Remember Who You Are

The days just seem to roll into each other. I never realized how hard it is to keep track of the day of the week it is until now, where all of my days hold the same schedule; wake up, work, sleep. Haha, of course not as mundane but getting close. Luckily this week had an eventful trip to the Orange County Fair. I have to admit this was my first time in all my life ever attending "The Fair." Its nuts cause I remember every year me being so excited to go, only later to realize it had come and gone. Not this year!

Lovely Jana was visiting from Utah this week and brought to my attention the Michael Jackson Laser Show that was playing. Naturally hearing this news changed that usual comment of "I want to go" to "I'm going!" with a passion so intense I bought tickets nearly on the spot. This show was a spectacle of MJ's greatest hits mixed with dancing and lasers! It, hands down, was the most awesome event going on at the fair, and for fortunate consumers like myself changed history for me... I can technically can say that Michael Jackson made me go, and thank heavens cause boy have I been missing out on some of the most gluttonous moments of my life. Never have I seen so many fried foods that should come NOWHERE near a fryer, case and point "fried butter," double yuck! But the thought that follows that is, "someone had to have wanted it or have eaten it for it to be sold," ...weird. Anyways, it was a great night and a real treat to go dance, play and eat (tons of ridiculous food) with my family and friends.

Anyways, onto the next... So this week was filled with the realization that I'm getting a bit nervous to leave. Not that I'm hesitant to go, I'm just going over my list of things and keep hitting speed bumps. I am a little overwhelmed with, ready for this... shopping! Ok, so of course I love shopping and I think everyone can agree when I say that purchasing the most hideous clothes is a sister missionary's MO, but I have been greatly informed by my secret spies that this is not the case in the mission that I have been called to. There are some wrenches in the system that allow us a little more freedom, but I think this has backfired for real! The guide book is of no help at all and because of that I am going on pure suggestion. First, and mainly only item of concern, I hear the winters in NY are sooooooo cold. I'm from CA, what do I know about freezing cold winters (Utah doesn't hold a candle to the the winters of NY)??? And PS, lets not forget about my frostbite ordeal of '07, haha I would love to keep all of my toes this time. Im just saying, any advice I can receive would be more than luxurious at this point. It's a shot in the dark for me.

Other than that, with my bit of anxiety I am exponentially more excited! Today in sacrament meeting Brother Brian Andre did what he always does best, and that is bring animation to life with a spiritual twist. "What do you mean by that you say?" well, to my great amusement he was speaking about the relationship we have with our Savior, how we are our Heavenly Father's children and how we had the prime example sent to keep us on track. If we just remember who we are then we will be great. Of course it was paired with a simile: Rafiki and Simba...(and cue Ash's overwhelming excitement). In the Disney movie The Lion King, taking place at the waterhole Rafiki is speaking to Simba. "Look down there...No, look harder. You see? He lives in you." Now naturally he was not speaking in the same sense that a Latter-Day Saint would, but lets be honest, it hits the nail right on the head, yeah??! Everyday we have a living example in the way we portray the words we preach. If we can keep about us the Spirit we will always know and feel the presence of our Heavenly Father. It sometimes is a challenge personally for me to keep my thoughts focused but when I really think of who I am and my purpose here in this life it becomes more evident the work I am to do. An example is easy to follow, but then again it is easier said than done. It is definitely something I'm striving to do more of. I just feel that like the mission prep, with life there is a huge list of things to do. As long as I keep pushing toward accomplishing those goals, while remembering who I am, I will be successful in accomplishing the things which are the most important.

Having said that: MJ, Disney, life and love. And so it is...