Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Here are my ABC's of gratitude for 2013:

A = Apryl, Austin, Amric, Anona, attorneys, air, art, apostles, apps, aunts, arms, airplanes
B = blue footed boobys, banks, brigham young university, baseball, basketball, blankets, Book of Mormon, Bible, boots, boats
C = college, candy, caffeine, cruises, calendar's, christmas, children, clothes, counsins, cars
D = daddy, dug the dog, disney, donuts, Delia, dance, dessert, Doctrine and Covenants, dog show
E = Especially for Youth, education, employment
F = Farm Credit Services of America, family, football, Facebook, feet, fall

G = grandparents, gospel, grass, genes, Gru, glass, Google, genealogy
H = Heavenly Father, hair, heat, home, hugs, hands, hiking, Hardin family
I = internet, independence, ice cream, insurance
J = Jesus Christ, Jimmy John's, job
K = kisses, kites, kindred, khakis, kitchen, kayak
L = love, lotion, llamas, legs, lollipop, lips, life

M = momma, mac, music, macey's, macy's, machew!, mustaches, makeup, money, minions, movies, marriage
N= Noyes family, Nebraska, news, nieces, nephews, nose
O = ocean, olaf, onion rings, oatmeal, object lessons, OBGYN, Olive Garden, Olympics
P = prophets, pi (3.14), pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Parker family, pajamas, plants, pictures, Pearl of Great Price, plants, parade

Q = quilts, questar, quirks
R = ren families, roses, Red Robin, radio, rafting
S = Shawn, Sean, Stephanie, sports, saunas, skiing, sunshine
T = Thanksgiving, turkey, temples, Tom Selleck, television, trucks, toys, traditions, technology
U = United States of America, uncles
V = Valley NE, Vermont
W = Washington (state)
X = xerox, x-ray, xenon
Y = yoyo, yak, Yahoo, yin yang
Z = zoo, zippers, zig zag, zip codes, zeal

anger - i feel it in my bones

I will not go into the hectic-ness of my life the last couple of weeks because I know most of you don't care and because it doesn't really matter.  Here is a quick summary of my week last week:

• four exams
• three papers
• a group project
• an exam to study for for this week
• yadda, yadda, yadda

Like I said - I know you don't care; I just wanted to whine about it one more time.

Anyway, I feel like I completely lost it today - maybe it was last night, or the night before...  Regardless of everything, my absolute final breaking point was today in my Marital Relations class - my group project.  I am just going to vent for a bit.

I HATE GROUP PROJECTS!

There.  Glad I got that off my chest.  But in all seriousness, I do not like them.  Granted, I did volunteer to assemble to PowerPoint Presentation - but my partner did absolutely nothing. NOTHING.  Scratch that, here is what she did:

• not attend class until the day of our presentation
• show up an hour and a half late to the meeting she and I had before our presentation, just to go over the final product
• oh yeah, and then she only had "a few minutes to spare"
• my comment: "gag me!"
• she decided to not show up to class on time today
• she was ten minutes late
• do you know who I am and that I freak out about things like that?
• bring cookies that she "made" herself (no, she went to Macey's, bought cookies, and threw them in a bag and claimed them as her own)
• she commented on literally one slide, which is equivalent to two minutes of our 25 minute presentation

Keep those things in mind.  The icing on the cake was not her fault (those were just stressers).  I was so confident in myself and my ability to assemble a presentation.  I was so proud of myself that I embedded my videos rather than switching the screen between my presentation and YouTube.  The presentation had started, I was on a roll, totally in control, and rocking it.  I was so organized and had my thoughts together - and then it happened.  I got to my third slide and I found that the videos would not play.  None of my videos played.  I was forced to switch my screen to YouTube, and therefore we had to watch the crazy Lady Gaga commercials (not what I was going for).  This is how I felt:

I was angry with myself.  I was angry that my partner had no idea what was going on.  I was angry because I looked like a fool.  There were lots of things.  And if you know me at all, you can imagine that the little girl pictured above was indeed how I felt.  However, I could not express those emotions.  I had to bottle those feelings up and find a way to just get through this presentation (without any help from my partner).  Thankfully we got through.  I was confident in my ability to get an "A" going into that, but leaving I know I most likely am in the "B" or "C" range.  

Thanks a lot.  See - it does not matter how much effort or work I put into something, I am just a "satisfactory" student who barely passes.  But hey!  I am here at BYU - suck on that!  (sorry, I had to find some kind of goodness in this day/week/semester).

But I have to thank my wonderful boyfriend Shawn for putting up with me and for taking me out to dinner tonight - yay for Cafe Rio!  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  It's called...FOOD!

Birthday Girl

Everyone claims that they have the best sister.  However, I have some evidence about why mine tops all of them - and here they are:

1. She makes delicious food.  Take these cupcakes for instance.  We were celebrating St. Patrick's Day and she made GREEN cupcakes. Yum city!

2.  She makes faces like this - such a "Sobczak" thing to do!

3. She lets her kids help in the kitchen.  I know that this is an irritant to some, but not to my sister!  She goes out of her way to include her kids and make sure that they are having fun!

4. She is almost as wonderful as my mother.  I know she will be one day.  She is such an example to me what a loving daughter and mother should be.  I thank her for that. 

5. This kid.

6.  This pose.

7. This face.

Point: she taught him to be awesome, like her.

8 and 9. Her other two children.

Point: She has the most wonderful kids an aunt could ask for.  And she lets me pamper them and run them ragged.  She loves them!!

10. She loves her siblings too.  Can't go wrong with that.

11. She likes the color green (note all of her shirts thus far...)

12. She lets me post old pictures, take this picture to the right for example.

13. She is one of the most supportive people I know.  I admire that so much!

14. She taught me to be awesome:

"I AM AYRIS, AND I AM AWESOME!"

Of I could say right back to her now:

"YOU ARE APRYL, AND YOU ARE THE BEST SISTER EVER!"

Point: she inspires me to be better and to do better.

15. Last, but certainly not least, she is the best friend a sister/girl could ask for.  She lets me vent when I need to.  She gives me advice.  She is concerned about me.  She wants to know what's happening in my life.  She loves me for me.  She makes sure I am checked on and taken care of.  I know that I can turn to her an anytime for anything and she will be there. Always has been and always will be - thanks, sis!

There you have it folks.  Obviously there are more reasons than the ones listed, but these are what came to mind today as I've been thinking about her.  So, thank you, Apryl, for being the best sister out there.  You are the greatest!!  Keep up the hard work - YOU CAN DO IT!  I sure love you.  And miss you.  Hugs to you on this you birthday.

Love, Ayris Joan (can we count this as my birthday card for you...?)

Veterans Day

Today is a holiday, as many of you know.  But I feel like BYU has forgotten that today is Veterans Day.  I was discussing this with my mother last night, and she reminded me of a time when she kept me home from elementary school because it was Veterans Day.  The school called and asked where I was.  She explained to them that it was a federal holiday, so she kept me home.  Needless to say, they were not happy; also, BYU is the only other school I know that makes you go to school (and work) on Veterans Day.  Here are some reasons as to why I should not have to be on campus today:

1. Banks are closed
2. Mail will not be delivered
3. Federal offices are closed
4. We should be honoring Veterans
5. IT'S A HOLIDAY!

Are those good enough reasons?  If not, maybe this will change your mind - President Dwight D. Eisenhower said the following in regards to Veterans Day:

"...it is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom's price.  As we stand here in grateful remembrance of the veterans' contributions we renew our conviction of individual responsibility to live in ways that support the eternal truths upon which our Nation is founded, and from which flows all its strength and all its greatness."

One last thought for good measure.  When proclaiming this a holiday in  1919, President Woodrow Wilson said this:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."

There you have it folks.  Veterans Day is a holiday.  And we should be spending our time remembering that, the people who have fought and died for this country, and for this land we live in.  Thanks a million veterans!