Statistically Speaking...

Did I really just SAY that? My mind has been on overload since I started Stats! And the people who have encouraged me by telling me that I will get it eventually are the same people who told me that if I drank water long enough I would end up loving it. NOT! I took my Stats final on Monday after much studying, crying and throwing things,(ok, so I didn't throw things but I sure FELT like it! And DON"T tell me I'm being dramatic. I don't know of any dramatic people in my entire family!ha ha) I was asked by several people how the test went. Let's just say that it could have been worse. It could have been in TWO foreign languages instead of ONE. Sigh---- I'm just really tired of feeling stupid because of stats! I told my professor I am going to get it if it kills me. And it just might! Sorry, I just about crossed over into my "whining mode" and I said that I was done with that. :) I have met some great people who are in my Masters program and I'm excited to get started on the 30th. Time is flying. I am so grateful to my wonderful family and friends who have been so supportive! I love you! Happy Day
Thought for the day: You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.

Cheese with my "Whine"!

I haven't kept up very well with my "journal" blog so I'm going back and try to remember some of the things that have happened. First and most exciting is that Jamie had her baby boy on Monday the 26th of July! He is a doll and it looks like Jagger Mikel will be is name. Mom and baby are doing great!
Last week was a whining week for me. The prior Sat. I went with Kelly and his family, Chris and Hunter(Skyla was sick so Jamie stayed home with her), boating on Utah Lake. We had such a fun time! I have never gotten up on a boogie board, but hey, I work out and maybe this time? Wrong! I ended up pulling a chest muscle on my left side and that was the end of that. It hurt to breath and I'm pretty sure you can't get along to well without breathing!Really? Wow, I am sooooo glad I exercise every day so I don't hurt myself!!! Ahhhhhh! Yes, that started the whining! By Monday I couldn't do my upper body exercises, it was hard to walk across BYU campus with my bag of books, and my professor of Statistics(you remember stats? my absolute favorite subject in the world? NOT!) proceeded to tell us that there were several people that were kicked out of the program because they couldn't pass Statistics and Research so we needed to take it more seriously! How much more serious can you get than a stack full of 3x5 cards with hundreds of formula's and crazy information that I still don't "get?!" Needless to say, I had a mini breakdown that day. I would have had a MAJOR FULL BLOWN breakdown but I didn't have time. You know why? I had to study for Statistics that's why!!!! (I do have a breakdown scheduled for my next school break.) Then on Tuesday, I pulled a groin muscle on my right leg during my morning exercise routine and by the time class was out at BYU I was limping SLOWLY across campus. Are you KIDDING me? Maybe this is why some people don't exercise. You can get HURT! Well at least my chest muscle pull faded in the background of my new pain! Awesome! By Wednesday morning I was hurting so bad that I took a pain pill that made me sooo sick that I ended up skipping my BYU class and going home to die! I spent the day in bed. Life is good? :/
I went to the rodeo with Kelly's family on Thursday and it was so fun! Beautiful night and an almost full moon! Love the moon! Saturday morning I went with Jamie to take Jake, Megan and Kaylee's family pictures at Salem Pond. They turned out sooo cute. Of course-great subject matter! That night everybody came over (except Elisha who was doing Cherries and Jess and Mike who are still in Texas) and we had a BBQ and stayed up to watch the Fiesta Days Fire Works in the back yard. We had a really great time. By Sunday I was feeling much better and I took my motorcycle for a ride. I went and visited with my friend for awhile and by the time I went to leave, the battery was dead. My friend offered to put my motorcycle by his garage and take me home but I was determined to get it started. Of course I had to kick start it with the leg with the pulled muscle. Can things get ANY better? ha ha I did manage to get it started and get home ok. And I did decide that my week of whining was over! Besides----nobody cares! Seriously, when you see someone and ask, "how are you today?", do you REALLY want to know? Just say great and be done with it. Save the whining for your family. They probably don't want to hear it either, but they have to listen cause they are related! Happy day to ya'll!

Thumbs Up!

Ok, so you can call me a sap or a romantic (both of which are true), but I really love the "Twilight" series! I have to blame my daughter in law, Jen, for this. When everyone was busy reading the "Twilight series" and in a lather about the first movie, I was being a good little student at school. I knew better than to start reading any books that weren't school books because I have no self control when it comes to reading and I read a book until I'm finished. Beside, a story about a vampire--really? So I was over watching the kids while Kelly and Jen were at a baseball game and after the kids went to bed, I spotted it! The book, right there in plain sight and beckoning me to pick it up.( I wonder if Jen did that on purpose? hmmm) Anyway, I thought I would just skim over it and that's all it took. I was hooked and had the entire series read in no time! Loved it! Let me explain what is so appealing to me about the series for those of you who think I'm crazy or don't have a romantic bone in your body!!!!
1. How awesome would it be to have someone who was willing to do whatever it took to be with you? ( and Bella has two! So it's a vampire and werewolf! details details!)
2.A guy who has such self control. Keeping passions in check so he doesn't hurt her? Way hot!
3.A guy with enough moral integrity to want to wait to be intimate until AFTER they are married. Now that's unusual in this day and age!
4. An entire vampire family who want to be better than their kind and natural instinct. They crave human blood but drink animal blood instead. (so would that be like craving chocolate and having to have a carrot?! whoaaa! )
And the list goes on. So here comes the "soapbox" that I get on from time to time--ok, more than that!:)
When we know what we are suppose to do, we should be willing to do whatever it takes to do it! We will hit roadblocks and stumble, but it will be worth it in the end! I think that the major thing we are suppose to learn in this life is self control. We live in a world where we are spoiled beyond belief and have instant everything! We want to do or have things that are not good for us or can hurt us, and we need to develop the self control to do the right thing and the wisdom to know the difference. Time is precious! We never know what tomorrow will bring. Every day that goes by is one more day that you won't ever get back to spend with your loved ones or be doing what you need to do. Don't procrastinate living, loving, or having joy now! Happy Day!
Thought for the day: Never mistake motion for action!

Can you hear me now?

I'm busy! What a great tool for the adversary! We are so busy in our lives that we often complain that there isn't enough time to get everything done. Are we confusing being busy with being productive? Is busyness a way we run away from what is really important and what we really should be doing? I have thought a lot about this lately in my own life. I was talking with Elisha awhile ago about a sharing time she was doing in Primary on the subject of the Holy Ghost. As a demonstration, she had a boy come up to the front of the room. She asked him to remove his shoes and socks. She had some obstacles on the floor between her and the boy. She then blindfolded him and put some thumbtacks on the floor between them and told him that she would guide him safely to her and to listen carefully to her voice. Then she told all the other children in the room to talk and make noise to try and distract the boy from hearing her voice. What an effective object lesson for all of us! Sometimes we need to slow down, turn off the electronic devices, and listen. We can't hear answers to our prayers or feel the spirit when we are too busy to listen! In the scriptures it says,"Be Still And Know That I Am God." I now understand what that means for me.
Thought for the day: I'm so busy...I don't know if I found a rope or lost my horse!
Happy Day!

Lost and Found

I have been a slacker and not updated my blog for awhile. I must say that my last post was not very uplifting but it was reality. I have since come out of my funk and I think my family has breathed a sigh of relief(as have I). I started BYU last Monday and figured I was in trouble when the professor handed out a 30 question paper on the things we should already know about research methods and statistics. Is it a problem that I only know 2? hmmmm Hence the reason for taking the course!!! I still go to UVU to work out in the mornings(maybe because it has been my home for 3 1/2 years and someone needs to kick me out!), and then I'm at BYU Monday through Thursday from 1 to 4. Fridays are help days, so I will probably be there on Fridays too! My new journey begins! :) Thanks for your support and prayers. I really appreciate it. Love to ya'll and Happy Day!''
Thought for the Day: When we change the input into our minds, we change the output into our lives!

Has Anybody Seen---well, ME?

I know that sounds kind of corny but it's true. If you were to ask anyone who has been around me the last 2-3 weeks, they would say that I have been sort of --off. I had a fabulous time in Florida, but since I've been home, I've struggled quite a bit. As any good therapist would, I have looked back on what has been going on and I have come up with several factors:
1. Memorial Day (need I say more?)
2.My Anniversary (would have been 33 years)
3.Dealing with my mom's "stuff". Lawyers, police, craziness, untruths, dates, times, mom's emotions, frustrations, moving her in with me for several weeks until we moved her to an apartment, etc. She is finally in her own place as of last Saturday and doing very well. I love you mom!
4.The sudden screech to a halt of being crazy busy at school for 3 1/2 years and then graduating and not having a schedule.
5. There is a #5, but I won't blog about it.
So, now what? I realize that life is full of ups and downs and my personality is definitely lived in the "up" side, so to be knocked down and struggling to get up is tough. But I do know where to turn for help and I know that the Lord is blessing me to hang on until I can find my balance again. It's interesting because I have experienced the tender mercies of the Lord that is talked about in Mosiah 24:15(B of M). The Lord strengthened Alma and his brethren to be able to bear their burdens, he did NOT take their burdens away. Although it would be nice to have the Lord take away my struggles, I realize that the lessons I am to learn from my struggles can only be learned by experiencing them and dealing with them. So I will hang on and know that I will be ok. To those of you who have to deal with me(bummer for you), I hope you can hang in there as well and know that the positive and happy me is hopefully just around the corner! I do know that life is good and I am very blessed! I love you all and am grateful for the love and support that you are to me! Happy Day!

Expand Your Sandbox

What do yachts, sandboxes, Heather Locklear, therapy, and lookin good in blue jeans all have in common? My flight home from Florida! I really wanted to make sure that I finished up my fabulous trip commentary so I don't forget.(Blogging is my way of keeping a journal) On my flight from Florida to Georgia, I was engaged in a conversation with a man who was retired Military and goes to the Florida Keys to run around in his yacht.(Do I smell money? ha ha!) Anyway, I think after finding out I'm just a simple Mormon girl from Utah who hasn't traveled around the world like he has, he told me I needed to expand my sandbox! (And I think he wanted to join me in the expansion! whoa!(I started humming a hymn while I experienced what I will politely call a "hot Flash") :) All of this happened before I even got on the plane! Then I ended up sitting by the window and the isle seat was already occupied so I apologized as I told the older gentleman thatI needed to get into the window seat. He had quite the sense of humor and told me no. I teased him that I would crawl over him if he didn't let me in and lets just say he really liked that idea! ha ha He made a comment that he wouldn't tell his wife! :) The man that ended up sitting in the middle seat between us was a 24 year old Delta Pilot and we all three had a nice conversation and teased the whole way. When we landed, the man in the isle seat(can't remember his name-surprise) snapped his fingers and said, "Hey, I know who you remind me of! Heather Locklear! Wow, I think the old guy needs glasses but Jeff would have loved that since he LOVED Heather Locklear!
When we landed in Salt Lake, a very nice looking guy followed me to the baggage claim and started a conversation with me. He knew that I was a grandma since he overheard me talking to Hunter on the phone. He said he noticed me when I was walking out of the plane and that I looked good in my jeans! What exactly do you say to that? Ummm! We talked about my work with Pornography addictions and Social Networking problems and he told me he had been divorced for 4 years because his wife had found someone over the Internet. How sad! We visited for quite awhile and talked about LDS beliefs when he asked if I was a Mormon. He was from Florida and here on business with Hill Air Force Base. Super nice guy! So my last day was quite interesting. So grateful to have been able to go and ready to go back! Happy day!