Change Is A Good Thing

So after finally working up the nerve to get my hair chopped off I set off hoping that I had found a good place to do it at. I've been talking about cutting my hair for months now and I just figured I needed to do it. It's never a easy choice to cut off so much at once. But I love it once I finally do. This time I cut off exactly 12 inches. That's a lot!! Apparently I didn't think that cutting off 12 inches was enough of a change in my life- I decided to dye my hair too. For the very first time. I wanted to go lighter. It'll take a couple attempts probably to get it to my color I want but I think that what I ended up with was a good start. I'm still getting used to it being so short. But hair grows back right?! I'm still adjusting to it but I'm also really liking it right now.

Before:

After:

Good Things To Come

I love this talk. Elder Holland always seems to know what I need to hear and when I need to hear it.

Think Like A Man part 2

To continue where I left off from part 1...

Part 2: Why Men Do What They Do

• A sports fish- doesn't have any rules, requirements, respect for herself or guidelines VS. a keeper- never gives in easily, standards are up front, she commands respect and she understands her power. 
• How to tell if he's looking for a keeper: genuinely interested in what you have to say, willing to abide by your rules, pays for dates, introduced you to his people, wants relationship to be exclusive, has himself together financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
• "It's much better to be in a relationship with a man who loved his mother than it is to be with someone who can't stand the woman who gave birth to him."
• For some "sex can be a purely physical act for us- love has absolutely nothing to do with it."
• Priorities need to be: God, family, education, business and then everything else.

Think Like A Man part 1

Now this post might not be relatable to anyone that hasn't or won't ever date a non-member (or maybe some little things may be) but I figured I would jot down a couple of my thoughts and take aways from Steve Harvey's book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man.

Part 1: The Mind Set of A Man

• Men are simple.
• There are 3 things that drive men: who they are, what they do and how much they make. 
• "If you are her man, she will walk on water and through a mountain for you, too, ... And if you're her man and that woman loves you- I mean really loves you?- she will... encourage you when you're down,... and hang on your every word,... she will give you her very best and then some, and keep right on trying to win over your heart, even when you act like everything she's done to convince you she's The One just isn't good enough. That's a woman's love- it stands the test of time, logic, and all circumstance."
• "How do you know when a man loves you? Simple: he will do each of the following 3 things. Profess- If your man loves you, he's willing to tell anybody and everybody, 'Look, man, this is my woman' or 'this is my girl.' He will give you a title... Provide- The more he can provide for his woman and his kids, the bigger and more alive he feels. Sounds simplistic, but that is the reality... if he loves and cares for you, this man will provide for you all these things with no limits. Protect- When a man truly loves you, anybody who says, does, suggests, or even thinks about doing something offensive to you stands the risk of being obliterated."
• 3 things every man needs- Support, Loyalty and the Cookie. Support- "We have to feel like somebody's got our back- like we're the king, even if we're not." Loyalty- "love is loyalty. To men, they are one and the same." The Cookie- "We need to be physically engaged with the woman we love... Every man needs that from his woman. Every last one of us." (More about this and the 90 day rule later in the book.)
• Never say "we need to talk". 
• If you need to vent just tell your man "nothing is wrong, I just want to tell somebody something", then he'll put his Mr. Fix-It tools away.

Part 2 to come.

Sometimes. Eventually. Maybe.

So I have learned that sometimes things don't make sense in life. Not sure why things happen the way they do. Why couldn't I get into the nursing program at BYU? Why did I go to Duke? Why couldn't I find a job for several months after graduation? Why did I end up going to camp this past summer? Why do I take care of some of the kids that I do at work? Why are we sometimes put in some hard or sticky situations? Were they all learning opportunities? Were they all for a reason? Why did I have to go through that experience? Were these all experiences that I needed or were they more for the people around me? I could come up with a million whys. Sometimes I want to know all the answers to these questions. Sometimes I can push those questions to the side and move on.
Eventually I know that things will look better because I will have a better perspective. Hindsight is always 20/20. I know that eventually things will fall into place more than what they already have in my life. I know that I eventually will have some pretty great things in life. ...Eventually...
Maybe I will never get the answers that I want. Maybe I will. But whatever happens I know that all will be well. Life may be hard and frustrating at times but there are some pretty great moments too. Everyday can't be all about rainbows and butterflies but maybe I can have the will power to make the best out of each day. Maybe I can take all these experiences and move on and be a better person. One thing I know for sure is that there are a ton of maybe's in this life.