Craving New Music? Let me help you out!

Its time again for Katie's new favorite music! Hope you find one or two you like as well!

1. Brooklyn( Acoustic Version) by Wakey Wakey

2. Amsterdam by Cubworld

3. Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood

4. The Happiest Day by Emme Packer

5. Enigk by Emme Packer

6. Say Goodbye by Katherine McPhee

7. The Cure by Jordin Sparks

8. Half of my Heart by John Mayer

9. Samson by Regina Spektor

10. Someone to Fall Back On by Aly Michalka(Bandslam soundtrack)

11. Sort of by Ingrid Michaelson

12. Chain by Ingrid Michaelson

13. Lighthouse by Ernie Halter

14. Save You by Matthew Perryman Jones

15. The Only Exception by Paramore

16. Lovely by Sara Haze

17. La la la Love by Taylor Bright

18. Traces of You by Peter Bradley Adams

Good luck on the music hunt! There are a lot of different styles here so hope you find one that fits you.

L O V E

Love means different things to different people but my idea of love has been completely altered after reading Pres. Uctdorf's talk from October Conference. You know how you can hear something at just the perfect time and it hits you like a ton of bricks(maybe two tons!). Well over the past two days reading this talk I have felt the spirit so strongly and its making me want to act! I love when that happens! If you haven't taken time to read it recently please do!

"When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden."

Just a few ways I plan to act on this!

• Be kinder to my roommates and find out how Christ loves them.
• Tell my family I love them more! I want to write each of them a letter for Christmas.
• Give money to homeless or less fortunate people when I can.( I know... I was skeptical of this one too. But I was challenged to make November a service month and ever since then I just can't stop! I love to give my money to people who need it more than I do!)
• Quit feeling sorry for myself in social situations and start loving myself more and loving those who I am interacting with instead of avoiding them.

Also please read the childrens book " I like myself" by Karen Beaumont. It makes me way way happy. It will do the same for you!

So this week has been crazy!

I had parent teacher conferences for two epically(sp??) long nights! But I survived and one parent even cried she was so happy! I also had my interview for efy this week which I think went pretty well. It was way chill. Just me and my friend jason and two administrators I feel very comfortable with. Then I spent a lovely evening with Sam, Jason and Tristan just catching up. It was so refreshing. Then today was a day. School was kind of nuts! All I wanted to do after school was relax with some friends. But everyone I talked to was busy! So I ended up going to my sisters performance up at East High all by myself which kinda sucked. I hate going places by myself. And after I was supposed to see a movie with a friend... but he bailed at the last minute. So here's to Friday nights all by myself! I think for Saturday I will take myself out to the movies. And buy myself a large porcorn.

These are a few of my favorite things

Favorite things about Utah so far.(In no particular order... except when they came to my mind)

• So many friends are within a short drive.
• Efy counselors abound. I found a bunch in my ward and I fully intend on making them my friends. Also so many of my efy friends live here!
• Great job that allows me to make home-made silly putty, magnet fishing poles, paper plate aquariums, buy stick horses from the dollar store and have my very first pet rat(not that I plan on having more than one pet rat...)!
• Institute! I love it so much! I missed it so much being at a church school for so long. I always feel the spirit so strong. And I love that Jason Miller comes with me every week! Its so great to have friends to share that with!
• People love ice cream here! And sometimes great boys like Scott Johns buy me ice cream! I love it!
• Target and Walmart... I for real live there. I have spent far too much money there since I moved here!
• Beyond Glaze Doughnuts! You will not believe them till you try them! So SO good!
• Bonfires
• Jacket weather
• Mariah
• Conference weekend
• Amazing opportunities to hear lds musicians and speakers all the time!
• BANDSLAM!!!!
• the library.. who knew!
• finding the most perfect shoes that I thought I would never find again... but i did!!! and they were on sale!!
• Friends come and visit me from Idaho!(Hooles and Joshy)
• being bored and curious enough to put a cd out on itunes and amazon

Well thats all that I can think of now but I'm sure there is more. Some days its strange to be in this new grown up life but all in all I truly am happy. This place will provide me with so many great opportunities to grow. Thank you Draper Utah and all the goodness that comes along with you. Especially Dollar Cinnamon Rolls from IKEA, which I can walk to. Thank you.

Incredible Tender Mercies!

So ever since efy and even during efy I have felt kind of empty inside. For whatever reason I have not been getting much out of my scripture reading and my prayers have been pretty lackluster. I haven't attended the temple much either. But this week I decided I needed to really make a change. Monday I went to the church history museum and so many things there pricked my heart. Tuesday I went to the temple and tonight I went to institute. Even at the beginning of institute tonight I still had that empty feeling but my institute teacher said something that made all that change. He said that we have to make sure we schedule in the time for spiritual things because with all the things we have to do everyday it will get lost in the shuffle. This seems so simple but it really made me think back to when I took a scripture study class and we had to study our scriptures for 30 minutes a day, free of distractions and write things down. I felt like I really knew the Savior during that time. I want so desperately to do that again. But in my carnal stupid mind I find so many dumb things to put in the place of that and end up trying to squish scripture study in at the end of the day. So here's to trying to change that!!

The other thing that was amazing to me tonight was that I truly figured out what it means to be like a child. It didn't have anything to do with the lesson tonight, but amidst all my mind tangents I realized this incredible thing! At school with my preschoolers there are times throughout the day where they don't think they can do something or are afraid and need reassurance. This happens over and over again and I have to remind them that they need to trust me and that everything will be ok and they will see their parents soon. And it dawned on me tonight. The way they feel is just how I feel towards my Heavenly Father. So many times I am terrified that I won't be able to do what I need to do or I just feel like no one cares to see how I'm feeling or that I am so miserably alone. I feel like I am running to the Lord to comfort me over and over again and I know that he will comfort me, BUT here is where I often go wrong. I forget to trust that Heavenly Father knows all things and knows us so personally that whatever we tell him He already knows. Its that trust that allows Him into our lifes. Those little children that I teach taught me something invaluable. We have to trust in our Heavenly Father and know that HE WILL NOT FAIL US, no matter how many times we think we have failed ourselves!

The Katie and Sam Show

This is something that Sam and I made while I was on Site Office duty. Its pretty genius! All made up on the spot. Hope you enjoy!

Music that could change your life!

1. Parachute-- She is Love(Acoustic Version)

2. Kate Voegele--Sweet Silver Lining

3. Whitney Wiatt-- Oh, the Places You'll Go

4. Sara Haze--Balloon(Acoustic Version)

5. Allie Moss-- Corner

6. Bearfoot--Heaven

7.Shelly Fraley--Up, up and away

8.Chelsea Lee--So Far

9. Matt Wertz--I will not take my love away

10. Schuyler Fisk--Afterglow

11. Rosi Golan-Hazy

12.Lauren Zettler-- So much here

13. Ernie Halter--Whisper

14. Jessica Sonner--Just You

15. Demi Lovato--Don't Forget and On the Line

16. Dave Barnes--On a Night like This

17. Amos Lee--Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight

18.Jonathan Clay--Love at War(Stripped Version)

Hope You take a look and enjoy these artist you probably have never heard of before! Ha I just love music so much! This just makes me want to listen to all these real bad!

So I was sitting at home alone thinking about things I wanted to be doing other than being bored, at home, alone. This is what I came up with.

Laughing... I don't do that nearly enough anymore.

Eat a corn dog.. MMMM that sounds good!
Jumping in Crunchy Leaves! Thats my favorite!!
Taking a nap... but I did wake up at 11:00 so maybe thats not the best idea.
Play guitar... I think I shall go do that now!

Makin Babies with Zacy Zac Efron

Well... Bad news folks. I can never marry Zac Efron! We would have hideous children... wow. But good news... baby does have my nose! Haha Its too bad we can't get married though because I totally won him in a rock paper scissors match a few days ago. Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. (By the way.. we named this monster of a child Hunter.. haha)

Principal of a Prep SchooL!

There was once when I was funny!I was. But you can't be funny and be the principal of a prep school! No you can't.When it comes to their children,these parents will come down to me like a nuclear bomb.--Ms. Mullins(You're the Man!)

I wanted to remember a time when I was fun...cause I feel very un-fun lately. So here is what I came up with!

This is when my roommates and I decided we needed more crafts in our lives. We made this popsicle stick frame for some boys we met like two days earlier. Haha they loved it!
This is my rap/hip-hop group "Loungin in Blue"
When I had no more cares than to just jump with a self-timered camera...
When I travelled back in time to the 80's and looked darn good doing it!
Hmm... good date memories. 
Road Trip to the 45th parallel! Have you been there? Bet not!
I was a VERY convincing nerd!! 
We dressed a mannequin like a wo-mannequin... and then stole his/her arms.
When I was a babe... I know I'm Hot!
When we made a cardboard cutout named Peter. He love me and Katie Hawkes... so much he wore a shirt thats said I love Katie. What a lovely man he was!

Thanks for taking that trip down memory lane with me!

The Genius that is C.S. Lewis...

Well let me just say… C.S. Lewis is a genius!!!

Last night I picked up Mere Christianity because I wasn’t tired and wanted a good book to read. I haven’t read it for at least six months and I forgot how much incredible insight he has! I just want to share a few quotes with you.

“Handing everything over to Christ does not, of course, mean that you stop trying. To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”

“Now, once again, what God cares about is not exactly our actions. What he cares about is that we should be creatures of a certain kind or quality—the kind of creatures He intended us to be—creatures related to Himself in a certain way. I do not add ‘and related to one another in a certain way,’ because that is included: if you are right with Him you will inevitably be right with all your fellow creatures.”

Ya… incredible! Love it! 

Why I want to become Peter Pan.

1. Grown-Ups look at you funny when you bring goldfish, fruit snacks and pudding for lunch.

2. Eating corn dogs is frowned upon...

3. You have to fill out applications and interview like mad just to hope your not going to be  unemployed forever.

4. You have to actually eat good and work out to avoid becoming a hippo.

5. You have to pay for all kinds of things and hope that you have enough money to do so.

6. No more fun college stuff... I can't really remember why it was fun, I just remember it was.

7. Can you still like coloring? and watching Boy meets world?

8. Birthdays become much less important

I wish I could think of more reasons I don't want to be a grown up... maybe I'm making it up in my head. Anywho, I think I will take advice from my dear friend Eric Matthews, and go on a very long road trip and end at the giant yogurt cup. There I shall stay forever.

Yesterday I had an incredible experience. I was sitting in the airport feeling terribly exhausted from being out in the sun for so long, like so terrible I felt like I was going to vomit. But then I got in the plane and the plane kept going up. I looked out my window and saw the most incredible sight! It was the sun setting on the horizon. It was bright red and the clouds looked like blueberry cotton candy! It made me so incredibly grateful for everything I have! I was complaining so much to myself about how I felt physically and that incredible beauty jolted that out of me and made me immediately thank my Heavenly Father and turn to my scriptures!

 I turned to Mosiah 14 which is Isaiah's words about how the Savior willingly suffered for us all. I felt so incredibly thankful for that sacrifice. He suffered everything imaginable to save everyone that has ever lived. But I know he would have still suffered that if it was only for me. That is a miracle to me! The I came to a verse in chapter 16 that said, " But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him."

 I realized that I have been so wrong lately. I have been so carnal and it has truly let Satan into my life. I don't think I realized how far I had let myself stray from the strait and narrow. I know that I have so much more I need to do and my faith needs to increase tenfold! I know that if I continue in this state that I will not be able to return to live with my Heavenly Father and that terrifies me. I want to be better and I will work everyday to remember my Savior's love for me.

Reasons I want to be a teacher...

1. Kids laugh when you say the word "duties"

2. When you go to an art museum with children and see naked statues it is automatically the funniest thing ever.

3. When you are a teacher you can make up names for those statues, such as, Bobby Bum Bum.

4. You can tell the students if they are bad they will have to go to Bobby Bum Bum.

5. When a student gets their hair buzzed they run in screaming, " I GOT BALD!"

6. Kids don't always make sense which makes life so much funnier! Such as this statement.. " My brother got bit by a Hobo!" Hmm...

7. Every Tuesday is Pizza day in the Cafeteria!

8. You get to have awesome parties every holiday!!

9. When its Valentines day you know you are getting Valentines cause the students parents make them give you Valentines.

10. Children will always see you as over 50... even when you are 22.

Come What May and Love It! Week of Feb. 8-15

There are so many scriptures that made an impression on me this week. But I want to start of by talking about something not from the scriptures. It is Sunday night and this week has been much like others I have had lately. It seems that I just move from day to day not truly enjoying what life has to offer me. I find myself wasting time on things that won’t make me happy and not really trying to make any changes. Tonight I was playing on my computer when I had the urge to go to Lds.org. They had a link to Mormon Messages on YouTube. I clicked on the link and I was immediately drawn to Elder Worthlin’s words, Come What May and Love It. I had long since forgotten about this talk. Hearing those words once again reminded me that I have control over how I handle my life and my feelings. If I choose to be unhappy in my situation then that is all I will ever be. But if I choose to love whatever comes my ways then I will start to see the splendor of life and the love of my Heavenly Father that puts things in my path to test my love for Him.

 

Another thing that hit me this week is how crafty Satan can be. In 2 Nephi 28:21 it says, “ He will pacify and lull them away into carnal security that they will say: All is well in Zion… and leadeth them carefully down to hell.” Satans way is not too hit us with a big temptation. He wants to get us in the little things. In being unkind to those around us, forgetting to pray, not making time for scripture study,  or feeling sorry for ourselves.  He will lead us carefully until we are much farther down than we ever realized. Luckily, there is the great plan of happiness that allows us to repent and to walk back into the light no matter how many times we fall. What a wonderful plan our father has prepared for us.