A Poem, by Minnie Lou Haskins

i said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:

give me a light that i may tread safely into the unknown.

and he replied:

step out into the darkness

and put your hand into the hand of God.

that shall be to you better than a light

and safer than a known way.

Deal Breakers...

1. Did your man ask you on a date over a text message? That's a deal-breaker, ladies.
2. If you have to figure out your man's life for him on Date #1, that's a deal-breaker.
3. Deal-Breaker: If your man has asked you on a date after you have dated 2 of his best friends.
4. Does your man send you mass texts when he hasn't talked to you at all in a couple of weeks? Deal-Breaker.
5. Have you been dating your man for a couple of months, but when he is asked about the girl he is dating, he just shrugs his shoulders with an, "ahhownknow"? Um, DEAL-BREAKER.
6. What do you call a guy who doesn't ask you about yourself? Correct. Deal-Breaker.
7. Does your man let you sit alone when you don't know anyone else at the party? Uh-huh. Deal-breaker.
8. Does your man try to avoid seeing you in the halls at school when he knows you are there? And let me just remind you--he is no longer in the 8th grade. You know what that makes him.
9. What if you are dating your man for a couple of months, pretty steadily, and then when you ask where things are going, he lets you know that you are just friends? D. E. A. L. -. B. R. E. A. K. E. R.
10. Say that, on your first date, your man decides to list off the people he hates. What does that make him? A deal-breaker. (Guess what, Deal-Breaker, there is this little thing you should look up called "class." And while you are at it, look up "good-taste." Thank you.).
11. Did you text your man on his day off and he didn't text you back all day? Then, when he saw you later that night, after you two had said your "hellos" he let it slip that he had been chilling all day, doing nothing. Then, after your "goodbyes", did he text you back with an answer to what you texted him? I know it's complicated, but you gotta know. That's a deal-breaker.
12. Did your man forget there are no such things as secrets on Facebook? Ouch. Deal-breaker.

Listen ladies*, I know it's rough. But it seems like all of this would be common sense, right? Wrong. Some guys just don't get it. That's why we as ladies* have to be alert to what is actually going on. Shut. It. Down. Shut it down if your man really is a deal-breaker. We deserve what we deserve and we happen to deserve the very best.

*Note: The "ladies" I was just talking to probably don't exist. I just made them up. That was me talking to myself, trying to make me feel better and to get myself excited again about dating. And my list of deal-breakers is my way of venting. Now, I can cool down and breathe. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

La-Di-Da

So, I am sitting awake in my bed, not sleeping for the past few hours, but listening to that kid's rendition of "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" (from the previous post, a few hours ago). Do you want to know what I think is so amazing? The way people express themselves through music.

For some, it's creating music. The lyrics and the music come from someone's thoughts and feelings. The emotion that is put into the music I listen to just astounds me.

For some, it's sharing music. Whether you are this kid who uses another artist's music to express himself, or whether you are a person who produces music or distributes it, you must believe in it at least a little to share it with the world.

For some, like me, it's listening to it. I don't know about you, but there is music I listen to that corresponds with my mood. I have music that I listen to when I am happy--it's the upbeat, fist-pumping type music. It's the kind you just can't help but dance to. On the other end of the spectrum, there is music I listen to when I am sad. There is also music I listen to to calm down, or music that says exactly what I can't say.

Music is such a universal language. I can listen to something foreign and love it as much as I love my usual music. I was talking to a friend who wants to go to Brazil to play his music. He was telling me how much Brazilians love American music, even if they don't understand what it is saying. That's pretty awesome.

Music creates experiences that can be both personal, and communal. Portable music devices made music a personal experience. Groups, such as choirs, make music a shared effort. Niches, groups of people that share a common interest, are formed based on music preferences, like when people gather at concerts. It can be shared with friends, or be kept special for yourself. I like to share my favorite music with the people I care about most.

I never really realized how special music is to me until these past few days when someone asked me if I know any really awesome music, and I thought twice about sharing it. That may sound a little selfish, but when something is so special to me, I like to be sure it will be appreciated by those whom I share it with.

Music is so amazing. It is truly one of the Lord's gifts to His children. I am just so grateful that talented friends and family will share it with me.  

Happy Birthday

Actually, it's no ones birthday. But here is this kid's gift to the world. Enjoy.

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Floodgates A-Gush

Church was a little interesting.
It is fast Sunday and for some reason, in testimony meeting, I started crying and that was that.
I couldn't stop. I'm still not completely stable at the moment, but at least I'm not blubbering anymore.
It was quite embarrassing and did not go unnoticed.
My amazing Branch President actually called me to make sure I was OK. He is so amazing and was actually one of the deciding factors of me staying in Utah for a while.
I just want to say that I am OK. It was just a build up of the past few weeks of emotion and low blood sugar. I don't know why it came out all at once, but I was having struggs. (Thank you to Alex Agle for letting me use the word "struggs"--aka struggles--just this once. I owe you).

But, believe it or not, I did get a lot out of Testimony meeting.
President Walker reminded me that even if something is a good thing, maybe it is not meant to happen right now. We need to move forward with faith to work on the Lord's time table.
That is such a hard thing for me to remember. If I know what I want, I want it now.
It is a hard thing to understand and remember that even if it is good, maybe now is no the best time to have it.
It seems to me that sometimes, that's harder than finding out that something is not good, so we should not have it.
Is this making any sense? I hope so, because it is important to remember.

Another thing I got out of Testimony Meeting is what President Fischer talked about.
He reminded me that Satan's sole purpose is to make us miserable.
Sometimes, he gets such a strong hold on us and we can't seem to shake him, but we are never alone. We always have someone to turn to.
Also, at this time in our lives, we are super vulnerable to falling under the bus and being lost. Because of this, Satan is hitting us as hard as he can just to get us down and keep us down.

These things are so important to remember and I feel like they were talking directly to me. Isn't it interesting how the Lord works?

Happy Sunday, everyone. Love you all.

True Love

"True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long—we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it—but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing..." 

--Elder Uchtdorf

Yoga=Togetherness, Forever.

Yoga. I love it. With my whole heart.
It is amazing. I cannot get over it and I think about it often.
It is sometimes hard and makes me want to die, but I love it so much.
I take a hot yoga class on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I can honestly say that it is my favorite part of those days.
 I sweat a lot. And breathe a lot. And forget to breathe a lot. But it is amazing.

Today, in class, we yoga-ed to Sting and Dido.
WHAT? REALLY?
Why haven't I thought of that?
There is no one better to yoga to.
Except maybe Peter Gabriel.

 Imagine doing yoga to THIS, or THIS.
I know they seem a little crazy and up-beat, but we are talking POWER YOGA, people.
I had an amazing idea, all resulting from Yoga:
Yoga Tuesdays. Everyone from the singles branch would be invited, and we just do yoga together.
Yoga...bringing singles together. Forever.
I think so.

I'm Better With Food

Woah. It's been a while my friends. I am very sorry.
A lot has happened that has kept me crazy busy and preoccupied with things I usually am not preoccupied with. But it's good to have a few changes in life. So I'm not complaining.

Today, I was writing down a list of weird things about me.
I called it, "Weird Things About Me."
I know, I know. I'm super-duper creative.
But it was an amazing exercise.
I tried to come up with things that are truly unique to me--what makes me different from everyone else.
I saw it in a TV show I was watching, and I thought to myself that it would not be a bad idea to try it, too.
The hope is that I recognize that I am different and weird compared to other people, but that's ok because it is what makes me me. And, it helped me remember that I am definitely not the only one in the world that has weird things that make them who they are.

While I has doing this exercise, I kept thinking about a certain scene from a certain movie.
You might know what I am talking about when I say "Jell-o" and "My Best Friend's Wedding". It is a great scene. Enjoy it HERE.

Basically, I kept thinking about how "You're never gonna be Jell-o" may be one of the truest statements in my life right now.
I will never be Jell-o. Maybe I will never be Creme Brulee.
Maybe, I am S'mores, or Can't Say No Sundae, or Banana Pudding.
I'm my own self.
You are your own self.
People can either accept it or not, love it or not. It's not your problem, it's theirs.
It's not my problem, it's theirs.
It is important that I not change who I am just make someone like me, or make someone happy.
I am me, and my list of weird things is going to stay my list of weird things. They are all keepers.

"AHA!" moment.

This is Why I Love Grandmama and Grandpapa's House.

Yesterday rocked my world.
But first, lets go to Sunday, which rocked it even harder.
After church, after dinner, we went walking along the most beautiful beaches in the California.
First, we went to Baby Beach, where I tried my hand at stand-up paddle boarding.
Grandpapa was kind enough to ask a man to let me try his board. It was amazingly fun.

Then, we made our way up to a new beach called Salt Creek. GORGEOUS.
It is the beach that numerous 6 million dollar lots and multi-million dollar homes overlook.
It is also those homes' backyards.
And it is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.
We all had tons o' fun.

Our House, in the Middle of the Beach.

Beach Explorer 1.

Beach Explorer 2.

Grandpapa and Smushy.

I'd Rather Be Sailing.

Happy Feet.








Grandpapa and Girls.







We kind of love each other.

They kind of love each other, too. Forever. Into the Sunset.

Camino Capistrano

Would you like to know my absolute, most favorite place to be?
Camino Capistrano.
Subcategory places include Grandma and Grandpa's House, Grandma and Grandpa's swimming pool, and Dana Point Harbor.
Dana Point Harbor is amazing. This is where I first fell in love with boats and sailing. From Dana Point, you also have a perfect view of the Pacific Ocean. It is gorgeous, especially right around the time the sun sets.

 One day, I will be a member of the Dana Point Yacht Club. This is also where I will be storing my Sailboat (Name Pending).

Last summer, I took the Dana Point Stroll with none other than the Sister Dano. This is what we saw last time:

Last night, Grandpapa, Papa, and I all took The Dana Point Stroll. 
It was so amazing.
I have been waiting for that walk since we were here last Summer.
It was even better than I remembered it. It always is.
You can't get better walking company than the Dennis Agles.
Unless, of course, you throw in a Grandmama, a Mama, a Smushy, and a Sister Dano.

ROAD TRIP!

It's that time of year again...
Time to pack your bags, pile in a car, and take a road trip down to California!!
The ride was a long one, but a fun one.
Included on the list of activities was singing loud, laughing hard and sleeping.
We were able to complete all of them.
Smushy took some time to make it so you, too, can feel part of the experience:

Can we pretend that airplanes...

Hey folks. Today is the day and I am so excited my heart might explode.
I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Last night was amazing.
Bree Lena came over and we watched the final episode of my favorite TV show, Heroes.
I must recommend this show to everyone. It is amazing.
It was what Bree Lena and I did on our Friday and Saturday nights. And sometimes Mondays. And sometimes Wednesdays.
It is just that amazing. I recommend it to the highest degree.

Also, it was dear Aria's last night in Utah AND there was a meteor shower.
So, Smushy, Bree Lena and I all crashed on Aria's lawn and watched the amazing night sky.
It was so beautiful and so incredible.
Nature is beautiful and Space is amazing.
Stars are fantastic and shooting stars are indescribable.

Wishes were made...

Oh Happy...

CELEBRATION!! With a stomach bug, but a celebration none the less.

I took my last final today so I am officially done with summer semester at BYU.

It was crazy. No. That is an understatement. It was slightly more than crazy.

But oh I am so happy...

Tomorrow, at this time, I will be listening to Jack Johnson.

I will be watching Jack Johnson.

I will be experiencing the best moment of my week.

Oh Jack Johnson, so happy...

Then, on Saturday, I will be on my way to the happiest place on the Earth.

The beach. Where I can be happy. And enjoy the sun, the sand and the ocean.

Those are some of my favorite things ever.

Maybe I will try my hand at surfing.

That would be a dream come true.

Oh so happy...

Introductions.

Please forgive me.

Let me introduce you to Jack Johnson, since I so rudely did not before.

THIS is him before.
THIS is him now. It also gives you a little biography.

THIS is his song "You and Your Heart".

He is surfing because that's what he does.

He is singing because that's what he does.

As you can see, that is why I am excited for Friday.
Please enjoy him. I hope as much as I do.

the TERRIBLE, ROTTEN, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY.

Look at this entry's title.
Now back to this entry.
Now back at the title.
Now back to this entry.
It pretty much sums up my day, the title does.
Thank goodness it is almost over.
It's finals week.
Even with only 2 classes, it is driving me more mad than FIT finals week did, and that is saying something.
Nana always says that everything is worse when you are tired, and guess what. I am tired.
So I have come up with a cure to these days:
1. Prayers
2. Sleep
3. Crying
4. (Most importantly) HUGS.
Heartfelt hugs are such an act of service.
Those hugs make my day sunny and beautiful.
I'm going to need many more of those in the coming days.
Thank goodness I have good hug-givers in my lilfe.

Friday Loves

Good News:
Friday.
Me.
Jack Johnson.

That's Right.
We Have A Date.
It's Time To Turn Your Love.
Red Wine, Mistakes, Apologies.
To The Sea.
No Good With Faces.
When I Look Up.
My Little Girl.
You And Your Heart.

Jack Johnson Has My Heart.
Forever.
And Ever.
Peace Out.
With Banana Pancakes.

Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday, my friends.
Sadly, it is almost over.

Church was really good today.
It was testimony meeting and the spirit is always strong in the Springville branch.
I should actually say it was Yuba Testimony day.
Yuba Lake had a huge impact on everyone, not just me.
It is so amazing to see how much one activity with people being friendly and kind to others can have such a lasting effect on others.
I feel blessed to be part of such a great group of people.

Church was really good today.
Did I already say that?
Well, it was.
We walked down our Yuba Lake memory lane, swapped stories and giggled lots.
Also, getting to know good people is so fun.
I should try it more often.
It brings fun stories to the dinner table.
And there is nothing better than giggles at the dinner table.
xx

BEST WEEKEND EVER! and wickedest sunburn.

BONJOUR!! (I'm home safe, Dad!)

I am so happy. I could write in all caps this entire post with 12,000 exclamation points. 

First of all, this weekend was even better than I thought it was going to be. AMAZING.

The great news is great:

I LOVE BOATING.

I always thought I did but didn't know for sure since I have not actually been boating. 

This weekend, I went boating.

Today, all I did was boat.

It rocked my world and I am SO getting a boat when I grow up and get a job.

I love it all: the hard work, the water, the life-jackets, the fun, the sun and the exhaustion.

I am so willing to plan all of the boating trips I take and I am so willing to learn how to be the best and safest boater possible. I am so excited. I found my new hobby.

The best news is best:

Simply, the Lord answers prayers, no matter how silly they may be. 

I am so grateful for His listening ear and heart that is willing to bless me, one of His children out of billions.

The Lord is so merciful and so wonderful.

Prayers are a direct connection to Him and He is so willing to listen to them, because He loves us.

He loves me.

He loves you.

And I love you, too.

xx

IT IS TIME!!!

So who wants to hear about my day?! 

It has been a long one, but a good one. 

First of all, last night ended for me at about 1:30. I was trying to write a paper and I wasn't having any luck at all. I decided that it was time to wrap up so I could get some sleep because today is special. So, I turned off my computer and shut my eyes. And I slept. For 3 hours. 

I was having the worst nightmares about my paper and the TV show Heroes (that I cannot believe I have not mentioned. It is my favorite.)

So, at 4:30, I finally could not take any more nightmares about it so I turned my computer on and wrote. And wrote. And wrote. And wrote.

I got done what I needed to but it makes for a long morning and afternoon and evening and night. 

But, I had an Excedrin and I am pretty sure I can get through this evening and tonight.

I MUST!

Because, if you remember, I am going camping at Yuba Lake in Utah tonight and tomorrow with my singles branch. I am pretty sure I have mentioned before that I love my singles branch, so I am tres, tres excited. 

I cannot wait to tell you all about it! 

It is going to be a weekend full of sun, campfires and boating.

YES. BOATING.

Life is just so good.

So my friends, have a very very good weekend!

I will miss you! But, I will see you very soon!

And don't worry pops, I will be safe. And if I don't see you before I leave, I will give myself a Dad Lecture on my safety.

xx

wednesday adams

so...

bad news: my thesis for my research paper got trashed.

time for a new topic, time to start over on my research.

sometimes, school has to throw you curve balls to keep your brain alive.

so...

the j. crew pants my lovely mum bought for me have been shipped.

soon i will be walking around in salmon-colored delights.

i am quite fond of that color. and those pants.

so...

i saw one of my besties this evening.

she looked so pretty and she just keeps getting prettier and prettier.

she always makes me laugh and reminds me why i love life.

i cannot imagine me without her.

so...

i climbed a rope jungle gym tonight.

i have never felt cooler in my life.

i felt like i was sitting on top of a mast on a yacht.

all i needed was a whistle, a striped shirt, boat shoes and white pants.

or maybe just salmon pants.