Tuesday, June 19, 2012

"Work"

This week I'm in Colorado Springs for National Team Camp for Bobsled and Skeleton.  These are the times when I love my job the most, even though its one of the busiest weeks of the year I get to work with this...



Not a bad way to spend the week :)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day to the best dad and grandpa around!  Don't believe me check out this picture...



I am grateful for these two men in my life.  They set the standard for what I expect out of my future husband.  Loyalty, fidelity, intelligence, drive, compassion, and generosity are a few of their outstanding qualities that I hope to find in someone to spend my life with.

Happy Father's Day Daddy and Gran Gran!  I love you!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Perfection Pending...

On Sunday, our Branch President gave a talk on trying to be perfect and perfectionism.  His talk was based on this talk by Elder Cecil O. Samuelson: What does it mean to be Perfect?.  I ended up reading the whole talk this morning and man was it something that I needed to hear!

I have been working so hard to get my life to a place where I feel spiritually and temporally ready to let someone else into my life.  Last week, I struggled mightily with self doubt.  I have a very hard time with balance, most of the time I am either 100% on or off.  Being the super analytical Type A person that I am, not hitting the super intense schedule that I have set for myself makes me feel like a failure.  Even though if I look honestly at the pace I am trying to keep, its unrealistic.

"Our perceptions of ourselves may or may not be accurate, but more frequently than we may expect, they may differ from how others view us.  Those suffering from perfectionism tend to be wonderful, contributing, and effective people, and yet may feel that no matter what they do, it is never enough.  These good people suffer from exaggerating their minor mistakes, weaknesses, or shortcomings to the point that they may become dysfunctional."

This is me, I tend to overlook the things that I have accomplished and play up the fact that I didn't exactly reach the nearly impossible goal that I set for myself.

At the end of the talk by Elder Samuelson there's a little chart of Doing Your Best v. Perfectionism.  Currently, I relate to every single point on the "Perfectionism" side but my goal is to move more to the "Doing Your Best" side of the spectrum.

I think that it is remarkable how sometimes the talks that are given in Church are so right on point and exactly what you need to hear at this moment in time.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

The One that Makes You Laugh

I just finished reading this blog post and it made me think of these two:


These are my great grandparents.  When my great grandfather passed away last month he had been married to my sweet great grandmother for 72 years.  Coming from a girl that can't seem to manage a functional relationship for more than a few months, 72 years seems like an eternity.

I noticed that the thing that made me the most sad during my time with my great grandmother before and after the funeral was the grand feeling of emptiness that occurs when you have spent so many years of your life with the same person.  It was such a mixed feeling because on one hand I was so happy that she was able to spend so much time with the one she loved and on the other that was the source of her sadness.  After I got back from the funeral I was talking to one of my good friends about the relationship between my great grandparents, I mentioned that they had a nurse with them during the day but at night my great grandpa took care of my great grandma.  When I finished talking, my friend said "that's true love" and he couldn't have been more right.

Work



I love this Steve Jobs quote, mostly because it is 100% true.

Happy Thursday

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Perfectly imperfect

He's not perfect. You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect.  But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking of you at every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.  Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect more than he can give. Don't analyze. Smile when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you.

-Bob Marley

Passing Notes



Technology is awesome.  Everyone that knows me knows that I am beyond connected every hour of the day unless I am working out (and even then I usually have my phone attached to my body) or sleeping.  With all of that connected-ness, it's easy to send someone a text or message on Facebook/Twitter and "stay connected".  Don't get me wrong I think that the FB has brought more people back into my life that I had lost touch with but is that the most meaningful communication?  I think not.  Remember in high school when you used to write long winded notes, fold them in intricate patterns, draw a masterpiece on the outside and the hand them off to your BFF?  Let's do that but in the adult version!

I love of all things stationary, I have boxes and boxes of stationary monogrammed and otherwise.  So I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was going to start writing notes.  I had some thank you notes to write for the kindness that people showed me when my great grandfather died once those were finished I felt the urge to write more.  I wrote some much needed notes to important people in my life, to let them know how important/influential they are even though I haven't seen them in a while.  Handwritten notes are the best they mean so much more than a text or an e-mail, it shows that you care enough about the person to take the time to write out and send them a personal message.

Take some time and write someone a note today, it can brighten someones life, if for just a moment.


Monday, June 4, 2012

Lady A & A Scripture

I am slightly obsessed with the Lady Antebellum album Own the Night.  These two songs pretty much summarize the last year of my personal life.  The first one was me the second half of 2011 and the second is how I feel/felt for the first half of 2012.

As You Turn Away
Standing face to face
Wrapped in your embrace
I don't wanna let you go
But you're already gone

Now you kiss my cheek
Soft and bittersweet
I can read it in your eyes
Baby, this is our goodbye

Nothing more to say
Nothing left to break
I keep reaching out for you
Hoping you might stay
Nothing more to give
Nothing left to take
I keep reaching out for you
Reaching out for you
As you turn away

Let go of my hand
So I can feel again
Nothing's gonna hurt as much
As that final touch

No we can't be friends
Cause I don't think I could take seeing you
And knowing where we've been
I hope you understand

One step my heart is breaking
One more my hands are shaking
The door is closing
And I just can't change it



Wanted You More
I kept waiting on a reason
And a call that never came
No, I never saw it coming
Something in you must have changed

All the words unspoken, promises broken
I cried for so long
Wasted too much time, should've seen the signs
Now I know just what went wrong

I guess I wanted you more
And looking back now, I'm sure
I wanted you more
I guess I wanted you more

All the nights we spent, just talking
Of the things we wanted out of life
Making plans and dreams together
Wish I'd seen, I was just too blind

My heart was open, exposed and hoping
For you to lay it on the line
In the end it seemed
There was no room for me
Still, I tried to change your mind

Oh, I don't need you
I don't need you anymore



This is also one of my favorites, and during hard times it is important to remember that (1) everything happens for a reason and (2) if the Lord brings you a trial, he will make a way for you to get through it.


1 Nephi 3:7
I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments to the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish tho thing which he commandeth them.