Things i'm thankful for in friends

Last night at Ashley's birthday party, she went around and said something that she liked about everyone in the room. I've been thinking about that ever since, and the good qualities in a few of my closest friends that have always made me want to be a better person, and things that I think make our relationships strong:

Krystal Eddenfield Channel: If there could be a trait that I could say I love most about Krystal, it would be that she is one of the most loving and sweetest people I have ever met. Krystal is so kind to everyone, that she just glows. I've had a hard time liking everyone i've met, but Krystal is just so immediately unassuming about everyone, and just wants to be their friend. Because of Krystal, I have made friends who I never would have without her. She has one of those beautiful spirits that just glows with kindness, and I will always love her for it.

Jessica Smith: Seriously, what more could you ask for in a best friend? I love that I can talk with Jessica about anything, and not be scared about what she would think, because she knows who and what I am deep down to the core. Jessica is amazing. She will do anything for anyone. I have tried to emulate her spirit of giving and caring, but I don't think I could ever come close! She is also one of the most humble people I have ever met. She thinks she has no talents, but I look at her and wish I could do half of what she does. I think the trait Jessica worked on in the pre-existence was learning how to care and love for others, and I think that it the talent that Christ asks of us most.

Kristen Miles: My 2nd older sister is one of those people that I feel like I can talk about anything with as well. Kristen understands what i'm going through in life, because she has been there too. She is my guide and my shining star. I love her for her calmness and humility, and I appreciate that she never forgets about me. Kristen and Jessica have always reminded me of each other with their giving spirits as well. Kristen is so fast to jump to the occasion and help out when someone needs a helping hand. Her kindness has blessed the lives of many around her.

Krissa Jo: There are few people in this world that I believe have helped me to become more outgoing, but Krissa is definitely one of those people. When i'm around her I can get out of my shell and make friends. Krissa has also been the number one person to help me realize my dreams. Before I met her I felt like I was stumbling around in the dark with my life, afraid of the future, but she has shown me the light! I also appreciate how she makes people feel so good about themselves, and not out of jealousy or spite, but out of sincereness.

Cherie Kahmann: Cherie is one of those people that I think of and the first thought that always pops into my head is, "Wow, I love her. She is amazing!" Cherie has ALWAYS been the person whose example and advice I have looked to most in my life. If I ever have a problem, I just call Cherie and she has the immediate answer. She is also so beautiful and amazingly talented. I am also so grateful for her and Keith's kindness this last year in letting me stay with them in Massachusetts while I was doing my internship. Those were some of the happiest and hardest months of my life, and I would not take back the memories and the happiness for anything in the world.

My mom: There's not a though large enough that could hold all the things I love about my mother, but I will try. My mom is so giving. She always does those things that other people need most without any grumble. She loves her children more that anyone could ever dream of. All her thoughts and worries go towards her family, because of her genuine and sincere love for their welfare and their futures. I know also that listening to her advice has changed my life. She has made me realize things about my hopes and dreams that I had never realized for myself...such as how important it is for me to be a mom before caring about money. I have felt the spirit teach me that all the things that she tells me are true, and that if I listen to her guidance my future will be secure.

Tim Richards: One of the things I have always admired about tim is how much he loves people! If we were ever in a situation where somebody was saying something that wasn't very nice about someone, he would say, "gee! I love so and so. They're great" I love how positive Tim is, and how patient he is as well! I remember one time I was making him and his family late for conference, and they didn't even get mad or frustrated! They were so kind it made my heart melt.

Walt Gale: Walt has helped me to realize that the greatest thing you could ever ask for in a friend is someone who is like you, and someone who loves you as a person for who you are. Walt has also always been someone I have never been afraid of being around, because I know that he is so accepting of people for who they are.

Holly K!: Holly was one of those people in high school that helped me to want to become a better person, and do desire to do those things that would make me who I am today. She made me want to do better in school, and gain a stronger testimony. I have always appreciated how Holly has always known who and what she is, and no one could ever tell her differently. I love her strong spirit, and I am so happy for her and her little family!

Mike Ceccacci: Mike is that friend that I know will always care as much about our friendship as I ever will. Mike cares about his friends, and he sees the good in them. Mike has always known who he is as well, and what he wants out of life. I love talking to him about things, because he always talks about those he loves and how much he loves them. Mike has also been a strong part of building my testimony. In seminary I saw how much he knew about the gospel, and I could always feel his spirit so strongly. Sitting by him in church has always helped me to feel the spirit, because for some unexplained reason he has always helped me to pay attention better!

I could go on and on about everyone, but these are just some of the people that I look up to and who have changed my life a lot! I find it hard to lose friends as we grow apart, change and as our lives go in different directions. It breaks my heart to know I have lost the close bond of friendship with someone I have always loved so much, but I know that there will always be those memories that have lasted a lifetime. As I prepare for my mission, one of the things that I worry about the most is losing those friendships that are so important to me. One thing I do know, is that my family will always be there for me, and I don't think I could ask for a better family in all the world.

Called to serve!

Friday night I was sitting in the relief society room for enrichment learning how to prepare and cook a turkey when I felt my phone vibrate. I reached down, looked at my phone and saw my Dad calling. The first thought that came into my head was, "he must be calling because I got my mission call!" and all of a sudden I wanted to be anywhere but sitting there learning about how I can make my own bread crumbs out of old bread to make stuffing. Then came the longest 10 minutes of my life. My only thought was to get out of there and then home. Finally, the teacher asked if there were any questions. I frantically started clapping in hopes that she would end it, but of course people had their questions. Once the questions were over, I start to clap again. And again, it was another awkward moment where the teacher announced she wasn't finished and that someone needed to say the prayer. Needless to say, once that prayer was finished I was up and out of my chair and that room to check my phone. I had a voicemail from Dad, "Jenessa, it's here!" I freaked out and ran to find Kristen and yelled, "GET IN THE CAR MY MISSION CALL IS HERE!!" The next 5 minutes of getting everything to the car were fast and frantic. I was so excited I had a death grip on the wheel. I seemed to hit every single red light. Finally, we were at the last light and I turned left...............down the wrong street! After only a moment of panic, Kristen helped me maneuver my way home.



Once in the garage I ran into the house and yelled "WHERE IS IT?!" My Dad said, "In here!" and I yelled, "MOM! CALL EVERYONE AND GET DOWN HERE!" After many tries we finally got Jonathan, Kent, and a sleeping Cherie on the phone. My plan for opening my mission call was to read where I was going and then start freaking out and not tell anyone, but things didn't really go all as I had planned. I ripped open the envelope, pulled out all my papers, and then heard mom say, "HELENA MONTANA!" I was in shock. Really? She didn't even let me read it? Then I realized it was a joke and I let out a nervous laugh. Then came the moment. I turned it over and started reading out loud, "Dear sister Jenessa Miles..." then I saw and I started screaming. I could not believe it! It was more than I could have ever dreamed of. ROME ITALY! One of the most amazing cities I have been to in my entire life, and by far the most interesting. All this pent up excitement had to come out somehow, and I spent about the next 5 minutes screaming and freaking out. The screaming stopped pretty fast, but the freaking out lasted all but 2 hours. I'm still kind of freaking out. This is a dream come true!!








There are a few things I have learned about the Rome mission from my friends that just served there:

• It isn't necessarily a mission where there are a lot of baptisms. If you're lucky, you get one. Two if you're really blessed.
• The large cities in the mission (that i've heard of, at least) include: Rome, Naples, and Florence.
• There are about 14,000 members in Italy (I think? I'm not sure if my memory is serving me correctly on this fact.)
• One of the first LDS missionaries to set foot on Italian soil was Wilford Woodruff.
• One of the first missionaries EVER to preach Christ's gospel in Italy was PAUL! (you know, that guy in the new testament?) And his bones are there too, but his head is in Prague. I hope this isn't an omen towards my mission. ;)
• Until the mid 1960's, Italy was closed to LDS missionaries by the government.
• Sister missionaries are not sent to Naples (the southwest area of my mission) because the city is run by the mafia, and there is a lot of poverty.
• In Saridina (the island that is included in my mission), they eat this illegal cheese that is full of maggots. Apparently these small, clear maggots eat the cheese and poop it out, and it creates a very strong cheese. I have been told that I WILL eat it even though it sounds completely disgusting.
• The Rome temple will not be completed while i'm there. I'll be lucky if i'm even there for the groundbreaking.
• In order to get a permit for the Rome temple, the 15-acres of land had to be inspected by the italian government for roman ruins. The day it was inspected the saints in Italy held a special fast. Ruins were not found within the temple site, but there were ruins found about 100 yards outside of the area.
• When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore.

There are a few words that I know in Italian from my last visit:

Bonjourno (hello), Ciao (hello/goodbye), bella (beautiful), bello (handsome), Molto (very), bene (good), male (bad), quanto coste (how much?), dove (where), banyo (toilet), prego (go ahead/you're welcome), arrivederci (goodbye), amici (friends), amore (love)

My friend Jordan gave me the advice to get preach my gospel in italian before I go into the MTC, and study it so that I can know the language and what I will be hearing better. Makes a lot of sense to me!

Letting go

A couple nights ago my friend Ian called me, and told me about his goal to lose some weight before christmas. I've been debating it for a while, and i've decided to make a goal of losing 5 lbs by new years.

So far i've gained two. :)

But hey, I have been doing cardio and weights almost every day! I think my problem is the whole eating healthy thing. Europe kind of ruined me. It was easy to get used to eating chocolate and desserts every day.

Another thing to note - I was reading fitness articles on msn.com (great motivation by the way... it always helps to put me in the right frame of mind) and I found that the no-calorie sugars lead to bone density and calcium deficiency problems. I think it's about time for me to cut back. No more crystal light lemonade. Instead, I will drink water with lemon in it!

Late night snacking

There are 3 things my stomach is capable of:

1) Eating an entire box of wheat thins in one sitting. Take tonight for example -- I opened up a brand spankin' new box of wheat thins, dipped them in a tub of fat-free philadelphia cream cheese, and ate them until I looked in the bottom of the box and realized there were only about 10 wheat thins left. I wish I could say this was only the first time it happened, but after counting all the times in my head, I realized i've done this about 4 or 5 times. It's delicious...you should try it!! Sorry mom, you can't though... I ate all of yours.

2) Eating an entire bag of guacachips in less than 4 hours. This one was pretty sad. Now, I'm not talking about one of those little grab bags. I mean, one of those honkin big party bags that you're supposed to be able to share with about 20 other people. I only did this once, and after eating that entire bag, I burped up guaca for the next 3 days. I don't suggest trying this one at home. I still haven't been able to manage to eat guacachips since this occured.

3) Drinking an entire pitcher of Crystal Light in a 2-hour period. I think i've done it about 3 times enough this week, too... and always at night. Therefore, I wake up a lot in the morning having to "spend a penny" at the loo. My english friends should know what I'm talking about. Not that I actually have any that read this...

Oh, and one other thing. This doesn't exactly involve my stomach directly, but I am also capable of chewing 2 packs of gum within a 12-hour period. I went and bought one of those huge packs at walmart that has somewhere around 150 pieces in it, just so I wouldn't have to go back 3 times a week. I've tried to kick my gum-chewing habit about 4 times, but I always seem to give up.

I wonder if missionaries are allowed to chew gum? I'm waiting for my mission call right now! It should be here within the next few weeks, as long as the first pres has decided that the right fit has come along!! I'm checking the mailbox every night. I'm really hoping it comes on a night when my Dad is home.

Winter Wonderland Blog Background and Header

Directions for background:

1) Change template to minima

2) Under the layout tab on blogspot, go to page elements, and choose "add a gadget"

3) Choose the html/java script gadget

4) Copy the html below, and paste it into the html space

5) Hit save and check it out!

<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/wishuponastar422/blog/layouts/snowflakes-1.jpg?t=1226162060"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style>

Directions for header:

1) Under the layout tab on blogspot, go to page elements, and choose "edit" under the header

2) Paste this link under html:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/wishuponastar422/blog/layouts/snowflakeheader.png?t=1226160758

(if you know how, please save the background and header to your own server! photobucket works great)

Paris Holds The Key Blog Background and Header

I'm so excited about my new blog background and header that I thought I would share them!!

Directions for background:

1) Change template to minima
2) Under the layout tab on blogspot, go to page elements, and choose "add a gadget"
3) Choose the html/java script gadget
4) Copy the html below, and paste it into the html space
5) Hit save and check it out!

<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/wishuponastar422/blog/layouts/parisholdsthekeybkgcopy.jpg?t=1226126591"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style>

Directions for header:

1) Under the layout tab on blogspot, go to page elements, and choose "edit" under the header
2) Paste this link under html: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/wishuponastar422/blog/layouts/paris-headergeneral.png?t=1226126331

(if you know how, please save the background and header to your own server! photobucket works great)

My European Adventures!

Italia

Roma, Firenze (Florence), Pisa, Padova (Padua), Ravenna, Venezia (Venice)

View of Rome from Michaelangelo's hill

Kissing the leaning tower of Pisa

Our gondola ride in Venice. I tried to get our gondolier to sing,
but he couldn't so he tried to whistle instead! It was super cute.

Favorite Italian experiences:

• Chilling on the Spanish steps in Rome for hours with friends.
• In the vatican, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the Sistine chapel. There was a guard in there who would go, "*clap clap* SHHHHH! NO FOTO!" every other second. It kind of became our tour joke for the rest of the trip.
• The gondola ride in Venice. So romantic, and the best way to view the city.
• Shopping in the Florence flea market and getting my italian leather purse. Also, learning how to barter with the tough italian merchants!
• Staying in the convent with the nuns. They are some of the sweetest people I have met in my entire life! So patient and kind. I love them.
• Climbing to the top of St. Peter's. Over 360 steps! We all thought we were going to die. It was so worth it though!! The view of Rome was amazing.
• Seeing Michaelangelo's David in person. It was so much bigger than I could have ever imagined! The statue itself is fascinating. Each side portrays a different emotion that David was feeling. Michaelangelo really was a genius.
• Gelato. I always thought it was italian ice, but I realized it's italian ice CREAM and it is SOOO good! Creamy and soft.
• Visiting the glass factory in Venice. For some reason I always thought that little glass sculptures were made from a mold, but nope! The guy warmed up a piece of glass and pull, pull, pull -- he had made a little glass horse in less than a minute. It was amazing!
• The mosaics in Ravenna. Probably the most beautiful mosiacs I ever have or will see. I loved the ones where the saints were carrying their martyr's crowns and palms to christ. They weren't wearing the crowns. Instead, they were offering them to Christ as a gift. That made me have so much respect for the catholic view of Saints. I was confused before because I saw it as some sort of god-like worship that I didn't really like, but now I understand that they are just respecting those who have offered up their lives for the sake of Christ's gospel.

Austria

Salzburg, Mauthausen

Right before entering the salt mine outside Salzburg. One of my favorite activities on the entire trip!!

Our friends in leiderhosen.

Their mozart

Sound of Music gazebo

Favorite Austria Experiences:

• The Salt mines. How can I begin to describe this magical adventure with choo choo trains, slides, borderlands, underground labrynths, a still dark lake, crazy old men, bones of the dead, white jumpsuits and a soap opera? I guess, like that. First, they had us dress up head to toe in baggy white jumpsuits. Then we stood in line and a train appeared out of a tunnel. We all jumped on, straddled each other, and rode it into the mine. Then we walked into a large room where we were shown the first of four clips of an outrageously cheesy soap opera involving the Arch Bishop of Salzburg, his greed, and his "romantic relations." The final clip showed him caught in the act with one of his mistresses, and then him declaring that he was falsely accused -- "I do not have 12 children! I have 16!!!" His death was also mourned about 4 times during the final clip, but wait! Nope, he was just falling asleep. After the video, we rode down these huge wooden slides, rode the pirates of the carribean ride across an underground lake (my contribution: saying "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES!" loudly when everybody was completely quiet), saw the bones of men who died there, and crossed the border from Austria to Germany and back again. If you ever go to Salzburg, you can't miss the salt mines. They're the best!!
• Visiting the Salzburg castle. Amazing views of the Austrian alps, and the cutest little marionette museum!
• Meeting our drunk friends in leiderhosen after exiting the castle. Laurie stopped them and asked for a photo, and they said, "20 euro!" She said it wasn't worth it. They laughed, and the guy in the middle of the picture started breaking walnuts with his hands and feeding them to us. Then we talked about where we were from, and they said they were visiting from Germany. I asked them why they were wearing shorts, and they called them little boy shorts and wouldn't give me a straight answer. Then we invited them to come with us to Mozart's birthplace. They thought that was a lame idea, and invited us to go to the pub with them. We told them we don't drink, or smoke, and they proceeded to offer Laurie a cigarette (she was really excited about that! I guess she grew up in Rexburg...). They couldn't believe we weren't allowed to "be with boys" so they asked us what we did for fun at night. We told them we play games and stuff. It sounded lame! haha Then we invited them to come to Mozart's birthplace with us again, and they said, "we make our own history! Go see our Mozart! Look in the water." We realized they were talking about the fountain in the square, and we walked over and lo and behold, they had stolen one of the Mozart Chocolate cardboard cutouts that were all over Salzburg and stuck it in the fountain.
• Attending two masses: one a mozart mass. So cool, but also kinda a different experience!
• Sound of music tour. We saw where they hid from the Nazi's, sang in the Salzburg festival, all the places in the garden where they sang "Do-Re-Mi," The Sound of Music house, and the gazebo.
• Hellbrunn water gardens. This crazy prince built some gardens where he would invite guests for parties, and then when they were drunk he would turn on fountains that would soak them. The guy was definitely a practical joker, and I don't think I like him much because I was sprayed quite a few times!
• Mauthausen concentration camp. Not necessarily my favorite, but definitely an experience worth remembering. I think i'll be okay with never going to another concentration camp again.
• Staying in my first hostel. 8 girls to a room and showers that make you feel dirtier after you're done.
• Sharing the gospel for a half hour with a jewish guy from israel.

Czech Republic

Praha (Prague)

Jessica and I on the old bridge where mission impossible was filmed. Recognize that building in the background? Yeah, that was in it too!

Favorite Prague Experiences:

• The castle guard that stuck his tongue out at Krista.
• THE FOOD! Best food I had on the entire trip! A lot of german influence.
• Buying things with Krowns. $65 = over 900 Krowns. I felt like I was spending a lot!
• Czech me out shirts.
  

Germany

Berlin, Lutherstadt Wittenburg, Munchen (Munich), Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein Castle (sleeping beauty's) -- Me pretending to be a princess

View of Swan Lake from Neuschwanstein

Holocaust memorial in Berlin

Park where Luther burned the Papal bull in Wittenburg

Disney Museum in Munich

Favorite Germany experiences:

• Seeing the parlaiment building in Berlin where Hitler used to give his speeches, and seeing the bullet and grenade hole patches in the side of the building.
• Going through the holocaust monument in Berlin. When you walk in, it starts off with the blocks spread apart and short, and they get taller and closer together the deeper you get. It is supposed to represent the prisoners getting shipped off to the concentration camps, thinking it won't be so bad, and them eventually realizing how deep into it they were.
• Seeing the berlin wall, the SS (gestapo) headquarters, and going along the wall to look at the hitler/nazi museum.
• Seeing the glockenspiel in Munich.
• Going to the place where Luther posted his 95 theses, where he was married, where he burned the papal bull, where he gave most of his sermons, where he attended school, where he lived, and where he was buried. All were very spiritual experiences.
• Attending an LDS sacrament meeting in Munich.
• Visiting the Neuschwanstein castle and wirskirche in the Bavarian alps -- the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The wirskirche is thought of as the most beautiful rococo chapel in the world. Just below Neuschwanstein is THE swan lake - the one that the ballet was based off of. That is undoubtedly the most beautiful lake I have ever seen.
• Seeing the altar of Zeus in the Pinacotec in Berlin. I loved the stories about the gods.
• German chocolate. YUM!
• The Disney museum that Jessica found in Munich. It was an exhibit about where Walt Disney and his artists got all their inspiration for the first disney classic films.
  

Switzerland

Geneva

Favorite Swiss experiences:

• Swiss chocolate! YUMBA!
• Hanging out on the waterfront at night with friends. It was pitch dark, and I saw the outline of the fattiest rat in the world run in front of me. I screamed bloody murder and the rat jumped about 2 feet in the air. It was hillarious!
• Seeing the reformer's wall. So huge! I also liked the huge fountain in the lake.

France

Paris, Caen, Normandy Beaches

Jessica and me on top of the eiffel tower at night

In front of the eiffel on a rainy day in Paris!

Jess and myself in front of the Louvre

Quasimodo and Esmerelda in front of Notre Dame

Grand staircase in the Paris Opera House

Brooke, Jessica and me in the red light district late at night for a spectacular shot of the Moulin Rouge

Peter our cute little bus driver from Holland! He and I became friends. He was HILLARIOUS!

Favorite France Experiences:

• Seeing and then going up the eiffel tower at night. It sparkles every hour! Soooo pretty. And the view was AMAZING. The ride up in the elevator was kinda scary though. I have a fear of heights.
• Sacre Coure (Sacred Heart). Loved the view of Paris, and also the shopping nearby.
• The louvre. There is SO MUCH TO SEE THERE HOLY WOW. We were there for 4 hours and I didn't even get to everything that I wanted to! I saw the Mona Lisa, David's Oath of the Horatii and Coronation of Napoleon, Winged Victory, the famous armless athena, and sooo much more. They even had engraved slabs of gold. IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR THE BOOK OF MORMON PEOPLE!
• Musee D'Orsay. Liked some of it... not the picasso's. There was a really cool miniature of the paris opera house that I liked.
• CREPES! I had some of the weirdest but YUMMIEST crepes ever! Had the nutella and banana one too, of course. Don't ever get the savory crepes from the turkish kebap places. blech.
• Versailles. There was some weird exhibit going on inside with huge chrome balloon animals that totally ruined the effect, but the place was still beautiful. Whitney and I made friends with Shawn the swan in the gardens and I fed him my granola bar. She learned after throwing her apple core in the famous apollo fountain that apples don't sink, they float!
• My crazy adventure with Jessica and brooke. We saw Notre Dame at sunset, went shopping again at Sacre Coure, went to the paris opera house (where phantom of the opera is based) and saw the grand staircase and one of the most beautiful rooms in all of europe, we also met an LDS missionary on the subway, and had an adventure running through the red light district at 9 pm after we had gotten off on the wrong stop. Scariest experience of my life! Then we found the moulin rouge and took some funny pictures. On our way home we saw two guys fall down the stairs in the subway and on hit his head on a garbage can and was bleeding everywhere. I almost barfed.
• The american cemetery and Normany beaches. I now have a new respect for the devastation at war, and just how real it is. The american men who went off to fight were only an average of 17 1/2 years old. Just boys. They didn't have any training, and they went and fought heardened Nazi soldiers and won. It reminded me of the stripling warriors.

England

London

Stephanie, Amy, Jessica, Josh, Me, and Brooke after Wicked!!

Harry Potter train station

Favorite London Experiences:

• Seeing the white cliffs of Dover on the ferry ride across the english channel. I don't know why I was so excited!
• Brother Anderson and Peterson singing "feed the birds" in front of St. Peter's - and then everyone feeding the squirrels that would run up to them and eat from their hands while bro. p was talking.
• St. James gardens with the cute little cottage and the amazing wildlife.
• Buckingham palace and the changing of the guards that seemed to go on for forever.
• The tower of London where Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas Moore were beheaded. We had a tour given by a beefeater, who wore the funniest suit and had the great british dry humor. He reminded me of the Dad from My Fair Lady. Also, seeing the crown jewels inside the tower. I have never seen any jewelry as beautiful. AND OH MY THOSE DIAMONDS!
• Harry Potter train station. I was freaking out. "HARRY POTTER WAS HERE!!!!! Let's go to Hogwarts!"
• Seeing the London temple.