conference-ing + weekend-ing.

this past weekend my nikki-friend came down from southern idaho for some girl time + some general conference. to clarify, general conference is a weekend where leaders of my church give counsel that uplifts + inspires us to be better. lots of silver foxes. lots of note taking. lots of cinnamon rolls. it's a ball! onwards! having my nikki-friend in town was nice; it helped me to appreciate utah county + all of its chain restaurants (cheesecake factory! cheesecake fact-or-eeee!). also! she brought a boy + jeff and i guessed the status of their relationship the entire weekend. hehe. also! i forgot how awkward the word 'relationship' is for those who are just friends? having a thing? oops.

(ten points to whoever can land he-who-shall-not-be-named on the right!'s doppelganger.  are you feeling ryan reynolds? the brother from hannah montana? the animated character norman from paranorman? close, but not quite?)(also do we like my green hunter boots? stress zits happened over those things! green? black? are these the next ugg boot? stress! zits!)

i worked all day saturday (let me expound : all. day. i arrived at work at 7:45 in the morning + left the mall at 11 that night. eleven!) and missed the morning + afternoon session but! i am catching up. slowly. here's some of my favorite highlights from saturday: 

"doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." // "the acorn of honest inquiry has often sprouted + matured into a great oak of understanding." - dieter f. uchtdorf (...who i always picture on a bike? his last talk created that visual): 

it's hard for me to remember that in life there are definite ups + definite downs + that the same holds true with my testimony. this talk was a big ol' slap in the face that hi! doubts are normal +, when addressed correctly, can help you to be thirty five thousand times stronger. seriously, that's a quote. (...that's not a quote)

"don't assume you can fix everything. but fix what you can." // "if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it + be strong. trusting in happier days ahead." -- jeffrey r. holland (who i saw buying shoes while working at nordstrom. i just stared at him, petrified. let it be noted i was wearing five inch platforms + a vest made up fur. yikes.)

(we had tickets for the sunday morning session...and forgot them on top of our refrigerator. it's fine. we stood outside and i, let me just toot my own horn here, single-handedly scalped four tickets through the use of wit + flipping my wedding ring around. just kidding about that last part.)

"what is my ultimate priority?" -- elder oakes: 

my heart was sinking as i listened to this talk. i spread myself thin + don't like a lot of free time in my day. i mean, i do. but i don't. i realize that the first couple things that seem to be cut from my schedule are the things that truly matter the most. maybe i should allot a little less time to pinterest-ing and candy crush? maybe? ;)

"good timber does not grow with ease. the stronger the timber, the stronger the trees." // "may be become spiritually refined as we go through sunshine + sorrows." // "shall i falter or shall i finish?" 

holy. thomas s. monson was killing it per usual + had me tearing up within the first couple minutes. sigh.

"repentance is not a punishment. it is the hope filled path to a more glorious future.'' -- richard g. scott

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and voila! there you have it. 

inspired, uplifted, cinnamon rolls.