A moment of gratitude...

Things have been so incredibly crazy lately. Grandpa passing away, mom coming home and not doing well..while living with me for a month, taking 3 classes while working full time, dealing with personal issues and struggles, social life not being where I want it to be, and now not having the security of my job (I lost it this week!) So it's just been so frustrating and I just haven't felt like myself lately. I am trying to break free of that though. I have realized that I have to CHOOSE to live my life the way the Lord would have me live. I have to make the CHOICE to be happy even in the face of sorrow, frustration, and depression. What good will it do to just sit around feeling sorry for myself...

So as I make a lot of changes with my attitude and actions, I thought it would be good to express the things I am grateful for, and recognize that even in the depths of everything there is always light. There is always good. And most of all, there is always hope.

1. My sisters and brother-- My best friends through thick and thin. They are always there for me. Whether it's to be obnoxious at a family get together or a late night yogurt run after a rough day. :) Drea is so good to make sure I am taken care of. Always checking on me and inviting me to places and I just love how she makes me feel like a friend and not like her 5 year old little sister! "*Staretch it out Mill!!*" :) Angela is always fun to share all my weird experiences with. We seem to have similar odd stories that we can always laugh at. We also share the whole photography thing which I love! We help each other out with little projects and tips. Ashlee is just crazy and I love it. I love how she always tries to show me new music and bands to make sure that I am keeping up with the latest underground stuff. Dirty bit!! Rob is such a nice guy! Always so thoughtful and I am glad that I have him as an older brother. We haven't always been too close but I feel like as we get older we have been able to reach out to each other more. :)


2. My Music--I am so grateful for my love of music. It brings me so much comfort. Whether it's rocking out to I am thankful that I have been blessed with the talent to play the guitar and piano and write music. There is something about it that just lifts my soul! It's an odd concept to try and explain but it is something that it so special and dear to my heart! I am hoping to do more with my music and I am excited for future songs! :)


3. My ward--I have been so grateful for the members in my ward. Especially for the RS president (Adrienne), my visiting teacher (Tammy) and Hillary. They have really showed compassion towards me while I have been struggling. Always asking if I am doing alright, if I need anything, and just letting me know that they are thinking of me. That means the world to me. I am grateful for the words of wisdom they have shared with me, and the experiences they have shared to help me get through and push forward.


4. My Aunt Terri-She is so good at "smacking" sense into me. Although she is caring and comforting, at the same time she tells me what I need to hear and makes me realize that I need to take action and do what is best for me (which means turning to the Lord). She is such a great person and I am thankful that I have her in my life! Thanks Auntie! :)


5. ZUMBA!! ok yes it is probably weird that this has it's own category but honestly it is so much fun! It makes me happy to workout and have fun and to love doing it. I can include exercise in general but since this is my new addiction I will just leave it at that! I love it so much and am glad that I have Drea and Sheri that introduced me to it! If you haven't tried it yet...you need to. seriously. :)

Grandpa Bates

I wanted to give a tribute to my grandpa. He passed away May 17, 2011 and his funeral service was last week. It was a beautiful service and I know he was there and enjoyed every minute. It was filled with music and memories. I am happy that he was able to finally go home and reunite with not only his one and only sweetheart but his brothers and sisters and parents.

It was so great to meet people who have been touched by my grandpa's selflessness and caring. He was always thinking of others and wanted everyone to be happy. He absolutely LOVED music and he has been my number 1 support through my piano, guitar, and singing. I am going to miss playing for him but I have a feeling he will still be listening. Love you grandpa :)

Old Habits Die Hard

Ok so I officially suck at updating my blog. But I give up. I'm not going to try and say that I am going to get better at it because the fact is I just won't. ha ha I wish I were like Angela where I had more to share and say but I guess I feel like I just don't have that much going on. I can only post so many pictures of myself! :) But I figure when I remember I will post and for the 2 people that actually check my blog anyway, that will suffice.

I figure that since music is such a big part of my life, I should share more of the music I write. After all, that kind of is my personal journal and "verbal blog" if you will. My thoughts and feelings come out when I write music. It expresses what I am going through at a particular time in my life and it helps me get through things. Although this is a song that I wrote a few months back I thought I would share it anyway. It's called "In Horizons" and I wrote it for Jason and Drea. I hope things turn around for them soon! All in the Lord's time though. ....I am currently working a couple different songs that I hope will come around here shortly.

Thanksgiving!

Just a few pictures from our Thanksgiving feast! It was fun being with everyone and having a break from work for once!

Drea and I were in the kitchen hard at work the night before making our very first pies! Drea made a homemade (crust and all!) pumpkin pie and I made an apple tart pie that was so good and healthy! :) The crust was made out of dates, pecans, almond meal, and vanilla. Then I just threw in the apples with some agave nectar and cinnamon and put it in the oven! It was a fun night!

Let the feast begin!! :)

Nothing like a little midnight madness! Drea and I stayed up all night and went to the mall at midnight to get some great deals that were going on at the mall. Don't know if I want to attempt that again, it was insane and we were both exhausted! I got some great deals though! :)

New Times!

Well I feel like things are really starting to work out for me! I am taking charge of life and not looking back and it is a great feeling! I have an amazing job at South University! I love the people I work with and what the company stands for! I love what I do and there is plenty of opportunity to grow in the company and I am excited about that! I am moving into my very own place in January and I can't wait! It has been a blast living with Jason and Drea but I think it's time to move on with things! I am the Primary Pianist in my ward and it is so fun being in Primary with those kids every week! They are hilarious! Something else exciting is that I got my new MAC computer! I absolutely love it! It makes life easier it seems like! haha! It makes my photography go a lot faster and smoother that's for sure! Anyway that's an update with me and I will be posting up pictures soon! :)

Moving Forward...

Well I have graduated from BYU and it was such an amazing ride! I learned so much and have grown tremendously! I am a better person for having gone up to Provo. I made friends that I know I will keep forever and my testimony has been tested and strengthened. Being Relief Society President was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I can't even describe the things I have learned and experienced. I have such respect and value for the RS organization and for the work that goes into the program.

The major that I picked was the most perfect thing for me. I learned so much about communication and the processes that are involved in families. I hope to go on further in school and maybe get my masters or possibly go to Law School and practice Family Law! I just got a job at South University as an Enrollment Advisor! I am very excited to get started! I am also excited about my photography and the different opportunities I have had to do different shoots for families and couples. It's been great! Who knows what life has in store for me at this point! But I can't wait to find out! : )

Muse Performance!

A couple weeks ago this kid in my ward, who I usually talk music with, said that his friend offered him a spot to play at Muse Music in Provo. He said that they were looking for someone else to fill the last spot and asked if I wanted it! My first reaction was..."um, No!" ha ha but after thinking about it I realized that this would be such a great opportunity and experience for me! I was so nervous about it because i have never sang and played in front of an actual audience before, but I was so excited about it! It turned out to be an absolute blast and I would defintely do it again! I sang one of my own songs, a song that I helped Ashlee with, and then two covers (Thinking of You by Katy Perry and Happy by Jenny Lewis).

All of my friends from the Ward came and it made me so incredibly happy! I had so much support and it helped calm my nerves to have everyone there! I realized how blessed I am to be living where I am and have the friends that I have. I appreciated them all coming so much!

This is Kalai the guy who got me the spot in the show and Lindsey!
Martha and Lindsey! They are so awesome and probably more excited than I was about singing and playing! I loved they they were able to come!

This is Karen and Elaine from my ward! This was before I went on. They are such awesome girls!

This is Martha! She is so stinking cute and I love her to death! She is my First Counselor and for some reason I couldn't start singing until she got there! It was pretty funny!
After the performance they threw an after party for me and had posters up and it was so much fun! I love all my friends! They are the best! : )

Jazz v. Suns Game!

I have been a true and loyal Suns fan since I can remember! My dad had season tickets so we would all take our turn to go with him! It was so much fun! I'm sure my dad didn't enjoy it as much considering I was pretty little and all I was interested in was the cookie man that walked around! : ) I have changed a little bit since them and love watching basketball games! Everyone up here LOVES the Jazz, especially Brad and he has season tickets. We have been talking about this game since like September and it finally came! It was so much fun!....

Getting pumped for the game! The whole ride up, Brad and I were talking smack about who was going to win!

Nashy boy!! I love ya! ha ha It was so awesome seeing "the gang" again! I haven't been to a game in so long!

Luckily there were some Suns fans around where we were sitting so I had some support!

We were both trying to outcheer the other and I couldn't help but do a slow clap right in Brad's face whenever we scored! : )

Brad started getting a little discouraged, or rather, disgusted as the Suns took a 20 point lead by the end of half time. : )

Then I started getting really worried as the Jazz caught up and took a pretty significant lead!

yes yes...i am sad to say that the Jazz won the game. I was/am so bummed!! D. Williams kind of kicked Nash's trash in the 4th quarter. It was an awesome game though! I had to hear about it all the way home! ha ha

The whole night was an absolute blast! It was so much fun and the game was way good! Hopefully the Suns will show up those Jazz next time! : )