Incase you don't know...

So I thought this was an interesting thing. I had a bunch of friends tag me to do one of these "25 Random Facts About Me" and I finally decided to do it. It's been really fun to learn things about them that I had never known before. So here are mine...
1. I have always been told that I am mature for my age. I'm not really sure why. But now that I'm 20, I feel SO immature for my age.

2. One of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen is the New York City skyline from the Harbor just as the sun is going down. September 11th was extremely hard for me. I won't watch movies or tv shows about it. I don't even like talking about it. It gives me severe anxiety.

3. I have the hots for Tim McGraw. Don't ask me why, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. 4. I LOVE tv on DVD. Dawson's Creek, OC, Gilmore Girls, Scrubs, The Office... I love it all. Thanks to Tiffanee, I was able to watch all 3 seasons of Lost in my first semester of college and I was completely caught up all in the hype by the time season 4 started up on TV. Which leads me to number 5...

5. LOST. It's an obsession. I love it because it drives me crazy. And Sawyer is not half bad with his shirt off. Tiffanee Gurney, I owe you my first born for getting me into this show. 6. Harry Potter, Pokemon cards, and Power Rangers pretty much sum up my childhood. I thought Harry Potter was real. Holographic Pokemon cards were the most valuable thing on the planet. I was convinced I was going to marry Tommy the Green Ranger. I think it was his ponytail that did it for me. I even named my little sister Kimberley after the Pink Ranger. True story.

7. Ok Harry Potter really deserves his own number. I take the series and the movies very seriously. Don't make fun of it. It's a part of me. I was in London when the 7th book came out. Dream come true. I've read the entire series multiple times. A very small part of me still believes in the entire Wizarding World now. 8. I'm half Brazilian. Not Egyptian, not Puerto Rican, NOT Mexican or any type of Hispanic ethnicity, not Middle Eastern. Brazilian.. with some African and Italian thrown in there. I put multicultural on my college apps.

9. Now, don't judge me... but I have a thing for older men. I think it runs in the family. Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Dr. House, you name it. I also think that is one of the reasons for number 3.

10. I hate feet. They are ugly and I think they look unnatural, but I love my own feet and I'm grateful I have them. I give my dad foot massages and a very select few others foot rubs as well, but that's it. Just keep your socks on so I don't have to look at them. I've been getting better.

11. I had to sleep with the light on because I was so afraid of the dark probably until I was 16 years old. You can ask my YOUNGER sister. I've crawled into bed with her countless times and ask her to tell me a story so I could fall asleep. She would half consciously tell me a bedtime story about Pokemon.

12. Like my cousin Mayra, I have a love/hate relationship with my hair. Lately, as in probably the last 9 months, it's been straight up hate. But thanks to Shauna who colored my hair on Friday, a little bit of the love has come back into my life. 13. Music is a huge part of my existence. If you know me, you know this to be so true.

14. When I was younger, I loved the movie Sister Act with Whoopie Goldberg. I would stand in front of the TV and belt out the songs along with though crazy nuns. That skinny young nun was my favorite and I would sing all of her solos. Thanks to Youtube, I can continue in that routine.

15. I had an imaginary friend named Lisa. She was my twin. She moved with me and my family from Boston to NJ. I miss her. Sometimes.

16. I love Broadway. I want to see every show I possibly can. I don't think there is a show that I haven't cried at. I recently saw Forbidden Broadway (nearly peed my pants from laughing so hard) and Equus with Daniel Radcliffe (the guys who plays Harry Potter in the movies). So great.

17. I'm so grateful to have grown up on the East Coast. I lived within a four hour radius of Manhattan, Philadelphia, D.C., and Boston. Another hour or so got me to Palmyra, New York. I was so blessed.

18. My family drives me insane. But I love them.

19. I have driven across the country a few times. Nebraska is by FAR the worst state to drive through EVER. I want to drive across the country again one day with my husband.

20. I tolerate cold weather better than hot weather. Good thing I live in Logan, Utah. I only think hot weather is comfortable when I'm on the beach. LOVE the beach.

21. I love to travel. I've been to Brazil, Mexico, England, Greece, and Crete. But I've never been to California, or south of Provo within the state of Utah.

22. The Mediterranean is my favorite body of water. I swam in it and it's frigid, but absolutely beautiful.

23. I'm deathly afraid of bees. I hyperventilate, run out of classrooms in the middle of lessons during school, and I've never been stung. I plan to keep it that way.

24. I love being a city girl. It's been one of my biggest challenges living here in Logan. But I love hiking and camping and boating and being outdoors.

25. Utah is the last place on Earth I ever thought I would live. Kim and I were talking the summer after we graduated high school and we talked about how weird we it was that we were ACTUALLY coming out west. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and wonder what I am still doing here. But, right now, there's no where else I would rather be.

** 26. (This is for Brady who said I needed to add him as one of my randoms...) Brady Mathews is the reason I am here at Utah State University and we did not meet each other until this semester. Story: When I was a senior in high school and had decided to come to Utah State, I went on Facebook to look at pictures of what people did for fun here because I didn't know anyone and when they did for fun. As I was doing my "research" I came across this picture of this insanely attractive man and thought to myself, "Wow, if men look like that at Utah State, I'm going to be just fine." So I come to school and become really good friends with this girl Katie Brammer. She always talked about her best friend Brady who was on a mission. She talked about him so often that I felt like I pretty much knew his life story. At the end of freshman year we were in her apartment in her room and on her bedside table I see the same picture of the BEAUTIFUL man that I had seen the year before on Facebook and was shocked. I asked Katie who he was and with a confused look on her face responded, "Linda... That's best friend Brady!!" She nearly died laughing after I told her my "history" with Brady. She sent him a tape on his mission and told him about me. I was SO nervous meeting him for the first time. We totally hit it off. Now, he is one of my best friends. True Story.

This is me and Brady on my birthday. I just love him.

Draper Temple

I am SO looking forward to going to the Draper Temple open house on Tuesday with my friends Cory and Kylee. The temple is right by my best friend Tiffanee's house. It's such an awesome experience to go to these open houses because after the temple is dedicated only worthy members of the church are allowed to go through and even then there are still certain rules members need to abide by. These open houses give everyone the opportunity to see how gorgeous temples are inside and to feel the spirit as they walk through. I remember going to the Boston and Manhattan temple open houses. My friends that have already done the tour of Draper say it's gorgeous inside. This time last year we drove own from Logan and went up to see the temple as it was still under construction.
I remember at the very beginning of the Fall 08 semester we went up to see the temple again at sunset and it was a gorgeous view of the valley and the outside of the temple was complete. The lights were on, but the construction fences were still around it because they were working on the inside of the building. I even forgot my car keys up there on the mountain that night! I remember we talked about going to the open house and now it's here! I'll be sure to put some pictures up from the outside of the temple on Tuesday,no pictures inside! :)

The Heart of the Matter

So here's the blog. Never thought I would be one to get into this at all. It could be nothing but a good excuse for me to get off Facebook. Yes, the title of this post came from the title of a song by Bryan Adams. I have come to realize that a lot of time is wasted on negative emotions. Anger and frustration are optional emotions. Suffering is inevitable, misery is optional. Granted, you're not getting walked all over. I'm not one to hold a grudge, but I'm not one to get walked all over either. I just don't let the negative define me. But what is beautiful about it is how much more "real" a person is when they've gone through some seriously tough times. It's beautiful knowing that your limits have been pushed and the person you are now is better than the person you were before. I've had some intense heartbreaks in my life, most of them happening within the past year, but I say bring on the heartbreak if it's going to make me a better person. Bring on the heartbreak if it's going to make me stronger and better prepared for the inevitable disappointments that go along with life. What else is life if we aren't learning and progressing? It's a beautiful thing I tell you. For me, B. Adams says it best.

There are people in your life who have come and gone. They let you
down, you know they hurt your pride. You better put it all behind you
baby because life goes on. You keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you
up inside, baby. I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter,
but my will gets weak and my thought seem to scatter but I think its about
f o r g i v e n e s s .