In Loving Memory of Gordon B. Hinkley

on sunday evening the prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints died. Gordon B. Hinkley was 97.

when i first heard this news i was (ironically) heading to the store and breaking the sabbath. i was shocked. this man had seemed so invincible to me. he has lived through so much, accomplished what no other has accomplished, and he has been the voice of my loving Heavenly Father on earth. i couldnt help but cry. heh im crying now, two days later. he was such a great man, so willing to reach out to the youth, and so intent on maintaining the strength of families. i remember when he was sustained: i was in third grade and we watched it on tv (i was in slc at the time) because my teacher was in MoTab. He has been my prophet, the man that knew me without having met me. he will be so missed.

and though i mourn his passing, i rejoice for him as well. almost exactly 4 years ago Sister Hinkley died, and now he has the opportunity to be with her again! he also gets to be with our Heavenly Father, whom he so diligently served throughout his life. i can still hear his voice when i read his talks, and he will always be the prophet that gave me the strength to live my life as the Lord would have me live it.

for my family that is catholic, im sure you understand the gravity of this event, with the passing of the Pope just two years ago. though you will not see any mormons doing vigils or otherwise, we mourn the passing of the greatest of men on this earth. please keep his family in your prayers.

to GB Hink, my homie, my friend, my prophet. love and peace.



"You were generals in the War in Heaven and one day when you are in the spirit world, you will be enthralled by those you are associated with.
You will ask someone in which time period they lived and you might hear, "I was with Moses when he parted the Red Sea," or "I helped built the pyramids'" or "I fought with Captain Moroni."
And as you are standing there in amazement, someone will turn to you and ask you which of the prophets' time did you live in? And when you say "Gordon B. Hinkley" a hush will fall over every hall and corridor in Heaven, and all in attendance will bow at your presence. You were held back six thousand years because you were the most talented, most obedient, most courageous, and most righteous."
-Elder Boyd K. Packer

the love of my life.

i should be cleaning my room. or doing homework. or something else productive. instead i slept in till 9.30 and i'm still pondering on the love of my life. nope, is not a boy. it isn't even masculine, though my dad might argue otherwise.

it's snowboarding.

ahhhh that word makes my heart so happy. i love the soreness in my legs and the shin splints in my shins and the slight tendonitis it gives me. i love the satisfactory biff when you are doing something new and scary, and the frustration that comes from eating it while doing something basic. i love waking up so early that all you can think about is the nap you are gonna take later just to come home so tired that a nap is impossible. i love my boards too. they are oh so pretty! just about as close to sisters as i'll ever come haha.

i honestly have the best job. i get to teach people how to do something i love! no, im not that good, but i can at least teach huh? and i work with just awesome people. they are some of my closest friends and they always make really crappy lessons worth it when they feign rage when i don't get a tip (which is always), or when i get tackled from behind mid-demonstration in a lesson, or when they shove me in a locker (true story). ahh i ♥ park city...

why am i so dang lucky? here are some pics of evidence of my luckiness.
(click for larger view)



<-Trent, me, and Derek









<-Derek surprized me...little punk...








<-Casey and Matt haha









<-i got shoved in here twice...

my Klanz

so i wasn't planning on writing anything until tonight when i sat at work in an empty computer lab, doing nothing but pretending that i was doing homework. but i have a few thoughts now.

i sent out some notifications to my family and friends that i had started a blog in order to build up a loyal fan base (why else would i write a blog?). this morning i was stunned to see several emails subjected RE: blog! in my inbox. yay for family! it seems they all read it (or plan to) and have chosen to comment via email because they cant figure out how to comment otherwise (its ok family, i still love you). the important thing is, they read it! the last few months i feel like i've gotten really close to my family. for reasons i wont delve into right this moment, i've gotten such wonderful support from all these awesome people that i get to call my own family. now that is a rad thing to say. these people are my family. you guys jealous yet?

last week one of my uncles died. alright, not my real uncle; my second cousin's husband. but he was as good as an uncle. and he was awesome. so awesome i wrote is in that last sentence before changing it to was. and he will be greatly missed. its so funny how far apart my family is and yet so close together we are in heart. there is no way that anyone in my family didn't feel the effects of the loss of this kind, fun, lovable man. so this one's for you, Billy. love you.

to the rest of my fam, the Konopasek and Ziminski Klanz* (though i think the Ziminiski's are the more computer literate and therefore the most likely to read this :), thank you, thank you, for your continuing support and the unassuming love you give to me. you've helped me become who i am, and i so appreciate that.

LOVE YOU! (ok, see, there are caps. im yelling.)



*in the event you didn't notice, this is a play on words. or letters more precisely. i had to find one way to be clever in this post...

wow this world is intimidating...

in recent months i have become aware of the keeping of blogs by several of my friends. even one of my professors does it, though he gets paid to write political witticisms for aol. i've decided that i too want to have a share in this blogging world, but now that i'm embarking on this adventure, i'm a bit intimidated...

needless to say, i'm pushing on. a few things to note for those of you who decide this is the place for you to waste away your valuable time:
1) if you notice, i hardly capitalize anything, though you will notice the other correct punctuation. this is for a purpose. i believe in informality and comfort. if you were to draw a bubble above my head while i was talking to a friend, i doubt there would be any capitalization. however, i also believe in the clarity of ideas, hence the other grammatical symbols.
2) to explain the title of my blog. there is a song, a country song at that, called Unusually Unusual, that my dad has frequently told me reminds him of me. besides the fact that i am daddy's little girl and therefore believe virtually everything (virtually, not all) he tells me, i suppose this applies to me as well. and in all honesty, i like to think i am a bit more unusual than your run-of-the-mill unusual girl. but that is for you to decide.
3) i'm not exactly sure what this is going to turn out to contain. a bit of political musings i'm sure, along with some personal ranting, mixed with some music reviews and some other basic opinion pieces will prolly make up the mix. if you have any suggestions. let me know. i'll see what i can whip up.

happy reading :)