Best Week EFYer

This past week, I had the incredible opportunity to be a counselor at a camp called EFY (Especially for Youth). It is a five-day, overnight camp, filled with experiences for the youth to have fun with high standards, and to bring them closer to Christ.

Sounds pretty awesome right? 

The theme was "Arise and Shine Forth." which originated from the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants 115:5, "Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations" 

What an wonderful thing for our Youth to be encouraged to do: Be a shining example to the world of good moral values and a standard for followers of Christ. 

I was honored and blessed to be a part of teaching them. also, very nervous to have such a daunting and important task on my hands. 

it was better than I ever could have imagined! I got the list of my girls' names on Sunday night, and immediately loved each of them.  (I always thought it was weird when people said stuff like that, but now having gone through it myself, I understand how you can love the person behind a name on a slip of paper.) I was immediately impressed by the young men as well, who could teach the generation before them a lesson in chivalry. 

Our company's scripture was John 7:17which reads, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." we decided as a company to call ourselves "JUST DO IT" and cheered, "Arise and shine, JUST DO IT!"  

they were angels, every one of them. Their testimonies were inspiring. I could feel God's love for them each. 

I cant wait to see what phenomenal things they do in their lives. 

My fool-proof workout routine.

My FITNESS CYCLE:

Maybe my roommate just came back from the gym and said she burned 800 calories on the elliptical. wow.
Maybe I just watched a bit of "the biggest loser" and saw people who are 298 pounds drop to 145. if she can lose 8 pounds in a week, I can lose 5 right?! no problem.

Maybe I'm just sick of eating half-baked cookie dough, and finally made the resolve to get back into shape, before my stomach overtakes my body.

whatever the reason, now my motivation is on fire. I'm pumped. I'm gonna go running--I'm gonna be able to run 7 miles by the end of ___ weeks!  I was an athlete in high school! Remember?! I went to STATE for Varsity Tennis! YOU CAN DO THIS!

I'm going to wake up early, BEFORE i have to be anywhere, and work out like nobody's business. I'm going to stop eating cookie dough(/whatever my vice is at the time). I'm gonna get rid of every little piece of my body that is the slightest bit squishy. Oh ya baby-- NEW RESOLVE> i am going to be a rock-hard, beast of a woman by this time next month.

I'll start tomorrow.

tomorrow morning roles around. my stomach is a little bit unhappy with me (probably because I stuffed myself with junk last night... but, Naturally, I was stocking up for the long road of health before me! duh!) Also, I probably stayed up way too late, planning my new lifestyle, so I really don't want to get out of my warm bed to go running in the cold morning...

I'll have a better work out if i'm more awake. OF COURSE> I'll work out later. SNOOZE

OK. For real. We're going running. At least 3.5 miles! (Probably more!) Bring it on.

 This is how I start out:

I'm feeling great! Looking like an add for running apparel. I'm pumping my legs at a 6-minute-mile pace, just rocking that pavement. I basically look like this----->

Then at around 4 minutes into this incredible run I've started myself out on, I remember a few things: A) yes, I went to state. HOWEVER. I was FOURTH DOUBLES at a 3A school (very small), and we got CRUSHED in the first round at state. like 6-2, 6-0. And I remember, most of my conditioning/matches looked less like Wimbledon, and more like:

I mean, my puppy's so cute, can you blame me?!

B) I'm NOT in very good shape. So this pace... probably going to kill me.

And then I remember the biggest detail:

C) I HATE RUNNING. 

Oh ya. How did I forget that...?

So what was once unbreakable resolve to run at LEAST 3.5 Miles (probably more) turns into me trying to push myself to make it 10 minutes. (Which at my pace turns out to be probably 0.6 miles) and looks something like:

AND 

AND ultimately:

 

I go through this at least once a week. and pretty much always come to this conclusion:


 Why am I doing this to myself? My mommy thinks I look great.


I need some cookie dough. 
and a nap. 

the perfect couple

I have had the incredible privilege to spend the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. Petersen. And have come to the conclusion that what they are, is exactly what marriage should be. At least, someday, I hope to have something that slightly resembles the wonder that is Matthew and Bethany.

Look at how excited he is to be married to her! 

Bethany and I have been best friends since before we could talk in complete sentences. that's over 17 years we've known each other! that's a long time. I've only known her husband Matt since they were engaged, last August, but it feels like he's been a part of the clan forever. The two of them are so different, but he fits Beth like a foot fits a print in the sand. I stayed with Matt and Beth in their wonderful studio apartment in California that they have for the summer. the  place is lovely, with sunlight streaming onto their cute decor that is oh-so-bethany. What I discovered staying with them for three nights was why I want my marriage to be like what the adorable Peteresens are:

• I heard each morning, "good morning! i love you!" or some combination of those two sentences
• When Matt left, even to take out the trash,  he would say something to the effect of, "Babe, I miss you already"
• they tease, and poke, and tickle, and laugh, ALL the time 
• In the shower matt sings many different parts of many different love songs basically the entire shower. Very well, I might add.
• Matt couldn't compliment Beth's cooking enough. Every meal we had, I thought he'd run out of creative ways to say how amazing her food was, but he never did!
• He looks at her as if he is still amazed that this woman is in his life. I want someone (eventually) to look at me the way matt looks at bethany.
• they are constantly laughing. constantly smiling. If for no other reason than the other one is smiling at them. 

seriously, aren't they ADORABLE?!

Dearest Bethany and Matthew, I am so happy that you two wonderful people are happy. And I am very lucky to have such a marvelous example of a happy couple in my life! 

Not Creepy...Strategic

So we all know what happens when we like a boy, and we've dropped the hints... but you can't quite tell if because you're such a stealth, brilliantly subtle hint dropper, your hints have actually not even been recognized through their clever masks of friendship. And you really just want to 'bump' into him so you don't come across as creepy. right?

So you do a little spy work...
             it's for love. no judgment--ok?

So goes the story. The names have been changed to blank underlines to protect the innocent (namely me, from embarrassment).

 you can use your imagination to fill them in--like mad gab!

I may or may not have creeped into the __________ (noun) building (which i have never set foot in before today) and asked the receptionist where the __________(science) lab is--as he is a TA in the ________lab.  The air felt ________(adj.) (that one was just for you).

There might have been a schedule outside of the door of who is working what hours in the ________lab. What was i supposed to do--NOT look at it? So i might have noticed that, according to the schedule, _________ (wonderful man's name) was going to be teaching in the lab in _________(amount of time).

So i strategically--not creepily---strategically placed myself outside of said building until ten minutes till the hour he was expected to come, based on my sleuthing skills. I might have wandered in... i might have wandered back towards the lab... and i might have asked some students innocently where the ________(different, second science) lab was because i was meeting a friend for lunch and she said to meet her in the _______(first building) building, next to the __________ (second science) lab. The students looked confused.
"um... that science lab isn't in this building..."

GAH! cover.blown. AH. too late to recover! what was i thinking?! All of that creeping later to get me there in the same proximity as he at the same time, and I didn't think of a good cover story?! GURGL. mind.can't.think.of.another.excuse as to why i'm standing outside of his door...!  _________(man of my dreams) approaching fast! At the sight of him with his side-swept hair that pokes up and funny angles, and his smoldering, yet quirky half smile (He has beautiful enamel). He's standing in a blue apron and holding a jar of  ________(chemical). he looks so cute under florescent lighting...

And he says, "Hey!" smiling, offering up what looks like weed-killer in his hand, "do you want some xneksldfhwe clyglophelate?" (or something along those lines)

BE STILL MY BEATING HEART!

my brain goes completely numb. no chance of thinking of a new story with these students right there, and his dazzling smile facing me! I mumbled something about meeting a friend for lunch at some lab... and he said "well there's _____(number) stories in this building" Hooray! he doesn't know the lab's not in this building! he doesn't know that i'm an idiot!

we talked for probably a grand total of 30 seconds, and I walked away in a daze.  My strategic planning that took all morning led me to see him for less than a minute, and i'm in the exact same pathetic, _______(adj.),  place that i was yesterday.

Let's be honest, with my slick sleuthing skills, I should be a secret agent, right?!

the musings of a comedic tragedian

Blog. blog blog blog ... it's one of those words that if you say a lot, it sounds funny. blogblogblogblogblogblog...

My BLOG. I have a blog! After whittling down from over 70 names, I decided on "Scripted Spontaneity."

an oxymoron hopefully clever enough that one might giggle and/or appreciate it, and not too much of a mouthful. (The second choice was "serendipitous expectation: the musings of a comedic tragedian"... seemed a little excessive.)

Sometimes life is ridiculously random, and sometimes things come together in a spontaneous series of events that you couldn't have scripted better.

So here we are. I promise that I will keep this blog purely for brilliance. Well, I am not really at liberty at this time to guarantee such an large-scale undertaking, but I promise I will TRY to only blog brilliance.

Welcome to my site of thinkings.

love,

ave