There is Always Hope

okay, so it's been ridiculously kind of crazy around here lately. Two weekends ago was Martin Luther King Day weekend. long weekend = awesome. work all weekend = not so awesome. I got less sleep that weekend/ week than I have gotten so far this school year. It totally messed with my sleep equilibrium. But I'm slowly regaining that (thank goodness) :P  Monday I go to make arepas for the first time with some awesome girls from my Spanish class. That Tuesday Sister Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came and spoke for devotional. I always love listening to Sister Beck's talks. For staff meeting that night I made these delicious specimens:

{chocolate-chip muffins}

Wednesday brought the dreaded first exam of the semester. After that I had the opportunity to go to the TRC and then I went down to a friends apartment to keep her company and slept over there. Thursday was...THIRD THURSDAY!!! wooooo!! so fun :) I made s'more cookie bars for the occasion and Jill and Bahaar and I got together for dinner beforehand. I just love those girls so much and I'm so glad that we all stay in touch.

{ooey-gooey goodness}

Friday I went to the TRC and then went to donate blood. I get in there, they prick one finger, not enough iron...boo. They prick another finger and there's enough iron! so I wait and this other guy comes in to finish up the stuff and then he hears that I have a "sniffle" and decides that I can't donate. I totally wasn't sick. I didn't have a fever and I felt great, but he wouldn't let me donate...I was so mad and disappointed that I started crying. I know...how embarrassing, but it takes a lot for me to get myself there in the first place because donating blood kind of terrifies me. I was just really frustrated that they waited until after they stabbed two of my fingers and wasted an hour of my time to decide that they really didn't want my blood after all. And then he went and told me to come back when my cold had cleared up. yeah. you know, the one that I DIDN'T HAVE. there's my little rant for the week. so...anyway... that incident resulted in me skipping my next class because I really wasn't in the mood to go.

Last Saturday night I headed on over to Jill's for the remainder of the weekend. Bahaar came over and we watched Pride and Prejudice and painted our nails (so typical... :P). It was way fun. Oh and it sort of rained/snowed all day Saturday so it was a bit of a wet walk there (like ridiculous). The best part of that was that 3 different guys pulled over and asked me if I wanted a ride. I love living in Provo :)

{the giant lake that covered a corner of this intersection on my walk to Jill's}

{it's a tree (and snow). obviously.}

Sunday I went to Jill and Bahaar's ward for church. It was so nice to be at church with them and in a ward with a lovely selection of RMs :) We had curry for dinner...yum :) and them made brownies and strawberry cake mix cookies for dessert night. I slept over again that night because I really didn't feel like walking home in the slippery darkness (a very dangerous combination). It was so nice to have a "roommate" again, even if it was just for two nights. It was so nice to have someone around to talk to and to just be with.

Monday was Chinese New Year, which I love, because it gives me a really good excuse to eat Chinese food, which I love. Tuesday was pretty great. That morning I had my interview for the study abroad program that I applied to. I was nervous, but the professors were super chill and I really connected well with them. They asked me random questions like what my favorite movie is and if I like Jane Austen and which of her's is my favorite book. Going to the interview made me even more excited to go. This week I made some good old chocolate chip cookies for staff meeting:

Wednesday was super awesome because I found out that I GOT INTO THE PROGRAM!!! I'M GOING TO LONDON IN THE FALL!!!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!! yeah, so I'm kind of excited. and by kind of I mean  really really really really really really excited. pretty much.

One of the teachers of the missionaries that I get in the TRC on Fridays is in my Spanish class and on Thursday she told me that they were so excited for me to come back, that they had a lesson planned just for me. It was so awesome to know that my volunteering there actually does help them and to know that they put that kind of time and thought into the lessons that they teach. So when I went to the TRC Friday morning  I was really excited to hear this lesson. It turned out to be just what I needed to hear. They taught me about receiving revelation in connection with serving others. This was something that I had been thinking about lately and their lesson really helped me. Friday night was our RA movie night! It was really fun! I made french toast cupcakes with maple butter cream frosting  and we had pizza and watched a movie.

{I'm afraid the frosting looks a little funny, but all I had was a ziploc bag}

After that I stayed up far too late doing laundry and eating cupcakes and talking to some fantastic girls. I spent all Saturday morning getting ready for our floor activity making brownies

{they were moist and chewy and irresistibly chocolaty} 

and baked mac and cheese and whatnot. For the activity we made friendship bracelets and just had a really good time. There was a quote that I found about friendship that I really liked:

This semester I'm taking the second half of the New Testament from the same professor that I took the first half from and, therefore, have another personal project to complete. This semester I decided to pick a few topics that are really important in the second half of the New Testament and study each of them more in depth. Right now I'm studying about hope. This has been a really interesting topic so far and I have definitely learned a lot. In a scriptural context, hope is much more than a passing wish or half-hearted desire. Hope is sure and unwavering. It is confidence and trust that God will fulfill His promises and can only come through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Hope is a commandment and we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and to overcome the temptation to lose hope. As said by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in his talk "The Infinite Power of Hope":

And to all who suffer--to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely--I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in.
Never surrender.
Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow and gladdens every heart.

Note to self: There is always hope.

{I ate this beautiful piece of fruit for breakfast on  Thursday}
[the color was so cool that I just couldn't resist taking a picture of it]
(and then I had to share it on here because it just makes me happy)