So remember that blank post from Saturday?

That's because I tried to blog from my phone.
Now I've got a $20.00 bill and a blank post. Thanks for nothing stinkin phone. :p Lesson learned.

My post was all about my sniffling, aching, coughing, wheezing, snoring, drooling three extra days off from work.
Last Thursday I called in sick. I justified it because it's the end of the season and I have enough hours built up for paid sick leave. Um. I love being paid to drool in front of Criminal Minds while sipping high quality OJ compliments of Clarke's. (I just have to pay them with my left arm, right big toe, and possibly my first born.)
Also, the post of mysterious blank proportions was declaring how I'd decided I was bored out of my cranium and so my third day off (read as: not doing anything productive) I decided I was going to marathon read the Book of Mormon and finish it. Hey, 400ish pages? No biggie.
...I made it all of an hour before the snoring/drooling epidemic hit me again. However... I was in 2 Nephi and now I'm almost in Mosiah. That's fairly marathon-ish considering I fell asleep every ten pages. ;)

Also, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Watch out for fluffy pirates, and clowns.

Also, also Mr. PVT texted. Last night at midnight. I was suuuper out of it, (going to bed at 7 does that to a girl) and I said something about birthday cake. Maybe that'll make him decide not to even be a fair weather friend? Guess we'll see.

Also, also, also I have a couple more pictures from the concert of pure life changing amazingness. (Although it wasn't quite as life changing as Wicked in Capitol Theater. Hey. Can't beat green people defying gravity.)

Ashlyn (Trevor's friend) and me. Oh. And Mr. Punk Emo sexy in the back ground.

Tia(?), David, Sadie, Me, Trevor, and Ashlyn. Way to smile men. Way to smile. 

The other two of the group, Tara (aka CRAZY eyes ;) ) And her boyfriend that she's twitterpated over, Calvin. (Yes. As in  Calvin and Hobbes. Which is exactly what I think of every time she tells me about him.)

                                 

(P.S It should probably be mentioned that I thefted these pictures from Ashlyn's facebook. I know. I'm a criminal.)

Basically I think that's all I wanted to say.
Except I'm proud to be my Grandparent's granddaughter. (From both sides! Visiting with both sets tonight was awesome. :) )
And, that I've read three fourth, maybe fifth grade level chapter books in the past two days. While at work. It's DEAD at that place recently, and I love it. :p

As of Late...

I went to a concert! Which is sort of silly, because the CD costs under half of what concert tickets do... but do Cd's allow you to become overly close with random strangers of questionable soberness? Do Cd's give you adrenaline rushes? Do you get to sweat and sing at the top of your lungs with Cd's? No, and thus the reason for purchasing a concert ticket. (Ok, so that last reason was sketchy. I'm sure I've sweated and sang terribly and loudly to a CD before.)

Firstly... I didn't even want to take pictures of the opening band, Pop Evil. They were absolutely stoned beyond all reason. Mr. Lead singer/ crazy eyes made me kind of want to cry. But mostly I just laughed, because while it probably shouldn't be funny to watch a group of stoners on stage, it sort of is. One of the guitarists had the most beautiful hair. Tara heard about how much I wanted his hair, at least five times. 

(Ok. Mr Crazy eyes is on the left, the one next to him is the guy who looks better in sequined  tank tops and white skinny jeans than I ever will, the dude next to him is kind of not memorable, the fourth guy over is the one with beautiful raven, perfect-for-whipping-back-and-forth, locks of jealous inducing feelings. And the last guy- he's the stripping drummer. One second he had a shirt on, then BAM shirtless sweaty gross drummer man. And there, my friends, is the summary of Pop Evil. Insert vicious obscenities here, and it's complete.)

Next was Theory of a Deadman. Who I didn't really know very much before hand. Now I think the lead singer is attractive in a strange punk/rocker, potentially gay man sort of way. Also I love his voice. And the cool old fashioned microphone that he used for the voice distortion parts of songs. 

Mm... v neck t-shirts never looked so good. :p

Then was the moment you've all been waiting for. 

Yeah. 

3 Doors Down. (Screams and rocker hands and all sorts of excited jazz.)

Preface: I LOVED 3DD  in middle school and freshman year. And I've now officially re-kindled that love with a lost voice and ringing ears! 

They were SO amazing live! And since I actually knew them I got to scream the lyrics alone with everyone else! Which is sorta really fun. Even if the weird high looking man with the nasty long curly hair that I kept inhaling is hogging everyones space by elbowing.

Next was Denny's. For two hours. Because Tara's boyfriend was there. :p Oh love. What the twitterpated nonsense. ;)

(Also, we painted pumpkins the other night. And I must show off.)

Preface of the Pumpkin Painting Process. (How was that for alliteration, Aunt Cherene?)

Ok, so this just looks mildly emo. Which is because it sort of is. In my Junior history class my friend and I doodled stuff like this instead of listening. (Please younger people, don't follow my example. Promise you'll regret it. Although you'll have some entertaining sketches.)

Like this one. Hence the painted pumpkin. 

Creativity is kind of fun I decided. :)

I have pictures. Not very good specimen... but pictures nonetheless.

Let's start off with a preface called, this is a super random collection that I finally emailed to myself so I could post the excitement of my life for you.

Most recently, my girls night with Er and then later the twins. 

We found heaven in Dreyer's French Silk ice cream. In Ephraim Jayson bought some but back in those days it was called French Silk Pie. And it had mocha flavoring and so we debated whether or not we were allowed to eat it.
I am happy to inform you that we checked the ingredient list, and while it has every fatty oil and corn syrup and loads of cocoa, there is no mocha. And so I feel very comfortable eating this heaven. 

In the dark of the night... we go to Walmart. Looking smashing.  And we pretend to be the great pumpkin!

Marissa wins. Hands down. How do you beat this model-esque posing? 

I have no excuses or justifications for the current state I'm in. 

 (Ok, more preface. I'm great at prefaces. It's the meat of the story I struggle with. Hence 72 pages of unfinished book attempt. Anyway. This trip home, I pretended to be cool like my sisters who are working on their YW 10 hour project. Miss is doing cards, and Megan's making a quilt. So in all my lazy glory I sat home watching Netflix and attempting a creative outlet. Which I actually loved a lot! So I wanted to show off a little. Maybe I shouldn't, and then I'd be humble. But I thought they were so fun and so here they are!)

(This is the inside of the first card)

I'm flustered this one is grainy, because now you can't see the texture of the paper. 

I love these colors. Someday I'm decorating a bedroom in these...

(The inside :) )

I promise the red isn't as bright in real life. In real life they're richer colors and don't look as awful.

Again, preface-ation:

Once upon a time I made a bucket list. "Eat Sushi" was on that list. My dad's a nice guy, and he bought some for us! Truly though, it made my day that he'd let us get some sushi! I love my dad. :) (And not just because he buys us stuff! Though bribery is bliss sometimes. ;p) I feel like I blogged about this experience once already, but I couldn't remember if I actually put pictures up. I'm thinking  not, but if you've already seen these, just nod your heads and act interested. ... Since I can totally see you through the computer screen?

 

Marissa

Moi

Megan

Brianne
(Sorry sisters, I'm kinda partial to this one. And by kinda partial I mean this one's my favorite. Haha)

This would be my father. :) I get my class from him. ;) 

Mom, and Erin (who totally look like twins?)

Now, instead of a preface I'll give you a title:

Reasons 9,893,473- 9,893,482 why I enjoy coming home sometimes.

:)

Cedar Mountain! (Before the slide and dramatic shut down. That probably wasn't all that dramatic.)

Being (wo)men from Snowy River. (Yes, dad, I remember how I was grumpy and tired and cold and grumpy. Secretly I love it anyway. :) ) (P.S it's not fair when your sisters who are 5 years younger than you look much cuter!)

Day dream furniture shopping with mom! I was seriously thinking about buying this set, since it's on sale for a good price! But then I hit a deer. So practicality says, "Why do you need a really comfortable glider rocking chair with a matching ottoman? Oh, right. You don't."

Tabby and I going to St. George for Shelby's birthday mall trip and dinner at Olive Garden! And trying on obnoxiously huge diamonds while the man behind the counter tells us about all his single sons. :p  

(Before dinner. Waiting. And waiting.)

And Finally eating!! (Left to right: Tabby, me, Ella, Karla, Amber, Shelby, and Kandice.)

Caramel apples! Homemade caramel apples! 

These really great (gross) squeezy toothpaste tube candy inventions that we used to eat all the time as small children in Tropic still exist! Woo!! 

And now, because of the insistence of  a few people, I'm posting this really gruesome picture. So if you don't like be-bodied animals, you should just stop here. However, this is the deer that some crazies stole the head from after I rightfully committed beast slaughter to with Booth. So now you still don't even know if it was as massive as I keep telling you (but he really was), but you can at least sort of see how huge his body was. He's no wimpy deer!

October 2012...

Someone should impound my car.
Reasoning?
Let's remember back a year... Oh yeah. Sid VS Dump truck.
Dump truck 1
Sid a very sad sad 0.

Hmm, one year later (Almost to the day, according to FB picture posts)

5 point, 30 inch buck VS Booth.
I'm thinking it was an even draw, because Bambi's father is headless on the side of the road, and I have to pay at least a $500 dollars deductible to fix Booth's flesh wounds.

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering two things:
"What's with the be-bodiment of Mr. Bambi?" and, "What in the world happened? Let's hear the story! Don't leave a single hyperbolic detail out!"

Let me assist your questioning with some answers. That Cherene, my aunt, can attest to.

Firstly, the story.
Saturday evening, 8:00 ish. Shannon loads up her little sisters to drive in a grumpyish, tired of work mood, to Panguitch for gas. Dad, and Aunt Cherene are in the truck and trailer behind us.
40 something dollars later, and lots of sisterly hugs, I'm back on the road with E driving to Hatch. Listening to Jenny Oaks Baker's new CD "When You Wish Upon a Star" and giggling about contactless passengers. Past the Y where you can turn to Red Canyon, I spot a deer. Not just any deer, but a MASSIVE deer.
(Since it's headless and there's no evidence we're hereby allowed to make up just how massive. Which is why for the sake of fish stories he's a five point, 32 inch buck.) (Except for in real life, I promise that thing was insanely large.)
My thoughts before impact, "Oh, there's a deer. Hey that's a really nice buck he's... AAAARRGG!!" (Audible squeal from both Shannon and the brakes), splat. Trembly freaking out feelings. Cry. Drama.
That's basically my Saturday evening.
I slammed on my brakes, but I didn't dare swerve. We skidded to a stop in the middle of the road.
E: "See if it'll start." "It's still running..." I start driving slowly, feeling out the damage. Smell burning rubber stenches, and we decide maybe we should pull over and call my dad.
He turns around from going back to Cedar, and comes back to check out the car.
Of course, we go in search of the deer with flash lights. We couldn't find that darn menace to society though.
So we drive back to Hatch, going 20 miles per hour because I'm freaked out and Booth is injured and I'm freaked out...
That's when I start stressing out majorly and feeling pretty flustered about the whole ordeal.
The good news is things always look brighter in the morning. I remembered reading something a couple days ago in my little notebook that I take church related notes in.
In the April session of General Conference, someone said "Faith isn't real faith until it's been tried." I thought, "Hmm. I don't really like the sound of that. I feel like I've grown a lot and I've got pretty good faith. I also feel like it hasn't really been tried yet, and I'm not sure I want to know how that turns out."
Irony? It's hard for me to believe. I'm leaning toward something a little bit more grand, like promptings, or forewarning. Coincidences aren't ever coincidence.
So, I failed round one of faith after smashing a new car. I was pretty upset Saturday night. But, I do know that in the past, things I was certain I couldn't pull off worked out in the end through Heavenly Father's help. It's usually not how I'd pick for it to work out, but it's usually a better option.

Welp. Back into the fray!

In case you wondered:

PTV is supposedly a player. I'm supposed to be nice anyway because apparently this is part of playing the dating game. And he texted today. And I'm not sure that I read the rule book on how to play nice, so I mostly just stuck to the Thumper Theory.

(As you can see none of them are nearly as modest, classy, or clever as me. :p  Just kidding. I'm sure his she friends are nice people too.)

Secondly, that worst nightmare family that came in last night and destroyed every last one of my sweaters and bought a thousand t shirts after ripping off all the labels? They returned.
Because apparently they hurled too many t shirts at me. Was I supposed to be counting as they changed their plan every five seconds? Probably. Did I? No. I just scanned like a mad woman and sang, "Jesus said love everyone" on repeat. The good news is I didn't murder anyone and I smiled the whole time anyway. The bad news is that I gave them two too many t shirts. So they returned one.
Their logic escapes me.

Thirdly, a man came to my register and asked an endless amount of questions... endlessly. He spoke with no accent, and was definitely from America. Until the last five seconds when he said, "Thank you dahling, you've been mahvelous, simply mahvelous!" Which pretty much just cracked me up majorly. It was kind of really fun to reply, "Thank you sih, I do try." in an equally bad English accent. :p  People are strange.
I love them.

Fourthly, I maybe set up an extra prairie dog today where there usually are just three. Why? Because I started singing "Barber of Seville" and decided they ought to be a furry quartet. (This is probably a HUGE red flag that says, "Get Shannon out of Bryce. Pronto.")

Fifthly, I'm supposed to be crossing items off my to do list, but I started quoting Psych via text with the twins (yes, I know. This is the extent of my social life. Quoting fictional character's social lives to my little sisters.)
and so I found this gem. I've been laughing. Out loud. (Not even an exaggeration! Nor hyperbole!) For at least twenty minutes.
I need to get off and have a productive evening.

(The picture is for you, Meg and Miss. You're welcome. ;) )

P.S, Sixthly, SheRon invited me to go to the Deer Hunter's ball with her. Which is actually a spaghetti dinner, with no dancing involved. (Well. I think we watch small children clog, but that doesn't count...) Which was really nice of her, and sort of really great timing. I love tender mercies. Even if they are in the form of Deer Hunters attempts on Italian cuisine. ;)

(P.P.S maybe I should use this picture for the playerishness instead:

P.P.P.S I took a self portrait today. I took some extra time to groom this morning, made sure to comb all of my hairs, and wore my best work outfit. Basically I felt like I shouldn't be selfish and keep all this attractiveness to myself.

 I call it, "Essence of Park Service Shannon."
Enjoy! ;)

Are you Captivated yet?

Because I have a love hate relationship with life. Today anyway.
Well. Most days after I've just had a day or two off from work and I have to remember all over again why I really love those days. :p

But that was a sneaky way to bring up Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. Which is a book my friend Kyle lent me to sate some of my boredom. It worked! But now I'm finished with it and complications such as he can't find the counter part to the book and the book Paula from work gave me is depressing and my heart doesn't want to encourage those feelings right now are making  letting me feel bored again.


However... Captivating was awesome. Albeit, there were things I adamantly disagreed with- John and Stasi are a Catholic couple, and they've got some skewed ideas. I think they're on the right track, they just took some concepts far too literally.

Now I'm going to blow your mind (possibly from boredom) with excerpts. Mostly because I'm too lazy to pencil them into my journal all at once so I'm going to type them into my blog. It's my second journal. The overview one.

"Femininity cannot be prescribed in a formula. There is no 'one size fits all' pattern for God's Women." (That's where I was stuck to the book. On page ix. Great sign, right? This is also when I discovered I have no clue in Hades how to say 'femininity'.)

pg. 19

The longings God has written deep in your heart are telling you something essential about what it means to be a woman, and the life he meant for you to live. Now we know- many of those desires have gone unmet, or been assaulted, or simply so long neglected that most women end up living two lives. On the surface we are busy and efficient, professional, even. We are getting by. On the inside women lose themselves in a fantasy world or in cheap novels, or we give ourselves over to food or some other addiction to numb the ache of our hearts. But your heart is still there, crying out to be set free, to find the life your desires tell you of.
You can find that life- if you are willing to embark on a great adventure.

A. 'We are getting by'?? Lame. Stop surviving and decide to live!
B. Numbing your heart seems like a dangerous idea. In the scriptures it always talks about hearts being past feeling as a bad thing. Because it is. In April at a Friday Forum Brother Schlappi(?) talked about pain. He told us the secret to getting through pain is to attach a purpose or meaning to it. Not to numb ourselves and move on. Pain (or feeling in general) inspires change, which causes growth, which makes us beautiful. Who doesn't want to be beautiful, raise your hand. (If you did, you're kicked off my blog, because you're lying! Except I'm not kicking you off. I'm too attention starved. ;) )

One section of the book talked about how women are a mystery. Which is true. But we're not a mystery as in " "forever beyond your knowing", but "something to be explored." "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter," says the book of Proverbs, "to search out a matter is the glory of kings." "

"A woman is not a problem to be solved but a vast wonder to be enjoyed."

"Every woman has a beauty to unveil.
Every woman."
(Even mean, shy, overbearing women. :p Keep in mind who they truly are.)

"Most women hate their vulnerability. We are not inviting- we are guarded. Most of our energy is spent trying to hide our true selves and control our worlds to have some sense of security."
"When a woman falls from grace, what is most deeply marred is her tender vulnerability, beauty that invites to life."
"We have never considered that by living a controlling and domineering life," (Guarding/avoiding vulnerability) "we are really refusing to trust our God. And it has also never dawned on us that something precious in us is squelched, diminished, and refused. Something that God has given us to bring to the world."

"The wounds you have received have come to you for a purpose from one who knows all you are meant to be and fears you."
(Satan doesn't work on wimps, ladies. He spends time on those he is threatened by. So really, when we're being tempted and it's like, "Oh mylanta! I'm never gonna be good enough" or something like that, try feeling awesome. It is because of your beauty and your potential and your goodness that you're being tempted and tried as much as you are.)
"It changes things to realize that, no, it is because you are glorious that these things happened. It is because you are powerful. ... You are hated because of your beauty and power."
(Cool, huh? I like that perspective I think.)

They used a quote from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett:
"Whatever comes, cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in a cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it."
(We choose our attitude, which is a HUGE weapon against Satan. He can try all he wants, but we can still choose to love Heavenly Father, and trust Him and love life and ourselves anyway.)

The beauty of a woman is first a soulful beauty. And yes, as we live it out, own it, inhabit our beauty, we do become more lovely. More alluring. As the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, "Self flashes off frame and face." Our true self becomes reflected in our appearance. But it flows from the inside out.

Women who are stunningly beautiful are women who have had their hearts enlarged by suffering. By saying yes when the world says no. By paying the high price of loving truly and honestly without demanding that they be loved in return. And by refusing to numb their pain in the myriad of ways available. They have come to know that when everyone and everything has left them, God is there. They have learned, along with David, that those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs (Ps. 84:6).

"That's why unveiling our beauty is how we live by faith.

"Yes, we are not yet what we long to be. But we are underway."

(Talking about the proverb, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it", and how it isn't about raising children to be what we would like them to be, or to go where we would like them to go, but, "It is about seeing who a person really is and calling him out to be that person." Which I thought was really kind of a cool thought. Maybe, leading by example and being yourself truly it will allow them to do the same. It's about charity too, I think.)

Talking about women friends: "The capacity of a woman's heart for meaningful relationships is vast. ... It is a great gift to know that you see as another sees, an immense pleasure to be understood, to enjoy the easy companionship of one you can let your guard down with."

"Fallen Eve has been wounded by others and withdraws in order to protect herself from further harm. Redeemed Eve knows that she has something of value to offer; that she is made for relationship. Therefore, being safe and secure in her relationship with her Lord, she can risk being vulnerable with others and offer her true self." (I'd love ultimate confidence and ultimate comfort that lasts... wouldn't you?)

"We do long to be fought for; loved enough to be courageously protected. But there is a mighty strength and fierceness set in the hearts of women by God. This fierceness is true to who we are and what we are created to do.
Women are warriors too."

"Women warriors are strong, yes, and they are also tender. There is mercy in them. There is vulnerability. In fact, offering a tender vulnerability can only be done by an incredibly strong woman, a woman rooted in Christ Jesus who knows whose she is and therefore knows who she is."

"Security is not found in the absence of danger, but in the presence of Jesus."

(This one is a quote from The Sound of Music.) "You must live the life you were born to live."
I promise if you study Daughters in My Kingdom, and the Family a Proclamation to the World... you'll see that women (as well as men, of course,) have an incredible role. We're born to be awesome!

Going back to Brother Schlappi, (who's name I'm probably not spelling correctly, forgive me. I was twitterpated and distracted sitting next to Tyler. :p I misspelled a few things.)
I've thought a lot about beauty, and women's roles, and how life seems to be pretty unstable (at least for me it feels that way. If it doesn't for you, let's talk. I want to know your secret.)
Brother Schlappi is a paraplegic, because of a gun accident where his friend shot a gun they thought was unloaded and hit him. He said something that I thought of while reading Captivating a few different times:
"If you avoid change- you fail. If you cope with change- you survive. If you seek change- you succeed."
I'm pretty sure I just sound ADD and all over the place, but it made sense at one point, apparently.
But the bottom line is:
Women rule,
God is great,
and honestly Heavenly Father (and the gospel) is/are the only one(s) that can fill the void in our life and validate us. There is so much security in just working on your own progression in the gospel and just let life fall into rank after that. It's pretty cool.

That way when a gargantuan family who has a very aggressive grandma comes in when you're trying to close things down, and they rip apart t-shirts and mess up all your sweat shirts and then stay an extra five minutes after closing time (insert song by Semisonic here) you can still feel mostly nice and want to like them anyway.
(Or at least want to want to like them.)

And with that my dear friends, I'll relieve you and quite typing.