Bonfires and Amplifiers and Dads and Daughters

Last night my dad and I went on our first daddy-daughter date since I was a Merry Miss (for those who are too young to remember Merry Miss-think Activity Days.) A couple of weeks ago I decided that I really wanted to go to the Brad Paisley concert. Jeff was leaving town and I needed someone to go with me, so I asked my dad. It was so much fun we went out to dinner before and then to the concert. Openers: Chuck Wicks (Stealing Cinderella) and Rodney Atkins (If your goin' thru hell, keep on going). They both did really well. Unfortunately, the concert was held at the Energy Solutions Arena and the acoustics were horrible. Rodney A. was really fun to watch, lots of energy, talked a lot about his kids and was having fun up there. If he ever headlines here, I would definitely go see him again. (In fact, I am going out this morning and buying his CD). Brad Paisley was, of course, awesome. He is so talented. He sings fabulous live, he had some great animation that he did himself, and he plays the guitar like it's no ones business! It was so cool.

We did meet lots of interesting people there. I was a little surprised by the lack of hats and funny cowboy shirts, but I guess the cowboy trend is seeming to go away from at least the shirts (thankfully). I did see a lot of "high maintenance" girls , ya know, trendy clothes, lots of makeup, perfectly styled hair. We had 2 cute girls in front of us who gave us a cotton ball. (Concert tip: When at the former Delta Center, stuff cotton balls in your ears and then you can magically take all the echo out and understand what is being said/sung.) There was a cute little couple next to us that couldn't have been older than 17 or 18. She was adorable and he was the perfect gentleman. Very smooth. Hope he had enough gas in his car. ;) (I'm sure that probably came out wrong. Sorry!) There were 4 kids that came in on our row (none older than 18 I'm sure) all with a beer in hand. As you can guess (thankfully), the arena staff checked their ages and escorted them all out, taking away their beers. Yay E.S.A.!! Then there was the row of rowdy girls behind us. (Ok. Really they were grown women, probably all having to take their kids to school today, but acting like girls for the evening. ) They joined us part way thru the 2nd opening act and were apparently much in love with Mr. Atkins. I won't repeat things I heard. They had obviously started their party before they came to sit with us. The alcohol was already taking affect. :) I was glad when they moved though.

I am so glad I went. I've been trying to live without regrets (or as few as possible) and I don't think I will ever regret this fun night-drunks and all.

Little Tidbits

As I was cleaning my room this morning I came across a couple of little notes I had written to remind myself of a couple of things I wanted to blog. A few weeks ago we had a cute family in our ward speak. One of them spoke on the talk "Good, Better, Best" by Dallen H. Oaks. This is the 2nd time in my life one of his talks really struck home with me. I think it did with a lot of people. Right before Christmas we attended my mother-in-law's ward and in her Relief Society, the lesson was on this very talk. I seem to always get the same teacher when we are there, but she always does such a wonderful job of teaching from these talks. She had a visual/object lesson to help drive home the point of choosing the best over the better and good. She place a large jar on the table and then held up 2 bags. One bag was filled with golf balls and represented all the things we are supposed to do like scripture study, prayer, visiting teaching, etc. The second bag was filled with small marbles/pebbles and represented all the other good things in life: hobbies, running kids around, reading, etc. She dumped the marbles in the life, filling our "day" with good things and then tried to fit all the golf balls in on top. They didn't fit. After emptying the balls and marbles back into their bags, she tried it again. This time she filled our "day" with the best things and then dumped the pebbles in. It all fit. (Well, actually it didn't, but it was supposed. I think it would've if she had shook the jar just a little, but there were sleeping babies.) The point was when we put the Lord first, we will find the time for all the other good things in life that we want to do and the fluff will all drop out.

Another little note I found was some advice from author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love). I happened to catch her on Oprah and got drawn in. She had gone through a bad marriage, horrible divorce and then an amazing road to self-discovery. She was very happy and bubbly and told Oprah and her viewers 3 things she writes down daily to help her.

1. What do I really, really, really want? Then answer it.
2. Write down the happiest moment of the day.
3. Change your mantra until it works for you. (Is "I'm a dork, failure, etc really working for you?)

I went on to read her book and loved it. There were of course parts I could do without, but her journey was amazing and inspiring. I loved the 3 little things to write down, and think the world would be a better place if we all took time to figure out what we want, what makes us happy, and change our thinking to be positive.

Scrapbookin ballerina

Lyndsi has taken dance since her 3rd birthday. This last summer she decided it was time to try something new. Thus we ventured into the world of gymnastics. Two months (or so) in she decided it was not for her and wanted to go back to dance. After Christmas I tried calling the dance studio a couple of times to get her re-enrolled, but no one was there due to the break. Apparently Lynsdi did not think i made enough effort and one day brought me the brochure and phone and very directly said, "Call her mom." Eventually we did get enrolled and then it was torture for Lyndsi to wait for 4 days before her first class. She has been excited about it ever since. The other day I informed her she had dance that night and she was literally dancing all over the house in excitement. It has been so fun to see her so excited about something!

She has also taken up the hobby of scrapbooking, having received a kit from Grandma for Christmas. With a little direction ("don't put stickers on the pictures" and "nothing hanging over the edge of the paper"), she is turning into a budding little scrapper, if a little obsessed. (ALWAYS wanting to scrap)

Funny Little Things

This was too cute not to blog. As Lyndsi and I were munching our mid-afternoon snack, she said :

"Mommy, we don't drink enough. We just talk and talk and talk and talk. But not me. I never talk at nighttime when I go to bed. I just go right to sleep."

Anyone who knows us very well know the first 2 statements are absolutely true. (I'm sure my family is just laughing recalling my younger days.) That last part however...I guess we'll have to have some more lessons on what it means to tell the truth. :)

Sunny Day

There is nothing more motivating than a bright, sunshiny day (well, unless it is also warm :) ). Despite the haze I can see blue skies and sunshine and I am inspired to clean my bathroom, read my scriptures, prepare family home evening, and make lunch. I have a few things I"m excited to post about, but you'll have to wait in eager anticipation while I try to stop procrastinating uploading my pics to the computer. Speaking of, I was doing just that a few weeks ago at a place called Winkflash. I noticed that they had their calendars on sale and, looking at my empty wall space where one once hung, I ordered one. Now being a scrapbooker, I did feel a twinge of quilt at not doing anything ultra creative, but it didn't last long. The calendar came within a couple of days and is so cute. Nothing is more fun than filling out those little squares while staring at my cute kids. By the way, the quality was fab. In fact, I was so impressed that I will order some large prints (that I have also put off ordering) of some family photos and a couple other favorite ones. Until I get around to posting more, here's a new photo. Enjoy the sunshine and do something fun today!

Healthy Resolutions

I love the start of a new year and all the resolution setting that comes with it. This year I've decided I want to be healthy. I want to get in shape and be more active. I want to replace fat with muscle and I want those endorphines (happy hormones) that come with exercising. To help me with my goal, I wanted to join a group, but thought I would feel self-concious at a weight-watchers meeting or the like since I am mostly aiming to lose only a little fat. I ended up going with Denise Austin's online program "Fit Forever!" Ok-so she can be a little cheesy, but I find the constant cheerfulness somewhat uplifting and she's very encouraging. Today is day 1 but so far I like it. It's also nice to have a place to report in, to get help with meals, track my progress, etc. I am very excited about it. I have other goals this year like actually scrapbooking, save a little more $$, give up the credit card, going to the cabin, getting together with friends/family more, but becoming healthy and adopting a more healthy lifestyle is my focus this year-both physically and spiritually. Does anyone have any fun goals for 2008?

The Book of Mormon

I've been thinking for the last couple of weeks about what Elder Ballard spoke about in regards to using your blog to help foster positive images of the church and to spread the gospel. I've tried to ponder some on that and what I could write about. Well, my friends, tonight I had an experience to share. Completely out of the blue last night Lyndsi (my 5-yr-old) handed me her copy of the Book of Mormon and said, "Mom, we need to read scriptures." How can you refuse her that? So, we started reading. I kind of wondered if it was a little whim, but tonight again, she pulled out that little blue book and handed it to me. Again we read. This time I tried to put a little more effort and explain on her level what was going on. Now, we're on page 2 maybe a couple of verses down the page, and I felt the overwhelming feeling that yes, this book is true! I've known it all my life, but to have that confirmation again is wonderful. After that I was so excited to try and help my sweet baby girl understand what was going on. I feel very grateful that my 5-year-old is excited to read the scriptures and that I get to be a part of that.