La prêtrise

on a more spiritual note: 

i have been thinking a lot about the priesthood lately and what a wonderful gift and blessing it is. 

once upon a time (two weeks ago) i was with some family and a friend. all of a sudden my friend had to leave and did so quite quickly. 

i was a little confused but accepted the fact that we would just finish the movie without him. 

turns out he was off to give a blessing to a friend who needed one. 

i am so grateful for all of the worthy priesthood holders in my life. 

a father who has always been an example of guidance and care.

brothers who are always always ready to serve others. 

friends who will drop everything to help.

home teachers who are willing to lend a hand. 

leaders who show sincere love. 

a father in heaven who loves me for exactly what i am and blesses me so much. 

do we realize how powerful the priesthood is?

do we realize how much of a privilege it is to have it? 

the same power that was used to create the earth, the same power that was used to create worlds without end, the same power that was used to create man, the same power that is used to inspire, to guide, and to bless, that same power was given to man. 

God must trust and love us a whole dang lot! 

as a woman, i realize that i may not completely understand all of the responsibilities that come with the priesthood, but it always makes me so sad when i see men toss it aside or live in a way that keeps them from using it. 

sometimes i wonder if i attract the right kind of people. not just for dating etc. but for friendships and social interactions. 

how do they feel about the priesthood? 

the priesthood is another one of God's characteristics, and the way he uses it and respects it is the way that we should be treating it. 

i feel like priesthood needs to stretch out way beyond the walls of our chapel or the walls of our homes. it should have an impact on everything that we do. 

how we treat people. 

how willing we should be to serve. 

this totally goes for women too, don't get me wrong, we have as much a responsibility to honor the priesthood as men do. 

are we acting in a way that shows respect towards priesthood holders? 

do we realize what blessings come form it and what joy it can bring?

well, that's me venting.

gosh dang, i love the priesthood. 

À l'heure du déjeuner

today samuel and i met up for lunch. 
after grabbing a burger we secured ourselves a seat in the wilkinson center
at a table next to some old friends from high school, both of which just got off of their missions. 

every tuesday students from east bay post high school come to BYU where they come visit campus and learn to become more independent. 
these people are amazing, and so much fun to talk to! 
two of them joined us at our table.
Kelly wasted no time and started talking to them right away. 
i looked around and noticed that there were many other students from east bay sitting at tables with BYU students, most of which were being completely ignored and i realized how ridiculously insecure some people are and how much enjoyment they were missing out on.
turns out 8 of them ended up joining us at our table and we had a wonderful time getting to know each other and joking around. 
there was so much love. 
also, one of the boys that was there comes from Argentina, where Kelly served his mission, it was awesome to see them interact and be so excited about the common ground they had! 
i am always so impressed by people who step out of their comfort zone and get to know people who may be slightly different. 
why do we sometimes ignore others? 
what is there to lose in talking to a stranger and making their day better?
i felt so good leaving the wilkinson center and i hope i run into those students again!

--never suppress a generous thought
get to know someone different, no matter how uncomfortable you feel. 
that's the point of our life here on earth. 
God made us different so that we could enjoy all of those differences and learn from each other. 
what a smart guy:)

j'aime

enjoying this song very much today. 

the dude needs a haircut

badly.

but i approve of his voice.

Amandine

i like me. 

i really do. 

i finally realized why i still work in the french speaking lab, after almost three years. 

it's because i love people. 

i love talking. 

i love making friends. 

i love listening. 

and i love stories. 

a student came in and to my "how was your day?" question, she answered "it was pretty typical" 

amigos, there should be no such thing as a typical day.

i don't believe in those. 

make everyday 

fun

different 

invigorating

exciting 

interesting 

adventurous 

lovely. 

pff...typical days. 

right. 

friday i had a foreveralone party. it was grand. 

here are my accomplishments. 

new bleached tshirt.

tried doing the same to my backpack. 

turns out it's bleach proof or something...

lame. 

notes holder 

(for lack of a more creative name)

already made three of these.

adorable.

and this is what my room ended up looking like. 

forgive me room mate. 

this is why i need my own house, fairly soon.

saturday: soccer day. always. 

it snowed like crazy, so cold, so numb, so bruised, so happy. 

after blissfully watching Nacho Libre

i went to "The Black Sheep" 

(a small café)

in my soccer clothes.

mistake. 

attended a wedding open house and got teary-eyed. 

those events always make me so happy. 

such a special moment in life:) 

congrats to Allyson and Tim! 

so beautiful.

joined some of the greatest people i know and then partied all night.

the BYU volleyball game was fabulous. 

dang, those guys are good! 

my favorite moments are the short music sections they play after each point. 

mini dance party every 45 seconds. 

so grand. 

after discovering that macey's ice cream shop thing closes at 10:00pm sharp 

we wasted time...i mean, we very constructively spent our time 

building a tower from cheap store items.

i love these people 

so much. 

the boys tried selling some, 

it was a great effort. 

we then made our grand escapade and i learned the flowing life lesson: 

instead of paying for frozen yogurts

just grab a sample cup and try everything you can until you realize you don't really need to buy some after all. 

definitely worked for us. 

we then went apartment hopping. 

yes, i believe i just made that term up...

met some great people and had a dandy old time being sung to in the car. 

also, there's something quite grand about being surrounded by eight boys and serenading them all at once. 

i started writing a new song last night:)

and also plan on performing 

who knows when...

before i graduate. 

loving life. 

aussi...si jamais

every year the president pardons a turkey.
i am so confused.
i have lost all hope in this country.
thank you malachi for bringing this into my life.

the best stuff happens at 5:15.
obama petting a turkey.
priceless.

plus d'une semaine

i will begin with a dream i had a few nights ago. 

i feel that i owe it to you since it has been so long. 

i was standing on a beach with two other people, i'm pretty are my mom was one of them. 

we were all going to be punished for something we had done, but our punishments would vary. 

there were three different levels of punishment, one for each of us. 

although i didn't know what they were, i knew that i didn't want the worst one (duh) 

our punishment was to be given to us on a far away island. 

our punishment was based on what our feet looked like. the one with the ugliest feet would get the worst punishment. 

(those who know me really well know that i love my feet...a lot. they are beautiful.)

the man making the decision looked at our feet and i felt so confident that all of my worries disappeared. 

suddenly, he chose my feet as the ugliest ones. 

i burst into tears, not because i was getting the worst punishment. no. but because he claimed my feet to be the ugliest. 

i cried and made excuse after excuse "but my toes are so beautiful!" 

i just couldn't understand why my feet were the least favored. 

then i woke up. 

i like to think go myself as a grand advisor sometimes. 

especially when people call me for tips on the best laundry detergent to buy. 

last week i went to the testing center which only opened at 10am...what the? 

for us motivated people who like to get things done early, it would be nice for the doors to open sooner. 

a guy walked in all confused about the late opening schedule, and to pass the time he decided to do some great gymnastic stretching on the bars by the entrance. 

i don't think i was the only confused one. 

entertaining nonetheless. 

the key to utmost happiness is listening to destiny's child. 

it kept me alive last week. 

that, and waking up every day saying the same prayer, "Heavenly Father, please, just let me live." 

glad last week ended.

i took on job number four. 

someone stop me before i die. 

but this one is by far the best! 

the elementary school i volunteer at has hired me to be an intervention assistant and substitute teacher every friday. 

so last week i taught a second grade french immersion class all day and it was the most wonderful experience ever. 

graduation can not come soon enough! 

i have absolutely no problem doing this for the rest of my life:)

i feel like every experience i have had, every where i have lived, every thing i have learned, every place i have traveled to, every person i have met, has led me to be exactly where i am today. and i can't even begin to express how grateful i am for all of that. 

loneliness is an interesting thing. 

being alone is the best way to think about our lives and where we want to be and how we want to get there. 

i have had a lot of alone time lately, and it's been pretty therapeutic and quite a blessing. 

there is so much i want to do with my life. 

i can't wait. 

i guess i should talk about valentine's day. 

i have a secret admirer. 

first year this has happened in my life and i am quite satisfied. 

actually, i was dang happy, i always wanted to that to happen to me in high school. 

and it finally did. 

whoever you are, thanks bunches. 

no one has ever bought me roses before and i am super satisfied:)

also, the best music for single awareness day is usher. hands down. 

teaching, usher, me, roses, chocolate, homework, dance party with heidi. 

grandest combination. 

love, love, love. 

i have been playing soccer lots and lots lately and it's been fabulous! 

our intramural team is quite fabulous, mainly because we just have fun and that's the best way to do it. 

matthieu found me some cleats. 

they are sexy. 

picture to come. 

life is good. 

the world is a beautiful place. 

and i am happy. 

celui là est un peu nul

i finally conquered the beast and finished reading "notre dame de paris" 

what a good read! 

and a depressing ending...
our class discussion was semi interesting.
so i read my entire blog. 
all 40 something entries.

some girl in class "if we're having twins, we're getting a nanny"

still surprised people consider that option. 

whatever, i have no idea how that stuff works.

today in class i laughed a little too loudly. 

that awkward "what the..." sensation filled the air.

i felt it.

ugh. 

i think i should set up a tent in the jkb. 

i basically live there. 

19 hours of my week are spent in that building. 

that's not including the frequent studying nights i have there as well. 

i feel like getting a really nice big camera. 

it seems like a nice excuse to take an endless amount of pictures.

i feel so much more judged with my tiny one. 

"that girl with the big camera, oh it's probably for some project. let's ignore her."

"that girl with the tiny camera, oh what is she doing?"

i wore a broken watch today, merely for good looks. 

that part worked. 

i wonder how satisfied people are with their choices. 

does anything ever bother them?

i've made some choices that drive me crazy...

this evening i was so bored at work that i drew all over my arm.

if you know me well, you know i absolutely hate that. 

but i did it. 

and then i looked at tattoos on pinterest.

because they seemed slightly appealing for a solid hour. 

tonight i created this: 

yay for 20 minutes of mindless activity,

tomorrow there is a valentine's day stake dance. 

i might go. 

Respect boss man

courier font today. 

boom. 

this is what i do in class when i'm bored: 

it's like advanced alphabet soup. 

also, i only bit into two of these, the rest came out the way they appear. 

beautiful. 

pandora is a wonderful resource for me to find new songs to chill to. 

flavor of the day: 

there happens to be a video of me singing on youtube

i won't tell you more about it

other than the fact that today i found this comment on it 

"Very good job! You sing so well but it would be better without all of the background noise. don't be afraid to give it your all:)" 

what a lovely person! 

i need to get back to the guitar and writing more songs. 

one of the things i will never understand in this world is when professors talk about the books they wrote, the ones they supervised, the articles they published, etc. 

good for you. 

no, i won't read them. 

i already hear enough coming out of your mouth. 

today i was so focused on my important shoes that i almost walked into a custodial closet rather than into the women's restroom. 

nice. 

also my dual immersion professor made a seinfeld reference only i understood. 

shmoopy. 

my respect for him has greatly increased. 

graduating. 

a lot of interesting thoughts running through my head. 

today they were mostly regrets. 

just like any normal person, i wish i had done some things differently. 

but hey, i've got three months to redeem myself! 

i hope every single one of you were aware of bob marley's birthday today. 

apparently google wasn't. 

what a joke.

i celebrated with my only rasta colored clothing item, 

a friendship bracelet purchased at a marketplace in the south of france.

and i listened to reggae all day long. 

as usual, cupcakes

(or some other delicious food)

will be made in his honor. 

an appropriate video:)

goodness. 

early bedtime every night so far this week!

Un petit cadeau

another day come and gone.

i feel like things are happening quicker than ever.

this defines most of my day

this morning i decided to figure out the number of steps it would take from the jkb door to the library door. 

my guess was 45, turns out it's 66. 

i planned on beating my score on the way back and thus proceeded to walk back taking abnormally long steps, and then realized i was in public. 

good job. 

so i ran the rest like a fool. 

when i write papers i minimize everything
just to make myself feel good about how much i've written
boom

i received an email from the mckay school of education today.

usually i hate those because it's pointless information.

turns out i made it onto the Dean's List. 

i'm not bragging, i'm just super proud of myself...

hard work pays off people, even if it's just having your name on a list. 

recognition feels good. 

i shared this information with my good friend lucas who was quite happy until he made the connection that since he is studying something in the humanities department he may never be on the Dean's List. according to him everyone studies that stuff.

i'm an elementary education major...hello! 

he then whispered to me in his excellent french "anyhow, it's only the indians and asians who get that recognition." 

silly boy. 

i. love. prof. olivier. 

i walk into class late today: 

"salut!!! un petit cadeau!!" as he hands me a quiz. 

he makes me beyond happy. 

also, he stole my joke today. i'm not bitter at all, on the contrary i'm quite flattered:)

people think he's funny, but he gets it from me. 

speaking of happiness, it can all be found in this little clip. 

i laugh out loud every time! 

i must start renting these and watching them again.

story of my happy little childhood.

when i agree with things i say "mmmm" 

(aka that's so great i could eat it)

i did that way too many times in my french literature class today.

also i forgot all of my mtc papers at home today. 

since i live a minute away i decided to be lazy and call my room mate who kindly took pictures of my documents and messaged them to me.

huzzah for cell phones and technology. 

tomorrow will be a hap-happy day. 

everyday can be one if we just choose to make it that way.

in some wise words i came across a while ago: 

"life is too short and unpredictable not to live it exactly as you please"

i hope your exact intentions are to be happy and treat each day like an adventure and a blessing. 

tout pêle-mêle

maman looked at me and said,
"t'es vraiment une jolie fille, t'as un joli visage"
i've never felt more beautiful in my life.

today i decided that peer reviewing papers is the most pointless thing any professor could do.
why did i go to class?
i could have done this at any other time.
oh well, the feedback was semi semi useful
(that's half of half, so a quarter....?)
whatevs.

i realize that i've been sitting in class thinking "duh!" a lot these past couple of days.
maybe i'm actually learning something, getting smarter, ready to graduate, applying what i'm taught, and being a victim of senioritis.
scratch that, that's been a part of my life for the past three years.
unbelievable that i'm graduating in less than three months.
real life right around the corner.

this morning i woke up at 5:00am and did what everyone person loves to do at that glorious time.
dishes.
one week's worth.
45 minutes.
i expect some kind of recognition no matter how selfish it seems.

this will only be funny to a handle of people...well it was funny to me at least.

today i wore my "important" shoes.
they make noise as i walk around and i feel special-in-charge-nothing-but-business-important.
the only place it bothers me slightly is in the library.
speaking of which, i took the elevator there for the second time in three years.
what an adventure!
slowest thing known to man.

at some point during work today i noticed that my laptop would only type out numbers and i frantically tried to figure out what in the world was wrong with this silly thing.
obviously i couldn't search for an answer since all i could get was "023875209812"
so i did the next best thing and called the laptop rental place
young man: "this looks like a pretty common issue that confuses people...
sometimes you hit the number lock key on accident..."
amandine: "oh yup, there it is!
well, this is quite embarrassing!
thanks for the help and have a wonderful day!"
hitting myself on the forehead multiple times.
i don't see the point in me sharing that information.
just another amandine moment i suppose...

this is pretty cheesy, yet so adorable. 

and this is a beautiful song

sure, maybe i cried.

text to maman: "i just want to come home and have some real food" 

maman calls: "well tonight we had lentils and rice (and all this other delicious food you can't partake of) hahaha!" 

response: "thanks..."

for the NEWS OF MY LIFE: PARIS IN THREE MONTHS PEOPLE!!! 

i couldn't be more excited, i've waited so so so long for this!! 

oh buddy!:)

Océane's return: 35.

Joseph made a countdown chain, quite adorable! 

also, here is my creation for laurine's birthday, applause is more than welcome! 

(it looks better in real life)

and the "cake"

can't believe this girl turned 16...

in bed before 11:05pm.

high five myself!