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