I hate today.

Today is the worst day.  Ever.

Today, we finished cleaning out my grandma's house.

I put my grammy's clothes into black garbage bags.

Every little sweater.  Every little shirt.  Every little tissue filled coat pocket. Every little pink and purple sock.

I don't want to get rid of any of it.  

I want everything to stay the same.  

For forever.

And then, I thought of something that people always say and I've just never internalized.

All of the things that we are just DYING to have will still be here when we die.

And they're just THINGS.

Yes, they have sweet, tender memories attached to them.

Yes, we love the owners of these things and miss them so much it hurts.

But, they're just things.

So, why are we all in this rotten rat race trying to buy up everything that we can?  

Why are we trying to keep up with the Jones's of the world?

I have found something much more precious.

I will not always have her things.

I will not always have her on this Earth.

What I will have, if I do my best...

is my family.

Forever.

So, to heck with the rat race.

To heck with the Jones's.

From now on, I'm running a race of eternal significance.

I want to see my grandparents again.

I want my family to be a "Forever Family".

So, from now own...that's the thing I'm focusing on.

Need I Say More...?

My friends just call me 'Killer'

Do you see this horrible creature?

Do you?

Well,let me tell you.

One of it's dirty relatives tried to KILL ME.

Worst.  Day.  Ever.

Here's how it went down.

I found it on my curtains.  I screeched.  I hollered.  I screamed and even started to cry.

(in case you didn't know, these are second only to birds on my "I'm Afraid of It!" List.)

 My husband calmly asked from the other room if I was okay...

To which I replied.....

EEEEEEEEEEEK!  NO!  It's GONNA GET ME!

So, he non chalantly sauntered into the kitchen to save my life

and...

swatted at it with a hot pad.

Right.

Like that's gonna work.

He swatted at it again.

And it hid. 

Behind the stove.

On the curtain.

Again.

My knight in shining armor declared the beast to be dead and all was right with the world.

Or so we thought.

I finished the dishes and started to wipe down the stove and the fridge.

And the little beastie buzzed.

I screeched.

And tried to kill it with this.

Upon realizing that this was a non harmful cleaning product...

and noticing that it would leave spots on my curtains...

I decided to kill it with this.

I thought I had given him a good beating, but alas.

He was still breathing and buzzing.

So, using my weapon, I scooped him into the sink.

And drowned him.

And now, instead of this ferocious beastie that tried to kill me,

you have this.

A little, teeny coffin for a ferocious beast of a wasp.

And I'm still alive.

Phew.

Love times a thousand.

You'll have to forgive this little post...
I just want to brag a little bit.
Okay, a lot.
Actually, just one sentence.  It sums it up nicely.
I LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL TO PIECES!!!!

Perfection...Perspective.

We are not your traditional family.

Nope.

One handsome, charming, outdoorsy, manly man of a husband.

One slightly batty, yet endearing, full of fun and quite eccentric wife.

One fuzzy, wuzzy, snuggly, buggly, leaping lizard cat named Jack.

AND

One lady like, chatty, watchful and loyal princess kitten named Lily Belle.

I understand that as an LDS family, we are certainly not normal.

FHE is a little weird, especially when Jack is in charge of treats.

Family scripture study is almost impossible because of our children's lack of thumbs and therefore, inability to turn pages.

They don't go to church.  That just ain't prudent.

(and Jack refuses to wear a tie and I just insist on my son wearing a tie.)

Our kids don't have chores.  Even if they did, the lack of thumbs holds them back.

Our couch, clothes, bed, towels, linens, blankets and well, everything is covered in fur.

We didn't toilet train our kids....they use a litter box.

No juice boxes here...just salmon crunchy treats.

No parent's night.

No talent shows.

No piano lessons.

No soccer games.

No homework. (hooray!)

I've had quite a bit of time to ponder this lately.

Some of you understand why.

It's been a difficult week, probably because I've been focusing on all the things that I DON'T have.

On all the things that I CAN'T do.

On all the things that I'll NEVER BE.

And then-  I learned something.

My life is pretty darn good.

And...that's good enough for me.

So, to heck with the rest of it.

Mitt Romney, My Job and My Customers.

BEWARE!  Political Post ahead...
Just want to share this with you...
I don't get involved in politics normally, but I'm tired of being tired.  I'm tired of working so hard for nothing.  I'm tired of trying to move ahead and feeling stuck.  I'm tired of paying other people's bills with my hard earned money.  I'm tired of seeing my customers close up shop because they can't make ends meet.  I'm tired of having to tell them that it will get better soon, while not really believing it. 
I don't know about you, but I love my customers like they are family.  All of them. My job is to help them be successful. It breaks my heart and I feel like I've failed them when they are forced to close their doors.  I'm sick of it!  I'm sick of watching their hard earned money disappear.  I feel like I've been telling them that things are going to look up for years now...3 and a half years to be exact.  I'm tired of explaining that shipping costs have increased because fuel cost has increased and that causes product pricing to increase.  That doesn't help anyone.  It's a vicious and nasty cycle.  And I'm tired of it. 
I would hope that you are tired of it too.
I'm not saying that we have to elect Mitt Romney.  I'm saying that America needs a change.
I believe that he is the man that can do it.
Again, I saw what he did for the SLC Winter Olympics.
I believe he can do that for America.
I believe that he can make us proud to be Americans again.
I believe that he can help me help my customers so that they can help their customers.
I want my customers back.
I want my America back.
Do you?

Bigotry is soooo last century...

Dear normal followers, I apologize for this not light hearted fun post.  I have to get this off of my chest because it's bugging the crud out of me.  So, forgive me for this one little political moment.

In America, we pride ourselves on being "the land of the free".  We pride ourselves on not discriminating against anyone.  When I say anyone, I mean anyone.  We don't care if you're white, black, purple, red, pink, green, brown, yellow or a bright tattooed rainbow of colors.  Good for you.  Come on in.  If you are Donald Trump rich, or homeless kid poor, come on over.  We accept you if you are from any country in the world.  We accept you so much that we don't even make you have a green card to come in, unless you live in Arizona.  In fact, we'll pay your bills!

Americans don't discriminate because it's not fair.  We even have it in our country's constitution.  We believe that "All men are created equal".  All men. And even women.

Unless, of course, you're a Mormon.  Or a Mormon woman.
Why do we claim that bigotry is a thing of the past?  It's not.  This whole presidential race has brought to light what bigots we actually are.

We can't possibly elect a Mormon to be the President of the good ole' US of A.  That would be a tragedy!  And...how dare his wife say that she understands the economy?  She's a stay at home mom for pete's sake!  She has no clue.

I take pride in being a Mormon woman.  I wish I was a stay at home mom.  I take pride in being gentle, good and kind.  I take pride in being a good, God Fearing, Christian woman.

Do you?

Just wondering...

Also, who will you vote for this November?
This man who believes in families, military and being a good person?

Or, this man who has seemed to destroy this country in one brush of his "yes, we can" hand?

I'll tell you right now.  I'm not voting for Mitt because he's a Mormon.  I'm voting for Mitt because he's a good man.  I'm voting for Mitt because I lived in Utah during the Olympics and I've seen what he can do.  I'm voting for Mitt because this country needs a champion, not some man who goes to Disneyworld for press conferences.  I'm voting for Mitt because his beliefs are the closest to my own.  I'm voting for Mitt because I'm an American and I have that privelege.

Make your own choice, but don't do it based on religion.  That doesn't make you informed, it makes you a bigot.

Chew on that for a while....