Happy as a Clam

I hate spiders. I've hated them most of my life, ever since a particularly scarring event that will not be shared over the internet. It was mortifying. It involved a gang of black widows with machetes. Anyway, ever since that day, spiders have haunted, taunted and stalked me everywhere I go. Some of those run-ins are scary (like the black widow gang) and some are funny (like the spider that wasn't a spider...but a strand of my own hair). All are unique and strange. So I thought I would share some with the rest of the world.      -once a spider flew in my car window and scared me so much that my oncoming sneeze disappeared.      -I attempted to be brave and kill a spider (first mistake). I panicked and dropped the tissue when it moved and the spider is now hiding in one of my shoes. :(      - I went to brush a piece of  lint off my arm as I awoke one morning…only to find it was a massive daddy long leg trotting across me like I ...

     In order for you to fully understand my story I need to start 26 years ago in Tacoma, Washington. Born into the world was a little brown starfish with more hair than cousin It. She was cute. She was 4 pounds. She was me.      I won't go in to too much detail in order to respect my mother's privacy, but she wasn't at a place in her life where she could take care of me so I went into foster care. My birth mother came to a couple visits to see me, but shortly after, she disappeared. Two years later this awesome couple adopted me and a family was born. My parents were open with me about my adoption from Day 1. I never knew anything about my birth mother except what I could find on my birth certificate: name, birth date, etc.      Despite being happy, there was always a missing piece. I just wanted to KNOW. I wanted to know where I came from. I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to meet the person whose toes I inherited! That...

In 2011 I was called to serve in the California Roseville mission for 18 months. They were the hardest and greatest 18 months of my life. I didn't want them to end, but the end is inevitable. So I returned home and started my new life as a college graduate, returned missionary girl. It was good. But those 18 months infused in me a deep desire to learn and grow and share the Gospel. I didn't feel I was doing those things as well as I would have liked. I knelt down and prayed one evening and asked God to provide me with a GREAT oportunity to serve and be a missionary in my community. Well... he took me literally and answered my prayers. Due to a series of events my branch was short a missionary. So I was called to serve in the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission for 1 month. I was told by my Stake President, after I was set apart as a full time missionary AGAIN that this truly was a second mission. So I had the opportunity to serve and be a missionary in my own community. Than...

Wow. I am horrible at blogging regularly. I should just quit claiming that I will, then I will avoid the self disappointment when I don't. Haha. This post won't be exciting or anything, just a basic update on me. Here are some fun things that have caught my attention this past month: 1) Pocket Princesses. Find it on facebook. This lady draws cartoons of Disney Princesses if they all lived together and it is the funniest thing I've seen. It's squirt water out of my nose funny! Well, at least to me but I have been labeled as easily amused, so be aware of that. So if you are having a bad day, go read these. 2) Crochet. For a while I've been dubbed as an "old soul." I wear nightgowns, my back creaks, I use words like hooligans. So I figured I'd finish off the image and start crocheting. I made some book covers and it was fun. Nothing fancy. It made my TV watching time seem like less of a waste because my hands were busy. Who knew that two hours of si...

Hello Readers! So. I write. A lot. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not but that's okay. Sometimes it's a blog post and sometimes it's a short story. VERY RARELY it is a poem. This is one I wrote back in college. I barely remember composing it. But as I was decluttering my computer I ran across it and thought I would share. I hope you enjoy. P.S. This isn't completely true or false. It's bits and pieces of both. For example: I never owned a Chevy. haha. But it is made of some experiences I have had in learning how much I must rely on God through the good and bad times. There will always be struggles in our lives. ALWAYS. But they are so much easier to carry when we stay close to the Lord and let Him help us carry them POEM My bad day was a Monday That’s nothing new for me On Monday I always trip or fall Forget my phone or lose my keys I stubbed my toe at 7 The shower was cold at 8 Poured juice into my cereal That made me re...

This post took so long to write. I wanted to write about my mission.  I wanted to write about my coming home adjustments. I wanted to write EVERYTHING. But words are insufficient for the feelings I have about the past 18 months because those experiences were orchestrated by a Greater Being. So what I've written will have to suffice. I decided to begin with the infamous Returned Missionary dilemma a.k.a the "where's my nametag?!?!" breakdown. How is it possible to live more than one life? To be two different people? Well, serving a mission makes all of these seem slightly more possible. The person I was before my mission is different from who I am now. It isn't a large difference but I have different desires, fears, strengths and weaknesses. As I re-entered my old life, I noticed quickly that I am not the same. I've change my education and career goals. I'm more able to take on challenges that terrified me before. I've let go of desires that n...