Happy Birthday Ari and Maya!

Happy Birthday to two of the cutest nieces ever!
Love you both!

Idaho Falls, Idaho Smalls

I went to Idaho Falls yesterday. In my mind I had thought it would be something comparable to like lets say Niagra Falls. I've been to Niagara Falls before, and it is incomprehensibly huge and amazing. Idaho Falls...not so much.

Here it is...what do you think?...

But, I will say that I did have an incredibly good idea come to me as I stood there looking at this scene (it includes putting to use, and what I believe to be very good use, the blue plastic 50 gallon drum we have in the garage for food storage)...since it is now illegal to go down Niagara Falls in a barrel (a little something that I've always waned to do), I could go down this bad boy in a barrel (or my trusty 50 gallon drum) and I would have a much better chance of making it out alive! Not to mention, I have not heard nor were there any signs around the area stating that it would be illegal to ride in a barrel in this little body of water. Note to self: Add as #618 on your Bucket List.

Who wants to come with?!?...

The Space In Between Us...

"I find that when I get casual in my relationship with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns. I find myself loving more intensely, those whom I must love with all my heart and mind and strength, and loving them more, I find it easier to abide their counsel."
~Spencer W. Kimball~

This is something I think of often, and it gently reminds me that when there is that space that comes between me and His Spirit, it is because I have drifted. Not Him. He is the same today, tomorrow, and forever. He is constant. And for that, I am so very thankful. He is always there, loving us, waiting with open arms for our return...no matter how long or far the separation.

Believe In Yourself...

Lately I have been thinking a lot about believing in yourself...

Sadly, it seems that the critics in life are far more numerous than the cheerleaders. It really should be the other way around. Life is hard enough as it is, why do we feel like we need to drag others down in the already great struggle of everyday life.

We all have dreams and aspirations. We all have goals we desire more than anything to achieve. More times than not, the road to those dreams and goals and aspirations has it's share of roadblocks and challenges. There are setbacks. We get discouraged. But then when we hear a voice in the crowd say, "You can do it." "Get back up, I know you can do this." "I believe in you." It is in that moment that the flicker of hope returns, and we are better able to believe in ourselves.

I read this the other night and it really struck me as profound. It is true that some of the greatest people who have ever lived have faced great challenges and a great deal of criticism. The following is accredited to Ted Engstrom:

Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Land him in poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Subject him to bitter religious strife, and you have a Disraeli. Strike him with Infantile Paralysis, and you have a Franklin D Roosevelt, the only President of the United States to be elected to four terms of office. Burn him so severely in a schoolhouse fire that the doctors say he will never walk, and you have a Glenn Cunningham, who set a world record in 1934 for running the mile
in 4 minutes 6.7 seconds.

Deafen a genius composer who continues to compose some of the world's most beautiful music, and you have a Beethoven. Drag him more dead than alive out of a rice paddy in Vietnam, and you have a Rocky Bleier, that beautiful running-back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T Washington, Harriet Tubman, or Martin Luther King Jr. Have him born of parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp, paralyze him from the waist down at the age of four, and you have and Itzhak Perlman, the incomparable violinist. Call him "retarded" and write him off as "uneducatable," and you have an Albert Einstein.

After losing both his legs in an airplane crash, let an RAF fighter pilot fly, and you have World War II ace Douglas Bader, who was captured by the Germans three times and escaped three times on two artificial limbs. Label him too stupid to learn, and you have a Thomas Edison. Label him a hopeless alcoholic, and you have a Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Tell her she is too old to start painting at 80, and you have a Grandma Moses. Blind him at age 44, and you have a John Milton, who 10 years later wrote Paradise Lost. Call him dull and hopeless and flunk him in the 6th grade, and you have a Winston Churchill. Tell a young boy who loved to draw and sketch that he had no talent, and you have a Walt Disney. Rate him mediocre in chemistry, and you have a Louis Pasteur. Take a crippled child whose only home was an orphanage, and you have a
James E West, who became the first chief executive of the Boy Scouts of America.

Spit on him, humiliate him, betray his trust, say on thing and do another. Mistrust those whom he loves. Mock him. Make him carry a heavy wooden cross, and then crucify him, and you have the Savior of the world.

Yes, the greatest souls to have walked this earth have faced great adversity. They were told they were wrong. They were told they didn't have a chance. They were called foolish for ever believing they could succeed. They didn't listen. They were victorious. They made a difference... So when you are reaching for you dreams, and you face opposition and hear the voices of the naysayers. Don't listen. Continue on. Believe in yourself and what you are doing. Pursue your ambitions and dreams. Listen carefully and you will hear the encouraging voices of those who love and believe in you, cheering you on, and it will make all the difference...

Flag Day

The flag represents so much...

It represents freedom. Freedom of speech, religion, press...

It represents Democracy. An opportunity for our voice to be heard...

It represents safety. There are countless men and women who serve this country and go off to war to ensure our safety and freedom.

It represents those who have gone before and paved the way. The George Washingtons, the Thomas Jeffersons, those great men who founded this great country.

It represents you, it represents me.

May God continue to bless this country, always and forever...

I pledge allegiance to
the flag of the
United States of America
And to the republic
for which it stands.
One nation
Under God
Indivisible
With liberty and justice
for all.

Life Lesson #612

Yesterday I learned a painful life lesson. I've numbered it Life Lesson#612

Mt. Dew + Ranch Corn Nuts = Abdominal Distress





I would compare this experience to the likes of mixing Mentos and Coke (come on, I know you've all seen the YouTube video and the volcano of foam eruption that occurs when you drop the Mentos into the 2-Liter of Coke). Or mixing PopRocks and any carbonation. Maybe I would even go so far as to compare it to mixing Water and Dry Cement. The moral of this story is unless you want to feel like you swallowed something getting ready to take off from NASA's launch pad, don't eat Corn Nuts and chase it with an ice cold Dew on the rocks...

"I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."

It was a big story on the news the last two days: A 16 year old girl, captain of her own yacht, sailing solo across the world, lost at sea...

(This is an actual picture of her. Her name is Abby Sunderland.)

I can't imagine! First of all, I can't imagine being the captain of my own ship and then heading out all on my own to sail around the world. I think of when I was 16, and there is NO way I would have been capable of such a task. I mean come on now, the first day I had my license I almost plowed down our garbage cans as I backed out of the driveway. And then a few short years later, I took that very same garbage can and embedded it into the garage door. Ooops! All I have to say is that those puppies must be made out of RubberMaid, because once I backed the car out of the crater I just made it popped right back out like nothing had ever happened! Oh how I wish I could have said the same for the poor garage door...(let's just say it didn't pop back out and the only way you couldn't tell anything had happened was after we had the new one installed.)

Anyway, back to my thoughts and my point...

Here is this young girl alone at sea. She was being tossed violently among the waves, some of which they say were up to 25 feet tall. The water and waves were so bad, it took her VERY far off course, and damaged the mast of the ship which took away her ability to communicate. And so for 20 hours she was all alone out there. I'm sure she wondered if she was going to make it...If anyone would be able to find and rescue her...Maybe she even doubted if the yacht's ability to withstand the storm and stay afloat. Who knows what exactly went through her mind. All I know is that if it had been me, I would have been scared to death and I doubt I would've been able to remain calm with a clear head. Thankfully the story ends well...a search plane from Australia spotted her, and a ship will be there to rescue her within 24 hours.

But then I began to think, this is often how life feels to us. We are out on the sea of life. And there are times when a storm begins to rage. The waves begin to violently thrash. We are tossed about, and in the process get pretty banged up. Our lives get turned upside down and we wonder where we go from there. We feel lost and alone.

We pray. We plead for help. We plead for comfort. At times there is a lengthy silence...we aren't immediately answered or rescued from our situation. We wonder if we are being heard. Then a glorious sight appears, whether in the form of a best friend or a neighbor or maybe even a stranger. But they come to us in our hour of need, and we are made very aware that we are not alone. All of the prayers and pleas we offered up, were heard. And they were answered. That friend or neighbor or stranger is sent to us, and they bring us something that we momentarily lost and yearned for...hope and comfort. What a glorious gift!

Yes, we might be out on the sea of life. And yes, the waves and storms will rage. One thing is for certain...we are never, I repeat never alone. He hears every prayer. He will answer us. He will send help. He has promised us this, and His promises are sure. Let us remember the words of Spencer W Kimball:

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other."

Let's commit to being more aware. More aware of one each other and the struggles that they face. Let Him use you as an instrument in His hands. There is great need all around you. Be willing. Be ready. You very well could be the answer to someone's prayers...

Tammy Faye Bakker...

So I decided to try out some new mascara today. Bad idea. Though, it seemed like a good idea at the time (I know, I know, how many times have you heard me utter the words, 'It sounded like a good idea at the time!').

Some of what enticed me to this new product was the increased volume it would provide for my lashes. Little did I know, that it would clump them together and make it look like pencil leads poking out of my eye lids...

Another thing that drew me in was the collagen claim. I mean come on, collagen is what helps us stay looking young, right?! Well little did I know again, that by collagen they meant that it would cause the black to rub off your eyelashes and onto your lower lid creating black circles that look like you haven't slept in 6 months or that you went a couple rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson...oh wait, let's go with Muhammad Ali, being that I don't have a bite taken out of my ear.

Anyway, I don't recommend this product. It is a recipe for disaster and will leave you looking like Tammy Faye Bakker as she cried saying that she didn't know that her and the husband had embezzled all that money from their Joy For Jesus Network... As for me, I am going to stick with my ole' go-to 'Max Factor 2000-Calorie' mascara (I know, how fitting that a fat girl goes high calorie even with her makeup. But it is a gem. Don't judge.)...

Here is a picture
someone snapped
of me tonight.


Yeah, I was on
Larry King Live.
Please don't tell me
you missed it...

Braydo's B-Day

Happy Birthday Rupert!

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite cousins
born on one of my favorite days...

Everything Speaks His Name...

(This was the view from my back deck tonight...)

There was so much to take in. The fresh smell in the air, of rain. The booming and rolling of the thunder. Bolts of lighting. The glimpses of bright light breaking through the darkening sky and clouds. The wonder of the rainbow. The majesty of the mountains.

All of these things are His creations. Incomprehensible. And to think that we too, are His creations. The God of this vast and wide universe, is our Father. We are His. We are His children. Loved and cared about more than we could ever begin to understand or fully appreciate. He knows us, He loves us, and He hears us. There are many things that we don't understand, like how He created the world, or why we must struggle or suffer, or why things don't always go the way we planned. But the one thing we must have faith in and know for sure is that He loves us. We might not understand the hows or the whys and many things may remain unanswered...in those times, knowing that He loves us must be enough. It must be enough for us to press on and press forward and follow Him and serve Him, come what may, no matter what.

And so I am thankful for nights like this, where the wonder of His creations sinks into my heart, and I am reminded of His greatness. Of His majesty. Of His endless power. But most of all I am thankful for the reminder that He is my Father and He loves me, no matter what.

Free Donut Day

You gotta love Krispy Kreme. It is a must. I believe that it is a rule, maybe even a law, written in the FGOA (Fat Girls Of America) Handbook, that you must attend any event in which donuts are a part. Friday was 'Free Donut Day' at the local Krispy Kreme. I attended being that I am a proud card-holding member of the FGOA, and I wouldn't want to break the law! And to stay in even better standing, I came home with an extra dozen...that's right, a dozen that made it home safely and un-eaten...shocking, I know. Anyway...

All I will say is that it was well worth the drive to Layton (don't judge me because I drove that far) to participate in the festivities. The deep-fat-fried-glazed-goodness was worth every mile.

(Please note the black theme...it was the wake for Rue.
I believe Krispy Kremes were a favorite of her's...)

**And as a heads up for all of you who love the Krispy Kreme, they are having a promotion that goes til Father's Day I believe, that if you bring in an ugly tie (any tie for that matter) you will receive a dozen glazed donuts for free!**

Farewell Rue...

Today the world is a little less golden...oh how it saddens me to have to say that yet another Golden Girl has passed. So sad and very unfortunately, true.

And so in her honor you can bet your Rusty-Anchor-lovin'-bottom-dollar that tomorrow we will be holding a wake. So shroud yourself in your finest black wake goin' apparel or your nicest lady of the night outfit, and come join us...

So I say to you Blanche Deveraux,
Thank you for being a friend. The world will surely notice and miss and be a bit less, having lost one of it's finest faux-floozies. I hope that the reunion with Estelle and Bea was wonderful. But don't you girls count on Betty joining you anytime soon. She is going to live forever. Facebook will make sure of it.
Love, Your biggest fan.

Arlington Ladies...

I came across a story that really, I mean really impacted me. It was about a group of women called The Arlington Ladies.Their mission...ensure that no soldier is buried alone. There is a representative from the group that attends every funeral. They are quietly escorted to the graveside and stand silently until it is time to present the flag to the family, if there is any present. They step forward, present the flag and two cards; one from the head of the military, and the other is a personal note they have written. They offer a few heartfelt words and condolences and then step back into their place.

This really made me stop and think about the promise I made when I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...there is a scripture in the Book of Mormon, and it is a promise which is made when you decide to be baptized. It is found in Mosiah 18:8-9. It says "...and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;
"Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,..."











This story has changed the way I look at things. I am hereby committing to do more to offer support and love to those around me. It doesn't matter that I might not know just what to say, and more than likely there won't be anything I can do to miraculously change or fix their circumstance. But I can be there. I can stand by them, with them, and let them now that they are not alone. And that might be enough to make a difference.

Thank you Arlington Ladies, for your example...