last new post

so i'm making a preeetty big change- i'm hopping on over to a new site.

don't panic though- the url will for the new site will be the same as this one and this one will change to oldmoorelightshine.blogspot.com

i started this whole blogging adventure at the ripe old age of 13(ish) for a personal progress project

those were the days when i was extremely proud of my chevron background and header made from a free pic monkey font. i finally moved on a bit to the current design which i honestly was quite proud of. i can't bring myself to delete this old blog of mine, but i'm also so so ready for a clean slate.

i'm so grateful for this first blog and the way it has helped me discover my favorite things (if it weren't for blogging who knows if i'd even have an interest in photography), grow my testimony, find the joy in things, and stretch my mind to think about things in a happier, more creative way. i'm grateful for all of you- whether you found my blog yesterday or a year or two ago when we were still in the very cringeworthy stages- thanks for sticking around!

so i guess what i'm saying is 1) thank you 2) if you visit my new blog and nothing is there- don't panic haha

(i plan on changing the url of this blog like i talked about before in the next few days so your feed reader should automatically start showing the new posts over there)

so i guess this peace out, see ya on the new blog! 

-shelby

foundation

man oh man life has a pretty spectacular way of throwing you curve balls.

from really big things that kind of knock the wind out of you to little things like your internet stops working literally every time you sit down to work at the computer.

these past few weeks have left me feeling so grateful for the foundation that i've chosen to build my life on.

a foundation that i built through diligent scripture study, hours of church, lots of 5 am mornings in order to get to seminary, prayer, service, trying to see the positive, and trusting my Savior.

a foundation that is built on Christ and his gospel.

a foundation that is never failing, a foundation that is always there for me, a foundation that never lets me fail.

even when life comes and gives you a slap in the face and throws things that you would have never seen coming, when everything seems uncertain, i know that the Savior always has my back.

no matter what happens in your life, if you center your life on the right foundation, you can be strengthened when you're weak and lifted when you're lower than ever before.

the knowledge of eternal families and temples and the atonement has carried me through this past few weeks and i'm not sure if i've ever been more grateful for the blessing of the gospel in my life.

" And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)

making the best of (maybe even enjoying) school

so... it happened.. the dreaded school started. #isurvived1stquarter

and we've officially survived. whew. i think most people have been in about a month but i just finished my first quarter since we started way back on august 10th. whaat? september's over? it's crazy how time flies when you're having fun (????)

I definitely don't hate or even totally dislike school but i'm not sure it's 100% possible to look forward to the start of school after so many months of late nights, late mornings, friends, adventuring, and doing what you want.

all that said, i definitely 100% beleive that it's possible to be happy at school & not die, maybe have a little fun, laugh, and not totally dread waking up in the morning (i know leaving your warm sheets is pretty much the worst thing ever but after that it's not so bad right? especially if you have some rad jams to listen to while you get ready. (i have a ton for you right here)

i'm definitely no expert but here's the best tips i've got. & i've officially survived a quarter of this school year without being overly stressed and being pretty happy with my life so i'm pretty sure they're legit:)

1. Don't stress
Stop it right now. School pretty much equals stress but please try not to fret the little stuff. Yes, you should probably start working on your 5 page paper that's due tomorrow but don't stress about that the whole day when you can't do anything about it because all that's going to do is ruin your whole day. After a big test try really hard not to worry about what you got on your test because it's done, as sad as it might be you can't change the score now so really try not to worry about the outcome. And then when you get the test back and maybe you didn't do as well as you would have liked try to set a goal for next time & move on with your life because why stress about what you can't change.

2. Don't stop adventuring
Let me clarify what i define as an adventure. To me an adventure is anything that is a little out of the ordinary and might be a little exciting. When I think of summer i think of lots of small adventures. Late night fires, playing basketball until late at night with my brother, watching the stars, daytime hikes, silly times with your friends, staying up late and watching movies, kayaking, swimming, trying something new, learning how to do something new. s'mores, jamming out, driving with all the windows down and feeling the wind in your hair, spontaneous outings. Obviously big adventures are tons and tons of fun, but i think that these little adventures are what makes life so worthwhile. So keep on adventuring. Make good choices but decide to stay outside and look at the stars, get ice cream spontaneously, watch a funny movie, take a random dance break in the middle of your homework, stay up late talking about something deep, keep laughing, and keep having (responsible) fun. I mean i stayed up until 10 last night watching Legally Blonde so i'm obviously living the party life...haha:) but really don't let all the summer magic wear off!

3. Grow your circles
I was horrible at this last year but try to find a small group of friends in each class. Someone to text if you need help with homework or to group up with if you have a project. i know it's so much easier to just keep to yourself and hide behind your phone, but once you get past that little bit of awkwardness school will be 10x as fun! they don't have to be your new besties or anything, just some fun people to joke around with ya know? people can totally surprise you. i've had classes in the past where i got sat by someone who i thought was "popular" or mean or something else but most of the time i'm totally surprised and we become great friends.

4. Try to keep up some good habits
I definitely wasn't ms. perfect this summer, but there were several good habits i finally sort of mastered. scripture study was one of them, i've always loved the scriptures but haven't been the most consistent. i was finally able to read daily for a few months and i don't want to lose that habit! Choose one or two good habits to keep going with & it will make the transition easier, plus you'll have a few new awesome good habits and who doesn't want that?

5. Seminary (!!!)
ah man i could write a book about how much i love seminary! (please consider that i leave my house at 5:30 am so i can get to seminary and then think about how awesome it must be) seriously, go. to. seminary. it is the best thing on the planet. it's such a huge spiritual boost for your day! i love getting to start my day with the scriptures, awesome people who help me become better, and then getting to school already awake and most of the time pretty happy cause of my awesome morning. it's the best!

6. Make memories
The homework can wait, sleep is overrated, and high school is short. you're only going to be young once so make good choices but live it up! Choose to hang out with your friends one night, don't skip mutual for homework because you'll definitely have more fun at mutual, don't skip family game night for more sleep cause sleep will always be there but before you know it you're going to be packing up and leaving your dear fam. I figure that everything will fall into place when you put what needs to go first first.


(i would add don't procrastinate to this list but i honestly haven't mastered this...like at all...so i can't write about it from experience.. but i've heard that actually starting assignments before the day before they are due or you know, the morning they are due works wonders though haha)

so i guess i'll just wrap this up with a huge good luck cause you're gonna rock this school year. high school isn't forever so live it up while you can, but also don't die when you do something embarassing okay?

best of luck!
-shelby

jam out 9/29/16

hey hey hey

happy friday! i'm super duper pumped cause this is the last day before fall break and we all know that besides summer, breaks are the best.

in an attempt to help you a little bit i'd like to share some of my favorite jams so you can totally have a party car (or bus) ride to school in the morning. sound good?

Catch & Release- Deepened Remix (Matt Simons)
Pride (American Authors)
I won't give up (Jason Mraz)
Kids (One Republic)
Secrets (One Republic)
Here Without You (3 Doors Down)
Unpack your Heart (Phillip Phillips)
Superman (Rachel Platten)
Tightrope (Walk the Moon)
Astronauts (Rachel Platten)
You're not Alone (Marie Miller)
Bloom (Paper Kites)
Marchin' On (One Republic)
Wherever I Go (One Republic)
Our own House (Mister Wives)
Overdue (Jillian Jacqueline)
The Sound (The 1975)


i originally had a post that was pretty much a mile long but i've decided to split it so check back in the near future cause i honestly can't fit it all in one post. help a girl out & comment your fav songs- i'm always looking for new tunes to jam out to (or cry to or just listen happily to-whatever is good with me ;)

hope you're having a rad day
shelby

june 2016

(playing a little bit of catch up & sharing a few memories from June)

june was a really really great month. It was pretty crazy busy with a lot of good things but it flew by. (looking back it seems super long compared to july) 

June started off with a bang because the June 1 was the last day of school. The last day was filled with goodbyes and hugs and pretty much doing nothing and then in one last flurry of gathering papers, pictures, and hugs freshman year was over just like that. It's kind of crazy that a year could go by so stinkin' fast! It makes me a little scared because wow, high school is gonna fly! It's also a bit weird because soon I'll be doing  all the stuff you see in movies and think about as a little girl, prom, driving, ya know- all the classic high school stuff.

Other exciting things that happened in June:
+I attended my first graduation
+End of the year seminary party (seminary was really one of the best parts of this year & the end party was pretty great. A mystery old testament dinner, an auction - we got points to spend throughout the year-, and a lot of basketball)
+ Celebrated 2 of my friends birthday's with really fun surprises.
+Worked on a pretty exciting project I'll be announcing soon
+ 1 stake dance. A luau which barely anybody showed up to but was still pretty rad. our wards bought leis & we all matched #winning.
+babysat & mowed lawns (i don't have an official job this summer since I can't drive but i still need to make a little bit of money)
+finished the PARTY PATIO! Whoop whoop. A ton (like a lot) of work went into this project and it's pretty much done now except for the bug table. i'll have to share some pics once we finish that.
+lots & lots of bonfires. most nights were spent outside sitting around a campfire just enjoying the stars. Most of the time just with our fam but sometimes with friends. It really was perfect summer bliss just listening to the fire pop. the crickets chirp. and the quiet buzz of good conversation and laughter around the soft glow of the fire and the hundreds of stars above us.
+setting off a bunch of lanterns.. pretty much just like tangled;)
+  lots of bike rides on back country roads (me & nate's fav excersise)
+yakking (kayaking) we went on some pretty fun runs this month. my fav was the river that had a bunch of rapids. the thrill of being pushed by the current and the water splashing in your face is the best feeling.
+fathers' day. i'm so grateful for my dad and all the sacrifices he makes for our family. He teaches me how to work hard and takes me on adventures all the time.
+lots of journaling. i wanted to become better at journaling this summer & i'm pretty proud of myself for actually somewhat keeping this goal.

gratitude list (really trying to start doing this every night, obviously didn't do very good in june & july wasn't my best month... maybe august will be the month?)

6/15- yummy food, Emma's birthday, gold streamers, surprises, storms, & birthdays

6/16- cute movies (finding dory), mini piñatas, confetti, Natalie' birthday, chilling with siblings 

6/17- progress on the patio, competitions with Nate, pretty weather outside 

6/18- lake, kayaks, gorgeous nature, movie nights, late night Father's Day prep, jumping off rock @ the lake

6/19- my wonderful dad, Sunday afternoon naps, late night fires, church, Sunday dinners 

6/20- great memories, cheesy movies, satisfying feeling after you get a bunch of little things done, really pretty sunshine

6/21- planning hefy fundraisers, chickfila agreeing to sponsor, tea party with bella this morning talking the whole time in accents about our crazy French life in the fashion industry (haha it's the little things right?)

here are some of the highlights of my instagram. check it out here.