HELGAPEREIRA*

THIS BLOG WILL BE DEACTIVATED SOON

2010-02-18T13:15:00.001-08:00

Dear Blogger Friends:

If you wanna follow me, please find me at http://pearofthetree.blogspot.com

I exported all the content of this blog over there and I won't be using this anymore :)

Thanks!!!

Queridos Amigos Blogueiros:

Se voces quiserem me seguir, por favor me encontrem no link http://pearofthetree.blogspot.com

Eu transferi todo o conteudo desse blog pra la, e nao estarei mais usando este blog.

Obrigada!!!

It's all messed up

2010-02-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

As you can see, my blog design is all messed up... I've tried to fix it so many times, but no success. What do I do???

I'll probably just open another one... The only thing that stinks is that I want to be able to save my old posts...

Oh well, decisions decisions

Thanksgiving Week & Black Weekend

2009-12-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

I believe I should be more consistent and try to write on this blog a little more. For those who know me well, you know that I'm not very fond of journal writing... I guess because it was so reinforced when I was on YW I never really bothered about it.

I do have a journal that I bought at the Bookstore, and it's pretty, and on each of the days it has a scripture or an inspiring quote... Guess I need to inspire myself some more! hahhahah

But, nothing very interesting has happened since the last time I posted something here. Well, ok, some stuff actually happened. So, for the facts!

Thanksgiving was really good! I was grateful that it didn't snow the whole week after the storm we had on Sunday, November 22. On Monday (when I took the pictures that are posted on the previous one) it stopped snowing but there was a lot of it on the streets, so I didn't dare taking my car anywhere... It would either get stuck on some snowbank OR it would "skate" all over town :) I spent Thanksgiving week working, organizing my room and my life, and spent Thanksgiving day at my friend's in-laws, and then got together with the Brazilians, ate dessert and watched "Angels and Demons".

Black Friday? Oh, yeah! I had to take advantage of a good sale! Got an external hard drive (portable) for my computer :) And on Saturday, girls morning out with Barbara and Carol. We went to Idaho Falls and shopped around there :) I got my Christmas PJ's! It's my personal tradition. Every year I go to Old Navy and get Christmas themed pajama pants :) The one I got matches my bedroom's new color scheme and I love it. Haven't worn it yet, though.

On Sunday it was great to go to church and learn a bunch of cool stuff. I really enjoyed it. Took a nap in the afternoon and basically RESTED. It was great!!! But I better get going, get homework done, so I can post about THIS week later :)

There's more I'm Thankful for

2009-11-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

For my sanctuary. My bedroom :)

For my BED!!!

For the Temple on an after-snow day :)

And for having legs to walk across Campus, and for my eyes to enjoy that wonderful view.

Happy Thanksgiving in Advance! I'll post some other things I'm grateful for this Thursday :)

I'm Thankful For...

2009-11-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

"Rexburg Sunsets"

That's one thing that I can't complain about living far far away: The sunsets I am able to enjoy every day when I'm coming back from a long work day are PRICELESS, and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have to enjoy them.

Forgotten Tradition

2009-11-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

Last year I tried to put one thing that I was grateful for during the month of November... Guess what? I FORGOT about it! It is probably due to the stress that I'm going through right now... In one of my counseling sessions, my therapist told me that it is normal for my memory to shut down, and I do forget stuff, such as the section on a final project. The result? A "B" instead of an "A". Yes, I completely forgot to report on one section of the project. How DUMB is that? Or the 80-point project that was due Monday night for my Marketing Law class, and I FORGOT about it!!! :) Now I can only get 40 points because the teacher was nice enough to let me hand it in later...

Well, how about being grateful for something? At least for a week I can be grateful for stuff, if I don't forget, right? Here it goes:

I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY BRAIN, even though it is not functioning at it's normal rate, and even though ALL my grades are going down no matter how hard I study. At least I have a brain, right? ;)

The Inner Vase

2009-11-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

This year has been really hard for me so far. I guess because I am on the verge of graduation (April 2010), and because I am almost 28 years old, and basically since February 12 I have been considered "a menace to society" - wise words of Brigham Young referring to the 27 and older MALES that were not married - I do think I fit in though... Even being a female! :)

But there are many things that happened, and I mentioned them here. But for some reason I have been feeling like I need to clean my Inner Vase in order to feel better about myself. I have been through a lot of discouraging situations. I am currently having to deal with constant fatigue, with an acne treatment that is lasting forever with a very strong medicine that's bringing my cholesterol and my triglycerides up, and bringing my mood down - it can cause depression, especially in people who already suffered from it *hint*hint*, and far away with my parents, overwhelmed with school and work, lonely, and single.

Sometimes I feel I am "entitled" to complain about my life. But as I was looking back on it a few weeks ago I realized that probably most of the problem was caused by myself. I then decided to take a few steps to "clean my inner vase" and I have been able to see some results. There are some things that still discourage me - I'm scared of what the near future holds. I'm afraid I won't be able to find a decent job, I'm afraid of staying in Idaho or going down to Utah - I am craving a change! Some people know that I LOVE CHANGES!!! And I think it's about time... Am I ever going to settle down? I hope so!

But going back to the inner vase thing, it's working. Slowly but surely! I never lost hope that eventually my life will get better. I have all the reasons to be grateful right now: my health is hanging in there, I feel the love that my parents have for me, I have a job that helps me get by, I get help from my school in pretty much whatever I need (except for finding a date), and I have my TV :) I still need to work on my anger management - note that I am not a violent person but I do get pretty upset about some stuff and basically I refuse to talk to the person until be anger goes down. This has been an issue. But I'm getting there.

Going to the Temple has helped me a bunch. I love being there, even though most of the times I'll be sleepy, but it's good to go there and meditate upon the things that I need to improve on and the things that I'm grateful for.

Today I literally cleaned my room, and that helped me feel a little more spiritual peace. I'm hoping this week will get better and that by the end of it I will be smiling more :)

To all of you who might be in a similar situation, I encourage you to try to do the same. Again it can be a slow process as trials will keep coming, but at least you'll feel more prepared to face them.

P.S. I mentioned that trials keep coming. I just burned a Kettle (forgot it on the stove - I was planning to make some Peppermint tea - and completely forgot about it. The fire alarm went off and now the house stinks). And life is good! *sarcasm*

Giveaway at Kevinandamanda.com

2009-11-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

So, I had to post it so I can get my chance as well :)

Check it out, girls!!!

Kevin & Amanda

Free Digital Scrapbooking Kit??? I want it!

First Item of the Christmas List

2009-11-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

So, since I've been here in the US, Christmas hasn't been too much fun. It's hard to be far away from my family, and even harder to have to deal with snow storms at Christmas time... NO FUN! That was my experience last year. I couldn't even go down to Salt Lake City to spend Christmas with my friends because the roads were just SO bad...

Since I don't know what this Christmas reserves for me, I believe I deserve AT LEAST a nice gift...

This is what is item number 1 on my Personal Christmas List:

Reebok EasyTone

I watched a commercial this week and that sparked my interest. Since then I've been researching about it and reading reviews, which appear to be very helpful. And since I am becoming a "Gym Freak" those shoes might boost my workouts. The cool thing about them is that they are supposed to work your hamstrings, your calves (that's my biggest interest at the moment), and the butt.

With the workouts themselves I have been able to see results on the other 2 parts, but I've always had big calves, and to be honest, I'm not a big fan of them. I should be grateful though, at least I have calves!!! :) But anyways... I might try it on next time I go to the mall. NOTE: I might TRY THEM ON, not buy them... Because in order to buy them, I'll need to save up, and that might take me a little time... Maybe that will be my gift to my wonderful self for Christmas :)

Not Much to Blog About

2009-10-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

That's what my life has been. I haven't had a lot of incredible events that are worth blogging about... Seems like life is getting BORING! But not really! I guess just like everyone else's, it's just plain BUSY.

I've been studying like crazy to get decent grades at school. I'm on my second-to-last semester at BYU-Idaho in the Business Management Program. I was supposed to graduate this December, but I forgot that I had to take a Capstone class, therefore I didn't add it. By the time I found out about that, I was already taking 15 credits so I thought it would be better if I just took it in the Winter Semester and if I devoted myself to it completely. So, contrary to what I wanted, I still get to spend another winter in Rexburg.

I'm excited for my graduation though. It will be good to finally get done with school, at least for a while. I did waste a lot of my time, and now I'm paying for my poor choices when I was younger. I was supposed to be done long ago, but I did slack, and here I am. However, I'm grateful for the path my life took. Maybe I wouldn't have come to BYU-Idaho. My dad told me that if I had remained in Brazil, I would be getting a Master's Degree in London. He never told me that!!! Oh, well. Again, I guess that was the path I was supposed to take :) And I am HAPPY.

On the side, I have been working at the University Bookstore as a Graphic Designer (LOL). I really don't have that much talent, but it is certainly fun to use a little of my creativity to develop some fun ads for the store. I work there an average of 20 hours a week.

I'm also doing some extra stuff... I've been on Acutane for the past couple of months so I have to get my blood drawn every month. Tomorrow morning is the day I get to do it again. I'm also doing meditation with a small group at school because stress has been really hard to manage. It's life, right? And I've been trying to hit the gym every day. I've seen some good results, so I'm excited about that.

The only downside to such a busy life is the fact that I always seem to feel tired. Today I planned on a one-hour nap which turned out to be a 4 hour nap. I wasn't happy about it. But I guess my body was begging me to slow down...

Life with roommates is good, except that only 50% of us actually abide with the Chore Chart. Yes, we have weekly assignments for everyone, but the other half doesn't seem to care about what needs to be done, and that REALLY ticks me off. Even though I am still so busy I find time to do my chores. What about the ones who have a TON of time and yet don't do anything? I just think it's UNFAIR. But I have to deal with it. I've been trying to talk to them, and hopefully things will get better... Otherwise they will see the "B" that lives inside of me :)

I've been trying to go to the Temple at least once a week and have been successful so far. It's been 2 weeks. I noticed that I'm having a better attitude towards all the challenges I have to face during the week, so I recommend it!

I'm hoping to be in Utah this next weekend for Halloween :) It should be fun. But I'm not planning to dress up unless there's a party for me to go, or if my costume can be picked out at D.I. (Designer's International). So we'll see.

But now I better get going. Barbara might be waiting for me so we can gossip and relax a little bit before the weekend is over (how come it goes by so fast?) - Go figure.

If someone still comes here, hope you have a nice week :)

Playing with Digital Scrapbooking...

2009-10-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

I'm in class, should be paying attention... :P Here's my class project :)

Some Music for the Weekend

2009-10-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of Michael Buble. I mean, seriously, he's one of the CUTEST creatures in the world!!!

And his voice is so soft, and his music is so beautiful and romantic and upbeat... :) I just love him! So, here's another one of his videos, of a song that I really like :)

Hope you enjoy it, and hopefully I'll have sometime to blog about I don't know what tonight...

Save the Last Dance For Me

Life can be very challenging

2009-10-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

I guess Heavenly Father decided to make this last week a VERY HARD one for me. I'm not complaining or anything, but it has indeed been really hard for me to get by and to survive the challenges that came into my way...

I was in Salt Lake City for General Conference, thanks to the generosity of Fabio and Talita, good friends of mine from Fortaleza, Brazil. We had a great time Sunday morning despite the icy cold rain that was dropping on us (we didn't have umbrellas available). In the evening I had dinner with the Costa's and it was a blast! I love being with that family and learn from them. As a result, i came back to Rexburg on Monday morning.

I was so tired though. I hadn't slept very well the whole weekend and had to drive for 4 hours. When we were in Ogden, this huge hail storm decided to dump all the possible hail on us. Hail turned into snow and it stuck to the ground SO FAST! For about 2 or 3 miles the road was slick and full of snow. I was freaking out because I know my car doesn't do a good job in the snow... Oh, well. I guess that stress that I went through for a few minutes took a toll on me. By the time I got to Rexburg it was time for me to go to class and there I was. Barely awake. :P

Finally after the first class session I realized that my body was begging me for some rest. I was feeling sick to my stomach, had the worst migraine ever and was literally on auto-pilot. I got home, took a shower, and at 3 PM I was finally able to fall asleep. Slept until 6:30 PM, and that helped a little.

I was tired the rest of the week though. And it seems like I had such a load of reading assignments, and homework, and presentations, and tests... Work didn't help either. I was under a lot of pressure to finish a project and it came to a point where I was so desperate and helpless that I literally cried talking to my boss. I was sorry that I wasn't able to deliver what they wanted in the time frame that they were expecting, but my brain had shut down.

I forgot which day of the week and of the month it was, was freaking out about the test that I thought would close on Wednesday when it actually closed on Saturday, and so on. I was SO ready to call it a week.

But, no. I still had a bunch of activities on Saturday, which were my choice but I needed to get distracted at least for a little bit. Once I got home I had an essay test with 5 questions and 1 hour for me to get done with it, and after that I had an online assignment that needed to be posted on my website by midnight... I got everything done but didn't feel a sense of accomplishment. Weird.

And here I am again. So NOT READY for the upcoming week. How can that be? I'm really hoping my brain will function a little better and that I will be able to deliver better results both at work and in school. I'm also hoping to relieve some of my stress... It's a heck of a load that I have on my shoulders at the moment, I just hope I can relieve some of it during this week.

Oh, by the way, can anyone teach me how to play Farm Ville? There are so many people addicted to it that I need to play it to forget a little about this crazy world that I'm in right now :)

Hopes and Hopes...

2009-10-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

I just came accross this song and thought I might share it... It's so CUTE and it's so ME!

Enjoy!

Haven't Met You Yet
(Michael Buble)

I'm not surprised,
Not everything lasts,
I've broken my heart so many times I stopped keeping track.
Talk myself in,
I talk myself out,
I get all worked up,
Then I let myself down,

I tried so very hard not to loose it;
I came up with a million excuses,
I thought I thought of every possibility,

And I know some day that it’ll all turn out,
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out,
And I promise you kid that I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet.

I might have to wait,
I’ll never give up,
I guess it's half timin', and the other half's luck,
Wherever you are,
Whenever it's right,
You'll come outta nowhere and into my life.

And I know that we can be so amazin',
And baby your love is gonna change me,
And now I can see every possibility,

Somehow I know that it’ll all turn out,
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out,
And promise you kid, I'll give so much more than I get,
I just haven't met you yet.

They say all’s fair
in love and war
But I won’t need to fight it,
we'll get it right an',
we'll be united

and I know that we can be so amazin',
And bein' in your life is gonna change me,
And now I can see every single possibility, mmmmmm

And someday I know it'll all turn out,
And I'll work to work it out,
Promise you kid I’ll give more than I get
Than I get, than I get, than I get.

Oh, you know it'll all turn out,
and you'll make me work so we can work to work it out,
And promise you kid to give so much more than I get, yeah
I just haven't met you yet.

I just haven't met you yet,
Oh, promise you kid,
To give so much more than I get.

I said love love love love love love love.....
I just haven't met you yet
Love love love .....
So doy day ay ay ay, ay ay yeah
I just haven't met you yet!

Here's the link for the music video:

Just Haven't Met You Yet

Back to School in IDAHO

2009-09-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

Got back in Rexburg yesterday, with a bunch of stuff to get done. The 7-week break was SO WORTH IT though! I went to Brazil and stayed with my family :) It was awesome! But I'll post about that later since I still have to upload all the pictures from the trip...

Other than that, nothing new... I found out that my cholesterol was WAY high and that my sugar was wanting to get high as well... Have been on a diet for a little over a month now... 12 pounds gone, and 15 more to go, but I am excited because now I have my greatest motivation: my life.

More to come soon...

2009-07-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July weekend has been pretty busy. Here are some of the things that I have done:

I went with Ana and Andrea to the Salt Lake... Here's me FLYING :) Love that pic!

Here's part of the Noni/Kika's gang at the Provo Freedom Festival

I'll try to post more pictures later... For some reason the Blogger Site is giving me an error message when I try to upload more pics...

It was indeed fun! On Saturday I went to a barbecue at a friend's house. We ate good meat, and went to a park with the kids for them to have some water-based fun :) Once they were done we all went to a Carnival in Riverton and boy, that was FUN!!! :) I'll post the pics later as I already mentioned...

I am so happy that the weekend turned out to be good!!!

More coming soon!

Good Week!

And it happens again...

2009-06-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Another Airbus crashed this Tuesday morning in the Comoros Islands... 153 people were in the plane and amazingly a 5-year-old kid survived the accident. As for other survivors I don't know. They already found a bunch of debris and some bodies along the coast. Exactly a month after the terrible crash of the AF 447 flight, which left from Rio de Janeiro with Paris as its final destination and, in the middle of the Atlantic, disappeared, killing all the 228 people aboard.

Most (if not all) of these people were not celebrities. They were normal people either going on vacation, or on a study abroad trip, or whatever reason. They all left their families behind. :( I can see how people are so devastated with Michael Jackson's death, but at the same time, he was ONE person. He wasn't 228. Nor 153.

Honestly, the fact that 2 planes crashed in a month's period is much more reason for me to be sad. Michael's family will still earn money with royalties, especially now that he passed away -- everyone will buy his stuff.

What about the victims of those plane crashes? Maybe some kind of settlement that will last them for a couple of years, to help cover for funeral expenses and for them to get by for a while...

For those big fans of Michael, it's not that I don't like him. I actually do! I guess it's just the way I see things...

Peace for the families of those 381 people that left them behind.

Mormonismo...

2009-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tirei do blog de Cynthia... Uma onda!!!

Mórmon não diz o que sabe: presta testemunho.
Mórmon não afirma: testifica.
Pra mórmon não existe mentira: existe apostasia.
Mórmon não paquera: procura um parceiro celestial.
Mórmon não casa até que a morte os separe: sela para toda a eternidade.
Mórmon não pensa: pondera.
Mórmon não cuida da saúde: guarda a Palavra de Sabedoria.
Mórmon não tem intuição: tem o dom do Espírito Santo.
Mórmon não tem energia: tem fogo nos ossos.
Mormon não tem problemas: passa por provações.
Mórmon não supera dificuldades: sobrepuja fraquezas.
Mórmon não morre: vai para o mundo espiritual.
Mórmon não peca: fubeca.
Mórmon não lê a Bíblia: ESTUDA AS ESCRITURAS!!!!!.
Mórmon não cumpre penitência: fica em Período Probatório.
Mórmo não reza: conversa com o Pai Celestial.
Mórmon não aconselha: exorta.
Pra mórmon não existe índio: existe lamanita.
Mórmon não faz acordo: faz convênio.
Mórmon não chama a atenção: queima.
Mórmon não é mórmon: é Santo Dos Últimos Dias.

The Power of a Simple Prayer

2009-06-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to be better at writing on my actual journal, and I have been doing good, but this particular experience that I had yesterday is worth sharing. I hope it is inspiring.

The Power of a Simple Prayer (yes, I decided to put a title on it!)

The last few days have been very interesting to me in the sense that I have been feeling a need to be closer to my Heavenly Father. A couple weeks ago a friend of mine from the LDS Business College decided to take his own life and that was pretty shocking. I was perplexed when I knew of what happened and for some reason I have been thinking through what could have caused him to do such a thing. On my last post I copied and pasted the lyrics for the song "Consider the Lilies", which was played on President Hinckley's and Elder Wirthlin's funerals and I guess because I knew that my friend had gone to the other side of the veil, I thought of that hymn. Anyways.

It has been a tough week for me. Yesterday was an especially busy day for me. I have been involved in different activities all day and I was exhausted but I still had my friend's birthday party to attend. I was a little discouraged to go because it had rained SO HARD and the roads were really wet. But I had to go, otherwise I know my friend would have been very sad. I decided to call Kika and ask her to wait for me so we could follow each other to the party, just in case something might happen we would be able to help each other somehow. We were getting to leave her home and we were already late but for some reason I asked Kika if we could pray before leaving the house. She thought that was an odd request since I don't have the habit (and maybe I should create the habit) of doing that, but she agreed. I offered a simple and short prayer but I guess the intentions of my heart were deep, and left.

On the way to Herriman, between exits 284 and 288, a crazy driver was cutting through the cars and speeding like no one. All I remember seeing was her trying to cut through the cars and "sharing" the same lane at the same time with a big SUV. When I saw that happening I thought "Oh, my gosh, she's going to hit him, oh she's going to hit him". And she did. At approximately 90 miles an hour. I was on the right lane and the crash happened on the middle lane right by me. Her car spun in front of my car and for some reason (which I believe the Lord put His hands on my car and helped me) when I pressed the brakes, it went smooth. I was able to stop the car and not hit her, but I was scared that that might happen. She spun again on the shoulder, her bumper fell off her car (together with her license plate - she is SO in trouble), and while the guy she hit went to the shoulder and maybe wait for the cops, she flipped him off and took off. I believe she was under the influence.

I called the Highway Patrol and gave a detailed description of the felon woman. I don't know whether they caught her or not but I hope they did.

After all that, I was talking to Kika about it -- she was right behind me in her car with Olivia and she told me the lady had been cutting in front of everyone -- and she said that it was inspired of me to offer that prayer. Again I don't know the reason why I decided to pray at that moment, but I AM SO SURE that because of that prayer Heavenly Father spared us from a horrible accident.

Such a short and simple prayer. Answered.

Happy Week to All :)

Consider The Lilies

2009-06-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

Just because I have been thinking about this song a lot lately...

Consider The Lilies
(Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

Consider the lilies of the field--how they grow, how they grow.
Consider the birds of the sky--how they fly, how they fly.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds in the sky
and He will feed those who trust Him and Guide them with His eye.

Consider the sheep of his fold--how they follow where he leads.
Though the path may wind across the mountains,
He knows the meadows where they feed.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the birds in the sky
and He will feed those who trust Him and Guide them with His eye.

Consider the sweet tender children who must suffer on this earth.
The pains of all of them he carried from the day of his birth.
He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the lambs of his fold
and He will heal those who trust Him and make their hearts as gold.

He clothes the lilies of the field. He feeds the lambs of his fold
and He will heal those who trust Him and make their hearts as gold.

How I love my Savior!

Happy Wednesday :)

What the Heck is Going On?

2009-06-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why I am so not into blogging these last few months. I mean, I try to find something fun to talk about, or something relevant, and I can't find something that will attract people to read it... I guess I'm not motivated because I haven't had many people hitting my blog, or leaving a comment, or whatever... Life's tough!!!

I am working hard at Rodizio Grill and making sure that the ads are made for all the magazines and stuff. One fun thing that I have been able to do is to say NO to people!!! hehehehe... Rodizio receives SO MANY offers from people for us to advertise with them and bla bla bla, and we have to refuse a bunch of them... So I have been given the privilege of doing that... mean huh!

I'm loving my job here. I have been able to do a lot of things and also have been able to learn a lot from all the assignments I have been given. :)

Other than that there's nothing very interesting... I still have a ton of pictures that I need to upload from my camera in order to post my albuns on Facebook and Orkut... Oh, and yes, only 49 more days until I go to BRAZIL!!! Oh, yeah!

Happy Tuesday to whoever still comes here :P

The Weekend on a Single Post...

2009-06-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

Has been fun!!! I have been filled with activities and I love that! On Saturday I was able to sleep in... I was so tired from last week and I guess it took me sometime to realize that. I wish I had slept all day long Saturday, but my mind tells me NO!!! It is indeed a WASTE OF TIME :P Every time I think about sleeping I remember Elder Scott's talk that he gave a long time ago on a General Conference I believe, that time is PRECIOUS and it doesn't come back... So I guess I might as well take advantage of time :)

Paid off one of my CC's... So happy! Next week I'll kill another one. How exciting!!! Yay!

Yesterday church was awesome, then I went to a friend's baby shower in Lehi. A Blast! I had so much fun!

Today? Rodizio!!! And I ate FOR FREE!!! Gotta love that. That food is AMAZING!!! Oh my goodness! It was a lot of fun! Kika, Trevor and Andy are great company! I had a blast!!!

Now? Well, now I better go to bed... All that meat made me tired :P

Happy Week!!!

Current Events - Reflections

2009-05-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I can't believe how life can get so busy, and there is not enough time for everything. Here I am, in Provo, for a little over a month already. That's crazy!!! I have been doing my internship at Tahitian Noni and have been working at Rodizio Grill for 3 weeks now. They surely keep me BUSY and I love that!!!

I am also helping my friend Ren with some stuff that she needs, and it has been a lot of fun as well, but I am physically exhausted!!! Oh how I wish my body had constant energy to spare :) That would be really nice...

I found a ward to go to :) Yay!!! I'm in the Slate Canyon 1st Ward and so far it is a lot of fun! I have been welcomed by the members and already feel part of the "family". That's the best sensation EVER!!! I liked my ward back in Rexburg and that's probably the ward I'm going to go back to once Fall semester starts, but it's not the same thing... I don't feel as much love as I am feeling in this ward. Hopefully things will be better once I go back :) And I'm not talking about my bishop but about the members that attend the ward... Just an FYI.

I am so grateful because things are working out well for me. I'm happy... Sometimes I miss my family, sometimes there's that feeling of loneliness but in general I'm well. Heavenly Father has blessed me and I feel renewed. I know I am more willing to make an effort to be a better person and I am glad for that. I needed a wake-up call. I was withdrawing myself from the blessings of heaven. I feel like I'm coming back though. Isn't that amazing???

As I mentioned before, I learned how to do a blog background but for some reason it is not letting me upload the thing... I tried several times already, I just need to figure out where to fix it. :) It's fun, though! I could totally put them so people can upload them to their blogs hehehehe

Time is going by so fast!!! In a little over 2 months I'll be going home for a nice vacation. I'm very excited to see my parents and my friends back in Brazil, go to the beach and be happy...

Well, speaking of time, I guess I better go to bed... Tomorrow is going to be a looooooooooong day, I have tons to do!!!

Happy Wednesday! :)

Scrapblogging

2009-05-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

I HATE scrapbooking, because it takes too much time. Today I was searching for a way to make my own backgrounds and I found one. It was cool! I'm still having trouble uploading it here though...

Here's what I came up with:

Yeah, this is it... I'm trying to upload it though...
If anyone can help me that would be great!

Thanks to www.kevinandamanda.com I was able to do it! I'll try to do some more :)

Well, better get back to my priorities :) I need to update this blog later :P

Happy Tuesday!

Helga

Tinha que postar isso...

2009-05-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

Roubei do blog de uma amiga minha, a Carol... Tao linda essa mensagem!

Aconteceu numa praça, no Japão.

Não se sabe como o pássaro morreu. Porém, de uma forma ou de outra, ali estava ele no asfalto, inerte, sem vida. Seria um fato corriqueiro, mas um fotógrafo resolveu registrar o momento e fazer a diferença...

Segundo o relato dele, uma outra ave permanecera próxima ao corpinho sem vida durante horas. Chamando pelo companheiro, ela pulava de galho em galho, sem temer os que se aproximavam, inclusive o fotógrafo que se colocava bem próximo.

Ela cantava num tom triste. Voava até o corpinho inerte, pousava como querendo levantá-lo e alçava vôo até um jardim próximo. O fotógrafo entendeu o que ela pedia e, assim, foi até o meio da rua, retirou a ave sem vida e a colocou no canteiro indicado. Só então a ave solidária levanta vôo e, atrás dela, todo o bando.

As fotos traduzem a seqüência dos fatos e a beleza dos sentimentos no reino animal. Segundo o relato de outras testemunhas, dezenas de aves antes de partirem sobrevoaram o corpinho do companheiro morto. A ave que fez toda a cerimônia de despedida, quando o bando já ia alto, inesperadamente voltou ao corpo inerte no chão e tentou novamente chamar o companheiro à vida. Com amor e carinho, ela se despede, revelando o seu sentimento de dor.

Agora fica uma reflexão: Serão realmente os animais os seres irracionais?

Onde está o amor, a caridade e o respeito entre nós, seres humanos e "racionais"?

Home Sweet Home

2009-05-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

After a whole month jumping from one place to the other, I was able to secure a home with one of my favorite families: The Pinegars!!! They received me with wide open arms and I just feel so welcome!

I have a nice bed and a roof, so I'm happy. This week I finally start on my new job and I am very excited to have some money in my bank account. It has been a while :(

But I just wanted to talk about the power of prayer and faith. Wasn't it for me being faithful and asking Heavenly Father for help, I wouldn't have been blessed with those things. I am so grateful for the many things that He gives me every single day. Life in this land hasn't been easy for me. It has been a road full of bumps and obstacles, but so far I've been able to make it.

Wasn't it for my strong faith in my Savior, I would be crazy right now... I would have given up on so many things that life presents me with... I'm thankful for having faith, and for having the opportunity to ask Heavenly Father for faith when I lack it, because sometimes it happens...

I am looking forward to a week full of challenges, but at the same time, full of happy moments! I have learned to cherish each and every moment and even though sometimes I won't feel like cherishing those moments in life, I'll try to keep that in mind.

I'll post pictures of my roomates soon :)

Have a blessed week!

In Utah

2009-04-16T22:12:00.001-07:00

I am finally down in Utah and almost ready to start my internship at TNI. Thanks to Kika and her wonderful network I was able to find something in my area: Marketing. This last semester as I mentioned before, has been a little hard one me. There are so many things going through my head... So many things that I need to accomplish and yet I feel so uncapable of accomplishing such things. I think it's just my mind wanting to drag me down. I am feeling a little discouraged at the moment. This whole recession thing that is going on in this country is making me a little scared, but I KNOW I shouldn't be!

A couple weeks ago Elder Claudio Costa was our speaker at a BYU-Idaho Devotional. He talked about all that the world is going through at the moment and that we, as righteous people, shouldn't worry because "if you keep the commandments you SHALL prosper in THIS LAND" meaning in this Earth and in this life. Isn't he so right? He is... I guess I'm the one who needs to fix some stuff in order to be prosperous :)

He is like a father to me. I am so happy to be part of their family activities and to feel loved by all of them. Since my parents are so far away from me, the Costas take that role and love me :) Isn't that so nice?

The wonders of the mortal life. I am so blessed and yet I complain... There are so many people that have muc more problems than I do and yet they don't complain AT ALL. They are happy with what they have.

I am so blessed to have a wonderful family, to have the opportunity to get a good education, to have great friends, here in Utah and also in Idaho ( I have met so many wonderful people that make me happy), to have food on my plate and to have good health in general. I am also thankful for Discovery Health (that was random but I just LOVE that channel!) and for the sacrifice my Savior has done for me.

As for the other things that I want to accomplish I'll just keep working hard on them and wait on the Lord to do His will. :)

Wedding Day tomorrow! (Not mine of course!) Congrats Veronica and Eduardo! :) I'll SO be there!

Finally!!!

2009-04-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

Finals Week is OVER!!! I am so very happy that the semester has come to an end, and I am extremely relieved! It has been a very stressful semester... Some of my friends know that because of all that I said and talked about during the semester. IBC has been an interesting experience. I have learned some things, but the most important lesson that I have learned is that people are very difficult to deal with.

I felt betrayed, discriminated and disrespected in SO MANY ways. The funny thing is that people kept backstabbing me during the whole semester, always blamed the failures of the company on me and on my friend Anselmo, and they also dared to mention my name in the Final Report saying a bunch of lies...

I guess it's just because I am a stupid International Student... That's how a lot of people up here treat us like... Oh well, sorry about the going off session... I guess I needed it.

All that matters now is that I'm FREE for a whole semester!!! :)

Happy Weekend!

Finals Week...

2009-04-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that I should be writing about how wonderful the talks at General Conference have been so far... To be honest I only watched the morning session and it was in the background for me. I remember some of the messages that were given, but not entirely... So I will report about my past week at school. I promise I'll try to watch it more focused tomorrow and maybe put something that might inspire someone here. My apologies...

This week has been quite crazy and I am happy that it's over. As I mentioned before, on Tuesday I woke up to see that my car was wrecked (probably by one of the bad drivers that populate the town of Rexburg). I took it in for an estimate, but they won't be able to start working on the car until Monday. The body shop never received the OK from the insurance company to order the parts, so, BECAUSE I CALLED the body shop yesterday, I became aware of that fact. After a couple calls and acting a little bit upset about the whole thing they got everything ready to go. The parts are ordered and I'm supposed to meet the people at the body shop on Monday at 9 am. Then Enterprise comes and picks me up and I pick a rental, hopefully a nice one so I can enjoy the week riding something cool :)

I also had another final this week. We were aware of the fact on Wednesday and the test was due Thursday... I freaked out but was able to accomplish the goal of finishing the test. On Thursday, I spent yet another evening at the Library, this time working on all the Finance stuff. It was actually fun! I kinda like that stuff! I guess once you know how to plug everything in Excel, your life becomes so much easier! Until this semester I didn't really understand how ESSENTIAL Excel is in an individual's life :)

Yesterday I went to Idaho Falls just to look at some stuff and get the mind out of BYU-Idaho mode. It was fun! I watched Slumdog Millionaire... What a GREAT movie! Oh, before I forget to mention, on Tuesday I went to the movies with a gift card that I received and watched Knowing. Great movie! If you like freaking out, that's the perfect one, kinda like The Sixth Sense.

Today I watched conference and went to Hollywood video to rent Australia. Came to find out at the Cash Register that I had a FREE, I said FREE rental!!! I was going to use the gift card that Todd gave me 3 years ago but I guess I'll use it for the next rental: Bedtime Stories or Seven Pounds :) I'm guessing that Saturday has been indeed full of pleasant surprises...

Tomorrow? I guess I'll watch Conference in my bed, all bundled up in my Target Comforter :) And then maybe enjoy a ride around Idaho...

Last week of school is just around the corner... How excited am I for the end of the WINTER SEMESTER!!!

Happy Sunday!

Charity: Does it EVER fail?

2009-04-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

I am SO DONE with this semester!!! Here I am, at the wonderful McKay Library waiting on Anselmo to finish working on his Religion Portfolio :) How cool is that??? hehehe... (I rode with him).

Just got done with my Supply Chain final... Teacher comes to class today and announces that there is a final and that there is a hard copy due TOMORROW! What the heck!

Yesterday I woke up to realize that someone hit my car at my apartment complex's parking lot and RAN AWAY!!! I had to go to the Police Department to file a report of what happened and had to take the car to Idaho Falls to get an estimate of how much fixing it and making it beautiful is going to cost: $1,800!!! Thank goodness Helga has a $100 deductible :) Well, $100 makes a difference in my pocket but it is better than $1,800 :P

What else? hmmmm... Can't go to Utah for General Conference. I don't trust my car. I'll have to take a picture of the damage before it goes into the Body Shop... Of course I'll also take a picture of the rental (if it's a wicked cool car).

Semester is almost over. I am looking for a place to live in the Utah Valley. If anyone would like to be charitable and have me over for 3 months I'd appreciate it. I got an internship at Tahitian Noni but it's not paid, so I need to find a job as soon as I get there... That's why I'm asking for the Charity... Or at least a cheap rent. I am so fun to live with! hehehe

Happy Thursday!

As Olivia goes down, I go down too! (That is, to Utah)

2009-03-20T10:34:00.001-07:00

That's me at work with my new bangs

I am so excited!!! Got people to ride with me to Utah today meaning that I will NOT pay for gas whatsoever... I might start a transportation business or some sort of Kombi that goes and comes all the time from Rexburg to Salt Lake/Provo and vice-versa :) Some extra income hehehehe...

Olivia is about to come and Tia Helga is dying to see her!!! This weekend is going to be hard but a lot of fun as well...

In less than 3 hours I'll be heading down... as Olivia is doing so as well ;)

See you tonight Kika! Love ya!

FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK...

2009-03-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

... Has been CHAOTIC!!! But good, of course! I am proud that I was able to accomplish some nice things in these past three days. Here they are:

1) I was able to secure a Summer internship with Tahitian Noni International (where Kika works), thanks to HER!

2) I had an interview at Deseret Book and they called me to do an internship with them, but I probably won't take it.

3) My group was able to prepare an Integrated Marketing Campaign for the i-bambino business and it turned out GREAT! But I am soooooo TIRED! We were in the Library for 8, I said 8 straight hours last night!!!

4) The week is almost OVER! And I can't wait to go down to Utah on Friday to wait for Olivia once more. I think about her every single day!!!

Anyways, that's my half week post... I'll be posting some reflections tonight when I'm more relaxed.

And Wednesday is almost OVER!

In Need of a Vacation...

2009-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty much counting the days to go back to Brazil for a few weeks and visit with my family. It's going to take a little while until I'm finally able to see them, but the excitement of the idea is something that consumes me every once in a while.

To be honest, I haven't been in the mood to blog too much. I guess the time that school has taken kinda left me a little bit discouraged to do so. Also, I haven't had much to talk about lately. My life is limited to school and work pretty much. The only exciting thing that happens every once in a while is that I go Latin Dancing, which releases the tension a little bit.

Other than that, NOTHING exciting... I guess I am in need of a companion. He doesn't have to be eternal yet, but I've been in that phase that even though I am happy being single, I still long to meet someone that will sweep me off my feet, at least for a little while, someone to whom I can tell how my day was and to give some crap too... hehehe...

In the meantime, I'm wondering when that's going to happen... :)

See? My blog is BORING!

Happy Week to All

Aren't we all waiting?

2009-03-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

So I'm here in Utah at Emma's house. I decided to come on Wednesday so I could get some stuff taken care of and hope that Olivia would come to our joy... Well, she hasn't come yet, but the weekend has been way fun so far :)

I've done a lot of things and also it was good to forget about school at least for a little bit :) There are some changes coming in the near future, so I'll keep everyone updated... In the meantime I am praying that Olivia will come tomorrow :) But if she doesn't come, I'll be happy when she comes anyways.

Kika I love you! You are the tchongest!

Happy Sunday ;)

I Guess I'll Post Again...

2009-03-08T21:50:00.001-07:00

I came and looked at this blog today and I could swear that my last post was before Thursday... I was mistaken. Looks like the weekend took a little while to end... Monday is right here and I seriously can't wait for it!!!

1) This week might have good promises on IBC. I have to be present to watch some changes that might occur right towards the end of the Winter Semester.

2) Olivia might come ANYTIME! Kika laughs at me because I told her that my bag is pretty much ready even though I'm not the one delivering :)

3) I'm excited for the month of March. I do like it, I don't know why...

Oh well... Weekend was actually good. I got a lot of homework done and luckily this week I don't have that many assignments due. I also resigned to my position as the i-bambino CMO, which kinda relieved the burden I have on my shoulders at the moment. It's nice to be able to come back home between classes and work, eat lunch and TAKE A NAP!!! It's awesome! I am also SO HAPPY that I got a 93 in my finance exam. I was really excited!

Anyways, hope whoever reads this have a fun week! I'm excited for the many adventures that might come this week! Olivia we are anxiously waiting for you!

It's about time for another post...

2009-03-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I posted on this blog and I don't have a lot of news to post, but might as well write something. The semester at BYU-Idaho (or IdaHell) has been extremely busy. With IBC and work at the Bookstore my time is completely consumed, and by the time I get done with all the chores and duties, there isn't much time to spare. Except with my precious bed. :)

I can't wait to get done with the semester. At least are going well with out on-campus business: i-bambino. We have the highest stock price out of the four companies, are selling out pretty much every day, and people seem to love it! Also, we are opening a second "location" on campus this next Monday. How cool is that??? We're excited as a group.

Last week there was Kika's Baby Shower and it was SO MUCH FUN! I had a great weekend with my girlfriends and can't wait for the next chance!

Well, I better get going... I'm tired of blogging... Should watch some TLC.

Nice Weekend to all!

More than half way through the first month of 2009...

2009-01-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

... And I finally get a break from school activities in order to post some updates.

School has taken pretty much ALL of my time! I'm on IBC - Integrated Business Core, which is pretty much 4 classes integrated and we have to launch a Business on campus. Let me tell you, it takes a lot of time and work. There were days where I have been so stressed that I couldn't handle myself, but apparently that is gone (at least for a while). There have been meetings every single day, plus the assignments, plus a bunch of other stuff... HARD! But I'm grateful!

I just came back from a 2-day camping trip for IBC at Badger Creek, an outdoor facility that BYU-Idaho owns. I wasn't excited to go on the trip but I'm glad I went. It was well worth it! I had great experiences and made new friends. I'm excited for the rest of the semester and hope I don't change my mind.

Last weekend I went to Utah to Pedro's wedding as stated in Kika's blog. We had a blast! It was so fun! Especially to hang out with Kika. We share so many laughters together that it hurts our tummies hehehe...

Well, I better go! Just remembered I might have some homework due tomorrow :P

And here is 2009!

2009-01-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

I guess it's always good to start a New Year... There's all the goals that we want to set (and hopefully to achieve), all the promises of a wonderful year, of progress, etc.

Funny thing is that, after a week, all these "wonderful" goals and promises that we made in the beginning of the year seem to be forgotten... Ironically :)

Well, let's try to stick to them this year, shall we? ;)

Happy 2009!!!

Last Days of 2008

2008-12-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

Wow!

It's hard to believe that the year 2008 is almost DONE! I remember growing up that time didn't pass that fast. Now it seems like 24 hours aren't enough in a day, that 7 days aren't enough in a week and so on...

I have been so caught up in school and other activities that I didn't see the time fly by... AMAZING! However, I am SO READY to start 2009! I believe it's going to be a great year for a lot of people, and that dreams will come true... :)

Here I am at work. Trying to find stuff to do hehe... Better go ask around ;)

Helga

Before the Day is Over...

2008-12-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

Day 25...

It's HERE! Christmas! I spent it with my friend Etinha. It was pretty good! We've been locked in the house the whole day because of the snow storm that came together with Santa... But it's better than being alone. I'm hoping to be able to go back home tomorrow. I'm afraid of driving so I'm really hoping the roads will be plowed, and the parking lot at my apartment complex as well.

I am so grateful for this year that has passed, and I hope that 2009 will be the best year EVER!

Merry Christmas! Before the day is over :)

~Helga

It's coming...

2008-12-23T14:27:00.001-08:00

Day 23...

That's what I do on my new job... Design stuff.
That's my first baby :) What do you guys think?

Almost there...

2008-12-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

Day 22...

Christmas is going to be here. In REXBURG. Today we had the worst snowstorm ever, and it's not going to get better for a very long time. In my five years living in the US, I have NEVER seen something like this. My car is beautifully parked and should remain like that, unless I REALLY need to go somewhere like the grocery store for example. I walked to work this morning and it was a real challenge. I had snow up to my thighs and that wasn't fun, even though it was NOTHING compared to what the Pioneers have gone through. How grateful I am to have heat, power, internet, and a TV to keep me distracted. I am also loving my job. Time flies by and I LOVE it!

I'm posting a picture of the snow on my legs when I got home...
In the meantime, please be SAFE...

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, ther came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." (Matthew 2:1-2)

Enjoy the last days of waiting for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please keep Jenni and her family in your prayers. :)

It's sinking in...

2008-12-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

So I kinda realized today that I really don't know how my Christmas is going to be... I'm trying to get used to the idea that I might spend it by myself, at home, watching tons of TV. I miss my family. I would love to be with them this Season, and feel the spirit that I know will be present at my house. I just have reasons to be grateful though. One of these days I was talking to my mom on Skype about how I am longing to be there in July (it's not official yet, but almost). She all of a sudden said that she wants me to go to the Temple with her. It was so smooth, but I was kinda caught off guard. I am so excited. There are a bunch of goals that I need to set for this coming year, and maybe, instead of waiting til New Years, I will start setting them right now. :)

As for Christmas, I really hope everyone enjoys being with their loved ones. This is probably not my case this year. I hope I will spend it with someone even more special: My Savior, present in my heart.

And Keep Counting!

2008-12-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

Days 17 and 18...

On my last post I mentioned that I got another job at the Bookstore as a Graphic Designer/Advertiser... Boy do I love it! It is pretty fast-paced but it's awesome to see the buyers' faces when I hand in the project they asked me to do way in advance. They get tickled!!!

The project that I'm working on today and tomorrow is the Bookstore's Calendar for January and February... And guess who is on the calendar??? ME, of course ;) I feel like a model hehehehe... It was so fun to use the magic of Photoshop to extract all the background from the picture, now in a more professional way. I'll have tons of fun playing around with it. I need some training anyways, so learning something new is always a plus.

I had to share the happenings of today. My brain is totally dead, but I feel it was well used :) Cool thinng is that being a Business Major, I use a lot of my left side of the brain... With this experience in Designing and Advertising, I'm giving some more use to my right side of the brain... :) I intend to use my brain as much as I can, and train it regularly :)

As the time approaches, I get more and more pensive... When I walk to work in the morning I try to think about my Savior and about the things I'm grateful for... Even though the snow can cause some hassle, it looks SO BEAUTIFUL on the ground... When I come back home at the end of the day, there is the Temple, imponent, with the sunset on the background, and the white snow surrounding it. It definetely looks celestial. It's if like Heavenly Father wanted to portray the Heavens during this time of the year. How I love my Father and my Savior and Redeemer...

"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

(Luke 1:31-33)

ENJOY THE SEASON!

And Counting, and counting...

2008-12-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

Days 15 and 16...

So, these are some pictures that I've been wanting to post for sometime... They aren't in chronological order but I thought it would be fun to post them.

The one on the bottom was taken on my last visit to Salt Lake, about three weeks ago... It was a ton of fun. I went down with Anselmo and Cefas to help Cefas buy a car... He got a wicked Ford Escape Jeep... I want one of those :)

The middle picture was taken this Saturday, in the middle of a road, and in the middle of the snowstorm :) I was helping Anselmo move and we thought it would be cool to sit on the chair and take pics hahaha... Talk about lack of what to do...

The top and final one, was taken Saturday night. I went sledding at the Upper Play Fields on Campus :) The weather might not be good to drive, but to sled... Oh yeah! We've had about 2 feet of snow come down and Rexburg looks gorgeous... But VERY cold!

I got a job as a designer at the Bookstore. I am so excited! I get to do the Advertising for the Bookstore. I already started this afternoon and already had work to do. I am anxious to learn the wonders of Adobe Illustrator :) One more for my wonderful resume!

How merciful is my Lord... I've been pleading with Him for that job for a long time. The fact that I won't have to shovel snow at 4 am is a plus :) I'll miss Ben, my previous boss. He' such a good kid, but life goes on and I need something that relates to my major.

How grateful I am!!!

CHRISTMAS (Continued)

"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth.
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came unto her, and said, Hail, thou art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

(Luke 1:26-28)

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Days 13 and 14...

The Snow decided to come down on Rexburg this last Saturday... Oh, boy and it has been coming down like CRAZY!!! The roads are icy, the weather is bitter and all I want to do is stay home, eating and eating non-stop... Talk about getting fat!!!

My car doesn't help me very much when it comes to driving on the snow... On Saturday I got stuck and also did a 360... Looks like Utah will have to wait for me for a few more months... There's no way I'm going to drive under those conditions... My mom pleaded with me not to go down to Utah and I think I'm going to take her advice...

Too bad. I think this is going to be an awful Christmas, but I'll try to take the best out of it. After all, it's the Savior's Birthday. He gave His life on our behalf.

Happy Monday!

P.S. I'm posting from the school's library... Internet hasn't worked the whole weekend...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

Day 12...

Fall Semester is OVER!!! It has been crazy, but at the same time it went by SO FAST it's not even funny... I guess I had a good semester... I'm waiting for some of my grades to be posted. At least one of them is an A :) How cool is that? Given all the challenges I had to face, it was a great semester!

I had to clean my house today because tomorrow there's white glove cleaning check... Oh well... Also, I get to stay here over the break. I'm hoping to go to Salt Lake for Christmas, but this, just the snow will tell...

I also prepared a package to send to my parents through my friend Anselmo... I really hope they like it. I wish I was on my way to Brazil... But the world is not perfect... At least not yet.

"Of all things of heaven and earth of which we bear testimony, none is so important as our witness that Jesus, the Christmas child, condescended to come to earth from the realms of His Eternal Father, here to work among men as healer and teacher, our Great Exemplar. And further, and most important, He suffered on Calvary’s cross as an atoning sacrifice for all mankind.

At this time of Christmas, this season when gifts are given, let us not forget that God gave His Son, and His Son gave His life, that each of us might have the gift of eternal life."

(Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Son of God,” Ensign, Dec 1992, 2)

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Day 11... Christmas TAG for KIKA!!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both, but I have to be in the mood to wrap!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial... Saves the real trees :)

3. When do you put up the tree? First day of December... My roommate put it up this year though

4. Do you like eggnog? With Sprite... Reed's Dairy here in Idaho has CHOCOLATE nog... I'll have to try it.

5. Favorite gift received as a child? A big XUXA doll...

6. Hardest person to buy for? Everyone else... I like buying stuff for myself hehehe.

7. Easiest person to buy for? ME!

8. Do you have a nativity scene? I want a Blossom Bucket one.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Do not recall.

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Charlie Brown Christmas

12. When do you start shopping? Don't know

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope.

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chester da Perdigao, mom marinates it in Beer. It's yummy! (Don't worry the alcohol goes away when you bake it - FYI Mormons)

15. Lights on the tree? I like the white ones

16. Favorite Christmas song? Michael Buble singing "I'll be Home for Christmas".

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I want to travel HOME...

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? no...

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Tree is not mine.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Materialism... When it should be all about Jesus
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? It changes every year but I saw some gorgeous Teal ones this year... I wish

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Food in general.

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? I want to go home but that ain't happening... So I'm sucking it up...

I tag:

Meg Cannon
Camila Wilson
Reni Vee
Marion Dyer
Barbara Pretel
Anna Baer

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Day 9...

Hey Megs, thanks for the message by the way!

So, day was still full of stress today, but at least I didn't feel like vanishing from the Earth. Somethings went well. I get to stay in my apartment during the break, which makes me really happy :)

Project are pretty much ALL done and I just have a couple finals... Can't wait for Friday!!!

"Faith is the principle of action in all intelligent beings." (Joseph Smith Jr.)

Let us be FAITHFUL... Thanks to our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, we are here :)

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-08T22:43:00.000-08:00

... And not really wanting to count... Day 8.

Today was one of those days when all you want to do is VANISH from the Face of the Earth. First of all, I woke up to a "wonderful" winter weather! ALL was covered in snow. We had about 3 inches on the ground, maybe 4. Procrastination of my group led us to have not a very good grade on our presentation today. I did my best and yet apparently it wasn't good enough. I don't take criticism over e-mail. That ticks me off!

Another project was the Advertising Project... They printed out the final book, that cost $25, and yet they did not proof read it!!! Are you kidding me? Well, first thing teacher asked today: "Did you guys proofread it?" - So tomorrow, since no one wants to spend $25, it's on me. I'm printing it. But it WILL have to be PERFECT! I don't care, I want an "A" in that project. All those things kinda took me away from the Spirit of Christmas. Car already slipped on the ice... how literally COOL is that!

To complete the 8th day of the Advent... I am missing home so freaking bad! I was listening to that song "I'll be home for Christmas" and in my case... yeah... "If only in my dreams."

Hopefully spirits will go up tomorrow. I think i deserve a little happiness.

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-07T22:15:00.001-08:00

Days 6 & 7.

Instead of quoting the prophets, today I want to do something different...

These two couple of days were very interesting for me. Yesterday when I came home, there was a note on my bedroom door that said:" #207 Helga (Calling, Tithing Settlement) with the Bishop 12/7/2008 at 4:10." That note left me puzzled. Not because of the Tithing Settlement, but because of the calling thing. "Don't I already have a calling?" - I thought. And off to bed I went.

Woke up this morning, tried to do some homework because it's finals week and even though I didn't procrastinate in many of the things I still have a ton to do, and got ready to go to Church. It was great! When I first got there I wasn't very excited to be honest, but as time passed I was able to feel a strong spirit by the time the Relief Society lesson was done.

All of a sudden Jason (the ward executive secretary) came over to me and asked me if I wanted to meet with the Bishop earlier... I liked the idea and there I went...

After Tithing Settlement, bishop started telling me that they were rearranging the Relief Society... I bursted out laughing! He looked at me a little puzzled and I replied: "I knew it!" I actually had a gut feeling the last night... So anyways here I am, the new Relief Society first counselor. I told the Bishop I was scared but I'd take the challenge. He went on to say: "Your enthusiasm and spirit will make up for the language barrier that you say you have." Isn't he sweet?

I love my ward and the chance it gives me to feel the spirit every Sunday. The Spirit of Christmas this month, but most of all, The Spirit of CHRIST all year long!

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

Day 5...

Some thoughts from our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER

"At this season of the year, the airways are filled with the music of Christmas. My heart often turns to home and to Christmases past as I listen to some of my favorite Christmas songs, such as this one:

Oh, there’s no place like home
For the holidays, ’cause no matter
How far away you roam
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays, you can’t beat
Home, sweet home.

One writer said: “Again Christmas, abiding point of return. Set apart by its mystery, mood and magic, the season seems, in a way to stand outside time. All that is dear, that is lasting, renews its hold on us: we are home again.”

President David O. McKay (1873–1970) declared: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.

“It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men.”

Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.”

(Thomas S. Monson, "The Best Christmas Ever", Liahona, December 2008)

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-12-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Days 2, 3, and 4

Continuing the article...

"And so at this Christmas season, we sing His praises and speak our words of faith and gratitude and love. It is His influence in our lives that stirs within us more kindness, more respect, more love, more concern. It is because of Him and His teachings that we reach out to those in trouble, distress, and need wherever they may be.

What a glorious season is this time of Christmas. Hearts are softened. Voices are raised in worship. Kindness and mercy are reenthroned as elements in our lives. There is an accelerated reaching out to those in distress. There is an aura of peace that comes into our homes. There is a measure of love that is not felt to the same extent at any other time of the year.

Said Jesus: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” (Matthew 7:12.)

May I remind us at this Christmas season that if only each of us would reflect occasionally on that Christ-given mandate and make an effort to observe it, this would be a different world. There would be greater happiness in our homes; there would be kinder feelings among our associates; there would be much less of litigation and a greater effort to compose differences. There would be a new measure of love and appreciation and respect.

There would be more generous hearts, more thoughtful consideration and concern, and a greater desire to spread the gospel of peace and to advance the work of salvation among the children of men."

(Gordon B. Hinckley, "A Glorious Season", New Era)

Counting the Days for Christmas...

2008-11-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

Day One:

"In each of us there is at Christmastime something of our childhood. We all revel in the fun of Christmas—of giving and receiving tinseled presents, of singing favorite carols, of feasting on goodies we never miss at other seasons, of gathering together as family and friends, all having a wonderful time. But there is something else, something better, and that is to sit together as families and read again the fascinating story of the birth of Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem of Judea.

It is proper during this season when we commemorate His birth that we remember the Lord Jesus Christ in reverence and with love. He has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. He has brought meaning to our mortal existence. He has given us the gift of eternal life.

When all is said and done, when all the legions of the ages have passed in review, when man’s terrible inhumanity to man has been chronicled, when God’s great love for His children has been measured, then above all stands the lone figure of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the living Son of the living God, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One.

Isaiah spoke of Him centuries before His coming: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Nephi, long before the Master’s birth, was given a vision of His coming. He saw in that vision the mother of Christ, “a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” (1 Nephi 11:15).

Of her He was born in Bethlehem of Judea, and the angel said unto Nephi, “Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!” (1 Nephi 11:21).

And Nephi “beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and … they cast him out from among them.” And He “was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world” (1 Nephi 11:28, 33).

All of these ancient visions were fulfilled. He came to earth. He walked the dusty roads of Palestine, teaching the people, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, raising the dead, giving His life on Calvary’s cross, and rising on the third day to “become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

He had been the Creator of this earth, under His Father’s direction, for as John records, “without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). He was the great Jehovah who spoke with the prophets of old.

He was the lowly babe who came to earth in the meridian of time and brought to us the gift of Christmas. He was the Resurrection and the Life, who brought to us the wonder of Easter.3

There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection.

I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal, Living God. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His Beloved Son who reached out long ago and said to each of us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”

(Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Glorious Season,” NewEra, Dec 2007, 2–5)

I'll post the second part of the article tomorrow.

Merry Christmas! Yeah! Already! 'Tis the season!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR... (Plus other stuff)

2008-11-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

So I never posted my last day of gratitude...

I'm grateful for knowing that my Redeemer lives, and that I will meet with Him again, if I choose the right :) He's the greatest gift the world was given :)

And coming back to the regular posts: A little about Thanksgiving Day. I went to Burley (South Central Idaho) to the Handy residence. They are the COOLEST family in the world!!! They are all dancers and are always involved in performances, etc. But dancing apart, I had the coolest Thanksgiving with them! We had a fun day, and there were 29 people for dinner. How cool is that! I didn't take any pictures, and maybe I should have... But oh, well.

Tomorrow I go back to classes... Two more weeks and I am done with Fall Semester. Time really flew by...

As of news, I am putting together a Photo Album to send to my parents for Christmas... I am designing it and I am having a ton of fun! (But it's hard work as well...)

Happy Monday!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

2008-11-26T06:48:00.001-08:00

I haven't been able to post for a while, so there is goes... I better catch up :)

Roadtrips - There's nothing better than take the road with friends, or even by myself, and reflect on life.

The Scriptures - They are a source of inspiration and answers for me.

My work - My bosses are so nice and understanding. Plus I get to work outdoors.

TLC - I could watch that channel all day!

Carmex lip balm - For the dry and cold weather of Rexburg, there's nothing better!

Laughter - really, there's no better medicine!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

2008-11-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Having the opportunity to get an education...

... And for accomplishing so many things in such little time!

Hard work pays off. I had to put together a Business Ethics Seminar today at school. I wasn't expecting but it was a TREMENDOUS success! We had about 45 students come and participate, and it was a great opportunity! It's all about announcing in the classrooms and talking to teachers that you know as well. Now I have to prepare the report, measure the success of the event, and hopefully, go to SIFE Regionals!!! Yay for me!!! ;) Happy Thursday

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

2008-11-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

Microlending Organizations - Even though I don't benefit from them directly, I can see the difference that they make in other people's lives.

See the difference for yourself, and maybe help those people with some hope:

www.grameenfoundation.org

www.kiva.org

Happy Tuesday!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

2008-11-18T00:32:00.000-08:00

Animals.

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

2008-11-16T23:22:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful for wonderful sunsets that allow the most wonderful pictures EVER!!!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

2008-11-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

14. Brazilian Hot Dog Parties... Boy are they good! And the fun is awesome as well!

15. Visiting and Home Teachers... Who always have a great message and care so much for us!

REASONS TO BE GRATEFUL

2008-11-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

I decided to follow Kika's example and am going to express my gratitude for little things and big things that happened in my life. Since this is the 13th day of the month, I'm going to try and put down 13 of the things I am grateful for. There you go:

1. I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ, and for His infinite Atonement, that makes it possible for me to go back to Heavenly Father's presence someday.

2. I am grateful for my parents, who are WONDERFUL and so good to me... "I, Helga, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father (and mother); and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days." They are my rock and my life.

3. I am grateful for my friends. All of them who give me love and support, and all the ones who surprise me with the craziest text messages during the day, like Kika: Eh babalu? Eh big big? hehehehe... Love you Kikete!

4. I am grateful for attending a wonderful school, that really teaches me how to be a true and faithful disciple.

5. I am grateful for the knowledge I have on many subjects. I feel so smart!

6. I am grateful for my bishop. He is an amazing man, so loving and caring for the ward members!

7. I am grateful for the sun and the skies... There's nothing better than contemplating a beautiful clear sky with the sun shining...

8. I am grateful for my jobs, both at the Grounds and at the Career Services. They both give me an opportunity to serve and to grow somehow.

9. I am grateful for my roomates. They are so fun and drama-free! I love them!

10. I am grateful for people who contribute to the BYU-Idaho scholarship fund. Thanks to people like them, I have had the opportunity to relieve the financial burden on tuition and school-related costs.

11. I am thankful for my pets and for the joy that they bring me. Even though they are thousands of miles away in Brazil, they bring me joy. Suffering as well, but they fill my life with love and happiness.

12. I am thankful for Latin Dances. They are the cheapest and best Friday night activity!!! For only a dollar I get to dance my mind off, meet some nice people, and especially cute guys ;)

13. I am grateful for Dairy Queen's Banana Cream Pie Blizzard ;) There's no better anti-depressant.

Have a great Friday!!!

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NAME THEM ONE BY ONE...

2008-11-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the Lord catches me off guard... It's quite interesting! I guess I must report here. Maybe this will lift some people up, if not myself. And think that a couple weeks ago I was living in the middle of HELL. With the death of Billy and other issues that came along, I was feeling very desperate and hand-tied at the same time. You know when motivation doesn't come to you and you just want to give up? Give up on what? School, life, all sorts of things. And there was my mom to lift me up. Whoever knows her really well and for a long time, knows that for many years she has been inactive in the Church. Well, the picture changed about a year ago, when she decided to come back for good due to things that I was going through while I was living in Washington. I have been recovering from a hard heartbreak. Sometimes I still think about it, but more as a lesson than anything else. Anyways. coming back to mom, she came back to Church and has been active. Probably more than me. But she has taught me some valuable lessons.

During those hard days for my family, I took a lot of time to reflect on my life and to ask the Lord to give me some direction concerning my academic life, as well as in other aspects. I was still a little hesitant, but amazingly, in the course of two weeks things seem to be falling into place. I decided to go to school during the Winter Semester instead of going off-track. Being almost 27 and not done with my Bachelor's Degree is something that bothers my parents, especially my dad. So with his support, I am going to be able to complete Winter Semester and hopefully in December 2009, prepare yourselves because there is Graduation!!! Yay!!!

Mom and Dad getting Willy was another blessing, They got him yesterday but are completely IN LOVE with the dog. Dad called me tonight and we were talking, and when I was about to ask him about Willy, he went off saying how he is SO CUTE and how he eats so much hehehe... The Dog is 70 days old and already weighs about 9 pounds... HOLY COW!!! He's a little big though, but I don't think he'll grow a whole lot more. He's the new king of the house. Of course, I was talking to Dad about Billy and asking him if they missed my little Billy and he said: "yes, we still miss him a lot, we compare him to Willy (in a good way), and it has been hard on us, but at the same time we are excited about Willy. He will be another distraction for us."

Also, whoever knows my Dad and has known him from the past, he was a very hard person to deal with. My mom said though that he changed completely. He is extremely serene and in my opinion he's getting faithful in the blessings that Heavenly Father has poured upon our family. One day he will be baptized, I am so sure!

I miss my family a ton. But at the same time, I know I have a purpose for being here. As Elder Bednar once said, all the students that are at BYU-Idaho HAVE a purpose for being here. We are not here by chance, and I can tell and testify: this is a disciple-builder institution. I am living proof of that. I have grown SO MUCH in these past seven months. I am privileged and honored.

If I am to count my blessings I will spend the whole night here. So, just to end, I just encourage everyone who reads this post to be grateful! Be grateful for the challenges that make you grow, for the pain and suffering that you go through, and for the blessings that come as a result of being obedient. I love this Gospel. I love my Savior, and I know I don't deserve many of the blessings that I have. But through His mercy, He makes everything possible.

Count your blessings, name them one by one... Count your many blessings, see what God has done! (Hymns #241)

Uma a uma, dize-as de uma vez... E veras, surpreso quanto Deus ja fez! (Hinos #57)

NAME CORRECTION

2008-11-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

The name of the puppy is actually "Willy" and not Billy the Second as I mentioned on the last post. Mom and Dad changed the name because the vet told them that her mom named her pets the same as the previous one that had died, and they died fast... Supersticious :) But I LOVE THE NEW NAME! And I also LOVE Willy, even though I haven't seen him! Just based on what my mom and dad told me last night ;)

Have a good Wednesday!

Winter Semester here I come! IBC and some other classes...

NEW FAMILY MEMBER

2008-11-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

About an hour ago my mom called me to inform me that she got another Billy. One of her best friends, knowing of my mom's suffering, went to the Kennel Club and got her a little Billy. It's a wiener dog, but instead of being black like Billy was, he's red. Mom is totally in love with him! My dad might be knowing at this moment, and I'm excited to know his reaction. According to mom, if dad doesn't want the dog, she will be kicked out with the dog as well. That's how much she already loves him. I'm happy because they need another puppy, and I'm so excited to see Billy, The Second. (That's how mom is going to call him hehehehe)

To end this post I just want to thank my Savior (and I should probably just pray) for the wonderful miracles that have been happening in my life lately.

Have a heck of a Tuesday! I'll post more later ;*

BILLY

2008-11-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

A lot of people didn't know him, but I did, and very well. Billy was my dog, a wiener dog, who passed away this last Wednesday, October 29. I didn't know it until the night of the 30th, when my mom finally had the guts to let out the bad news.

Those have been a very bad couple days. I've been about to melt down, and I don't know what to do. Not only because of the fact that I was really attached to that dog, but also because there is a whole bunch of other problems that are coming along, and not letting me sleep very well at night.

Sometimes I wonder why problems come all at once. Heavenly Father probably has a reason for that. Go figure... (my new favorite expression)

All I know is that, together with trials, come the blessings. I have also been blessed this weekend. I will just make sure tomorrow that the blessing really came. Again I don't think I deserve half of the blessings I'm given, but again... GO FIGURE Heavenly Father. His infinite mercy has played a big role in my life, especially lately.

Coming back to my dog, it has been a hard process of overcoming his death. My mom and my dad are trying to get used to the house without him, and mom told me it has been hard on both of them, and also on the other animals that we have: another dog named Suzy, and the two cats. They wonder around the house looking for Billy, they are quiet and not wanting to do anything... Animals have feelings and sensitivity as well. At least I am not there, and wasn't not there to witness what happened, otherwise I'm sure it would have been even harder on me. I have kept for a long time three little doll dogs that look just like Billy, and a picture of him, as well as a sign that says "Our perfect companions never have fewer that four feet" in my room since I have moved to Rexburg. That's how important he was for me.

People keep telling me "it's just a dog". Again, we are "just people", right? And still it hurts on us. Just who knew him would know what I am talking about.

Now it's about overcoming everything. This week has potential to be great, and I hope it will be. I'm departing to San Jose, California this Wednesday, in search of an internship. Maybe I'll have some success there. I better organize my stuff and start packing, so I don't stress over all the crap I have to get ready before the trip.

Hope you all have a great week. I'll be posting Halloween pictures soon.

A CHANCE TO HELP

2008-10-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today I had a very interesting experience on campus. I decided to join the Student Safety Council at BYU-Idaho sometime ago. The Student Safety Council is responsible for promoting safety among the students on campus, and this semester we are promoting the Walk Wise Week. We are trying to make students conscious that THEY NEED TO USE THE CROSSWALKS when they cross the street!!! And also that they look to both sides before crossing, etc. That sounds SO RETARDED but unfortunately people are not very aware of the cross walks here on campus and around town... Do they think that those lines drawn on the streets are works of art? Go figure.

But anyway, this morning I was able to serve FREE... I said FREE hot chocolate on campus and pass arounf flyers :) It was a TON of fun!!! Also yesterday, we did the funniest coreography at the country dance on campus to promote the event as well... Some people felt extremely embarrassed... But I didn't!!! Those people at the country dance (most of them) are so weird anyways!!! :P

Felt good to help people somehow though ;)

PIECE OF CRAP

2008-10-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

My Creative Writing class can turn out to be VERY interesting sometimes. We were given a mid-term last Tuesday that was due on Wednesday. We had some guidelines to follow, and when it comes to writing, especially Poetry, that can be a problem for me. After many hours trying to come up with something that would fit at least some of the requirements I was SO frustrated, that I was about to give up... I took a small break so I could get my so desired Coke... Whoever knows me well knows I LOVE Coke! I came back to the computer after a little while, and decided that I was going to write WHATEVER!!! Here's what I got on the paper:

PIECE OF CRAP POEM

Turn the table to the top

Taking time to tackle talk

Trick or treating as they walk

Candy, caramel and pop

Day demands a dragging clock

Tic and tac and start and stop

Day is light and night is dark

Just as plain as black and white

Leaves that lie along the line

Of the gray straight narrow path

Fill the street with color warm

Orange, red, and brown and tan

Night can fall at any time

Starring stars with greatest shine

Brightening the sea of seals

Standing shiny on the rocks

Better be a banal write

Before best becomes so far

Don't ask me what it means, because I have no idea. It was supposed to be a non-sense poem anyway. When I arrived in class today, the teacher asked each of us to recite our poems and I almost refused to do it, because I thought it was a piece of crap... When he said "well but that's it's what's supposed to be" I had to recite it...

People in my class might have been high... They all said it was THE BEST poem of the class!

Go figure...

PORTFOLIO

2008-10-18T16:08:00.001-07:00

I am putting together a Portfolio for my Introduction to Advertising class. I love that class but it is a lot of work! Can't wait to get done with the project. It's due this Monday. I'm excited about it though :)

Better go work on it. Friday was FUN! Ana and Hans are so AWESOME! I had a blast!

CREATIVE WRITING

2008-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am taking a Creative Writing Class at school. It is one of the General Education requirements that I still have to complete here at BYU-Idaho. We get to express ourselves through writing, and since I am really fond of Poetry, I have been able to write a few pieces. They are not very good, but I am going to post them here anyways. If anyone could give me some constructive criticism, that would be appreciated.

I am sitting in class right now, and we are discussing some other writings that were submitted by the students.

Here is my most recent poem:

WEATHER

The day awakes with blue skies

The sun reflects most gorgeous lights

The angel, gold, magnificent

On top of His house stands.

The winds decide to wake up too

And be a part of the scene

Blowing slowly they start

Strongly lifting the dust high.

Not so happy with that all

Gray, dark clouds want to impose

Their sounding thunders roar

The rain that is about to pour

Sun has been covered with them

His rays wanting to shine

In desperate need to brighten the day

He asks the winds: Please blow them away!

Full of mercy, full of love

The winds decide to help their friend

Blowing and blowing slowly they

Ask the clouds to go on their way.

Convinced, the clouds agree with them

They gather their thunders

They gather the gray.

And head to the North,

Where thirsty plants wait

The sun is ready to make our day.

This poem basically describes one of the days we had here in Rexburg. I tried to depict it as poetically as possible. Don't know if I was able to.

~Helga

After a Little While...

2008-10-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

Since classes begun, I haven't had a lot of time to post on my blog. There are tons of things going on in my life but they are all for good :)

A little update:
- I'm taking Ballet lessons at BYU-Idaho. I love the class! It is a little hard but it works as my therapy for the daily stress of homeworks and assignments that have no end.
- I'm back to working at the Grounds Crew - I take care of the gardens of the school and it is a lot of fun. I have a new boss though: Ben. He's very nice and we all have a lot of fun at work! But we work hard as well!
- I'm also teaching the Church's Career Workshop twice/three times a week on-campus. It is an amazing experience and I love it!
- I'm taking a creative writing class. Meaning I get to write poems and fiction in English :) Gotta love that!
- I'm going to San Jose, California in a month with the school.
- I'm a Relief Society Teacher - Teachings for Our Day. The best class ever!!!

Even though I am going through some hard times in my life right now, I have reasons only to be GRATEFUL to my Heavenly Father for all that He provides me. I never feel lonely. He's always there for me :)

I'll be posting some pictures too. At least I go Latin Dancing every Friday for only a buck :) Cheap but FUN!!!

Be back soon.

~Helga~

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE RICKS BUILDING - BYU IDAHO

2008-09-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

EXTRA! EXTRA!

I'm back in school... Oh boy!!! Something like 30 pages to read today, plus a couple quizzes... This was just for the first class. What the HECK! I'm so excited!!! I love school, and getting stressed as well... No kidding!

Wonderful Monday Y'All!!!

Brazilian Party in Rexburg

2008-09-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday some Brazilians decided to throw a party to celebrate the Brazilian Independence Day here in Rexburg. It was fun to get to see old friends and meet new ones as well. Plus, the Feijoada was incredible!!! Gotta love it!

Utah Brazilian Festival

2008-08-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

On Friday I found people to share the ride with me, since gas prices are skyrocket, and decided to come to Utah. Went to Videoke on Friday night, and then yesterday I went to the Utah Brazilian Festival, at the Gateway Mall. It was a lot of fun! I saw a ton of people that I hadn't seen forever, and had some good food as well. I took my friend Todd with me. He served his mission in Argentina but he fell in love with the Brazilians. He told me after the Festival, that he hated to compare Argentina to Brazil, but that the Brazilians are so much more friendly and FUN than the Argentinians ;) How cool is that!!!

Here are some pics. Enjoy!

Tag

2008-08-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Kika!!!

There you go:

1. I love driking Coke at any time of the day. That includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night snacks, etc... What a bad habit!

2. I tend to make my car a total mess. Sometimes I'll clean it, but most of the time, it's not neat at all. All my friends complain! Oh well, GET ANOTHER RIDE THEN!

3. I tend not to reply phone calls. Usually because I'm lazy and I'm past the phase of spending hours on the phone. The Cell Phone gets too hot on my ear, I don't like it!

4. I ignore people when I want.

5. I collect clutter. Every once in a while I have to go through all the crap and sort what goes in the garbage.

6. I complain because I'm single. I shouldn't but I do!

I'd tag some people but guess what: They'll never do it!

P.S. Going down to UT tomorrow :)

Jack Johnson

2008-08-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

So, here is our group. We decided we would be "Better Together" so we all sat on the lawn. It was THE BEST concert I've ever been to. In this picture, left to right: Rachel and Benton, Trevor and Kika, Stacey and Emma, Todd and me, and Mari is sitting in front of all of us.

And Jack, in the other picture, of course :) He is truly AMAZING!

I had the BEST time of my life! I want that night to repeat itself. The full moon came behind the mountains when Jack started singing. That was MAGICAL ;)

Some Landon Pigg for the Soul

2008-08-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

I really love this song.

-Helga.

"Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop"
                                           (Landon Pigg)

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes
There's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes
There's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine
Now I'm shining too

Because
Oh
Because I've fallen quite hard over you

If I didn't know you I'd rather not know
If I couldn't have you I'd rather be alone

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

All of the while
All of the while it was you

The Weekend Went By SO FAST!

2008-08-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Weekend!

Too bad it just lasted a bit... Kika and Trevor came up to Idaho Falls to a friend's wedding and ended up spending the night in rexburg with me! It was so much fun! We watched the Olympics and were lazy and most of all, WE WERE THINKING ARBY'S!!! Kika it was SO GOOD to have you here!

Sunday... Cuzcuz! I tried again, this time it turned out better. I had a couple friends come and enjoy it with me, and ended the day with some good conversation and quality time with some nice dude ;) It was awesome!

Today I hurt my back at work... Oh well, I'm a hard worker. Literally.

O QUE ME FAZ SEGUIR EM FRENTE

2008-08-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Minha mae teve um sonho noite passada, e ao acordar, descreveu o sonho neste poema. Quando ela leu pra mim, senti o espirito tao forte, pelo fato do testemunho que esse sonho representa, e tambem das aspiracoes que ela tem: De um dia voltar a presenca do Senhor, quando Ele aliviara o fardo de todos nos, depois de tao longa e dura jornada. Espero que gostem.

Com amor,

Helga

O QUE ME FAZ SEGUIR EM FRENTE

Vislumbro ao longe
Portico branco
Da casa do meu Senhor!
Do lado esquerdo deste portico
Ha um enorme e frondoso Salgueiro Chorao
E a direita ha uma fonte
Cujas aguas sao translucidas, frescas, e marulham serenamente
Bema o pe desta fonte tem uma pedra, semelhante a um tronco caido,
Toda contornada de relva
Que parece me convidar a sentar.

Quando eu chegar diante deste portico
Nao olharei mais para tras
Largarei ao pe do chorao
O meu alforge
E sentirei alivio em minhas maos
Porque nao precisarei segurar mais nada.

Despirei tambem
A minha capa
Para deixar ali todo po.
Sentarei naquela pedra
Descalcarei meus pes
Doloridos devido a caminhada,
Sentirei prazer em pisar
Na relva macia
E os meus pes pararao de doer.

Em seguida
Irei ate aquela fonte,
E com as maos em concha,
Beberei daquela agua,
E saciarei a minha sede.
Lavarei o meu rosto
Os meus bracos, e os meus pes.

Molharei tambem
A minha cabeca
E toda a aflicao fluira
Com a agua que corre
Ligeiro por entre os cascalhos,
Para nao mais voltar!

Agora de pe
Diante deste portico,
Aliviada de todo fardo
Retesarei a minha postura,
Porque nao ha
Mais motivo
Para estar cabisbaixa.

Alinharei os meus cabelos
E sorrindo,
Poderei finalmente transpor
Aquele portico todo branco
E, encaminhar-me-ei
Para a mesa do meu Senhor!

Enfim, poderei descansar
E nunca mais me sentirei so.

Por: Hosana Goncalves Pereira - 5 de Agosto de 2008.

The Week on a Single Post v.I

2008-07-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have to say... This past week was incredibly FUN!!! I'll talk about the pics and will continue in other posts...

The picture on the top is of me, Zeb, and Tanner. Zeb is Anselmo's new roomate... (no comments about Zeb's hotness). Tanner is their neighbor. He's 18! I thought he was older... I call him Prince William heheheh... Sunday we went on a hike somewhere far away from rexburg :P

Following pic... Anselmo and I when we got to the top. Pay attention to the sunset. AMAZING!

On Tuesday I went and visited with the Clarks. I love them so much! I had a great time and had to record the moment. On the pic: me, Dean and Marion

In the afternoon we had to indulge! Oh boy is the Cheesecake Factory good... One whole year without going, I HAD to visit the new Utah one ;) I had a Snicker's Cheesecake... I'll put the picture on later :)

The last picture of this post. All the tchongas that went to the CCF ;) From left to right: Fia (Lizzie), Katie, Jeane, Me, and Talytinha Rocha.

There's more to come but I need to do my laundry.... ;)

Vacationing in Utah

2008-07-25T10:27:00.000-07:00

Wow what a cool week! I've been able to do SO MUCH stuff while down here in Utah... I took a bunch of pictures that I actually need to upload to my computer in order to post them here, but all is well! Except for the heat. It is unbearable, oh boy!!!

Maybe later tonight I'll come with the pics ;) I'm off to seize the day! Woo Hoo!

Move In, Move Out, Move In, Move Out...

2008-07-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

Oh boy!!! I am SO EXHAUSTED!!! Yesterday I had to move all my stuff out... and back in again!!! I had to move in between apartments in my complex. Looks like they are going to do a bunch of stuff in it... Whatever... So I moved to building 2.

I was supposed to be working my shift at the Rexburg Temple yesterday, but there was NO WAY I could go, especially because I had no one to help me. My bro Anselmo helped me a little bit, but he as well had to move all his stuff out... Sometimes the ladies at the Temple can be a little not understanding... I had finals ALL WEEK, had to move out, and they still wanted me to find a sub... Boy last time I called the people who could possibly sub would always tell me NO. And they weren't too nice. Maybe it's time for me to find another shift at the Temple...

Up above are some pics of yesterday. We ended up at a park by the Idaho Falls Temple and had FREE Pizza Hut there :) We were all bored!!!

In the pictures: Marise (From Haiti, she's so AWESOME, you know what I'm saying?), Anselmo (the ONLY guy in the pic), Me (You know me!!!), and Camila (crazy Camila)

I am done... For 7 Weeks at least ;)

2008-07-17T13:57:00.001-07:00

Finals are OVER.

Off to a good nap now ;)

~Helga

Finals are ROLLING... Crazy day...

2008-07-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah!

I killed one FINAL!!! The one of the hardest ones... Business Law. I'm going to know my score by Thursday hopefully...

Right now I am at the library, taking a break from the studies, but in 10 minutes I'm going to take another final that I forgot that I had: Entrepreneurship. I handed the Business Plan today ;) I'll also know about the score this Thursday...

Today something bad happened: A lot of people in the Library (including me), witnessed a gentleman have a heart attack. It was awful! I don't know if he survided but I saw him leaving the building trying to be revived. He looked dead though :( My prayers are with him and his family at this moment. I don't know if he is/was a school employee. I guess we are going to hear about it later...

Well, better go... Entrepreneurship is waiting for me at the Testing Center...

Striking a Pose...

2008-07-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Looks like this Finals Week is going to be a LOT of fun! I've been pretty involved in my projects and tests, but I had time to have some good fun today...

Anselmo and I LOVE to show off!!! So we decided to go to the BYU-Idaho Photography Studio and take some "professional" pictures for the cover of our projects... It was HILARIOUS!!! Here are some of them. ENJOY!!!

P.S. Afternoon was AWESOME! I had some quality time with "Six Pack" hehehehe... KIKA!!!

Saturday Night Fever...

2008-07-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Rexburg is such an interesting place... Sometimes you have so much to do that you don't know what to choose, and sometimes you have to clean the house so you can say you did something. Literally...

Yesterday I went with Anselmo and Marise (my partners in crime) to Rigby Lake, right after the last post hehehehe... Rigby Lake is like a "beach" (yeah, right!) 10 miles away from Rexburg. We took our school material so we could study while getting a little bit of a tan and enjoying the breeze. That didn't happen. The three of us fell asleep on the sand :) We didn't get burned however. We probably spent about a couple hours there, observing the people with their families have fun. It was good for me to be outside for a little while.

I have been very sick for the past few weeks, and even yesterday I was still feeling a little bit of the sickness to my stomach. When I got home I had to take some medicine and try to take a nap. But I was SO bored that I wanted to do something...

I finally texted "Six Pack". Asked him what he was up to and if he wanted to go on an adventure with me, Anselmo and Marise. He agreed to it. There we go roaming around town to FIND the party hehehehe...

We found it! It was somewhere a little outside of Rexburg. I was a little scared at first because apparently, it was a high school party mingled with a lot of BYU-Idaho students, and it looked pretty crazy... I was afraid "Six Pack" wouldn't like the idea of going in there.

Little did I know... I think he had more fun than I did!!! It was SO CUTE seeing him making his moves and dancing!!! I would never expect that ;) He's usually a quiet guy, but one thing I have noticed about him is that he likes to spend time with me, even though I am the way I am... Meaning he accepts my craziness :D

One thing is for sure: We both had a lot of fun, and today, Porter Park is waiting for us... For a nice pic nic and some studying for Finals as well ;)

Where "Six Pack" and I are going to go I'm not sure. But I'm not worried either. We are having a heck of a good time and that's what really matters.

Cheers!

Been a While...

2008-07-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

So,

Remember about the whole PodCast competition that I participated in a couple weeks ago? A MESS!!! Anywho, Anselmo and I trying to solve the situation as there were A LOT of misunderstandings and we were supposed to win but it didn't happen. We took the issue to the Bookstore (who happened to "organize" the contest) and we are waiting on results... I'll probably have the info this Monday... Or maybe never...

Here's the participating PodCast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9sc6yh6SpQ

Oh by the way, that's me in the blonde wig hehehehe
Talk about getting out of your comfort zone ;)

Finals week is around. I presented my 2 biggest projects on Thursday. I hope I did good. I took a Business Law Test today and got an 80. Not too bad for someone who didn't study that much. The final for this class is this Tuesday, together with a 10-page business plan due for the Entrepreneurship class... I also have an online simulation that is due on Thursday and there are 4 rounds for it, as well as a final due on Friday for Business Discovery... ;) GOOD TIMES

C R A Z Y ! ! !

2008-06-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

So, this week started pretty crazy for me, but I'm so excited!

First of all, today I recorded a PodCast, which will be on YouTube this Wednesday. It's for a school contest. I'll need help from you guys and hope that you will keep clicking there so I get a lot of views :) The Grad Finale is on Thursday, where we are going to watch all of the videos made, and where they will announce the winner... $200 sounds really good right now ;)

Thursday afternoon I have an Elevator Pitch contest to be held in the afternoon. If you want to know more about Elevator Pitch just Google it :) I'm so tired I can't explain right now.

Oh yeah! And today I auditioned to be in the Acoustic Guitar Program at BYU-I this Saturday. Patricia played for me and I hope we did pretty good. We'll get an email from them tomorrow leting us know if we made it :D

That's how exciting it has been so far... Boy this wek is sre full of promises :)

I'll be posting the link to the video tomorrow morning, as soon as I upload it :)

And, of course, I'll keep everyone updated! Boa Noite por hoje!

There's No Combination Of Words I Can Put on The Back of a PostCard!

2008-06-22T20:57:00.001-07:00

*NO COMMENTS*

Jack Johnson, WAIT FOR ME!!! Here I come!

Another Crazy Week Has Gone By...

2008-06-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Oh boy!

I was actually planning on posting here a ton of times... But guess what? Time que eh gudi, nois nao have!!! Week was N U T S ! ! !

Got a new job working at the BYU-I Grounds! So much fun! The only con is that I get to work under the sun for 8 hours a day! Thank goodness there is Sunblock and my skin doesn't get greasy at all here...

Had a couple tests this week, did pretty bad on both. I guess I need to study more and PRAY more...

Friday we had THE PARTY at John's house! It was a Sao Joao ARRETADO! We danced and ate and mingled... It was awesome! Kika, six pack went with me ;)

Saturday... hmmmm.... Idaho Falls! I saw Elder Terry again after 3 years! Holy Crap that was awesome! His fiancee is SO NICE :) They are getting married July 25th.

Today... Well John's house AGAIN! Churrasco e muuuuuuuita comida ;) It was FUN :)

Now I just finished kinda cleaning my room and here I am... Messing with PhotoBooth :)

Boa Semana to everyone! Whoever comes here hehehe...

German Chocolate Cake Rolo Cookies

2008-06-15T17:24:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

1 Box German Chocolate Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Oil
I package of Rolos*

How To Prepare:

Beat everything together. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet, flatten slightly.

Bake 8-10 350 F. Place the Rolos on top of the cookies while they are still warm**. Enjoy them!

* I bet you can use other kinds of chocolate as well.

** You can also place the Rolos IN the cookie dough mix and bake them at once. What happens is that, when you bite the cookies, a caramel swirl will come out of them... How cool is that!

Minha Wonderful Pleilistchi

2008-06-15T16:12:00.001-07:00

Sunday Afternoon in Rexburg...

2008-06-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

So, here I am... Church ended at 12.30 and I came home... Interesting day... The girls in the ward assigned each other with another girl to spotlight, and this Sunday was our apartment's turn to be spotlighted (I wonder if that word exists). Chelsi had me. Cutest girl in the world! From California, she came over to my apartment on Friday to ask me a few questions so she could introduce me to the rest of the class. While I was working on my Business Project, she asked me some questions, including what was my favorite treat. :) On Thursday I had a date with "six pack" and that was when I had these wonderful cookies made out of German Chocolate cake batter and "Rolos". Oh my Gravy! Those were good!
So basically today, she comes to church with those wonderful cookies for me! She went out of her way to find the recipe, probably online or something... And took them to me. That was so sweet!
When I got home from church, I saw her running down the stairs crying and talking on the cell phone. I wanted to stop her and ask what was going on... Wonder if someone in her family was going through a hard time or something. She seemed to be in despair. But at the same time I didn't want to be nosy. Well, to summarize, I decided to leave a little note for her, thanking her again for the wonderful cookies, and leaving my phone number in case she needed to talk or something like that.
We are more than half way through the semester, but I hope I have an opportunity to become friends with her and the other girls in the ward. The spirit of Ricks is not a legend. It really is here. This place is blessed with wonderful people everywhere you go.
I'll try to find the cookies recipe and I'll post it here. Those are WORTH gaining the pounds for ;)

U Blogui Da Helga is Finally Here!!!

2008-06-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

So,
Here I am again... Fotolog is a thing of the past... It's good to select who comes here and who doesn't need to :)

*HELGA*PEREIRA*

THIS BLOG WILL BE DEACTIVATED SOON

It's all messed up

Thanksgiving Week & Black Weekend

There's more I'm Thankful for

I'm Thankful For...

Forgotten Tradition

The Inner Vase

Giveaway at Kevinandamanda.com

First Item of the Christmas List

Not Much to Blog About

Playing with Digital Scrapbooking...

Some Music for the Weekend

Life can be very challenging

Hopes and Hopes...

Back to School in IDAHO

And it happens again...

Mormonismo...

The Power of a Simple Prayer

Consider The Lilies

What the Heck is Going On?

The Weekend on a Single Post...

Current Events - Reflections

Scrapblogging

Tinha que postar isso...

Home Sweet Home

In Utah

Finally!!!

Finals Week...

Charity: Does it EVER fail?

As Olivia goes down, I go down too! (That is, to Utah)

FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK...

In Need of a Vacation...

Aren't we all waiting?

I Guess I'll Post Again...

It's about time for another post...

More than half way through the first month of 2009...

And here is 2009!

Last Days of 2008

Before the Day is Over...

It's coming...

Almost there...

It's sinking in...

And Keep Counting!

And Counting, and counting...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

Counting the Days for Christmas...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR... (Plus other stuff)

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR...

REASONS TO BE GRATEFUL

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, NAME THEM ONE BY ONE...

NAME CORRECTION

NEW FAMILY MEMBER

BILLY

A CHANCE TO HELP

PIECE OF CRAP

PORTFOLIO

CREATIVE WRITING

After a Little While...

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE RICKS BUILDING - BYU IDAHO

Brazilian Party in Rexburg

Utah Brazilian Festival

Tag

Jack Johnson

Some Landon Pigg for the Soul

The Weekend Went By SO FAST!

O QUE ME FAZ SEGUIR EM FRENTE

The Week on a Single Post v.I

HELGAPEREIRA*