Happy Sunday

Does anyone else feel frustrated on Sunday mornings? Let me tell you how mine went down.

I got up, ran on the treadmill, took a bath, put Gabe and Heidi in with me, washed them, got out, got ready, dressed Gabe and Heidi. Had Jake and Seth get in the shower, Ironed their church shirts, cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher , made breakfast, did Heidi's hair and did I happen to mention I did all this alone. No help from anyone. I even asked for help and still ended up doing it all by myself.

Anyway, here is the Sunday school lesson for the day:

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark....

1. Don't miss the boat.
2. Remember that we are all in this together.
3. Plan ahead.
4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don't listen to critics: just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6. Build you future on high ground.
7. For safety sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you're stressed, float a while.
10. Remember, the ark was built by amateurs: the Titanic by professionals.
11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Saturday

I decided to follow the "Body for life" routine with my weight lifting and cardio work outs. So today, I did upper body.

Now, I can't lift my arms above my head. You know that heavy feeling? It makes it hard to shave! Or wash my hair for that matter. But it feels wonderful.

It is Saturday and I LOVE Saturdays. It is always a more relaxed day for me. Even when it isn't it still feels good to me. Saturdays are days to enjoy. I have so many good memories of Saturdays. Playing with the family, Mowing the lawn, camping trips. All of which took place on that sacred day!

Jacob now rides our lawn mower and loves it. One less job I need to do except for the fact that I like to mow the lawn too! Let me clarify, ON the riding lawn mower!

Today, the smell in the air is one that I love. It is that warm dirt smell. Like nature is waking up, stretching it's branches, opening it's petals. Heaven.

I hope your Saturday is as wonderful as mine is . Love you all.

I bought a weight set today. There was a guy who was selling on on "Craig's list"for 50 bucks. In great condition. It has the bench press, all sorts of leg stuff, two hand weights and all the little weights to put on them. the bench adjusts to different angles and well, the next time you see me, I am going to be a buff little chick!

I am trying to lose a little weight you know, and my sister told me that if I can just get past this plateau, she'd treat me to a pedicure. A real one. I have never had one, pathetic, I know, but I am actually very excited about it!

I think my running will be better too if I strengthen a little.

So, that is my day. Cool huh?

A new calling

I finally got set apart for my calling last night. I was called 2 months ago, had all that surgery crap, and then had to wait on the stake people to get around to it!

I now am an official extraction worker. I do Spanish extraction on the computer and I am very excited about it.

My parents were avid genealogists and I never have gotten in to it. This, hopefully, will light my fire, so to speak.

My Spanish is a little rusty so I hope it comes back in full force for my calling. For those of you who are not LDS, a calling is a job given to a person in our church. It is something they can do to help and benefit others. Some callings have more responsibility than others and some are more fun, but all callings teach the value of service and time management! *smile*

Anyway, I am anxious to get started. That is what is new today. Have a lovely Thursday, my friends.

I swam this morning. Long, hard, fast strokes. Therapy. I deleted the post I wrote yesterday. I was is my "bad place" when I wrote that. There should be a law against posting when you are in your "bad place".

I did have an experience that rocked my world and not in the good way. I am going through the mourning process rather quickly though since today, I am furious, angry and yes, still a little hurt. The difference today is that I would like to kill something instead of hiding away wiping my tears.

There is nothing worse than feeling like a fool. I think my pride is what is most hurt. Especially when you think something is a certain way and then find out is wasn't. I feel like I am standing here saying "hello?, hello? is anyone here but me?" No, idiot. Wake up and smell the coffee!

Well, watch out today world, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

It's Sunday night and I love that I don't have to dread Mondays. So many people do and I feel blessed that I don't have to worry about getting up early and going to work somewhere other than my house.

I think of my sister who for her whole adult life has had to support her family. She put herself through nursing school and then put her husband through school only to have him not want to do that job after all. He had a hard time deciding through their whole marriage what he wanted to do.

She would work and he would stay home but do no house work or even dress their baby. I am pretty sure that this contributed to their problems and then their divorce.

It is very sad to me. A marriage will only work if both partners put it all out there. It is hard to do all the time, we all know, but possible.

Anyway, she is still a nurse who has to pay the mortgage and all the bills by herself. What stress.

Plus, she is having surgery on her armpit in 2 weeks. The space for all the nerves and vessels is too narrow. They need to make it bigger or she could have a stroke. She has no one who lives with her to take care of her. She is relying on us sisters to take turns being with her. Then she HAS to be back to work within 2 weeks for work.

I can't imagine how hard. I wonder what I ever did to have such a blessed life. I do not deserve it.

I keep thinking that any day now I will be punished for all my sins that are piling up!

Well, I guess I have paid for a few of them in the last 2 months but hey, there are more!

This is what has been on my mind. Please pray for T. She needs our help and Heavenly Fathers.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

It's free Friday!

It's Friday! Yea! There is something about Fridays that cheers me up! Bry is taking the boys camping this weekend. His goal is to take them once a month. Even in the winter.

This is something I will be happy to let him do! I am not a winter camper. I am just fine in my big bath tub with a good book!

Did I mention that I have started writing a new book. It is so much fun and I really love just letting myself go with it. It will be and LDS fiction novel for young people. Like teenagers. It's a suspense/ scary story. I like those best. Anyway, that is the news from there.

I am finally feeling good since my surgery. I am finally starting to lose some of that yucky surgery weight I gained and my pants are falling off. That could be embarrassing!

I am really loving my new Turkish friend I met on skype. Actually he found me. I was not nice the first time I chatted with him. I figured he was just some guy trying to pick up women. We have become good friends. Bry says it takes the pressure off of him! Ha!

My friend Tash is teaching me how to clog. That is exhausting! But super fun!

So that is all for today. I love my computer now that everything is working. I hid my power chord so no one can touch it and and now have a hard time pulling myself away from the computer! I get nothing done!!!

the Prayer

I thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

THE PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe on those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism.

We have worshiped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have neglected the needy and called is self-preservation.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn children and called it choice.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

We have abused power and called it political savvy.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

* * * * *

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

What awesome insight!!! With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called a Christian nation that fears the Lord.

HELL HELL HELL!!!!!!

I cannot even begin to describe how I feel at this moment. I am completely re-setting up my computer. AGAIN! Gabe was laying on the floor and I did not notice that he was kicking my power chord. It made the computer flicker on and off about 4 times.

To make a very long, heartbreaking story short, it completely fried my brand new computer. The wonderful guy was able so save my stuff but he had to put in a new hard drive and so I am now, starting over. I no longer have those email addresses you all sent me. If you don't mind sending them again that would be great.

I feel like crying. I feel like someone hates me. First I find out I am going to have a miscarriage, then they say it's a tubal, then I have surgery for NOTHING, then Bry hits a deer while camping with the boys and destroys the front of our camping van and has to replace the grill and radiator (this happened in broad day light), then he hits and kills (accidentally) our Neighbors dog in the middle of the highway late at night, then my computer crashes and now, it has crashed again.

I would have to say, I'M THROUGH!!!! Do you hear me out there!!!!????? If one more bad thing happens to me before the month is out, that's it! I will not be accountable for my violent actions!!!!!!

That's all I have to say at the moment.

Nostalgia

I am feeling nostalgic today. I found some music on itunes that I haven't listened to since I was 18. My first boyfriend gave me the "tape" and it makes me think of him and wonder how he is doing. It's the Neil Diamond cd of "the best years of out lives"

Is is bad to listen to music that brings back memories of someone else? I don't think so. I have no idea where he even is but I think he has 3 kids and used to live in Logan. Maybe still does.

He was the first boy I truly loved. I have only really loved 2 other boys beside Bry. Stephen was the first and he was trying to decide if he wanted to go an a mission. I really wanted him to go but when he came home, it was different. We both felt it. Sad.

I do still wonder how they are. Are they happy? Are they married still? I have met both their wives and kids but it was a long time ago.

The second boy was Jared. I met him on my mission. He was my zone leader and then my AP. Of course we never "did" anything about our feelings but he was one of my best friends there and when we came home, we dated. I really loved him and he was wonderful. Something just didn't feel right. We went to the temple to pray about it and I got an answer. It was terrible and painful and lonely. Jared wouldn't and couldn't talk to me anymore. I really broke his heart. To be honest, I wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't followed those feelings with these 2 choice men. How would my life be different if I had married one of them instead of Bry.

I love being married to Bryan. He is a perfect match for me but I could have married either of those others and they would have made great husbands and fathers too.

Do you ever wonder if there are parallel universes where we did make those other choices? Have you ever read the book "One" by Richard Bach? That is what the story is about. Very interesting.

Anyways, I'm being too nostalgic. I better go!

Small miracles

I wanted to share this story. This happened to my sister yesterday and she emailed me with this experience. What it says to me is that God is aware of all of us and He cares about the little things. Even a little old diamond.


"The most amazing is that I lost my diamond out of my ring at work last week. It's a sweet thing that's pear-shaped and luckily I had some insurance on it but would still have to pay a handsome deductible to replace it. Usually, if you lose a ring or stone at the hospital, especially in my area that's a lot like an operating room, it's pretty much a goner. As soon as I realized it was missing, I told everyone I worked with about it so they'd keep their eyes open. My coworkers helped and even my neurosurgeon was on his hands and knees...sweet! You don't get that view too often! Even my anesthesiologist went through the bathroom garbage! An act of true love and commitment in my opinion...yuck! I was shocked everyone was so helpful. Of course they shared all of their "stone stories" which almost all had a poor ending. Two hours later, after searching 7 garbage cans full of bloody horrible unmentionables, I found my stone in a garbage I'd already gone through. Just before this though, I had begun to accept the fact that it was gone and that attachment at this point to the stone would make me miserable and started to see the whole event as the 'perfect misfortune' I couldn't change when I started having this nagging thought to check 'this one' garbage again. All of these garbage cans are huge. I was caring for a child at the time who was unconscious so didn't get to it for over an hour. The thoughts were unceasing...'need to check the one garbage one more time and shake everything out...' So, I did this and low and behold, in the very bottom the the bag was a sparkly thing!! Funny how when I was worried about it, I couldn't hear/get the hints of where to find my 'present' but as soon as I accepted my fate of losing it, I could hear them. This ring is a special one so I feel very blessed. I call it my "Oregon ring" since the diamond is shaped like a rain drop and it had two of my blue sapphire birthstones in it in the shape of triangles, another meaningful thing to me. I found out the next week that another nurse in the O.R. had the same thing happen to her the same day! Amazing".

this really touched me and I wanted to share it. When we are free to receive inspiration it will come. We clutter up our lives to much with anger, worry, and stress. Thanks T. I love you!

A new quest

Good morning! Let me tell you about my newest adventure. I have started swimming laps a couple times a week in the morning. I love it and it rejuvenates me but let me tell you something. IT'S HARD!!

The first couple of times I felt like I was drowning. I have never been a strong swimmer but I have always liked it. I would like to get really good at it.

I didn't want to be a boob so I swore I would learn to swim without a nose plug. That was my problem. I can't seem to get the rhythm of breathing so I don't die.

The other day. I was at the pool resting after a struggle to reach the other side without water in my lungs when I stopped to watch the lady next to me.

I swear she was the most beautiful swimmer I had ever seen. She had the perfect swimmers body, muscular, sleek, steady. She had been swimming when I got there and was still going when I finished. When she was close, guess what I noticed. A NOSE PLUG!!! I couldn't believe it! I was under the impression that all great swimmers could do it without one.

Then and there I said "that's it! I am wearing a nose plug!"

I told Bry about it when I got home and he said that Mark Spitz, an Olympic swimmer, who won 7 Gold medals in The 1970's, wore a nose clip the whole time. Well, from there on out, I have no problems wearing nose clips.

I bought some and it was so much better but they slide a little. Maybe I'll try some different kinds but so far, I was able to really work out. Today, I am still sore. My shoulders, back and even belly are aching! It feels good.

Well all, have a lovely day!

A new book

Well, here I am on a Tuesday afternoon, sitting here at the computer like I always do, wondering if what I am about to write is going to be interesting to anyone.

It will be interesting to me so maybe that is all that matters. I have started a new book. I LOVE to read and I have always wanted to write one. The first book I ever wrote, which remains unpublished, was written in the 6th grade.

I started a book 2 or 3 years ago that I never finished because I became discouraged with how much it would cost to do it.

I have to admit, I look at books like Eragon or Harry Potter, which I love and wonder how those authors came up with so much for their stories. Could I ever write that way? Am I creative enough? I would like to write for the LDS reader but I want it to be gripping like the those famous writers I so love and adore.

It is a big goal but one that I feel worthy of. I will try it again.

This one that I have started is for the age group that my oldest son is. Kind of like the level of Heimerdinger's books but I love to read his stuff. It doesn't seem juvenile to me but maybe I am immature and don't know it!

Anyway, there it is. I will keep you up on my progress. Incidentally, Jake read the first part and loves it. So far, so good.

Hey gals. I lost my addresses when I switched computers. There are some of you out there who's addresses I would still love to have. You know who you are I hope. PLEASE send me a little email so I can have them back! Love you all!

I'm still here

I'm back! Have you all wondered where I am? My computer died! It was so terrible!. I have been going through withdrawals and had to buy a new computer!. I LOVE my new one! It is so fast and beautiful! I have a wide screen which I am trying to get used to but it's happening!

Anyway, I'll write more later! I am having fun playing with this new baby!

I'm a canna

You Are a Canna

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that." I have to admit, I had never heard of this flower but I recognize it. I guess I am not much of a gardener but I love the idea. I got this from Yolanda's site. I think all women should be compared to flowers which is why I added this to my site. Women are beautiful and sweet (at least we should be) Go see what flower you are. It's a fun little test but BE HONEST! Some questions are hard to answer honestly. I found I did not want to admit to some things they asked about!

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

I have succumbed. I went out and bought an Ipod. I have been looking at them for quite some time. EVERYTHING for mp3 players are made for ipods it seems. That was frustrating. I have a little mp3 player that holds 250 songs but I hate that I can't have all the music I love on it. I have to pick and choose. Now I don't have to. I got the white 30 gig one. I am already in love.

The other side of me thinks it is a complete waste of money but I'll tell you what, I was SO irritated this morning on my treadmill with my other mp3 and it's stupid case that it kept falling out of that I finally said, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So here I am a proud member of a world wide club of ipod owners. It was so fun to get. It was like a party for me at Cosco. Everyone was really excited for me and congratulating me! It made it fun! It was like a coming of age!

Anyway, that is what I did today. I have been saving my money for one but I am still nervous to tell Bryan. I did not discuss it with him first. He'll be fine but he'll think it was a waste of money and unnecessary.

I am so happy though! I feels like Christmas!