Rising to the Call

I am just barely breathing again, and it feels good! For those of you who have not heard, I am the new Relief Society president in my BYU single's ward. In short, this was an unexpected and overwhelming answer to many of my prayers. It has been very overwhelming, and I have been so incredibly busy, but I have already seen many blessing come into my life resulting from this call. I have never been in any presidency other than Y.W., so I am completely new at all of this. If any of you are ever in the same position that I have been experiencing, I have a few words of advice:

1. Breathe, it's a lot to handle, but it gets easier and you don't have to do it alone.

2. Pick your counselors and secretary prayerfully- they are going to be your greatest support.

3. Use your counselors! You don't have to do everything on your own. They are called to support you. Utilize them.

4. Delegation. I have learned through many callings that delegation can work wonders!

5. Pray for the sisters of you ward. As I have been doing this it is amazing how much closer I feel to them and how much better I have come to know them.

6. Ask the Lord for help frequently. The Lord qualifies whom he calls.

So far things have been absolutely wonderful. It's only been 2 weeks and I know every girl, and I feel like I've known them for quite a while. I have the best counselors and secretary, and I have never felt closer to my Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for this opportunity! I don't know what it is that the Lord needs from me at this specific time, but I hope and pray that I can serve to my greatest potential.

A Cry for Help

Dear Friends and creative people,

So I am officially frustrated with my style. I want it to look cute, and I want my title and picture to look creative and fun like everyone else has been able to do with theirs. I would love suggestions on how all of you do your creative little things! Font, Pictures, Frames around the pictures, websites you get them from, etc. Please help me change to cute! Thanks.

Love,
Tiff's Blog

Diaper Cake

I don't usually brag about things that I accomplish, but I do have to say that I am very proud of my finished product! Siri and I threw a baby shower for Heather, my old roommate. I have seen lots of pictures of diaper cakes that people have made for baby showers, and I was SO excited to do it! I googled instructions for the diaper cake, but I ended up making up my own directions. I think it turned out quite cute :) It was fun to get all the girls together and we can't wait to see Heather's baby! Here is the finished product!

Accomplished

I just wanted to document my excitement for the goal that I recently accomplished! I have made a goal since last April's conference that I wanted to read the Conference Ensign that comes out a month after each conference. I have made a goal to study this and finish reading it all before the next conference starts. A few weeks ago I was talking to my Mom and realized in a panic that I was only half way done with the past edition!

With conference approaching ever so quickly, and with a lot of other stuff under my belt I told myself that giving up was not an option. And you know what? I did it!!!! As of 9:00 am on April 3rd (just one hour before Conference was to start) I finished it! I have officially accomplished my goal two conferences in a row. I have learned so much in doing this, and it has been a great blessing in my life! I have really enjoyed studying the prophets of old through scripture study along side modern day prophets in these Conference Ensigns.

If you are looking for a challenge and a blessing I would encourage you to try it! I promise you will be blessed.

Discombobulation!

The reason for the title of this post? Not quite sure. I guess it might be because of the hectic life I have been living for the past two months. Did I say it was a bad life? No. It has been wonderful, but just like everyone else, at times I feel like I may just collapse from exhaustion because of all the demands I am facing. I however, don't want to dwell on the busy and unpleasant parts. In the midst of the chaos I have done some fun things and had some pleasant surprises!

First of all, I got a scholarship! Yes, you heard me. I feel that it is almost impossible to get a scholarship at BYU, but I did it! It's an RMYL departmental scholarship for $1,000. Can I get a hoo ha? It was a last minute decision to apply and I literally turned my application in about 2 hours before the deadline, but I'm ever so grateful for my decision to go through with it. I get to go to a banquet on Tuesday, April 6th with my parents and all of the other scholarship applicants. I sure do feel special :)

Secondly, I had the best weekend! It was filled with friends, $3.00 80's bowling night, the Festival of Colors, "Did you Hear About the Morgans?", and family. The highlight of it all- my first time at the Festival of Colors. I went with my roommate, Kat, and her sisiter, Chelsea. It was a blast! Granted, it took us a while to wake up, but when the fun began, it didn't stop! For all of you who are unfamiliar with this, I'll give you a little background. At the Hindu temple in Spanish Fork, UT they celebrate the coming of Spring by burnin the Witch of Winter. This is followed by throwing colorful chalk. I would have to say that most of the crowd there is from BYU, but we are taught to become familiar with other religions, right? Just doing our duty, and having fun in the process! The only unpleasant experience I had was the initial throwing. I think I till have chalk filled in my lungs. No clean air for about a minute to breath... the longest minute of my life. But alas, I am alive. Here are some picutres from it!

Rubbing the elephant for good luck? Sure! Why not?

Can't forget the llamas! Kat was just a "little" scared of them. Don't worry, they just spit!

After watching many dance and yell chants we saw this cool altar! Very intriquite.

Before we were tainted with other people's colors!

The kids behind us got excited and couldn't hold onto their color. I got orange dumped all over me...
The throwing of colored chalk still has NOT begun, but yes, we were the victims of many others.

The end result! Don't we look beautiful?

We were most proud of our faces. What art...

This is how I felt about having chalk up my nose, in my ears, and down my throat. It was supposedly scented, but not a good scent!

A Little of This and That

There are so many creative people in this world! I wish I had the knack for it all. If you are looking for a fun, cute, light-hearted blog to follow, may I suggest lovelypraiseworthy.blogspot.com! Jenni Collier, a family friend, and her cute friends out in the Seattle area write it together, and they come up with some of the greatest thoughts and crafts. Check it out!

As I was catching up with this blog I got a brainstorm session going. I have a few things that I have been wanting to do and other treats I've been wanting to make. Summer is just around the corner and what better time to have some fun projects than summer? Free from the likes of school and I will actually have some time to sit around and relax. So here is the list I have compiled. Please feel free to add ideas to my list! But remember, a college student is on a tight buget:)

1. Learn to can different things. Peaches, pears, jam, etc. My mom has been doing this since I can remember, and I want to learn to do it so that my kids someday might be able to enjoy the sweet taste of homemade jam.
2. Find a pattern for a fun everyday bag. Of course, make the bag!

3. Learn/re-learn basic sewing skills. Mom isn't going to be there all my life to fix wardbrobe malfunctions. I want to learn to hem, sew all buttons, and patch up pants.

4. I have always wanted to make a cute skirt! Hopefully it'll end up cute...

5. Learn to play the organ. I have wondered how the organ works compared to the piano. Heaven forbid I'll actually get called to play in church, but it would be fun to learn!

6. Make my own homemade pie with the homemade pie crust. You know, one of those pies that the crust is in a weaved pattern on top? Wish me luck!

7. I have been tempted to take a flower arrangement class at BYU, but due to lack of room in my schedule, and the cost of the class, unfortunately I don't think it'll happen. It would still be fun to make a flower arrangement for the apartment. Spice things up a little!

8. At Robert's Arts and Crafts they have those photographs that spell words out of letters. That was obvious ha ha. You know, where someone takes pictures of objects that look like letters, and then they arrange the pictures to spell a word such as: "FAITH", "HOPE", "LOVE"? I have decided that since the ones to buy are expensive and not as personal as it would be if I did it myself, I am going to buckle down and finally do it! Any word suggestions?

9. As I read praiseworthy's blog I found a recipe for tri-color cupcakes. These would be fun for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, or just for a fun treat! Quick and Easy! Check it out!http://lovelypraiseworthy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tri-color-cupcakes.html

So here I am about to embark on a new adventure of trying new things! A little of this and that!

Spring Fever

I don't know about the rest of the world, but the weather in Provo has been gorgeous! March 1st and Mother Nature is saying, "Welcome Spring!" I am constantly reminding myself that March and April are well known to be unpredictable and wet, but it's days like these that make it all worth it. Isn't it amazing how easily the weather can affect our moods? I know it did mine today. I woke up this morning and only needed a light jacket to walk to school in which I got a little toasty! Yes, I think I am catching Spring Fever. Be careful everyone, it may be contagious! I've been thinking about fun things I can't wait to do in the warmth. Here are a few:

1. Run! I am training for a half marathon, cross your fingers, and I ran for the first time since surgery today! 7 whole minutes. Slow, but I did it. It's a start! 

2. Ultimate Frisbee. No more cherry picking for me! I will be the one of the lucky to run around

3. Soccer!! I pray that I have had my fare share of injuries, but I love soccer enough to say goodbye to it just yet. It's all worth the pain!

4. Evening walks. Audrey- are you ready for it? Walking buddy. We've gotta keep it up if we're going to be two old ladies still going on walks with our walkers that have tennis balls on the legs.

5. Playing in the WARM rain! Cold rain just doesn't do it.

6. Green! Welcome back beautiful, living, nature. It has been too long. 

7. Spring flowers. We need flowers to brighten the world

8. Flip Flops. I use to refuse to wear flip flops as a kid. I was the girl with socks and sandals that created a nice chicken feet tan line. I have graduated from that fashion, and I love me my flip flops!

9. Tans. Thank you to Mom and Dad for sharing the skin pigments. I am grateful for how easily I get color, and oh how I miss my color. 

10. Driving with the windows down. Need I say more?

11. Light! I know daylight savings will come again, but I always miss the days filled with light during Winter. Warm, spring days in the sun.

Are you excited for Spring yet? I know I am! Spring fever is a bitter sweet feeling, but oh how I love it!