30 Days of Thanksgiving #10

I love how the Book of Mormon begins:

"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days."

There is so much in that one, first verse! Yes, life is going to be hard - there will be afflictions. But even with trials, life can be good. The Lord loves us and will bless us. We need to teach our children of the Lord and seek to learn of Him ourselves. So much!! But I also love that Nephi starts off by stating that he was born of goodly parents. I, too, have been born of goodly parents.

I am grateful for the blessing of having parents who love each other and love me. I am grateful that my parents also love the Lord and have taught me of Him. I am grateful that my parents committed to each other for all eternity and were sealed as an eternal family in the temple. I am grateful for the opportunity to someday make that same committment to my best friend and start an eternal family with him. I am grateful for the opportunity to someday become a mother and teach my children to love the Lord. I pray for these blessings and choose to have hope and faith that they will come to pass.

And, for your viewing pleasure, I've included some of my favorite pictures of my parents! (Some of them I should have posted in June when they celebrated their 35 anniversary - but the summer was crazy and I never got around to it! I guess better late than never.) I am grateful for pictures :)

Happy Halloween!

These are some of my favorite pictures from past Halloweens. My Dad was the Bishop when these pictures were taken. The top two are my parents dressed up for a Ward Halloween party on a Saturday night. It's hard to tell in the picture, but my Dad has a mohawk. A lot of people don't know that he wears a toupee - a lot of ward members didn't know that. He took one of his old hairpieces and cut it to be a mohawk. Then he showed up at the party with his head shaved on the top with a mohawk. Everyone was shocked! So many people asked him what he was going to do for Church the next day. Of course, he then showed up for Church with a full head of hair! This was Halloween of 1987.

The bottom picture is of my Dad being The Count from Sesame Street. For years he would show up to work - as an accountant - as The Count, complete with the purple face. I guess I really learned to love dress-ups from my Dad! This picture was 1988.

Happy Birthday, Countess!!

I have been blessed with the best Mom ever! She is constantly serving others - whether it's going the extra mile for her students, putting together the best leadership meetings and activities for the Stake Primary, or picking up someone's favorite cereal at the store. I have learned the importance of keeping your commitments and doing your best, how to be a caring daughter, and great teaching and parenting techniques from my Mom. My Mom suffered through countless tantrums and arguments to keep me in piano lessons, survived smoking tv dinners when I was in charge of dinner, patiently bore my teenage angst and learned to step out of her comfort zone to help me heal from my health problems. Because of my Mom, I am now able to provide for myself by teaching piano lessons, I enjoy cooking, and have survived not only the teen years, but also serious health problems and am now on the road to recovery. My Mom is SuperMom.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Mothers Day!

It's funny 'cause it's true...


Mothers Day is one of those huge, I-really-should-post-something-truly-deep-and-wonderful days. But I have a couple of problems with that.

A) My Mom is one of those that really hates all of the fuss and hoopla of Mothers Day. And I can never tell if it's because she feels more keenly her shortcomings as a mother (and believe me they are extremely few and far-between - but I sometimes think we Mormons could rival those of the Jewish tradition in the guilt arena...) or because we as her children can't quite get the day right. Probably a bit of both. Though, I think us kids are making strides in the right direction - hopefully.

And 2) I'm not a mother yet and desperately want to be one. My whole life all I've wanted to be was a mother. I'm fast approaching my 32nd birthday and it doesn't look like that dream is going to be happening anytime soon. Most of my friends are married and have children - in the plural. And I do enjoy being an "Honorary Aunt" to whoever will let me be. But that isn't the same as having your own.

Today in Church, one of the speakers gave a beautiful talk on motherhood. And in the middle she talked about women who don't have children of their own yet and how much she appreciates them and the influence they have on her children. I was really touched and got emotional (I know, shocker) and then felt dumb, especially since I was supposed to go up and accompany a musical number as soon as she was done. And I really wished that I wasn't there hearing that talk. Today I finally got a bit of a glimpse into that feeling of "I dread going to Church on Mothers Day." It was totally different than I thought it would be. I always got a bit frustrated when women would say that to me. I mean, come on! Just take the praise, will you? You really do deserve it and you get little enough thanks in the day-to-day job! Also, be grateful that you are a mother to enjoy that praise. Be grateful for the miracle that is motherhood! So many women want that desperately and can't have it. So honor it! But that's not what I felt. It was more of a "I'm uncomfortable with my emotions and would rather not deal with them, especially in public!" feeling. So, I'm sorry to the Moms I've sent frustration vibes at when they've made these comments. Maybe I understand a bit (just a tiny bit) more now.

What all of this rambling boils down to is: cherish the blessing of motherhood if you are lucky enough to be a mother. And if you're not lucky enough to have that blessing yet: Hang in there. There really are amazing perks to being an "Honorary Aunt" - sleeping through the night, being able to spoil adorable children, handing them off when they get cranky, etc. (all of which I would trade in a heart beat - but I'm looking for the joy in my right now).

And to my Mom: thank you. I can't say it enough, and I'm not even going to try to go into details, but thank you. I love you.

Oh, ScienceBoy!

We had a great time at SpiderMan's party on Friday. We had our stew, as requested by 7-year-old SpiderMan, and some great conversation. Part of that great conversation occurred when we overheard ScienceBoy say something about a pompadour to SpiderMan. (Remember that ScienceBoy is 9.) So, we asked ScienceBoy if he knew what a pompadour was. His response was: It's when your hair is all up over on one side like Elvis's hair. What 9-year-old boy knows that?! He then proceeded to tell us that his teacher was worried that kids today were only learning things from the computer and television and so she had them look up things from the dictionary and encyclopedia. He had five verbs and two nouns to look up. Way to go teacher!

We always do "heavy, heavy hangover"when we open presents. (For those of you who are uniformed - we sing/say "Heavy, heavy hangover thy poor head. What do you wish this person with a bonk on the head?" and the giver bonks the receiver on the head with the present. The receiver then gives the giver a wish.) SpiderMan was pretty good with his wishes this year. He wished most everyone a cruise. He also felt the need to add to The Count's and The Countess's wish. Along with the cruise, he wished them a night in a motel. We've had quite a good laugh over that one!

Unfortunately, the night ended rather badly for ScienceBoy. After they went home, he was swinging from his top bunk down to the bottom one and lost his grip and went flying and hit the toy chest - hard - and ended up at the ER getting four stitches. However, ever the optimist, ScienceBoy is now proudly showing off his first stitches. I haven't seen the damage yet, but I'm told it's just in front of his right ear. Oh, the joys of boys!

7 Random Things

My friend, Jodie, tagged me. I'm supposed to share 7 random things about myself and tag 7 more people. Unfortunately, I'm new to the blog world and every blog I follow has already been tagged! So, I'll just share.

1. I have issues with numbers. It started out as a preference for the volume on the TV to be an even number. Then I realized that I liked the multiples of 5 as well. Then I realized that I really like the multiples of 3. Finally, I figured out that I really don't like prime numbers. I shudder if the TV volume is on 11 or 13 or 17. So, in order of preference: multiples of 3, multiples of 5, even numbers, any other non-prime number. I count stairs. (Although, I think that's to take my mind off my huffing and puffing as I go up them.) I also really like to find numbers that go in order. For example, four nights out of seven I happen to look at my clock right when it reads 12:34. And it makes me happy. Yes, I am that OCD.
2. If you think that's obsessive; oh, the issues with food. I am a very picky eater. Now, don't get me wrong. I love food. I love to eat. I actually enjoy cooking (although I definitely don't enjoy cleaning up afterwards!). But I am a very picky eater. I am very sensitive to smells. I usually can't eat leftovers because the smell of the cold food turns my stomach and I can't eat it, even after it's been warmed up. If someone else reheats the food so I don't have to smell it - I can cope. I am very sensitive to suggestion. The dinner table is not the place to tell scary stories. I also had a huge blowup one Halloween because The Countess prepared a very creative dinner complete with "scary" names for each of the dishes. I felt really bad afterward because I know she put a lot of effort into the meal, trying to be a fun, creative Mom (which she is!) and I totally lost it and refused to even come into the kitchen. I have major issues with food being served cold that is usually served hot: i.e. lunch meat, hard boiled eggs, etc. (actually I think potato salad is one of my least favorite dishes in the entire world - cold eggs, cold potatoes, mayo and mustard - both of which I don't like - it has no chance! I can't even handle the smell! It has to be on the opposite end of the table.) And then there's the huge list of things I just plain don't like. It really is a wonder that I ever even tried Indian food - I'm not that adventurous! I know that my family was shocked. But after that first brave bite, I was hooked!
3. I am a ballerina at heart. I took ballet for a good 10 years. I have great arches and good toe structure for toe shoes. I have pretty good flexibility (actually, when I stretch now, I get stopped by my belly getting in the way rather than my muscles not being able to stretch further.) And of course I love the music.
   
4. I love green. I have always loved green. I always will love green. When I was three (I think. I don't remember, but have seen the pictures and been told the story), all I wanted for Christmas was a green nightgown. That's it. No toys. Just a green nightgown. When I was a senior in high school, I thought I was pretty cool because the salespeople for class rings told us that we could choose a stone with our school colors, our birthstone, or a stone with our favorite color for our ring. Well, since I went to Hillcrest High School, our colors were green and white. And since I was born in May, my birthstone is an emerald. And, of course, my favorite color is green. So I was set for all three.
5. In Elementary School, my BFF and I wanted to become famous authors. My pen name was: JesakaTifini. (Yes, all one word.) My nickname in Middle School was: Jello Stress Weird, III. (My History teacher even called me this. And, by the way, weird is wonderful; strange is stupid.) My nickname in High School was: HoboJo. One of my friends adopted the nickname SlobBob and wrote a story about HoboJo and SlobBob.
   
6. I have sprained both my knees (within 6 weeks of each other!), an ankle and a wrist. I've had a tonsillectomy, a laparoscopy for endometriosis, part of my ear cut off, and sinus surgery. But, knock on wood, I've never had to have stitches or broken a bone.
7. I have won several awards for my writing and have also been published. (Literary Magazine awards and publishing in High School for both poetry and short story. Deseret News Poetry contest. Best Freshman Research Paper at BYU. New Era magazine article.) I was English Sterling Scholar. I even had a way cool professor at BYU who let me write a poem for my final research paper in History of Civ./Humanities 201. I shared a poem with her that I'd written on Michaelangelo and she loved it. Since my research paper was on Michaelangelo, she let me turn that poem into a series. I got an A.

I'm looking this over, and it turned into a bit of a novel instead of a list. But it was fun to reminisce!

Thankful Thursday (2 Days Early) :o)

I am so grateful for the power of the Priesthood and Priesthood blessings and a wonderful Father and brother who are worthy to hold and exercise the Priesthood and a great home teacher to come and help give a Priesthood blessing! I was pretty discouraged and not coping at all yesterday with the whole back issue. But my wonderful mother suggested a blessing and as mentioned above, three wonderful men provided the much needed and appreciated blessing. And today, I'm doing a lot better. I was able to get a referral for physical therapy and a visit to the chiropractor from my doctor today (and some prescription ibuprofen!) and I have appointments set up for the rest of the week. Hooray! Even better, my heating pad is still working fabulously and I'm off for a nap!

Christmas Concerts

What a wonderful weekend! Saturday night we went to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It was so good! They always do such a great job and we love the King's Singers, who were the special guests. They did a fun production of The Twelve Days of Christmas with dancers portraying each of the gifts. It was a lot of fun. My favorites, though, were Richard Elliot's organ solo, I Saw Three Ships, and Mack Wilberg's new arrangement of O, Holy Night!. The organ solo was amazing! and I think Richard Elliot got the biggest applause out of all the numbers. He was all over the place and on one of the verses, he did the melody with his feet on the pedals and they were just flying! Mack's new arrangement of O, Holy Night!, was for the men of the choir and the King's Singers and it was beautiful. It was different from any arrangement I've ever heard, but so beautiful. Sometimes that song can be over-the-top, especially with the high note at the end (I love the high note at the end, it's just very easy to go overboard with it), but Mack's arrangement wasn't over-the-top at all. The counter tenors still hit the high note at the end, but it almost didn't register that it was the climactic ending. It was just very peaceful. And the staging and lighting were so well done. The overall experience of that piece was just perfect.

After the concert we had to wait about 45 minutes to get out of the parking terrace we were parked in. Gorgeous, Tergaso, LSOC and I played "Salt Lake City, Plaza Hotel, Deal or No Deal" while we waited. We were outside waiting for the The Countess to bring the car down so Gorgeous wouldn't have to climb all the stairs to the level were parked on. Tergaso had called The Countess to see if they had moved yet and Gorgeous commented that she looked like Howie Mandel talking to the banker. So Tergaso and LSOC jumped on the idea and decided what their cases held and what the banker's deal was. It was funny. Gorgeous ended up taking the deal for 730,000. But then, it was "What's the Deal?" week so she had to spin the wheel (Tergaso with her eyes closed.) She ended up doubling it and going to the car with 1.46 million!! Not bad for a few minutes entertainment. My family is absolutely crazy and I love them!

I also had my Christmas Concert with my bell choir. We had a good turnout and performed well so I'm happy. We played some fun music again this year and it's so fun to talk to the audience after and answer questions about playing bells. Not many people are familiar with handbell choirs. My favorite number we played is Pat-A-Pan. It's a lot of fun. We also played a medley from The Nutcracker that is a lot of fun (and very difficult!).

I have one more day of lessons and then I'm off for Christmas break. I still have some shopping to finish up and all of my wrapping and delivering! I feel like I lost all of last week with our health scare! (Not that I'm complaining too much - I'm too grateful that I don't have whooping cough and that I'm on the mend instead of getting worse!) Today was "pamper Julie" day. I went for a massage and got my hair done. I feel pretty and relaxed and pretty relaxed. I'm ready for the craziness of trying to get everything done now!

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've already done a post on how thankful I am for my family, but they really are so important to me, that I had to mention them again on this biggest of all Thankful Thursdays. I'd like to highlight what I've learned from my family. From my father (The Count), I've learned how to cherish a spouse. The quickest way to get on Dad's bad side is to disrespect Mom. From my mother (The Countess), I've learned how to be a good teacher. You can't teach without love. From my sister (AngelFish), I've learned how to be brave and strong. I admire how much courage it took to get on a plane to Russia to serve a mission. From my other sister (Tergaso), I've learned how to be happy and confident. Life is good, buck up! From my brother (The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra or LSOC), I've learned what unconditional love looks like in real life. I remember once his finger got slammed in the car door. I don't remember who was at fault, but I do remember that he was immediately consoling them and forgiving them for the accident. From my family as a whole, I've learned that you have to pull together and support each other. Life is better with a family of cheerleaders!

I am so very blessed to have been born into this wonderful family!