Insightful thoughts

Recently I randomly found this article while looking for something else. It struck me not only because I find it a little humorous, but he makes some very valid and strong points. Excerts below... but I suggest reading it fully!

"AMERICA HAS BECOME

tragically ignorant

about something we once seemed to understand:

marriage.

Even in the church, we postpone marriage later and later,

as if it were a particularly
unpleasant dental appointment.

There's so much to do first... Here's why it's a mistake:

We don't ever "find" ourselves.
Instead, in marriage, we make ourselves.

No, we make each other -- as a joint project.

We turn ourselves into a perfect fit. Our self is the marriage, and our part in it. There is no "I" without the "we." ...

Romance is nice. But it is biological in origin.

That dizzy head-over-heels feeling is a species of losing your mind, and most of the time it lasts only as long as the chase. What we keep forgetting is that in marriage, as opposed to romances, you aren't marrying the thrilling wonderful perfect Someone you're looking at right now.

You're marrying the man who decides not to have the dazzling career with the high salary, refusing promotions and transfers so the kids don't have to change schools. You're marrying the woman whose body doesn't bounce back after the third baby, so she's no longer slim and attractive by the standards of the magazines.

You're marrying the migraines and the hemorrhoids and the heart attack and the cancer; you're marrying the irritable, forgetful, lazy, thoughtless, sarcastic, distracted, too-busy days as well as the Kodak-happy ones.

You're marrying the one who works with you to raise the retarded or crippled child, or stands with you at the graveside of the child who dies.

You're marrying the one who can't find work after the company folds or he's laid off; you're marrying the early Alzheimer's, the diabetes, the obesity, the pain of conflict and the struggle of forgiveness.

The foundation of that isn't some ideal of romantic love. It's a commitment based on the goals you share. And real love, married love, is not what you start with -- it's what you create together along the way....

All marriages are between strangers. And sometimes it's the boring man who'll make the best husband, the plain woman who'll make the best mother.... Compared to the thick, strong fabric of married love, romantic love is a Kleenex. You can't make anything out of it. It's disposable -- there's always another in the box.

LOVE THESE THOUGHTS...
Now it's the application I need to work on :)

Pictures from storm

As you will read in my post from yesterday, we got some snow in DC. Some snow... Ok, yes, it was a significant amount. 2 feet or so. It is pretty when it falls, but I still haven't developed that loving relationship with it yet :) The pics promised from this post are below.

But, I just remain in SHOCK that school and gov't are canceled tomorrow. I drove here, there and everywhere today. The roads improved and can totally support traffic. If this was Boston we wouldn't even have a two hour delay. People just keep going with their lives. But, here? It's crazy!

LIFE completely STOPS!

I could go insane and stir crazy
if this happened frequently.
Buck up people.
Life needs to move on!!!

May we all be a little more "hardy"
like our friends up north and out west
is my holiday wish this year!

About mid-day Saturday... but it just kept
going for 24 hours straight!

The street. People were out walking in it all day!
No cars, of course, so you just stroll down!

About 9 at night... another two inches fell after that.

A view of my front door and our neighbors holiday lights....
Ok, I'll give it to you, it's kind of pretty :)

But, I'll refrain from mentioning how sore
my arms and back (oh - and those quads)
are from shoveling!!!!!!!!!!!

(or, maybe I'll just mention it :)

A curse from Old Mr. Winter? When will my heart change?! Not in the near future!!!

I feel like I am cursed or that Old Mr. Winter is following me everywhere I go and will not leave me alone until I change my "heart" and actually enjoy the winter, especially SNOW. I feel like I am Scrouge in "The Christmas Carol." In "winter past", I have fond memories of snow storms when I was young and carefree. All it meant then was days off of school, hot chocolate with my family and sledding in our yard.

But, then in "winter present", Boston killed all joy I ever felt about snow. I have nightmares about panic attacks on finding a parking spot on the "odd" side of the street so my car didn't get towed, and then after the storm making sure my car was cleared off within 24 hours or else it would be towed, or finding parking spots days and weeks after a storm because the roads were too narrow and there was never parking to be found. Or, even just the winters in general. The brutal cold and harsh wind that just went through you to your core and never left! Or, what about those many bedrooms I had where I would have frozen all winter long except for the saving grace of space heaters? Yep - I'll admit it. There were many times in Boston where I was Scrouge because of a winter storm that blanketed the ground with ice and snow.

Well, Old Mr. Winter, I REALLY am trying to change my attitude! I thought by coming to DC and having less harsh winters, I could one day embrace the joy I felt as a child in enjoying snow! But, when you start off a winter with a RECORD breaking snowstorm that entirely shuts the city down, it's hard to start feeling that "love for the snow" again! However, my mom did point out to me that I don't have to worry about parking spots, tickets, being towed, etc. And, she's right. That is a wonderful thing. Now, I just need to embrace the idea of enjoying shoveling!!

The ONE thing I do give Boston credit for is its ability to clear the streets during and after a storm. This is something that VA struggles with BIG TIME.

So, trying to change my thoughts and feelings about snow. It is pretty when you look at it from the inside out... but I might feel differently about that in a bit when I have to go out and shovel out my car for the 2nd time today :)

What will "snow future" look like for me? Gosh, I hope and pray it's different than it looks like today :)

Pictures will be posted tomorrow when I get back to my "other house" ...

Timing... keeping the view on eternal!

I was reminded of a talk on Sunday by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Timing,” Ensign, Oct 2003, 10–17. After re-reading it, I felt like it was so pertinent to my life and that he made some points that I want to read over and over again (as reminders because my memory is so short!) I condensed his comments, so if you're interested in reading more I highly recommend the entire article! I am just posting what's below as easy access for me to go back and read what I thought was most important

"The Lord has His own timetable.... The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable.

As Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said: “The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.”...

In our service in the Lord’s Church we should remember that when is just as important as who, what, where, and how. We prepare in the way the Lord has directed. We hold ourselves in readiness to act on the Lord’s timing. He will tell us when the time is right to take the next step. For now, we simply concentrate on our own assignments and on what we have been asked to do today.

It is not enough that we are going in the right direction. The timing must be right, and if the time is not right, our actions should be adjusted to the Lord’s timetable as revealed by His servants....

Because of things over which we have no control, we cannot plan and bring to pass everything we desire in our lives.... Important mortal events that depend on the agency of others or the will and timing of the Lord... cannot be anticipated or planned with certainty....

[Our] commitments and service can anchor [us].... [Our] commitments and service can also inspire and strengthen others. Wise are those who make this commitment: I will put the Lord first in my life, and I will keep His commandments....

If we have faith in God and if we are committed to the fundamentals of keeping His commandments and putting Him first in our lives, we do not need to plan every single event—even every important event—and we should not feel rejected or depressed if some things—even some very important things—do not happen at the time we had planned or hoped or prayed.

Life has some strange turns....Stand ready to accept the Lord’s planning and the agency of others in matters that inevitably affect you. Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens.

The most important principle of timing is to take the long view. Mortality is just a small slice of eternity, but how we conduct ourselves here—what we become by our actions and desires, confirmed by our covenants and the ordinances administered to us by proper authority—will shape our destiny for all eternity."

Washington Wizards V. Toronto Raptors

It's been a long time since I have been to a professional basketball game, but last night I had the chance to take the boys! Through school, I (as the guidance counselor) received a letter from the Wizards allowing us to acknowledge outstanding students for their hard work! The student received a free ticket to the game and a free dinner, and then their guests got tickets and dinner at a reduced price! So, we gave out the letter to some fabulous student and I decided to nominate Leo as an outstanding first grader! He tries so hard, always has a great attitude about school and homework, and does his best! BUT, he also LOVES sports! This was perfect for him!

So, off we go! As luck would have it, my mom was also in town because my brother and his fiance were in DC for the weekend for a "Welcome Weekend" with his new company (they'll move here in March so he can start!). Their evening activity with the company was to go to the game as well, and so I got my mom a ticket to come too!

We got to the game early and the boys were excited! Besides the basketball, teams always have fun stuff to watch on the court during time-outs and half-time, etc. They were mesmerized! Even after I got the dinner for them, I couldn't get them to focus on eating! Tey just were glued to the game! ... and so was my mom!

Unfortunately, the Wizards didn't have a great first-half. They were never ahead, and sometimes behind by quite a bit! But, it ended in overtime 109-107... they lost to the Raptors. :( It was fun to just be there though! Here are some pics...

Well, I wouldn't say our tickets were ground-level!!!

Leo and Jeremiah - all SMILES :)

Me and my mom :)

So, just wanted to add the last two pictures from Thanksgiving. Leo's personality shines in the one below! He's such an amazing and fun kid!!!

Tis the season for gratitude. My top 50!

Tis the Season. Not for Christmas songs just yet... although one station in DC thinks so and the stores thought so before Halloween... disgusting. Not Christmas... but just the idea that they're trying to maximize on the materialistic aspect of the holiday!

But, tis the season for gratitude. And I don't have enough of it. I get so caught up when things go wrong, but yet, when things go right it's like fleeting thoughts!

This week in school, I have been teaching the kids about expressing gratitude and how it makes the person feel when you express gratitude to another.

Makes you and them feel all GOOD inside :)

I even have a little visual I do with it (thanks to a lesson I found on lds.org!!) So, why don't I do more of it? Seems like a great thing for both involved... the giver and the receiver!

So, this post has been on my mind for a while and I am going to just start listing in no specific order because I realized I can't prioritize these... or it was agonizing to even try and do so:

1. Prayer
2. Temples
3. The Sacrament
4. Scriptures
5. A living prophet and church leaders
6. General Conference
7. Children
8. My ever patient, ever giving, ever loving angel mother
9. A trusting and loving father
10. Supportive and encouraging brothers
11. Friends of 32/Fab 5 (you know who you are!)
12. Camp Oneka/Red Team
13. BYU
14. A job (or a few jobs right now :)
15. Weddings
16. Holidays... when families gather
17. Peace and quiet
18. Sleep/rest
19. A strong and healthy body with the ability to run!
20. A curious mind that's capable of learning and growing
21. Good Books
22. Ability to talk and listen
23. Uplifting songs
24. Sunsets
25. Lights
26. Beaches
27. Treadmills and Gyms
28. Water! Warm showers included!
29. Warmth... esp. from the sun!
30. Winter Clothes. QUALITY winter clothes!
31. Space Heaters
32. Comfy Couches
33. Alarm clocks
34. Medicine
35. Cell Phones
36. Cars
37. Contacts/Glasses
38. Microwaves
39. Ipods
40. Internet & Blogs
41. Cameras
42. Hairbands
43. Changing leaf colors
44. Desserts! Cereal! Chips! Mexican Food! Ice Cream... mmm... food in general
45. Caffeine ... Diet Coke :)
46. 7/11's and Slurpees
47. Target
48. Panera Bread
49. The American Flag
50. MY LIFE!!!!

"Borrowed" Random Thoughts

So, my friend had these random thoughts posted on her blog... but she had "borrowed" them from someone else. They made me laugh... and I figured that laughter needs to be shared. So, I am borrowing them too! I think the reason they made me laugh so much is that I could see myself saying them... but someone just decided to write them down first :)

* I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit?

* Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

* I wish Google Maps had an 'Avoid Ghetto' routing option.

* More often than not, when someone is telling me a story, all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better- but also more directly involves me.

* The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

* Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Kids today are soft.

* I think that everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure that I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really really gets it.

* I would rather carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips from the car to bring my groceries in.

* LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

* Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely terrifying.

* I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

* MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood.

* Bad decisions make good stories.

* Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they're from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem...

* You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

*Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVD's? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

*I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I didn't make any changes to.

*I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. "I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?"

*I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

* When I meet a new boy, I'm terrified of mentioning something he hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

* I like all of the music on my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle- then I like about one in every fifteen songs on my iTunes.

* Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

* As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation- I always hate cyclists.

* Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

* I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.