I love this!!!

A group of Iraqi women travelled to Utah and met with mothers of U.S. service members, some of whom had lost sons in the war.  They also met with women of the LDS Church to learn about their welfare and Relief Society programs. 

Gosh, I wish I had been there.  I cried as I read this article.  How moving to have your son's ultimate sacrifice honored and remembered by women of the country he died serving. 

Here's the link: 
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705339079/Iraqi-women-meet-with-mothers-of-American-soldiers.html?pg=1

photo from desertnews.com

moving day

It's finally here.

Tomorrow my moving guys will help me unload my storage unit and move in various pieces of furniture, some boxes of just stuff and some boxes of treasures. Some of these boxes haven't been opened since 2002 when I moved back to Utah from London, England.

Ah, London................................................................................................. Oh, sorry. I just drifted off into a day dream about my gloriously, wonderful time in England. I remember looking at my roommates and saying out loud, "We are living the dream. Aren't we?" I love England. Big sigh.

But back to moving day. Tomorrow I'll be opening boxes from an entirely different time in life and I'm so excited. I can't wait to rediscover things I loved and looked forward to using. I get to use them now. Can I say it again--I'm so excited! I will share photos.

In case you were wondering, I didn't get the first apartment. I took apartment number 2, which recently was completely redone from ceiling to floor with all new appliances and carpet. I'm the first person to live in the pristine newness. It even has a small study/den/craft room which I'm really excited to set up. All in all I’m satisfied with my new little apartment.

Oh and this weekend a movie that I'm really excited to see hits the theatres--Where the Wild Things Are. Didn't you just love this book as a kid? I still have a wild thing inside me that rears his head at times.

moving day from uwm.edu

'max and carol' from warnerbros.com

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday U.S. Navy!

We're 231 years old and still going strong!

recruiting posters from bluejacket.com
'times square kiss' from historyimages.com

the best laid plans

Sometimes even the best laid plans go awry. I suppose it's only fitting that on the weekend honoring Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas, that my moving plans would go awry. You see Columbus didn't set out to discover a new land, he only wanted to find another way to get to the Indies. Things just didn't go as he had planned.

So, in spite of my best laid plans I didn't move this weekend. The landlord and his soon to be ex-wife are discussing the use of the building which houses the apartment I fell in love with. She wants to turn them into condos and he wants to rent them because in the meantime he is responsible for paying the mortgage. He's talking with the lawyers about this and will get back to me by Tuesday at the latest. He even offered to help me move in if it all works out. I still feel good about this place, and I'm not ready to give up on it yet. But, ya gotta have a back up.

I looked at another place today which was in the same price range and almost as nice. It didn't feel quite like home the way the other place did. Still I have a back up plan and will be moving sometime next week. I'll figure it out.

I am enjoying this weekend. I'm doing the things I need to do, but doing them when I want and I'm packing up things every so often. It's so much better than what I originally planned.

Happy three day weekend in honor of Columbus! And may your best laid plans sometimes go awry because often what happens is better than what you had planned.

landing of columbus from wickimedia.org

found

Found: 1 bedroom, full bath with tiled floor, hardwood floors throughout, new kitchen with new appliances, no dishwasher (boo!), stacked washer/dryer, closets=storage, back porch, on-street parking AND it's available immediately in my price range.

It's not an English basement apartment either. Yay! I'm still on Capitol Hill. Yay, yay!!

I finalize everything today and move in this weekend! Photos will follow.

Thanks for all the prayers.

breathe

Verb: breathe breedh
1. Draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
2. Be alive
3. Impart as if by breathing
4. Allow the passage of air through
5. Utter or tell
6. Manifest or evince
7. Take a short break from one’s activities in order to relax
8. Reach full flavor by absorbing air and being let to stand after having been uncorked
9. Expel (gases or odours)

I like numbers 1, 2, and 7. I think I need to breathe this week.

inhale. exhale. inhale. exhale.

I think I’m still alive… inhale. exhale. inhale. exha-a-a-a-le.

My head is going a million miles an hour. I’m bringing work home with me. I’m still apartment hunting. I haven’t even started to pack yet. I have two pies that aren’t in the oven yet, because I just can’t bring myself to make them and I need them for work tomorrow. I’m putting it off by typing this to clear my head.

Oh, and as for number 9, I thought that was called something else entirely.

I need to breathe. After tomorrow I think I can. Yay for three day weekends!

I will breathe this weekend.

In the meantime I keep reminding myself… inhale. exhale. inhale. exhale…

photo: http://store.peggycappy.net/jewel782.html

listening

This weekend I got to sit and listen to a prophet's voice.

In my church we have General Conference each April and October. It's a time when all the members worldwide come together and and listen to the guidance that our prophet, apostles and other general officers of the church have to share with us. This conference is broadcast around the world in over 80 different languages via satellite, television, radio and internet.

I think it's no coincendence that both conference weekends are in months where the seasons are changing. In April the world is renewing itself, coming alive after winter, plants are starting to poke their green leaves and shoots up, the snow is melting and the days are warming up a bit. In October the world is starting to slow down a bit, leaves are changing colors, the harvest is being gathered, the air is crisp and we are getting ready to hunker down for the cold of winter. General Conference is a lovely reminder that we are constantly changing and at different seasons in our own lives.

It's also nice to stop and just listen. I love being able to dedicate an entire weekend to listening to the words of a prophet and apostles. I love the reminders about the things I need to work on, the things I'm doing right and most important of all how much my Heavenly Father loves me.

Sometimes it's easy to forget how much He really does love me and General Conference weekend always helps me feel that way. I hope you can stop and listen. I hope you know that you are loved by Him and that you can feel it.

Happy autumn.

photo: 'girl listening to radio' commons.wickimedia.org