I think I'm in love. Well, we all know who my first love is, but Pinterest is a close second. It's like a craftaholic's paradise - the perfect place to share any and everything, especially craft and food (did you say FOOD?!) ideas. Heaven.
Pinterest even got me up before the sun this morning (gasp!) Charles starts work now at 5:30AM and since we live 30-40 mins away, he gets up at 3:30AM to get all cleaned up and ready for work. He even ate some apricots for breakfast this morning! (Those who know him will know how shocking that is.) Anyway, I'd been waking up off and on all night, so I decided to get up and spend a few minutes with my hubby before he galloped off to work (figuratively, of course.)
After he left, I turned to my laptop and began to scour Pinterest.com, which I was doing for the next couple hours, until my stomach began to really grumble... at about 5:30AM. I don't just mean regular "Oh I'm hungry" grumblies. These were "FEED ME NOW, PUNY HUMAN!" grumblies so I rushed to the kitchen and decided to get all fancy (kinda) and make fried eggs with pumpernickel toast which, by the way, is delicious. And of course I had to wake up my mother and allow her to share in some of the gloriousness.
It has been a good morning. Thank you Pinterest and Pumpernickel toast.
People are always talking about how they're grateful for blessings. I'm certainly grateful for blessings, but it's trials which I'm especially grateful for. Trials are known as the "refining fires," fires which the Lord will only allow if He knows you can handle them. Here's the common example of Corrie Ten Boom and thanking God for the fleas which were afflicting them while they were in a German concentration camp:
Corrie Ten Boom - Light in the Holocaust
Corrie Ten Boom - Light in the Holocaust
You know what I think would be fun? Running a thrift shop. When I was searching on Craigslist one time, there was someone selling their thrift shop and I was like "Charles, we should get it!! It would be so much fun!" But, alas, we don't have the resources and I have NO IDEA how to run a thrift shop. But it would still be fun, right?
This video is great. Just saying.
This video is great. Just saying.
After I finished that, I went on to make a baby blanket out of dark blue and "blue mint" soft yarn. No, I'm not anticipating a boy (I'm not even pregnant yet, as far as I know), Charles and I just both like shades of blue. I'm on the last color block. The last time I worked on it, though, was at these three games Charles was officiating in Marshalltown, Iowa. I took it with me to keep me entertained because, although I'm all for supporting my husband in his hobbies (especially when he gets paid for them, although volunteering is good too) I'm really not a sports fan unless I know someone who is playing or I'm playing so it's good to bring something else along with me.
That striped picture to the left is a preview of it. It's so soft and cozy. I love it already and I can already picture our future baby in it. I hope it keeps them warm!I'm already imagining all the other things I might be able to create. I'm thinking hand warmers might be great if I can figure out how to make them correctly.
A few days ago, I read a book by Randy Pausch called The Last Lecture, which is literally about the last lecture of a college professor and how he had fulfilled his childhood dreams. It was really insightful, and I read the whole thing in one night, partially out of time constraints, but also because it was so good. I would definitely recommend others read it. I chose some of my favorite quotes to share:
"Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people."
The cover of The Last Lecture - it's really appropriate for the subject matter.
"When you are doing something badly and no one’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are the ones still telling you they love you and care."
"Decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eyeore. I’m a Tigger."
"It is Important to have specific childhood dreams. (For example, Randywanted to play football in the NFL, write an article for the World Book Encyclopedia, experience the Weightlessness of Zero Gravity, be Captain Kirk from Star Trek, work for the Disney Company.)"
"Be good at something; it makes you valuable…. Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."
“When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it’s really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do.”Anyway, I know that's a lot to read but that's not even all of what I liked. This book is super inspirational. On that note, there are a bunch of other books I really enjoyed reading too. One of particular note is Reflections of a Scientist by Henry Eyring. His insights have thoroughly shaped how I view and approach science. I admire him and wish I could have met him before he passed away. Maybe I'll be able to meet his son, Henry B. Eyring at some point, which would also be awesome for a whole bunch of reasons.
I just really like books - especially good ones which help define or solidify how I think about things. Another book - series, actually - which I really enjoyed was the "Great and Terrible" series, which goes through the pre-mortal life up to the second coming. It's really inspiring and comforting when things like the second coming can leave a lot of questions.
"It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you." This is another quote from Randy Pausch, and it kinda inspired this post. I used to think I never really had many goals, but when I think about it, I had a few for myself. Here's a list of the ones I can think of now:
- Get married in the temple to someone who loves me for me, silliness and all (Check!)
- Write a book
- Get published
- Read the Book of Mormon in its entirety (Check!)
- Read the Bible it its entirety
- Read the Work and the Glory series by Gerald N. Lund (2 of 9 done)
- Have at least three children
- And much more - I am working living my life so that my dreams just take care of themselves. It will happen if I'm living the right way. Many things already have!
Since I last wrote, things have been AWESOME! Lets start with the last couple days. For one, we went down to Missouri so Charles could apply for a meat processing job at Triumph Foods. He has been wanting to get back in the production business since before I met him and, although that's not a long time ago, I know he wanted it pretty badly. We'd both been praying fervently that he would get this job if it was the right action for us to take. Yesterday morning, he went to Saint Joseph with Mark to hand in his application, and he was hopeful to get an interview at the same time. However, the receptionist looked over his application and said they'd call him if they were interested and needed his talents. He was very disappointed, but came home hopeful nonetheless. This morning, we woke up a little after 7. He said prayer over breakfast, including asking that they call him in for an interview. I guess his worst nightmare was that they'd call while we were on the way home, and he couldn't get to it. RIGHT after breakfast, Charles got a call from a number he didn't recognize and answered it hesitantly. His responses to the voice on the other end of the line were short and succinct. Finally, he said "What time?" and hung up. I knew it had to be Triumph. As soon as his phone closed, he jumped up, shouted "YES!" and punched at the air. His interview was at 9:40 and we didn't have to leave town until noon for him to get back in time for work. He'd promised Kym that he would get me to Mom's house to spend time with her because we hadn't the day before, so he dropped me off there, looked up directions to Triumph Foods, and left for the interview.
He texted me when he was safely there, something I really like about him and how he does things, and then the wait was on! About half an hour after his interview time, he texted me again and said he'd gotten the job! I was so happy for him. So, yeah, we're moving to Missouri. He's so excited to start work - he gave Larry his two weeks' notice today when we got back (of course Larry asked him to stay a little longer). As usual, he didn't really want to go to work today, but at least these are his last few days at a job he despises. He says he's really exited to be moving out of Iowa - he doesn't like feeling like he's stuck here, like so many people end up being. Also, it'll be nice to get out of a mostly-college town like Ames, where if people try to find out anything about you, the first question is always "Are you a student?" Then their faces have that "Oh" look when we say no, that we're just here because of work and the fact that we already live here. I'm excited. We both are.
*Mushy alert*
Anyway, I haven't gotten to the mushy stuff! I love Charles so much. I am so immensely grateful to have him in my life. He blesses me every day with his presence, sweetness, and ability to calm me down whenever something upsets me, even if it's something we have we disagreed about. We have had plenty of disagreements, but he is always so kind and gentle about everything. At the end of any disagreement we have, I am always in his arms - not because he makes me, not because I have to, but because I want to be. There is no place I'd rather be but in his arms, even after a "hitch in our get-along," as my mom would say. *End mushy*
He texted me when he was safely there, something I really like about him and how he does things, and then the wait was on! About half an hour after his interview time, he texted me again and said he'd gotten the job! I was so happy for him. So, yeah, we're moving to Missouri. He's so excited to start work - he gave Larry his two weeks' notice today when we got back (of course Larry asked him to stay a little longer). As usual, he didn't really want to go to work today, but at least these are his last few days at a job he despises. He says he's really exited to be moving out of Iowa - he doesn't like feeling like he's stuck here, like so many people end up being. Also, it'll be nice to get out of a mostly-college town like Ames, where if people try to find out anything about you, the first question is always "Are you a student?" Then their faces have that "Oh" look when we say no, that we're just here because of work and the fact that we already live here. I'm excited. We both are.
*Mushy alert*
Anyway, I haven't gotten to the mushy stuff! I love Charles so much. I am so immensely grateful to have him in my life. He blesses me every day with his presence, sweetness, and ability to calm me down whenever something upsets me, even if it's something we have we disagreed about. We have had plenty of disagreements, but he is always so kind and gentle about everything. At the end of any disagreement we have, I am always in his arms - not because he makes me, not because I have to, but because I want to be. There is no place I'd rather be but in his arms, even after a "hitch in our get-along," as my mom would say. *End mushy*
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