Happy Holidays...

This is a combination of lack of sleep, cleaning the bathroom, favorite Christmas song, excitement for Christmas, and two quirky sisters. Don't judge :)

Love

Today another "Ah ha" moment woke me out of a dark slumber I didn't even know I was under.  These moments always seem to happen at the most random of times when I least expect them.  This time I was watching my little sisters wedding video that she had just posted on facebook.  This simple video reversed my skewed views of love and erased anything, and everything that had tainted love in my eyes. I saw SO many examples of true love that immediately drove me to tears.  First of all, can I just say that Matt and Angie are my favorite couple in the entire world?  The word that comes to my mind when I think of their relationship is, pure. They are so desperately in love, but don't need to (and have never had to) prove that to the world by physical affection.  I can just see it in the way they communicate, joke around, or even just look at each other.  I've seen Ang grow so much since she's been married to Matty and I can only attribute it to the true love she has for her husband that motivates her.  So, obviously I noticed the lovely couple because the video was kinda about them.  But like I said, I saw numerous examples of love.  I saw the tender relationship of a father and his daughter, a son and his sweet mother, brothers, sisters, in-laws, neices, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, old friends, new friends, best friends.  This may sound cheesy and cliche but, love is everywhere!  If you think you don't have it, open your dang eyes and you will find it.  Love makes you smile, it makes you laugh, it brings peace, it gives hope, it banishes despair.  Love makes a person completely invincible!  Just as the Beatles said, "There's nothing you can do that can't be done, nothing you can sing that can't be sung... ALL you need is love." As I watched this video, I longed for this time when I was surrounded by all the people that I love who are going to make my eternity, heaven.  I do hope for a husband in the near future that I can love with my whole soul, but until then, I think I have enough to get me by :) My name is Rachel Pitts and I believe in love!

Here's the famous video.  Ang prob thinks I'm the biggest goof for posting this but oh well :) Password is pff


Matt + Angie + An Outdoor Reception from Lilly McDowell on Vimeo.

I'm amazed...

That this...

plus this...

plus this...

plus this...

 plus these and other random odds and ends...

Equals this!!!!!

If you've talked to me or attempted to talk to me these last few months, you know what my life has consisted of... anatomy, a little work, and more anatomy.  I live and breathe this dang class and rarely have time for anything else!  I realized I was completely consumed when I started falling asleep thinking of anatomy and in my dreams started coming up with random names for muscles!  It gets worse, I can't help but pick out specific names of muscles and bones of passers by, and I even stopped liking this guy because he had a large mastoid process!  Needless to say, I have a love/hate relationship with this class.  Despite the fact that I spend every waking moment (and sleeping moments) focusing on this class and basically have no life, I am absolutely in awe of the human body!  I am blown away by every single little intricate detail.  I definitely know now, more than ever that, "all things denote there is a God."

 My name is Rachel Pitts and I am amazed at what God can do!

H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N!!!!!!

I'm absolutely in LOVE with this holiday!  I love that for one day a year, you can be someone you're not and it's ok!  You can dress like a freak, you can get dolled up, you can look any way you want and no one cares.  In fact, people love you for it!  I love the excuse to load up on candy and goodies, forgetting about the calories because it's just that time of year.  I love that I get to celebrate my Birthday the day before. I love the changing leaves, carving pumpkins, corn mazes, haunted houses, apple cider, memories of trick-or-treating up until my second year of college:) I just love it all!  I wasn't able to celebrate as much as I'd have liked this year because of my dang life-consuming anatomy class, but I did manage to squeeze in some memorable festivities!

             












 Our first attempt at a Halloween party, but I couldn't find my keys, and my costume sucked, so we were lazies that night

Received the cutest Halloween package from my parentals

At the Pie before our annual Thriller tradition with the sistas! SO FUN!!!!!!

Signed up for the Halloween half with Jen and Ang.  Ang got sickies and couldn't run it :(  (I wished I was in her shoes) but I ran it anyway and finished in exactly 2 hours which isn't bad for not a lick of training!

 

Halloween parties with my favs.

 Got to celebrate my quarter of a century birthday!!!  Gettin old as sin:)  This is honestly the coolest cake I've ever had!  Made by Katers-one of my very best friends!

 Halloween night gettin ready to head to Jens with the two best dressed in Provo:) Love these fellas! (We're tryin to avoid dubs chins in the pic on the right)

Ricky is my absolute fav!!!!!

Finished off our night by chucking punkins off the roof :)

My name is Rachel Pitts and my favorite holiday, hands down, is Halloween!

Mi Babi!!!

Thanks to Vlad at Freestyle Auto Sale, I've found my baby!  He's a black Honda Civic, 2005, and runs like a champ!  I originally wanted to name him after the expressionless (but very appreciated) salesman Vlad.  I retracted my purposal when my Pops told me about Vlad the impailer (the historical Dracula).  He gave me the heebie jeebies and I decided to leave that name as ancient history.  After much comtemplation, my mind kept going back to the same name over and over again... Percy.  I shall name him Percy!  It's ok to have multiple Percy's!  It's the best name ever!!!

p.s. I am slowly breaking Percy into the real world.  I have had him for less than two months, and he has already experienced a speeding ticket, a trip to the tow yard, and a slight fender bender (all stories for another day:)

My name is Rachel Pitts this is my first time owning a car!!!

How lucky we are...

The other day I was talking to my good friend Tom about how excited I was for General Conference! Tom told me something that really made me think, and helped me gain a greater appreciation for this semiannual event.  He said a few conferences ago he was scheduled to work Saturday and Sunday.  He just figured it would be ok to miss because he could watch or read it later. The Saturday afternoon of conference, a woman came in to the Pharmacy he worked at to pick up a prescription. Their conversation led her to ask Tom if he was LDS. He said he was and she continued to say,"You Mormons claim that God speaks to you through a prophet and yet you don't even bother to listen to His words." She obviously wasn't a member but she had observed that the majority of her friends were shopping or at kids soccer games for the day and not making any sacrifice to hear what we claim to be the word of God. Ouch!!! So sad but so true. Hearing this was a HUGE realization that I will never take the gift of hearing the word of the Lord for granted. God literally speaks to us through these men for an entire weekend.  He counsels us, strengthens us, and constantly expresses his love for us.

 HOW LUCKY WE ARE!!!

Some highlights of my conference weekend are:

The sweet prophet coming up to the microphone and excitedly exclaiming HELLO, when he quoted the Beatles, "All you need is love", the opening prayer of the Sunday morning session when the man said, "we pray that our Savior, Your son, will come and rescue us in our trying times,

President Eyrings sweet spirit and tender heart,  the theme of following the promptings of the Holy ghost, the theme of missionary work, The angelic Mormon Tabernacle choir, the council I needed to hear, the many answers I have been seeking, Elder Hales coming and speaking even though he's not in good health, 

being privileged to watch TWO sessions live in this incredible building.  I was absolutely in awe as I looked around thinking of the growth of the Lords church from the early days when the church was first restored, the choirs that line the sidewalks outside after a session, the smiling faces, the incredible spirit I felt,

girls night out with Lynell and my sista's with the headband size onion rings, tasty shakes, and the grumpy gus who scowled at me for ten minutes after I did the funky chicken:)

The announcement of the new Provo temple!!!  It was so sweet to me because I remember watching that tabernacle burn in December thinking how devastating it was.  I couldn't have ever imagined a better outcome. I was so excited I was in tears!  I'm also very happy to hear of the Paris temple.  Gives me an excuse to one day get out there. 

My name is Rachel Pitts and I am an ecstatic member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

"So Long Sweet Summer"...

               For a few reasons, this song by Dashboard Confessional puts a pit in my stomach every time I hear it.  It all began in high school when my good friend Laura informed me that she and her boyfriend Colby broke up and they listened to this song right before they went their separate ways. I was sad, maybe a little too sad...I cried.  I'm not even kidding, we still laugh about it today.  What a sad song to break up to!  It's a song full of goodbyes and changes- two of my least favorite things.  It also makes me sad because I HATE saying goodbye to summer.  Summer has always been my very favorite season and each year when I notice the days growing shorter, the air getting chillier, the school supplies loading up on the store shelves, I can't help but feeling a little melancholy.  My summer of 2011 has been a great one.  I mean a GREAT one.  I've been busier than I've ever been in my entire life and loved ever second of it.
Some highlights of my summer include:
sleeping in, Seven Peaks, Lake Powell, scooter rides on my foster scooter Jes let me keep at my house, My sister Angie's wedding with the whole fam, got engaged for a day(really got punked and am still suffering the consequences), Arizona on the BEST trip to visit my sis and her family, Lotsa temple trips, tubing down the Salt river in Arizona, Diamondbacks game, Bee's games, BYU soccer, LOGAN, got a new car(more details to come), many dance parties, SHOPPING, hundreds of fabulous new friends, BBQ's, working full-time(the mula was nice?), many dates, Boondocks, Trafalga, lots of time with my family, Culvers runs, snow cones, THE GLEE PROJECT, Bachelor Pad, the Simpsons, Many movies, dinner group, Sundance ski lift, dinner parties, boating, long boarding, ReAl games, and the list goes on and on.  Loved it, will miss it... now, bring on the homework. Blah!!!

My name is Rachel Pitts and I am a summer girl through and through!!!

Car Shopping...

A few months ago- to my dismay, my dear sweet Percy gave up the ghost. After two unforgettable years together, memories shared, thousands of miles traveled, it was time to say goodbye.  I first fell in love with Percy in the summer of 2009.  I met him through a mutual friend Jenny Shaw and he soon became mine.  We were inseparable!  We went to work together, school together and rode home to West Jordan every week for Sunday dinner.  Percy was peppy, upbeat and always there to serve.  He broke down every now and again and had to make a few trips to the shop, but I loved him nonetheless.  As in life, good things often come to an end, so did the life of Percy.  A rod was thrown in the engine, which I don't completely understand, but it basically means the engine was done for.  We had the choice to replace the engine or look for a new car and since Percy was getting a little old, the latter was the smartest decision.  It was hard to say goodbye but I was excited to see what else was out there.  Now here I am...car shopping.  and believe me, it's been an interesting adventure.  While helping me through this process, my dad will often say, "We'll find the perfect car for you, don't you worry" or "Don't just settle for any car, the right ones out there for you, you just need to look."  The whole process has seemed vaguely familiar to me and I just can't pinpoint what it is :)  I've come across cars that are flashy on the outside and attract my attention but have a crappy interior or don't run well, cars that don't look all that great but run like a champ, cars that seem perfect but just aren't the car for me, there are cars that don't have a radio and bore the life out of me, there's always the car that I just know is my dream car but it cruises by too dang fast to even catch name of it, some are too old with too many miles, some are too freaking loud, and the list goes on and on.  After a couple weeks of searching, I've come to the conclusion that I'm most likely not gonna find a perfect car (especially with my price range).  It may have a few small dings and scratches, it may not be the perfect car in someone elses eyes, It may have been down a very different road than mine, it BETTER have a radio, it may not be what I was expecting or looking for, but it will make me happy and take me where I need to go.  Catchin' my drift???

 

My name is Rachel Pitts... and I'm shopping for cars.  Any suggestions???