Christmas Letter 2010

Dear Family & Friends,

My favorite part of this beautiful holiday season is the time I spend reflecting on the last twelve months… on the changes, the personal growth and – most importantly – the blessings I’ve experienced. At the close of 2010, I know that I have much to be grateful for.

At the end of January, I was laid off from my job in Utah. In the face of confusion, frustration and a little fear and doubt, I felt an overwhelming peace in the belief that this was truly for the best and would simply be a shortcut to the road my life really need to journey down. So, on February 15^th, my little car packed to the gills, I left my home in Utah and headed west, back to the home I thought I’d never permanently return to – California. While nothing could have adequately prepared me for the six months that followed, I was optimistic that my life was being guided and that everything would turn out for the best.

I know now more than ever that everything happens for a reason. My return to California has been marked by some of the most profound experiences of my life… profound on many levels. I have experienced more fear and doubt through some of my trials, but I have also been filled with more faith, more hope and more love. And I know that without one small "setback" in January, I would not have been where I needed to be when I was needed most.

I am so grateful and humbled for my Savior Jesus Christ and the many miracles He blessed me with this year. My experiences have led me to a deeper appreciation for the things that matter most… my family, my friends and my faith.

As we celebrate His birth and life this year, I hope we each can find ways to recognize more of the many blessings that constantly come our way and to express our gratitude to those in our lives that mean the most.

Thank you for being one of mine.

Happy Christmas!

Thanksgiving Daily

Thanksgiving Daily
Mormon Messages, LDS.org

Our minds have a marvelous capacity to notice the unusual. However, the opposite is true as well. The more often we see the things around us, even the beautiful and wonderful things, the more they become invisible to us. That’s why we often take for granted the beauty of this world – the flowers, the trees, the birds, the clouds, even those we love. Because we see things so often, we see them less and less. Those who live in thanksgiving daily, however, have a way of opening their eyes and seeing the wonders and beauties of this world as though seeing them for the fist time. Look around you. Notice the people you care about. Notice the fragrance of the flowers and the song of the bird. Notice and give thanks for the blue of the sky, the red of the leaves and the white of the clouds, every sight, every smell, every taste, every sound. When we open our eyes and give thanks for the bountiful beauty of this life, we live in thanksgiving daily.

President Thomas S. Monson:

A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort – at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude.

Day 28: What's In My Purse

Question of the Year: What isn't in my purse?
Answer: Not the kitchen sink. But that's about all that's not in there...

This is an exhaustive list of items in my purse when I left for work this morning:

Clutch/Wallet
Checkbook
A Quart-sized Ziploc Bag with Coupons and Gift Cards (Whoa! and a Sees 1-Pound Gift Certificate… Totally forgot that was in there!)
House & Car Keys
Work Keys & Badge
Temple Locker Key
Peppermint Oil
Orbit Bubblemint
5 Cobalt Gum
Mirror
Cell Phone
Camera
iTouch in its Pouch
iTouch Headphones
2 MicroSD Adapters
Sunglasses
Eye Glass Carrying Case
2 Eye Glass Cleaning Cloths
Hair Clip
Mini Advil Bottle (with Tylenol, Ibuprofen and – ironically – only 1 Advil)
2 fl. oz. Bottle of Bath & Body Works Velvet Tuberose Body Lotion
PetSmart Pet Perks Card (not in my wallet, so listed separately)
4 Pens
1 Highlighter
First Aid Kit (Bandaids, gauze, sterilized cotton swabs, cough drops, alcohol wipes)
Personal Necessities Pouch

• Neosporin
• Face Cream
• Comb
• Lipstick (What? I never wear lipstick! Weird.)
• Mascara
• Pocket Knife
• BrushPicks
• Tampons
  
• Hair Elastic
• Hand Wipes
• Nail Clippers
  
• Arbonne Skin Conditioning Oil
• Salt (??)
  

Perfect Shot (Sonia O’Brien)
The Book of Mormon (one of the mini ones…)
Chocolate (2 Mini Almond Joy, 1 Mini PayDay, 1 Mini Reeces)
A Printed Map Locating the Bridal Shower I’m Attending Tonight

Day 27: My Worst Habit

Running late. A lot of people think they start running late as soon as they wake up in the morning, but I’m pretty sure my “running late” starts before I go to sleep the night before. I just can’t catch up.

Day 26: My Week In Great Detail

Ok, I think that yesterday’s post more than covered the “Great Detail” of my life. This is the good parts version of this last week (which means mostly evenings and weekends)… and since many weeks are fairly similar, this is a fair pattern for what I do with most of my time. For purposes of serving my memory a little easier, I’m going backwards starting with today:

Tuesday:
Read (Perfect Shot – Sonia O’Brien)
Movie (Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End)
Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins with Mom and Dad (probably half the Tuesdays out there…)
Dinner (Oh, wait… Not this time.)
Lunch (Arby’s with Mom)
Breakfast (Oatmeal)

Monday:
Read (Perfect Shot – Sonia O’Brien)
Chuck (Regular date night = me + Mom + Chuck)
Dinner (Hash browns, pancake, pears)
Lunch (Carl’s Jr.)
Breakfast (Oatmeal)

Sunday:
Read (Winter’s Promise – Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard)
Movie (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest)
Dinner (Turkey, cranberry orange glaze, mashed potatoes, green beans)
Flute Practice for Stake Conference
Church
Breakfast (Hash browns, pancakes, eggs)

Saturday:
Read (Winter’s Promise – Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard)
Talked with Mom for 2 Hours
Dinner (In’N’Out Burger & fries)
Midsingles Halloween Activity (This was awesome!)
Oakland Temple Shift (2:00pm-6:00pm)
Cleaned House
Breakfast (Oatmeal and soft boiled eggs)

Friday:
Read (Winter’s Promise – Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard)
Movie (How to Train Your Dragon)
Dinner (Leftover, I think…)
Lunch (Chipotle with Mom)
Breakfast (Oatmeal)

Thursday:
Read (All I Hold Dear – Jennie Hansen)
Book Club (The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Muriel Barbury)
Dinner (Baked potato bar & chicken enchiladas)
Lunch (Los Panchos – mini happy super wet chunky beef burrito… at least that’s what it said on my receipt)
Breakfast (Forgot… to eat it, that is.)

Wednesday:
Read (All I Hold Dear – Jennie Hansen)
Dinner (Chicken enchiladas)
Worked 10.5 Hours (Yay!)
Lunch (Madras lentils with Fritos)
Breakfast (Oatmeal)