I amuse myself sometimes

I found a note i had written along a section of verses in my scriptures today - it said "if this wasn't written for you, I'll eat my shorts..."
(whaaa?? Oh, Amanda. You're so silly...)

But here are the verses in the Book of Mormon.

Mosiah 4:9-13

9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
13 And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.

Bus Etiquette and the Italian

There is an unwritten and unspoken mode of conduct when on the bus. they cant just be MY rules, right?

So I get on the bus yesterday, minding my own business. I'm overjoyed having spent the evening in the presence of a genius, aka Jasper Fforde. High praise, maybe, but when I'm doubled over laughing due to something he's written and astounded by his writing skills, I remain steadfast in my opinion.  But I digress. . .

I've left the Town Hall, wandered downtown (it's about 9pm at this juncture) and find a transit tunnel to start my journey home. I am triumphant in this quest, dropping me first at UW to catch my second bus home. Ah, the 75 arrives. It's fairly empty, which is great because it's late and who wants to be with a bunch of strangers at 10 at night? No one. I go to the back, close to the back door for easy escape route.  I'm astounded when a man sits next to me... Mid thirties maybe? I look around, there are open seats everywhere and he's cornered me by the window.

I go into my tirade in my head about bus etiquette and protocol which involves ALWAYS taking empty seats away from people. You don't sit by strangers if you don't have to, and yet this one did... My brain immediately turns to realization from movies, books and stories I've heard. Oh, no. No no no. He begins verifying the bus. He furthers his cause asking if I'm a student. He's from Italy, I learn.. He's lived in Switzerland, London, Paris, and various locations. He speaks of traveling. He works in Bellevue. He asks my name. I'm flabbergasted and give him my actual name. I usually use Sara when I want to lie. I curse myself for my honesty. He asks about my lacking boyfriend. He asks me about things I like to do. He likes Washington, but the people are uptight. Not like me though. (oh vomit) He is touching my hand. I'm attempting to crawl up the window. I get off the bus early and walk the rest of the way. He may have been nice. It may be a cultural thing. It was, however, 10 at night on a bus. Back. Off.

This doesn't happen to me. Really ever. I came to the conclusion that should this happen again, I will use Simon's purposed marriage proposal to my advantage. I let him know, he has no choice in the matter.

Just because it amuses

"you could be the center of a love..... STAR!!! How do you have a love star of completely ineligible men!?!"

I love to see the temple... (Hawaii day... 4)

On Tuesday morning, I went with Brenna to work at 4 am? 5? Who knows, and stole her car and went up to the Hawaii temple and got to go do a session there. 

It was spectacular. 

There was such peace there and it's further testimony to me that this is a house of God. It was coming home, even though I had never been there before. Remembering back, I used to have a picture on my wall growing up of the Hawaii temple. Why that one specifically when I was actually obsessed with the Oakland temple? no clue. But I feel like this is almost a closing of particular books that I have opened over the years.

Gonna be honest, I look at these shots and I have moments of reminding myself that I was there. I saw these things. Here is proof. 

On the way back..

 On the way to Maui.. For new adventures. 

Day 3: Sunset Beach (it's a doozy)

North part of O'ahu has this beautiful beach called- coincidentally, Sunset Beach.. I can count on one hand the people I could see in the distance. It was spectacular just to sit and watch the sun set into the water. 

As seen below...

For Shawn and Gus (hawaii day 3 part 1)

After Brenna came back from work on Monday, I came up with an idea of what to do... The Dole Plantation- Which, coincidentally is where my grandfather used to work. What? Cool. I'm coming to realize that there were a few things that Brenna and I got to do that coincided with the real reason I went to Hawaii. Grandma Isbell and the Pontes fam. 

 Note: I was freakishly giddy throughout this whole venture because there was so much pineapple. Shawn and Gus would have FLIPPED!!!