Always say we're going to stop

I am so happy it is Friday.

For some reason, the last two weeks have DRAGGED!

But, as always, when the weather cools down, I start to feel happy.

It feels like fall today.

Like legit fall- not just a moderately hot day that is about to get much worse.

The sisters are coming over for dinner.

I am having a sleepover with the Elly bean.

There may be some experimental baking happening.

So, pretty much the Best. Friday. Ever.

Once I get through precisely 4 hours and 50 minutes of work- WITHOUT MY PHONE!

 How could I forget it??

 I am going through withdrawal after 4 hours.

 Now I'm going to have to WORK in between appointments.

I hope you all have the festive Friday night of your dreams!!

Lori Ann

p.s.- I will be in Utah this time 3 weeks from now! (and we are having our mini reunion that night!)

Today was a day unlike any other day of my life

*this post title was what I wrote in my mission journal on 9/11*

 

I think I have done a 9/11 post for every year that I've had this blog.

 

There is likely nothing new to say that I haven't said before.

 

 

I was standing right about here the morning of 9/11/01. 

 

Where this picture was taken in this very apartment.  

 

 

Serving with this amazing sister- a little less than half way through my mission in Illinois, Chicago.

 

We got a call from one of our members and we drove to the home of our newest members.

 

 

 Los Nunez. They'd been baptized about 2 months before.

 

 

And I spent the next hour or two watching 9/11 coverage from this very couch.

 

Surrounded by this family.

 

Further evidence that God watches out for all of His children because, other than my own family, there wasn't a place I felt safer and more at peace then with this wonderful family and my amazing, calm companion.

 

 

I'll never forget that day.

 

I spend every anniversary feeling mildly sick to my stomach.

 

I can only imagine how hard it must be for the families and loved ones of those who were lost.

 

 Or who have been lost in the conflict since.

 

 

 There have been a few moments in my life when I was able to see immediate growth and immediate change in myself.

 

The day I became an aunt.

 

After my first car accident.

 

That first night in the MTC.

 

But nothing changed me more instantly than this day 13 years ago.

 

I grew up so much on that day.

 

13 years later...

 

I still believe America is the promised land.

 

That 'City Upon a Hill' that John Winthorp talked about all those hundred of years ago.

 

I pray that we will be safe.

 

 That we will have peace.

 

And that my nieces and nephews may never know a day like 9/11.

 

Lori Ann

 

But in the end it's right

Ok- the scrap booking mania has died down a little. 

Because I overdosed and stayed up crazy hours and then today I felt sick to my stomach and left work 2 hours early. 

(which was good because I got SICK when I got home but now feel mostly better)

Apparently scrap booking is a little like meth- you do too much and it messes with you.

Who knew?

But, before I move on to my next obsession- here are a few of my favorites I've found recently.

My high school graduation.

 I love how long my hair is here. 

Not loving how much I weighed and I have no idea where my glasses are but I might grow my hair out again. 

 I don't like myself in this picture but it means a lot to me.

 After the mission, Tyler, Dalley and I went on a road trip from Utah to Los Angeles to see one of our member families.

 Los Nunez.

 My one and only trip to California.

 Hermana Mietzner had actually (due to various issues) been transferred out to LA to finish her mission and we got to see her there and take her and her companion out to lunch

. It was the last time I would see her. 

Me and Amy Nunez about two weeks before the end of my mission.

 I love my hair at this length too. 

Reading my mission journal has been painful but also reminded me how much I loved the people I taught. 

I miss them so much and wish I had tried harder to stay in touch. 

Winsor and I in the MTC at the beginning of the mission. 

(2 days in according to my camera). 

This picture pretty much captures my MTC experience.

 Total exhaustion every day. 

It's been weird but awesome to see so much of my life. 

And, really, it's been inspiring. 

It's made me realize how much I've been through. 

How much I've done.

It makes me want to make the next 34 years as interesting and amazing as have been the last 34. 

Wish me luck.

Lori Ann

Go round and round

Randomness.

I have been scrap booking like a crazy person all weekend. 

I didn't get any of my cleaning done. 

It's insanity. 

Here are some of my favorites from the insane amount of pictures and things I looked at this weekend! 

My cousin Lisa and I

Eri and Danielle- evil older sisters unite! 

All of us. Not sure what is happening here. It was the 80's. 

All of us and our cousins Lisa and Greg. 

I hadn't seen any of these before today. They are amazing!! 

Me and Erin with Jr

My kindergarten picture. I had the same lack of smile as always :) 

My mom at her baby shower for Jr. She was 20. She looks just like Erin!

She does this EXACT same face EVERY day! 

Every single thing from my mission is now contained in these two books. 

I snuck this thing into my office. We'll see how long until they make me get rid of it :) 

And my fall decorations are already up!

Ok- so very random, I know.

But I am feeling a little dizzy from over focusing on scrapbooking.

I'm taking a break until next weekend!

Lori Ann

I will remember you

So, missionary work is still my current obsession but, now that my feet have healed from that crazy half marathon, I am shifting back into weight loss and fitness.

(and by 'shifting' I mean "kinda thinking about doing something while I eat fiddle faddle for breakfast")

What I am trying to do more than anything is keep myself inspired when it feels like progress is really slow. 

So, here are some before and afters.

You've probably seen them before, but I need to see them again. 

So that I don't ever go back. 

 Hopefully this time next year my current 'after' pictures will be my new 'before' pictures :) 

LORI BEFORE 

The infamous license picture. Oh. My. Gosh. 

LORI AFTER

Still with the same, angry blank expression.

So, clearly I am hot at any size. 

But hot and healthy is my ultimate goal :) 

We're 70% of the way there, people!

Let's get the last 30% done and then...

Endure to the end!!

(without fiddle faddle. Oh how I'll miss you fiddle faddle)

Lori Ann

Do it all again

Dawn and I had a crafting party tonight.

(Dawn, as you'll recall, is one of my favorite coworkers. She keeps me sane!)

We craft on Friday nights because we are edgy like that. 

We had originally planned to craft under the influence of moonshine and maybe heroine but decided that chips, chocolate and water would work just as well.

Since we both have declared it fall, we decided to make wreathes!! 

I love crafting at Dawn's because she has the cutest house.

It looks and smells like fall magic. 

\

The supplies. 

 Our crafting assistant.

 She actually didn't do all that much crafting. 

She mainly asked for chips and looked cute. 

Dawn's finished wreath!! 

Mine. 

Odd, I know.

 Crafting is like a language I really wish I could speak and have a lot of interest in, but I just don't get it. 

Before crafting, I went out again with the sisters today. 

They try so hard. 

I am happy that I have gotten more involved in missionary work. 

It reminds me of how blessed I am to have the Gospel in my life. 

Lori Ann

p.s.- My parents are watching a 9/11 documentary. It's featuring phone calls from people in the planes and in the towers. It's making me sick to my stomach. I don't know how they can watch it. 

Sugar, sugar

Oh man. 

I am in the middle of a two day juice fast.

I am trying to detox from sugar. 

As I was literally eating it for every meal. 

Just straight out of the bag. 

I feel a little out of it. 

I think this picture illustrates the sugar shock that my system is going through. 

My eyes look vacant. 

And holy hannah, how did I not know my forehead was that wide?

Scary. 

Anyway, to keep my mind off the sugar, I have been working on this!!! 

My mission scrapbook! 

It's fabulous! I only wish I could have captured all of the really amazing moments. 

But most of those moments don't lend themselves to having a picture taken.

Now I am just scrap booking my life.

It turns out I haven't been the most reliable of record keepers as I can't even fill a small scrapbook with my life pictures. 

It's probably better to leave most of it to mystery and urban legend anyway:) 

And, most importantly, it's keeping me away from the sugar. 

So, it's a win-win. 

Lori Ann

p.s- I wanted to say thanks to everyone who comments on my posts. I am not passively aggressively seeking for validation (or more comments!) in saying this but I know this blog is kind of like a weird diary of the tedium of my daily life. I appreciate the feedback and support you give me. :)