Stars

Anyone know a way to change the default font?

I thought I did...now I can't find it.

Funny/sad story, then on to the quotage story.

I've been looking for a mouse pad for a while...I wanted the perfect one.

Then I found this website that gives you the option of customizing your own. 

Score!!

So Boyfriend helped me pick out a cute background

I put on the saying that I wanted (one of the quotes from yesterday)

But it was right before the movie with Peach and Mr. Peach Hubby

So I was in a hurry (I should have listened to Boyfriend and waited...)

So I typed it up, placed the order, and we were off!!

I got an email later saying that my order was being shipped

So I wouldn't be able to make any changes.

Okay! Fine with me! Just get me the mouse pad!!

So Sunday night I was going over my order, checking out my awesome looking mouse pad

When I noticed something

Something VERY BAD!!

I had spelled a word incorrectly...

If you knew me and my writing and the way I get with my spelling...

I'm a perfectionist, so yeah...it bugs me when things are spelled wrong.

But it was too late...

I couldn't change it.

So I had to decide to eat the money AGAIN, or live with it...

Boyfriend tried to convince me to live with it.

But I couldn't. 

Peach agreed with me.

So I ordered a new one today.

And I quadruple checked it to make sure it was all correct!!

Next time I'll be patient and wait till I have time to look at it...

Anyway, upward and onward!!

You ready for the other story?

It's actually going to require 2 stories...I'll try to make them briefish

But I make no promises!

So, once upon a time, I was getting ready to serve a mission for my church.

I was going to be gone for 18 months, so I was trying to get a lot done before I was gone forever (it seemed it would be that long anyway...)

One of those things was a scone night.

You see, my sister Becca is amazingly good at making scones.

I mean A-MAZ-ING!!

Yummy they are sooo good!!

And we had this tradition where we would eat scones and have a game night 

Peach, Becca, and Tiffany would usually come

As well as some of our friends.

So I asked Becca if we could have one last one before I left.

I batted my eyelashes, pouted a little, and begged and pleaded.

She said yes. :D Yay!!

Fast forward to scone night.

We were all there, I was on my way to the kitchen to get another scone

I was minding my own business, singing to myself a song that was stuck in my head

A song which goes like this:

"I am like a star shining brightly, shining for the whole world to see. I can do and say, happy things each day, for I know Heavenly Father loves me"

(It's a song they teach the little kids in our church)

So, there I was singing it, and at the end after I finished I whispered:

"I'm a star"

Having realized I said it out loud, I looked around to make sure no one had heard me

Much to my dismay, Peach started laughing and I knew I was toast.

She told everyone what I had done, and I knew I would never live it down.

Which I didn't.

I was teased endlessly about it before my mission.

Fast forward to a couple of nights before I left.

We were having a farewell dinner/party of sorts

Friends and family were there

And my siblings presented me with a star necklace and star earrings

As well as a card that read "You're a Star"

That's the earrings and the necklace...as well as my name tag, a ring I had made for me for my mission, and a bracelet a friend had given me

And that's the card. Sorry about the bad lighting...I was too lazy to get up and turn on the light.

Inside the card they had each written me their own little note...and it made me cry.

Every time I read it on my mission.

Whenever I was missing my family, or having a bad day, or whatever, I would read it and remember that somewhere, someone loved me and I would be okay.

So anyway, as a missionary you're given little planners that last for 6 weeks, and then you're given a new one at the end of every 6 weeks.

That way it's easier to keep track of your plans and appointments and that kind of stuff.

Before I got to Spain on my mission I had to stay in Las Vegas for 7 weeks because the Spanish government was being a pain about giving my a visa.

My companion there decorated her planners.

She would put colored card stock paper on the front and back (it makes it more durable as well...we used those planners 24/7 and this helped them not to fall apart)

And then she would decorate them.

She put her name on it, what area she was in (the missions are split up into areas), how long she had been out, and usually a quote or a scripture...her theme for the next 6 weeks or something that inspired her...stuff like that.

Like so:

And then the back had one too.

So I started doing this myself.

I'd pick a quote and a scripture and put one on each side.

And it became my theme for that 6 weeks.

She also happened to have stickers that said "You're a star" and she gave me enough to last me my whole mission. So I put one on each planner. She was good to me. :)

I tried to find all quotes to do with stars

Because I had decided that was going to be the theme of my mission.

"You're a star"

Missions are hard.

You get uprooted from your family and home and everything you know for 18 months.

You get thrown into this life that you don't know, because no matter how much you get told about it, it can not prepare you for what is to come.

A  lot of people have to learn a new language, get adjusted to new customs and cultures, you live with other girls you have most likely never met before

The schedule is exhausting 

You're tired all the time

You get rejected every day

 A lot of people do not like missionaries and are NOT nice to you

Yeah...you get the point.

So I decided that I needed to give myself a little bit of a theme to help me through the hard times.

Hence "You're a Star"

And when I found those quotes that I shared with you last night

I knew they were perfect.

Because not only would they remind me about being a star, they would also help me to remember my reason for being on the mission when times are hard, and that on the days when I felt like I wasn't good enough, etc, they would remind me that I was really an okay person. Life would be okay, and I would become a better person because of this experience.

Which is so very true. It was the best 18 months of my life up to this point. I learned so much and became such a better person for all that I went through. 

I learned a lot about myself and what I needed to change to become a better person.

I learned a lot about people and how to interact differently with said people.

I would also like to think it helped prepare me a little bit for marriage one day.

Because you have to stay with your companion 24/7.

The only time you don't have to be with your companion is when you're using the restroom, taking a shower, or having an interview with the Mission President (the person in charge of all of the missionaries in that mission)

You learn how to accept people and their little quirks

You learn how not to let the little things bother you

And you learn how to love unconditionally despite things you may not like. :)

You also learn a lot about yourself and things you can improve on.

A mission is a very humbling experience.

I also think I let it hurt me in some ways though.

As a missionary, you do a lot of talking.

A LOT!

Sometimes it felt like too much.

Before my mission, I was pretty social and I liked to talk to people.

But I think my mission made me tired of talking.

Because since I've been home, I tend to avoid social situations. 

If I'm in a big group of people, I would much rather just sit and listen.

It's actually to the point where the thought of trying to have a conversation with someone and coming up with small talk, almost kills me inside to the point that I will avoid going near that person so that I don't have to talk to them.

If it's a brief "Hi, hello, how are you" in passing, I'm totally cool with that.

But actually carrying on a conversation? 

Unless it's someone that I'm really close to, no thank you.

That's something I need to work on...

Until then, I'm glad I have Boyfriend by my side because he loves to talk to people!!

Anyway, there you have it friends.

Hence I have an obsession with stars right now.

They make me happy.

Anyway, Boyfriend just txted me and he had a bad day at work, so I need to go get ready to somehow cheer him up.

I hope you all have a fabulous day/night!!

Until tomorrow.

Night!!