sharing my talents

In church we discussed talents and how we should not hide them from the world. So here I am to share one of mine (also I keep being told I need to update my boring blog). So take it from an expert...these are THE BEST ways to procrastinate...

1. Color coordinate your closet.  Take everything out and put it back in rainbow order. Shirts, pants, shoes, dresses...the works. My closet is always in correct color order. (PS...I wish this was my closet)

2. Watch TV...Fall shows have arrived. Might I recommend Modern Family or Private Practice. I get much more done in the summer when there is nothing good on TV.

3. Facebook- I spend waaaayy too much time online. But I mostly use it to talk to my husband who is very far away. sad face.

4. Bake something. Even if you don't intend to eat it...which if you are a professional procrastinator like I am, you cannot eat everything you bake. Give it away. Provide some service in your sin. Pick something that has a complicated recipe just to try it. Then at least your brain gets a little bit of exercise.

5.  While we are discussing putting on some weight lets discuss taking it off. Go to the gym. Make a crazy fun playlist and work out til its over. And if you are really daring, hang out around the big buff guys and watch them laugh at your baby weights. 

6. Make "to-do" lists. For when you are done procrastinating. Or maybe you could make a list of ways to procrastinate. hmmmm....

7. Give yourself a pedicure and/or manicure. Pick a happy color. This will make procrastinating that dreary thing you have to do so much better. 

8. Watch a musical. And sing along.  Sometimes its just fun to let loose and go for it. :) Or go for a drive, turn the radio all the way up, and sing the whole way to nowhere.

9. Write a blog. Share your thoughts about nothing in particular.Or read someone other pointless blog...like mine!

10. Take a long bubble bath. Then try on different combination's of things in your closet, and try a few new styles of hair and makeup. It wastes time now, but it could save time later when you are in a rush to get somewhere and need a glam go-to look.

The Philosophies of BYU

As I finish up my first term back here at BYU, I cant help but think about how different the culture is here, and how, oddly enough, it is also an accurate representation of the world. We all have similar beliefs, but the philosphy each person carries with them could not be more different. Some say "lo here" and others "lo there" and sometimes that is just downright confusing.  There are times that I chuckle to myself  (like when my Physical Science professor compares the concept of "tunneling" to "hieing to Kolob in the twinkling of an eye") and times that the confusion makes me cry ( like when people tell me my military husband does the work of Satan and if he could love more like the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's then he has a shot at getting to heaven) but I just have to remember to keep telling myself that people are people no matter where they are or what they know. It just teaches me how to better humble myself and communicate with my Heavenly Father about what is right and what is wrong and then act accordingly.  "The World is Our Campus". How and what we choose to learn from that world is totally up to us as individuals. 

Blessed are the Meek...

Got to talk with my wonderful husband over the past couple days. It was pretty much the highlight of my month (once again I looovvee skype).  Inspired from those conversations...here are some of David's photos with some of my thoughts.

 This is a little island in the South Pacific....

It is small and the people are poor.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven"

This is the view as you come around the corner. (Note the tiny statue on the top of the Hill.)

It is pretty, but life here is hard.

"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: For they shall be filled"

They put up a banner and threw a welcome party.

The meek and the humble...sharing what they have.

"Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy"

"Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God"

And this is the statue that was seen from the distance.

Christ with outstretched arms.

These people have so little in the ways of earthly possessions, but they truly know about that which is eternal.

"Ye are the light of the World.  
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid"

I feel so blessed that I grew up in a country and with a family that always had the necessities of life.  But sometimes I wonder if those people on that little island are better off than I.  They share everything with each other, which is not much at all.  They understand the spirit of brotherhood and charity. They love their Heavenly Father and they believe that Christ is their Savior and Redeemer and they stay true to that faith no matter what trials come their way. It makes me sad to see so many that are so blessed forget to give thanks to their creator. It was lesson to me to always be grateful and always look for ways to serve and help others. Pay it forward. Share some of your blessings today.

"Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth"

loooovvvee to skype!

Just skyped for the first time this weekend! I know what you are thinking... its 2010 and you just discovered skype. But dont you worry, this was not my first time dabbling in video chat.  I have used ichat for macs several times but my husband who was in Guam did not have a mac so we downloaded skype.  Definitely worth the 20 bucks for the year.  Not only did I get to hear him, I got to see him too! Its amazing what that can do to lift spirits a bit.  The only bad thing was I have been terribly sick for the past few days so he got my gravelly man sounding voice instead of my normal one. And it didn't help that the time difference is so much that half the time we talked it was the middle of the night for me and he woke me up to chat.  So not only did I have a beautiful voice, I had a lovely hair style and no makeup on.  He still thought I was cute though and then I remembered that's exactly why I married him!  And my mom pointed out that things could be worse and we could just have to write snail mail back in forth all the time.  Yeah that would be bad!  Sorry no pictures with this post.  I tried to get David to send some from Guam but he didn't take any!  I threatened him for pictures in the next port stop though so hopefully I will have some in the future.

dating me!

So I took a poll on facebook about going to the movies by myself.  It has been decided that since my husband is deployed (and that is clearly a noble reason to leave me) that I can take myself out on the weekends if I can't find any friends to accompany me.  So I asked myself out for tomorrow afternoon. And myself said yes. And that annoying song from girls camp "im a nut" has been resonating in my head for the past 3 hours because of it.

"called myself upon the phone

just to hear my golden tone

asked myself out on a date

picked me up at half past eight."

 

I'll make sure the next verse of the song doesn't happen. I'm hoping this little experiment in dating myself will feel liberating...like sound of music, running through the hills in wide open spaces, not a care in the world (until you find out about the ensuing war) liberation and not lame and embarrassing. Guess we will find out!

trip down memory lane

I havent posted in awhile so this may be a bit long...sorry.  A few weeks ago David and I got sealed. It was the most amazing day.  The temple sealing was greater and more beautiful than I could have imagined.  And the day was so pretty. The sun was out and the skies were blue (I totally got a sunburn though...oops) Last week we had to move out of our apartment as we prepared for an upcoming deployment (which actually started today but I will get to that later).  As I moved the last boxes out of the apartment and scrubbed every nook and crannie in the place, I couldn't help but smile at the memories that tiny one bedroom apartment had.  We didnt have any furniture when we first moved in. We slept for 3 days on the floor until a mattress could be delivered to us with all the blankets and sheets we had(which was not very many) piled under us for "padding".  We didn't have a table either so we ate off a cardboard box covered in a blanket while seated cross legged on the floor. And the first time the ward missionaries and the bishop came over we all had a little pow wow session on the floor because we had no couches lit by one tiny lamp because that is all we had. At the time it was a little ridiculous (and uncomfortable) but looking back I think those were my favorite things about it. It was kinda sad moving out of a place with so many memories.  But I'm sure we will not settle down in one area for many many more years because of the military so I'll just have to keep all the memories locked in my mind. And now for the big news. David left today. For 7 months.  I kept it together on the ship until the very end when we were saying our last goodbyes and then I lost it. I got back to the hotel room we had been in for almost a week together, now empty, and immediately flung myself across the bed and bawled.  And then I decided that I really did want to see the ship leave the pier (after I had convinced myself that I did not want to see that) so I got back in the car and rushed back to base just in time to see them sailing off maning the rails.  It was quite a site.  And underneath my tears and sadness I did feel a little bit of pride. I know the next 7 months will be hard but it will be a learning experience also.  Already I wish that over the past couple months I wouldn't have picked some pointless little fights over things that didn't really matter and when he gets home I will work harder on not sweating the small stuff.  Good luck Mighty Iron Nickel! You will be missed!

Just a day on The Iron Nickel

Yesterday was family cruise day on the USS Peleliu.  It all started off at 1:30am with an obnoxious phone call that dragged my sleepy husband out of bed and into work.  I followed him to the ship a few hours later with a few kids and some extra friends in tow.  By the time we got on board around 6:30 am I was worn out!! And there was still a very long and full day ahead of us.

These helmets are super heavy and have the stuff that bullet proof vests are made of inside them.  hardcore!

This is the entrance to where David works on the ship.  Its super secret.

On the flight deck of LHA-5.  It was cold and rainy in the morning but ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day.

I guess we are not cut out to be sailors.  By the end of the day my hair was a mess, my sweater was dirty, and my neck hurt and this little one just had to take a nap.  Overall though, the day was pretty great.