tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65809005988772104002024-02-21T18:26:28.553-08:00Lisa's ruminations...you wondered what she was thinking, maybe this will enlighten...lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-45835837799588213822014-01-13T16:48:00.001-08:002014-01-13T16:48:44.510-08:00Classic Lisa moment #...can't keep track anymore.Last week at work brought about another classic blunder to add to my portfolio. I was at work on Wednesday. My coworker was out that day, so I was the only running our area. I had documents to stamp case numbers on, but my stamper was out of ink. So I got my bottle of ink out and went to pour ink onto the stamp pad, when to my shrieking surprise, the stopper came right out of the bottle, instead of doing it's job and maintaining a slow flow of ink! All of it right onto my desk and all over my hands. Yes, I had to clean up the desk and work through the rest of the day with black ink-stained hands. To top it off, that next half hour became the busiest of my day. Of course, Murphy's law. So attorney's, law clerks all needed something right then, and I got to explain my blackened hands multiple times.<br />
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But I will tell you, if you have hairspray around, that will remove ink from your hands or any other area of skin you decide to write or paint on :)lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-77886936437222930032013-08-26T13:03:00.001-07:002013-08-26T13:04:13.271-07:00Musings on...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My friends and I are in a book club and we just finished reading this book. My family has a book club, and we read this one earlier in the year as well. Yes, probably a very simple book, but I really enjoyed it. In the back of the book, it gave a quiz that helped you figure out which "faction" (one of 5 groups divided up by desired personality traits) you belonged to. The factions are Abnegation, who desire to think of others and not themselves; Amity, who desire peace with others above all else; Erudite, who desire wisdom and value logic; Candor, who seek for happiness and friendliness; and Dauntless, who value courage and bravery over the other traits. We discussed which ones were most important and what we thought of each one, as portrayed in the book.<br />
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Lately I have tried to better at observing people, trying to find out what makes them do what they do, to understand what triggers their behavior. What's been a little interesting to me, is to see how behaviors change over the years. As people get older and have experiences, their reactions to people and things change. Our tastes, and even what we look for in a friend or companion, changes. And yet, what do you do with those relationships that have been in over time, that may have evolved to something different than what it had started out to be? Those relationships are still important and require even more work to stay with and see why you're in them.<br />
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It's hard to always be focused on others and their feelings and wishes, when over time, the natural man tends to direct us towards only what makes "me" happy. It can become harder and harder to think about others when you start developing the attitude that "I will do whatever I want and what makes me happy". And I'm going to throw it out there, it's hard to always think of others when you've been single. Being single is not necessarily the best place to develop selfless traits. It can be done and should be attmpted, but it's hard. It feels like, when you make decisions, they only affect yourself, but really, they don't. Married or Single, what we choose to do, affects many others and when we see ourselves in a small bubble, alone where only my will matters, we move onto a slippery slope. It causes us to take for granted the relationships we have, to treat others like their "smaller" or "less important" than they really are. Our struggle to see things from someone else's point of view keeps us grounded on who is important in life. <br />
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It's hard to do everything we feel we SHOULD be doing when life is so busy, usually with kids, work, callings, needs of others, that all we really want is to take time for ourselves. And that is okay to do. We all need some time to step out of everyone else's light and replenish our own. But, I am a firm believer that it will never be a detriment to us, to be kind, thoughtful, warm, forgiving or interested in others. Those actions take work. Relationships with others take work, no matter if those are friend relationships or spouses. Sometimes, it seems the relationships that take more effort are the ones where we actually know the person really well. <br />
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Every person is different. The quiz from the back of the book showed that me and all my friends are different, we focus on different things. We look at others differently, therefore treating them differently. Yet, moving past that, to strengthen individual relationships is key. If you want to keep a relationship, you have to work (meaning consider, forgive and being kind when it may be hard to be kind) at those. Each one of the traits from the book had to work together and when they didn't, when they looked to "faction before blood" they forgot how much more there was outside of the bubble they had created.<br />
<br />lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-22347406087294128152013-08-23T11:41:00.001-07:002013-08-23T11:41:54.898-07:00Rough Stone Rolling...In a week, I will be embarking on a LDS Church History tour. I am super excited to see many places where early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were taught the gospel and joined the church, to then move to gather with the Saints in various places throughout the early part of the 1830s. Our tour starts in Niagara Falls, which has nothing to do with the history of the church, but sounds like a good enough place to start right? Then we move through Mendon NY, where the Young and Kimball families lived before joining the church; Palmyra NY Joseph Smith and his family lived; down to Susquehanna PA where Joseph and Emma lived for a time with her family; then onto Ohio and the towns of Kirtland, Fairport Harbor and Hiram, where the early Saints started to gather. I have always loved reading about the early Saints of our church, their desires to gain testimonies of this new religion, their struggles with their neighbors and their seeking out a place to worship. I am a beneficiary of their sacrifices and hard work. I am grateful for my ancestors who participated in these historic moments and am so glad to I get to go see their hard work in moving westward across the country and their building of temples and other cities that helped expand their religion, as well as America.<br />
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As part of our tour, we are asked to memorize vignettes of early church members. I am to memorize a synopsis of Louisa Young, a sister of Brigham Young. His entire family, he and his 9 siblings, all joined the church, and never left it. Pretty stalwart. There's something about walking where they walked, immersing yourself into their lives, trying to see the world from their point of view, to see if you could do the same. Would I have been strong enough to uproot my life, to struggle for years as the church tried to find a foothold somewhere and to eventually leave all of it behind either to death or by crossing the plains to a desolate valley. I'd like to think I would, but who knows. My friends and I who are going have been reading the book "Rough Stone Rolling," a biography of sorts of Joseph Smith. We have just finished reading the sections that take us to Kirtland and the development of Joseph's leadership styles and abilities. How rough he was to start, trying to learn the way God spoke to him and how, as unlearned in the ways of the world that he was, to move people, to turn them towards God. I'm excited to see where his mission took him. lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-6983660263039146622013-07-02T12:54:00.000-07:002013-07-02T12:54:11.657-07:00Positive Reaction to more Reality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This picture says it all for me. I don't remember consciously comparing myself to Barbie. But I have compared myself to many girls who are much more thin than myself. But when I saw this "new" Barbie, my mind rushed to praise the person who did this! Thank you, because this is much more real! (I'd buy that Barbie for my pretend daughter...)lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-39798765613560469772013-07-01T11:38:00.003-07:002013-07-01T11:38:59.695-07:00Church wide BroadcastA week ago, the church had a broadcast event that the ward councils were asked to attend, along with any other interested members. It was a great broadcast and I recommend you take some time to watch all 2 hours of it.<br />
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http://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening/special-broadcast?cid=HPL1P01W01031&lang=eng<br />
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I came away with a renewed and hastened sense of what I should be doing. I fall short often, but I know what I should be doing. Sometimes, the work gets tiring. Sometimes people don't want to get involved either. And, each person has to make a decision on where they are and how much they are willing to offer up of themselves. I've been reading the book "Rough Stone Rolling" that attempts to take a look at Joseph Smith's life from both sides of the coin. While written by an LDS author, he tries to portray for the reader the situations of the time, so everyone can understand what context the restoration took place in. It's been interesting so far. As I have read the book, which is a pretty large and wordy undertaking, I've been struck by how much work and effort the restoration and living the gospel took. And quite frankly, living any religion of the day took. Compared to our fast and furious technological capabilities now, the effort anything required during the early 1800s seems like so much. Yet, they did it. These religious pioneers changed their lives! I am currently reading in a chapter that discusses the settling of Kirtland, and the religious fervor that took hold in that area before the Mormons moved in. There were Methodists, Campellites, Free Baptists all in that newly formed village. These folks had to build their own churches, pack up for a day at church as they came in from their various farms. Participate in other activities the churches organized, paid for their ministers, etc. Then the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints moved in, and similarly, they built their temple over the course of years, had to run their farms, met on Sunday's to hear the word taught to them, took care of the sick and the needy, made most everything they had, etc. And in the mix there, many newly baptized men were being called on missions, to leave their families and go for their new religion, many times just days after being baptized. And they went! So as I watched this broadcast, I was struck with where this request and commandment falls in with the timeline of the church's restoration to the earth and how we fall into this grand timeline of commandments, sacrifice and blessings. Sometimes I feel that we don't fully understand what it means to fully commit to the gospel, and then other times, I see it in the lives of many members in my ward. They have committed to living and serving ALL those around them and that, according to our leaders, is just the beginning of this new period in the restoration. lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-36910637118880751872013-06-10T15:35:00.001-07:002013-06-10T15:35:17.366-07:00Moving dateMy little cozy condo in La Jolla is soon be switched out for a cozy little home in my same ward, just on the other side of the canyon. My landlord gave us notice that they would not be renewing our lease at the end of July, so we were on a frantic 2 week search for our next place to hang our hats. It's been a little bittersweet. It's always nice to call a place home and settle in. I've been settling in this place for 7 years! But the life of a renter hit me full force as we were on the lookout for a new place.<br />
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Our new abode is a cute little house on a corner lot surrounded by families and other cute homes. There is a backyard that we can plant our garden in and have flowers and new carpet and paint. The kitchen appliances are also newer and the cabinets were all refinished with new hardware. It's a cute house that has a charm to it. It didn't get us anymore bedroom space, but it is a 4 bedroom so the three of us will have a room to expand at least (craft/project room?!) and the kitchen is good size, with a dining area that is large as well. We have some good storage in the garage too. So, it's a nice set up, in a nice neighborhood that I definitely feel comfortable running in and closer to the local grocery store that we like to frequent. I will miss my little condo area. A lot of the young families and couples live in the condo area of our ward and they are a fun crew, and we see them often walking around, at the grocery store. The temple was pretty much a hop, skip and a jump from our place. We could see it from our patio. Our little house will be kind of tucked back into a neighborhood, which is great when you don't want to hear the crazy student parties that were held in our complex, or not hear all the cars driving through our parking areas at crazy times of night. I won't miss the guy who locked himself out of his car at 2am in the morning, and proceeded to talk for an hour on the phone while he waited for AAA to come unlock his doors. That was fabulous conversation eaves dropping (though I can see how folks would rather SLEEP DURING THAT TIME OF NIGHT!). So there are things to not be missed.<br />
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So cheers to the new housing adventure, cheers to the new neighborhood and to ingratiating ourselves into the good graces of our new neighbors. Our little western corner of the ward will hopefully be better because we moved there. Hey, hope the neighbors like cupcakes.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-43344806586821902292013-06-07T16:57:00.001-07:002013-06-07T16:57:45.127-07:00Fast and SlowRemember those days when you couldn't wait for the next Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings film to come out, not caring that a whole year at least, would go by in the meantime. Life could be measured by the yearly Harry Potter installment, when we'd age another year with Harry. What's crazy is, I didn't really care that all that time went by. But now, it's all I can to to keep up with the fast paced speed that life is flying by and yet all I want it to do is slow down.<br />
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One of the best things my friends and I were able to do while we took a trip to Austin, was to float lazily down the Guadalupe River, down near New Braunfels. We rented tubes, and slipped into slow moving current, that propelled us at a snails pace down about a mile. It took us about 1.5 hours to get down the river. And yet, those 1.5 hours were just fabulous. I haven't sat for that long, with no distractions, no pressures, no social media buzzing from my purse. Time stood still.<br />
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When we returned, it picked right back up. Work, church, family, friends, all need my time and I am more than willing to give it. What's crazy is how fast that time gets filled. This weekend, one of my friends is getting married and last night was her bridal shower. Her sisters threw a fabulous garden dinner party and then gift opening and games into the evening. The best part was, many other friends who once lived here and moved away came back for the weekend. While standing with a couple of friends, all we could say was how amazing that about 1.5 years had gone by since the first one moved away and got married, then a couple more followed and here we were today, with my group of girlfriends splitting up. This is the ebb and flow of single girl hood. You make friends, close friends, who become your stable table, since you are most likely away from your families. And then those friends start to move away to other things. That table starts to wobble a little bit until you steady it with more friends who move into your circle. Throw in the added bonus of having to move to a new place when your landlord calls to say they are not renewing your lease at the end of July and your table legs rock a little more. But those moments of wobbly instability cause you to consider where you are in life and if what you're currently doing is going to steady your table enough. I haven't yet figured that part out, but I do know that these moments where the legs feel worn down, don't stay that way forever and they can be good motivators to make those sturdying changes. So I guess we'll see where this moment of upheaval takes me, whether it is here or there, or anywhere, the days move on and you end up where you're supposed to be.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-59405169547064225252013-05-21T10:37:00.001-07:002013-05-21T10:40:18.660-07:00A new dessert blog to follow<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>I love looking at desserts and thinking that I'm going to make them all. So when I found this one, I was excited, yet again, to find more dessert options. </i></span><br />
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http://www.grandbaby-cakes.com/<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.grandbaby-cakes.com/2013/05/cinnamon-roll-pound-cake.html">Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake</a> looks divinely delicious!</span></i>lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-59896163379238137722013-03-09T07:55:00.000-08:002013-03-09T07:55:00.525-08:00Saturday Morning thoughtsIt's been a while since I wrote anything. So maybe I should try something. It's Saturday morning. I have a busy few weeks at work. It's been project after project, with no real slow down since October. Now, with the government sequestering money and taking it back from agencies, we have less money, but still have to do the same amount of work. So, less positions are filled, luckily no furloughs as of yet for my office, but more work to go around. But today, I have a little chance to relax. I spend the night at my friends house and today, 4 of us are headed up to the Newport Beach temple to do a session. It's been a nice relaxing morning so far, I've gotten my visiting teaching report requests out, and I am updating, in a haphazard fashion my blog. I've been overwhelmed the last few weeks with things I needed to do and responsibilities and it's so nice to just take a day. I've been reading a book called "The Great Decision," and I probably should have read something else. It was so interesting, it was about the Marbury v. Madison decision of hte 1803 Supreme Court, which put the Supreme Court on the same level with the Executive and Legislative branch, allowing it to be a check and balance as the constitution called for. But, I work in a courthouse every day, so maybe something with some levity would have been preferred. But I found it required me to really think, and maybe I'll do a book review on it, just to show I did make it through.<br />
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I've made risotto twice now, and I have to say, it's becoming my new favorite dish. It's so creamy, can be rich with flavor and filling. So good. Life is moving ever faster to me, I can't believe it's March already and maybe that's caused some reflection. Three of my sisters are having babies this year, it will be the third for each one. So by the end of the year I will have 12 nieces and nephews. I measure my life sometimes in these birthdays and events that happen, and it occasionally sparks a little jealous note that it would be nice to measure my life with my own events like that. Instead, I throw trips into the mix to measure my life. A couple friends and I are going to Austin, TX in April to see the place. I am running a race the end of March, a little 5k in Balboa Park to raise money for Autism research. I will hit my 2 year mark as being Relief Society president in June. Life measurements have different markers for me, but that's okay. But sometimes, it would be nice to be able to measure life like so many others around me. And yet, I have a great group of friends who are in the same boat as me, who feel that same way, and so it's not so lonely. If I have to be in this boat, I'm rowing along with some fantastic people, and it's not an empty boat.<br />
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Okay, that's enough seriousness.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-66818872042608450372013-01-22T13:33:00.000-08:002013-01-22T13:33:41.817-08:00Vacation to the EastNo, not to the far east, but the east coast, Virginia to be exact. A few friends and I had been planning this trip for a number of months and it finally came! Blessed day! It came at a great time when I needed a break from work and some other items that press for my time. Our first day was filled with Delta Airlines, leaving from San Diego through Detroit, to Richmond Virginia. That little puddle jumper from Detroit to Richmond was certainly not my favorite. Still Delta, still the wonderful Biscoff cookies that they serve, but I think the little planes allow me to feel the air beneath us just a little too much. I didn't feel very well through that whole flight. But, in reality, I never feel wonderfully well on planes anyway.<br />
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We flew into Richmond, picked up our rental car and began our first adventure-to navigate our way to the Gholson homestead. After getting on the magnificent toll road, we got off on the correct parkway, but took off on the wrong exit. Should have taken 2nd Iron Bridge instead of the 1st exit. (Don't worry, by our last day there, we finally had it figured out). We met up with Ron and Katie, to then go back into Richmond for fabulous food in an area of downtown that is being renovated. Bottom's Up Pizza is fantastic, huge pies and pretty much fantastic! I got one slice and could not eat the whole thing. I think it was bigger than my plate. What's cool about all the shops around there is that they are old tobacco warehouses that are renovated to bring business to that area. I am a sucker for things old, walking the Riverwalk was just up my alley!lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-71328426806089671582013-01-17T11:52:00.004-08:002013-01-17T11:52:54.347-08:00Where did 2012 Go!!!???!!!I know, this year has been the worst in terms of me updating my blog and the world on my life. I can't imagine how my fans have got along with out this :) But don't worry, there will be updates coming. As a recap, the 2nd half of the year was full, with a few trips to see my family, work being busy, church responsibilities and of course the time spent with fabulous friends here in San Diego. It was a busy year and one that I need to recap for my own remembrance at least. So here's to updating!lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-73580889594300899402012-09-05T19:51:00.000-07:002012-09-05T19:51:26.045-07:00Results of the GardenI have kept you in suspense! I'm sure you were standing by waiting to see what happened...not. But here are the results. We have seen tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peppers, a couple zucchini's. Our strawberries, unfortunately, didn't produce this year and our yellow squash decided to not really do well. But it was a good first test of how we would do with a patio garden. It was fun to get out every day to water, to harvest and get excited when it was growing!<br />
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lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-83256243963144521112012-05-20T20:42:00.000-07:002012-05-20T20:42:08.413-07:00How does your garden grow?This spring, my roommate and I wanted to do more with our patio than in years past. We found an online store called "The Growbox" that guaranteed better patio gardens. We bought a few of these boxes, found some vegetable plants and are hoping that we will reap a bounty of fruit from our labors. I haven't been really good at updating my blog, so I'm a little behind. But I wanted to do a little series on how this garden is growing and how I'm feeling while daily working in our porch garden.<br />
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We planted tomato plants, a cucumber, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, green pole beans and a small strawberry plant. We have some a little herb garden growing as well, from seedlings that we got at a Relief Society activity. This grow box system had "nutrient patches" that were placed on top of the soil. The plants roots actually drop down into a bottom box that we keep full of water. As long as we keep that water box full, the plants grow. Even though we've been dealing with some May gray here in San Diego, it hasn't been bad and the plants have soaked in about 6 hours of sun a day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVJD_mMjtmkHoZyYAZ5CyC5N-ZnTd1BScucaeMBpeRcgfGS9mYJJRiEDl6HRW1c7K03K1b9Jtm0NYqRuGCx18990eyGBcu69DX_1aiOm661Qw68ZT3VDV5nHzsRvjQfbbpx_z-7MVoQlh/s1600/IMAG0134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVJD_mMjtmkHoZyYAZ5CyC5N-ZnTd1BScucaeMBpeRcgfGS9mYJJRiEDl6HRW1c7K03K1b9Jtm0NYqRuGCx18990eyGBcu69DX_1aiOm661Qw68ZT3VDV5nHzsRvjQfbbpx_z-7MVoQlh/s320/IMAG0134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj345J1LK6j-FezKxTtRpMUCl94Mk_31ZbvB5C3gFS-YadV6nZIQ_U84K55aiHw82P_XkW2d_Cfj382yxchhVjh7B96dXia_kjJip4XTsnlaR59puB7P6MRBq-57HFkc2xHTjOoczQcsyoI/s1600/IMAG0140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj345J1LK6j-FezKxTtRpMUCl94Mk_31ZbvB5C3gFS-YadV6nZIQ_U84K55aiHw82P_XkW2d_Cfj382yxchhVjh7B96dXia_kjJip4XTsnlaR59puB7P6MRBq-57HFkc2xHTjOoczQcsyoI/s320/IMAG0140.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It took us the afternoon to fill the boxes and plant our garden. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. I reflected back on my high school summers and spending them out in Utah on my mom's aunt and uncles farm. They have a large cherry farm. For a few weeks during the summer, they harvest the cherries. It was the most physically demanding work I have ever done. My first summer I worked the days during harvest, driving tractors out to the trees and different orchards. My next two summers, I worked the night shift. For 3 weeks, I'd go out to the orchards about 10pm and work till about 8am. Go home and then sleep and then go back out in the afternoon for a little bit of work in the apple trees, go back in for dinner, take a nap then go back out to work at 10pm to start my shift again. But there's something to be said and valued from physical labor. You have tangible results. I sometimes don't like sitting at a desk job all day. I read and study new legal rules, take in paperwork and put out paperwork. But I love the feeling and results from physical work and going to bed physically tired. So while this little garden is not that physically demanding, it does require daily care and attention. This principle of daily attention can work so well with our spiritual nature as well.<br />
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Today in church, Elder Callister shared a story of a parent asking a music teacher, how often her daughter needed to practice the cello, did she really need to practice every day. No, the teacher replied, she doesn't need to practice every day. The teacher asked how often the child ate? Every day is the answer. So the teacher said the child should practice just as often as she eats then. If we need to eat daily, we should provide sustenance to our spiritual bodies daily too. Our garden needs daily attention, to check the water, to make sure the tomato plants are staying in their cage, to pull off dead leaves and thin out the yellow squash. I need to pay attention to my spirit with the same daily care. So I'm going to try to keep the updates on the garden coming, and use the analogy in my life as well.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-50622450154804561672012-01-16T16:15:00.000-08:002012-01-16T16:15:54.128-08:00Days off...too much time to thinkOne perk about working for the federal government is the federal holidays that come with it. Today is one of those days. After spending the morning outside, it was time to come home and enjoy the 55 degree, drizzly day by turning on the fire and ruminating.<br />
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The last week has been somewhat of a puzzle. I have hit another one of those moments where you have to make a future career choice. There's just too many scenarios that play out in my mind. This choice could lead here, this one could lead there. Sometimes these options are too political for me. I don't like the politics involved. If I decide to stick with the current direction, others that could make decisions about my future career might not like that. But if I take a job that has opened up, I may be putting myself in a position I don't know how to move out of in the future. Then, it wouldn't look so good if I took a job to then try to move to another in just a little while.<br />
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So, what to do? I know life doesn't turn out the way anyone expects. I never really thought I'd have to take every 3-5 years figuring out what to do in a career which has always stayed out of the Goal-#1-slot. The gap between where hopes and expectations and reality stand and stare at eachother is sometimes a hard chasm to fill. Somehow it has to be filled in order to feel things are ok with the world.<br />
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So, here we go again. attempting to cross that gap and accept that there are some things I can control and that there are some things I can't. And all will be ok.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-73703981290164409832011-12-25T16:36:00.000-08:002011-12-25T22:39:00.815-08:00Christmas Time is Here<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How quickly the year has come to a close! My intentions to send out cards, while well and good, just didn't happen. So this is my attempt to make up for that and hopefully spread some Christmas cheer through this e-note.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjog3ht7uUWnE6cdfjMSrFAjmb9tx_P8ZCGLTwa6-Bdb3CB-baN21DM2rMGfLd6l-C2JTgwUDfiA2bwemUwdvalCO9ou2OIgYV5hLlHop4M45MiEcVagOstxxdu8Ahw7lfz8HMPad5VH93o/s1600/temple.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjog3ht7uUWnE6cdfjMSrFAjmb9tx_P8ZCGLTwa6-Bdb3CB-baN21DM2rMGfLd6l-C2JTgwUDfiA2bwemUwdvalCO9ou2OIgYV5hLlHop4M45MiEcVagOstxxdu8Ahw7lfz8HMPad5VH93o/s200/temple.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xzJGtwrC52PO5pHWDNQsOiZOGgzLXFU_adkTkPkKpGnFUEQP0aYlG5MKT9aKe3LQ093geL-CZkQgGO_m14a4k_S9Ndb-hTpK0Hid40cXnI5m0dmrGJC9RSrM2oCpMO-pUyY0N4Gvqh3G/s1600/P3190003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xzJGtwrC52PO5pHWDNQsOiZOGgzLXFU_adkTkPkKpGnFUEQP0aYlG5MKT9aKe3LQ093geL-CZkQgGO_m14a4k_S9Ndb-hTpK0Hid40cXnI5m0dmrGJC9RSrM2oCpMO-pUyY0N4Gvqh3G/s200/P3190003.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The past few years when </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Christmas has come around, I've reflected and thought to myself, "I've learned a lot. This is the most productive and enlightening year to date." And then the next year comes to a close and come to find, nope this one beat out the previous year. So again, I will let you in on the secret that I don't know much of anything, as evidence by the continuous revolving door of lifelong learning that I seem to be in. Seriously, I can truly say that his past year has been the most eventful, most fun, most physically and emotionally demanding but also the most rewarding year so far. And all this gets to happen in beautiful sunny San Diego! Highlights: Journey concert(yup, I saw them:); summer evening picnics on Coronado; Cabrillo National Monument; walking La Jolla cove and La Jolla shores; running through my own neighborhood near the temple; working in the temple; the fair where you can eat fried Kool Aid and snickers to your hearts content and see the Beach Boys live; murder mystery parties; Girls Conference weekend in Palm Springs; there was just a lot going on.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u><b><i>Like Rabbits </i></b></u></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhQvXRkYHIBNpWndw9BLSVmp7SRLFhS0_O8qd8_Cp5zu2VPdIYmbpcQjx4j7Y_aUBSLu2iFwaY8nfzcYbIsu0PvdMmGBMq8jOPEZbT2FNEaZY1ygSv9v7qiDT05ZUeVJ0M6akaLu43d6F/s1600/lisa+and+erica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhQvXRkYHIBNpWndw9BLSVmp7SRLFhS0_O8qd8_Cp5zu2VPdIYmbpcQjx4j7Y_aUBSLu2iFwaY8nfzcYbIsu0PvdMmGBMq8jOPEZbT2FNEaZY1ygSv9v7qiDT05ZUeVJ0M6akaLu43d6F/s200/lisa+and+erica.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This year, I looked forward to 4 new nieces or nephews. Brigitte and Tyler started it off when their daughter Erica Allison Brown was born in February. I was able to go to Utah along with other family for her blessing and to hang out with the family there. I forgot how cold Utah is but have to say, I do miss the seasons. While I appreciate the season of winter, the snow can stay in the mountains for me to go play in when I want to.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Next up was Melissa and Kiel, who added number two to their little clan in August. Rhyan Patrice Christensen was born and offered another chance for all the family to get together this time in Southern California. All of us, all 5 of my siblings and their families were able to be there, spend a day at the beach and spend Sunday celebrating September birthdays and enjoy eachother's company.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">November, when the seasons change and fall sometimes visits Southern California, brought about another addition. Jace McKay Jordan was born on early Thanksgiving morning to Shelley and Steve. Good Morning! It was pretty much planned by Shelley that Thanksgiving would be in the hospital, so they stayed out in Yucaipa, while their kids with my parents and I met up at Kiel and Melissa's house for dinner and family fun. This little guy will be blessed in January.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And we are awaiting a Christmas addition. Brittany and Gabe are expecting Sophie Keogan any day now, wrapped in a bow I'm sure. That will add 3 nieces and 1 nephew, for a total of 9!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u><i>Running Against the Wind</i></u></b></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Around the beginning of the year, some of my girlfriends concocted the brilliant idea of all of us single gals running in the <a href="http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/southerncalifornia">Ragnar Relay</a>* series race. Pretty much, this sounded like the craziest thing I could do, considering I don't love running and never was very good at it. But, 11 other single ladies and I spent 2 days and 1 night running our teams distance of 200 miles, through Southern California, ending back across the San Diego bay on Coronado island. Yup, one of the most physically demanding things I've ever done. From there, we were unstoppable. The Single Ladies signed up for another one, in September, this time in the Bay Area, running from San Francisco through the Napa wine country. 190 miles total. And just in case my body didn't have enough, I did the Camp Pendleton Mud Run in June, 6 miles of military style obstacles on the Marine base and then in October, the Crafton Hills 5k, that my brother in law Steve organized to benefit the local fire and emergency responders. Why not?!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-h9-wcnscX23rroBrtbcwY94fILhSkczmbVoFhUL0h4lA9Xzd82d4eUDbrSGOw9UlJBQmsndoy_Lk4qjGbcRFw-1B4jw7STw6Oto7Am6Cs8j0LCzlsZ1tFovMz2rVIPv08oVG59wvhGg/s1600/mud+run+shoes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-h9-wcnscX23rroBrtbcwY94fILhSkczmbVoFhUL0h4lA9Xzd82d4eUDbrSGOw9UlJBQmsndoy_Lk4qjGbcRFw-1B4jw7STw6Oto7Am6Cs8j0LCzlsZ1tFovMz2rVIPv08oVG59wvhGg/s200/mud+run+shoes.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">(*Don't worry, the Single Ladies will be back on the track again this April, this time under the pseudonym Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Check your local SoCal listings for when they may be running in your vicinity.)</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><u>If at first you don't succeed, try, try again....</u></i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm not sure it's that I didn't succeed the first time, but for the 2nd time in as many years, I was called to be the Relief Society President, but this time in my new family ward! I left the world of Young Single Adult wards in October of 2010, having served as RS pres since April of 2009. I left and a more carefree feeling replaced it, as I was able to enjoy being calling-less for a few months. I got a calling as the Relief Society Activities coordinator in January and that was just fine for me: planning uplifting girl time was fabulous. We were hitting the summer months and I was feeling fine. "When all of sudden..there arose such a clatter"...in my heart. I felt like things were going to change up. So when my Bishop called me in, I wondered what it was going to be for, having a tiny inkling, but no idea what direction. I was pretty shocked when he threw this one out there. I had only been in the ward for 7 months. I went home, took a little time to just sit on my bed, go for a walk, come back, stare at the floor with a dumbstruck expression I'm sure. But here we are, 6 months later, round 2. And it's been a sometimes overwhelming, yet amazing experience so far.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i><u>On the Road Again...</u></i></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MfV0ARJt_4twA0pIGTqO7eGZi3YCySE8lNWDGFQBT8yFClj9iXhCvt3X5H6GuOa-aRQqAoMe8IKiArPrYdWeFBPrUD5D55japxiJ7Kyc0BfbpzEt0DPN8EgNcYzRU8ii5AaQaMvwEwN5/s1600/nashville.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MfV0ARJt_4twA0pIGTqO7eGZi3YCySE8lNWDGFQBT8yFClj9iXhCvt3X5H6GuOa-aRQqAoMe8IKiArPrYdWeFBPrUD5D55japxiJ7Kyc0BfbpzEt0DPN8EgNcYzRU8ii5AaQaMvwEwN5/s200/nashville.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbokJ49T-RwWV5QScEj_IeR92BeBnI0lv9XuC_xIf-eI8kWuzfT5x2lUqtTm9PWrhPbc4qECqYmgVMvzV4h7UiI9Z-Xi_CaeIWWSQqXmKLQI_2idhqj5fg3hYaao1xGaPKMx1nz5cPycLb/s1600/bry+ames+and+lisa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbokJ49T-RwWV5QScEj_IeR92BeBnI0lv9XuC_xIf-eI8kWuzfT5x2lUqtTm9PWrhPbc4qECqYmgVMvzV4h7UiI9Z-Xi_CaeIWWSQqXmKLQI_2idhqj5fg3hYaao1xGaPKMx1nz5cPycLb/s1600/bry+ames+and+lisa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbokJ49T-RwWV5QScEj_IeR92BeBnI0lv9XuC_xIf-eI8kWuzfT5x2lUqtTm9PWrhPbc4qECqYmgVMvzV4h7UiI9Z-Xi_CaeIWWSQqXmKLQI_2idhqj5fg3hYaao1xGaPKMx1nz5cPycLb/s200/bry+ames+and+lisa.JPG" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I pulled my traveling bags out again and took the girls with me to visit Grandma in Nashville. We got there as the tornados were going through, but fortunately for us they were not as bad through Nashville as they were through other areas in the south. We tried our hands at honkey tonking, southern bbq, Franklin street fair, southern plantation viewing Andrew Jackson style, and civil war battlefield viewing. We had a week long biscuit eating competition (we might have consumed more biscuits than should be humanly possible, no big deal). We tried to temper that with early morning runs down the parkway near grandma's house. Pretty much, Nashville in the springtime is fabulous!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4YCS7MOZ4uLkBNyzJ2JZ3Gy0mZuKWl4aCVOtxsQpMgfnqNdqWcV2KsNApnL5yNA7ap-7bZlrg6TlMFKuM0NklS9h-JeF-Hpey_hVEsVZTw09sEC_leqeCzGSsxMnUF84qrceo6v1maIV/s1600/lisa+and+celia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4YCS7MOZ4uLkBNyzJ2JZ3Gy0mZuKWl4aCVOtxsQpMgfnqNdqWcV2KsNApnL5yNA7ap-7bZlrg6TlMFKuM0NklS9h-JeF-Hpey_hVEsVZTw09sEC_leqeCzGSsxMnUF84qrceo6v1maIV/s200/lisa+and+celia.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Utah was another destination and while it might seem a pretty common experience to go there, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hit the beehive state 3 out of the 4 seasons. It was fun to see family and to go with all the girls to see our fabulous Rosey get married in October! I also was able to come up to Concord a couple times and enjoy being back on my home turf (running through the bay area was a new experience though, one that I can wait awhile for again:)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's been an amazing year, experiencing life with family and having new experiences that tested, taught and refined me. I can honestly say, that while the tests weren't fun, I've learned a lot from them. I'm very blessed and am grateful for all of it. Life has it's ups and downs, but there can be so much good if we look for it. The most wonderful aspect is that we have a Heavenly Father and Savior who love us through everything.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!</span>lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-1461084251331363322011-12-07T12:42:00.000-08:002011-12-07T12:42:51.559-08:00A new blog to follow!I've been somewhat addicted to Pinterest lately. I found a blog on one of the pins that I'm super excited to follow:<br />
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<a href="http://thenshemade.blogspot.com/">http://thenshemade.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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Check it out and enjoy! Totally going to do some things she does:)lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-58769232437052787852011-11-01T14:03:00.000-07:002011-11-01T14:03:48.430-07:00Unspoken lessonsMany lessons in life don't have to be spoken. Many times, the words a teacher speaks don't go deep enough, but the actions and feelings I see expressed and feel, are what end up teaching me:<br />
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An arm extended to draw you in when you're nervous or anxious about something.<br />
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A piano arrangement that expresses your testimony maybe even more than saying it.<br />
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Watching a single sister be attentive and engaged with children that aren't her own.<br />
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Friends who go above and beyond to help a family move and clean their old house.<br />
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Watching a father cradle his newborn daughter and be totally enthralled with her, and seeing the pride of his wife as she watches.<br />
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The feelings a hug communicates when words just won't do.<br />
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A plate of "I was thinking of you" cookies.<br />
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Playing with a niece and nephew, meaning they can be crazy kids;) <br />
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Having a best friend just sit with you and watch the ocean.<br />
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Sitting alone on the beach, watching the ocean and thinking of how times of our lives flow in and out.<br />
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Feeling loved ones around when they're not physically there.<br />
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Watching a woman always be in the kitchen at an event to make sure everyone is taken care of, so others don't have to pull themselves away from the fun.<br />
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Before the RS president even knows of a need, everything was taken care of by other ward members.<br />
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Theses were just some things on my mind lately. Last week, my institute teacher asked a question of the class. We are studying the Pearl of Great Price and he asked how different would your life be if we lived like the City of Enoch? My first response was, I'd get released from my calling:) (what? no judging) Actually, I judged myself. The above list are the means lessons have been taught to me as I've served and truthfully, I really like this part of the calling. I don't think I would be as attune to see these things if I wasn't somewhat "forced" into it. And maybe that's the lesson for me about being a Zion people. Just doing the things you should do, because that's the type of person you are and have become. The people who have taught me the lessons above, are people who just ARE that way.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-82744226780516623832011-09-29T13:28:00.000-07:002011-09-29T13:28:25.392-07:00Challenge myselfI have been reading this blog lately. It's been intriguing and while I'm not up to par with Gabe and Brittany, I have been toying with the idea of trying to go the less processed food route. So this blog has a 10 day challenge, adapted from this families 100 day challenge of eating no processed foods. I think I'm going to to try the 10 day challenge. Here are the rules to eat by:<br />
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<a href="http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-defined-a-k-a-the-rules/"><b>http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-defined-a-k-a-the-rules/</b></a><br />
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What brings this on you ask? Well, I've been ridiculously busy this week and last week. So much so, that I get home late, can't get up the energy to make a good meal for myself at 9:30 at night and so resort to the wonderful brownies that my roommate made along with ice cream that the other bought, topped of with whipped cream and chocolate syrup....twice. Yes, I have devolved into bad eating habits. So, I needed a wake up call and a challenge to myself to do better. This requires me to have good foods stocked up and ready to go, and not resort to late night sugar binges to satisfy my hunger and laziness. So...I have a weekend away starting Friday night. I'm going to start my 10 day challenge next week, on Tuesday. I need to go shopping Monday night for my 10 days worth of food. I'm going to take a look at the menu offered on the website and choose some things I want to make and do and hopefully see some good results, at least being able to get back on the wagon of making regular meals again!lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-41428119682843818912011-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:002011-09-28T14:01:16.708-07:00Racing to Catch Up...I am so behind on my blog. I apologize for all of that. I feel like I've been racing to catch up to an ever faster moving life. I'm single, really how crazy busy can it get!! Don't worry, for all of you out there who legitimately have busy family lives, I'm not taking anything away from that, but a single girl can have a busy life as well....<br />
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Since my last posting, I've been able to continue to train for another race, fly to Utah for Celia's graduation, drive up to Kiel and Melissa's for their daughter Rhyan's blessing, fly up to the Bay Area for the race and time with family, and then back. And somewhere in all that, try to be a Relief Society President to 130 women and the families of the ward, find time to fit in the many friends that I love to be around, date someone-then stop dating someone, start watching BYU football again as the season opens up, try to get back into a social scene to hopefully date another, take time to go to an All Girls Weekend before a best friend gets married, and we have now made it to the end of September. (Sorry for the laundry list, but sometimes it helps me to do that so I can see that I'm actually accomplishing some things. Looking at the blur of days tends to make one feel like you never actually get things done). And through all that, working 40 hours a week kind of gets in the way (what?).<br />
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So yes, Celia graduated from BYU!!! She has now entered that wonderful part of life called indecision and make-it-up-as-you-go. I was able to go up, see my parents who came out for it, Brigitte and Tyler and their kids and my friend Allison, her husband Kyle and their baby and right before flying out, I met up with another friend in Salt Lake and we toured the Conference Center, since I'd never been inside.<br />
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The next weekend, a couple from my former singles ward got married, so Saturday was wedding day! <br />
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The beginning of September brought about my 32nd birthday (actually, I am starting to just invert the numbers, so 23 folks!). The birthday weekend I went to Extraordinary Desserts here in San Diego with some girl friends. Love that place, everything is so prettily decorated that you almost don't want to eat it, but you know the inside is going to taste every bit as wonderful as the outside looks, so you have to! That next Sunday, I went up to my brothers house where I met, for the 2nd time, my newest niece Rhyan Patrice Christensen. She was blessed that Sunday and I got to see all my family who came into town for it. What was also great was that labor was the next day so I got to stay over night with my family all up there. We hung out, celebrated the September birthdays (there were about 9 of them), played with the nieces and nephews, went to the hotel, talked till late, got up early, breakfast-ed, talked and then headed back to San Diego. Fun times were had. <br />
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That next weekend, my friends threw me a birthday party. I wanted a crepe party, so my wonderful friends learned how to make savory and sweet crepes and any topping you could think of was there. Chicken, veggies, treats, whipped goodness and other wonderful things were there. My friends know how to do things so great!! Couldn't be happier with them! <br />
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The following weekend, September 16th and 17th, 8 girl friends and I went up to the Bay Area to run the Napa Valley Ragnar Relay. Just like my race in April that I posted about, this was a 12 team run, starting on the San Francisco Marina, over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Marin, Sausalito, San Anselmo, all those small towns and then up into the Napa wine country. We wound through vineyards, farms and beautiful valleys. It was an awesome run. We picked up 4 girls that we didn't know from up there (one was a friend of one of my friends) and we ran from there! I got to visit my parents, Brittany, Gabe and Sydney, Grandma K, Clayton Valley 1st ward and my roommate got to come with me for all of this as one of our drivers. Fun times, more bling to add to my race collection (only 3 medals now:), hurt hips, heel and possible bone spur, but super great times!<br />
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Last weekend, I hosted a BYU football party at my house. It was fun, we did home made pizza. I finally caught up with my entire presidency on Saturday for a presidency meeting and planning. This coming weekend is the girls weekend out in Indio. My friend who is getting married in October in Utah, is marrying a guy who has a timeshare out there and he is being really wonderful by letting his fiance and all her friends crash the place. So fun times. On Sunday, I will head back towards the coast to meet up with my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tim, their kids Rushell and Kris, their families, my cousin Amy and her family, Shelly and her family, Kiel and his family...oh, that's the end of the list:)<br />
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Somewhere in there, we had the great So Cal Blackout, Relief Society activities, ward temple nights, friends birthdays, bachelorette party, missionary discussions, meetings, work, emotional roller coasters, visiting teaching, emergency preparedness, etc....It's been a busy little while lately! You'd think there would be a calm time soon...but quickly we are moving into my favorite time of year, fall, then holiday's then the new year. And then we'll sit back and wonder where all the time went, but at least I can look back and measure that yes, I did get some things accomplished.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-88588777111979448792011-07-21T13:23:00.000-07:002011-07-21T13:23:54.654-07:00The Ultimate.After a week that was, in my book, pretty rough and long, I was ready for some fun and relax time. Luckily, to celebrate the end of a long and rough day, I got to play ultimate frisbee with a bunch of friends who play every week. I haven't been able to play until last night. And now I remember why-I hurt!! I can run for some distance, but I forgot how much starting, stopping, zigging, zagging, sprinting, slowing can hurt. My muscles are sore! But it was great to play for a couple hours and work off some energy that had been pent up.<br />
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I've had a lot to do over the last couple weeks for my church assignment and I have a lot of thoughts running through my head. When I get them sorted out, I might be able to post a few and share what was the lesson learned. But one thing that was so great was I saw super nice things done for me, when it wasn't me that was going through the rough time. I was stressed yes, emotional yes, but it wasn't my trial. But my family was nice to call and ask how I was, I even got a call from a member of the High Council who knew it was a rough week for a newly called Relief Society President and he just called to say I was doing a good job with a hard task. My friends let me know that I was doing good and that they were there when I needed to let it out. Amazing how there really are so many good people.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-53878808152899964172011-07-13T13:37:00.000-07:002011-07-13T13:37:34.450-07:00Summertime snapshot...1. Sunburns, the good kind that blister and peel for a couple weeks, super great :)<br />
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2. BBQ's-love the bbq smell and taste of grilled everything!<br />
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3. warm summer nights when you can just walk out your door and go for a walk.<br />
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4. late sunset-allows you time to go watch the sun set and do everything else you need to before hand.<br />
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5. fireworks over the ocean<br />
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6. so many birthdays!!<br />
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7. service by others to others-so great to watch this happen.<br />
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8. temple so close and gorgeous as the sunsets<br />
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9. family parties and nieces and nephews<br />
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10. fantastic and fabulous friends<br />
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11. so much to do and see in San Diego, my favorite right now, free concerts in the parks and at Balboa Park, one of my favorite places.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-77466097914722557132011-07-06T21:31:00.000-07:002011-07-06T21:31:28.504-07:00Cleansing of the Pores....Mud Run styleIn June, I got roped into running the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. A member of my former bishopric corralled me at a ward activity and said his team needed another runner...in 2 weeks!! Could I be ready to run 6.2 miles, marine style, through a muddy obstacle course?! Yeah...no big deal. So away I went, trained for 2 weeks! And we got there and ran our little hearts through the mud! It was up hill, down hill, through a chest deep river, obstacle walls with mud on each side, another hill with a river running down it and then finally, a mud crawl under wire like the Marines. Good times folks! I was nervous beforehand how it would go, since I hadn't really trained for it. But I had such a fun time with these ladies, who were running for the American Diabetes Association. They were great and just wanted to go out and have fun and finish. So that's what we did.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfdqdn9G4-haHgtSVFWB1VidfZ-7-oB39rmgbxFyJUjwM9Ecd78jW9E463sk-d3gS7SAgCZABm6PalO4EPT4KY5DvQOMdv2ld7yIiRGKo0HRPUBrd63OY-ZIVq1LZZiunb3tn9_pe7Dnk/s1600/P6040014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimfdqdn9G4-haHgtSVFWB1VidfZ-7-oB39rmgbxFyJUjwM9Ecd78jW9E463sk-d3gS7SAgCZABm6PalO4EPT4KY5DvQOMdv2ld7yIiRGKo0HRPUBrd63OY-ZIVq1LZZiunb3tn9_pe7Dnk/s320/P6040014.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-89294512360577277512011-07-05T14:23:00.000-07:002011-07-05T14:23:50.072-07:00I did it again....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWgQe1vBVfoc7NJaJG0uQO_AtQMH4ij1xtyQnFm-d7M2o-W434gpdTxen8RSWxsSqeskTtWbkCRwoLT8e2VM_73m2lzj1bVM7p5eFp0_prXh7FH71TeKmDIbYwNQtu3pvpRkhLMtLUgdT/s1600/1302621447-Overview+4.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWgQe1vBVfoc7NJaJG0uQO_AtQMH4ij1xtyQnFm-d7M2o-W434gpdTxen8RSWxsSqeskTtWbkCRwoLT8e2VM_73m2lzj1bVM7p5eFp0_prXh7FH71TeKmDIbYwNQtu3pvpRkhLMtLUgdT/s320/1302621447-Overview+4.12.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br />
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I signed up with my friends for ANOTHER Ragnar Relay. Yup, we might be crazy for doing it again, but there you have it! This time, we're running in the Bay Area. We signed up for the Napa one, which starts in San Francisco and ends up in Calistoga, in wine country. You run through all those small wine towns. It is September 16th and 17th, so time to get more training in again! I need to get at least 2 months of training in. I think I would have done better had I trained for more than a month for the last one. But now I have 2, so I need to get on the ball!!<br />
We have most of the same team running again, with a couple exceptions. One is getting married in August, so I guess that means she can legitimately leave the team of "All the Single Ladies" but kind of a bummer to lose her. And the other great deal is since we're coming from further than 100 miles away, we don't have to provide any volunteers for the race course. Yay for us! And wonderful for all of our friends who would have been in the running for best volunteers:)lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-43622406272433370152011-07-01T12:33:00.000-07:002011-07-01T12:34:24.759-07:00Check out this blog!I found this blog on another friends blog. Looks fabulous! And she was in my ward at one point. Unfortunately I only remember the name, not the I'm sure wonderful person behind it:)<br />
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<a href="http://thisweekfordinner.com/">http://thisweekfordinner.com/</a><br />
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Seems like some good stuff if you're looking for help in the dinner column.lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6580900598877210400.post-53524719418446047622011-06-14T09:23:00.000-07:002011-06-14T09:23:13.542-07:00I'll catch up, but first....Second Time around!I will for sure post the rest of Nashville here soon...and the mud run experience... but just a few things have come up that have made life just a little more busy.<br />
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I love Relief Society, and apparently, I'm supposed to really love it I because I got that RS pres calling...again...in my new family ward this last Sunday. Really?! Again?! I've had a week to digest, contemplate, realize I don't know any sisters names in the ward (remember, I've only been there 9 months!), and that the first big challenge is that there are 6 women pregnant and they are all expected have their babies this summer..ok so meal sign up sheet will be going around! 2 other ladies just had their babies this last week as I was hearing about needs of the sisters. So, welcome to the calling:)<br />
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It should be good and as I was told, a time for me to grow and learn (no kidding:). Luckily, my choices for counselors and secretary said yes, and they are solid ladies who I know will help wherever they can, and who were told by the outgoing president, to make sure to help me out so that I can have a social life too:) So thoughtful of her (but a concern that was weighing on my mind!) So forward we go, hopefully upward and not downward...;)lisa c.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08862293942724377307noreply@blogger.com2