Tuesday Treasure

Today I was really grateful for a car. I mean, at any time I can walk into my garage, hop in my car, and drive to wherever I need to go.

I don't have to walk in the heat and risk passing out from dehydration.
I don't have to wait for a ride or take the city bus and get robbed or stared down by creepers.
I don't have to share the car with several other people.

I have a license. I have car insurance. I have keys. I have good eyesight. I have money for gas.

I'm blessed.

So very blessed.

I LOVE YOU MAUI!!

And no, this isn't actually Maui. Sadly, I don't have pictures of her on this computer. I'll try to put one up tomorrow.

She's much cuter than this one. With her pink jagged peace sign bumper sticker and her dancers on the back. ;)

:]]

Monday Mission

By the way, I accomplished last week's mission. YEAH! Gotta love the good things in life.

Now, for this week, my goal is to write in my journal every day. I feel that this is something that is very important. And i'm terrible at it. Sad, I know. I'm a writer and I can't manage to write in my own journal. I go through spurts. But this week, I'm going to write in it daily. Whatever comes to me. Thoughts I have. Experiences I have. People that I encounter. Whatever I feel.

That's all.

:]]

Sunday Scripture

D&C 90:24
Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.

Isn't this the greatest comfort? I mean, we don't have to worry about things. All we must do is have faith in our Father in Heaven, that everything will work out. And it will. He has a plan for us. And although we may not understand it now, someday it will all make sense. Everything that happens to us if for the best. To better us as people And to prepare us for what is to come later on in life.

I am so grateful to have this knowledge and to be able to know and understand that everything happens for a reason. I am a firm believer in that statement. It gets me through each and every day.

:]

Saturday Song

Okay...I know, I know. I'm fired. I didn't write again yesterday. My bad. :]] But here goes for today.

Hmm...well today it's more like Saturday SongS. Plural. Vocal Points. Ever heard of them? They are simply AMAZING. BYU mens a cappella group. They make all the background music with their voices. SO GOOD. I highly recommend getting their cd(s). You can get them at Deseret Book, I know. And also you can listen to samples online here.

Their latest cd...Nonstop...features Black Balloon (originally by the Goo Goo Dolls), the Spiderman song, Home (originally by Michael Buble), Thriller (Michael Jackson), Praise to the Man, Nearer My God to Thee, and various other awesome songs. EVERY ONE IS FABULOUS. I promise.

But I must say that Nearer My God to Thee is my favorite. Not only is that one of my absolute favorite hymns, this version brings the spirit to the room so easily. The voices are beautiful and the soloist of this song is stellar. He holds one note for so long I have a hard time believing it is real. But it's completely breathtaking. And they put Latin in the background. Really...you gotta listen. You WILL NOT be disappointed. Great any day cd. :]]

Thursday Thought

By the way...sorry I didn't write yesterday---my bad. But continuing on with Thursday's thought:

The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.

~Ben Stein

Sounds simple enough...right? Wrong.

What do I want? In all honesty, most of the time I'm not exactly sure what exactly it is that I want. But it is so true---once we decide what we want, and put our minds to getting it...that is when we truly get satisfaction out of life.

So I'm deciding right now one thing that I really want in life within t he next couple of months. And starting right now I'm setting my mind to getting it.

I advise you to do the same. Whether it be a new job, a better body, a permanent habit, etc. Know what you want NOW and set your mind to getting it.


In a few months, you'll be surprised for you'll most likely have it.

Good luck. :]]

Tuesday Treasure

Hmmm...well today I am thankful for smiles.

Whether it be the fact that you are smiling,that someone else is smiling,or that someone smiles at you.
It's all great.
There isn't much greater than having a reason to smile,
or something that keeps bringing a smile to your face
at random points in the day. :]
I love being happy.
I love laughing.
And I love smiling.
End of story. :)

Presh...need I say more??

Okay...so I thought I'd post these pictures because these kids make my world go round. I don't get to see them very often--in fact, way less often than I should. But everytime I do, I love it! They are so so precious.




Their cute moms decided to have a "Superhero and Princess Day." Looks like the kids had a blast!!



These last three were taken at our family reunion in Pinetop a couple weekends ago. These kids kept us entertained, energized, and busy. We all got to enjoy playing with them, and we all spent time holding babies. It was a great weekend...let me tell you!

Kristen and Anthony's boys are so sweet. Jeremiah is almost three and is wise beyond his years. He knows so much and will tell you all. He loves spending time with his grandma and has a genuinely sweet spirit. He loves his mommy so much and does whatever he is asked. The twins, Noah and Jacob, are 3 months and are perfect babies. They hardly cry and are such cute boys. I was so happy to finally get to meet them.

Brandon and Kember's three kids are so sweet. Gage, almost 4. Elsie, 2. Callie, 6 months. Gage is one smart boy, as well. He loves spiderman, sports, and Suns (especially Nash and Stoudemire). He loves to talk. Elsie is the most precious little girl. She is so sweet and smiley. That little girl makes me laugh so much! I love her smile and her thumb-sucking. It's the sweetest thing in the world. And Callie, you know if she's crying that something is really wrong because she never cries. She looks just like her siblings. Love them all.

Carli and Dane's kids are adorable. Cotter is 4, Quinci is 3, and Cruz is 7 monthes. Cotter is a HUGE dinosaur fan. And let me re-emphasize HUGE. He helped me pack up my stuff at the end of the trip, and drew some pictures of dinosaurs for me and my mom, explaining each type of dinosaur as he went. He has the sweetest laugh and is such a crazy, fun little boy. Quinci has the cutest, little voice. It's so high-pitched and innocent. She had her birthday during the reunion and it was so fun to get to see her blow out her candles and open her presents. She was walking around saying, "Birthday, me. Birthday me." It was so cute! And Cruz, just like Callie, does not cry. I don't know how they do it. But they are always happy. He's so fun.

Basically, I love these 9 kids to pieces and every moment I get to spend with them is a priceless memory. Love these kids!!

Monday Mission

Well, as far as reporting on how last week's goal went...not so good. I mean I accomplished it half the days in the week (if you notice, 7 doesn't divide equally. So yes, in answer to your question, I completed my goal on the smaller whole half number.) But that's okay. I tried. And this just means that I get to work harder this week. I will now have TWO goals to accomplish this week. :]]

This week's mission is to find the joy in life every single day. And to realize the tender mercies of the Lord. The other day, I was sitting on the shuttle that takes me from Tempe campus to Downtown.


Everyday, the bus drivers switch at my stop. And everyday the driver that gets off holds the same blue lunch cooler. I've never thought too much about it...just noticed as I step nonchalantly onto the bus. But on this particular day, I looked out the window to my right and was so glad that I did. There seated at a lunch table I'd never noticed there before was this bus driver and three others. Laughing. Eating. Talking. Smiling. For some reason, this scene touched me. I guess I'd always just picture him going off and eating lunch by himself, in his own secluded spot. To see him eat with his friends made my day. I couldn't help but smile. And text Nat, Kara, and my mother and share with them my priceless observation.

As the shuttle approached the Downtown stop, I looked out the window to my left and noticed a lady on a crutch. As we got closer, I realized that the arm that wasn't holding the crutch was pushing a stroller. And she had no leg. I couldn't help but feel for this woman and the life that she had to live. As we passed her I turned to look at her face. She was smiling. Why? I have no idea. But it made me appreciate the life that I have been given, and caused me to have a more positive attitude for the remainder of the day.

There is nothing greater than the tender mercies of the Lord. And this day, I had two right next to each other. Some may not consider these tender mercies, but to me they were. They changed my life. Something so small, that perhaps on the surface seems meaningless--and yet, I'll never be the same. I'm forever changed by the old bus driver and the lady with a crutch and stroller.

Life is beautiful. Life is great. :]]

Sunday Scripture

1 Nephi: 8:8

And after I had traveled
for the space of many hours in darkness,
I began to pray unto the Lord
that he would have mercy on me,

according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

Deep thought...Sometimes we have to do things in blind faith. We don't always know what lies ahead of us, or what is going to happen, but if Heavenly Father tells us to do something, or we know that it is the right thing, we just need to step confidently into the dark and trudge through it, knowing that everything will work out in the end.

It's a hard thing to do. As humans, our first instinct is to take the easy way out. Follow the trail with the reward in plain sight. Take the lighted path. But if we heed the counsel of the Lord, we will realize that stepping into the dark and following an unlit path with an intangible reward is actually easier. Because doing so, we will not be alone. We will have our Father with us. But on the lit path, we will have nobody but ourselves to help us along the way. That and our instant worldly reward.

I'd rather wait for my reward and have the help of a loving Father.

What do you think?

Plus, a little mystery is more fun. ;)

Saturday Style

Yes, I already decided to change the name of Saturday's great blog. Saturday shopping bothered me. So now it's Saturday Style. Or Saturday Song. Whichever i'm the mood for. Or both. :]
But tonight's entry may be short as I am EXHAUSTED and need sleep.

So...lately I've been into three colors. Burnt orange. Any yellow. And dark/medium purple. Or in general...BRIGHT COLORS. So great. I just painted my nails purple and I absolutely LOVE them. Simply amazing. I walk into a store and am immediately drawn to the above colors. I can't wait to buy my first purple shirt. I just bought a burnt yellow urbany, cowgirl dress (yes, I just used the word urbany. And since I used it...it is now an actual word. Accept it. Use it.) I wore it on Friday with cowGIRL boots.

One day, I'm going to attempt to place all three colors together. A wonderful creation.

Okay, now I'm just rambling.

The end.

Friday Friend

So today I want to highlight a truly amazing friend. :]
We met in good old kindergarten and became fast friends.
Sadly, after kindergarten she transferred to another school.
I was devastated.
On "Meet the Teach er Day" in fifth grade,
I saw her name on the sign-in sheet.
I was so excited. She had transferred back.
Every since then, our friendship has continued to grow.
A week before our junior year, she suddenly was forced to move.
Logan, Utah seemed a million miles away.
We didn't let this get in the way and still talked ALL THE TIME.
She came back to Mesa for her last semester of high school and graduated at MVT.
Right where she belonged.
With her best friends in the only place she would call home.
But less than a month after graduation she was back in Logan.
We still talk at least a few times a week--whether by Facebook, text, or on the phone.
I have learned so much from this girl.
She is one of the best friends I have ever had
and I know that we will be friends when we're old and wrinkly.
And with many grandchildren. :]
She gives the greatest advice and will always listen to my problems--
no matter how trivial.
I know that I can call her anytime
and she will drop everything just to listen.
She has such a strong testimony of the gospel
and her example has strengthened me in so many ways.
Throughout the years, she has helped me realize
that I deserve more in life than I give myself credit for.
For this I am so grateful.
She has helped me to look at the positive side of things,
and she keeps me smiling.
I love this girl so so much!!
"When you can't look behind you,
And you're afraid to look ahead,
Just look beside you and your friend will be there."
Tessa, you continue to amaze me daily.
I don't know where I would be without you.
Thanks for everything.

Thursday Thought

"The shortest and surest way to live with honour in the world, is to be in reality what we would appear to be; and if we observe, we shall find, that all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice of them."

~Socrates

Fake people. There isn't much worse in this world than those who say they are one thing, but are really something else. Or those who try to be something they are not. Here's a little secret for all guilty of this crime: WE CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU. And we don't like it. If you don't like someone's shirt...don't compliment them on it. If you absolutely hate hiking, don't say you do to impress some guy. If you are not in calculus 2, don't say you are. The truth will come out eventually and it's not fun.

Why can't people just be happy with who they are? There is no reason to hide. Just put a smile on your face and BE YOURSELF. That doesn't mean that you can't improve on yourself or try to become the person you want to be. But there is no sense in PRETENDING to be that person. If you focus on being yourself and working towards being that person, you will get there much faster.

Which brings me to the second part of this quote...if you work on the qualities we want to improve upon or implement in your life, eventually they will come. But things take time. Just like you can't become an Olympic gymnast a month after you start taking class, you can't decide tonight that you want to be more thoughtful and tomorrow expect to be completely self-less. It just doesn't happen that way. But if you set the goal tonight to become more thoughtful, try for the next week to do one nice thing for someone else. Then the week after that try to sincerely compliment five people a day. After that, try doing an anonymous act of kindness or donating to a charity. Eventually, you will become a more thoughtful person by nature and won't have to set so many goals.

In short, be content with you who are and strive to develop the qualities you want for yourself. There is no reason to hide behind fabricated traits, facts, or images of yourself. SMILE for the person you are now...I guarantee someone loves you for just that. :]

Wednesday Word

Profundity (n.)

[pruh-fun-di-tee]

1. the quality or state of being profound; depth
2. Usually profundities, profound or deep matters
3. a profoundly deep place; abyss

Courtesy of dictionary.com :]

Usage: The profundity of Dante and Machiavelli intrigues me.

I don't know why but this word caught my eye. I think I'm going to attempt using it in conversation tomorrow. Hmm...just a thought.

Tuesday Treasure

Today I found myself grateful for an unlimited source of clean water. How many times have you sat down at a restaurant, been given a tall glass of clean, ice cold water, and thought to yourself..."Gee, I'm really grateful this is here. I'm so blessed." Rather, I think the majority of us find ourselves frustrated if that glass of water does not present itself to us within the first five minutes we are seated. In most of the world, this is not the case.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and wondered if you would get to have even one glass of water that day? Do you find yourself pleading with the Lord at night to spare your children from deadly diseases found in the only source of water you have access to? Doubtful. But these are REAL worries. People actually go through this EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Every 15 seconds a child dies from water related diseases. In India, the people are forced to get drinking and bath water from a ditch in the ground where sewage and human waste also reside.

Are your eyes open yet?

And yet here in America, we use water as if it is unimportant. We leave the faucet running as we brush our teeth. We hold water shows such as the ones held nightly at the Belagio hotel on the strip in Vegas. We have water rides at Disneyland and various other theme parks. Heck, we even have water parks. In Arizona, many houses have a pool in their backyard with FRESH water.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we all get rid of our pools, or drink less water. But we do take it for granted that we HAVE these things. Maybe if we all were conscious of it, turned of the faucet when we could, took shorter showers, finished our glasses of water instead of pouring the rest down the drain, maybe--just maybe, we could save a life.

What brought this up? For one of my classes at school we had to watch this film called "Running Dry." I don't know how to let you all see it but I did find a trailer for the video on YouTube and posted it here.

Also, I was reading in CosmoGirl magazine last night (my guilty pleasure), and they advertised a website, HairForecast.com. On this site, you enter your zipcode and it will tell you on a scale of 1 to 10 what kind of hair day you will have according to the weather forecast (cheesy, I know). However, every time you use this FREE site, a day's worth of water will be sent to someone who needs it in Africa. It's worth the effort of simply typing in your zipcode. Seriously. :]

Okay...anyway, that's all.

I love H2O!!!

Monday Mission

Okay...it's about time for something new and exciting. A daily excitement. So here goes...we'll see how long it actually works. :]

Monday Mission - A goal I have for the coming week. Yes, I'll report back on how I actually did--it'll help motivate me.

Tuesday Treasure - A random realization of something I am truly grateful for.

Wednesday Word - A new word I found--complete with definition and way to use it in context.

Thursday Thought - A favorite quote along with something to ponder on.

Friday Friend - A tribute to a special friend in my life and a tip on how to be a better one...something I've learned from that friend.

Saturday Shopping - My fun day. A new style tip, whether it be hair, make-up, clothes, or something else.

Sunday Scripture - The most important day of the week along with the most important tangible thing we are given here on earth. Figured it was appropriate.

So let's start with today's MONDAY MISSION.

Goal: Do crunches every day...don't go to bed without doing them.

Reason: My stomach needs to firm up. I eat. A lot. And most of that food goes straight to my gut. Gotta love it. :] It's great. I want to feel comfortable in my clothes, not self-conscious. I figure this is a wonderful place to start. Getting into shape is always a great feeling. And being healthy is an important concept of life. So ladies, let's all decide today on something to help ourselves become healthier...whether that be doing crunches daily, going to the gym at least three times a week, cutting sugar out of our diet, or eating more vegetables. The healthier you are, the better you feel, the happier you become. So let's start NOW. No more procrastination. :] But remember, it's also important to love yourself and be grateful for the skin you're in. No matter what kind of shape you are currently in, it could always be worse. So instead of focusing on what you're not, focus on what you are and keep yourself from becoming what you don't want to be.

Slacker

Yes. That's me. The slacker. Britney Jean "the slacker" Petersen. I'll update a little bit.

I started college a few weeks ago at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, part of ASU. It's amazing there. Ranked as one of the top journalism schools in the country, students are given unlimited opportunities, state of the art technology, the best professors, and great resources. I'm taking sociology, which I find to be very interesting although my professor and I disagree on about everything. I leave my house at 8 in the morning on both Monday and Wednesday, attend institute, head to downtown Phoenix, and return home around 7:30 at night. LONG days. But I have no school on Tuesday or Thursday and only two short classes on Friday. So it's not so bad.

We had a family reunion this past weekend and I must say that I absolutely LOVE my family. They are the most amazing people I know and I wouldn't be who am I now without their influences in my life. We are so close and I am so grateful for that. We had lots of fun playing games, laughing, eating, playing croquet, fishing, and just talking to each other. I miss spending all day with them already!! And I must say that we have the 9 cutest babies/toddlers in the WORLD in our family. I hope my future children are as cute as Cotter, Gage, Quinci, Jeremiah, Elsie, Cruz, Callie, Jacob, and Noah. So presh.

Anyway...it was back to reality this morning for another 11 and 1/2 hour school day! Aha. And now it's time for more homework. Gotta love it!! :]