i've learned this truth

"often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. often we can’t see the Lord’s hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness.

patience is a process of perfection. The Savior Himself said that in your patience you possess your souls. or, to use another translation of the greek text, in your patience you win mastery of your souls. patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most. this was true in the time of the Savior. it is true in our time as well, for we are commanded in these latter days to 'continue in patience until ye are perfected.'"

president Uchtdorf, april 2010 priesthood session

i heart general conference - less than 24 hours to go

home is whenever i'm with you

the title of this blog post is sponsored by my road trip to utah this weekend, and a song.

i have a whole list of people and things that make me feel that way, including but not limited to (and in alphabetical order so no one thinks i'm playing favorites)

apple cider
aunts
basketball
cousins
dogs
friends
general conference on my ipod
grandparents
mario kart
mythbusters
parents
rocky mountain chocolate factory
second, adopted family
siblings
sunshine
uncles
wii resort three point basketball contest

my ideal living situation would be all of those things, all conveniently located five minutes from each other, with a temple in the middle. maybe some apple trees and orange trees and a target thrown in...

three things i could have done without this weekend:
the creepy guy at the gas station who told me he liked my toes
the snow
the spider on the chair

i know it well

some letters...

dear roadtrip,
i'm so excited i am starting you a little earlier than anticipated. however, let's try to keep gas prices as low as possible, shall we?

dear argentina,
please open your airports soon. i miss my brother.

dear mensa puzzles,
i like it when you are easy, word type puzzles, so i feel smart. enough with the hard math problems. my brain does not function that way.

dear march madness,
oh, how i've missed you. thanks for keeping the madness at a nice level - enough to be exciting, but not so much that my bracket is a total loss. i'd like to keep my final four teams going strong. and be kind to jimmer, or else...

dear spring,
i love you.

won't look at you

yesterday, i got done teaching my last piano student and walked out to my car. her dad was outside watering his roses, which were beautiful, so i complimented them. and got sucked into a twenty minute lecture.

he started off telling me about how some of the plants died, but he took them back to the nursery and they replaced them. then he told me about his plantations back in india, and how his family grows coconuts and mangoes and rubber. then he told me how much he paid for their old house, and how much he paid for the new one they live in now.

then, we got to the juicy stuff. he started telling me that kids in america have too much freedom, with their cars and their cell phones and whatever else. his kids won't get that much freedom. women today have too many options and too many opportunities - they go out and marry sleazeballs and have kids and then get divorced and then do it all over again.

so, arranged marriages are the answer! he will find some people with a son for his daughter and talk to them before the kids even meet, and then they'll get married and he will monitor them and make sure his daughter is being taken care of or else (he'll beat him up? i don't know...) but that won't happen if his girl is interested in other boys, so he'll make sure she's not doing anything scandalous (like dating...)

and you are all welcome for the enlightenment. i guess i've been doing things all wrong...

across that lonesome ocean

i need a vacation.

preferably here.

but, in two weeks, my little brother will be coming home from here

and i will be going here

to see him, and whoever else wants to be seen. (crapping dawg? stephanie? andrea - will you be there? any takers?)

and that is the best vacation ever.

sailing away in the morning

today, i had a productive day. i'll show you.

first, i taught piano. sometimes that is the funniest thing i do all week. i love it when i get to a lesson and my students are all excited because they practiced, and they get stickers for their songs, and then they want me to help them choose a sticker... something funny happened today while i was teaching, but i sure can't remember what it was.

when i got home, i worked on this (while simultaneously watching the cougars):

no big deal, just this quilt i'm making.

after that, i saw this sunset

went to dinner and a movie, practiced the piano in there somewhere, listened to pandora. and drove around with the windows down in the 80 degree weather. pretty awesome day.

i get the news i need from the weather report

what a crazy, busy, long two weeks it has been. i'm looking forward to this week when i don't have anything i have to do (besides the usuals.) the bonus of this past two weeks, however, are these highlights i will so kindly share with you all (in no particular order):

- fake nephew #2's fantastic 1st birthday party, including an amazing cake of which i did not get a picture

- jazz/suns game with staci that i already posted about. but that conversation still makes me laugh

- babysitting fake nephew's #1 and 2, which included another funny conversation.
scott (who was a little sick): "jenna, this soup is so delicious. it feels me so better!"
me: i actually don't think i said anything, but i did laugh at him. he's cute

- forgetting about having to teach relief society until the day before

-a day off work, spent at the suites cutting out quilt pieces

- jimmer and the other byu's beating san diego state, again! which i did not get to watch, because we had no tv, because...

- we got new carpet. and my room is super clean and organized. everyone better come see it quick

- one week of no soda!

- lunch with jessi and her mom, during which i did one of the most embarrassing things i have ever done. i'm ashamed. maybe i'll tell you about it someday...

- yesterday, this crossed my path. it must be good luck

this is a toad. sorry about the picture quality - it was dark and i was using my phone. after taking this picture, i picked up the toad and moved it to a safer place. i videoed that, but no one is allowed to watch it with the sound on because i sound like an idiot.