Very blessed. Very thankful.

25 November 2010, 10:51 am by Giggles
Categories: Family, Gospel

It seems a bit cliché to say this today, but I am very thankful for all I have. I do not consider what I have to be luck. Luck implies pure chance, and while some things can be a result of chance, I don’t think the entirety of life is just chance. Getting rear-ended last year was pure chance, that afterward things worked out with the repairs and insurance as well and as quickly as they did was a blessing, not one I would’ve liked to need, but one I’m glad I got.

Instead my life is my own efforts, using the talents and abilities I have, and then having it all blessed by God. It is His blessings on my efforts, my tries, my attempts, that has given me all of the blessings I have. Sometimes those blessings are not how I would have imagined them, but with time I have always been able to see how it works for my good. Without His influence I would have, and be, nothing. And so I give thanks to Him for all in my life.

I am also very grateful for Brett. We had a few years of getting to know each other before we got married, but I’m sure there have still been several things about me that have probably caught him off guard a bit. But he loves them and accepts them and if he’s laughing at me it’s because I’m laughing too. I really am truly blessed. :heart:

And, just for fun, this is post #900. Yea!
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Up above the world so high

24 November 2010, 6:50 pm by Giggles
Categories: Life, Science & Tech

The stars, moon, and other planets have always had a pull on me. I’ve always looked up and wondered. I remember writing many reports on them when I was in elementary school. I loved reading books about them, seeing pictures of them, and actually looking up at them. :star:

So it was actually surprising for me a few years ago to discover that not everyone realizes that the moon can be up during the day. Had they never looked up and seen it? The moon is more noticeable at night. The bright white ball or crescent against the dark black sky. A white crescent (never a whole circle) is not so noticeable against a bright blue sky. But it is still there.

Since the moon was full on Sunday it is now rising a bit after sunset at night and setting a bit after sunrise in the  morning. If you look west in the morning hours you will see a not quite full moon getting ready to set. I find it quite beautiful actually. And the moon will set later and later in the day for another week and a half until it is new. And then you will be able to see it rise in the afternoon until it is full again in three weeks. And then it will rise as the sun sets and dominate the night sky.

Maybe it’s because people don’t always look up. We get too focused on what is underneath us or just in front of us. We don’t look around or up enough. We don’t see the larger world that is out there. Sunsets, moon rises, clouds, birds, butterflies, there is so much beauty around us. And in us. Never forget the beauty and wonder that is inside each one of us as well.

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Tradition!

23 November 2010, 6:26 pm by Giggles
Categories: Family, Folks, Gospel

I love traditions. Annual ones, weekly ones, daily ones. I love how they connect us to times, places, and people. I have so many favorites that I look forward to. And while they do change over time, that’s just part of life.

Here’s just a small sampling of traditions in my life. Some of these are from my family growing up. Some are from my parents and grandparents. Some are from Brett’s family. And some have just started with our brand new family.

Random Times

  • Brett will kiss one animal statue when we go to zoos, aquariums, or other places. I’m not sure why. And he won’t do more than one. But I have a lot of pictures of him kissing animal statues. :brett:
  • I still pull out a flower pin from our wedding. I wear it on days important to us but also just because at other times. I enjoy that I can still keep that part of our lives. :pansy:

Daily

  • Brett and I blow a kiss to each other when we leave in the morning. If we happen to leave at the same time we drive to the stop sign at the end of the street and blow a kiss out our car windows. :kiss:
  • Brett is studying ancient Greek and Hebrew so that he can read the Bible in its original languages. Every day he brings me his list of new words that he’s learned that day so I can quiz him on them. While he’s listing back to me all of the words and their meanings he rubs my shoulders or my feet. When he’s finished I give him a kiss and say, “Cuz you’re good.” We’ve got this motivation thing done. 😉

Weekly

  • Sunday we have waffles for dinner. Brett makes them. And we got a real cool waffle iron for our wedding. Growing up that’s what he had for Sunday dinner. I like it. It’s quick and easy.
  • Monday night is Chuck and tacos. We’ve even got it covered during the off season for Chuck since we have the first three seasons on DVD now. It seems like we’ve always got one of the DVDs in the DVD player.
  • Tuesday is spaghetti and Biggest Loser. This one we don’t worry too much about during the off season. But we still enjoy it when it’s on.

Monthly

  • We stop at Beyond Bread after doing our big shopping trip to Sam’s Club. We also go to Beyond Bread after the Priesthood session of General Conference. And then we walk through Bookmans.
  • After attending the temple in Mesa each month we stop at Krispy Kreme and then Chipotle. It’s definitely one of my favorite Saturdays of the month.

Christmas

  • From my growing up – We throw the popcorn on the tree rather than try to string it. Easier and it looks like snow. The ornaments on our tree are hand made and we have a red bow on each branch. We open a music box on Christmas Eve. And we get a wind-up toy on our plate at dinner (that one dates back to when Grandpa was a kid).
  • From Brett – He said he needed a can of Mt. Dew in his stocking for Christmas. So we each get a can of soda (I prefer Sprite).
  • And us now – Last year we each took a $10 gift card from our wedding to Target on the 23rd I believe and bought stocking stuffers for each other. Brett really liked doing it that way. So we’re just going to keep doing that. We made our stockings last year, this year I’m trying to get our names on them.

New Year

  • Starting with the cross over from 2007-2008, I go for a run at midnight on New Year’s. Watch the ball drop on TV and then head out the door for a mile or two. It gets the year off to a running start, or on the right foot, or whatever silly pun you want. The last two years Brett has joined me. He thinks I’m crazy, but he does it anyway.

My birthday

  • I have been attending the temple either on my birthday or as near to it as I possibly can, since I was 21. The only exception being when I was in Brasil as a missionary and it was impossible to go.

Summer Solstice :pansy:

  • Roast beef dinner. Since that is the day Brett proposed and that’s what he fixed for dinner that night.

Our Anniversary :heart:

  • I was actually a little worried as our first anniversary approached last week about what traditions we could start that we’d then do each year. I saw it as our one shot to start something. But we never have just one shot to start a tradition. Each year offers new opportunities. We pulled out the music from our wedding and listened to it again. And that was wonderful.

What traditions do you have in your life? Do you know how they started? What ones are you carrying on from past generations? What ones are brand new with you?

Tomorrow you can read other things I’ve said about traditions on A Practical Wedding.

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Steak Dinner

22 November 2010, 9:40 am by Giggles
Categories: Food

Saturday night we fixed ourselves a most delicious steak dinner. For some reason in my head steak is something that should be hard to fix. But it isn’t. And it’s so yummy! We even found an entire website of steak recipes (kind of like the potato soup recipe site we found earlier this year).

Brett did the steak. He started with some olive oil, minced garlic, and diced onion in the pan and got that cooking. He seasoned the steak with a little seasoning salt and pepper. And then just cooked them to a wonderful medium well.

While he was doing that I did some “Baked Parmesan Cottage Potatoes” from my Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book (1989) that I get the majority of my recipes from. It’s my go-to book when I want something new or need to know how to do something. They are finely sliced potatoes spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle some melted butter over them. Mix together grated Parmesan, garlic powder, and pepper. Sprinkle that mixture over the potatoes. I sprinkled a handful of green onion over the top as well. And bake. Oh so yummy. We are definitely doing those again. And they were super easy.

We also whipped up some garlic butter to drizzle over the steaks. And we put together a salad of greens, cauliflower, craisins, canned peaches, and cheese.

We ate like kings. What a wonderful feeling to be filled with such yummy food.

And we still have two more steaks in the freezer!

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21st Century

21 November 2010, 7:04 pm by Giggles
Categories: Gospel, Life

Whether you think this century started at 0:00 on 1 January 2000 or at 0:00 on 1 January 2001, I was in Brasil as a missionary for the start of this century. Really not a bad way to start a year/decade/century actually. Speaking of, do we know what this last decade, or even the current one, is called yet?

In Sunday School today the teacher started out by asking the class which Old Testament events we would’ve liked to have seen or been a part of. Outside of the whole creation thing, I couldn’t think of a single one. There was a lot of wonderful things happening back then, but there was also a lot of war and famine and such back then. Not to mention a lack of the modern conveniences we enjoy today, like plumbing for example (although Brett was quick to remind of Deuteronomy 23:13). But that’s the point of written scriptures. I get to read about all of their experiences without having to suffer the way they did. If we are smart we can learn from their experiences. And because of revelation, the prophets from then could see all of our experiences without having to suffer the way we do.

The 21st Century has a lot of things going for it. At least from where I’m sitting now with a job in a 1st world country. We have heaters and air conditioners and insulation (things I didn’t have in Brasil). We have food storage in case something happens in our lives and we need it. We have opportunities and experiences to grow and learn. We really do live in a wonderful place and time. But I’m sure there are still things about life now that people 2.5 millennia, or even 2.5 centuries ago would not think were really all that great.

Every age of mankind has its challenges and difficulties. But it also has it’s blessings and opportunities. I wouldn’t want to go back and live in a different time in history just like I wouldn’t want to go back and live any of my life over again. I’ll read about it. I’ll learn from it. And then I’ll move forward.

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Running my race

20 November 2010, 9:10 am by Giggles
Categories: Exercise, Life, Musings

I’ve been running races since I was three. It was a one mile run and my dad ran the whole thing with me holding my hand. I remember my mom basically running the whole thing from the side lines cheering for me. Brett is running his first race (aside from elementary fun runs) on Thursday, a 5K. And he’s going to do awesome. I need to find someone to take pictures of him when he finishes because I’ll still be out finishing my race (a 10K).

I don’t win races. That’s not the point of racing to me. When I race I’m not racing against anyone else out there but myself. Regular every day runs are a way for me to unwind, relax, meditate, and make sure I’m still alive. Some runs are good and I feel great. Other runs it feels like my feet are stuck to the pavement and I’m barely moving. Races are a time when I get to push myself and see what I can do. It’s my race against me.

I recently came across this quote from Dr. George Sheehan:

It’s very hard to understand in the beginning that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit.

There are other things I do that are a chance for me to push myself and see what I can do, to fight that feeling to just quit. When I learn a new skill or even try for a graduate degree, that’s me pushing my boundaries. I don’t need to do it better than anyone else. I don’t need to do it faster than anyone else. I just need to get out there and see what I can do. I just need to run my race. :run:

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Quilts warm the heart

19 November 2010, 9:40 am by Giggles
Categories: Books, Quilting/Sewing/Knitting/Crafting

I haven’t made much progress on my alphabet reading challenge this year. I was doing great until my Q book. I love the book. It’s wonderful. But it’s also the wrong size. Rather than being a small book I can put in my bag, even if it is thick, it’s 12×12 inches. The awkward size means I don’t take it on the bus and that is where I do most of my reading. It should come as no surprise that my Q book is about quilting though. So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about quilts.

Quilts serve a lot of functions in our lives. First off they keep us warm physically. Even in Tucson I’d put several quilts on my bed during the winter. There’s something comforting about sleeping under all that weight. I can get away with fewer blankets now, we didn’t pull out the down comforter last year, but it’s still nice to have that warm weight. And we have quilts and blankets at both of our couches to wrap up in for a nap.

Quilts can decorate too. My ice cream quilt is hanging above our bed right now. There is a quilt hanging right next to our front door (the idea is to have one for each of the seasons, but I haven’t quite gotten all the way there yet). I display another one over the quilt rack in the living room. I like them as decorations because they are soft and inviting.

My Q book talks about how quilts are used in Native American cultures. And one use is at death. Quilts cover the casket and are given away to commemorate the life of the person and thank all those who helped with the funeral or meant something to the family. I think I’d like a quilt on my casket at my funeral.

I’ve used quilts to commemorate other special events in life as well. High school graduations, weddings, births, Christmas, birthdays, thank yous. There are a lot of things you can say with a quilt, the main thing being that you are loved.

Quilts warm more than bodies, they warm hearts, souls, and memories.

Edit: I finished the book. The review can be found at “To Honor and Comfort“
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