There is magic in your heart...and a new little fairy
in the
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Rough Riders...
When my sweetie and I finally got a quiet moment mostly alone around the Valentine's Day holiday.. we watched Teddy Roosevelt and the gang take San Jaun Hill. Amazing courage and patriotism.. lots of blood and gore.Tom Berenger is brilliant as Roosevelt and there are some lighter moments. Highly recommended for a date night with your sweetheart.. he'll stay awake anyway.
Bluebird Chocolates...
If there is such a thing as happiness in a box.. this is it.
Thanks for the Valentines Mom!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Bright Star...
Don't get me wrong, I love him to bits, but Shelley was the strange one. And Byron was the cad... and Keats.. Keats was the saint and so, my favorite. This, is his love story and I think that he would approve.. It is hold-your-breath exquisite.
Little c gives her first talk in church...
on Valentine's Day ... and it went perfectly. She stood up straight, pronounced all her words with care.. even gratuitous which was the one giving her a bit of trouble. She did a fantastic! This is what she said....
Respect: Charity’s Sacrament Meeting Talk for February 14, 2010
A respectful person thinks of others. When they are a member of a class, they listen attentively and do their best to learn. A respectful person is careful with things, they protect and care for public property and the property of others. They don’t make a mess or they clean up after themselves. A respectful person tries hard to make sure their words never sting. A respectful person is kind to the elderly and to children and doesn’t look down on those that need extra help. A respectful person uses clean language and dresses modestly and appropriately. A respectful person takes the time to learn and practice good etiquette. A respectful person is mindful of others by making great efforts to be on time. A respectful person is a careful driver and makes everyone feel safe and comfortable. A respectful person does not do anything that will embarrass himself, his family or his friends. A respectful person is a grateful person. Respect demands that we step out of our own shoes enough to have empathy for others and to care for their feelings, for their property, for their time and for their safety. Jesus Christ exemplified respect in everything he did.
In his talk, Cultivating Respect, Terrance D. Olson tells a story about a class being taught by a substitute teacher. Substitutes are often the target of pranks because they often don’t have real authority in a class. This class decided that they would make a game of tossing raisins into the substitutes’ hair. When the students did this, they showed that they did not have respect. They robbed from themselves an opportunity to learn. They embarrassed the substitute, the regular teacher, themselves, their parents and their school. When the teacher returned she asked why the students acted so rudely. The class responded that the substitute was boring and the teacher said, "Even if that were true, does that justify treating someone disrespectfully?" Silence followed because the students knew there was no justification for their behavior.
One time we were playing at the park and one of the children started hanging on the branches of a new tree the city had planted, her older cousin took her quietly aside and said, "This little tree is trying so hard to grow up. When it becomes a big tree we can climb it and it will shade us while we have picnic and it will make air for us to breathe, but it can’t do any of this if the children in the park don’t protect it." When we respect property, we respect people. If we keep our feet off the furniture, keep track of our winter coat and drive the family car with care, we are showing respect for our parents and for their wallets. We show that we understand how hard they work to make things nice for us. Our parents know that they can send us to our friend’s home and know that we will respect that families property and that they will be glad to have us again in their home. It is difficult to remain great friends with those who don’t respect property.. they are too expensive.
In our society, the media is a poor example of how to behave and to speak. Sometimes when a television show tries to make fun of poor behavior, the weak minded rather than laugh at it, copy it instead. In his book Standing for Something, President Hinckley quoted, "In recent years the media have raised boorishness to an art form. The hip heroes of movies today deliver gratuitous put-downs to ridicule and belittle anyone who gets in their way. Bad manners, apparently, make a saleable commodity..." he continued, "Sloppy language and sloppy ways go together. Those who are truly educated have learned more than the sciences, the humanities, law, engineering, and the arts. They carry with them a certain polish that marks them as loving the better qualities of life, the culture that adds luster to the mundane world of which they are a part, a patina that puts a quiet glow on what otherwise might be base metal."
When we become self-aware, we know that our words carry weight and they can either lighten the burdens of others or can make them greater. We avoid gossip and are careful with the good names of others. Our words are kind, even to those whose behavior we may not admire. We do not tease to the point of stinging.
A respectful person is safe. They are careful with themselves and with others. They make others feel safe by their actions. They do not hit and do not hurt. They remember that their bodies are gifts from a gracious Father in Heaven and that health and well-being are a prizes beyond price.
When we are respectful, we have empathy for others, truly a Christ-like attribute. It was Jesus, who had empathy for the 5,000 and fed them with loaves and fishes. It was Christ who washed the feet of his disciples. It was Christ who said, "let the little ones come unto me." He walked great distances to be with his friends when they needed him. His words were soft and kind and his touched always healed.
I have a testimony that when we are respectful we are helping ourselves to become more like our Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Respect: Charity’s Sacrament Meeting Talk for February 14, 2010
A respectful person thinks of others. When they are a member of a class, they listen attentively and do their best to learn. A respectful person is careful with things, they protect and care for public property and the property of others. They don’t make a mess or they clean up after themselves. A respectful person tries hard to make sure their words never sting. A respectful person is kind to the elderly and to children and doesn’t look down on those that need extra help. A respectful person uses clean language and dresses modestly and appropriately. A respectful person takes the time to learn and practice good etiquette. A respectful person is mindful of others by making great efforts to be on time. A respectful person is a careful driver and makes everyone feel safe and comfortable. A respectful person does not do anything that will embarrass himself, his family or his friends. A respectful person is a grateful person. Respect demands that we step out of our own shoes enough to have empathy for others and to care for their feelings, for their property, for their time and for their safety. Jesus Christ exemplified respect in everything he did.
In his talk, Cultivating Respect, Terrance D. Olson tells a story about a class being taught by a substitute teacher. Substitutes are often the target of pranks because they often don’t have real authority in a class. This class decided that they would make a game of tossing raisins into the substitutes’ hair. When the students did this, they showed that they did not have respect. They robbed from themselves an opportunity to learn. They embarrassed the substitute, the regular teacher, themselves, their parents and their school. When the teacher returned she asked why the students acted so rudely. The class responded that the substitute was boring and the teacher said, "Even if that were true, does that justify treating someone disrespectfully?" Silence followed because the students knew there was no justification for their behavior.
One time we were playing at the park and one of the children started hanging on the branches of a new tree the city had planted, her older cousin took her quietly aside and said, "This little tree is trying so hard to grow up. When it becomes a big tree we can climb it and it will shade us while we have picnic and it will make air for us to breathe, but it can’t do any of this if the children in the park don’t protect it." When we respect property, we respect people. If we keep our feet off the furniture, keep track of our winter coat and drive the family car with care, we are showing respect for our parents and for their wallets. We show that we understand how hard they work to make things nice for us. Our parents know that they can send us to our friend’s home and know that we will respect that families property and that they will be glad to have us again in their home. It is difficult to remain great friends with those who don’t respect property.. they are too expensive.
In our society, the media is a poor example of how to behave and to speak. Sometimes when a television show tries to make fun of poor behavior, the weak minded rather than laugh at it, copy it instead. In his book Standing for Something, President Hinckley quoted, "In recent years the media have raised boorishness to an art form. The hip heroes of movies today deliver gratuitous put-downs to ridicule and belittle anyone who gets in their way. Bad manners, apparently, make a saleable commodity..." he continued, "Sloppy language and sloppy ways go together. Those who are truly educated have learned more than the sciences, the humanities, law, engineering, and the arts. They carry with them a certain polish that marks them as loving the better qualities of life, the culture that adds luster to the mundane world of which they are a part, a patina that puts a quiet glow on what otherwise might be base metal."
When we become self-aware, we know that our words carry weight and they can either lighten the burdens of others or can make them greater. We avoid gossip and are careful with the good names of others. Our words are kind, even to those whose behavior we may not admire. We do not tease to the point of stinging.
A respectful person is safe. They are careful with themselves and with others. They make others feel safe by their actions. They do not hit and do not hurt. They remember that their bodies are gifts from a gracious Father in Heaven and that health and well-being are a prizes beyond price.
When we are respectful, we have empathy for others, truly a Christ-like attribute. It was Jesus, who had empathy for the 5,000 and fed them with loaves and fishes. It was Christ who washed the feet of his disciples. It was Christ who said, "let the little ones come unto me." He walked great distances to be with his friends when they needed him. His words were soft and kind and his touched always healed.
I have a testimony that when we are respectful we are helping ourselves to become more like our Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thomas Sowell: A Personal Odyssey
I devoured this book. I have been fascinated by Thomas Sowell, probably America's most brilliant conservative thinker, for a while. This book was an opportunity to know how he came to be and think the way he does. It is an heroic tale. In addition to the fact that he was adopted and grew up in a dysfunctional family in poverty and literally clawed his way to an education with inspiring determination, in addition to all that... he also had the courage to change his world view when the facts opposed his way of thinking.
His story is also a search for truth and for a way to adhere to the highest standards of integrity both personal and intellectual.
The book is also fascinating because Dr. Sowell's life coincides with so many interesting times in recent American history. This is a great book..
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Love Boxes at Cutsie cakes...
Hand Painted Love Boxes are NOW available at Cutsie cakes... in Layton
354 N. Main Street Suite #1 Layton, UT 84041
Stop by and pick one up with some darling cupcakes for your sweetie...
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Baby eggs...
I call these baby eggs because my sister-in-law feeds them to her baby.. mine loves them too. recipe: 1 egg in a teacup
2-3 T milk
dash of sea salt
(add a little cheese for baby omelet)
mix with fork & microwave 45-50 seconds = baby scrambled eggs in a teacup.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Madame Defarge is Knitting Again...
This week in politics from Utah Homemakers for America Weekly Newsletter... Which will appear HERE... very soon.
Madame Defarge is Knitting Again..
Do you remember Madame Defarge, one of Dickens’ most frightening villains? She was a tricoteuse, one of the old women who would sit around the guillotine knitting during the reign of terror. Her knitting was not a pair of Christmas socks for a nephew, but instead a denunciation that meant death for the accused. There was no court, no judge, no trial, no jury. The denounced were condemned by their accusers and by a desperate and blood thirsty public.
In our day amazing judgments have been made in the court of public opinion using more emotional than rational and logical thought. Both political parties have been guilty of feeding the frenzy.
Many of us depend everyday on prescription drugs. ("The vast majority of drug development takes place within the private sector and not, as some claim, in government-funded laboratories..." http://www.nysun.com/new-york/capitalism-said-key-to-finding-new-drugs/80569/) Yet, as much good as they do for many people, the entire pharmaceutical industry has been denounced and become a target of crippling regulation.
The oil industry makes so many things possible in our society. It warms our homes, provides us with transportation, brings our food, clothing and medicines to us and yet oil companies have been denounced and drilling stopped or not allowed in many places.
The coal industry brings us the electricity to light, cool and heat our homes and cook our food, but coal has been denounced. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that green house gas that's being emitted." (Barack Obama January 17, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle)
Small business has been denounced for its lack of ability to pay health coverage for employees.
Big banks are being denounced. "President Barack Obama told banks Thursday they should pay a new tax to recoup the cost of bailing out foundering firms at the height of the financial crisis. "We want our money back," he said. And, those banks "... would have to pay up even though many did not accept any taxpayer assistance and most that did have repaid the infusions."
Of course there is dishonesty, corruption and deceit in every industry, but we have laws and we have courts to punish those whose actions are illegal. I believe it is wrong, harmful and un-American to denounce and condemn an entire industry with out court, judge, trial or jury.
Now in Utah, ethics reform is being considered, Utah Ethics Commission Initiative,
where a 3 member panel (a lifetime appointment) would be able to anonymously point a finger of denouncement at any elected representative. http://files.meetup.com/1403508/Government%20Ethics%20Reform%20Initiative.pdf
Who is going to run for public office under this kind of pressure? The proposal is not going through normal legislative processes, but rather through ballot initiative. It will get on the ballot because someone will be at the local mall and they will ask if you are interested in ethics reform in government. Rather than read the twenty one pages of legalese, many will just sign the petition to get this on the ballot and many will vote for it with out ever reading it simply because our public servants have been denounced.
This is mob rule, this is ignorant and blood thirsty. This is not republican government. Before we denounce our entire economy and our republic into the dark ages, we need to send the ideologies of Madame Defarge to the guillotine.
Madame Defarge is Knitting Again..
Do you remember Madame Defarge, one of Dickens’ most frightening villains? She was a tricoteuse, one of the old women who would sit around the guillotine knitting during the reign of terror. Her knitting was not a pair of Christmas socks for a nephew, but instead a denunciation that meant death for the accused. There was no court, no judge, no trial, no jury. The denounced were condemned by their accusers and by a desperate and blood thirsty public.
In our day amazing judgments have been made in the court of public opinion using more emotional than rational and logical thought. Both political parties have been guilty of feeding the frenzy.
Many of us depend everyday on prescription drugs. ("The vast majority of drug development takes place within the private sector and not, as some claim, in government-funded laboratories..." http://www.nysun.com/new-york/capitalism-said-key-to-finding-new-drugs/80569/) Yet, as much good as they do for many people, the entire pharmaceutical industry has been denounced and become a target of crippling regulation.
The oil industry makes so many things possible in our society. It warms our homes, provides us with transportation, brings our food, clothing and medicines to us and yet oil companies have been denounced and drilling stopped or not allowed in many places.
The coal industry brings us the electricity to light, cool and heat our homes and cook our food, but coal has been denounced. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that green house gas that's being emitted." (Barack Obama January 17, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle)
Small business has been denounced for its lack of ability to pay health coverage for employees.
Big banks are being denounced. "President Barack Obama told banks Thursday they should pay a new tax to recoup the cost of bailing out foundering firms at the height of the financial crisis. "We want our money back," he said. And, those banks "... would have to pay up even though many did not accept any taxpayer assistance and most that did have repaid the infusions."
Of course there is dishonesty, corruption and deceit in every industry, but we have laws and we have courts to punish those whose actions are illegal. I believe it is wrong, harmful and un-American to denounce and condemn an entire industry with out court, judge, trial or jury.
Now in Utah, ethics reform is being considered, Utah Ethics Commission Initiative,
where a 3 member panel (a lifetime appointment) would be able to anonymously point a finger of denouncement at any elected representative. http://files.meetup.com/1403508/Government%20Ethics%20Reform%20Initiative.pdf
Who is going to run for public office under this kind of pressure? The proposal is not going through normal legislative processes, but rather through ballot initiative. It will get on the ballot because someone will be at the local mall and they will ask if you are interested in ethics reform in government. Rather than read the twenty one pages of legalese, many will just sign the petition to get this on the ballot and many will vote for it with out ever reading it simply because our public servants have been denounced.
This is mob rule, this is ignorant and blood thirsty. This is not republican government. Before we denounce our entire economy and our republic into the dark ages, we need to send the ideologies of Madame Defarge to the guillotine.
Please view the following video .. and share it with your children... HERE..
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Leap Year...
You won't believe this and neither can I because I don't even know when was the last time I went to the movies (the full price movies especially)! However, I have seen this film in the theater TWICE. It's a cheesy, formulaic romantic comedy, but WHO CARES!!! I loved it, it's funny and happy and it has pretty clothes and beautiful country side and I can listen a long time to a beautiful Irish brogue. Go see it!
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