A City/Country Girl Who Doesn't Have a Home :)

This first artifact is a Japanese doll, representing my current "home" in Tokyo, Japan.  To me, home is always where family is.  I grew up moving around every several years, never really staying in one place long enough to consider it my permanent home.  Instead, when people ask me where "home" is, I generally just tell them I don't have one!
This doll is significant because it truly shows who I am and who I want to become.  I adore traveling; exploring the world is definitely one of my favorite things to do.  I feel like there is still so much left to see and discover as I continue to grow older. Learning about different cultures and backgrounds has been so wonderful and interesting; as I explore different places, I find that the culture eventually becomes a part of who I am. Even though I'm not Japanese, Tokyo is home.....for now at least. :)

My second artifact is a sign displaying the scripture from 1 Timothy 4:12.  This object is so important to me; I keep it in a place where I can see it daily.  It is a reminder to me that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and that I must be a firm example in all that I say and do.  I didn't grow up around many members, and as a result, I always felt that being a member of the Church was my main identity according to my peers.  At times it was hard being known as the "Mormon girl", but it has provided me with wonderful missionary opportunities that I feel blessed to have been a part of. I love being a member of the Church; it hasn't always been easy, but I know with a surety that it is true.  The Gospel is significant in my life and I truly wouldn't feel complete without including this artifact in my diorama.

My last artifact is a sunflower that one of my dear friends gave to me for my 18th birthday.  I am a huge flower person; I adore flowers. My grandpa lives up in Portage (on the border of Idaho in the middle of nowhere) and I absolutely love seeing all the sunflowers growing on the side of the roads whenever we go shooting or boating.  To me, these sunflowers represent my long summers in the boondocks with my siblings and my cousins, enjoying time together and having fun. There is just something truly special about the countryside.
It's difficult for me to choose between my city life and my country life, so I have always decided to love both aspects just the same.   They are extreme contrasts, but to me, fit perfectly hand in hand.

Mid-Year Resolutions. Sort of.

I am definitely one of those people who say they are going to make goals and keep them, but end up forgetting.  For some reason, life gets too busy and sometimes just plain crazy.

I started the summer hoping to fulfill some awesome aspirations.  I was driven and excited; nothing could get in my way.  And yet, somehow, life actually did get in my way.  Don't get me wrong, I feel like I've done a pretty good job.  But there is still so much I wish I would've done.  I could spend this time regretting, but instead I'm going to look forward with a fresh start.  That's what life is for, right?
Goals for the last half of 2011:

1) Run consistently 3 times a week. 

2) Don't become a facebook addict.
3) Find at least one reason to laugh really hard every day. :)
4) Finish the Book of Mormon by December.
5) Go to bed before midnight during the week. (It's harder than it sounds!)
6) Attend all of the devotionals on Tuesdays.
7) Be happy. Really happy. :)

So slightly random, but my Grandpa lives in northern Utah and it is absolutely gorgeous up there.  We are staying with him for two weeks and it has been so peaceful and serene.  Just thought I'd share how beautiful it truly is!

There's A First Time For Everything

Never in my right mind did I think I would start a blog.
And yet, here I am!
First off, I am a terrible journal keeper.  Five entries is probably my maximum, and then I just give up altogether. Maybe that's what pushed me to start this.  Or maybe I noticed how many people on Facebook actually have a blog, and I decided to conform.  Whatever the reason, I'm excited to start documenting my life in hopes that my friends and family will have some tiny form of proof in the future that I existed. :)
Lately I've been thinking a lot about "firsts".  We all have memories of our first day of high school, our first crush, our first best friend, our first job.  Some of us might even have memories of our first skinned knee, our first broken heart, or even our first beginnings of a testimony.  This year has definitely been a year of firsts for me as I have continued to try and figure out who Chloe Briscoe really is.  Not only has this year claimed the first time I have ever eaten frozen corn-dogs for a full week and the first full day I've spent cleaning up chimp poop, but it has provided me with some pretty grand "firsts" if I do say so myself.  Such as the first opportunity to study the life of our Savior in great detail.  Or the first time I've ever been lucky enough to learn to play the ukulele or win a chess game.  Or the first time I've been blessed with the opportunity to help tsunami survivors clean up their once beautiful neighborhoods.
Sometimes the sweetest firsts are the simple ones.  I can still remember how I felt after hugging my mom for the first time in three months at Christmas.  I can still remember playing Batman Lego on xbox with my littlest brother for the first time, laughing and trying to beat the Joker.
My least favorite "first" of them all is probably the one I have learned the most from.  That's usually (and unfortunately) how it goes.  All I know, is having someone break your heart hurts.  I'd rather clean up the chimp poop five times over.  But sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better. :)  And although I'm still struggling with slowly picking up the pieces of my heart, I'm planning on re-gluing them back together.
For the first time. :)