and we can go anywhere.

all I ever do is blog when I'm flying.

good thing I have flown so.much. this year!

wait,

let's calculate.

.....

I think we're at 17 times since May 28.

wow.

I am so blessed to have an amazing friend [katie!] who offered to add me as a companion flier to her benefits as a Delta employee. I can fly home to Arizona for $25. yup, $25. it's beyond amazing. for me, it's evidence of the Lord's hand in my life. I have made some important trips this year, and I wouldn't have been able to fly 17 times without this!

and right now,

I'm in first class (yes, another benefit! I have gotten seated in first class more than coach!),

almost in Dulles, Washington

to see my best friend.

song: on the wing, Owl City.

with or without you.

Dear SLC Airport,

My plane landed at 12:33 p.m. My bag was checked in at 12:40. I walked straight to baggage claim, and proceeded to wait for my bag. For an hour.

My bag never came. I have yet to receive a call telling me it was a) recovered b) returned by someone confused traveler who doesn't know what their bag looks like or realize that it was probably too heavy to really be theirs.

Monday morning, I had to go shopping to replace things I no longer owned and couldn't live without. I bought:

- $50 worth of makeup.

-contact solution

-deodorant

-hair stuff

-a toothbrush (yeah. my pink electric toothbrush is mia. sad.)

To still be replaced:

-four pairs of jeans

-new bras & underwear

-undershirts. a black lacy one, three white ones that I loved, and an assortment of colors from Nordstrom.

-a camera charger

-my favorite workout/dance/everything pants. booo.

-pretty much all my newest tops (which essentially makes them my favorite ones.)

-boots. my favorite ones too.

-my vans & flats.

So, dear SLC Airport, I have come to this conclusion.

I don't care if I get my bag back anymore. No need to stress yourself out trying to find this mysterious piece of luggage.

Please just reimburse me promptly for approximately $800, and we'll be even. I am willing to spend the hassle of running around trying to replace everything, no worries. After all, I do love to shop.

Gratefully,

Leah Marie

song: big shout-out to care, who made me listen to this song today. Little Song: The Secret Handshake. soooo cute.

however, this post wouldn't be accurate if I didn't tell you I've been listening to Half of My Heart & Assassin by John Mayer, literally non-stop. loves.

patience.

I am currently 10,000 feet in the air. and blogging. cool.

Random thoughts from the weekend:

My roommates really are my family here in Utah, and through this family I am learning a more Christ-like love. and I am so blessed.

I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a military wife or girlfriend. Or wearing fancy dresses, either. And I think that’s alright.

I know where at least one part of my life is going, at least for one semester. And I am grateful.

After seeing New Moon at midnight (yes, that happened), I walked out thinking this:

-Cheeeeeesyyyy. I liked the book better, a little.

-I’m totally a Jacob girl now.

Right now, I am kinda operating with my phone as my fifth limb. And I’m ok with that.

Christmas is making me so.so.so. happy. We listened to Christmas music Sunday afternoon after church as we decorated & napped. And I loved it.

my life, in iPhone pics. check it.

song? rocket summer, around the clock.

Just a great figure 8 or a tiny infinity?

I usually see this sign every day as I walk into work.

"If you avoid difficult things, great things will avoid you."

That has really stood out to me over the past months, as I have worried and stressed and cried and freaked out (yes, that has all happened in this building. haha).

Not that I'm going through an incredibly difficult time right now at all, but it always just causes me to reflect on what is difficult, what big or little things I may be avoiding.

I have thought about it a lot, and I think I am really starting to understand it.

We have to push ourselves. Open ourselves to vulnerability.

If I just avoid everything that is difficult, I will be denying myself the opportunity to grow, change, learn and ultimately, receive blessings from my Heavenly Father.

I am facing, approaching difficult things head-on. I will not ignore or avoid obstacles in my life. I know that with God, I can do anything, become anything, and overcome anything. It may not always be how I planned (which is difficult for me, sometimes!) or what I expected, but it will be right.

I am so grateful for the difficult things in my life that have lead me to great things.

and I am ready for more.

song: new john mayer cd! edge of desire.

gushing & loving & stuff like that.

love.

watch it.

such a cute video, I couldn't resist. & I don't think you will be able to either :) love it.

songs: matt wertz & matt kearney. >>>playlist. also, the second song in this video!

risk it all.

I spent the morning photographing nerd candies, and I just wanted to update my blog real quick :) I played with lights, bowls, shapes, backgrounds, made boys from apt. 7 drop the candy for me to shoot & just loved the whole thing.

college is great? no, really. it is. sometimes I really don't want to graduate [but only sometimes.]

song of the weekend: if my heart was a house, owl city.

here's to nights at the library.

"Educate a boy, and your educate and individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community."

African proverb via Greg Mortensen

Greg Mortenson spoke at Devotional lastweek, author of "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time."

listen to it online for free: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1867

That book is a must-read for me (and all of BYU, actually).

His book is about building a system to educate girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has now built over 78 schools in the most remote areas of the world.

And why did he do this?

To promote PEACE.

Peace can be accomplished through books, through knowledge, through women. Whether here in Utah or Arizona or across the world in Pakistan, peace can be achieved through learning. I have seen this principle in motion as I have observed families that do not have books in their home, children who have no encouragement to attend school, whose parents overlook homework, reading and studying. In my all-Hispanic bilingual elementary school, those same kids joined gangs, had sex and were failing classes — in the fourth grade. Maybe, what those kids needed, was a real mom.

And education is a marvelous blessing. By using our education, we can spread peace. It’s not all about getting through school getting good grades for yourself so you can go to graduate school. Sometimes being in college fosters an atmosphere of complete selfishness, a total focus on you and what you want in life. It’s easy to get caught up in your goals and forget why we’re all really here.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mortenson, and hope that I can live up to his faith in education, and women.

"If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs."

song of the day: (credit goes to erik for this one) - Wishing Well by Airborne Toxic Event.