April Quotes

Blog post #165 of 365

"Tomorrow, make a child's life a little easier. Your understanding could make all the difference in his/her world."  Melanie M

"Sometimes you just need to talk to a two year old, just so you can understand life again." Unknown via Channing 

"Not only is my short term memory horrible but so is my short term memory." Sheryl J

"Just because someone is speaking a different language in front of you doesn't mean they are talking about you... you're probably not that important." Ana (quoting someone from her class.)

"Not every person is going to understand you and that's okay. They have a right to their opinion and you have the right to ignore it." Cyndi

"Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will." Richard C

"I always mean what I say but I don't always mean to say it out loud, but I always mean it." Unknown 

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” ~ Fred Rogers via Heather H

"Hold tightly my hand, patiently while I search for the truth of my life." Tyler KG

It was a tough month for me for a number of reasons or this would be a much longer list!

Commitments and the Committed!

Blog post #164 of 365

One of the best compliments I ever got was hearing I was reliable. I love being reliable.

I love to know I can rely on certain things and certain people. The sun will rise. The sun will set. So and so will always come through. So and so will always disappoint. Water is wet. Fire is hot. Candy is sweet. Butter will melt when warmed. These things we can rely on.

Reliability. When you say you will you do and when you say you won't you don't. Simple really.

Being reliable is tantamount to being able to commit. It seems people have a hard time with this concept.

When I make a commitment I stick to it. I was raised not to raise my hand unless I mean to follow through. So I do. I wish more people did.

Stick it out. Even when it get hard. Make it work even if you have to move things around a bit. Make commitments and follow through. It is as simple as that!

And Again

Blog post #163 of 365

I got nothing!

At least I'm honest about it!!

Better Than They Were

Blog post #162 of 365

The human brain is so amazing. We forget and we remember in a way we are comfortable with...

I had five kids. Four natural childbirths. One of those natural childbirths eventually came with a pain shot at the end but she was my biggest baby. One cesarean section. All of them painful and traumatic I'm sure but all I really remember were the events of each day and the beautiful children that entered the world on those days.

Recently, when my sister visited, there were many time our youth, our childhood and our lives in general were brought up. More so since her new husband was visiting as well and it was his first visit to the States. (They live Australia.) Our memories are different. Some events remembered similarly others so different I wonder if we grew up in the same house. (We did I assure you.) Many times I just bit my tongue and rolled my eyes because it is better than arguing over stupid stuff.

Politicians are running for office they glorify their "accomplishments" even if they had little to do with said "accomplishments." They take credit for things they didn't do, didn't finish or didn't happen. They sugar coat every event. They vilify the opponent and all just to get elected. When we go to the polls our brains help us remember the 'good stuff' they campaigned with or we remember the bad stuff they said about the other guy one way or another we vote for the name we remember most or the one we believed better or the name we recognize most. Rarely do we vote for the best candidate. (Come on be honest did you really know any of the judges or councilmen etc you voted for. Those guys put up signs in your neighborhood or maybe ran an ad or two but mostly you have no idea who they are other than the little you heard or read that they (or their campaign manager) wrote about themselves.

During a test most people rarely remember all of the materials. If we did everyone would get an 'A' every time. Truth is they have done studies and you are more likely to put down an answer that 'sounds' right in your brain even if you don't remember the answer for sure. One of my professors proved that point well when he put down one famous name in the multiple choice answers and people actually bubbled in James Dean, Eddie Murphy, and Margaret Thatcher. Really who wouldn't recognize those names as famous people and not teaching theorists or psychologists or what not? Apparently 30% of our class. Really 30%. I am happy to say I wasn't one of the 30%.

After people pass away they are remembered fondly. Even a school bully or awful administrator is mourned with love and kindness. Am I the only one who remembers the mean and nasty behavior the the mean kid that died very young? Am I the only one that remembers the hoards of teachers transferring to different schools prior to her death? Okay we are told not to speak ill of the dead but that doesn't mean glorify them either. "I loved him/her" "We will miss him/her" isn't really appropriate in these cases.

People put up ten year old photos on the internet because they looked younger, duh! They were thinner, had less gray or more hair or whatever. We need to learn to love the humans we are. Bask in the you that you are or work to become the you that you want the world to remember.

Let's face it when we are gone we would all like to be remembered better than we were.

No Bake 'Cake'

Blog post #161 of 365

Again an easy recipe that will please the berry lover in your house but won't heat up your kitchen.

You'll need:
3 lbs sliced ripe strawberries (not too ripe though)
16 ounces of whipped topping (2 tubs)
1 14 ounce box of graham crackers
shaved dark chocolate or you can use chocolate syrup (ice cream topping type)

Spread a thin layer of topping on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Place a layer of graham crackers across the layer of whipped topping. add a thin layer of Whipped topping over the graham crackers and then a layer of strawberries. Repeat three times. (If you need the help that will be 4 layers total. The top layer of graham crackers could be short but it will be alright or you could buy extra if you are the perfectionist type.) You will end with a layer of strawberries on the top.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The crackers will soften completely.

Before serving drizzle a little chocolate syrup over the top or dust with some dark chocolate shavings. (I prefer the dark chocolate shavings.) Yummy on days one and two. Still tastes good on day three but the berries will begin to look awful.

Temple Visits with Family for Family

Blog post # 160 of 365

My sister came to visit and we tried to do some temple work while her husband was here. Unfortunately we had no idea how hard some things would turn out to be.

While her husband was here we strolled the temple grounds. 4/7/13
I took a few photos.

I think they turned out pretty good for an unplanned visit. We toured the visitor's center and had a very pleasant time.

Then on 4/23/13 we came back and got things done!

 Afterward we had a little lunch and my grandson was an attention getter as always!

       

Family outing with meaning. You can't beat a day like that!!

Size Matters

Blog post #159 of 365

There are some things in which size matters! There are some things where position and skill can overcome size problems but some cannot.

I was watching a weight loss commercial in which a heavily accented woman blamed her weight gain on moving to the United States where food is better and in larger portions than in her country. Well eating less is on her. Glad she lost her weight but take responsibility. I am fat and I have issues. My fault.

Okay this is really about today. Well more like this entire last several weeks where I have been in the car a bunch on freeways I don't normally frequent. The lanes have gotten smaller. Seriously they widen the freeways but make the lanes so small truck drivers are straddling lanes when they drive down the middle. No I repeat no room for error, distraction or tired moments. Scared the crap out of me today.

Also parking spaces. Is every car so tiny they think it is okay to make the spaces all compact or so small van, SUVs, and trucks are going to be dinging everyone's doors? It takes longer to make sure you are between the lines. Did you know they can and will give you a ticket for being over or on the lines? If you are in a town needing the cash you will get the ticket.

Yup size matters.