#14

• • Who wants to hear a story?
    
    C'mon..I know you all do. I mean, who doesn't want to hear a crazy story about a failed attempt at a relationship and a silly boy who will never get married?
    yes, it is one of those stories, and Its a fun story to tell.
    
    First I want to give props to my girl Sheii. She was the one to tell me that I should never judge a boy based on his resume,-however, I didn't listen and I had to learn the hard way.
    
    
    This is my story.
    
    Let me just give you a heads up. I'm not going to name his name, even though I would love to have a Taylor Swift moment and give a tell all. But I won't do that, so just so you know- Ben Lawson is a fake name. 2nd, to all of those who know this person, I do not hate him at all. I'm merely grateful for him, and for the lesson that I learned because of him. So thank you for teaching me a lesson I'll never forget.
    
    So hear you go. #14. " Don't judge a boy buy his resume."
    
    It all started when I moved to Chicago. I had broken off my previous relationship and was ready for a "challenge"-whatever that means.

     I was sick of the " Utah boy" and thought that the "Chicago boy" would be so much more distinguished and classy than the Utah boys that I had dated.
    
    
    But of course, the only ones that I met were extremely attractive  boys and graduates from BYU.
    
    
    Typical.
    
    
    2nd day in Chicago. I met this boy. He was cute, and nice. I was easily impressed, and as I got to know him I started checking off my list of 

     "Qualities I want in my future husband." 
    The list included: 
    Smart,
    good looking, 
    RM, 
    ripped abs, (hahah just kidding) 
    tall, 
    older (like late 20's) 
    funny
    spoke Italian, 
    hard worker. 
    Likes Chick flicks - His favorite?  Pride and Prejudice. My favorite. :)
    
    
    (okay, stop judging.) 
    
    
    To me he had it all. 
    And to be be perfectly honest, the boy even had the General Authorities and The Proclamation to the Family on his wall - such a catch. Well, at least I thought so.
    
    
    Problem was.. His lack of dating skills.
    
    
    Date #1. Dinner, hot tub, massages. ( I promise, it wasn't dirty) 
    Date #2. Oh, actually that didn't happen.
    Date #3. ya, didn't happen either.
    
    actually, we didn't go on any more dates. But yet, I still was enthralled by the fact that he met all of my qualifications.
    
    What ended up happening  was the usual 11:00pm calls on Tuesday and Thursday( sketchy), the awkward hugs and conversations at church, and the random weekend movie and snuggle sessions( oh, and did I mention that he never once walked me down to get a cab or called me to make sure that I got home safe?) Pathetic? I know.
    Of course that should have  been a HUGE red flag to me, but I was listening too closely to the pitter patter of my little heart than the logic in my brain. 
    
    
    So,I gave it 3 months ( I wanted to practice my patience.) nothing happened. Still no answers, no commitment, no real dates even. nothing. It got old, and then I knew " Amanda, he's just not that into you."
    
    
    All I could think about was how annoyed I was, and how I only wanted to listen to Beyonce's " Who run the world? (GIRLS)" and eat my chocolate.  And when I finally told a friend about the 

    situation; she confessed to being treated the same way by the same exact boy, and she also knew of girls who he had done the same thing to as well.
    Being Furious with the idea of being played,  I decided to think of plots of revenge, for instance - hitting him in the face with a pie or putting laxatives in some brownies to give to him. (none of which I did, I just liked the idea of revenge.)
    But on top of that, he already had a name. People called him the "Ben Lawson experience."  
    I also came to find out that he was flying girls out from their town to come visit him in Chicago so they could partake of the  
    " Ben Lawson Experience".
    
    Naturally, I decided to stand up for myself and tell him what I thought.
    He denied the whole idea of it( of course) and tried to convince me that he would never do such a thing and that I was beautiful, and one of a kind  and would never do that to a daughters of God.( Boy, he was cheesy)
    
    
    To make a long story short,  I gave him a piece of my mind. Ran into him 2 weeks later while in Utah, and then found out he was also dating my Visiting teaching companion the same time as he was dating me.
    
    So I learned. I will never, ever, ever base a boy off of his impressive resume. 
    
    
    I also will recognize when a boy is just not that into you. 
    
    
    Good thing I learned this lesson while I was young. jeesh. hahah
• The End. 

I live life.

So I have been contemplating on the random things of life.
               For one. I have been thinking about all of the wonderful things that I've learned in my so far 6 months of being a nanny. So far,  I've traveled from Chicago( 4 months) to Malibu to Seattle to Maui and now to Manhattan Beach, California.
                                               My life isn't boring.
                                       
                                       I've traveled, adjusted and I have really learned to love this adventure.
                   And not only can I ride the metro in Chicago, but I can now use pepper spray as well. I can also catch a taxi, and navigate through a big city. ( well sort of. ) use a high-tech alarm system, and most importantly know how to stop a 2 year old from having a insane temper tantrum (without bribes).
No, but in all seriousness, I have learned so many things; things that I know I wouldn't have learned unless I had moved out of Utah and into the non-Mormon world, or the real world.
                                     I've gained some real life perspective as well.

                                          So I'm gonna break it down for you.
       Twenty things I've learned since I've moved out of Utah. ( or knew but didn't apply until I left Utah.)

1.  Sometimes you have to leave your hometown to appreciate it. :)

2. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

3. Everyone wants to be loved, understood and respected. People aren't scary. :)

4. Trust until someone gives you a reason not to trust.

5. My mom is the hardest working person I know.

6. Accepting someone doesn't mean you have to agree with what they do.

7. Just because someone doesn't live their life they way you do; doesn't necessarily mean that they are a bad person.

8. Be assertive, bold, and say what is on your mind. It makes life more enjoyable.

9. Revenge is never a good idea. never ever.

10. Don't ride the metro at night.

11. Don't plan out your life, because God will always have a different plan for you.

12. Do what you want NOW. Don't wait, cause you might not have the opprotunity again.

13. BE SPONTANEOUS!!!

14. Dating: Boys who have impressive resumes doesn't always equal good boys.

15. My testimony is 100x greater since I've really had to really defend my religion.

16.  Put yourself in a uncomfortable situation and see how you handle it. ( It builds character.)

17.  Ask questions.

18.  All people should read a book about body language, it helps. ALOT. :)

19. Forgive, forgive and forgive. Your worst enemy can become your best friend, but only if you can forgive.

20.  Never lose contact with old friends. :)


I feel like this list could go on and on and on.... but I'm ending it here.

My life is amazing, wonderful, fantastic, superb, glorious and all things marvelous.
I am so grateful for my experience and my friends and family and all things new and old. Life couldn't get better,
               It really couldn't.
( And don't worry, as I write more I'll elaborate on those 20 things that I've learned.)

This is just the beginning. I promise.
                                                           As my friend rissa would say " Good night yo". peace.

random thoughts throughout the day.

1. Swearing in Utah = hick/trashy. Swearing anywhere else in the country= normal.


2. You can tell you live in the suburbs when you wear polo shirts and rhinestone pocket jeans.


3.  Utah and Texas are the only states who have orange people( from tanning) and eyelash extension. I swear no one else does that...


4. Can we please get rid of hair extensions? Yucky.


5. I hope Facebook never becomes a Myspace. 


6.  I've become super critical of engagements, since I see so many all the time.


7. Today is " talk about your fiancé"  or "how much you hate school"
 on Facebook. Pretty sure I always miss those memos.


8. What the heck is " Walking dead." Sounds a little disturbing to me.
9. Its totally okay to eat some ice cream after you just worked out for 2 hours, right? 
10. Why is everyone suddenly interested in photography and fashion?  

Prologue

Okay. Okay. 

I cracked.

So for awhile I've been hesitant to the whole blogging idea. Its not that I hate blogging or people who blog, but I don't like the idea for well... mainly  two reasons. a. I don't read other peoples blogs; because usually I get bored reading them and b. because its totally cliche. And I definitely don't want to be cliche..

 Also, blogs are pretty much like journals, and since I am already in a dedicated relationship with my journal( I know it sounds nerdy, don't judge me.) -why would i want to do another thing that would take up more time away from writing in my journal? Right?? but.

              I'm gonna do it anyways...

                       I love and I mean LOVE to write. of course, another cliche bloggers response to "Why do you blog"  But guess what? If I don't write things down I think I start to go a little crazy. My poor little brain simply can't handle all of the new information coming in and out. ( I blame this on my dad completely because he's just like I am...Thank you dad.) And I REALLY need a creative outlet. Taking care of kids and cleaning and errands don't necessarily feed my creative senses. 

                                               I live by the words.. "express yourself."

                I have A LOT to say to people, the world, fellow bloggers, politicians, celebrities, friends and EVERYONE.

      I don't know why this generation has the need to let everyone know everything about their life or thought process but we do... and count me in as one more girl who likes to talk.  So I'm totally doing it.. And I'm totally going there, and maybe it might be a little too bold for you. Or maybe you don't wanna hear it. And hopefully I can express myself as a classy/ witty/ sharp edged girl. 

This is going to be fun. And hopefully you'll like it, but if you don't no big deal. We can still be friends. :)