Be not afraid – thoughts on Paris

I felt sick when I heard about Paris.

Such a beautiful city, under attack again.

I was glued to the news and became more depressed with each new heartbreaking detail. I hung on to each name, picture, and story that had come to an end so brutally. It shook me up.

First, I got to visit there with my family earlier this year.

Second, my husband served a two-year religious mission in Paris. He knew the areas well that were attacked.

Third, Paris is so close to London. This incredible city that I call home suddenly seems like a much bigger target than before.

It was scary to think about. In fact, I would have probably watched the news all day if I didn’t have to leave the house.

Instead, Tom and I went down to the coast to visit his grandpa. We got to have lunch with him in celebration of his 91^st birthday, which was so fun.

We got to talking about the Paris attacks, and Grandad said how sad he was for the people who were affected.

Grandad is a World War II veteran, and he saw terror first hand. I asked him how he dealt with living in London during the war, and he said they found the perfect response to terror: living.

He said everyone just carried on and lived life as normally as possible. He remembered going to the movie theater with his friends, and they had to stop the movie short after bombs exploded nearby. They all just left the theater, stepped over the rubble and broken glass, went home, and came back the next day to finish the movie.

He said that people commit terrible acts because they want to create fear. When you keep living, and keep loving, you fight back.

There is evil in the world. But evil cannot win if there is love present. The way to fight terror is to keep living, and doing all you can to lift those around you.

Years and Years in a Single Post. Let's do this.

oh, hello! 

I'm Logan. Of the "Logan to London." & I'm not a very good blogger.

So much so, that I started to track when my last post was, and stopped because I was too bored scrolling down year...after year...

Too many things have happened and - oh wait I found it! December 22, 2012 at 11:55 am was my last post! Hm. That's a problem.

So, here's what's been happening the last few years for me!

• Spring 2013 - Service trip with USU in HAWAII! 

-Over 300 applicants, and I was one of the 20 who were selected to travel with USU's Alternative Break Service group!  We went for Spring Break, and Ali somehow managed to be the only boy on the trip. Lucky kid. 

We made a cute little video too ^_^ teehee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx8CFphAo9Y

And then I decided Hawaii wasn't enough, and did a service trip to Moab that fall with my school as well.  

Funny thing, I've lived in Utah my whole life, but haven't actually been to most of the places that make this place awesome.  I got there.

• Tour Guide at Timpanogos Cave National Monument

I was rather persistent to make sure Timpanogos didn't hire anyone BUT me for the Intern position, which then turned into a full time Ranger position! WOOT! The hike up is pretty brutal, but completely gorgeous. 

Waking up at 5 am to hike up a mountain to see the sunrise every day? Completely awesome (not completely. not all the time)! Then I got to hang out with really cool people from all over the world in my waist high green pants and flat hat.  Mmmhmm. 

And sometimes your boss sends you a youtube video of yourself giving a tour. It happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQXzInp8jPI

• Logan WENT to London. Holy stinker...I still can't believe it.

\

 

England BLEW me away. I can't even believe everything Cole and I got to do.

It was amazing because Tom and Wendy were the most WONDERFUL tour guides.  They already knew the best ways to go and see all the "touristy" stuff.  

Side note: To give you an idea, I'm pretty sure the things a typical tourist could do in two weeks, we did in about two days. 

That's what's up. 

My experience in London with Wendy was way too big and and I have way too many things I want to share about it, that I'm going to write a completely separate post on it. Sound good? Cool beans.

until then..

• I found this boy I really liked.  I guess he thought I wasn't too bad, either.

This is Erik Darin Johansen.

We dated 9 months, and I guess he liked me enough that he decided to share his last name with me :D

He proposed on April 26th, 2014 at Second Dam in Logan Canyon, which was where our first date was. We went star gazing on the board walk. Aw shucks. 

It's a really pretty place. 

Eh?  Ehh??

It was almost midnight when he said "Let's go on an adventure!"  I was so down.   We were walking around in the dark for a bit.  The girl in me thought It's going to happen. It is SO going to happen! 

But after a while, I realized 

1. It had only been a few days since he'd talked to my dad. 

2. I was just about to leave for London 

and 3. He was running around picking up rocks.

...so I quickly thought otherwise.

We reached the end of the board walk when he handed me one of his rocks and said I should skip it.  I couldn't skip a rock to save my life, but I took it and just kind of threw it into the water. I turned to face him, laughing at myself, when there he was. On one knee.  

My sweet lans. 

He asked if I would marry him, to which I replied, "Is this for real?"  

I later found out this is the exact reply that my Grandmother Wanda said to my Grandpa Ray when he asked her to marry him. Disbelief runs in the family, I guess. 

I then squealed. A lot.  My voice went up about 10 pitches, and I just made a bunch of noises and high pitched nonsense.  I'm pretty positive the word "yes" was thrown somewhere in there. 

Then he told me to smile for the camera's, and I saw his best friend Lincoln laying UNDER the board walk, holding up a camera. Then Emily (Erik's sister) Ali, Lauren and Naya (Lincoln's wife) came out of a tree....Sounds pretty majestic when I say it that way. 

But it's what happened.

It's pretty cool, because then members of my ward were there having a bonfire across the water, and set off fireworks.  It wasn't on purpose, but man it was cool! We went over there and had them take a picture of the whole group as our way of telling them we were engaged.  

Then they freaked out, everyone was happy and we just chilled around the fire with our friends playing music on guitars and setting of fire works.  Good vibes. 

It was only the most perfect thing ever.  No big deal. Don't worry about it.

After that weekend it was finals, then I was off for London.  How well did I do on my finals, you may ask? Again, no big deal. Don't worry about it. 

We were married in the Manti Temple on August 8th, 2014!   

As tradition, a new member of the family means a new family name:

The Joclacksteads! 

(can't handle the cuteness right now)

Life is insanely awesome, and I couldn't have asked for a better companion. 

He truly brings out the best in me, and cheers for me harder than anyone I know. 

He is so nerdy and makes me laugh so hard all the time. 

He does laundry. Oh snap. 

He gets rid of the spiders for me.

He reads scriptures to me when I'm too tired. 

He's patient with me when we play video games.

He puts more blankets on me in the middle of the night when it gets too cold.

He's almost as spontaneous as me. Almost.

He laughs instead of getting mad when I wake him up with my sleep talking.

He got me a tomato plant even though he hates tomatoes as much as my dad.

He takes care of such dreaded tomato plant.

His dancing...hahaha his dancing cracks me up!

I could go on and on, but I'll just leave that there. 

Erik served his mission in San Diego,

It was only fitting we go there for our first anniversary. 

Our secret garden

 [It's secret because it's not a real garden.]

Life is great in our cute apartment. 

We got $10 off a month on our rent because of the orange shag carpet and yellow floral tile kitchen with brown appliances that don't work great.  Some would be upset about this.  But we say "Sweet! $10 off!"

I can't remember how to end this, so I guess i'll ju-

Bye!

<3. michelle

Oh wait! I hiked Timpanogos for the first time a few weeks ago...I worked too hard for too long. I needed to tell someone. 

10 lessons my parents taught me

This week I get to celebrate the birth of two amazing people: my mom and dad.

I’ve always thought it was really cool that their birthdays are the day after each other. In fact, I secretly hoped that I’d marry someone born around my birthday too (I’m May and he’s October, so close enough…)

My parents have always been amazing examples to me. Their sound advice not only got me through adolescence, but continues to shape my life now.

Here are some of my favorite lessons:

1. Say you’re sorry

Even if you don’t know what you did wrong. It’s better to dissolve the anger than to always be right.

2. Don’t hit your siblings

Even though it can be really tempting. Like mom and dad said, I’ll feel worse in the long run. Especially now that my siblings are all stronger than I am…

3. Be Christlike

This goes along with not hitting people. But in all seriousness, my parents have always taught me that you need to live your religion every day, not just Sunday. A big part of that means looking for ways to help the people around you. Sometimes the smallest gestures of kindness can mean the most.

4. You can love someone without liking them

One of the great commandments is to love your neighbor, but that doesn’t mean to have to be best friends with everyone you meet. People have very different personalities and some will clash with yours. You can love people without surrounding yourself with those who put you down or take advantage of you.

5. You’re perfect

My mom always told me I’m perfect, but not to give me an inflated ego. When she said perfect, she didn’t mean that I never made mistakes. She meant that the way I was built was perfect to her. Her confidence in me helped a lot when I was teased by the stick-thin girls in elementary school. My mom said that as long as I was being healthy, being nice would help me find more true friends than just being skinny.

6. Striking out is part of the game

I had a rough softball season one year. I had struck out so many times that I wanted to quit. My dad said that I wouldn’t be a failure as long as I kept showing up. I still struck out on countless occasions, but I found that my love for the sport kept me coming back. If winning is your only marker of success, then you’re missing opportunities to be happy.

7. It’s ok to be scared

There’s nothing wrong with being afraid of the next step in life, as long the fear doesn’t stop you from moving forward. Life can seem daunting, but you should never miss an opportunity because you were too afraid to take it.

8. Someone needs to fill that job

My dad always reminds me of this one when I talk about landing a dream job. He says, “They need someone to fill that role. Why shouldn’t it be you?” It’s helped me forget my doubts and realize that no position is above me.

9. Be abundant

The world has enough people who are takers. It needs more people who are generous with what they have, and happy to share with others. There’s enough to go around, and you’ll be surprised how often those you share with will be willing to share with you. However, some people will bleed you dry if you let them, and it’s your responsibility to take care of yourself too.

10. You earned the door

Now walk through it. My dad is a firm believer that the door of opportunity doesn’t just randomly appear. You get chances to do exceptional things after you’ve qualified yourself for them. That’s why you should never be afraid to walk through those doors and gratefully accept the blessings that come as a result of preparation.

Love you Mom and Dad! Happy birthday!

4 years in London!

It's been four whole years since I moved to London!

My plan was simple: go to school, travel a bit, stay for a year, then go back to Utah. 

But God had different plans for me, and my life changed in ways I couldn't have imagined!

Here's a snapshot:

Thanks for making it such an amazing journey so far!

6 signs I’m becoming old

We recently got an intern at work, and I was assigned to mentor her.

Great, I thought. I'll impart my wisdom on the next generation, right? Wrong. Instead I'm traumatized.

I mean, I knew there would come a day when I felt old, but no one warned me that it would happen while I was in my 20’s.

Here’s how I know I’m no longer part of the ‘younger generation.’

1. My intern was born in 2000 – as in, the millennium! While she was preparing to come to earth, I was listening to some of the year’s No.1’s like, “Oops…I Did it Again!” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” She couldn’t believe that countless young men bleached their hair to look like Justin Timberlake.

2. The intern asked me how I contacted people before there were cell phones. I told her I just called their house phone. She sighed, then laughed at me.

3. I asked the intern how her weekend was. She said, “It was great, but I didn’t get to sleep until 11 on Saturday.” I said, ‘Me too! It was so hard to stay up until then!”

She looked embarrassed for me, then explained that she didn’t go to bed until 11 a.m. on Saturday, having stayed out all of Friday night. Even the thought of that makes me sleepy.

4. We started talking about music, and she mentioned a new song that she loves. Out of curiosity, I opened the iTunes store to look at the top 10 singles. I didn’t know a single artist.

5. We started talking about social media, and I asked her about the point of Snapchat. After all, why take a picture if it’s going to delete itself? “It’s so much fun!” she insisted. “My friends and I use it to take ugly double-chin selfies and send them to each other.” Huh, why?

6. The intern asked me if I had fun plans this evening. I said, “Of course. I get to finish up some laundry, then take out the garbage (bins in the UK).” For the next five minutes, I talked to her about how much I love garbage day, because it’s like a fresh start every week. She gave me the kind of smile that suggests great pity.

I have a feeling this will only continue to happen. 

Independence Day with no fireworks

Today is July 4^th, and I live in London.  Do you know what that means?

No fireworks. England doesn’t celebrate it, apparently.

But I absolutely love this holiday, no matter how reluctant the English are to embrace it.

Luckily Tom and I found a good substitute. We got to watch ‘Back to the Future’ at the Royal Albert Hall, with a live orchestra. It was amazing!

Then we got the best gelato in South Kensington and walked around Hyde Park in the rare English sunshine. So much fun!

It made up for the fact that I’m a long way away from the USA today.

Even still, here are the things I miss the most about July 4^th (in no particular order):

• Red Vines
• Barbeques
• Watermelon
• Root beer
• Family
• “Summer of ‘69”
• The one neighbor who managed to sneak illegal fireworks over from Wyoming
• “God Bless the USA”
• Glow sticks
• That sounds the sparklers make when you stick them in water
• That one ‘flower’ firework that malfunctions and flings itself towards the spectators
• The ‘dud’ firework that bursts into life unexpectedly
• Snow cones

I miss home like crazy, but I’m grateful that I get to be a part of two amazing countries. And a special shout-out to England for letting us have our independence. Otherwise, I don't think I would appreciate just how awesome my husband's accent is.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!