"Hey, Princess."

  

  Growing up in the backwoods of Alaska, I've always had a strong aversion to being called "princess". After all, have you ever heard a fairy tale about a princess in Carhartts and a baseball cap, hauling wood, covered in mud, or raising livestock? I highly doubt it. And that's always been me. Anything but a princess, to be sure. 

   Raised as a young woman in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I was constantly reminded of my status as a daughter of Heavenly King - a princess. I'm not even sure a whole week didn't go by that the term wasn't used at some church function in reference to us girls. I never liked it, but I kept my mouth shut because I understood the meaning behind the flowery, tiara-topped word. 

   Knowing this about me, you might be more inclined to understand and forgive the following analogy's lack of originality. 
I find I do my best thinking while running - all of the jumbled thoughts I've collected over a day fall in line and march orderly to the beat of my footsteps hitting the ground. I sift through them and generally end up with one or two to think over while I finish torturing myself via cardio. Recently, the topic of "Ordain Women" has been coming back to me and I've spent a great deal of time the past little while thinking on the aspects of this movement. 
Now back to princesses. (Again, I apologize in advance for this.)

   Let's say you, my female reader, are a princess. (At this point I'd like to grant you artistic license to be any type of princess you would like - dirty baseball cap wearing included. However, if sparkly dresses and high heeled shoes are more your cup of tea, so be it.) As is fitting of a princess, you know a King - THE King, so to speak. Now this King has sons, and not just two or three, but a whole mess of them. And they are altogether great men. Not perfect by any means, but great. This King also has a treasure, like most Kings do, and because He is a fair and just King, He has divided this gift amongst each of His worthy sons. Because of it's preciousness, each of these sons now bear a very great responsibility to protect the King's treasure and use it wisely. In their pockets is a written title from the King and each of them have been given strict, yet simple instructions to look after their little title. 

   Back to you, princess. The King knows you. He knows you very well in fact. Hopefully, this acquaintanceship is mutual, as you have taken the time to get to know Him as well. One day, this King is going to introduce you to one of his princes. And he's going to be cute, let me tell you what. You are going to fall in love with the prince and the prince with you, because the King is a pretty dang good matchmaker. You two will get married and at that moment, princess, you are not only entitled to the prince's treasure, but also responsible for it's well being. You have entered into an equal partnership with your prince - you understand that, as well as he. 

   What if, one day, you barged into the prince's study and demanded he hand you over his title? Yes, yes, you know that treasure is yours as well as his, you married into it, but you want the title in your pocket now too. What do you think is going through your prince's mind? He is confused, I'd be willing to bet, because he thought he'd been doing a pretty good job of keeping the family title safe. There it was, still as unharmed in his pocket as it had been the day it was put there. Is his princess telling him that she thinks she could do a better job at it than he could? But this is his one big responsibility. This is his job, given to him by the King himself. By telling your prince that the title ought to be in your pocket too, you are removing his sense of purpose and insulting him in the process. 

   What about your responsibilities, princess? Because you have them, lots of them. Perhaps you have little princes to tend to and raise so that when they become of age they might receive their own titles from the King. The well-being of the castle is all up to you too. And because you are a friend of the King's, you have promised Him that you'll help look after the other princesses and prepare them to be ready for His incredible princes. With all of that on your plate, how do you expect to do another job? Are you even doing everything you possibly can to exemplify the responsibilities you already hold? Or is little prince jr. running the halls like mad man, the castle sink piled a mile high with dirty dishes, and the princess down the road crying in her pillow because she doesn't believe she's got a friend in the world? You have your responsibilities to deal with - why are you demanding that your prince hand over one of his that he is taking care of just fine? 

   There are a few of you who might be able to argue that an added responsibility wouldn't hurt because your castle is in perfect order. You might even say that your particular prince is just fine handing over his title. 
Well if that's the case, you'll need to talk to the King himself. So you make up your mind to do just that. You march right on over to his castle, straight up the marble hallway, to stand before His golden throne. Can you honestly look up at Him, the being who loves you - His daughter - beyond compare, and say that He's wrong? Could you tell the King who gave you everything you have, even one of His very own sons, that that wasn't enough? No, you deserve more, you say. You want that title in your pocket because that's the way you think it ought to be. Could you do that? I think that the King would be sad. He would be disappointed. Princess or not, I don't think I could stand before that great King and demand more. 

   This brings my little analogy to an end. I know it's not perfect (for example, a woman does not have to marry into the priesthood necessarily, but has access to it through the other righteous and worthy men in her life), but this is how my nineteen year old mind sees the "Ordain Women" movement. I love my Lord, I love this gospel, and I am willing to take some things on faith because I know that I am nowhere near as wise as He is. I hope that all of my fellow "princesses" can come to realize that they too have known this all along.

__________________________________________

Keep it real, y'all. :)

"I'll Always Call You Home."

"Do your squats, eat your vegetables, wear red lipstick, and don't let boys be mean to you."

My new favorite quote and daily motto. Especially the squats part. 

__________________________

   Summer bloggin' just ain't my thang. But I had some pictures I didn't want to put all over facebook 'cause yeah, so I decided to break my no-posting streak and stick 'em here. 

   I spent this 4th of July weekend in Homer and Anchor Point with my main woman JessJess - shootin' her senior pictures and trying to get my tan on. We hung out at the docks, checked out some shirtless fishermen (gosh dang), played in the sand, sang along to alot of T-Swift, got supa sunburnt, and took seven million and a half pictures. We made it back in one piece so I consider it a successful adventure. Yeeyee. 

 Rock art on the Homer beach. Alaska love! 

 Dusk out on the docks. I love this girlie! She's a bro. 

 Homer docks. I want a boat. 

 Jessie took my camera. Night out on the beach! 

Just chillin' at the docks. 

Beach selfie. Somedays I feel like I'm the undiscovered instagram model. 

We love road trip adventures! Homer will never be the same again. 

I love drawing in the sand. So sue me. 

Taking a break on the drive home. Somebody is boring. And it ain't me! 

_______________________________

I've also become a quote woman this summer, thanks to Pinterest I suppose. Don't mind me. 

_____________________________________

Alrighty. There's the end of my midsummer blog post. I leave for the burg in 68 days!

Keep it classy, not trashy y'all! 

"We're Burning Down The Night, Shooting Bullets At The Moon."

Summer is here, I don't care what anyone says.

My shoulders are sunburnt, I come home every day covered in dirt, almost all of the ice is off the lake (we all know what that means - swim time this weekend!), calving/lambing season is over with, and leaves are imminent. 

Sounds like summer to me. 

Other than sorting seed potatoes and doing some planting prep on the farm, work has been pretty uneventful, which honestly I'm kinda thankful for. I forgot how much I enjoyed the mellow season on the farm, before all the people start coming out and the place turns hectic. 

Catching the sunset has been crazy hard this week on account of all the 4-wheelers and trucks down on the river bed kicking up the dust, but I got a shot this weekend sitting up top on the deck. Even though I complain about living out in the middle of nowhere, it does have its perks. 

Met with a personal trainer this week at the gym (apparently its mandatory for new members, psh) and got some tips for building my core. I've had sore stomach muscles ever since too, thank you sir. 

Went a looked at more lambs this weekend. Gosh dang it they were beautiful! Now that I've spent a year at school and gotten just a little taste of what the stock is like down in the lower 48, I had a good time checking out the newborns here. 

I pretty much fell head-over-heels in love with this ram lamb. He made me want to start up a flock of my own even though I have sworn to myself I will never raise sheep again. I may or may not have lied. 

After looking at sheep, there was grocery shopping that needed to be done for the cow, which just kinda made me laugh. 

I did get some funny looks in Walmart. Oh well - farmin' and proud of it. REPRESENT. 

This weekend was pretty chill though otherwise. I helped out with a Relief Society function (I taught a little restorative yoga session, fun!) and spent alot of time in the sun. I figure I gotta get all the time in I can before it snows randomly in July. 

And I even made it to the YSA ward this week. It felt good to be back around people my age. Family wards just don't feel quite right anymore. Gotta enjoy my youth! 

Well enjoy your Sunday evening, mi amigos!

(Four more months 'till Rexburg!)

"This Is How We Roll - This Is How We Ride."

It's been another week back in the 'ole AK. 

I almost forgot what life was like here - muddy boots, my ball cap, cow riding, and clothes that are somehow always covered in dirt, hay, and probably some sort of animal hair. Started work again on Monday - potato sorting season - woot woot. I actually don't mind it - I missed coming home dusty and done for the day. It definitely confirms the fact that as dumb as the major sounds (beef production, I'll never hear the end of it here), I've definitely gotta go into something where I can get muddy and wear my boots (which are in sore need of replacing - just about breaks my heart). 

So yeah, worked this week, ran the Butte a few times. I'm not quite as fast as I was last summer, but I'll get it back before long. I'm figuring I've got to beat my 10 minute up record before I leave for Rexburg again. I think it can be done. 

Crazy how a baby mountain can have so many memories attached. I can hardly run the thing anymore without being back in last summer all over again. Guess that's a perk and downside simultaneously. 

This weekend I got out and went to the play over at the high school. It was fun being back and watching everyone on stage again. And of course, it was good to spend time at the VHO afterwards that night. I got to be with some people that I really missed (who woulda thought ;) - it felt alot like high school all over again. 

Then it was a girl's night with the little adopted sister - mostly consisted of eating our body weight in peppermint patties and Doritos, but hey, that's how we roll. Oh, and satisfying our latest obsession with Luke Bryan's angelic voice. I think we listened to Play It Again on repeat for about an hour. A little ironic, actually. 

(Dismiss the dumb facial expressions - Like my football blankie? Just checked out the 2014 NFL schedule. Gettin' excited. Go Broncos!)

Oh yeah, and snap chatting happened too, as is shown by the selfie above. But for some reason everyone was asleep when we snapped them. Crazies. It was only like 3am for pete's sake. 

Hand milking has also been a thing. I've lost my touch. I mean, I ain't bad, but I'm no where near as fast as I was when I left. Guess it's a good thing I'm not goin' into the dairy industry (just watch... I'll end up doing dairy.)

And I've seen a few moose! They're comin' out in full force. Probably outa be having their calves before long too. I felt a little like the city folk stopping on the side of the road to take this picture, but oh well. It was exciting. I didn't see a single moose in Idaho, despite the fact that there were apparently a couple there.

Annnnnnd that was my week. I've been tryin' to avoid thinking about the 'burg too much - I get homesick when I do. Got my grad plan all figured out though, so I know what classes I'll be (hopefully) taking next semester. Fingers crossed I get into the AI class... and the meats class. Talk about a fun semester if everything goes as planned. ;) 

Oh and a wonderful roomie from my first semester got married this weekend! So sad I had to miss the wedding (gosh Alaska, why you gotta be so far away), but so, so happy for Mr. and Mrs. Howard! :)

Keep it real this week y'all! I'll just be here in Palmer... playing with my cow. 

#signinout

"This Life I Live, It Might Not Be For You, But It's For Me."

So I'm pretty sure I skipped a week. Oh well. Life happens.

Alrighty, so I have officially finished my first year of college! Woot woot - I am no longer a freshman and it's about dang time. So I figured since I'm all experienced now, I'd do another "what I learned at college" post. Here goes.

Community laundry sucks as much as everyone says. It's expensive, you can never get a washing machine on the weekend, people steal your clothes (like come on, folks), and if you're .2 seconds late getting back to the laundry room, someone dumps all your freshly washed laundry on the nasty floor. I have never appreciated a private laundry room as much as I do now. 

You can escape the "Freshman Fifteen". It just requires lots of gym time. It is inevitable that you will eat like crap all through finals, midterms, any exams, roommate dramas, holidays, and basically every day. But as long as you run that off on the 'ole treadmill, your pants should still fit by the end of your first year.

Caffeine will save your life. Energy drinks were just another thing I never appreciated until college. But I tell you what, they'll get you through any last minute paper or homework assignment you're working on at three in the morning. Also they make a great substitute when playing pong. #mormoncollege

You will actually use that math that you learned in high school that you said you'd never use. Algebra, trig, and calculus may seem pointless now, but turns out, they're pretty handy when college comes around. I know I'm not the only one who complained all through high school because the formulas seemed useless, but I had to take back everything I said when those same formulas helped me to determine the yield grade on beef carcasses in class. 

Not everyone sticks around. Especially if you go to BYU-I 'cause everyone gets married. But in general, that was something I had to learn pretty quick. You'll make those good friends that'll stay with you through a few semesters (maybe even a few school years), but alot of people you'll lose touch with as soon as class ends. And that's okay - you don't need three-trillion friends to be happy. 

Go into the roommate situation with a good attitude. Having roommates is never really ideal, but I know from experience it works out better if you don't go into the semester hating these people you haven't even met yet. Heck, maybe you'll even love the girls! Also, don't judge future roommates by their facebook profiles - it seriously does zero good. 

Make sure you study what you love or you won't want to keep studying. I went into my first year as an exercise physiology major, because I knew a career in that field would make good money and I figured I'd enjoy it. However, after taking a livestock reproduction class as an elective, I realized that agriculture was really where my interest was. I put off switching my major until the last week of that first semester, because I didn't want to give up the exercise-phys-major status, but it was the best thing I did all year. Which goes right into...

Don't be ashamed of what you love. This includes your major. You think it was easy telling people for the first few weeks that I'm a beef production major? Heck no. That's gotta be one of the dumbest sounding majors on this planet. But I finally came to terms with the fact that, hey, I love cows - what of it? So whether it's beef production, knitting (*coughAllegracough*), or underwater basket weaving, be proud of that, man. 

You really can do it all. I swear, every time I get on Pinterest I see that little pie chart that says, "College Life: social life, good grades, enough sleep - pick two". Psh, little Pinterest pie chart, you're a liar. It doesn't take Superman to do it all - you can do it too. I did and I'm not even that organized. You just have to realize that occasionally you'll make some sacrifices. Like a couple hours of sleep in exchange for night out with your favorite people. Or a weekend of studying for a test instead of that party. There will be another one next weekend anyway. But yeah - don't listen to the pie chart - time management isn't rocket science. 

Document everything! Pictures, journaling, blogging, instagram, whatever the heck it takes. Memories are great, but you need something substantial to keep them around. Plus it's great to look back on. So take lots of pictures and write down the big things. #butfirstlemmetakeaselfie

Learn how to cook. Do this before you leave home. Or else you will be eating alot of Chinese take-out and instant potatoes. Every. Night. 

Remember who you are. If your teenage years were anything like mine, your father yelled this out the door to you as you left the house each weekend. Let's be real - it got annoying and you mostly just laughed it off. Then you go to college and suddenly you're on your own, without anyone to remind you anymore. Sure, your college years are a great time to discover what you really like and what kind of a person you'll really end up being. I know I learned alot about myself my freshman year, as cheesy as that sounds. I learned that I enjoy washing dishes, I have a knack for writing essays (I'm the master of BS), I fall in love at least once a week, and I have an incredible aversion to bacon. But the most basic things about me never changed and it was something I probably could have been reminded of a few times throughout my first year. You're not going to impress everyone, so don't bother trying. Just stay you and the whole thing works out. 

_______________________________________

Figured I'd throw in a few pictures from this last week back in the great state of Alaska. I've done my best to keep busy and out of too much trouble. 

I missed this little chubster. Can't believe he'll be six in just over a week. Cray.

Got in the first horseback ride of the year! This gal put up quite the fight, but as always, I won. My shoulders, thighs, calves, and basically everything were feelin' it the next day though. 

Went down to the riverbed. I forgot just how beautiful Alaska really is. Those mountains! Gosh dang.

Took a 24 mile walk with mom on Friday. I'll be honest, my feet were killing me. But this view though. 

Spent the weekend with the little sister - making no bakes, caramel popcorn, and watching movies. It's good to be back! (But I do miss Rexburg a little.)

Peace out amigos - stay classy. 

"Now My Life's Another City, Another Picture."

Tomorrow. Finals. Begin.

Ew. 

Can we just like, skip ahead to where I pass all of my classes with flying colors and can stop stressin'? That'd be nice. 

So this week was just uncomfortably lax on homework - which just makes me nervous for what the next week's gonna throw at all of us lucky enough to be hitting the finals. The roommates and I were real smart this weekend and stocked up hard core on Ben and Jerry's. You know we're gonna need those boys to get us through this with minimal tears. 

Also we built a fort. I like to call it Fort Burg - it sounds real official. 

Alot of hard work went into this monument, let me tell you. Careful stacking and precise couch flipping - this was no easy task. But we did it. Darn right we did. And I'm quite proud of us, if we're being honest here.

So then of course we had to pull out the camera and document our accomplishment. I think this is probably the climax of my freshman year right here. Probably the greatest thing I've done in college thus far. Which is saying something. I'm not sure what exactly, but hey, somethin' fo sho. 

We call this our "come hither" look. And sometimes we wonder why we're single. Shocking. 

Anyways, I got to go to the temple twice this week! I figured I should get my time in while I'm here, since I don't have a huge amount of time left. And plus, the Rexburg temple is quickly becoming a favorite place of mine. 

Let's see, what else have we donnnnne this week. 

Well, we watched Insidious 2 last night. The roommates aren't big into scary movies, but I'm trying my darndest to convert them. I think it's working. Probably not, but hey, effort. 

And General Conference was yesterday and today! Talk about amazing! I swear, I remember when I couldn't sit through a session and now I wish they were an hour longer. And can we just appreciate L. Tom Perry's talk for a sec. It was pretty dang powerful. Like, enough to maybe make this girl cry like a baby in a chapel full of strangers.

Tonight we are gettin' camped out in the fort, with Doritos and The Prestige, getting in another girl's night because why not. I'm really, really gonna miss these ladies when I leave. I mean, I kinda like them and all. A little. Lot.

Well, Imma signin' out for the evening, y'all. Wish me luck on my finals. I have the feels I'm gonna need it.

Stay real, chill and classy. Adios mi amigos. 

#selfieweekend

"So Catch Up, 'Cause You've Got An Awful Long Way To Go."

So I was gonna write this yesterday, but I figured I should probably get my homework done instead once I got home - that's what happened.

Last week was a real good one though. Now that the semester's kinda coming to a close, professors are all being pretty lax, which means basically no homework. But I know I'll get hit hard next week when finals start up.

So, Monday was pretty relaxed - got my missionary emails, which is my favorite way to start a week.

Tuesday I spent in the meat lab. Probably more fun than it should be.

We worked with lamb carcasses this week - which I was most excited to learn about of all the species, so it was kinda my thing. But it was our last week in the meat lab, so I was a little sad about that. Oh well, next fall I'll be back at it.

Wednesday and Thursday were just like, gym time and classes. I upped my squat to 120lbs - 125lbs is coming this week for sure. I was gonna try that Saturday but got lazy. Ah well. It'll happen tonight. 

Friday was more classes and I got my storage unit rented for this summer. Figured I oughta get that taken care of. That night the roommates and I went to party, because our weekends together are quickly getting used up. There was a dance on the roof of the parking garage at North Point, so we went to that. I haven't been to an off-campus dance at all this semester, so it was good to get out again. 

It was a good time. And I still got home before 1am, so I consider it a success. ;)

This is what my Saturday looked like. Ben and Jerry's paired with "Water For Elephants", make for a pretty chillaxed day. 

That night there was a 90's themed party, so the roommates and I got all dressed up and went to that. It was fun - definitely more chill than the party at North Point, but we know how to make it a good time. 

This is us trying to be attractive + cool... I'm not sure if we succeeded or not, but that's what happened. We left the party at about 10:30 to come home and order pizza, so I guess you could say we're pretty hard core partiers. 

Sunday was our last time having church with the ward, due to like Conference and such! Which was kinda sad. :( But it's kind of a relief to be done teaching - woot woot. Then we spent the night with friends, like we always do - and it was a good day. 

Good week. 

Alrighty, well, English class is a-calling and I've got to go present my extremely dramatic movie review of Titanic (which is just about one of the best movies to ever grace this planet) to the class, soooo, until next week, my friends. 

Don't forget to stay amazing, por favor.