laborer

I arrive at the office at 8am, sit at a desk, attend meetings, have a lunch hour, business cards, an office extension, name plaque and building key. I get off work at 5pm and I have vacation days.

Given the evidence, I surmise that I have officially entered the working world.

weird

the scent of summer

the sent of the creosote bush always takes me back to the rains that came in on huge black clouds slowly creeping in bringing the most glorious shocks of lightning and thunder rumbling through the hot Arizona air and pouring down thick sheets of warm rain drops that my sister and I would dance in until we were soaked to the bone and yet warm in the soothing heat of summer evenings in Tucson when the scorched sidewalks still sizzled slightly under our feet as the puddles would grow into great warm lakes splashing all around us, surrounding us in water above and below and from every side until finally we would run inside to sit at the window and watch the earth light up with bursts of white light, glaring our eyes and illuminating the trees and bushes outside bowing under powerful gust of warm air and the great bolts began to break and crack so close we could feel it through our bodies and in the shaking glass of the window panes as the earth absorbed the great resounding power of
monsoon

Those are days to remember. And as a soft wind sifts in through my window screen tonight carrying the slightest hint of creosote this evening, I can't help but be glad that despite all the things that are changing around me everyday, the miracle of sweet summer rain can find me even here and now.

My wish today is that everyone might experience a monsoon summer in the desert. There's nothing like it.

And being the Jack Johnson fan that I am, I am thinking of his song Monsoon just now... so enjoy!

mistakes

I'm easily embarrassed. and I embarrass myself often.

Today I sat down at a computer at school with no intention whatsoever of doing something productive or in any way related to my education. Rather, I just wanted to listen to music on before my class and I've misplaced my iPod (a usual dilemma, as the girls who work in the lost and found could probably attest to, though I try to hit it up at different times of day whenever I go so no one will realize its me, again). So I sat down and put on these headphones that were sitting next to the computer conveniently. In my delight I began playing some tunes and I found this song on another blog and was happily listening along, flipping back to my emails and checking out other blogs when I removed the headphones momentarily to adjust them.

That's when I realized...

I wasn't hearing the music coming from the headphones. I was hearing the music through the headphones which was actually playing quite loudly from the computer itself. Ooops.

Face flushing with heat I quickly stopped old Billy and looked around to see how many people I had been disrupting. Then with a slightly abashed grin I pulled up my blog to document the incident at the very scene of the crime (accidentally restarting the song twice before getting the headphones properly attached to the computer... what can I say. I'm not tech savvy).

Just another day in the life...

And just a suggestion to the BYU computer labs: don't leave headphones lying uselessly next to computers with the volume turned way up on the computer speakers. Unless you are trying to get funny footage for one of those hidden camera shows that is. Then you're probably on the right track. You might get more for your buck if you just followed me around for a day though!

heart.felt

This beautiful message brightened my day today and reminded me of how very grateful I must be for the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, and his message of peace and love for every person! It truly gives me cause to REJOICE!

Transformations

"If the world isn't what we want it to be, then what are we trying to conserve?"
- Martin Burt
(Executive Director, Fundacion Paraguaya)

Today I made the huge mistake of flipping down a channel from CNN to Fox where Glenn Beck was talking about some ridiculous thing (as usual) and charging his audience to beware because if they use the words social justice or economic justice "Your Churches are being used by Progressives as a tool in the fundamental transformation of America!" While this sounds like the paranoid rantings of a lunatic to me, it actually made me think...

What's wrong with transformation anyway?

I saw a statistic today that 74% of US citizens polled are dissatisfied with the direction our country is taking. As far as I can tell, that means Republicans and Democrats and just about everyone in between are pretty fed up with things these days. I think change is just what we need. So whatever your political views, I think most of us would agree, transformation is just about the best thing that could happen to our country and to the world.

Let's make it happen!

Woman of faith

If you have ever heard of the NieNie Dialogues blog then you probably already know the amazing story of Stephanie Nielson and her survival and recovery after a near-fatal plane crash. But whether you have heard her story before or not, this video is beautiful! She is an inspiring woman and an incredible example of faith, endurance and love.

TIP THE BUCKET!

Check out The Tipping Bucket!! This project is amazing and every dollar you can donate helps to make it possible. Watch this short video about the GREENHOUSE SCHOOL the Tipping Bucket it raising money to fund!



I was in Bolivia this past summer and I had the opportunity to visit some projects that had been done by the organization CHOICE Humanitarian. One of those projects was a greenhouse school like the one that The Tipping Bucket is raising money to build. Please go to the Tipping Bucket site and donate $1 today! (Or more if you can!) You can help children have a warm and learning conducive environment for school! This is a great opportunity for anyone to make a difference in the world!

Take it.

Here's a picture of my friends and me in the greenhouse school with the kids and their professor.


These are some of the plants that are growing in the Greenhouse classroom. The kids help take care of them.

My friend Doug and I with the CHOICE Humanitarian staff in Bolivia!

Visiting a woman and her daughter using water from a CHOICE Humanitarian water project--one of many they have constructed in the Altiplano. It makes so much difference in these people's lives!

So here's the deal--CHOICE Humanitarian does great work. I've seen it with my own eyes! And Tipping Bucket is helping this them get the funding to make these projects possible. YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS! So, one more time, here's the website: tippingbucket.org. Donate whatever you can--$1 makes a difference!

Thank YOU!

This really means a lot to me and to a lot of amazing people in Bolivia who are hoping to give their children a brighter future!