Here is Good

Dating is scary. You meet someone, do some random activity with him, and then if it goes well, you do it again. And then when your heart gets involved - that's when it gets hard. It gets messy. You're holding your heart out to this person and hoping that they will take it and not hurt it. It's a big risk. But we do it anyway because we hope that this time, maybe, just maybe, it will work out.                                                                                                                  As I've mentioned before, dating was never my strong suit. I got nervous enough when a guy asked me on a date, so the fact that I was considering doing the inviting of an activity with Josh was shock...

After Josh and I had our little chat, Josh kept trying to invite me to do things for a couple more days, but eventually stopped. He would still come around to my apartment to hang out and would sit with my roommates and I at devotional  and church every week, but it wasn't nearly as awkward as before because I didn't feel that pressure that I did when he was actively asking me on dates. And like I've said before, Josh was a good friend and so I was glad our dates hadn't ruined that completely. And I turned my attention back to figuring out if I was going to go on a mission. My mind was almost constantly going back and forth about it and I was getting more and more confused, and I couldn't figure out why. I talked with my parents about it, prayed about it, studied the scriptures, read talks, and such, but was still having this persistent confusion. Then one night when I was kneeling on my bed saying a prayer before bed, I was praying about mission stuff again, when...

I've heard a few people say that 23 is just a weird age to be and nothing terribly exciting happens during that year, but for me, 23 was one of the best years ever! To start it off, I started my first job as a full-time nurse at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (or EIRMC for short) on the Medical/Oncology floor. I was so excited for this opportunity, but terrified at the same time. I wanted to be a good nurse and to be able to help people. And I hope I have. This job has pushed me to my limits in so many ways, but it has also given me the opportunity to serve people every minute I'm at work. Sometimes it's hard to remember that when the call lights are ringing, you're late giving someone their medication, doctors are calling, family is frustrated at something you have no control over, someone needs help getting up to the bathroom and you haven't been able to chart anything from the past 5 hours of your shift. But this job is worth it all too because I a...

Sorry for the delay in the next chapter of our adventures - working 6 days in a row kind of wipes out all of my energy. All I end up doing is working, sleeping, and a little bit of food mixed in there too. But now that I'm on my Christmas vacation, I have plenty of time to sleep and eat as much as I want (mainly the sleeping thing), so I can actually do some other things too :)                                                                                                                  The middle of winter semester was a crazy time for me, full of lots and lots and lots of things going on all at once. I was working on my mission papers, but doubts about if that was the right thing to do or if I would...

When I got the message from Josh on Facebook, I knew I needed to say yes. I tried to do my best to give (most) guys at least one date as a courtesy, and plus Josh was a friend and I didn't want to hurt our friendship by saying no. So I sent Josh a text saying that going to dinner sometime would be good, which he quickly replied back to. We decided that dinner on Friday (February 15th) worked great (I was so relieved he didn't try to do a cheesy Valentine's Day first date thing). On Valentine's Day, though, I was sitting at home later in the evening, when I got a text from Josh asking what I was up to. I told him I was just doing some homework, and he asked if I wanted to take a break and go get some frozen yogurt. I honestly was tempted to say no because I was already in my pajamas, but he said the magic words "frozen yogurt", so I said yes. We headed over to Kiwi Loco and it surprised me how easy it was to talk to him about pretty much anything from wha...

I've never been good with dating - ever. I tend to get super awkward around guys, especially if I think they like me. Which is probably why at that point in my life, I had never had a boyfriend, and if I was fortunate enough to get asked on a date, there was rarely a second one to follow. On top of that, when I do like a guy, I tended to fall hard, and so the result was a broken heart a couple of times over in the previous few months before that semester. So I didn't want anything to do with guys at the moment. But at the same time I did. Dating stinks.                                                                                                               Anyways, after that night of card games, I put...

So after that first day of playing games, Josh and Todd continued to come over to hang out, first just on Sundays, and then during the week as well. A couple of weekends into the semester, my roommates invited me to come with them and the guys for a day trip to Idaho Falls. Allison, Emma, and I rode with Josh in his dad's truck, and I sat in the back seat, and the other girls sat in the front with Josh. A lot of stuff was piled in the back seat with me, amongst which I found a Harry Potter book, and so in classic Alaura-mode, I ignored the boy, and read the book. We walked and shopped around the mall a little bit, then went across the street to Target. When we got back in the truck, I somehow ended up in the front seat right next to Josh. Most awkward 2 minute drive of my life. I didn't want to be in that seat and was so tense the whole time. I just wanted to be in the back with Harry Potter. As soon as we parked, I scramble out as quick as I could. In the store, I needed to ...