Happy Thoughts.

The title of this post reminds me of, in the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, when the married Mr. Collins proudly shows Elizabeth some shelves that Lady Catherine de Bourgh recommended he install in a closet of his "humble abode." 

To his home improvement she says with an amused smile, 

"Shelves in the closet? Happy thought, indeed."

Today was lovely.

Yesterday was lovely.

Tomorrow--because I will make it so--will be lovely!

Happy thought, indeed. ;)

This last semester I was introduced to a beautiful arrangement of the hymn, "Savior, Redeemer of my Soul," which has, since then, become a favorite of mine. There are a couple lines of the song though, that I absolutely love.

It says, 

"Never can I repay thee, Lord.

But I can love Thee, thy pure word.

Hath it not been my one delight?

My joy by day, my dream by night."

I had never considered the Word of God to be my dream by night...

When I think of dreaming at night, I think of dreaming of far away places and thinking up fun stories as I fall asleep.  But I had never thought to think of and find sleepily happy comfort in the Word of God, in my Savior. I thought that was such an interesting, but beautiful idea. Don't you?

Here's the whole song, including a narration at the beginning. I love listening to the narration before the song because it helps put the song into a context, and in a way, it makes the song that much more beautiful.

I love this.

What a blessing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is.

On other, random planes of thought, 

I got my two top wisdom teeth extracted on Monday!

Recovery is going well, and I am not very puffy, thank goodness!

I am also grateful I never have to experience that again.

I was fully awake the entire time, though I did have a good dose of Novocaine. You've seen Brian Reagan's stand-up comedy sketch about "pressure," right? Well I felt plenty of that... 

But it was pain-free, thank goodness!

I've been eating my fair share of ice cream though. I never thought I could have my fill of the stuff, but I think I might be nearing that point. :)

Today for lunch I had four pudding cups... I anxiously await the day I can eat "real" food again!!

Someone reading this might think that I should make misself a smoothie or something and take a healthy route, but honestly... who wouldn't take advantage of an excuse to enjoy a temporary diet of pudding and ice cream? ;)

Memories are so we can have June lilies in the winters of our lives.

This past semester was so busy!! 

I felt like I didn't have time to blog. 

But now it's over, and I'm just working as I wait for the next semester to start.

I have some pictures to show you guys all the fun we had in the sun this past spring!!

Amanda's birthday--We went to Gator Jack's... so yummy!!

Haha, Becca attacked Amanda with a fork one Sunday night, and here's a diagram of sorts to help tell the story.

Filling a tub with boiling water to take a bath Memorial Day weekend when our water heater decided to stop working.

Having fun in Driggs, ID haha

I got to see this cutie pie!! She's getting so big.

Heading to the lake--or sandbar--on the 4th!

Stress relief through photo booth :)

Party at the Nature Park!! 

I found this picture on my camera while looking through it later...
You two are so funny!!

Painting pretty pictures... I still have that painting, Amanda!!

Saying goodbye to Tiffany! I miss you!!

Yummy kiwi loco with Amanda, Jamie, and Camille.

{Jamie my dear, I realized this is the only picture I have with you, and Camille, I only have this one with you and the one from Amanda's birthday... It makes me sad, and I miss you guys :( }

Melaleuca fireworks with Katie... I love you and miss you, you cutie!!

Haha we got a little tired and hyper... and these are some quotes from what was said. :)

Two more of my lovely ladies at Amanda's graduation! Woot, Woot!! Go Amanda!!

Oh, how I love my lovely roomies. I miss you ladies so much!! Seriously some of the very best girls I have ever had the privilege to know. I love them all to death. 

They were like sisters to me!!

Best semester of my life!!

I am sure there will be many more adventures in the upcoming weeks/months/years/etc.  

Life is so good! 

No matter what happens, good things are never in short supply 

if you keep your eyes open to them.

I am so blessed, I just don't know what to do with all the happy memories. I am so grateful I have them!!

AHHH I'm so blessed it hurts!!!

Anybody else ever feel that way too?

Fun, Stress, and Eternal Perspective

Hello, world!!

I am alive and well... and back in Rexy-town!!

I'm having so much fun, working hard in class and having fun meeting new people.

My roommates are so fun... We have lots of adventures. :)

Like a week ago, when our water heater and our dishwasher were broken. At the same time!

It was an interesting experience, for sure.

And then this past weekend, we didn't really have any adventures because we've all been crazy busy, but this week we just might have some. I hope!

But speaking of being crazy busy... We have all been so stressed! It reached its peak on Thursday night when everyone had a bunch of tests/assignments due, plus Jamie was really sick. It was not a fun day.

But then Friday came and went, and so did Saturday...

(I went horseback riding yesterday, by the way... for the first time in 5 years!!

It was super fun. I should have taken pictures! But I didn't. Shoot!!)

And then came Sunday. And all was well.

But I'm feeling a little emotionally/mentally bruised from this past week.

So, I have decided.

This coming week is my vacation from stress.

How will I do this, you ask?

By keeping my priorities straight!!

Basically,

1. I refuse to let anything bother me, and 

2. If I have homework to do, I will put it 100% first.

So let's say I am invited to go hang out but I have to study for my Soils test, what will I do?

I will kindly refrain from going, but thank friends for the invite!

(I'll study instead!)

Then, when I hear about it later, I won't let myself feel like I missed out.

I will tell myself not to. 

Because I'm thinking, that all those negative feelings like feeling left out can be controlled, and if I don't feel like feeling like I missed all the fun, then I don't need to feel that way. 

Because, really, those feelings get pretty exhausting, pretty quickly.

So I am doing myself a favor and keeping it positive. :)

I don't need to stress!

So I won't. 

And I think this will help me find joy in the journey now.

Which is something I need a little help with.

The Devotional this past week was about finding beauty in all the world around us, and how it is a manifestation of God's love for us.

I think that I've been a bit run down lately because I haven't been looking for the beautiful side of things.  

In the past, I've been influenced a lot by Anne Shirley because in her books she likes to talk about how "romantic" things are--like when something is especially difficult, she likes to think on how romantic the struggle is.

And so I adopted that thought pattern as a young teenager... 

But I've lost it since then. 

And maybe it seems a bit silly, but I think that it helps me cope with the hard times, knowing that it will turn into something more beautiful along the way. 

But I think that might be part of having eternal perspective and having faith.

Having faith in God's plan for each of us. 

And having faith in the Atonement.

All I know is, I'm really excited to test this all out.
I'm really hoping it'll all work out!

:)

Hey, there!!

It's been almost two months since I last blogged!

(Sorry about that.)

And guess what?

I'm leaving in less than a week to return to the jewel of southeastern Idaho...

BYU-Idaho!!

I'm really excited.

My roommates are going to be awesome this semester, 

my classes are going to be awesome this semester, 

the weather is going to be awesome(-er) this semester, 

everything is going to be great this semester!!

I can't wait to jump back into school and, as Cindy Lauper would say, 

"When the working day is done, {Angela is going} to have fun!"

Work hard, play hard.

It's going to be great!

But I've really loved having so much time back home in good ol' California.

I've been able to enjoy the green hills and sun and rain and earn money and go to a really fun YSA ward. 

Plus, polish up on my baking skills... :)

Yesterday put the cherry on top though.

Two dear friends got baptized!!

A mother and a daughter who I love so much!

I wish I had a picture of them... they were radiant! 

I am so, so happy for them. 

I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

Check it out!! 

 lds.org (a resource center for church members) 

or mormon.org (a super cool website for people who want to know more about mormons!)!!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!!

I love Easter. 

It's one of my most favorite holidays because of what we get to celebrate!

I am so grateful for the Savior's Atonement and great sacrifice.

Cooking Bug

If you have, by chance, wondered where I've been for the past two weeks, I've been in the kitchen.

At first it was serious cooking... (out of this fun cookbook!)

But lately I've just been messin' around, mostly. 

I ran across this really cool healthier desserts blog called Chocolate-Covered Katie... 

So far I've tried two recipes from it:

The Chocolate Bar Pie 

and 

Cookie Dough Dip.

Both are good, but I would have to say... I'd alter them a little bit if I were to make them again. 

For one thing, I used semi-sweet chocolate in the pie when I think milk chocolate would be better, 

and I used white kidney beans instead of garbanzo beans in the dip... BIG mistake.

I, personally, think the chocolate bar pie is really, really good for being "healthy," even 

when it is made with semi-sweet chocolate. 

Probably a 7.5 on the yummy scale. Milk chocolate would probably make it an 8.5 or 9.

(by the way, I used an oreo crust for the pie... so much for healthy, but all the same, yum!!)

As for the dip... I'm not sure if it's good, but I think I'm going to give it another try soon. 

With garbanzo beans this time. :)

Hooray for experimental cooking! 

I love it!!

P.S.  Valentine's Day is around the corner... Yay!!

Lots of people my age dislike it because they're single, but I still like it even if I am single!

For me it's pretty much just Romance Appreciation Day, and when I think romances worth appreciating, 

I think of... 

well, you'll have to hear it from me on Tuesday... that is, if I remember to post.

But in case I forget, one of my favorites is:

Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe

They're adorable!!

The reason why I mention them, of all couples, is because I just listened (yes... I listen to books more than actually read them... I like to multi-task!!) to Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island while commuting half an hour almost everyday for the past month. I was mostly holding out till Anne finally admitted she was in love with Gilbert.  And hey, come on--that's why we finish half the books we read! (ahem... Hunger Games Trilogy?)

Workin' like Mary Poppins

I'm back!!

But this time...

 rather than living in Rexburg and going to school, 

I'm back home and working to earn some money for next semester.

Fact #1: 

 I have a job.

Fact #2:

My job consists of 

nannying two two-year-olds (twins) and a six-month-old.

Talk about busy!!

But don't get me wrong, I really do love it. 

I started on Tuesday and it's great! Lots and lots of fun working with little kids!!

My only challenge = not feeding them all at once... 

otherwise, it's mayhem.

Yesterday lunchtime was so bad, I came home with the "badge of motherhood," as my mom calls it,

(a.k.a. spit-up, drool, food, etc. all down the front of your shirt)

and I wondered how people like Mary Poppins and professional nannies come out of those situations without a spot. I guess it's part of being a pro. 

Or keeping a change of clothes in your bag, which I might do at some point.

Really though, this job is a blessing.

 I don't want to brag, but I think it might be the best in the world.

1. I'm getting paid (hooray!).

2. I have something fun/rewarding to do all day, every week day.

3. I am learning sooo much about how to manage little kids/babies.

4. I have my evenings & weekends off.

Now for the downside...

I come home from work

So. Tired.

So all I want to do tonight (and have wanted to do the past two nights) is sit around in my pajamas, eat chocolate, and watch old classic movies.

I may need some intervention... I am on my way to eating a whole half of a Toblerone bar.

DONE.

I'm done with finals!!

WOOHOO!!!!!

I'm so excited I want to run round and scream my head off.

But...

it's time to celebrate by crocheting and watching movies based on British Literature!!!

I can't believe it!

This semester has gone by so fast. 

And, in just four days, I'll be out of here for another three and a half months!

Woohoo!

As much as I love going home, though... I'm going to miss it here.

As cold as Rexburg can be, and as stressful as school can get, I really love BYU-Idaho.

What a blessing this place is!

I've learned so much and I've made so many friends. 

After this week though, it's time to catch up on some sleep... until April. 

I can't wait to come back in the Spring!!

It's that time of year...

Merry Christmas!

I hope your celebrations of the most wonderful time of the year are going well.

But before we can celebrate, we need to recognize that it's also...

...Finals Week!

I actually had my first final today in Book of Mormon.

I got a 95%.

Success!

Since it is the infamous finals week, most people I've talked to have mentioned stress, anxiety, and an eagerness for the semester to reach its impending end.

However, I have felt very little finals-related stress. 

I feel like I should feel like this: 

(minus the beard)

But I feel more like this guy:

(As tacky and cliched I think cute kitten pictures are, 

this is the picture that best describes my current mood.)

Kind of carefree. 

Yep, I'm one of the little freshmen that has only two finals that require studying for.

I'm enjoying it while I can, since I know future semesters will not be so easy.

Oh, the joys of college!

Don't get me wrong, though... I love it here and I'm going to miss it so much!

Thanksgiving

"...worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

-Alma 34:48

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I hope everyone was able to eat lots of good food today {especially pie!}. 

But more importantly, I hope everyone was able to reflect on what they are grateful for. 

Here are a few things of mine that I'm grateful for:

The Church,

My Family,

Temples,

My Friends,

My comfortable living conditions,

My education,

The beautiful earth we live on,

All of my many blessings! 

I heard someone once say,

 "Count your blessings, not your worries."

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, and don't forget what this weekend was about too quickly in light of Christmas preparation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Angela

Divertido!... with swivel chairs.

As promised, I am posting a post {...?} about this past weekend.

This weekend was lots of fun! The most adventurous activity involved playing with swivel desks in the Clark building with friends Amanda and Katie after our ward party. 

We had lots of fun. :)

Aren't these desks cool?

We make an attractive group, I know.

This week...

...was awesome. 

So much fun! 

Unfortunately, I don't really have any adventures to blog about. 

{This week was pretty calm, but not dull.}


I can't think of anything in particular that made it so good... it just was!

Well, actually I went to the Temple today to do Baptisms for the dead.

{it sounds crazy/creepy, but it's not. I promise! There's some information about here.}

It was great. I think I might try to go again tomorrow, if possible. :)

What a blessing it is to have a temple that's just a five- to ten-minute walk away!!

This weekend should be fun, I think. 

Tonight is a ward party {woot!}, and tomorrow I have homework... but then I'm going to Extravadance 

with some friends!

Since I'm a ballet snob I am really excited to see what their dance program is like here. 

I've heard it's amazing, but I'm excited to see with my own two eyes.

I hope you all have an adventurous {yet safe} weekend! 

I'll see what I can do about having some adventures so I can blog about them.


Random thought:
If you love Jane Austen enthusiasts and funny dating stories, 
then you would love this blog.


I read it all the time!

Perseverance

I love Devotional.  

Today the speaker, Elder Zivic, spoke about persevering.  

One quote I especially liked was,

"Strong men are like kites; they rise when opposing winds are strongest."

Another one was,

"The best way to predict the future is to create it!" 

While I listened to him speak, I almost felt excited for trials to come so that I could apply the pieces of wisdom he gave me. Is that weird?

I feel like the theme for the past couple weeks, or more like semester, has been to push on and have the mentality,"I will survive, come what may." 

Especially since last night I watched an amazing movie called 17 Miracles. I highly recommend it. It's about the Willie and Martin handcart companies and some of the miracles they experienced. I get chills just thinking about it! 

If you think your lot is hard, you'll feel grateful for the amount you have after watching this little treasure!

And if you think about it, the stresses most people are dealing with are most likely not going to end their life, except in a few special cases.

And even then, if you have lived a life in line with the Gospel principles and teachings of Jesus Christ, then you have nothing to fear.

I love devotional.  

It is so worth going every week.

I always feel better after going... it feels kind of like a mini General Conference in the middle of the week.

I am so grateful to be attending a Church school!!

I'm hooked!

Thank you to my friends who introduced me to this song... I love it and listen to it all the time!!

My weekend thus far...

Happy weekend!!

I hope you all had a lovely Veteran's Day/11-11-11. Mine was great!

On Saturday I got to help out with a BSA Merit Badge Powwow at BYU-I. It was really rewarding to help boys sign off some merit badges, especially one in particular that was struggling a bit.  I loved seeing him and the others succeed! Scouting is so cool.

On another note, the caramel apple bread my roommate and I made this past week was pretty awesome... but it could have used some tweaking.  I'm thinking cloves might have added some needed pizzaz, but it was still delish and I will probably be making it again sometime within the near future. 

Sha-zam! 

 

We decided that next time we're going to make them into muffins... yum!

The other night was one of my best friends Tiff's birthday!! She's 19 years old! AH crazy. It actually feels like she should be 20. 

And... instead of celebrating with cake, we made a mound of ice cream!
For some reason my computer isn't letting me upload any pictures of Tiff's party/mound of ice cream, but let me tell you...  

That mound of ice cream was huge. We used six cartons of ice cream. Yum! :)

This is the life of a college student at BYU-Idaho. 
Full of ice cream and other goodies. 

...and that's why we have the Freshman Fifteen legacy.

Guest Post!

This post is by my good friend Cody Rae. He gets to start working on his mission papers tomorrow! This is what he has to say...

Angela Merrell is by far the coolest girl sitting on this couch with me right now... at this exact moment.... and chances are that it will stay that way for at any given moment... at least until i marry the women of my dreams who may or may not be named Jessica.

A New Start

Now that I'm halfway through my first semester, 

I have decided to start a blog.

A blog in which I record the many adventures of my young adulthood!

Updates? 

Basically,

Life is good.

Has anything especially exciting happened recently? 

Let's see... I participated in a zombie photo shoot on Saturday! It was fun and we got a lot of funny looks from passersby. Good times.  

And this wasn't just for the heck of it, it was for my friend's photography assignment. We aren't that bored around here.

Here's the cast!

I'm the one in the BYUI Dad t-shirt...

 It was three bucks at the bookstore. Why not, right? :)

Tonight my roommate Amanda and I are making Caramel Glazed Apple Bread... I'll have to post some pictures! It looks like it's going to be delicious!!

Speaking of cooking, do you know which cookbook I  love?

This baby right here. 

All the three recipes I've had out of here are delicious.

I know what I want for Christmas!