Things I wish someone had told me when I was 18

Commit yourself to making a lot of mistakes. 

Mistakes teach you important lessons. The biggest mistake you can make is doing nothing because you’re too scared to make a mistake. So don’t hesitate—don’t doubt yourself. In life, it’s rarely about getting a chance; it’s about taking a chance. You’ll never be 100 percent sure it will work, but you can always be 100 percent sure doing nothing won’t work. Most of the time you just have to go for it! And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should be. Either you succeed or you learn something. Win-Win. Remember, if you never act, you will never know for sure, and you will be left standing in the same spot forever.

Find hard work you love doing. 

I’d tell myself not to base my career choice on other people’s ideas, goals, and recommendations. I’d tell myself not to pick a major because it’s popular, or statistically creates graduates who make the most money. I’d tell myself that the right career choice is based on one key point: Finding hard work you love doing. As long as you remain true to yourself, and follow your own interests and values, you can find success through passion. You’re on to something big. 

Invest time, energy, and money in yourself every day. 

When you invest in yourself, you can never lose, and over time, you will change the trajectory of your life. You are simply the product of what you know. The more time, energy, and money you spend acquiring pertinent knowledge, the more control you have over your life.

Explore new ideas and opportunities often. 

Your natural human fears of failure and embarrassment will sometimes stop you from trying new things. But you must rise above these fears, for your life’s story is simply the culmination many small, unique experiences. And the more unique experiences you have, the more interesting your story gets. So seek as many new life experiences as possible and be sure to share them with the people you care about. Not doing so is not living.

People are not mind readers. Tell them what you’re thinking. 

People will never know how you feel unless you tell them. Your boss? Yeah, he doesn’t know you’re hoping for a promotion because you haven’t told him yet. That cute girl you haven’t talked to because you’re too shy? Yeah, you guessed it; she hasn’t given you the time of day simply because you haven’t given her the time of day either. In life, you have to communicate with others. And often, you have to open your vocal cords and speak the first words. You have to tell people what you’re thinking. It’s as simple as that.

Make swift decisions and take immediate action. 

Either you’re going to take action and seize new opportunities, or someone else will first. Remember, there’s a huge difference between knowing how to do something and actually doing it. Knowledge is basically useless without action.

Accept and embrace change. 

However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So embrace change, and realize that change happens for a reason. It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.

Don’t worry too much about what other people think about you. 

For the most part, what other people think and say about you doesn’t matter. Don’t let the opinions of others stand in your way. What they think and say about you isn’t important. What is important is how you feel about yourself.

Always be honest with yourself and others. 

Living a life of honesty creates peace of mind, and peace of mind is priceless. Period.

Talk to lots of people in college and early on in your career. 

Bosses. Colleagues. Professors. Classmates. Social club members. Other students outside of your major or social circle. Teaching assistants. Career advisors. College deans. Friends of friends. Everyone! Why? Professional networking. When employers look to fill a position, the first thing they do is ask the people they know and trust if they know someone who would do well in the position. If you start building your professional network early, you’ll be set. Over time, you’ll continue talking to new people you meet through your current network and your network’s reach and the associated opportunities will continue to snowball for the duration of your career.

Sit alone in silence for at least ten minutes every day. 

Use this time to think, plan, reflect, and dream. Creative and productive thinking flourish in solitude and silence. With quiet, you can hear your thoughts, you can reach deep within yourself, and you can focus on mapping out the next logical, productive step in your life.

Ask a lot of questions. 

The greatest adventure is the ability to inquire, to ask questions. Thus, the simple act of asking the right questions is the answer.

Live below your means. 

Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one. Do not spend to impress others. Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects. Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you. Always live well below your means.

Be respectful of others and make them feel good. 

In life and business, it’s not so much what you say that counts, it’s how you make people feel. So respect your elders, minors, and everyone in between. Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother. Supporting, guiding, and making contributions to other people is one of life’s greatest rewards.

Excel at what you do. 

There’s no point in doing something if you aren’t going to do it right. Excel at your work and excel at your hobbies. Develop a reputation for yourself, a reputation for consistent excellence.

Be who you were born to be. 

You must follow your heart, and be who you were born to be. Some of us were born to be musicians—to communicate intricate thoughts and rousing feelings with the strings of a guitar. Some of us were born to be poets—to touch people’s hearts with exquisite prose. Some of us were born to be—to create growth and opportunity where others saw rubbish. You better be born to do it! Don’t waste your life fulfilling someone else’s dreams and desires.

But above all, laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change. Life is short, yet amazing. Enjoy the ride.

Few good points made by Marc and Angel Hack Life

Read this talk tonight with my Mama for FHE, and I really really like it. Please read it. Has a lot of good insight, and leaves you feeling hopeful for the future.

Preparing for the Future

BY ELDER M. RUSSELL BALLARD

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Adapted from an address given to young single adults at an April 28, 2011, meeting in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. For the full text, visit lds.org/study/prophets-speak-today/in-terms-of-the-future.

You need to see yourselves 20 years from now. By then, you young men will be sitting in stake presidencies, on high councils, and in bishoprics, elders quorum presidencies, and high priests group leadership in your wards and in your stakes. You young women will be called to direct the affairs of the Relief Society, the Young Women, and the Primary. We need you to catch the vision of what your roles will be 20 years from now, maybe even sooner than that. Some of you may be called in your late 20s and early 30s to carry on some great responsibility in the kingdom of God.

I want to make it very clear that we understand that not every one of you may find an eternal companion. Some of you may not have the privilege or the opportunity to marry in mortality. But we promise you in the name of the Lord, as prophets have promised both anciently and in the modern day, that if you remain true and faithful, keep your covenants, serve God, and love your Father in Heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not be denied any of the eternal blessings our Heavenly Father has for His faithful children.

You ought to enjoy the Church. The reason we’re eager for you to reach out and to encourage some of the young single adults that are not active is that one of the great ways to enjoy peace and joy and fellowship, a sense of belonging, is by being active in the Church. The Church is established to give us guidance and direction and to make available the ordinances and covenants that we need to progress in this life and prepare for all that our Heavenly Father has in store for us in the life to come.

Therefore, I would like to draw your attention to why we have asked over and over again that you do what you can to try to draw some of those who are less active back into fellowship in the Church. That is critical for us to understand because it’s what the Atonement is all about. When we contemplate the Savior’s experience in Gethsemane, when we think of Him in that moment in His majesty and His love for you and for me and for every other child of God, when we pause and ponder what He has done, then all of a sudden we see that every living soul is precious—very precious—to our Father in Heaven because they are His children, and to the Lord Jesus Christ because He went to Gethsemane for each one of them.

And so as you look about in your ward and your area and as you’re going to school or to work, may I give you an assignment to have the courage to accept the challenge to try to bring one of our Father’s children back into activity. I promise you as you do that and as you trust the Lord and you pray about it and you seek for guidance and for strength to do what you can do, you’re going to have some spiritual experiences. You’ll have some promptings of the Spirit that will be unusual to you. That will happen because all of God’s children are precious to Him, and all are precious to the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the Church of Jesus Christ, restored to the earth in these, the latter days.

I encourage you to not be afraid of the future. Don’t let anything that’s going on in the world slow you down in your progress in mortality. Don’t be afraid to marry. Don’t think you have to have everything lined up. Don’t think you have to have all of the resources and finances “necessary” to enter into that kind of a commitment.

Sister Ballard and I have been married for more than 60 years. I think back to when I returned from my mission to England, over 60 years ago. I used every skill I had developed as a full-time missionary to convince Barbara that I was the only true and living returned missionary that she should give any consideration to. If you could see her, you’d know that she was very beautiful and still is, and a lot of young men had the same idea I had. So I used the old commitment pattern, elders. I asked find-out questions, and I resolved concerns, and we moved on, and that’s what you’ve been counseled to do.

Don’t be afraid of marriage. I have been much more effective and much more able to accomplish things in my life with Barbara at my side than I ever would have been alone. Did we have hard times? Oh, yes. But they were some of the best times because we drew together, we prayed together, we worked together, we saw our way from one point of our lives on until today. We are so blessed that we’ve had seven children, none of which we could afford. You young people are very expensive. But don’t let that worry you. Pay your tithing. The Lord said that He’ll provide, He’ll make the way, and that was the case with us. Those wonderful seven children have given us grandchildren, and those grandchildren have given us great-grandchildren.

Our family, and your family, is an eternal unit. As an eternal unit, families go to the eternities together. My counsel to you is do not lose your faith. Go forward with faith. Faith is a principle of the gospel. Faith is one of the greatest powers that you and I have in this sojourn of mortality. Fear is one of those principles that the devil uses. He likes to seed in your minds and in mine doubt and questions. He’s the father of all lies; he lies to us, and he can confuse us if we allow ourselves to be caught up in fear. So replace any fear or apprehension you have now with faith—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in your fathers and your mothers. Stay close to them.

You may be living a long way away from your mom and your dad. My counsel is that you stay constantly in touch with them. Communicate. You can do that easily now, and at no cost. It’s so important for you to keep that tie to your mother and your father wherever they may be.

We’re on a journey, you and I, a great journey. We knew the consequences of this journey when we left the presence of our Heavenly Father to come here and receive a body, a tabernacle of flesh and bone. We knew that we would make some mistakes as we went along this pathway, and God gave us the wonderful principle of repentance. There’s not any one of you who has done anything that you can’t fix and who can’t have a sense of peace and calm as you continue your sojourn in mortality. If you have something that’s seriously weighing on you, then take care of it. Work it out with your bishop and move on so that faith and trust in the Lord can have their greatest possible power in your lives.

I’d like to ask our Heavenly Father to bless you. It’s one of the privileges we have as members of the Twelve, to leave a blessing upon you in the name of the Lord and through the holy apostleship. I ask Heavenly Father to bless you now that you capture the vision, maybe in a deeper and a more meaningful way than you ever have before, of who you are and what the purpose of your mortal existence is. I ask Heavenly Father to bless you with faith to trust in Him and to call down the blessings of heaven into your lives.

Trust the Lord. Believe in Him. Study His words. Worship your Father in Heaven in the holy and sacred name of His Beloved Son. May the Lord bless you with courage to do now the next things that are very most important in your lives. May you have the courage to reach out and bring souls unto Christ on conditions of repentance. May every righteous desire of your hearts be granted through your faithfulness and your trust in your Heavenly Father. May this blessing go with each and every one of you.

Enjoy the future; prepare, my beloved brothers and sisters. When the Lord needs you, you’ll be able to say, “Here am I; send me” (2 Nephi 16:8). May this be the case in your lives.

Trust in the Lord. Believe in Him. Study His words. The Lord will bless you with the courage to do the things that are most important in your life.

There’s not any one of you who has done anything that you can’t fix and who can’t have a sense of peace in your life.

Being active in the Church is one of the great ways to enjoy peace, joy, fellowship, and a sense of belonging. The gospel gives us guidance and direction as we progress through life.

10 Memories

10 Memories that I liked. In no order, not playing any favorites, just off the top of my head.

10) My Mama and I took a Saturday off and drove down in the morning to Waxahachie, grabbed lunch at an antique shop, and shopped around the small run-down town. There were all sorts of little antique shops, the old court house was there, and one of a kind clothing stores you don't see around. It was a little ole country town. It was a lot of fun, and I remember taking lots of pictures when I was there! My Mama and I walked around there for about 7 hours- just enjoying ourselves, being together, and the lovely spring afternoon.

Me outside the courthouse

Big bottle of coke we found at an Antique shop

9) My 18th Birthday Party. I combined it with one of my old best friends from church; She had the same birthday as me. It was a glow in the dark rave. Lots of fun! The whole house had black lights, we had champagne glasses, punch, candy, chips, streamers, balloons, glow-sticks, music, and dancing! It turned out to be a blast, and tons of people showed up. Probably around 30! 

  The Birthday Girls!

Party Time!

Our cool glasses!

8) Long boarding in Arizona. I went with Mckay and my cousin Jodi! I'd never road a longboard before,  so Mckay taught me! It was pretty easy and I was getting the hang of it. So we went down the the board-walk and road a lot down there. That was the first time I grew attach to long boarding. So I was doing good for awhile, under I came to this hill that I've road down before. Thought I could do it. So I began pushing my way down the hill and as I was catching a lot of speed, I began to lose control. I saw some rocks that were spilt down the hill and all I could process was I need to jump this ship. So I dove straight out onto the concrete. Surprised I didn't break any bones. I laid there face down, and I felt like I broke every bone in my body. Mckay quickly ran into the lake to retrieve my long board, and jodi and other pedestrians came to help me up. I couldn't move, I was in shock. I stood up quickly told everyone I was fine, and the next thing I knew I was in Jodi's bed at home. Apparently I passed out right when I stood up haha. But that has gotta be the coolest memory I have of long boarding!

 Before the accident...

This was only one elbow, the other one was just the same, my ribs were bruised, and a scraped my hip really badly. 

7)My Best Friend in high school, Desiree and I got into this bad but exciting habit. It all started out when we were driving down this road, and there were tons of construction cones. Some how it got brought up that we should steal one just for kicks. SO we did. We stole a traffic cone, while we were driving- I pulled it through the window when no one of coming, and tried to shove it under the dash-board when cars starting down the street. We were so excited we did it, we weren't quite sure what to do with it. So this began our habit. We left it on or in the bed of random peoples cars, on their front porch, in the drive-way, random spot on the median, in the weirdest places ever. And then we both took one home each just for memories. Here's mine :) BUT my mama made me throw it out the window when her and I were driving to do errands. She didn't want me to get arrest for a dumb thing like that haha.

This is called Coning (the real thing- not ice cream coning).

6) To Be Continued...

Don't wait for me too long. Life may pass you by.

I'm feeling solemn today. I ran over a couple songs that are absolutely beautiful. I know you should listen to them. The first is By: Motopony, "Wait For Me". I think we need to learn to wait patiently more. I think because we don't wait, we miss opportunities given to us. Or we overlook the significance of why we had to wait so long. And the significance could be greater than the outcome. 


She'll come to me in a dream
And I don't even know her name
A pretty mark upon her breast
To signify her from the rest
But her and I are just the same
Building bridges outta fame
She stands upon a dinner plate
And tells me that I'll have to wait

(Oooh, Wait for me)
I know it won't be easy
What a thing
To believe
In a dream
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/motopony/wait_for_me.html ]
Perhaps I knew her long ago
I wrote her poems at nine years old
But then I did become a man
The letter slipped right through my hands
Practiced all my wit and charm
Had many girls on every arm
I learned the depths of love and hate
But never did learn how to wait

Wait for you
You say it like it's easy to do
What a thing
To believe
In a dream

I hope you know that all my life
I have been searching for a wife
A partner and a confidant
The girl who wants the things I want
A girl who doesn't come along
Cuz she's already where I'm goin'
I stand upon a broken stage
I beg ya darling, please, please wait

Wait for me
I know it won't be easy
What a thing
To believe
In a dream

... Absolutely beautiful. Along with an artist named Gregory Alan Isakov, "The Stable Song"

Mmm.

So I 'Stumbled-Upon' these delicious desserts. 

coffee chiffon charlotte with homemade lady fingers

Doesn't this look absolutely delicious? The directions are on this blog...

Click Me!

Blackberry Flaugnarde

Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for

Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger

Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots

Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.

-Seamus Heaney

recipe

SWEET CAKE

recipe from Australian Gourmet Traveller (they served the cake with vermouth pears but I opted for more sugar, strawberries and a little balsamic glaze!)

serves 8

3 eggs, at room temperature

160g (3/4 cup) raw sugar*

80 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 tsp vanilla extract

190g course polenta

75g (1/2 cup) plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Icing sugar for dusting

1 pint fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 150C. Using an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar until pale and creamy (about 5 minutes). Slowly add olive oil in a thin stream, continuing to whisk, then add lemon rind and vanilla. Combine polenta, flour, baking powder and ½ tsp salt, sift dry ingredients in 3 batches over egg mixture, alternating with lemon juice and folding to combine well. Pour batter into a lightly oiled 20cm ring mould, bake until a skewer withdraws clean (40-45 minutes). Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust with icing sugar, berries and glaze. For the balsamic glaze simply take 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1/2 tbsp agave or thick sugar syrup and mix (or buy it!). Add just a little for a serving and top with fresh berries. 

Scented saffron pear panna cotta with rasberries gelatin and berries

For Recipe Click Me!

Blueberry Buttermilk Syrup

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup buttermilk 
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, pureed 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

In a food processor or blender, throw in two handfuls of fresh or frozen blueberries and blend until pureed. 

Melt the stick of butter in a sauce pan. Add the sugar, buttermilk, and blueberry puree.

Bring to a boil and stir constantly.

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda**.

Stir to make frothy. You can strain it at this point to get out any pieces of blueberry skin, but I don't. That's where all the fiber and antioxidants live! Plus its yummy.

*Omit the blueberries and you have yourself some delicious Toolson Buttermilk Syrup which is practically divine all by itself. The blueberries though... they just push it right through those pearly gates.

**The baking soda and blueberries causes a chemical reaction that turns the foam green. Don't worry about it, after a few minutes you get a nice deep navy color.

“Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking, Loving might be a mistake but it's worth making.”

Time to start Exploring...
I've been single for most of my life. It's just how I've learned to live, and I've felt comfortable doing so. It may have something to do with my single 24 year old sister, or my mama whose been single for 13 years, more than half my life. Either way I've become an independent woman. And as I have liked it, and have felt comfortable being independent, it has the down sides too. I've become prone to moving on before something happens. Because I was content with my life and how it was. I'd see couples in high school all the time, and wish I'd have a boyfriend, but I'd turn around and run, when given the opportunity to change the relationship status. I also see being in a relationship a special thing. I don't want to go around holding hands or kissing someone I'm not too crazy about- but I still like him. I don't hold hands with friends. If I hold your hand, I like you.

But I guess I'm writing this because I've been wanting to change. And have been looking into it. I've been asked up at college, and home a lot more- "You are so pretty, why are you single?!". I don't know about the pretty part, but why am I single? Here's my problem (ONE of them)-- I go to school up at BYU-Idaho, but recently moved to Dallas beforehand, and reside there on breaks. I'm bouncing around from state to state, I don't know how I could be in a relationship. I can do long--distance but it would be hard, for him. I like to think of others and how they would feel, and I don't think he'd be up to it. But isn't life about risks and challenges? I'm never going to be in a relationship, unless I wait till i'm 30 and settle-down, single, named the cat lady. I don't want to be lonely all that time.....

So I've decided somethings gotta change. But just the thought of putting my all into it, and him backing out on it. That's how life goes right? You just gotta give it your all...This is an article I found from some website called BrianKim.net. And I like it... so here we go....

When you were young, you didn’t even understand the notion of risk. You just did. You ate paint chips off the wall, you tasted the handful of dirt you scooped up in your garden, you stuck your fingers wherever you wanted to, but as time passed and you grew older, you were slowly introduced and taught the notion of risk by others around you and it was as if a square marking your boundaries was slowly painted around you. Soon enough, you stopped risking. You stayed confined within the box that was drawn around you by others and you accepted it. First off, let’s tackle the part of “not doing”. Why do we hesitate to take risks? How can we get back that trait of boldness we had as a child? 


You’ve got to understand that risk is nothing but a label and the reason why risk yields so much power over us is precisely because of that. Labels are extremely powerful because we tend to pass judgment solely based on that. When something is labeled, we equate some sort of image to it. [Kind of difficult when It's me though- I don't think I can be labeled!] Armani – fancy suit. Ferrari – fast car. Nike – running shoes. In this case, what image does the label of risk conjure up? Imminent danger. [Haha I like that, but it's so true!] We judge risk as imminent danger.

We need to change the label. Stop thinking of risk as just a one shot do or die situation.[Oh, so it's not a do or die situation? Whew!.... -_-] Instead, start thinking of risk as a journey of exploration. [I like to explore. I've been pretty good at that- branching out, meeting new people, living in two different cities on my own...] It’s not just about one shot. It’s about a journey, a journey you choose to embark on for the purpose of exploring a different path. [I know I want my journey to be worthwhile. I want to have done everything I've even thought about doing...]

Columbus did not take a risk. He chose to go on a journey to explore the new world. [Good Point] Entrepreneurs don’t take risks. They choose to go on a journey to explore other means of making a living.

People mistakenly think that if they take a risk and it doesn’t turn out the way they expect it to, that it’s all over.[Yeah, let's be honest. I've thought about that a lot...] The sky will fall, their world will come crashing down, and that they’ll never bounce back from it. It’s precisely because of that one shot do or die mentality that prevents people from taking risks. Step back and look at the forest. Don’t look at the trees. Risk is not just about looking at one tree. It’s about exploring an entire forest. Go on a journey of exploration and focus on your desired outcome. Change the labels. Go on a journey of exploration and focus on the desired outcome and the word risk will have power over you no more. When you do this on a consistent basis, you'll find that a new label for risk emerges.

Okay. So I need to explore. But how do I fix living so independent in life for so long--to letting myself be happy with someone else. It's a man eat man world out there, and I've learned to fend for myself. It doesn't help really that I'm southern, because we tend to be stubborn. Have you heard of this? The emotional wall...dun dun dun....

Making a relationship work when you're scared to get hurt is at times difficult, but definitely not impossible. Decide what it is about past relationships that have hurt you. Make a list, if it helps, for you to determine what things previously went wrong. Figure out what mistakes you may have made, if any, so that you can vow to change things in your new relationship. Realize, and find closure.

[Perfect. Done and Done.] Give your new relationship a chance. A new love means a new start. [I like new starts :) ] Try to let go of the pain and realize that not all relationships are the same. No two people will be alike in a relationship and what happened to you before is not likely to happen again.

Okay so I think I can do this. It doesn't seem that hard. Things I've learned... 1) There's no such thing as risk, just learning to explore. 2) Open up as much as possible day by day, until you feel comfortable. 3)  As you get more and more into the relationship you'll feel more comfortable, and able to trust more easily.

-----------------------------------------------------
Quotes I ran over that i've liked...

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

~ Mark Twain

"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

~ William Jennings Bryan

Well folks. It's not so bad being back.

 I'm spending the weekend with my Mama out here in Flower Mound. 

Thursday we got pedi's and watched that movie Soul Surfer! Friday, I sat around the house- pulled some weeds (what i like to do on my spare time), and painted a wood fixture for my Mama. That night, I helped my friend Steffen move into his new apartment in Las Colinas! It wasn't too bad- thank goodness he didn't have a lot of baggage. We got drinks and Vietnamese food afterward, then took a dip in the pool! Saturday couldn't have come faster. Today was a day with my Mama again. We drove out to Frisco, got some pizza at California Pizza Kitchen (Yum!) then shopped till we dropped. I got a cute lace shirt from XXI, a skirt, and a new pair of Rock and Revival jeans from Buckle (ridiculously expensive!) That's about all I could handle of the mall. Too many people, stores, and clothes- can cause an anxiety attack! Anyways,  happy camper now- that I have jeans that fit and a cute top and skirt! Came back- wiped out we both took naps, then hung low for the rest of the night. I got to watch one of my FAVORITE movies.... Sweet Home Alabama! Yup, love that movie. I could watch it over and over again. I've always wanted to use my favorite line of that movie....

Anyways, church is tomorrow- with Mama, then Brooke and a friend is coming over for dinner! Then I'm headed back to Dallas once more!

Living in Idaho is a lot different from living in a city or a town. Instead of a car, get a bike!