Good-bye September!

You know, it's strange to think that three years ago this month, Derek and I were barely getting acquainted. He was still shy around me, hardly speaking it seemed. And now, we can't seem to get enough time together.

But tomorrow it will be October, one of my favorite months of the year. Football, fall leaves, Halloween Candy, pumpkins, brisk fall air, school, friends, and most importantly, family. I'm looking forward to having a blast this October with all of them.

Good-bye dear September!

Thanks Sister Thompson!

So, I have to give a shout-out to Sister Thompson for using "Mind the Gap" as her theme at the Relief Society General Meeting Saturday. Great Talk....

and like Derek said, Great minds think alike. :-)

Things I Love

This one is for Betsy. It was a great idea.

So, I set an online stop watch for one minute, and typed anything I could think of that I love.

One minute of things I love:

1. singing in a choir
2. reading British novels
3. reading about history
4. visiting museums
5. taking walks at sunset
6. going to the Temple
   
7. humming/singing as I clean
   
8. whistling when I walk across campus
9. watching the leaves fall
10. building snowmen
11. playing scrabble with Derek
    
12. talk about the future with Derek
    
13. traveling
    
14. making cookies
15. eating with friends
    

Hmmm, nice. Here are a few more things I love:

1. writing in my journal
2. playing with Derek's hair
3. watching movies with my sisters
4. talking to my brother about life
5. watching BYU football
6. going to soccer games
7. horseback riding
   
8. hiking
9. listing to General Conference (especially when I'm there!)
   
10. listening to someone with an accent
    
11. speaking in Spanish
12. running into someone I haven't seen in a long time
13. writing stories
14. taking pictures
15. hot chocolate
16. galaxy chocolate
17. my primary kids in London
18. looking at Better Homes and Gardens magazine
19. America's Next Top Model
20. pink gel pens
21. decorating for holidays
22. Disneyland
23. warm, fuzzy blankets
24. chicken alfredo
25. eating a whole pizza by myself
26. having lunch at the Creamery
27. talking to friends on the phone
28. writing and receiving letters
29. root beer (especially A&W)
30. good roasts on Sundays
31. naps
32. wandering around Wal-Mart
33. visits to Duchesne
34. buying books
35. looking at Christmas lights

There are a million more things...but I kept it at 50. :-) I agree with Betsy though...maybe I should do this more often.

Good Advice

I'm transcribing some letters from a mother to her son, who is serving a mission in South Africa in 1931. She gave him some fabulous advice, that I love.

"take the d, i, e out of depression...press-on. And so I say to you, let depressed feelings die and press-on."

What a wonderful way to think about things. This woman was living in THE depression. If any one had a right to feel depressed, it was she.

So, my dear friends, let all those sad feelings die, and let us all Press On!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Fall has always, and will always, hold a special place in my heart. It's one of the most beautiful times of the year, as Heavenly Father paints the leaves the colors of warmth and invites them to blanket the ground in preparation for winter. Everything is brilliant in the fall, from the colors to the cheers in the football stadium.

Autumn decorates our floors with crumpled up leaves, mementos of time spent outside running through crunchy carpet throwing confetti dropped from trees at each other and down the necks of hoodies and jackets. It encourages our feet as we walk to school, the brisk chill coloring our noses and ears as a prelude to the frigid air of winter. But it slows our hurry on our way home, calling to us to play, to stay a while in the beautiful colors and breathe the thrill of the season.

The word Fall can be defined in several ways, including "to come to rest". The Season of Fall is when the world is starting to settle down for the long winter nap. It gathers all of its resources and hurls them into the world in preparation for the cold and frozen landscape that will soon cling to our eyelashes and cheeks. It's a lovely time of harvest when pumpkins gather and children can be heard squealing with delight at the beauty that surrounds them.

Oh Fall!
I prefer your gold, orange, and red flowers
to any other time of year.

The Broken Road

Rascall Flatts seems to write and sing songs about my life. But I think The Broken Road probably takes the cake. I was thinking today, about boys I dated that finally led me to choosing Derek. The ones I loved, the ones I didn't, the ones that lasted a long time, the ones that were just a first date. Some broke my heart, others, I regret to say, had their hearts broken by me.

People have asked me if I would go back and change things, if I regret getting into so many relationships, especially while Derek was gone. Honestly, I don't regret the time I spent with a single one of them. Of course there are things ABOUT each relationship I regret but overall, I wouldn't go back and erase the time I spent with those men.

Perhaps it will sound cliche, but honestly-I learned a lot from every one of them. I learned how to love. I learned what it means to care more about the other person than yourself. In their own way, they all taught me confidence in myself. They taught me to never give up on myself. Several of them taught me how important it is to communicate, to really explain what's going on inside your head. Am I perfect at any of that yet? No, not yet. But I'm working on it.

I guess the most important thing, is that I learned what I really wanted. Each of them had traits I knew I wanted to emulate, to develop, and find in the person I would eventually marry, whether it was one of them or someone in the future. That's why you date, isn't it? Of course part of dating is having a good time, running around enjoying life together. Having those moments where you think you love that person so much you might burst. And then later, you find out what REAL love is. Not that you didn't love them, of course you did. But that love is just a precursor to a much better, deeper love.

I feel like this is a whole bunch of thoughts crammed into one, but I guess that happens.

today at work

I came across a funny story. Just thought I'd share it, for fun.
It was in the Laron, Illinois Home Journal on August 2, 1882.

A french lady died at the advanced age of 90, Her will contain[ed] this provision: "I leave my physician, whose enlighten[ne]d care and wise prescriptions have made me live so long, all that is contained in the oaken chest in my boudoir. The key of the chest will be found under the mattress of my bed." The heirs were much disturbed, for they foresaw a material diminution of their share of the property. the fortunate and expectant physician at length arrived. The notary delivered to him the key of the chest. It was opened, and found to contain solely all the drugs and potions, still intact, which the worthy physician had given his patient for twenty years back.

What a lovely surprise. :-)

Hope

I ran across this link from a friend's page on facebook, and I think it's amazing. I'm so grateful for all the many blessings I have. Especially the blessing of knowing that Jesus Christ is always there for us. He is the Great Healer. He can help us overcome any trial. I know this to be true.

Finding Hope

Hope you enjoy this and get as much out of it as I did.

Sooners...who?

The Cougars did awesome this weekend, Derek and I both agree. As we were watching the game, we kept seeing this absolutely HIDEOUS mascot running around. It was an OU Sooner (see photograph to the right). It looked like a horse with a huge head (frankly, it looked like a disgrace to such a beautiful and noble creature). And we both looked at each other and thought, "What is a Sooner anyway?"

So, I did a little research this morning (all right, I used Wikipedia) and found this:

The term Sooners was used to describe settlers who entered the Unassigned lands, located in the current state of Oklahoma, before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement...The name derived from the "sooner clause" of the Indian Appropriation Act, which stated that no one should be allowed to enter and occupy the land prior to the opening time and that such people would be denied rights to illegally claimed land.

Sooners were often deputy marshals, land surveyors, railroad employees, and others who were able to legally enter the territory early.Some sooners crossed into the territory illegally at night and were originally called "moonshiners" because they entered "by the light of the moon." These sooners would hide in ditches at night and suddenly appear to stake their claim after the land run started, hours ahead of legal settlers.

Ha, so a bunch of outlaws. NICE.

Frankly I will keep my freaking awesome mascot.

GO COSMO!

Did you know

that if you suck on your husband's face, even as a joke, in front of his whole family, for just a few seconds, it leaves a mark?


how embarrassing.