Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I like these...

I love a good quote. (So after you read this add your favorites.... the more the better.) I love when quotes are thoughtful, poignant, or just simple truth. I was looking for a paticular quote, didn't find it, but found these from Charles Dickens. I love Charles Dickens. It is wonderful that a story he wrote in the 1840's (A Christmas Carol) is still being read and performed to this day. Some things are timeless.



“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.”



“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”

“There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . . it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . in short, the period was so far like the present period . . . .”

“The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.”

“Cheerfulness and contentment are great beautifiers, and are fatuous preservers of youthful looks”

“A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self.”

“No one is useless in the world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.”

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts”

It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour."
- A Christmas Carol

Saturday, December 12, 2009

I love Google Reader.

Why have I taken so long to use it? It is wonderful. The only drawback is that it doesn't show me private blogs, but oh well. I love it.

Do y'all use it?

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Can I add one more the the wishlist?

When I first tried to answer the following, 1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?, I had a terrible time. Now the floodgates have opened, I keep thinking of things to add to the list...
Top of the list: An oven and stovetop that work. Our current range is a piece of work.... It works, sometimes....

It just gets old when it keeps shutting itself off when I am baking. I am grateful that I can still use the range. Since it is gas I can light it with a match when it won't fire up. Fun. (Really it's not so bad.)

What appliances do you struggle with?

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I need this! You can enter too!

I have wanted this bike from Madsen for EVER! With a little bit of luck I will win it! :) I wish, I wish....



Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme


TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
Besides a few unnamed miracles, I would like: 
-A Laptop... with Windows 7, Office, and Antivirus... etc. (Someone be my secret Santa....)
-A massage (a real, gets-you-so-relaxed-that-you-can't-get-up-after massage).
-A great gift for my husband.
-Clothes. Someone could always turn me in- What Not To Wear is for people like me.
-A cargo bike from Madsen.... Or something new for the kitchen, like a new set of pots and pans.

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
Probably blankets for my kids.

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
-Scarf and hat combos for everyone.
-My husbands jean quilt I started last year. ...

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
I remember getting a bike. Or the year I got rollerblades. :)

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
-Hungry Hungry Hippos.... (again... he has already broken 2 of them)
-A ballerina dress, a princess dress, barbies, tap shoes. (Izzy loves girly stuff!)
-A dog (and they can't have that unless it is a Fur Real Friend.)

6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Mashed Potatoes and Turkey

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
Maybe some cookies... I am not as crafty as I would like to be.

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
While You Were Sleeping or Elf

9. Favorite holiday song?
There are too many to pick one. I love the classics. Songs you can sing with your kids...

10. Favorite holiday pastime?
Decorating the tree with the kidlettes. Or sledding then having hot chocolate.
If there is enough snow the kids want to build a cave.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Struggles are good...

We have had a roller-coaster of a year financially(not a nice/fun roller-coaster, something big and scary, that you never want to get on ever again), and I have been thinking about the struggles that come with that. I don't want to talk about all the negitive things, and I don't want to share our finances with anyone, but I just want to say that I really feel positive about the future.

In life, things will happen good or bad and we get to deal with them. It is part of being human. We have crazy days and grumpy days, happy days and not-so-happy ones, but overall I am hopeful that reguardless of our circumstances things will work out for our benefit. Now, maybe that benefit isn't until after we die(aka "not in this life"), but we will learn and progress. Everything is for our education, in preparation for the future. So, here is to a better year.
...And as they say in Meet the Robinsons, "Keep moving forward." (I love this show.)

New Calling

Yesterday, a couple hours before church the phone rang. You know where this is headed, I was either about to be asked to say the prayer for Sacrament Meeting or be called to/released from a calling. A meeting was arranged and 20 minutes before church I had a new calling.

I will be extremely sad to see my Senior Primary go. I love the kids in our ward. The good news, I get to serve in Young Women! I have always wanted to serve there. Let's hope our Loan Mod goes through so I can actually stay in YW. :) I am really excited. I hope I don't come across as too strange. We shall see.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

50 free 4x8 photo cards

Offer ends Nov 30th.
Thank you so much Jill for bringing this to my attention.

"You can order 50 free 4x8 photo cards using the coupon code freebies4mom-1109 (type in that code) at SeeHere by Fujifilm." (Thank you Freebies 4 Mom)

Friday, November 20, 2009

thank⋅ful 

[thangk-fuhl]
–adjective feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.


I am grateful for so many things. I love my husband. I am so grateful for him, for my children. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and seeing Rebecca and her family and finally meeting her little Preston. I am grateful for my parents and sisters.

I am grateful to have wonderful in-laws. Glad that I get along with them and enjoy spending time with them even if Dave isn't there. I am happy to be part of their family.

I am grateful for good friends. The kind you can go years without talking to and then you go to lunch and it's like you have never been apart. I am grateful for friends that love me no matter what.

I am grateful for repentance and the opportunity to make things right and become someone better, someone happier, and someone whole. I am grateful for the Gospel and the Temple. Thankful for the Atonement and for Jesus Christ.

I am grateful for good influences in my life. I am grateful for friends that ask earnest questions that lead us to places where we both learn from the answer. I am thankful for life. Even though I struggle, just like everyone else in the world, I know there is a purpose for all of it. I am grateful for the chance to be me. I am thankful to know that one day I will be completely comfortable in my own skin.

I am grateful for good food, movies, music, books, technology, etc.

I am thankful for my voice and the feelings I get when I sing.

What are you grateful for?

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Check the Window?

Today my sister and I were chatting and she was going on and on and on about what an amazing mother I am. Well, maybe you can forget the second and third "and on" but she did say I do "everything" for my kids. (She meant I do the best I can for them.) That made me think ... Yes, I do everything I can for them (with the help of dear ol' Dave, of course). I provide for their needs. Sometimes I provide the way for their needs to be met and they have to make the choice to get what they want (i.e. eat your casserole ...).

I was also thinking, I do everything for them alright....  I lose my patience which leads to yelling. I give them a good spank now and then. (Which does nothing anyway. Izzy is usually back out of bed in 10 seconds and giggling.)  I let them admire my back while I sit at the computer for a "couple" more minutes. I am the greatest. I was even talking with a neighbor last week about raising my voice to the kids and then she mentioned checking to see if the window was open. I thought I was the only person in the world to do this. You yell, you feel bad, you check to see if the window was open (you know, to make sure the neighbors didn't hear). Have you done it? I was shocked to know she had done it before, because I thought I was the only mom mean enough to be yelling at my kids with the windows open or closed.

Yes, I am guilty of those things. Most moms are.

I am also happy to report I have had some great moments. The feel-good-because-you-are-being-a-good-mom moments. You know them. You are in the midst of your daughter showing you her Linda Blair impersonation, which turns out to be really good, and for some reason you just feel calm. Like nothing she could (and will) do could set you off. I love and need those moments. The moments when you react with more patience than you ever thought yourself capable of having. I love when you react just the right way and your child's crazy turns to quirky or silly. Sometimes they stay in spawn-of-satan mode, but many times they come around and everyone is better off because of it.

I will remember to live by my mom's advice about what to do when you are mad: You will be nicer to your kids if you pretend they are someone else's. And remember my own advice: Pretend there is always someone in the other room. I guess I just need to resolve to be better. Check myself before the window needs checking.

In regards to restraining the beast within (you know you have one and kids are great to bring it out), what tricks are up your sleeve?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Out of Print?


I love this musical. I cannot count how many times I have watched it since childhood. My mom owns an old VHS copy. Sadly, this film is out of print. The funny thing is that I found it on Fancast. You can watch it online, but you can't get it on DVD? What is up with that? If you like musicals and you enjoy Kevin Kline you should click here and watch it.

You can also watch Charade, The Pit and the Pendulum, Heart and Souls, and more.

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Perfection Illusion.


Do you often find yourself thinking you are "not good enough?" Honesly, this is something that frequents my thoughts. I am a comparer, one in recovery. My newest tactic: Compare old me to new me. Yesterday I read this post, and my friend shared many of my thoughts. I actually chatted with her in her driveway a few months back about the same thing.I have always seen here as one of the Perfects, and have had to learn that she struggles too. (Sorry, Jen, I am just being honest. You always seem so on top of everthing!) There are just so many people out there inflicting issues on themselves by inaccurately comparing something they are not good at with something the neighbor is great at. Why are we always comparing our worst to someone else’s best? All of us struggle.

Anya Bateman said, “Such feelings of inadequacy, discouragement, and even jealousy are unfortunately common to many of us when we compare ourselves to others. Yet it’s difficult not to compare—and too often as we do, we feel we are lacking. We respond with: “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I be like that?” or “He has all the luck. It just isn’t fair.” We may even feel guilty that we aren’t doing more because some other person we know of seems to be doing so much. Sometimes we develop the “why try?” attitude: “I could never do as well, so why try?”

“It seems the adversary does his best work when he convinces people to concentrate on what they don’t do or don’t have, rather than on what they can do and do have. We each have special gifts and blessings. The trick is realizing what they are and acknowledging them.” Read the whole article here.

Perfection is an illusion (at least in this life) and if we actually had perfection there would be no reason to be here. Do you agree? Without trial there would be no reason to come to earth. Isn’t this life about trial and error? Would you want to limit your growth potential? Isn’t that essentially what we are doing when we compare ourselves to others, limited our potential. Giving up before we've earnestly tried.

If you are so focused on others will you look back with regret at lost opportunities?

One of my favorite quotes:
Hell is the knowledge of opportunity lost; the place where the man I am comes face to face with the man I might have been. - Anonymous

Perhaps we all live under some misconceptions . . . It is natural to assume that everyone else has his life under control and doesn’t have to deal with dark little weaknesses and imperfections.

"There is a natural, probably a mortal, tendency to compare ourselves with others. Unfortunately, when we make these comparisons, we tend to compare our weakest attributes with someone else’s strongest. . . . comparisons are destructive and only reinforce the fear that somehow we don’t measure up and therefore we must not be as worthy as the next person.


"We need to come to terms with our desire to reach perfection and our frustration when our accomplishments or behaviors are less than perfect. I feel that one of the great myths we would do well to dispel is that we’ve come to earth to perfect ourselves, and nothing short of that will do. If I understand the teachings of the prophets of this dispensation correctly, we will not become perfect in this life, though we can make significant strides toward that goal.” (From Marvin J Ashton's Ensign Atricle)

I guess what this all boils down to what Jen said, "life doesn't have to be about looking perfect and having everything that you see others have to be successful. You can find happiness in your imperfections and weaknesses."

Gordon B Hinckley always said to do the very best we can. That is all we can do. Do your best. Try to be better than your former you! It's hard to stop wishing for the greener grass, the grass isn't alway greener on the other side. Maybe they appear to have everything in balance, but behind closed doors they unleash the beast we all try to keep sedated in public.

I think that is the the most important thing I learned in my yoga training. Yoga is about self-awareness. Not others-awareness. You can look to others for ideas, as a guide, but that is all. We all do things differently. You take time to breath, look inside, discover your strengths, aknowledge your weakness, and push forward to something better. A better you. You have to look inside and find the strength to continue through a difficult vinyasa, hold, or balancing pose. In yoga you have to be honest with yourself about your ability or you can hurt yourself. So it is with life. Find your strengths and build on them.

I think we are all similar in the fact that we all have hardships to deal with. Maybe if we think of that next time that judgemental voice pops in our head we will be less likely to harm ourselves or others. We need to help one another.




What has helped you stop playing in the comparing game?

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

My Favorites.

(Author's note: This post started out as my favorite BBC Period dramas and then things just started branching out.... I tried to stop it before the dam broke. More and more movies came to mind, so here I have stopped. Hope you enjoy.)

I love Period Dramas. I enjoy many of them, and there are some that are exceptional and need to be shared with others.. I have been wanting to compile a list of favorites for a long time. I figure putting in on my blog would make it easily accessible. Most are BBC or Masterpiece Theater. Some are regular movies. There are so many this is just a start. I am always looking for more, so if you have one you love that is MIA please leave me the title. Also I would love to know your favorites. If you want any specific reviews just comment or email me.  I am sure I have forgotten some and will make amendments as I think of them. There are just so many... check out this website. Their timeline is great to put everything in perspective as to when different shows would have taken place in history.

By the way, you can rent most of these from the Library.

Without any further ado . . .


The Best aka My Top 5

These are clearly my most favorites. Maybe in their own ways they are all #1. There are many versions of Jane Eyre and P&P but these are my favorites. Sorry Timothy Dalton, Toby Stephens made this Jane Eyre the best of the lot. Cranford is fabulous and Wives and Daughters is wonderful.


     

 Almost The Best



These also belong close to the top.




Very Good

OK. Some of these are more modern, etc, but they are good. I guess from this point we leave the more common time period of Austen, Gaskell, Dickens, etc.
I love the Taming of the Shrew from Shakespeare Retold, and Much Ado About Nothing I can watch over and over.                 






Good



Alright, I can't get the pictures to align how I please. This will have to do.


If you liked many of the above, you might like some of these . . .





I so wanted to like both of the following, but they just didn't work for me. Lillies was so great, and then it just had too much "modern" stuff.




I love movies and this post got me thinking about just how many. I wish blogger had extra small images, then I could make one post about all my favorite "normal" movies.