Ups and Downs

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson 

I am a patient person with certain things, and others I have no patience. Waiting to hear about my Visa approval to go to Australia is something I don't have patience for. It seems as if each part to going to Australia has been a long process where I have had to wait long periods of time. This wouldn't be a problem if I had lots of time, but I don't. I might not know about my Visa until February 9th, but I have a plane ticket to leave February 11th (don't worry it's transferable). I've found some good cheaper places for accommodation, but I can't really make a commitment until I know I have my Visa. So there is nothing I can do, but wait. 

Monday was great because I made Yumm bowls for a group FHE we had at our apartment. Unfortunately I didn't make enough for late comers and seconds, but it was fun. The lesson was really great as I was able to learn more about everyone's conversion story which always boosts my own testimony as well. Although we often think about people joining the church and how they became "converted," but truthfully conversion is also when even people born as a member learns the church is true for themselves. For me I always knew The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true for me, but as I prayed to know if the church is true, if the Book of Mormon is true, and if Joseph Smith was a true prophet I made a big discovery. After weeks of prayer I finally felt and overwhelming warmth and comfort that I knew to be the Lord that not only was everything I had been taught true, but it wasn't true just for me. I learned that the LDS church is the ONLY true church on the earth. This changed my life! I became a convert from that moment on with a new determination to do what's right and help others also learn and gain a testimony. With a testimony like that, it doesn't matter what others say and do to try to convince you otherwise, I've received many confirmations that The Church is true and I cannot deny that. 

Tuesday was my birthday - Jan 22. I am officially 27 and I don't feel any different. That morning I could tell Matt had forgotten my birthday and I wondered how long it would take for him to remember. Later in the day I locked myself out of the apartment and luckily Matt was done with work and could come open the door, but I had to spend around 40 minutes in the freezing cold and I definitely wore the wrong shoes! If I was in a better mood the whole thing would have been hilarious, but I wasn't so I was pretty miserable. Matt did remember my birthday while he was at work and took me to Olive Garden later so my day got better at least. I'd say over my lifetime I've had about 10 great birthdays and most occurred when I was younger so overall I find few reasons to look forward to a birthday. 

Wednesday night's financial class was a lot of fun as well. Matt and I learned that he is the free-spirit and I am the nerd (surprise, surprise). What this means is that I like to be on time, make plans, and when it comes to making a budget I like to be very detailed and precise with everything. Matt's actually more of a combination where he knows a budget is important, but he's not always interested in taking the time to make a spreadsheet or anything. This was very interesting because Dave Ramsey explains how when it comes to budgeting you really need to think about the type of person you are whether a free-spirit, nerd, spender, or saver. Ironically Matt is more of the saver, but he also made enough money to easily exceed his expenses. That has been a rare occurrence for me while I barely got enough to live off of during school. I'm excited for next week's class!

Matt's nephew Jacob had his birthday on Wednesday so Friday we had dinner with his family and then went to play laser tag afterwards. It was pretty awesome because the whole family was there which never happens! All of the Rose siblings were there, and the grandparents! Naturally the grandparents didn't stay for laser tag. It was awesome because Lindsey (Matt's sister) had never played laser tag before, and naturally did really well! I'm more of a defense person so I don't rack of points really, but at least I always get the people like Matt that are purely offense! 

Saturday Matt and I went to the Portland temple. Surprisingly there were a TON of people there! I guess that was the perfect day for all those preparing to go on a mission to go through the temple for the first time. Four people were doing their own endowment (personal ordinance for the first time) and so I had to wait for the next session since there were so many people. It was crazy. We spent the rest of the night just relaxing and watching Prison Break on Netflix. Little did we know we were going to get a call at 4 a.m. because Matt's sister Kendra was really sick and needed a blessing. Miraculously our friend Paul was awake playing Assassin's Creed and was able to come and help do the blessing (you need two priesthood holders). It was a very spiritual experience and I was glad we were able to be there when we were needed. Luckily we were also able to take long naps later as well! Later that day we were also able to sell a couple of things I had posted on craigslist so it was a great day! We really need all the money we can get to pay for my plane ticket and housing in Australia. Also, we still don't know how much financial aid I am getting so there is a possibility I could get there and have to return because I don't have enough money. I am hopeful though, and only the Lord know how things will play out!

Baby Steps

This week has been interesting! Sunday I found out Matt's brother Mike went to New York to rescue his sister Kendra from a horrible living situation that was basically killing her. She was taking care of 8 kids on her own - enough said. On Monday I had finally received my confirmation of enrollment for Macquarie so I could finally get my Visa! I immediately completed my application for my Visa only to find that I was required to do a medical and chest x-ray exam. Well unfortunately they only allow you to go to specific authorized clinics and the Portland one was booked for 2-3 weeks. Luckily I called the next nearest one in Seattle, WA and they could get me an appointment on Wednesday. That was the same day we scheduled the cat to get castrated so luckily Matt was able to drop him off and pick him up. I had to borrow my mother-in-laws car and got my friend Cassie to go with me and we headed out at 5 AM on Wed. morning. It was a nice drive the whole way and Cassie and I got to do a lot of catching up. When we got there I found out that I was really lucky to get an appointment because the doctor had come back early from vacation and was only doing immigrations that day - LUCKY ME! I felt the Lord had definitely made that work out. Afterwards it was gorgeous and sunny in Seattle so Cassie and I were able to eat lunch and wander a bit before heading home. Later was funny because some guy was flashing me and I thought "Oh, there must be a cop," but he kept flashing me so as I slowed down and let him pass me I realized my lights weren't on! Oops! As we got back I had to meet up with Matt for a Dave Ramsey class on how to obtain "Financial Peace" and I made just after the video had started. Perfect! I was really tired, but the class was awesome! Our first "Baby Step" is to get $1000 in the bank as an emergency savings fund. We are supposed to do it as soon as possible, and I think we will actually be able to do it pretty soon! This will be a huge leap of faith as we try to prepare and pay for everything for Australia, but I feel we are doing everything we should be doing.

Thursday Matt and I went to the Eugene Symphony! To be honest, we were kind of bored and sleepy so at intermission time we decided to head out. Apparently I'm just not a big symphony person! Friday we didn't really do much and I can't even remember anything we did that day so it must have been really insignificant. Saturday was fun as Kristen Larson, Jenna Dilts, and I had a girl's movie day! We had waffles for a late breakfast and then watched the Pink Bible Pride & Prejudice and Everything You Want, then a short intermission for paninis and popcorn. Next was Made of Honor, and then PS I Love You to finish it off! It was a great low key day! Matt's sister Lindsey came over with her daughter Amelia and we made plans to go visit Kendra the next day. Sunday was funny though as I was getting ready for church and Matt comes in to tell me that we don't need to worry about the fish anymore. He showed me the broken vase with no water  and no fish in sight! Later we discovered he hadn't eaten it, but lost it under the fridge and had finally recovered it. Poor beta, but to be honest I hated that fish just because he wouldn't eat! It's amazing he lasted so long (Dec 2011). After church we went to Salem to visit Mike, Holly, their baby Danny, and Kendra. It was a lot of fun, and I was glad to finally meet Kendra! It ended up being a really spiritual experience and I learned a lot more about Matt's family. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life!

Plotting Along on the Road to Paradise

"The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility." - Thomas S. Monson

This is the beginning of what I hope to be a blog I will keep forever. It's about time that not only do I record pieces of my life somewhere, but also keep others updated on my life. My plan is to write every week from here on out.

Here's a life review in short: I was born January 22, 1986 (yes I'm starting at the very beginning), was a very quiet child in West Valley, UT and struggled to make friends when moving to Sandy, UT at the age of 8 which led to a lot of other life experiences I won't delve into. I finally came out of my shell around 8th grade and discovered some people preferred me being a follower instead of outgoing and independent. At the end of junior high I went to Spain for two weeks with a Spanish class which was the beginning of many later travels. High school was...interesting (enough said) and mostly just a midpoint to get to college.

Now rapid fire -- went to Weber State University in Ogden, UT for one semester, moved to Florida and

Me and Kay in our Uniforms at WDW

worked for Walt Disney World for six months, job hopped for another six months while living with my aunt in Fort Myers where I experienced Hurricane Wilma, school in FL flopped and I returned to live with my mom in South Jordan, UT where I worked at Hyundai Motor America, took some summer classes, and then left to serve a mission in Neuquen, Argentina in Feb, 2007.

Penguin in Punto Tombo, Argentina

Upon returning in 2008 I somehow was able to find funding to go to Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR where I first lived in a cooperative house called Azalea where I met Valerie who became a lifetime friend, and I later moved into what became the Mormon house that marries you off and got a Chinook puppy named Koyuk (http://brownstonechinooks.blogspot.com/). In that house I made an amazing lifetime friendship with Laura Dexter where we somehow survived with three dogs (occasionally four). I graduated in 2012 with a BS in Animal Behavior and Psychology, and a BA in International Studies (1 of 12 to graduate with three degrees!). Thanks to going to a super expensive school I was able to study abroad for 6 months in Sydney, Australia, and do a 3 months internship with the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, Africa. To skip all the crushes, dating, and whatnot...I met my husband Matt at a MSYSA event in Albany, OR in 2011 where he was awkward, funny, and asked me to dance - match made in heaven. Unfortunately Matt's pet allergies, and my extremely busy last year at OSU led to me giving Koyuk back to the breeder and we became petless. Matt is a professional self-employed painter in Eugene, OR (where he grew up) so we moved to Springfield, OR to be close to his work after I graduated, and is where we rescued an adorable stray kitten named Odin. Since the move July 2012 I have been working at home and now have Odin to keep me company. The company I worked with was called Herbalife, whose products helped me lose 22 lbs, but now we switched to a new company called Vemma which pays a lot more and has even better products. That is pretty much everything in a nutshell.

Now we are currently waiting to get my confirmation of enrollment and financial aid information for my Masters of Research program at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. If all goes as planned I will move out there by Feb. 14th, 2013 and will begin my program. We still don't know when Matt will come over, or if we'll be able to take the Odin. To get to this point has been an uphill battle and I believe there are many steep hills left to climb. Nevertheless, we are on the road to paradise as we strive to achieve our dreams not only here on earth, but after this life in the true paradise.