Can't forget...

I LOVE a good book. Specifically, I LOVE a book that I can read and remember days, weeks, months later. THIS is one of THOSE books! Three Cups of Tea is an amazing reminder of the POWER one man (or woman) can have in the world. I don't want to spoil it by telling too much and usually I'm not "in" to NonFiction as much, but this just blows my mind. This man, Greg Mortensen has done so much for the people of Eastern Asia and has truly changed my outlook. period. As I was watching the Olympic opening ceremony last week, I couldn't help but think of the teams from this area of the world with a kinder spirit. I WANT them to succeed. I want the whole human race to succeed, but I guess this was a reminder to make this part of the world a little less abstract. Definitely check it out, but be warned... It's going to make you want to do something:)

*disclaimer* this book has lots of foreign names/places, which can be a little distracting at first... power through it! It's totally worth it! Also, check out the link... you can watch videos and read a lot about the mission involved... I am so IN LOVE with this idea:)

What do you do when this shows up in the mail???

Yep, guess what came to yours truly in the mail today... I am SO NOT AMUSED Mr. AARP! Just because this year is my 10 YEAR REUNION, doesn't mean I'm quite ready to call it quits! Ok, so I do wish we could just retire and move to Grand Cayman somedays, but come on... I'm pretty sure my aging bones still have a few non-retired days left in them:) Not sure how I got on that list, but looks like we'll be going to IHOP for the EARLY BIRD SPECIAL and getting discounted rates at Marriot:) Come on people! This really STINGS:)-- someone quick... pay me a compliment on how young I am or how I don't have any gray hairs yet... something!

Eating Out

Being students this year and living with student loans is really a drag... Ok, it's not THAT bad, but it has put a damper on our ability to eat out:) Here's the thing... everything tastes better if I don't make it. That's not a slam to my abilities, I can make some mean asian cuisine, among other things... However, the fact that I didn't have to "slave over the hot stove" makes it taste better:) Don't you think?
     Well, lucky me (and Ben); We were able to go on a lunch date to Elephant Bar, which happens to be about a mile from our house and the result is.... (drumroll please... ) I'm in L-O-V-E! Ok, first off, the place was carpeted in leopard print- who doesn't love that? It reminded me of a chic restaurant in Vegas, not trashy, chic! Beyond the ambiance, the menu had over 10 ITEMS that I would order! That's amazing! I'm not picky, but I am a bit of a foodie, and a health foodie too. I love that this menu offers everything that comes with rice to come with brown rice as an alternative. ALSO- my dish- Cashew Shrimp something... had only about 1/2 cup of brown rice, so it wasn't super carb-y. It had almost a POUND of shrimp, though. AND we're not just talking shrimp, but fresh, tender NON CHEWY shrimp. I'm in LOVE with Ben, but may have to make room in my heart for that SHRIMP!
     Anyway, if you see an Elephant Bar, I've heard some in Colorado aren't that good, but the one in Peoria ROCKS! Let me know what you think...

Oh, Ben's meal was good too, but my was clearly the WINNER!

I'll Be Happy When...

      I, like I'm sure most of you, have uttered these shameless four words... I will be happy when... I will be happy when we finally get into school... when I can finally stay home with my boys... when I have this baby... when my baby sleeps through the night... when I lose five pounds... when we are done with school... when the weekend comes... when my house is clean... when I move to a bigger house... when I can afford__... and the list goes on. I think I have uttered this phrase too often to lately. In fact, it tends to sneak up on me and make me feel not so great about myself. Well, my thick skull just may be getting somewhere now... I am going to make a conscious effort to be happy now. today. tomorrow. everyday from now on. and yesterday too!
      I guess it's not that I'm particularly unhappy now. It's more that I'm always looking forward to the future and not really savoring Right Now like I should. After all, I am 27 years old. This is my prime. When did I forget that? When is there ever going to be a better time than today or tomorrow or everyday after that?
      The one exception to my lack of savoring is with my boys. I want to hit the pause button on the remote control with them ALL THE TIME and just take in what has happened, whether it be hilarious (like when Ike was pretending he was a real estate agent showing me around his room to see if I would buy it, even though he pretended he had just "created" the mocha paint on the wall... or when I peek around the corner to see Ike making Zach laugh hysterically)... or when I realize that I just got upset with little boy for doing something he shouldn't... like throwing an apple across the room where it SPLATTED on the tile floor. I love and cherish these moments like you wouldn't believe.
      It is the rest of life that I find myself trying to move forward and look beyond. This, my friends, is not good. I guess I'm writing this post more to remind myself in the coming days and months, and even years, that I am going to be happy right now for this minute. I will be happy with who I am not who I will be when I have more time, or more money or more ambition. I think I'm, like you, constantly pushing myself to be more and that's ok. BUT, it's not ok to hold off on life until you are that person. It's always easier to see in other people, so let me use an outside example... I have a friend who just moved to a new town (this really isn't me... it just sounds similar:) really. My friend just moved into their first house (a great accomplishment) and she wants to make new friends. She has thought many times about inviting people over for a dinner party, but told me the other day... "I will do a get together, but right now I'm too embarrassed by our front door, so I'll wait 'til we paint it or get a new one, then I'll meet people and be happier here." Who are we kidding? Since when do our friends or future friends judge us by standards like a front door, or 5 extra pounds, or how tender our pot roast is or how well our furniture matches? What kind of friends would those be anyway? Today is the day to start off being happy and living my life (and you yours:) for who you are... accomplishing what YOU want and what you are INSPIRED to do... not because life is perfect and you finally have the time and energy or right color of front door, but because it is what you were meant to do and NO ONE can take your place.
     I hope this makes a teeny bit of sense. I guess what I'm getting at is this. I'm going to be happy. Even if I'm not as buff as I'd like to be right now or even if  the feng shui in my house does not flow as perfectly as I'd like or my hair does not have the body that it did last week. I'm going to try my best to look past all of my imperfections and BE HAPPY that this is my life. I sure don't want it to pass me by because you know what? It's pretty good:)
     Is anyone else feeling me?

Redbox Movies of December

So, in the midst of my Christmas "Break" I had the opportunity to watch a couple chick flicks with my momma (finally!) Anyway, I will give you a short run-down, even though I'm pretty sure most people on the planet are ahead of me on these:)

The Proposal- cute... a classic chick flick, with some good humor... I actually could've really liked this without the partial nudity scene (yikes!) Anyway, if you have some way to keep that out, it's a classic, feel good, the world's o.k. sorta movie:)

Julie and Julia- I thought I was gonna love this and Ben would hate it... Turns out I fell asleep on 3 separate  occasions trying to get through this one! I liked the story line, but it was a littly e dry and I realized I just can't handle Meryl Streep's vocal impression of Julia Child. It did make me hungry though:)

Four Christmases- another cute, classic chick flick comedy. The comedy was good, so Ben liked it too! Very lighthearted... the kind that you are almost embarrassed you rented, but then you throw all caution to the wind and think, "Whatever Walmart Redbox Renters, I don't care what you think of me, I'm renting it before you get your greedy paws on it!" Then you turn around and realize it's someone in your ward that you're gonna see tomorrow and decide to use the Redbox at Circle K next time you rent something you don't want everyone to know about:) True Story!

Angels and Demons- ok, this is my kind of action flick. Yeah, transformers blah blah blah. I can stomach that, but I really like believable story lines about things I care about. Like religion. Ok, so it's a stretch, but I can buy into the idea for a couple of hours. I think I should've probably watched it twice, if it wouldn't have been 1 am by the time we finished... Anyway, good flick. I recommend it to any of my non-catholic, or rebel catholic friends. You know who you are:)

I guess I should also mention New Moon, though it wasn't at redbox. If you haven't seen it. You should. Shame on your Robert Pattinson hating heart! It was good. I thought the storyline stuck well with the book and actually liked watching this movie more than reading book 2. It flowed well and didn't dwell too much on the ensuing depression. Let me say this. I'm still not a Jacob fan and I thought that Edward could've had a better bod too, but I'm not really in to that part anyway. If you get caught up in the physicality, then it is what it is. I, on the other hand, like the storyline. And in this case, it was worth it. Granted, I went to the matinee on Thanksgiving morning and only paid $5. Hey, we're in school, give my desperate self a break!
That's it for December... I guess it's been a long fall without movies! If you have any suggestions for my soon to be lonely, single parent self (ok, not literally, but widowed by dental school for sure!) Let me know. I'm open to suggestion.

Toys and the Winter Let Down

Ok, once again... I need some HELP! It seems that Santa was extra generous this year and brought WAY more toys than we ever needed. Ok, so grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends helped (thank you) but now what? We had some friends over for dinner tonight and their kids, along with Ike, really did a number on his room:) While I'm glad they could entertain themselves for a couple of hours while we hung out like real adults (doesn't happen very often!) I wish that there wasn't SUCH a mess to clean up afterwards. I actually felt a little embarassed that they could pull so much out and that our friends had to help for 15 minutes while we all put things back together... So, what do we do? The kids love all their toys. AND the likelihood of us getting any other new toys before next Christmas is very slim... I'm thinking about putting some away and rotating (just like at the Open School). I just hope I remember to rotate them! Any other suggestions? I would hate to donate them all to starving Ethiopian children, but I'm trying to think of something here!!

Also, we are now officially entering the winter let down. Festivities are over. Decorations are coming down and Ben's back into school full swing tomorrow morning... Ugghh. I don't remember what it was like to be on our normal schedule and I'm not sure I want to go back to the way things were... We'll see... I feel like I need something else to be excited about soon:) Maybe I have seasonal depression, but it certainly can't be from lack of sunlight. I live in Phoenix for Pete's sake!

Thankful

I know this is a little belated, but here I sit a few days past Thanksgiving with a sleepless night (thanks Zach) and so my little mind is filling fast... I do want to make a list of the things I have to be thankful for this year... Our little family has been blessed beyond measure this year (and every year), so I feel like I should acknowledge that. I know that absolutely none of these things just randomly happened. We have divine guidance, help and blessings from our Father in Heaven. I know that He is intimately involved in each of our lives, whether we recognize it or not, so I'd like to recognize it... With that, in no particular order...

I am thankful for that knowledge that I have a loving Father in Heaven who knows me, knows each of us, better than we know ourselves. He loves us beyond measure and has given me everything... my life, my family, my talents, my less than perfectness, and He loves me anyway!

I am thankful for Jesus Christ who personally suffered all the pain, sorrow, disappointment, hurt and sin that we will ever go through. He knows us too and has made it possible for me to overcome all these things and become better through him.

I am thankful for the 27 years of my life. In this time I have made so many stupid choices, peppered with a few good ones... I am grateful for the divine guidance to make those good ones! I am grateful that in those 27 years, I have had the opportunity to pray and study the scriptures to know for myself about the gospel. It really is the core of everything good in my life.

I am thankful for an amazing husband who adores me (and I him). We have had over 6 years of marriage now and are more in love with each dish washed and diaper changed;) Seriously. I don't know how I tricked him into thinking I was good enough for him, but here we are and I'm so grateful I can spend eternity with him!

I am thankful for two amazing little boys. Zach and Ike are just everything:) They can bring life and smiles to anything. They are two of the happiest little ones I have ever seen and I truly adore them. They amaze me everyday with the things they do. Isaac is so perceptive and caring. We are just enamored with him. Little Zachy has been 6 months of pure joy for our little family. He babbles now and laughs. He blows bubbles and gurgles. He rolls over and over and knows how to make a funny discomfort sound so Ike will quit bugging him. Thinking about the valiant little ones that are sent to this earth at this time for the special things that are going on now just amazes me. I know the gifts they must possess and think about the challenges they will face... I am just so grateful to get the opportunity to be their mother... or mudder, as Ike calls me:)

I am thankful for our families. They are so giving and so easily caring. Each of them have such special talents and gifts to share. I am so grateful to be a family and so look forward to being together again!

I am thankful for the opportunity to be in Phoenix. Who would've thought 5 years ago that Ben and I would be in Dental School in Phoenix! WHAT?!?! I KNOW this is where the Lord wants us and it's WHEN he wants us here too. Timing is everything and we are just so grateful to have the opportunity to be in school right now in a great program and to be thriving, even if some of our houseplants aren't:(

I am thankful for my ancestors. I don't know much about them, but what I do know is that they brought their families to America, a gutsy move, I'm sure. They were mostly farmers and religious. Thank you for passing that along the generations. I hope they are proud.

I am thankful for all of our friends. You are like family to us. We love you and really do cherish all the joy, insight and life you bring to us. Thank you:)

I am thankful for this Christmas season. It so doesn't feel like Christmas here! BUT, I love the spirit of the season... people are nicer. I am nicer. I love thinking of "the perfect gift" to give and love even more the extra service that goes on during the holidays. I won't disclose too much, but we really love secretly giving. Oh, how it warms my heart!

I am thankful for modern medicine and insurance. I know insurance is not perfect, and neither is medicine... but, I love that there is a cure or treatment for almost everything out there.

I am thankful for those who serve us. I have never been so aware of how blessed we are to live in a free country away from most every harm. Thank you to all the men and women who protect our freedom everyday. Really, thank you. We would have nothing without your noble sacrifice.

I am thankful for computers, internet, phone... all the ways we stay in touch. I love that even though we live far away, we are never "too far" for a phone call... or a blog update:)

I am thankful for modern travel.

I am thankful for dishwashers. Really thankful.

I am thankful for a house. Yep, this year we moved into a house. I never knew all the conveniences this would afford us, but there is definitely something to be said for a yard, a garage, and not having any attached neighbors:)

I am thankful for so much more, but you get the idea... I guess I should be journaling this too... I'll get to that (wink). Anyway, thanks for bearing with me:) So what are you most thankful for?