Christmas Card

So I'm not very good at mailing out Christmas Cards - ok I'll be honest I'm not very good at mailing out anything! So since it's Christmas Eve and I have yet to mail out the cards -fine they haven't even been printed yet, I'm a little behind. I decided to post the card for all to enjoy. Merry Christmas!

Screeeeech! Stop. Wait... 2011 is almost over?

Is it just me or did this year fly by? We are now half way through December and my brain thinks it should still be September. Where has all the time gone? And where can I go to get it back? There was so much I wanted to get done, so much I needed to do.

And there's no way it's getting done in the few weeks that are left of this year.

Maybe I need to slow down. Not do as much. Become a homebody. Figure out how to clone myself. Invent a time machine. Quit my job. Hire a personal assistant to do all the things I really should but don't have the time to do - or don't want to do as the case may be. Fly to the moon and forget about everything here. Join the circus. Throw my hands in the air like I just don't care.

I have options. Not all of them good but options none the less.

Maybe I won't miss out on 2012.

Like a Lighthouse

I made this years ago for a roommate of mine that loved the poem. It is a compilation of a random lighthouse picture from the internet and a well known print of Christ from a LDS artist that escapes my memory (If you happen to know who painted it please remind me in the comments).
Over the years it's been a reminder to me of who to look toward for guidence when life gets tough - that even though there may be rocky shores ahead if we look to Jesus Christ and follow His example we can safely navigate the rough waters home.

Goals

As the end of the year approaches I have thought a lot about goals. I tend to make goals and then never plan how to achieve them so there they sit by the wayside in some dark corner of my mind. I was reading "Eldest" the second book in the Inheritance series and came across a wonderful thought:

This is my brother and his adorable son on our
Thanksgiving hike 2 years ago

It doesn't matter what if we ever reach our goal as long as we are on the path to achieve it. It is in the journey that we learn and grow not in the actual accomplishment of a goal. Sure the feeling of finally accomplishing something we set out to do is awesome but I think I focus to much on the end and not enough on the in between. So this year as I set my goals for next year I will plan how to achieve them with the thought in mind that it is the journey not the goal that really matters.

A Letter to my Favorite Client

Dear Client:

It would make my job so much easier and yours as well if you would give me ALL the information to begin with. I do not appreciate doing work multiple time because you forgot or didn't feel certain information was important enough to pass on until I sent you what you asked for.

So in the future, PLEASE I BEG YOU, give me all the information first thing even the stuff you don't think is important.

Sincerly,
Me

A Lesson in Common Sense

If you are sick - stay home.

It's the nice thing to do. Especially if you know it is contagious i.e. you "got it" from someone else.

The excuse that "I can be home and miserable or at church being spiritually fed and miserable" is no excuse to subject your friends to your germs. If you want to be spiritually feed... read your scriptures, watch a church movie, listen to a few conference talks - by yourself.

Don't infect your friends and make them miserable. That is rude.

You may not care about your health but I care about mine and don't have time to be sick and miserable so do everyone a favor and go to the doctor and put yourself in quarantine.

They missed me....

Ok maybe missed is the wrong word, but they noticed I wasn't there. Let me explain...

I have this favorite restaurant - well it's not really a restaurant it's a catering company that opens it's doors for the lunch time crowd - it's seriously has the best yummiest salads out there. I always get the trio - a sampling of 3 salads of my choosing (and they have tons to choose from).

Anyway I digress.

I used to frequent said haven for all things yummy once a week, they know be by name there I stopped by so much.

Well I hadn't been in a while - like months - I was going through withdraws (yes I'm addicted to their signature pasta salad) so on a whim I decided to not eat my peanut butter and honey sandwhich for lunch today and feed my addiction treat myself.

When I got up to the cashier -who was the only guy I recognized in the place- he said "Sandy, haven't seen you in a while! how've you been?" There's nothing like the feeling of someone noticing you were gone.

That sealed the deal - I need to start going more often again. I've missed them too.

Black and White

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of there only being black and white. Light and Dark. No middle ground. No fence sitting. Either it is good and comes from God or it bad and comes from Satan.

At first it seemed a harsh way of looking at life and things. There is so many good things - tv shows, movies, music - that are basically good except for that one part. Those shades of gray in between, what about those? The mostly white things with a little bit of black. (Hopefully we have enough sense to stay away from the mostly black things with a little bit of white.)

I'm reminded of a scripture from the Book of Mormon:
2 Nephi 9:9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

The devil can transform himself nigh unto an angel of light! Yikes!! He looks goods - like an angel in fact, perfectly harmless - and yet he's still the devil. He's still black. Makes you think, huh?

In October's General Conference Randall K. Bennett of the Quorum of the Seventy stated: "In reality we have only two eternal choices, each with eternal consequences: choose to follow the Savior of the world and thus choose eternal life with our Heavenly Father or choose to follow the world and thus choose to separate ourselves from Heavenly Father eternally. We cannot successfully choose both the safety of righteousness and the dangers of worldliness."

So in reality there really is only black and white. Light and Dark. You cannot sit on the fence. You cannot have your residence in the kingdom of God and your summer home in Babylon. You cannot serve to masters.

Here comes my rationalizations to satisfy the 'black' in my life- Choosing mostly white with a little bit of black (the lightest shades of gray) won't hurt our eternal outcome too much. But, as any painter knows, a little bit of black goes a long way so choose carefully.

"Breathe, just breathe"

Who knows where that quote is from? It possibly may at one time have been my favorite movie. Ok there's no possible about it- it was my favorite movie (I may or may not have watched it daily for a few months), not quite sure why now but the teenage mind is a mystery.
Anywho that doesn't really matter. Life has gotten crazy busy and work has gotten crazy slow so while I'm at home it's nice to be reminded to take it slow. While I was cleaning my room (finding homes for the piles of junk that have been on my floor since my parents moved out - a year and a half ago, yes I'm a little slow) I found this quote amid the stacks of paper that I think (judging by the paper it was written on) I picked up at a rubber stamp convention (don't laugh you know you wish you'd attended):

It was a good reminder to take life one day at a time - live in the present and when it gets fast and furious remember to just breathe.

August Rush

Last night I watched the movie “August Rush”, it's one of my favorites, one I can watch again and again. I don't know how many people really listen to the voice over sections but they really touched me as I listened the last few times I've watched. Really listened:

“Listen. Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind. In the air. In the light. It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do is listen. They try to stop me from hearing the music, but when I'm alone it builds up from inside me and I think if I could learn how to play it, they might hear me, they'd know I was theirs and they'd find me. Sometimes the world tries to knock it out of you but I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales. I like to imagine that what I hear came from my mother and father. Maybe the notes I hear are the same ones they heard the night they met; maybe that's how they found each other; maybe that's how they'll find me. I believe that once upon a time long ago they heard the music and followed it. I know they're out there somewhere. I don't know where it comes from, but it's what I hold onto and I can't let go. Somewhere inside me I know that they always wanted me, maybe they just got lost. The music is all around us; all you have to do is listen.”

I love these words because with just a little change they remind me of how the Lord can be found all around us:

Listen. Can you hear Him? The Lord. I can hear Him everywhere. In the wind. In the air. In the light. He's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do is listen. The world tries to stop me from hearing the Lord, but when I'm alone it builds up from inside me and I think if I could learn how to answer, He might hear me, He'd know I was His and He'd find me. Sometimes the world tries to knock it out of you but I believe in the Lord the way some people believe in fairy tales. I like to imagine that what I hear comes from my Heavenly Father. Maybe the voice I hear is the same voice the prophets heard; maybe that's how they found Him; maybe that's how I'll find Him. I believe that once upon a time long ago I heard His voice and followed Him. I know He's out there somewhere. I don't know where, but it's what I hold onto and I can't let go. Somewhere inside me I know that He always wanted me, maybe I just got lost. The Lord is all around us; all you have to do is listen.

The more I see and learn about the earth we call home the more I realize that all creation points to Jesus Christ. That He truly can be seen everywhere. That He can be found in everything. He can be felt all around us. All we have to do is look and listen.

You know you're tired when...

You curl up in your favorite chair to read a book and end up like this for the next three hours:

my favorite napping spot

They call me Fungi

Wednesday night as I pulled up in from of my house after a long day at work I saw what I thought was a branch with a lot of fall leaves that had fallen in the storm the night before so I went to pick it up. Ummmm, it wasn't leaves. It was this:

A nice bouquet of fungus! Isn't it pretty? Yeah, well now it's gone and it's little spores, too!

The Wise Man built his House upon the Rock

We all know the parable of the wise man and the foolish man. One builds his house on a rock, the other on sand - which in reality is composed of a bunch of tiny rocks but that is beside the point. The point is they were both building houses to guard against the storm.

I work in the construction industry and so I happen to know a thing or two about building sound structures. A firm foundation is not the only element that is necessary for a structure to be safe. It is the most important but there are other supports required  to keep a building from toppling when the wind blows. The formula goes something like this (very simplfied):

Firm Foundation + columns + beams = secure structure

I've been thinking a lot about the wise men's house and what are the columns and beams of the gospel that make each of us strong as we face our whirlwinds. This is what I've come up with (the gospel according to Sandy):

So to recap: to build ourselves a strong safe haven from the whirlwinds we need:

1) a firm foundation = Jesus Christ

2) columns = the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel

3) beams = additional ordinances (the sacrement, worthily excersising the priesthood -ladies we get a pass here- and ordinances found in Holy Temples), covenants, and endurance (which kind of brings us back to faith)

If we are missing one element from our lives or are not vigilent in protecting the structural integrity of even just one of the structural members regardless of whether our house is built on the rock, we run the risk of having it topple just as easily as if we had built on sand.

Words with Friends

Ummmm, I think I might lose this one...

A present from conference

I went to a friends house to watch General Conference. On sunday their granddaughter was over and she drew me a picture during one of the sessions, it will soon reside on my refrigerator. But which side to show I have yet to decide:

Mommy loves her (Sandy) OR the Giraffe

To Act or the be Acted Upon

To act or to be acted upon really is the eternal decision. It's the choice we had to make in the beginning when all the hosts of heaven gathered around Heavenly Father to hear His plan and watched in amazement as someone had the nerve to counter that plan with another. Then, as now, we had a choice to make: do we choose to:
           a) follow Father and His plan guaranteeing our ability to continue being "agents unto ourselves", the freedom to make deicisions for ourselves - to act of our own accord
           OR
           b) follow Lucifer - forever relinquishing your power to act to him, becoming his agent - to always be acted upon.

We chose 'a', others chose 'b'

And now the choice continues to have to be made everyday. Do we:
            a) choose to keep the commandments of God and make/keep sacred covenants with Him and therefore preserve our ability to think and act for ourselves
            OR
            b) choose to follow after our own 'natural' appetites and desires, turn away from the commands of God and slowly bind ourselves to Lucifer and become enslaved to him and those very appetites and desires - to be acted upon by the whims and fancies of the world and the master it chooses to serve.

Some are choosing 'a', far more seem to be choosing 'b'

And so it will continue - for as long as we are progressing the question will always be before us. Do I continue to act and thereby progress or do I want to be acted upon and stop my progression? How far we go will always be up to us.

The Power of Positive Thinking - An Experiment

I was chating with a friend on facebook today and he was complaining about how he only attracts "crazy" girls and how he just wants to find a "sane" one. So naturally I told him he needed to think more positively and to do so he needed to repeat this phrase every morning and night "I attract only attractive sane women" for a month. Yeah, he didn't go for it. And since I have never technically done it I couldn't give it a glowing review.

So I told him I'd do it for a month (different phrase of course) and let him know how it works for me, while he works on improving some other things. So starting tonight I will be repeating out loud to my lovely reflection in the mirror a yet to be determined phrase of something I would like to change in life this next month. I'll keep you updated. This should be interesting.

Forget-Me-Not

Because I wanted something a bit more creative then what showed up on sugerdoodle (not that it was bad, I just wanted something different - a little more of the hand-drawn look) minutes after Elder Uchtdorf's talk...

Prehistoric Decorating

Wake up call...

I think I have a few of those Angels lurking around ... I tend to get into a rut and stay there till I'm pushed out of it so I keep them pretty busy!

Life Eternal

Last night in Institute we discussed John 17:3 among other things which all combined together in my head to form this:

This made me smile...

I walked into Walmart this morning before work cause I didn't go last night and need to pick up a few things for my trip tonight and saw this:

Hi, my name is Mr. Water Melon,
I'm here to pick up my perscription.

What to do...

When your computer and you are in a fight ...

... Draw your computer a Mascot!

The "Do It" Switch

I was listening to Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the latest General Conference and got inspired...

...Now all I need to do is follow his counsel.

Rexburg Temple

This picture was my friend Anna's idea. She loves both the picture of the Rexburg Temple and this quote by Elder Chrisofferson (full text can be found here) and wanted it as a background to her iPad.





Fire and Water

Here in Texas we have plenty of this:


 
Now we need some of this:



The Joy of Womanhood

Facebook statuses make me laugh...

A few weeks ago one of my friends on facebook put this as her status:

"Let's waste time chasing cars around our heads"

The image this envoked in my mind made me laugh out loud (at work-where I'm suppose to be serious and they tease me that they can tell when I'm looking at facebook because I'm smiling). It looked something like this:



Christina

My beautiful friend Christina is getting married tommorrow! I couldn't be happier for her. A few months ago we went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to take some bridal shots. You'd never be able to tell it was over 100 degrees that day, she looked as cool and fresh as a cucumber as the rest of us melted under the bright sun.

 

 

 

Little Things that Make me Happy

I love Calvin ...

Or is it Hobbes...

Or maybe I just love hugging tigers...

 

I think in pictures ...

"Knowing this one would be beautiful, I thought it wouldn't mind starting in an old can."

Finding the Extraordinary in You

During my morning blog trolling I found this post and it got me thinking because it rang so true to me. The auther says:

"Most people don't think of themselves as beautiful. We don't think of ourselves at all, really. We just get up, splash water on our faces, dress, pull our hair back, throw our clothes on--whether the uniform of mindless choice is yoga pants or your everyday sari. There's no thought in it; we simply prepare for our day and show up as best we can...blind to our beauty, unconscious of how extraordinary it is to play our everyday roles."


I tend to look at my life and think how ordinary and unexciting it because well it's my routine, I do it day in and day out week after week. I tend to look at myself and see the flaws, the mistakes I've made, the things I need to do better. When people ask me to decribe myself I never know what to say. I'm just me. In fact for one of the essays on my college application they asked me decribe me. I coldn't think of a thing. Luckily we had done a young women's activity prior to that where we each discribed what we liked about each other. I pulled out what my peers had written about me and that became my essay. (Lame, I know)

And maybe this is the way it should be. If we all thought we were as extraordinary as we may be, there wouldn't be room for any growth, we'd be content how we are. Not to mention we'd all have egos the size of Texas.

But today I want to challenge myself, and the 3 people who read this, to look at yourself and your life and find the extraordinary person that is you. Cause really, there's no one out there quite like you.

On Broadway

My sister and I share a love of Broadway musicals, when we're in the car together we blare the soundtracks and sing along at the top of our lungs. Last year for Christmas I decided she needed to share her love for Broadway on her walls I started a series of “On Broadway” paintings for her with this:

(8x24 Acrylic)

This year I took a little different approach with this:

(16x20 Acrylic)

9 Broadway posters down … 16 to go. I think I'll be going back to the first format for the rest or I'll be painting musical posters for her forever.

PS Just so you don't think I spoiled a surprise or anything ... she already knew what she was getting for Christmas this year. Sort of.

Picture of the Week



Bear River - Peterson Park Elwood, UT



This made my day ...

It's the little things that make me most happy :)

When I read words ... I see pictures

For example: when I read Invictus by William Ernst Henley and The Soul's Captain (The Answer) by Orson F. Whitney (read them here) I see this:

Composed of Simon Dewey's "Peace Be Still" and
a random picture from the internet but I can't remember where.

Moving ... It's good for the soul

No I'm not moving.

But I have moved around the country ... a lot. I've lived in Tennessee, L.A., Mississippi, Maryland, Utah and finally Texas all before I left elementary school. When we moved to Texas I didn't think we'd stick around as long as we did ... or that I'd come back after college (in Idaho).

As a kid I used to yearn for the stability of living in one spot. I found that stability when we moved to Texas now I find that I miss moving. I miss being able to expereince the different cultures that exist within the US.

Let's face in the East Coast is much different then the West Coast.

And the Texas south is different then the Mississippi south.

And Tennessee and Maryland may as well be different countries.

And Utah ... well, it's just Utah. It's own special brand of ... something.

Sure you can travel all over the country and world for that matter (and I plan to) but until you've lived somewhere you can't really experience it.

I'll be honest, the whole packing and unpacking thing really stinks, I know this, remember I've done it a lot. But there is a bright side to all that packing:
1. It gives you an opportunity to evaluate the things you have and ... (my mom's least favorite word) purge.
and
2. If you keep things simple (I'm very minimalistic - I don't even have a bed, I have a mattress on the floor and am perfectly content) there really isn't a lot to move.

So after years of stability I've decided I'd be okay with the unstable lifestyle of the constantly moving. Possibly every 5-7 years. (every 2.5 years was way to often)

Oh How Things Have Changed... Or not

"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." Douglas Adams

The year was 1992, it was a beautiful fall day at the Charles County Fair. I was estatic for having just won the fair's 'spelling bee' by spelling the word cat C-A-T. The sun was just about to set and everything was glorious. And then someone suggested we ride the Ferris Wheel. WHAT?! That thing? But it goes so high?! "I think I'll stay behind with mommy" Nope, my dad wanted me to go on the Ferris Wheel. So what did I do? Kicked, screemed, dug in my heels and threw a fit. Was forced onto the ride and hung on tight with eyes closed for most of the ride. I was convinced at one point to open them but quickly realized my mistake... we were at the top of the ride and shook like a leaf the whole way down till they let me off.

Fast forward 19ish years, it's another glorious day (a little hot but with a slight breeze) I'm now in the middle of no where Texas, surrounded by dry (very dry) corn feilds ... suiting up to go skydiving. Willingly. I actually payed money for the opportunity to fall to my death (maybe). No kicking. No screaming. Not even butterflies in the stomach. As I'm waiting to board the plane I'm thinking of what I got myself into. Yikes! Then we're boarding the plane and the professioanl skydivers are calling me crazy cause I say I didn't feel any fear and am laughing along with their jokes. Inside I'm thinking - Yep I'm crazy and terrified and I want off this plane ... to bad the only way off is to jump. Then the divers are gone and we're making our way to the door of the plane and I look down ... Holy macaroni that's high -14,000 feet high. And then we're out of the plane, flying through the air with the greatest of ease. My eyes wide open (most of the time) no butterflies, just freedom.

I still won't look when I'm at the top of a Ferris Wheel (or any other high ride). But I will jump out of a plane again. I faced my fear of heights and have found that it's just heights that will hurt me, not kill me, if I fall that scare me. Go figure.

For your viewing pleasure ...

I've decided to start sharing some of my favorite pictures I've taken over the years with you guys. So for your viewing pleasure today here's a few I took in Idaho (certain roommates of mine will recognize the subjects) on my birthday trip back to good ole' Rexburg. Enjoy!

Lest we forget that Freedom isn't Free

"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'tis dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."

— Thomas Paine (The American Crisis)

One year ago today a rocket propelled explosive in Afghanistan hit it's mark and killed one of this countries finest. He's just a number to most people, a statistic, but to those of us who knew Ben Chisholm it was a day that tore at our hearts. Ben was the clown of the group, the one that could always put a smile on your face - even when you didn't want to smile. He gave the best hugs in the world. He loved unconditionally and was fiercely loyal to his friends and his country. Ben left a wife behind - a pregnant wife. He now has a daughter that he never got to hold, a child that will grow up hearing stories about her daddy but never getting to experience his bone crushing hugs, or a late night chat.

Nope, freedom is not free. There are men and women who daily sacrifice themselves for the freedoms of others. Who love their country and mankind more then their lives. There are wives and husbands that raise families alone while spouses are deployed - with lonely nights and Skype where a spouse should be. There are children that grow up without a mother or a father.

So today, my thanks goes to all the men and women who payed the price for the freedom I enjoy. May we never forget how steep a price that was.

Are we not all temples?

When I get frustrated at work I tend to turn on General Conference to help calm me down and give me some perspective. A few months ago this was happening on a daily basis and depending on how early I started I could listen to all 5 sessions before I left for the day. In the midst of all this frustration I found some gems. Sunday morning session became my favorite and I always started with it. Then something unexpected happened. President Monson's talk from this session became my favorite talk. (I say unexpected cause I have never been a big fan of his talks - dodging lighting - I think it's his story telling) So I got past the story telling and fell in love with a phrase from his talk - this phrase: "Temples are more then stone and mortor. They are ...

As I listened one day, Paul's words "know ye not that ye are a temple of God" sprang into my mind along with the thought that 'this applies to you'. 

Do we all need to be filled with faith and fasting in these times of unrest before the Lord comes again? Yes

Do we reach our divine potential through the refiner's fire that are our trials and the peace our testimonies of Divine love and help bring during difficult times? You betcha

Are we santified as we gain charity through sacrificing our needs in the service of others? Yeppers

As I listened to conference over and over agian with this in mind, it seemed to me that that phrase was the central theme to the whole Conference - that most of the talks given could be tied back to one of those attributes (some very loosely but connected nonetheless).

So I guess what I've gotten out of my study of conference these past few months is that becoming a 'temple' for Heavenly Father requires a lot of chiseling (which can be painful) and losing oneself in building up His kingdom (which requires a lot of faith sometimes) and never forgeting what you are becoming and that you are under His watchful care.

Wilted... (this is a pity party- you've been warned)

Yesterday I was described by a friend as looking "wilted" and before anybody thinks that was kind of rude let me say that she described how I was feeling perfectly. Needless to say, I've been kind of down lately - maybe feeling a little bit left behind, another friend recently described it on her blog as taking the 5pm train to the Times Square New Year's Eve bash and realizing that all your friends took an earlier train and are partying without you at that moment. Maybe feeling a bit like there's something I need to be doing but I can't quite figure out what it is and it's frustrating cause I've never had that problem before, I've always known the next step and where I needed to be. Maybe I miss my family. Maybe I'm just being a stupid, emotional girl...

Logically I know my life is great and I've been blessed immensely, I can see Heavenly Father working in my life daily, I have a great job, I have great friends and people who care for me but I just can't seem to get my groove back.

Maybe it's time for a new groove, like the Emperior - minus the whole turning into a llama bit.

Now the only question is ... what should be my new groove? A friend suggested London ... I think I'll look into that. Other suggestions are welcome.

Someday my Beast will come...

I can't take credit for the title of this post - my friend Tara said it and I stole it (not much original sayings floating around in my head).

It won't surprise anyone who knows me well that the Beast is one of my favorite Disney 'heros', (I had the Beauty and the Beast Barbie dolls growing up, probably still have them I wonder where they are?) I kind of have this thing for animal like characters - Chewy is my favorite from Star Wars, Dobby from Harry Potter, Gollum from Lord of the Rings, I think you get the picture.

Moral: You can have whatever Prince Charming you can find but remember the Beast is mine.

Another Friendly Face

I was minding my own business, chatting with my mother on the phone when out of the corner of my eye I saw something brown fall from the counter. I was just going to chalk it up to my imagination but decided to investigate. And what did I find: a new lizard friend. I named him Sam. He likes to jump and doesn't like glass jars. He also can change colors: he went from a muddy sort of brown to bright green in the time it took me to catch him. Sam is really good at the game 'keep away from Sandy' but I finally got him and took him back outside where he could socialize with his buddies (but not before snapping a few pictures, here are my favorites).

Can I go now, please?

Freedom, sweet Freedom!