30 Day Challenge Question

Just curious if any of my readers would be annoyed if I totally stopped this whole 30 day blogging topic thingy...I'm kind of getting bored with it. LOL I feel like I want to share more of my thoughts on things rather than just tell you all about me.

Here are the rest of the 30 day topics, if there is one in particular any of you would like me to post about let me know and I'll do my best. If not not I think I'm going to go back to my regular way of blogging. Deal?

Day 18: Plans, Dreams, Goals

Day 19: Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future

Day 20: What makes me happy

Day 21: What makes me different from everyone else

Day 22: Something I crave

Day 23: A letter to my parents

Day 24: What I would find in your blog

Day 25: What I think of my friends

Day 26: What I believe

Day 27: Favorite you tube video

Day 28: 10 thing I want to do before I die

Day 29: Post a picture from last year and this year and state how you have changed

Day 30: In the past month what have you learned?

Day 17: Nicknames and Why

I have a few different nicknames although most people just call me Tiff. Here are a few of the ones I've had over the years.

Elmo - People say I run like Elmo and just started calling me that

Tiffenstein - Because with all my surgeries most of me was made in a lab

Spazzy - Because I am kind of a spaz

and for obvious reasons...

Shorty!

Day 16: Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day.

This is an easy one for me. If I could switch lives with someone for a day it would undoubtedly be my sister, Tara.

I love Tara to death! She is the best sister anyone could ever ask for. She is truly a light in my life and I don't know where I would be without her.

There are times I would just LOVE to get inside her head. I want to know how she truly sees the world around her. I want to know what she is really thinking sometimes. I want to see things the way she does with her innocent mind. I want to view life the way she does and maybe learn better how to channel it back into my life. I would love to see her soul and feel how close to heaven she truly is.

Tara is an extremely witty person. She doesn't necessarily do this on purpose she simply says the things that come to her mind. I would love to know how that thought process really works for her.

There are many times I am talking to her or trying to help teach her something new and I wonder what is going on in her head as I do so. Is she really understanding me? Is she understanding more than I give her credit for, or less? I wonder what kind of things she thinks when she's all alone. Tara loves talking to her imaginary friends. Sometimes as I have eavesdropped on these conversations I wonder what is really going on in her head at the time. Is she making it all up and deep down understands it's all make believe, or does she perhaps really see someone that she feels she is communicating with?

Tara is an extremely positive, outgoing, fun person with very few cares to bring her down. She doesn't take too much thought of what others think of her or how they may be judging her, good or bad. In my opinion she has perfected the art of being true to who she really is. I would love to be able to tap into that for even just a day...maybe I'd learn something that could help me be more like her.

Day 15: Another picture of yourself

I decided to take this entry a bit differently and post some pictures of me when I was younger and much more adorable.

Day 14: Something that made you smile today

My friend and I have both been kind of hating life lately. I have decided that life should be like tivo so that we can fast forward through the sucky parts. Earlier today I sent my friend a text to see what she was up to, her reply...hating life, and since I was hating life at the moment as well we devised a brilliant plan. We were going to graffiti Life! We planned out how we were going to egg it, toilet paper it, beat it up, etc...

Here is the result:

In the end it really made me smile!

Sometimes life just plain sucks and we have to find a way to laugh our way through it. Today this worked for me!

Day 13: 20 of my favorite things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things"

While none of this is going to come out sounding as good as a song here is a list of 20 of my favorite things: (in no particular order)

1. Pastime: Reading or Writing

2. Cartoon: Smurfs

3. Item: Snowglobes

4. Game: Farkle

5. Animal: Dolphin

6. Article of Clothing: Pj Pants

7. Movie: Man from Snowy River

8. Book: The Hiding Place

9. Food: Cheese Enchilada's

10. Candy: Reese's Fast Break

11. Color: Purple

12: Drink: Kern's Guava Juice

13. TV Show: 24

14. Flower: Daisy

15. Dessert: Brownie Sundae

16. Store: Deseret Book

17: Season: Fall

18: Place to go: Disneyland

19: Sport: tie between Soccer and Basketball

20: Holiday: I have my own special made up holiday...I'd tell you the details, but then I'd have to kill you. LOL

Day 12: How I found out about blogs and why I made one

I honestly do not remember how I found out about blogs. I'm sure it was on some awesomely grand adventure or something equally fantastic because that's just how I roll. The reason why I made one is simple...I know that every person out there is just dying to meet me and get to know every intimate detail of my life. Unfortunately I am only one person and there are millions of people in this world, there is no way I would be able to physically meet every one of them as they wish. So, I decided to create a blog and share all the informations my adoring fans want to know. It has been such a life changing event I just know that I am touching millions of hearts with my kindness, tenderness, and charm (oh and did I mention sarcasm).

Day 11: Songs I listen to when I'm happy, sad, hyped, bored, and mad

I absolutely LOVE music. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that on this site before...haha. So, this post may be one of two things...super long because I have a million songs for each category, or super short because I can't decide and just say something general. I guess I'll get started and we'll just see how it turns out.

When I feel ____ I listen to ____...

Happy: My favorite songs. I have a playlist on iTunes for my 5-starred songs. It consists of everything from pop music, country music, to mellow love songs. I also like to listen to songs that just simply sound happy. Happy music also has to be something I know the words to and can sing along. *Some of my favorite happy songs are: Strongest Suit from Aida, Witch Doctor by the Chipmunks, Popular and Defying Gravity from Wicked, Happy Girl by Martina Mcbride, Give a Little by Colors, Up All Night by Colors...Ok pretty much anything by Colors.

Sad: There are times when I am sad and feel the need to listen to something uplifting to pull me out of the sadness during those times I listen to songs that have inspirational lyrics. Songs that will remind me to get up and keep pushing on no matter how hard life is. Some of my faves in this category are: Dig a Little Deeper from the Princess and the Frog soundtrack, The End by Matt West, Hold On by B*Witched, Soar by Christina Aguilera, and of course the classic You Are Loved by Josh Groban. Then there are times when I'm sad and simply want to stay sad. I need to just have a good cry and let it all out. Some of my favorite songs to listen to at times like this are: Broken by Lindsey Haun, Few Days Down by Mandy Moore, Rain by Colors, Black Roses Red by Alana Grace, and Just Let Me Cry by Hilary Weeks.

Hyped: Ok, when I'm hyped I pretty much always want to listen to music that seems just as hyped as I am. Something fun I can dance around in my pj's to! Some that I love are: The Party's Just Begun by Cheetah Girls, 121 from the Goofy Movie soundtrack, I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas, Dynamite by Taio Cruz, Replay by Iyaz, and Bam by Miranda Cosgrove.

Bored: mm...this one is strange for me because to me boredom isn't really a mood it's more of a state of being. So, hope you don't mind but I'm going to change this one to mellow. When I'm in the mood to just sit back and relax and listen to something calm and easy on the ears some of my favorites are: Tamahana from the Johnny Lingo soundtrack, Feels Like Home from the Brother Bear soundtrack, Soledad by Colors, On My Mind by Kalai, Lonely Road by Erik Hickenlooper, and This is Home by Switchfoot.

Mad: Ok, this one is the hardest for me because I don't really get mad very often. Anger just isn't my thing. So, with no way to really explain it these are the songs I tend to listen to when I come the closest to being upset: Let it Die by Three Days Grace, Just Like You also by Three Days Grace, Lie to Me by 12 Stones, If Everyone Cared by Nickelback

*Please note that all songs listed as favorites are considered "at the moment" songs and are subject to change whenever I deem necessary.

Blogging Break

Ok, I know this challenge I started was supposed to be a consecutive 30 days thing, but my sister has been here staying with me for a few days and hanging out with her takes precedence over blogging. I'll spend some time catching up this week, I promise.

Day 10: Picture of you and your family

I love my family! We have such good times together. We are a bit kooky and it makes life fun! We have our share of up's and down's but no matter what we always have each other.

This is us at the Flaming Gorge Dam.

My cousin Savannah, Uncle Johnny, My mom Susan, Sister Tara, and Brother Tyson

I was taking the picture!

This past summer we all went to see Lion King at the Capitol Theater.

It was a great family night out!

Day 9: Something you were proud of in the last few days

mm...this feels a bit like bragging, but I guess it will help you to get to know the little things about me...So, in no particular order here are things I was proud of recently.

1. I made it through an entire day of church meetings even though I was extremely sick and felt like dying the entire time.

2. I opened one of those "impossible to open unless your superman" kind of jars of applesauce all by myself.

3. I finally handed out the last of all my Christmas gifts. (Just have one Christmas card left to deliver)

4. I'm finally getting the hang of texting on my new touch screen phone without getting a complex of how fat my fingers are.

5. I've managed to make it 10 days into January without getting a ticket for not having my car registered yet.

6. I went for a nice long walk this week. Ok...this was mainly because I was trying to avoid driving and getting a ticket, but no matter the underlying motivation I still exercised!

7. I paid my tithing, despite the fact that I have barely enough money to pay my bills and have no money for food or gas this month.

8. I have blogged every day so far for this 30 day challenge!

Day 8: Short term goals for this month and why

Short term goals are a funny thing to me. I try to set little goals and then life happens and ends up giving me new goals to work on. Having said that some of the goals I have been working on this month is to never miss a night reading in my scriptures. I believe there is great power in the scriptures, and it can only come into our lives if we take the time to open the book and study. I spoke earlier of my habit of procrastination. I seem to always start off each day with a goal to spend all this time studying the scriptures and words of the prophets only to find that as the day goes on I put other things first leaving very little time for scripture study. I have been trying to work on this.

Another goal I have had for myself this month is to not spend quite as much time on the computer. Time is one of the most valuable gifts we have been given and when the day comes that I am called to stand in front of my Maker and make an account of how I used my time I do not want to tell him about all the status updates I read on facebook or how many you tube videos I watched. I hope to be able to report things of much more substance than that.

Finally, one last goal I have had is to focus more on my writing. I have started a few different writing projects and am really enjoying them. Writing is something that brings such joy to my life and opens my mind and soul. I tend to feel closest to the spirit when I am actively writing and exploring the feelings of my heart.

Day 7: Picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you

I have been lucky enough to have several people in my life who are/were amazing influences on my life. It's simply too hard to just pick one.

Bro. Tim Carver is one of the best teachers I have ever had the opportunity to learn from. I got to know him by attending one of his classes at the Ogden Institute. He opened my eyes to the scriptures in a way that has forever changed me. He taught me how to dive deep and find meaning behind the words on each page. He helped me to feel and recognize how the spirit speaks to me personally. He taught me how to study the scriptures in a way that I could find the answers to my prayers. Over the years as I have sat through many hours of lessons he has taught I have always walked away with something new, and my testimony strengthened. Beyond the classroom he has been an incredible friend. He has always been a listening ear when I have needed someone to confide in. He has been a wonderful sounding board as I have discussed my struggles and life situations with him, and he has taught me many personal lessons about how the gospel relates to me and my life. When I sit back and look at my life I can see that Bro. Carver has definitely had a hand in helping me to be the person I am.

The Shaffers... there is no way I could write an entry about people who have impacted my life without mentioning this awesome family. Thayne Shaffer was called to be my bishop a little over three years ago. It amazes me how much has changed in those three years. The five people in this picture went from being complete strangers to some of my best friends. I truly consider them my second family. I spent many hours with Bishop Shaffer working through problems and life struggles. He taught me so many lessons about finding my own truth, getting validation from the right source, hard work and perseverance. I also spent quite a bit of time in their home. I learned a lot about what it's like to have a worthy priesthood holder in the home. I learned many lessons from Linda on how to raise children in love and with the gospel. I spent a lot of time watching her and learning what makes a good wife, mother, and friend. Linda has been a great example to me on doing what is right no matter what. I have watched her attend church, support, and care for her family all while struggling with illness. There have been many days where I'm sure she wanted to just call in sick and spend the day resting, but instead she got up and went about her duties as a wife, mother, and daughter of God. I look up to her more than she will ever know. I learned that every family has their struggles no matter how perfect they may seem on the outside, but that those problems can be resolved through love and faith. One thing these girls taught me is how to have fun. I loved the days I would go to their house and just sit and play games, jump on the tramp, or play "Mother, May I?" in the living room. They taught me that you are never too old to be silly, laugh, and enjoy life. Above all else these three girls have taught me about the Savior. Through their actions I have learned about unconditional love. I have felt of their love for me on many occasions over the years and love them deeply in return. I could go on for days telling of the ways this family has impacted my life. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with the opportunity to get to know and learn from these wonderful individuals.

Day 6: Superhero and Why

I've been pondering on this one for a little while. I'm not sure I have ever stopped to think about who my superhero is. What makes someone a superhero? The dictionary says a superhero is one who has superhuman abilities or magic powers, wears a distinctive costume, and fights against evil. Well, I don't know many people that run around in capes fighting bad guys in capes so I don't know how much this definition helps me narrow my search. I thought about Jack Bauer because Keifer Sutherland is hot and Jack always saves the day from the evil terrorists. Then I thought of my friend Karen cause she fights against the evil of boredom as she entertains me at the doctor office by pretending to be superman. Then it hit me, I have the perfect superhero!

Captain Moroni! Not only does he have an awesome costume and fights against evil but he was a man full of superhuman strength and ability, because he was a man of God.

Alma 48:11-13, 17

11 And Moroni was a ^astrong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect ^bunderstanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

12Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the ^awelfare and safety of his people.

13Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had ^asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

17Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto ^aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the ^bdevil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

That is my definition of a superhero! I love to read the stories of Captain Moroni in the scriptures. They always fill me with amazement as I feel of the testimony, faith, and strength of this wonderful man. I can't wait until the day I get to meet him and thank him for the example he has been to me. I have learned a lot from his experiences and have tried to approach my own trials and battles the way he approached the battles of his day.

Day 5: A picture of somewhere I've been

This one is a little bit hard for me because I am poor and so I don't really go anywhere! ha!

I was going to put up a picture of me on the mission (I served in Virginia) but I'd have to go scan one on to my computer and that would take more effort that I have energy for right now, so here's what you get. :0)

This is me at the Mississippi River! I was in Minnesota as a patient at the Mayo Clinic. Hence the really ugly blue purse that is really strapped to millions of wires on my chest...also the reason I can't put my arm in the sleeve of my jacket and why I have no contacts in. Wow, this pic looks horrible...focus on the pretty blue water people, pretty blue water!!

I love to go to Disneyland. This is my awesome family and I at breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.

Yep, that's right I'm holding Delicate Arch!

And, last but not least this is my brother trying to throw me to my death at Flaming Gorge.

Ahh...Sibling Love! :0)

Day 4: A habit you wish you didn't have

Mm...this one takes a bit of thinking.

I have a habit of procrastinating things. I mean if it's something super important or something I enjoy then I will do it right away. However, it's those little mediocre things that really get me. Those things that you should probably do today, but could wait until tomorrow without causing a big problem. The big problem arises when I put them off day after day and then they pile up or the time is up and it has to be done right that minute.

For example, this year I made some of my gifts for Christmas. I don't sew or anything crafty like that but I made some things on the computer that needed to either be printed or burned. I knew in my head what I wanted to do for these gifts and had a basic idea of how long it would take to do. However, I kept putting it off and busied myself with shopping for the gifts I needed to buy. The thing I forgot to take into account was that most of the gifts I was making were for people I would be seeing before Christmas. I needed these gifts done days before the holiday in order to give them to the intended recipient. Once I realized this the time was pretty short. I spent hours sitting in front of my computer putting things together and printing things off, etc. I finished a few barely on time. However, I still have a few gifts that I haven't given out and it's the 5th of January! They are all done now, I just haven't seen the people to give them the gift.

I wish I was better at working hard and getting everything done earlier and then resting or doing things that don't have a time restraint on them. Perhaps this will be another goal of mine for the new year.

Day 3: Pictures of me and my friends

Wow, this was kind of a hard one. I don't have tons of pictures with my friends. I didn't want to leave anyone out either. So, I randomly just picked a few fun pictures of just a few friends. If your picture isn't here, know that I still love you, it just means we need to take more pictures. haha!

Yay, for adventures at Girls Camp!

This is me and some friends goofing off on during our trip to Moab.

Shina is one of my best friends ever.

Oh the joys of goofing around Walmart late at night!

Day 2: Meaning behind my blog name

A few years ago I was really struggling with some things and one day I was talking to a good friend about it all. I told him about the frustrating feelings I was having as I worked to make changes in my life and he compared my current situation to that of a caterpillar and a butterfly. A caterpillar enters the cocoon a caterpillar but then wakes up and suddenly he's not a caterpillar anymore. He wonders what these things are on his back and what are they used for. Then he slowly flaps one of them, then the other, he decides to test them out and give them a try, before you know it he is flying around as a beautiful butterfly. I really loved this analogy. Life is all about making changes, trying new things, and growing from a caterpillar into a butterfly. I chose to name my blog after this analogy because it is a constant reminder that every day is a new day to learn how to fly.

Day 1: 15 things about me and a recent picture

These are in no particular order, I just put them down as they came into my head.

1. I love to read. I have loved reading ever since I can remember. Being able to sit down and escape into a book is one of the most wonderful things to me. I would much rather sit on the couch reading a good book than sit and watch TV.

2. I collect snowglobes. I currently have 80 of them. Many of them have special meaning to me, and some I simply bought because they were cute. This all started when I was on my mission. My companion and I visited the home of a member who collected anything that had an owl on it. Since I was the greenie and it was my first time there I was taken on an "owl tour" it was pretty interesting. Afterward my companion and I got talking about what we would collect if we collected anything. She picked those glass paper weight things that always have cool designs and stuff, and I said snowglobes. I purchased my first snowglobe of the collection in the Virginia airport as I was leaving to fly home. Since then the collection has grown tremendously and I have globes from all over the world. I love them.

3. I love music. I am seriously a music addict. I could listen to it from the second I wake up to the second I fall asleep. No matter what I'm feeling I can always find a song that fits my mood. I love being home alone and randomly breaking out into a dance as a good song comes on. I can sing at the top of my lungs and dance around in my pj's and no one can laugh or make fun of me. It makes me happy.

4. I am a wannabe writer. In high school I had an eccentric English teacher that taught me to love writing. She taught me how to unlock certain creative areas of my brain and put all my thoughts out onto paper. I'm not a great writer like J.K. Rowling or Charlotte Bronte but I do enjoy it. I especially love writing poems. I'm not sure why they intrigue me so much, but they do.

5. I have an obsession with pj pants. Whenever I am shopping my biggest weakness is pj pants. I love nothing more than a good pair of soft, warm, cuddly pants.

6. I love jumping in puddles after it rains!

7. I have a huge crush on Keifer Sutherland. I know people say he's old and all that...but I don't care. I think he is pretty darn sexy!

8. I like to scrapbook. A picture is truly worth a thousand words. I love looking through my scrapbook and reliving all the wonderful memories I made. I don't take tons of pictures because I'm always afraid people will think I'm weird for wanting pictures of them, but I am making a goal this year to carry a camera with me more often. I don't care what people think. I need pictures to scrapbook! haha

9.I live in a hobbit hole. Ok, it's just a basement house, but I feel like it is my own little hole in the ground and so I lovingly call it the hobbit hole!

10. I am slightly OCD. I like things to be symmetrical. If something is crooked or just slightly off center, it drives me crazy. It would be too hard to describe all the little things that set my OCD off. When something is out of line I can't seem to focus on anything until it is fixed.

11. I enjoy older classic movies. For example I pretty much love anything with Don Knotts or Jimmy Stewart in it. I also love the Andy Griffith show!

12. I hate to cook. I am a very simple girl when it comes to food. I don't like to take a lot of time fixing something to eat. I want something that is quick and easy.

13. I feel like I can get along with almost anyone. I am a pretty easy going person and I enjoy people. I hardly ever get mad and am very nonjudgmental. In my entire life I have only met a handful of people who I really clashed with. Everyone has some good in them!

14. I enjoy going out with friends and partying it up, but I also enjoy spending a day in my pj's and doing absolutely nothing. There has to be a balance too much of one or the other and I go crazy, but when there is balance it's a wonderful thing!

15. I am pretty random. Sometimes I do things without even thinking and catch myself and everyone around me by surprise. It's a fun way to live.

30 Day Challenge

Alright I know it's been a while since I blogged, December is a busy month and the craziness just got away with me. I had a great Christmas though and hope all of you did as well. It is a great time to focus on the Savior and the meaning His life gives to our own.

Despite the craziness, one of my best friends did a 30 day challenge on her blog last month, with her permission I am stealing this idea and am going to do it here on my blog as well. It is a challenge that will help you get to know me better and hopefully I may even come to get to know myself a bit better as well. When I saw this on my friends blog I loved the idea because I think there are a lot of people in my daily life that really don't know me very well. For example, many people in my ward and family think I am quiet and extremely shy. While I have never been a fan of being in the spotlight I am not a quiet person either. I just don't always display the true me. Hopefully throughout the next 30 days those of you who actually read this blog will come to know the real me a little better.