TRADITION!

I love this movie! It is one of my all time favorites. It makes me laugh and cry and it is just an all around good movie! I started watching it this morning while I was getting ready for church. As I was watching, the very first line really stood out to me.

"...You might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!"

The only things I would change in the quote are... we stay because we are tried and the way we keep our balance is through faith.

 In June of last year, I was having a really hard time. I remember praying a lot asking what the point of me being on the Earth was. I wasn't really doing anything with my life. I was in a job that I didn't see myself at for my entire life, but it was OK for the moment. I really wasn't going anywhere. Every time I would ask for the next step for my life, I got a "just wait" answer. I was going crazy and I just felt like I didn't have a purpose. I felt like I was just a waste of space and I was getting restless. I was done waiting. For those who know me you know I am not a patient person. I hate waiting. I kept praying to just let me be done if I wasn't doing anything with my life. This went on for about a month and a half and I had finally decided to stop fiddling and get off the roof to safety. I walked into Sacrament Meeting and sat down. I felt like I was just going through the motions. I know the church is true, but I feel like sometimes I just get set in my ways, and forget why I do the things I do. After Sacrament Meeting was over, I walked into Sunday School and sat down. Someone, who up until this point I didn't really know, came over to me and said, "I just felt like I needed to write you a letter." I waited until I got home to read the letter. I couldn't believe how inspired it was. This person wrote a full page letter about how I am such a good example and how much the Lord loves me. Basically it was a letter of praise to me. This person and I are now very good friends and I really look up to him. I hope that I can one day be as close to the Lord as he is and receive inspiration like that. That instance has really been on my mind lately. I don't really know why, so I decided to share it and hope that maybe someone needed to hear it. Perhaps you are looking for a way to serve someone and don't quite know how. I know I wouldn't be the same person I am today if I had not received that letter. 

Also I just wanted to add that I know my Heavenly Father knows me as an individual. That has been very apparent in my life today. There have been some things that I've been praying about that were answered for me today through someone I have never met until today. I know without a doubt that He loves me and He truly knows me. I am so very grateful for that knowledge.

My daily funnies!

My boss is Chinese and she cracks me up daily. I think it was last week she was on the phone with a customer and she was confirming their address and she said, "S like sexy, right?" I just started laughing. I just couldn't help it. We had to tell her that some people might be offended by that and to say S like Sam instead. We made her a list of words that went with letters. It was pretty great. She does and says really funny things daily. This is one reason I love my job so much. Today there were two great stories.

The first one is the funniest. Today a customer walked in and asked if we had brown rice. She looked at him and said, "We have white rice, put soy sauce it is brown." He just looked at me and I told him we don't have brown rice. I was trying so hard not to laugh. After he left we had a conversation about brown rice. She cracks me up!

As a preface to this story... Sandy is atheist. She hates talking about religion. She doesn't listen at all. Not that I've tried, I've just seen others try... After my last delivery today, I walked in and there were 3 people sitting in the restaurant. Two guys and a girl. I was sitting behind the counter waiting for my food to be done so that I could leave. (Sandy makes me dinner every night. She's awesome like that.) One of the guys turned to me and asked me if I would go to his church. I told him no and when he asked why I replied, "I already go to church." He asked me if I prayed and I said I do. He asked me how often and I said, "I pray once when I wake up and I don't stop until I fall asleep." The other guy he was with told me it was a really good answer but he didn't believe me. RUDE, right?!?!? Anyway the guy kept asking me questions about "my church." One of the last one he asked me was how I knew it was true. I responded with, "I've had many confirmations in my life that have told me that it is true." He asked me like what and Sandy said, "Lala, your food is done. You go now." I hadn't even noticed she had put my food in front of me, but she was practically pushing me out the door. I was laughing too hard I couldn't even say goodbye. It was pretty great. She doesn't understand why I would drive to Alabama to go to church when there are plenty of churches here in Columbus. She is very funny about religion. I love working with her though!

Best Valentine's Day!

First of all, I normally am very much not in favor of Valentine's Day. I think it's stupid. Maybe because I've never had a Valentine, but whatever. I like to be bitter. However, today was awesome!

When Chase got home from school, Jimmy was watching Land Before Time, so I was hiding in my room. Chase knocked on my door and when he came in, he gave me this paper. I only read what he wrote, so I didn't really understand because what he wrote was, "Love me. Kiss me. Hug me. It's Valentine's Day. Secret Surprise. We love someone." So I just thought, "Oh that's really sweet, he made me a Valentine. Then after I said thank you and he walked out, I noticed the top had the title, "A best friend is someone who..." Then he wrote "To Anna. From Chase." SO CUTE!!! I couldn't have asked for a better Valentine. I love these boys so much. They are so very sweet to me.

The second reason I loved today... I had to work. I love my job. As lame as it is... I love it. I don't get lost nearly as much. I mostly get lost in the apartment complex parking lots. I know where a lot of things are in Columbus now. Mostly work rocked today because I made $70 just in tips. Some guy gave me a $25 tip tonight. It was the best night ever. I am so happy to be here. I love it here. Thanks Manda and Joe for letting me live with you. I love you oh, so very much.

On a NASTY side note... I saw my first live cockroach. I was so disgusted! I don't get grossed out by bugs, but they are HUGE! Not to mention way super ugly. I am not a fan. I couldn't bring myself to kill it because I would have to get close to it. I went to put a box over it and it ran under the dishwasher. I still get the heebees when I have to walk over there. I keep thinking it's going to run out at me. Scared me to death!

Lady Gaga

OH, HOW EXCITED I AM!!!!

I'm going to the Lady Gaga concert and I can hardly contain my excitement. She's a nut as you can see by the photos I've put up. I thoroughly enjoy her music though.

She is so crazily AWESOME!

 She met the Queen of England! Super awesome, right? I think so!

The concert is GA, so I'm going to get there early so I can be up close and personal with Lady Gaga. I am super excited!

You're going to catch a cold from the ice inside your soul.

These lyrics are brilliant. I have listened to this song over and over again. I love it. I'm a little obsessed.

As I'm sitting in my bed at 1:20am (thanks to the stupid decision of Dr. Pepper at 10:30pm) I'm again listening to this song thinking about they lyrics and I realize they are for me. One of my friends once told me that my heart has a diamond shell over the top so as not to let anyone in. I don't let people into my life very much and when I do, they are in for the long haul. It can't be just for a little bit. I guess it's because I think that my life is some sort of an embarrassment, so not a whole lot of people know everything about me. Just a precursor... this post is going to be extremely random. My brain is moving at a crazy fast pace and I'm cold so I'm just typing to be done.

Along with the paragraph before this before my precursor... Thursday I was training in Alabama for my new job which I'm hoping I grow accustomed to. During my lunch break I really wanted to call one of my friends who knows me a little too well. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself. Anyway while we were talking he asked me if I had heard the new P!nk song. I highly recommend it. I would just type P!nk Perfect Clean Version in the search bar of youtube to check it out. You'll notice why you want the clean version when you see the complete title. Anyway... I hadn't heard it yet but right when I got home, I checked it out. At that time I realized I have the most inspired friends. This song is exactly how I feel all the time. There is a line near the middle where she talks about changing the voices inside your head and getting them to like you instead. That has been one of my main struggles lately. Especially tonight. I was laying in bed and I had a gentle panic attack thinking about my job and how I'm never going to get the hang of it and how it's just too hard. Granted, I really don't like it very much, but it's a job and it makes me feel like I'm not such a lazy butt just laying around the house. However, Yesterday being my first day on site really had me discouraged. As a couple we sold 4 tests. I sold 1 of them. I'm not a very good salesperson. Mostly because if someone tells me they don't want something after I've given them all the information, I'm not going to push them into buying. They have already told me they don't want it, but let me tell you why you secretly do want it. You don't even know that you want it. I would go super crazy if someone did that to me. But it had me feeling super inadequate and I wasn't even doing half the tests I'll be doing here in Georgia. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I don't really know what I'm trying to say or where I'm going with this post. I think I just needed to get this stuff out. So here it is. I'm sorry that I'm all sorts of scattered. Remember that it's 1:37am for me. I love you all!

Brittney, this one's for you

I saw your comment on my post today and and remembered I told you I would write a post about how I am more stubborn than Caleb.

Reason #1 - When I set my mind to something, it is done. No questions asked. It's just done. One way or another it gets done.

Reason #2 - When Caleb has an idea that I don't agree with... We go with my idea. Always. Always will be.

Reason #3 - I do what I want.

Really, I don't know why I'm more stubborn than Caleb. I just like to think I'm better than him in one way and that's all I've got! He is who I aspire to be like. He is so much better than I will ever be in every aspect. He is so grown up and super smart. He can do anything. He's the best little brother I could have ever asked for!

I had to put that in there because I knew my mom would read this and tell me I was a bully. She always takes Caleb's side! :)

The big M...

So remember in my last blog post I mentioned I wanted to go back to school and study Culinary Arts? I still do... I'm just putting it off a semester or so... On December 29, 2010, my brother asked me if I would move to Georgia with he and his family. After much consideration (2 days) I decided I would do it. So, I am now looking for a job here in Georgia. I'm actually looking forward to church on Sunday so I can meet some new people and perhaps get out a little more. I'm afraid to drive myself around because I don't know where anything is and I get lost enough in Utah. I can't imagine how lost I would find myself here. The ward I'll be going to is in Alabama and is a 40-ish minute drive. I'm really excited for the new-ness of it all. I've been needing a new place to be. I've gotten a little too comfortable in my old ways I think. Unfortunately this is all I've got time for today. I am doing well though and trying to figure out what it is I'm supposed to be doing here! I wish you all a Happy New Year!