4 words

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Thank you all so much for your kind words of advice to help me with my temple dilemma. I have been so grateful for your outpouring of love and support. I haven't set anything in stone at this point, but I am pretty sure Salt Lake is where I am headed. I plan to fast about it this weekend and probably will schedule a time to talk to my Branch President as well. I just want you to know how much it meant to me. Life is crazy...but crazy is good!

defeated

Hmmm...where to begin? I think my blog title says it all. Yesterday was a VERY hard day for me. I think it is the first time this year I have actually cried...really cried. But before I get into the story, let me preface this by saying that I LOVE my Branch and especially my Branch President. He is an amazing man and he has helped me get through some very tough times the last year or so. I respect him and I value his opinion. However, he said something yesterday that completely stunned me and stopped me in my tracks. I may have stopped breathing and I am pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a few seconds. I felt defeated.

Perhaps this isn't the time or the place to bring this up, but maybe if you hear my story you can help me with my dilemma. Here goes:

So, you all know that I made some resolutions this year. And what is the first item on my resolution list? It is to go through the temple this year. Looking back there is a reason I put that as the first item on my list. It is important to me. It has taken me 28 years to decide that this is the right thing for me to do and the decision finally feels good. I am very happy about it. To make a long story short, the Nauvoo temple is very special to me and my family, so I have always told myself that I would either get married in that temple or get my endowments out in that temple. You and I both know that I am not getting married anytime soon, and the chances of marrying someone who lives near Nauvoo is pretty slim. So I decided to get my endowments out there. Because the temple is not close, I knew going there would require some time and financial preparation. But more than anything, I want my family to be there with me. So I decided that it would be a fun birthday present to give myself. And since my birthday is in June, it's far enough in advance that people can prepare for it. I thought it was the perfect plan. Don't you agree?

Well, apparently my Branch President doesn't think so. He told me yesterday that I should go through the temple sooner. He said I should go through here and go to the temple a few times, and then the family can go on vacation to Nauvoo and go to the temple together in June. What?! I was stunned! I am serious when I say that my heart stopped beating. His comments took my breath away and I wanted to burst into tears right there. Did he not realize that I had been dreaming about this? Did he not realize how special Nauvoo is to me? I wanted this so bad! Or atleast that is what I thought yesterday...

I thought that maybe I could move up my Nauvoo trip and go closer to March. But then I decided to talk to my very wise mother. She reminded me of this talk, and more importantly the section that talks about the tulips in Holland. I vaguely remembered the talk and just read it again and it gave me a lot of comfort. My mom and I talked about other options and all day long I thought about this other option. You see, there is a temple here in AZ that I could go to. There is just one problem, the temple really means nothing to me! I know that is horrible to say and I will probably be struck down for saying that, but I kind of want my first temple experience to be special. Honestly, it would be special whichever temple you went to...but I wanted it to be in a temple that meant something to me...like the Nauvoo temple. But then my mom and I talked about another temple, that is equally special...and that is the Salt Lake Temple. Everyone in my family went through that temple to get their endowments out, all of my family members got married in that temple, and that was the temple I always went to when I lived in Utah. I started thinking about how much easier it would be to go through the Salt Lake Temple. All of my Utah girls could be there, my family who lives in Utah could be there and it would not cause a financial burden, and I could more easily plan around my sis-in-law's baby delivery. It just makes more sense. That way, I am not waiting until June and it is so much more convenient for me and everyone involved. What do you think?

Of course I will always wish I could have gone through the Nauvoo temple, but perhaps going through the Salt Lake temple will be the better choice...so much better than I could have imagined. Maybe when all is said and done and I have had a chance to catch my breath I will begin to see the tulips. "If I spend my life mourning the fact that [I] didn't get to [Nauvoo], [I] may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about [Salt Lake]."

I haven't exactly made my decision yet...but I did make a very tearful plea to the Big Man last night. The more I think about Salt Lake and the more I write this blog, I feel peace. I think I will be guided in the right direction. I have no doubt that my prayer will be answered and if I act on my promptings I will not be lead astray.

So, blogging friends, what do you think? I will let you know when I make my decision...

i love a rainy day!

Let's face it...Arizona is a desert, and it doesn't rain much here. So when it does rain, people freak out a bit. I'm sure you've heard about the massive rainfall hitting the west coast and the mudslides in California. Well, we are getting their storm system now and it's quite fun. I LOVE THE RAIN!! I just hate Arizona drivers mixed with the rain...

Yesterday we had a pretty wicked storm. The airport was closed due to high winds and torrential rainfall. There were even two tornado warnings issued...one of which was issued for Mesa (where I live). But honestly, things like that thrill me. I remember one summer when I was in Nauvoo there was a tornado that touched down in the town. It was slightly freaky, but exhilarating at the same time. Of course if I had actually seen the tornado or suffered because of it, I am sure my feelings would be different. So yesterday was pretty fun for me. However, a wee bit of damage occurred at my house because of the storm. I give you the before (taken about 3 years ago...before the HOA decided to rip out my grass and when the landscapers actually did a good job of trimming the bushes...I'm not bitter):
...and the after (sorry about the poor camera phone quality):

Oh! My poor little tree. So fallen over. So sad. I can't wait to see if the HOA does anything about it or if my tree will stay in it's fallen state for a while...

So there you have it folks. Horrific right? Yeah, that's what I thought. It's just rain and wind. Not the end of the world. But perhaps the end of my tree.

{Have a great day and stay dry}

a li'l obsessed

Yes, it's a cheesy, lovesick, chick flick...but I LOVE IT!!! I wanted to see the movie SO bad when it first came out, but my pal heard that there were some questionable scenes and would not see it with me. So I quickly forgot about it. Then about 2 weeks ago my other pal told me that I was missing out on the greatest movie and invited me over to watch it last week. After watching the movie, I was giddy. Ryan Reynolds is a babe! But the eye candy was not the only reason for my love...the movie is actually quite funny! So I thought about the movie all week long and wanted to watch it again. I finally broke down and decided to use my gift card I got for Christmas to buy the movie...and I have watched it two more times! Yep, I'm a li'l obsessed. I find myself rewinding certain scenes 3 or 4 times because I catch something different each time that cracks me up. I love the facial expressions, the body language, the jokes someone else may not get...I just love it all! So...I would recommend watching this...if you are a girl. And if you hate it...you are CRAZY! Now if there were only a sexy, single male in my office that I could blackmail to marry me...

an ode

Oh Nyquil, how I love thee!!

You have made me a very happy woman! I feel 90% better...

today

I feel like crap today, but I am a happy girl. Why? Because my Cardinals won last night! How fun would it be if the Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl again this year?! It's a big if...but it would be phenomenal!!!

Go Cards!!!

*the diet is going extremely well

*the date was ok

*Saturday night was amazing (movie with the girls, games with the boys)

*I made it through the world's hardest lesson and all of my songs without many mistakes on Sunday

*I am wearing the Snuggie today

So besides not feeling well...life is good.

so far so good

Hello blogger friends! And Happy New Year! I hope this new year has been as good to you as it has been to me. So far so good! But before I get into the joyfulness of these first 5 days of 2010, I would like to take a step back a couple of weeks to the exciting events we just participated in.

Christmas: My Christmas was phenomenal! I slept at the parentals' place and we had a fun time opening our gifts with each other on Christmas morning. Here is my loot:

I took some close-ups of some of the precious gems I received, including, but not limited to a new digital camera, a Snuggie, and the world's cutest watch with interchangeable bands! The digital camera was a welcomed surprise. I did not ask for it, but apparently my mother reads my blog and knows that my other camera has not been doing well lately. The Snuggie was also something I didn't ask for, or something I definitely did not see coming...but it was welcomed nonetheless. Funny story...at work we don't believe in using heaters, so all of us wear jackets and thermal underwear to keep warm (even when it is 110 degrees outside). I have a blanket I keep in the back of my car for those days when I just can't seem to warm up. Lately a lot of my male co-workers will walk by my office and see me wrapped up in my blanket then will proceed to make fun of me for wearing a Snuggie. It has become quite the joke. So now the joke will be on them because I will really be wearing a Snuggie...and they will be jealous...I just know it! And then, the watches are freaking adorable! My cute cousin-in-law makes them and I have had my eye on one for a while. I picked a few I like and was pleased with how they turned out.

The rest of Christmas day was spent with the fam. The traditional breakfast burritos were devoured, we watched a movie and lots of games were played. Good times!

Then, of course, it was time to bring in the New Year, and I can't think of a better way to do that than with friends. My friend Daja invited us over to her house for some games, food and party-time fun. We all got awesome hats and necklaces to wear, we were given noise makers shortly before midnight, and then the sparkling cider came out. It was a fun time...even if there were only girls around at midnight. Here are some highlights from the night:

And now it is 2010...and I am loving this year! I know it has only been 5 days, but they have been a good 5 days. My goals are moving along great. Who would have thought the goal I included just as a joke (and honestly never anticipated) would be the first to come true?! I don't really feel this is the appropriate place to talk about this and the details...but let's just say that I know he doesn't even know this blog exists, we are not Facebook friends and he is just someone I have seen on occasion...so I am pretty sure it's not just a pity date inspired by reading my blog. And I am also happy to report that I am already down 8 lbs! Go me! I think the only goal that has not been attempted yet is the scrapbooking one. But now that I have a new digital camera and enjoy taking more pictures, I won't have an excuse. Goals written down and read daily eventually come to fruition...I believe. I'll keep you posted on the rest of my progress...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, an exciting New Year and that things are looking up for you...