White. Toyota. Corolla.

Alright, so this is the type of car that just about every other person in Utah county has because, well, it is the best car for your buck.
Anyway, after a REA-HEALLY long 15 hr day doing both jobs (don't worry for all of those thinking "oh my gosh, why is she killing herself? What about her health?...this won't happen that often, I just took an extra shift.)
I had to make a quick pit stop to Wal-Mart.
In a daze I walked down the grimey, super low priced but terrible produce (that lasts no more than 2 days max, I swear) store.
My legs were tired.
My back was sore from picking up old folks off the potty.
My ears were tired from getting profanity yelled at me BEFORE I even drew their blood.
My eyes were tired from counting meds.
And I knew in the back of my head I had another 8 hour shift that started at 6 AM.
With all that going on I walked back out to the parking lot to what I thought was MY Toyota Corolla.
It wasn't.
I was severely confused sticking the key in and out and almost breaking it off.
I looked in, saw the stereo gone, my e-brake on, and my backpack missing.
I panicked.
I started looking around, looking for my phone, ready to yell for the freakin' forensic unit to come check it out.
A good 2 minutes of shear panic.
Then I looked behind me and saw two other white corollas, of which mine was one of .
I had a good 4 minutes of laughing at myself right out loud while people looked confused at my obvious insanity.

What a night.
(Yes, I still love my jobs.)

I love my job.

So I haven't really updated about my life in a while, but I have been so lucky (aka blessed) to get such good jobs! I am currently working at an assisted living home 

working with the elderly that is super nice and also at a women's clinic doing the phlebotomy and injections (thanks alisa!). I enjoy so much being able to work in the 

medical field, but I really enjoy the time I get to spend with the elderly.

I can't even tell you the number of funny things I get

to hear every time I work there.

I love hearing their stories.

Rubbing their legs to feel a little better.

Studying their wrinkles that show a lifetime of experiences, smiles, and hard work.

Its definitely rough some days and can get frustrating

when you can't get them to go to bed or eat,

but it is all worth it.

If you ever get a chance to just go sit and listen and talk with them

it is so rewarding and fun! 

I wish I could see a little more of them.

They're great.

Funny stories to come I am sure.

Happy Memorial day!

Some people I really like....

Oprah Winfrey

"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."

Martin Luther King Jr.

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. "

Mother Teresa

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."

Rosa Parks

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

Marjorie Hinckley

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautiful tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt form making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my nails from helping weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheek and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived. "

Bill and Kathy Magee

Founders of Operation Smile

Eva Peron (Evita)

"I have one thing that counts, and that is my heart; it burns in my soul, it aches in my flesh, and it ignites my nerves: that is my love for the people and Peron."

These are some of my heros.
Who are some of yours?

I fancy

this:

I want to buy it.

Flowers and all.

iServe.

K so I just got back from an awesome conference about campus compact and service.
There were some very attractive men there who also wanted to get out and save the world.
Dat my nice.
Love those.
ANYWAY, for next year we are re-structuring everything and
so I got some awesome ideas.
What do you think for the shirts for service council...
like this:

only instead "iServe"??
The silhouette is going to be a guy with a shovel, I think.
How do you feel about that?

Anyway, here is the video that took me all day to put together.
Some input would be awesome.
It's kind of rough and needs some changes but you can at least take a look.
More later!

To the Momma.

My Mom is the best. There are PLENTY of facts and figures to prove that right.
But I will give you the top 10:

1. She makes me laugh harder than anyone on this planet.
Best of all: it's not usually THAT funny. She just laughs so hard she cries
when she is telling the joke that I can't help but do the same.

2. She cares about everyone else way before herself.
Rarely do I ever see her do anything that is just for herself.
Sometimes it makes me REALLY mad because one of these days
I just want her to be plain selfish.
But, it never happens.
Most of the time it is for her children or husband,
and she would drop everything just to make sure our needs are taken care of.


3. She has done awesome stuff!
Her life makes me want to have more adventure.
She had been to 26 different countries by the time she was 26,
did pageants, served a mission,
owned her own hair salon by the time she was 16 (crazy I know!),
toured with the Osmond's to do hair and makeup,
was the star in Single's 2nd Ward (and about a billion other movies haha),
dated Bob Evans (from Fox 13 news)
and the guy that is the one who announces general conference (you know the one that says, "This is the 172nd billionth general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"?), and the list goes on.


4. She supports me in everything I do and sacrifices to make sure I get the help I need.
So many times have I come to her and said,
"Mom! Guess what I think I have decided to do? I think this year I am going to ______!"
"Wow!" She replies (generally unless it is completely stupid),
"I think that sounds awesome!"
Those blanks have been filled in with stuff like:
I think I want to go to Africa, to be in a pageant,
to run for student government (7 times now),
be an EMT, become a traveling nurse, move to St. George,
do autopsies, take 18 credits...on and on.


5. My friends like her more than they like me!
And I love that.
One of my favorite things is that she loves to sit down and talk to all my friends.
She likes to be involved in their lives, and I think they like that too.
If any of you know my mom, you know that if you come over she will grab scuddles,
sit down on the red chair, and we will sit on the couch while we proceed to talk about EVERYTHING...
and I love it.

6. That she is a do-it-yourself kind of mom. She really can fix just about anything I think by this time. This has included changing the break pads on the car, the plumbing when it has flooded, the garbage disposal, mow the lawns....just about everything. Just PLEASE don't ask her to fix the computer. We don't do that.


7. She is really good at saving money and spending wisely.
I have never been really good at this, yet I have a perfect example in front of me.
She literally gets four newspapers every sunday so she can coupon.
Not only that, but she organizes them in one of those little plastic organizer thingys that you put beads in...know what I am talking about?
It is so embarrasing when we get to the cashier and there is huge line
and she pulls out 400 coupons for him to scan.
It is NOT so embarrassing when he says,
"Wow! You just saved $127.00." (everyone else in the line also freaks. out.)

P.S. that is a true story....that's a lot of savings!


8. She is really good at pretty much everything she does.
Sewing (one time she made me a swimming suit....it was intense),
cooking (bah! so good),
she is pretty much a doctor and everyone calls her "Doctor Gould"
because I think she can diagnose and fix everyone....lots of people call her
when they have some weird thing....
especially me and Papa Gould.
Gardening, whistling 2 tones, to name a few more,
and she is pretty much mountain woman and could save us in the wilderness.
Heaven knows my dad probably couldn't (he is pretty good....don't take that as a diss, like I said though my mom is mountain woman),
and training dogs...Sonny is real good at his tricks thanks to her.


9. She married my dad.
Two people could not be more right for each other than her and my dad.
Funny story...they met on a blind date and two weeks later were engaged.
HA! Crazy, but not really.
I have the two best people on this planet for parents and I am glad they found each other.
As my dad always says to me, "If I lined up all the little girls in the whole world,
all that there were and all that there will be,
I would always pick you to be my daughter."
Same goes to them, I would always pick them to be my parents.


10. She loves the gospel and has done everything in her power to make sure that we knew her testimony and taught us the ways that Heavenly Father would want us to live.
She taught us through words obviously,
but my best way of learning from her was from her example.
The way that she always put the Lord first,
when I would walk in on her reading her scriptures or saying her prayers,
when she would drop everything to go to the temple,
being the most awesome young women's leader,
bearing her testimony in church, going on a mission,
and teaching us the right ways to live.


I love ya Modge! You're the greatest! Happy Mother's Day :)

Apologies.

Due to Lia's comment, I realized how grumpy and cynical I sounded in the previous blog. 

I really do love talking to people and nice texts that I frequently 

get because I have such great friends. 

I just was having a moment because people (Uncle Jay), always get mad at me for not texting back...so that was what all the ranting about the phone was about. 

My deepest apologies for being so grumpster.

Thanks to all those who send me lovely texts and nice phone calls.

I do love them.

And I will try a billion times harder to be more prompt at texting back.

Loves!

Texting 101

I am not gonna lie to you, I am not such a huge fan of texting.
I never really have been, and if you have ever texted me and I haven't
texted back...I am deeply sorry.
It just seems so...I duno, annoying.
Every two minutes it vibrates and then you have to actually ANSWER.
Actually, I just hate the phone all together.
It's necessary...I just don't like it.
Tyface would always tell me (he never had a phone and refused to get one), "the phone doesn't rule our lives!"
But it totally does...I can't handle not checking it, but I hate it at the same time.
The worst is when someone texts you and you have no idea who they are!

This happened to me the other day.
I proceeded to have a whole conversation (which I hate doing) throughout the day and eventually had to suffer through the embarrassment of asking, "sorry, now who is this again?" What an idiot I am.
AND I am really slow at texting too....maybe that's why I hate it.

More later...or should I say l8r? *gags*

Thailand Baby!

Guess what kids?

I'M GOING TO THAILAND, June 2010!


That's right, on a humanitarian mission with Youthlinc.

I met with Judy Zone today who is the founder of Youthlinc and I get to be the Southern Utah service coordinator for next year.

YouthLinc is awesome because any students they send international have to be involved in prolonged service in their community. You get the help we need here as well as international. I'm just lucky they are paying for me to go.

You too can get involved!
See their website youthlinc.org

Serve your little guts out. It's awesome!

I'm a dry desert.

I am not gonna lie to you, got back from a wedding (Michelle you looked beautiful!) tonight....it would be really nice to have a man.

It has been a long, long, LONG time.

I'm barren.

A dry desert.

In a dating abyss.

My brother rocks.

Well, I am home!

My last final was a nightmare, but I am back to the Gould house and I love it.

Now that I am home I got to go see my brother perform at Muse Music tonight.

He did so great!

I love watching him perform considering that he couldn't hold a tune/play guitar/write music to save his life, and now he writes all of these amazing songs and is even recording a CD.

He is fantastic. Fantastic enough to make it through 3 rounds of American Idol auditions.
I am so proud of him!

Check out his music here. CD to come soon.
http://www.myspace.com/lanakilamusic

P.S. He goes by Lanakila. He is the shiz. Yup. I did just say that.