Blessings

I think it is amazing how when you just start to put forth a little more effort, the Lord is so willing to bless you abundantly. He really does want us to be happy and is just waiting for us to realize that and show him that we are willing to accept it. He knows we are not perfect and we will stumble often, but he loves us anyway.

"Our perfect Father does not expect us to be perfect children yet. He had only one such Child. Meanwhile, therefore, sometimes with smudges on our cheeks, dirt on our hands, and shoes untied, stammeringly but smilingly we present God with a dandelion-as if it were an orchid or a rose! If for now the dandelion is the best we have to offer, He receives it, knowing what we may later place on the altar. It is good to remember how young we are spiritually."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell (That Ye May Believe, p. 100.)

I don't want a streamer . . . I want toilet paper!

I think Ellen is hilarious. I was watching one of her stand up DVDs with some friends tonight and I was crying I was laughing so hard. Here is a clip from it, but you should watch the whole DVD, it is great. If you fast forward to about 1:30 that is the beginning of my favorite part. What can I say, I really like bathroom humor.

sTori Telling

I have been reading Tori Spelling's book lately, and I have to admit that I like it. The rich and famous fascinate me, and it is interesting to read about all the stupid mistakes she made. But it also makes me wonder if people were ever to read about my life, would they want to beat me over the head a million times for all the stupid decisions that I make? Of course, I could never write a book about my life because it would put the reader to sleep in minutes, but it does make me reflect a little bit. Of course, I also like to believe that everything happens for a reason, and I can learn from every experience if I choose to. So here is to making a lot of dumb mistakes and learning from them!

A Hospital Visit

I went to visit Angela in the hospital yesterday. I had to run some errands in Draper anyway, so I thought I would stop by. She looked so little in her big nasty hospital bed. I would have taken pictures, but I don't think she would have appreciated it. Hospitals make me very uncomfortable, so I can't imagine what it must be like for her to stay there for several days. Some of the food didn't look too bad, but I brought her some Krispy Kremes just in case. At least she had a TV so we could watch the BYU football game. Go Cougars! Way to beat those Huskies! It was kind of interesting observing all the people walking by her room and the nurses coming in and out. I got to see different types of people. People I don't normally see down in P-town.

I also stopped by Ikea. I really heart Ikea. I think I did a good job limiting myself. I'm trying to save some money to buy a nicer camera. More on that later.

Today was Regional Conference in the Marriott Center. President Packer and President Uchtdorf spoke along with Sister Dibb. It was a delight to listen to them. Gotta love hearing them speak. I also worked on getting my room more situated. It has a long way to go, but it is feeling a little more homier.

Dollar for a stapler . . .

Today was not such a great day, so I decided to watch a little Office. Here are some favorite moments:

Central Park

Ok, so I wanted to post a couple more pictures from my New York trip. As you will see, I don't like taking pictures of people. Frankly, I think nature is prettier. Particularly Central Park. I kind of wish I could live there. I love that it is a park, but New York style. It isn't just a bench with some trees, it is filled with tons to do and see. Below is my absolute favorite picture. I think it looks like a painting.



Here are a couple more of my favorites. I really like bridges and lines, as you can probably tell. After this trip I have decided that I want to invest in a nice camera and maybe learn more about photography. I have always loved it, but never went anywhere with it. I'm getting bored with my hum-drum lifestyle, so here is to developing a hobby!

I Heart New York!

I finally have the Internet again, so I can post!! I'm all moved into my new apartment and so far things are going well. I'm making the best of it. Ok, and now for NYC!!! Oh, how I love that city!

After a restless red-eye, we arrived Saturday morning bright and early. We got to my friend Lisa's apartment and I got ready while Kevin crashed. That happened a lot during the trip. We mostly just wandered around Times Square and Central Park the first day. I also did an H&M walk-through. I had to make a mental list of the things I wanted to buy later in the week when we were staying in the hotel.

Sunday we went to my old ward and it was nice to see some old friends. That evening we walked a ton more. It felt sooo good!

Monday I checked into the hotel and did some work. I managed to get in 30 mins of H&M and dropped way too much money for such little time. Then we went to the U.S. Open!! It was amazing. Some of you maybe asking yourselves, but wait, when did April become a fan of tennis? Well, I have to admit that it wasn't until half way through the Men's match in Ashe stadium. It was getting late and a lot of people were leaving so Kevin decided to try to get closer to get some pictures. I was tired, so I stayed in our seats in the upper bowl. After a while I saw a woman handing out tickets to the section below me. I got curious and walked down to see what they were. Lo and Behold they were court side tickets! I called Kevin and met up with him to move closer to the court. We started out on the second row, but eventually we made it to the first row! Donald Young and James Blake were playing. Two very good looking gentlemen. I'm sure Kevin got some amazing pictures. My pictures are pretty bad, but I thought you should get a sense of how close I actually was.

More pictures to come!