Advice please.

Haha Soooo .....I have this dilemma!  So I met this guy a few weeks ago or so, and he is like, everything that I could possibly want in a guy!  Amazing guy.  Super hard worker, happy, friendly, easy to talk to, fun, spiritual, loves missionary work, very much his sibling's favorite (aka great brother friend).....

BUT.....I found out that he is 4 1/2 years YOUNGER than me!!!!  Geesh.

What do I do??  Is that way too much younger? I would logically say ABSOLUTELY way too young.  But every time I see him and what not, I think, Wow.  He is awesome.  Now, he hasn't acted interested or even tried asking me out, so maybe I am jumping the gun here, but I guess I'm wondering if I should even flirt with him at all.

What do you think?  Advice please. Ha!

The Bachelor

The Bachelor:  aka, Provo Dating in a nutshell.

So I keep asking myself, WHY do you dislike Vienna so much????  You know, I just can't put my finger on it...maybe I am totally misjudging her.  Maybe it's the big eyes she gives him, that I don't think come naturally...

 I really like Tenley,.."like the number Ten"...Oh Jake, please please pick her!!!

And on to Jake, I think he is an awesome guy.  I do sense that he is way too good with words sometimes...but I think his heart is in the right place.  I could find something wrong with any man so don't mind me....

Why oh why do we girls enjoy this show so much? Maybe its because of all the gossip and the catfights.  Entertainment at its best! :)

Why I Miss the Ocean....

Amazing. Simply amazing.  This artist's name is Clark Little, and he is a surfer-turned-photographer on behalf of a request from his wife.  She wanted him to buy some nice pictures to hang on their wall, and he wanted to save money!  Its just breathtaking how beautiful these are!  (PS these are just little portions of the whole picture, as the whole picture wouldn't fit in the collage. ha...)

Yellow Roses

Do you ever have those dreams that make you wake up in a great mood??  I had one of those this morning.  Maaybe because it was of my wedding reception....ha! (which, be it known, isn't happening any time soon...) But really, I'm not like, one of those people who dreams about getting married all the time....that's kind of weird.  I think the part I loved was that I was marrying this super happy guy, and there were YELLOW ROSES!! I LOVE yellow roses!  They make me so happy!!!

Such a happy little flower!!  I dont even know why I like them, or if I will even use them for my wedding reception, after all that means the bridesmaides dresses would probably have to be yellow....ugh.....not to mention they don't have any meaning of love whatsoever, just pure platonic friendship and joy. 

So...maybe not.....ahem...but they are very cute flowers.  This is such a random post, and be it known I'm NOT one of those girls...........

Have a very good day, ok?

FHE in Single's Wards

As some of you may know, I have been appointed as the "Grandma" of my single's ward here in Provo. Maybe because I am almost 26 and could almost be some of these girls' mother.  Granted, they don't use that word for the official calling, but thats prettymuch what it is, as I oversee the "parents".  I think FHE in a single's ward is one of the coolest callings, because basically you plan an activity for a small group of people each week, along with a spiritual thought/lesson and treats.  It is a great opportunity to reach out to individuals in the ward who may feel a little bit too shy to join into the huge activities.  It creates opportunities to build friendships, and I am happy to say because of some of the groups that we paired up, there are certain individuals who are going to be getting engaged soon! (that isn't the intention of FHE by the way...it just happened to go that way!)   It's also a great reprieve from the rest of the week.

So our second counselor went and got some FHE manuals for our leaders.  Did you know that the Church is still using those old school FHE manuals?  Ha!  So funny.....just flipping through the pages is entertaining!  Everyone needs to have one of these.  There is good stuff inside, though, don't get me wrong.

I was thinking, though, we really need manuals for single's wards.  After all, everyone is supposed to have FHE, regardless of whether or not we are married, and right now I'm not going to teach a lesson to 25 year olds about preparation for baptism.  Hopefully our leaders can get creative and bend the lessons to fit...or just use other articles or whatever.  I wonder if a single's program book can be suggested..hmm.....

Trouble about having FHE in single's wards:

• Awkward dating situations......so and so break up but are still in the same group....then maybe you have the whole peeing-in-the-kiddie-pool problem....but that happens in wards whatever the case
• No one wants to go because of Monday night football (or The Bachelor...which we record so that is no excuse)
• Someone in the group gets offended at the parent(s) and stop showing up
• People who are engaged never show up cause they are always with their fiancee who is invariably in Salt Lake...that's cool whatev
• For some reason the treat is always something that will make you fat. Ha!  oh gotta love the traditions we create in this LDS society....

Overall, though, its way fun and everyone should just go...regardless. :)  

Fire at WalMart

What a crazy couple of days! It definitely warrants two separate posts.

So today I went to WalMart to pick up some random things. I'm almost done, and a sales associate comes by and tells me I am going to have to leave my cart and evacuate the store. I'm like, crap, did I accidentally set something off? Do they think I stole something??

But the whole store was evacuating. Soon we were all outside looking at a seemingly fine store. The firetrucks rushed onto the scene...I'm like...SWEET! Maybe there was some crazy customer in there! But, they WERE firetrucks...and this time they were actually there to do their appointed job of putting out a fire! So awesome.

Apparently one of the ovens that they cook the rotisserie chickens in got too hot and caught on fire. Something like that....You always want cool things like this to happen just so you have a story, so I'm glad I was able to witness it. And no one was hurt. :)

Crazy Manager

Ha! I have a good story for you.

So the other day, it was coming near the end of my shift, and my particular closing job was to clean around the soda machine and the counters all around it. There were two gigantic drinks sitting on the machine, and I figured they belonged to a couple of the cooks. So since I didn't see anyone around, I moved them off of the machine and onto the counter so that they could pick them up, and so that I could clean the soda machine. I also saw some random lids sitting on the counter on the other side (it's shaped like an L, and they were on the other end of the L). I figured some server, in a rush, had left those soda lids on the counter. So I grabbed them and tossed them in the trashcan that was sitting right under the counter.

Seconds later, my manager comes by. "What did you DO!" she says. "W HY DIDN'T YOU JUST ASK! THOSE WERE MY DRINKS! I JUST WANTED TO GET A DRINK FOR ME AND (C) BECAUSE ITS BEEN A LONG DAY! WHERE DID THE LIDS GO!!! did you THROW THEM AWAY!!!! What's WRONG WITH YOU!!!" She kept going on and on.....to the point where I just couldn't hold it in anymore and I started to cry. "Couldn't you have just WAITED for a few minutes!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK!!!!" (ok, all I did was move them onto the counter, and the lids were right on top of the trash....easily grabbed and rinsed off). Her daughter, another manager on that night, looked at me like "uh oh...." Her daughter bent over and took the lids out of the trashcan.

All the while, I am profusely apologizing and trying so hard not to cry. So I leave the scene while she is still yelling about it, because I wasn't sure what else I could do. I ran into the main eating room where it was packed with customers, and soon she was in my face again, yelling about how I shouldn't have done that. By this time I am crying, and its in front of everyone.

She says, "I'm sorry I made you upset, but you should have ASKED FIRST!" I am like, "It's ok, im sorry, i'm sorry.........!!"

I ran into the bar and started cleaning things up really fast, just to get my mind off of it..and IN SHE COMES AGAIN!!! She keeps going on and on! Servers come in and out in droves, and she is getting onto me in front of everyone...all my coworkers. Great....So here I am in full fledged tears and sobs and I'm doing that dumb breathing thing you do when you cry.....and I finally escape into a bathroom stall. She can't get me in there! It took me like 10 minutes to calm down.

Seriously??? Ridiculous. I have never had managers act like this before.....Now, I understand she may have been stressed out, and rightfully so, I mean, its a busy business and you have to please everyone. I'm not trying to dis her as a person by all means. But geesh.....

OK on to less sappy things....

OH MY GOSH olympics are AWESOME! I was just thinking how inspiring those athletes are! They are like, 16-30 somethings, and with all their dedication and hard work, they accomplish HUGE feats! I'm like, dude, at 16 I was taking pictures of myself with big red wax lips and wondering if any of the guys would ask me out to prom! Oh, and attempting to hit a tennis ball on my JV team. Ha!

They must learn some great lessons about life, seriously. How hard work and effort can lead to great accomplishments, and even the greatest athletes totally biff it in their most prime moment. Classic. I think I am going to go sharpen my ice skates now.

100th Post-Happy Valentine's Day :)

Wow! One Hundred Posts. Hopefully each one had something important to say, even if it was just something to make someone laugh or to share a little bit of my heart with someone out there who needs it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about life, and how un-complicated it really is, yet so very complicated at the same time because of our lack of having the entire perspective.

What is most important? The people around us, the people around us. Oh how often I take them for granted, but how much my feelings swell for them when I think about them. What would we do without each other? I love my family and my friends so much. Each person has such unique and beautiful qualities that have touched my life and have changed me into a better person. (sappy, yeah ...whatever ha! bring it on....)

I know as we focus on those things which are the most important, everything else melts away. Disagreements, misunderstandings, frustrations, and differences don't seem as big. Not that I am perfect at this by all means, ha! More love, and showing it, is what is really needed in the world today. :) May I suggest that as we show it, we feel it more as well.

Happy Valentine's day to all of you! :)

Missing the Mark

Me and a friend got into a discussion last night about the society that exists in a land with so many LDS people--about how sometimes we set up fences to prevent us from falling into the scary chasms of the deep. Fences that sometimes are set way farther back than they need to be. These fences tend to chase away people who feel like they are being judged. Now, it is their fault for getting offended, and that is a completely different story. Anyway, I'll give some examples.

For one, in order to be "nice", I think as Latter-day Saints we are somewhat afraid to be honest. We are afraid of offending, afraid of causing contention, afraid of what might happen. Now, if our purpose is to cause contention, that is completely inappropriate as well. However, I believe we also need to be real people, and not all this superficial nice stuff.

I'll give another example: wearing Sunday clothes all day long on Sunday. This is not an inappropriate thing, however, I don't believe that the Lord looks down on us if we change into a pair of jeans. I do feel like our hearts and minds should be focused on the Sabbath day, and I myself often just keep my skirt on because it helps me to remember. But lately I have noticed that for me it has almost become a "uh oh, if I don't, certain people will think I am not keeping the Sabbath day holy".....as soon as I started realizing how my intentions had changed, I changed into my jeans again--and guess what? I still felt like I was keeping the Sabbath day holy. And since mostly everyone in my ward also wears jeans, I actually noticed more people talking to me at Ward Prayer...odd, but maybe they felt like I wasn't judging them. (which I wasn't in the first place, but you know how that goes...not to say we should lower our standards so other people don't feel judged, by all means)

The whole heart of our religion is Christ. We are supposed to focus all we do on Him--our motivations, our actions, etc. I believe that no matter what point in life we are at--our lowest low or our most righteous high (and sometimes over-shooting the mark and feeling we are more righteous than other people because our fences are back farther than theirs), the Lord knows our hearts, and He is constantly trying to pull us back to Him and remind us what really matters most. I am grateful for this friend in that he reminded me that Christ loves each one of us more than we realize, and that is the reason why we should all treat everyone as He would.

My Picker is Broken

I'm getting to a point in life...or shall I say...ANOTHER point in life....where I've actually been trying when it comes to dating! Whoa...go figure. It's really hard for me to get out there, as it is for most individuals I am sure, but it seems every time I try, I either got there too late or the guy just isn't interested. OR..my favorite...which tends to happen to me quite regularly....He has some former flame that he can't get over, and even though he flirts with me and we go out a few times and maybe even get to the point where we SHOULD be in a relationship, he says, "I just can't get over so and so". (that story comes from a name rhyming with Heff...looooong story) Stab..stab..stab......or "I really like this girl, what do YOU think?" STAB STAB STAB!!! (ok I dont want any guys out there to read into this wondering if that is them....)

When did I become every likable man's relationship counselor? (Not that I mind it for my friends, by all means, but you get my drift....I really do enjoy talking to my guy friends about their girls. )

Or, perhaps, I always go after the ones that aren't right for me. Anyone else ever been there before? My picker is broken. I just hope the Lord forces the right one into my path...or forces me into his path...or something......

The trouble is, the one's that DO go after me are a little bit...well....scary. Now, I tend to be a little bit oblivious...so, I shouldn't generalize that statement to all males who are interested or have been forward. Let's just say maybe I am only aware of those who are incredibly forward and blunt. This is flattering for maybe a day...but it really doesn't last much longer than that. Haha poor guys....I really have the hardest time knowing if they are interested, and if I do know they are interested, I get scared away. I guess if they are they should just ask me out. And do it in an obvious way..not....lets hang out and watch a movie together with lots of other people around.

I guess what I'm saying is, this is just a big exasperated sigh. What am I doing that is so wrong?

Urban Dictionary: "Shayna"

1.	Shayna
	in the yiddish language, means pretty, or beautiful. Shayna maidela! you look so shayna tonight sweetie.
2.	Shayna
	Noun: 1. A celestial being on earth with he purpose is to bring true beauty and knowledge to the human race. 2. A super sexy woman who knows how to treat her man right. "You are my Shayna tonight." "I wish you were Shayna."
3.	Shayna
	Belongs to TeeJay...the most sexy female in the country. Smart as all (heck) with strategically placed tattoos and everyone wants her but cant cause Teejay will destroy you. Yo, I wish I had Shayna...but Teejay is there. Hmm...I like this Urban Dictionary thing ;)

She's So Shy

It seems like lately I've noticed more of my shy-ness coming out. Ha...I feel like I do pretty well sometimes, if I'm in the right frame of mind.....but I just get soo anxious sometimes around people that aren't my family members. I don't even know if anyone knows that! But there ya go, a big secret of Shayna. I guess when I say I do well at times, it really means I have put on a face, its not really me, but we are told all too often that we need to be a certain way--friendly, outgoing, cheerful, loving, lifting others up.....and I try to do that, but when it comes to people who don't know me well I guess I get really afraid of just being normal and me. Because I am really quiet....and reserved. But inside my brain there are all kinds of cool things going on! I just wish I could be able to open my brain up and let it out. And I do honestly like other people and care about their lives and stuff, I just don't know how to get that across. In my family I am such a different person! I love them soo much, and know that no matter how I am, they will love me back. And it's not like I'm a bad person around them, I'm just me. But I guess I try to guard *me* a lot, then I get all anxious about it....and then it just makes it worse. haha! Oh boy....I guess the Lord gives us weaknesses for a reason. .....sigh......I just hope whoever guy tries to go after me can figure out how to do it haha.....