5 minutes

Isn't it amazing how different five minutes can feel depending on the situation you are in? Five minutes can feel like an eternity when you are waiting for a class to end, are closing at work, or are just that close to home but you have to go to the bathroom rrrrreally bad. And then there are times when five minutes goes by and you think, "wait! i need more time!" Such as when you are watching your favorite TV show & need to run to an appointment, or you are running late to meet someone, or in my case the other morning when you want more time to sleep and five minutes really turns into 25 minutes but only felt like 2 minutes!

I was talking today with one of my mentors telling him how I wish I wasn't in school so I could be a better wife and make our house more "homey" with all these projects I am listing in my head. He just said, "Andrea, you need to simplify. Don't let those lists & projects get in the way of life. Make a small list of things that need to get done, and when you have extra time, those other things can get done. Before you know it you will have kids and they will be all grown up. Don't stress about those things. They aren't important." 

And guess what? Just a month ago I accepted a personal challenge to "Simplify." He is right. It would do me good to apply just 5 minutes a day on certain projects to put one more moving box away, or spend 5 minutes de-junking my closet, etc.I am finding more and more that I tend to get bogged down with things becaues "I don't have enough time" to get them done. Every day, I have 5 minutes that I can do those simple things such as putting one more box of things away. I'm too hard on myself about not getting things done and it is taking a toll on my emotional health.

late night walk

Monday was a long, stressful, and awkward.

I clean when I'm stressed and frustrated. It is my outlet.

On my way home, I stopped to get gas... then decided to get my car washed and used the complementary vacuums they have there. It feels so good to drive a clean car. I then came home and did laundry for what seemed like the entire evening.

Jeff came over later that night after he got off work. It's amazing how I can keep everything contained and I feel fine and normal, to when being around Jeff, that security feeling takes over. That feeling of comfort overtakes you, you feel like your walls can come down and your brave face can rest while you release all your worry.

I was very uptight about somethings and I started to get all emotional. We decided to go on a 10 PM walk (since we didn't get our walk in on Sunday). It felt good just to be outside in the fresh warm air and be able to talk, just the two of us.

I love this boy.

I am so glad he is my best friend and someone that will listen to me and hug me when I feel like I'm falling apart. I'm glad that we both have had experiences like this because it brings us closer and allows us to bond a little more.

Eternity with that boy sounds better and better every day.

...

Source: clickinmoms.com via Dawn on Pinterest

i parked my car and started my hike up the hill to the health building on campus. my eardrums soak up the melodious tune from my ear buds. the sunshine and fresh air caress my bare arms. i pass a playground of small children. their own tune of laughter orchestrating. i turn my iPod down so i can hear the "Children's Play" more clear.

i watched those children as their imaginations take them far away from that playground.

their innocence is so precious.

those children are blissfully unaware of the hustle and bustle of adult students and the preoccupied planning of professors. sometimes as children and young adults we want to grow up too fast. we want to explore our own capabilities of responsibility, make our own decisions, be our own indepent self from our guardians. how precious those young, playful, creative years are in our lives.

one day i will have children and will foster that creativity they inately possess.

one day we will have tea parties, play soldier and have imaginary friends over for dinner.

then one day they will grow up.

and those precious moments will be memories.

perspective

Source: dearinspirationblog.blogspot.com via Andrea on Pinterest

i feel like this is how i am on my road trip through life.
it is still going.
i have my past behind me.
i have my future lying ahead.
and right now, i am enjoying my present.

i have had many compliments lately about how happy i come across,
that there is a sparkle in my eye,
and that my enthusiasm is contagious.

well good.

i truly am, really happy and content.
not "content" that i am not progressing, but just content with "andrea."
i am finally comfortable in my own skin...literally.
i am enjoying saying hi to random people and relishing in their surprised responses.
i have experienced the value of networking.
i love having so many great mentors.
i love my peers and leaders.

i am learning a lot.
i can fell myself excelling.
i'm being pushed and stretched in many small ways.
i can feel myself becoming stronger.

but right now, i am still just enjoying my present.

I AM SO BLESSED! {part 3}

Tuesday, March 29, 2011, I had my meeting. It went GREAT! Actually it went FANTASTIC!!! I was visiting with the stake president, and had a great conversation. He says to me that they would “like me to get more involved in institute” and if I would like to be on the council.

I said “YES!”

THEN he tells me, “we are actually calling you to be one of the VICE PRESIDENTS!”

 

**Cue {another} jaw drop**

 

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am so excited, and so nervous…but definitely more excited! 

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(I definitely do not want to forget the details, so this is for my own documentation. The end of this part of my "I AM SO BLESSED" stops here. There something else I have to share, but that will come separate. So feel free to stop here and I will continue with my details.)

Details:

- Before I even knew what was going on, in P.E.C. (a meeting for my church), my bishop made a point to say how much he appreciates my work and all that I do, etc. I thought that was very nice (but he is always that way, so I didn't think too much of it. Little did I know that he already knew what was coming. You see, the Stake President has to get clearance from the bishop to make sure this kind of a calling can be extended to someone. Bishop D. already knew.

-Bro. Barlow, who is the council advisor, was my subsitute the next day after my interview. He asked if he could talk to me after class. He asked if I had any news to tell him -- I smiled and said that I did and told him what my new position was. (Even though he already knew.) As we were discussing what was to happen next, he also told me that when I left the interview with the board, they all looked at each other and it was "unanimous." They all agreed that I was on the council for next year, and when I walked out they said, "Alright! who's next?!"

- When I met the council president (Andrew) later that week, I was also talking with Brother Barlow, and Andrew had said to me that when he saw my paper, he told Bro. Barlow that "I want her. She needs to be on this council." Bro. Barlow said that they as a board had all felt the same way.

-I am so blessed and so humbled. I owe none of this to myself. None of it. I owe all of it to My Father in Heaven, My Savior and brother Jesus Christ, and to my mother. I don't know what it was on my paper that stuck out to Andrew to pick me out of so many kids. I don't know what it was in my interview that impressed the board to have a unanimous decision to choose me. I don't know why I was nominated out of thousands of kids enrolled at Institute. But I do know that The Lord has prepared me to be in this calling, I can see that he has let me struggle and be in that weird funk for a while...because now I am experiencing the blessings, I do know that all the atributes that I have HE has blessed me with to use to help others. I have not done anything but tried to use the qualitities he has given me to become a better person.

I know this year is not going to be easy. I know this year will be difficult in its own way. And I do know that it will be rewarding in its own way as well.
I know that I am going to be stressed, stretched, and humbled. But I also know that I will be rewarded in so many ways, blessed beyond measure, and that it will prepare me for whatever else is ahead for me on this journey through life and back to Him.


I am so grateful for this opportunity. I hope that I can bless people as I have been blessed countless times.
I am anxious and ready to meet so many people that in turn will help change and impact my life.

I love change.

I love trials.

I love growing.

I love becoming a stronger Andrea.

Thanks to the Lord for allowing it.
It would not be possible if it were not for Him.

future

one day i am going to find that kind of happiness again.
one day i am going to be able to love that person unconditionally.
one day i am not going to hold anything back, because neither will he.

we will spend the weekends doing nothing, but it won't matter because we will be together.
we will say those 3 little words and my heart will burn because i will love you so much.
we will hold hands and my heart will flutter.

this time will come.
it apparently is not right now, which is fine.
i am truly happy for those it has happened to.
it is fun to see their beaming smiles and their "giddy-ness."
i honestly cannot wait until it is my turn to experience these feelings again.
and i know when i do, it will be glorious, and i am going to cherish every moment.

one day. :)