If you missed it... *shame on you* ...this is the Mexican dance that I
was in for Christmas Around the World this past weekend. I love folk
dance :)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Bees and Seas
For several semesters -like six, or seven maybe - I've been chasing the elusive Dean's List semester. In my college, that means taking at least 14 credits and getting straight A's. I've come SO close on several occasions, but I always end up with that one class that comes in just under the A mark. (Of course, Ryan got one last winter without even trying... or caring... or even knowing what it is... It's still on our fridge, reminding me daily of my bad luck and lack of scholastic competence.)
This was going to be THE semester - since it's my last semester where I'll have at least 14 credits. However, I have that one professor whose tests are very applied and his lectures are very philosophical. I have that one class where the professor wants us to read his mind and who grades on an impossibly picky scale. I have that other class where there are outside required events that my schedule won't let me attend, and so I'm crossing my fingers that the teacher remembers that we talked about it and doesn't change their mind at the last second and dock my grade. I have that other one class where I keep thinking I'm doing great and then the test scores come in and I'm average, or worse.
All in all, it looks like my five-year-long goal of making the Dean's List might die with my April graduation, fly into the air with all the other caps, and disappear, never to be reached. Despite my best efforts, it might be a semester of B's and maybe even C's, and that elusive letter congratulating me on academic success and scholastic prowess probably won't ever appear on my doorstep.
This was going to be THE semester - since it's my last semester where I'll have at least 14 credits. However, I have that one professor whose tests are very applied and his lectures are very philosophical. I have that one class where the professor wants us to read his mind and who grades on an impossibly picky scale. I have that other class where there are outside required events that my schedule won't let me attend, and so I'm crossing my fingers that the teacher remembers that we talked about it and doesn't change their mind at the last second and dock my grade. I have that other one class where I keep thinking I'm doing great and then the test scores come in and I'm average, or worse.
All in all, it looks like my five-year-long goal of making the Dean's List might die with my April graduation, fly into the air with all the other caps, and disappear, never to be reached. Despite my best efforts, it might be a semester of B's and maybe even C's, and that elusive letter congratulating me on academic success and scholastic prowess probably won't ever appear on my doorstep.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Quitter
I'm not normally a quitter. I usually enjoy challenges and love the sense of accomplishment from overcoming something hard.
But when someone informs me the skill I most pride myself on in my job needs work because I sent an email that sounded rude, and then gives me remedial lessons in sending courteous emails, I feel like giving up.
When I go to class and find out I might fail, just like that, for missing a homework assignment I didn't feel comfortable doing, I feel like quitting.
When I rearrange the budget spreadsheet for the hundredth time and it still shows the same numbers, I want to quit.
When I discover an error in a spreadsheet that I worked and worked and worked on, I just want to give up.
When I open my planner and the millions of things I have to somehow accomplish swim in front of my eyes, and my head starts pounding and all I can think about is how I can't possibly get all of this done along with all the other things that I have to do, and then I arrive at home to more to-do lists and more things I'm failing in, and I look at that budget sheet and that April graduation date on the calendar and wonder for the millionth time what in the world I am going to do to make it all work out right... I just want to give up then. I want to crawl under the down comforter on our bed and hide between our shiny sheets and cover my head with a pillow and pretend the whole entire world doesn't exist and it's just me in my little dark cocoon and nobody can tell me what to do, when to do it, what time to be there, or that I'm doing a bad job at it, because inevitably something falls through the cracks and I can never please everybody, all at once, in everything I have to do, and if I can't please everybody, then I can't please myself, and maybe if I hide under the covers it will all go away and take care of itself and I can come out in a couple hundred years and everyone will have forgotten what a terrible failure I was at life in October 2012, and maybe they won't mind that I didn't know what to do after graduation, and they won't care that I sent an email that offended the secretaries, and they won't laugh at me for messing up spreadsheets all the time, and they'll smile and tell me that I'm doing a good job at life and maybe then I'll actually believe them because right now I really just don't.
And that is why today I want so bad to be a quitter.
But when someone informs me the skill I most pride myself on in my job needs work because I sent an email that sounded rude, and then gives me remedial lessons in sending courteous emails, I feel like giving up.
When I go to class and find out I might fail, just like that, for missing a homework assignment I didn't feel comfortable doing, I feel like quitting.
When I rearrange the budget spreadsheet for the hundredth time and it still shows the same numbers, I want to quit.
When I discover an error in a spreadsheet that I worked and worked and worked on, I just want to give up.
When I open my planner and the millions of things I have to somehow accomplish swim in front of my eyes, and my head starts pounding and all I can think about is how I can't possibly get all of this done along with all the other things that I have to do, and then I arrive at home to more to-do lists and more things I'm failing in, and I look at that budget sheet and that April graduation date on the calendar and wonder for the millionth time what in the world I am going to do to make it all work out right... I just want to give up then. I want to crawl under the down comforter on our bed and hide between our shiny sheets and cover my head with a pillow and pretend the whole entire world doesn't exist and it's just me in my little dark cocoon and nobody can tell me what to do, when to do it, what time to be there, or that I'm doing a bad job at it, because inevitably something falls through the cracks and I can never please everybody, all at once, in everything I have to do, and if I can't please everybody, then I can't please myself, and maybe if I hide under the covers it will all go away and take care of itself and I can come out in a couple hundred years and everyone will have forgotten what a terrible failure I was at life in October 2012, and maybe they won't mind that I didn't know what to do after graduation, and they won't care that I sent an email that offended the secretaries, and they won't laugh at me for messing up spreadsheets all the time, and they'll smile and tell me that I'm doing a good job at life and maybe then I'll actually believe them because right now I really just don't.
And that is why today I want so bad to be a quitter.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Fully Committed
Commitment: the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself (thank you, dictionary.com)
"There are so many people who promise so much, yet when the time comes for them to really do something and stop talking about it, they falter and fall away...So for all of us, the time to commit, to keep our covenants, to act, it now!"
This quote is from my awesome missionary younger brother-in-law. We've been friends for a while, and even before I married into the family he was an example to me - mostly because he is always so cheerful! Now, as he's coming to the end of his mission, he wrote home to say that one of the families he's been teaching for quite some time won't be baptized before he leaves. I'm sure that's an incredible disappointment to him - but instead of complaining about it, he turned the topic to commitment and continued to inspire me with his ability to glean a message from a disappointing situation.
Idea 1: Commitment. It's an interesting word we usually hear collocated with marriage. But once someone overcomes their "fear of commitment" and ties the knot, it seems the phrase disappears from the register. Apparently, in our society, the idea of commitment only extends as far as the altar and is then discarded and tossed away in favor of "be yourself" and "make sure they make you happy" and other trite, self-centered ideas. Isn't commitment something bigger than that? Isn't commitment about love, really?
Idea 2: Commitment in definition silently implies a sacrifice of some sort. If commitment is a pledge, it is a pledge to do or not do something. And that something will take away from other somethings, and therefore commitment involves doing one thing instead of another thing. Example. Commitment to daily personal scripture study involves a time sacrifice. Time is spent studying the scriptures in lieu of spending it somewhere else. That's about as basic as it gets.
Idea 3: Commitment is action. "There are so many people who promise so much, yet when the time comes for them to really do something and stop talking about it, they falter and fall away." One cannot be committed and do nothing - unless they are committed to doing whatever they want and nothing else. Then they can do nothing. But if one is committed to anything or anyone else, action is going to be required.
So.
Commitment = love + sacrifice + action.
The true measure of our commitment is the spirit with which we attempt to keep our commitments. Halfhearted "attempts" aren't good enough. Now is the time to be fully committed to the things we believe and the people we love. Trying isn't good enough, and neither is making excuses. Perfection doesn't come all in a day - but commitment can. The time to act is now.
Viva la Vida.
And thanks, John, for being the messenger for something I needed to hear.
"There are so many people who promise so much, yet when the time comes for them to really do something and stop talking about it, they falter and fall away...So for all of us, the time to commit, to keep our covenants, to act, it now!"
This quote is from my awesome missionary younger brother-in-law. We've been friends for a while, and even before I married into the family he was an example to me - mostly because he is always so cheerful! Now, as he's coming to the end of his mission, he wrote home to say that one of the families he's been teaching for quite some time won't be baptized before he leaves. I'm sure that's an incredible disappointment to him - but instead of complaining about it, he turned the topic to commitment and continued to inspire me with his ability to glean a message from a disappointing situation.
Idea 1: Commitment. It's an interesting word we usually hear collocated with marriage. But once someone overcomes their "fear of commitment" and ties the knot, it seems the phrase disappears from the register. Apparently, in our society, the idea of commitment only extends as far as the altar and is then discarded and tossed away in favor of "be yourself" and "make sure they make you happy" and other trite, self-centered ideas. Isn't commitment something bigger than that? Isn't commitment about love, really?
Idea 2: Commitment in definition silently implies a sacrifice of some sort. If commitment is a pledge, it is a pledge to do or not do something. And that something will take away from other somethings, and therefore commitment involves doing one thing instead of another thing. Example. Commitment to daily personal scripture study involves a time sacrifice. Time is spent studying the scriptures in lieu of spending it somewhere else. That's about as basic as it gets.
Idea 3: Commitment is action. "There are so many people who promise so much, yet when the time comes for them to really do something and stop talking about it, they falter and fall away." One cannot be committed and do nothing - unless they are committed to doing whatever they want and nothing else. Then they can do nothing. But if one is committed to anything or anyone else, action is going to be required.
So.
Commitment = love + sacrifice + action.
The true measure of our commitment is the spirit with which we attempt to keep our commitments. Halfhearted "attempts" aren't good enough. Now is the time to be fully committed to the things we believe and the people we love. Trying isn't good enough, and neither is making excuses. Perfection doesn't come all in a day - but commitment can. The time to act is now.
Viva la Vida.
And thanks, John, for being the messenger for something I needed to hear.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Coming Full Circle: Viva la Vida
I had a really hard time choosing the name of my blog.
I think my first blog's name was something like My Amazing Adventures or something. That ended as I quickly realized I didn't have THAT many adventures and none of them were particularly amazing. So the title changed to Snoopy's Musings. That one stuck for quite some time. I like Snoopy, quite a bit actually, and "musings" fit the content of most of my posts pretty well. However, the time came to close the blog and start fresh, which I did. This time I called my blog Inside Out. I thought it was a nice metaphor for all my inside thoughts going outside, but most everyone else just didn't get it. My URL is even SnoopyInsideOut. I had high hopes for that title, but it didn't even last a month.
Sometime right around this blog-naming crisis, Coldplay released a new song that flooded the airwaves every fifteen minutes. Jon Schmidt even did a mix of it with Taylor Swift's hit Love Story, and that was how I truly fell in love with the song - titled Viva la Vida. I don't even know most of the words to the song, but the music and the feeling struck me somehow. I started thinking about "Viva la Vida" and what that might mean. Somehow the music and my musings on the phrase wound themselves into a framework for my life, how I wanted to approach it, how I wanted to live it, how I wanted to feel about it. They spun together a feeling of empowerment, of courage and bravery, mingled with a taste for adventure and a freedom to "live the life" that I truly wanted to live, unrestricted by personal fears or others' opinions. With not a little apprehension, I titled my blog Viva la Vida, as a personal reminder that I have determined to live my life deliberately, with purpose, boldly, bravely, and freely.
Since then, a lot of epiphanies have published themselves on Viva la Vida, and the name stuck. The blog lives up to its name in most respects - as an open space for me to share my success and failure at living the life. Great successes and epic failures have shared themselves on Viva la Vida. More successes than failures, granted, and I think the spirit of the phrase permeates my thoughts and decisions more than gets admitted on the blog - which, I suppose, should be deemed a success.
Now, however, is the time to admit a failure. Viva la Vida has a weakness - a kryptonite of sorts - and it's called change. It's easy to be bold and brave and adventurous in the things you do all the time. It's not so easy when your life is all different and you're faced with big changes that you don't know how to approach. Sadly, Viva la Vida has shrunk in fear at the sight of big words like GRADUATION and CAREER and even MARRIAGE to a small extent. Suddenly freedom is restricted by fear and faith is dissipating in a poof of Viva la Vida-colored dust. All at once the things that are familiar and comfortable and easy for me are drawing to a close, and I'm on a boat sailing toward a cliff that's the edge of college and the comfortably familiar life that envelops it, and I don't have any idea what to do when that bubble pops. And it's big and scary and I don't really feel bold or empowered or brave at all.
But.
Then, one day, I had an epiphany. Maybe it was today, but that's beside the point.
Viva la Vida is my personal way of making myself be strong. Viva la Vida is all about me, doing big things and accomplishing goals and being awesome all on my own. And therein lies Viva la Vida's weakness. I can't do it all on my own, and so Viva la Vida was doomed to fail from the very beginning.
Fortunately, I have help. Friends. Family. A sweet, supportive husband. And most of all, a Father in Heaven who can see what's going to happen when the bubble pops. Who is all-knowing, and all-powerful, and loves more perfectly than anyone else. Who cares deeply about me and my success, and who can help bring me closer to perfection than Viva la Vida ever could.
This quote is not by God, obviously, but it's by another of my favorite characters, and it reminds me always that I'm not alone:
If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you. - Winnie the Pooh.
So. Viva la Vida. Viva la Vida today, tomorrow, and always, even in the face of big, scary things - because Viva la Vida is powered by a source much stronger than my own will and determination. I walk in the footsteps of one who is much better, much smarter, and much more perfect than I, and He will never leave me to walk alone.
Viva la Vida.
I think my first blog's name was something like My Amazing Adventures or something. That ended as I quickly realized I didn't have THAT many adventures and none of them were particularly amazing. So the title changed to Snoopy's Musings. That one stuck for quite some time. I like Snoopy, quite a bit actually, and "musings" fit the content of most of my posts pretty well. However, the time came to close the blog and start fresh, which I did. This time I called my blog Inside Out. I thought it was a nice metaphor for all my inside thoughts going outside, but most everyone else just didn't get it. My URL is even SnoopyInsideOut. I had high hopes for that title, but it didn't even last a month.
Sometime right around this blog-naming crisis, Coldplay released a new song that flooded the airwaves every fifteen minutes. Jon Schmidt even did a mix of it with Taylor Swift's hit Love Story, and that was how I truly fell in love with the song - titled Viva la Vida. I don't even know most of the words to the song, but the music and the feeling struck me somehow. I started thinking about "Viva la Vida" and what that might mean. Somehow the music and my musings on the phrase wound themselves into a framework for my life, how I wanted to approach it, how I wanted to live it, how I wanted to feel about it. They spun together a feeling of empowerment, of courage and bravery, mingled with a taste for adventure and a freedom to "live the life" that I truly wanted to live, unrestricted by personal fears or others' opinions. With not a little apprehension, I titled my blog Viva la Vida, as a personal reminder that I have determined to live my life deliberately, with purpose, boldly, bravely, and freely.
Since then, a lot of epiphanies have published themselves on Viva la Vida, and the name stuck. The blog lives up to its name in most respects - as an open space for me to share my success and failure at living the life. Great successes and epic failures have shared themselves on Viva la Vida. More successes than failures, granted, and I think the spirit of the phrase permeates my thoughts and decisions more than gets admitted on the blog - which, I suppose, should be deemed a success.
Now, however, is the time to admit a failure. Viva la Vida has a weakness - a kryptonite of sorts - and it's called change. It's easy to be bold and brave and adventurous in the things you do all the time. It's not so easy when your life is all different and you're faced with big changes that you don't know how to approach. Sadly, Viva la Vida has shrunk in fear at the sight of big words like GRADUATION and CAREER and even MARRIAGE to a small extent. Suddenly freedom is restricted by fear and faith is dissipating in a poof of Viva la Vida-colored dust. All at once the things that are familiar and comfortable and easy for me are drawing to a close, and I'm on a boat sailing toward a cliff that's the edge of college and the comfortably familiar life that envelops it, and I don't have any idea what to do when that bubble pops. And it's big and scary and I don't really feel bold or empowered or brave at all.
But.
Then, one day, I had an epiphany. Maybe it was today, but that's beside the point.
Viva la Vida is my personal way of making myself be strong. Viva la Vida is all about me, doing big things and accomplishing goals and being awesome all on my own. And therein lies Viva la Vida's weakness. I can't do it all on my own, and so Viva la Vida was doomed to fail from the very beginning.
Fortunately, I have help. Friends. Family. A sweet, supportive husband. And most of all, a Father in Heaven who can see what's going to happen when the bubble pops. Who is all-knowing, and all-powerful, and loves more perfectly than anyone else. Who cares deeply about me and my success, and who can help bring me closer to perfection than Viva la Vida ever could.
This quote is not by God, obviously, but it's by another of my favorite characters, and it reminds me always that I'm not alone:
If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you. - Winnie the Pooh.
So. Viva la Vida. Viva la Vida today, tomorrow, and always, even in the face of big, scary things - because Viva la Vida is powered by a source much stronger than my own will and determination. I walk in the footsteps of one who is much better, much smarter, and much more perfect than I, and He will never leave me to walk alone.
Viva la Vida.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Liebster Award
I don't usually do these things. But today I felt like doing one. So I did. Hope you enjoy!
---------------------------------
The award is called the Liebster
award. Liebster is a German word that means sweet, kind, nice, dear,
beloved, lovely, valued and welcome. (Or so I've heard.)
*Jen's note: Google Translate says it means "dearest." Not that Google Translate is always perfect, but you never know...
Here are the rules:
1. Post 11 random facts about yourself.
2. Answer 11 questions the tagger has asked you, and give 11 questions to the people you've tagged.
3.
Choose 11 deserving bloggers (or as many as you can) and tag them in
your post. (REMEMBER!! The people that you tage HAVE to have less than
200 followers).
3. Tell them you've tagged them.
4. No tag backs.
5. Display this picture on your blog:
11 Random Facts About Me:
1. One of my aspirations in life is to ride a giraffe. Yes, I know this might be an uncomfortable ride.
2. I'm super organized. Like OCD organized - and when I'm not organized, it drives me nuts.
3. I hate calling people. That awkward waiting time while it's ringing and your mouth is going all dry wondering what you're going to say...
4. I really enjoy the mountains, even though wildlife kinda scares me.
5. I feel this ridiculous need to prove myself in everything, everywhere, all the time.
6. I once did better on a music theory test than a bunch of aspiring music majors, even though I know nearly nothing about music theory.
7. I love cooking, and wish I had more time to do it.
8. I'm pretty obsessed with Psych.
9. I think sibling relationships are fascinating (probably because I never had them) and can't wait to observe my kids interacting with each other.
10. I hate getting up in the morning and often Ryan has to pull me out of bed.
11. I'm obsessed with making lists, and cute notepads are my shopping Achilles heel...
Questions Leah asked me:
1. Where are you sitting right now? Describe your surroundings.
On our bed. In our bedroom. With its cute color coordinated curtains and bed set that we bought with wedding gift money.
2. Do you still own something you've had since you were a child? If so, what is it?
2. Do you still own something you've had since you were a child? If so, what is it?
Stuffed duck. He came to our wedding luncheon and gave a speech with my mom :)
3. Favorite crayon color?
3. Favorite crayon color?
Green. Although I used to truly love midnight blue. It was perfect for coloring blue jeans and night skies.
4. When have you felt proud of yourself?
4. When have you felt proud of yourself?
Lots of times. Mainly when I won senior all-around acapella first place at a clogging competition, or the time I made all-american in three categories, or the time when I canned beans and all the jars sealed, or the time when I had a whole conversation with my future mother-in-law and didn't say anything stupid, or the time I made the folk dance team... lots of times.
5. What is your favorite physical feature about yourself? (And if you can't think of a favorite, then what do people compliment you on a lot?)
5. What is your favorite physical feature about yourself? (And if you can't think of a favorite, then what do people compliment you on a lot?)
Um. I like my eyes. People don't really compliment me on physical features much... but I like my eyes, personally.
6. What is something you know to be true? (Even if other people try and tell you it's not true)
6. What is something you know to be true? (Even if other people try and tell you it's not true)
Hogwarts is real and my letter got lost in the mail (I was supposed to be magical).
7. Look at your i-tunes playlist. What is your most played song? (And no lying!) :)
8. Favorite vacation spot?
8. Favorite vacation spot?
Daytona Beach, Florida
9. Favorite quote or scripture?
9. Favorite quote or scripture?
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
And John 14:27
10. What is something you always make sure to grab before you leave the house?
10. What is something you always make sure to grab before you leave the house?
My keys. I've been locked out too many times. And my flash drive. That thing has half my life on it.
11. Favorite picture book?
11. Favorite picture book?
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
People I nominated:
Krystal at Cookiecrumb Musings
Kim at Kim & Darrell
Erica at Messerly Moments
McKenzi at You Are Loved
Now that I've nominated you, don't hesitate to pass on the Liebster award. And don't forget to answer my questions.
My questions for you:
1. What is your favorite childhood memory?
2. If you could choose any airport to have a layover in, which would it be and why?
3. What is your favorite book?
4. What do you do when you have a short 15 minute block of free time?
5. Have you ever collected anything? What?
6. What is the craziest place you've ever been?
7. What is in the trunk of your car (or if you don't have a car, what is at the bottom of your backpack?)
8. If you had to be an animal, what would you be and why?
9. What's the best prank you've ever played?
10. Who is your hero and why?
11. What do you think the perfect age is - and why?
Enjoy :)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Day Zero 12, 71, 56,
It's been a long time since I've done a Day Zero update - and we're almost down to a year! I still have a lot of goals to accomplish. For those who might be curious, Day Zero is my "101 list" - a bucket list with a time limit of 1001 days. I have 101 goals to finish before that little blue clock on the bottom left of my blog runs out of time. My complete list is on a tab at the top.
In any case, I've completed some things lately:
#12: Let my hair grow for a full year.
This goal didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. I'd anticipated long, beautiful tresses, but, as it turns out, my hair doesn't like to be longer than my shoulders. Oh well - it's beautiful just how it is. It's been fun having longer hair for an extended period of time - and it's gotten much thicker, too. I'm considering cutting a couple inches off to make it a little more manageable, since it's a lot of different lengths, but we'll see.
#71: Fly a kite
I got Ryan a cute Spiderman kite for Easter. We took it to Bear Lake with us and, joy of all joys, it was super windy one day. The kite flew with no problems. I think the best part was Hailey's face when we let her fly it and she let go - and watched in astonishment as it tumbled to the sand, Ryan chasing after it as hard as he could run.
#56: Ask someone on a date
Okay, this one was intended for my days of singlehood when I was supposed to challenge my lack of confidence and reach outside of my comfort zone. No apologies. I really don't care anymore! :) Ryan and I have gone on a lot of fun dates this last year - some of which were dying Easter eggs, going out to dinner, etc... The one I'm thinking of in particular was where I wrote up three "evening plans" and put a question on the back of each one. He picked the question that he most wanted the answer to, and that's what we did. We ended up having a barbeque, playing catch, going to Cold Stone, and watching a movie.
Next up: Zoo animal cookies - with my new birthday present! (cookie cutters)
Viva la Vida.
In any case, I've completed some things lately:
#12: Let my hair grow for a full year.
This goal didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. I'd anticipated long, beautiful tresses, but, as it turns out, my hair doesn't like to be longer than my shoulders. Oh well - it's beautiful just how it is. It's been fun having longer hair for an extended period of time - and it's gotten much thicker, too. I'm considering cutting a couple inches off to make it a little more manageable, since it's a lot of different lengths, but we'll see.
#71: Fly a kite
I got Ryan a cute Spiderman kite for Easter. We took it to Bear Lake with us and, joy of all joys, it was super windy one day. The kite flew with no problems. I think the best part was Hailey's face when we let her fly it and she let go - and watched in astonishment as it tumbled to the sand, Ryan chasing after it as hard as he could run.
#56: Ask someone on a date
Okay, this one was intended for my days of singlehood when I was supposed to challenge my lack of confidence and reach outside of my comfort zone. No apologies. I really don't care anymore! :) Ryan and I have gone on a lot of fun dates this last year - some of which were dying Easter eggs, going out to dinner, etc... The one I'm thinking of in particular was where I wrote up three "evening plans" and put a question on the back of each one. He picked the question that he most wanted the answer to, and that's what we did. We ended up having a barbeque, playing catch, going to Cold Stone, and watching a movie.
Next up: Zoo animal cookies - with my new birthday present! (cookie cutters)
Viva la Vida.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Spitless and Drooling
I can't feel my face.
Due to a combination of poor genes and soft enamel, I have pretty bad teeth. I am particularly susceptible to little baby cavities that eat away at my pearly cream-coloreds until pretty soon my pearly cream-coloreds are shiny silver-spotteds, or worse, soft, creamy-looking bumps of artificial cement masquerading as a tooth in my mouth. I have one of those and a fantastic assortment of speckled teeth.
Lovely.
Now I'm sitting at work crossing my fingers and toes that the phone doesn't ring, because I can't feel my face thanks to an upper-left block and a lower-right infiltration, and I'm crossing my eyes and ears that nobody walks in because my smile is reminiscent of a sweet elderly woman who has recently had a stroke. Excellent.
What makes things EVEN BETTER is that in less than two hours I'll be crowding up to a computer with my amazing ESL students, discussing their various uses of English grammar while I inadvertently drool all over their papers and they stare at me in some kind of trance, wondering why this American girl doesn't move half her face. I'll see the shock and horror in their eyes as they worry that perhaps it's a part of learning the English language that most of their teachers have forgotten to tell them.
And if all that wasn't good enough, I have the marvelous blessing of being able to teach myself a new skill: swallowing. That's right, folks, apparently my tongue has been partying away for the last 22 years and some-odd months (when do fetuses [feti? fetum?] develop tongues, anyway?). In any case, it doesn't do its job very well (bad tongue!) and the orthodontist's assistant struck the fear of wild rhinosceroses [rhinosceri? rhinocerum?] into me yesterday and sent me away with a happy little handout about how to swallow properly. I've been practicing ever since. Tongue-thrusting has me scared spitless (literally. It feels like I have cottonmouth from practicing so much).
So here's to a happy day full of drool and swallowing. Viva la Vida... I guess...
Due to a combination of poor genes and soft enamel, I have pretty bad teeth. I am particularly susceptible to little baby cavities that eat away at my pearly cream-coloreds until pretty soon my pearly cream-coloreds are shiny silver-spotteds, or worse, soft, creamy-looking bumps of artificial cement masquerading as a tooth in my mouth. I have one of those and a fantastic assortment of speckled teeth.
Lovely.
Now I'm sitting at work crossing my fingers and toes that the phone doesn't ring, because I can't feel my face thanks to an upper-left block and a lower-right infiltration, and I'm crossing my eyes and ears that nobody walks in because my smile is reminiscent of a sweet elderly woman who has recently had a stroke. Excellent.
What makes things EVEN BETTER is that in less than two hours I'll be crowding up to a computer with my amazing ESL students, discussing their various uses of English grammar while I inadvertently drool all over their papers and they stare at me in some kind of trance, wondering why this American girl doesn't move half her face. I'll see the shock and horror in their eyes as they worry that perhaps it's a part of learning the English language that most of their teachers have forgotten to tell them.
And if all that wasn't good enough, I have the marvelous blessing of being able to teach myself a new skill: swallowing. That's right, folks, apparently my tongue has been partying away for the last 22 years and some-odd months (when do fetuses [feti? fetum?] develop tongues, anyway?). In any case, it doesn't do its job very well (bad tongue!) and the orthodontist's assistant struck the fear of wild rhinosceroses [rhinosceri? rhinocerum?] into me yesterday and sent me away with a happy little handout about how to swallow properly. I've been practicing ever since. Tongue-thrusting has me scared spitless (literally. It feels like I have cottonmouth from practicing so much).
So here's to a happy day full of drool and swallowing. Viva la Vida... I guess...
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Change
I see change all around me.
I see it in the blue of the sky and the heat rising up from the pavement. I see it in the feathers sprouting from the baby ducks at the pond. I see it in the strollers that the mothers push down the sidewalk, the face of a baby that's growing up all too fast, the laugh of a toddler that already knows too much about life, stay young, don't change, don't grow up.
I see it in the calendar pages, turned over each day almost mechanically, as life ticks on. I see it in the ring on my finger and the date on the wall, realizing it's been almost six months and wondering where the time went. I see it in the hole in my favorite jeans, the box of clothes for DI, the bricks of the high school I haven't stepped foot in for over four years. I see it in the face of a tall missionary who shouldn't be old enough to go, let alone to be soon coming home. I see it in the wedding announcements, the graduation announcements, the new baby announcements, and the obituaries. I hear it in the music on the radio and smell it in a coat of fresh paint and feel it in the rocks under my feet where there once was grass.
I see change whirling all around me, snatching familiarity and wafting it away, dangling it just past my fingertips before it disappears forever. I close my eyes and picture my life and open them and watch it change. I plead for it to just slow down, to let me rest and enjoy the comfortable, familiar moments for just a second longer, but change hurries on and I am left to find new familiarity in whatever follows in its wake.
And so I hold the hand of the one who will never leave and I watch change as it sweeps past, changing life, changing everything, changing us.
Viva la Vida.
I see it in the blue of the sky and the heat rising up from the pavement. I see it in the feathers sprouting from the baby ducks at the pond. I see it in the strollers that the mothers push down the sidewalk, the face of a baby that's growing up all too fast, the laugh of a toddler that already knows too much about life, stay young, don't change, don't grow up.
I see it in the calendar pages, turned over each day almost mechanically, as life ticks on. I see it in the ring on my finger and the date on the wall, realizing it's been almost six months and wondering where the time went. I see it in the hole in my favorite jeans, the box of clothes for DI, the bricks of the high school I haven't stepped foot in for over four years. I see it in the face of a tall missionary who shouldn't be old enough to go, let alone to be soon coming home. I see it in the wedding announcements, the graduation announcements, the new baby announcements, and the obituaries. I hear it in the music on the radio and smell it in a coat of fresh paint and feel it in the rocks under my feet where there once was grass.
I see change whirling all around me, snatching familiarity and wafting it away, dangling it just past my fingertips before it disappears forever. I close my eyes and picture my life and open them and watch it change. I plead for it to just slow down, to let me rest and enjoy the comfortable, familiar moments for just a second longer, but change hurries on and I am left to find new familiarity in whatever follows in its wake.
And so I hold the hand of the one who will never leave and I watch change as it sweeps past, changing life, changing everything, changing us.
Viva la Vida.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Wedding Photo Book!
Shutterfly offers exclusive photobook layouts so you can make your book just the way you want.
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So I finally finished our wedding photo album and ordered it from Shutterfly. Now I just need to get some prints for our wall in our apartment :)
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So I finally finished our wedding photo album and ordered it from Shutterfly. Now I just need to get some prints for our wall in our apartment :)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Birthday list
My birthday is coming up.
Naturally, that means it's time for the always-difficult task of deciding what to tell those well-wishing friends and family when they ask "What do you want for your birthday?"
Fortunately, I have answers for them:
Naturally, that means it's time for the always-difficult task of deciding what to tell those well-wishing friends and family when they ask "What do you want for your birthday?"
Fortunately, I have answers for them:
Psych Wall clock (available here with a $10 discount using the code TICKTOCK)
Psych Toaster (seriously, it puts pineapple on the bread! available here)
A year's supply of this!
And a few of these:
Some of these (not these exact ones, but some from somewhere)
One of these (so I can get fabric for curtains for our apartment, plus thread and such!)
THIS: Psych season 6 on DVD. Unfortunately it's not released yet. That's okay, late birthday gifts are almost like celebrating all over again! :)
Most of all, I want this:
Oh wait, I already have that :) That's all I really need, anyway. Nothing else is really that important!
Viva la Vida.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sick.
Sick...
Huddle under blankets and try to keep warm, even though the internal furnace is burning me up...
Stare at clock.
Roll over.
Rock back and forth.
Move arms to new position.
Move arms back.
Stare at clock. It's been one minute.
Try to ignore aching body.
Push off blankets.
Shiver.
Pull back blankets.
Stare at clock.
Two minutes.
Roll over.
Listen to Ryan snore softly.
Be very jealous of sleeping Ryan.
Stare at clock.
Stick hot feet under Ryan's cold feet.
Listen to Ryan continue snoring softly.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Decide to get up.
Lay in bed twenty minutes getting up courage to leave warm cocoon.
Stare at clock.
Try to ignore aching body.
Get out of bed.
Sit on floor and shiver.
Go to kitchen and eat applesauce.
Sit on couch.
Stare at clock.
Register for classes.
Blog about being sick.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Viva la Vida? Maybe when I feel like a person again...
Huddle under blankets and try to keep warm, even though the internal furnace is burning me up...
Stare at clock.
Roll over.
Rock back and forth.
Move arms to new position.
Move arms back.
Stare at clock. It's been one minute.
Try to ignore aching body.
Push off blankets.
Shiver.
Pull back blankets.
Stare at clock.
Two minutes.
Roll over.
Listen to Ryan snore softly.
Be very jealous of sleeping Ryan.
Stare at clock.
Stick hot feet under Ryan's cold feet.
Listen to Ryan continue snoring softly.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Decide to get up.
Lay in bed twenty minutes getting up courage to leave warm cocoon.
Stare at clock.
Try to ignore aching body.
Get out of bed.
Sit on floor and shiver.
Go to kitchen and eat applesauce.
Sit on couch.
Stare at clock.
Register for classes.
Blog about being sick.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Stare at clock.
Viva la Vida? Maybe when I feel like a person again...
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Day Zero # 77 - Read the Ensign
So I'll admit it. When I was little and I graduated from reading the Friend to reading the New Era, I was devastated. But I read the New Era anyway, and eventually I really came to love it. However, the Ensign in my mind was always a big, thick magazine, full of dry topics and long discourses on heavy, complicated doctrinal topics, with not enough pictures. The Ensign was, in fact, for adults.
So I'll admit that when I finally became an adult and moved out and started paying rent and all that fun adult-ish sort of stuff, I clung to macaroni and cheese and books from the teen and young adult section and tried to ignore the Ensign. Therefore, I was taken aback when I had a roommate who would sit and read Ensign articles to herself every morning over breakfast. I thought she must just be crazy and couldn't possibly be enjoying herself.
But deep down I figured I should probably read the Ensign. After all, it contains the words of our latter-day prophets and apostles, and it is a form of modern-day scripture.
So my 101 list seemed a good enough excuse to read the Ensign. I made a goal and bought a subscription.
And I discovered something.
The Ensign is awesome.
It's full of stories, testimonies, talks, topics that apply to me, good advice, information about life, and amazing insight.
I just renewed my subscription. My year is up, but I wouldn't stop reading the Ensign for anything!
Viva la Vida.
So I'll admit that when I finally became an adult and moved out and started paying rent and all that fun adult-ish sort of stuff, I clung to macaroni and cheese and books from the teen and young adult section and tried to ignore the Ensign. Therefore, I was taken aback when I had a roommate who would sit and read Ensign articles to herself every morning over breakfast. I thought she must just be crazy and couldn't possibly be enjoying herself.
But deep down I figured I should probably read the Ensign. After all, it contains the words of our latter-day prophets and apostles, and it is a form of modern-day scripture.
So my 101 list seemed a good enough excuse to read the Ensign. I made a goal and bought a subscription.
And I discovered something.
The Ensign is awesome.
It's full of stories, testimonies, talks, topics that apply to me, good advice, information about life, and amazing insight.
I just renewed my subscription. My year is up, but I wouldn't stop reading the Ensign for anything!
Viva la Vida.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Refiner's fire
"Perhaps refining isn't about bringing out the best in you. Perhaps refining is truly about bringing out the worst - because only then is the Master able to scour the flaws and imperfections away and create a shiny, clean vessel."
President James E. Faust said, "Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd."
He doesn't say, "In the picnics of life, we feel a hug and know that all is well and life will be full of easiness and butterflies," although it is true that the Lord's love is available even during trial and hardship. The purpose of life is to test us - to try our faith and our strength, to give us an opportunity to be heated to the breaking point so that the flaws are revealed, and then overcome them to become a clean and beautiful masterpiece.
"Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity.... The Prophet Joseph was promised that “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” - Elder Dallin H. Oaks
The challenge, then, is to not shirk from the refiner's fire, to not hide from its cleansing influence, and to have faith that in the "agonies of life" the Master is truly creating a masterpiece.
President James E. Faust said, "Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd."
He doesn't say, "In the picnics of life, we feel a hug and know that all is well and life will be full of easiness and butterflies," although it is true that the Lord's love is available even during trial and hardship. The purpose of life is to test us - to try our faith and our strength, to give us an opportunity to be heated to the breaking point so that the flaws are revealed, and then overcome them to become a clean and beautiful masterpiece.
"Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity.... The Prophet Joseph was promised that “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” - Elder Dallin H. Oaks
The challenge, then, is to not shirk from the refiner's fire, to not hide from its cleansing influence, and to have faith that in the "agonies of life" the Master is truly creating a masterpiece.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Day Zero # 16 - December 16, 2011
I find it extremely ironic that goal #16 happened to be accomplished on December 16, 2011.
I married the man of my dreams and the keeper of my heart in the temple, for time and all eternity.
And I couldn't be happier about it!
Viva la Vida.
I married the man of my dreams and the keeper of my heart in the temple, for time and all eternity.
And I couldn't be happier about it!
Viva la Vida.
Day Zero # 3 - Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish
I finally finished it.
After about 15 false starts and failed attempts, I read the entire Libro de Mormon all the way through.
Now on to the Doctrine and Covenants!
Viva la Vida.
After about 15 false starts and failed attempts, I read the entire Libro de Mormon all the way through.
Now on to the Doctrine and Covenants!
Viva la Vida.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Old-fashioned adventure
My mom and I happen to work in the same office.
We also happen to enjoy going on adventures together.
So when she saw an ad for Blickenstaff's in a Utah Valley magazine, we spontaneously left work and drove up to check it out. No worries, I worked overtime last week, we can afford it.
Blickenstaff's has a lot of fun things - and a lot of old-fashioned things, including games, toys aaaaaannnnnddd candy...
Like these, for example:
We also enjoyed one of these, and I figured out how to make a moaning sound by blowing into a bottle... And I saved some for Ryan. He was happy :)
And bought a gumball from a gumball machine that was taller than me...
Definitely more fun than working :)
Blickenstaff's is located in Riverwoods in Provo, sort of kitty-corner from the Provo Beach Resort. Definitely worth visiting, especially if you like old-fashioned candy!
We also happen to enjoy going on adventures together.
So when she saw an ad for Blickenstaff's in a Utah Valley magazine, we spontaneously left work and drove up to check it out. No worries, I worked overtime last week, we can afford it.
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Like these, for example:
We also enjoyed one of these, and I figured out how to make a moaning sound by blowing into a bottle... And I saved some for Ryan. He was happy :)
Blickenstaff's is located in Riverwoods in Provo, sort of kitty-corner from the Provo Beach Resort. Definitely worth visiting, especially if you like old-fashioned candy!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Viva la Vida
I have some really good friends. People who have been really great to me, even when I may or may not have been really great to them. People who stick with me even when I'm flying all over the place not sticking to anything. People who can laugh for me when I'm too stressed to laugh, cry when I'm too sad to cry, and smile just to make me feel like smiling. To all of those friends, thank you. I hope you know who you are, and how much my life is better because of you. I hope I can be a friend like you someday, and I hope that someday when you're too stressed to laugh, I'll laugh for you, and when you're too sad to cry, I'll cry for you, and that I'll be the smile that makes you feel like smiling. I have a way to go before I can get there, though, I know.
One of these friends posted something on her blog that made me happy. And I can't say it any better than she can, so let me quote her here:
"It’s true that the most important moment we have is the one we’re living right now. The past is past. We’ve lived, made mistakes, triumphed some, and hopefully learned a little. The future should be prepared for, but it isn’t here yet. My dear friend is always citing the motto ‘Viva la Vida’ - live the life. We only get each moment once. And each of us has only one life to life. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make mine as beautiful as I can. I’d like to be able to look back when I’m old and feel content with the life I’ve lived, knowing that I didn’t waste any part of it waiting for something to happen to me. I’d like to happen to the world instead."
I want to happen to the world, too.
Viva la Vida.
One of these friends posted something on her blog that made me happy. And I can't say it any better than she can, so let me quote her here:
"It’s true that the most important moment we have is the one we’re living right now. The past is past. We’ve lived, made mistakes, triumphed some, and hopefully learned a little. The future should be prepared for, but it isn’t here yet. My dear friend is always citing the motto ‘Viva la Vida’ - live the life. We only get each moment once. And each of us has only one life to life. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make mine as beautiful as I can. I’d like to be able to look back when I’m old and feel content with the life I’ve lived, knowing that I didn’t waste any part of it waiting for something to happen to me. I’d like to happen to the world instead."
I want to happen to the world, too.
Viva la Vida.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
New beginnings!
Guess what, blogging world, I'm still alive!
(Okay, to all TWO of you who ever occasionally read my blog, you knew I was alive).
New last name, new apartment, new set of favorites about life, new packet of challenges, and more new and amazing experiences than I could ever imagine!
I love Ryan. I made the best decision of my entire life when I married him. Our story is one that's full of love. And I love it.
For everyone interested - our story is continuing at http://sommerfeldts.blogspot.com/. This blog, Viva la Vida, will continue to remain as my personal outlet for my random thoughts, experiences, goals, mumblings, etc. Anything official about our family will go on our family blog. So hey, follow both of them, if you're lucky you might just hear from me twice as often :D hahaha if only, if only... no, but really, it'll be good. There's already pictures and stuff.
Okay. Viva la Vida, everyone. Life is simply too amazing to miss a single moment!
(Okay, to all TWO of you who ever occasionally read my blog, you knew I was alive).
New last name, new apartment, new set of favorites about life, new packet of challenges, and more new and amazing experiences than I could ever imagine!
I love Ryan. I made the best decision of my entire life when I married him. Our story is one that's full of love. And I love it.
For everyone interested - our story is continuing at http://sommerfeldts.blogspot.com/. This blog, Viva la Vida, will continue to remain as my personal outlet for my random thoughts, experiences, goals, mumblings, etc. Anything official about our family will go on our family blog. So hey, follow both of them, if you're lucky you might just hear from me twice as often :D hahaha if only, if only... no, but really, it'll be good. There's already pictures and stuff.
Okay. Viva la Vida, everyone. Life is simply too amazing to miss a single moment!
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