Your Valentine...

I received the best Valentine at church yesterday. In fact, my entire Sunday school class received this same Valentine. I felt that it was definitely worth sharing so I duplicated it the best I could for each of you!

I'm not sure anything can top this Valentine. It is definitely the best Valentine ever! At least to me. It's such a great reminder that it doesn't matter where we are in life - married, single, divorced, widowed - Valentine's day is for everyone. And even if some of us do feel extra lonely on this particular day, at least we can take comfort in knowing that there is someone out there who loves us more than we could ever imagine. And in the grand scheme of things, that's what really matters.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Road Rage...

I just had an interesting experience on the road. Truthfully it left me quite shaken. Someone apparently wanted to kill me...or at least do harm to me and my vehicle. Here's the story:

I was driving back to my place after having just spent a very nice evening at my parent's. I was listening to "The Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" CD (which, by the way, is definitely worth the purchase) and just contemplating about what a wonderful day I had. As I was driving, I noticed the car in front of me was going a bit slower than the speed limit so instead of following too closely, I decided to move into the next lane. At that point I noticed the car then started to speed up. Perhaps they thought I was trying to pass them and they wanted to prevent me from doing so. Well, I really wasn't in a hurry, I just wanted to go the speed limit. So, I stayed where I was and kept driving.

When I got about two lights from where I needed to make a left turn I decided I should get back over into the lane I had previously exited. Upon doing so, I ended up behind that same car. When the light turned green and the cars ahead of us went through the light, the car in front of me continued to sit there for another 4-5 seconds. I just sat there and waited. I didn't honk my horn or appear to be in any kind of hurry. In fact, I didn't even step on the gas. I just sat there.

After the 4-5 seconds the car finally went. Very slowly. It was almost like they were the tortois and not the hare. I didn't want to go around them again because I knew I'd have to turn left anyway so I stayed behind them. As we were approaching the next light they hit their brakes. Hard. Nobody was in front of them and there was still a good 20 feet before they got to the light. I hit my brakes to avoid hitting them. Still I did nothing. No honking of the horn, no obscene gestures. I felt like I was in total control of myself and I was proud. I had no idea why these people were apparently so upset with me.

That light turned green and they started to go. Again, very slowly. In about 30 more feet I would have to turn left so I continued to stay behind them. Within about 5 seconds of my passing the intersection they slammed on their brakes again! This time harder than the first time. I once again hit my brakes and was able to stop within about a foot of hitting their car.

At that point I raised up my hands in frustration and yelled "What are you doing?" Obviously they couldn't hear me. I decided I had had enough so I pulled around them into the middle lane since I had to turn left anyway. When I started to pass them, the guy SWERVED toward me in the middle lane, coming within a foot of hitting the side of my car. He then swerved back into his own lane and I sped by as fast as I could to avoid getting hit.

I will be the first to admit that when a car is driving below the speed limit I will often times follow too closely behind them. But I didn't do that tonight. Tonight I simply switched lanes. I had done absolutely nothing wrong in this situation. I found it interesting that this guy was so concerned about his precious Audi that he was more focused on my driving than his own. Because of that he actually attempted to cause an accidet three separate times! If anyone was being a hazard it was him, not me. And what really got to me was that he not only put his life and mine at risk, but also the girl who was in the car with him. Did he even stop to consider her? Most likely not.

By the time I got to my house I was shaking and was so upset that I had to take several deep breaths to try and calm myself. Then I had to say a prayer just to get rid of the anger I felt. Never in my life have I experienced road rage quite like that. I hope it never happens again.

But I do have to say that I am very happy with how I handled this situation. I could have reacted very differently. I hope he somehow recognizes that.

I Gag over Gaga

I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of Lady Gaga. I have heard a couple of her songs on the radio but usually when they come on I turn the station. I know there are probably some of you who are fans of her music and if that's the case, you may want to stop reading now.

Today I just read a brief interview online with Lady Gaga and in it she made a comment that left me quite disturbed. Here is what she said:

"I was this really bad, rebellious misfit of a person -- I still am -- sneaking out, going to clubs, drugs, alcohol, older men, younger men. And I look at [my fans], and every show there's a little more eyeliner, a little more freedom. For some reason, the fans didn't become more Top 40. They become even more of this cult following. It's very strange and exciting."

This should be no surprise to you all, but I have a thing or two to say about this:

1- What kind of a role model is she being, really, to all those young teens in the world who are still trying to find themselves? She is basically advocating that it's okay to get involved in drugs and alcohol and go around sleeping with anyone you want. Why on earth do we, as a society, not see a problem with this?

2- I could be mistaken but I am pretty sure she just compared her fans to a "cult following". Does that not raise red flags to anyone but me? It definitely makes me glad I'm not a fan.

I understand that her music has a catchy beat and it's fun to dance to but what about her lyrics? Has anyone recently read the lyrics to her song "Poker Face"? Interestingly enough, that particular single sold almost 10 million copies.

The other night I attended a meeting where the speaker was talking about the powerful influence of music, for good and bad, and she shared this quote:

"Music is the sugar coating that makes “bitter” lyrics palatable. We may become so infatuated with the rhythm, melody, or singer of a song that we transfer this emotion to the words, not caring what they really say. Even if the words are drug-oriented, erotic, violent, satanic, or just plain silly—when tied to a “hit” tune, they sneak past the screening mechanism of the brain to be stored in the subconscious, and to affect the listener accordingly."

"Many people who listen to popular music claim that they never listen to the lyrics and that the messages never affect them. Research, however, shows that our brains are marvelously perceptive; they pick up almost any message within sight or sound, whether we consciously know it or not. Those subconsciously received messages may have as much an effect on us as the messages we consciously seek out."

It really made me stop and think about what kind of music I listen to. There is definitely good music out there but there is probably also some music I need to pay better attention to.

For now I am glad to admit that I Gag over Gaga.

I'm Covetous...

Yes, you read the title of this post right. I am covetous. I know I shouldn't be, but I am. What, exactly, am I covetous about? Could it be my friend's curly hair? My sister's perfect voice? My roommate's tasty celery sticks?

Nope. None of that. I am covetous over my sister's snow.

See, my sister's family lives in Arkansas. An average winter for them consists of a couple storms a year that produce maybe an inch of snow each time. And each time that happens, they shut the city down, kids stay home from school and parents stay home from work. And everytime that happens I just sit here in Utah and laugh my head off thinking to myself, "If they only knew what a real snowstorm looked like."

I even remember a time about four or five years ago when my niece asked me to send her pictures of one of our typical Utah storms because she wanted to know what a lot of snow looked like. I sent her pictures of a storm where we got a little over a foot. She was amazed!

Well, now it seem to be me who can't remember what a lot of snow looks like. I feel like this has been a pretty boring winter. We've had a few storms but where I live we haven't had anything over about 6". Mostly it's just been cold...and windy. Both of which I hate. But not the snow. I love the snow.

And that's the reason I am now coveting my sister's snow. Why? Because in little ol' Arkansas where it hardly ever snows, they've managed to get 30" and it's still falling! No school, no work, and not even any snowplows... I think they are pretty much snowed in for the long haul.

Think of all the forts and snowmen and snow angels they can create and all the snowball fights they can have with all that snow! I tried to tell my 13 year old nephew today to stop stealing all our snow. Much to my disappointment he said he couldn't control it.

I am so covetous.


*Update: apparently the snow total was 18" and the drifts were 30".

Learning The Lessons...

I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently about praying for things like patience, strength, etc. Throughout the course of this conversation a song by Collin Raye, titled "What I Need" kept coming to my mind. It was a song I was first introduced to in college. It was never on the radio and I wasn't able to find it on youtube, but I did find the lyrics.

I knew all the answers
The way my life should go
And when I used to say my prayers
I would tell God so
It seemed He wasn't listening
I thought He didn't care
But lookin' back
It's plain to see
He was always there

'Cause I prayed for strength
And I got pain that made me strong
I prayed for courage
And got fear to overcome
When I prayed for faith
My empty heart brought me to my knees
I don't always get what I want
I get what I need

I'm not sayin' that it's easy
Or that it doesn't hurt
When nothing seems to go my way
Nothing seems to work
These days I'm getting better
At goin' with the flow
Accepting that sometimes the answer
To a prayer is no

'Cause I prayed for strength
And I got pain that made me strong
I prayed for courage
And got fear to overcome
When I prayed for faith
My empty heart brought me to my knees
I don't always get what I want
I get what I need

Every time I've had a door slammed in my face
In time a better one was opened in its place

I prayed for strength
And I got pain that made me strong
I prayed for courage
And got fear to overcome
When I prayed for faith
My empty heart brought me to my knees
I don't always get what I want
I get what I need

Oh I don't always get what I want
I get what I need

I sometimes joke about the fact that I don't pray for patience because that only means Heavenly Father is going to give me some kind of trial where I will have to be patient. But isn't that how it works? When we feel like we need more patience, more strength, or more faith, is it enough to just ask Heavenly Father for it and then expect we'll get it? Probably not. He will most likely give us certain experiences that will help us learn patience, gain strength and exercise our faith. I believe there is a lesson to be learned in any experience or trial we face in life. That is how we grow. It's just up to us to figure out what those lessons are.

Getting it Right...

I love Bones. It is one of my favorite shows. I love it for many reasons but last night I especially loved it for this:



Thank you Dr. Sweets! :D

Answering the Door....

I've come down with a nasty cold. It's been pretty bad. So bad, in fact, that I left work early on Friday and haven't been back. I've done pretty much nothing but sit on my couch and watch TV for the past five days and let me tell you, it gets old pretty fast. I still feel like a truck ran over my head but I am getting some of my energy back. Today I was at least able to unload the dishwasher! :) But, this post isn't really about me being sick.

This afternoon as I was sitting on my aforementioned couch, wallowing in my misery and perhaps watching last night's episode of The Bachelor, my doorbell rang.

"What in the world?" I thought to myself. "Who is coming to the door at this time of day?"

I assumed it was a salesman so my initial reaction was to not answer the door. But after a few seconds I thought I should at least go check the peep hole. I stood from my spot on the couch, which by now had a permanent indent of my butt on it, and slowly made my way to the door. I looked out the peep hole but much to my surprise, nobody was there. I then glanced out the window. Nothing.

"How strange." I thought. But whatever. I didn't want to answer the door anyway.

As I started making my way back to the couch I had the thought to check the doorstep. Maybe it was the UPS man delivering a package. Sometimes they will ring the bell before they leave. So I made my way back to the door, unlocked the deadbolt and opened it just a crack. I looked down and this is what I saw:


I think my initial reaction was shock and surprise but then an instant smile came across my face because I seemed to instinctively know they were for me. But just in case I was wrong, I picked up the card that was laying next to them and turned it over. Yep, it was addressed to me!

I picked them up, took them inside and have been staring at them ever since. Aren't they beautiful? For a sick girl who has been a bit down on herself lately, they sure did cheer me up! Of course, I can't really smell them but they sure are pretty to look at!

I feel like such a lucky girl! This will probably teach me to answer the door more often. :D