Hellooooooo, Sin City.

Okay so, yes, maybe it is the drugs, sex, and gambling capital of the world, but I actually kind of adore Las Vegas. Go ahead, call me an apostate. But really, what's not to love?

I mean, I don't know about you, but a city that's home to...

• The Bellagio fountains
• The biggest H&M in the world
• A B-U-tiful LDS temple
• The family of my fabulous roommate, Kelsey
• The New York skyline (right?? oh... oh wait... it's not real... well, looks about the same, it counts)

sounds pretty stinkin' great to me.

The only downside is that, if you value at all the cleanliness of your mind, you kind of have to avoid looking at all billboards, sides of vehicles, and the floor. But, never fear; it's an easy fix. Just look at the sky! Ha. And if this hasn't convinced you, how about you just have a look at these pictures and drool over how AWESOME we look and how much FUN we're having! Uhhh-huh. Yep. Go ahead. You'll see.

Rachie, Jesus, Kelsey, Me

Me, Jesus, Rachel, Kelsey, Fern

See? Pure joy right thurrr.

I cannot find the heart I gave to you.

It's just like, it gets way too hard to stand, sometimes. Or at least that's what we tell ourselves. And then we look back, and it turns out we did stand it. I think as humans we are a lot stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

Especially the heart. If the heart is what feels emotional pain, how is it possible that more of them don't just give up? It's so hard to think of all those people who have gone through absolutely unimaginable heartbreak. All of that suffering concentrated in such a small space--no bigger than your fist?? I swear, the heart must be the strongest thing in the world. I guess that's what they mean when they say they have a heavy heart. Our heart holds up all these burdens, and sometimes we don't even notice it. But then, when it has to carry more than it can hold, and it's just about to burst, it lowers itself ever so gently and takes a rest on our insides, to take some of the weight off. And that's when you feel it, the weight of it all. And everything becomes dark; heavy.

And sometimes, it does give up. Rare times, though. Most times, it goes on without a complaint. Keeping us alive; soaking up the pain.

Sometimes I get on Tumblr for hours at a time and find a lot of really cheesy quotes that are sadly irresistible.

"He wrote... 'I look up at my star, and let the energy from my hopes and wishes, resonate throughout the universe. And at that moment, I hoped you were looking at that same star'. Well, maybe she was. Maybe, just maybe, she was out for a walk at the same time that night. Then, early in the morning before the sun came up, she saw a shooting star streak across the dark sky. Maybe that star captured the energy from his hopes and wishes and darted across the sky searching just for her."

"Put your hands on her face; look deep into her eyes, so deep that she can feel it in her soul. And with more conviction than you ever have before, tell her you love her... more than the sun loves to shine and more than the birds love to sing. Promise her that if she will stay with you forever, that you will treat her with more love and respect than she could ever imagine and that your love for her will be as strong a million years from now as it is today. Then kiss her so tenderly that it melts her heart."

"If only there could be an invention, that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again."

"Have you ever wondered about the things we tell ourselves before we fall asleep? We whisper the words in the dark, telling ourselves that we're happy, or that he's happy, that people will change their minds or that we will change our own. We persuade ourselves that we can live without the people who have left, and the people whom we've left from. Each night before we fall asleep we lie to ourselves in a desperate hope that come morning, it will all be true."

"I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live."

"All this time he has been waiting for her to come back to him, but all this time she may have been waiting for something from him. Maybe she was waiting for him to fight for her but he gave up too easily. Maybe she wanted him to prove to her that she was more important to him than anyone else was and would be willing to make sacrifices to be with her. Maybe she was waiting for him to change something that caused big problems in their relationship. Now... maybe she got tired of waiting."

"Love is the act of committing oneself without guarantee... To give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person... Love is an act of faith."

{sources: http://lifeneeded.tumblr.com/ and http://www.staypositive.me/}

Good Old Dashboard.

"And as for now I'm gonna
hear the saddest songs,
and sit alone and wonder
how you're making out

But as for me I wish that I was anywhere
with anyone
making out"

See what they did there? Haha. They're so clever. See, this is why I love them.

Teenage angst music.
Yep, I guess I'll always have a soft spot for it.

I'll be doing my best.

Sometimes I forget about this,

my favorite song in the whole wide world.

And then I remember,

and everything

is right again.

I think it is definitely about more

than just a boy

talking to a girl.

Although that is still one very good explanation.

Acting on even a twig of faith allows God to grow it.

"It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith. There is always time. There is someone you can forgive, there is someone you can thank, there is someone you can serve, and lift. You can do it wherever you are, and however alone and deserted you may feel."

-Henry B. Eyring

 {just what I needed}

I love this man with all of my heart,

and his eyes that literally twinkle,

just like Dumbledore's,
but even better.