faith, prayer, and gratitude

i love the story of the jaredites. yesterday i got to Ether chapter 6 on my Book of Mormon cd. this is perhaps my favourite part of the whole Book of Mormon.

the faith of this people is such an example. and the Lord takes care of them as He promised.

4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of food, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and whatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry with them—and it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.

now, i can't imagine that this voyage was pleasant or even really bearable at all.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.

i love the reaction of the jaredites when in this situation. here, the Lord had guided them to the edge of the sea, had instructed them how to build these vessels, and -- once they were aboard -- had blessed them with a "furious wind" to push their vessels across the atlantic. this great blessing -- the means for them to reach their destination -- caused difficulties and trials. and when the people prayed, the Lord brought them to the surface of the water.

i find an interesting parallel here: we have many times been commanded to do things in this life -- and we are blessed in our efforts to accomplish them -- and when we find that we are struggling to overcome trials or obstacles, the Lord will hear us and lift us back up so that we can continue our journey.

8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
9 And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
10 And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water.
11 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.
12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.

the jaredites sang praises of gratitude, recognized the great blessings they received, and the Lord did not cease to bless them. we are also so blessed.

oh, hello

i was surprised to get a good email from a good friend this morning. i guess it wasn't so much the content of the email that was so good, come to think of it -- there wasn't any particularly good news or anything -- but it put me in such a good mood to just know that a friend was thinking of me.

funny how that is.

no shirt, no shoes ... but a pair of pants!

... and a couple of skirts.

okay, so tradition has been that, after i sit for each of the four sections of my cpa exam, i go over to target and buy a shirt.

the first time, it was of necessity: i had parked over at the parking garage for the testing facility, not even thinking that i would need to have cash for parking. so ... after suffering through 3½ hours of dull multiple choice questions in a room absoultely devoid of anything stimulating or even interesting, i tried to get change from the snack shop in the lobby -- but they don't take debit cards. grrr. so the attendant suggested that i run over to target and get some cash back there.

so i did.

that was back in the days of chocolate freedom, so i purchased a couple *really good* choxie chocolate bars and a cute little yellow cardigan, got some cash, and was on my way home.

the day of my second test, i again parked in the parking structure without any cash on me, but kinda thought it would be fun to run over to target after my test. so after 4½ hours of monotonous multiple choice questions and complex case studies, i went to target. this time, i got a white button-down.

test number three was 4 hours. and my souvenir from that one was 2 shirts: a blue t and a green 5-button henley.

the disaster we call test number four left me very uncreative, so i just quickly grabbed a red v-neck and got out of there.

now, supposedly four tests would be the end of it -- no more test shirts. but ... as you may recall, i didn't exactly perform very well on that last one. so ... yesterday was the retake. and i think i might have done better than i did before. heck, i got a 45 last time, hopefully i didn't do worse!! i was actually pretty blessed this time around -- having not taken nearly enough time to study and prepare as i should have (as usual, ugh), i wasn't expecting much. but i think that i was able to think much more clearly, remember a few more things from school and from my studying, and focus more on the test while sitting there.

it was a 3-hour test and i wish it were a 3-hour-and-5-minute test. yeah, i just needed 5 more minutes to finish up my second case study. it's okay. we'll see how i did. i was certainly surprised, however, when i read the first case study and it was *exactly* the same as one i got last time! yeah! i think i did better on it this time, though. so hopefully ...

anyway, walked back over to target (i started just parking at target after the second test so i wouldn't have to even worry about parking money or walking all the way back across the street, back over to the testing center parking structure -- ha!) and i was glad to be out of the testing center -- okay, it is a rather small room with nothing but a clock on the wall and about 17 cubicles set up, each with just a computer and a set of silencing headphones for those who can't stand the clickety-clack of typing in the next cube over. so once at target, i started looking for a fourth-test-retake shirt. not much luck. and i wasn't much in the mood for shirts. but i found some pants and a couple skirts -- it was more expensive target trip than the others ... oh well. *hopefully* that was the last time i have to go over to that testing center and the shopping temptation that is target, so yeah. that's my excuse. :P

(okay, fine, i *did* find a shirt that i liked as i was leaving target, but that kinda ruins the title of this blog, so we won't say anything more about it. okay.)

the little fire alarm that cried wolf

err, uh, ... that cried "breaaayynnnmm breaaayynnnmm" ...

within the period of about a half hour this morning, the fire alarm at this client has gone off about 8 times -- shrill siren, flashing lights, and all.

funny: some people immediately jump up, grab their personal belongings, and head for the door. others stand up, a little confused, and look around to see what everyone else is doing, asking "do we really have to go outside?". and finally, there are those who are maybe a little distracted by the noise, but quickly get back to work, trying to pretend that nothing happened. these are the work-aholics, i guess.

it's been quiet for about an hour now, but i'll tell ya: after about the 3rd or 4th time the alarm went off today, the noise and lights were a little more difficult to ignore. but don't worry, i did. i haven't gotten up from my seat at all, not even to ask "do we really have to go outside?"

eu amo a goiabada

what a lovely surprise. last night i got home and checked the mail ... a friend of mine from my mission had sent me goiabada!! mmmm ...

goiabada is a candy made from pink guava. basically, it is guava cooked down with sugar and pectin until it becomes thick. and it's oh-so-good!

i like to eat it with cheese -- fresh cheese is best, but i enjoy it with even just string cheese (a little more convenient for packing in my lunch) -- brasilians call this combination romeo & juliet. another delicious way to enjoy goiabada is to throw a piece in the blender with some milk, and presto: yummy guava shake! you can make really good cookies, too -- called goiabinhas -- which are a stiff sugar cookie dough wrapped around a piece of goiabada and sprinkled with sugar. mmm.

love this stuff!!

no snickers, please

on thursday i was supposed to meet one of the girls i visit teach for a lunch visiting-teaching appointment. i have been brown-bagging lunch recently, but because we were going out, i didn't bring lunch ... well, my girl had to cancel last minute, at which point i didn't really feel like going out to lunch all by myself. so i thought, "well, if i just work straight through lunchtime, then maybe i can get out of the office early today." i wasn't super hungry anyway, so yeah.

at about 230 i just wanted something to chew, so i went up to the vending machine. lots of fun snacks there! cookies, candy, chips, gum, more candy, more cookies ... lots of chocolate. but i'm not allowed to buy chocolate. :S so i started crossing things off the list of options. as i stood there, i was getting more and more hungry. so i figured i better get something with a little substance. well, cookies are good -- wait, those are chocolate chip cookies -- nevermind, can't get those. umm, chips are good. okay. what else? ooo! a snickers! "snickers satisfies!" yay!

well, $1.50 and a half hour later, i was satisfied. :)

mmm. really enjoyed that snickers. haven't had a snickers in a long time. mmm ... wait a minute ... snickers is chocolate!! argh!!

confessions of a chocolate lover:

at this time, i must confess that since february i have had a few breeches in my chocolate-purchasing-ban.

1. april 9 -- mcdonald's hot fudge sundae
2. june 1 -- starbuck's hot chocolate
3. august 16 -- snickers candy bar

the stories behind each of these offenses are similar to the one related above -- by definition lapses in judgement. aside from these minor mistakes, though, i have remained compliant with the rules set forth. that's 6½ months of not buying any chocolate for myself ... more than half-way there!

less effective

santa monica 3rd ward -- film festival -- july 2007

the chase begins

wicked witches.

flying pirates.

a star falls.

the chase begins.

last night my new friend becky and i went out to work with the sister missionaries and visit a new contact -- yay for referrals! (i haven't gone out with the sisters *at all* since getting back from my mission over 3 years ago! yikes! -- but ... how exciting to do it now!)

well, becky and i were running a little late, but got to the park where we were to meet up with the sisters just after they arrived -- they were running late as well ... perfect -- *love* it when that happens. after finding each other at the park and making our introductions, we all got back in our cars and headed off to go to the appointment. parked our cars. walked to the apartment. she wasn't there!! argh!! (*that* happened too many times in brasil.) so, the sisters tried to think of someone else we could visit, but it was kinda late to make an unannounced visit, so we split ways

becky and i had set out for an adventure, though ... so ...

... why not go see stardust?!?! sure!!

been looking forward to this movie for so, so, so, so long. and it was definitely worth the wait! and becky was super excited because she studied stage makeup and this movie had great makeup and hair.

i loved the story. and i loved the way it was told. just completely captivating. and we discussed later how much we loved that it was a completely new story -- not a re-make nor the second or third in an episodic sequence, which stories have completely overtaken the box office lately.

highly recommend this movie.

becoming a head hunter

got an email this morning from my firm's university recruiter. i'm on the national recruiting team for byu! yay!

what does this mean, you ask? well, basically, i get to go back to byu and encourage students to apply for and interview with my firm! how fun will *that* be!?! i'm super excited. especially because i think that not enough byu accounting students really consider my firm as a career option: too many aim only for the big 4 and don't even check out what other options there are.

because byu has very highly ranked undergrad and graduate accounting programs, and the faculty have worked closely with the big 4 in shaping the curriculum, many of the students see the big 4 as the only option. well, i did my internship at ibm, not with the big 4 -- not even in public accounting! i had a great time there and came back from that internship with some really good private accounting experience. because i felt the desire to get some public accounting experience before accepting a position in the private sector, when i got back on campus, i interviewed with the big 4 and with some smaller public accounting firms (the big 4 are *enormous*!). i ended up taking a job with grant thornton, the largest international public accounting firm outside the big 4, serving mid-cap clients.

so i am headed to provo at the beginning of next month. going to attend meet the firms and then an oktoberfest barbecue. sounds fun, neh? i get to attend the recruiting events again this year, only i won't have the stress of trying to impress the interviewers. sounds perfect! :)

also kind of cool is that i was planning to go to utah to visit family around that time anyway, so ... i had already requested the pto, and now maybe i don't have to pay for my plane ticket. ha ha! that works out pretty good, i would say ...

the first of ten

the first commandment is "thou shalt have no other gods before Me." being the first of the ten commandments accentuates its importance.

though we often mentally categorize ourselves as different than the people of the Old and New Testaments, president kimball taught that "false gods or idols include 'everything which entices a person away from duty, loyalty, and love for and service to God.'" we, today, have idols that we place in importance before God: work, money, a nice home, cars, vacations, people, sports, titles/degrees, time.

most interesting to me in this list is time. i believe that where we spend our time truly indicates where we have placed our hearts and our desires. where do i spend my time? what do i do first in the day? when i get into my car each morning, how long do i listen to the radio before i push the "play" button on my Book of Mormon on cd? do i spend more time deciding what clothes to wear than in humble prayer?

"if we insist on spending all our time and resources building up for ourselves a worldly kingdom, that is exactly what we will inherit," taught president kimball. but is that what we really want when the game is over?

president kimball noted that "few men have ever knowingly and deliberately chosen to reject God and his blessings. rather, we learn from the scriptures that because the exercise of faith has always appeared to be more difficult than relying on things more immediately at hand, carnal man has tended to transfer his trust in God to material things." believing in God and His plan for his children is far different than trusting Him. i believe that God has a very individual plan *for me*, but do i trust Him and readily act on that faith?

i want to marry someone who is committed to the Lord, who desires more than anything to please Him. and when i say "more than anything", i mean it quite literally. now, how do *i* show that i desire more than anything to please God and accomplish His plan for me? (i've obviously got marriage on my mind these days. that's okay: i'm a girl -- it happens.)

i am full of questions -- i don't have many answers. today's relief society lesson has inspired much thought. what i know is that i want to be ever closer to my Heavenly Father and ever more like my Saviour. a friend of my father's once noted that the answer to every question is "more faith in Jesus Christ and an eye more single to His glory."

shower thinkin'

in a non-stop uber-busy life, you gotta take advantage of the quiet, slow(-er) moments to think. for me, that's the shower time.

my thoughts recently have primarily circled around a couple people.

seattle boy: i spend time hoping he is well. it's been a long time since we talked and i miss him. i miss that friendship and contact with someone that i know cares genuinely about me and my welfare. i miss the nonsense conversations that leave me rolling on the floor in fits of laughter. i think about how things must be difficult for him until he can speak to seattle girl. i wonder how he's doing with that and in general. i wonder if i will get a wedding announcement. i wonder if i'll ever get to speak to him again and i think about what i'd like to say to him, if i do. i think about seattle girl and wish that she knew me so she could trust me. i think about what i love about my friendship with seattle boy and what i love about him, which thought has recently been underscored by his desire to do what is right and to be right before God in all things, recognizing that his own weaknesses can be improved, step by step. i think of the importance of that in the person that i am looking to marry.

cute guy: i think about our relationship. i think about his current life situation: where he is now, where he is going. and unfortunately, i spend too much time thinking about where i wish he were. i wonder what it would be like to meet his kids. i wonder what it would be like if we lived closer together. i wonder what he thinks about me and about our relationship. i wonder if he thinks this is going anywhere, or if it is just something to do for now. i also analyze my own motivations in our relationship. do i see him for who he is?

in all this thinking, one prevailing thought is the question of what kind of person do i want to marry. i mean, this whole dating thing has that as its purpose, right? so ... let's get to the point. i previously wrote that i want 2 things: (1) a man of God, and (2) a best friend. i want someone who wants *me*. who chooses me above everyone else, not because there is no one else or because he can't have whom he really wants. and yet, i want someone that will put God and His plan above me.

okay, too much thinking is bad. for me, anyway. i am a doer. thinking irritates me because, even after all that time spent thinking, i am usually in the same boat, still rowing along in generally the same direction. sorry, that's me looking for the efficiency and effectiveness in everything. so i am going to wrap this up. some pretty aimless thoughts, i admit, but maybe i'll be able to put them together cohesively some day ...

i'm not that girl - wicked

hands touch, eyes meet
sudden silence, sudden heat
hearts leap in a giddy whirl
he could be that boy
but i'm not that girl

don't dream too far
don't lose sight of who you are
don't remember that rush of joy
he could be that boy
i'm not that girl

every so often we long to steal
to the land of what-might-have-been
but that doesn't soften the ache we feel
when reality sets back in

blithe smile, lithe limb
she who's winsome, she wins him
gold hair with a gentle curl
that's the girl he chose
and heaven knows
i'm not that girl ...

don't wish, don't start
wishing only wounds the heart
i wasn't born for the rose and pearl
there's a girl i know
he loves her so
i'm not that girl ...

chatsworth earthquake

i heard on the radio this morning that we had an earthquake in the middle of the night. here's some info i found online about it:

A light earthquake occurred at 12:58:49 AM (PDT) on Thursday, August 9, 2007. The magnitude 4.6 event occurred 5 km (3 miles) NNW of Chatsworth, CA. The hypocentral depth is 8 km ( 5 miles).
Magnitude 4.6 - local magnitude (ML)
Time Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 12:58:49 AM (PDT)Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 7:58:49 (UTC)
Coordinates 34 deg. 18.0 min. N (34.299N), 118 deg. 37.2 min. W (118.619W)
Depth 7.5 km (4.7 miles)
Location Quality Good
Parameters Nst=122, Nph=122, Dmin=5 km, Rmss=0.3 sec, Erho=0.2 km, Erzz=1
km, Gp=21.6 degrees
Event ID# ci14312160
Additional Information Google Earth KML (Requires Google Earth.)

the earthquake was just outside of chatsworth, which is about 10 miles from my house. yeah, i'm okay. i slept through the whole thing, though. heh, heh.

72 miles

welp, he made the drive. and survived it, too. though, all evening cute guy kept reminding me that it's 72 miles from his house to mine.

yeah, i know: i've made that drive a few times ... ...

i'm glad he drove up, though. (like really, i think it's hilarious that he doesn't like driving so much. heh.)

he got here about 830 and we went over to the calabasas commons. i hadn't really ever spent much time there, but it's kind of a nice area -- little shops, movie theater, restaurants, nice open areas to just hang out. we walked around for a bit -- most of the shops were closed at that point -- we got some frozen yogurt and just sat and talked. then we came back to my house. we spent about 45 minutes trying to fix my tv, but it's just not being friendly these days ... anyway, then we hung out for a while at the house, just talking and stuff. and then he drove home!

yes, another 72 miles. :S

ahh, traffic ...

traffic can be frustrating. but it's not always bad.

last night, i was headed home from my harp lesson a little after 9. needed to stop at the grocery store on the way, but otherwise, just enjoying being out in the evening. traffic was by no means heavy on the local streets, but when i got stuck behind a slow honda civic i started to get a little annoyed. as soon as i could, i sped out from behind him and got into the other lane. as i passed him, of course i looked over -- not to give him a stink eye or anything, just mostly out of curiosity. but i couldn't really see into the car. oh, well.

we came to a red light. he pulled up in the lane next to me and looked over. he smiled and waved. i smiled back. green light.

he pulled up next to me at the next red light, smiled and waved. i waved back. he said, "we're going to starbucks if you want to come." i smiled and said "i can't." the light turned green. he was still looking in my direction and said, "you have a beautiful smile." i said "thank you," (with a big smile) as i eased on the gas.

ahh, traffic ...

sad news