Thank You
to Mrs. Molly Jones for desiging this cute header for my blog.
I LOVE it and it definitely has added some style to my colorless, bland, style-lacking blog.
Thank you so much!!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
So...yummy
&
This snack is SO YUMMY and for some reason I don't feel very guilty eating it. Maybe because it's cottage cheese? I don't know. But if you use fat free cottage cheese it would definitely be more figure friendly.
I know this may seem like a strange combination, but give it a try - you won't be disappointed! We are adding this to our New Year's Eve snacks this year. Another Jensen Family contribution, along with the cheese fondue, lil smokies, and fudge (mmm...). I guess in that group of snacks this definitely wins the healthy prize :)
Monday, December 29, 2008
So...hope
It feels like we have had many talks, lessons, and testimonies given on hope in church during the last few months. It is obvious that we are living during difficult times, so it only makes sense that we would talk about hope in order to help us through these times and look to a brighter future.
Our lesson in Relief Society yesterday was based off of Pres. Uchtdorf's conference talk "The Infinite Power of Hope." I loved this talk when I heard it during Conference, I loved it again when I read it in the Ensign, and I loved it even more after hearing our lesson yesterday and discussing it in Relief Society. The main points that stuck out to me during the lesson yesterday were:
1. Recognizing the fruit of our hope - optimism, confidence, patience perserverence, and one more that I can't remember... These are all things that I want! All of these things are qualities I strive for daily and attitudes that bring happiness and joy to our lives. Now I know - I can get these by having hope!
2. There are things that we hope for and things that we hope in. Pres. Uchtdorf explains this in his talk. We made a list on the board during the lesson of things we hope in today (Christ, the prophet, ourselves, prayer, scriptures, etc.) and things that we hope for tomorrow (eternal life, eternal families, forgiveness, healing, the Second Coming, growth of the church, etc.). One sister in our Relief Society made the point that we cannot hope for things tomorrow, without hoping in things today. All of the thing that we hope in lead to things we hope for. We cannot hope for eternal life or forgiveness without having hope in Christ. We cannot hope for knowledge and spiritual growth in the future without having hope in prayer, the scriptures, or the prophet today. I love that thought - we have to have hope TODAY in things that are here TODAY in order to hope for all of the wonderful things and blessings in store for us in the future.
3. Our RS President made an important point that we need to have hope in ourselves. Hope that we can rise to the occasion, that we are good enough, that we are children of God and that we are worthy of His blessings. We need to have hope in our individual worth and divine nature and our spiritual gifts that have been promised and given to us. This is so important! Having hope in Christ and hope in ourselves will allow us to do anything that is asked of us and get through any trial in our lives.
This thought remained on my mind the rest of the day. How can we maintain hope in ourselves everyday? I know it is easy (for me) to be hard on myself, get down on myself, and have feelings of depression, especially when things are difficult, but sometimes for no reason at all. How can we hold on to that hope during those times in order to make it through? Or how can we find that hope when things feel hopeless? Here are some thoughts that came to my mind:
1. prayer - this is our link to Heavenly Father. This is how we develop and strengthen our relationship with Him. Without that relationship, we will have a difficult time feeling His love, comfort, and guidance during our times of despair. He is there for us no matter what, but we will have an easier time recognizing and feeling Him in our lives if we develop that relationship with Him through prayer.
2. family & friends - Heavenly Father cannot physically be with us, but He can and He does send people to us to help us, love us, uplift us, and serve us. One HUGE way He shows love for us is through the people around us that love us. He has told us that we do not need to be alone. Yes, this does mean that He is always with us, but I think it also means that He has put people in our lives for specific reasons so that we literally do not need to be alone. Letting people love us and be there for us during difficult times will help us feel the love of the Lord and help us find hope in our dark moments
3. scriptures & good books - reading and studying the word of the Lord and the examples in the scriptures will give us guidance and hope. Other church publications can also be a great source for further understanding, knowledge, and hope. I read a great article in the Ensign last night that I felt was very applicable. Even though it is talking about a specific trial, I think it can be applied to any feelings of despair, depression, discouragement, or any other struggle. Favorite quotes from the article:
"I have learned firsthand that feelings of guilt are difficult and require patience, but I have also learned that in such times, the Lord can strengthen us to enable us to meet the challenge. Happiness will return, and former capacity will be restored. Light will replace darkness, despair will give way to hope, and life will regain its meaning."
"Good friends and loving family members can give support and withhold judgment. I am grateful for the people in my life who know my limitations but still accept and love me. I try to serve them as well; it is important that these relationships do not become unbalanced. Each of us has a responsibility to be a good friend and family member. Everyone needs to serve and be served."
I love the gospel and the peace, joy, and HOPE it brings. And I love going to church and feeling inspired, motivated, and uplifted like I did yesterday. With the New Year coming this week, I am very HOPEFUL for the future and what it may bring. I think in my process of setting resolutions, I will also make a list of 2008 accomplishments to help me have more hope in myself in 2009. Let's not forget all of things that we are good at or that we have accomplished in the midst of deciding all of the things we need to be better at! Maybe we can have more HOPE in ourselves now which will lead to hope for ourselves in the future.
Our lesson in Relief Society yesterday was based off of Pres. Uchtdorf's conference talk "The Infinite Power of Hope." I loved this talk when I heard it during Conference, I loved it again when I read it in the Ensign, and I loved it even more after hearing our lesson yesterday and discussing it in Relief Society. The main points that stuck out to me during the lesson yesterday were:
1. Recognizing the fruit of our hope - optimism, confidence, patience perserverence, and one more that I can't remember... These are all things that I want! All of these things are qualities I strive for daily and attitudes that bring happiness and joy to our lives. Now I know - I can get these by having hope!
2. There are things that we hope for and things that we hope in. Pres. Uchtdorf explains this in his talk. We made a list on the board during the lesson of things we hope in today (Christ, the prophet, ourselves, prayer, scriptures, etc.) and things that we hope for tomorrow (eternal life, eternal families, forgiveness, healing, the Second Coming, growth of the church, etc.). One sister in our Relief Society made the point that we cannot hope for things tomorrow, without hoping in things today. All of the thing that we hope in lead to things we hope for. We cannot hope for eternal life or forgiveness without having hope in Christ. We cannot hope for knowledge and spiritual growth in the future without having hope in prayer, the scriptures, or the prophet today. I love that thought - we have to have hope TODAY in things that are here TODAY in order to hope for all of the wonderful things and blessings in store for us in the future.
3. Our RS President made an important point that we need to have hope in ourselves. Hope that we can rise to the occasion, that we are good enough, that we are children of God and that we are worthy of His blessings. We need to have hope in our individual worth and divine nature and our spiritual gifts that have been promised and given to us. This is so important! Having hope in Christ and hope in ourselves will allow us to do anything that is asked of us and get through any trial in our lives.
This thought remained on my mind the rest of the day. How can we maintain hope in ourselves everyday? I know it is easy (for me) to be hard on myself, get down on myself, and have feelings of depression, especially when things are difficult, but sometimes for no reason at all. How can we hold on to that hope during those times in order to make it through? Or how can we find that hope when things feel hopeless? Here are some thoughts that came to my mind:
1. prayer - this is our link to Heavenly Father. This is how we develop and strengthen our relationship with Him. Without that relationship, we will have a difficult time feeling His love, comfort, and guidance during our times of despair. He is there for us no matter what, but we will have an easier time recognizing and feeling Him in our lives if we develop that relationship with Him through prayer.
2. family & friends - Heavenly Father cannot physically be with us, but He can and He does send people to us to help us, love us, uplift us, and serve us. One HUGE way He shows love for us is through the people around us that love us. He has told us that we do not need to be alone. Yes, this does mean that He is always with us, but I think it also means that He has put people in our lives for specific reasons so that we literally do not need to be alone. Letting people love us and be there for us during difficult times will help us feel the love of the Lord and help us find hope in our dark moments
3. scriptures & good books - reading and studying the word of the Lord and the examples in the scriptures will give us guidance and hope. Other church publications can also be a great source for further understanding, knowledge, and hope. I read a great article in the Ensign last night that I felt was very applicable. Even though it is talking about a specific trial, I think it can be applied to any feelings of despair, depression, discouragement, or any other struggle. Favorite quotes from the article:
"I have learned firsthand that feelings of guilt are difficult and require patience, but I have also learned that in such times, the Lord can strengthen us to enable us to meet the challenge. Happiness will return, and former capacity will be restored. Light will replace darkness, despair will give way to hope, and life will regain its meaning."
"Good friends and loving family members can give support and withhold judgment. I am grateful for the people in my life who know my limitations but still accept and love me. I try to serve them as well; it is important that these relationships do not become unbalanced. Each of us has a responsibility to be a good friend and family member. Everyone needs to serve and be served."
I love the gospel and the peace, joy, and HOPE it brings. And I love going to church and feeling inspired, motivated, and uplifted like I did yesterday. With the New Year coming this week, I am very HOPEFUL for the future and what it may bring. I think in my process of setting resolutions, I will also make a list of 2008 accomplishments to help me have more hope in myself in 2009. Let's not forget all of things that we are good at or that we have accomplished in the midst of deciding all of the things we need to be better at! Maybe we can have more HOPE in ourselves now which will lead to hope for ourselves in the future.
Friday, December 26, 2008
So...tired
So we made it. We made it through the craziness and excitement of Christmas. We had a BLAST, but the past 3 days have been full of so many family activities and TONS of food that my body is definitely ready to crash. In fact, I'm not sure why I am even awake right now! I must be crazy...
This is a good kind of tired though. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm glad that we were able to do everything that we did and visit everyone we visited in the past few days. We really had a fabulous Christmas and I'm so glad we were able to share it with family and close friends (we count them as family too) despite the snow storms. I also am so glad that our children love their toys and games so much that we have had days full of playtime! They even were able to convince mom to come have a tea party and play with dolls. It's a miracle! Yes, I confess that I have a very short attention span when it comes to playing with toys. This is something I desperately want to be better at, but I just really am not a great player. Very sad, I know... BUT! We have had a great time the past 2 days! I don't know if it's the fun new toys, or having Dad home making me feel like I'm on vacation from everything I need to do...I don't know. But it has been great and so much fun.
This pregnancy is also feeling VERY real lately and quite exhausting. My belly feels like it's squishing my lungs all the way up into my throat when I sit down. Ok, I know that's a bit dramatic and exaggerated, but the point is I am having a hard time breathing. I feel like I'm out of breath all the time - especially when I'm sitting down. But, I'd take this any day - I know I have it pretty good when it comes to pregnancy. I really do feel great and am getting more and more excited everyday for this baby to be here.
I'm realizing that with each pregnancy I am more excited and anxious for the baby to be here and less excited about the actual pregnancy. I'm not saying that I don't like being pregnant, but I'm just more excited and focused on the actual baby. That probably sounds like a strange thing to say, but I think the first time, and even the second time I was pretty focused on being pregnant. Pregnancy was still so new and I was paying attention to every little detail of pregnancy and comparing pregnancies. This time, I don't care so much about the actual pregnancy - I'm just DYING to hold that baby!
Anyway....I'm realizing that I'm babbling and like usual have drifted the dialogue to pregnancy/motherhood. It seems like that's what I almost always end up talking about. I guess that's because that's my life these days and what I think about 90% of the time. Hmm...maybe I should work on expanding my train of thought...
Well, now that it is almost midnight, I should go to bed and try to get some rest so I don't still feel tired in the morning. My body is definitely telling me it's time for bed - I think 3 of my 4 limbs are already asleep. Goodnight and goodbye - until later...
This is a good kind of tired though. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm glad that we were able to do everything that we did and visit everyone we visited in the past few days. We really had a fabulous Christmas and I'm so glad we were able to share it with family and close friends (we count them as family too) despite the snow storms. I also am so glad that our children love their toys and games so much that we have had days full of playtime! They even were able to convince mom to come have a tea party and play with dolls. It's a miracle! Yes, I confess that I have a very short attention span when it comes to playing with toys. This is something I desperately want to be better at, but I just really am not a great player. Very sad, I know... BUT! We have had a great time the past 2 days! I don't know if it's the fun new toys, or having Dad home making me feel like I'm on vacation from everything I need to do...I don't know. But it has been great and so much fun.
This pregnancy is also feeling VERY real lately and quite exhausting. My belly feels like it's squishing my lungs all the way up into my throat when I sit down. Ok, I know that's a bit dramatic and exaggerated, but the point is I am having a hard time breathing. I feel like I'm out of breath all the time - especially when I'm sitting down. But, I'd take this any day - I know I have it pretty good when it comes to pregnancy. I really do feel great and am getting more and more excited everyday for this baby to be here.
I'm realizing that with each pregnancy I am more excited and anxious for the baby to be here and less excited about the actual pregnancy. I'm not saying that I don't like being pregnant, but I'm just more excited and focused on the actual baby. That probably sounds like a strange thing to say, but I think the first time, and even the second time I was pretty focused on being pregnant. Pregnancy was still so new and I was paying attention to every little detail of pregnancy and comparing pregnancies. This time, I don't care so much about the actual pregnancy - I'm just DYING to hold that baby!
Anyway....I'm realizing that I'm babbling and like usual have drifted the dialogue to pregnancy/motherhood. It seems like that's what I almost always end up talking about. I guess that's because that's my life these days and what I think about 90% of the time. Hmm...maybe I should work on expanding my train of thought...
Well, now that it is almost midnight, I should go to bed and try to get some rest so I don't still feel tired in the morning. My body is definitely telling me it's time for bed - I think 3 of my 4 limbs are already asleep. Goodnight and goodbye - until later...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
So...traditions
The tree is lit
The stockings are hung
The presents are wrapped
The carols are sung
The HOUSE is warmed by a "fire"
The family Christmas book opened and read
The ground outside is blanketed with snow
The children are washed, in their Christmas jammies, in bed
We had fun with our FRIENDS
We are full of ham, potatoes, and pie
It is Christmas Eve again
It's hard to believe another year has passed by
We are incredibly blessed.
It really feels like a perfect Christmas so far this year.
I love the feeling of Christmas - the excitement and anticipation leading up to it, and the quiet peaceful night waiting for Santa to come. (What better bedtime bribe is there than Santa? Whoever came up with that idea is GENIUS!)
I LOVE traditions and how they bring families together. My favorite family tradition of ours is our family hug. A small tradition, but my favorite nontheless. Whenever we have a family night - Family Home Evening, game night, holiday festivities - we end with a big family hug. I absolutely love it!
In our family now, Dave & I have tried to incorporate traditions from both of our families and add a few of our own. We still get the Christmas jammies. We still open presents on Christmas Eve. The presents opened on Christmas Eve are jammies and a family Christmas book that we read together that night. We have our yummy Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We leave cookies & milk (egg nog this year) for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph, along with a note thanking Santa for coming and telling him Merry Christmas. This year we are attempting the sister sleepover (tradition from my family) - we'll see how that goes. We will be going to a Christmas brunch at Dave's aunts house (tradition from Dave's family) on Christmas morning that we are really looking forward to. We also get a family game and a family Christmas movie on Christmas day. Other than that, we will see what other traditions develop over the years.
The Christmas spirit obviously brings a feeling of love and appreciation for my family - the family I came from, the family Dave came from, and the family we have started together. It also brings an overwhelming love and appreciation for the Savior and His love for us. What a gift He gave us, that first Christmas being born to this earth to save us all. Because of him and his sacrifice for us, we are able to be with Him and with our families forever. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for that precious gift.
If you have some special Christmas traditions, please share!
The stockings are hung
The presents are wrapped
The carols are sung
The HOUSE is warmed by a "fire"
The family Christmas book opened and read
The ground outside is blanketed with snow
The children are washed, in their Christmas jammies, in bed
We had fun with our FRIENDS
We are full of ham, potatoes, and pie
It is Christmas Eve again
It's hard to believe another year has passed by
We are incredibly blessed.
It really feels like a perfect Christmas so far this year.
I love the feeling of Christmas - the excitement and anticipation leading up to it, and the quiet peaceful night waiting for Santa to come. (What better bedtime bribe is there than Santa? Whoever came up with that idea is GENIUS!)
I LOVE traditions and how they bring families together. My favorite family tradition of ours is our family hug. A small tradition, but my favorite nontheless. Whenever we have a family night - Family Home Evening, game night, holiday festivities - we end with a big family hug. I absolutely love it!
In our family now, Dave & I have tried to incorporate traditions from both of our families and add a few of our own. We still get the Christmas jammies. We still open presents on Christmas Eve. The presents opened on Christmas Eve are jammies and a family Christmas book that we read together that night. We have our yummy Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We leave cookies & milk (egg nog this year) for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph, along with a note thanking Santa for coming and telling him Merry Christmas. This year we are attempting the sister sleepover (tradition from my family) - we'll see how that goes. We will be going to a Christmas brunch at Dave's aunts house (tradition from Dave's family) on Christmas morning that we are really looking forward to. We also get a family game and a family Christmas movie on Christmas day. Other than that, we will see what other traditions develop over the years.
The Christmas spirit obviously brings a feeling of love and appreciation for my family - the family I came from, the family Dave came from, and the family we have started together. It also brings an overwhelming love and appreciation for the Savior and His love for us. What a gift He gave us, that first Christmas being born to this earth to save us all. Because of him and his sacrifice for us, we are able to be with Him and with our families forever. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for that precious gift.
Merry Christmas
to all of you and may the spirit of Christmas
- love, family, & Christ -
be with you and your family this night and always.
If you have some special Christmas traditions, please share!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
So...bloggers
My eyes have been opened to the possibilities and the potentials in the blogging community. There are some amazingly impressive blogger out there! These people are funny, clever, have great taste, and I really enjoy reading their blogs.
I also have discovered the concept of subscribing to blogs. I'm sure I'm late in learning about this, but you can subscribe to a blog that you follow which makes it easier to stay on top of their updates. It really is an easy way to manage the blogs that you follow and not have to spend time surfing through your favorite blogs until you find one with a new post. It's great!
There are probably different ways to subscribe to blogs that I don't know about yet, but two ways I know is either through Google Reader or to become a follower of a blog on your blog dashboard. Both require a gmail account (I think). I'm sure there are other ways to subscribe to blogs, but those are the only ways I know. If you know of another way, please feel free to share in the comments!
Anyway, here are some blogs in particular that really enjoy reading:
Sherbet Blossom is a friend and neighbor of mine. She never ceases to impress me with her ambition, her confidence, and her great taste in EVERYTHING. She really is amazing and has some great ideas, FUN giveaways, and links on her blog. She also is a graphic designer and does beautiful work on designing blogs, invitations, greeting cards, etc.
Not Too Shabby is a friend of mine from my former life in the world of lacrosse. She is one of the funniest people I know and I really love her style. If I had style :) I would want style like hers. She has some great ideas and thoughts, and is also a talented photographer (and an amazing lacrosse player btw).
Staci Shots is my sister inlaw and this blog is dedicated to her photography. This isn't a discussion blog, mostly just a gallery of her photography. She is very talented and I am impressed with her ability to learn a new skill that interests her. She lives in MA - so all of you local readers won't be able to hire her (sorry!). I really enjoy looking at her work mostly because she's my sister inlaw and I want to support her, but also because it's fun to watch her develop her talent and I get some great ideas from her work. Someday I'm sure we will talk her into taking some shots of us and that will be great :)
Ginger Unplugged is my friend and next door neighbor. She is a published author and an incredible writer. I also REALLY enjoy reading her writing, even about her everyday life. She is hilarious, incredibly down to earth, has great taste in music, and is a wonderful mother & friend. She is probably one of the most genuine people I know and I appreciate that so much about her, and that is why I enjoy reading her blog - it's real!
At Full Capacity is another one of my friends and neighbors. This blog is HILARIOUS to me. It is her family blog (I hope you don't mind I'm sharing) but it is full of insight into the "joys" of mothering toddlers. She "put on hold" her life and passion of cycling to be a mother (something I can relate to) and admire her for how she handles that. Our kids are about the same age and I absolutely love talking to her and reading her blog because she is incredibly honest about motherhood - things (mothers & children) are not perfect!
If you have any blogs that you follow and LOVE please share!
I also have discovered the concept of subscribing to blogs. I'm sure I'm late in learning about this, but you can subscribe to a blog that you follow which makes it easier to stay on top of their updates. It really is an easy way to manage the blogs that you follow and not have to spend time surfing through your favorite blogs until you find one with a new post. It's great!
There are probably different ways to subscribe to blogs that I don't know about yet, but two ways I know is either through Google Reader or to become a follower of a blog on your blog dashboard. Both require a gmail account (I think). I'm sure there are other ways to subscribe to blogs, but those are the only ways I know. If you know of another way, please feel free to share in the comments!
Anyway, here are some blogs in particular that really enjoy reading:
Sherbet Blossom is a friend and neighbor of mine. She never ceases to impress me with her ambition, her confidence, and her great taste in EVERYTHING. She really is amazing and has some great ideas, FUN giveaways, and links on her blog. She also is a graphic designer and does beautiful work on designing blogs, invitations, greeting cards, etc.
Not Too Shabby is a friend of mine from my former life in the world of lacrosse. She is one of the funniest people I know and I really love her style. If I had style :) I would want style like hers. She has some great ideas and thoughts, and is also a talented photographer (and an amazing lacrosse player btw).
Staci Shots is my sister inlaw and this blog is dedicated to her photography. This isn't a discussion blog, mostly just a gallery of her photography. She is very talented and I am impressed with her ability to learn a new skill that interests her. She lives in MA - so all of you local readers won't be able to hire her (sorry!). I really enjoy looking at her work mostly because she's my sister inlaw and I want to support her, but also because it's fun to watch her develop her talent and I get some great ideas from her work. Someday I'm sure we will talk her into taking some shots of us and that will be great :)
Ginger Unplugged is my friend and next door neighbor. She is a published author and an incredible writer. I also REALLY enjoy reading her writing, even about her everyday life. She is hilarious, incredibly down to earth, has great taste in music, and is a wonderful mother & friend. She is probably one of the most genuine people I know and I appreciate that so much about her, and that is why I enjoy reading her blog - it's real!
At Full Capacity is another one of my friends and neighbors. This blog is HILARIOUS to me. It is her family blog (I hope you don't mind I'm sharing) but it is full of insight into the "joys" of mothering toddlers. She "put on hold" her life and passion of cycling to be a mother (something I can relate to) and admire her for how she handles that. Our kids are about the same age and I absolutely love talking to her and reading her blog because she is incredibly honest about motherhood - things (mothers & children) are not perfect!
If you have any blogs that you follow and LOVE please share!
Monday, December 22, 2008
So...me
I am Megan.
I was born and raised in Needham, MA and even though I haven't lived back east for eight years, I will always feel like it is my home. I am a New Englander by heart and always will be.
I am a full time mother and wife. I am realizing that a lot of the daily tasks of being a homemaker and mother don't come naturally to me, but I am learning more and more tricks each year and learning to enjoy the little things. I LOVE my kids and my husband more than anything. They are my world.
I am LDS. I was born into an LDS family, raised in the church, baptized when I was eight, and all the rest. My faith and my testimony strengthen me everyday. My testimony of the Savior and His gospel help me to know who I am and why I am here. Christ is my Savior and with Him I can do anything and be anything. He helps me be a better mother, a better wife, a better friend, and a better person.
I am a musician. I studied violin almost my whole life and studied music at BYU. I currently teach violin and piano and love that. I wish that I could play in an orchestra - that is my passion. Someday I will, but for now I will enjoy attending the symphony instead of performing in it. I also LOVE listening to all genres of music. Music really speaks to me and helps me understand my own feelings and emotions whether it's Mozart, Beethoven, Led Zepplin, or Dave Matthews. I love music. It is so much a part of me I couldn't imagine life without it.
I am an athlete. Although I am not involved in sports as I used to be, I will always be an athlete at heart. I love sports and I love to compete. I don't get as much excitement out of watching sports, but I do enjoy it if I care about the team or sport involved. I admire all athletes that have the ability, skill, and commitment to pursue that dream. This is my one passion that I haven't yet figured out how to keep in my life. Competetive sports are not as easily accessible to stay at home moms, but I think someday I will find joy and satisfaction out of my kids athletics (if they are even interested in sports - **fingers crossed**) I coached lacrosse for a few years and enjoyed that. Perhaps someday I will be able to pursue that again. Who knows.
I love to cook and bake. I by no means consider myself a cook, but I do enjoy it. I enjoy trying new recipes and developing my own. I also really love cooking and baking for others. And this time of year I am definitely loving cooking and baking special things for the holidays.
I love crafts. I am learning to sew, I knit a bit, I scrapbook some, and I like to try any craft that catches my attention. I am willing to try just about anything when it comes to crafts. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's REALLY fun when it does!
I enjoy writing. I really am just a wannabe, not a great writer. I do enjoy it and I hope to be a better writer someday. For some reason I think I have something valuable to say. I'm not really sure what or why, but I am drawn to writing. I am completely aware that probably nobody cares about anything I have to say - but me thinking that maybe somebody out there does, kind of makes me enjoy writing. So I'm going to just pretend like someone out there does care and keep writing :)
I was born and raised in Needham, MA and even though I haven't lived back east for eight years, I will always feel like it is my home. I am a New Englander by heart and always will be.
I am a full time mother and wife. I am realizing that a lot of the daily tasks of being a homemaker and mother don't come naturally to me, but I am learning more and more tricks each year and learning to enjoy the little things. I LOVE my kids and my husband more than anything. They are my world.
I am LDS. I was born into an LDS family, raised in the church, baptized when I was eight, and all the rest. My faith and my testimony strengthen me everyday. My testimony of the Savior and His gospel help me to know who I am and why I am here. Christ is my Savior and with Him I can do anything and be anything. He helps me be a better mother, a better wife, a better friend, and a better person.
I am a musician. I studied violin almost my whole life and studied music at BYU. I currently teach violin and piano and love that. I wish that I could play in an orchestra - that is my passion. Someday I will, but for now I will enjoy attending the symphony instead of performing in it. I also LOVE listening to all genres of music. Music really speaks to me and helps me understand my own feelings and emotions whether it's Mozart, Beethoven, Led Zepplin, or Dave Matthews. I love music. It is so much a part of me I couldn't imagine life without it.
I am an athlete. Although I am not involved in sports as I used to be, I will always be an athlete at heart. I love sports and I love to compete. I don't get as much excitement out of watching sports, but I do enjoy it if I care about the team or sport involved. I admire all athletes that have the ability, skill, and commitment to pursue that dream. This is my one passion that I haven't yet figured out how to keep in my life. Competetive sports are not as easily accessible to stay at home moms, but I think someday I will find joy and satisfaction out of my kids athletics (if they are even interested in sports - **fingers crossed**) I coached lacrosse for a few years and enjoyed that. Perhaps someday I will be able to pursue that again. Who knows.
I love to cook and bake. I by no means consider myself a cook, but I do enjoy it. I enjoy trying new recipes and developing my own. I also really love cooking and baking for others. And this time of year I am definitely loving cooking and baking special things for the holidays.
I love crafts. I am learning to sew, I knit a bit, I scrapbook some, and I like to try any craft that catches my attention. I am willing to try just about anything when it comes to crafts. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's REALLY fun when it does!
I enjoy writing. I really am just a wannabe, not a great writer. I do enjoy it and I hope to be a better writer someday. For some reason I think I have something valuable to say. I'm not really sure what or why, but I am drawn to writing. I am completely aware that probably nobody cares about anything I have to say - but me thinking that maybe somebody out there does, kind of makes me enjoy writing. So I'm going to just pretend like someone out there does care and keep writing :)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
So...buttons
The never failing remedy for awkardly long moments of silence beginning with "so..."
I cannot remember where I first heard this phrase, but I thought it was hilarious and immediately adopted it as my token phrase. When I was younger, whenever anybody would say "so..." in conversation I would respond with "BUTTONS!" For some reason I thought this was the most clever comeback to an awkward conversation - now I can't seem to remember why it was so funny. I guess it was something unexpected, that didn't make much sense, that would hopefully pull a smile or chuckle out to break the silence. It must have worked because I used it quite often when I was in high school.
Somewhere along the road I stopped using it and forgot about it until an old friend of mine said it recently to me when we ran out of things to talk about and catch up on. I was glad he did because now the phrase makes me smile and chuckle thinking about that time in my life, friends that I had, and many wonderful memories. It also made me think of other phrases or inside jokes that served me well at other times in my life and all the memories and friends that I associate with those words. Phrases like "That's my boat..." or "You would!" or "I DRIVE I DODGE STRATUS!" or "Good better best...." If I wanted, I could probably categorize my life based on phrases and song titles. That would actually be pretty fun to do sometime. Hmm....
So this blog has been dedicated to my "buttons" - what to say when there's nothing else to say. This blog will be full of my random thoughts, hopes, dream, worries, and anything else that comes to my mind and hopefully things that can spark discussion with the people who might actually care about any of this. My buttons!
I cannot remember where I first heard this phrase, but I thought it was hilarious and immediately adopted it as my token phrase. When I was younger, whenever anybody would say "so..." in conversation I would respond with "BUTTONS!" For some reason I thought this was the most clever comeback to an awkward conversation - now I can't seem to remember why it was so funny. I guess it was something unexpected, that didn't make much sense, that would hopefully pull a smile or chuckle out to break the silence. It must have worked because I used it quite often when I was in high school.
Somewhere along the road I stopped using it and forgot about it until an old friend of mine said it recently to me when we ran out of things to talk about and catch up on. I was glad he did because now the phrase makes me smile and chuckle thinking about that time in my life, friends that I had, and many wonderful memories. It also made me think of other phrases or inside jokes that served me well at other times in my life and all the memories and friends that I associate with those words. Phrases like "That's my boat..." or "You would!" or "I DRIVE I DODGE STRATUS!" or "Good better best...." If I wanted, I could probably categorize my life based on phrases and song titles. That would actually be pretty fun to do sometime. Hmm....
So this blog has been dedicated to my "buttons" - what to say when there's nothing else to say. This blog will be full of my random thoughts, hopes, dream, worries, and anything else that comes to my mind and hopefully things that can spark discussion with the people who might actually care about any of this. My buttons!
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