General Conference Favorites =)

We've already finished the first half of General Conference guys!!  I have some favorite talks, but there's too many, it is hard to pick, so I'm just gonna put some pictures I like and a few things I thought of in the process of writing my notes.  (in my general conference notebook that i made several years ago for a personal progress project.  just as an idea. =P)

Okay okay okay, seriously, I got a lot out of the talks but here were some good quotes that I found online from some of my favorites.

 I liked this, and in case you didn't hear the talk, he was talking about not fearing man more than God.   Good quote. =)

more from that talk.

 when opinions of others are different then ours, that doesn't mean we should be rude and upset about it!  that doesn't solve the problem.

 the world puts things out to try to sway us, but we have to be quicker to hold to the truths we already know, then to doubt them because of something we heard.

 I love the picture for this because in his talk he said, something about "resisting the law of gravity won't keep a man from falling off a cliff if he stepped of the edge" haha.  its true.

 this is cool and makes sense when you're thinking about it.

 I love President Uchtdorf.

 Good thing for me to remember!! I need to do more missionary work.

 simple testimonies are just good to hear.

I still love him lol, and this was a great quote.  Be accepting!  The church isn't for perfect people, it's for people to come unto christ through.  (that wasn't me, that was in idea also stated in general conference.)

Alright guys, have a great day!

Customer Honesty

So at work yesterday (Saturday) we were pretty busy, and in the middle of a pretty big rush, I was walking over to the fudge station and out of the corner of my eye thought I saw a lady take a piece of chocolate out of one of the cases.  It has a sign on it that says THESE ARE NOT SAMPLES but we still get people lifting the lid. =P So anyway, I had another customer to help and I was across the room, so instead I watched to see what they did.  The lady's friend was in the process of grabbing a piece when she gasped, Oh, these AREN'T samples!!  And very (not) stealthily put it back as the original lady froze with the chocolate already in her mouth.  As I walked back with my customer and their fudge to the other register, I heard the lady with the chocolate talking to Mackenzie.  She was apologizing for the trouble because the piece she had taken was actually one with no set price and would have been weighed, but Mackenzie just charged her the standard price for pieces that size, and she kept saying that she hadn't seen the sign.  Mackenzie and I told her it was really okay, and that it was nice of her to tell us and pay for it anyway, because a lot of customers don't
"Well," she told us

"I couldn't do what was wrong."

I have no idea who she was, but the fact that she already knew that she just couldn't let herself make that wrong choice stuck with me, and I appreciated it.  

Integrity Stuff

Yay Integrity!!

~ Hannah ~

Honest About What You Think

Don't you love how just because people aren't members doesn't mean they don't notice and appreciate things that we try to live by?

For example.

I was talking to a boy from school, and we were joking about an incident last year that had actually come off of something more serious.  Brief less important background that will make it make more sense is this, the 3 girls taking classes at the community college last year - along with one boy, a different boy that doesn't go to my school anymore - were informed to be careful that we were modest in our behavior and dress while there because apparently there was a perv there who was not being appropriate in talking about us.... kind of awkward, unfortunate and generally something to avoid if possible.  Anyway, after we got past the seriousness in that conversation where my teacher told the boy we were with that he should stick up for us if needed, we teased our teacher that if she would loan Braden some booty shorts he could just distract the pervert and we could run away.  Of course, we were joking, and I'm definitely sure that my catholic teacher doesn't wear booty shorts.  Besides that, it obviously wouldn't solve the problem.  We were just having a laugh.  Anyway, when I was talking to this other guy from school, we were joking about that conversation and then he told me something along the lines of "I don't like short shorts tbh" and that they were pointless.  It was nice to realize that I'd already been honest about my beliefs in a lot of different cases, and here was someone not a member of any church, but that still appreciated girls' modesty.  SO, not just us, but people outside the church appreciate it darlings, and they're willing to say so.  There you go, an example of someone else being honest about what they think about something.  So refreshing.

Integrity is important!  Be modest and don't be afraid to say why.  Other people appreciate it too. =)

Another Work Integrity Experience

Okay so this one actually happened a while back, a couple weeks ago, but I forgot about it until I was talking to mom today and I remembered it.

So here's the dealio.  It was a really busy afternoon and there were customers in and out all over the place with just two of us trying to help them all.  I was kind of hurriedly checking out a customer, punching in my clerk number and ringing them up and then bagged their stuff and sent them on there way.  As they walked out the door I realized I'd put a bag of saltwater taffy that they'd bought in their stuff without charging them for it.  Immediately I knew I couldn't just cost the company the 8.50 and feel good about it, so I let them be and helped finish with the rest of the customers since we didn't really have time to stop helping them.  After they all left and there was a break, all I did was go into the back and get my purse with my debit card in it, and charge myself the 8.50 that wasn't charged earlier.  There isn't any kind of inventory of those, and it wasn't entered into the machine that they'd bought it, I'd just forgotten to ring it up entirely amidst all of their other items in the purchase.  In other words, even if I hadn't done that it never would have been noticed, but I felt better after doing it.

That's it!  Nothing big, but that's why I mentioned it.  It was good to trust myself to do the right thing.  See you later!

New Job

So I got a summer job!!  Yay!  I will finally be making consistent money towards my LOVELY future PIANO (click here to see it).  So happy!!!  Anyway - the source of this new, endless bounty of wealth? (heh heh - my first pay check was for $11.33 WOOHOO IM RICH!! actually it was only because I started at the very end of the paycycle and only had like a few hours in that day, after school. =P)  I work at..... (drum roll please...) the Mendocino Chocolate Company (click HERE) They have some prettttty tasty stuff, let me tell you. =D  So I've just started training, but my first day I was already helping customers, "cupping" the truffles, and working the fudge station which is all by weight.

Speaking of the fudge station, NOW I get to the point of this post. =P  So it was my fourth day at work (I think, or something close to that), and my trainer had to leave and run across the parking lot to see if they needed help in the kitchen since the store was slow for a little.  I agreed, since no one was there and I had been doing really well helping people so far so I figured the likely hood of an order coming that was out of my league was low in that slow afternoon.  And I was right, nothing did, but I did get challenged to be honest. =D Integrity story, right here.  Ready?  So a lady walked in (that I think was a little out of it, possible minorly high anyway so she probably didn't care) and wanted maple fudge.  She said, "I can't find it though are you out?  Oh wait, there it is in the fudge station."  Curious, why would it be there.  Anyway - I walked over to help her, cut out the amount of fudge she wanted turned around and placed it on the scale.  Then, I got seriously confused.  The weight came up just fine, oh yes, but the price wasn't showing.  I saw that the scale had been reset and the automatic programming with the price per pound wasn't in it at the moment.  I didn't know how to set the scale... and of course, Danielle - my trainer - is gone and I'm alone in the store.  I frantically noted the weight (I still remember, it was 0.46 pounds, so almost half.) And I knew that the fudge was $18.00 per pound, so I knew it would be a little under $9.00... but with my mind racing because I didn't know what to charge her, there was NO WAY I was going to be able to do THAT mental math.  O.O Nope.  I'm good enough at math, I'd just finished my Algebra 2 class with an A... but I've never been able to do it in my head and especially not quickly.  Then I remembered that there was a calculator in the cupping station across the store.  I apologized quickly and ran over there and typed in the numbers.... and came out with 32.  Ha.  I'm not charging this woman 32 dollars, that's ridiculous. I kept trying, but my panicked mind couldn't figure it out so I gave up.  I was frantic, she was going to get impatient... this was taking forever!  I stopped and realized that the price was probably very close to $8.50 (then my VERY mathematical mind stopped and couldn't solve the rest of the problem, of course) and she wouldn't miss the difference of a few cents.  I seriously considered it, I was tempted... I was afraid this was going to make her upset because of the delay.  But I couldn't do that, I would be over charging her because I knew that $8.50 was probably going up from the actual price.  So I went back and grabbed her - now packaged - maple fudge, and stared at the scale.  Then I hesitantly pressed a few buttons - I had no idea what I was doing but something made me feel like the fix on/off button would help.  So I pushed it, and nothing happened.  I then felt like I should type in the weight per pound, so I did. $18.00... and hit fix on/off again.  It beeped and stayed that way.  Hurriedly I opened the bag, unwrapped the fudge and set it back on the scale on it's little piece of plastic.  the weight - 0.46 pounds - came up... and so did the price!!  $8.28 =D  Phew!!!!!!  You have no idea, the relief that came to me.  I felt wonderful that I was honest, and that I wasn't going to charge that lady a whole 22 cents more than she should have had to pay.  I rung her up and apologized for the wait and she walked away happy to have her fudge... and still a little out of it I believe.  But - moral of the story... you can always be honest, and I believe that Heavenly Father will help you when you're intentions are good.  Be honest!  Your life will be that much better. =)

Oh, and don't buy 0.46 pounds of maple fudge when the scale's not on, it saves trainees lots of crazed worry.  You're welcome - I know my advice is invaluable.  ;D

Just as a note: This is the future Hannah from a few months later!!  I got my piano much earlier than I expected to be able to thanks to this job... but I ended up getting a different piano entirely!  I'm super excited about it, so see the one I got HERE.  Anyway, that's it.

Modest is HOTTEST ;)

in·teg·ri·ty

inˈtegritē/

noun

1. 1.

   the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

   "he is known to be a man of integrity"

   synonyms:

   honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics,morals, righteousness, morality, virtue,  decency, fairness,scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness
2. 2.

   the state of being whole and undivided.

   "upholding territorial integrity and national sovereignty"

   synonyms:

   unity, unification, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity

Currently I have a job - to keep the yard/lawn of a couple's house looking nice over the months that they are gone.  They aren't living in the house, but I think they'll inherit it, or something like that - anyway - they want it to look nice while they're gone so that it isn't obviously abandoned etc.  They were talking to my dad at church a little less than a year ago and he called me over to talk about a job opportunity.  They explained what they wanted me to do, we figured out a per hour rate and I agreed to start as soon as the rainy season hit and the grass actually needed mowing.  Now that I'm over there every other Saturday, I realize - I am alone on their property, with the keys to their house, garage, and lawn mower, and they are not even close to town.  Even though they're not living there, the house is furnished, and it occurred to me that they trusted me enough to employ some random girl they'd never met to take care of their house.  Not only that though, because it seems unlikely for someone to steal from a run-down old home with nothing very valuable in it - they are paying me per hour with no one supervising the number of hours.  My parents would know if I changed the hours probably, because they pick me up and take me there, but while I'm there, who watches to make sure I'm working the whole time?  The answer is no one is.  However, I know how much I work, and I know how much money I deserve, and I'm not about to cheat them, and I feel good knowing I'm being honest.  There's one other person who knows though, my Heavenly Father.  There's no way in the universe to be sneaky enough that he wouldn't know about something.  It just doesn't work that way.  It's important to have integrity so that when it's just you deciding which decision to make, you make the right one.

Speaking of this job...

While I was there yesterday, I had come home to go to a baptism, and the break was nice - not to mention the relaxing spirit of being at a baptism.  Then I drove out to the house again to finish working.  The riding lawn mower died and the battery wouldn't charge again so I had to do it all by hand.  I wasn't tired anymore, I had forgotten to eat breakfast so the work before lunch was harder than it should have been, but the hour I put in after lunch wasn't so bad, but still harder than sitting on a riding lawn mower. =)  While I was out there, the sun came out and I realized I was getting really warm. I knew I had a tank top on under my t-shirt and for a moment considered working in that.  After all, I was out of town, no one would really see me unless it was the occasional car driving by, and lots of people wear tank tops anyway.  Then I realized, I wasn't so hot that it should have even been tempting, I live on the coast after all, it could only have been 65 degrees out there at the most.  Hardly much of a trial.    It struck me that what was happening was Satan was playing on my vanity.  I knew that in my tank top I might look by worldly standards, a little skinnier than in my ordinary t-shirt, or a little tanner, because it was white and I'd just gone to Nicaragua. ;D However, as soon as I realized this I also realized that I wasn't going to work in just my tank top because it wasn't the right thing for me to do.  Even when no one is watching, I remember thinking, I need to do what's right.  So I did.  I'm glad to say that I worked modestly and was plenty cool in my t-shirt and shorts. 

Keep up the good work, be honest, and have a FANTASTIC day today. :) 

Safeway Honesty

Almost a week ago, it was my friends birthday, and since I was leaving the Country for Nicaragua... (eek! I'll probably end up posting about that service trip) we wanted to do something.  So we walked around town after school, planning to get snacks at safeway, walk around get ice-cream, take pictures at the photo booth, and just hang out.  When we got to safeway, we realized that in the self-checkout line we were in, there was something wrong.  My friend had gone to pull out her money to pay, when the screen switched past the payment screen and the receipt printed out.  I was confused and we joked about maybe it was because it was her birthday.  I thought something was wrong but i didn't know what to do about it.  So I went home and ate the snack with Mackenzie, before I realized - I could tell dad.  So I did, and I told him I didn't know what happened.  As I explained the process of us trying to pay but already being payed for, his eyes widened a little and he told us we needed to go back and pay for the stuff and explain becuase it looked like we had just used someone else's credit card to buy our food.  I was relieved that we could fix it by going back and paying, and I was also relieved that I didn't feel the slightest bit hesitant to pay for my food.  We walked back to the store and the man was very patient.  He had to ask another employee what to do because he said "we don't get a lot of honest people coming back here".  That kind of saddened me, but I could tell that he was glad that we took the time to come pay our 13 dollars.  I felt like in this instance because it was not intentional it was easy to do the right thing, but I know that even if it had been hard it would have still been important.  So I'm glad that mackenzie and I went back and fixed it, it was a good experience.

Bye!!!

Hannah

So... Why the Blog??

Hi all, I guess I just wanted to explain why I'm writing this blog.  I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and you can learn more about that HERE.  I participate in the youth program which includes Personal Progress.  In this program I get to focus on certain characteristics that I should develop to become more Christlike.  I decided to complete my Integrity project by blogging about things I learn.  I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and that the Personal Progress program is designed by inspired people who know that it will help me.  I can't wait to learn from this, and I hope it does something for someone else out there.  As a side thought, here's a scripture that I got the title of this blog from:

"God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me." Job 27:5