BIRTHDAY!

So today it was my birthday. People fed me all day long, I met a billion new people, some kids sang, other people patted me on the head, etc. etc. But don't forget, this blog is all about other people and if there's another person in the world that has even more reason to celebrate the day of my birth than I do for being born, it's my mother for GIVING BIRTH!! On this day, nineteen years ago, early in the morning!

And how, exactly, does one make a blog encompassing all that is good about their mothers? It does not happen easily, that's how. All I can say is, my mom is THE SMARTEST person in this world. She knows EVERYTHING! And even when I am skeptical about her knowledge, she always is right. Just stick with that.

My mom is FUNNY! She has a sharp wit and she can pun and she can feist and she can joke and her humor can be displayed all ways; verbally, visually, mentally, etc.

My mom is a GOOD COOK! Shelletti, pancakes, waffles, french toast, toast, cereal, pea casserole, pizza, potato soup, cowboy beans, sandwiches, tacos, chipotle, cafe rio, salad, fruit, steak, rice, chicken, potatoes, on and on and on! So much good food!

My mom is such a good ADVISOR and COMFORTER! Especially when I am trying to make a decision that is getting skewed by my stupid concerns or illogical thoughts, mom is there to straighten me out!

My mom is PRACTICAL! And you know me, I love practical people. She's a problem solver, and she's efficient about it. And if not, you better believe she starts snappin fingers to get the job done.

My mom is a good DISCIPLINER and TEACHER! In two respects each; discipline for threemonthsgroundedwhichturnedouttobenotreal and discipline for just teaching me how to control myself and teacher because she taught me about a million things just by doing them and teacher because I've never been to a class or heard a lesson where i wasn't 100% uplifted.

My mom has a TESTIMONY! In our family, we aren't really ever ones to show emotion, but whenever I hear my mom bear her testimony about the gospel, spontaneously or not, I know she knows it's true, which helps me to know it's true.

My mom is ATHLETIC! Just picture this (for all you who have seen it before) mom standing on the pitcher's mound with her butt sticking out and the lime green ball perched serenely atop her fingers. hahaha also, picture her just trekking up Sapphire with Doug. She is just healthy!

My mom is uber TALENTED! I mean like, make quilts, write scripts, take pictures, film movies, design posters, create campaigns, plan camps, crochet quilts, fold clothes, cook food, plan trips, yadda yadda yadda the list DOES NOT END! And anything she couldn't do, she learns in a jiffy.

Pretty much, two more things:

Pretty much any girl might try and say any of this about her mom and even if they were being truthful (which they probably aren't because no one is this amazing) their moms still wouldn't be as good at all of this as my mom is. She's THE BEST and it's real.

Also, all this can be summed up in my aspiration and just ever hopeful wish that if I could be just merely HALF as good as my mom is now, my kids would have a super woman mom. And that's only half. But full is just so great, I just feel lucky that my sisters and I at least got to have it for ourselves, even if I can just only ever hope to be as wonderful as my mom. I love you, Mom! Happy GivingBirthday!

Feed and Water

She's wild and candid and fun and creative and funny and really good at cooking tacos.

She's sensitive and tender and understanding and lenient and soft-spoken and really good at making people feel confident.

She's beautiful and youthful and trendy and stylish and laughy and really good at running out in the mornings in her pjs to tell us Taryn won't be making it to the carpool this morning.

She's wise and insightful and firmly testimonied and pure and faithful and really good at just trying her best to be like the Savior and she does a stinking good job.

She's the best mom for her kids, the best wife for her husband, the best entertainer for her adoring audience, the best leader for her followers, the best smiler for the frowners, the best listener for those who talk, the best talker for those who don't, the best cooker for her eaters, the best party thrower for her people, the best host for her guests, the best service woman for the needful, and the best friend for everyone.

She's Pam Smith.

"I just want to take her home and feed her and water her!" -Said by CJ, quoted by me, agreed upon by many

Kimbahly!

What do you get when you cross

pure charity
extreme sense of humor
love for german
skill in public relations
way good talent in art
extremely good work ethic
love for family
pure charity
appreciation for inside jokes
simple selflessness
good sense of how to have fun
way lots of intelligence
pure charity
fun bun
appreciation for Pikes Peak
love of old goofy movies
cute style
deep understanding of the gospel
pure charity
wonderful conversation skills
understanding of joyous romance
good enduring of teasingness
taste buds for prairie grass
way impressive music/singing/guitar skills
expert fudge-dipping donut skills
equally good teaser
the best understander of providing good friendship
pure charity
spectacular story telling skills
contagious laughter
and
pure
charity?

KIMBERLY WEBB!!

A soul providence alone allowed me to meet whose passion is PURE CHARITY!

Ryan Workman!

All I can say is, sometimes people have to have changes of heart before they can glimpse the true goodness of someone else's heart, and I was one of those people with Ryan Workman. Nevertheless, here are 10 great things about Ryan, a person who I now truly appreciate as a pure soul with nothing but good intentions.

1. He is a very happy person, inclined to laughter, always smiling, and very socially amiable. He likes to joke and never gets too serious, which makes for a fun time.

2. He is athletic. Man, that boy can play sports! All kinds! I think he might specialize in baseball, but whatever it is, he's good at it!

3. I do believe he's rather smart. I don't know GPA wise or what not, but he has his wits about him and is at least a good problem solver.

4. He is uber friendly. Everyone he met, he was always the first to introduce himself and make sure the person felt comfortable in the conversation, regardless of whether he was the new one or not.

5. In the end, I would classify him as humble. I will sheepishly admit that I gave him a rough time at the beginning of our friendship, and he humbly sumbitted to just trying to be good and please me even though, what? my desires or opinions didn't even matter! Man, looking back at that, I am kicking myself for the pride I exhibited, but honored to have known someone with such submissiveness.

6. He likes a good adventure. Be it camping or trafalga or the movies, he's there and he makes it fun for everyone.

7. He has a good strong testimony of the gospel. Right now he's serving a mission in Taiwan and I know he will be just great not only becuase it's in his blood but becuase he just knows that the gospel is true and it's something he has to do.

8. He defines selfless service. One time we were going camping and we were just a bunch of clueless, suppliless college hooligans and he drove all the way to his grandpa's hosue to get us a couple of tents. After all that work, we didn't even end up going, but he was so kind about it. Also, he let us use his car to go watch Rach sing in a concert even though he wasn't even going. Also, he gave us and a lot of our other friends free tickets to Trafalga even though we had not always treated him the best. He just was always willing to serve others. it was pure.

9. He is charismatic. No matter who he meets, they generally like him right away becuase he is just friendly and happy.

10. Ryan has a pure heart with nothing but good intentions. Like I said, I may have misjudged that from the start, but it is nothing but true and he really is just a good boy.

G-I-G-L-I-O-T-T-I

If you asked any anatomy student from Doherty High School how to spell the first section of the intestine tract, they would, without hesitation, jump up and say, "J-E-J-U-N-U-M, what's that spell? Jejunum! Let's go, Jejunum!"

Or... try singing Bohemian Rhapsody around one of them without having them relate fond memories to you about "Queen Up" after dissection day. It won't happen.

Or...ask them how they celebrated Halloween. They'll have a good story for you on their list of Halloween celebrations that will have something to do with a dark classroom, skeleton lights, carved pumpkins, and Edgar Allan Poe readings from a shrouded Steve Gigliotti!

Such is the nature of the man. He is so incredible, none can forget him, and few can go through life without continually thinking fondly of the great elements he contributed to their lives.

It wasn't just that he was a great teacher. Though, this is very true and deserves some spotlighting. There's a lot to know about the human body and I certainly will never know all of it, but I know a great deal more than the average person becuase of Mr. Gigliotti. All the bones. Many of the organs. A lot about the brain. Everything about the eye. The list goes on.

But it's not just that he's a great teacher. He's just an awesome guy! Rock climbing, swimming, running, biking, rafting, kayaking, caving, camping, the list goes on and on! He loves adventure and inspires such a passion in people everywhere.

And it's not just that he's a great teacher or an awesome guy! He's a great friend. Even years after i took his class, he would never hesitate to set aside whatever he was doing and have a real, long, heartfelt conversation. And the best part about these is they usually contain a lot of teasing and joking and it's all well received. I never beat him up too bad haha. And on the friendship factor, he knows what friendship means. That's why he could appreciate Karalee and I even though we were probably some of the more annoying souls he ever knew.

And it's not just that he's a great teacher or an awesome guy or a great friend! Really, what I think is the best thing about Mr. Gigliotti is that he is an incredible father. He has a great bond with his sons (hanging from rocks and falling out of rafts does this to a father and son) and has raised them to be fun loving but respectable boys. He also has the purest daughter in the world, and she has had some heart struggles from day 1; becuase of this, he is the most tender man in the world. You'd be surprised how quickly he can go from rough and tumble outdoorsman to tenderhearted father when Allison comes up, and I have experienced some really heartwarming moments when his love and care for her is extrememly evident. This is impressive to me; one wouldn't think that a man who can dissect pigs without even thinking about it and take on an entire raging river by himself would be inclined to speak tenderly and love charitably, but he epitomizes this combination in the best possible way.

Some good Gigliotti quotes, many of which all the Doherty students know:
"Two, Utah, Two!"
"...and that's a big BUTT"
"America, the best country in the United States"
"Got that, Roy? You belong in a freak show"
"Hahahhahaha" (laughter. Always laughter)
"No lilydipping"
No quote, but oh my one time he just started rapping in the middle of his lecture, it was seriously like the funniest thing I have ever witnessed in my existence
"So like, totally, like this weekend, like I'm going shopping totally at Aeropostale"
"I want you all to employ the word beverage today. Your parents will be impressed"

Good ol' Gigliotti. I'd take his class again in a heart beat. Or the blink of an eye.

Brooke Carter Talei!

All I can say is, my niece Brooke is ADORABLE! For the majority of her life thus far, my dad would always refer to her as the "cutest little boy" becuase she was just this round headed little baldie, precious, but boylike nonetheless.

The point is, now she is come to full girl preciousness and is so cute! Rightfully so, as her middle name does mean "precious" in Fijian.

I don't know much about Brooke, as she's only 3, but I do know that

a) She is precious
b) She is a good, humble little sister. Her older sister Viana likes to tell her to do things and Brooke just immediately after does exactly what Viana tells her to
c) She is a friendly little girl! I don't think she quite understands just how she knows me yet, but she doesn't hesitate to just come right up and start talking to me
d) Which shows me that she's also confident and brave. Good qualities, I'd say
e) She likes to play! And she likes to play with her family, which is good too
f) She is content where she is.
g) From what I can tell, she's pretty obedient
h) Her parents love her immensely, and to me that's a sign that she must be pretty wonderful
i) I love her, and I'm not a HUGE baby/toddler person.
j) Which to you, that's a sign that she IS wonderful.
k) Good job, Precious Brooke Precious Carter!

Inspiration!

Remember that blind date I went on and I discussed blogs? And he essentially inspired me to start this whole soul spotlight thing? I declare that act alone deserves some spotlighting.

But that's not to mention his great ability to make conversation! Usually on dates I ask ALL the questions and make the conversation; not so with Josh Clayton! He asked me a bunch of questions and we just had a nice chat, which was refreshing. Also, he remembered most of the answers! He is just a genuine soul with an interest in people. He's smart and he really does know the value of a good friendship, which a) I don't know that a ton of boys do and b) i don't know that a ton of people do, so good for him.

Besides that, he is a feist! He likes to do daredevil things, and he likes to take whoever along for the ride. Good sense of adventure.

Josh is also honest. Confident in himself. But not cocky. Rather, very humble and considerate and aware of the needs and desires of others around him.

He doesn't like to step on people's toes. But, he's not a people pleaser to the point that people walk all over his. Essentially, I think Josh Clayton has what I consider one of the most important traits of any successful souls, and that is balance. That's why, thanks to Josh, I can have one blog that talks about no one but me and one blog that is all about other people. Like Josh.

Eden Moss

There once was a girl named Eden
In decible count she was always leadin
She talked so loud
She attracted a crowd
And entrance to her speech was not forbidden

But Eden, she loved to smile
It never took longer than awhile
To be talking to her
And because she was so pure
For a compliment to come- and no lie-els!

For she loved to serve all day long
To describe her as selfish would be quite wrong
She had a faithful testimony
And thought fear was baloney
And loved to praise in prayer and in song

Besides all this she had a great sense
Of how to be humorous in every instance
Her cheeks were jolly and round
Every time she would sound
Her loud laughter- oh what great bliss!

I met Eden before any other soul
When I entered my first week of school
We bonded right away
And still to this day
She and I are kindred spirits as a rule!

The best thing about this girl Eden
Is all problems or worries she'll mend
She'll just come right up
And swallow you in a hug
Because overall, Eden is just a good friend!

Candshake

Every Sunday growing up, a cheerful old gentleman would come up and shake my hand with a twinkle in his eye, and when I pulled away from the greeting, there was always a candy in my hand. It was charity at its finest; sneaky, simple, and heartwarming.

Bro. Lundy (I can't even remember his first name) embodied the Christlike love for which we are all striving. I don't know a lot about Bro. Lundy's life, but I do think it ha a pretty good amount of roughness. Regardless, I know for sure that he loves his wife, who passed away pretty early in life. He loves his children, even though I think a good number of them were wayward souls. He loves the gospel, so much so that I can't remember really anytimes when he didn't have an investigator that turned into a faithful member of the church becuase he was such a good representative with an unshakeable testimony. And he loves other people. He is always serving, always ready, even really when I feel like he should be the one getting the service he so bounteously gives. Heck, he took time always to get candy for me (and I know at least two other people in the ward) so he could always be ready to offer me a candshake. Of love!

Buggin!!

There are few people who actually deserve the description of a buggin, and only really one person that absoultely defines "buggin" through the purity of her soul, quaintness of her being, and success of her life. She has hair as yellow as corn, the cutest feet in the world, and a feistiness that would blow you away. Jordan Bloesser!!

Here are 10 great things about Jordan:

1. She is so cute! She just is little and quaint, and she knows exactly how she wants to look all the time, which is cute, and so she always looks cute. She always has little bangs that frame her face, and her hair seriously is blonder than most souls. She just has little features, which is what I think endears her the most to me becuase we both just have little features, and so we are bonded and she is precious.

2. She is so stinking fast! Jordan and I went to middle school together and I was in 8th grade, just barely discovering i was a runner, when she was already winning all sorts of races. It didn't stop there! She won a race in Kansas and she placed super high in countless cross country meets, many in which I was honored to participate with her, and she finally won a couple her senior year!! Every workout I ever did with her was good hard work becuase she is just a good stinking little runner. Not to mention athlete; she won most athletic in middle school (such an honor, I know) and then for real in high school like, get your picture framed and hung up in the hall for kids to make fun of generations from now after styles have changed but it doesn't matter becuase talent stays the same.

3. Wow. Talk about funny! She has a kind of cynical sense of humor, but it makes me laugh so hard. And she has a good giggle for if you can ever return the humor.

4. She has a good relationship with her mom, which i think is cherishable. They like to run together and her mom is just precious like she is, so they are just two cute people bonding always.

5. She has super good jugdment of people's souls, and she doesn't mess around with trying to skew the perspective. If someone's a suave, they're a suave and that's fine. If they are buggin (in the broadest sense of the word), they are buggin and that's all there is to it. But the best part is, she still appreciates them all as souls, weird or not, and will listen to them no matter what.

6. She's so practical, which i love!! Every decision or plan she makes is thought out and sensible, efficient and cheap, and always memorable. None of this extraneous stress factor stuff. She just gets down to business and gets it done.

7. Jordan is smart! She works hard and does good, and she also doesn't believe in cheating, which is awesome.

8. Hahah one of the best things about Jordan is she thinks boys are stupid but all of them jsut are trying to woo her! Haha so becuase she is so precious she's got a billion boys that just admire her from a distance, but it has to be from a distance because she just thinks they are all just silly little boys so there's no hope for them. But I will say, I can't wait till she falls head over heels in love because then I know that boy has got to be something special! And she deserves it.

9. Jordan is a cherisher of memories and a giver of gifts. She just is sincere, she likes to remember things that happened and she likes to bring them up so everyone can reminisce on them together again. She cherishes bonds with people. And when she wants to show it, she just doesn't call up hallmark and make some cookies, she makes her own awesome cards and gives a gift that has some sort of sentimental value to the person. It is awesome.

10. Jordan is a buggin! More like, THE buggin. If you don't know what I mean by that, you just have to meet Jordan and you will immediately know!

Chuck!

I stumbled upon an epiphany this summer while training for a marathon. All I am in the running world, which is not necessarily impressive but at least substantial, can be credited almost entirely to Chuck Schwartz. Though my parents gave me my genes, he taught me not only the importance of mental strength and the ability to endure through painful moments, but above all else the passion that really runs my life (ha. punintended)

What else is great about Schwartz? He loves the 70's. The music, the hairstyles (he even sports them), the history, and especially the runners. He taught history. He LOVES his family; adores his wife, idolizes his three precious sons. He understands the beauty of nature and the testament it gives to God's existence. Schwartz may not be able to remember that he already told you the same story 80 times, but he remembers, without fail, every runner he's ever known and all their PRs. To. the. second.

He's the best coach I've ever had. He ALWAYS personalized my running schedule and 70 more for each of my teammates. He would run with us on training runs. He would cheer the loudest for us at meets. He would brag about us to other people. He took my freshman group of runners of misfits and hooligans and turned us into a state contending team. He seriously instilled within me the intense love I have for running, the love that other people think is crazy but honestly keeps me hitting the trails every day. He's sentimental, and I think that's a good trait for a coach. Not to mention, he's a complete goofball :)

Some Sweet Schwartz Quotes:

"I just ran a 5 minute mile in my vans!"
"They've got AFRICANS!"
"Am I going to have to make you guys get in plank position?" (As he rubs his hair with one hand, the other on his hip)
"Did I ever tell you the story about Jamie and the lobster hands?" Yes, coach, yes you did. 12 times.
"You're an ANIMAL!"
"Hey, there, Roy Buggin!"
"...And they didn't know who Pre was! I was just thinking... man, these kids have a lot to learn"
"I know a sweet trail we can do our cooldown on afterwards........"

And so much more. What a soul!

First Boy

There probably should be some boy souls on this little soul spotlight, and so when contemplating which boys I've known for the longest and which would probably be my brother since I don't have any real ones, I of course immediately thought of James Allen!

J- Jumpy. When I picture James Allen, I think of him hopping around the basketball court, dodging poison balls and shniking rebounds. Playing basketball with James constitutes seriously some of my best childhood mornings.

A-Abashed. Ask my dad to do an impersonation of Bro. Allen talking to you, and James is the same way. Just kind of abashed, kind of mumbly, but always funny.

M-Momma's Boy. I have never known a son more endeared to his mother, maybe because he's the only son, but I can tell James respects his mother, and for that he gets a lot of brownie points. And brownies.

E-Enthusiastic. I've had the pleasure of serving with James on several committees or at least at a lot of service projects and such over the years, and he is definitely a team get-up-and-goer. And can't you just picture his raised eyebrows face like, "Oh! Yeah! What can I do? What do you need us to do? Oh, there's no one with me? Don't worry, I'll get a herd of willing servants in about 5 seconds" and then he does.

S-Squinty. Another classic James face. You know he appreciates your humor, which he always tries to appreciate everyone's humor, when his face gets all squinty like a happy little siamese cat hahaha in the best possible way, of course




A- Altruistic. I'm pretty sure every mom in our ward wanted their daughter to marry James, the noble, spiritual, serving, dashing young man, regardless of whether their daughter was in nursery or about to graduate young women's.

L-Humble. Ok, so Humble doesn't start with an L, but because it's one of his most prominent characteristics, I just had to throw it in there, and I already have to think of another L

L-Leader. I always remember James being the one to get up and lead any sort of movement; testimony meetings, service projects, fun gatherings, movie making endeavors, bike rides, etc. etc.

E-Eccentric. One time James came with me and a bunch of other people to Keller Park in the dark of the night and we rode the tandem around and he was wearing a yellow felt vest with piano notes on it, a pink poodle skirt, a black cape, and a cowboy hat. Oh what a silhouette in the night of my childhood. And that did not occur in just one instance.

N-No one compares. Seriously, James Allen is like a brother to me and I don't think I could have found a soul like him anywhere else to provide such big brother hoodness! What a pure soul!

Good Man!

Second Grade. I'm wearing a blue, button-up blouse with flowers on it and sitting next to a brown haired little girl with a buggin nose and puppy dog eyes, who is sitting next to a chubby, outspoken little boy. I crack a joke about my blouse to both of them, and the girl realizes she'd rather talk to me than the boy on her other side.

I was the lucky one that day.

3 years later. I'm best friends with said brown haired little girl, and she's still little. We play tetherball at recess. We sit next to each other during silent reading time. We have sleepovers and think we are cool because we are still eating fruit roll-ups till midnight! We are in the same group for Math Quest Fridays. She is polite, quaint, cute, smart, and feisty.

For my birthday, everyone else got me regular things their moms pulled out of the birthday box ten minutes before they left. She got me a book and bookmarks. After I opened it, my mom said, "You will be friends with Regan Goodman for a long time"

7 years later. I'm still best friends with Regan Goodman, even though we have quite gone our separate paths. Regan is still polite, quaint, cute, smart, and feisty, and now she is also independent, wise, funny, good natured and full of all kinds of potential to be even more! I do feel as if we will always have a bond. Something about chubby boys, tetherballs and bookmarks does that to you.

Bryndee Nicole Peterson

You gotta think that whoever gets this spot today is pretty special because first I post my best friend, then I post my own grandmother after whom I am named in part, and then.....

BRYN!
When I moved into Wyview last year there were name tags on all the doors of all the girls I just knew I would bond with and know and the door across from ours had a name tag with the name Bryndee on it. Well, when I saw that, I knew I was going to be friends with that girl becuase her name was Bryndee. What could be better?

Well, at the end of my Wyview year, I knew this Bryndee and we were friends, but not as I had assumed at the beginning. Nevertheless, we signed a contract to live together in the summer and NOW comes the joyous bond I always imagined.

Becuase. Bryn. Is. Great.

This is why:

She laughs like a seal, loves to shop, always looks trendy, talks about boys, wears a Flirty apron, has blonde hair that has been dyed multiple times, owns the largest collection of headbands and other hair accessories of anyone i know, and can text without even looking at her phone. Just go ahead and draw that image up in your mind.

But. Then.

Add to it the fact that she has an associate degree and a pharmacist license, she's already a senior in college, she tutors grown men in one of the hardest prereqs at BYU, Chem 105, she can write a 12 page paper in 2 days, she can cook anything and often makes up her own recipes, she is UBER organized, she always works hard, always, she is the most fluent conversationalist, she really cares about peoples lives, but not in a squealy way, just a "tell me about your life and i will make sure that I analyze it and give you honest feedback on what I think" way, she shops for good clearance deals, she can't wait to get married and be a mom but not becuaes it's the dream of every girl but because she just knows that's what she's born to do, she has about 12 restaurant's menus memorized, she knows her standards and sticks to them, she has a testimony of the gospel and helps others to do the same, she goes and visits an old lady named Wanda EVERY WEEK but no one even knows that becuase she is so pure about it, she always contributes to charities and performs service at every opportunity and she doesn't let other people decide who she will be!!

And. Then.

Remember that she LOVES TO HAVE FUN and ALWAYS CAN no matter what. And I am privileged to count her amongst one of my greatest friends. Good thing her name is Bryndee, or none of this may ever have happened!