A reason to chuckle

My friends and I saw this plea for help posted outside a 7-Eleven in Philly two years ago.

I still think of it today and get a good laugh. Enjoy. 

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was great! All day Ashley and I talked about Valentine's Day miracles. It was mainly small stuff that we could laugh at, but it made for a great day. After work I made dinner for the Sister missionaries and had some friends, family and neighbors over. We had a truly enjoyable time. Later that night I Skyped with my brother and his family. The little girls told me all about Valentine's Day and I saw baby Alex stand all on his own. This year, Valentine's Day was full of love and friendship and I loved every minute of it.

 Happy, Sister Muthuswamy, Mike, Sister Luthi, Myles, and Alex

These are the cookies I made last week for the sisters in my visiting teaching district. 

And I made these cookies for the Super Bowl, even though I didn't end up watching the game. 

Wingardium Leviosa

I felt like I was flying the entire time I was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! All of my Harry Potter dreams finally came true. It was as if I was one of those little wizards seeing Hogwarts and Hogsmeade for the first time. Here are some highlights:

Fortuosity, That's Me Byword

Sitting here falling in love with Angier Buchanan Duke, the dreamboat from "The Happiest Millionaire." This guy's got a great smile and particularly attractive dimples, his eyes are penetrating and he is so amazingly kind and sweet.

Another gem of a character in this movie is the Irish butler, John Lawless, played by Tommy Steele. He's a hidden treasure if I've ever found one. And he happens to have some of the best lines as well:

"That reminds me of an old Irish proverb, To have your alligators thaw out and your daughter forgive you all in the same bright morning, that's fortuosity."

Here's John taking the Biddle family's pet alligator, George, back to his pool in the conservatory.



They just don't make movies like they used to. I wish people would just spring into song and dance and enjoy life more. That would be incredibly exciting.

"The Happiest Millionaire" is one of the best movies of all time. I don't say that lightly, I really mean it. The singing, dancing, humor and characters are all so perfect! This movie just makes me extremely happy and that's why I am watching it. In fact, it's almost over and I feel like watching it again RIGHT NOW!

One Month Straight of Blogging - DONE!

Well I made it. I was a little nervous there that I wouldn't get in a couple of those days when we didn't have electricity. Thanks to a great roommate, it happened. It feels good to accomplish another one of my 30 by 30 goals. Let's see, here's what I have checked off so far from my 30 by 30 list (30 things that I want to do before I turn 30).

Learn a new instrument: the harp.

Buy a pencil skirt. (I bought 3 - only because it

was Black Friday, I had to).

Read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series.

Sing outside the metro for money. Which, I ended up changing to dressing up as an elf and singing at the National Christmas Tree.

Blog everyday for one month straight.

And here's what I hope to check off in February:

• Read "Jesus the Christ"
• Memorize the Gettysburg Address
• Memorize "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"
• Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Buy fancy perfume for the first time ever (I know, how grown-up of me)

Time's a runnin' out folks. I turn 30 in 42 days!

Best Sunday Ever

I wish this Sunday could be repeated every week. Church was incredibly uplifting from the talks, the music, the acappella singing in Relief Society and a whole RS meeting of testimonies. Can church get better than this?!

First of all, my dear roommate, best friend, Ashley, spoke in church. I knew it was going to be something special and I wasn't disappointed. The entire congregation was captivated with her talk about love, loneliness, and letting Christ penetrate into our hearts to fill in the gaps. The other two talks were fantastic as well. I felt like our whole congregation had been lifted to a holier place during sacrament meeting, like we were floating in the heavens, closer to God.

The choir also sang today. We sang "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need." As we were practicing I really started to ponder on the words we were singing. The men sing the first verse and every time they sang the following line, I was moved and comforted and I felt that our Savior was very near: "He brings my wandering spirit back, when I forsake His ways." I feel that as imperfect humans, we are in a constant battle in choosing between good and evil. The world around us forces us to be on guard at every moment. But I know that even when I make a mistake, He will bring my wandering spirit back to "paths of truth and grace." Then the women sing a verse. I love this line: "A word of Thy supporting breath drives all my fears away." That's the overall feeling I had today. I felt that as I was uplifted by the Spirit, the cares of the world seemed to blow away.

The talks in church were about Christ and I know that he supports, sustains, comforts, and loves us each individually. Ashley spoke about the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 38:27, "The Lord said, 'I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine'." In sacrament meeting today we were one. It was a beautiful moment to feel that love, unity and peace with my ward. We were all feeling the Spirit and I really felt it drew us closer together.

During Relief Society today, we didn't have a piano available so we sang acappella. It was so amazing! Not only were the harmonies gorgeous, but I was able to really concentrate on the words more rather than the tune. We sang "I Believe in Christ" for the opening hymn and in the 4th verse, 1st line it says "I believe in Christ, He stands supreme, from Him I'll gain my fondest dream." All things are possible through Christ. I know that a lot of people my age, myself included, are trying to figure out our dreams and what would be most fulfilling in our lives. I know that if I follow God's commandments and keep the sacred covenants that I have made with Him, I do not have to worry about failing in life. Sure I'll fail at some things, everyone does, but that doesn't mean that life is over. I love to have an eternal perspective about things. I think that is one of the greatest blessings that I have, to view everything that I do and the decisions I make and the good and bad things that happen to me and others close to me, with an eternal eye. God loves us and wants us to succeed. What wonderful, beautifully blessed lives we all have!

More Awesome Disney Adventures

Sammie and I went on King Tritan's Carousel a couple of times and loved it. I also loved that there wasn't a line. She's so cute!

Katelyn, Dad and I all tried to pull the Sword out of the Stone. No luck, but KK was close!

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is one of my favorite rides!
Fred, Eric, Dad, Katelyn and I went on the teacups and spun as fast as we could. I was laughing and screaming the whole time. It was just one of those moments in life that you'll always remember. Definitely one of the best moments of the trip!

Beautiful KK in a Teacup


Meeting Characters was a highlight of the trip. KK & Sammie had an autograph book and got pictures with a bunch of them. I loved watching their faces as they were in awe to meet them.

KK enjoyed talking to Snow White, but it looks like Sammie was struggling to focus on her.


But then we saw Cinderella. Sammie loves Cinderella. Look how she is staring up at her.