Inspiration of Various Kinds

 My aunt jenny gave me a book to read called Three Cups of Tea. its about a man that was mountain climbing and got lost, ending up in a remote village in pakistan. he saw the children drawing the in the snow with sticks in an attempt to teach themselves. at that moment, Greg Mortenson decided to dedicate himself to building schools in these villages in pakistan, and eventually afghanistan. it was an amazing book! he also makes the case that alot of the problems in the middle east and the conflict between americans and arabs could be alleviated by building schools, especially for girls, and educating the children, so that they have another option in life besides joining extremists. so cool!

well this book got me to thinking...here i am in america, lazing around on summer vacation, when there is clearly so much that needs to be done in this world. i decided i really do want to make a difference with my life. some how the idea of the Peace Corps popped in to my head, so i did some research....i came upon their masters international program, which is basically a partnership with various masters schools and the peace corps, that allows people to get their masters degree and serve in the peace corps in a foreign country, with many, many benefits.

could this be any more perfect for me?! i was so excited, i felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. i know it would be alot of work, and i still have a few months before i would need to begin the application process, but this is something i really want to do. for the past few months, every time i research future jobs or careers, i feel like im just looking for whats going to get me a job and keep a roof over my head--obviously, very important, but nothing i was really passionate about. but this is such an exciting opportunity! i would get to serve others and get a degree, and have real life experience in a career field. gosh, i couldn't be more excited!


second, i discovered a sewing website that has super cheap patterns, and even some free ones! i just found this free skirt pattern that is perfect for some fabric i bought last year. can't wait to get started!

the Kesia skirt i am going to attempt--hope it turns out!

long time, no see

well! its been a while. i was in utah for a little over a month and decided to just focus on doing family things instead...but now im back in humid ohio, and rather than going outside and sweating to death, i have decided to catch up on blogs, books, and sewing projects!

first, i found this photograph that i just love!



so cool. i just love elephants!

second, i've just gotta say that Heavenly Father had really blessed me the past few days.
last week, i was driving home to AF from visiting my old roommate in bountiful, and got horribly lost. well apparently, whilst getting lost, i ended up going 45 in a 30. so i got pulled over, and at first i was in complete shock, i couldn't believe it happened! and i was so upset because it was a complete accident, i got lost, going down a steep hill, on a five lane road (what kind of five lane road has a 30mph speed limit?!), and there was no speed sign on the section of road i was on. gah, just a horrible combination! thankfully, the officer didn't give me a ticket, which would have been around $300--$300 i didn't have.
next, i knew i had rent to pay for my apartment this fall, but didn't put two and two together until now to realize that i wouldn't get my scholarship refund money until september, when my rent is way past due! i was freaking out, because if i didn't have that apartment i would have nowhere to live.again, by a huge blessing, the land lady said i can pay once i get my refund, and not to worry about it! so thats another $500 or so that i dont have to worry about! boy, i am so grateful!

"just whistle while you work"

well, turns out i broke my foot. at the age of 21, i have my first broken bone!
last week i twisted my foot during a performance of Annie Get Your Gun, but just wrapped it and kept going. it hurt during the week, but it was manageable. then, this past saturday, i was walking down the stairs and i missed a step, and of course, i caught myself on the same foot i twisted a week before. man was that painful! one of the coaches came and wrapped my foot so i could perform that night, and then the next day (sunday) i went to the ER to get it checked out. turns out that there is a fracture, but the interesting part is that the doctor said that the bones in my foot are jagged looking, like they are old and arthritic. basically, from all of the years of dancing i've done, i have the foot of a fifty year old! i thought that was pretty funny. but anyways...they gave me one of those booties, some crutches, and some vicodin and sent me home. i've been wearing the shoe thing, but walking with crutches is more of a pain than just walking on my own, so i don't bother with those.

since i got home i've been cleaning and organizing my parents' house a ton. for one, its just way too messy and cluttered for me. i don't know why, but it is so overwhelming for me to be in a messy space. but, besides that, i really just like cleaning and organizing! i know its weird, but i really, really do like to do it! plus, i've been finding lots of fun decorating projects, so i have tons of decorating and design ideas floating around in my mind--i know realistically, my decorating dreams will probably never come true, but it is fun to think about, and at least things will be clean around here!

Methuselah

so i absolutely love this picture. it was in an article i read about the world's oldest trees. its cool to think how much that tree has "experienced", or i guess how much has gone on around it. oh, the stories it could tell!

on another note, the gulf disaster is so terrible. i saw this slideshow and it made me so sad for those animals that are dying. my goal right now is to see what i can do to help. like, i legit want to go down there and help clean birds.