Friday, February 18, 2011

Live Laugh Love

I have been looking for ways to give my home (bedroom) a little face lift. I think I should plasticize the walls with some of my favorite quotes. They are all over these days. Here are some of my favorites. Which ones do you vote for?

Nothing is more than this day. (Some are just too deep for me)
A family without a grandmother is like an egg without salt.
I don't have a family tree, I have a forest. (I swear I saw this)
Families are Forever (You are not a good Mormon if that isn't hanging somewhere in your home.)
A happy family is but an earlier heaven
Live Laugh Love (as per title)
All because two people fell in love (Huh?)
A happy wife is a happy life
Love is spoken here
Dare to dream (I dare you)
Always together. Never apart. (Kill me!)
Because just being together is enough (Not even!)
1 mother + 1 daughter = best friends
Happiness is Homemade
He aint heavy, he's my brother ( I think there should be one about heavy sisters)
2 boys = brother

And the many that say: Family by blood, Cousins by blood, uncle by blood, aunt by blood, 2nd cousin by blood, Brothers....Sisters.... etc etc......friends by choice. (Lots of blood friend ones)

And then the one about bad breath, or getting the breath knocked out of you. Or just not being able to breathe. I don't know. Or counting how many breaths you take in a day. Or how many you should take in a year. I dunno.

I have tears rolling down my face as I type.

I'm having a contest for the best original quotes. On your mark, get set, GO!

So I have come up with a few of my own that you are all welcome to plasticize and put all over your walls:

Life is hard sometimes, like a rock.

Stairs are like climbing a mountain. Take it one step at a time.

The sunrise is the beginning of a new day

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Valentine gifts

I love Valentines Day. A great excuse to show the ones we love that we love them. Back when I used to cook, I would make a nice dinner for the fam and have some Valentine surprise on each plate. And of course I had the excuse of the holiday to buy the kiddos some cute outfit when they were little. Who knows what I did when they got older but I'm sure it was wonderful. And of course something heartfelt and wonderful for my hubby.

When Ron and I were dating (just a couple of months mind you) Ron gave me some beautiful flowers, a book, and I don't remember chocolates, but I'm sure he had to have gotten something at Cummings, or See's, or Mrs. Cavanaughs. None of the grocery store junk. After being married a few years, he bought me an incredible, very expensive Lladro. (pronounced yah-dro) It was a male and female ballerina. I thought it was kind of a weird gift considering that neither one of us were into ballet. But now I love it! I'm sure he gave me clothes cause I used to love clothes. I'm sure there were flowers and chocolate and flowers and chocolate. Romantic dinners, and not so romantic dinners as well.

So what would I love for my Valentines gift? First thing that always comes to mind is expensive jewelry. You can never go wrong with that! Don't worry if it's not in the budget. WORK IT OUT! Not rings. I don't like my hands anymore. And necklaces are out. They clash with my tubing. And I don't want anything to take away from the loveliness of that. Bracelets and earrings, preferably with diamonds. They are a go. And a fancy watch. That would work too. Actually, not too fancy. I'm too hard on watches. Just some cute stylish one at Costco would be just fine. Maybe one where you could switch out the bands to match any given outfit. Or anything that would look great with my assortment of sweatshirts. Sweatshirts! You can never have anough! More sweatshirts. Yeah, that would be good. And of course a grand piano is always on the list.

I love flowers. From Costco. Prettiest ones around AND you get the best bang for your buck. I want to paint my bed and bathroom. So maybe a gift cert from Home Depot but then you have to do the painting as well. Oh and man do I need (not want) a pedicure. I never get them in the winter. But yes, I need one.

It was brought to my attention last night of my love for chocolate. Damn I hate that I love it so much! Thrown in with that, was my love of percocet. (I'm sure I would still love it.) So, if you want to find that really special something, I would really, really. REALLY love a dish of chocolate covered percocet, or any chocolate covered narco! That would top any and everything on this very conservative list. Just sayin.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Love

I love Valentines Day. It is a no pressure holiday that gives us a special day to express our love to those close to us. Which ties in perfectly to a I thought I had.

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with the sadness and pain that goes on in the world. I have to stay away from the nightly news when I am especially vulnerable. And I am right now. There are people close to me who are hurting. And I can't do anything about it except pray and pray. I pull the covers over my head and hope it all goes away.

I often joke that I didn't vote for God's plan. I say I was put in the wrong line. Tell me what to do, how to do it, and that works great with me. This free agency stuff is more than I can handle sometimes. Remember, I am joking, I think I did know how tough this life would be. I think we knew more than we think we did. We were intelligences. Right?

I believe that the love I felt was so incredible, so overwhelming by being in the presence of my Savoir, that I was willing to do whatever it took to be surrounded by that love eternally. I think it was all about pure love.

So my goal is to figure out how to tap into that intense love whenever I need to feel His presence. It is there for me. I have felt it many times. I just forget sometimes.

Today I am grateful for that love and grateful that I remembered.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Do over

I visit the past too often, especially lately. High school. I am one of the crazy ones who would do it over and over and over yet again. I loved it. It was all about music and friends and skiing and Lake Powell and our little family cabin at Bear Lake. It was about going on crazy fun conventions/vacations with my family. It was about going on many funny little adventures with my friends. And I was blessed with SOOOO many GREAT friends. There were alot of us. Really. I've heard you can only have a few best friends. There were many best friends in our group.

I would have done some things different as well. That is a place I go too often. On days like today. What would be different? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. I would have taken education more seriously. I would have graduated from college. I would have been a choir teacher. I would have liked to get my Phd in music. I would have minored in history. I love history. I would have loved teaching history as well. I would not have gotten married so young. Lots of my friends did. The Mormon culture thing I guess. i would have gone on adventures around the world, like trekking to the base of Mt Everest, or an African safari. Or a humanitarian mission in a third world country. Or skied the Swiss Alps. Or visited my ancestors in Sweden.

I pretty much had a fairy book childhood. I miss it sometimes. I miss it today. I want to be carefree and have my biggest worries be what boy I liked and if he liked me back. I want to worry about what I'm going to wear to prom, or if I'm going to be asked at all. I want to worry about whose turn it is to drive to the ski resort, or wonder if I'll be able to fake it at my piano lesson if I didn't practice so well that week. I loved to practice! I would play the piano all the time. I got to accompany the school choirs. I would sight read the music all the time and did a good job. My choir teacher was my piano teacher as well. John and I are going to visit Mr C next week. I look forward to that. He was a huge influence in my love of music. Mr C. And John and I were in madrigals and accapella together. We both love Mr C.

Well back to reality. I just feel sad and stressed and sick and tired, and sick of being sick. Sometimes I wish I could have a do-over. Do you?