Thanksgiving Week & Black Weekend

I believe I should be more consistent and try to write on this blog a little more. For those who know me well, you know that I'm not very fond of journal writing... I guess because it was so reinforced when I was on YW I never really bothered about it.

I do have a journal that I bought at the Bookstore, and it's pretty, and on each of the days it has a scripture or an inspiring quote... Guess I need to inspire myself some more! hahhahah

But, nothing very interesting has happened since the last time I posted something here. Well, ok, some stuff actually happened. So, for the facts!

Thanksgiving was really good! I was grateful that it didn't snow the whole week after the storm we had on Sunday, November 22. On Monday (when I took the pictures that are posted on the previous one) it stopped snowing but there was a lot of it on the streets, so I didn't dare taking my car anywhere... It would either get stuck on some snowbank OR it would "skate" all over town :) I spent Thanksgiving week working, organizing my room and my life, and spent Thanksgiving day at my friend's in-laws, and then got together with the Brazilians, ate dessert and watched "Angels and Demons".

Black Friday? Oh, yeah! I had to take advantage of a good sale! Got an external hard drive (portable) for my computer :) And on Saturday, girls morning out with Barbara and Carol. We went to Idaho Falls and shopped around there :) I got my Christmas PJ's! It's my personal tradition. Every year I go to Old Navy and get Christmas themed pajama pants :) The one I got matches my bedroom's new color scheme and I love it. Haven't worn it yet, though.

On Sunday it was great to go to church and learn a bunch of cool stuff. I really enjoyed it. Took a nap in the afternoon and basically RESTED. It was great!!! But I better get going, get homework done, so I can post about THIS week later :)

There's more I'm Thankful for

For my sanctuary. My bedroom :)

For my BED!!!

For the Temple on an after-snow day :)

And for having legs to walk across Campus, and for my eyes to enjoy that wonderful view.

Happy Thanksgiving in Advance! I'll post some other things I'm grateful for this Thursday :)

I'm Thankful For...

"Rexburg Sunsets"

That's one thing that I can't complain about living far far away: The sunsets I am able to enjoy every day when I'm coming back from a long work day are PRICELESS, and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have to enjoy them.

Forgotten Tradition

Last year I tried to put one thing that I was grateful for during the month of November... Guess what? I FORGOT about it! It is probably due to the stress that I'm going through right now... In one of my counseling sessions, my therapist told me that it is normal for my memory to shut down, and I do forget stuff, such as the section on a final project. The result? A "B" instead of an "A". Yes, I completely forgot to report on one section of the project. How DUMB is that? Or the 80-point project that was due Monday night for my Marketing Law class, and I FORGOT about it!!! :) Now I can only get 40 points because the teacher was nice enough to let me hand it in later...

Well, how about being grateful for something? At least for a week I can be grateful for stuff, if I don't forget, right? Here it goes:

I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY BRAIN, even though it is not functioning at it's normal rate, and even though ALL my grades are going down no matter how hard I study. At least I have a brain, right? ;)

The Inner Vase

This year has been really hard for me so far. I guess because I am on the verge of graduation (April 2010), and because I am almost 28 years old, and basically since February 12 I have been considered "a menace to society" - wise words of Brigham Young referring to the 27 and older MALES that were not married - I do think I fit in though... Even being a female! :)

But there are many things that happened, and I mentioned them here. But for some reason I have been feeling like I need to clean my Inner Vase in order to feel better about myself. I have been through a lot of discouraging situations. I am currently having to deal with constant fatigue, with an acne treatment that is lasting forever with a very strong medicine that's bringing my cholesterol and my triglycerides up, and bringing my mood down - it can cause depression, especially in people who already suffered from it *hint*hint*, and far away with my parents, overwhelmed with school and work, lonely, and single.

Sometimes I feel I am "entitled" to complain about my life. But as I was looking back on it a few weeks ago I realized that probably most of the problem was caused by myself. I then decided to take a few steps to "clean my inner vase" and I have been able to see some results. There are some things that still discourage me - I'm scared of what the near future holds. I'm afraid I won't be able to find a decent job, I'm afraid of staying in Idaho or going down to Utah - I am craving a change! Some people know that I LOVE CHANGES!!! And I think it's about time... Am I ever going to settle down? I hope so!

But going back to the inner vase thing, it's working. Slowly but surely! I never lost hope that eventually my life will get better. I have all the reasons to be grateful right now: my health is hanging in there, I feel the love that my parents have for me, I have a job that helps me get by, I get help from my school in pretty much whatever I need (except for finding a date), and I have my TV :) I still need to work on my anger management - note that I am not a violent person but I do get pretty upset about some stuff and basically I refuse to talk to the person until be anger goes down. This has been an issue. But I'm getting there.

Going to the Temple has helped me a bunch. I love being there, even though most of the times I'll be sleepy, but it's good to go there and meditate upon the things that I need to improve on and the things that I'm grateful for.

Today I literally cleaned my room, and that helped me feel a little more spiritual peace. I'm hoping this week will get better and that by the end of it I will be smiling more :)

To all of you who might be in a similar situation, I encourage you to try to do the same. Again it can be a slow process as trials will keep coming, but at least you'll feel more prepared to face them.

P.S. I mentioned that trials keep coming. I just burned a Kettle (forgot it on the stove - I was planning to make some Peppermint tea - and completely forgot about it. The fire alarm went off and now the house stinks). And life is good! *sarcasm*

Giveaway at Kevinandamanda.com

So, I had to post it so I can get my chance as well :)

Check it out, girls!!!

Kevin & Amanda

Free Digital Scrapbooking Kit??? I want it!

First Item of the Christmas List

So, since I've been here in the US, Christmas hasn't been too much fun. It's hard to be far away from my family, and even harder to have to deal with snow storms at Christmas time... NO FUN! That was my experience last year. I couldn't even go down to Salt Lake City to spend Christmas with my friends because the roads were just SO bad...

Since I don't know what this Christmas reserves for me, I believe I deserve AT LEAST a nice gift...

This is what is item number 1 on my Personal Christmas List:

Reebok EasyTone

I watched a commercial this week and that sparked my interest. Since then I've been researching about it and reading reviews, which appear to be very helpful. And since I am becoming a "Gym Freak" those shoes might boost my workouts. The cool thing about them is that they are supposed to work your hamstrings, your calves (that's my biggest interest at the moment), and the butt.

With the workouts themselves I have been able to see results on the other 2 parts, but I've always had big calves, and to be honest, I'm not a big fan of them. I should be grateful though, at least I have calves!!! :) But anyways... I might try it on next time I go to the mall. NOTE: I might TRY THEM ON, not buy them... Because in order to buy them, I'll need to save up, and that might take me a little time... Maybe that will be my gift to my wonderful self for Christmas :)

Not Much to Blog About

That's what my life has been. I haven't had a lot of incredible events that are worth blogging about... Seems like life is getting BORING! But not really! I guess just like everyone else's, it's just plain BUSY.

I've been studying like crazy to get decent grades at school. I'm on my second-to-last semester at BYU-Idaho in the Business Management Program. I was supposed to graduate this December, but I forgot that I had to take a Capstone class, therefore I didn't add it. By the time I found out about that, I was already taking 15 credits so I thought it would be better if I just took it in the Winter Semester and if I devoted myself to it completely. So, contrary to what I wanted, I still get to spend another winter in Rexburg.

I'm excited for my graduation though. It will be good to finally get done with school, at least for a while. I did waste a lot of my time, and now I'm paying for my poor choices when I was younger. I was supposed to be done long ago, but I did slack, and here I am. However, I'm grateful for the path my life took. Maybe I wouldn't have come to BYU-Idaho. My dad told me that if I had remained in Brazil, I would be getting a Master's Degree in London. He never told me that!!! Oh, well. Again, I guess that was the path I was supposed to take :) And I am HAPPY.

On the side, I have been working at the University Bookstore as a Graphic Designer (LOL). I really don't have that much talent, but it is certainly fun to use a little of my creativity to develop some fun ads for the store. I work there an average of 20 hours a week.

I'm also doing some extra stuff... I've been on Acutane for the past couple of months so I have to get my blood drawn every month. Tomorrow morning is the day I get to do it again. I'm also doing meditation with a small group at school because stress has been really hard to manage. It's life, right? And I've been trying to hit the gym every day. I've seen some good results, so I'm excited about that.

The only downside to such a busy life is the fact that I always seem to feel tired. Today I planned on a one-hour nap which turned out to be a 4 hour nap. I wasn't happy about it. But I guess my body was begging me to slow down...

Life with roommates is good, except that only 50% of us actually abide with the Chore Chart. Yes, we have weekly assignments for everyone, but the other half doesn't seem to care about what needs to be done, and that REALLY ticks me off. Even though I am still so busy I find time to do my chores. What about the ones who have a TON of time and yet don't do anything? I just think it's UNFAIR. But I have to deal with it. I've been trying to talk to them, and hopefully things will get better... Otherwise they will see the "B" that lives inside of me :)

I've been trying to go to the Temple at least once a week and have been successful so far. It's been 2 weeks. I noticed that I'm having a better attitude towards all the challenges I have to face during the week, so I recommend it!

I'm hoping to be in Utah this next weekend for Halloween :) It should be fun. But I'm not planning to dress up unless there's a party for me to go, or if my costume can be picked out at D.I. (Designer's International). So we'll see.

But now I better get going. Barbara might be waiting for me so we can gossip and relax a little bit before the weekend is over (how come it goes by so fast?) - Go figure.

If someone still comes here, hope you have a nice week :)

Playing with Digital Scrapbooking...

I'm in class, should be paying attention... :P Here's my class project :)

Some Music for the Weekend

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of Michael Buble. I mean, seriously, he's one of the CUTEST creatures in the world!!!

And his voice is so soft, and his music is so beautiful and romantic and upbeat... :) I just love him! So, here's another one of his videos, of a song that I really like :)

Hope you enjoy it, and hopefully I'll have sometime to blog about I don't know what tonight...

Save the Last Dance For Me

Life can be very challenging

I guess Heavenly Father decided to make this last week a VERY HARD one for me. I'm not complaining or anything, but it has indeed been really hard for me to get by and to survive the challenges that came into my way...

I was in Salt Lake City for General Conference, thanks to the generosity of Fabio and Talita, good friends of mine from Fortaleza, Brazil. We had a great time Sunday morning despite the icy cold rain that was dropping on us (we didn't have umbrellas available). In the evening I had dinner with the Costa's and it was a blast! I love being with that family and learn from them. As a result, i came back to Rexburg on Monday morning.

I was so tired though. I hadn't slept very well the whole weekend and had to drive for 4 hours. When we were in Ogden, this huge hail storm decided to dump all the possible hail on us. Hail turned into snow and it stuck to the ground SO FAST! For about 2 or 3 miles the road was slick and full of snow. I was freaking out because I know my car doesn't do a good job in the snow... Oh, well. I guess that stress that I went through for a few minutes took a toll on me. By the time I got to Rexburg it was time for me to go to class and there I was. Barely awake. :P

Finally after the first class session I realized that my body was begging me for some rest. I was feeling sick to my stomach, had the worst migraine ever and was literally on auto-pilot. I got home, took a shower, and at 3 PM I was finally able to fall asleep. Slept until 6:30 PM, and that helped a little.

I was tired the rest of the week though. And it seems like I had such a load of reading assignments, and homework, and presentations, and tests... Work didn't help either. I was under a lot of pressure to finish a project and it came to a point where I was so desperate and helpless that I literally cried talking to my boss. I was sorry that I wasn't able to deliver what they wanted in the time frame that they were expecting, but my brain had shut down.

I forgot which day of the week and of the month it was, was freaking out about the test that I thought would close on Wednesday when it actually closed on Saturday, and so on. I was SO ready to call it a week.

But, no. I still had a bunch of activities on Saturday, which were my choice but I needed to get distracted at least for a little bit. Once I got home I had an essay test with 5 questions and 1 hour for me to get done with it, and after that I had an online assignment that needed to be posted on my website by midnight... I got everything done but didn't feel a sense of accomplishment. Weird.

And here I am again. So NOT READY for the upcoming week. How can that be? I'm really hoping my brain will function a little better and that I will be able to deliver better results both at work and in school. I'm also hoping to relieve some of my stress... It's a heck of a load that I have on my shoulders at the moment, I just hope I can relieve some of it during this week.

Oh, by the way, can anyone teach me how to play Farm Ville? There are so many people addicted to it that I need to play it to forget a little about this crazy world that I'm in right now :)

Hopes and Hopes...

I just came accross this song and thought I might share it... It's so CUTE and it's so ME!

Enjoy!

Haven't Met You Yet
(Michael Buble)

I'm not surprised,
Not everything lasts,
I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track.
Talk myself in,
I talk myself out,
I get all worked up,
Then I let myself down,

I tried so very hard not to loose it;
I came up with a million excuses,
I thought I thought of every possibility,

And I know some day that it’ll all turn out,
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out,
And I promise you kid that I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet.

I might have to wait,
I’ll never give up,
I guess it's half timin', and the other half's luck,
Wherever you are,
Whenever it's right,
You'll come outta nowhere and into my life.

And I know that we can be so amazin',
And baby your love is gonna change me,
And now I can see every possibility,

Somehow I know that it’ll all turn out,
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out,
And promise you kid, I'll give so much more than I get,
I just haven't met you yet.

They say all’s fair
in love and war
But I won’t need to fight it,
we'll get it right an',
we'll be united

and I know that we can be so amazin',
And bein' in your life is gonna change me,
And now I can see every single possibility, mmmmmm

And someday I know it'll all turn out,
And I'll work to work it out,
Promise you kid I’ll give more than I get
Than I get, than I get, than I get.

Oh, you know it'll all turn out,
and you'll make me work so we can work to work it out,
And promise you kid to give so much more than I get, yeah
I just haven't met you yet.

I just haven't met you yet,
Oh, promise you kid,
To give so much more than I get.

I said love love love love love love love.....
I just haven't met you yet
Love love love .....
So doy day ay ay ay, ay ay yeah
I just haven't met you yet!

Here's the link for the music video:

Just Haven't Met You Yet

Back to School in IDAHO

Got back in Rexburg yesterday, with a bunch of stuff to get done. The 7-week break was SO WORTH IT though! I went to Brazil and stayed with my family :) It was awesome! But I'll post about that later since I still have to upload all the pictures from the trip...

Other than that, nothing new... I found out that my cholesterol was WAY high and that my sugar was wanting to get high as well... Have been on a diet for a little over a month now... 12 pounds gone, and 15 more to go, but I am excited because now I have my greatest motivation: my life.

More to come soon...

The 4th of July weekend has been pretty busy. Here are some of the things that I have done:



I went with Ana and Andrea to the Salt Lake... Here's me FLYING :) Love that pic!



Here's part of the Noni/Kika's gang at the Provo Freedom Festival

I'll try to post more pictures later... For some reason the Blogger Site is giving me an error message when I try to upload more pics...

It was indeed fun! On Saturday I went to a barbecue at a friend's house. We ate good meat, and went to a park with the kids for them to have some water-based fun :) Once they were done we all went to a Carnival in Riverton and boy, that was FUN!!! :) I'll post the pics later as I already mentioned...

I am so happy that the weekend turned out to be good!!!

More coming soon!

Good Week!

And it happens again...

Another Airbus crashed this Tuesday morning in the Comoros Islands... 153 people were in the plane and amazingly a 5-year-old kid survived the accident. As for other survivors I don't know. They already found a bunch of debris and some bodies along the coast. Exactly a month after the terrible crash of the AF 447 flight, which left from Rio de Janeiro with Paris as its final destination and, in the middle of the Atlantic, disappeared, killing all the 228 people aboard.

Most (if not all) of these people were not celebrities. They were normal people either going on vacation, or on a study abroad trip, or whatever reason. They all left their families behind. :( I can see how people are so devastated with Michael Jackson's death, but at the same time, he was ONE person. He wasn't 228. Nor 153.

Honestly, the fact that 2 planes crashed in a month's period is much more reason for me to be sad. Michael's family will still earn money with royalties, especially now that he passed away -- everyone will buy his stuff.

What about the victims of those plane crashes? Maybe some kind of settlement that will last them for a couple of years, to help cover for funeral expenses and for them to get by for a while...

For those big fans of Michael, it's not that I don't like him. I actually do! I guess it's just the way I see things...

Peace for the families of those 381 people that left them behind.

Mormonismo...

Tirei do blog de Cynthia... Uma onda!!!

Mórmon não diz o que sabe: presta testemunho.
Mórmon não afirma: testifica.
Pra mórmon não existe mentira: existe apostasia.
Mórmon não paquera: procura um parceiro celestial.
Mórmon não casa até que a morte os separe: sela para toda a eternidade.
Mórmon não pensa: pondera.
Mórmon não cuida da saúde: guarda a Palavra de Sabedoria.
Mórmon não tem intuição: tem o dom do Espírito Santo.
Mórmon não tem energia: tem fogo nos ossos.
Mormon não tem problemas: passa por provações.
Mórmon não supera dificuldades: sobrepuja fraquezas.
Mórmon não morre: vai para o mundo espiritual.
Mórmon não peca: fubeca.
Mórmon não lê a Bíblia: ESTUDA AS ESCRITURAS!!!!!.
Mórmon não cumpre penitência: fica em Período Probatório.
Mórmo não reza: conversa com o Pai Celestial.
Mórmon não aconselha: exorta.
Pra mórmon não existe índio: existe lamanita.
Mórmon não faz acordo: faz convênio.
Mórmon não chama a atenção: queima.
Mórmon não é mórmon: é Santo Dos Últimos Dias.

The Power of a Simple Prayer

I have been trying to be better at writing on my actual journal, and I have been doing good, but this particular experience that I had yesterday is worth sharing. I hope it is inspiring.

The Power of a Simple Prayer (yes, I decided to put a title on it!)

The last few days have been very interesting to me in the sense that I have been feeling a need to be closer to my Heavenly Father. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine from the LDS Business College decided to take his own life and that was pretty shocking. I was perplexed when I knew of what happened and for some reason I have been thinking through what could have caused him to do such a thing. On my last post I copied and pasted the lyrics for the song "Consider the Lilies", which was played on President Hinckley's and Elder Wirthlin's funerals and I guess because I knew that my friend had gone to the other side of the veil, I thought of that hymn. Anyways.

It has been a tough week for me. Yesterday was an especially busy day for me. I have been involved in different activities all day and I was exhausted but I still had my friend's birthday party to attend. I was a little discouraged to go because it had rained SO HARD and the roads were really wet. But I had to go, otherwise I know my friend would have been very sad. I decided to call Kika and ask her to wait for me so we could follow each other to the party, just in case something might happen we would be able to help each other somehow. We were getting to leave her home and we were already late but for some reason I asked Kika if we could pray before leaving the house. She thought that was an odd request since I don't have the habit (and maybe I should create the habit) of doing that, but she agreed. I offered a simple and short prayer but I guess the intentions of my heart were deep, and left.

On the way to Herriman, between exits 284 and 288, a crazy driver was cutting through the cars and speeding like no one. All I remember seeing was her trying to cut through the cars and "sharing" the same lane at the same time with a big SUV. When I saw that happening I thought "Oh, my gosh, she's going to hit him, oh she's going to hit him". And she did. At approximately 90 miles an hour. I was on the right lane and the crash happened on the middle lane right by me. Her car spun in front of my car and for some reason (which I believe the Lord put His hands on my car and helped me) when I pressed the brakes, it went smooth. I was able to stop the car and not hit her, but I was scared that that might happen. She spun again on the shoulder, her bumper fell off her car (together with her license plate - she is SO in trouble), and while the guy she hit went to the shoulder and maybe wait for the cops, she flipped him off and took off. I believe she was under the influence.

I called the Highway Patrol and gave a detailed description of the felon woman. I don't know whether they caught her or not but I hope they did.

After all that, I was talking to Kika about it -- she was right behind me in her car with Olivia and she told me the lady had been cutting in front of everyone -- and she said that it was inspired of me to offer that prayer. Again I don't know the reason why I decided to pray at that moment, but I AM SO SURE that because of that prayer Heavenly Father spared us from a horrible accident.

Such a short and simple prayer. Answered.

Happy Week to All :)

Consider The Lilies

Just because I have been thinking about this song a lot lately...

Consider The Lilies
(Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

Consider the lilies of the field--how they grow, how they grow.
Consider the birds of the sky--how they fly, how they fly.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds in the sky
and He will feed those who trust Him and Guide them with His eye.

Consider the sheep of his fold--how they follow where he leads.
Though the path may wind across the mountains,
He knows the meadows where they feed.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds in the sky
and He will feed those who trust Him and Guide them with His eye.

Consider the sweet tender children who must suffer on this earth.
The pains of all of them he carried from the day of his birth.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the lambs of his fold
and He will heal those who trust Him and make their hearts as gold.

He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the lambs of his fold
and He will heal those who trust Him and make their hearts as gold.

How I love my Savior!

Happy Wednesday :)

What the Heck is Going On?

I have no idea why I am so not into blogging these last few months. I mean, I try to find something fun to talk about, or something relevant, and I can't find something that will attract people to read it... I guess I'm not motivated because I haven't had many people hitting my blog, or leaving a comment, or whatever... Life's tough!!!

I am working hard at Rodizio Grill and making sure that the ads are made for all the magazines and stuff. One fun thing that I have been able to do is to say NO to people!!! hehehehe... Rodizio receives SO MANY offers from people for us to advertise with them and bla bla bla, and we have to refuse a bunch of them... So I have been given the privilege of doing that... mean huh!

I'm loving my job here. I have been able to do a lot of things and also have been able to learn a lot from all the assignments I have been given. :)

Other than that there's nothing very interesting... I still have a ton of pictures that I need to upload from my camera in order to post my albuns on Facebook and Orkut... Oh, and yes, only 49 more days until I go to BRAZIL!!! Oh, yeah!

Happy Tuesday to whoever still comes here :P

The Weekend on a Single Post...

Has been fun!!! I have been filled with activities and I love that! On Saturday I was able to sleep in... I was so tired from last week and I guess it took me sometime to realize that. I wish I had slept all day long Saturday, but my mind tells me NO!!! It is indeed a WASTE OF TIME :P Every time I think about sleeping I remember Elder Scott's talk that he gave a long time ago on a General Conference I believe, that time is PRECIOUS and it doesn't come back... So I guess I might as well take advantage of time :)

Paid off one of my CC's... So happy! Next week I'll kill another one. How exciting!!! Yay!

Yesterday church was awesome, then I went to a friend's baby shower in Lehi. A Blast! I had so much fun!

Today? Rodizio!!! And I ate FOR FREE!!! Gotta love that. That food is AMAZING!!! Oh my goodness! It was a lot of fun! Kika, Trevor and Andy are great company! I had a blast!!!

Now? Well, now I better go to bed... All that meat made me tired :P

Happy Week!!!

Current Events - Reflections

Sometimes I can't believe how life can get so busy, and there is not enough time for everything. Here I am, in Provo, for a little over a month already. That's crazy!!! I have been doing my internship at Tahitian Noni and have been working at Rodizio Grill for 3 weeks now. They surely keep me BUSY and I love that!!!

I am also helping my friend Ren with some stuff that she needs, and it has been a lot of fun as well, but I am physically exhausted!!! Oh how I wish my body had constant energy to spare :) That would be really nice...

I found a ward to go to :) Yay!!! I'm in the Slate Canyon 1st Ward and so far it is a lot of fun! I have been welcomed by the members and already feel part of the "family". That's the best sensation EVER!!! I liked my ward back in Rexburg and that's probably the ward I'm going to go back to once Fall semester starts, but it's not the same thing... I don't feel as much love as I am feeling in this ward. Hopefully things will be better once I go back :) And I'm not talking about my bishop but about the members that attend the ward... Just an FYI.

I am so grateful because things are working out well for me. I'm happy... Sometimes I miss my family, sometimes there's that feeling of loneliness but in general I'm well. Heavenly Father has blessed me and I feel renewed. I know I am more willing to make an effort to be a better person and I am glad for that. I needed a wake-up call. I was withdrawing myself from the blessings of heaven. I feel like I'm coming back though. Isn't that amazing???

As I mentioned before, I learned how to do a blog background but for some reason it is not letting me upload the thing... I tried several times already, I just need to figure out where to fix it. :) It's fun, though! I could totally put them so people can upload them to their blogs hehehehe

Time is going by so fast!!! In a little over 2 months I'll be going home for a nice vacation. I'm very excited to see my parents and my friends back in Brazil, go to the beach and be happy...

Well, speaking of time, I guess I better go to bed... Tomorrow is going to be a looooooooooong day, I have tons to do!!!

Happy Wednesday! :)

Scrapblogging

I HATE scrapbooking, because it takes too much time. Today I was searching for a way to make my own backgrounds and I found one. It was cool! I'm still having trouble uploading it here though...

Here's what I came up with:


Yeah, this is it... I'm trying to upload it though...
If anyone can help me that would be great!

Thanks to www.kevinandamanda.com I was able to do it! I'll try to do some more :)

Well, better get back to my priorities :) I need to update this blog later :P

Happy Tuesday!

Helga

Tinha que postar isso...

Roubei do blog de uma amiga minha, a Carol... Tao linda essa mensagem!

Aconteceu numa praça, no Japão.

Não se sabe como o pássaro morreu. Porém, de uma forma ou de outra, ali estava ele no asfalto, inerte, sem vida. Seria um fato corriqueiro, mas um fotógrafo resolveu registrar o momento e fazer a diferença...

Segundo o relato dele, uma outra ave permanecera próxima ao corpinho sem vida durante horas. Chamando pelo companheiro, ela pulava de galho em galho, sem temer os que se aproximavam, inclusive o fotógrafo que se colocava bem próximo.

Ela cantava num tom triste. Voava até o corpinho inerte, pousava como querendo levantá-lo e alçava vôo até um jardim próximo. O fotógrafo entendeu o que ela pedia e, assim, foi até o meio da rua, retirou a ave sem vida e a colocou no canteiro indicado. Só então a ave solidária levanta vôo e, atrás dela, todo o bando.

As fotos traduzem a seqüência dos fatos e a beleza dos sentimentos no reino animal. Segundo o relato de outras testemunhas, dezenas de aves antes de partirem sobrevoaram o corpinho do companheiro morto. A ave que fez toda a cerimônia de despedida, quando o bando já ia alto, inesperadamente voltou ao corpo inerte no chão e tentou novamente chamar o companheiro à vida. Com amor e carinho, ela se despede, revelando o seu sentimento de dor.

Agora fica uma reflexão: Serão realmente os animais os seres irracionais?

Onde está o amor, a caridade e o respeito entre nós, seres humanos e "racionais"?

Home Sweet Home

After a whole month jumping from one place to the other, I was able to secure a home with one of my favorite families: The Pinegars!!! They received me with wide open arms and I just feel so welcome!

I have a nice bed and a roof, so I'm happy. This week I finally start on my new job and I am very excited to have some money in my bank account. It has been a while :(

But I just wanted to talk about the power of prayer and faith. Wasn't it for me being faithful and asking Heavenly Father for help, I wouldn't have been blessed with those things. I am so grateful for the many things that He gives me every single day. Life in this land hasn't been easy for me. It has been a road full of bumps and obstacles, but so far I've been able to make it.

Wasn't it for my strong faith in my Savior, I would be crazy right now... I would have given up on so many things that life presents me with... I'm thankful for having faith, and for having the opportunity to ask Heavenly Father for faith when I lack it, because sometimes it happens...

I am looking forward to a week full of challenges, but at the same time, full of happy moments! I have learned to cherish each and every moment and even though sometimes I won't feel like cherishing those moments in life, I'll try to keep that in mind.

I'll post pictures of my roomates soon :)

Have a blessed week!

In Utah

I am finally down in Utah and almost ready to start my internship at TNI. Thanks to Kika and her wonderful network I was able to find something in my area: Marketing. This last semester as I mentioned before, has been a little hard one me. There are so many things going through my head... So many things that I need to accomplish and yet I feel so uncapable of accomplishing such things. I think it's just my mind wanting to drag me down. I am feeling a little discouraged at the moment. This whole recession thing that is going on in this country is making me a little scared, but I KNOW I shouldn't be!

A couple weeks ago Elder Claudio Costa was our speaker at a BYU-Idaho Devotional. He talked about all that the world is going through at the moment and that we, as righteous people, shouldn't worry because "if you keep the commandments you SHALL prosper in THIS LAND" meaning in this Earth and in this life. Isn't he so right? He is... I guess I'm the one who needs to fix some stuff in order to be prosperous :)

He is like a father to me. I am so happy to be part of their family activities and to feel loved by all of them. Since my parents are so far away from me, the Costas take that role and love me :) Isn't that so nice?

The wonders of the mortal life. I am so blessed and yet I complain... There are so many people that have muc more problems than I do and yet they don't complain AT ALL. They are happy with what they have.

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family, to have the opportunity to get a good education, to have great friends, here in Utah and also in Idaho ( I have met so many wonderful people that make me happy), to have food on my plate and to have good health in general. I am also thankful for Discovery Health (that was random but I just LOVE that channel!) and for the sacrifice my Savior has done for me.

As for the other things that I want to accomplish I'll just keep working hard on them and wait on the Lord to do His will. :)

Wedding Day tomorrow! (Not mine of course!) Congrats Veronica and Eduardo! :) I'll SO be there!

Finally!!!

Finals Week is OVER!!! I am so very happy that the semester has come to an end, and I am extremely relieved! It has been a very stressful semester... Some of my friends know that because of all that I said and talked about during the semester. IBC has been an interesting experience. I have learned some things, but the most important lesson that I have learned is that people are very difficult to deal with.

I felt betrayed, discriminated and disrespected in SO MANY ways. The funny thing is that people kept backstabbing me during the whole semester, always blamed the failures of the company on me and on my friend Anselmo, and they also dared to mention my name in the Final Report saying a bunch of lies...

I guess it's just because I am a stupid International Student... That's how a lot of people up here treat us like... Oh well, sorry about the going off session... I guess I needed it.

All that matters now is that I'm FREE for a whole semester!!! :)

Happy Weekend!

Finals Week...

I have a feeling that I should be writing about how wonderful the talks at General Conference have been so far... To be honest I only watched the morning session and it was in the background for me. I remember some of the messages that were given, but not entirely... So I will report about my past week at school. I promise I'll try to watch it more focused tomorrow and maybe put something that might inspire someone here. My apologies...

This week has been quite crazy and I am happy that it's over. As I mentioned before, on Tuesday I woke up to see that my car was wrecked (probably by one of the bad drivers that populate the town of Rexburg). I took it in for an estimate, but they won't be able to start working on the car until Monday. The body shop never received the OK from the insurance company to order the parts, so, BECAUSE I CALLED the body shop yesterday, I became aware of that fact. After a couple calls and acting a little bit upset about the whole thing they got everything ready to go. The parts are ordered and I'm supposed to meet the people at the body shop on Monday at 9 am. Then Enterprise comes and picks me up and I pick a rental, hopefully a nice one so I can enjoy the week riding something cool :)

I also had another final this week. We were aware of the fact on Wednesday and the test was due Thursday... I freaked out but was able to accomplish the goal of finishing the test. On Thursday, I spent yet another evening at the Library, this time working on all the Finance stuff. It was actually fun! I kinda like that stuff! I guess once you know how to plug everything in Excel, your life becomes so much easier! Until this semester I didn't really understand how ESSENTIAL Excel is in an individual's life :)

Yesterday I went to Idaho Falls just to look at some stuff and get the mind out of BYU-Idaho mode. It was fun! I watched Slumdog Millionaire... What a GREAT movie! Oh, before I forget to mention, on Tuesday I went to the movies with a gift card that I received and watched Knowing. Great movie! If you like freaking out, that's the perfect one, kinda like The Sixth Sense.

Today I watched conference and went to Hollywood video to rent Australia. Came to find out at the Cash Register that I had a FREE, I said FREE rental!!! I was going to use the gift card that Todd gave me 3 years ago but I guess I'll use it for the next rental: Bedtime Stories or Seven Pounds :) I'm guessing that Saturday has been indeed full of pleasant surprises...

Tomorrow? I guess I'll watch Conference in my bed, all bundled up in my Target Comforter :) And then maybe enjoy a ride around Idaho...

Last week of school is just around the corner... How excited am I for the end of the WINTER SEMESTER!!!

Happy Sunday!

Charity: Does it EVER fail?

I am SO DONE with this semester!!! Here I am, at the wonderful McKay Library waiting on Anselmo to finish working on his Religion Portfolio :) How cool is that??? hehehe... (I rode with him).

Just got done with my Supply Chain final... Teacher comes to class today and announces that there is a final and that there is a hard copy due TOMORROW! What the heck!

Yesterday I woke up to realize that someone hit my car at my apartment complex's parking lot and RAN AWAY!!! I had to go to the Police Department to file a report of what happened and had to take the car to Idaho Falls to get an estimate of how much fixing it and making it beautiful is going to cost: $1,800!!! Thank goodness Helga has a $100 deductible :) Well, $100 makes a difference in my pocket but it is better than $1,800 :P

What else? hmmmm... Can't go to Utah for General Conference. I don't trust my car. I'll have to take a picture of the damage before it goes into the Body Shop... Of course I'll also take a picture of the rental (if it's a wicked cool car).

Semester is almost over. I am looking for a place to live in the Utah Valley. If anyone would like to be charitable and have me over for 3 months I'd appreciate it. I got an internship at Tahitian Noni but it's not paid, so I need to find a job as soon as I get there... That's why I'm asking for the Charity... Or at least a cheap rent. I am so fun to live with! hehehe

Happy Thursday!

As Olivia goes down, I go down too! (That is, to Utah)

That's me at work with my new bangs

I am so excited!!! Got people to ride with me to Utah today meaning that I will NOT pay for gas whatsoever... I might start a transportation business or some sort of Kombi that goes and comes all the time from Rexburg to Salt Lake/Provo and vice-versa :) Some extra income hehehehe...

Olivia is about to come and Tia Helga is dying to see her!!! This weekend is going to be hard but a lot of fun as well...

In less than 3 hours I'll be heading down... as Olivia is doing so as well ;)

See you tonight Kika! Love ya!

FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK...

... Has been CHAOTIC!!! But good, of course! I am proud that I was able to accomplish some nice things in these past three days. Here they are:

1) I was able to secure a Summer internship with Tahitian Noni International (where Kika works), thanks to HER!

2) I had an interview at Deseret Book and they called me to do an internship with them, but I probably won't take it.

3) My group was able to prepare an Integrated Marketing Campaign for the i-bambino business and it turned out GREAT! But I am soooooo TIRED! We were in the Library for 8, I said 8 straight hours last night!!!

4) The week is almost OVER! And I can't wait to go down to Utah on Friday to wait for Olivia once more. I think about her every single day!!!

Anyways, that's my half week post... I'll be posting some reflections tonight when I'm more relaxed.

And Wednesday is almost OVER!

In Need of a Vacation...

I have been pretty much counting the days to go back to Brazil for a few weeks and visit with my family. It's going to take a little while until I'm finally able to see them, but the excitement of the idea is something that consumes me every once in a while.

To be honest, I haven't been in the mood to blog too much. I guess the time that school has taken kinda left me a little bit discouraged to do so. Also, I haven't had much to talk about lately. My life is limited to school and work pretty much. The only exciting thing that happens every once in a while is that I go Latin Dancing, which releases the tension a little bit.

Other than that, NOTHING exciting... I guess I am in need of a companion. He doesn't have to be eternal yet, but I've been in that phase that even though I am happy being single, I still long to meet someone that will sweep me off my feet, at least for a little while, someone to whom I can tell how my day was and to give some crap too... hehehe...

In the meantime, I'm wondering when that's going to happen... :)

See? My blog is BORING!

Happy Week to All

Aren't we all waiting?

So I'm here in Utah at Emma's house. I decided to come on Wednesday so I could get some stuff taken care of and hope that Olivia would come to our joy... Well, she hasn't come yet, but the weekend has been way fun so far :)

I've done a lot of things and also it was good to forget about school at least for a little bit :) There are some changes coming in the near future, so I'll keep everyone updated... In the meantime I am praying that Olivia will come tomorrow :) But if she doesn't come, I'll be happy when she comes anyways.

Kika I love you! You are the tchongest!

Happy Sunday ;)

I Guess I'll Post Again...

I came and looked at this blog today and I could swear that my last post was before Thursday... I was mistaken. Looks like the weekend took a little while to end... Monday is right here and I seriously can't wait for it!!!

1) This week might have good promises on IBC. I have to be present to watch some changes that might occur right towards the end of the Winter Semester.

2) Olivia might come ANYTIME! Kika laughs at me because I told her that my bag is pretty much ready even though I'm not the one delivering :)

3) I'm excited for the month of March. I do like it, I don't know why...

Oh well... Weekend was actually good. I got a lot of homework done and luckily this week I don't have that many assignments due. I also resigned to my position as the i-bambino CMO, which kinda relieved the burden I have on my shoulders at the moment. It's nice to be able to come back home between classes and work, eat lunch and TAKE A NAP!!! It's awesome! I am also SO HAPPY that I got a 93 in my finance exam. I was really excited!

Anyways, hope whoever reads this have a fun week! I'm excited for the many adventures that might come this week! Olivia we are anxiously waiting for you!

It's about time for another post...

It has been a long time since I posted on this blog and I don't have a lot of news to post, but might as well write something. The semester at BYU-Idaho (or IdaHell) has been extremely busy. With IBC and work at the Bookstore my time is completely consumed, and by the time I get done with all the chores and duties, there isn't much time to spare. Except with my precious bed. :)

I can't wait to get done with the semester. At least are going well with out on-campus business: i-bambino. We have the highest stock price out of the four companies, are selling out pretty much every day, and people seem to love it! Also, we are opening a second "location" on campus this next Monday. How cool is that??? We're excited as a group.

Last week there was Kika's Baby Shower and it was SO MUCH FUN! I had a great weekend with my girlfriends and can't wait for the next chance!

Well, I better get going... I'm tired of blogging... Should watch some TLC.

Nice Weekend to all!

More than half way through the first month of 2009...

... And I finally get a break from school activities in order to post some updates.

School has taken pretty much ALL of my time! I'm on IBC - Integrated Business Core, which is pretty much 4 classes integrated and we have to launch a Business on campus. Let me tell you, it takes a lot of time and work. There were days where I have been so stressed that I couldn't handle myself, but apparently that is gone (at least for a while). There have been meetings every single day, plus the assignments, plus a bunch of other stuff... HARD! But I'm grateful!

I just came back from a 2-day camping trip for IBC at Badger Creek, an outdoor facility that BYU-Idaho owns. I wasn't excited to go on the trip but I'm glad I went. It was well worth it! I had great experiences and made new friends. I'm excited for the rest of the semester and hope I don't change my mind.

Last weekend I went to Utah to Pedro's wedding as stated in Kika's blog. We had a blast! It was so fun! Especially to hang out with Kika. We share so many laughters together that it hurts our tummies hehehe...

Well, I better go! Just remembered I might have some homework due tomorrow :P

And here is 2009!

I guess it's always good to start a New Year... There's all the goals that we want to set (and hopefully to achieve), all the promises of a wonderful year, of progress, etc.

Funny thing is that, after a week, all these "wonderful" goals and promises that we made in the beginning of the year seem to be forgotten... Ironically :)

Well, let's try to stick to them this year, shall we? ;)

Happy 2009!!!