Snow Day

Whenever I see this at night:

I always think of this night:

While in DC in 2010, I had the chance to go to Valley Forge with a bunch of other BYU students. We planned to stay the night and continue to Philadelphia in the morning. 

As a friend and I walked outside that night, it was so quiet. It's that silence that makes you feel like you are the only person outside. All sound seemed to be absorbed by falling snow. 

After taking a couple pictures (and secretly wishing we were in Narnia) we went to bed. Only to discover in the morning...it snowed 3 feet. That's right. It was over our knees:

So now every time it snows at night I secretly wish that when I wake up, it'll be super deep again. Even though I know it'll be a hassle later. Technically we were snowed in, and it took us 7 hours to get back to DC...BUT it still turned out to be one of the best days ever. My favorite part was the mini snow war we had. Being knocked to the ground didn't even matter because it was like falling into a foam pit. 

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

New Beginnings

In preparation for the most dreary semester of the year, I purchased scrapbook paper to cheer up my study space!! Now when I zone out while studying I have colorful flowers to look at to motivate me to continue on.

You'll also notice a calendar in the lower left corner. I'm trying to be more organized and scheduled this semester. Which basically sounds like my resolution every semester, but 2013 might be my lucky year.

Renewed Goals from last semester:

• Go to bed by midnight (which consequentially means getting my HW done ahead of time)
• wake up by 8am (so I can study the scriptures in the morning and not at night)
• weekly temple trip (this was the one goal I was good at last year)
• BLOG. :)

Wish me luck!
Here's the poorly lit shot of my adorable carrel (trust me, it's cuter than you think):

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Testimony

So I'm back posting, but it ties together...

In institute this week, the teacher challenged us to share our testimony of Jesus Christ with someone else, and since I didn't share mine on Sunday, I will do so now. We were only given a minute to write things down, so I made the following list:

• Son of God
• Head of the Church
• Atonement
• Jehovah
• Priesthood
• Brother

Most of this ties back to my mission, but I'd like to briefly expound. The message that I shared for 1.5 years was that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. While not the same person as God, He and our Heavenly Father work together to bring about our salvation. Christ's church has been established on the earth today. Through the restoration of priesthood keys (an authority that can be traced back to Christ), we have another witness of Him, the Book of Mormon.  Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament. All of the scriptures we use come from him. This is His gospel and His church. Through his atonement, we can be healed and return to live with Him.

I feel like this clip sums up the rest of it: 

Jesus Declares: I Am the Light of the World, the Truth Shall Make You Free

Sincerely,
Rebekah

Cookie Swap

Over the holiday break, a good family friend invited us to a cookie swap. My sister and I joked that we should bring no-bake cookies and my poor mom thought we were serious. Mortified, because this was supposed to be a more "gourmet" event, she suggested that I make my killer oreo truffles. Oreo truffles are basically pieces of chocolate heaven. They will instantly give you the reputation of a professional and successful baker. The best part? You don't actually have to bake anything. 

Here's the recipe:
1 bag of Oreo cookies (normal, no double stuff or any other variation)
8 oz cream cheese (you can do low-fat if it makes you feel better--no one will notice the difference)
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
whatever other toppings you would like (almond bits, coconut, white chocolate, etc)

Crush the entire bag of oreos to smithereens. fold in cream cheese until the entire mixture is brown again. roll into balls and dip into melted chocolate chips. Top with whatever else you'd like. 

It's that simple.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Earrings

Back in 2010, I invested in earring tools and parts so I could make my own earrings. It's been an economical way to give unique gifts over the past two years, and is a hobby I enjoy. Earrings have always been my favorite type of jewelry (and really the only jewelry I wear) and I enjoy making them because they require much less time to design and make than a necklace or bracelet. 20 minutes and I can finish a batch like this: 
(zoom in on your computer screen to see better)
























If you have any other earring ideas, send them my way!

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Once upon a time in my high school days I thought it would be neat to write an elemental book, so I started out with four protectors of the various elements: water, wind, earth and fire. Eventually the fire protector took over the world and the only one who could stop him was the one who had the surprise element--aka could control all of the elements at the same time. As I was telling this story to my roommate, she asked, "are you sure you haven't seen this series?" Now that the semester is over, I finally got to see the first season. They did a way better job than I ever could. This is probably the fifth story idea I've come up with where it's actually already been written. I'm sure I'll come up with something actually original someday, though...

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

Christmas Movies

I've seen two new Christmas movies this month: Rise of the Guardians and Arthur Christmas. (Yes, I realize I'm a year behind for the latter.) Of the two, I'd have to say I liked Rise of the Guardians best. I could just relate more to Jack better than I could relate to any of the characters in Arthur. Speaking of, have you ever noticed that Jack is usually the name of a mischievous character who usually only looks out for themselves? There's Jack Sparrow from Pirates, Jack the Giant Killer, Jack-O-Lanterns, etc. 

Oh, and the best part of Rise of the Guardians? The bunny (He's so cute and fluffy I think I'm gonna die!!!):

Anyway, in the spirit of the season I thought I'd include my Christmas movie 'must sees':

1. While You Were Sleeping
2. Elf
3. Home Alone 1
4. Prep and Landing

I could go on, and I'm sure many would argue that other movies should be on the list, but I never claimed it was the ultimate list. Besides, this way you might actually be able to see all of them before Christmas. 

Rhetorically,
Rebekah