The end is near!

A bunch of years ago, our family lived in Stuttgart, Germany - a fun and wonderful experience!  While we were there, there was a total eclipse of the sun, right at noon!  In preparation to experience this phenomenon, our family went downtown to the outdoor shopping area.  This allowed us to be with other people who were also experiencing it, have some lunch at a favorite restaurant, and get some shopping done!  It was indeed a strange situation - the birds went to sleep, the street lights came on, the air cooled, and the sky darkened - I understand why the ancient people of earth were terrified of an eclipse!

We were standing there, in awe of the exciting events, when suddenly, some college-age kids went by - one had a tall walking staff with a bunch of jingle-bells on it that she would bang on the ground to get everyone's attention, another kid had on "sack cloth and ashes" and was crying about the lack of sun, and the third kid was carrying a sign that said, "The end is near!"  The three kids would put on their show for a while, then break character & smile & wave at everyone who was taking pictures, pointing them out to their friends, and laughing together!

Time flies

They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit.  But what if the habit is a weekly thing?  Does that mean it takes 21 weeks??  I was happily making my weekly blogs, but then Thanksgiving happened, Christmas has begun, the semester is ending (which means all the final projects are due), and life is getting busier.  A few weeks went by before I realized that, oops, I forgot to write blog posts!!

Habits are worth working on to make or break - I need to choose those that are best to keep, and eliminate those that are time wasters and less lifting.  And now that I've seen how quickly I can drop the whole thing, I need some way of reminding myself to keep going!  I'll have to think on this!

Remote Meeting

Today, our group had a remote meeting - well, I was remote, anyway!  Because of the timing when everyone could meet, I met with the rest of the group via Skype.

As we plan and work together on our group presentation, I believe that Skype meetings will become the norm - we all have such different schedules that meeting at anytime other than during class will be next to impossible!


As I prepared for our Skype call, I found myself looking at the background of my office - how much stuff can they see?

Business Professional Dress

Favorite college wear of the year

When I returned to college, I knew that eventually I would be entering into the business world.  In an effort to transform my clothes from a Stay-at-Home Mom & Wonder-Woman Wife, into a professional businesswoman, I began a campaign to update my closet.

Kate Middleton - always looks
wonderful

Pinterest has been my best friend and worst enemy in this process!  I love it because of all the obvious great and horrible advice that is out there.  I hate it because I want to spend way too much money on the process!

Mock Interview

Taylor and I finally were able to coordinate our busy schedules and do our mock interview.  We hadn't really met before we sat down together, so we spent a little time getting to know each other, then on to our interviews.  It went well, I think, for both of us, but I learned some things about myself.

I learned that I need to do more "PAR" stories on myself - Problem, Action, Result - where I was successful in solving a problem.

Wedding Bells & Fond Memories

I ran away this weekend.

I went with my daughter, J, & her daughter, M.  We went to North Carolina, where we used to live, to attend & participate in a wedding - and got to have a reunion in the process!

We lived in North Carolina while our children were teenagers.  We HomeSchooled our children, and were heavily involved in the support group, H.O.M.E., where we made many wonderful friends.  Our lives also rotated around church & all the people, events, and wonderful Gospel of being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

This weekend, we went back.

A survey - and Five Monkeys in a Cage

As you probably know, I am a student at Brigham Young University.  My major is Construction Management, and my hope is to build energy-self-sufficient homes that fit in to any neighborhood.  I also want to be able to retro-fit homes to become energy-self-sufficient.

As I think about the home I want to build for our family, I consider every aspect of our lives.  I believe that you must consider a large variety of things to decide how big or small your house should be - for example: how big a bedroom should be depends a lot on what kind of furniture you have, how many people will live there, and how many uses it will have.

At our home, we don't use the bathtubs.  Showers reign supreme; bathtubs are useless.  I would much rather use the space given to a tub to enlarge a shower.  In talking to my friends, I find that they often say the same thing.  What about you?  How do you use your bathtub?  Take my survey (on the right column), and help me design a bathroom!  Why do we put bathtubs in every house if they are rarely used?  Maybe because that's the way it's always been done!

Simplify

I have moved a few (bazillian) times during my 28 years as an Army Wife.

 Sometimes we moved ourselves, but mostly, we let the Army send in a moving company who packed us up, shipped the truck, then brought it to our new home.  This was very convenient, except it did not force us to simplify - the movers packed everything, whether we meant for them to pack it or not!  One time, I caught them packing the trash can - full of trash!  Another time, they packed our cookie jar, full of cookies.  We didn't find out until six months later, when we were unpacking!

General Conference & Social Media

What?

General Conference this weekend!  The whole world anxiously waits to hear from our church leaders. Living prophets who speak to us the words of God.  In an effort to reach more people, the church has embraced social media, with all it’s quirks & idiosyncrasies.  Even before the world echoed “Amen” to the Opening Session’s closing prayer, there were quotes, pictures, comics, and memes spread Facebook & Twitter account, & post regularly to them.  People are encouraged to comment, share, and make their own. 

across the internet.  Every one of the General Authorities have their own Facebook & twitter account, & post regularly to them.  People are encouraged to comment, share, and make their own.

Have you done it yet? What stands out to you most from Conference?  If you were to make someone’s talk into a one-liner, what would you quote?  What would you show?  How would you portray it?

Fuzzy Eyes

For the last few years, lately, when I watch too much TV, too much time on my computer or phone, or worst of all, too much time reading a book, my eyes get "fuzzy."  Everything around me looks out of focus, like this:

It's like a cramp in the muscles behind my eyes - the ones that control the focus - and I can't see anything well, even with my glasses on!  I asked my eye doctor about it, & he told me the muscle cramp theory.



Sometimes, I can get it to settle down by exercising my eye muscles.  The most fun exercise is rolling my eyes - that works best if my kids are watching! lol!!

Writing and Speaking for Business

I have begun a new class at school - Management Communications 320 - Writing and Speaking for Business.  Like before, this class requires me to maintain a blog.  This is a great way to get back into the habit of writing and reading blogs!

In this class, my blog posts will follow the "What?" module:
 - What did I learn about?  Particularly, what new thing did I discover in my class?!
 - So what? Why does this new thing matter?
 - Now what?  What do I plan to do with this discovery?  Do I need to learn more about it?  How will I use it?  I need to make some concrete plans for the future of this new bit of knowledge!

Crock Pot Bread

The simplicity of a bread maker, using a crock pot that is already on your kitchen shelf, and the peaceful satisfaction of having fresh bread, "right out of the oven" as often as you like!

I must admit, I found the idea on Pinterest, but have adapted it for me!

#7 - Sarah Ellen Marsden

Sarah Ellen Marsden (Smith)

born 16 December 1860 in Provo, Utah, UT

married Joseph West Smith on
5 November 1879

in St George, Washington, UT

died 11 August 1924 in 

Snowflake, Navajo, AZ