Cake Please

I feel like people should be able to have their cake and eat it too. For example, I started this blog and my journal writing suffered. I write in my journal and my blogging suffers. Shouldn't I be able to do both? Good golly, miss molly.

I went to a bridal fair this morning with my cute roommate Ashley Peterson.  It was adorable!! I loved looking at all the women with their "Bride" tags on and thinking, all of these girls are in love! Good for them! They fell in love!! So cute. The cake samples weren't half bad either.

How Do I Love Thee?

He Loves Me

It astonishes me how perfect Christ is in His love of every individual on the planet including myself, how infinite Gods love is for His children. I know their love is in my life, I feel it pulsing through little moments of every day.  In 1 Nephi 11:16-17 it says, "And he said unto me: (the he being an angel, the me being Nephi) Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."   How great is that? How simple a principal.  God loves each one of us so much and that should be what motivates all the we do. Being aware of His love for us as well as everyone else on this planet. I strongly believe that THAT is what life is all about. Loving others unconditionally. That kind of Christ like love is something everyone could use more of. This new year I want to love each and every one of Gods children as perfectly as I can. As close to the way Christ loves them as my mortal self can get.  Because I know that he loveth his children, all other knowledge should stem from this knowledge.

Life Lesson in Compassion

Today I am extra grateful. Through a very long story, my family ended up sitting in the State District Courthouse at 8:30 am this morning. A thick door opened and two men were sandwiched in between two "prison guards." The men in between the guards had a chain wrapped around their waist that then strung to their hands which were also chained together. They were wearing blue and red jumpsuits, the kind you see in the movies. These two men had been arrested, and had no one to post bail for them, and so they spent the week in jail, waiting for their court hearing. As I was sitting there with my family my heart sunk for them. They had no one to turn to for help bailing them out of jail. "I couldn't help but realize, these two men are ordinary people." I thought of what kind's of music they might like, or maybe what their favorite song was. I thought of their parents and where they lived. I thought of how lonely they must be and how ashamed they must feel, to walk into a court room full of strangers, that know you did something wrong. Watching them, various scenes from my own life played across my mind, and I tried to picture them in those scenes as well. Ordinary scenes that everyone experiences, birthdays, dinners with family, high school dances. These two men were REAL people. Once my family was on our way home, happy with the outcome of our own little crisis, the two men came to my thoughts again. We didn't stay long enough to hear what each one of them were on trial for, or what their outcome was. But we were happily headed on our way, while they still awaited the verdict. More time in prison? Bail money, that perhaps they didn't have? Community service? I cannot imagine what their thoughts were waiting. But I am grateful for the knowledge I have in my life, the circumstances, and the blessings, that allow me to make choices that are in accordance with the law. Before today I thought of criminals as objects. Things that did something wrong and had to be punished for it. I never realized the reality. That they may in fact be good people, just a little lost in life. Maybe people who were stuck and had no idea how to get out of a situation other than turning to illegal activity. Maybe people who are in so much pain inside themselves, that drugs become the only escape they can see. I have learned a lesson in compassion today. And gained a greater realization of what a person is truly worth, regardless of their appearances, possessions, status, or the mistakes they've made. I am so grateful for this lesson and will never forget it.

The Good Ol' Fam

So I decided that my family is insanely awesome. On Christmas morning, my older brother Preston suggested that after each present opened we should do 5 pushups. No specific reason just decided that's what we should do. And we all agreed! Haha for the rest of the morning we opened presents and did pushups. My arms were so sore the next morning. Yesterday I played just dance with Jonathan, Chandler, and Myley while my Mom did the moves in the back round. The scene was absolutely hilarious. I mean can you picture that? Especially during the dance to "Hit me Baby One More Time" by Britany Spears. Yes indeed.  I love my family. They make life entertaining that is for sure.

Ain't Love Grand

I just finished watching a very cheesy chick flick. It was a movie based off of a book written by the same author that wrote "Little Women" so I thought it should be pretty good. It was very lame. The kind of film made on a budget, a very cheap one at that. Where the actors have never been heard of and the lines would still be cheesy if Jude Law was reading them.  But you know what, I liked it. It was very simple with not a lot of plot twists or surprises. You know I think that in terms of love, simple is good. It kind of reminds me of this song written by "Bright Eyes"

or the one by "Ingrid Michaelson,"

every time I hear it, it makes me want to be in love. Not the intense romance or the complicated couple kind. Just the simple, everyday, love. Thats what I want. It's the kind that takes time, little moments to grow, but once it has, it is the best thing that has ever happend to you. The kind where a friendship melts into love. It becomes natural knowledge that the two of you are supposed to be in love. Just like it was meant to be what you do for the rest of your life. The kind that makes you feel like you're the main character of a Taylor Swift love song. It makes everyday seem like there is magic in ordinary actions. Yeah. That's what I want. Just your average, simple, everyday love.

Good Friends Make All the Difference

Mmmm what a nice day. My cute little friend Amanda was in town (all the way from D.C. wow) and the gang was all back together! Except for Myrinda, I missed her, but other than her absence we were all there! Ha I had forgotten how much I laugh when I am with these people. Dache is so chill, and I am pretty sure he thinks we are all insane, probably because we are. Kylie is so cute she has a story for any topic we talk about and I love hearing her tell them. Brittany laughs at anything and everything said, which in turn makes everyone laugh, it's so great. Then Manda is just absolutely outrageous! I am serious. She is so original and says exactly whatever comes to her mind. Then Janna is the cherry on top. She adds to every joke and makes them even better. There is this quote on pinterest that says, "Do you ever look at your friend and think, 'Why in the world are we not comedians?" I am pretty sure I ask myself that every time I am with these people. My abs have had a workout for the day from laughing thats for sure!

 We wanted to all get into a photo, and had the great thought that Dache was so tall his arms MUST be long enough to get us all in. Haha not quite but we sure had fun trying!! I am shocked it didn't work though, I mean the guys is 6'7". Zeesh!

There they are. Cute Janna and cute Manda (below is a picture of cute Kylie and cute Brittany.) These girls have gotten me through some rough times. I recently got a letter from a missionary friend of mine. And he was VERY rude. He was way out of line, asking me very personal questions about my spirituality, and my motives on a recent trip to the temple. He even used the words in the letter, "Who is your Lord Camrie?" The letter was the opposite of what I needed to hear from him and it really shocked me that he would treat me so poorly. I had really shared some personal events with him and needed to be validated for my feelings. He made me feel like I was an idiot. That I had done all the wrong things. That I was very much mistaken thinking that I was any more special than every other person on this planet. After reading the letter I felt so low. Probably one of the most crummy feelings in the world. But these two girls made me feel SO much better. They always do. You know those people that just know you better than you know yourself? They say just the right thing, at just the right time? These are my girls! That is a description of these ladies. Janna, Manda, Kylie, and Brittany. They are my soul mates. and I sure do love them!

Don't good friends make all the difference in the world? Yes. It was a very nice day.