What I Know for Sure about Today

1.  Waking up at 6:30 a.m. is early, but 5:00 a.m. is earlier and not as pleasant.  I'm glad my husband, what that I don't have, didn't have to go fishing this morning at that unpleasant hour.

2.  You can't drive 120 miles on only a quarter tank of gas.

3.  Helping a bride-to-be feel beautiful for her big day is a pay check of the heart that can't be beat.

4.  Orange fingers are a small price to pay for Cheetos.

5.  Long drives home are not so lonely if you call a friend and giggle a lot.

6.  You can be sure people are glad for you to visit if you bring chocloate.

7.  Nine hours in high heels is only slightly less comfy than a root canal and you don't get laughing gas with it.

8.  If your car is more than a month past registration you should obey all traffic laws so as not to draw attention to yourself.

9.  It's better to be agreeable than to be right.

10.  "The Golden Girls"--still funny!

Christian

Today I had a delightful day.  I didn't go to school, so that's something right there.  Why I didn't teach today is another blog for another day.  However, what I did do was spend some time with one zebra-boy named Christian.  Tian's 7th birthday was Monday and so I owed him one birthday date.  He got to pick out where we had lunch and he got to pick out a new pair of shoes.  Fortunately for me, Tian loves the Cafe Rio so that's where we ate.  He picked out some Transformer shoes that glow when you walk.  I think it's safe to say that the society pages tomorrow will report that a good time was had by all. 

I'm grateful for Christian.  He has always held a special place in my heart.  I was blessed enough to happen by the hospital moments before he was born.  I got to be there for the miracle that was Tian.  One thing I know for sure about him is that he was meant for greatness.  I don't know what form of greatness, but I do know it will happen.  He's blessed to have a mom that would walk to the ends of the Earth and back for him, and I believe she quite possibly does on some days.  Happy birthday Tian!  I love you!

More Than I Had Hoped For

School has begun and I don't hate it. The end.

It's About Time

I've been waiting a big long time to go to Lynne's house and sit upon her swings and visit with her. I was waiting for Hillyerie to get her ducks in a row and take me there, but that was happening too slowly. So, I called that Hillyerie up and told her that I was going to her mom's house with or without her but she was welcome to come. Since it is her mom, I thought it'd be nice to at least give her the chance to come and play with us. Yesterday we went. Only no swings. The weather man had different ideas. It rained no small amount last night. The good news is that this is what the rain left behind:
I can always come and sit on the swings another day, but that rainbow was pretty spectacular. It was even double, only you can't see that in the photo. My camera isn't super-schmancy enough.

Instead we went to Heap's for some dinner and sat inside to visit and visit and visit. One thing about that Lynne is it feels like you've always known her and so you want to sit and be with her all the time and tell her everything. She listenes good and laughs a lot.

I learned many things but this might be the most useful of all those things:
The best way to keep fur off of stuff is to go straight to the source. Now why didn't I think of rollering my cat? His fur everywhere makes me nuts. Note to self: Roller the cat because it's a much smaller area than rollering my whole house.

Plus, also, this cat:

I just needed a photo of that cat because she has the most grumpiest face I've ever met. It goes to show that you really can't judge a book by it's cover because she is not so grumpy as her face wants you to believe. I quite liked her.

Presents

Hank has mouse babies. He loves them. He also loves to share them:

This photo is like Where's Waldo. Can you find the mouse baby? Plus, also, to Hillyerie, don't you think Mr. Smith should build me a shoe shelf too?

And my personal favorite:

I'm sure glad he's not an outdoor cat. Think of the treasures he'd bring me then.

Legacy

Do you remember this day?

I bet you also remember this Amy girl.

So, on that not-so-great day I was talking to Amy. Let me clarify that: I was ugly crying at her on the phone. In my defense, it was her own fault. She never should have had the nerve to call me that day and be nice to me. Being sweet to someone that is emotionally unstable is only asking for it. To make a long story short, I was just having one of those unlovable days. The kind where you are just sure that everything you do is wrong, and you are confused about why anyone would love you because you don't love yourself so much in that moment. Everything that ever seemed wrong or I was ever insecure about just came crashing in around me that day. I now know that a good deal of it can be attributed to PMS, but at the time I was sure that everything I was feeling was true and that it would last forever.

One thing that works well for Amy and me is that her brain is wired differently than mine in most ways. For example, Amy was blessed to be born with a knowledge of who she is and raised in a home that really nurtured that. Me, not-so-much. That day Amy made it very clear to me that all I was thinking and feeling was a bunch of crap. The thing I love best that she told me was that Heavenly Father made me and He only makes people He likes. And if Heavenly Father likes me I should probably like myself, too. Touche. Then she told me that she was going to hang up and that I needed to make a list of 20 things I liked about myself. She could think of 50 off the top of her head, but she'd let me start with 20. Then I was going to call her back and tell her what they are. Sassy pants, that girl. She had the advantage of me being in a weakened state and not able to fight back too much, so I did it.

Fast forward a couple of days and I'm preparing my Relief Society lesson for today. I actually like teaching R.S. quite a bit. It's not primary. That's all I have to say about that. Today's lesson was on Joseph Smith's Wentworth letter. I honestly had no idea what that was all about. Maybe I shouldn't admit that, but it's true. After reading the lesson, I knew quite a bit about the letter, but had no idea what to do with that information. Everything in that letter is really basic, LDS info: Joseph Smith prays, Heavenly Father and Christ visit him, he gets the plates, translates them, the church grows, they are forced out of many towns and persecuted, the church sends missionaries all over the world, and then the Articles of Faith. Really, 40 minutes retelling that to women that know far more than I do about it all? The manual gave me NO help in maybe what principles would be a good thing idea to bring up. I imagined all the little old ladies on the back row nodding off from the heat and boredom. We have not a few of those in my ward. Then, in a moment of divine inspiration, one word came to my mind: Legacy. Because of those events, Joseph Smith left us with a legacy that makes it possible to get back to Heavenly Father. Pretty big deal. I thought about what my legacy would be to those that come after me. Obviously it's not the restoration of the church and the opening up of the heavens for Heavenly Father to communicate with prophets again. Thank goodness that's already been covered. It was then that I realized that the list that Amy made me write down is what my legacy will be. All we have is who we are and how we treat others. That's what people will remember you for and what you leave for them. I'd sure be sad to leave a legacy of hurt and pain to others. My friend Laurie once told me that hurting people, hurt people. However we treat those we love will be perpetuated for generations to come. On the flip side, loved people, love people. I like that better.

My Legacy:

• I love with my whole heart. It's all or nothing.
• I am loyal.
• I go out of my way to help others.
• I am willing.
• I am teachable.
• I don't give up.
• I have compassion for others.
• I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
• Other people like to be around me.
• I (generally speaking) really like the 8th graders I teach.
• I'm creative.
• I'm funny.
• I'm good at compromising.
• I make everyone feel like I love them best, because I do.
• I am good with kids.
• I'm smart
• I'll sacrifice what I want in order to make someone else happy.
• I'm grateful for what I have

Of course, our legacy will grow, develop, and change as we do those things. For now, that's a good start.

One of Those Days

Do you ever have one of these kinds of days?

You know the kind. It involves ugly crying and headaches. Yeah. Me too.

Seminar 2009

I've got to catch up because I have been to Dallas, and let me tell you it was good times. There are no words for the wonderfulness that is Mary Kay Seminar. I want you to try to imagine General Conference, Miss America, Broadway musical, and Academy Awards all rolled up in to one. Really it is amazing and that's not to even mention all of the silliness that happens when we are all hanging out in our hotel rooms.

My roommates Holly and Shari helping Noelle get ready before the big awards night.

You probably recognize this Amy girl.

Riding the Limo to awards night.

Noelle and me

This is Julianne. She is our national and all the super-cool things I get to do are because of her. She and I are in Mary Kay's personal office.

Wearing Mary Kay's glasses. These were the ones she wore just before she died and not to disrespect the honored Mary Kay, but she was just shy of bat vision.

This is my Laurie friend, a girl named Gillian, Amy friend and me. That Kesk made an observation about my photos. If you look closely you will notice that in all of my photos the girls with the hottest hair are Amy and me. With the exception of maybe Julianne, but she had an internationl makeup artist doing her hair the whole week, and on awards night she looked like a freaking rock star. The Gillian girl in that photo has million dollar hair and it's not as fantastic as Amy's and my hair. The common demominator...Amy and I have the same genius hairdresser. You only get one guess as to whom that may be. I'll give you a hint: it starts with K and ends in esk.

Shelly, Amy, and me

This one I love. On the last day a bunch of us went to Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End of Dallas. We had a mirror right above our very heads.

While it was the the greatest trip ever, (that is until Kesk and I go to NY to see Wicked in October) it was kind of good to get back home. I missed many people but the person I think missed me most was Hank:

This has pretty much been my life since I got back. I honestly can't shake him. While it is sweet and cute, it was a lot sweeter and cuter before he weighed 15 lbs.