Tasting the City

A friend of mine took me to try "real" food in New York. I asked for chicken and got half a chicken on my plate!!! It was very good {but boy was it expensive!}...

My good friend Rob, his brother William, and their parents took me out to this wonderful restaurant just the next night!

It was nothing short of AMAZING!

We had a lobster platter surrounded by clams, muscles and veggies.

Rob's mom thought I should get a lobster tale.

SO GOOD!

We also had a plate full of lamb ribs.

Have I said how good this place was yet????

SOOOOO GOOD!

I think we got six dishes in all--family size.

We barely made a dent!

(Rob and William were happy about this as they slowly slipped the leftover containers into bags to take back to their apartment.)

And if six platters weren't enough, desert anyone?

This is supposedly only a "half" size!!!!

AHHH! IT. WAS. SOOOOOOOOO. GOOD!!!

The Magnolia Movement

For the last few years, there has been an explosion of cupcake specialty bakeries here in New York to support the cupcake craze phenomenon.

So, what did we do?

Supported the craze, of course!

Magnolia Bakery is one of the more famous ones.

So, we had to go.

(Famous = $40 a dozen!)

Ben was meeting up with us later, so we decided to pick him out the most manly cupcake we could find.

I think he appreciated the pink frosting and sugar candy daisy we chose.

As always, I got chocolate with chocolate.

So good!

After our cupcake fun we spent sunset walking the Hudson.

Everyone else leaves next week.

What am I going to do for the next two months alone??

Across Country

Being in a new place, surrounded by new people, and having exciting new adventures has been amazing. But it's always nice to hear from home.

My mom has been so good at writing me emails, sending me pages and pages of letters, and shipping new contacts with solution and a nice bed cover across country. For as much as I love what I'm doing here, there's no place like home.

I've loved getting all sorts of other stuff in the mail as well.

Everything from books to this amazing box of truffles!

It's so nice to know you're loved--even if there are thousands of miles between us.

Thanks.

The Golden Age of the Pharaohs

Only the second time EVER an exhibit on King Tutankhamun came to the U.S., and I got to see it!

Pictures were not allow in the exhibit, so of course, I took these. :)

Oh! And I got Rob to come with me! It was awesome. We learned some words in Egyptian, contemplated the existence of another people from a distant land and time, and messed around in the gift shop.

So good.

Friends

Sometimes, you think someone is your friend when they're really not--like him.

There are the people who are always there for you, and you love so much--like her and her.

Sometimes, you meet someone and wish you could have grown up together-- like her.

Sometimes, you've never met someone, but you think you should--like her.

There is that one person who has been, and always will be your best friend--like her.

Some people you just love talking to, and miss when they're gone--like her.

Not very often, but sometimes, you can't be friends anymore--like with him.

Some friends would be so fun to hang out with, but they're sadly too far away--like her.

There is power in friendship, and there is strength in numbers. I'm so grateful for the people in my life that offer me support when I need it, chocolate when I don't, and love all the time.

Dates

Sonnet 1

I walk alone along my path in life.
The men surrounding me are merely boys,
And will not be my match nor I their wife.
I flit from date to date with dancer’s poise,
But their left feet destroy the tandem flow.
My toes, they hurt! and I resent dim youth
Who will not take the lead that real men show:
to guide me forward with their moves—so smooth.
Someday I may just find my perfect match—
The glove that fits my hand with loving ease.
And when he comes into my life to catch
My eyes and ask me with a gentle ‘please,’
I will not hesitate to say I’ll be
His one true love for all eternity.

Joseph Featherstone 1

Trevor Dixon 1
Danny Rich 1
Branden Whiting 1
Matt Behunin 1
Sam Balaza 1
Steve Nelson 1
Taylor Summers 1
Todd Haskin 1
William Day 1
Jared Aida 1
Andrew Christiansen 1
Shem Hawks 1
Joseph Keeler 1
Brett Millet 1
Brad Bishop 1
Evan Grady 1
Bobby Richards 1
Brian Yarrington 1
Chad Steep 1
Chris Clark 1
Jacob Call 1
Trent Boulter 1
Mark Neilson 1
Brent Littlefield 1
Aaron Barker 1
Colten Hadabaugh 1
James Mitchell 1
Chris McLaughlin 1

Ephraim Olson 2-4
Eric Paat 2-4
Josh Worley 2-4
Parker James 2-4
Dan Rescke 2-4
Mike Bishop 2-4
Adam Simmons 2-4
Daniel Jones 2-4
Ryan Lacanienta 2-4
Billy Errico 2-4
Tyler Barber 2-4
Brad Reeder 2-4
Austin Russell 2-4
Brian Gibson 2-4
Dan Bean 2-4
Rob Shepherd 2-4
Jeff Van Hulten 2-4
Nate Amsden 2-4
Ken Clark 2-4
Kevin Taylor 2-4
Travis Boyer 2-4

Robbie Bullough 5-10
Zack Boman 5-10
Seth Wood 5-10
Chad Spencer 5-10
Marshall Jensen 5-10
Paul Montoya 5-10
Moe Smith 5-10

Eric Riddle 10<
Aaron Christiansen 10<
Jacob Hanks 10<
Andrew Fox 10<
Mike Morgan 20<
Travis Nixon 50<

Date? ...oh, I've dated.

Great Weekend

I had an amazing weekend. I ran a 5k (again...Rachel and I are getting so good at running!). Then went on a date with William D. He’s been a friend of mine for almost a year now, and we’ve always gotten along really well. I don’t normally date guys younger than me because I find them to be terribly immature. However, William has always impressed me with his levelheadedness. We helped out with a service project for two hours: stuffing and sewing footballs and making games for an autistic children’s school. It was wonderful. Surprisingly, Will was even subtly flirtatious; and we had a great time. We were so into the projects that we missed our bus home and ended up wandering the Wilk and joining a game of 4-square! I haven’t played since 3rd grade! We caught a sneak peek of the Latin dancing in the ballroom and a quick game of foosball in the bowling alley. And always a favorite, we looked at the stars on our way back from the bus. It was great. When I got home, my roomies and I took off to a slumber party. I really had no intentions of sleeping over, but I was going to enjoy as much of the party as my tired body could. It too was awesome. I ate two pieces of pizza, a bowl of muddy buddies, a pack of gushers, and a bit of chocolate cake and worms in dirt. Girls were running around shooting guns and bows and arrows, dancing, and playing with the Unicorn!

Saturday was awesome too. I saw my first silent movie with live organ accompaniment! It was so neat! Good friends, good fun, and the 1920 version of "The Mark of Zorro."

Housing?

I went condo shopping with Rachel today! I hope next year's great. We'll see how it is living with Stephanie, Rachel and possible other. I just hope that we can find something in my price range; which seems to be a little lower than Rachel's. Well, cross your fingers everything works out! ...and I'm not looking forward to the day I'll have to tell my current roommates I'm not living with them... eek. Let's not think about that right now.

I Think I'm gonna be Sick...

Literally!

I cried. Now, I don't consider myself one of those "blubber" girls. You know, the ones who cry about EVERYTHING. Actually, I've done pretty well about not crying in a long while. But I've now cried twice in one week. After that huge vent about movies, I actually went to the theater with my roommates tonight and saw one of them. It wasn't "R," but it was satanic. I closed my eyes during 90% of the movie and even plugged my ears through part of it while singing "I am a child of God" in my head. I've been trying so hard lately to develop a closer connection with my Father in Heaven and to really feel the spirit. I kept thinking throughout the movie that President Hinckley would not only find the content of that movie (and all of the other billions of movies being produced these days that are exactly like it) absolutely revolting, but he would also never in a million years be caught anywhere near it.

Why did I go then? "roommate bonding." After I realized that my roommates were on an entirely different road than I am, I began to ostracize myself and mentally blame it on them. So many things have fallen into place recently that have pulled me out of their circle. For instance, Becky's infatuation (like, "I'm going to marry him someday" type) broke up with his girlfriend two weeks ago and two nights ago he asked me out. He told me that he asked Becky's permission and she told him it was "fine." That night I came home to Becky and Karma lounging on the couch with an empty pizza box. They had also watched a movie that we were suppose to have watched together. I felt like the odd-one-out. Part of the reason (according to Becky...and I agree) that our trio has become a duo plus one is because of my late nights out with Rachel. And while I know that lack of afternoon connection with my roommates is grating on our relationship, it has really revitalized my bond with Rachel. Our relationship, and even our daily exercise, has become somewhat of a life-line for me. I got sick tonight and was unable to run, but I wanted too so badly. I was so looking forward to running as fast as I could all night. Maybe I was hoping that I could run away from it all. Who knows? But instead, I went to that movie. And now I really feel like I'm going to puke!

There is just so much garbage in this world; I'm not sure how I'm going to find Him.

I have become absolutely disgusted at the state of my peers. During a ballroom class this week a girl interrupted my teacher in mid sentence during the first ten minutes of class, "Are we going to dance, or are we going to just stand around and talk?" She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. I was appalled! My teacher was so thrown off. She said "we're going to talk" and then proceeded to give us the applicable advice for obtaining dancing technique that she had begun with. Only a minute later Aubrey (my teacher) had to stop again to ask the girl to stop talking to her neighbor and listen! It was like pre-school!!! And then she had to ask again! "Excuse me. Excuse me! What did I just say?" "I don't know. I wasn't listening." "Well, please listen." It was atrocious!!!

I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I want to find my match so badly! I just can't sift through all the junk. Sadly, today I lost hope in the one guy I had hope in; and now I don't know what to feel. Part of me wants to wait to get married. I want to go to Africa and New York next summer, and those would be very hard to manage with a spouse. That part of me wants to hang on in the single world for a little longer, until I can "live" a little more. The other part of me is screaming that it doesn't care about New York, and that maybe I can date someone for about a year (beginning now!) and then get engaged near spring of next year, plan most of my wedding before summer, go to Africa and New York engaged, and then come home and get married on Aug. 16th! (The day I want to be married) I want to be completed! I need it.

Bytheway, I directed television news on air for the first time today! I only messed up once and it wasn't too bad.

Virtuous, Lovely, or of Good Report or Praiseworthy

I'm really struggling right now. I have high hopes, and a deep desire to be good and do well in my life. However, I don't feel the people I continually hang out with are helping me achieve my goals. I love my friends to death. We really enjoy hanging out with each other. But life is not one big continual party, and I'm sick of the "hang-overs." I can't live with people who don't lift me up.

I can remember Young Women's lessons in church about carefully selecting good friends. The necessity to leave bad friends seemed obvious and simple in all of our quant hypothetical situations. "Your friends invite you to watch an R-rated movie with them; what do you do?" "Your friends encourage you to skip school or church; what do you do?" "Your friends choose to sleep-in instead of going to the service project; what do you do?" --"If they're doing these things, then they're not really your friends at all. And you need new friends." Such an easy answer.

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught:
"Be clean. I cannot emphasize that enough. Be clean. It is very, very important and you at your age are in such temptation all the time. It is thrown at you on television. It is thrown at you in books and magazines and videos. You do not have to rent them. Don't do it. Just don't do it. Don't look at them. If somebody proposes that you sit around all night watching some of that sleazy stuff, you say, "It's not for me. Stay away from it." (Denver Colorado, youth meeting, 14 Apr. 1996, Quote by Elder Joe J. Christensen, Ensign Nov. 1996, p. 40)

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
(13th Article of Faith)

"Anna, always associate with individuals who have high ideals and high standards and a desire to do what our Heavenly Father expects of them."

Please stop being so incredibly selfish!
If you walk into the kitchen and see that I am doing your dishes, don't sneak back out!
Sometimes you should just do things because they are nice, not because you get something out of it.
Don't leave food and dishes out all over the kitchen and living room.
Take out the garbage sometimes.
Stop asking me to join you in doing things that are against my standards!
Be respectful.
Stop sleeping all over the living room!
Go to church.
Throw the empty TP roll away, and replace it!
Support people--even when you don't get anything out of it.
Did I say, DO YOUR DISHES?!
Do your homework.
The sexual jokes are just too much.
Don't be incredibly rude and then cushion it with "I love you."

Grow up.

And let me grow up too.

I Feel Your Pain and Wonder Why it Has to be This Way.

There is so much pain around me—pain that I cannot heal. I hurt, they hurt. And now I hurt from my own problems and from theirs. But I cannot heal them. Why does death take loved ones from us early? Why do illnesses debilitate the faithful, the righteous, and undeserving? But most of all, why can I do nothing?!

This week, more than ever before, the existence and prevalence of pain and problems in everyone’s lives has manifested itself strongly unto me. There are billions of people in the world, and yet we feel alone. People may reach out to us, but in fear we recoil back into our shells, our safe places—lonely, but not vulnerable. I now understand Christ’s willingness to give Himself for the pains of the world. If I could, I would. But even if our sacrifices could heal, I myself am not a worthy enough sacrifice to compensate.

I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel sick. Fat. Ugly. Tired. Empty. Hurting. Angry. Stupid. –Probably all feelings coming from Satan, but he’s doing a really good job at convincing me I’ve had enough.

I’M SO CONFUSED!

Life doesn’t even make sense to me anymore. I use to be so sure about who I was, where I was going, and who I wanted to become in the meantime. Now I just don’t know. Nobody has any answers!

“REMEMBER: THERE’S NEVER A PERFECT MATCH”

Says the bus driver. I’ve always know that life isn’t perfect and I’m not perfect and that’s not going to change. But why can’t I at least have a perfect match?!
If God has all of the answers, then why doesn’t he share them with me?? I know he is there, I’m sure of that. But then why do I still feel so alone?

I FEEL LIKE I’M GOING TO BE SICK!

My head an stomach are swimming so much, I can’t even think straight.

HELP!

Yesterday:

I’m trying to catch you up on the portions of my life that time has not permitted me to write. I didn’t really do anything exciting for most of the day. After sleeping in until 7:30, I worked from 9am-4:30pm. It was a really long day. I was actually supposed to work until 5:30ish, but I felt sick and became incredibly unproductive so I just left.
Because I got home a little earlier than planned, I had my “talk” with Mike. It was ok… I’m just not exactly sure how to express my feelings about relationships to myself all the time, and yet he wants me to explain them to him. Honestly, his intentions are pure, but if he wants to get to know me, he needs to get to know more about me than my thoughts and feelings about current and past relationships!!! I really don’t like that he doesn’t make me laugh. I think that most of my fabulous conversations are about either incredibly serious or humorous topics. He rarely covers either. Don’t get me wrong…he is a great guy and trying really hard. I know that I am being incredibly harsh but something really is missing. He is a great guy that I enjoy spending time with on my good days, but he isn’t emotionally there for me on my bad days when I probably need someone the most. If one’s company can’t weather my bad days, they simply won’t last for the good. I don’t know what to do…
Our talk was cut rather short though when I was called away to attend my “Mexi-party” with Rachel and Stephanie. It was great! I still felt sick during the first half though, so that was kinda a bummer, but the evening progressed quite nicely. Honestly, I really can’t go shopping with those girls and expect to get out of the store when planned! We really are time wasters when together. Dinner of Spanish rice, tacos, and toquitoes was great! During and afterward we discussed a variety of topics and really had an enjoyable evening together. There was only a small interruption of me locking myself out of my apartment by accident—first, and hopefully last, time this year.

Uh...marriage???

Okay, I don’t even know where to start. First of all, my life is great. I have a very nice life with a wonderful family, job, education, and decent social life. Sometimes I can feel like I’m on top of the world…and others…
Today I toured KUER. I had a fabulous experience and became really excited about my future, primarily my future career. It has become very clear to me during the past week that journalism will definitely be a part of my future life. However, my emotions take a definite turn when I talk about the aspects of my future. I have really struggled with my homework this evening and decided to take a break after three hours and check out a few friends on facebook. To my surprise, someone that I had been highly interested in last semester has a girlfriend. Honestly, I was more surprised with my reaction than with this fact alone. My heart leaped and my stomach churned. Why is that? I was sure that I was completely over him. And worse than that, he was never really in to me and probably hasn’t thought twice about me since he walked away. But something in me was frustrated, even angry, and rather hurt. Again, why is that? I have not only dated other people since my idiotic infatuation with this individual, I have also been interested in someone else and have also had a relationship of my own. To be entirely truthful with myself, I think that the reason I was hurt and the reason I am not satisfied with my current relationship(s), regardless of their level, is because I really am searching for my match. And last night, I realized how much I really want to find him. That may sound incredibly sappy/cheesy, however, I really don’t care what others think at this point, because I know that marriage will make me happy. I want to fall in love. Divorce, fighting, and future trials scare me to some degree, but I think that my love for my future husband and his love for me will run so deep that these things will not be an issue for us. I love him. I pray for him. And I will find him soon.
Roommates are an interesting association. I have had a variety of roommates over my span of time away from home. My very first roommate was weird; this term is not mean in a critical, derogitory, or rude fassion, she simply was just that—weird. My second roommate was entirely infatuated with a boy and while she was nice, I had little association with her. However, “little” is more than I can say I had with my next roommate, whom I saw a total of five times throughout the summer term even though we shared a room together. And then, my roommates Becky, Karma, and Emily came along. I grew to love each one of them very much. I can’t say that they weren’t hard to live with, or that we were problem free, but I did love them. Our relationships are that of superb friends. Yet even this does not satisfy my crave for companionship. My current roommates are again nice and even so much as pleasant, however my assocation with them is limited, as is the extent of our relationship. To be quite frank, I am done with roommates, even the ones that I say I love. As I disclaimer, I want to clarify that just because I don’t want to be roommates with them anymore doesn’t mean that I don’t love them, and if I had to be roommates with anyone it would be them. However, I want an eternal bedmate, that’s all. I use to think that marriage was the end of my social life, or that I had more life to live before I got married, but I realized that my life will truly begin when I can stop searching for him and start living with him. I want someone to be there and listen to all of my daily shpeals with patience and love. I want to care and love someone.
Okay, I’ve offically scared myself with this little speech. I sound like the girls I roll my eyes at…who come to BYU simply for marriage. I guess I just worry whether or not I will ever fall in love, that's all...