The Good Just Gets Better - Grace Vanderwaal

Hello everyone! This wasn't posted anywhere yet, so here it is!

[Verse 1]
C                  G             F                   G
You think that you know everything to know about the world
C                   G   F                    G
But let me tell you now you're just a little girl
                        C   G         F           G
There's much more to come     you can't give up now
C                   G                  
College exams and high school boyfriends
F              G            C    G
Just getting by for the rest


[Chorus]
C
So we'll take it one step at a time
G
Don't be nervous you will be fine
F                        G              C     G                            
We'll get through this together you and me
C
So we'll it one step at a time
G
Don't be nervous you will be fine
F                         G             C      G
We'll get through this together you and me
F        G        C   G
Cuz I believe you can
F              G       C    G
So please just take my hand
F           G               C      G
And we will get through this together
F            G                   C  
Because the good just gets better

[Verse 2]
C              G             F              G
Sure your rough days and your heart breaks
C                    G                 F         G    
But ice cream is the best medicine for mistakes


[Chorus]
C
So we'll take it one step at a time
G
Don't be nervous you will be fine
F                         G             C     G
We'll get through this together you and me
C
So we'll take it one step at a time
G
Don't be nervous you will ll be fine
F                         G             C    G
We'll get through this together you and me
F          G         C       G
Cuz I believe you can
F              G           C    G
So please just take my hand
F           G                     C        G
And we will get through this life together
F              G
Because the good

[Bridge]
C                           G      
So keep pushing through it you can do it
F              C       G
We will find a way out
C
Hours in to seconds
G
seconds
F                         C           G
So please just make every one of them count


[Chorus]
C
So we'll take it one step at a time
G
Don't be nervous you will be fine
F                        G              C       G
We'll get through this together you and me    
C
So we'll take it one step at a time
G
Don't be nervous you will be fine
F                        G              C       G
We'll get through this together you and me
F       G         C    G
Cuz I believe you can
F              G       C    G
So please just take my hand
F           G                       C      G
And we will get life through this together
F           G                     C  
Because the good just gets better

Maybe

November 2, 2009 made the best terrible decision I ever made-- I broke up with Mike.
For the next 3 months, the music I listened to was exclusively Ingrid Michaelson. Her words just calmed me down and let me know everything was going to be ok.

One of the songs I listened to over and over again was this one called "Maybe"
I didn't feel like Mike and I would ever get back together, but I knew if he was "the (best) one" for me, we would end up back together. In my head that made no sense, but in my heart I just knew it. 

So this blog is a tribute to the love of my life Mike because he did! He came back!
He might argue that I chased him down, but either way... we're together forever now! And I can't live without him.

I love him more than anything in the entire world.

Picture: Me and Mike. White dress: The night I won Miss Murray when I realized we might have to break up.  Purple dress: days of '47. When I didn't won, he asked me "how about you be my queen instead?" It wasn't an official proposal, but ultimately I did say yes :)

Maybe-- Ingrid Michaelson

I don't want to be the one to say goodbye
But I will, I will, I will
I don't want to sit on the pavement while you fly
But I will, I will, oh yes I will

Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back around
Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back
The only way to really know is to really let it go
Maybe you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back to me

I don't want to be the first to let it go
But I know, I know, I know
If you have the last hands that I want to hold
Then I know I've got to let them go

Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back around
Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back
The only way to really know is to really let it go
Maybe you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back

I still feel you on the right side of the bed
And I still feel you in the blankets pulled over my head
But I'm gonna wash away, oh I'm gonna wash away everything til you come home to me

Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back
In the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back

Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back around
Maybe in the future, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back
The only way to really know is to really let it go

Maybe you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back, you're gonna come back to me
You're gonna come back to me
You're gonna come back to me

Happy to be Healthy Now

I am very happy to be healthy now, but I have dealt with eating disorders in the past. I just saw this in my health communications class and had to share it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obg6DTCGcFg

When I was struggling with eating disorders, I looked in the mirror and saw something COMPLETELY different than what was reality. There was literally something wrong in my mind. I love how this attacks the stigmas that people think about people with eating disorders.

Remember, you are beautiful!
Stace

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (Part 1)

Hello folks! So I love, love, love reading and here are some of the insights from a book I've read recently.

Don't sweat the smalls stuff at work

Richard Carlson

It's funny because this is tailoring his other book “don't sweat the small stuff” to the workplace... and now I'm switching it back! But I don't have the original book. Oh well! Here is what I learned and what I will be trying to apply into my life.

Here are my favorites from the first half of the book. 

Dare to be happy.

You don't have to be angry and stressed to be successful. It's ok to be happy, kind, patient, more relaxed and forgiving. It's to your advantage personally and professionally.

Don't dramatize the deadlines.

Usually, this has not been a problem for me. But over the past few weeks it has. I need to let things happen when they need to happen, and I suggest you do too!

Have some “no phone” time. (And some no Facebook time!)

My best friend Nelson suggested this one to me a while back, and I've applied it this week. I'm loving life. A lot of pressures are gone when you're not worried about EVERYONE ELSE. “Being popular on Facebook is like being rich in Monopoly”

Join the new club “TGIT” Thank goodness it's today!

Be happy where you are at!

Don't rush things!

Light a candlestick instead of cursing the darkness.

Nothing ever sucked so bad complaining about it didn't make it worse. I promise. 

Don't sweat the demanding boss. (or professor, or teacher, or coach!)

Has it ever occurred to you that the most demanding people are often the ones who push you out of your comfort zone and help you rise to a new level of competence?”

Don't take the 20/80 rule personally. (HUGE one for me!)

The 20/80 rule: 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work. My oh my, I've seen this is true EVERYWHERE! At school, at work, at church, in the country in general.

BUT!

That 20 percent that does the bulk of the work can't be bitter, or they will become angry.

Carlson quotes his friend who says “I'm not an overachiever. It's just that most people are underachievers.” ha. Hahaha.
We can't have that way of thinking or we'll drive ourselves insane! 

Examine your rituals and habits (and be willing to change some of them).

How can you fix anything if you don't know what you're doing wrong?

Don't do things a certain way “because that's the way they've always been done” 

If something bugs you, change it!

Also, Examine and recognize patterns of behavior in others and remember them.

No, this is not stereotyping, it's avoiding stress.

A person who is cheap is almost always cheap. A person who is always late needs to be told a time 10 minutes earlier. A person who easily forgets needs to be reminded. If you remember these things and get ready for them, you will avoid a lot of stress.  

Never, ever backstab. (or gossip!)

Also, be willing to forgive those who did it to you. It's much easier to love than to hate. And some of the people I've hated most for something they did to me are now some of my best friends. 

Those who talk about others with you talk about you with others.

See beyond roles/titles. 

People are more than what they're supposed to do or a title they hold.

Realize the power of good report. 

When people love you and trust you, they will use you. And love you more. 

The best way to establish rapport with someone is to assume that you don't have it. In other words, don't take for granted that simply because you know someone or that because you've done business with them before, your rapport is intact. Instead, take the time to reconnect. Be more interested in listening than speaking. Be highly respectful and courteous. Demonstrate your sincerity and your genuine concern. Ask questions and be patient. They key to rapport is to make the person you are speaking with (or speaking t) feel as though he or she is the most important person in your life at that moment. You want to be so present with them- so genuine that they feel special. You can't fake this type of sincerity; you have to be real”

Avoid the tendency to put a cost on personal things.

Carlson tells a lovely story about how his dad took a day off of work to help him move. 

He told his dad "Dad, this is the costliest move you've ever made," referring to the fact that it would have cost must less for his dad to stay at work, make money, and hire someone else to help his son.

“Rich, you can't put a price tag on spending time with your son. There's nothing in the world I'd rather be doing than spending time with you” was his dad's response.

What a great dad. I want to be a person like him.

 Sincerely love others. 

This isn't one that he wrote about in those words, but I lumped a bunch of them together to say this.

Really when you do this, life is so much easier. 

Remember. You don't “deserve” anything.

Another one I made up. As soon as you say the words "I deserve to [do this] or [spend money on that]" You are WRONG!

These are the lessons I am going to try to apply to be a little more happy, and have a little less stress. I suggest you give them a shot too. What have you got to lose- except a little stress?

Stace

Visiting Different Wards!

Oh the joys of traveling!

One of my favorite things about traveling is going to church!

I love to see how different each congregation is, but how completely unified the ward is with the rest of the Church.

For Spring break I am in Florida and LOVING the sun! Many people skip church when they're on vacation, but it was very easy to find a church with the help of LDS.org. We went and immediately fell in love with the ward! A Spanish ward had just been dissolved and now the Spanish ward and the English ward had to make things work. For sacrament, there were translators and headphones, but for Sunday School and Relief Society/Priesthood, the teacher would teach and then others would translate. The Spirit was SO STRONG as we were all trying to understand each other. They were really trying to make it work.

It just makes me think about the early Saints. As they traveled across many seas and across the plains to Salt Lake, there were MANY languages spoken, but they made it work.

The Spirit is a language of it's own. There are no barriers when the ultimate goal is to get closer to God.

I also met these lovely sisters, Sister Allen from Thatcher, Ariona and Sister Stein from Fort Collins, Colorado.
"of course I knew where you were... Every time you're late, you're talking to the Missionaries" -my daddy

It's much easier to love than to hate

There has been a few people in my life I've... well.. not exactly loved. I've never hated anyone- ever. BUT... sometimes there are just certain people that I have avoided for one reason or another. Or they have avoided me.

• Usually it had to do with girls who had similar taste in boys as me...
• Sometimes it had to do with how I knew they had said some really unkind things about me...
• Other times they were avoiding me because they saw how happy I was, thought "nobody is THAT happy" and thought I was fake...
• Other times it was because we had ended our friendship or relationship and we just weren't on good terms.

I can honestly say now I'm on really good terms (as far as I know) with everyone in my life. 
Why?

Because I've learned it's much easier to love than to hate.

Several times as I've had these misunderstandings, all that needed to happen was one explanation, sometimes an apology, and several of these people have become my best friends in the world. 
I am SO grateful to have them in my life.

Now. If you're thinking of someone right now I invite you, reach out, say I'm sorry, and love them. Life so much easier this way. And you'll never know what best friends you can make along the way!

The Spirit, the prophet, and my pioneer ancestors. Where would I be without them? Lost.

Two years ago today I reported tot the Provo MTC to train for my mission in Mesa, Arizona.

Every single day I'm grateful I served.

I love my mission!

I'm so grateful for the people I got to meet, teach, and love along the way.

The elders I served with in the MTC get home this week! I'm so excited for them to come home! And my best friend Chase comes home tuesday! I'm so excited to see my buddy again. We are going to play and play and play!

This week has been extremely emotional for me.

Friday morning there was a shooting. Shootings are always terrible, but this is the worse I've ever heard of. A shooting at an elementary school. Sandy Hook elementary school. 26 killed. 18 kids, 8 adults. I won't even go into how crazy the shooter must have been. He was angry at his parents so he killed them, then he killed other people in the school. I can't imagine.

18 children dead. I can't imaging sending my children (ok, I dont have any so let's say nieces or nephews) off to school, hearing there was a shooting, and finding out my beloved little princess or prince had died. I would have no more will to live. I heard about it all and I just cried. I cried and cried and cried.

Thank goodness my sister came over soon after we heard about the news.

I hugged my sister and we both just cried.

I played with my Gracie lots and lots and lots.

We drew, we printed out pictures of us for her room, we twirled, we danced, we pretended we were princesses. (Yes, my ankle definitely hurt the entire time!)

So with everything that had happened, I was just in a gloomy doomy mood all day. Plus my pain meds weren't really working that great so I was in pain, plus the meds made me sick. Not a happy combination.

Then we went to the Mormon Tabernacle choir Christmas Concert.

I got carsick on the way down, we sat in an awkward place for me to sit so I was uncomfortable, and I was just in a lot of pain. So I was not happy.

Then about 2 minutes before the show started, the prophet entered the room to take his seat. We all stood. I (once again) bawled my eyes out. I felt so much at peace. There are 4 times in my life I have felt a complete overall peace go directly from head to toe- 1)when Elder White gave me a special blessing last January 2) When I prayed once for a friend 3) When my dad gave me a blessing before I went in to get my surgery (funny side note... I totally wrote a will before I went in cuz I thought I was gonna die from going under! Ha! But after my blessing I knew I wouldn't I knew I had much more to do something told me “Don't worry, you have more work to do” and 4) when I got to see the prophet the day of one of the worst shootings ever.

I am so grateful for the Holy Spirit and the peace it brings me.

When I saw the prophet walk in, he was smiling and waving and he was just so happy. If he can still smile, so can I. I am so grateful to have a prophet on the earth who can lead and guide me. I don't know how I could get through life without prayer, church, the scriptures, and knowing there is a prophet on the earth to let me know exactly what I need to do. I know as I am obedient to him I will be blessed.

The program was so beautiful.
Then they spoke about the candy bomber. (long story short) Gail Halvorsen would drop candy down on the kids in Germany from his plane to help them be happy during the war. He got many others to help and they ended up with like 20 million tons of candy for these kids going through a rough time!

Then they brought him out! He was there! And he got to talk about his experience.

And of course, I cried some more.

The other thing that just brought me to tears as I was watching the program was just thinking about the pioneers. I am preparing for the days of 47 pageant and as I am preparing I am reading and learning a lot about my pioneer ancestors. They were INCREDIBLE! I always say “I don't know what I would do if I were them. I don't know how they could handle all of that.” But they were still happy. They still danced, sang, and had families. I know if they were happy, I can be happy too.

I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit, my pioneer ancestry, the prophet on the earth, and how much they all help me to be happy.

I realized I really need to work harder on my Pay it 4ward program. I hope to get in to at least 5 schools this next semester and I'm planning on doing many many more pay it 4ward programs. Every good deed I do increases the spirit of righteousness and throughout the whole earth and decreases the power of the adversary. It says so in my patriarchal blessing and I fully intend to fulfill that.