Straight Arrows

Ok, so when I moved to San Antonio several years ago I met a girl who thought I may be a bit too picky in my choice of characteristics I look for in men. I told her I wasn't, but that I had many things I just didn't want to have to put up with for eternity. She told me I could have fifteen. She told me that a while back she made three lists - Have to Have, Want to Have, and Can't Have. Each list should contain no more than 5 items. I made those lists that day, but what I realized recently is that there are little things about guys that I don't like that just falls under the "annoying" or what I like to call "straight arrow" category. Let me explain what I mean.

Several years ago I was on a date with a guy when we decided to watch a movie. He had borrowed a c.d. case full of pirated DVD's from a non-lds roommate and as we were flipping through them we picked out a DVD that I had really been wanting to watch - so much so that my roommate had actually rented it and said I could watch it that same weekend. As we started watching the movie I could tell he was really uncomfortable. He then turned to me and asked if we could do something else because he did not feel comfortable watching a movie that had been pirated. I told him once again that my roommate had rented the exact same DVD and that it was sitting in my dorm room only a few blocks away - and that if he wanted me to go out in the blizzardy snow weather and get it I could, but that the movie sitting right in front of us was the exact SAME movie. He turned off the DVD and actually had the nerve to ask me to go get it. I weathered the storm and retrieved the movie and we watched it, but the whole time we were watching it I thought to myself how ridiculous his request was.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love this guy to death - he is still one of my dearest friends, and I hate to use him as an example, but I hope he can look back on this experience and laugh. I have since met many straight arrows and while I am glad they are out there, this is definitely on my "Can't Have" list. Where are all the normal guys!!!!????? In today's world it seems like guys are either "straight arrows", which is my nice name for them, or non-temple-recommend-holding, aren't-worthy-of-the-Priesthood, guys. And the worst are the ones that pretend to be straight arrows but have the most disgusting deep dark secrets - things that shouldn't even happen... ever - the last few guys I've dated fell into this category...

Anyway, I just wanted to vent about this... I'm in a man-hating mood right now I guess... haha, I don't think I could ever really hate men. Anyway, I am going to post two of my three lists... The "Want to Have" list is kind of personal/a little superficial....

Here goes...

HAVE TO HAVE:
1. A temple recommend - which includes a solid testimony of the gospel
2. Wants to have at least 5 kids (and is good with children)
3. Does his home teaching (this will show me that he is responsible and takes callings seriously)
4. A good credit score (trust me, I will check before I marry the guy)
5. A college education - or is well on his way to having one

CAN'T HAVE:
1. A guy who plays more than 1 hour per month of video games
2. A guy who has really hairy arms or back hair
3. A "straight arrow"
4. A guy who does not like dogs
5. A guy with a hot temper

So, call me picky - I don't care.... there have got to be normal guys out there - I am sure of it....

Rattlesnake Analogy

So there was this guy who was traveling across the desert when he came upon a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake said to the man, "Will you please take me to the water". The man said, "No way, you are a rattlesnake and you will bite me". The rattlesnake said, "I promise I won't bite you. Just pick me up and take me to the water". The man decided to trust the rattlesnake and picked her up and took her to the water. The rattlesnake stayed perfectly still during the journey, but as soon as the man put the snake down, she bit him.

So I was told this analogy today by someone and left the conversation really confused about what it meant. I told the story to some good friends, and got several different responses. I think it's funny how something so simple can be interpreted in so many different ways.

So....I happened to be at a bachelorette party tonight and the waiter was soooooo funny. He kept sitting down with us to get in on the "girl talk". He said he had advise that would save a marriage if followed directly. Here goes (according to him):

Guys: I'm sorry, I won't do it again

Girls: I love you honey

The waiter also said that the #1 thing that guys hate, is when girls nag. Point taken. Got it!

Oh, and P.S. I played chauffeur yesterday for Leisl's bridal photo marathon. These are two pics I took... Don't I have the most gorgeous best friend in the world?!!!

“Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure"

Tonight I am faced with a similar trial that I've had one time before - and apparently did not pass because here it comes again... It is so easy to feel angry when trials come. Angry at the person causing the trial, angry with God for telling you one thing and giving you another, and angry with yourself for allowing someone else to manipulate your emotions. I decided to do some research on trials and see if I can get it right this time so my Heavenly Father doesn't feel the need to give it to me again. Here are some great quotes I found, and some of my own commentary on them. I am not going to give any specifics of this trial, but these quotes really helped me.

"We cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now." - OK, so this one deals with patience, something I definitely need to work on.

"We are taught in the scriptures that there must be opposition in all things (see 2 Ne. 2:11). It is not a question of if we are ready for the tests; it is a matter of when. We must prepare to be ready for tests that will present themselves without warning." - The without warning part is key. Trials come at hard times sometimes. This week, with my best friend getting married, there is so much happiness to be shared. I hope I can get over this and feel some of it.

“Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days” (D&C 24:8). - Wow, what a beautiful scripture. Just to know that the Lord is with me and sees the pain I'm going through and understands really helps.

“Behold, we count them happy which endure” (James 5:11). - So I am not one who has mastered the whole happy despite adversity thing... In fact, I get very upset when adversity comes...

"It takes great faith and courage to pray to our Heavenly Father, 'Not as I will, but as thou wilt.' The faith to believe in the Lord and endure brings great strength. Some may say if we have enough faith, we can sometimes change the circumstances that are causing our trials and tribulations. Is our faith to change circumstances, or is it to endure them? Faithful prayers may be offered to change or moderate events in our life, but we must always remember that when concluding each prayer, there is an understanding: 'Thy will be done' (Matt. 26:42). Faith in the Lord includes trust in the Lord. The faith to endure well is faith based upon accepting the Lord’s will and the lessons learned in the events that transpire." - Heaven knows that I have made enough mistakes in my life following my plan instead of the Lord's. I guess this is one spiritual gift I feel that I have. When I receive an answer from God, I know it is from Him, regardless of what I want. I know the voice of the Spirit and try to always listen and follow it. The times when I don't follow it have brought the most sorrow in my life. But it is easy to want to go your own way and give up hope in the answer you have received - that is the test. And right now, all I want is to make the trial go away, say things I don't mean, and shut myself off from it all. I did that last time though and it didn't get me anywhere, so round 2, here I go...

"There is nothing that we are enduring that Jesus does not understand, and He waits for us to go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. I testify that if we will be obedient and if we are diligent, our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish, our fears will dissipate, light will come upon us, the darkness of despair will be dispersed, and we will be close to the Lord and feel of His love and of the comfort of the Holy Ghost." - This is what I am waiting for... this is where faith is tested and character is gained...

Jenny's Life Lesson's to Live by:

• Nothing worth it ever comes easily
• Contention and Pride are Satan's biggest weapons against our souls
• Live as if you were going to die tomorrow, love as if you were going to live forever
• Kenneth Cope's songs make even the worst day so much better - Youtube them
• My experience with making a pro/con list is that there are always more cons, but going with the pro's always seems to make me more happy
• Be moral, be kind, treat others the way you would want to be treated, be Christlike
• Don't quit: You have not failed until you quit trying
• When you don't know what else to do, lose yourself in service

Freedom

Freedoms I am grateful for:

• The freedom to pray
• The freedom to work where we want (or not work at all - apparently Palin likes this one)
• The freedom to have as many children as we want (go Duggars!)
• The freedom to choose who we want to date (and marry - although arranged marriages do have advantages)
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of religion (I love being LDS!)
• Freedom of choice
• The freedom to get as much education as we want

The church put out this great 4th of July post on lds.org and it was awesome to see what people were grateful for. I love living in this country. I didn't realize how great it was until I traveled abroad more during college. There is no greater feeling than flying back to the U.S. after being away for awhile. I remember a lesson Sister Lamb gave us at Young Women's camp one summer when it fell over the 4th of July. She told us that there is a reason that feelings of patriotism sometimes feel similar to those of the Spirit. The freedom we experience here in this country is essential to Heavenly Father's plan. It gives us the agency we need to be tested, and it allows the fullness of His gospel to be on the Earth today. I watched a documentary today on Masonry and its role in bringing freedom into this country. I'm not going to go into it in this blog entry, but I will at some point because I found it so interesting.

Anyway, I went to a BBQ, spent time with family and friends, watched fireworks, and got into a heated political discussion with my dad - yep, a pretty typical all-American 4th of July in the Hamrick home. I love that my parents are so conservative - it cracks me up because I'm pretty sure my dad was just as liberal as I am when he was my age. Whatever - only in this country could I be a pro-choice, pro-marry-whoever you want or however many people you want-I don't care, LDS, Qur'an-reading girl. If you happen to be the McCain-loving country boy that I am missing right now, don't worry... You will see the error of your ways one day! :)

Boating in Prince William Sound

So boating today was a blast! The scenery was amazing and the weather was unbeatable. I got a little seasick from the violent rocking of the boat once we were out in the sea, but overall it was a lot of fun. We tried to catch silvers and halibut but no such luck. Leisl did, however, catch a rock fish, but it was small so we set it free. This was my first time out on my dad's new boat and it was a ton of fun! I may have gotten a little sunburned :) I forget how close the sun is and how easy it is to get sun even though it's not that hot here.

Cleaning the Temple

So tonight I was over at Leisl's and we were eating chips and salsa goofing around when I remembered... we were supposed to clean the temple tonight. It was 8:50 PM and we signed up to clean it at 9:30 PM. I reminded Leisl and we both raced to her room, changed into skirts (neither of our shirts matched the skirts we put on), and raced down to the temple. Well, we got there with time to spare somehow, so of course, I made her take pictures with me since it was a beautiful day and the sun was still high in the sky. A little too sunny I think...

Anyway, Leisl and I were both assigned different duties but had overlapping rooms, so we ended up cleaning the bridal and sealing rooms at the same time. I held it together in the bridal room, but in the sealing room we both put our cleaning supplies down for a minute and just took it all in. One week from tomorrow Leisl and Andy will be sealed (married) in that room. It was breath-taking. I really couldn't contain the emotions I was feeling, so I picked up the vacuum and tried to just work the tears away. It was so peaceful in the temple tonight. Leisl and I cleaned the sealing room from top to bottom, and over again - we couldn't get enough of it. At one point she was even down on her hands and knees cleaning every leg of every chair in the room! It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. And to think that I almost forgot.

The Simple Life

You know that feeling you have when everything just feels right? When even the hardest trials seem so easy to overcome because of the people around you. When the spirit seems to be your constant companion and the doors of heaven seem to be wide open. That is how I feel tonight. It's midnight, the sun is still up, and it feels so great to be happy, healthy, and alive. I haven't had a single asthma attack since being up here, my allergies are so minimal, and I am feeling really whole right now if that makes any sense. I guess people who are healthy all the time may not understand this, but I just feel like I am myself again. It's probably a combination of good sleep, mama's home cooking, the fresh air here without all the Texan things I'm allergic to... and maybe the fact that there is so much love in the air.

Leisl and I went to the temple tonight and I got the chance to remember the important things in life. Later we sat in her room, with her mom bobbing in and out, just laughing like old times. The simplest things were really funny tonight, and I loved every minute of it. My biggest plans for this week are going tanning tomorrow with Leisl, getting my hair re-done on Thursday, going camping on Friday, and watching a race in Seward on Saturday. Wow, the simple life is so nice!

Leisl's Bridal Shower

So we had a bridal shower for Leisl, and it was a blast!!! I got a bit emotional setting up for it that morning because I realized that my best friend would soon be getting married and committing to a new best friend, but thankfully I love Andy and truly believe there could not be a more perfect couple. I have actually known Andy my whole life, and couldn't have picked a better person for Leisl. They are both the kind of people that attract light and everyone wants to be around them. I am grateful to have been Leisl's best friend for so many years. Her example of righteousness is one I will never forget. It was such an honor to throw her this shower. Ok, no more tears... if this is how emotional I am over the shower, I need to bring packs of kleenex's to the sealing on July 10th!

Home Sweet Home

So today is pretty much one of those days you look back on and realize how great your life truly is. I have the best friends one could ask for, family nearby, and I get to wake up in the jungle-themed room I grew up in (well it wasn't jungle-themed until my senior year of high school when my grandpa passed away and I felt the need to spice it up a little). Anyway, I have been having so much fun here that I've hardly had time to think about all the things I miss back home... until now. I think it's weird how more than one place can start to feel like home. This happened in college too. I would get on the Liberty shuttle to the airport and feel a sense of longing to stay in Philadelphia, even though I was excited to go home to Alaska to see my family and friends. Now I feel the same thing about San Antonio. Maybe it is because my stuff is there, maybe it is because my baby Pika is there, or maybe I am just missing the people there that have become my world. And even though I am not necessarily missing work, I do miss the people from work who I spend the majority of my time awake with. So anyway, the grass is always greener on the other side I guess. Can I just say once and for all though that I LOVE ALASKA! It is so beautiful here, it is so green, the air is fresh and clean, and the mountains are so much prettier than flat country land. I could totally live here forever...