I
became

on a cool Spring morning.

I felt the sky.
warmed by the sun and ready to live,
I reached.

the Earth around me
was wet and alive
I drank

I was thirsty

and hungry
 energy flowed
and I grew

up, Up, UP

life is good

on a cool
           spring
                 morning

Hydrangea

There was a time when I owned a little Hydrangea flower plant in a pot.  It was gorgeous.  Now I have a lot of other little plants that I am growing and hoping they will flower!  But for your more immediate enjoyment here are some Hydrangea pictures:

-mydragonfly

Little Children Brushing Their Teeth

and their father exclaims:

"Who taught you to use a hundred miles of toothpaste to brush your teeth!?!"

It's the 21st Century!

Yes, it is weird to embroider pillowcases in your living room when guests are over and you are a single young lady.  Because it's the 21st Century!  Embroidery is a seriously beautiful and elegant art, and pretty much old.  That does not mean every young woman should learn it.  It actually means that emroidery is mostly out of style, unfortunately.
If I bring back a new fad of doing embroidery, is that such a bad thing?  No, just weird.  Because it's the 21st Century.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

fish, sea, and swimming quotes

http://quotes.yourdictionary.com/fish

http://www.allgreatquotes.com/sea_quotes.shtml

http://www.quotegarden.com/swimming.html

If the world was flat I'd probably swim off it.  ~Author Unknown


Sometimes God calms the storm.  At other times, he calms the sailor.  And sometimes he makes us swim.  ~Author Unknown

On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.  ~Thomas Jefferson

In my retirement I go for a short swim at least once or twice every day.  It's either that or buy a new golf ball.  ~Gene Perret


You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry.  Most people do.  ~Author Unknown

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. World losers and world forsakers, for whom the pale moon gleams. Yet we are movers and the shakers of the world forever it seems.
Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy

My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give thee, the more I have, For both are infinite.
William Shakespeare

  
A smooth sea never made skilled mariner.
English Proverb

Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually.
Jimi Hendrix

There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea, and I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates.
James Russell Lowell  

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
John Masefield
Sea Fever.

  

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish. There were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish. Hurling it far into the sea he said, “It makes a difference for this one.” I abandoned my writing and spent the morning throwing starfish.” 
http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/stories/attitude/starfish.shtml

Ever Heard Of Them?

It is very likely that you have heard of the Piano Guys, because of the wonderful following they have on YouTube, not to mention the wonderfantabulistic music they create.  Well, if you have heard of them, give a shout out right here in the comments.  If you haven't, here's a link to their page [ thepianoguys.com ] and their channel [youtube].  And please!  Enjoy!!

The real reason I am spotlighting the Piano Guys today is because of the great opportunity I experienced over the weekend.  I was part of an audience for one of their live performances!!!  YAY!!  I loved it SO much!  Their music is awesome and they were such great performers and had a good interaction with the audience.  All in all I think they captured my attention a little more than the nearby India Fest, although I was concentrating on that performance as well.  But that was homework.
Piano Guys Rock!
Yup,
I'm a fan

Must See Mustache Man

:-{D

Who?

Who is an Entist?

 Perhaps Merry and Pippin are!  I wish I were an Entist.

I Promised!

I did promise some pictures from Pioneer Day so here's a teaser (the rest can be found on the Pictures tab).  I didn't take photos of the games because I was busy...busy participating in them!  And I didn't want the camera damaged.  But we definitely had a great time.  :)  Enjoy!

The More You Give, The More You Get

Have you ever heard that phrase?  I have found that the more I give this summer, the more emails I get.  The more people I email, the more they feel the need to respond and email me back.  The more scholarships I apply for, the more notification emails I get about these deadlines.  The more personal contact information I give out, the more spam I get, and so forth.  You get the idea.
So the more I give, the more emails I get!
And isn't everyone happy to look at their inbox and see that they are loved because people sent them an email?
I just discovered a way to fill up my inbox!

The 24th of July

Happy Pioneer Day!

This is the day that Salt Lake City was founded when Brigham Young entered the Valley.  We remember our Pioneer ancestors and celebrate them here in Spanish Fork on this day with a lot of great activities, like pioneer games and lots of other fun stuff.
(pictures coming soon!)

Thneed

The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, contains a fictional mystical item called a thneed that can become whatever the owner of said thneed wants.  Of course, the Once-ler who invented the thneed tried to convince everyone that a thneed is a need.  Watch the wordplay come in and we can see that a thneed is a need but only a fake one.  Some people believe they need a thneed but it is only in their imagination.

Moving on to more wordplay in this word:  'thneed' is actually an anagram for 'the end'.  This becomes important to the plot of the story as we watch the Once-ler destroy a forest of truffula trees.  The lorax tries in vain to warn the Once-ler of the end that is near, but thneeds are inevitable and once greed comes in, the Once-ler cannot stop.

So why bring it up?  Why should we dwell on the sad parts of children's books and sorry endings?  Merely to share a discovery and compliment the author.  Dr. Seuss is definitely an amazing and unmatchable author with stories and rhymes made very enjoyable.  Who knows if he meant to make both of these plays on words?
Either way, it is a sad ending indeed, matched in part by a story we find in The Book of Mormon, in the book called Ether.  The story of Coriantumr has a similar ring to it, albeit more morbid than cutting down a forest.  Coriantumr wanted the whole kingdom, full of millions of people, to rule over for himself.  And so he fought, and fought, and fought.  He chose the wrong, even when the prophet Ether prophesied of the end.  He was cursed to be the last of his nation alive.  The end was near, but greed drove Coriantumr to compel his people to a war that only ended when Coriantumr alone lived.  Like the Once-ler, he was the only one left.  Like the Once-ler he never gave up until the end ruined his temporal happiness.

Let us learn from the greed for power and money by these two examples and never be like them.  Always listen to the warnings and remember the only thing that gives you true happiness, which is following the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Seedlings

I absolutely love plants! I love especially to grow them, to watch them sprout, to see them bloom and produce. I really love to eat fruits and vegetables that I have grown myself in the garden. They taste especially delectable. The suffering comes in the waiting.

The problem with plants is that when you plant a seed it does not pop up over night. Indeed it takes a week to see green!Then you have to wait weeks more until it is large enough to stop calling it a seedling. But all good things have a measure of sacrifice to them, don't they?

Greenlings, Seedlings, lovely little growing things!

I wish....

It is 11:11
Make a wish!!
Wishing doesn't mean it will happen though.  Remember, dreams only inspire but reality is where it works out.  If you wish and then work, your dreams will come true.

And Here It Is Again!

Ah, yes,
Friday the 13th
What a wonderful day. Can you feel the energy in the air?  Today is an uncommon event with mysterious qualities.  Harness that power and use it for good.  Make today the best day ever!  Smile, cheer the world around you, and make it yours, because when will there be another day like this?

Happy Fourth!

★ Happy Independence Day Everyone!! ★

The Perfect Souvenir

When you visit the ocean you can't leave without some shells and rocks collected at the beach.  These tokens remind the visitor of their wonderful time spent there and the great things they saw and enjoyed.  I recently got to visit the ocean again and carefully selected some flat, circular rocks so I could paint them to keep as a souvenir.  With these rocks in my possession, I shall never forget all the activities I enjoyed at the ocean that I miss dearly.

p.s. Aren't these darlings adorable?

Book Review: Fablehaven

I found some more wisdom from a book, but though this isn't Lord of The Rings it is just as awesome.

"Smart people learn from their mistakes.  But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others."

-Dale, Fablehaven pg. 152

I love the book Fablehaven.  It is such a wonderful adventure!  But don't ever stop at the first book, you have to read the whole series.

I was introduced to this book through my mom.  She related a lesson from it without telling us any of the story.  This is the lesson:  do as you are told by those with more knowledge than you and you won't get into trouble.  If you break the rules, you will cause harm more than you know.  You won't just be in trouble for breaking the rules, you'll get the consequences of your actions as well.  The rules are there to protect you from getting hurt, not to inhibit your freedom.

Just to let you know, this is only one thing you can pull from the basic plot of the book.  Otherwise, it is totally cool and not even as sappy as it sounds!

Enjoy reading Fablehaven!!

Lighthouse

I love lighthouses.  They are so super-duper cool!  Not only are they gorgeous but they have a great view of the ocean.  And lighthouses can be related to us in many ways.

Point Loma Lighthouse, San Diego CA

"I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse.  They were built only to serve.  They weren't built for any other purpose..."

-George Bernard Shaw

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Portland OR
Panoramio.com

Altruistic means being unselfish and thinking about others.  We can all be like a lighthouse and let our light shine for the world to see our good example.

Matthew 5:14-16

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Leuchtturm
Marieke Jeromin

A lighthouse takes a lot of work and dedication and even some isolation from the world to watch over.  All who sacrifice this for a lighthouse are serving others with every minute of their lives.  We can serve others and be a good example to let our light shine for all to see.  We can be awesome just like a lighthouse!