One of my classes this semester is anger reduction and forgiveness. It has proven to be quite an interesting class! One of the books I have to read is Forgive for Good by Dr. Fred Luskin. At the beginning of each chapter there is a quote or thought by someone. This was at the beginning of the chapter I had to read this week. It is good food for thought so I thought I would share it!
Of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun.
To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king.
The chief drawback is what you are wolfing down is yourself.
The skeleton at the feast is you
Frederick Buechner
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
LIfe is too short.......
To not tell the people you love the most that YOU LOVE them every chance you get!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Just some simple inspiration......
I found this quote from President Monson
“The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need. And I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him.”
–President Monson, “A Brand New Year”
This it really struck me because it kind of tied into what we talked about in my institute class today. We learned about how the Lord always has a plan, a purpose and a back up plan. For each of us personally as well as for the church. We discussed how sometimes we get an impression or an answer to prayer and we are not quite sure of the reasons behind them. My teacher asked if we had ever had any thing like this happen in our own lives. The best example I could think of in my own life was the promptings I had to move to Utah after Ava was born. In the months before she was born I had many experiences that pointed my heart in this direction. I was feeling obstinate and didn't want to move or make many necessary changes in my life. I wanted to prove that I could make my life work and still live in Long Beach. As you can see I gave in to all the pushing and submitted to what I can now see as the will of the Lord. Looking back I can see all the miracles and blessing that I have received because of this choice in my life. I have been so blessed to be walking the shoes I am walking in now. Going back to school has been such a blessing for me and for Ava. I can see that it has not only been for me to gain my education but to gain spiritual knowledge as well. It has taught me that some times in life we have to take that huge leap of faith and that in return the Lord will bless us. He will bless us beyond what we can even imagine. I am trying to hang on to this faith right now with all my might. Sometimes we don't always get the answers we want, and have to remember that there is a plan for each of us individually if we will just be patient enough to let it work. It is my hope that when I am asked to "run His errand" that I will be ready and willing to do so! Life truly is a blessing, thank you to all who have "run the errand" on my behalf!
“The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need. And I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him.”
–President Monson, “A Brand New Year”
This it really struck me because it kind of tied into what we talked about in my institute class today. We learned about how the Lord always has a plan, a purpose and a back up plan. For each of us personally as well as for the church. We discussed how sometimes we get an impression or an answer to prayer and we are not quite sure of the reasons behind them. My teacher asked if we had ever had any thing like this happen in our own lives. The best example I could think of in my own life was the promptings I had to move to Utah after Ava was born. In the months before she was born I had many experiences that pointed my heart in this direction. I was feeling obstinate and didn't want to move or make many necessary changes in my life. I wanted to prove that I could make my life work and still live in Long Beach. As you can see I gave in to all the pushing and submitted to what I can now see as the will of the Lord. Looking back I can see all the miracles and blessing that I have received because of this choice in my life. I have been so blessed to be walking the shoes I am walking in now. Going back to school has been such a blessing for me and for Ava. I can see that it has not only been for me to gain my education but to gain spiritual knowledge as well. It has taught me that some times in life we have to take that huge leap of faith and that in return the Lord will bless us. He will bless us beyond what we can even imagine. I am trying to hang on to this faith right now with all my might. Sometimes we don't always get the answers we want, and have to remember that there is a plan for each of us individually if we will just be patient enough to let it work. It is my hope that when I am asked to "run His errand" that I will be ready and willing to do so! Life truly is a blessing, thank you to all who have "run the errand" on my behalf!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Too Tired!
I really wanted to give the update on how the first week went, but seriously I am too tired to even think straight right now. Ava is still going full speed and I am just so tired I am sitting here pretending to listen to her when really I am just trying to hold my eyes open! I am feeling a little overwhelmed and hopefully I will get that under control tomorrow. I have to sit down and fill out a calendar for the next few weeks so that I know exactly everything I have to get done everyday. I will end by saying that I feel pretty successful with the week. I have kept most of my major goals for myself. My house is still clean. There is not one dirty dish in the sink, one piece of clothing on the floor, jackets are hung, shoes are put away, are you getting the picture? This is BIG for me. I even made my bed 3 out of 4 mornings and even cooked a few meals! I have made it to the gym. I am pretty caught up on reading for the week, but a big chunk of it will get done tomorrow! Most importantly I don't feel like I am running behind schedule.
OH, and one more thing! I totally slipped on a patch of ice while walking to class and fell! It was pretty embarrassing and my knee is a little red and bruised. So, if you needed a little chuckle just imagine me slipping down the hill with my 20lb back pack on. It is funny to me now, but not so much at the time of its happening!
OH, and one more thing! I totally slipped on a patch of ice while walking to class and fell! It was pretty embarrassing and my knee is a little red and bruised. So, if you needed a little chuckle just imagine me slipping down the hill with my 20lb back pack on. It is funny to me now, but not so much at the time of its happening!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Let the Fun Begin!
Today I am feeling just a little anxious. I start school again tomorrow and life is about to get pretty crazy. I added a class last week so I will now have 19 units. I have been trying to decide wether or not to add the last class for about a month and finally decided to just do it. I sat down one afternoon and figured that after this semester I will only have 5 or 6 classes to complete after this semester which means that in December 2009 I will be a college graduate! That will make these next four crazy months all worth it. I am very blessed to not have to work right now, so I am just going to give school all my attention and make it work. I am feeling a little self doubt right now but I know that once I get the kinks worked out of my schedule everything will work out, But I will be one BUSY lady! My goal is to get more A's than B's this semester.
Here is what is on my schedule for the next semester:
Forgiveness and Anger Reduction
This class is online and all the course material is all ready posted. It is going to be pretty intense! Lots of reading and weekly writing assignments, group discussions and I get to teach a class at the end of the semester about letting going of grudges and forgiveness. I have to find my own group to do the class with so if anyone is interested let me know! I would really appreciate volunteers and I promise to not bore you to death :)
Childhood and Adolescent development
This class is on Wednesday nights at the Bountiful campus. I am really looking forward to this one! It should be really interesting. I am lucky enough to have Megan watch Ava while I attend this class.
Intro to Data Analysis
This is just a 1 unit online class. The class material is posted and it looks pretty doable. I will have weekly assignments due and the most daunting part of this class is I have to figure out how to instal the program needed onto my computer. The program is not Mac compatible but there are instructions to get around that and I am not looking forward to figuring it all out because I am really computer dumb!
Research Methods
This class is a requirement for a major in Sociology. My academic counselor said that it is pretty writing intensive, which I am honestly not looking forward to!
Political Sociology
This one should be interesting. I have the same professor that I had for my social structure class last semester. The down side to that is I missed an A by one point on every single exam! Hopefully that will not be the case again this semester.
Criminology
Should be interesting!
Women and Crime
I probably wouldn't have picked this one on my own, but my academic counselor said that the teacher was really good and that everyone who takes the class loves it. The text books look pretty interesting so I am actually looking forward to this one.
It is a pretty full load especially considering everything in my life besides school. Ava, running a half marathon in April, an institute class, counseling, my church calling.......... See why I am feeling just a little bit of anxiety! Wish me luck!!! I will keep you all posted with how things are going :)
Here is what is on my schedule for the next semester:
Forgiveness and Anger Reduction
This class is online and all the course material is all ready posted. It is going to be pretty intense! Lots of reading and weekly writing assignments, group discussions and I get to teach a class at the end of the semester about letting going of grudges and forgiveness. I have to find my own group to do the class with so if anyone is interested let me know! I would really appreciate volunteers and I promise to not bore you to death :)
Childhood and Adolescent development
This class is on Wednesday nights at the Bountiful campus. I am really looking forward to this one! It should be really interesting. I am lucky enough to have Megan watch Ava while I attend this class.
Intro to Data Analysis
This is just a 1 unit online class. The class material is posted and it looks pretty doable. I will have weekly assignments due and the most daunting part of this class is I have to figure out how to instal the program needed onto my computer. The program is not Mac compatible but there are instructions to get around that and I am not looking forward to figuring it all out because I am really computer dumb!
Research Methods
This class is a requirement for a major in Sociology. My academic counselor said that it is pretty writing intensive, which I am honestly not looking forward to!
Political Sociology
This one should be interesting. I have the same professor that I had for my social structure class last semester. The down side to that is I missed an A by one point on every single exam! Hopefully that will not be the case again this semester.
Criminology
Should be interesting!
Women and Crime
I probably wouldn't have picked this one on my own, but my academic counselor said that the teacher was really good and that everyone who takes the class loves it. The text books look pretty interesting so I am actually looking forward to this one.
It is a pretty full load especially considering everything in my life besides school. Ava, running a half marathon in April, an institute class, counseling, my church calling.......... See why I am feeling just a little bit of anxiety! Wish me luck!!! I will keep you all posted with how things are going :)
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Would you go out with this guy?
I have had some pretty interesting things happen to me with my latest attempts at dating. I think I have been pretty lucky to not have had strange things happen before now. Yes, I do know that it is easy to be something you are not on the internet, good or bad. But, I have never had people be so openly forward with things. I will be polite and not share my most offensive experience with you and just share the latest one. Tell me what you think. Here is the email I received Sunday exactly the way he wrote it with my own commentary added in! Laugh, it is kind of funny and then let me know what you think cause I'm curious.
Hi Hot Momy you look so good. (ok first, momy is spelled wrong and yes I notice stupid stuff like this and while I know we all make typos this one just annoyed me for some reason. Second I DO NOT want to be called mommy by anyone but Ava especially some one I might want to date, it just doesn't work for me. A hot mama here and there by my friends or people I know, yes, but not some one of the opposite sex, EVER!) I would like to take you out and kiss you all over. (WHAT? This is kind of where my jaw dropped. I want to kiss you all over? Is that really how you introduce yourself to some one you are attracted to? I don't know but I just sat here for a minute and was like ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) My name is some weirdo you have never met!........ (I will be polite and not put his name, but we can just call him WEIRDO because it seems fitting to me)
So my main question is: Would you go out with this guy?
Now just for fun the music video of the song I Want to Kiss You All Over by Excile (1978) and the best part is the guy who sent the email looks quite similar to the long haired lead singer, just with a black comb over hairstyle.
Hi Hot Momy you look so good. (ok first, momy is spelled wrong and yes I notice stupid stuff like this and while I know we all make typos this one just annoyed me for some reason. Second I DO NOT want to be called mommy by anyone but Ava especially some one I might want to date, it just doesn't work for me. A hot mama here and there by my friends or people I know, yes, but not some one of the opposite sex, EVER!) I would like to take you out and kiss you all over. (WHAT? This is kind of where my jaw dropped. I want to kiss you all over? Is that really how you introduce yourself to some one you are attracted to? I don't know but I just sat here for a minute and was like ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) My name is some weirdo you have never met!........ (I will be polite and not put his name, but we can just call him WEIRDO because it seems fitting to me)
So my main question is: Would you go out with this guy?
Now just for fun the music video of the song I Want to Kiss You All Over by Excile (1978) and the best part is the guy who sent the email looks quite similar to the long haired lead singer, just with a black comb over hairstyle.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Uniquely Me!
We had an awesome lesson in young women's today about the divine nature we each have inside of us because we are each children of our Heavenly Father. I don't know why but today I think that in today's world we tend to look down upon loving ourselves for the things that make us each unique, special and beautiful in our own way. We talked about how knowing that we are daughters of God can affect our daily lives. I have been thinking about it a lot today. I am so lucky to know that I really am a daughter of God. He knows me. He knows my heart, the things I desire, the mistakes that I make, the mistakes that I think about making but don't make, and most of all he loves me in spite of it all. Knowing this makes me unique and special. That's right I can say it out loud and in public, I am unique and special. Here are just a few things that make me "uniquely me":
I am an in the closet picky person. I pretend to not be picky about things, but really I am. Stupid things like how I hate to eat food with my hands cause then your hands just smell like food and I think it is gross. Or how I will not walk any where bare foot. I hate being bare foot, it completely drives me crazy! Or how I would seriously consider not brushing my teeth if Colgate tooth paste is not available. There are million more but I can't tell you just how finicky I can be.
I don't like to fight with people. I stay quiet during confrontation. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it is a bad thing because often times not sticking up for myself means I get walked on a lot. I don't have any plans on changing this though, I will not become a fighter, I will stay a lover :)
I am strong. No I don't mean I have big muscles, but that I do hard things every day. When life throws me a fast one I keep my head up and face it head on. I might take a few days here and there to feel sorry for myself but for the most part I keep moving and try everyday to find a reason to smile or laugh.
I love to make people laugh and I love to laugh along with them!
I have a really big heart. I tend to love people really easily and once you are in with me you are in. I have come to consider this heart of mine a strength and weakness. While loving people is a good thing it can also lead to great heart ache. But with the good always comes the bad, right?
My sisters often times refer to me as the "brother" and I can own that. Every family needs one and as long as I can keep loving lipstick and shoes, they can call me the brother.
I have an obsession with "lotions and potions" (that is a term given by Sharon). Really I do! I cleaned out the cupboard in my bathroom and there were 27 bottles of lotion in there! I am officially grounded from making any further purchases at Bath and Body Works. It doesn't stop with the lotion. I have 6 different kinds of perfume. There are probably 5 different kinds of Shampoo and Conditioner in the hall closet. I have 4 different kinds of anti frizz hair products to choose from in the morning. My make up bag, seriously I don't even want to go there........
I make really yummy sugar cookies.
I love hugs and can never get enough of them.
I am really sentimental. I remember what some might consider stupid details, but to me they are special so I hold on to them.
I am in no way shape for form perfect. That being said I am learning to be perfectly ME and better every day.
The list could go on and on and bore you for days. These are just some of my favorite things about me.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Snow Fun!
Ava played outside with the neighbors today. The hill on the side of our house is perfect for sledding (at least for the kiddos). Thanks Anna for letting Ava play and sharing your sleds. Ava had a blast!
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