There is no failure except in no longer trying. Failure is not in falling down, but in staying down. Choose with what you will struggle. -L Tom Perry

i found this article today:

40 Ways To Find Joy In Your Everyday Life

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meimei-fox/happiness-tips_b_2405608.html?utm_hp_ref=gps-for-the-soul

and i love it. its just like what i am trying to do here, document the joy in my everyday life. :)

so today's joys:

free breakfast with lots of fruit
free lunch with tasty sweet potato chips...that's right SWEET potato chips...they were delish
getting out of training at 3:30pm
wearing my fantastic navy coat that i just realized today i only spent $14 on
getting compliments on my outfit from a complete stranger
talking to this hilarious guy during lunch as we commiserated about sitting in one spot all day
completing another scholarship essay
good hair day
made it on time to work without rushing
education
Friday!
choices
the multitude of opportunities that i have living today
my computer is functioning properly still even though it has been acting quite strange lately....cross your fingers that it continues to cuz i most definitely cannot afford to buy a new one but most definitely need it!
freedom...I read a speech today by Elder L. Tom Perry, of the 12 Apostles and he related this story:

"For twenty-eight years it has stood as a symbol of the division of Europe and the world, the Berlin Wall, that hideous, twenty-eight mile-long scar through the heart of the once-proud European capital—not to mention the souls of the people. And then, poof! It was gone, not physically, at least yet, but gone as an effective barrier between the East and West, opening in one unthinkable, stunning stroke to the people who had been kept apart for more than a generation. It was one of those rare times when history shifts beneath men's feet, and nothing after is quite the same.

Once there was a break in the wall, there was no way of containing the spirit of the people and their desire to have freedom. A little more than a month later, after these two remarkable articles, the Romanians were trying to comprehend their newfound freedom. A news correspondent for the Associated Press on December thirtieth wrote:

In a passion that fueled Romanian revolution, freedom was spoken again and again. But to a people forced to register even their typewriters, the full meaning of the exotic word was difficult to grasp. "What is it to live free, to travel free, to speak free?" said a young medical student. "We have only seen darkness and silence." Over the moans of the wounded in the crowded hospital ward, she and some fellow volunteers considered what the term "freedom" meant. "We cannot realize what freedom is," said another student. "You grow up in freedom, and you do not realize what it means to us." She paused and frowned and apologized for poor English. "I am sorry," she said, "I learn English eleven years, and this is the first time I speak it." We don't know what freedom means. We don't know what to do with freedom. We have no experience, no model, no ideal." Where There is No Vision

how marvelous it is that i grew up in freedom! and have had so many amazing choices and opportunities! do i realize what it truly means to be free? ill admit it: nope. i literally can choose to wear or say or do whatever i want. i can choose to work wherever i want (provided they will hire me :) ). i can choose to be whoever i want to be. how wonderful and fantastic is this?
Spencer W. Kimball said: We can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless, or we can so channel our lives to be clean, vibrant, progressive, colorful, and rich.
we can choose! every day we can make this choice because we are free. seriously. wow.

inspiration doesn't favor those who sit still...it dances with the daring. and rewards the courageous with ideas...ideas that take you places. (Toyota commercial)

this is my life

that little thrill you get when you see an email entitled "your J. Crew order has shipped" girls- you know what I'm talking about.

reading a fellow single, working woman's thoughts on setting goals, feeling peace and calm I'm the midst of crazy life, and overall happiness.

finding new, exciting, tasty recipes.

trying out those new recipes...last night's dinner: turkey pot pie. delish!

a gift the keeps on giving: a whole turkey...Sunday we had an 11-pound turkey for dinner (got it for free...thats right..FREE) and I've been enjoying the leftovers ever since and finding creative new ways to eat turkey. and no I'm not sick of it yet. :)

scarves are wonderful....34 degrees with 50% humidity feels like 30...scarves are a must.

uplifting articles and blogs. there is so much good in the world! evil is also rampant but I choose to find the good and fill my mind with it.

people sharing their talents, thoughts, and divinity.

being happy today, here, as I am.

love this

Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. -David Whyte

chivalry is not dead

..last night during my commute home a man offered me a spot closer to the door so I could reach a bar easier instead of reaching over someone's head to grab the hand rail so I wouldn't fall over on the metro train.

..on the bus, a tall Air Force captain offered me his seat as I boarded the overflowing bus last in line.

there have been arguments and theories lately that the rise of feminism has lead to the death of chivalry and gentlemanly manners. I disagree! it is still alive and thrives when appreciated and cultivated.

so thank you to every man who has stopped to open the door so I didn't have to take my cold hands out of my pockets.
thanks to the men who let me enter an elevator first and exit first.
thank you to those who stand up when a woman or elder needs a seat.
thanks to every man who has let me go first in line at a grocery store or anywhere else.
thank you to those who smile and nod in acknowledgement.
thanks to the men who respect and value women.

this behavior does not denigrate women. it does not mean that we are unequal. it simply is a recognition that we are different. it is a sign that respect and morals are still important elements in our society. and I for one am proud and grateful of the men who still believe in and practice these small courtesies.

time goes by so quickly

happy new year....I have often wondered why we humans find such fascination with the passing of time: we celebrate the ending of the old calendar year and the coming of a new one, as well as the culmination of the years of one's life annually. for a society that seems to have a love-hate relationship with aging, we sure celebrate getting older in style. interesting that we celebrate this annually as well....i get older every week, every day, why not party at the end of each day that i am one day closer to completing 27 years of living? or why not every 2 years and make the even ages special? why is it that we are so excited for time to pass? I for one would be quite content if it would slow down and let me enjoy certain moments or days.
....these are my thoughts today on the second day of 2013. woah. 2013. crazy.

in other news...had an amazing, laughter-filled, relaxing, much-needed 5-day-weekend with my dear friends from p-town. the majority of the actual time spent out and about included shopping, and the majority of the rest of the time was spent sleeping and chatting. I spent a little too much money but had a lot too much fun. and now that I am back at work and had to wake up at 6am this morning, my body is not as happy as it was staying up till 1am and sleeping till 8.

in the midst of our chatting we dissected the tradition of new year's goals and how we find it a bit silly. mostly because I have goals all the time. my frailties and weaknesses are something I feel confronted with every day and so each day I try to be better than yesterday. as for big goals some people start at the new year like losing weight...I have a lifelong goal to be healthy which includes eating well, exercising and ultimately being happy with my body the way it is when I do those things. and lest you think me being all high and mighty cuz I have goals that I'm always working on, don't fret, I fail at them every now and then too. but then you just learn to say: darn, guess I need to fix that one and try again. if it didn't happen it probably wasn't a realistic goal and I've learned to accept my losses ...chock it up to being human, and try again! LA wasn't built in a day. :) neither is human nature changed in a year even, but gradually, day by day, in small increments.
so glad that it's not over just cuz we trip up once, or even twice, or who knows how many times. we can always turn around to face the right direction, pick ourselves back up and try again. isn't life amazing that way? and it's only possible due to the atonement of Jesus Christ. so next time you make a goal, or mess up on your goal, thank your Savior for allowing you the opportunity to learn through your experiences. I am so grateful for this miracle and gift!

....and fruit. one thing I am going to try to do better in the future is eat more fruit and veggies. I feel like fruit is nature's candy. however we know my love affair with sugar and things humans make out of sugar...so my goal is to try to replace some sugar in my day with more fruits. so here's to more fruity days...

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. -E.E. Cummings

the GRE is over. Yay!!! now I can go back to reading my book, watching Big Bang theory, and browsing Facebook at work. I was not as thrilled to be taking it. seriously it rocked me hard core, but I think I did alright given the time crunch and my general distaste for standardized math examinations. hopefully alright enough for GW....either way what's done is DONE. :)

also...Christmas is over. I know this a puzzling thing to point out, as in: duh Alicia, it's the 26th....thus Christmas is over, as well as similar thought: shouldnt this be a less than joyous passage? well as stated previously, I was less than excited about Christmas this year given my lack if funds and vacation time to travel home. however, thanks to fellow holiday orphans as we called ourselves, and to a miraculously quick passage of the cold that seemed to suddenly take over my sinuses over the weekend, I quite enjoyed my family-less, tradition-less, less-present-filled holiday. I enjoyed a quiet morning of reading and sleeping in to ease my tired, sickly mind. then cleaned. yes I cleaned on Christmas Day. yes I know that is not surprising. once again I am highly predictable. :) video chatted with the fam to exchange presents across the continent...always good for a laugh. then I ventured to my bishop's house to enjoy Christmas dinner with his boisterous family. it was hilarious and fantastic. we slurped jello from a plate as the first course. with no hands. no joke. we of course had goblets filled with sparkling cider which was for the toasting. everyone had to make a toast, all 9 of us. and let me just say, the toasts matched the general humor of the whole evening. twas a good night. :)
after dinner, saw Les Miserables with other holiday orphans and thus my Christmas Day was complete.

moral of the story: laughing makes everything happy. seriously, have you ever tried to be mad or sad when you laugh? it's impossible. thank you humor for making my days happy.