One month down, eternity to go!

So, I'm gonna be honest... I had this big, cute, sappy wedding post written out... And it got deleted. So, this is all you get. :) 

Our wedding day was perfect from head-to-toe. It exceeded every hope I've had since I was 5 years old. I am madly in love with my hubby and can't wait for eternity with him. 

The password to watch the video is npf. Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/109015560

Our Love Story

"It comes in the most unexpected ways and the most unexpected times." 

Up until about 4 months ago, I would've punched the next person who told me this when it comes to dating. I was so sick of hearing all of this dating advice and this particular statement made me especially mad. I'm 24 years old, I'm an endowed woman with a desire to be a wife and a mother... How can I NOT expect this?!?! Well, 5 months later, I am shoving my foot in my mouth and saying IT. IS. TRUE. 

Rewind to August-ish 2005: I met Jeremy Allan Back on the first day, first class of high school and we were immediately great friends. We have had the same group of friends since then and hung out all throughout high school, but we did not date at all! Well, he took me to prom and I think we went on a couple other dates, but that was it. After his mission, we kind of lost contact. We would hang out every once in a while if I was up in Sandy for the weekend or see each other at weddings, but that was about as much contact we had had for the last 3 years. Last summer, I was up in Sandy for the weekend for the first time in months and I just felt like hanging out with my high school guys, so I texted Jeremy for the first time in probably 2 years! We ended up at a BBQ that night and then continued to hang out just as friends for the rest of the summer.

Fast forward to this last December: I had planned a big work Christmas party that I needed a date for and I had asked probably 6 guys if they could go and no one could. Jeremy was the last person I asked (sorry babe!) and he said he could go. "Frozen," a drive through the Thanksgiving Point lights and that was about it. I think that was the first night I felt a glimmer of attraction to him and had the thought for .01 millisecond of maybe going out with him again. 

Fast forward to February 15, 2014. I was grocery shopping in Smiths on a Saturday afternoon and wanted my Sandy guy friends to come down to Provo to hang out with me. I texted a few of them, including Jeremy, and it turns out that Jer was the only one who could hang out that night. I told him it would just be the 2 of us, but it would still be fun if he came down, so he did. He picked me up and took me to dinner and then we walked around downtown Provo and then went to Comedy Sportz. I remember thinking throughout the whole night "Wow. He has really grown up and I am so impressed with him. Was he really this hot in high school?? Is it weird that I think Jeremy Back is WAY hot?? Is it weird that I'm having so much fun with him and that this feels so easy? Am I thinking too much into this? Probably. Oh well. Keep flirting enough to get him to ask you out again." I walked in my apartment that night and thought all of these things again and right then, Jer texted me and said something like "Al, I had so much fun with you and really enjoyed our conversations! Can we do this again next weekend?" Little did I know that was my last first date. (Well, that's a lie. I did go on 2 more dates in between. Including one that ended about 5 minutes before I went on my second date with Jer. Haha.) 

Fast forward 3 weeks later: Frosty's from Wendy's. Drive around Wasatch/ Sandy/ Draper area. Back to my house to watch Remember the Titans. Halfway through the movie, Jer turned to me and said "Allie... Have we been going on dates? Are we dating?" Me: "Ummmm, yeah!" Jer: "Ok, cool. :)"   Do I remember much of the movie after that? NOPE. ;););)

Fast forward about 2 months later: I knew I loved him. We had gone up the canyon to star gaze in his truck then came back to his house to watch a movie. Naturally, I immediately fell asleep through the whole movie so he had to wake me up at the end. To spare you all the gushy details, hearing him say that he was in love with me for the first time was one of the craziest and coolest feelings. I thought I had been "in love," before, but it is nothing like this. It's a moment I'll never forget and want to preserve it forever!

Fast forward about 2 months after that: Lake Powell with the love of my life and 20 of our best friends was THE FUNNEST!!!! Powell is my #1 favorite place on earth, Jer is my #1 favorite person on earth, so put those two together and you have the happiest girl on earth! We had been talking seriously about marriage for 3-4 weeks at this point, but hadn't decided 100% yet that it's what was right and what we wanted. We had some sacred and very spiritual experiences in Powell that helped us "pull the trigger," on getting marriage. As if I didn't already love Powell enough, it is that much more special to us now, because that is where we both realized that we couldn't imagine spending eternity without each other. 

Fast forward to July 4, 2014: We had the ring picked out for 3 weeks and I was getting ANTSY!!! I was 98% certain he had the ring and had talked to my dad and I knew he was just making me wait at this point. I thought he was waiting to do it on the 4th, so that whole day it's all I thought about! I was suspicious of everyone and everything that they were doing! We went to a BBQ with our friends and again, I was way suspicious. After that, we went to the Sandy City fireworks which happened to be at Jordan High School, which is where we met. :) (Awwwwwww! That's what you all thought, right?) From the second we got there, I started sweating... I kept checking his pockets for a ring box (I know, I'm terrible) and NOTHING! He started acting so weird that it threw me off and I was 100% sure it WASN'T happening that night. The fireworks started and then I felt his hands start to get super sweaty and shaky, but I still didn't think he was doing it!! He randomly said "Hey, I haven't taken you on a big special date in a while, can I take you out next weekend?" Imagine a person with the most suspicious face  you've ever seen and that was my ONLY response to him. I was just getting progressively more & more angry at this point cause I wanted him to PUT THE DANG RING ON MY FINGER!!! He started saying really sweet things to me, but again, I didn't think anything of it. He is always saying sweet things to me, so it was nothing out of the norm. Plus, I was just so bugged at this point that I don't even remember what he said, ha! The fireworks had been going and then our friend Reagan randomly got up and said "Allie, let's take some pictures with fireworks in the background." I turned around and there he was.... Down on one knee... With a big, shiny, STUNNING diamond ring in his hand! I. Was. Shocked! Even though I was so confident that he was going to do it that night, I still was not prepared for him to ACTUALLY PROPOSE TO ME!! I remember the huge crowd of people that we were in started clapping and cheering and then I don't remember anything til about 10 minutes later! I just kept looking at him, looking at my finger, kissing him and saying "Is this real?! Did that really just happen?!" I had imagined this moment countless times throughout my life and it surpassed my wildest expectations! 

Fast forward to October 14, 2014: This day isn't here yet, but I already know that it will trump all of them! I just know that kneeling across the altar in the Draper Temple from Jeremy will be Heavenly. I can't imagine feeling closer to Heaven then when we are sealed together forever in the Lord's house and we can start our journey together as Mr. and Mrs. Back! :) 

I have imagined what falling in love and being engaged would feel like, and it's so much better than what I pictured. Jeremy is perfect for me in every way. He is everything and more I've been hoping and praying for in a husband for 24 years and I don't even feel deserving of a man like him. My heart is exploding with love for my Jer Bear and I can't wait to spend eternity with him! 

#PDA

#sorrynotsorry

Xoxo,

Alliecat 

Resolving to be better

New Years is one of my very favorite times of the year. I love the feeling of "wiping my slate clean," and getting a fresh new start on the year. I take my resolutions seriously and have been thinking about them for well over a month, so here they are. Here's to a fresh new start; 2014 is going to be an incredible year, I can just feel it. :)

My theme song for 2014 is "More Holiness Give Me," and I want to inject holiness & enthusiasm into everything that I do. First goal is to have this song memorized by the end of January and try to think about this song once throughout my day to remind me to be more holy in everything that I do.

I will resolve to be better...
Spiritually: 
-Read/ listen to at least 1 conference talk every single day.
-Write in my "loving acts of God," journal everyday again.
-Inject holiness, humility and enthusiasm in all things that I do, especially the things I do for HIM. (If you haven't yet read the book "What would a holy woman do?" by Wendy Watson Nelson, I HIGHLY recommend reading it before the week is over. It's an easy read and I feel motivated every time I read it.)
Physically: 
-Track what I eat
-Keep up my good exercise habits
-Don't worry so much about being perfect physically: "You must do everything you can to make your appearance more pleasing, but the minute you walk out the door, forget about yourself and start concentrating on others" -Susan W. Tanner
Intellectually:
-Read 2 books/ month outside of textbooks
-Keep up on the news, especially political news
A new hobby I will learn:
-Learn to play tennis! This is a goal between my bff, Lindsey, and myself. Any tennis players out there that want to teach 2 girls how to play who don't know a lick about it?!
Service:
-Become a Temple Ordinance worker by January.
-Be an outward woman; open my heart to Him and to others; be available to help my family, friends and even strangers. I just read one of the most beautiful books I've ever read in my life called "A Heart Like His," by Virginia H. Pearce.... RUN to the library and get this book... I finished it yesterday and I feel like a new woman already. PLEASE read it!
Socially:
-Be a better friend
-Make friends everywhere I go
-Be spontaneous; do fun things; go on a spontaneous trip anywhere!
-Get in the habit of just doing really fun things all the time!

I'm so thankful for this time of year and for the chance that we have to become better versions of ourselves each year. It really is amazing to look back at your life at the end of each year and to measure our individual growth. I know that if we commit ourselves to our resolutions and humbly plead with the Lord to help us attain our goals, we will be shocked at the wonderful changes He can make within us.

Here's to the best year yet!!!

xoxo,
Allie

A high school story

Before I share this story, you need to know 2 things about me. 

Fact #1: Trying to wake me up in the mornings during high school was a dramatic event in our house. It took 2 alarms plus my mom (flipping on the lights and ripping off my covers) to wake me up every single day. (I have improved significantly since living on my own, but still set 4 alarms every night cause I still sleep sooo heavy.) 
Fact #2: I am a terrible test taker. Give me any assignment to do, I'll get an A. Tell me to write a 12 page paper on the etiology of a disease, I'll get an A. Make me take a test.....? Would rather rip my eyeballs out! 

I was a Junior in high school the first time I took the ACT and everything that was happening at that time in my life (those few weeks specifically) was just hard. The week of the ACT was also the week of SBO elections, Acapella tryouts, Madrigals tryouts, I was currently on student government and it was right before prom, I had a job, and it was the end of the quarter which meant lots of tests and homework. Not to mention that during that week, I managed to come down with a double ear infection, a sinus infection, bronchitus, pink eye and the flu. (not even making that up) Oh, and my parents ditched me that week to go on a cruise so I was completely alone in our house. I was miserable! The night before the ACT, I took.... ehhhhhh.... maybe half of a bottle of Nyquil??? I wanted to get lots of sleep that night, because Heaven knows I was going to need all the extra help I could get to help me survive that test! HORRIBLE IDEA. 

The ACT started at exactly 8:00am SHARP and if you walked in at 8:01, you were locked out and had to wait until the fall to take it. The next morning, I woke up at 7:43am to 3 of my alarms going off... When I finally was coherent enough to understand what was going on, I FLEW out of bed faster than you've ever seen, brushed my teeth, grabbed a banana and did 110mph out of my driveway and down my street. Where I live, there is a street (9400 South) that I took everyday to get to high school and there is a police station on that street so there are ALWAYS cops on that road, so you can't ever speed. The speed limit is strictly 35 on that road.... I was pushing 65 down that baby!! (I've never prayed harder for no cops to be on that road...) As I was being "fast & furious," trying to get to school, I heard a faint noise from behind me that was growing louder and louder... I realized it was the sound of a fast car and then before I knew it, one of my best friends Nate Pulley comes FLYING from behind me going 75 and zooms in front of me!! I caught up to him and he screamed, "DRIVE FASTER! THE TEST STARTS IN 3 MINUTES!!" I think we pushed 85mph the rest of the way into Jordan High and then we sprinted up to the room and walked in at I think 7:59 and 59 seconds.....

I finished the first 2 sections of the test, but was really tired by the end of it. (remember that I was crazy sick and drank about 4x's the amount of Nyquil that I should have the night before!) We took a quick break and then came back to finish the last 2 sections. I think I answered.....3, maybe 4 questions and then my Nyquil hangover reaaaally kicked in and I PASSED. OUT. COLD. Fell dead asleep. Woke up over 2 hours later in a puddle of drool (literally) with the teacher saying "this is your 5 minute warning, please finish up any last questions." Didn't remember where I was, why I was taking a test, if this was real life, wasn't quite sure who I was.... I finally remembered and then looked down at my test to see 2 whole sections left completely blank that I hadn't even touched... Then I said a naughty word in my head a few times and then I had a brilliant thought that I still don't know if I made up myself or not, but I heard that if you're ever in this kind of situation to fill in all C's. "Welp, C's it is I guess." 2 ENTIRE sections of C's!!! 

Then a few weeks later, my parents called me into the kitchen with a piece of paper in their hands and said "Allie, why on earth did you get a 16 on the ACT...?," and then we all sat down and I proceeded to tell them this whole story minus doing 90mph in Gwenyth (my first love in cars) down 94th. 

The end. :)
xoxo, 
Alliecat 

Randoms

Hi! Remember me? It's about time I updated this here blog. 

* I'm still working full time at Vivint as the Administrative Assistant for Service Support and I love it!

* I was also in summer school that just finished last week and it was twice a week 3 hours long AT 7:00 AM.... NO THANKS. Ew, don't ever EVER take a 7:00 am class in the summer.

I got asked to judge a beauty pagent. Probably one of the more random things I've ever done, but  it was still so much fun! 

* I've been able to spend so much time with my family the last few months and I have LOVED it! Seriously, they are the absolute best!

Not my actual family, but they have been my second my throughout college. :) xoxo

* At the beginning of June I was a bridesmaid again for the 9th time and in 3 weeks I will hit lucky #10. Hahaha I love it! Congrats Mrs. Claire Hansen :) 

* I miss EFY. A lot. Like every single day. Wanna know what will make you feel old real fast? When your EFY participants start leaving on their missions.... WHAT?! I got hired for EFY to be a Building Counselor for 10 weeks this summer THE DAY AFTER I got promoted. Of course. It's a good thing I love my job or else I would be so so sad! 

* The Temple is my pilar of strength.I have relied on the Temple to get me through this last year, which has been the most difficult of my life, and looking back I did not realize how much strength I have been receiving from the Temple each week. I'm so grateful Heavenly Father allows us to go to His home here on earth even when we are so imperfect and full of sins. 

* I also think that if I could be described in one picture, this would be pretty close to accurate...

K BYE. 

xoxo,

Alliecat

Lately

Have you ever had so much on your mind that you don't even know how to gather your thoughts and get them recorded? That's me. I know it's been waaaaaay too long since I've blogged, but I've honestly had so many deep and personal things/ thoughts/ lessons learned that I just didn't even know where to start. I have learned some important things though...

1. Family is so very important. It's so hard to watch your own family struggle in various ways, but it's so comforting to see my family rally around whoever it is that may be struggling and just try to serve them. Sometimes we may wonder why our family goes through certain trials that seem impossibly difficult, but maybe these trials are more of a blessing than we may realize... I've been noticing in my family that although we are going through very difficult trials right now, we have never been closer. We've never been more concerned for each other and eager to serve each other and what a blessing it has been to grow so close to them through these trials!

2. Heavenly Father is intricately involved in the tiny details of our lives. When things aren't working out for me, I sometimes find myself starting to wonder if He has forgotten me... And then tender mercies like this happen to me and it brings me right back to what I've always known to be true.. Last Sunday i was driving up to Ogden for my friend Lauren's farewell. As I was getting ready to leave I decided to call my friends who had already left and asked if they could pull off the freeway so I could follow them (Heaven help me and my sense of direction... I swear I could still manage to get lost driving to my parents house... hahaha). I was enjoying a peaceful Sabbath morning drive when we had just gotten off the freeway and stopped at the first light. When we stopped, I noticed my overheating light turn on and saw the temperature gauge shoot all the way up past the red zone. I was turning my car onto a small rode in front of an empty parking lot as this was happening and not even 20 seconds after the light went on, my car started shaking and then it was dead. I turned off the car and called my friends to come back and get me and as I was waiting, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the timing of my car to die. Although it's never fun for your car to die out of nowhere, i realized that it could have been so much worse. I had only been off the freeway for about a minute, I last minute decided to follow my friends and they happened to have an extra seat in their car to get me back home. As if this wasn't enough of a tender mercy, my brother's old mission president owns a repair shop in Ogden that is about 5 minutes away so we were able to get it towed to that shop, my brother-in-law was traveling out of town last week which meant my mom took his car and I took her car all week so we all could have cars AND the parking lot where my car died was Lauren's dads office, my friend's farewell that I was going to! If that wasn't evidence of the "divine clock," then I don't know what is! He is in every single detail.

3. Life is too short to get hung up on the little things. I feel like I am still a child in the Gospel and in life, but the bigger my perspective gets, the easier it is to just let the little things go. I am nowhere near perfect, but I definitely am noticing weight being lifted off my shoulders the more I choose to let go of things that just don't matter.

4. This world is spiraling downward at a rapid pace and I would be lying if I said that it doesn't terrify me sometimes. I feel like there are so few places that are "safe," in the world now... Out in public, on the internet, TV, the radio, books... Satan has been hard at work for years slowly poisoning the world in such sneaky ways, and I believe that hollywood is his greatest tool. I just feel like more than ever before it's so important for us to be so sensitive to the things we are learning from hollywood. It's so important to be aware of the Spirit that is brought into your life from the media and to make the Spirit of Christ the most important thing in our lives.

5. The small and simple things are the biggest form of protection, the best medicine, and the best way to combat doubt, fear and depression. Every time I read my scriptures, choose to do a small act of service, pray, take the Sacrament, go to the Temple, I feel my soul getting stronger. A testimony isn't one big event, it is the culmination of a lot of little events. I'm so grateful for the small and simple things that bring me confidence and peace everyday. 

Life is so great :) the Church is true folks!

xoxo, 

Alliecat

2013...

Last year as I was writing out my new years resolutions, the primary song, "I'm Trying to be like Jesus," was playing on repeat in the background as I was writing, so I decided that this song was my theme song for 2012. This year as I was writing my 2013 resolutions, the hymn "Have I Done any Good in the World Today?," was playing on repeat in my head over and over again. I still haven't gotten this song out of my head, so this song has been deemed as my 2013 theme song. The message is simple, beautiful, profound and something that every human should try to abide by...

“Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad, made someone feel glad? If not I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burdens been lighter today, because I was willing to share? Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way? When they needed my help was I there?

Then wake up, and do something more than dream of your mansions above. Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.

There are chances for work all around just now, opportunities right in our way. Do not let them pass by saying, “sometime I’ll try,” but go and do something today.

Then wake up, and do something more than dream of your mansions above. Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.” 

After praying and pondering long and hard, this is a peek into my 2013 resolutions.

1. Pray for an opportunity to serve someone everyday. 

- Start by serving the people that are closest to me, because they are the ones who deserve it the most. Make serving them a natural habit.

- Be specific about who I want to serve and how I feel I can best help them.

- NEVER pass up an opportunity to serve someone.

2. This is the year of financial success and control!

- I recently got promoted at work which means I can have the freedom to really learn about "adult," finances. 

- Learn the value of money, budgeting, saving and smart spending. 

3. Build so much confidence in the Lord that I can't help but feel confident in myself.

- Pray everyday for me to feel confident in the Lord.

- Pray to feel the confidence that HE has in ME.

- Even if there are days when I don't feel confident in myself, learn how to really fake it til I make it. 

4. Be as social as I can, meet as many new people as I can and date as much as I can.

(this is me being super vulnerable which is a big deal for me.)

- I feel like that I'm genuinely ready for the next chapter in my life and it all begins with dating.. That's why #3 is SO very important for me this year! 

Here's to making commitments to myself and to my Heavenly Father to become all that He has intended me to be. I'm so excited to see what 2013 has in store, and I hope you all feel the same excitement that I do! Cheers!!! 

xoxo, 

Alliecat 

Resolutions

2012 treated me oh so well. Best year of my life so far and I'm so grateful for that.

As much as I loved this last year, it's time to move on to a new year. There is something so refreshing about being able to wipe your slate clean and start over.

I take new years resolutions seriously, because it's a time to really reflect your priorities, your weaknesses, strengths and think about what you really want out of life. It's an opportunity to progress, move forward, become more like Christ... To change, grow, be better. 

I'm SO looking forward to 2013 and can't wait to implement my resolves to be better!

Quotes #2

Round 2 of some of my favorite quotes!

* "Thank you for rejecting my demands and giving me the better part." -The Forgotten Carols

* "Even though I don't have much, I always have enough to give."

* "It doesn't matter what you have done, it matters what you are doing." -Salah McLean

* "The Gospel is the means to comfort the troubled and trouble the comfortable."

* "Allow others to make mistakes." -Sister Terry

* "What we say is a reflection of what is in our hearts"

* "Everything in our life will fall into place if we love those around us." -President Ucthdorf

* "God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way; He wants to make us like Jesus."

* "Improvement, refinement and change is repentance. A righteous person is a repentant person."

* "Satan attracts the unsuspecting..."

* "We cannot cross the line even once due to extenuating circumstances, because we will find that the rest of our lives will be a long string of extenuating circumstances." -Brother Eggett

What are your favorite quotes??

xoxo, 

Alliecat

Things I've learned...

Some things I've learned this last semester...

* I've learned how blessed I am to have people in my life that love me no matter what. Not just normal people, but choice, select, inspiring and loyal people who are patient with me. I'll admit that I was not the easiest person this last semester.... My schedule was impossible to work with, I didn't even have time for myself let alone time for anyone else, I was tired, I was scared, I was lonely, I was overwhelmed and just.... blah. I was not the best daughter/sister/aunt/ friend and yet, regardless of how guilty I feel for that, my people were beyond patient with me and loved me through it all. THANK YOU for not giving up on me and for supporting me through everything!

* I've learned that people matter the most. Work, school, and other things fail in comparison to the happiness of family and friends. When you get so busy that people suddenly get put on the back-burner, it's seriously time to re-evaluate your priorities. Work and school are SO very temporal. Important, but temporal. People are eternal and that's what matters most.

* I've learned the consequences of stress and sleep deprivation. It's never a good sign when the little sleep you do get is kind of pointless because you wake up even more exhausted because your dreams consist of your "to-do list," or stressing about an assignment or work. It's never a good sign when you're lucky to eat twice a day and you're lucky if the little food you do eat doesn't make you sick. It's also NEVER  a good sign when you consistently lose chunks of hair out of nowhere because of stress...... I've learned, again, that taking care of our bodies has to be a major priority.

* I've learned that sock buns are possibly the best thing that's ever happened to me! During finals week, I wore my hair in a sock bun for 4 days in a row....4 days!! I went a few days past what is socially acceptable without washing my hair thanks to corn starch (miracle worker) and the sock bun.... TMI? Just bein real here peeps.. #realtalk

* I've learned that the more specific we are in our prayers, the more specific our answers will be. The Lord is so willing to bless us with our righteous desires as long as we ask humbly ask Him. 

* And I've learned, again, that even the most impossible things are possible with the Lord. He loves us deeply and only wants to see us succeed. He doesn't want our circumstances to stay impossible. He only wants us to stay in the impossible for a short time so that He can teach us and help us grow. I know it's so hard to believe this in the midst of trials, but the trials in our lives are only for our benefit. As I look back at the most difficult times of my life, I am the most grateful for them, because they have taught me lessons I couldn't have learned any other way. They truly have shaped me into a better person and for that I am eternally grateful. 

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals! 

xoxo,

Alliecat

... And then there's me.

You see, most single girls dress up like this for Halloween...

or this...

or this...

AND THEN THERE'S ME...

Yes, those are cats you see all over me. Yes, that is a picture of a cat I made a necklace out of. YES, I'M SINGLE.


HAPPY HALLOWEEN. 

xoxo,

AllieCAT (Get it? Cause I'm a cat lady for Halloween? Haha)

Reality check

"Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life.

Is it?" - President Uchtdorf

When our beloved President Uchtdorf said this in our most recent General Conference, I literally felt my heart drop to my stomach, and I knew that this talk was meant just for me. 

Lets be real here for a few minutes. If I'm being 100% honest, I am completely overwhelmed with my life right now. Just like it says in the Doctrine & Covenants section 10 verse 4, "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means..." 

I have taken on more than i can handle. I'm not saying this to brag, boast, or to make myself sound like my life is incredibly productive and thriving and happy. While my life has been blessed beyond words, I can definitely say that I'm in somewhat of a "rutt," (we all know what these feel like all too well) because for the first time in my life I can honestly say that I've taken on more than I can handle. When I first started feeling overwhelmed, I was getting frustrated with myself, because I've always been such a busy person that I'm used to the feeling. Before this semester began, I knew that I was being very ambitious by taking 15 credits of the hardest classes I've ever taken, plus working full time, plus student teaching seminary. But I kept telling myself, "tough it out. You can do this, you've done this before," so I kept pushing myself just assuming that I would be able to handle every aspect of my life. And that's exactly what was making me so unhappy!

I felt my passion for school almost completely diminish. I didn't go to class to truly learn, I went to class because I had to. And while I was in class, I was doing assignments for other classes because that's the only time I had to do it. Then it finally started clicking with me... "If I'm not even passionate about school anymore and I am struggling to even scrape by in my classes, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose? What's so 'glorious' about being busy if I don't even feel joy in the things that I'm doing?" 

I am significantly happier when I am living a productive life. There is a reason that I've had a job since I was 13 (I'm not kidding... I started nannying when I was 13 and have always had a job since then. I think I blame my work ethic on my daddy, something that all of my siblings have acquired). However, I think I am just now discovering the difference between busy and productive; I feel like busy is just finding things to fill your time where as productivity is filling your time with things that are helping you achieve your goals and working towards becoming your best self. 

After this semester, I've promised myself to not get caught up in the glorification of busyness, but rather get caught up in the things that matter most. 

I'm promising myself to slow down the pace of my life so I can ponder on the things I learn and savor the moments of this incredible life that I've been given. 

xoxo,

Alliecat

Laugh out loud worthy

There is some funny stuff on Pinterest that the world needs to see! (or see again if you've already seen them.)

Still laugh EVERY TIME I see this!!



Happy Thursday!

xoxo,
Allliecat

*Catch up in RaNdOm form*

Hey ya lil' cuties! (and by that I mean my mom and sisters... probably the only peeps who read this anymore.  hahaha.) Promise I'm still alive! I'll catch you up in RaNdOmS!

* School has been back in full swing, and this semester is kickin' my booty. Lets just say I'm in a Community Health Stats class.... and I haven't taken math in about 5 years... Yeah.... it's gonna be brutal!

Present from Honduras from Julia. Favorite/ creepiest headband ever! 

* On top of the 15 credits I'm taking, I'm also working full time at Vivint! I work in the scheduling department and I'm loving it! I go to school from 8:00-2:00 and then go straight to work from 3:00-9:00. It's pretty tough doing school and working full time, but it's manageable at the moment.

Always workin

* On top of school and work, I also start student teaching SEMINARY tomorrow!!!!! I never even thought once about teaching seminary until my last week of EFY. I LOVE being with teenagers and teaching them about the Gospel, so I thought, "Hey, why not give it a shot?!" The S&I (Seminary & Institute teacher training program) is EXTREMELY competitive. I'll just be teaching for 2 weeks this semester and then if they like me and if I like it still, I could hired as a part-time student teacher next semester. After that, I could either get asked to student teach for a second semester, get hired to be a full time teacher right then, or I wouldn't get hired at all. In my class alone, there are 25 people and there are 2 other classes at the institute with the same number of people. And that's just at the UVU institute! So I'm for sure not planning on even getting asked to student teach, so if I don't get hired, I will still be so happy! But I'm still so excited and super nervous to start teaching tomorrow!!

* On top of school, work, and student teaching, I also helped start a brand new choir!!! Remember LDC?? (How could you not? It was my life for 3 years. Haha.) Well,  Brother Eggett and I have been talking for almost a year now about starting an LDC Alumni choir. Well, he got asked by the church to get a choir to sing for some big event at Christmas time, so we decided that now would be the perfect time to form the choir! It is AMAZING. It's all of the alumni from Brother Eggett's directing years, so 6 years of singers! Direct quote from Brother Eggett during our first rehearsal... "You guys realize this is the best sounding choir in Utah aside from the Mo-tab right?" It's incredible!

* I love my family a lot. And my nieces and nephews are so stinkin' cute I can't even handle them!!! 

* Oh, I guess I had a birthday in there somewhere too? The big 23! Grown up birthdays are super lame. It was just a regular day.... School and work. But it was still such a good day and I got so much birthday love, so THANK YOU for all the birthday loves!! Special shout-out to Sierra, Lindsey, Heather, Claire and Julia! They are my sisters. NEVER in my life have I had more fun and laughed harder with a group of people then I have with them! 

love

these

girls!

* Oh, Heather got married, yay!! She is now offically Mrs. Heather Wallace! Well... actually... A few weeks before they got married, they printed 800 invitations that had a slight printing error. Her husbands name is Neil Aaron Wallace and his name on the invites was Neil Aarab Wakkace!!! So we like to call her Aarab Wakkace.... hahaha.

it's official!

sisters

* I also moved back to Provo. I miss living in Orem at Ventana with my whole heart and soul, but I'm still loving living in University Avenue Condos! 

roomies & bffs!

this chick is LITERALLY my sister. Love you so much

Well, the Church is true peeps and life is wonderful! 

xoxo,
Alliecat

PS,
is anyone else LOVING this fall weather??!?!!? OBSESSED. 

9 weeks

The last 9 weeks were some of the hardest and absolute most fun of my life! Being an EFY couselor for 9 weeks at BYU was an absolute dream come true, and I'll tell you a little bit about what I learned and why it was such a blast!

week 1!

* I got to be "mother," to about 300 "children," ages 14-18! There is something truly invigorating about being around the youth of the church, and I think that is one reason why it's possible for us counselors to be able to function all summer long! They taught me more than I was ever expecting to learn from them. SO much. And their strength is truly inspiring, and I fully understand why they are referred to the "Royal Generation," or the "Chosen Generation." They are some of the best people that will ever walk this earth.

Aaron! (It's hard for me to choose favorites.... but he is definitely one of them!)

My babies from week 2! (tied for my favorite week! no words to describe how amazing this week was and it was all because of THEM!)

Daisy and Brittany! (these girls weren't just my babies... they were serious some of my great friends at EFY! Love you babies!)

Kassin and Michael! (same with these two clowns!!)

* My Co-Counselors were phenomenal! Like, some of the best counselors in EFY history! I can't even tell you how much I learned from each one of them and how inspired I was by them, becasue you sure learn a lot about somebody by watching them interact with teenagers. Working in a partnership is humbling and inspiring.

Kenneth! (weird.. the ONLY "Co" picture from all summer...?)

* On that note, I met some of the best people I'll ever know in my life at EFY! There is a reason why 1 in 20 people get hired for EFY and that was proven to me in so many of the counselors I've met. I know that some of these friendships I had before earth and we re-connected here!

Aimee and Christine! Worked with them on our BC team! Indescribable how much i love these girls. (Special shout out to Aimee! XOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXO)

Julia! This girl is an angel. So blessed to be friends with her!

* I had the very humbling, rare, incredible opportunity of being a BC for a couple of weeks! BC stands for Buliding Counselor which means that you're a counselor to the counselors and that you're more involved the "legistics," of EFY. I have zero idea as to why I was given this wonderful opportunity, but it was such a huge blessing and highlight of my whole EFY experience! My team, "The Averngers," are some of the abolute best people I've ever known in my life. Inspiring, life changing, hilarious, down to earth, and so much fun! So incredibly blessed.

My incredible BC team!! Christine, Michael (his voice melted my heart into 1,000 pieces! WOW!), Amber, Aimee, Shawn, Cameron, Maria and Levi! Love my Avengers!!

* Exhausting is a HUGE understatement! I never thought it was possible to fall asleep standing up. And then I did EFY and was proven wrong! Lol. Averaging 6 hours of sleep a night isn't terrible, but the fact that you have to exert 115% of your energy all day everyday is what makes it exhausting. The counselors have some HILARIOUS stories of falling asleep in meetings, morningsides, musical program, free-time duty, dozing off for a few seconds while standing up WHILE teaching a lesson!!! (all of these have happened to me!)

I was supposed to be on free time duty making sure the "hooligans," weren't being too crazy. I sat down for about 1 minute, and the next thing I know, I woke up almost 2 hours later with about 15 children staring at me!! Thank you to my boys for being creepy and taking pictures of me. lol.

* EFY dances are another level of epic. Best workout EVER! And the most fun workout ever! Couple of facts about EFY dances..

1. They are quite possibly the absolute worst smell in the world. 300-1,000 sweaty, hot teenagers.... SICK!
2. During slow songs, the kids aren't allowed to get drinks, go to the bathroom or hang out by the walls!! There are counselors guarding all of those places and we turn them away and help them find someone to dance with! HILARIOUS!!! The kids always look so confused and terrified when we force them away and force them into the hands of another confused and terrified teen to dance with. lol.
3. My favorite thing is to watch the tiny little 14 year old boys muster up the courage to dance with a girl for probably the first time ever in their life! And after the little boys ask the girls, my favorite is when they are both to nervous to even make eye contact so they are both looking in opposite directions at the floor, and not even saying a word to eachother!
4. They are the FUNNEST things in the whole world!

* If I eat another BYU catered meal again, I might throw up. (burittos, chicken cordon bleu, the wraps.... BARF.)

* I learned so much about patience. Trying to teach teenagers about the Gospel is a pretty big test of patience, and I'm so glad that they taught me so much about what it means to be truly patient.

Hahahahaah. Perfect picture!

* I learned a lot about loving people. And especially loving the kids who are loud, obnoxious, hyper, inappropriate, have the attention span of a goldfish and only care about meeting hot girls. 9 times out of 10, those are the kids that are walking miracles. They come from broken homes and broken families, they are the only member in their group of friends or sometimes even in their whole high school and it truly is a miracle that they choose to have a testimony regardless of their circumstances.

* Prayer. Prayer is real, and it works every single time. Always. No matter what. Prayer will literally change your life, because it has changed mine completely for the better. I've never relied so heavily on prayer as I did this summer, and because of that I saw miracles happen in my life everyday.

Andy! One of the coolest kids I've ever met. He's 6'7"!!!

My week 1 babies! I'll never forget them :)

This week was a miracle.

* Being able to teach the Gospel was too amazing for words. I love, love, LOVE teaching so much and that's why I'm so confident in my career choice, to be a teacher!

* I could go on and on about what I learned, but truly the best part of EFY was getting to meet the incredilbe youth of the church. I grew to love them more than I could ever say in words and I miss them so. much. My last night of EFY, I cried so hard because I already missed my "babies," so much. I will never understand why I was so blessed to meet these incredible people who have changed me for the better in so many ways.

Lantzen and Cameron! (some of my other very favorites!)

Hardest, most exhausting, demanding, hilarious, funnest, and most life changing 9 weeks of my life!

xoxo,
Alliecat