It's that time again.

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
I hope it is filled with love and laughter.


Big love. From me to you.
xo.
Linds.

act naturally.

hey everybody!

guess what! i got a real-life grown up person job. it's great. i'm making actual money for the first time in 2009. good thing it's almost over.

i'm working at myler disability (the myler of myler disability is my bishop, but let me assure you that he did not get me the job. i am completely qualified). i'm working as a front office worker and it's a total party. so, if you know anyone needing a social security or disability claim (or you just want to give me work to do) just give call the 1-800 number on the website and there's a one in 4 chance that you'll talk to me. cool beans.

in other news. it's almost christmas. i've done absolutely zero shopping. anyone want to go with me? pretty please?

moving on. there are only 15 days until mason comes home. how wild is that? i'm about pooing my pants thinking about it, mostly because it's coming so fast. everyone send yours prayers his way so that he has a great last couple of weeks and ends his mission strong. thanks a million.

well. i'm pretty exhausted from my big person job and all this waking up early and working all day has turned me into a grandma and i now go to bed at 10pm. and that is soon. i'm out of here people.

stay well all.

and happy happy week before christmas.

xo.

yesdnil.

i me mine.

dear friends.

can you believe the holidays are upon us. it is a little hard to believe that its december 10th. i'm telling you, this has been the fastest, craziest, most surreal, best year of my life. so far.

school is almost over, which is great, but not great because that means that in a few weeks i have to pay thousands more dollars for another semester. i have no money. it's pretty awful, but hey! that's the life of a college student, right? right.

so i have been thinking about a lot of random things lately, and i would just like to share some of those thoughts with you. feel free to stop reading anytime you want.

1. i really hate when people abbreviate the word chicken as chix. i don't know why but it makes me SO crazy and little annoyed.

2. i have had my fingernails painted for about a month and half. maybe longer. they haven't been the same color all that time, but there hasn't been a day when they were their normal (nude) color. wild.

3. there are only 21 more days until m. returns. it is so hard to believe how quickly time goes. two years? really? fastest two years of my entire life.

4. the other night i had a dream that i was driving somewhere, but i was driving in reverse. i'm not very good at driving in reverse, except for when i'm backing up (which is usually the only time i actually drive in reverse). in the dream i was going wild and going all over the road. believe it or not, i didn't even get in a wreck in my dream. i am an amazing driver.

5. my car (glen cocoa) is about to bite the dust (or snow). he's having a hard time starting up in the mornings and is prone to shaking ALL the time. maybe he's just cold, who knows. but i'm not feeling safe when i drive him anymore. time for a new car.

6. on my way to school the other day, i was sitting next to this girl who was on her computer. i'm kinda nosey (my bad) and i looked over at her computer screen and to my surprise, i noticed that she was writing a "dear john" letter. it was pretty brutal and said things like "jordan gives me everything you never did. and he doesn't want me to work. ever. i can just hang out and shop all day." and "let me go, ok? cause you can't have me back." "i chose jordan, not you. and i can't change how my heart feels." uh. a little harsh don't you think? i felt bad for reading it after that. poor missionary.

7. the other day, ok like two weeks ago, hannah and i were coming back from a Christmas card delivery and heard this song on the radio. it blew my mind! it made me feel awful. probably the WORST Christmas (season) song ever.

8. speaking of Christmas song, my favorite one is "the friendly beasts" by sufjan stevens. it is beautiful and is about CHRISTmas, not santa (i think santa is great though).

9. for the second time since i have been home from china, i ate with chop sticks. i had some ramen noodles (chicken flavor) and guess what! i am the still bombtastic at using chopsticks. i actually think they are easier when eating noodles and rice (which i have only had twice since being home!). huzzah!

10. i really don't like being cold, but i like that snow and christmas means that christmas is almost here. and if christmas is almost here, it's almost new years. and if it's almost new years, my best best friend will be home! can you believe how quickly time flies?

sorry if this was BORING to read. i told you that you could stop anytime you wanted. anyway. i've got to go to astronomy now. hopefully we'll look at some stars today! if not, i'll be sleeping.

xo.

L.

revolution 2.

life in general is pretty crazy. i am a full time student, which takes up a lot of my time but surprisingly i still find more than enough time to sit back and enjoy the beauty of the world.
as i have been looking back on the past year, i have come realize that i have done so many things that i never would have imagined myself doing.
for example.

• i went to china. who does that? i mean, a lot of people do but i didn't go for me. yes, i knew that i was going to be a different when i came home, but what i didn't realize was that i am a totally different person. i am still me, of course, but my view of the world has changed.
• i became a cryer. i knew this isn't something that someone should put up for whoever to read. but i am truly one of the most emotional people i know. i don't think it's a bad thing, not at all. i actually like being able to cry when something is awesome, or sad, or inspiring, or even hilarious. i find that it makes life a little more interesting when i cry out of no where.
• i was able to grow closer to my family. this has always been a goal of mine. not because i am distant from my family but because i feel like there is always reason to be closer. the weird thing is, it was while i was in china that my relationship with my family grew stronger. it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
• i came to the realization that life is something to celebrate and every day there is something exciting going on. yes, some days are less exciting than others, but we all need to laugh and clap and cheer about the fact that we are alive. we are living, surviving, and loving. how lucky are we.
• i have the greatest friends. i know that i'm not always there for them when they need me to be, but i want them all to know that i always want to be there. when they are happy, sad, angry, heart broken or on top of the world. dear friends, i love you all. and i am here for you when you need me.
• i don't have anything to lose. in life in general. i think a lot of the time i keep myself from doing things because i feel like i am going to miss out on something else, but the fact of the matter is, there is never anything to lose. only more and more experiences to learn and grow from. bring it on, life!
• i gave my heart away to 33 little asian children. i went from getting all their little round faces confused, to knowing who was laughing even when i wasn't looking. each of them changed my life more than i ever imagined and miss them everyday. i will never be the same person i was last year, and because of them i am better than i was.
• i learned to say when i'm thinking. this isn't always the greatest thing to do. but i feel like there are so many people out there that tell people things that they don't necessarily believe. i want to be someone that just lays it all on the line and says what i'm thinking. if you don't like that, too bad for you.
• i learned to roll with the punches. life is so unpredictable and if we get too caught up in worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow or in the next six months, life gets too messy and we get ahead of ourselves. i learned to just live in the moment and enjoy it. embrace it, take it all in, and breathe in deeply the fresh air of unpredictability.

well there you have it, just a few examples about how i grew more over the past year than i could have imagined. and the exciting part is, i don't even know what the next year is going to bring! hopefully something exciting (you'll be the first to know). for all you who read this blog, thank you for reading it and thank you for being so great. cause really, you are all so great and i am so lucky to have YOU in my life.

bless you.

xo.