Monday, December 31, 2012

New Year's Eve - a Happy One To You!

:)
I hope that you celebrate all night and enjoy every minute of it.  My dad said we'd be playing games for the rest of the year:  every minute of every hour for the whole year.  Of course, 2012 is almost over, so that means all night and that's it.  But we love to play games on New Year's Eve and snack on cheese and meat and crackers and dips and chips and wonderfully fun snacks until the New Year has arrived.
Good job, by the way, for surviving the 2012 scare of the end of the world.  Of course, we all knew it wouldn't actually end.  It was silly to say so in the first place.  But all the movie makers took advantage of it.  So if you go to the right movie at the right movie theater watch out; all you'll get is a half hour of junk apocalypse and alien invasion and other end of the world previews.  So disappointing.
Anyway, I hope you have a great New Year's Eve celebration and do a good deed to welcome the New Year to our door!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas!

I know I'm a day early, but Merry Christmas!  I hope you have a nice, thoughtful, meaningful Christmas.  I don't wish that you get everything you asked Santa for, and I don't wish for you to get a lot of presents. That's not what Christmas is all about.  Instead I hope that you think of others, giving them gifts of love and service, remembering what Christ would do for them and in that way honor Christ's birthday wish for us.  Remember the reason for Christmas and I do wish you a happy one!!

Friday, December 7, 2012

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

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

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

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Little Children Brushing Their Teeth

and their father exclaims:
"Who taught you to use a hundred miles of toothpaste to brush your teeth!?!"

Monday, November 5, 2012

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.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Monday, October 1, 2012

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

Monday, September 24, 2012

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

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Who?

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

Monday, July 30, 2012

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!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

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!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

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!)

Monday, July 23, 2012

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.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

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.

Friday, July 13, 2012

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?

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Fourth!

★ Happy Independence Day Everyone!! ★

Monday, June 25, 2012

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?