30 Day Challenge: Day 12 - Something I Love

Well this can be a never ending blog post because I love lots of things. I love the scent of the air after a rainshower, vanilla, kettle corn, & Herbal Essences shampoo. I love the feel of a fleece blanket on a cold evening or the sun on a beautiful summer afternoon. I love looking at art and anything depicting a serene peaceful environment. I love the sound of the ocean, breaking glass, and music that suits my mood. I love the taste of pizza, chinese food, and anything else not good for my health. Yet the thing I love the most would have to be Keagan & Taliya!

30 Day Challenge: Day 11 - A Thing I Hate

I know, I know! I'm behind in writing...so goes my life lately :-) I'm only ten days behind schedule so I'll catch up, eventually!!

Today's topic is a tough one because I pride myself on not hating anything or anyone. Hate is such a polarizing term and I tend to go with disliking things but hate, not so much. So a quick list of items I dislike:

**Magenta (although I just bought an Under Armor shirt that happens to be this exact color, don't judge me)
**Exhusbands...well to be fair, I dislike my own not necessarily everyones
**Spiders - yuck!
**Day Light Savings Time or is it the other one?!? Either/Or I hate when it gets dark early!
**Slow drivers. Every road should have 2 lanes...one for those who follow the law and one for me!!
**People with opinions who don't or won't follow them their selves.
**Being bored and falling off the straight and narrow.
**The fact my mother lives so far away.

As I'm sitting here thinking of my dislikes I can honestly say I hate people who feel "Entitled"!!!! Please keep in mind if you read this and are offended, it's my opinion. Elder David Bednar has said "Certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else." So with that being said...

Nobody is entitled to anything!! Guess what, not everyone can win at everything. Parents today have truly done their children a disservice for giving them a trophy for every little thing. Every young "Johnny" wants to grow up and be the next MLB pitcher or NFL quarterback. It's not going to happen...enjoy playing as a child, it's ok to fail, it's what makes us grow stronger. How often have you watched American Idol and little "Jenny" comes on to belt out Whitney Houston because her parents have, throughout her entire life, told her she can sing?? I'm grateful my parents & siblings were candid enough to tell me the truth...my strength is not in the vocal department. This goes on in sports, the arts, clubs, etc...

Anyhow, I won't delve into my thoughts on welfare entitlements but I'm sure you can figure out my thoughts.

30 Day Challenge: Day 10 - A Memory from 10 years ago

Seeing as I don't keep a journal (yes it's on my "to do" list, no I haven't begun it yet...please stop nagging me!) my 10 years of reference will include 2 memories from Jan 2001 & Sept 2001...although both unpleasant, they each had an impact on my life in a positive manner.

Jan 2001 - DWF (Divorced White Female) - I can either look at Jan 17, 2001 as the day my divorce was final or the day I finally righted a wrong. Either way, it was a bitter sweet moment. If anyone knows me, they understand I hate being told what to do and I hate to be wrong. With that being said, I was wrong and I should have listened. I will never repeat those words so suck it up now people :-)

Sept 2001 - Tobey Keith said it best: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/keith-toby/courtesy-of-the-red-white-and-blue-10125.html
A day none of us will ever forget. A day our hearts will always mourn. A moment when we joined together as Americans and placed our differences aside.

30 Day Challenge; Day 9 - Something I Don't Leave My House Without

If you know me, and the fact you are reading this totally awesome blog tells me that you do, then you already know I would most likely forget my head if it weren't attached to my body. If by some cosmic occurence you weren't privvy to that fact, then 1.) you are obviously not paying attention or 2.) you are as oblivious to stuff as I am. If either of these things are true, then I'd suggest you speak with my brother Brad who has to call and remind me to return his Lord of the Rings DVD collection (or any movie for that matter) or his power tools on a daily basis until I return his belongings. Or you can check in with my daughter who is well practiced at rolling her eyes and exclaiming "Mom, you forget everything!" And don't bother asking Keagan because that apple didn't fall too far from this tree.

Now what is today's blog about? Oh that's right, what don't I leave home without. I can tell you it's not the kids...I would leave them home deliberately just so I don't have to hear Keagan complain that Taliya is singing the boy songs on the radio. (In his defense...singing is not a career choice for Miss T.) I do take Cullen with me most places but even he stays home with the kids from time to time. The one object, other then my good looks & witty personality, that I take with me everytime I step out of my house, would be my cell phone.

Yes people, this little 2-1/4" x 4-1/4" x 1/2" technological device (I just measured it so the dimesnsions are accurate) is both a blessing and a curse and never leaves my side. If I was stranded on a desereted island I would want Shemar Moore but I'll take my Samsung Acclaim as a suitable alternative. I read the news, my email, talk to my family, text (although not while driving, because that would be just wrong), listen to music, and a multitude of other daily activites all from this small piece of equipment.

I did leave my phone at home once and after the initial feeling of my world crashing around me, I felt a sense of peace. I wasn't bound to that evil device for 12 whole hours and survived. So love it or hate it...it's never too far away.

30 Day Challenge: Day 8 - A Song That Fits My Mood

Music! I love music! So what song fits my mood? Good freaking question!!

As a female you can imagine how my mood changes daily. Scratch that....hourly!! I'm a plethora of emotion at any given moment. At this precise moment I'm sort of blah! What is that emotion exactly you ask...I'm guessing it's that feeling between being premenstral and waving goodbye to Aunt Flo. Yes, you are welcome for that visual. So with that being said, today's song to fit my mood is Alanis Morissette's "I'm a B***h"...

30 Day Challenge: Day 7 - A Picture that Make Me Laugh

I'm 1 of 6 so I know the burden of getting us all together to take a family portrait. I also know the love of duct tape!

Open Letter to Daniel Tosh

I have recently become a huge Daniel Tosh/Tosh.O fan. So much so, that last night as I was channel flipping between the Boston Celtics/Milwaukee Bucks game and “Happy Thoughts” on Comedy Central, I actually posted my Facebook status to read…”Celtics game/Daniel Tosh…I really need a picture in picture television”. You know it’s real when it becomes Facebook official. Anyhow, it wasn’t 2 minutes later as I flipped from a lazy Celtics offense back to Daniel Tosh’s Happy Thoughts that ol’ Daniel rips into the Mormons. Was I offended? No, I don’t become offended (which is probably not a good thing), but I did delete my Facebook status and changed it to read “Celtics!”

So what’s my point you ask? I’m not really sure but if I spew enough bs in this email I’ll come up with something eventually, because I reside as much as the next guy (gal) down in the gutter. However, when it comes to my faith (Yes I’m a Mormon), I become protective. Similar to the mentality of I can ‘pick on my siblings but if anyone else does it, that’s just not OK.’ Oh wait, I found my point…If you become Mormon you can make all the jokes you want, because they are funny, but coming from a non-Mormon I’m just left shaking my head.