The Pursuit of Happiness

Last night the topic of institute was happiness. I couldn't help but ask myself "Am I happy?" In the past I have thought that happiness was a fleeting moment. I would feel happiness occasionally but it wouldn't stick around for long. I wasn't necessarily unhappy during this time; I was just not experiencing complete happiness.

This is not going to come as a shock to any of you reading this blog but I am a planner. I like to know what I am going to do and when I am going to do it and I like to know it far in advance. My "life" plan ended two years ago. I planned as far as graduate school and when that ended so did my plan. I still make plans. I was planning my next vacation while I was on vacation this past summer. I am training for a half marathon that is in April. Planning makes me happy but it is the unplanned moments of life that give me the greatest joy...running in a rainstorm in flip flops, reading a book to my nephew, watching Cinderella with my niece, getting a turkey in the last frame of bowling to defeat both of my home teachers...these are a few of the unplanned moments that have brought me happiness.

Am I happy? The answer is YES! I am happy because I no longer think happiness will just happen to me. I know that I have to be pursuing happiness but more importantly I have to recognize happiness. Happiness is not a fleeting moment it is in every moment, you just have to turn around and look for it.

Everything I need to know about dating I learned from a Disney Movie.

Snow White
In life there is likely to be an abundance of dwarfs and a shortage of tall princes.

Beauty and the Beast
Beauty is more than skin deep; allow time to get deep.

Cinderella
It’s good to be fashionably late and to leave the prince wanting more.

Sleeping Beauty
The situation will likely be better when you give yourself time to sleep it off.

Peter Pan
Wendy may have fun with Peter Pan, but eventually she will decide it is time to grow up. If only Peter would grow up too.

I would love to know all the lessons you have learned. Please post a comment.

If Suzanne goes to the doctor...

If Suzanne goes to the Doctor she will find out that she has high blood pressure, rotated hip bones, weak legs, and needs to go to Physical Therapy. (Apparently Suzanne does not have high blood pressure, she just hate going to the doctor and her heart reflects that!)

When Suzanne goes to Physical Therapy she will find out that she needs to exercise her hamstrings and quads. She will decide she likes the hard foam roller and will need to buy one.

When Suzanne starts doing her exercises she will find that her knees no longer hurt. She will have to go to they gym more often.

When Suzanne goes to the gym more often she will find that she can run for more than a mile and her knees will not hurt, but her lungs will.

When Suzanne finds that she can run for longer she will need new exercise clothes to look good at the gym.

When Suzanne goes to Dick's Sporting Goods she will spend too much time trying on exercise merchandise, and way too much money. But she will look cute at the gym.

Fantastic Fall

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. Saturday a quintessential Fall day. Here are a few reasons why...

Faith- I dragged my brother Scott along with me to the six o'clock session at the Temple. I know that is early for a Saturday but it was a great way to start off the day.

Frisbee- My brother Scott finally convinced me to come and play Ultimate Frisbee. Too bad only three of us showed up. I was able to work on my throwing and catching skills or lack there of.

Festivals- I went to the Greek Festival and the Avenues Street Fair. The food at the Greek Festival was fabulous. I had a little of my traditional favorites (Gyro, Baklava, and Loukoumathes). I was also a little adventurous and tried out a few new dishes. I liked the Dolmathes, stuffed grapevines leaves, although I was hesitant at first. I also liked the Spanakopita, which is a pastry with a spinach and feta cheese feeling. Honestly who can resist the name spanakopita. I also went to the Avenues Street Fair to check out my roommate Emily's booth. Emily's jewelry is AMAZING! Check out her website. It was fun to see 3rd avenue full of people and pets.

Food- Yes more food. Amy and I met Lizzie at "The Pie" for some Pizza before the game. Life is about atmosphere and "The Pie" definately has atmosphere.

Football- The football game was a blast. The first half was a little nerve racking but the second half made up for it. Final score 42-21. Go UTES!

Fireworks- There were fireworks after the game. I didn't expect much of a show and I was pleasantly surprised.

One year later...

Last year I was spent Labor Day weekend in Lake Powell. I also spent most of Labor Day at the hospital in Page, AZ. To make a long story short the take off for parasailing went well, the landing did not. I ended up with a sprained ankle, and a broken toe with a missing toe nail. I limped around in an ugly blue walking boot for 6-8 weeks.

I know it is crazy but I think that everything happens for a reason. I had lessons I needed to learn and this experience helped me learn those lessons.

LESSON #1
SLOW DOWN
I didn't have much of a choice because I was limping.

LESSON #2
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE YOU CAN RELY ON
Thank you to Jenn and her family.

LESSON #3
LAUGHTER MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER
Laughing and yes snorting, helped me get through it all. The Loratab didn't hurt either.

The Reason...

I have decided to finally enter the world of blogging. There are many reasons...

One of them is to share the everyday stories that make me laugh. Here is one of my favorites from this past summer.

Amy and I went on a huge trip this summer. We visited Egypt, Israel, and Jordan for 18 days with the tour group Fun for Less. There were 95 people on our group. The majority of the group was couples close to my parents age. Amy and I were definately in the minority.

There is one question I expect to be asked when I am surrounded by retired couples: "Why aren't you married?" I never know how to answer this question. Is this really a question that can be answered? I definately think it is a question that should never be asked.

Well now I have an answer to that question...

A few weeks after getting home from the trip we were having a little trip reunion. I was sitting at a table with Amy and her boyfriend Dallin when a lady from the trip came over. She started giving Dallin the third degree about why he and Amy were not married. I felt like I was in a dark room with a light bulb swinging above the table watching Dallin be interrogated. I was actually getting quite a kick out of it. So I started giggling a little bit. Then I started laughing. Then I started snorting. Yes that is right I started snorting. I snorted a lot on the trip, multiple times a day in fact. I kind of use my snorting as a gauge to decide if I am having a good time. Well I had a great time on the trip. Anyway back to the story. The lady stops talking to Dallin turns to me and says "And you are going to have to do something about that snort if you ever want to get married." You may be thinking that she was joking but she was completely serious. So what did I do you ask. I started snorting even louder.

So now when someone asks me for the reason why I am not married I will simply state that it is because I snort (air not drugs). :)

Just to give you a little background on my snorting. I started snorting during my years at BYU. I passed the torch you could say to my friend, Nel, sometime during our Junior or Senior year. Well I graduated and the snorting stopped. I had a three year hiatus from snorting. It may be because Graduate School at the University of Utah and my first year of real employment were not funny. Anyway the snorting returned about a year ago on a weekend trip to St. George with some girls from my ward.

I have not snorted in over a week and a half. I think it is quite sad. Hopefully someone will be funny enough to make me snort soon.