Thanksgiving is fast approaching

So what better way to get in the mood, then listing my 5 favorite foods! (haha, that rhyming is just to awesome to change)

5.

Jessica Donbrosky's Oatmeal Cookies with Cinnamon Chips

4.

Summer squash casserole

3.

Grandma's Green Bean Casserole

2.

Jessica Donbrosky's Honey Bun Cake

(she makes the list twice cause her desserts did me in all the time!)

1.

Lemon Bars

(I do believe I have a problem-3/5 of my favorite foods are desserts. OY VEY.)

I've been things and I have seen places.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

6. Oceanside, CA

I love this place. There are so many memories, so much growth, and substantial peace that I find every time I find myself there. Nothing is better for me then a walk on the beach, the sand between my toes; a shake from Rudy's on the pier; a sunset over the water; and a trip to Chandler's for a glass bulb in memory of Grandma.

5. Island Park

I love my mountains. I love swimming at buttercream with my cousins. I love horseshoe tournaments and playing cards all day long. I love homemade donuts and sleeping on the hard ground. I love waking up and warming up by the campfire. I love fishing and hiking. I love Island Park.

4. Virginia

My home. I love fall and the changing of the leaves. I love the history and culture. I love my village-those who raised me.

3. Grandma's House

Who doesn't love grandma's house?! Hugs and kisses. Delicious food. And time with the best little woman in the world.

2. Italy/Spain/Greece

Best trip of my life.

1. The Temple

Doesn't matter where it is located, it will always be my favorite place on earth.

7 wants: Fantasy or Reality?!

“I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.”

7. This dumb class to be over.

No for reals. I strongly dislike my Tuesday afternoon class. I come and do nothing related to the class. Instead I play on my computer, work on other assignments, or read a book. (I finished the Hunger Games in this class...)

6. A second job.

Cause then maybe I can afford to go home for Christmas and not stress at the end of every month and pay people back and all that jazz. (I have a phone interview tomorrow...fingers crossed!)

5. To be debt free.

See number 6.

4. A horse farm.

Horses make me ridiculously happy. Why would I not want a horse farm?

3. To run a marathon, without actually running.

I said fantasy/reality. Its my want list. Stop judging me.

2. To be better at bearing my testimony outside of church.

Its a good want.

1. To get married (SOMEDAY).

Well...I do....

200?!! Really?!! 200!!!

So I'm feeling a lot of pressure to make this post spectacular because it is my 200th post on this blog! This blog has been an outlet for my frustrations, for my sadness, my testimony, and ultimately my journeys over the last few years.

So for this post I just want to say that I am very grateful for so very much today. I had a very rough Sunday-the dam of emotions that I have been shoving down inside for over 3 months finally blew and I'm pretty sure I spent more time crying then I did anything else. But it was so good for me-I needed it more then I knew.

Then today, I set out with the intention to just have a decent day. And of course, I got so much more-another tender mercy of the Lord.

I am so, so very grateful for the love my Father in Heaven has for me. I am grateful that it gives me purpose and strength. I am grateful that it heals my wounds and builds me up. I am so very grateful for Him and all He does.

The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself...

That being said, I'm pretty sure I have more then 8 fears...but I'll list my biggest ones!

#8:

Heights. Oh yea. I know I'm a rock-climber. But have you seen me climb with just anyone?! No. You can chalk that one up to Jessica Voqui (I still love you) since she dropped me when we were climbing once! Yeah-talk about making your fear worse.

#7:

Going blind. It runs in my family and I'd rather die before I lost my sight. (I'm sure if it happens, I'll survive-but I'd rather not find out)

#6, #5, #4:

Failure. Disappointing people. Not being good enough. (They all go together-and they circle my brain constantly)

#3:

Losing my two remaining Grandparents. I know it's inevitable-but I'm hoping they can stick around til I get married and have a few kids and maybe even a few grandkids. I'm ridiculously close to my Papabear and my Gamma is my best friend. It was hard enough losing my Grandpa Ron and my Grandma June. I can't imagine going through that all over again.

#2:

Scary movies. I know its ironic. But I hate them and I'm afraid of them-to the point that I refuse to even read what they are about.

#1:

Hobo spiders. Not all spiders. Just those nasty Hobo spiders that sneak into your basement, climb up your bathroom walls, and chase you when you find one. (Uncle Mike-you are still on the crap list for letting one jump on me when you were trying to feed Petey. *SHIVER*)

9?! 9?! I hate multiples of 3!!!

Better get this one over quick!!!

"A heart full of love, A heart full of song."

#9:

Orin and Bryant told me that I have way to many of them. But I don't care! I can't get enough of books. And I don't want a kindle, because I love to touch my books, I like to smell them, and I write all over them. In short, I love books.

#8:

I love the temple. When I was younger, I thought that I loved only the Idaho Falls temple, but then I feel in love with the Washington DC temple, and now I love the San Antonio temple. So I've learned its not the location, but the actual temple.

#7:

I think its important to know that along with temples, I absolutely love the Gospel and being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (in sense, a mormon). With all the recent challenges and political comments recently, I just want it to be known that I am Christian, that I believe in Jesus Christ and that I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. My testimony is surrounded by love for the gospel and love surrounds me. =)

#6:

Oh yea. Me and sleep-BFF's for life. Seriously. Give me a soft blanket, some pillows, and a bed and I'll snuggle down. I nap like a champ. And when I say nap, I really mean I sleep for 2-3 hours at a time. I love sleep. And I don't get enough of it!

#5

I love my 3 best friends. I have been so lucky to find 3 very different people, who each make my life so much better. My life-time best friend, Heather Anne. My college best friend, Stephanie K. And my adult best friend, Jessica TB. There are many other important people in my life, great friends who have impacted me and I love them all-but these three girls I love more then words can describe. Their friendships have changed my life for the better and despite how things may change, they will always be a part of my life.

#4:

My family is also another love of mine. Although they drive me crazy, they also support me and their encouragement makes me work harder (especially when I feel like throwing in the towel). I'm grateful for such a large family-who will drive 28+ hours to come see me, who will spend an entire day cooking for me, or who will let me call and rant at all hours of the day. My family is far from perfect, but I would not trade them for the world. I love them fiercely and completely.

#3:

There is a special place in my heart for this particular family member. My PapaBear is my hero. I always struggled with feeling so different and then I realized, I'm not different. I take after my grandfather-a person who defeated all odds and became something amazing. Our relationship is something that is very important to me and something I love.

#2:

I love musicals. My favorites are Les Miserables, Wicked, and Rent. At times, I wish my life were an actual musical.

#1:

My number one love is my scriptures. My Gamma got me my scriptures for Christmas when I was 15. They were the first set I had ever had and they had my name on them. Now, they are old and full of my markings. They show the growth of my testimony and my knowledge of God. They also show the struggles I faced and how I overcame them and stayed close to my Father in Heaven. They are the most precious thing I own and I love them so very much.

Challenges

I've been up and down, riding a roller coaster of emotions for the past month. I've always been a pretty emotional person-I think this is what happens when you wear your heart on your sleeve. The interesting thing is that I actually hate being emotional-I hate crying and if I cry I get extremely frustrated which only makes me more emotional. But this is not fair to myself and after President Uchtdorf's talk, I have realized that I need to be kinder to myself and let myself feel the emotions because they are essential for my growth and they make me the person that I know I want to be-because lets be honest, I don't want to have no emotion. I'd rather feel EVERYTHING-this way I get to feel those 'lows' and in return feel those 'highs'.

So I am challenging myself to be who I am and to let myself feel these emotions and learn from them. I'm also taking Jessica's challenge to change up my blog posting.

Charles Sanford said, 'Secrets are made to be found out with time.'

I guess now is the time for 10 of my secrets (just 10! Its all you get so don't be greedy)

#10:

I know that I cannot sing, but when I am all alone, I will sing songs over and over again at the top of my lungs-actually believing that I sound amazing.

#9:

I tell people that I don't think I am pretty cause mostly I don't-but I love my eyes and my nose. My eyes give everything away, they show every ounce of my love for people. And my nose is perfect for my face (plus it can hold a spoon and swing it back and forth and that's pretty awesome)

#8:

Sometimes, when people are interested in a subject that I know nothing about I will go and research the topic just so that I can talk to them and not feel dumb.

#7:

I fall quickly for people-even quicker then my closest friends know. And that scares me because I worry I'm more in love with the idea of falling in love then with the actual person.

#6:

My mom calls me Yammy and I tell everyone I hate it-but I actually really love that my mom has a pet name for me. I love it even more then the way she says 'San Francisco'

#5:

I love the way some boys smell. Clean or dirty. And when I was younger, I used to spray my pillow with cologne so that I would dream about cute boys.

#4:

I'm totally boy crazy (see comment above) and I have hoped my entire life that I would grow out of it-but I don't think I ever will.

#3:

I really do hate the number 3, but I don't hate all odd numbers like I tell everyone. I prefer even numbers, but there really isn't anything wrong with 5 or 7 or 11. Its just those darn multiples of 3 and the 'why' is a secret I won't share!

#2:

I secretly wish I could write as well as my best friend. The stories she comes up with fascinate me and I wish that I could be that creative. I actually tried writing a story while I was in high school and I'm sure if I read it today, I would laugh at how ridiculous it was.

#1:

When I was younger, I wanted to be the first female president of the United States. But the older I get, I realize I'm really not as 'Type A' as I thought-so there is no way I'd ever be able to get the job done!