Nectar From Heaven

Today the sky is dark and the rain is hard and fast. Heavenly Father is watering our plants today. They love the nectar from heaven and we enjoy the break from watering duties. The rain plunking is relaxing and a reminder of the many joys and blessings that nature provides to us each and every day. I can hear the tires swishing through the water on the road and pray for safety for the travlers today. Also, my car is probably enjoying the nice washing it is receiving today.

Wonderful and Delightful Weekend

This weekend was fabulous! Friday night was the Christmas party at church. My sweetheart and I sat with some friends to enjoy a wonderful dinner. Then a dear sister that my sweetheart adores sat with him while I lead some congregational hymns and her husband took ward pictures. We had a clogger, several piano solos and duets, flutes, and Christmas hymns sung in French and Spanish. Very delightful evening!

Saturday led us to Walmart for shopping and then homeward to make some apple butter using the new tools my dear sister sent to me. What a difference any project is with the correct tools. I did not get burnt this time doing canning and it was wonderful. Plus the home smelled of cinnamon and cloves just in time for the missionaries to drop by with the empty jar from my last canning project. They put our candy canes on the tree and then went off to visit another family in our neighborhood. They will get a homemade loaf of bread and some apple butter next Sunday.

Sunday was a delightful day and in the evening as things were quieting down, the doorbell rang. We were caroled by the Cubscouts and their families. They left us some goodies and it just made the heart warm with the Christmas spirit. I finished watching "The Polar Express" and it was time to "settle in for a warm winter's nap".

Wonderful Sister

So my wonderful sister and I were talking a few weeks ago and she asked how I was doing. I was a little bit frustrated because my sweetheart accidentally ruined/dented/otherwise demolished my water bath canner. Few weeks later we get a delivery from UPS. My sweet wonderful sister got me a new water bath canner and some canning accessories that I have been wanting for while now. WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE!

Great days off

I took this Thursday and Friday off. I went to the temple in the morning on Thursday and the dentist in the afternoon. Teeth are clean and shiny and I requested pink bubblegum polish. Yummy! The exrays showed NO CAVIITIES. BONUS!!!!!! Today, my sweetheart and I went to the library, COSTCO, Ralphs, and the bank. Got 4 books from the friends of the library for $2. AWESOME! Plus checked out another one. The library is so wonderful! At the bank I cashed in the rolled coins and received $86.00 for pennies are powerful! How great is that?!!!! Got more penny rolls for rolling the rest of the pennies. LOVE IT!!! Now we are relaxing and I am hoping my mister will feel better soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving my sweetheart and I had a wonderful day with just the two of us. We cooked a smaller version of a Thanksgiving meal and each had our favorite desserts. He had a brownie chocolate milkshake and I had some pecan pie with vanilla icecream. Delicious! We turned off the phone and he got to watch football while I worked on a crafty project. Fun, stress free, and delightful! We had the opportunity to think of so many things we are grateful for.

food, fun, yarden, home, heat, clothes, washer, dryer, stove, oven, mittens, health, lights, indoor plumbing, friends, television, cable tv, movies, books, scriptures, Jesus Christ, the gospel, Holy Ghost, love, unity, harmony, humor, flowers, sky, clouds, sisters, family, pets, automobiles, job, church callins, opportunities to serve others, strong stomache, etc.

Poems for my niece

I wrote these poems for my niece that graduated this year.

WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE

You tried to walk but wobbled
Sometimes you even fell.
You tried to talk but babbled
Sometimes the words just would not gel.
You kept trying and now
you can walk and even yell!

ETERNAL IS THE JOURNEY

Graduation time is come and gone
Dreams to come have just begun.
Life is open, the choices are many
The future is yours, the Lord's Spirit will guide to do good continually.
Opportunities to learn, grow and make mistakes in your path do lay
With your parents Earthly and Heavenly to guide and help, it will all be okay.
So grasp the wonders that ahead do lie
Life is part of an Eternal Journey, not just do or die.
You are a Princess, a Daughter of Heavenly Worth,
With faith, love and support into your future GO FORTH.

FUN FILTER FACTS

Coffee filters

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirror, and chrome. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling
3. Protect china by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
5. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
6. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
7. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
8. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make a convenient wrapper for messy foods.
9. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
10. Prevent a popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
11. Pu a few in a plate and put your fried chicken, bacon, french fries etc on them. It soaks out all of the grease.
12. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers".
13. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or applying applique on soft fabrics.
14. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
15. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs to put in soups and stews.
16. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
17. Use them as spoon rests while cooking and to clean up small counter spills.
18. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.
19. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storing.
20. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
21. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it in a plastic bag until they sprout
22. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in a phone book.
23. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
24. Emergency Toilet paper usage......

Death, Life, Resurrection

There have been so many deaths and funerals that have touched our lives recently. A sister in our book club lost her mother, our ward lost a faithful sister, our family lost a Mother, Grandmother, and Great-grandmother all wrapped in one package. There are many others in my circle that are elderly, in pain, or with awful life threatening disease. Yet I feel hope and happiness. I joy in the fact that these sweet brothers and sisters give us the opportunity to love and serve them. Then when they die and leave this mortal realm, they are free. Their spirits are soaring. I look forward to the glorious resurrection where all will be well, spirits and bodies reunited to joy and glory!

Choosing to be Happy

One of our lessons recently in Relief Society was on "Choosing" to be happy. Part of the lesson was remembering who(se) we are. I shared with the class the following observation I made when I was weeding the Saturday before the lesson occurred. I was in my yarden doing some "deep" weeding. That is the kind where you have to get on your hands and knees in some areas. I was weeding around the bouganvillea in it's container on the patio. I noticed a little weed growing in a little tiny bit of dirt at the edge of the bottom of the container. This little weed was trying so hard to grow and fulfill what it was supposed to do in the limited area it had to do it. I have also seen weeds and small flowers growing up in a crack in the sidewalk and this was like that. I almost felt guilty pulling this little weed (but I did anyway :-)). I am not a weed but I am a divine daughter of my Heavenly Father. He has given me a path to follow and a way to do all that He requires of me. Sometimes I feel limited and don't feel like I am worthy or WHATEVER. I need to and must realize who I am and waht I need to do to fulfill my divine potential. If I reach to Heavenly Father in prayer, He will give me exactly what I need to fulfill His plan.

BACK TO SCHOOL

So I have been thinking a lot about the kids that are going back to school. My prayers and good thoughts go out to them and their families. New and fresh starts for these students. I remember the excitement and anxiety all mixed together for the new school routine. Then so quickly it became just that, a new routine.

I am looking forward to looking at this time of year as an opportunity to reevaluate where I am. What kinds of new exciting things await? What new things can I learn and create? Where can I improve? I have many areas that need refreshing in my life. Scripture study, personal progress goals, service projects, books to read.

So I want to have fun, learn, grow and have my own "Back to School" time.

SAN DIEGO BLACK OUT/9/11 REMEMBERED

The San Diego County black out of 9/8/11 has helped me to ponder many things. First off, I am thankful for living prophets that have long been teaching us to become self-sufficient. What a blessing to have had that guidance for so many years. It was a blessing in our family to know where the flashlights were, have bottled water on hand, and to have a battery powered radio to listen to. I was grateful that the first estimates that the black-out could last for days were inaccurate and that it really only lasted less than 12 hours in most places. It was a great opportunity to assess where the gaps are in our preparedness for any type of disaster.

It was very sad to listen to the radio and the people that were just trying to find a store to buy radios, batteries, ice, and flashlights. We did realize we should probably invest in a generator to protect our items in the freezer from going bad. If this had lasted for days that would have been a problem for us.

Then came the memories on 9/11/11. Again a date to ponder and reflect on the past and the sacrifices of so many people. It was tremendous to see the outpouring of love in the memorials that were held. I am so grateful to be an AMERICAN. It was good to reflect back but also to look forward to the future.

CATCHING UP

Well it has been a while since my last post. Here is to trying to catch up! Summer has been fun in the garden this year. We have been picking and freezing beans most Monday evenings. Tonight will be no different. The difference is that some of plants are done producing and will be pulled up. The good news is that we have been planting in staggers so that when these plants are done the next plants are just blooming and getting ready to produce. A new batch of beanlings were planted on Saturday and when they are sprouting, the next generation will be harvested etc. Same with our cucumber plants. We are having fun with the cucumbers and tomatoes. Planted some zucchini and cantelope plants too. We will see how those turn out. The potatoes I planted on a fluke are producing little potatoes. I thought nothing was happening and pulled a couple of plants up and low and behold there were the cutest baby potatoes. So I am leaving the rest to see what happens :-) We also have planted some little green onions so life is fun in our yarden.

I am still making mittens for Iaomai and using some donated yarn to make more hats for the babies. Keeps us busy and out of trouble.

My sweetheart is no longer working. His vision deteriorated to the point where he can no longer do computer work. He is currently being the best house husband EVER!! Love him and adore him and I am grateful for him. Everything he gets done is helping open up time in the evenings for more mittens. My current goal is 50 and so far between me and a friend we have 26. Two more months to go......

Life is good. We are healthy and happy and trying to stay focused on those things that truly matter in our lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ and our family.

4th of July

Our 4th of July weekend was VERY HOT and VERY HUMID. We did some yarden work and watched some fireworks on tv but other than that just tried to stay as cool as possible.

Strawberry Jam

A couple of weekends ago we bought 5 lbs of strawberries at Costco. Came home and made some homemade jam. YUMMY!! I gave some jam and a mini loaf of homemade bread to my sisters today for visiting teaching. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do and as much as I enjoyed making it for them.

Happy Gardening Summer

This summer has been awesome for our produce. The cucumbers are HUGE. We made dill pickles this weekend. The tomatoes are so flavorful and gorgeous and HUGE. I planted some potatoes and the plants are green and beautiful. We will see how that goes. The bean plants are HUGE and we have many beans growing. Hopefully I will be able to pick, blanch and freeze for Family Home Evening. Our local grocery store has corn on sale so we bought some blanched it and froze it. It is fun! I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that loves us enough to help us grow and put up our vegetables.

Father's Day

Today is father's day. I just want to express my love and appreciation to my sweetheart for helping me to raise my son and for treating him like his own. Sometimes that wasn't such an easy task. He is patient and kind. Forgiving and forgetful of my errors and many areas that need improvement. He makes me a better person just being with him. I am grateful for him and love that we are sharing our lives together. I feel honored that Heavenly Father let me find him and keep him.





Today, I made him a homemade pizza and some semi homemade brownies (AKA store mix). He has been in his "man cave" watching his sports and relaxing.





I hope this has been a great day for him and that he knows he is loved and appreciated beyond measure.

Home Projects

We have been very busy! Little Dude has been in HI now for 3 years. Hard to believe so we finally painted his room and it is officially called the RUMPUS room. It is called this because it is fun to say and because it is a room that meets many needs. It is a library, sewing room, craft room, scripture study room, service project room, mending room, music room, etc. So it has many facets. It is now painted "Old Rose" with reddish curtains on the windows. We reapholstered the craft drawers and table with some left over material and twin sheets. It looks very nice. There are still a few touch up that need to be done and a few accessories but WOW a fresh coat of paint can make all the difference in the world.

I have never painted a room before and I was quite nervous but my sweetheart and I DID IT!! Now I know I can do it and there is nothing to be afraid of.

How does your yarden grow?

Last year was a bad year for our yarden. This year the weather has been cooler than normal but it has not been quite as flaky. Our garlic harvest was HUGE!! Lots of garlic. It is yummy.... We have already eaten one of our cucumbers FRESH AND DELICIOUS! The beanlings had a rocky start due to snails. We have been on SNAIL hunts this year. I have erradicated many of them and if I see them they get SMASHED. We have resorted to using the snail bait and going for the death trap for these slimy nasty pests. Our strawberries are coming out of hibernation with blooms plenty. The problem with our strawberries is we only seem to get one at a time to ripen. So I guess it will be another year of picking and freezing as we go. Our grape plant is growing again so I hope to see some produce soon. My dad says it may take another year before we get to actually see the results. We bought it as a young plant so it needs time to grow and mature. I pruned the orange tree and we haven't any blooms yet. Guess we have to be patient. The jalepeno peppers are not doing too well. Might need to wait and try again when the sun is more consistent. Our tomatoes are growing and we have some pretty nice green globes outside. They are beginning to get an orangy yellow tinge which means they are starting to turn. YEA!!!! The aloe vera garden is growing and is so nice and beautiful.

So this year 2011 looks like a promising year for our Yarden!

Trials and Tribulations are a BLESSING

I was contemplating the story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus. I thought of how great it would be to be that close to the Savior in mortality. I know we can each know Him and love Him but to be a personal friend during His mortal ministry, WOW!! Then I started thinking of the POWER He has. He could have taken away all of the hurt, pain, despair, etc from all of these friends. He did not do that. Yes, He raised Lazarus but He could have healed Him before the death occurred. It is a gentle reminder to me that He did not take those mortal experiences from His friends because He loved them enough to let them learn and grow from them.

Trials and Tribulations are a BLESSING. They help the person grow and give marvelous service and charity opportunities for us to love and learn through service.

What is in a DAY!

So I was pondering the other day and the phrase "we are all given the same amount of minutes in a day" came into my head. This phrase has brought much angst to me on this mortal journey accompanied by guilt. Then it hit me. Yes, we all have equal time given to us in any given day. Every person on earth gets the same 24 hours with its accompanying minutes and seconds, etc. HOWEVER, the tasks assigned to each of us to use these days are very very unique and different. Let me explain....

To a nursing mother, the exhaustion and fatigue cannot be equalized to a working woman's desire to get one more load of laundry done cannot be equalized to the retired woman who wishes there were less aches to hinder the smallest activity to the mother with a child that has extra special needs, etc etc etc.

We are not equal and the measure of our lives I am learning is not in the day, minute, or second but how we meet our unique and diverse struggles. We must lean and trust on the Savior to get us through and do our very best each and every day. Today will be different from yesterday which will be different from our tomorrow. Just try a little harder to be a little better as President Hinckley is quoted as saying.

But...if you have the flu, the little better may just mean that you allow your body the rest it requires to recover.

That is better for you in this moment!

TODAY!

Different Type of Family Visit

Different type of Family Visit
We made our every 6 month pilgrimage to see Mom and Dad S. It was great to see them and make sure that they are okay. They are doing very well.

Saturday we stopped to see them on the way to the hotel. Went and checked in and then had dinner. We were pretty tired so went to bed early. Sunday we went and picked up Mom and Dad and spent a lovely day talking and catching up. On Monday we made our Sam's Club run. Tuesday we made our Albertson's and Walmart runs. On Wednesday we made a trip to the mall and spent the morning and early afternoon looking at all of the few remaining stores there. Thursday, legs hurt, bodies sore and we went for a walk along the river then returned to the rooms and rested. Friday is the drive back home. A great week was had by all.

EVENTS TO NOTE:We have a friend at one of the restaurants we frequent while there. She is the BEST waitress EVER. I just can tell that if she and I lived closer we would be the greatest of friends and drive my sweetheart absolutely bonkers Hee Hee Hee. So we exchanged emails. HELLO NEW FRIEND!

Walking to the parking garage one day I saw 2 roadrunners. Noone else was paying much attention so I was the only person with the privilege.

On one of the trips to the hotel from the apartment building, there was a "red ribbon" floating across the road. Turns out it wasn't a red ribbon but a beautiful redish copperish snake. Beautiful creature. It was probably about 6 feet long. Glad I didn't run over it. I cannot find it exactly on google. I am asuming it is a copperhead and I just couldn't make out the beautiful patterns at such a distance. The distance I am grateful for :-)

A lizard barely escaped death as he dashed in front of our car on one of the trips. He was pretty funny actually.

People watching was a lot of fun! We watched the people ski doing on the river. We suspect that many of them use the little islands for more than just resting. A few of them used them to "relieve themselves". OOOH YUCK!

In the gift shop there were these freaky little animals, mostly cats and dogs. They were toys but with a battery they actually look like they are breathing. I am not sure if they are more on the cute or freaky side of things.

Other than that not too much different. We had very safe travels and were blessed with health by a loving Heavenly Father. Much relaxation accomplished and it was a great vacation!

Family Visit

It was a wonderful joy to see my sister and her husband and the two oldest children last week. They were on a travel trip to celebrate their oldest's graduation from High School in a few weeks. It was delightful to drive to Anaheim and see them for even a few short hours. We made the most of the time together. We talked and talked and talked. Took a few pictures. Then we went swimming and into the hot tub at the hotel. It was so much fun! After swimming, we ate dinner. All of the guys went and grilled the meat and the ladies prepared the table, salad and pototatoes. YUMMY!!!! Then we talked some more and walked to the Cheesecake Factory for a delightful dessert. My sister and husband treated us and again I want to say thank you. It was a fun and light hearted evening! On the travel drive back home, my sweetheart and I were discussing the evening and could not help but think about what a wonderful family they are. Also, they have such amazing children! CONGRATULATIONS DEAR NIECE for your graduation and thank you for letting us share in some of the excitement.

SAN DIEGO TEMPLE

My Sweetheart has been wanting to put a nigh time picture of the San Diego Temple up in our Bedroom/Bathroom area. So, when I had to order some other items from the distribution center, I ordered a temple picture. $1.00 for an 11x17 picture. It is absolutely beautiful. We framed and hung it up this past weekend. Now there is a reminder of where he needs to take me someday so we can be ETERNAL COMPANIONS. I think I will do some vinyl lettering that says "Families are Forever" over our closet door to tie it all in.

WILDFLOWERS

This past Saturday, we dug and toiled the dirt and clay and put down some fresh soil. Then we sprinkled the area with wildflower seeds. The forecast for today was light rain and we wanted to plan ahead for this anticipated rain shower. Today it is rainy and sending goodness and sweet nectar from Heaven. Now we just have to be patient for a few weeks and see what these seeds are going to become. I just know it will be BEAUTIFUL!

SNOW in VISTA.....NOT

Last weekend it got really cold in Vista. There was talk that it would be cold enough to snow. It did snow in San Francisco and the snow levels dropped to below 1000 feet. But alas, Vista did not get the snow. That is okay. We did get lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of heavy rain the week and weekend before. The plants loved it. We loved it. Rainy weekends are an excuse to work on all of the home repair and cleaning jobs that have been put off. So we did some Spring cleaning during the rain and cold. This weekend it is supposed to be sunny and in the 60s so we are planning some errands and yarden work this weekend. Yea!

We are back on Saturday is Special Sweetheart day and the last few weeks have been a balm to my soul. I can feel the balance back in our lives. We just NEED that one day a week with nothing in it but what WE WANT! I am learning that it is not selfish but necessary.

Very Special Evening

Our evening went very much as planned. It is a special thought to think that this wonderful and beautiful man is my Valentine every single day of the year. He is my best friend, lover, and a genuinely beautiful person. He is one of the few people on this earth that I can truly be myself around. He is there and forgives when what I am thinking and what I say do not match. Somehow he knows what I meant to say....It is a beautiful thing to share so much with one person. For example when we are watching tv and something funny is said and we chuckle in the same exact way at the same exact time. For me there is nothing better than that. We are so connected that I think that must be what twins feel.

I love you my sweetheart and thank you for making my life full, funny, joyful, and full of love.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Or should I say Happy Sweetheart Day! I love my sweetheart and I am so thankful for him. He makes me feel like a queen every day!

Tonight we are going to make a special dinner at home. I made the dessert. A strawberry cake with frosting and heart sprinkles. We also have chocolate ice-cream for the side. He is making ribs, corn on the cob, and salad. YUMMY!! Then we are spending the evening snuggling and watching junk tv. Or in other words "House" because it is one of my favorite shows.

Today and Tonight are going to be AWESOME!

Has it been two weeks?

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? Yepper Skepper the date on my last post tells me. I have been in a funk. I mean a real funk.

Anyway a lot has happened in two weeks. Some good and some not so good. For one thing let me just preface this with the fact that 1) our over the stove microwave has not worked for over 2 years and 2) the thermostat on our oven has not worked well for as long as we have been in this home 3) the thermostat on our oven has not worked at all for over a year and 4) we have been using a counter top microwave that uses up the space on a whole counter. As far as end of the world events, these do not count. That being said, every time we go to Lowes, we end up in the oven section. Daydreams begin, we think we talk and then we go about our business having tortured ourselves once again. Well on January 29 we were once again torturing ourselves and finally gave in to the desire. We now have a new oven and over the oven microwave. We are giving ourselves one year to pay this off. I must say that the delivery and installation of said items did not go smoothly but they are now in and they are beautiful! I did a batch of cookies and each batch was done at the same temp for the same amount of minutes. (I used to have to reduce oven heat and time for each batch and then it was still touch and go if they would be over done or not). I feel blessed with our new appliances and the gift of baking.

I have now successfully made a batch of home made onion bagels. My sweetheart says they are better than Brugers (sp?). I take that as quite the compliment :-)

I am still trying to find balance in my life but I am getting there. Day by day and evening by evening. I have once again set aside Saturday as time for my family. We will see if I do better this year.

I am looking back and I would not hesitate to be the lone driver for my sweetheart for anything but I think I miss the 1 hour at lunchtime that was mine. Greedy selfish mine! To do with what I want. I am trying to find balance now without that time in the middle of the day to be out in the sunshine listening and watching nature. I feel lost without it and I know that is the hole in my soul right now. So I am working on different things to fill the hole and try to find a balance with our new schedule. It is difficult but slowly I am finding out who I am again.

Feeling Better

I spent a glorious Sunny Saturday in my yarden! Okay not the whole day but enough to make myself feel grounded and on the way to balanced again. I raked the front yarden. Watered the crocus and other plants in the front. Looked at the blooming ornamental pear tree. All of our plants are so confused right now with the few warm days we have received. Beautiful!

Then I rested a bit. I am still not 100% better and I need to take it easy. So then I went and raked the back yard, removed leaves from the aloe vera garden and took time to look at the 3 pronged bloom on the aloe vera. Cleaned up the ginko biloba and camelia plants. They are both getting ready to bloom.

Then I weeded a section of the hillside and planted the garlic. I watered the potted plants.

Now to the fun stuff! I got buzzed by a hummingbird, played with worms. I avoided the ear wig. I was able to get dirty and I loved every single minute of it!!!

I was able to finish a project in the family room and even though it is not complete, I started to take down the Christmas/Winter decorations and put up the love decorations.

I went to bed tired but happy! I am finding strength and inner peace. Today I am smiling.

To top it off, I touched up my toe nail polish and put clear nail polish on my finger nails with a sticker on each thumb nail. They are short and functional but cute at the same time.

Where was my sweetheart through all of this? He was watching his great team the Green Bay Packers go on to the superbowl while munching some homemade cookies that I made for him on Saturday.

It was a great weekend all the way around.....

Today I am Tired

Today I am tired. So much for not murmuring. I will try to get it all out of my system today....

I am tired of being tired, not feeling well, not sleeping well, coughing, sciatica pain, overly sensitive people that get so easily offended but do not mind offending others, pain in the neck people, whiny people, people that cannot do anything for themselves. People in general are on my bad side today.

I need a break.

I am looking forward to tomorrow after shopping is done and I can turn off the phone and not even talk to anyone but my sweet sweet husband. He keeps me on solid ground when it feels like the earth is about to swollow me whole. I need to work in my yarden and feel the warm earth and see the earthworms and inchworms. These things will be a salve to my soul. I have missed them. Between too cold, rainy, or being sick, and dark when I get home, it has been over a month since I have worked in my yarden. I need my yarden. It will make me whole again. Here is to tomorrow. I just have to get through today :-)

Murmuring

I have restarted the Book of Mormon CDs in my car to and fro work. I love that respite from the world as I drive. I am in the section of 1st Nephi where Nephi's brothers are murmuring. His mother murmurs when they are sent back for the plates. The family of Ishmael murmur when he dies. I stopped to think about all of the murmuring. What a lesson for us as Nephi admonishes them to stop murmuring and to think of the blessings from Heavenly Father. Now some of that murmuring is natural. Family member dies, they have to leave all of their worldly possessions to live, give birth, and eat uncooked meat in the wilderness, a mother concerned for the safety of her children. It just hit me really hard that the murmuring they did was "normal". Yet they are admonished to remember the Lord. Now how humbling is that as I murmur. Just replace the word murmur with complain and there you have it. I am going to work really hard on not murmuring going forward. I know my son is safe. My husband is alive. We are both relatively healthly. We have a home, things, food, clothing, shelter, safety, a yarden to keep us busy and give us some of our food, grocery stores to help with the rest, jobs to provide the money, and the gospel of Jesus Christ to give us faith and hope. There is really no room for murmuring or complaint. All is Well!

Book Review

So I just finished the first book of three in the "Hunger Games" series. Wow! Intense! That is all I am going to say. From first chapter to last you will not want to put it down.

California Cold

For anyone who doesn't believe it gets cold in CA hear this I pray. We had to cover our dwarf orange tree with blankets to protect the fruit from frost and freeze for a few nights in January. I know, I know for those of you that live in "100 degree below zero" temps this is nothing but when you are not used to it or prepared for it, it can be quite the shocker.

Happy New Year!

I cannot believe how fast the time flies. My last post, I was worried because Christmas was only 10 days away and now it is already half past January!

The Accounting world is rough this time of year and I am treading water and still able to breathe so it will all be okay as always. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I just need to be patient with myself and all those around me.

Here is to a fabulous 2011!!