother a pig's tail or brew liquid luck.  I could probably do without the 12 inches on the goblin rebellions of 1450, though.  It sounds like a waste of parchment in my opinion.  I think I would attend Hogwarts for the teachers alone!  Dumbledore is basically Mr. Pheeny with a beard and a magic wand.  He gives the most solid advice in the whole world.  He must just sit in his office and dream up all these little sayings that he can bestow upon us mere mortals. McGonagall sounds like a piece of work, but in a good way.  She's got the tough exterior, but she's a softy on the inside.  I hope that when I finally get my letter she buys a broomstick too.  I plan not to cross her though. I don't want to provoke her to take fifty points from Gryffyndor (let's be honest, we all know that's the best house).  Even Professor Sprout and Trelawney have their moments of delightfulness.  And Hagrid! The single most best reason, well among everything else, to go to Hogwarts! I would go visit him everyday and maybe even try a rock cake just to be nice. Maybe I'll pull a Dennis Creevy and fall in the lake on my first day, then I could wear Hagrid's coat like a robe :) The possibilities are endless!
Unfortunately, I will probably never have the chance to go to Platform 9 3/4, ride the Hogwarts Express, play Quidditch, or defeat the most evil wizard to ever walk this green earth.  Until then I suppose I will have to settle with pretending that chemistry is potions, History of Civilization is actually History of Magic, and that anatomy is Transfiguration.  Ten points to Gryffyndor!

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