Bieber Fever...

This last week I spent time in sunny California. Believe me, I know that my life's rough. I also went and saw Never Say Never. Let me just say that I went to the movie skeptical (at best) and walked out a true believer!! Justin Bieber is amazing and if I were 5 or 6 years younger, you better believe that I would do anything to meet the kid! WOW!

Have I learned anything significant the past little while? Well, I have really realized how important true friends are, as the last of my friends gave his homecoming today I looked at how much those boys have grown and I was so proud of them and so grateful that I have the chance to associate with such great young men. I also realized how grateful I am for the church in my life. It had been a couple of months since I had last attended a meeting, and as I attended some today I could literally feel my empty spirituality reservoirs filling. I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life, and I lose sight of that quite often, it really is such a massive blessing. Without the gospel in my life I would be even more lost than I am now in life, and no, we're not even going to venture down the road of what sort of life I'd be living. I don't really broadcast enough my testimony which is something that I'm going to try and do and I also need to actively work on strengthening it. When I think of my life in 5 or 10 years, I can't really envision where I will be educationally or career wise, but I know that wherever I am and whoever I'm with, the gospel and the church is something that I absolutely want in my life until my last breath. The hard part of the church? Having that testimony and staying active requires work, but it's work that I'm seeing in absolutely necessary and missed when I don't have it around.

I'll post pictures on the next post for the past couple weeks, in the meantime, here's to living life :)

Aroha

Taking Responsibility...

Well, trucking is going great as always. I went to Phoenix again this week, and just as it seemed I was destined to spend the rest of my life in that city, we got plans to go to southern California again tomorrow! I do love California! What happened on this trip that was noteworthy? Well, I heard my first "commercial girl" (aka hooker) looking for clients on the CB radio. Disgusting? Yes. True? Very. I saw a herd of elk which was kind of cool, I saw a gold eagle and a bald eagle in real life which was very cool, I saw a Muslim praying at a truck stop (we're talking full on out of the truck kneeling to the side bowing to the ground praying) which made me feel slightly ambitious on the religious topic so I bought a Bible crossword puzzle book and realized that I'm a terrible Christian because I literally knew 3 answers. Awesome.

What am I loving these days on the road? Grilled cheese sandwiches (at any time, any place), spinach (plain or in a salad), crows taking off (they're so cute how they hop a couple times and then sort of launch themselves into the air), flocks of birds (how they know what all the rest of the birds around them are going to do is amazing to me), sunrises (this one is on here because I've seen more sunrises in the past 3 weeks than in the entire rest of my life combined, it turns out they're rather nice...), red rocks (this one never really goes away), cactus's (there's actually a real beauty to them) and those Jim Bridger billboards all around Salt Lake (I love the awareness they're promoting).

The theme for the week? Taking responsibility for myself. My dad's been giving me a hard time because I'm always making him pick up trash that he throws away but bounces back out and making him buy the more environmentally conscious bottles, but you know what? I think when it all comes down to it, taking responsibility for ourselves and our role on this planet is going to be a big black mark for a lot of people. How often do I walk by garbage on the ground instead of taking the 2 seconds required to pick it up and throw it away? How often to I mindlessly buy the most readily available things instead of the most ecologically responsible ones? How often do I care about a cause, but not enough to actually do something about it? Well, as I have been thinking about these things, I've also been formulating plans...more to come on that one.

I got a wonderful surprise when I got home today, Sheri Echols had taken time out of her busy life to make me a beautiful Traveling Journal (she honestly got her craftsy side on because it was amazing) and bring me a pez dispenser semi truck. How cool is that?? I also have realized just how important good friends are. I got to hang out with my friend Lindsay as she colored my hair today and it truly was just a great time being with someone that I genuinely enjoy hanging out with! I got to have lunch with Jillian and Morgan the other day as well and I am so grateful for the fact that even after all of these years the 3 of us are still friends. I caught up with Vanesa, even though she's so far away it's like not a day has passed since she left! All of the plans that Jamie Parry and I make that never happen, are beside the point because the fact is that we like each other enough to even try making them in the first place. And of course I couldn't live without the update phone calls I get from Jade, how else would I know what was going on back here at home? To wrap this little paragraph up, I am really grateful for the amazing girlfriends that I have in my life :)

Anyways, I'm still having a great time being on the road and getting to see the country :)

Aroha

When In Arizona, Be Like A Cactus...

First things first, guess who totally passed her written tests today and is now the proud owner of her very own CDL learners permit? That's right, it was me :) Now, on to updates...

This last trip that I went on was to Phoenix, Arizona and Kyle came along with us! It was one giant party, so fun! On the way down our air brakes sprung a leak and we spent 3 hours in Kanab fixing them, on the way home our trailer lights were out, so we spent 3 hours in Flagstaff fixing them. That made for lots of quality bonding time. Don't worry though, when we were trying to figure out how to bide our time, we decided to get in touch with our inner cactus' and if I do say so myself, we nailed the imitations!

The overriding themes for this trip? My love of animals was increased, beginning with meeting Ziggy the zebra on the way down there. I had never petted a real life zebra before, and now I'm in love! He was DARLING! I also saw bison (which you can apparently own Zach, I know how much you love them...) and emus and little mini horses. Yes, it was a good trip for spotting creatures to adore.

I also have come to realize that I have a soft spot in my heart for 70's music. Now, I have known for a while that I was supposed to be alive in that decade, but the music had never really struck me, until this trip. I'm feeling pretty groovy these days.

Last but not least, I am appreciating more and more how vast this world that we live on is, and that's after only visiting the western states! It's so funny to me that we can live so comfortably in our little bubbles that consist of a 50 mile radius. We get so used to the things that are available to us and surrounding us that as soon as we get out of that bubble, we're uncomfortable. Even if it's just a change of scenery, we can be thrown totally off. My goal is to become comfortable with the unfamiliar. So far so good, nothing has shaken me too badly :)

I'm off to Phoenix again tomorrow morning, the only difference? This time I'll be sitting behind the wheel for a bit of the trip! Look out highways, here I come!!

PS somethings I DO miss about home, like my dogs. I miss them more than probably anything else. When I come home, they come with me everywhere. This is how I woke up this morning. This is happiness on one queen sized bed.

My Trucking Adventures So Far...

The rumors are true. I'm in love.

With being on the road and my life!! Oh man, so it's only been a week and a half that I've been out on the road, but I already feel like I've learned so much and that I've grown leaps and bounds!

Let's start with things that I've learned on the road that may have practical application for anyone else in the world.
*Don't drink soda while driving on the freeways in southern California. I don't know exactly where their tax dollars go, but it sure isn't into making their roads smooth for the people and their soda drinking experience.
*Just because a city is farther south than Salt Lake doesn't automatically mean that it's warmer. Take Albuquerque for example. Probably colder than Salt Lake.
*The happiest cows really DO come from California!
*Winter is not really fun in Colorado. It's really cold. It's also really snowy.
*Mango's taste better the farther west you go, even if they are being sold in a truck stop.
*Mountain goats are real creatures who really live in the Rocky Mountains and they really are as big as deer.
*When you're in a small stop in a small town and there is only one blond girl running around that place, talking about "Blondie" isn't fooling anyone on the CB radio. I'm not stupid. I can hear you.

Now, what have I learned about life? It's the simple things in life that make it worth living. An example? Exploring all of the different techniques for "flashing" (not that kind of flashing, the kind you do with your blinkers when someone lets you pass) to say thank you. You'd be surprised how many ways there are.
Also, common courtesy is almost dead, it's true, however I still have hope for the human race. Holding open doors isn't uncool and smiling isn't a lost art. Really people, together we can make this world a little bit happier.

Sometimes when we're hanging out for hours on end (like when you're stuck in a Colorado style blizzard) watching movies, and I find myself enjoying what I'm doing...or not doing...I start questioning if I'm doing the right thing being out there. Then, inspiration hits...through Cameron Diaz. (Who would have ever seen that coming? Beats me. God works in mysterious ways.) There's a quote in a great movie What Happens in Vegas that went straight to my heart. It goes a little something like this...

                     "I'd rather be happy doing nothing, than doing something I don't love."

Oh yeah. You know what? I may have quit every sensible thing that I had going in my life to be sitting in a truck stuck in a po-dunk town watching movies, listening to music and reading all day long and to a whole lot of people out there, that seems like a waste of potential. But you know what? Whatever! I'm not just enjoying my life I'm literally LOVING it! I wake up some mornings in one city not knowing where I'm going to end up by dinner.
How AWESOME is that?? How many people can say that? If I were (God forbid) to die tomorrow I can honestly say that I don't feel like I would have missed out on anything. Now, that's not to say that there's nothing else I want to do with my life, and I desperately hope that I have lots and lots of years left before I'm taken back home. But if it were to happen, I don't feel like I've let any opportunities pass me by or that I've left any loose ends in my wake. I have taken chances and I've made wagers. Some have worked out beautifully and some have been disasters, but I've lived. And really, who can ask for more?

Anyways, I'll be sure to keep the blog updated when I'm home, in the meantime (I'm just tossing it out there) everyone should get out there and start living. Yeah it's terrifying throwing caution to the wind, but it is absolutely four hundred percent worth it :)

Love to everyone!

Take It Away Kelly...

You know how sometimes a song describes the exact way that you're feeling?
Thank you Kelly Clarkson for hitting the nail straight on the head.
I'll probably be over this phase in a couple days or so.

:)

Aroha everyone!