*The Christmas Season*

Our Family Room Tree

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care"

Our Living Room Tree


The pretty garland around the banister




The "Willow Tree" nativity set that my sister gave to my mom.

*What Christmas is all about*

I am FINALLY home! After 3 months of living in Idaho and being homesick, I am back in my hometown. I was so excited to be able to just be home with the ones I love, and feel the Christmas spirit which was HIGHLY lacking in Idaho. With no decorations or any Christmas feel in Idaho, I was so caught up in the lights, the tree's, the shopping, and all of the decorations that I was literally THRIVING in the Christmas Spirit. But today when I went to church I came to the realization that yes all of those things make Christmas what it is, but it is not what Christmas is all about. And, if I had been smart, I could have been feeling the Christmas spirit the entire time I was up in Idaho reguardless of decorations. You see, Christmas is about serving, family, and love. It's not about the gifts that are wrapped under the tree, or the milk and cookies left out for Santa Christmas Eve. It's about helping and elderly person with their groceries, shovelling someones sidewalk, cleaning a room for your parents without being asked(which I still need to do), doing something for a neighbor, calling people you miss, spending time with those that mean most to you, telling people you love them, and most importantly becoming like Christ.

I am not perfect but today I decided, in this last week before Christmas, I am going to make sure to do at LEAST, TWO random acts of service every day and try to spread the Christmas cheer so that EVERYONE can feel special this holiday season. I want this to be an unforgettable Christmas and I feel that if we all do this, we can all participate in one of the most giving Christmas' of all time. Maybe it's not doing two things for someone every day, or even once a day, but I challenge you to at least find ONE way that YOU can make this Christmas more Christ like, and an all around unforgettable Christmas for you, your friends, and most importantly, your family. For that is what Christmas is all about.... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

Fight the Frown :)

(I was trying to find a frowny picture... this is the best I could get. Just try and go along with it ;) )

As many of you know, I have been studying up at BYU-Idaho this semester. With the stress of finals and being homesick, the student government up here has started a campaign, "Fight the Frown". When I heard about this I kind of laughed to myself at how silly it was to be doing something like this. I immediately thought of the primary song, "No one like a frowny face...." Ha ha. I had thought that BYU-Idaho was always a smiley and happy place. With the spirit being so strong here, how can you not help but smile!? Well, too my amazement, I was wrong. Our campus COULD be happier! With all of these posters everywhere, it seems as though campus has become an even HAPPIER environment! I find myself smiling and saying hello to complete strangers every few seconds! It's helping these last 3 days to not seem as long as they actually are. Ha ha. So today, I challenge you to smile at at least 5 people you don't know. You'll be surprised how much it helps change not only their day, but yours as well..... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade! :)

Here it is!

Oooookkkayy... After MONTHS of me not posting anything I've decided to take my blog in a new direction. Don't worry, I will still be sharing lemonade, it will just be lemonade moments in my daily life. I realized that while having this blog I was focusing on the negatives to turn them into positives, or "Lemonade" so to speak. So now, I will be focusing on everything positive. Because really, our everyday life is FILLED with lemonade moments that we need to write down somewhere to save our memories. Some have journals, some have computers, but for me, it will be this blog. This will mean more pictures as well instead of the googled images. Ha ha. :) So I hope you all will understand as I make this change. It will still be lemonade filled, it will just be easier things to write about which include more posts! :) From here on out it will be nothing but my life's lemonade moments... :)...... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

Exercising

The Lemon

So for the past four years of my life I haven't been able to TRULY exercise. In 7th and 8th grade I noticed in PE that when ever we'd do runs I would have a hard time breathing. I didn't think much of it until I was finally in 9th grade in my first musical, "Into the Woods". (I played the role Cinderella) In the show there were parts where I would have to run off the stage and I was sick but I would run off the stage and start coughing uncontrollably. My mom decided that it probably would be best if we go to see a doctor. After telling him what happened he told me that I had exercise induced asthma. Now over the years it been getting worse and worse. So due to that fact I haven't been able to exercise for the past FOUR years! I've been able to do ballroom because my body was already accepting that exercise but anything else I tried I wasn't able to do.

The Lemonade

So now I am away in Idaho for college and am in living fear of the so called "Freshman Fifteen". I quit ballroom for a year and decided to try out for the top team that doesn't tour here at BYU-I not thinking I would make it, but to my surprise, out of 54 girls they only chose 7 and I was one of them! After realizing how much I loved doing active stuff like that, I realized how much I wanted to be able to actually go to the gym with all of my roommates and work out. I lost 5 pounds within the first 3 days of just doing ballroom. Then as I was looking at the classes they offer down at the campus gym, I saw that they had ZUMBA! I decided to give it a try because from what I had heard Zumba was Latin dancing and I can do that! So I went and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!! I think everyone should try it! It's so fun and it really give you a workout! I can finally work out again and I love it!....and THAT'S A SIP of Livi's Lemonade!

BYU Idaho

The Lemon

Okay Monday of last week my parents dropped me off up here in Rexburg Idaho with no intention of bringing me home with them. Because the time has come for me to go to college! Monday night after my parents left I had the common homesickness break down and I texted and called my mom and begged for her to come back an get me. They were staying in Idaho Falls that night so they could've easily come back and retrieved me. But instead she said no and I cried until 2:30 am. The next morning she told me to make lemonade out of that experience and see where it took me. Since then I haven't been homesick once. Well, I have, just not to the point of packing everything up and wanting to go home. I miss my Mom, my Dad, my Sister, my Brothers and their families, my best friend, the canyon, friends, everything! Just... everything. Ha.

The Lemonade

I LOVE it here! The campus is beautiful and there is such a strong spirit. I continued my record of going to the temple every week and went to the temple which is literally a 8 minute walk from our dorm and let me tell you. The Rexburg Idaho Temple is GORGEOUS! I love it! I feel so blessed to be going to a school where the gospel is mentioned, if not taught, in every class. Even our history class is about the gospel. Because History isn't just the normal "American History" they actually teach from words of the prophets and the churches role in America's history. I'm loving my classes. I've only had 2 of my 7 classes (16 credits..kill me) and I just know that I'm going to love them all! I love my roommates too, Sam, Fran, and Carly, our dorm is a blast! I have a feeling that my first semester up here about BYU-I is going to be a great one. Not only in the fun ways, but it will probably hold some of the most spiritual experiences that I've had in my life so far. I know this is the college that I'm supposed to be at and even though I may not know the reason yet, I know that It's where I need to be. Hopefully I'll just be swimming in lemonade!Lets see what this first semester of college brings!.... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

Packing

The Lemon

Well with the season of fall coming in, that only means one thing... school. I know that everyone has started by now but I have not. For some reason BYU Idaho decided to start 2.5 weeks later than anyone else. BUT the time is nearing and I will be moving on Sunday. Here it is Thursday and I am in no way near where I should be in my packing. I just can't get myself to do it. I think it's because I would love to just stay home and go to school here even though I know BYU Idaho is where I'm supposed to go. Ha ha. Packing is a pain too because unlike all of my lucky BYU friends, we can only make one trip. So I have to make sure that I get everything the first time otherwise, I'll have to go 4 months without it.

The Lemonade

I know that once all of my packing is done, I will feel less stressed but I think I'm just trying to stay in Orem as long as I can. And even though I'm going to miss being home, I'm going to have a BLAST up and BYU Idaho. I just gotta shove my procrastination out the window, buck up, and pack... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

....bugs.

WOW I AM SO SORRY! I have been slacking BIG time on this blog. I apologize. But I've made a vow to never go this long without posting. So here we go!

The Lemon

Well because of our weather, we have been getting a lot of friendly pests. Sometimes, They are a little TOO friendly. Last night while I was on the couch watching a movie with my friend, a saw something on my pillow that was moving, I thought it was a fly so I sort of swatted it, but then i realized that instead of just flying away, it CRAWLED BEHIND MY PILLOW! I then jumped up because I knew that only meant one thing... SPIDER! So I grabbed my pillow and chucked it on the floor and watched it craw underneath our kitchen table. I ran and got a shoe and smacked it. After my friend and I laughing about the freak out I had just had, I looked at the spider and realized it was about 2 inches in diameter. This thing was HUGE!





After thinking about it for a while, I figured that bugs have the most well fit name because all they do is "Bug" you. I mean lets look at flies. The only thing you can do to get rid of the nasty things is kill them. Although I love butterflies, ladybugs, dragon flies, and those kind of bugs, so I think you know which bugs I don't like, the bugs that "BUG" you. (Wow, bug was used a lot in that sentence. ha ha)

The Lemonade

Well I've been thinking about it.... and.... I honestly have no clue what the Lemonade is in bugs. I mean there is the whole cycle thing, and that means frogs get food, and anteaters, but that's about the only Lemonade there is to bugs..... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

P.S. That doesn't mean I don't like the movies, Charlotte's web, and bugs life. :)

SUNBURNS!!!

First off, sorry it's taken me so long to post... it's been a busy week but I have lots of topics! Here is today's:

The Lemon

So because my summer started on a downer and I was basically confined to my bed because of surgery, I haven't gone outside much this summer. I didn't even get cleared to go swimming until the end of July because of my incision. So between work, and having no life, I haven't gone swimming once. Well yesterday we had my niece come down and sleep over and we went swimming today for her birthday. We went to the scera pool and had a blast! We both had sunscreen on and were swimming away! After 3 and a half hours we were tired so we got a snow cone from summer sno... mmmmm.... and went home. We got in the shower and after I got out I realized a touch of redness on my skin. I figured I'd get a little something considering it was the first time this summer so I got on my work clothes and went to work. Half way through my shift I noticed my arms hurting more and more and wondered what it could be. I went into the bathroom and it hit me. Sunburn. So I looked in the mirror and low and behold, red skin. EVERYWHERE. My face, my entire arms, my legs, and of course my shoulders. It feels like third degree burn. I guess I won't be going outside again... ha ha.

The Lemonade

Well... lets see.... ha ha. I guess even though it's killing me now, I had a BLAST with my niece at the pool. It was so nice to be outside and swim. I absolutely loved it. I mean when ever anyone gets a sunburned, it's mainly from swimming so at least we're having fun while we're getting burned? ha ha.... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

Lemonade Moments

Well, SADLY, I didn't have any lemons today so I thought I would highlight a few of my favorite lemonade moments this summer, hope you enjoy!



1. Receiving Letters from your best friend... :)

2. The way receiving those letters makes you feel... :)

3. Getting dressed up with your best friends and making a music video for no apparent reason, then coming up with a band name for yourselves. "Takes One to Know One".

4. Having surgery, okay, maybe that was a lemon, but recovering well from it is DEFINITELY lemonade... and... so is percocet. ;)

4. FIREWORKS! I got to go to stadium of fire this year with my family and my best friend and it was DEFINITELY a night to remember! Carrie Underwood was great, fireworks were great, and the company was the best!

5. LAUGHING with your best friends uncontrollably about the weirdest things.

6. My adorable nephew choosing to get baptized, looking so handsome in his NEW blue pin stripped suit, and knowing it for himself. :) Isn't he the CUTEST!?

7. Family! I love my family! This is my brother Grant, and Clayton with Elaine and I. Todd and Spencer weren't able to make it, so it's only 4 of us, but I am so grateful for my family.

Those are just a FEW of my summer lemonade moments, there will be more to come. Sorry this wasn't a normal post, but I will be back to the lemon, lemonade, format shortly. Lets pray I find a lemon tomorrow? Ha ha. Love you guys, goodnight!!... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

Leaving the Past Behind, Moving On, and Letting Go...

The Lemon

Well, it's not very easy to leave the past behind. I don't know if it's just me, but I find it SO hard to say goodbye. After graduating, it's weird realizing that I really will not see a good majority of those people ever again. All those tears I shed senior year were really for a reason! Ha ha. I think one of the hardest things is that I was really close to a lot of my senior class. There are 4 of us that still hang out, but, there are some that I really miss. I had one best friend that never ever changed throughout all of high school, then something happened with in the last TWO MONTHS of school left and now we don't talk. It's been so hard because we were so close and just one little thing messed everything up and now I live with the fear that I may never see that person or their family ever again. It's so weird that you grow up going to school with the same people every year, and can be so close to everyone around you then next you know, you're all going to College, but not the same college, and where nobody really knows who you are. I'm going to BYU-Idaho with two of my closest friends, but every time that I think about it, I get sad knowing I'm leaving everything behind. I won't be home, and I won't be with the people I know and love best. Sometimes we can mess up to cause these things to happen but it's weird when you realize it's all just part of life. With the huge roller coaster that I was on the past seven months, the one lemon I've constantly had sitting on my open wound is learning to just leave the past behind, move on, and sadly... let it go.

The Lemonade

There are days where I can be doing SO well, but then the slightest change of wind can squeeze that lemon and the juice just seeps into the wound almost like it's thirsty for it. But it doesn't just squeeze once, it squeezes for a while and it STINGS. (Whoops sorry, maybe a little to graphic? My apologies.)

Anyway, even though we can have hard times with these things, there is SO much more to look forward. When ever there is a goodbye, there is ALWAYS a hello to look forward to. Just like the Beatles song, "You say goodbye, and I say hello!". We may be leaving, and loosing relationships that we had in the past, but if we just sit and miss what was once there, we'll never be able to see all the things we learned from the people we once knew. Every single person in our life brings at least 5 words of wisdom. So even though leaving the past behind, moving on and letting go may be a lemon, and I know I will still not be doing it any time soon... ha, there is SO much more to learn and to look forward to... and THAT'S a sip of Livi's Lemonade!

P.s. Here is a little something I came across:

"Have you ever wondered why you always end up getting hurt? Have you ever wondered what you have done to deserve the constant lack of respect for you and your feelings? Have you ever wondered why your kind and caring approach to people isn’t always reciprocated?

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

The problem is we hold onto who that person was or who we want them to be. We make excuses for their behavior. It takes two people to have a friendship or be in a relationship and one person cannot carry that weight. It’s simply impossible. In doing so, it is inevitable that we experience the hurt, disrespect and lack of reciprocity. Is it really worth it? Life is too short to try to change someone that you know doesn’t want to change. What you can change is them being in your life. Of course, this is much easier said than done. Letting go is one of the hardest things we face in life. However, time is one of the most unforgiving things. Once it’s gone, you can never get it back. So ask yourself, are you investing your time in the actual person or who they used to be or who they have the potential to be?"

Always remember, you are wonderful and amazing! Anyone should be happy to share a friendship or relationship with you and if they choose not to, then that is their loss. You deserve nothing less than the best. :D

My Job.

The Lemon
Okay, I know this is my second post for today, but I just HAD to write this so here we go. Well today started out as a lemon-ish day for me considering I got no sleep last night. When I don't get sleep I tend to get migraines, and stomach aches. Today I also had to work from 11am to 3pm. For those of you who don't know, I work at Wienerschnitzel. Yes, you can now laugh, ha ha in fact I will laugh with you, but to be completely honest, I absolutely LOVE my job! Although, today was going to be a challenge for me because I knew lied ahead at work. I'll admit, I am pro when it comes to the kitchen, well not pro, but pretty darn good. But now, I'm learning the registers. And if you don't know, let me be the first to tell you. Registers are HARD. H-A-R-D HARD. It may look like the cashier is just pushing buttons, which we are, but there is a whole lot more to it. I'm continually getting better at it the more and more I work it, but that doesn't mean it's still not hard. So today they had me work drive through and sometimes the front register. I was trying so hard to be a happy and positive employee and it was working. I smiled at all of the customers and wished them a great day before they quickly drove away or took their food. But my brain was COMPLETELY turned off. It wasn't until I was about halfway through my shift that I saw my reflection in the window and let me tell ya. What I thought was a smiling face was definitely NOT a smile. I then realized why all the customers either quickly looked away, or would look at me weird. I can't even explain to you what it was. A grimace smile? I don't know. But it was not pretty, I'll tell you that. I am loving being able to interact with the people though, although, sometimes you get quite a few lemons. It's really hard for me to talk to them because I start to feel guilty if they just ask for ketchup or mustard. Which isn't even a big deal, but I feel guilty really easily. So lets just say, on top of my lemon morning, I had a lot of lemons to give orders to at work. I didn't even think that the day could turn into a lemonade... Was so tired, all I could do was focus on getting home and taking a nap.

The Lemonade

BUT THEN I was asked to clean the tables in the lobby and there was this little girl that couldn't be more that 2 years old sitting in a high chair and as I walked by she tapped me and said "Hi!" I then smiled at her and said hi back and I think the only word she knew was Hi because she then said it about 7 more times as I was cleaning up the tables. I couldn't HELP but smile at this adorable little girl! I asked her what her name was and she just said Hi, so her mom answered for her and then they were getting up to leave and she said "Bye! Thank you! Bye!" and so then I said goodbye to her and it totally turned my day around!


THEN I was getting in my car to drive home, and I turned on my Ipod to the song that was playing when i was driving to work. It was "Why" by Rascal Flatts. It's sort of a sad song and it got me back into the mood I was in before I talked to the little girl. I felt like I needed to take the long way home for some reason, I was just in a mood to listen to the music. So, As I continued to drive and that song had ended, "Wonderful" by Gary Go came on and I just smiled. There was NO coincidence that it was the next song on my shuffle. That song is amazing and if you haven't looked it up, go look it up right now! The part that stood out most today in that song was:

The person that you were has died
You’ve lost the sparkle in your eyes

You fell for life - into its traps
Now you wanna bridge the gaps
Now you wanna bridge the gaps
Now you want that person back
Say “I am”
Say “I am”

Say “I am wonderful”

Oh you are!

The Lemonade Stand!?

This song COMPLETELY CHANGED my lemon to lemonade and I was so happy. THEN as I was going down my street, there on the side of the road, conveniently was some little kids in my ward with a lemonade stand!!! I started laughing and after passing I realized that I would be TOTALLY ungrateful if I didn't go back and buy some lemonade. So even though I decided to turn around once I had pulled into my drive way, I went back and bought some lemonade. Pop was 50 cents and Lemonade was 25 cents so i just gave them two dollars and got both and told them to keep the change. So now here I am, writing about it on my blog, happy as can be, with a pop, and a lemonade FROM an actual lemonade stand... :) and THAT is a (second) sip of "Livi's Lemonade"!

Paranoia

The Lemon

Last night, my friends and I had a sleep over at one of our friends house. She lives in the COOLEST house I know. Basically a country home with a huge back yard, horses, and sometimes cows if you want. Well last night we decided that we would sleep in the backyard on the trampoline. BUT we didn't even go outside until about 1:45am. For some reason in the how ever many steps that it took us to get from the basement, where we were totally dead and ready to fall asleep, to outside, we COMPLETELY woke up. After laughing and not being successful at sleeping, we realized that it was 4AM!!!! So we quieted down and everyone fell asleep...except, well... me. This is where this post's subject comes in. It was so quiet and I loved listening to the crickets, the birds (yes there surprisingly were birds chirping) and star gazing, because who doesn't love star gazing!? I in fact saw THREE shooting stars! Anyways, as I was enjoying nature and all it has to offer, suddenly, I heard a foot step! I immediately started freaking out (Paranoia) but everyone else was asleep! I was also sleeping on the outside of all of us, so that if it was a person, I had a 90% chance that it would be me that the person took! So after being paranoid about every little noise and the continuing footsteps that occurred, a thought came to me. Horses. Yes, horses, and yes, that is a weird thought to think, BUT it's only because I realized that it was the horses that were walking around. After a quick little laugh to myself, I then calmed down for a second and I looked at my phone. It was 5AM! I HAD to get some sleep. So after saying about my billionth prayer, I finally drifted to sleep.

The Lemonade

Well, I guess there ARE some good things about paranoia. I mean, if we didn't have it, then we wouldn't be cautious, right? Yes it can keep us up, or keep us from facing our fears, but without it we wouldn't overcome it, and become stronger. I went and found the definition for Paranoia on google and it said "Paranoia: is a thought process heavily influenced by anxiety or fear". So maybe I think too much? But hey, it's a good thing that I was being cautious about it because what if someone really did come into the backyard? Then I would be prepared to jump up, run and scream bloody murder! So in this case, Paranoia was a good thing... I guess... ha ha!... and THAT is a sip of "Livi's Lemonade"!

P.S. Just a little side note, somewhere in the midst of all this, a part of a song popped into my head. A Jonas Brothers song nonetheless, called Paranoid! The part that was stuck in my head goes,
"Just might be paranoid, yea
I’m avoidin the lines cause they just might split
Can someone stop the noise?
I don’t know what it is but it just don’t fit
Consider me destroyed
I don’t know how to act cause I lost my head
I must be paranoid
I never thought it would come to this...
I’m paranoid."

Childish? Yeah... I know.

Construction

The Lemon

Two of my friends and I have made it a goal to go to the temple at least once a week. So we chose to go today. Since Provo temple is closed for cleaning, my friend and I drove out to Mt. Timpanogos temple to do baptisms. After having a marvelous time at the temple, and eating at our favorite restaraunt "ZUPAS", We decided to take the freeway home. If any of you have driven on the free way in Utah county in the past couple of months, or YEAR, you know that there is a LOT of construction going on. In what should have been a 20 minute drive, it took us 40 minutes to get home. We didn't really have anything to get home for, luckily, but it still was frustrating going about 30 mph when we could be going 65.

The Lemonade

Even though it is a huge lemon, the construction will only come to be our benefit. They are expanding our freeways so that we can have a safer commute. Their hope is to add more lanes so that there will be less accidents. That will mean less injuries, and deaths. Also, it will only make the drive more smooth for anyone that is driving on it. As well as having a smoother commute, I've noticed that they are putting more greenery by the free way! I think it makes the view so much better when you have something to look at. But not only do we have the newly planted greenery, we have the MOUNTAINS! Every time I drive I love looking over at the beautiful mountains that Heavenly Father has given us and just basking in the beauty of this world! So even though the construction is a bit of a mess for now, just imagine how much better our freeway is going to be when it's all done!....and THATS a sip of "Livi's Lemonade"!