Day 5: My (Working) Body

Today Jeremy and I mowed the lawn. Not exactly the most "fun" thing to do. But pushing a mower and listening to the (muted) roar of its motor gave me lots of time to think. Although I didn't really enjoy mowing the lawn, I was glad that my body was able to do that. I'm not sure if that's really clear. Um, well some people have bodies that are afflicted with conditions so they can't walk very well, or their coordination isn't good, or their muscles/bones can't grow very strong. I'm so glad to have a functioning body that allows me to move around and do things. I can go on a walk. I can play catch. I can chase wildly energetic kids around. What a blessing that is! I don't have to sit at home cooped up all day, every day. It's pretty awesome if you think about it. Anywho...that's my thought for the day.

Day 4: My Apartment

So today I was thinking how lucky I was to have such a great apartment to live in. It comfortably fits us, it's pretty well upkept, and we're lucky enough to have free rent. That has been so nice these past 8 months and has allowed us to not be so much in debt with student loans and stuff.

I was also thinking about how some people don't have a place to sleep and keep their stuff. They don't have running water and showers and flushing toilets. Some people have huts with dirt floors and have bugs or other animals living in it with them. I am really lucky to live in this country and have such a nice place to live. It's probably better than some people could ever dream of having. And yet I can't wait to move on and get a house. Just one more thing I need to reevaluate and realize how good I have it.

Day 3: My Patriarchal Blessing

So last night I decided to re-read my Patriarchal Blessing. (Don't know what that is? Click here to learn more.) And it gave me such peace and comfort. Although it tells of tough times to come in my life, when I was reading it last night, I felt such peace. I knew that even though the road would be hard, my Father in heaven knew what was going to happen and He has a plan, even a plan of happiness. I realized that even when times get tough, I can choose to be happy. I can choose to focus on the positives in my life rather than the negatives. It made me want to change my attitude. Nothing major has happened to me yet, but I still sometimes have a hard time looking on the bright side. How much harder of a time would I have if I wait until those hard times to change my attitude? I sure don't want to find out. Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day. =)

Day 2: My Family

I am so grateful for my family. They are absolutely wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better family. I know they love me and would do anything for me. And my in-laws have totally accepted me as one of their own. I just can't even express how grateful I am for their love and support. Without them, I would not be who I am today. They have never given up on me and have always been there to cheer me on. And they have been such great examples to me of faith, kindness, service, and love, as well as giving me an example of how I want(ed) my life to be. So thanks everyone for everything you've done for me (and for all those things that you probably thought no one noticed. I did.)

(And no, not everyone is in this picture. This was just the picture that 1) had the most people in it and 2) you could see their faces.)

Day 1: Attitude of Gratitude

So, the other night I was having a pity party for myself. I'll admit it. I felt alone, left out, and unappreciated. I felt like nothing ever does/would go right. And I was a tad jealous. I'm not proud of it, but I was.

Fast forward to today when I'm reading the sweet thoughts of a stranger as she bared her soul to the cosmos in her blog. Man, I need to focus on the positives in life instead of being so darn negative. So here's to me developing an attitude of gratitude. It'll be hard, but I know it'll be so worth it. I need to forget about what I don't have and focus on what I do. Today starts 40 days of positive thinking. My goal is to write about something I'm thankful for each day.


Today is my husband. Boy, do I love him. I am such a lucky girl to have landed him. I couldn't imagine anyone better. He is so supportive and sweet. And he's fun. Lots of fun. He always knows how to make me feel better. And despite my flaws, he still loves me and puts up with me (which isn't easy, especially when I'm cranky.) What a guy. =) I know that he is going to be an awesome father to our kids. It has been so fun to see him interact with other kids and just imagine what he'll be like with our own.

Creativity

Okie dokie, so I'm finally posting pictures of my ceramics stuff. I had more, but ended up throwing some of it away because I had issues with cracks this quarter. =( No fun. But, I did get some good stuff! =) Here 'tis!

Here's a couple of bowls; they're all made from Goldstone clay with a clear glaze and colored stains.

Top view of the same bowls since some of them are different colors inside and out.

The other 3 bowls; the one on the right is my absolute favorite--you'll see why in the next picture.

Doesn't the purple look so cool?!? It was one color of stain, but for some reason it turned out multicolored with lots of depth. I love it!

And then finally, I've been working on an afghan for a while now. I bought the yarn and started it about a year ago but actually did most of the work in the last month or so. I really like how it turned out and am so proud that it looks so good! It's not perfect, but hey, it's my first afghan. =)

The whole afghan (it measures about 5 ft long x 3 ft wide

A close up of the pattern; I love the checkers of vertical/horizontal stripes! And it was so easy!

As for a real update...we really haven't been up to a whole lot.

• School ended on the 10th and we've been really enjoying our time off. We've been busy with manager stuff (i.e. yard work and check-ins) and I've been doing some extra check-ins for the company to make a little extra money on the side.
  
• Last week we celebrated our 3rd anniversary, which was pretty exciting. It's crazy to think it's been 3 years already! On the one hand, it feels like yesterday, but on the other it feels like it's been forever. Which is a good place to be, I think. =)
  
• This week we're heading off to see some family that we haven't seen since our wedding, so we're really looking forward to that.
  
• And then next week is Girls' Camp! I can't believe it! I'm a little nervous as it's my first time going to camp not as a camper! But I think it'll be fun. Hopefully the girls will like me.
  

Hop you all are doing well! =)

Oops!

So I missed May! (with a post, that is) And I have to say, I'm not terribly stressed about it. Not a whole lot happened. I deep cleaned/organized our spare room (and all the drawers of my craft dresser), went to school, and spent time with Jeremy. Haha! Pretty boring stuff.

Last weekend, however, we went to Seattle. My good friend, Danielle (she took our wedding photos), had a display in a gallery there for the month so we really wanted to go and see it. It was pretty freaking awesome, I must say. We had a lot of fun just hanging out with her and we also got to see a couple of friends who used to live here in Cheney. We met up with Kasey and Linley Coulson for lunch at Buca de Beppo (spelling?) and really enjoyed catching up with them. And then we went to church and found out that we were attending the new ward of Kevin and Kerri Nygard! It was really fun to see them and see how much their kids have grown in the less-than-a-year they've been gone. I'd post pictures, but regrettably, the camera was left at home. Thanks everyone--especially Danielle--for letting us come!

Institute graduation for me is coming up in a couple days, and finals is next week. Woot! (or not...as far as finals go anyway) I took a ceramics class again this quarter, so pictures of my stuff should be up in a little over a week. =)