Ugly buildings and better

Once upon a time in high school...

Lisa:     Hey, Mom - can you take me to that boutique I drove past once with Dad?
Mom:   Umm...sure. Do you know what it's called?
Lisa:     No.
Mom:   Do you know how to get there?
Lisa:     No.
Mom:   Do you have any idea where it is?
Lisa:     It's somewhere in Baton Rouge by some big, ugly buildings.

She got us to the boutique, in case you were wondering.

Once upon a time last week...

Lisa:     Hey, Megan - what's that song called that says "better"?
Megan: Better?
Lisa:     Yes, better.
Megan: Any other words?
Lisa:     I can't remember. But the song won't get out of my head and it's frustrating because I only know one word. *hums tune and sings only the word "better"*
Megan: Oh! I know what song you're talking about. I can't think of what it is though. But it says "no    more."

Two more words = success. Carine later solved the mystery. It's Adele's "Send My Love (to your new lover)". I know all the words now.

I really appreciate all the Sherlocks in my life.

First names, pants, and boys.

It's been a year.

There are very few people who still call me "Sister Hamilton." I'm really good at wearing pants (see my first post after I got home...pants were a struggle for awhile). And boys. Well, that's still a struggle.

Sister Hamilton's journal - March 21, 2015
Quarantine. ...Because of the meningitis outbreak on campus, we all have to stay in our apartments for the next week! We can't even go to church, and we had to cancel all of our appointments. They are bringing us a pill that will kill the bacteria if its in us. ... I'll get the pill and then they'll let me go home. ... It's like my mission just ended without warning. 

My heart broke that day. It was really hard. I cried. A lot. But I also recorded in my journal some really cool answers to prayers I got that day. God is so good.

We ended up getting permission to go to church as long as we didn't touch anyone (but let's be real...it was my last day in the field so there was plenty of hugging). And that's the last time I saw Tabsie.

Exactly a year after that last Sunday, I drove to Brigham City to see Tabatha and Drew sealed for time & eternity. My heart. Gosh, I don't even know how to write about how I felt on Tuesday. It was perfect.

Tabatha got baptized my last transfer, and Drew was my ward mission leader. They started dating soon after her baptism and were married last summer. He is the best fellowshipper <3 I love them.

It was fun to see some other Eugene people at the sealing, too! They still call me Sister Hamilton sometimes, and I love them for that.

I still hold to the comment I made in last year's blog post:

It was the best 18 months of my life. But this is going to be the best 18 months of my life, too. I figure as long as you are exactly where the Lord wants you to be, every 18 months can be the best. So here's to the next 18 months and whatever they might bring.

Dreams Come True

Just about every time I go on a date, I invite my roommates.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Yes, Lisa. He wants to go on a date with you. We aren't invited."

"But it would probably be more fun if y'all were there..."

"Lisa, you cannot invite us on your date."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind..."

"Lisa. No."

"Fineeeeeee."

It's a common conversation. So when Caroline got called into work and couldn't make last night's double date, I was excited to get to drag Carine on the date with me.  AND THEN *drum roll* the boys came to pick us up and insisted Megan come too. Elliot is on Spring Break in California so she was going to spend the night home alone studying, but my dreams came true and I got to bring my besties on my date. It was as wonderful as I always imagined it would be. The bad news is that I will continue to want them to come on all my dates with me, because I was right: dates are more fun when they are there.

Whale Shark seeking companionship of a Blue Tang

Picture this: I'm at the movies with my pals. A Finding Dory preview comes on. Bailey the whale shark is introduced (see around 0:50 of the above clip). "It was so much fun because I'd tell you a story and then you'd completely forget about it and I'd get to tell it to you over and over again!" 

I feel my friends turn to face me. I look to my left, Greta is looking at me and smiling. I look to the right, Megan is doing the same. Their eyes meet and they burst out in laughter. So I have a little bit a reputation for telling stories over and over...and over. And evidently my friends have great memories.

Haha, Greta just informed me that I have significantly improved over the years we've been friends. #Progress.

Choosing J O Y

I love that my roommates have been reading Brene Brown. She is very important in my life, and it is so nice to have people to talk to that get it. Usually. Except when they use Brene against me. They like to remind me that I tend to numb through busyness. Which is true, I guess. I  do that sometimes. But there are also times when I am busy because I am choosing JOY. This weekend has been packed full with things that have made my heart happy.

I spent Friday morning with a group of the coolest 6th graders around. 1,100 5th & 6th graders from underprivileged schools came to visit BYU and get pumped about going to college one day. It was so much fun. I felt so alive. I was totally inspired by those kids. I needed them a million times more than they needed me.

Friday afternoon I helped out with a focus group of graduate students. We ended up going an hour over our allotted time because a couple students really opened up about some of their faith struggles and things professors had done/said that had really brought them out of some dark places. As they shared their struggles and triumphs, I felt the Spirit rush into the room and testify of God's love for them and for me. It was beautiful.

Saturday morning, Greta and I volunteered at the Rex Lee cancer run. There is nothing better than seeing a group of people come together to support others.

This weekend was also Stake Conference. Satan tries so hard to get me to not pay attention. Sometimes he succeeds and I give in to boredom. But when I can push him away and really pay attention, I learn soooo much! It's amazing what the Spirit can teach you.

After church, Greta and I headed up to the temple to read. This nice weather rolling in is doing wonders for my attitude. When the sun is shining, it seems a little easier to believe it will all work out.

Life is good. I choose joy.

Betsy Phillips.

You know what's great? A song that just gets you. You know what's better? An artist that just gets you.

Betsy Phillips. I just cannot get enough. I love every single song. Unfortunately, she has only released five songs. FIVE. I know me. I will listen to those five songs on repeat until I can't stand them. So I really need her to release new music ASAP. Probs she's broke and needs to be more famous so she can afford to record more. Everyone go listen to her music right now. Let's make her super duper Taylor Swift famous overnight so that I'll never have a Betsy Phillips song shortage.

If you use Spotify, you can access all 5 songs. SoundCloud has 3. YouTube has a couple if you dig. Or you can buy all 5 songs for only $4.95 on iTunes (which you should seriously do).This is a serious situation, people. She only has 78 followers on SoundCloud (including me). 744 instagram followers (again including me). PEOPLE - she is fantastic! And she needs more support so that I can continue to listen to my life in song form.

UPDATE: I am becoming a bigger fan every minute. Greta encouraged me to send her a message on instagram. I did. Betsy responded and she is seriously the sweetest person. You are all going to love her.

I'm alive.

HELLO WORLD! I am alive. After three days of not leaving my bed, I ventured back into the world today. Boy oh boy, there is nothing so wonderful as health. Sickness is such a good reminder to be grateful for health. I'm kind of a baby about being sick. It's really hard for me to remember that I was healthy before and I will be healthy again. But once I'm healthy it's really hard for me to remember how awful being sick is. Knowing this, my roommates gauge how well I am feeling by our topics of conversation:

Valid.

And now, a list of Lisa Lately stories:

• On Thursday (when I was sick, but not bedridden sick) Greta had a hot date. I had Facebook stalked the guy, naturally, but I hadn't seen him in person yet and I wanted a glimpse. So when I heard the knock at the door and Greta got up to answer it, I said "NOOO! Let me get it!" And jumped out of bed and ran to the door. Unfortunately, Carine beat me to it. When I saw Carine was at the door, I got distracted and ran straight into a wall--just in time for Greta's date to see, of course. 
• I also walked into a door this weekend. I don't have a good excuse for that one. But I was carrying a glass of water, and it made for a really great Seaworld reenactment. 
• While we're on this spilling water thing, I also learned that, no matter how good of an idea it seems at 4am, drinking water while laying down is impossible without a straw. Let's just say I dumped a class of water all over myself. Too tired to do anything about it, I flipped my pillow over and went right back to sleep.
• I think my sensitive gag reflex might have made its grand return. Lovely. I coughed so much a threw up. Kind of understandable. But then I threw up because I brushed my teeth. Gagging while brushing teeth? Normal. Actually vomiting? Not okay. It went something like this:
• Brush. Vomit. Re-brush, because umm...gross vomit taste in my mouth. Vomit, because evidently I can't have a toothbrush in my mouth without dying. Brush, again. Vomit. Give up. 

Shout out to all the lovely friends who brought me food while I was sick! You da best.

6'2

I often live my life through lyrics. I hear songs and think "YESSSSSS! That's the thing!" And then I feel so validated because somewhere out there is a songwriter who gets me.

Last night, I shared my current songs-that-really-get-me with the roommates. They laughed at the perfectness of the songs and then said "Lisa, where in the world do you always find songs that describe your life so perfectly?!" It's fate. And Pandora. And Spotify. But mostly fate.

So here's to patience (until July 1st) and trying to give up my ideas for His.

Who You Are

I have been doing a lot S T R E T C H I N G and growing recently.

It's been really hard, but really beautiful. Mom has been on the other end of the phone while I've cried a lot recently. I called her today, and she listened as the tears fell from my eyes yet again. But the tears today were different. Today's tears are tears of gratitude. God let me be part of something very beautiful. And it was worth every tear I shed during that hard, but beautiful experience. He has been teaching me so much. He is so good to me. Today, I am overwhelmed at the goodness of God, and how He knows exactly what I need. His timing is perfect.

I don't have all the answers my heart wants. He gives me glimpses of the plan, but for the most part I don't know what He's doing. But I know who He is. And that is more than enough.

A love poem

A love poem. 

Brought to you by some genius on Greta's Twitter feed.

Roses are red.

True love is rare. 

Booty booty booty booty rockin' everywhere.

Being single on Valentine's Day really isn't the worst

There are two kinds of people who might find themselves reading this blog post:

1. The people who already know my life. These are the people who read my blog mostly to see if I posted any pictures of them or if I said anything hilarious (or really nice) about them.
2. The people who stay updated about my life mostly by reading the blog. These are people I love, but I'm not the best at staying in contact with (apologies).

Now, there are two types of people who might find themselves in the above category #2:

       A. The people who knew I had a boyfriend.
       B. The people who were blissfully unaware because I never could quite figure out how to blog                 about him. There's a post saved in draft, but I never did finish it. And now it will ever remain               in its uncompleted draft form.

So, for those of you that find yourself classified as blog reader type 2A - here's the summary:

I had a boyfriend. We broke up last weekend.

I started writing a longer summary and then realized that that's really all you need to know.

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about all the reasons why being single on Valentine's Day really isn't the worst.

1. Nobody knows how to spoil me better than me. Seriously, I know exactly what to get me for Valentine's Day: all of the fixings for homemade boba smoothies! Mmmmm.... BONUS: Greta wanted in on this deal so we scored two flavors.
   
2. Fondue for two is not limited to lovers. I have had this absolutely adorable fondue for two set for years, and I never get to use it because I had it in my mind that it was meant to only be used for dates. GREAT NEWS: it works splendidly for an evening in with the roomie. 
   
3. Galentine's Day is every day. But you still get to treat yo'self to breakfast with your ladies on February 13th in true Leslie Knope fashion.
4. Flowers are still adorning the table. Thank you, Bekah.
   
5. Treats galore. This week has been especially sugar packed due to the generosity of almost every one I know dropping off treats to cheer up by broken heart. I seriously know the best people.
   
6. It's totally acceptable to spend Valentine's weekend writing an 8-10 page paper. And it's also totally acceptable to procrastinate writing an 8-10 page paper, because it's not like you have to make time for a boyfriend or anything.
7. Barbie boyfriends. When I was 15, my friends got me the hunk on the left so I wouldn't be lonely (since I was not going to date until I was 16). The beach babe on the right came from some high school friends after Michael and I broke up. The roommates continued the tradition and gifted me the stud in the middle this week. Lest you think I am absolutely insane, I know a plastic doll cannot actually take away the pain of loneliness. But when I look at these guys I am reminded of how blessed I am to have the very best friends in the entire world - and that does heal the heart.
   
8. Impossible (maybe possible?) puzzles. Because who doesn't like to drive themselves bonkers with a gradient puzzle? *insert me banging my head against the wall here* 
   
   
   
   
9. The temple. I love the temple. I love the peace it brings now and the hope it brings for the future. A visit to the temple was exactly what I needed this weekend.
10. Greta. I wish I could adequately describe in words how grateful I am for Greta. This girl has taken care of me all week without complaint. She lets me dump all of my emotions on the floor and helps me sort them out. She lets me cry. She makes me laugh. She encourages all of my ridiculous ideas. And she hasn't hesitated once when I've looked at her with desperate eyes and said "I need out of the house PRONTO!" She just grabs the keys and we go on an adventure. My goal in life is to be someone's Greta. Maybe I can even be Greta's Greta. (Hey Gretz, did you notice that I gave you the coveted #10 spot on the list? That's because I think you are my greatest blessing this week. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!)