General Conference

We just watched General Conference together as a family :) Here are is an excerpt of President Monson's talk that I really liked:
"For those of us who remember dial telephones and manual type writers, today's technology is more than merely amazing. Also evolving at a rapid rate has been the moral compass of society. Behaviors which once were considered inappropriate, and immoral, are now not only tolerated, but also viewed by ever so many as acceptable. I recently read in the Wall Street Journal an article by **I don't know how to spell his name, but he's a chief rabbi of some sort.** Among other things, he writes, and I quote: 'In virtually every Western society in the 1960s, there was a moral revolution. An abandonment of its entire traditional ethic of self-restraint. All you need, sang the Beatles, is love. The moral Christian code was Genesis. In its place came the adage, Do whatever works for you! The ten Commandments were replaced with, the Ten Creative Suggestions.' Rabbi Sax goes on to lament, quote, 'We've been spending our moral capital with the same reckless abandon that we've been spending our financial capital. There are large parts of the world where religion is a thing of the past, and there is no counter-voice to the culture of Buy it, Spend it, Wear it, Flaunt it, Because you're worth it. The message is that morality is passé. A conscience is for wimps. And the single overriding command is that Thou shalt not be found out.' Closed quote."


I thought is was a good point. How 'bout you?

A Thought

I was kneeling on my bed a couple weeks ago, praying. When I ended, I looked at my door, which showed beneath it a crack of brilliant yellow light that hurt my eyes. I had a sudden inspiration. I turned around and shut my eyes tightly, letting the after-spots fade away.
This, I thought, is what it's like to be completely without knowledge, or to refuse to even consider the Restored Gospel.
Then I opened my eyes, still facing the wall of the dark, shadowy room.
This, I thought, is what it's like when you vaguely know of it. You see something new, something different, about the dull, dark monotonous room that was your life. There's a faint...something. You don't know what to call it. You just know that it's there.
Then, I turned halfway to face the light.
Finding things out for yourself—discovering, learning, enlightenment, I continued, really getting into my parable. But some people would say, No, No, this thing cannot be right—it's not what I've seen, it's not what I know. Such a blinding, simple thing could not have dispelled what's been in front of me all of this time. And then, they would have turned away quickly. But some say, This thing is good. And they turn more towards it.
Then, I turned towards it fully, brilliant despite being only a small strip of light. This is when we have faith, when we know all that is laid before us. Imagine, what will it be like when the door opens?
That's my Thought.

High School?

Because of hurricane Irene, the first day of school, which was supposed to be tomorrow, is now cancelled. Therefore, I'm left one more day of summer—but also one more day of fretting. High school...ugh. I'm excited for some things...the opportunities it will give, for example. Joining the school play, for example, will be very enriching. Also, many of the classes I'm taking will open up lots of doors. If I'm ever in doubt as to which one to take, I guess I'll let the Spirit guide. It will be tough, though. Hopefully I'll shoot up a couple more inches :D
So, we'll see how this goes...wish me luck!

~Anna

Paris! :D And other thoughts.

Ah, Paris! :D I will share some experiences here. Unfortunately, no pictures YET, but they are coming...

Well, this is what I have to report. There are many little dogs there. I saw no mimes, but a few people painted to look like statues. I'm not sure whether I was frightened or amused when I realized the "sculpture" was a person. When we first reached the airport, I was awed by the way we got to our destination...there were these futuristic glass tubes, and a...a...well, I'm not sure what to call it. It's like an escalator, but flat...wow, it's probably an obvious word, I'm just too tired to know it. Sorry! :D I just returned, after all. Anyway! That was quite fun. Then, when we boarded the metro, there was an accordion player there...throughout our five-day journey, there were quite a lot of them, actually. As we walked the streets, we had lots of croissants, pain au chocolat...also, crepes with Nutella are DELICIOUS. Hum-de-dum...trying to think...you see, right now, for me, it's very late at night, because of the time zone switches...I am trying to focus...We also went to many art museums, modern and old. I saw works by Picasso, Van Gough, DaVinci, and Edgar Degas.

Also, fashion abounded. Even if their outfits weren't too fancy, 90 percent of the Parisians I saw wore sleek and stylish shoes. And yet...they walk so much more than we do. That just doesn't process logically in my brain.

The Mona Lisa was beautiful. Also, it was much bigger than I thought it would be! Everyone describes it as small, but it's not, unless you compare it to the gihugic* ones that take up their own wall. (*Word provided by my Social Studies teacher, in the context 'Gihugic Georgia'.)

My Mom and I fell in love with an ice cream place called Amorino's. SUCH wonderful ice cream. Also, their McDonalds are very...posh? Maybe that's the word. :) Much better quality, with minuscule French desserts.

Other activities...we (well, just me) terrorized the pigeons a lot, rode endless metros, that had lots of stairs...too many...

Notre Dame was amazing. It had gargoyles and really neat engravings carved into the walls. We also visited many churches with great stained glass windows, and steered clear of the tourist-trap places for food. Altogether we survived pretty well. The irony of it was that my Mom was able to communicate better than I could, because she can speak Spanish, and there were tourists who were Spanish. SO, she was pretty amused by that. I was not, and a little disgruntled, but I got over it.

So, overall, it was a fantastic trip. We got some cool scarves, jewelry for Julia, a tie for Dad, Eiffel Tower earrings for Mom, ect...I won't type what Eliza got, because she's peeking over my shoulder reading this ;)

I'm off to spend some family bonding time...remember, CTR, EFY, and FHE. Very vital things in life. :D

Au revoir!

~Anna

UNO tournament

My two sisters just had a rather epic UNO tournament...for their hands, they had 70 CARDS EACH. Yes, yes they did. Ten times the fun! So, hopefully I'll be posting videos, soon, because no one reads this blog anyway...so...cheerio! I'm out! :)

efy in Ft. Lauderdale

"EFY" stands for Especially For Youth, a program for the Youth 14-18 in the LDS church. It was literally a life-changing experience for me, and I'm still wearing my red wristband :) I had tons of fun with the many classes and games, as well as the dances. (Which are far superior to school dances, as the boys actually ask you to dance, it's not pitch-black, and the music rocks.) Anyway, I had an absolutely amazing time, and met many people in Florida who I miss terribly right now...I'll try to add pictures as I find them!

The following pictures are of silliness by the Tree of Life, with all of my new spectacular family I made...

No, I'm not trying to stab him with that pencil!...Well....maybe....

THIS is our beautiful card we made for the bus driver...isn't it lovely?

Makin' cards.

This guy was partly in charge of the talent show, which was a lot of fun. (I sang "Firebolt", a parody of Firework.)

At the end of the EFY chant.

These people are awesome, by the way.

*just shakes her head*

*Same reaction*

I love this girl :)

Fly, fly! I remember this...we were walking in slow motion back to the building...

This is a nice one :)

Medical staff...engaged ;) So awesome!

At one of the dances! I remember I did a salsa number with the counselor in the yellow dress and some other guy...that was fun XD

Okay, I think I got a good portion of the pictures floating around...so, my non-existent blog viewers, enjoy this gorgeous collection of photos, and we thank you for stopping by.

While You Were Out Script

While You Were Out, by BYU's Divine Comedy

Yes, I did type all of this by myself, once again...'tis an attempt to make a script form of it, so that my friends and I can reenact it. :)

(Whitney enters, pulling a suitcase)

Friend: Oh hey, Whitney, how was your flight?

Whitney: It was so good, thank you so much for picking me up at the airport!

Friend: No problem, I brought you this!

Whitney: OH MY WORD, thank you so much. 'Kay, I know I was only gone for two days but, honestly, not having my phone with me was so miserable. Now I know how the pioneers felt!

Friend: (Wheeling suitcase away) I'll bring your luggage to the car!

Whitney: Okay, I'll just check my messages...(she sighs a bit)

(Phone rings) Recorder: (In feminine robotic voice) You have, 95, new, messages.

Whitney: Um, wow...

Recorder: First. Message.

Matt: Hey, Whit, it's Matt. Uh, hope you're having fun at your great-uncle's funeral. Look, anyway, uh, I was just calling about your dog? I know you gave me very specific instructions on what to feed him, but I've got a hypothetical question for you. What if he maybe got confused and ate all of your laundry detergent? And then vomited all over your bed? Hypothetically! Okay, thanks, bye.

Whitney: Ah, man!!

Recorder: Next. Message.

Veronica: (In Spanish accent) Carlos, my love, is Veronica. Les run away together, mi amor. You are a beautiful, beautiful Nicaraguan man and I love you.

Whitney: (Laughing) Uh, okay!

Recorder: Next. Message.

VT: (upbeat voice) Hey Whit, this is your visiting teacher, just wanted to know if there was some time I could come by next—

Recorder: Message skipped. Next. Message.

Veronica: Carlos, I do not understan why you do not call me back! It has been hours and hours! And who on earth is that woman on your answering ma-sheen? CALL ME BACK you filthy traitor!

Whitney: (Laughs incredulously)

Recorder: Next. Message.

Veronica: CARLOS!! (Whitney flinches) WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU ARE GIVING UP THE BEST CHIQUITA YOU WILL EVER GET IN—

Recorder: Message skipped.

Veronica: (Sobbing) Carlooooos? I just want to talk to youuuuu...

Recorder: Message skipped.

Doctor: Hi Whitney, this is Docter Alv, you have a cancerous—

Recorder: Message skipped.

Whitney: Wait, what? (Talks into phone)

Matt: Uh, hey Whit, it's Matt again. Look, uh, remember yesterday when I left you a message and said that your dog hypothetically ate your laundry detergent? It wasn't hypothetical. And he's been foaming at the mouth, and, and vomiting everywhere, and...and I think that he now craves human blood. (Whitney has alarmed expression on her face)...He's been hunting me all day. ...I've barricaded myself in your closet, but I might not make it. I'm afraaaiiiid, Whitney!

Recorder: Next. Message.

Criminal: Carlos. Carlos.

Whitney: Who the heck is Carlos??

Criminal: I'm just calling to tell you that we've reached phase 3. I repeat. We've reached phase 3. And by that, I mean I put the bomb where you told me to. You're my number one customer. See ya. (Whitney's breathing gets more panicked.)

Recorder: Next. Message.

Agent: This is Special Agent Nisson with the FBI. Carlos—I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want, but have a very particular set of skills. And I will find you. And I will kill you. (Whitney is shocked and scared, VERY panicked now.)

Recorder: Next. Message.

Whitney: Oh my gosh!

Triumphant Mexican Man: THE GAME IS UP, CARLOS! I finalleh found you! I tracked this numero, and to repay you for what you did to ma familia, I BURRRNED your house to de ground! Huh-huh-ha! Now your casa and your weirdly feminine throw-pillows are nothing but the ASHES!

Whitney: (Whimpers)

Recorder: Next. Message.

Matt: HE ATE MY HAND!!! (Whitney's in shock) Your rabid beast of a dog ate my hand!...Also, your house is on fire. ...What is up with that?

(Lights black)

Recorder: End of, messages.

And now ze link, of course, so that you may see it in person...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_PMYKw5-vQ