*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear fhe, we attended Ohana at the high school for FHE.There were several kids from our ward in it and so we thought it would be fun to go check it out. Jen text me and said they had a couple of extra seats so that made getting tickets easier.  Our seats were right next to them. Three of her kids were in it. I really went to see and support Abby since she is the one who told me about it.  It was really cute and entertaining.  I'm glad we went.

dear boys adventures,Bryce is always doing something adventurous and dangerous.  He went camping this week (way too cold!) and found a stray dog.  I saw his post on the city classified ads trying to find it's owner. I text him and told him to bring him home because I prayed him here.  He ended up finding the owner that night.  Oh well.  I was exited there for a while!  That's the only way I am going to get a dog.  It's going to just have to drop in my lap. Then he went rock climbing in Salt Lake.  It makes me so nervous when he does that.

Not sure where he is in these...but I think Willard.

Hiking in Willard

Taylor headed for Lake Powell for a week with a huge group of friends.  One of his friends parents invited them all to go and they are feeding them all at no cost.  What a great opportunity.  I feel like I am always praying for my boys safety!  Every single one of them. It seems they are all always scattered around and traveling somewhere.  Good thing they have guardian angels!

I tried and tried to get a picture of him because he had a bit of a beard and I thought he looked cute,  but he would not cooperate.  I finally got a semi good one (in middle).  Dang kid!

dear running, my quads are still pretty sore from the half marathon.  I run and then I walk and then I stretch.  But that is normal.  I won't chalk up many miles this week, but that's okay.  My real training to get me moving towards my Boston prep starts next week.  I have to say I have really loved the break!

It was snowing cotton on my run!  It was so pretty!  And best part was that it was warm!  My cute little buddy pony is back.  He had a goose in his coral and it was as if she were trying to keep him company.  It was sweet.  I saw some pretty plants.  Spring is the best season of all!

I was so excited to find my pictures of my run to the waterfall! It was gorgeous!

And nothing beats this view!

I found this photo on Facebook.  It made me laugh.  

dear ortho, I was anxious for my appt this week because I am on my very last aligner set in my series.  I have been wearing them now for 13 months but I don't feel like my teeth are where I want them yet.  Clark agreed.  He said he was amazed at how well they have moved and how well I've done with them.  I have been very vigilant about wearing them and my teeth have done exactly what they were supposed to do, but there are still a few issues.  I showed him what I wanted as far as my front teeth and he agreed as well as the bottom ones still need to move a little more.  So, I "got" to have my entire mouth scanned with his new scanner. No more gaggy impressions! I was so happy about that.  At least until I started with the scanner. That took longer than the impressions I think because the assistant was having a hard time with the machine.  Technology is great as long as it's working right.  It was also a bit painful because my mouth is on the smaller side and the camera wand was on the bigger side. But I was a patient patient and we eventually got it.  Clark had to come in and mess with it a few times. The technology is amazing though.  I have no idea how much longer I will need to wear them, but I want to do it right so I don't have to do it again.  I have to wait two weeks until the next set of aligners are made. I planned on at least three months longer then projected when I first got them and so I'm not really disappointed.  It will be nice to not have to wear them anymore though someday. 

 

dear harp lesson, I haven't had a private lesson since before the cruise due to the recital and group lessons.  So I have had some time to practice what I was assigned at my last lesson.  I worked really hard on a song called Cricket Song that my teacher warned me causes grown women and little girls alike to cry.  It is rather difficult and all new technique.  When I saw the technique of it, I knew I would like it instead of hate it.  I was right.  I loved it. Playing it makes me feel like a real harpist because you keep your fingers connected on the strings and replace the fingers once they play.  It was very challenging, and still is, but I enjoy playing it.  I was only assigned the left hand part, but I got that down and so I decided to practice the right hand too.  That was much more difficult and my brain was really struggling with some of the finger placement.  But I kept practicing and eventually started to feel a bit more comfortable with it and so I decided to attempt to put both hands together. OH MY!  I don't think I have challenged my brain that much in 20 years!  It was very difficult trying to move one set of fingers up the strings while keeping them connected and at the same time move the fingers in my other hand the opposite direction with a different rhythm and keeping them connected.  VERY challenging, but I still love it.  I didn't feel like crying once!  haha  And Mary Had a Little Lamb (the song I DID feel like crying over) has now become so much easier because the technique is much the same but easier to me now that I have been practicing Cricket.  My teacher was surprised I had gone on that far, but was happy as well. She does want me to practice the hands separate each day to get the form better, but she is okay with me putting them together and she also gave me three more pages in a new book.  I'm so happy I am finally doing this!

dear talk prep, I have been trying to write my talk I have to give in sacrament but I keep changing it!  I worry I will be rewriting the whole thing on Sunday morning!  I would love it if I could write a talk all at once and have it perfect on the first draft.  haha  I guess I could do what Dave does and just get lots of thoughts in my head and then go with what I feel when I stand at the pulpit.  He does that sometimes.  I would panic that my brain would shut down.  Then I would just stand there saying, "Uh.....duhhhhhhh....."   Other times he writes it all out and has it right there but never reads it.  He is an amazing speaker.  I prefer to have it all written down and then just go with it but in my own words.  I just pray I will say what someone needs to hear.

When I was trying to finish it up on Saturday, Dave's brother came over to help fix Dave's computer and my niece was using my computer to play games and so I went and did my errands and since they were still at my house, I went to a park and sat in the back seat of my car (parked in shade) and worked on my talk from there.  It was actually the best thing I did!  I had more clarity of mind without all the distractions of home and I felt like I was able to get it prepared much faster than if I had been at home with computer access.  I was even feeling inspired!  haha
 

dear trying to stay afloat, this week I have so many things that need doing.  I guess I always do, but don't we all?  Some weeks are worse than others however and I feel like I am trying to catch up on so many projects around the house as far as cleaning and organizing and I feel like I am getting more behind instead.  And then the pressing things with deadlines seem to always take over the other things.  I need to get some things ready for Tyson's grave for Memorial Day and I need to get my flower pots around my house done.  I am way behind on that.  I have so many gifts to buy for birthdays, do my cruise blog post, organize those pix, etc.  The list just goes on and on and I'm trying to write a talk on top of it.  I am also planning a shower for a sister in our ward that I visit teach whose daughter just had a baby.  My partner just left town and so I am trying to pull it off alone.  She will be back the day before the shower and will help me then with decors and food.  I keep telling myself to keep it simple, but then I find some cute idea on pinterest and want to do it.  I have a hard time keeping anything simple.... haha.   And that's okay as long as I don't become overwhelmed and burn myself out.  I have been known to do that a time or two too.  ;)  Sometimes I feel like I am in control and on top of things and other times I feel like my life is spinning like a cyclone and I am on a little raft in the ocean just trying to somehow stay afloat.  This week is cyclone city!

I bought these little Lego guys to put on Tyson's grave this year because he loved Lego's and Star Wars and I found some cute ones.  I wanted to find Lord of the Rings but they didn't have any so I settled on Batman (because he was purple) and Ninja Turtles because he loved them when he was little.  The plan was to have my boys build them, but they were both gone and so I ended up building them all.  Well, I started the big Ninja Turtle one but it had no directions - only photos that were made in Japan and I got a little discouraged so I had Dave finish it.  It gave me great appreciation for Tyson and his talent to build anything out of Legos that's for sure!  It was a good thing because while I was doing it I could feel him near.  So much so, that I think I should do this every year and get all the boys involved. 

dear manic manikin, cray, cray!  

dear mr. cat, this boy brings me joy!

However, I'm not so sure, Dave has the same feelings.  haha

That cat won't ever jump up on my lap like this, but he does it to Dave almost every night.  It's hilarious!

dear saturday run, I met Robin early in the morning because I had a full day.  We thought about going eight miles but ended up getting in 11.  Only 10 miles of running because she helped me deliver some of the shower invites before we started.  It was great because I found a ton of pennies (and a dime!).  Most at the high school parking lot.  Robin found two quarters there! 

This was my breakfast when I got home. I am going to really try and eat more oatmeal again for my Boston training because it is just so good for you.  I add flax seeds, chia seeds, and even hemp once in awhile.  Today I added toasted almonds, toasted coconut and bananas....and milk! It was really tasty! 

dear sacrament talk, when I arrived at the church, my parents showed up!  I had mentioned to my Mom when she asked if we were doing anything this weekend, that we weren't going anywhere because I had to speak in church.  She remembered and so they came to hear me. Yikes!  I told my Dad that I was talking about him as part of my talk and the story I was going to tell about me throwing his cigs out the car window when I was like six years old and he how he quit cold turkey that day and asked if that was okay.  He told me it was fine.  My topic was Why I Believe.  I talked about my upbringing in a great home but that wasn't really active.  I told how I felt like I was born with a desire to believe. I told how Seminary was really a life changer for me and I feel like that is where I gained my testimony while studying the scriptures.  I listed some ways that cause our beliefs to be challenged such as:

• Feelings of inadequacy
• Feeling we have to be perfect or can't live up to the gospel standards
• Feeling we don't fit in 
• The time commitment and demands expected of us of our church
• Making the gospel too complicated
• Comparing ourselves with others
• Thinking our worth is less when our performance is less - our worth never changes
• Needing to change direction if we are not seeing the Savior's light in our lives 
• Not "choosing" to believe

I would love to add all the great quotes I used from many sources, but instead I am adding the notes I used for my talk below to make it easier.

While I was speaking, the other speaker who is an older gentleman and hard of hearing was saying something really loud.  I wasn't sure what was going on, but later found out he was worried about his time because we also had a song after I was done.  I guess he had misunderstood the amount of time he had (he thought he had 30 minutes and there were two other speakers!).  He must have thought my talk was only supposed to be 5 minutes or less.  Haha  I had kept my leg in one position the whole time and so when I went to take my seat, it was nearly asleep!  I was grateful I didn't fall over!  I usually have a feel for how my talk goes when I am done and I have to say I felt like I may have put some people to sleep!  haha  I know I felt rushed to get in everything and I need to just take out more of my talk so I can slow down and really connect more with the audience and be more myself.  I felt I had too much info to do that this time.  Live and learn.  But everyone was VERY nice and told me I did a great job.  My only wish is that what I said was able to help just one person in some way.  Hopefully. 

After Relief Society, I was walking across the cultural hall and the shoes I was wearing pretty much tripped me and I fell over myself and went down!  It was crazy!  All the way down!  Laying flat on the  gym floor!  My church bag went flying and both shoes came off!  All I cared about was WHO JUST SAW THAT!  So humiliating!  UGH!  I wasn't hurt....just my pride! Luckily, only Janet saw me!  She said it looked like I had just passed out and went straight down!  So embarrassing, but such a blessing no one else had to see that!  hah  


dear sunday dinner, I made Crock Pot Steak and Gravy for dinner because I knew I wouldn't have much time to prepare anything due to my talk.  This has been one my family's favorites for many years now.  It's so easy and so yummy! The meat just falls apart.  I will share the recipe below.

Crock Pot Steak and Gravy

2-3 lbs round steak

1 envelope Lipton's Onion Soup mix

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1/2 to 3/4 cup water

Place steak in crock pot. Mix soups and water together and pour over steak.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  Serve over rice or potatoes.  

dear mckay, you are doing so well in Ussuriysk!  You are so upbeat and happy and your letters do my heart good!  I love getting emails from your companion's parents saying how great you are what an obedient missionary you are and how much their sons love you as their trainer. I am so proud of you!  I know it's a hard place to serve, but you stay strong and positive!  Here are some of your photos this week:

Russian Orthodox Temple

Doing service

Eternal flame, circus, Russia country, and ?

Your study socks, your study face and pix of the Apostles you taped in your apartment.

 

dear random, a quiz!.....of what kind of puppy I look like!  I see the resemblance don't you?  Oh these kill me!  :)

Here is an old photo of my mom and her sister Dixie and my cousin Mike.  Gotta love this!

Rainbow we saw on our date on Friday.  It really rained hard!

Bryce saw this guy in our backyard!  EEEEEEK!

dear quotes:

Thanks Dawn! 

So comforting!

Your worth never changes!  No matter what you do!

Gratefully...

This is SO me!

Every. Single. Day.

Yep