I may have a new favorite online service: Pyxlin… I saw this in the Daily Universe (BYU’s Student newspaper) yesterday, and since I have been an avid Journaler over the last 8 months (though I’ve been pretty bad at it recently) I thought I would check it out. Seriously, I’m pretty highly impressed!!! Pyxlin isn’t a terribly new idea in it’s basic form - it’s an online Journal tool - but it’s a service that finally does things right.

The biggest downfalls I’ve seen to previous services like this have been that they don’t provide all the functionality I want in their web service (a full text editor and the ability to upload my photos however I want) nor do they provide much of a way for you to get a hardbound copy of what you have worked so diligently to keep… Well, those are two things that Pyxlin definitely gets right! Keeping an online journal sure is convenient since you can access it from anywhere and flake out during class if you’d like, but finally I can get my journal in a book at the end of the year to keep on my book shelf.

I like to see when people do technology the right way… Too often people try and digitize your whole life, but for the majority of us there is a strong feeling of nostalgia for the things of the past… I LOVE having hard copies of my journals. Can I tell you how much I love that? I LOOOOVE having hard copies of my journals. It’s nice to pull it out once in a while to see what I was feeling and thinking about a while back… It’s really great if you want to share some personal thoughts that you wrote about your girlfriend when you first started dating… Seriously, it’s a big deal to me, and to see someone respond to that type of user requirement (I know I’m not the only one who feels this way) is really impressive.

I recommend you check it out and take a look at a pretty neat product. I don’t know anything about the guys who developed it, other than that they were/are apparently BYU students - thus why the Daily Universe covered it, so I don’t want anyone to think I’m recommending you check out something a friend built (though you should definitely check out RateMyApartments.com).

There is a site charge (something like $20 a year if you pay annually), but you can do a 7-day trial for free. Let me know what you think! I get excited about people using technology intelligently like this - it’s a big step up from the non-innovative ideas I often see.

So, it’s not titled Vol. 1 because it’s my first Valentine’s Day, nor is it my first Valentine’s Day with a girlfriend, but it’s titled Vol. 1 because I have a feeling there will be a couple posts with multiple pictures.  :)  I did pretty well for myself this year in gift preperation, and it sounds like Lauren did as well - so why not share some pictures and such displaying our talents?  :)

So, the big gift from me this year is a big ol’ blanket.  Seriously, they’re pretty simple to make, though relatively time consuming.  All you do is pick out some felt (or something softer) at your local fabric shop and then follow the directions!

1. Purchase approximately  2 1/2 yards of fabric.  I hate throw blankets because they’re always too short, so if you’re making your own make sure it’s nice and long!  Also, the blanket will be more fun if you buy two different patterns/colors and tie them together.  It’s also warmer, and it allows you to have felt on one side (usually where you have a fun pattern) and something softer on the other side like fleece.

2.  Line up the fabric so that both pieces are overlapping well and then cut slits about an inch thick, and long enough so that you can tie the fabric together.  One tip is to make sure you take into account which sides of the fabric are stretchy…  You won’t need to cut strips quite as long on the long edge of your blanket, thus not sacrificing overall width.  The corners can be tricky but you can either cut a square off the corner of try to do a diagonal tie at each corner.  Either way works.

3. Make loop ties, tying the strips from both pieces of fabric together.  It’s pretty simple - you make a loop and stick the ends through the loop and pull…  ’nuff said.

4. Once you’ve tied all the strips together going around the blanket, cut the ties so that they are even going all the way around.  You probably won’t do this perfectly, but that’s OK.  Just cute the ends so that the strips from each piece of fabric end up being even.

And you’re done!  It’s really a pretty simple process, but it’s fun to make and I don’t know a single girl who hasn’t gone “awwwwwwww….” when their manfriend has made one and given it to them.  I know I won some pretty good points this Valentine’s Day!  haha…

Anyway, I should take some pictures of stuff that we made at Color Me Mine last week.  And apparently Lauren is finishing up something pretty neat, so maybe I’ll take some pictures and post those as well.  I kinda like spoiling people, so Valentine’s Day with a womanfriend is always a good time of year.  :)

There is a lot going on I suppose. Maybe not, but it kind of feels like it!

I officially accepted my offer with ExxonMobil on Monday of this last week! I’m pretty excited, but I’m not planning on moving out there until the beginning of September… I look forward to a really great summer, but I can’t lie and say that I’m not antsy already. I’m ready to graduate and get out of school, that’s for sure! Perhaps when I’m just working I will feel a little differently.

Speaking of school, it’s been close to impossible to motivate myself to get my homework done. Seriously, it feels like my Senior year at Prairie Ridge all over again! I hated being that trunky back in the day, but I’m falling into that trap all over again… Homework is the real killer. I can do a great job of paying attention and attending class, but getting stuff done after work hours is NOT something I have a lot of motivation to do right now.

As for my summer plans, seeing as how I won’t be in Houston until September, I plan on working in the Project Management office here at BYU for those summer months. I’ve talked with Ernie and he is totally OK with me doing that - in fact he encouraged it a little bit since he wants me married by the time I end up leaving… I can’t say I don’t want the same, but I thought it was pretty funny.

So, I really don’t have anything specific to write about other than that I’m pretty happy and things are going well! I’ll probably post some pictures of Lauren and I at some point (yes, we’re still dating), but we need to actually take pictures for once if that’s gonna happen. I guess I forget that auxilliery stuff sometimes. Haha!

By the way, I’m writing this post from my BlackBerry Pearl! How cool is that? I’m pretty certain Jason is jealous…

So, I’ve been putting this off all week… I suppose I’ve been putting it off because I’m not entirely sure what to say or how to say it, but the honest to goodness truth is that I need to say something.

We’ve all had teachers in our lives that have made a profound impact for one reason or another… I have had several, I suppose, but the one that has had the greatest impact would be Gordon B. Hinckley. Gordon B. Hinckley was the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a Prophet of the Savior Jesus Christ. This past Sunday evening he died at the age of 97, ending a long life of compassion and service.

President Hinckley led the LDS Church through the majority of my life, and I have had countless opportunities to hear his counsel on how to live a more Christ-like life. There was always a challenge to be more charitable, loving, accepting, and faithful. His testimony of Jesus Christ was witness to the Savior’s divine nature and mission.

“Believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer, the Son of God, who came to earth and walked the dusty roads of Palestine-the Son of God-to teach us the way of truth and light and salvation, and who, in one great and glorious act offered an atonement for each of us. He opened the way of salvation and exaltation for each of us, under which we may go forward in the Church and kingdom of God. Be not faithless, but believe in the great and wonderful and marvelous blessings of the Atonement.”

( “Selections from Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, Mar. 2001, 64.)

He testified not only of Jesus Christ, but of the restoration of Christ’s Church through Joseph Smith (to clarify: Joseph Smith is not considered a Mormon God, nor is he more important to us than Jesus Christ - we simply honor and respect him much like the Jews honor and respect Moses). President Hinckley’s testimony was simply that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Church of God, restored on the earth with the proper Priesthood authority that was held by the Apostles of old. He testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, scripture written by “other sheep” on the American continent who also saw and testified of Jesus Christ.

To me, President Hinckley was a role model and teacher. He has taught me to be a better son, brother, and future husband and father. On numerous occasions he has taught me the importance of treating everyone as a Child of God, because that’s who we truly are. He challenged me to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it - and because of that I gained a personal testimony of Jesus Christ, served a two year LDS Mission and changed my life. He gave me a greater perspective of my potential, and I can only hope to live up to it.

I’m not going to lie, I feel terribly inadequate writing something about someone who has been a strength to so many people. I am not terribly articulate, but I can certainly confess that I love President Hinckley and I know he is a Prophet of God. People will argue and dispute that, but I am personally satisfied that it is the Truth.

I place my thoughts alongside those of millions of others who have been touched by the life of a great man. I thank thee, O God, for the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley…