* saturday brunch with girlfriends... including one who is recently engaged to be married! congrats AB.
* going with a friend from work to pick up her wedding dress. she looked so gorgeous! i'm so glad i could finally go with her.
* i finished watching all of the doctor who episodes this week. and while that is sad, i had a lot of fun watching the fantastic doctor save the universe again and again. i love this show and its stories. i'm excited to see what the new season brings.
* quiet evenings with no plans.
* josiah meeting me at the door with his leash in his mouth. i love that he's so happy to meet me at the end of a long day at work. he just makes me laugh, because i know he spent the day at home with my housemate this week and he got lots of walks.
* rain. thunder and lightning. AC. fresh veggies.
* watching the olympics. the opening ceremony was so much fun!
* late night im sessions. who needs sleep?
* spending an evening with two lovely ladies watching doctor who and the olympics, and just talking about life and love and hope. we laughed so hard and talked about good stuff.
* well received training sessions at work.
* a good friend of mine interviewed to work where i work but in a different area. it would be so cool to have her work with me. keep her in your prayers please. thank you.
* and then there was this... brilliant!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
thoughtful thursday: the mark of a truly educated man
I think this applies to all sorts of media, not just books.
Today, with the abundance of books available, it is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. … As John Wesley’s mother counseled him: ‘Avoid [1] whatever weakens your reason, [2] impairs the tenderness of your conscience, [3] obscures your sense of God, [4] takes off your relish for spiritual things, … [5] increases the authority of the body over the mind.
The fact that a book is old does not necessarily make it of value. The fact that an author wrote one good work does not necessarily mean that all his books are worthy of your time. Do not make your mind a dumping ground for other people’s garbage. It is harder to purge the mind of rotten reading than to purge the body of rotten food, and it is more damaging to the soul.
Benson, Ezra Taft. “In His Steps,” in Speeches of the Year, 1979 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1980], p. 61
via here
Today, with the abundance of books available, it is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. … As John Wesley’s mother counseled him: ‘Avoid [1] whatever weakens your reason, [2] impairs the tenderness of your conscience, [3] obscures your sense of God, [4] takes off your relish for spiritual things, … [5] increases the authority of the body over the mind.
The fact that a book is old does not necessarily make it of value. The fact that an author wrote one good work does not necessarily mean that all his books are worthy of your time. Do not make your mind a dumping ground for other people’s garbage. It is harder to purge the mind of rotten reading than to purge the body of rotten food, and it is more damaging to the soul.
Benson, Ezra Taft. “In His Steps,” in Speeches of the Year, 1979 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1980], p. 61
via here
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
stuff that made me smile this week
I had to wait to post this until today, because there is some family news in here that wasn't announced to everyone yet and I didn't want to ruin the surprise.
* went to a theater production with friends to see a friend perform. beertown was a fun interactive theater experience about a town and how they want to be remembered.
* late night chats with a friend in pre-deployment training. it's interesting to be on the outside looking in this time around.
* cold medicine can be so nasty. but it helps me feel so good.
* rain and lots of it. thunder and lightning.
* a rainy, cool saturday with no need for air conditioning. i slept with the windows wide open that night. heaven...
* lunch at matchbox with the office crew to say goodbye to one and congratulations to the other. it was bittersweet. oh, there were cupcakes from sweet lobby too.
* the plan for the boyer family reunion came out this week. it looks like fun! i'm so excited.
* and some exciting news from brother R1: he was accepted into law school this year. WOOOHOOO! i totally cried when i told my housemate about this. i'm so excited for and proud of him.
* i came home from church and finally set up my hammock on the back porch. it was awesome! this view from my hammock just made me smile and relax.
* i had some extra time to play so i made this with my most favorite little pairs of toes ever in iowa. hee hee!
make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif
* went to a theater production with friends to see a friend perform. beertown was a fun interactive theater experience about a town and how they want to be remembered.
* late night chats with a friend in pre-deployment training. it's interesting to be on the outside looking in this time around.
* cold medicine can be so nasty. but it helps me feel so good.
* rain and lots of it. thunder and lightning.
* a rainy, cool saturday with no need for air conditioning. i slept with the windows wide open that night. heaven...
* lunch at matchbox with the office crew to say goodbye to one and congratulations to the other. it was bittersweet. oh, there were cupcakes from sweet lobby too.
* the plan for the boyer family reunion came out this week. it looks like fun! i'm so excited.
* and some exciting news from brother R1: he was accepted into law school this year. WOOOHOOO! i totally cried when i told my housemate about this. i'm so excited for and proud of him.
* i came home from church and finally set up my hammock on the back porch. it was awesome! this view from my hammock just made me smile and relax.
* i had some extra time to play so i made this with my most favorite little pairs of toes ever in iowa. hee hee!
make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif
Thursday, July 19, 2012
thoughtful thursday: creating yourself
Life isn't about finding yourself,
it's about creating yourself.
-George Bernard Shaw
it's about creating yourself.
-George Bernard Shaw
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Things that made me smile this week
* spending the weekend with family in iowa. a direct flight made it even easier.
* i love being called Aunt 'Tine by a little girl who can't say my name yet. it just fills my heart up and makes me feel loved.
* early morning wake ups by a little boy who is so excited to see me and talk to me about hulk, captain america, super man, spider man, and star wars. and to plan the games we're going to play.
* according to my nephew, "but aunt christine, you're more fun when you're bad." ha!
* the context for the above, he and i were playing super heroes and as always i was the bad guy. i tried to play it good, and he just wasn't having it.
* we had so much fun wrestling, talking, playing games, tickling, talking, making faces, drawing, making paper stars, and reading books.
* this was one of my favorite moments. her eyes lit up when i presented the paint-our-toenails-to-match option while her brother was at a birthday party. so much fun!
* a morning spent playing in the sprinklers and the wading pool. water wars galore!
* it's fun to watch my brother be a husband and a dad.
* my sister (in law) made me the coolest apron. i can't wait to show it off, but it needs some finishing touches so it's still in iowa. my brother was chuckling just thinking about it and the kids were so excited for me to see it.
* homemade: yogurt, granola, strawberry jam, rolls, blueberry cheesecake frozen yogurt, bread and grilled pork tenderloin with an apricot-cilantro glaze. fresh tomatoes right outside the backdoor. fresh corn on the cob. seriously, good food this weekend.
* it's not often that i get to meet really, super cute men, but as i was waiting for my flight on friday this guy flopped down next to me. he immediately started talking to me, asking me about the boomerang thing that was sticking out of my bag. he was so funny and polite and good looking... think josh turner.
* on my flight back to dc i sat next to a gentleman who didn't even ask, he just took my bag and put it in the overhead compartment and then re-adjusted it for me when the flight attendant couldn't get the door closed. he was so very nice and polite.
* earlier this week, i spent the evening at dumbarton house in their charming backyard stretched out on a blanket amongst girlfriends watching jane austen's emma. even the weather was perfect -- amazing with all our unbearable heat this summer. it was one of the funnest evenings.
* hosting sisters from the relief society so we can finish up our service project. my ward has such great women.
* life is good.
* i love being called Aunt 'Tine by a little girl who can't say my name yet. it just fills my heart up and makes me feel loved.
* early morning wake ups by a little boy who is so excited to see me and talk to me about hulk, captain america, super man, spider man, and star wars. and to plan the games we're going to play.
* according to my nephew, "but aunt christine, you're more fun when you're bad." ha!
* the context for the above, he and i were playing super heroes and as always i was the bad guy. i tried to play it good, and he just wasn't having it.
* we had so much fun wrestling, talking, playing games, tickling, talking, making faces, drawing, making paper stars, and reading books.
* this was one of my favorite moments. her eyes lit up when i presented the paint-our-toenails-to-match option while her brother was at a birthday party. so much fun!
 |
| matching toenails |
* it's fun to watch my brother be a husband and a dad.
* my sister (in law) made me the coolest apron. i can't wait to show it off, but it needs some finishing touches so it's still in iowa. my brother was chuckling just thinking about it and the kids were so excited for me to see it.
* homemade: yogurt, granola, strawberry jam, rolls, blueberry cheesecake frozen yogurt, bread and grilled pork tenderloin with an apricot-cilantro glaze. fresh tomatoes right outside the backdoor. fresh corn on the cob. seriously, good food this weekend.
* it's not often that i get to meet really, super cute men, but as i was waiting for my flight on friday this guy flopped down next to me. he immediately started talking to me, asking me about the boomerang thing that was sticking out of my bag. he was so funny and polite and good looking... think josh turner.
* on my flight back to dc i sat next to a gentleman who didn't even ask, he just took my bag and put it in the overhead compartment and then re-adjusted it for me when the flight attendant couldn't get the door closed. he was so very nice and polite.
* earlier this week, i spent the evening at dumbarton house in their charming backyard stretched out on a blanket amongst girlfriends watching jane austen's emma. even the weather was perfect -- amazing with all our unbearable heat this summer. it was one of the funnest evenings.
* hosting sisters from the relief society so we can finish up our service project. my ward has such great women.
* life is good.
Friday, July 13, 2012
things that will never be the same after watching doctor who
doctor who is brilliant, fantastic and creepy. after watching the series, i'm not sure that i can look at some of these things the same again...
* angel statues, especially weeping ones
* libraries and shadows
* gps systems in cars
* weight loss pills
* anti-aging anything
* christmas in london
* police call boxes of every kind, but especially blue ones
* captain jack is no longer a pirate
* screw drivers - i'm always going to be looking for a sonic version.
* traveling companions
* stars
* spiders
* reality television and game shows
* music
* titanic
* toilet plungers and egg beaters - "Exterminate!"
* agatha christie
* bumble bees
* dogs which bark at nothing
* watching television
* robotic dogs
* nuclear warheads
* the first female prime minister of england
* gas masks
* the darkness
* children's drawings
* the night before getting married and this is only season 4... oy!
* this man
and there's so much more doctor to watch... yay!
* angel statues, especially weeping ones
* libraries and shadows
* gps systems in cars
* weight loss pills
* anti-aging anything
* christmas in london
* police call boxes of every kind, but especially blue ones
* captain jack is no longer a pirate
* screw drivers - i'm always going to be looking for a sonic version.
* traveling companions
* stars
* spiders
* reality television and game shows
* music
* titanic
* toilet plungers and egg beaters - "Exterminate!"
* agatha christie
* bumble bees
* dogs which bark at nothing
* watching television
* robotic dogs
* nuclear warheads
* the first female prime minister of england
* gas masks
* the darkness
* children's drawings
* the night before getting married and this is only season 4... oy!
* this man
 |
| via here |
and there's so much more doctor to watch... yay!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
thoughtful thursday: love you back
"I have found,
that if you love life,
life will love you back."
-Arthur Rubinstein
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
stuff that made me smile a lot
so i didn't get around to posting my weekly post last week. so this one will cover a couple of weeks.
* re-watching the avengers with a good friend, dinner at cheesecake factory and getting stuck in northwest dc after the thunderstorm of the century and then getting home safe after it took two hours. i was smiling when i got home and found i still had power.
* the next morning a couple of overly optimistic friends and i headed out to northern viriginia to a thrift store we had a heard about. i say overly optimistic because we had under-estimated the power outages in the area, and all three thrift stores we had thought about visiting had no power. we stopped off at great falls park and looked at the water and some really funky albino bugs with bright red markings, and then we headed back to capitol hill in search of food. cafe 8 on barracks row has really amazing mediterranean turkish food.
* i went back to cafe 8 a few days later with a good friend who is off to start his pre-deployment training and have similar experiences to what i did a few years ago. it was good to see him and spend a little time talking with him. he looked pretty fit and hawt in his aviator shades.
* the really great thing about cafe 8 is that it's right by the sweet lobby. life is just not complete without having one of their divinely decadent macarons (not macaroons, which are also good). these little french treats are just the right size for ending a meal and all you need is one... but two are better... okay maybe three... yeah, they're just good. and to go twice in one week, well what could be better?!?!
* watching the capitol fourth concert and fireworks in air conditioned comfort with a fun friend who is much more geeky than i. and appreciates how watching dr who can kind of freak me out... just a bit.
* i'm tutoring three non-english speaking teens in english. it's really a lot of fun and i'm discovering just how much spanish and italian i get mixed up. they recently arrived from south america and start public school in the fall, so all the practice they can get in their new language will be helpful. i hope it's helping them.
* god is good, and he is good to me. i'm learning that i put limits on what i think he will bless me with. his blessings are so abundant and without limit that it takes my breath away. to have anger taken away, and replaced with light and love is the answer to years of prayers and heartaches. god is so very, very good.
* figuring out what was causing some of my back pain was miraculous as well. if you'll recall my zip line adventure earlier this year, where i hit my bottom on the ledge as i was swinging from ledge to ledge. my tailbone was twisted and listing to the right, and causing all sorts of pain and uneven-ness. thankfully a doctor figured it out and i was able to get it moved back into alignment. i feel like a new woman.
* having the air conditioner in my car stop working, and then having it be an easy repair of a burnt out circuit. yay for ac in the car (and at home) during the recent heat wave.
* reading an amazing book, and recapturing some reading magic.
* time with my housemate away has made me appreciate her all the more and having her back is really nice.
* moving my bed around in my room and being able to sleep much better in the new arrangement.
* cooking brunch for two best girlfriends. i love to cook for other people and love to cook for people i love. it was the perfect saturday brunch--good food, lovely company and soul-filling conversation. these lovely ladies inspire me to be better.
* during our incredible heat wave staying indoors and watching movies with a friend. only going out to get pizza at 7th hill, the day before it closes for renovations. good times.
* an email from my mtc companion. it's never to late to send christmas cards and catch up with old friends.
* buying plane tickets to visit family and looking forward to the trip all week.
* having my mom call to tell me about her adventures in traveling. she's having so much fun lately!
* mint oreos. seedless grapes. **mormon mimosas. macarons. falafel. cold water. pizza. pannacotta. cotton nightgowns. clean sheets. a vacuum that really sucks. washing dishes. hanging up freshly ironed clothes. a clean bathroom. quiet time. thunder and lightning. rain. pulling weeds. watering my garden. new shoes. a patriotic pedicure. a wedding invitation.
* and this flashmob.
**mormon mimosas - in a 1 litre carafe pour 1.5 cans of original flavored fresca. top it off with orange juice. add half a capful of almond extract. stir and add ice. soooo good!
* re-watching the avengers with a good friend, dinner at cheesecake factory and getting stuck in northwest dc after the thunderstorm of the century and then getting home safe after it took two hours. i was smiling when i got home and found i still had power.
* the next morning a couple of overly optimistic friends and i headed out to northern viriginia to a thrift store we had a heard about. i say overly optimistic because we had under-estimated the power outages in the area, and all three thrift stores we had thought about visiting had no power. we stopped off at great falls park and looked at the water and some really funky albino bugs with bright red markings, and then we headed back to capitol hill in search of food. cafe 8 on barracks row has really amazing mediterranean turkish food.
* i went back to cafe 8 a few days later with a good friend who is off to start his pre-deployment training and have similar experiences to what i did a few years ago. it was good to see him and spend a little time talking with him. he looked pretty fit and hawt in his aviator shades.
* the really great thing about cafe 8 is that it's right by the sweet lobby. life is just not complete without having one of their divinely decadent macarons (not macaroons, which are also good). these little french treats are just the right size for ending a meal and all you need is one... but two are better... okay maybe three... yeah, they're just good. and to go twice in one week, well what could be better?!?!
* watching the capitol fourth concert and fireworks in air conditioned comfort with a fun friend who is much more geeky than i. and appreciates how watching dr who can kind of freak me out... just a bit.
* i'm tutoring three non-english speaking teens in english. it's really a lot of fun and i'm discovering just how much spanish and italian i get mixed up. they recently arrived from south america and start public school in the fall, so all the practice they can get in their new language will be helpful. i hope it's helping them.
* god is good, and he is good to me. i'm learning that i put limits on what i think he will bless me with. his blessings are so abundant and without limit that it takes my breath away. to have anger taken away, and replaced with light and love is the answer to years of prayers and heartaches. god is so very, very good.
* figuring out what was causing some of my back pain was miraculous as well. if you'll recall my zip line adventure earlier this year, where i hit my bottom on the ledge as i was swinging from ledge to ledge. my tailbone was twisted and listing to the right, and causing all sorts of pain and uneven-ness. thankfully a doctor figured it out and i was able to get it moved back into alignment. i feel like a new woman.
* having the air conditioner in my car stop working, and then having it be an easy repair of a burnt out circuit. yay for ac in the car (and at home) during the recent heat wave.
* reading an amazing book, and recapturing some reading magic.
* time with my housemate away has made me appreciate her all the more and having her back is really nice.
* moving my bed around in my room and being able to sleep much better in the new arrangement.
* cooking brunch for two best girlfriends. i love to cook for other people and love to cook for people i love. it was the perfect saturday brunch--good food, lovely company and soul-filling conversation. these lovely ladies inspire me to be better.
* during our incredible heat wave staying indoors and watching movies with a friend. only going out to get pizza at 7th hill, the day before it closes for renovations. good times.
* an email from my mtc companion. it's never to late to send christmas cards and catch up with old friends.
* buying plane tickets to visit family and looking forward to the trip all week.
* having my mom call to tell me about her adventures in traveling. she's having so much fun lately!
* mint oreos. seedless grapes. **mormon mimosas. macarons. falafel. cold water. pizza. pannacotta. cotton nightgowns. clean sheets. a vacuum that really sucks. washing dishes. hanging up freshly ironed clothes. a clean bathroom. quiet time. thunder and lightning. rain. pulling weeds. watering my garden. new shoes. a patriotic pedicure. a wedding invitation.
* and this flashmob.
**mormon mimosas - in a 1 litre carafe pour 1.5 cans of original flavored fresca. top it off with orange juice. add half a capful of almond extract. stir and add ice. soooo good!
Friday, July 6, 2012
thoughtful thursday: a cherished relationship
"Not a day has gone by that I have not communicated with my Father in Heaven through prayer. It is a relationship I cherish—one I would literally be lost without. If you do not now have such a relationship with your Father in Heaven, I urge you to work toward that goal. As you do so, you will be entitled to His inspiration and guidance in your life."
—Thomas S. Monson, "Stand in Holy Places", Liahona and Ensign, November 2011
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