BEAUTY

If any boys made it to this blog post, turn back now! I promise this wont be something that interests you!

Now Ladies, This is a subject I have been wanting to talk about since my last post but I always chicken out when it is time to write it because I honestly hate being vulnerable or looking weak. I especially HATE looking insecure because I tend to be a very secure person for the most part. All growing up I never cared what I looked like or what people thought of me. I didn't wear make up until my senior year of high school and when I went away to college I would LITERALLY wear basketball shorts and a T-shirt to the institute dances. HAHAHA I still cant believe I did that. When I would go to a YSA activity all the girls would be in their cute swimsuits with their feet dipped in the pool and I would be the girl doing canyon balls off of the high dive with my goggles on. I just really didn't care.

I am still that same girl BUT sometimes I have to make a conscious effort to remember to love who i am. Social Media has taken a toll on the world and the meaning of the word "beautiful". The first thing we all do when we wake up in the morning is look at our social media. We see those girls that have that perfect hair and body and we think we will have to measure up to that. A couple months ago I had a little experience that made me feel badly about myself. For the first time in my life, I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw. I remember getting ready that Sunday Morning and just obsessing over all the things I didn't like about myself. I have always hated my nose but it seemed even longer than usual that day. The dark circles under my eyes looked darker, and my teeth were nowhere as white as I wanted them. I think we all go through times like this. We all have something we would change about ourselves.

As I was picking myself apart that morning a song came on and one of the lines said, "Forget about your imperfections because God doesnt make mistakes." After I heard that I was like, OMG I AM SUCH AN IDIOT! Why in the world would I want to change anything about myself??? My heavenly Father made me this way. There are over 6 billion people in the world and there is only one Katie Maschue! Isnt that so cool that there is no one else in the world like you? I looked in the mirror after that and instantly felt so beautiful. My nose looked perfect to me. I hope when you look in the mirror you remember who your creator is! None of us are going to be perfect but it is so important to love yourself. Stop looking at all the little things you hate about yourself and focus on all the things that make you unique.

I have learned that beauty has little to do with our outer appearance and SO much to do with who you are as a person. I promise you will be the most beautiful person in the world if you serve others and strive to be kind. Thats what true beauty is. So this week, be kind to others and remember you are so uniquely beautiful in your own way!

P.S. I am almost embarrassed at how cheesy this post is but it was important for me to share so whatevs.
Have a great week and remember you are so loved.

12 DAYS

This time of year has got me thinking about my Dad a ton, especially today! Last year on March 16th the doctors told my Dad he had about 12 days left to live. I remember sitting in an empty hospital room all by myself after hearing that news and sobbing uncontrollably. I remember looking down and seeing a puddle of my own tears on the tiled floor and thinking to myself, "Life can be so unfair!". I watched my Dad fight for his life for six months, like really really fight and I was so sad that the outcome wasn't gonna be the one that we wanted.

I remember dreading going into his hospital room after hearing that news. My Dad had always been a very happy and positive person so I didn't think I would be able to emotionally handle seeing him under those circumstances. I figured he would be angry and bitter and curled up in a ball. When I walked into the room, I looked up at him and he had the biggest smile on his face. My Dad had a huge tumor in his mouth and wasn't able to speak at that point but I remember him giving me a thumbs up!

Im sure my Dad felt scared, sad, angry, and maybe even a little bitter but he chose to be positive! My Dad always taught me and my sisters to be positive people but I grew so much more respect for that man when he was able to live up to what he taught us during the hardest time of his life. The last twelve days with my Dad were some of the best days of my life, and his. The last thing I ever saw him write down was, "Life is beautiful". I love that my Dad took something that was really horrible and made it into something beautiful.

I am a better person because of Jim Maschue. He taught me so much AND continues to teach me so much even though he isn't here anymore. I haven't had the easiest year since losing my Dad. A lot of things have not gone my way but when I start to get down, I think of the day I walked into that hospital room and saw my Dad with a smile on his face and his thumbs held up high! When that image comes into my head I instantly change my attitude and my perspective. I think to myself, "How would I be living my life if I only had 12 days left to live?". Would I be complaining about dating, school, friends, money, my future, how things aren't going my way.. etc? H*LL NO!

Oh my gosh, I totally get it guys, life can be so hard and things don't always go our way! You cant always control where you will be in 12 days, but you can control how you respond to it. Life is too short to focus on things that are out of our control. Have faith in God and his plan for you. Go out and do what makes you happy. Spend time with the people you love, eat carbs and go on lots of roller coasters rides.. Whatever it is that you are into, just live everyday like you only have 12 days left to live. Life really is beautiful so go freaking live it to the fullest RIGHT NOW!

- Have a great week and remember you are so loved.

Ps. I really really love this man.

JESUS TOONS

Hey Guys!
I told you I was going to blog every week and I am already slacking.. Like whats my problem??? Recently I have been thinking a lot about music and how it brings the spirit into my life. Confession session: Like i seriously love Christian Music and sometimes I listen to it when its not even the sabbath. How embarrassing am I? When I have friends in the car, you better believe i am rocking out to Pitbull or Miley Cyrus but the seconds i am alone I usually throw on my Jesus toons because I am a totally freak.

Recently Ive had some friends ask for some good songs they can listen to on the sabbath so I am just gonna share a couple of my faves with you. Some might be a little cheesy but I promise they will warm your heart lolz!

- "Today is the day" - David Osmond
- "The Sun is Rising" - Britt Nicole
- "One prayer away" - Colton Avery
- "He shows me how" - David Archuleta
- "He walked a mile in my shoes" - David Osmond
- "Just be Held" - Casting Crowns
- "Hurricane" - Natalie Grant
- "Light the world" - Ryan Innes
- "He hears your heart" - Bryn Castleton
- "Who Am I" - Casting Crowns

Those were just a few of my favorites. If you want to listen to more, guy follow my "Sunday Funday" playlist on Spotify.

Have a great week and remember you are so loved!

STEPPING OUTSIDE OF YOURSELF

Today I was talking to my sister Maddie on the phone about how alone i really felt this past year and I couldnt help but get choked up even thinking about it. I remember hearing people bare their testimonies in church and talk about how lonely they felt at times and I could never fully understand because I had honestly never felt that way before. Ive always enjoyed being super social and surrounding myself with tons of people so I had never experienced what loneliness really was.

As I was going though trials this past year I remember feeling so alone and like nobody understood what I was doing through. I would be at a party, surrounded by all of my friends, but I still felt so lonely. It was the hardest thing to explain and I hated feeling that way. I remember one day, I was filling up my gas at a circle K and I was dwelling on all the trials I was going through.  When i got in my car i saw an old man with his hood lifted on the side of the road and a voice instantly came to my head, "Help that man!". I knew that was the spirit and I was so mad because I wanted to dwell in my own self-pity. I didnt want to focus on someone else and their problems in that moment. I ended up driving over to the man and asking him if he needed help. He didnt hear me because he was probably deaf so i rolled my window up and thought to myself, "Heavenly Father cant be mad at me for not helping him. Its not my fault he is deaf!". As I started driving away, I felt the prompting again. "Help that man!" so I was like, "Oh my goodness Heavenly Father, I get it!".

I ended up parking my car and helping him push his truck into the circle K parking lot. We ended up jump starting his truck and that man was so full of gratitude. I can honestly say that was the happiest I had felt in months. I didnt feel lonely and I didnt feel sad because i was focusing less on me and more on others. As I was driving away I realized that that prompting from Heavenly Father probably helped me more than it helped that old man. There were still moments after this experience when I felt lonely. I would try to take a step back and see how I could help others and I always ended up feeling so much better when I did.

I am so sorry if any of you are feeling lonely! I have been there and I hate that feeling so much. I promise that stepping outside of yourself and focusing on lifting others will help bring so much happiness into your life. I hope you know that you are loved by your Heavenly Father. He is so mindful of you!

-Have a great week Everyone and remember you are so loved!

THE LORDS TIMING

Hey Bloggers,

Not that long ago I felt like my life was perfect. I was super single and happy to be super single. I had a job I loved. I was taking a couple online classes so I felt like I was progressing educationally as well. I wasn't married, having kids and I didn't even have a bachelors degree but that was okay with me because those were all things I was working towards.

As many of you know, My Dad had oral cancer and my life kinda changed after that. As he was fighting for his life, he would say things like, "I need to fight this so I can stick around to meet the man you marry and hold my grandchildren." When he would say those things, it made me reflect on my life. I went from loving the way my life was going, to absolutely hating the way my life was going. I would think to myself, " What have I done with my life?? What have I actually accomplished?" I felt like I had let my earthly father down along with my Heavenly Father. I felt like a failure because my Dad was never gonna get to meet my future husband, he was never gonna get to hold his grandchildren and he was never gonna get to see me graduate college and it was ALL MY FAULT.

I would think to myself, " I should have not been so picky. I should have just settled and married one of the first guys that came along. I should have saved up more money for school. I should have just stuck with my first major, or even my second major!" I had those thoughts for way too long before I realized those were all thoughts from Satan. I let Satan make me feel like a failure. I let Satan make me feel like a loser. I let Satan make me feel like less of a person than I am.

Being a YSA is so hard. I think you can all agree. I don't know one young single adult that is 100% content with the way their life is going right now. You all want to be at that next step and I am totally there with all of you. Its normal. Please, pleas PLEASE don't get down on yourself because your life isn't going exactly the way you want. That is how Satan wants you to feel. If you are living righteously and keeping the commandment, good things will happen for you!! You just have to have faith in the Lord and his timing.

I think we spend too much time comparing ourselves to the people around us. We see people getting into relationships, getting married, having kids, getting degrees, getting that dream job, or that job permotion and we think, "What the heck?? I am living righteously so why am I not receiving all of those blessings??" The answer is simple, BECAUSE ITS NOT TIME!! We often forget how perfect the Lords timing really is. He really does have a plan for all of us!!

Do not settle for something less than you deserve because you want to be were everyone else is at or because Gods timing is taking "too long". This life is not a race. Do not settle for the first person that comes along if it does feel right, don't settle for that major if it is a field you don't enjoy, don't settle for that job if it is something you don't want to do. You deserve to be happy and Heavenly father wants you to be happy so just be patient and have faith in him!

I love receiving advice from old people. One of the questions I always ask is, "What do you wish you would have done differently when you were my age?" Almost everyone Ive asked that to has said that they wish they would have just enjoyed life instead of stressing out about when big things were gonna start happening for them! If you live in a way that is pleasing to the lord, you will be receiving blessings everyday. They may not be the blessings you want right now but they are still blessings. Don't waste today focusing on whats not going right. Focus today on the things that are going right and the blessing Heavenly Father is giving you.

It is okay to get discouraged about life sometimes, but when that happens, stop yourself and remember how much the lord loves you! Remember that he has so much in store for you if you are just patient and wait.

PRIORITIES.

I felt like I should start blogging again because I have a lot of thoughts and I need to put them somewhere...So why not on the internet for everyone to see (But lets be real, nobody looks at blogs anymore so its fine)..

Recently I have been thinking a lot about priorities. I'm gonna be so straight up with you for a sec and say, a couple months ago I did not have my priorites straight at all. Don't get me wrong, I loved my family, I loved the gospel and I loved all of those things that are super important blah blah blah but those werent the things that mattered most to me. I was that girl that had to go to every party big or small. I had to be going on all the big trips and I had to always be making a lot of friends.. I had to be talking to the cutest guy in the room and I had to be going on lots of fun dates. I had to show off my new car so everyone could see how awesome I was and I had to post on social media everytime I did anything cool at all. That was me! I wasn't a bad person and none of those things are bad BUT they were way too important to me.

My Dad got diagnosed with cancer almost a year ago but right before that he asked me to go on a trip with him to San Diego for the weekend. I remembered that there was a lot of fun social events going on that weekend that I didn't want to miss. I told my Dad that I was busy and we never went on that trip. Now I wish I would have. I thought it seemed super lame to give up all the fun social things going on just to go and hang out with my old man (even though he is actually really cool). 

My Dad lived alone so as the Cancer got worse I had to start giving up more and more things that were "so important to me"! I loved being able to help my Dad but I remember getting really sad and just wanting my normal life back. I missed having my free time.

I remember one day specifically. It was a Saturday. I woke up so mad at the world. I was so mad that my Dad had to go through this. I was so mad that I had to go through this. I was mad that I was tired all the time. I was mad that everyone else around me seemed to be having the time of their lives. I was just mad. That day my Dad wanted to stop at Best Buy for something. I had to pull up to the front of the store and help him out of the car and into a wheelchair. I was still just so mad. I wanted my Dad to be able to walk and talk like he used to. As I was pushing him in this wheel chair, I started thinking about how negative I was being. I thought to myself, "This trial isn't going anywhere! I have two choices. I can choose to be negative and gain nothing from this experience or I can stay positive and look for the lessons and blessings I could gain from this experience." After having this thought, my mood immediately changed. I grabbed the wheel chair and started running through the store, pretending to almost hit any object I saw(I think I was trying to be funny??) I glanced down at my Dad and he was silently laughing to himself. He looked SO happy! When we got into the car he wrote, "I love hanging out with you!" on his white board. My eyes filled with tears. That's when it all changed for me.

Those materialistic things weren't important to me anymore. Occasionally staying home on a Friday night to take care of my Dad was okay because those parties werent all that important. Making a lot of surface level friends wasn't important. Having the cutest clothes wasn't important. Posting funny snapchats stories wasn't important. I realized that family is important. The gospel is important. Close friendships are important. My relationship with God is important. Attending the temple is important. Serving others is important. Striving to be more like my Savior is important.

I'm not telling you to give up your social life or to delete your social media (Because those things are great) but make time for the people and things that matter most. Some days are gonna be hard. Some days you are gonna wanna quit but if you are focusing your efforts on what matters most, I promise you will find joy even through the hardest of times!   

This experience is changing me. I love that the gospel can do that to you. I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned and continue to learn.

Updated this shizz

Well hello Ladies and Ladies(the only guy that reads this blog is my Dad) Life is fantastic in the life of Katie Maschue. I wake up almost every morning and think, "Dayyuum I have it good!" I mean of course my life isn't perfect but it's all about embracing it and living in the present! Life starts to suck when you focus too hard on your past and worry about the future!
Let's catch you up on my life since you're all dying to know.. So I'm starting school online and I'm freaking pumped! I have never done online so I feel like I will be terrible at it but we shall see. School has a whole new meaning now that I know exactly what I wanna do! My schedule at EAC consisted most of water aerobics classes so this is definitely a step up!
I just hit my one year mark at my job and I still love it just as much as I did on day one! I love Alexander but we are kinda going through a rough patch this morning because he told me he likes Obama. He said a word and I couldn't tell if he said "yo mamma" or "Obama" so I asked him if he likes Obama and he responded with a yes! I was so disappointed. He likes to put tooth paste in his hair, color on the wall with markers(washable thank goodness) and yell penis as loud as he can in the grocery store but I still love him so much! He's gotta be the funniest one year old I know. I guess I will take a little credit for that haha..
Oh and onto the dating life.. I'm single.. Like super single but I actually really enjoy being single unlike some of those crazy girls desperate to get married!... You know who you are.. If you think about it you are eventually gonna find someone and be married to them for flipping eternity so why not enjoy that single life while you have it? It only lasts so long. Something I realized about myself is I'm super picky and I hate that I am. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I live in a city full of amazing men. Options will definitely cause a person to be picky! It's like picking out a shirt from your closet. You think they are all great but you can't choose so you end up just wanting to walk around your house with nothing on but that would be weird. I recently discovered that I spend too much time being picky and thats dumb. It's good to give guys a chance even if you wouldn't usually go for them! Just try on a great shirt. If you don't like the way it fits.. It's not a big deal! Go try on another dang shirt! You won't regret it..
Well that's an update on my life. I wouldn't have it any other way!



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