Passion.

It's something that has been on my mind lately.

What is life without it?

I would consider myself to be a passionate person. I think it's 50% my parents and 50% just me. My dad and Carol didn't raised me to eat mediocre food. They didn't raise me to only do average. They didn't raise me to learn Spanish only in school. They encouraged a passion for all things in life. They themselves exhibit passion in all they do. My dad has a passion for finance, knowledge, storytelling, cooking, and do it yourself projects. My stepmom has a passion for parties, accounting, making memories, decadent treats, and bargain hunting. They instill in me [and anyone around them] a passion for life.

As life gets busier and busier our passions seem to fall by the wayside. 

But I am telling you that other than 1. the gospel 2. love and 3. family and friends, they are the secret to life. 

If you get up everyday and don't have something that you are itching to do, then you are missing out on some of the best feelings in life.

I first thought of this topic a few weeks ago as Jason and his dad ran a marathon in St. George. I waited for them at the finish line for over an hour and got to watch so many people pushing themselves to the end. Some of them couldn't even walk so people had to help carry/pull them across the line. Others cheered them on from the sidelines, including myself, between tears.

Why did they do it, you ask? Their legs had given out and their bodies were drenched in sweat. They ran for over three hours straight in the desert's sweltering heat, but they pushed on. 

One word.

Passion.

They found utter joy in their passion. They trained for hours, days, months and years to feed their passion. They pushed through injuries and pain for their passion. And it made them happy. Even when they said they would never do it again, they lied. 

All because passion is addicting. 

I have a passion for many things in life. The one that pops into my mind the most is my husband, but my words will never adequately express the deep and passionate love I feel for him. 

The second thing on my mind the most is making a difference in this world. I have wanted to make a difference for at least the past 6 years of my life. I see all the sorrow and heartache in this world and I want to help make it better. That is why I became an International Relations major. I wanted to learn about the world and then learn how to fix it. I know I can't fix all the world's problems but I can help as many people as possible in my daily life and through working for and being involved with nonprofits for the rest of my life.

I work at the BYU Center for Service and Learning where I feel passion for helping students find service and for helping members of the community. I feel so much passion for my job that I think about it way more often than the three hours a day I work. [Although I guess that is not entirely bad because my passion for my job recently got me a raise :)]

I have recently found a passion for family history. I think the connections we have to our ancestors are amazing and not to be overlooked. I never realized how little I knew about myself until I began learning more about my ancestors. What a blessing to truly understand where you come from. 

While we were in California, my passions began to dwindle as I had too many hours with too little to do. I barely found the motivation to dress myself nevertheless to make a difference in the world. But with a little time and a little perspective I began to cultivate and preen my talents. I started my food blog and began experimenting with cooking and baking. I started blogging and enjoyed an outlet for thoughts and experiences.

Truth be told,  my passions get me through the days. Finding a delicious new recipe, hunting down the best bargains, planning a party for friends, helping students at work, or researching women in development all bring me joy. They give me goals and something to look forward to when days seem longer and the moments harder.

I might strongly suggest if you haven't already, to find a passion in your daily life. Start collecting vintage combs, searching for lizards, or singing karaoke, but DO SOMETHING!

Train for a marathon, or in my case, cheer until you lose your voice for those running the marathon.

Whether you are a college student, preparing for retirement, or a young mom- find something that catches your attention and that spices up your day! 

Don't settle for mediocre or average in the humdrum parts of life and don't be afraid to be true to yourself. If you love your daily soap opera, don't fight it. We need our little passions [be what they may] to be true to ourselves and to find joy in the journey. Don't underestimate the smiles your passions will afford you on this earth. 

Sincerely,

Passionate [blogging, family history, cooking, baking, partying, eating, traveling, Spanish] Me

Grateful

This post is dedicated to my husband:

Today I feel simply inspired. I have been reading the Nie Nie dialogues and she and her family are just incredible. She shows such faith in the eyes of hard times, and frankly makes anything I feel I am going through seem incredibly trivial.

Jason and I have been feeling particularly stressed lately with school, moving, and the usual. Sadly, that is just life. I mean the thing is, you can't keep waiting to be unstressed, cause I have a feeling it may never come. First college, then real jobs and babies, then more bills and grad school and the like. There won't be a time for no stress.

And that is ok. Its the learning to deal with the stress that matters. Of course, its the hardest part. We are told time and time again to not wait for our happiness. Stop saying--I'll be happy when I graduate or We will be happy when we are in LA.

Its such a simple lesson.
Learn to be happy NOW.
Learn to be grateful NOW.
Each day is a gift, yet most days we feel like its a burden. Another day to get out of bed, another day to wake early going from sunup to sundown with papers and meetings and events.

But it is worth it right? It's worth it for the education. It is worth it for the experience. It is worth it for the stories for our future kids and grandkids (My life was sooo hard.... )

I am challenging myself and Jason, and anyone else who reads this, to be grateful. Ironically, Jason and I are speaking this Sunday on gratitude, and I think I finally feel the perspective to give it.

I am so thankful for all that I have. I will end with a little list of some of the things I am grateful for. Make your own lists. Tell people around you how grateful you are for them. Be excited for each and every day that you have on this earth!!

I'm grateful for:
My husband.
My family.
My friends.
My beliefs in a loving Heavenly Father and Savior.
Beautiful fall days.
Chocolate chip cookies.
Grey's Anatomy.
Ross.
Giftcards.
My job.
Late night cuddles.
Friends' blogs.
Pictures.
Secret plannings :)
Christmas decorations.

I also love this link. If I didn't inspire you it surely will.

I want to hear what makes you grateful and what reminds you to be happy each day.

Bartering

Kasee and I have been looking for apartments in California recently. With the much higher rental prices in that area I couldn't help but think about all the other things that could be purchased with that money. One tangent after another brought me to bartering. In my international economics class we recently reviewed the practice of bartering. Wikipedia defines bartering as a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange (without the use of money). This idea of bartering led to thoughts of my mission. On my mission in Belgium/France Elder Reschke and I would always think of costs not in Euros but in number of Mitraillettes. La mitraillette is a sandwich that consisted of a split baguette stuffed with deep fat fried processed meat topped with delicious belgian fries. We were addicted to them. Our favorite came at the cost of 3 euros. When we would go shopping we would always ask each other if a purchase made since or not. For example a a tie at a cost of 15 euros would mean we are giving up 5 mitraillettes. Putting things in the mitraillette perspective made us much more responsible with our money (and put a few extra pounds at our waistline).

It is interesting when you put bartering prices on things you habitually pay for. For example:

Rent 1 bdr in Provo: $600 (avg). At this price you could get a new HP pavilion laptop. Two PS3's. 4 Ipod nanos. 5 GPS systems. 120 big mac meals. Or 600 delicous double stacks at Wendy's.

Rent in California: $1200 (avg). At this price you could get a brand new 47 inch HDTV. a Macbook. a five day trip for two to an all inclusive resort in Mexico (flights included). 60 new release movies. 6 blu-ray players. 24 pairs of jeans. 12 pairs of air Jordans. a scooter. 3600 candy bars (on sales 3/$1).

Just think if you thought about this everytime you made a purchase. "Honey are you sure you want that shampoo? that is going to cost us 9 subway cookies. I don't think we can afford that." Or with utilities: "Babe, we should turn the heat off while we're gone. Our bill went up by two snowcones this month."

It's an interesting thing to think about when you translate your costs into the unit of your choice. I encourage you to try it.