Sunday Inspiration

Just some awesome things I happened to come across while doing a rather odious assignment. Even though I still may think the assignment was not the most useful thing I will ever do it did allow me some time for reflection, contemplation, and some serious insight. The talk by Neal A. Maxwell is the best. He gave it right after he became a member of the 12 and I highly recommend reading it. Here are a few of my favorite things I ran across while looking up material for my assignment:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened in shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

— Marianne Williamson

Some of us who would not chastise a neighbor for his frailties have a field day with our own. Some of us stand before no more harsh a judge than ourselves, a judge who stubbornly refuses to admit much happy evidence and who cares nothing for due process. Fortunately, the Lord loves us more than we love ourselves. A constructive critic truly cares for that which he criticizes, including himself, whereas self-pity is the most condescending form of pity; it soon cannibalizes all other concerns. Brothers and sisters, the scriptures are like a developmental display window through which we can see gradual growth—along with this vital lesson: it is direction first, then velocity!

We see sibling rivalries but also deep friendships like that of David and Jonathan. We see that all conflict is not catastrophe. We view misunderstandings even in rich relationships like that of Paul and Barnabas. We see a prophet candidly reminding King Saul that there was a time when “thou wast little in thine own sight.” (1 Sam. 15:17.)

We see our near-perfect parents, Adam and Eve, coping with challenges in the first family, for their children, too, came trailing traits from their formative first estate.

We see a legalistic Paul, but later read his matchless sermon on charity. (See 1 Cor. 13.) We see a jailed John the Baptist—and there had been “no greater prophet” (Matt. 11:11)—needing reassurance (see Matt. 11:2–4). We see Peter walking briefly on water but requiring rescue from Jesus’ outstretched hand (see Matt. 14:25–31); later we see Peter stretching his strong hand to Tabitha after helping to restore her to life (see Acts 9:36–46).

. . .

What can we do to manage these vexing feelings of inadequacy? Here are but a few suggestions:

1. We can distinguish more clearly between divine discontent and the devil’s dissonance, between dissatisfaction with self and disdain for self. We need the first and must shun the second, remembering that when conscience calls to us from the next ridge, it is not solely to scold but also to beckon.

2. We can contemplate how far we have already come in the climb along the pathway to perfection; it is usually much farther than we acknowledge. True, we are “unprofitable servants,” but partly because when “we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10), with every ounce of such obedience comes a bushel of blessings.

3. We can accept help as well as gladly give it. Happily, General Naaman received honest but helpful feedback, not from fellow generals, but from his orderlies. (See 2 Kgs. 5:1–14.) In the economy of heaven, God does not send thunder if a still, small voice is enough, or a prophet if a priest can do the job.

4. We can allow for the agency of others (including our children) before we assess our adequacy. Often our deliberate best is less effectual because of someone else’s worst.

5. We can write down, and act upon, more of those accumulating resolutions for self-improvement that we so often leave, unrecovered, at the edge of sleep.

6. We can admit that if we were to die today, we would be genuinely and deeply missed. Perhaps parliaments would not praise us, but no human circle is so small that it does not touch another, and another.

7. We can put our hand to the plow, looking neither back nor around, comparatively. Our gifts and opportunities differ; some are more visible and impactful. The historian Moroni felt inadequate as a writer beside the mighty Mahonri Moriancumer, who wrote overpoweringly. We all have at least one gift and an open invitation to seek “earnestly the best gifts.” (D&C 46:8.)

8. We can make quiet but more honest inventories of our strengths, since, in this connection, most of us are dishonest bookkeepers and need confirming “outside auditors.” He who was thrust down in the first estate delights to have us put ourselves down. Self-contempt is of Satan; there is none of it in heaven. We should, of course, learn from our mistakes, but without forever studying the instant replays as if these were the game of life itself.

9. We can add to each other’s storehouse of self-esteem by giving deserved, specific commendation more often, remembering, too, that those who are breathless from going the second mile need deserved praise just as the fallen need to be lifted up.

10. We can also keep moving. Only the Lord can compare crosses, but all crosses are easier to carry when we keep moving. Men finally climbed Mount Everest, not by standing at its base in consuming awe, but by shouldering their packs and by placing one foot in front of another. Feet are made to move forward—not backward!

11. We can know that when we have truly given what we have, it is like paying a full tithe; it is, in that respect, all that was asked. The widow who cast in her two mites was neither self-conscious nor searching for mortal approval.

12. We can allow for the reality that God is more concerned with growth than with geography. Thus, those who marched in Zion’s Camp were not exploring the Missouri countryside but their own possibilities.

13. We can learn that at the center of our agency is our freedom to form a healthy attitude toward whatever circumstances we are placed in! Those, for instance, who stretch themselves in service—though laced with limiting diseases—are often the healthiest among us! The Spirit can drive the flesh beyond where the body first agrees to go!

14. Finally, we can accept this stunning, irrevocable truth: Our Lord can lift us from deep despair and cradle us midst any care. We cannot tell Him anything about aloneness or nearness!

- Neal A. Maxwell 

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend. I know I did. Easter is the best holiday you know! Even though it gets a terribly short end of the stick compared to Christmas, Thanksgiving and even Halloween. Without Easter Christmas would not matter, and without Easter we would not have the chance to repent, progress, and eventually reach perfection.

Under appreciated art

I don't usually vent on here, but today I feel the need. So here goes:

Every semester on the last day of clubs, the elementary school where I work has a parent showcase. As part of this parent showcase, each teacher has to display or show something from each club. For the dance and drama kids this obviously involves performing. However, for art, science, health, etc. this means I have to display student artwork and projects on the wall. This is not so bad. BUT ....yes there's a but and it's a big one . . .

No one, and I mean literally no one ever looks at anything put on the walls. The show starts at seven. The lights go out an for over an hour kids dance and sing around on the stage. The lights come back on and everyone leaves. The dance numbers are in the program and every dance number is announced and every club leader who has a performance is thanked. So what becomes of my fellow art, science, health, etc. club teachers and me? We are never thanked, our displays are not mentioned (either verbally or in the program), and the students who worked very hard and did some excellent art never receive any recognition. It has become quite a frustrating thing me that the "flashy" clubs get all the attention, praise, and perks.

Who would have thought that someone would have complaints about the performing arts being over funded while health, sciences, and reading classes are undervalued. It's an odd place where I work. The budget for the yearly play is (according to my best guesstimate math) in the larger half of the thousands of dollars. There are over 100 costumes complete with hats, jewelry, hairpieces, and hand-painted shirts. But as a teacher of an art class I cannot even have enough glue to last for the semester or enough scissors for each students to have their own (but each girl dancer has their own hair piece). I went an entire year without any markers to use or any waterproof paint (until I finally broke down and bought it myself).

However, every dancer gets their own hooded sweatshirt and every kid in the play got a free trip to the movies. The movie trip is a particularly sore point with me since I specifically asked if we could take the kids in my Dr. Suess reading class to this movie, and then the trip was planned and only offered to the kids in the play. Basically, I am quite enraged that at the school where I work children who do not like to sing and dance are overlooked and unappreciated. They feel less important, less valued, and less special than those kids who do. In my mind, that completely defeats the point of coming to after school. After school should be a safe place where all children have equal opportunities to shine and grow. I think they did some pretty cool things this semester in my opinion:

Rant over.

I love my job!

Today in my art class we made thank you cards for our BYU and UVU volunteers a la Henri Matisse. I told the children to make sure to address these to the volunteers, but one of my 2nd grade art students brought this to me at the end of class. It made my day. I have worked a couple jobs in my life that I felt were boring, pointless, and not helping me live up to my potential.

My job at the elementary school is certainly not one of them. I feel of value every day I'm there. I know I am making a difference--albeit a small one-- in the lives of my students. What more could I want out of a job than that?

Just a brief update mostly in pictures

We went to Color Me Mine, painted some pottery, and had a good old time. We got our completed projects back yesterday, and we managed to crack Tony's before we even got it out of the car. Then I proceeded to get a shard of ceramic from the crack jabbed into my finger . . . ouch.

My results from homemade quinoa and corn chowder. So good and so quick. Check out the recipe here.

This picture may seem a little strange, but these two items combined caused the biggest conundrum I have faced in quite some time. It all started over a week ago when I pulled my computer out of my backback and clunk. Something was rattling around in my computer. I turned my computer on it's side to confirm and yet again there was a rattle and a clunk as some unknown heavy object hit the side of my computer. Tony took the bottom off of my computer, but there was nothing there except a whole lot of dust. So for the next few days I was content with the mysterious rattling. But then in class the other day I pulled it our and clunk . . . I heard it hit next to the mysterious slot on the side of my computer. Please tell me if you know what it's for because I still haven't figured it out. See picture below for a visual:

So I pushed the slot open with my finger, tipped my computer on it's side and out fell the nickel on my desk. Who needs to take their computer to the Mac store?

What to buy your wife on your 7 month anniversary . . .

when she has a cold.

Flowers: Always a must for any special occasion of course!

Cadbury Minieggs: My personal favorite seasonal candy (with Ghirardelli peppermint bark coming in a close second). They are high class M&Ms--what more could a girl want?

BDPI: A terribly cheesy movie that ensures a good 2 hours of awkward, uncomfortable hilarity.

Vicks vapor rub: Could there be a more considerate gift than one that grants your wife the ability to breathe so she can finally get a good night of sleep? I personally couldn't ask for a better gift than a good night's sleep when I felt completely awful.

March 6th was a pretty terrible day owing to the fact that it was jam packed full of meetings and responsibility and all I really wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry a little and then sleep for the rest of the day.

I did make it through the day consisting of:

• (8:00am) Two group meetings
• One hour of work
• A journey across campus and back in the cold to print a report (I was sick so this was a daunting task)
• A trip to Lehi (we got lost)
• A presentation in Lehi
• A lunch
• Work at the elementary school (one hour of math and one hour of kickball outside)
• Another group meeting
• A law test* (finished at 7:40)

*A note about the law test: I was told by everyone in my class that it would take the full 3 hours allotted. I was out in one and I still made the median test score. I am rather proud of my mediocrity in this circumstance. As a matter of fact, it was more than I had hoped for considering my lack fo adequate preparation and actual amount of time I spent on the test.

Life is good! After one long night of sleep and two skipped classes this morning I feel 150% better. Thanks for asking!

Spectacular Skies

I did this project in class with my kids at school on Friday! I am super excited to show the results after the papers dry and the children glue on their silhouettes. It is a super easy and really fun project that is easy even for little kids (of course the adult should handle the chalk and water). The kids can choose the colors and dip their papers in the water.

I am also excited by my inspiration from this project to do it at home with some silhouettes of some of my favorite landmarks from around the world. All I need is some black construction paper, chalk and an exacto knife . . . so excited! Pictures of the class results coming soon!

Antiquated

Have you watched this?

or this?

or this?

and found yourself completely frustrated with the complete disempowerment of women when it comes to their inheritance and property rights? I mean how completely crappy, unfair, and backwards is it that if a man does not have a son then all his wealth and property can and will be turned over to some distant perhaps completely unknown relative while his daughters may very well be left destitute. 

In Downton Abbey, it was both frustrating and sad for the family that the eldest daughter Mary was unable to inherit the property of her father the earl simply because she was a woman. I am sure I was not the only only who was surprised that this was still going on in England in 1912 (that is only 100 years ago). We had electricity and telephones before women were allowed to vote in the United States or inherit the title/property of their father in England. 

It was bad enough that is was going on in the late 1700s when Jane Austen wrote about the Dashwoods whose greedy and selfish half brother and sister-in-law left them with practically nothing of their fathers rather abundant wealth. 

Or when Mrs. Bennett worries to herself (and anyone who will listen) about whether her daughters will find suitable husbands. While this seems both silly and trivial to us today, because of the laws of the land she was genuinely worried about her daughters welfare. She did not want to marry her daughters off to get them out of the house or because she was grandbaby hungry. She knew all too well that upon the death of her husband, her entire family would be turned out of their house and the bulk of their fortune passed on to their cousin Mr. Collins. 

It was a harsh reality that even in the most developed of civilizations  women simply were not equal to men in a myriad of ways in the not so distant past. 

But did you know that while this seems ancient history to us today, it is still the reality of many women around the world? 

(for good information all in one place about this issue go here)

The following quotes are taken from "Women's Rights to Land and Property" by Marjoelin Benschop.

While lack of security of tenure affects millions of people across the world, women face added risks and deprivations: in Africa and South-Asia especially, women are systematically denied their human rights to access, own, control or inherit land and property. The vast majority of women cannot afford to buy land, and usually can only access land and housing through male relatives, which makes their security of tenure dependent on good marital and family relations. At the same time, millions of women in Asia, Africa and Latin America depend critically on land for a livelihood.

Globally, an estimated 41% of women headed households live below the locally defined poverty line and close to one third of the world’s women is homeless or lives in inadequate housing. Exclusion of women from access to land pushes them towards the cities, where they often join the ranks of the increasing number of women headed households in slum areas. In Kenya, for example, where women head 70% of all squatter households, over 25% of women slum dwellers migrated from their rural homes because
of land dispossession.

Alarming numbers of cases are reported of in-laws having evicted widows upon the death of their husband. A widow is not considered to be part of the clan and is expected to return to her parents and/or fend for herself.

There still are countries, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho and Kenya, where discrimination in customary and personal law matters (such as inheritance) is still permitted in their current Constitution.

This article was written in 2004 so some of the information may be a little outdated, but this is still going on. As a woman today I know I am empowered. I can work where I want, chose where to live, own land in my own name, and know that if anything happens to my husband I will not be left with nothing. It is easy for me, in my small corner of the world, to feel as if gender inequality is a thing of the past. 

However, it certainly is not. 

Where women are denied access to their land, the family is disadvantaged in many ways. Studies have show that when women in developing countries have secure rights to their land:

• Family nutrition and health improves;
• Women become less vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS;
• HIV-positive women may be better able to cope with the consequences of AIDS;
• Women may be less likely to be victims of domestic violence;
• Children are more likely to receive an education and stay in school longer;
• Women may have better access to micro-credit;
• Women’s participation in household decision-making in increases.

Info above from Landesa Center for Women.

Even in some countries where women are legally supposed to have their property rights, they still do not.

Some more sources for useful information if you are interested:

USAID

African Studies Quarterly

Oxfam

And landesa.org has some great information about current problems and how you can get involved. 

Downton

I am obsessed these days. Season 1 available on Netflix and Hulu and Season 2 on pbs.com. Check it out! You won't regret it.

Mormon Thoughts on Lent

I've been noticing a lot of Facebook posts lately about people deciding what to give up for Lent. I am not Catholic and have never celebrated lent myself, and I think it is time that maybe I give it a try. But I am going to try it under my terms.

Lent is all about preparing yourself to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is meant to physically and spiritually draw yourself closer to your savior and God.  In my opinion, it is about humbling yourself while becoming a better person all at the same time. As Christians we are all trying to emulate our Savior Jesus Christ as perfectly as we can. And of course, none of us do so perfectly. But that certainly does not mean that we should not try. We all have our vices--whether it be alcohol, swearing, or maybe even watching too much television.

So my challenge to all you Lenters out there--find something meaningful to give up. Choose something that will be a true sacrifice or struggle, and something that if you achieve will help you come out the other side as a stronger and more perfect human being.

Not to offend, but does giving up soda or chocolate for 40 days really help you feel closer to God? Does it really require humble prayer to deny yourself that sugary soda for a little over a month?

Here are a few ideas I came up with for sacrifices that could really mean something:

• Gossiping
• Swearing
• Alcohol 
• Smoking
• Inappropriate media (movies, television, etc.)
• Going to clubs
• Sex outside of marriage
• Social media or technology addictions (you know who you are)
• Bullying (for all you mean kids out there)
• Cheating (on tests, at work, etc.)
• Lying
• Stealing
• Living beyond your means (i.e. getting yourself in debt)
• Unhealthy or destructive relationships 

Many of these habits are things people should either break or do less of anyways--not to mention people truly enjoy these things and it would require REAL sacrifice to give them up. It would require effort and prayer, and if you can really do it for 40 days you would become a better person. You would see how much better your life would become without abusing alcohol or without a cigarette addiction. Can you imagine how much happier a work environment or a high school would be if everyone gave up gossip for Lent? You can take one step closer to become the perfect individual that Christ wants and knows you to be. 

In addition to giving things up, isn't it also perfectly feasible to add good things to your daily habits during lent like:

• Prayer
• Scripture study
• Exercise
• Quiet meditation
• Journal writing
• Healthy eating
• Volunteering
• Complementing others
• Calling an old friend or family member
• Attending all your Church meetings (whatever religion that may be) 
• Spending more quality time with you family (parents, siblings, children, spouse, etc.)
• Serving others
• Eat healthier, cook at home more
• Meaningful conversations
• Reading
• Uplifting music
• Donating to a charitable cause

I do believe that the sentiment of sacrificing something is the key ingredient of Lent. After all, itSimply adding good things is not enough. However, I also believe sacrificing something trivial is not enough either. In the long term what good have I really done myself if I give up my makeup, warm water, or shoes for a month? 

Yes, I will gain a greater appreciation for the thing I have given up, but will I have become a more kind, loving, patient, perfect individual? Will I know better how to turn to my Savior for help in times when I am really struggling with a problem or a decision? Will I better understand the sacrifice Jesus made by taking upon himself all our sins? 

Probably not.

Here is a Momron document all about Christ and our faith in Him. I highly recommend reading it.

Back in the South

It is quite amazing how life can throw a whole bunch of surprises at you all at once. I went from desperately searching for just one job offer--just one--to having two really great options. I really would have been satisfied with only one, because heaven knows I didn't think I would even get that much.

But I finally did. Good things really do come to those who wait! And those who keep going even though you keep getting told NO over, and over, and over. At least for me, I finally got a yes! And then another.

Then I was faced with a hard choice.

Nashville, Tennessee




or


Louisville, Kentucky



After a lot of thinking, pro con lists, praying, and deliberation Tony and I have come to a big decision!


wait for it ....













We're going to Nashville!!

In June! This decision is a little unexpected seeing as I was all but totally convinced to go in the other direction, but Nashville is definitely the best choice for us from almost every consideration. It feels good to know I'm heading back to Tennessee! It only took what 7 years?!

An unbiased review of Taylor Swift as Eponine

Here is the main song of the character she would play:

Here is Taylor singing one of her songs live:

Unless she has been really holding back in attempts to sound more commercial, I just do not think her voice can do this part justice. She has a lovely voice and writes great songs, but her depth and range is not quite up to par with a classic broadway role like Eponine. And if she is in fact of capable of singing such parts, why have you been hiding your talents Taylor? If your voice truly is strong enough to do the role of Eponine justice, why are you limiting yourself to country/pop songs?

Anyways, I have been musing about these things lately and I really feel the need to vent because I love Les Miserables (proof here! plus I have seen it on the West End 3 times). It is my favorite musical and the book is wonderful. I have been hoping for a film adaptation of the musical for quite some time, and I believe those brave enough to attempt to make the movie need to cast only those capable of doing the part well.

***I have been sitting on this post for awhile. I think my heart was too distraught at the thought of a poor version of this movie. I have an update here. I certainly hope this is true because this girl can certainly do Eponine justice seeing as she has played the role both on Broadway and in the 25th anniversary concert. This certain put my mind at ease, and I am now once again looking forward to seeing this film.

Downburst

My friend Katie Robison wrote a book. It is ridiculous good! As in, you don't want to put it down. It's exciting, suspenseful, unpredictable, a little violent, and a little romantic all rolled into one.

You can own it for your very own on:

Barnes&Noble: here

Amazon: here

You can also search for it on iTunes.

And read more about Katie here.

Read a review written by a friend here.

And the Amazon reviews here.

And all of my blog readers out there who know me, you KNOW that I give good book recommendations. So, read it, love it! Don't make me force you.

And if you don't have a Kindle or Nook, no excuses. You can download the Kindle app onto your computer for...FREEEE!

Kindle for PC.
Kindle for Mac.

A Mormon Primer

for those of you completely freaked out by Mormon magic underwear with visions of cults dancing through your head, here is a healthy helping of truth and reason to chew on:

Mormon garments explained here.

Mormon temples explained here.

Are Mormon's Christians? The simple answer, yes! But for more go here, here, or here.
I especially like this paragraph from the Washington Post article by a non-Mormon writer:

But for Mormons, these belief differences have nothing to do with whether or not they are Christian in the true meaning of the word. Mormons believe in the Jesus of the Bible, the same that was born at Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, preached His gospel in Galilee and Judea, healed the sick, raised the dead, and finally offered Himself as a sinless ransom for the sins of the world. They believe that Jesus Christ was literally resurrected, that He lives today, and that He is the only name under heaven by which mankind can be saved. This is the Jesus whose name is depicted on the front of every Mormon place of worship. This is the Jesus in whose name every Mormon prays and every sermon is preached. This is the Jesus whose body and blood are commemorated in weekly worship services by Latter-day Saints from Nigeria to New Zealand, from Michigan to Mongolia. For Latter-day Saints who try to live their lives as they believe Jesus taught, assertions that they aren’t Christian are as bewildering as they are wounding.

The Book of Mormon explained here , here (obviously this site is a little biased since it is written by a Mormon not officially representing the Church, but everything is cited and referenced), and for some first hand experience go here.

Polygamy explained here and here. 

Our views on the Bible explained here and here.

Mormon tithing here and here.

Organization of the church here.

A general, unbiased overview of the church here.

And for a church sponsored site that will answer your questions go here.

Anywho, I have just been really frustrated with all the false statements flying around out there (thank you (not) Maureen Down). Opinion or not, I question your journalistic integrity simply by the numerous slanted facts in this piece. For instance why would your only source for an article about a Mormon be a non-Mormon who wrote an obviously biased book about Mormons? Why?

Thank you Anderson Cooper! for real!

And please keep in mind the no religious test portion of the Constitution as you consider who you want to vote for. This is not a plug for Mitt Romney so much as a call for some more objectiveness when considering the candidates. Do not base your decision based solely on religion because people, that is not the issue here. There are many more important things facing our country than quibbling over points of religious dogma.

* I have tried to include a variety of sources--with plenty of non-biased sources. I hope this helps address many of the misconceptions around Mormonism. If you still have questions or I forgot to address an important point let me know, and I will add on to this article.

American Politics

I will admit I have never ever thought of myself as a Republican, and I have usually aligned myself with the Democratic party. However, today I have decided to make a declaration that I no longer choose to align myself with a political party. As a matter of fact, isn't it just the most ridiculous thing to expect that every single political idea I believe in can be represented in just one of only two party choices?

I think it is quite ridiculous. There is absolutely no way that one of these two parties is completely wrong and the other is completely right. Unfortunately, this seems to be the opinion of many die hard party loyalists. It's like Sneetches on Beaches in Congress these days. Star bellies are better and all that jazz you know.

And on a similar closely related note--Can people just give Mitt Romney a break already?

Let's stop looking for the "Romney alternative" as people call it. Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and everyone needs to stop being freaked out by that fact. He is clearly the best Republic candidate so nominate him already and stop the division in the Republic party. When the only two bad things you can say about someone is that they flip flop on their views and they strapped a dog carrier with a dog in it to the car .  . . wait for it . . .

30 years ago. 

When you have to look back 30 years and that is the only bad thing you can find I would say that is a better record than almost anyone in politics could hope for (Newt Gingrich).

I love dogs and I agree that what Romney did was wrong, but are people just looking for an excuse not to like him? My guess is yes. People are uncomfortable with the thought of a Mormon in power. My opinion--if that's why you dislike Romney just be honest about it. It's bad enough that people in this country are still ignorant about Mormon beliefs...especially when there are multiple church sponsored resources online. But what is worse is the fact that these people won't admit that is their reason and try to look for some other reason for their dislike of Romney to pass off as a good reason to present publicly (because it would be rude to publicly announce you are anti-Mormon you know).

I still haven't decided who to vote for, but if the Republicans want a chance in the next election they need to present themselves as a united party . . . not a back-biting party a hair away from dividing into factions.

And can I just say Mauren Dowd is an anti-Mormon old bat.

End transmission of frustration.

Make it Mine

Hello friends! I did something exciting today. I have been wanting to do it for quite awhile and today I took the plunge.

I opened my own Etsy shop!

So please help me out by keeping your eyes and ears open for people in need of my rather extraordinary design skills!

Check it out here!

My shop is to sell my design work. Every item will be made to order and everything will be entirely custom. I will make each order to the specifications of customers so not pre-made templates here. I am open to designing invitations of all kids, posters, flyers, logos and any other print product needs someone may have.

Don't worry this is absolutely not a sales pitch. I just wanted to share my exciting new step with you all, and I will keep you posted on how it goes. It's pretty stiff competition on Etsy I have found out, but I am still hopeful that this might just work.

Cross those fingers for me please!

Bite the Bullet

Last night I finally bit the bullet and bought the bullet. I have been wanting to invest in Bang! for awhile now, and I finally did last night. And Spot it! too. Here are the leftovers from a fun game night last night:

By the way, if you are in Provo stop by Board Game Revolution (it's hiding behind the Barnes & Noble building and looks like a hole in the wall) if you are looking for board games. They do not have the biggest selection, but they have fair and reasonable prices i.e. they are cheaper than everywhere else!

Up the canyon

I have been quite burdened lately with the woes of job hunting. I know I've talked about this before, but after dedicating so much time and effort to my education and doing every extra thing I could to be more competitive, it is crushing to get told NO over and over and over. Employers saying they are very sorry and they were impressed with your qualifications is just not really any consolation for the awfulness of being told you were not good enough for them. It is crazy just how competitive the job market is right now. Some of the positions I have applied to in the past little while have less than a 10% acceptance rate (i.e. they have thousands of applicants for a small amount of spots). I will keep trying though because I know there is some business out there who will need just what I have to offer, and I can't wait to find them!

While my parents were here in December we drove up Provo Canyon. I admit that I have definitely not taken advantage of this beautiful place I live in nearly as much as I should. I had never even been by Sundance Resort until I went with my family and Tony a few weeks ago. As part of my new year goal (I say goal because it sounds more likely to be kept than a resolution which we all know are made to be broken) I want to take more time to appreciate the wonderful things in my life--and there are many. Just to name a few: I have a loving husband, a supportive family, friends who are better than anyone could ask for, an opportunity to go to a great school at a ridiculously good price, I have not one but two parttime jobs that I enjoy, and I only have four months left until I complete my graduate education.

If those aren't things to be grateful for then I don't know what is!

I am going to try to count my blessings instead of add up my disappointments and trials. I think the first list will always outweigh the latter as long as I take the time to remember them all!

Here are some pictures from a snowy trip up the canyon:

I know this is just a wooden floor, but it is an awesome wooden floor at Sundance. I love it!

Moose tracks (not the ice cream)

Happy 2012!