Isn't it nice to know that the lining is silver?

Howdy everyone! 

It's been a while, I know! Life has been so crazy...I'm not even sure where to begin. I've been sick this past week and so everything's been a blur. I needed a break from the stress of school so I'm spending the weekend with my wonderful grandparents. It's so nice to have a real, home-cooked meal and delicious baked goods. I love feeling at home and super relaxed. 

On Tuesday of this week, I went to the Parachute, All American Rejects, and Boys Like Girls concert. It was SO amazing! I loved Parachute's great performance and Boys Like Girls' energy, enthusiasm, and connection with their fans. It was such a fun night! 

Parachute did a meet and greet after their performance. I got all of them to sign my t-shirt, and got pictures with all but one of them! 

Waiting in line to meet Parachute!

Angie, me and Tyler with Will Anderson, lead singer of Parachute (so great!! <3)

Nate McFarland, guitarist of Parachute (he said he liked my jacket. I wanted to die from excitement!)

 Alex Hargrave, bassist of Parachute

With Johnny Stubblefield, drummer of Parachute 

The rest of the week has been long, stressful, and freezing cold. We got snow this week. Snow people! It is super exciting! I know that the novelty will wear off and I will get sick of it eventually, but for the time being I am loving it! I ran into these lovely ladies and we had to take a picture in the snow!

Love them! <3 

These past few weeks have been incredibly hard for me. There were moments that I felt lonely, confused, and upset. However, the amazing thing is that we face terrible times so that we can grow, learn, and better ourselves. Life is easier when you know that Jesus Christ atoned for not only our sins, but every ounce of sorrow and pain that we experience. He understands and knows us perfectly and through Him, we can do and endure all things. He loves us perfectly and individually.

Joseph B. Wirthlin articulates this idea perfectly: 

"I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.

 But the doom of that day did not endure.The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.

  

Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

I know this is true. If you want to know it is too, check out the "What I Believe" tab at the top of the page. :) 

Have a beautiful weekend! 

Hakuna matata,

Mallory 

Adventures

Yes everyone--I am still alive! 

I know it's been a while since I've posted but this past week was literally one of the longest weeks of my life. I know that I say that practically every post, but each week gets progressively longer and crazier. It's been up and down and a whirlwind but I am surviving! I have a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it so I will do my best. Also, I have a million pictures to post. So bear with me. 

Last Friday we went out for a girls night with our good friends Kinsey and Paige. We had delicious pizza and desert. :) 

Matching striped sweaters!! <3 

After that we went to the football game. BYU played Utah State and we won 6-3. 

RISE AND SHOUT! THE COUGARS ARE OUT!!

 This past weekend was General Conference. What an incredible experience it was to hear from our living prophet Thomas S. Monson and apostles of the Lord. The talks were all phenomenal and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true gospel on the earth. We received some wonderful revelation directly from our Heavenly Father and I am so blessed to be a part of His glorious work. One of my favorite talks was by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and I want to share one of the quotes I loved from it:

"It's not a race, it's a journey. Enjoy the moment!" 

To learn more about General Conference and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, check out the "What I Believe" tab above. :)

Sarah and I tried to be domestic during Conference weekend. We baked cookies, a cake, cinnamon rolls and puppy chow. I would like to clarify  that we gave a lot of it away to our friends. Except the puppy chow. That stuff is divine. 

This past week was BYU Homecoming! It was such a fun week!! 

Wednesday, I went with my homecoming date to True Blue football! They had set up a massive slip and slide covered in blue foam. It was only the best thing ever. It was SO. MUCH. FUN.

Thursday night, we went to the Homecoming Spectacular, which was a show put on by super talented BYU performers, including the Young Ambassadors, the Cougarettes, and Vocal Point!! It was, just as the name implies, spectacular!! 

Friday night was the Homecoming dance! It was super fun. It was 50s themed, so they played tons of oldies music. We ended up swing dancing, waltzing, and having a total blast!

Yeah, we're pretty cute. 

 Roomie love! 

Love them! 

Saturday was the Homecoming football game against Oregon State (I don't want to talk about the score). But it was a blackout game so it was super intense! 

BYU babes!

Look who we found at the game! Reunion! 

Then we went to Culvers, which is the most delicious place on earth. 

Sarah and I are doing well. We are eating really healthy (not), 

unintentionally matching (we have been living together too long I guess. Or we really are twins...?),

FREEZING IN OUR ROOM BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T TURNED ON THE HEAT, 

and still as cute as ever! Haha

That's finally all I have to say! 
Thanks for reading; have a great week and remember life is beautiful! 

Hakuna matata,
Mallory 

Procrastination at its finest

Hey all! 

And HAPPY THURSDAY. 

It has been a pretty happy Thursday in fact. Yesterday I had an anatomy lab quiz and an American Heritage test so my stress levels were definitely elevated. But, I survived and am alive to tell the tale (and happy to say I got A's on both). So that meant that today was pretty relaxing compared to yesterday. 

Needless to say, I am still putting off the reading I fell terribly behind on this week. But hey, reading is overrated, right? Let me fill you in on this past week.

Last Friday night was the BYU vs. Hawaii game. We won 47-0 so it was a bit of a blow out. But at least we won! It was super fun. 

 I adore these girls! <3 

 Roomie!! 

We love football!! 

Look who we saw at the football game!! So great seeing you Kyleigh!! 

After the game, we went to a super lame dance that we made super fun!!! 

Then we went to the creamery with some friends and got ice cream and ended up hanging out and talking for a long while! It was way fun.

Saturday: 

2 hours of anatomy lab.

2 hours of reviews.

General Relief Society Meeting in Salt Lake with my amazing sister. 

What an incredible meeting! I was so grateful for the opportunity to be in attendance. :)

And of course we saw the beautiful Salt Lake Temple (confused? Check out the "What I Believe" tab at the top). 

This week has kind of been a blur and I am glad it is coming to a close (even though I still have midterms coming up). I am stoked for General Conference this weekend! 

A friend shared this quote with me and I've been thinking about it over the past week. 

"You may sometimes be tempted to say, ‘Will my influence make any difference? I am just one. Will my service affect the work that dramatically?’ I testify to you that it will. You will never be able to measure your influence for good." 

-President Thomas S. Monson

Sometimes it seems like we are not doing enough, like our efforts are not being rewarded. But keep going. Keep trying, knowing that everything you do will influence others in some way. One person can make all the difference in the world. 

Have a great weekend! 

Hakuna matata,

Mallory 

Twinning

Twinning. 

v. a take on the popular term winning; refers to having identical thoughts or behavior

Popular to contrary belief, my roommate Sarah and I are not twins.

I know, you just fell out of your chair because you were so shocked. Take deep breaths; it will be okay. 

Then one time, Sarah got bangs. And we secretly hoped that people would stop getting us confused.

But it didn't work. 

So hate to break it to you, but we aren't twins. We aren't sisters. We aren't even related. 

We're just best friends. <3 

More to come from this weekend! :)

Hakuna matata!

Mallory

[Insert clever title here]

Howdy!

I cannot believe it is only Wednesday. This has been a chaotic week already and it's barely half over!

I absolutely love the fact that Utah has seasons. That's right y'all, fall does actually exist. It's not just in movies. I guess over the past three years I got too accustomed to Texas weather because this 50 degree calls for me busting out my boots and sweaters. But it's all good, because I adore fall clothes. The mountains are absolutely gorgeous with the trees changing colors. Yesterday, I even saw some snow up in the mountains. What can I say? I love Utah in the fall.

Well these past few days have been super busy but also super fun! I had a chance to race paper and tin foil boats (just so you know, the boat that Julius and I made dominated), attend the BYU choir concert which was so great, explore some of downtown Provo, and attend a broadcast of the Brigham City Temple Dedication, which was an incredible experience. There was a tangible spirit in that meeting and I know that the Brigham City Temple, as is every other temple on the earth, is the House of the Lord. If you want to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and our beautiful temples, check out the "What I Believe" page above. :) Here are pictures from the past few days:

Lightning McQueen... We're number 1!! 

Random late night Frosty runs are a MUST. 

Last night me and my friend Katelyn attended the NSSLHA (National Student Speech Language Hearing Association) Opening Social. It was great to meet some of the professors and students in the Communication Disorders program here at BYU. I am so excited to be in this great program and already love it!!

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to hear from Jeff Wilks at the Tuesday Devotional here at BYU. He gave a fantastic talk about being optimistic in the pessimistic world we seem to live in. I wanted to share some of his points... they were so inspiring and totally applicable to my life right now.

1. Righteousness Does Not Mean Perfection

“Perfection can sometimes be the enemy of righteousness...when we get so caught up worrying about being perfect, about being a perfect spouse, a perfect son or daughter, a perfect parent, a perfect teacher, or a perfect friend, it’s easy to become discouraged because none of us will ever be perfect in this life. Even though our Savior commanded us to be perfect like him and our Heavenly Father, he has no expectation that we’re going to accomplish that in this life. It’s impossible. Remember, he taught Moroni that he gives unto us weaknesses that we can be humble. And if we humble ourselves, his grace is sufficient to make these weaknesses become strengths, but not perfections.”

2. Keep Trying

"When you’re sitting there, wondering whether you can stand back up one more time, remember that sometimes the test isn't about overcoming, but about whether we will keep trying no matter how hard things seem to be. Never give up. Do all things cheerfully that lie in your power, and then stand still with the assurance that God will help you."

3. Keep Your Focus on Heavenly Father

"He is always nearby when we are going through tough times, but it’s up to us whether we will look into his eyes and listen to his voice. We look into his eyes and we hear his voice when we immerse ourselves in the scriptures and we converse with him in daily, meaningful prayer. I testify to you that by keeping our focus on him and listening to his voice, we will see the goodness and wonder that surrounds us even in the most difficult of circumstances.”

4. Heavenly Father’s Approval Matters Most

“Why do we aspire to the honors of men and forget that Heavenly Father’s approval is all that matters in the end? When we allow our decisions to be influenced by the approval of others, we put ourselves at the mercy of fickle mobs, ever changing fashions, and the devil’s whirlwinds. If instead we seek our Heavenly Father’s approval only, we build our foundation upon a rock that cannot be moved. . .  I testify to you that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are our greatest cheerleaders and fan section. And we will feel more joy and hope in this world when we do our best to seek and obtain their approval."

5. Look for (and Remember) the Joy in our Lives

I love that! I hope that you find that as meaningful and important as I do! 

Thanks for reading; have a fabulous Wednesday!

Hakuna matata,

Mallory