Ch ' Ch ' Check it out!

Hey this is an assignment I had to do for my digital media class. It's not all that I want it to be but it's done huh?! I gotta quit with this perfectionist trip and just turn in the damn thing!

Content with the Things Allotted unto Us

It's been a rough week of recognizing reality and coming to grips with it. There's certainly a difference between "being humble" and "being humbled". Maybe I blog about it because I am still trying to convince myself as well. This evening I found a beautiful talk from Elder Neal A Maxwell. I won't post the whole thing but if you'd like to read it here's a link:


Neal A. Maxwell, “Content with the Things Allotted unto Us,” Ensign, May 2000, 72


I do have to post a particular favorite snip-it though:

"Performance is what matters, not the size of the stage. The Sea of Galilee, only 13 miles by 7, was nevertheless large enough to provide the disciples with a vital experience involving faith and walking on the water (see Matt. 14:22–33). The wind was boisterous and frightening! Even so, compare the size of those Galilean swells and the length of that storm with what Nephi and party had to endure on the vast ocean! (see 1 Ne. 18:13–21). Yet both episodes provided the needed learning experiences. Of course, I should be careful about comparisons involving excesses of water, realizing Noah is in the historical audience!"

This might help you just as much as it did me. - Loves

Us in the MUSS!

Saturday Morning's Assignment

Nothing like waiting until the night before to complete an assignment!

Midnight Snack

Alvin rarely comes to bed when I head to sleep. He'll come and tuck me in and then go study, play CS, watch Bones, etc. Last night was just the same. He'll eventually crawl up next to me around midnight. Another random thing about Alvin is that he has started to love cabbage. His Irish mother tried to get him to eat it but he passed it up each time until recent. So... this morning we're getting up for work/school and he admits to me that after I went to bed he was craving cabbage. He cut up the remaining head of cabbage left in our fridge, boiled it, salted it, and ate it all around midnight. (eww..) It's one thing to have cabbage with pork chops and apple sauce but as a midnight snack... I married a silly Irish boy didn't I?

Learning

Before
After

Just playing around... :)

Fear of Flying

Sorry here's another link I've found from working on some school projects. Her name is Julianne Kost. She's worked with Adobe since 1992 and I'm loving her work. She has a book out now called Window Seat. Her fear of flying was distracted by taking gorgeous photos from her "window seat". So if you've got time check out her site: www.jkost.net.

Tisk! Tisk!

ARGGG! I cannot explain in words how much I loathe the management of Foxboro Terrace Apartments. The property is owned by Millwood Properties. They are the most unhelpful, inconsiderate, bottom line, penny pinchers I've ever dealt with. Without going into all of the details why I feel the way I do, let me just show you this:

Yep, The Better Business Bureau rates them (out of A+ to F) a D-!!! I'm now offering to pay for someone to take over our lease. Good greif I needed to get that off my chest!

Bountiful Nostalgia & New Favorite Link

This is a random posting for a Tuesday morning but I've lived in Bountiful for almost 7 months now and there are some things I'm beginning to miss. (In no particular order)

1. The Winder Dairy drive thru in Colonial Square. It's not that I'm lazy and would like to drive thru to pick up my dairy items, it's just a fun memory of getting ice cream after going to the bubble.

2. The Basement. This store used to be in the now Hogi Yogi on 5th. It was exactly as it's name denotes: a random assortment of discounted items collected together in one spot. For some reason I was always drawn to the office supplies - go figure.

3. Carmacks (the real one, that burned down). I don't exactly remember the donuts. What I remember is going there with Dad on a Saturday morning and he would buy me grape bubble gum.

4. Party Perfect also once in Colonial Square. There isn't a good party store in the area after they closed. Try to find a pleated plastic table skirting and you'll have to go to Zurchers in Ogden.

_________________________________________________________________

In one of my design classes the other day we watched a tutorial on photoshop. They had a guest on whom I've fallen in love with her work. Her blog is http://starsandtea.blogspot.com/. She does all of her illustrations from beginning to end in photoshop and it just amazes me. And it doesn't hurt that they're all very Disney looking. Here's one of my favorites so far:

We Love You Grandma!

This evening on my way home I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all that Alvin and I are trying to accomplish right now. There's a song my mom used to sing to me before bed that seems to help me put things back in perspective:

Sing your way home
at the close of the day...
Sing your way home,
drive the shadows away.
Smile every mile
For wherever you roam
It will brighten your road,
It will lighten your load,
If you sing your way home.

We got a phone call from Alvin's mom this evening with the news that his Uncle Bob had taken his own life. If a song won't put life in perspective that sure will. Uncle Bob's mother, our Grandma Noreen will now have survived 2 husbands and all three of her sons. One thing is for sure; Heavenly Father has placed Noreen on this earth because of all the incredible good she has done and will continue to do. As Alvin talked to her this evening she was still trying her best to "smile every mile". We love you Grandma and our hearts and prayers go out to you for your loss.

Only 24 Hours in a Day

What blue hairs... (if Alvin had hair at all...tee hee) I came home from work and actually made nice dinner. Pork chops, red mashed potatoes, cabbage, apple sauce - ya know the whole nine yards. It's been a crazy hectic week and I figured Alvin and I could due with something healthy. This was at 6:00 pm. We were fast asleep by 7:15 pm. (Very unusual for us) If it weren't for the nagging voice in my head that I should probably get up and take my nightly meds, I'd probably still be asleep.

How is it that life just continues to get busier? I don't write this to say, "Look at me, I'm busier than you." It's quite the opposite actually. I'm realizing more and more that everyone has everything going on and I sit in awe wondering how you all keep it up. With Alvin in grad school and myself working full time and hitting school six days a week, I feel zonked by the time Wednesday comes around.

At the moment I am grateful that I'm only responsible for 900 square feet and two adults. I can't imagine maintaining a home and children along with the finances that accompany them to boot. So kudos to you out there who make it happen everyday and do it with such grace. For me I'll continue learning how to keep up with the closet full of laundry and the backpack full of homework.

Thank you Mr. Benjamin Franklin for the ideal schedule for which I'll always be striving for. Perhaps he should try bumping his sleep schedule up to 7:15...