Chain Reactions

Chain Reaction- A series of events in which each event is the result of the one preceding and the cause of the one following.

Yesterday, I most definitely experienced a very intense chain reaction. I am leaving for France in less than a month, and there are certain items that I need for the trip, one of which is a raincoat! I have never needed a raincoat, living in West Texas, and so I had to look around to find one. 3 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 skirts, 1 dress and 1 pair of pants later, I found a raincoat! (As well as a pair of shoes.) Yes folks, I am a shopaholic. But in my defense, I do shop sales!

Anyway! I was satisfied with my purchases, and came home to put them away, and I just could not make enough room in my drawers to get the clothes in! So, I started emptying out all my drawers, throwing away anything that I no longer needed/wanted. I was very impressed with myself, and satisfied with the new space in my drawers, that I just had to continue!

One thing led to another, and for the next 9+ hours, I was ripping apart my room, bagging up what was no longer wanted, and neatly putting away what had made the cut. At 4am, I sat in my closet, putting away the last pair of shoes, and was thoroughly impressed with how beautiful and clean I had made my room/closet/bathroom.

In this ambitious endeavor, I discovered 52 tennis balls, 8 pairs of fake teeth, 17 lip glosses, 34 cents, and a very entertaining journal! I am proud to say, this is the cleanest my room has ever been since we moved here in 2006. Here are some pictures to proof it!

Closet

Bedroom

Feel free to be impressed. :) So what have I learned from this experience? Good things come from shopping. (And we will be having a garage sale next week, if you care to see what I have decided to get rid of, as well as other random things no longer needed in the Hanna household!)

Oh Those Summer Nights

I have been home for almost 3 weeks now, and let me tell you, the Hanna home is the place to be! The latest festivities have included:

1. A picnic at a park where we were entertained by a cop windexing his entire car.

2. Racing in laundry baskets down the stairs.

3. Some pretty hysterical dance parties to some very catchy songs late at night.

4. Training the pugs to play dead.

5. Half of us going to Japan, while the other half stayed and manned the house.

6. Rootbeer floats and smoothies while playing board/card games.

7. Mysteriously missing toothbrushes.

8. Awesome jam sessions with piano, guitars, and loud singing.

9. Quotes by Elliot that have left me doubled over in laughter,

10.Getting chased by cops through backyards and down alleyways because of a misunderstanding!

Oh, and did I mention half of these are false? :)

One Year

Today is August 3rd. To some, it is just another day in the year, another Friday, another day of summer. But today has a bit more meaning to me. It is the year mark, from August 3, 2011.

 It was the day I went from this:

To this:

Yes, my best friend was set apart as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and was to leave for Leeds, England the following day. It was quite an adjustment, and sometimes I still feel as if I haven't fully adjusted. But, looking back, I have had quite an eventful past year! Here are some of the highlights:

          

Family Vacations

Kristen got married!

A semester with these 2 wonderful girls

Meeting Kristin!

Quality time with the sis!  

My 20th birthday with close friends

A visit from Miss Maddy!

Fulfilling my dream as in EFY counselor

Meeting Nicole!

 Various shenanigans 

 Another year with Jannette

Oh yeah... and A LOT of this:

Yes, it has been quite the year! Hopefully this next year will bring many more exciting stories, wonderful people, and fun pictures! Elder Tombs, I miss you, that I'm sure you know. But, my life here is going beautifully, and I am ready for one more year! Europe in the fall, returning to BYU in January, a summer of EFY counseling, and then I will see you in August! :)

5+5+10

Here are 5 things that have made me laugh since being home, aka since Sunday:

1. Direct quote from Elliot: "I'm not cutsie wootsie, I'm a fierce warrior!"

2. Mandie belly flopping into the pool on a floatie. (had to be there. But it was so funny!)

3. This. I can't even begin to tell you how funny this is!

4. Playing curses with Elliot, Ashleigh, and Mandie!

5. Watching Dad try to pick up our big red dog Maggie. She did NOT appreciate it!


Here are 5 things that have just made me happy since being home:

1. TWO letters from a very special person!

2. A sleepover with the bestie. :)

3. Swimming with the family.

4. Getting an iPhone! Heck yes!

5. Shopping with my Momma.


On a scale of 1 to 10, my life is a 10. :)

Life in Black and White

Every day, I am adding little strokes to my canvas of life. Everything I do, say, see, and feel is a stroke on my canvas, painting a masterpiece that will hopefully continue to be enhanced, stroke by stroke. I've been thinking quite a bit about my canvas, and I have come to the conclusion that my canvas is in black and white. Marvelous and breathtaking pictures can be done in black and white, but it could be so much more enhanced with a splash of color. The color to my canvas is a work in progress, and it seems as if it won't be an addition to my canvas until August 2013. So for now, I will have to continue on in my black and white life, making it as beautiful as I can right now, day by day, stroke by stroke.

Dream Job

Last week, I was an EFY counselor, which has been my dream job for about 6 years now, and I have to say, it is not at all what I expected it to be. It was better... eventually. The first day, it was a really rough experience for me. I didn't know anyone, or what was going on, or what I should be doing, or what to expect. To put it lightly, I was totally clueless. I wanted to quit, even before the kids arrived, but I didn't. When the kids came, it was intimidating! I had 12 beautiful 15 year old girls, and I had no clue what to do with them! Slowly but surely, we came to know each other better, hour by hour, and day by day. I was in charge of these girls for a week, and it was so hard! Trying to teach them how to better feel the Spirit, how to study the scriptures, more about their divinity, it's a humbling thing to do! I did learn, that if I am teaching lessons, it's more for me as a teacher. But if I teach the girls, it is more for them, and I am a better tool in the Lord's hands for him to use to help these girls become the amazing women they were destined to be. I love being an EFY counselor. I have my second session starting tomorrow, and I can't wait! I've learned many things from this experience, and I can't wait to see what I learn this week. :)

Rock 'n' Rolo!

It's that time again... FINALS WEEK!!! Yipee!... Not. So this semester has been full of exciting happenings, one of the latest being that Lance and I made a piñata, and then he, Kristin, and I busted it! It was very fun (and slightly anticlimactic), and we had lots of candy left over, some of which were the caramel Rolo candies! I love those things! I told Kristin yesterday that she should hide them from me so that I could pace myself and find them one by one, and didn't give any more thought to that! Last night, I went to gorge myself on these little candies, but only found one! Kristin hid all the rest, one by one, throughout the apartment, and it has been the best thing! I found one in my computer, in my scriptures, and with my oranges, so I have only had 3 today! Best candy pacing technique ever. Especially during finals. Thank you Kristin Queen!