Nice to Meet You, 2016.

2015 was a pretty big year. I came home from my mission and *drumroll please* I finished an entire tube of chapstick without losing it for the first time in my life. 

I'm not sure that 2015's theme words were ever officially announced to the blogosphere - oh dear, have I even talked about theme words on the blog? I can't remember New Year's resolutions for an entire year, so I do yearly theme words instead. 2015 was the year of LIGHT and LOVE. As I embraced this year's theme, I fell in love with the idea of being a Mary (as in Martha & Lazarus's sister). I'm actually a little sad to lay these theme words to rest. Obviously, the goal is to keep increasing light & sharing light and loving others selflessly. But it's time for new theme words.

Introducing 2016's words:

Brave & Balanced

So here's to a brave and balanced year. Cheers.

Christmas 2015.

God is really good to me. It's kind of overwhelming--in the best way.

My first flight from California to Louisiana was delayed, and I ended up missing my connecting flight. There were no other flights leaving to any airport in Louisiana that night. I was stuck in L.A. Alone. Being the chicken that I am (and also having just taken a women's studies class that focused heavily on rape and sex trafficking) I was soooooo not okay with staying in the scary city all by myself. I had a little freak out/breakdown. Looking back, it's pretty laughable. I was totally fine. But in the moment, I was just not having it. It all worked out in the end. I found a flight to Indianapolis and Grandma and Ron rescued me by picking me up in the wee hours of the morning with very little warning. But here's the thing: it was exactly what I needed.

Everyone warned me that the first Christmas post-mission can be hard. Let's face it, there is nothing better than celebrating Christmas by serving Christ. Nothing. It was a tender mercy to be reminded that I don't need a missionary tag in order to be His hands. He knows where He needs me and when He needs me there. I just have to trust that and be willing. I needed to be on the specific flights I ended up on. I needed the lessons I learned from my seatmates, and hopefully they were blessed by our association as well. God is so good.

The extra day in Indiana meant I got extra Grandma time, which obviously rocked. It also meant I got to Skype into the Christmas festivities back home for the 3rd year in a row--just like on the mission :) The fam-bam traveled up to Indiana for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. There is just something special about Christmas at Grandma's. My heart is so happy.

Great-grandma Marge

Awkward family photo.
Strangely reminiscent of the time we all tried to pile on to one pool floatie.

These little lovebirds <3

...oh well.

California.

There are a lot of things to like about California:

1. Josh & Jordana. I FINALLY got to meet my cute new sister-in-law. Just in case you aren't aware, she is wonderful. She is so easy to love. And boy oh boy does Josh love her. It's the most beautiful thing. My heart is FULL of GRATITUDE for being able to spend time with them. I am very blessed in the family department.

2. Kugel and Lilly - Josh & Jordana's furry babies. They liked me, so I liked them.

3. Kayaking with otters. Seriously, why do I not go kayaking more often? 

4. The aquarium. Because aquariums are  fantastic places. Also because I got very excited about touching a sting ray and launched my arm into the tank without thinking. My sweater was SOAKED to my elbow. Worth it.

5. Purple sand beaches. NOT A JOKE. Absolutely magical.

6. Pizza My Heart. That place was seriously delicious.

7. The guest bed. Every night it felt like I had died, gone to heaven, and was sleeping on the best cloud. 

8. The weather. Leaving snow for sun? Yes, please.

9. Nice plane people. I had two flights leaving from California airports and my seat mates on both flights were absolutely delightful. Plane people are my favorite. Strangers should chat like plane-mates more often. I think it would do some good in the world.

10. Also, there's this boy from California. He was in Provo while I was there, but I think he still gets to make the "things I like about California" list.

A special story for those who read my blog even when I don't post it on Facebook...

I went on a date this week. I still don't know the guy's name.

A mutual "friend" (I've only talked to the guy that set it up a couple of times, so I'm not sure that classifies as friendship) set us up. He introduced me and ???. I didn't catch ???'s name, but for some reason I decided I wouldn't ask. I decided I would wait to hear someone call him by his name, and then I would know. Smoooooooth. Except no one used his name. So, I went the entire date not knowing his name. At the end of the date, he asked for my number so we could go out again. In my brain, this translated into "Great! Now I won't have to admit I don't know his name!I'll give him my number and then he'll text me his name so I have his number. Problem solved." 

...no such luck. The text was nameless. 

UPDATE: I found out his name. Just in case you wondered.

My life is rocks.

This week has been a miracle week. I had too much to do in too little time, but I was absolutely miraculously able to finish everything in an absurdly timely manner. I have been behind for so long, that being a day ahead made me feel like the richest woman on earth. Rich with time, that is...and I think that is one of my favorite kinds of riches. Not my #1 favorite, but it's up there. This new-found wealth has left me in the happiest of moods. So, instead of working on all the semester long projects that I've been neglecting, I  decided to fully enjoy this gift of time. Instead of reading the loads of academic reading I "should" have been readings, I took the day off to read a novel...and I didn't stop until the book was over. After all, I had no hope of re-focusing on school until the book was done.  It is good to be reminded of my love for reading. Perhaps it will help me view my academic reading more positively. Maybe I'll even be able to muster gratitude for my textbooks and the never-ending journal articles? Only time will tell. Time and my choice, that is.

Because this week has been so joyous, I figured I should quickly write down some parts of the recipe for making a week with cloudy forecasts full of SUNSHINE:

• Temple attendance - I attribute most of the good things this week to the fact that we had a roommate date to the temple on Saturday. 
• Service - I was overwhelmed at the service hours I had signed up for this week. How would I find the time? MIRACLE. Desire to serve and bam the stars aligned.
• GRATITUDE - I am absolutely convinced that an attitude of gratitude can move mountains. I know from personal experience it can move mountains of homework. You might have to push on the mountain for awhile, but it does move. And it moves easier with a grateful heart.

Life is good.

ps, I still have a draft post about WCF9...maybe I'll post it one day.

pps, I also have Halloween pictures to share

ppps, yes - I do realize I accidentally titled this post "My life is rocks." instead of "My life rocks." However, it makes me laugh way too hard to change it and ruin the simple laughter I might need one day in the future as I recall this blog post.

pppps, I'm pretty sure I'm a real adult now. I took the day off from responsibility and all I did with my self-given freedom was read an entire novel and clean the bathroom.

World Congress of Families IX - Day 1

I have a new dream. When I grow up, I want to be a professional conference-goer. My job description would consist of getting paid to travel to fun countries, stay in fancy hotels, eat fancy foods, and meet "movers and shakers" (people who make a difference). Unfortunately, I'm not 5 years old anymore and people are starting to insist that my dreams be a little more realistic. So maybe I'll just have to be a mover and shaker myself. Then people might actually pay me to come to their conferences and speak. Maybe.

WCF 9 was a blast. Exhausting, but a blast. I could probably fill an entire blog about the things I learned, but I'd probably get bored of writing and you would get bored of reading, so let's just stick with some highlights.

To truly understand my WCF experience, you must first understand my little secret: I'm an undercover shy person. Truly. Most people think I'm outgoing, but I'm just really good at faking it. Well, I'm really good at faking it when I have a security blanket. My roommates are great at being my security blanket, and I'm with them the majority of the time, so usually we have no problems. But the roommates weren't coming to WCF. In fact, I didn't know a soul that was going. I knew talking to people was a must in order to have a good experience, but I was a pretty nervous that I would regress into my little shy shell and stay there for the week. And then God sent me Staci.

Seriously, God was looking out for me. I had to make a transfer from the FrontRunner to the Trax to get to the hotel. I'm pretty directionally challenged. I knew I was supposed to get on the red Trax, but there were red Trax going both ways. Sigh. I did not anticipate that. I missed the one I was supposed to get on because I was staring at the signs in utter horror that there were 2 different reds - there are definitely enough colors that having 2 reds is completely unnecessary in my book. Finally, I approached Staci and asked her if she had any idea which direction went towards Salt Lake. We began chatting and found that we were both headed to WCF. Miracle! She had missed the train too (divine intervention) so we grabbed the next train together and became instant friends. We ended up sticking together through the whole week, which meant I was able to be my little outgoing self instead of turning in. God is so good. He's always pulling strings to get me the best friends.

The conference officially started on Tuesday, but all the scholarship recipients (did I mention that I got to have this experience for free?) were supposed to arrive Monday. Part of our Monday night festivities included a tour of temple square. We broke into small groups and headed off for a short visit downtown. I think the whole week was worth those 2 hours. Almost immediately Staci and I stepped back into missionary mode as our new Latvian friends, Davids and Matiss, began asking us questions about the Church. Then we met Nathan from Michigan and began showing him around, too. It was so much fun to show them around temple square for their first time. There was also a guy in our group from Mongolia. He was LDS, but had never been to that states and was thrilled to be seeing all the sites for the first time. His enthusiasm renewed my gratitude to have so many temples close by. I AM SO BLESSED. 

...so it's looking like the summary of just 1 day is going to take a lot of time...maybe we'll stick to a day by day summary post.

The mystery of the missing birthday cards (aka SOMEONE STOLE MY BIRTHDAY CARDS!)

I've checked the mail every single day for 2 weeks. I get home from school/work, drop off my backpack, grab the mail key, and skip to the mailbox. I then throw away the junk mail and slump back home, because every day I become a little more convinced that the postman stole my birthday cards.

It has been confirmed that Grandma and Joe & Kori mailed me birthday cards over 2 weeks ago, but the cards never reached my mailbox. Wedding announcements have arrived from across the country with no problem during this time, but birthday cards must be my mailman's favorite. Here is what I would like to tell my dear mailman:

Dear Sir/Madam, 

I am fairly certain you are in possession of my birthday cards. Maybe it is your birthday, too. In that case, happy birthday! I hope you received many birthday cards from your family/friends, as I can tell that you really love cards. You may keep my birthday cards, but I would much appreciate a photo copy of the notes written inside, and, if there were adorable pictures of my nephews included, I would really like to have those as well. If you are using the money found in the cards to feed your babies, escape an abusive situation, or some other worthy cause, be my guest. However, if the money was used to feed an addiction, I am not okay with that and request to be paid back.

Sincerely,

Lisa

On a brighter note, only one week until I get to attend the World Congress of Families!!!

Elder Beck

Once upon a time when I was a missionary, I met a boy named Kory. Now, it's Kory's turn to be a missionary in South Africa! I am sososo excited for Kory. He is going to be the BEST missionary. He's only been a member of the Church for a short time, but he is way more prepared than I was when I left for my mission. Kory goes out teaching with the missionaries in Eugene all the time, and he has a solid testimony. The best birthday present I received this year was being able to go to the temple with Kory for his very first time. It was the best.

It's my party, I'll smash cake if I want to.

I'm not quite sure how you're supposed to react when your friends throw you a surprise 23rd birthday party, but I decided to revert back to "what would 1 year old Lisa do?" See this beautiful cake?

I decided the best way to eat it would be not by the slice, but by the handful.

Definitely the right decision.

The Roommates.

I was talking to this cute boy the other day (he's my favorite),

and I explained to him why college is the coolest (partially convincing myself, because midterms always make me question if college is really worth it). I told him that college is great because you get to live with your friends. And, if you're really lucky, you might even have friends that you super enjoy living with. That's me. I am very blesssed in the friendship department. My roommates are my best friends, and they are the COOLEST.

1) They are hilarious. Living with them is the best ab workout .

2) They are good listeners, and they care about the non-interesting things that you still want to tell someone even though you know it's boring.

3) They are SO good at words of affirmation. Seriously, if you need to feel good about yourself just come on over. You'll never go a day without someone telling you you're beautiful and wonderful. It's the best.

4) They will usually go along with my random requests for piggy back rides, a definite perk in any relationship.

5) They're good little chefs, and they like to share.

6) They are are well-dressed, and they like to share.

7) I often catch them studying their scriptures. It makes me very happy.

8) They don't get mad when I let my other friends live on the couch.

9) They love fiercely.

10) They embrace vulnerability.

10 years later

When people find out I'm from Louisiana, they usually follow it up with one of three questions: (1) What's the food like? (2) How's the weather down there? or (3) Were you there for hurricane Katrina?

I was in 7th grade when Katrina hit. Let's just pause from the Katrina story and talk about 7th grade for a second. That is a tough year. You are trying to figure out who the heck you are while surrounded by 100s of other pubescent kids who are trying to figure out who they are. You're experimenting with wearing makeup for the first time (most likely doing a terrible job, which does not help since you probably already look pretty awkward). You're probably a little boy crazy. People are mean, and you care too much about what people think. Especially the mean people. Brand names are important. You've lost your childhood confidence, and you haven't quite learned to love your quirks yet. Never have I ever heard anyone say, "Man, I miss 7th grade."

Add to that having both grandpas die less than a month apart only 2 months earlier, and you've got a pretty good idea of where I was when Katrina hit. We knew it was going to be a big one. Our first really big one since moving to Louisiana the summer before 5th grade. School was cancelled for a week to encourage people to evacuate. We lived far enough inland, away enough from waterways, and high enough up that I don't remember being scared our house would be destroyed, but the thought of not having power for a week in the middle of Louisiana August sounded absolutely terrible. Mom, Liv and I packed up the car and decided to go to Grandma's house (in Indiana). Dad and the boys decided to ride out the storm from home.

I remember going to the junior high in Indiana to meet up with my cousin and elementary school friends for lunch. I felt like a celebrity because when you move away from a small town and then come back to visit during school hours, you're a pretty big deal. I went to the Friday night football game and thought about how if I had stayed in that little bitty town, I'd probably be popular (which was a very big deal in 7th grade). I'm sure I milked every ounce of "your home might be destroyed by the hurricane" sympathy I could get.

...watching the news was scary. Waiting to hear from Dad and the brothers was scary.

Katrina was more devastating than I had anticipated. My family, friends, and home were fine. But watching the images on the news...seeing all the people who weren't fine...that was scary. Hurricane Katrina did change my life. But not in the storm. I was one of the lucky ones. We lost a little siding on the house, maybe a few shingles, and a branch went through a window screen. We lost power for awhile. Nothing major.  We were so blessed.

At the time, my family owned two businesses. Our ice cream shoppe was still pretty new, and with the loss of all our inventory we decided not to re-open.  We tried to keep the other business, LaDon's (a Cajun seasoning and sugar-free jellies and jams business that sold to restaurants and grocery stores), going--turning it into a real family affair. I remember Mom picking me up from my now over-crowded school (we welcomed a lot of New Orleans students into our classes) and taking me to LaDon's where I would do my homework and then go out to the warehouse and start sticking labels on jars of sugar-free jellies and jams until it was time for bed. Strangely enough, despite how dang cold that warehouse got, those are some of my favorite memories from junior high. We were there in a small room with just the family, love songs with Delilah on the radio, and plenty of time to talk while our hands were busy trying to keep our business alive.

A year later, my dad drove me down to New Orleans. He took me to the lower 9th ward. The watermarks from Katrina were still visible on the remaining buildings. So many people returned home to New Orleans, but many didn't. A lot of the restaurants and stores that helped keep LaDon's in business didn't reopen--or at least not soon enough. So we moved on to our next adventure.

7th grade was a stretching year. And although I have no desire to re-live that year, I am so grateful for the things I learned.

"...the tests of life are tailored for our own best interests, and all will face the burdens best suited to their own mortal experience... We can be reassured that our challenges will be the ones we needed, and conquering them will bring blessings we could have received in no other way." 

-Elder Holland