A profound reminder

Originally written in Sept 2011, but never published.

Today a friend shared a story with me. This is a concept that has been impressed upon my mind frequently over the last few months. More recently I have noticed my need to work harder at this.

This was originally posted on http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/2151 but I copy it here in its entirety because it is worthy of spreading.

Let Me Be Clear

My opinion is that under NO circumstance should the safety and salary of our servicemen and women be forfeit, especially for political stalemate and indecision - from BOTH parties. President OBAMA deserves our respect as our president, and I DO honor him for having the courage to make a difficult decision. But my allegience will ALWAYS lie with the servicemen and women who DAILY put their lives on the line for MY safety, and to improve the lives of others who deserve the opportunities I enjoy. So, tonight, and every night may God bless our president and elected officials to have wisdom and guidance, and our troops to be protected, and we, as citizens, to ever be grateful for the comfort we enjoy for such a price.

God Bless America!

Sabbatical Repentance

So, apparently I’ve taken a sabbatical from blogging. Life has been, well, busy, but when is it not, really? So, hmm… I guess it’s list time. You’ll have to consult facebook for picture updates, which, I promise are coming soon. J January ~ had the worst flight back to Utah in my personal flying history. Consult my post for details ~ hung out with Dad, Ty, and Chels while Dad was here to help Ty recover from knee surgery ~ MLK Weekend – Game Night with friends from Provo. FUN times! February ~ Valentine’s party with the students – always fun. ~ my piano lesson “business” almost tripled in the space of a couple weeks – and is still growing. It’s fun to see some of my school students in a different setting, and it’s fun to watch them learn an instrument I love so much. ~ President’s Day – my friends and I went on a temple/geocaching ride. It was fun to take pictures, wander around Cabela’s and find some caches, all while enjoying the company of good friends. ~ My friend Alice got a job at the library across the street from my house – we see so much more of her now, which is fun! March ~ UCET Conference – went with friends, learned awesome technology stuff, met Kevin Honeycutt (coolest keynote ever), was introduced to Plurk, and am still trying to find ways to adequately implement all the exciting stuff I learned. ~ My grandma and cute cousin came to Utah for a weekend – we enjoyed Music and the Spoken Word, Temple Square, the BYU Bookstore, and the Carl Bloch exhibit. Tons of fun. ~ Went on a snowshoeing field trip to Soldier Hollow with my students, and enjoyed “dragging” them to a mountain man cabin on the property. It was way fun! ~ We ate corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day “supper” - and I forced my students to listen to Celtic/Irish music all day. ~ My roommate got me addicted to Glee – yes, I have officially joined the Gleeks! ~ I took the Praxis Principals of Learning and Teaching K -6 test Saturday morning with a massive headache, and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with my sister and friends at BYU and at Trafalga. Overall, it was fun, even with the headache!

That's Good! That's Bad! - The Adventures and Misadventures of Christmas Travel 2010-2011

My experiences the last ten days have reminded me of this book:

Two-and-a-half feet of snow the day before we're supposed to fly out... That's bad!

Friends and family that transport us to the airport anyway... That's good!

Flight from SLC to ORD cancelled due to snow... That's bad!

Arriving early enough to be rerouted onto Delta through Dallas instead... That's good!

Making it to Richmond at about the original time... That's good!

Our luggage is not on the carousel... That's bad!

Meeting a guy in Richmond who finds our bags and has them shipped to our house who happens to be a member of our church and super nice... That's good!

Having a blast in Virginia with family and friends... That's VERY good!

My puppy deciding to wander away from my wonderful friends who agreed to puppysit and getting picked up by a "friendly/helpful" neighbor and taken to the shelter while kids are in tears and adults are frantic looking for her... That's bad!

The shelter volunteer calling and playing mediator to the cop and my friend being able to pick her up with no fine or citation... That's good!

Hotel in Richmond so we don't have to wake up too early for our flights... That's good!

A stickler check-in agent who makes me get my bag to exactly 50 pounds, because 50.5 isn't good enough... That's bad!

No problems getting into Chicago... That's good!

Cinnabon for breakfast... That's good!

Flight from Chicago to Salt Lake cancelled due to lack of crew... That's VERY bad!

Knowing the flight was cancelled before they even announced it because I had text message updates... That's good!

Getting rerouted from Chicago to Arkansas to Dallas to Salt Lake... Well, the jury's still out on that one. At leat we're getting out. We'll see what adventures the rest of this trip holds.