Bubbles

I have been waiting and waiting for a great idea to blog about. Many great ideas have come and gone and I have not done one thing! Tonight I decided to just blog about nothing. Dustin went to St George this last weekend to visit friends. While he was there he saw a big bubble wand in the $1 bin at Target. Of course he had to bring it home to Madi. Isn't it amazing how much fun a dollar can buy!

Just Say "Yes" to ........

Do you remember when our kids were little and they all participated in the DARE program? They were taught early "Just say 'NO' to drugs". The whole idea was to make the decision before hand. When you are put in a bad situation, you know the answer. You don't have to think. You just say 'NO'.

I was thinking on Sunday that this could be a great idea in all sorts of areas.

I remember an older lady in church telling a story about her and her husband. The day after they married was a Sunday. The husband woke up and turned to her. "Are we going to be a church going couple or not" She was confused. "of course we are" "Well I'm glad we made that decision!" They got ready, went to church, and never had to make that decision again. Wow, I had never thought of this. "Just say YES to church?"


What about other things in our lives. "Just say NO to all that chocolate"

Or "Just say YES to diet and exercise!" I don't know if it will work but.....it is food for thought!

Contentment

The secret of contentment is knowing how
to enjoy what you have, and to be able to
lose all desire for things beyond your reach.
Lin Yu-t'ang

I have a theory about life. The theory goes like this... Your best talents and strengths are also your worst traits and weaknesses.

Take CONTENTMENT for instance. I consider it to be one of my strengths. I have lived within two miles of the area where I grew up, with no desire to live anywhere else. I live in a small house, in a great neighborhood with no aspirations to be rich or famous. I have a wonderful husband and great kids....what is there not to be content about. I don't buy a lot of things or want very much. My rule is "if it still works fine why replace it" Like I said....I considered this to be one of my strengths.

It was pointed out to me that many people disagree on this issue. Some people even consider it one of my weaknesses.

I had a microwave that had no display on the front of it for at least 2 years. I didn't see a problem. It still worked great. You just hit some buttons and when your food looked done you opened the door and took it out. If the package says to cook something for 2 minutes on high, who turns the microwave on for that set period of time and just leaves it to shrivel and die. You always watch it and pop it out early anyway!

I had an old couch that I loved. It was great. Comfortable and the best sleeping couch we ever had. It still looked good so I was content. I just had to sew it up at least 2 times per month on the sides of the cushions. I was very content with an old van that I drove for years. It was perfect to haul kids and to loan to teenage drivers. I drove it until the paint and the wheels fell off. Finally Gary was embarrassed and made me give it up for a new car.

This weekend it was brought to my attention that my family room, which I am content with, is in need of a remake. I am having a hard time with it. I am content with my pineapple border, it has lots of memories attached to it and I love the colors in it.

I am content with the half dead plant on the table. It was given to me as a gift and it has been there for years.


I am also content with the 1980s entertainment center, the old school T.V. and the antique components. I am used to the mega-boss, mondo speakers that are so huge they don't fit to the side of the entertainment center. We have to put them on top.

Contentment is, after all, simply
refined indolence.(idleness, laziness)
Thomas C. Haliburton

I guess it is time to make some changes!

Travel Tips

TRAVEL TIP #1
Beware of hotel toiletries--All bottles look alike!

This seems to be a real problem for our family. Last spring Gary got the bottle of lotion from the hotel bathroom in St George and rubbed it all over his body after his shower. Gary then passed the lotion to Sam who rubbed it all over his arms. A couple of minutes later Sam began itching and broke out in a bad rash. It was actually hair conditioner they had used.

Last week on vacation I was in the shower washing my hair. I reach for the conditioner and put a "liberal amount in my hair, massage and rinse." Boy did that conditioner make my hair soft, actually greasy. Lotion this time instead of conditioner!

TRAVEL TIP #2
Cell phones for alarm clocks-- make sure it knows you are in a new time zone.


It was the night before our big whale watching cruise. We did not want to take a chance with the cheap hotel clock radio and miss it so we decided to stick with the tried and true. Gary uses his cell for an alarm every morning. We might as well use it to be on the safe side and set my cell as a back up. The Gary's alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and I am up quickly to take a shower and get going. Good thing we set two alarms because mine has still not gone off. Gary wakes up and both of us are showered and dressed in record time. Sam wakes up and asks us "Why are you guys up so early?(3:00 a.m.). We laughed so hard. We laughed 15 min then laid down in our clothes to sleep 3 more hours. Apparently Gary's "smart phone" is really not that smart and my dumb phone is the one smart enough to change time zones when you travel!


TRAVEL TIP #3
Buy light weight souvenirs.
We always try to travel light and just use carry-ons for luggage. We then buy too many souvenirs and always the ones that are huge or weigh a ton. This year we ended up buying several things made out of Hawaiian wood from a man that carved them while we watched. We then had to buy Gary a huge Hawaiian bag to put everything in. It ended up weighing more than his luggage.

My advice is always good...FOR YOU!

Isn't funny how advice is easy to give out when people ask for it. I am a pro at giving advice to people. I always know exactly what is the best thing to do and exactly how it should be done.

Take the example that happened yesterday....My sister is trying to help a girl in their ward with an online math course so she can graduate from high school. When the girl showed up on Saturday she was in an awful mood. She just stared at the screen and did not try to do the work at all. After about 40 minutes Pauline decided something needed to change! She sat at the computer and went through every step with the girl. You moms know the routine. "What is the answer to this" "I don't know" "It is 5, just write it down!" "How about this problem, do you know how to do this?" "no" "yes you do" "the answer is 7, write it down"

Pauline was so frustrated. What do you do? How much do you help. What is the best way to teach her what she needs to know for the test. I was full of great advice of the right way to do this.

Fast forward a couple of hours.....Sam is taking a math class at the college. He signed up for a lecture class but this teacher uses an on-line text book and won't help you unless you email her. "We" are leaving on vacation on Friday morning and "we" want to get all the math done before we leave so "we" don't have to worry about it while we are gone.


Sam goes down to start the math. He gets frustrated that the teacher has not taught them what they need to know. The computer program is so hard to type your answers into. I go downstairs to see what is going on.

For those of you that know me, I consider myself a math nerd. I love to do math and especially like a good factoring problem. (sick I know!) Boy this math is really harder than I thought. What happens....Do I take the advice that I was giving to Pauline. Of course not! "The answer is 5, Write it down!" Well it did not turn out too well. "We" got a 57 on the test! Do I calm down and follow my own advice now. No, of course not!

Well to make a long story a little shorter...I stayed up until 1:00 trying to do Sam's math and still did not take my own advice. The good news is that "we" decided to drop the class and take it in the summer. That means no math on the trip and only relaxation. Why is it so easy to see what needs to be done in other people's lives and so hard to see it in your own. Sorry Pauline for doubting you tutoring abilities, and sorry Sam for not taking your advice to drop the class a while ago when you learned it would not work for you.


If any of you need advice. Just give me a call. I am sure I will have a great answer to your problem.

Madilyn is 2 Years Old!

Can you believe that Madi turned 2 on Tuesday. We had a fun party at Scott and Beth's on Sunday. They cooked a great dinner for us in dutch ovens.

The highlight of the party though was to watch Madi as she opened her presents, and how excited she got about her birthday cake. It seems like time goes so fast. How would we have known then that this little girl would steal our hearts. We love you Madi!

(I know I put a lot on pictures on facebook but I wanted to put a few here for the people who still don't know how to get on facebook ;)

Happy Birthday to Beth and Pauline

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Sweetest Note

I kind of stopped blogging for a while because my kids made fun of me. It is not that I think lots of people are reading my blog. It is not that I think I am a great writer or that people are interested in what I have to say. It is just a way for me to journal a few things in my life.

They suggested that I do an online journal instead. I have looked and looked for something and just can't find the right thing....so here I am again....sharing my private life on the web!

I got the sweetest note last Sunday in church. I have been waiting this long to blog about it because it is hard to describe the effect that it had on me. A little boy in our ward about 3 1/2 years old came walking up the aisle in Sacrament Meeting. He would stop and look at people as he went up and down. He was being very delibrate and thoughtful as he went. He stopped just to the side of me and looked me straight in the eyes with the most angelic look on his face. He reached out his little hand and gave me this note. It had such on impact on me. It was as if he knew I needed that note and he had made it just for me.

At the end of the meeting several of my Young Women came to talk to me about the note. They had watched him as he picked the people he would give them to. What a simple act of kindness and service. He gave out just 3 notes that day. I feel blessed to have received such a thoughtful gift.

To Photoshop or Not To Photoshop....

I have been practicing with a photoshop trial, trying to decide if I would use it or not. Here are a few examples of before and after shots. What do you think. Are the photoshop ones overdone?

Happy New Year!

I just love the new year. A lot of people are intimidated by the new year and by resolutions. I personally love them. It doesn't mean I keep them any better than any one else but it gives me a fresh start. It gives me a reason to evaluate and try a little harder.

Besides the usual resolutions that I have every year like lose weight and exercise more, our family is trying a 3-2-1 thing we made up. 3 THANKFULS---or ways we see God's hand in our lives. 2 SERVICE--they don't have to be a biggy. And 1 LOVE--something that shows love to our immediate family. We are trying to record these things in our journals each night. I love the quote by Pres. Monson
"When performance is measured, performance improves.
When performance is measured and reported,
the rate of improvement accelerates."

So....that is our plan. I feel it has helped me already. (of course I have to say that, so if I only do it a few more times I won't feel so bad.)



I had the opportunity to teach again this week. I love it when you are assigned a lesson that is so great for you. I learned a ton but the fun part was going through an old journal to find some pictures of me and my dad when I was young. One is of us at a Daddy-Daughter Date when I was about 12. The other was at a YW Dad and Daughter night of some kind. The other couple in the picture is my good friend Elise and her dad Elmer. She and I have been friends since the day I was born. (she was born 4 weeks before me) Luv ya Elise and Happy Birthday.



Also....Thanks to my Dad for being the best dad ever. I think if my dad's middle name wasn't "Leonard" it would be "service". He is always there to lend a hand, to fix things that are broken, to drive or pick-up who ever needs him, but most of all, to serve his family and especially my mom. What a great example. I love you.