Some people laugh through their noses...

My friend Nate made me cry at work a couple of weeks ago. Now before you start biting your thumb at him, let me explain.
It all started a few months ago when everyone at the office was gathered in our break room for our weekly company meeting. The room was packed, seating was limited, and wall space to lean against had been claimed. So, Nate, being the resourceful person he is, decided to use the edge of our 20 gallon trashcan as his seat (before I continue, you should know that I'm sharing this only with Nate's permission). Perhaps in a brief moment of lapsed judgment, perching his rear on the edge of a giant open trashcan seemed like a bright idea...but then, as you might have anticipated, the edge of the can buckled, and in went Nate to a pile of pizza boxes and apple cores. Fortunately he recovered gracefully without injury to much other than his pride, and without detracting too much attention from the speaker.
I've heard President Monson quote J.M. Barrie a couple of times when he said, "God gave us memories that we might have roses in December." How true this is. On a day when I was exhausted from lack of sleep, school work and other responsibilities, barely keeping my head above water, the simple humorous memory of Nate's trashcan mishap brought a much needed dose of pure gut busting cheer! The kind that brings tears to your eyes!
So the question is this: when was the last time you laughed? I mean REALLY laughed! I'm not talking about your average through-the-nose, closed-mouth, under-the-breath chuckle. I'm talking about that good, crazy, uncontrollable, stomach aching, breath sucking, tears are streaking down my cheeks, I can't finish my sentence laughter!
I highly recommend it if you haven't done it lately. In fact, here are a couple of things you can try if you need a little help getting your mirth on:
1. Think of one of your most embarrassing moments--as humiliating as it was then, its probably funny now... re-read your journal from Jr. High if you need a little inspiration.
2. Spend some time with little kids...and listen to all the profound things they say, watch them play soccer...
3. Play the laughing game-get together with your family or friends and lay on the ground with your head resting on someone else's stomach...and just start laughing. It's head-bobbing fun!
4. Go to the Mechanical Museum in San Francisco and sacrifice a quarter to listen to the giant wax laughing woman. Creepy? Yes. But it left me amused.
5. Watch Brian Regan, Napoleon, Nacho, Raising Arizona, Baby's Day Out, The Phone Call, or better yet, old home videos from the good ol' days.
Just laugh a little. After all, they do say "laughter is the best medicine"...unless of course you have dengue fever or something...
Thanks for the "roses" Nate!

To dive, or not to dive, that is is the question...

Skydiving. What kind of crazy person would willfully agree to participate in such a rediculously insane activity?!! Well...maybe me. The question is, do I have the nerve? I know that might sound strange coming from the girl who has no problem jumping off of bridges; but really, the idea of skydiving makes me a little nervous.
People say that bungy jumping is scarier than skydiving--this doesn't make sense to me. I guess it probably has something to do with what physics do to your stomach on the way down. It just seems to me that a skydiving catastrophe would yield far more serious consequences than a bungy jumping accident. I mean think about it for a second, if your bungy cord snaps, it will probably happen when you've stretched the cord to it's fullest length, which will have slown you down, and at which point you will also be closest to the ground...and even if that logic is faulty, there will probably be water at the bottom of the ravine below to cushion the fall ;).On the other hand, if you jump out of a plane, and your parachute doesn't open, you're pretty much out o'luck!
Yet, I'm still contemplating doing it Saturday anway...call me crazy.

Worth a Fortune...Cookie

I cracked open a fortune cookie yesterday and found this message inside: "Look for happiness and you will find it." Seems pretty simple, but it was a nice reminder to always look on the bright side of life.
Oh, and by the way, my lucky numbers are 1,7,10,28,40, and 2.

President Hinckley

“Things will work out. Keep trying. Be believing. Be happy. Don’t get discouraged. Things will work out.”

--President Gordon B. Hinckley

Sunday night at about 7:oo pm, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away. It's hard to put into words, exactly how I feel about his death.
I smile and feel so much genuine joy when I think of the happiness President Hinckley must have experienced as he was finally reunited with his wife again. I think we could all sense how much he truly loved and missed her during the years after her death. I hope to have a marriage like President and Sister Hinkley's some day.
I feel gratitude and awe when I think of the "unwearyingness" with which Pres. Hinckley served. He was a man with a truly selfless, kind, loving, pure, generous, accepting, Christ-like heart, as well as a hard-working, diligent, wise, unshakable character.
He valued both secular and spiritual knowledge, and his testimony of the beautiful, simple, fundament principles of the gospel was borne with unwavering conviction. My own heart has been deeply moved, and my own testimony fortified as I've listened to President Hinckley bear witness of the reality of a loving Heavenly Father, the divinity of His Son Jesus Christ, and of Joseph Smith's miraculous vision of these two glorious beings.
President Hinckley's testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was stiring, and his invitation to the church to study from its pages was inspired. And just as he promised, my life has been blessed with an added measure of the Spirit as I've made time to feast upon the words of Christ.
Perhaps of all the contributions President Hinckley has made to the church and to the world during his time as a general authority and as President of the church, his work in building temples is among the most significant. I am especially grateful for President Hinckley's inspired plan for the construction of the Hong Kong temple. It is a unique and beautiful building, the presence of which is truly blessing the lives of members of the church throughout Southeast Asia. Just three weeks ago I had the pleasure of going back to the Hong Kong temple. On my way out, I met up with Brother Pun, a member of the church I had the opportunity to help teach and see baptized when I was serving as a missionary in the New Territories. He was on his way in! Because of the inspired work of President Hinckley in bringing a temple to the people of Southeast Asia, Brother Pun and his wife have been able to receive all of the blessings that come from service in the Lord's house.
I love President Hinckley and will miss him! I know he was a true prophet of God, led by the hand of the Lord in his direction of the church! Ialso know that President Hinckley's successor, President Monson, will be led by that same loving hand. God loves us. He won't leave us in the dark, and giving us living prophets to guide us is a manifestation of that love.