Chinese New Year

Things Matt has taught me about Chinese New Year:

1. Korean New Year is on the same day.
2. Each Korean New Year, everyone in Korea gets one year older--automatically. This does not count as your birthday advancement, and therefore Koreans can actually be two years older than they really are, depending on when their birthdays are with relation to Chinese New Year.
3. A typical dish to eat on this day is Tteokguk (rice cake soup), which will ensure that you will age an extra year, and that you will have good luck. 
4. A traditional game to play on this day is Yut Nori which is basically like a board game where you toss a bunch of marked sticks (instead of dice) to move around the board.

As you might have guessed, we celebrated in typical korean fashion, although we did go out for yogurt afterwards:

I've always wanted to celebrate Chinese New Year (or something similar) but up until now I had never found anyone that was super interested in doing the same. So here's to my 1st Chinese/Korean New Year.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Articles of Note

Thanks to Facebook, I've become aware of the following articles, which I think are worth sharing:

Stop the Mommy Wars: Let's Love More and Judge Less
This was a great visual article on the many, many parenting choices and methods there are out there, and that it is important to realize that no matter how many differences there are, there is one major similarity: you are a mother, just like the next woman is.

Why a Grammy Winner Didn't Attend the Awards Ceremony
What I appreciated most was this singer's honesty when she said that "putting herself in an environment that celebrates some of the elements she’s trying to avoid was “risky,” so she decided to stay home, as she is trying to renew her mind “to become the Heavenly Father-centered, completely satisfied with Jesus, and Holy Spirit-led woman” she once was."
I also liked the clarification that, "Though she believes God doesn’t want believers to separate themselves from the rest of the world and to avoid sharing their faith, Mandisa highlighted that it is important for Christians to speak differently so that they “shine” and stand apart from others."


Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Cousin Gatherings

Ever since I moved to Provo, I've been blessed to have closer contact with my cousins who lived out of state most of my life--until they too moved to attend BYU. As an undergrad, I had the wonderful opportunity to have two classes with two cousins: I had 19th Century Native American History with my cousin Cami (who, incidentally, also graduated with a degree in history the same day that I did) and I had World Civilization with my cousin Karen. I also had the chance to be roommates with my cousin Ashley when we both decided to participate in Washington Seminar together. I think overall I've overlapped with about eight cousins throughout my college career. 

When I didn't have classes with cousins as an excuse to see them, I tried to organize occasional "cousin get-togethers" so we could catch up with each other's lives. Today was one of the most successful of those gatherings--5 cousins (plus spouses) came for a dessert and games night at our place! I'm grateful that we've finally been able to get together, despite our busy schedules. 

Activities ranged from deep discussions about wildlife preservation: 

To updates with the newlyweds: 

To intense one-on-one combat:

#blessingsofbyu

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

January Devotionals

There have been 3 devotional addresses this month:
"Why we do some of the things we do" -Pres and Sister Samuelson
The best part of this talk was when the Samuelsons explained why things have been changing so much with BYUTV programs. They explained how BYUTV has become a missionary tool through programs such as Studio C, the Story Trek, and American Ride. I thought that this was a great insight into why certain things happen at BYU.
See full news article here.


"And with all thy getting, get understanding" -Bishop Stevenson
The most memorable portion of this talk was a detailed story about Lucy Mack Smith and her journey with the Saints to the west. They were stuck on a ferry on the riverbank, as the river had iced over. Sister Smith leaned on the Lord's understanding and was patient as they weathered this trial. Within a few days, the ice broke long enough for their one boat to miraculously cross the river.
I also liked his opening line where he talked about all the things we may be 'getting': a car, an apartment, a job, etc. But how it is important through life to gain understanding.
See the full news article here.


"Courage + Action + Grace= Healing" -- Jonathan Sandberg
The part of his talk that I liked the most is when he told a story about a colleague who told him that he was two-faced. His colleague expressed that the felt Mr. Sandberg would follow the crowd more than his own personal convictions. Mr. Sandberg expressed how much this criticism hurt, but how through acting in courage and not following the crowd let to healing.
See the full news article here.


Rhetorically,
Rebekah

"I'm a Mormon" Movies

So yesterday I spent a good portion of the morning watching "I'm a Mormon" youtube movies. I have to say, I'm really impressed with the variety they have now.  After watching many of these movies, I came away with the following themes:

1. Mormons go through trials (death of a child, abandoned by parent, addiction, divorce, illness, etc)
2. Mormons live in a lot of different places (apparently there are quite a few in NYC, as well as different countries throughout the world
3. Mormons have a variety of professions (artist, doctor, violin maker, aerial dancer, comedian, etc)
4. Mormons focus on the family. Even if the person isn't married or a parent, they still have siblings, nieces, parents, etc, that helped shape their life.

So here are some of my favorites from yesterday:

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Chronicles: The Horse and His Boy

We did it! We finished the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia!!

"The Horse and His Boy" is one of my favorites in the series. This book is like the story of Moses, in a way, although you wouldn't know it as you read. *Spoiler Alert* I love the overarching theme of God's hand in our life, as Aslan works to nudge the Horse and His Boy in the right direction so that they can be at the right place at the right time. I especially love the culture that CS Lewis creates in exploring the countries surrounding Narnia, and also learning more about what the Pevensie children did when the grew up and ruled Narnia.

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Rejoicings and Resolutions

Last year, I did a post on Regrets and Resolutions, where I lamented the loss of some of my favorite books. Per my resolution, I slowly started building up the collection again.
To my great joy, I have FOUND all the books I thought I had given away!!! I kept them after all!! Here's a picture with me and a few of the books that I have been missing for the past year.

And since it's a New Year, let's look at some goals. Per my post last year, I made the following goals:

• Go to bed at midnight (I failed at this. But I have a good excuse: it was usually due to dates that would last until midnight/curfew,  and then I would go to bed)
• Wake up by 8am (I honestly don't remember if I did this the whole year. There was one point over the summer that I was up at 5:30am every day for a month, which was kind of cool. Does that make up for the rest of the times I slept in?)
• Weekly Temple Trip (I've been pretty good at this one, too.)
• Blog (Pretty consistent. Especially last November.)

So, 50/50 isn't bad, right?

Anyway, my goals for this next semester are as follows:

• Take time for myself each week (read a fun book, write, blog, etc)
• Exercise 3x a week (that gives me every other day off)
• Figure out what I'm going to do over the summer (do an internship, pick up a new job?)

I think they're pretty manageable and attainable. We'll see how it goes.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

2013 in Review

January

I started dating this guy:

We held hands during Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and had our first kiss after sledding at Rock Canyon Park.

February 

We celebrated Valentine's Day- Korean style. (The men get gifts instead of the women). This is what I left at Matt's carrel (among other things). 

Oh, and Matt met my family at my cousin's wedding reception. No big deal.

I also went to Disneyland with my family!!

March

We went to a Jazz game with Matt's brother. 

Matt and I took a road trip up to BYU-I. 

We went to the Law School "prom."

We celebrated White Day. 

And my sister entered the MTC!

April

Engaged.

 

We took a mini vacation to celebrate the start of summer break.

May

I started my internship at the 4th District Court. 

I got into a car accident and a bike accident. (Both the car and I recovered without having to seek professional help).

And we continued to enjoy the summer break.

June

I spent almost the entire month living in La Crecenta area with my aunt, where I could commute to Los Angeles to work at the Immigration Court. 

While the weather was great and I loved my job, it was wonderful to come home to a REAL soccer game and see this guy again:

July

I started yet another job. This time, it was at the Career Services Office.
I had a lovely Bridal Shower.

Matt and I spent a lot of time at 7 Peaks. 

And I turned 24.

August

It happened.

And Disneyland happened.

September

Matt and I started our second year in our respective graduate programs. These are all my books for this semester.

And we started house sitting for Matt's aunt and uncle.

We've kept most of our things packed (see under ping pong table).

October

Best. Costumes. Ever.

November

I sadly didn't take pictures over Thanksgiving break, but I should have. We had a delicious meal at Matt's great aunt's and got to meet a lot of his extended family.

Meanwhile, I kept busy with classes, work, being a Kaplan Rep, and organizing the last Writer's League event of the semester. 

December

Finals. North Carolina. New Year's. 

Here's to a fabulous and life-changing year.

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

New Year's Eve

Was a blast. There's not better way to bring in the New Year by going to a trampoline park. Thanks to groupon, we got a great deal for four people to go. 

My dad got to show off his famous back flip (this picture is the finishing portion of it.)

And Matt practiced his high jump. He's got almost 7 feet of air, people. That's impressive.

We had a surprisingly quiet evening with my grandparents afterward, because we were the only ones at their house. Usually it is packed with aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends. But this year, it was just us. The men were upstairs watching a game, and the women stayed downstairs and chatted. It was a great evening. We celebrated midnight with kazoos, pots and pans, and other noisemakers they had on hand.

How do you celebrate New Year's Eve?

Rhetorically,

Rebekah