My Room

I thought that today could use a special blog post that I have been wanting to talk about for a few weeks. My room. I know, I know, you all were looking forward to my Christmas posts. But I'm listening to Christmas music while I write this, so it counts for me!
Ok, so my room. I had this room when we first moved into this house. When I went off to college, Jenny took it over, painted it, and made it her own. I inherited her old room with significantly less room and even less closet space. Very nice. Actually, it didn't matter too much as I was only home for a week at a time. But when I moved back here this year, it became obvious that the smaller room was not going to do. So I took my room over again. We rearranged all of the furniture and totally changed the look of the room, and now it is starting to feel like my own room again.
In one corner, we have the night stand that has been in our family since it started. In another corner, my lotion collection, box of textbooks, and other randomness. In the last available corner [the fourth is where the door is], my DVD collection, which is kinda huge. My desk rests against one wall, my bookshelf another, my bed the third, and the fourth and longest wall....well, that's my dresser...and my massive pile of randomness that includes a big bag of plastic bags, my Christmas bin, and Christmas presents that don't require hiding in my closet.
On my desk, there is a very nice collection of random papers. I have no idea what some of these are. On top there is usually pictures....yeah, they're just frames at the moment.
On my walls...My name painted in tropical letters that I got from Sea World when I was 10, a plaque from my volunteering days at the hospital that says "Live Simply, Laugh Often, Love Deeply", my painting from Paris, and my new wooden plaque thing from the Saurkraut Fest that says "Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain."
My closet....maybe we won't go there. It's crowded...but not with clothes. With stuff. And a few Christmas presents.
My favorite part of my room, I think, is my headboard. It's a book shelf. Yes, now I have books within six inches of my head while I sleep. PERFECT!
Oh, and the walls of my room are blue. Jenny picked it out. It used to look like I was underwater in a pool, but now it's just my room.
So now you know. Hope you feel empowered.
What does my room say about me? What does YOUR room say about you?

My Mommy

As you can see, I have updated my blog design to reflect the season. It is officially Christmas time and I am STOKED.
But today is not about Christmas [don't worry, every other day probably will be]. Today is about my mom. It's her birthday today and I am so grateful for her!
Ever since I can remember, my mom has been exactly the same: patient, caring, strong, and cheerful. I can count on one hand the number of times she has been grouchy or sad. She's always doing something for someone else, whether it's making dinner for all of us, baking cookies for friends, sewing pillowcases for the holidays, or preparing lessons for seminary.
She's a motivator. She has always been there for us to turn to when we think we can't do it any more and tells us that it's ok, we can go just a little further. She has so much faith that it's difficult to doubt when she tells you that you can do it.
She never thinks of herself at all. Everything is about other people. She will wear herself out doing things that 'need to get done' and then, after all of that, MAYBE she'll sit down with hot chocolate. Maybe. She'll probably remember something else during that.
She's a new grandma and she's loving it. She's so good with Carly and with helping out C and E whenever she's there. It makes me happy and I know that when I have children, they'll have a grandma that adores them and spoils them just like a grandma should.
I love my mom. I don't think there is a better mom in all the world. There certainly isn't a better one for me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMY!

Rolls....

Today I am grateful [VERY grateful] for my mom's homemade rolls. We're getting ready to make some for Thanksgiving on Thursday, and I am SOOOOOOOO excited. These rolls are the greatest thing EVER. There isn't even something to compare it to, they are so good. It's like love, peace, happiness, and joy all baked into this little piece of breaded heaven and when you have one...you are never the same.
We only get Weesa Rolls, as they are affectionately called, on special occasions. Literally, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Bonus points for Christmas when half of the dough is turned into cinnamon rolls, which will not be discussed at this time because I refuse to drool on my computer. But the rolls..... Ugh, I am dreading baking them today because I love the smell so much and I can't have any until Thanksgiving...
Blessed be the rolls my mama creates. If you could bake your way to heaven, she'd be there and back and there again.

Last week

Whew, I am glad that week is over! I didn't post anything, I know, but I can hoenstly tell you that it was the week from HECK. Now, part of it was good [the last few days were actually pretty dang awesome] but I went through some CRAP before that. But suffice it to say that it is over, my athletic training test is over, and my brain seems to be back on track.
Last week, I was grateful for the following things, in no particular order:
- My family, who have always been there to lift me up and support me no matter how unbalanced I seem
- Warm sun and cool breezes that remind me to take slow deep breaths and relax
- A good friend who helps you through tough times just by being there
- A job that I love and keeps me busy and makes me happy to do what I do
- General Conference talks that seem to find the little things you need to know and show you just how simple it can be to understand
- Good movies that uplift and inspire and help you to step back and look at the big picture
- The Lord. Honestly, I couldn't have done any of this week without Him.

Anyway, today I am grateful for health. I've been feeling a bit crummy over the last month or so, and I think it just might be over. I've learned that it is entirely possible to get everything you need to accomplished even if you don't feel like it with a little faith and prayer. Just because you don't feel good doesn't mean you have to feel bad. And smile through it. A smile goes a long way towards healing whatever ails you.
And by the way, I saw New Moon on opening night. FANTASTIC. Go see it.

Church

Today I am grateful for Church.
I know, I know, it's Sunday, and we're all grateful for Church on Sunday.
But I mean it.
I felt so tired this morning and I was not in the mood to go to Church AT ALL. I just wanted to stay in bed. But I knew that I had to go cuz I'm in charge of some things soon, so I had to talk to people, and I had an activities committee meeting after....
So I went.
And I'm so glad I did. Less than halfway through the first hour, I felt fine again. I was happy, I was awake, and I was at peace. It felt wonderful to be there. And now I feel so rejuvenated and I know I can make it through this next week.
Whatever Church you go to, be grateful for it. I am a firm believer that solid activity in religion makes us better people, is good for our health, and especially good for our souls.
GO TO CHURCH!!!! You won't regret it, I promise.

Bagels

Today I am grateful for bagels. My parents had a dinner group at our house last night and they opted to have soup and breadbowls, compliments of Panera. And because my mommy loves me so much, she bought some bagels so that I could have one at breakfast today.

And it was sooooooooooooo good. Cinnamon crunch...YUM!

But let's think honestly...bagels are great! I spent four years of my life having bagels for breakfast for at least half of the school year. Bagels and strawberry cream cheese...in the middle of seminary....after having morning swim practice... But who invented the bagel? Who thought "Let's make a doughnut that's more bread than cake, slice it in half, and put this cheesy substance on it!"? They should win an award. I mean, the entire existence of a number of bread places would be seriously hindered if there were no bagels.

Bagels...amazing. I'm grateful for them. Who knows what I might have been forced to eat if they didn't exist.

Children

Today I am grateful for children. Odd, I know, considering I have none, but let me explain what I mean.
1) My neice was born three months ago this week. I realize I already said I was grateful for Carly, but we'll spend a few moments here anyway. Since Carly has been born, my whole family has been changed. I've seen my parents morph into grandparents [and they were very happy to do so]. I've watched as my brother and his wife have become real life adults and are now parents. And my sisters and I have become aunts...which we LOVE. And watching Carly grow is amazing and I love it.
2) My main reason for being grateful for children today is this one. The innocence of children. My mom and I took two little girls to the local high school play last night. It was CSI Neverland. It was a pretty cute show, but I was more entertained watching the girls watch the play than me watching it myself. They were literally on the edge of their seats. If they could have gone closer, they so would have. They were entraced. They laughed at everything and they shouted when Tinkerbelle asked the audience to say they did believe in fairies. It was adaorable.
And with Christmas coming, children are even more adorable to watch. The Christmas commercials that make me cry the most are those involving children. Walmart has a good one out where a kid wishes for snow for his dad for Christmas...and his dad is in Iraq or Afghanistan and it actually snows. Macy's has one about a girl delivering her letter to Santa, and it has that famous "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" quote going. I don't know why, but I love them and I tear up every time.
I'm grateful for children. I hope someday I get to have some of my own. But this Thanksgiving and holiday season, watch the children. You might learn something.

Frost...

Today I'm grateful for frost.

"How bizarre..." you say to yourself. "What is this girl on, really?"

But truly, I'm fine. And I'm entirely serious.

One of my favorite things of the fall/early winter is waking up to find a frost on the ground. One, it means it was cold enough during the night that the precipitation froze, which just tickles me because I like cold. I know, I'm sick. Two, it makes everything look so dang cool! And when the sun hits the frosted ground, a kind of mist rises and it gives the appearance of mystery and enchantedness to the whole area, which is also really dang cool. And three, frost is not snow. Now, I love snow. I just hate driving in snow. With frost we get the beauty of snow, sort of, and none of the badness of snow. It's a win-win, right?

I love what frost does to the grass and the leaves and yes, even car windows. When I woke up a few minutes ago and looked out side, saw that it was sunny and there was a frost on the ground, I grinned to myself and said to my dog Sam, "And frost, too? We're just winning all over the place today, Sam!" She wagged her tail in response, so she must like frost too.

Sadly, however, frost will not stay long. So you have to be an early enough riser to be able to witness it, but don't worry. It's worth the sacrifice of sleep.

I'm grateful for frost, people. And so should you be!

Fuzzy socks

Today I'm grateful for fuzzy socks. I know, I know, that's silly, but I can assure you that not all socks are created equal, oh no. Regular socks get the job done, but do they give you any happiness? And regular socks are totally different than holiday socks, which always make people happy, so don't even try to go there.

No, no, fuzzy socks are the epitome of great sock-ness. They're warm, soft, comfortable, and even when they sometimes slide so that the heel is actually on top of your foot, you can still wear them comfortable and not even care that it's backwards now. I don't remember when I was first indtroduced to the fuzzy sock... It must have been a Christmas, because I am fairly certain that it was my grandmother, a saint among women and all people, who included my first pair of fuzzy socks in one of her Never-Ending Presents. Yes, Never Ending. She's a regular Willy Wonka of Christmas. A box that can be used for many different things is stuffed with smaller gifts, all wrapped indivdually, and of varying topics. Jewelry, books, nail files, pouches, bookmarks, etc... And one year, socks. But not just any old sock, oh no. [althoguh she has done that as well...] These were FUZZY SOCKS!

And I was never the same. Winter just isn't winter without the comfort of fuzzy socks after a long day. Sitting on the couch with your hot chocolate, blanket, and fuzzy socks...life doesn't get any better than that.

Unless there is a lit up Christmas tree in the room, too, in which case, congratulations, you have reached the height of happiness. You can die in peace.

Now go out and get yourself some fuzzy socks! I mean, money can't really buy you happiness, right? But hey, if you buy fuzzy socks, you can get dang close!

Yesterday and Today

I realized about half way through yesterday that I didn't say what I was grateful for on THAT day in the midst of catching up on all the other days! I felt really stupid for about three seconds, and then I shrugged it off, cuz honestly, who is reading this anyway? This is more of a project for me than anything to post out in cyber-space.
Yesterday I was grateful for good flavored toothpaste. It sounds silly, but when you have to spend a few days using toothpaste that gets the job done, but leaves a taste in your mouth that almost makes you wish it didn't so that you could skip it all together, getting a toothpaste that is refreshing is pretty much the best thing ever. My curent preference is Crest Whitening with Scope, the Minty Fresh Striped version. No idea why, but it makes my teeth [and the rest of my mouth] very happy. Maybe I should be grateful for the bad tasting one, too, because otherwise I might not realize how great my normal toothpaste is!
Today I'm grateful for my dog Sammie. I spend much of my day in the quiet of my house and Sammie is always there for me to talk to and she'll just look up at me and wag her tail like it made her happy just to see me. And when I accidently trip over something in the dark on my way back from the bathroom in the middle of the night and step on her tail, she still likes me and waits for me to pet her. Yeah...she's a good dog.

Weekend Wrap-up

I went to Tennessee this weekend to watch my sister swim and to visit my brother's family, so I couldn't do my grateful posts until today, so let's do that wrap up now, shall we?
Friday I was grateful for pillows. See, when we go to Tennessee, my parents like to go early in the morning so that we have more time when we get there. This time we left at 6 am, which was later than the last time we went. I basically rolled out of bed, threw on some normal-ish looking clothes, and promptly fell asleep in the car. I was very grateful for my pillow because when you are jammed in the back seat of the car and only half awake, a pillow makes the whole thing a lot less painful. It was almost really comfortable!
Saturday I was grateful for my niece Carly. I love that baby girl to pieces! She is so stinkin' cute and learning so much so quickly! We [my mom and I] got her to roll over twice when we baby sat that night and almost made her laugh [she's not quite doing that yet]. She has this huge grin that she only gives out once in a while and there is nothing like it! Just holding her and playing with her made my night and I would gladly do it any time!
Sunday I was grateful for music. Again with the long car ride, and I'm grateful I had my ipod because it made the trip go faster and not seem like such a bad thing. Now, I'll be even more grateful when I can start playing Christmas music because that is one of my all time favorite things in the whole world, but for the time being, regular music is pretty dang good as well.
So that's what I was grateful for over the weekend. It was a pretty fun weekend, too, and I'm really glad we did it. Now it's back to the grind and time to work hard until Thanksgiving...when I get to go back!

Sunshine and Sarah

Today I'm grateful for sunshine. I can hardly think of a better way to wake up than to have the sun shining brightly through the trees and giving everything that warm golden glow. It made me smile just coming out of the bedroom and seeing how bright and sunny it was outside. And when the colors of fall are as beautiful as they are now, the bright sun makes them even more colorful and happy, and when the sky is the bright blue that it is.... Ugh, these are my favorite types of days. Bright, sunny fall days when it's cool, but the sun makes you warm anyway.

But even when it's not fall, the sunshine makes me happy. I adore those cold winter days when the sun is out and everything snow covered just shimmers in the sunlight. In the spring, the sunny days are perfect. In summer....well, it depends on the temperature, but most of the time, the sunshine makes the day wonderful.

I'm grateful for sunshine! I think I'll take a long walk today because of it.

~~~~~~~~

In other, more important news, it is my sister Sarah's birthday today!!! She's 22, and can I just say that it is so weird to have a younger sibling who is 22? But anyway...

Sarah is a very funny person. She has made our family laugh pretty much since the day she was born. I don't remember her back then, but we have her on video as a baby and we all love watching her in those days. Whether it's slapping her self in the eye with a towel or making strange noises or just making funny faces, she manages to brighten up every moment.

She was such a beautiful baby. In fact, our mother has commented that she was the prettiest, and none of us argue the fact. She has always had big beautiful eyes and a big smile. She's grown up into a beautiful lady, and I'm so happy she's my sister! She's been a great example to me and I am grateful that she was born today.

I love you, Sarah! Happy Birthday!

Heaters

Today it's gonna be short, but that's ok.
I'm grateful for heaters. You know, the vents in the house? And when it's cold outside, the vents magically give off warmth at certain times. And if you're lucky, you can be there when it starts. The best thing is getting a blanket and laying down with your feet on the heater vent and tucking your feet into the blanket and then enjoying the warmth that travels up the length of you.
Truly glorious, and I am truly grateful.

My Robe

My sister has decided that she is going to be specifically grateful for something every day of this month. I thought that was a good idea, and so I'm going to do that too.

Today I am grateful for my bathrobe. It was a Christmas present from my uncle Mike and aunt Audrey last year [officially, I think it was from one of their kids, but we all know who buys our presents, right?], and it is one of the most wonderful things I own. It's blue and soft and fuzzy, and on cold mornings like this one, it is the perfect thing to throw on for a few hours.

I've had robes before, but they weren't very good. This one is a masterpiece. It's made by Capelli New York and while I have no idea what that means, I am very VERY grateful for it. There's just something about stepping out of the shower and toweling off and then putting on a warm, soft robe that stops your shivers and goosebumps and makes you sigh in relief.

In this robe, I eat breakfast, drink hot chocolate, walk around in my slippers... I told you, I love it! I recommend it to any woman who likes robes, who likes fuzzy things, and who likes being warm and cozy.

Thank you, Mike and Audrey and whichever cousin officially gave it to me. Thank you, Capelli New York. Thank you, genius who decided that robes should be invented.

November!

November is here! And because of that, I feel like I should post...
The first day of November, yesterday, was awesome. It started with a frost. That just makes me happy. I love frost. It's so pretty!!! Then, as if the first three minutes of my being awake couldn't get better, the heater was on. Let me explain something to you: I am the sort of person that LOVES having the heater on. I take blankets and go sit on the heater and get warm. I have always been that way and I'm pretty sure that I always will be. I LOVE heaters!
Anyway, then we had stake conference, which was FABULOUS. Best stake conference ever, I have no doubt. Then we went to some friends for dinner, and then came home and went for a walk, and it was a BEAUTIFUL day. Perfect walk weather.
And then...THEN.....as if the day couldn't be MORE better, there was a CES fireside with President Uchtdorf, whom I LOVE. He was funny, he was direct, and the Spirit was SO strong. It was the best CES fireside I have ever seen. I can't wait for the text to become available so I can read it again!
Anyway, that was just yesterday! I have no expectations of today, but what a way to begin a month! And November is so much fun already. I mean, I get to see New Moon in a few weeks, and I get to see Carly TWICE this month, it's Sarah's birthday THIS WEEK, and we get Thanksgiving and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade [don't get me started, I LOVE that parade], and then it's my mommy's birthday, and somewhere around there we get our CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!
November is wonderful. It's brisk and cool and there is so much excitement as Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, and holiday shopping gets under way.....
Honestly, who doesn't love this month?