Be Still

I appreciate my quiet life. Sometimes more than others... there are those times when it feels too quiet for me, when I would really enjoy the cacophony of little voices in the background, or a little music to break the lonely stillness. But most of the time, I like the quiet.

I like sitting still, letting my mind wander, interested to learn where its ramblings will end, occasionally amused with tracing a train of thought back to its original departure point, marveling at the connections I have managed to make between terribly unrelated topics.

I like the stillness of the temple, where love is spoken with kind looks and gentle hands, where my thoughts can become conversations with a Divine Being, and the discussions are real, two-way, and fulfilling.

Or the comfortable quiet of family togetherness, like when I was a teenager and Sunday afternoons were almost always spent in the living room, each kid on his or her own section of the couch with a book and sometimes a snack. Which then reminds me of the times we would gather on Mom & Dad's bed in the fading Sabbath evening, enjoying a conversation & laughter together (and effectively delaying bedtime, for what mother sends all her children to bed when they are finally enjoying themselves together in peaceful harmony? Not mine...).

Yes, for me, the quiet opens the door to revelation. Even when there is not quiet in my environment, revelation comes when there is quiet in my mind. I do not know what the future holds, but when I take a quiet moment to "be still", the Spirit whispers that this is the right path, that all will be well, and that great things are on the horizon.

Neat-o.

Cyber-Thanks & Pictures

To the wonderful person who shoveled the path from the end of the driveway to the garage...

*Poor picture quality courtesy of the 11 degree weather outside and the fact that I wasn't wearing gloves.

Thank You.


H was so grateful she promised dinner for a week, if you reveal yourself. It saved her lots of time in which she would have been shoveling snow to extract her car.

And speaking of amazing talents (like secret snow shovelers), check this out: a totally awesome handmade travel bag to fill with stuff to do while on an airplane.  It came pre-stuffed, too, thanks to my awesome craft-inclined friend... and I love the frogs.

 
 
 
And finally, the creation I told you about last year that I gave to my wonderful temple friend... so I can keep my promise of pictures, and as proof that I have what we might call "spare time" (at least, I did at one point!).  :-)
 

That is all.



I Would Say More, But I'm Tired...

I reorganized my living room today. I feel a certain sense of satisfaction out of making things neat and orderly. Especially after I have made them chaotic and messy. I also rediscovered a bunch of books that I forgot I had... which is what one experiences, I suppose, when one puts cool books on the bottom shelf in a room one rarely spends time in. And now, we have a logical setup - the movies and CDs are actually in the same room as all the electronics! Whee.

After trying to write more than this and realizing I can't put my thoughts together, I have decided to be done.

The End.

A Boring Weather Post

All right, I'm caving.  I re-read my blog posts from last winter, and nearly every other one was about how cold it was (or wasn't)! But guess what?  I'm going to do it again. Time to throw that New Year's Resolution out the window... except I didn't make any real ones this year.

It is going to be COLD next week.  Seriously, all it does here is freeze and snow.  Why is "negative anything" even an option for a temperature? And where are we going to put the additional five to eight inches of snow we're going to get during the morning commute (again) tomorrow?

Rant over. These are rhetorical questions. In case you were wondering.

Let's talk about happy things now.

- I did eventually succeed in opening all four of my car doors this morning, despite their being frozen shut when I first tried to get in to my car.  I'm still trying to figure out why it's the back passenger side that always unfreezes first... use your imagination as to how things proceeded from there. :-)
- At Chipotle tonight, where I went with my friends to get a burrito bowl because getting in the car and driving a few miles to pick up a friend and driving a few more miles to pick up dinner was vastly easier than thinking of what to make for dinner at 8:15 pm, we ran into a few other friends who randomly happened to be doing the same thing (only an hour later).  How fun is that!
- Tomorrow is Friday. Yippee!

And that is all. For now.

Ministering Angels

I have a friend who is sick.

I have another friend who, even though she wasn't asked, voluntarily gave of her time last night to go minister to the ailing friend.

I do not know what transpired during that visit, but her choice to go reminded me of the time I was sick, and the love and minstering she offered to me at that time.  And then I remembered all the other times I observed or received of her ministering care.  And I was reminded of the following beautiful song, and the lines that made me grateful for ministering angel friends:

We’ll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.

The errand of angels is given to women...
To do whatsoever is gentle and human,
To cheer and to bless in humanity's name.

Thank you to my dear friend, whose ministering saved me from worrying about my other friend.  And to my first friend, get well soon...

Total Friday Superfail

Last night, I was efficient.  I took the nearly two dozen cookies I made, and carefully put them in two Ziploc sandwich bags.

This morning, I was in a hurry. So I took one of the Ziploc bags and put it in with my lunch.

This afternoon, I ate a cookie for dessert after lunch - then another - then another - then I was sitting at my desk and thought I needed a snack - and look, there's another one available - and the next thing I knew, that Ziploc bag was empty.

Superfail. Thwarted by the hand-to-mouth-without-involving-the-brain habit! 

But now I have a reason to laugh at myself.  And, the cookies were good.

(Everything else about my day was quite successful...  Thanks for asking!)

Snowed In

We are having a blizzard today. I stayed home.

Good news, though - I caught up on my 400 backlogged emails.  It only took, um, about 4 hours. Now I only have to reply to the 45 or so that still require attention.

There are giant snow piles over 5 feet high on both sides of the driveway. And we haven't dug out the sidewalk yet.  And they are still plowing the roads.  There's already at least a foot of snow, and I think it's still snowing. And drifting... so I turned the thermostat up to 70 degrees, and I'm going to stay warm and dry as long as possible.

Here's to the quietest Wednesday I'll have in a long time!

What's That You Say?

Up until last year, I had never heard of a "bucket list."  Suddenly, it seemed like everyone had one, and was talking about what was on theirs. When I finally queried someone as to what it was, the reply was it's the list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket.

It makes sense. It makes even more since when you Google it (they have the answer for everything, you know) and find the movie made in 2007 with the same title.Without actually going so far as to watch the movie, I have given the idea some thought. It seems more fun than making New Year's Resolutions. More long-term, yes, but more interesting. A New Year's Resolution is usually something boring, like "read 27 books in 2011" or "learn to love the person who drives me the most crazy in my life".  While I'd like to do those things, too, it would be nice to add a little spice and come up with a bucket list. Something to work towards in the next 15 years or so. (We'll assume for the moment that I'll live at least that long...)

So I'm curious. Do you have a bucket list? What's on it? And why?

Two Perspectives

I finally started a well-deserved two week vacation, and was sick almost the entire time.  I didn't read nearly as many books as I would have liked. My Wii time was limited by my energy levels. It was cold outside, and it snowed. Only a few days after I started to feel myself again, it was time to come home and go back to the >300 emails waiting for my attention, a potentially overwhelming task after such a long time away.

My Christmas holiday was wondeful. I had loving family around to take care of me when I was feeling under the weather. My brother even ventured out into the icy post-storm danger to pick up some ginger ale for my ailing stomach (on the pretense of needing some croissants as well, of course). The extra rest obtained while boosting my immune system for the coming months was a blessing, too. My days were filled with snuggling and stories and talking with family, including my nieces and nephew, and learning about their lives and what they feel is important. It was slow and wonderful. Little L is super-affectionate, so it was easy to trade endless Berenstain Bears stories and flossing little teeth for cozy hugs, kisses, and "I love you"s. Generous gifts were shared, and I came home well-equipped to write many a letter to those delightful children over the next year. We had fun playing on the Wii, and I was entertained by watching even when I felt too tired to play. During my time off, I escaped from the usual stressors of my Boston life, and enjoyed the opportunity to relax. I even have a few extra days before I go "back to the grind", so there will be time for unpacking, massage, and other important things.

I could explain the past two weeks of blog silence with either perspective. Fortunately, choosing to see it from the latter perspective brings me greater satisfaction.

Happy New Year.