A Virtuous Woman Never Hides Her Bushel

The title may be misleading. It is a quote from the LDS version of Pride and Prejudice. The character- the Mr. Collins figure- misquotes: A virtuous woman never hides her light under a candle. Meaning, that it's good to share talents. In light of this, I've decided to develop my own talents.




I never expect to be a great guitarist. Don't have the finger length. (So of you are scoffing, wondering about my sanity, but trust me, the two are related.) But, I still want to learn my favorite songs, or at least some of them. So far, all I can play is a couple measures of "Hero" by the lovely Enrique Inglesias. It's not much, I know, but hey, Parable of the Talents, right? Nevertheless, my brother is excited about teaching me, and I am excited to learn.

I am learning a few Iron & Wine songs: "Resurrection Fern," "Flightless Bird, American Mouth," and "Southern Anthem." They all are hard in their own ways, but most of the hardness comes from the fact my fingers don't stretch that much.

Despite the difficulties, I love it. Music, of any medium is so wonderful. That's why I like to drum my fingers along to the songs I'm singing in my head. It drives OCD people even more crazy, but to me, it's just more music. Yes, I will never be a Hendrix, Paige, Van Halen, or Harrison, but the little I can do, makes me that much happier.

Turn on some tunes today. See how your life changes.

Tons of Jetlag

It's officially been one week living in London! It's such a wonderful experience living here. I've learned a lot and have been missing a lot of things. Visit Katherine's blog to get a pretty good look at things I've learned.

I miss a couple of things: trash cans, hangers, tissues, driving/owning cars, curtains for your bathroom windows, and normal cereal.

I think I'm over romanticizing London. Everything here I call perfect. The switches to turn on electrical outlets are perfect. The mail system is perfect. The parks are perfect. The currency is perfect, but a little much for the dollar to handle. The accent is perfect. Of course not everything here is perfect, but I'm so happy to be here, that's hard for me to grasp.

Walking everywhere is so great! I burn off all the calories that I could have ever eaten that day. No wonder Europeans are so skinny! However, having to walk about with eight pillows, down comforters, glasses, and sheets can get difficult without a car. Buying a vacuum will be interesting. Everyone here accepts that it's normal though.

It's so wonderful living in London!

Complete days with sunshine: 3
Partial sunny days: 2
Rainy days/gray days: 2

Au Revior United States

Tomorrow I leave for London for two years, hopefully! As I start this new chapter in my life, I pause to review my life in the United States. After complaining about some of the things I dislike about the states, a guy friend reprimanded me. He asked me if I liked anything about the states.
So, yes, I do.

1. I love the freedom. I may be a strong believing communist, but I'm still happy with the freedoms this republic has.
2. The history of this country amazes me. So many people gave their lives for their believes, and their commitment awes and inspires our country today.
3. Our openness to ideas surpasses that of any nation. We are such a progressive country.
4. The vastness of land is so impressive! There are acres and acres and acres of land that has not been developed, and does not need to be developed. The diversity of city and country and desert is the greatest in the world, and I will miss that a lot.

There are four things I love. Of course, there are more, but I will not be able to fully appreciate them until I've lost them.

Songs You'll Hear at My Wedding

Today, my cousin T made me try on her wedding dress, so now I'm on the mind path of weddings. I listened to a couple of songs  and decided on some songs that will make it to my wedding playlist.

Lucky- Jason Mraz Featuring Colbie Collait: just cheesy enough.

She's Got a Way- Billy Joel: Cold Spring Harbor version, the live version doesn't do it justice.

I'm Into Something Good- Herman's 

Hermits: just adorable.

'Till There Was You- The Beatles: can't have a wedding without them.

The Dress Looks Good On You- Sufjan Stevens: simple. sweet.

Eight Days a Week- The Beatles: spunky and fun.

Such Great Heights- The Postal 

Service: or the Iron & Wine version.

Of course there are more, but that's all I've got so far. I have a while to go anyways.