Cardboard Classics

Summertime always makes me think of my youth - and the exhilarating feel of breaking open a new pack of baseball cards - the smell of the freshly-minted cardboard, the stale Bazooka gum, hoping to find my favorite players... But this post isn't about those cardboard classics.

Have you ever taken the time to read the coaster under your drink at Outback? If not, you must do so on your next visit, because some of them are really worth the effort!

Two of the more recent coasters describe my job perfectly!

To see more of my favorite drink coasters, you can visit my photo album on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27691&id=1323832200&l=69fae73f04

Life's Lessons

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay cheque.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion, today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now
.36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Facing Adversity

It seems everyone is going through hard times. I sat here this morning, feeling quite depressed at my current state of affairs - then started reading about the trials one of my friends is facing. Her brother passed away in January, now, only a few months later, they've found out they may lose his wife as well. We all pray for a kidney transplant - so that a precious little girl won't be an orphan before she turns 3! So I started out today needing comfort, and ended up being in a position to give comfort - through the following from Henry B. Eyring:

"With all the differences in our lives, we have at least one challenge in common. We all must deal with adversity. There may be periods, sometimes long ones, when our lives seem to flow with little difficulty. But it is in the nature of our being human that comfort gives way to distress, periods of good health come to an end, and misfortunes arrive. Particularly when the comfortable times have gone on for a while, the arrival of suffering or the loss of material security can bring fear and sometimes even anger.

The anger comes at least in part from a feeling that what is happening is unfair. The good health and the serene sense of being secure can become to seem deserved and natural. When they vanish, a feeling of injustice can come. Even a brave man I knew wept and cried out in his physical suffering to those who ministered to him: “I have always tried to be good. How could this happen?”

That aching for an answer to “How could this happen?” becomes even more painful when those struggling include those we love. And it is especially hard for us to accept when those afflicted seem to us to be blameless. Then the distress can shake faith in the reality of a loving and all-powerful God. Some of us have seen such doubt come to infect a whole generation of people in times of war or famine. Such doubt can grow and spread until some may turn away from God, whom they charge with being indifferent or cruel. And if unchecked, those feelings can lead to loss of faith that there is a God at all.

My purpose today is to assure you that our Heavenly Father and the Savior live and that They love all humanity. The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is eternal life. Then our spirits will be changed. We will become able to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and thus be prepared for the trust of an endless posterity to teach and to lead through tests to be raised up to qualify to live forever in eternal life.... We are prepared for so great a trust by passing through trying and testing experiences in mortality. That education can come only as we are subject to trials while serving God and others for Him.

The Lord always suits the relief to the person in need to best strengthen and purify him or her. Often it will come in the inspiration to do what might seem especially hard for the person who needs help himself. One of the great trials of life is losing to death a beloved husband or wife. The Lord knows the needs of those separated from loved ones by death. He saw the pain of widows and knew of their needs from His earthly experience. He asked a beloved Apostle, from the agony of the cross, to care for His widowed mother, who would now lose a son. He now feels the needs of husbands who lose their wives and the needs of wives who are left alone by death.
Most of us know widows who need attention. What touches me is to hear, as I have, of an older widow whom I was intending to visit again having been inspired to visit a younger widow to comfort her. A widow needing comfort herself was sent to comfort another. The Lord helped and blessed two widows by inspiring them to encourage each other. So He gave succor to them both.

I bear you my testimony that God the Father lives. He set a course for each of us that can polish and perfect us to be with Him. I testify that the Savior lives. His Atonement makes possible our being purified as we keep His commandments and our sacred covenants. And I know from my own experience that He can and will give us strength to rise through every trial. "

Look Who's 40!

Friday night, I attended a birthday party. The guest of honor was Than Johnson, who is turning 40! From the "meteor" sandwiches, to the "mars-mellow" salad, and lets not forget Than's NASA uniform - it was an evening that was truly "Out Of This World"!

Angels Landing

Last month, a group of us from Outback went hiking at Zion National Park. Though I am out of shape and haven't hiked in over 4 years, I tried the Angels Landing hike. I had to stop several times along the way to catch my breath, and didn't quite make it to the top - but I am proud of how much I did accomplish! It is a 5 mile hike, so based on where I stopped before heading back, I completed at least 4.5 miles!

At http://www.zionnationalpark.com/ is the following description: The Angels Landing Trail is one of the most famous and thrilling hikes in the national park system. Zion's pride and joy runs along a narrow rock fin with dizzying drop-offs on both sides. The trail culminates at a lofty perch, boasting magnificent views in every direction. Rarely is such an intimidating path so frequented by hikers. One would think that this narrow ridge with deep chasms on each of its flanks would allure only the most intrepid of hikers. Climbers scale its big wall; hikers pull themselves up by chains and sightseers stand in awe at its stunning nobility. The towering monolith is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Southwest. This busy path begins by traveling through a riparian woodland of cottonwood, pinyon pines and junipers. It's a steady 2 mile uphill trek as the trail ascends a series of switchbacks up the steep West Rim Trail. Much of the path hugs the side of the sun baked mountain offering an outstanding vista below of a shimmering river, billowy cottonwood trees and a rich collection of stone. A few ambitious trees are tenaciously growing in cracks high on the sheer cliff, adding bits of green between sections of rock that is stained by iron oxide and desert varnish. Just before the trail spills onto Scout Lookout, it's time to 'squiggle the wiggles,' as they ascend the steep twenty-one sharp zig-zags to a scenic plateau. Hikers will navigate the next half-mile along a narrow sandstone isthmus with sheer cliffs on both sides. The narrow and arduous trail drops 1200' on one side and 800' on the other. Chipmunks scurry carelessly along the ridge, finding bits of shade under the few trees that have found a weakness in which to burrow their roots. The summit offers i incomparable, fairytale views. Almost 1500' below, the Virgin River winds around the Organ. The Great White Throne seems only a stones throw away when standing at the end of the trail. Looking northeast across the canyon is Observation Point and to the east is Cable Mountain. Look closely to see the preserved cable-works structure on Cable Mountain. While exploring Zion in 1916, Frederick Fisher exclaimed, "only an angel could land on it," and thus the monolith was named Angels Landing.
I stopped and rested under the lone tree visible in this picture from the website. It was there where I waited for Kevin, Carrie, Dave, & Chris to climb back down. Jordan, Dez, & Nicole had taken a different hike.

Thank you, to all of my angels!

"I have spoken . . . of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

Jeffrey R. Holland

Easter in Idaho

Easter has always been my favorite holiday, and it was made extra special this year because I was able to visit my son & grandson in Idaho!

My weekend there was fun, but very tiring! Gage has more energy than my 2 kids had combined! Plus the 9-hour drive each way was draining... But it had been over a year since I'd seen my adorable grandson, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!









Gage had fun decorating eggs on Saturday night - check out his green fingers!











We had an Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning, and as you can see, he filled his basket!











We had his pictures taken on Monday, and he is such a flirt! I was impressed with how well he behaved during the photo session. You could never tell from this picture that he was being a typical tantrum-throwing 3-year old just moments before!

Overall, it was a really good mini-vacation. I even got to eat at 4 of my 5 favorite restaurants!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my Mom's 65th Birthday. I don't worry about announcing her age to the world - because she's been claiming Senior Citizen discounts for some time now. She herself says though, that she is way too young to have a son as old as me!

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

Today's lesson learned? Chain e-mails are annoying, but even there, I can find uplifting thoughts!

I Told You So

OK - When Randy Travis first came out with this song in 1987, I thought it was a classic country tune. And I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of people doing re-makes on songs that were perfect to begin with. But the lovely & talented Carrie Underwood proves that you CAN top perfection!

Suppose I called you up tonight and told you that I loved you

And suppose I said "I wanna come back home".

And suppose I cried and said "I think I finally learned my lesson"

And I'm tired a-spendin' all my time alone.

If I told you that I realized you're all I ever wanted

And it's killin' me to be so far away.

Would you tell me that you loved me too and would we cry together?

Or would you simply laugh at me and say:

"I told you so, oh I told you so

I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in

I told you so, but you had to go

Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

If I got down on my knees and told you I was yours forever

Would you get down on yours too and take my hand?

Would we get that old time feelin', would we laugh and talk for hours

The way we did when our love first began?

Would you tell me that you'd missed me too and that you'd been so lonely

And you waited for the day that I return.

And we'd live in love forever and that I'm your one and only

Or would you say the tables finally turned? Would you say:

"I told you so, oh I told you so

I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in

I told you so, but you have to go

Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

"Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

Good Advice

"When tempted to 'fight fire with fire,' remember that the fire department usually uses water." --S.I. Hayakawa (1906-1992)