Thankful...

Gratitude is the essence of good mental health and spirituality. -Unknown Author

Thanksgiving is the BEST! Food, family and gratitude are some of my reasons I love this holiday. This year I had more time off than I've had in a long time so I took advantage of it to take the 10 hour trip up to Grandma Priest's house. Boy, am I glad I did! It had been more than five years since I've been to Mt. Pleasant, UT--a quaint little town just north of Ephraim--a quaint little town just north of Manti--a quaint little town just north of Salina...ok, I'll stop :-) Suffice it to say...it's a beautifully quaint LITTLE town pretty much smack dab in the center of UT.

I'M GRATEFUL FOR SMALL TOWNS!

Anyway, we packed up the Jetta and drove up Thursday morning with Uncle Rick and my good friend Katie. We were fortunate to hit good weather and, although there was constant rain and snow on the way, none of it was sticking to the road. We had a lot of nice conversations on the way as I tortured Rick with a fabulous mix from my iPhone playlist (i.e. David Archuleta, Wicked Soundtrack, Britney Spears, Flo Rida, Chris Brown, Rihanna, etc.). He was a really good sport about it and he liked most of my music :-) We munched on snacks which were lovingly arranged in a Thanksgiving theme by my wonderfully witty mother (i.e. turkey jerky, dried cranberries, pumkin cookies, and even some Goldfish snacks [my uncle is a huge fisherman]). It made for a beautiful drive and we arrived just in time for the Thanksgiving Feast!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR A RELIABLE, FUEL-EFFICIENT CAR!

Grandma was smiling ear to ear (as only she can) when we got to the house. It was a very happy reunion! The food was superb and plentiful and I know we all ate to the point of having to losen our belts. It was so nice to sit down and catch up with my Grandma. It's interesting, having conversation with her as an adult I realized how much I really didn't know about her life and our family history. For instance, I had no idea that one of my grandparent's first dates was a Johnny Cash concert at the Bostonian Ballroom...HOW RAD IS THAT?! I guess it was before "The Man in Black" was at the height of his fame. It felt nice to sit down and talk with my grandma, feel her love and learn from her life. I definitely gained a great appreciation and understanding for her role in my life!

I'M THANKFUL FOR A GRANDMA'S LOVE!

Friday afternoon Katie and I headed up to Provo to visit friends/family. I dropped her off with one of her old roommates who is going to BYU and I continued up to Ogden to hook up with my cousins Annie and Jessa, her husband Ben, and their little baby girl Madeline--SO CUTE!!! It was cool too because I got to see my Aunt Debbie. They were all up there to see family. After dinner, we bumped the speakers to Flo Rida "In the Ayer" as we headed down to my cousin Corrie's house and had some gourmet hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream...mmmm! Later that night I met up with my friends Michael and Mark and we went out dancing in Salt Lake City. It was fun!
Saturday morning I got to sit down with Corrie and we had a great chat. I really love her! You can just feel the love bubbling out of that girl! Later that morning Annie and I went to IHOP with Carly and I got to see her BEAUTIFUL new baby girl Kennedy. It was really nice to hang out with them. Annie and Carly never cease to amaze me with their HUGE hearts!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY CRAZY COUSINS!

It was hard to leave when the time came but I was excited to get back to Grandma's house. I picked up Katie and we had a delicious BBQ waiting for us when we got back to Mt. Pleasant. It was some of the best fillet Mignon I've ever tasted--Rick really knows how to BBQ!

I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE COW AND PIG WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES SO I COULD EAT DELICIOUS FILLET MIGNON!

Sunday morning we set out early for AZ. Katie had to be back in Thatcher so we decided to take the 12 hour "scenic route" through Moab and down HWY 191 to pass through Thatcher on the way back to Mesa. It was a long trip but absolutely georgeous! P.S. I wanna move to Moab sooo bad and become a "professional" mountain biker...LOL! Katie took this picture of me in front of a mountain bike shop by the gas station.

I'M THANKFUL FOR RED SANDSTONE!

We even hit some snowy patches in the mountains above Springerville, AZ. The beautiful scenery was just one more thing to be grateful for!
After the 13 1/2 hour drive home I realized one more thing I'm thankful for...

I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY SOFT SPRING AIR MATTRESS!

Sinks and Toilets and Tubs...oh my!

I'm really excited as I type this because I got to go to one of my favorite stores today...Home Depot!!! There's something magical about those tacky orange aprons and the echo of the fork lifts as they proceed--over cautiously--down the aisles. There's also something magical about NO PAYMENTS/NO INTEREST for 12 MONTHS, but that's a story for another day LOL!
Anyway, I decided to remodel my oobber-outdated bathroom from the drywall in this year. The only thing remaining is the cast iron tub (which will be refinished) because I couldn't find a willing volunteer to haul it out :-) My goal is to have everything done before Christmas. I'm hoping to implement some space-saving designs to make the most of this tiny (5' x 7') bathroom and give it a fresh face. I'll be putting in travertine flooring and I'm thinking about glass mosaic tiles around the tub but I'm having trouble choosing a color. Any ideas?

Unbiased point of view...

This one speaks for itself:

One more step to "Save the Family"

I think this makes a really good point. If you think you're gonna get offended don't press the play button but if you want a clear view of what is really going on here take a look:

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Tell me what you think :-)

Yay for Change :-)

Last night was an historic election! It's been a long time since we've seen so many Americans get so fired up about politics in our country and I'm so excited! As we all know, Barack Obama has been elected (by a landslide) to be the next President of the United States of America!!!
I know many of my friends and family have major doubts about Mr. Obama and the direction he plans to lead our country. I hope we can all come together to extinguish many of the fires that are dividing this country at the moment. At this defining moment in history there is a deafening call for unity and teamwork to get through a tough time. We're Americans and we are up to the challenge...let's not screw it up by focussing on divisive issues. As Obama has said time and time again during the campaign, "let's get to work!"
It is my prayer that we will come together as a nation and learn from a man who knows how to lead us through this hard time. May God bless Barack Obama, the American people, and all of His children to come together in unity and love! "YES WE CAN!"

Boyd K Packer - Prop 102

Ok, so I have to type fast while I still have everything fresh on my mind and before I lose my notes. So, I went to a special stake conference today at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to hear on of the leading General Authorities speak on pertinent issues facing the church today. Here are some of the notes and quotes I was able to gather. Oh, by the way, the session began with the Stake President requesting that we "use our notes for our own personal use and not share them with anyone" hmmmm. Well, I'm sharing anyway because I found them very interesting. He spent about half of his sermon dicussing the upcoming election and the importance of "following the brethren" when we vote. He made the following points:

1. The church does not get active in political causes unless it is regarding moral issues.
2. Gay marriage is "remarkably dangerous to 'our' way of life.
3. We cannot tolerate patterns of sin which would weaken/destroy society as we know it.
4. We are living in times similar to Sodom and Gamora.
5. Church members should never deface or pull down posters opposing propositions to ban gay marriage.
6. We must "exercise our voting power to protect ourselves."
7. The word 'tolerance' is being used as a 'weapon' against supporters of gay marriage bans.
8. Angels of the devil inspire you to do what is evil and try to 'undo the institution of marriage.'
9. The church does not accept movements of people who have patterns in immorality.
10. "Things are going to change drastically, but in it we can continue to have happy families and live righteously."

I don't agree with everything that was said but of everything that he had to say today I felt good that he ended his talk with point #10. It really is true that things are going to change in many ways but the most important thing is that we do the best we can to live happily with our families and things will be alright. Overall, I'm glad I attended.

Oh, the funny part is that I have a huge NO ON 102 sign on the back window of my car and some guy and his wife stopped me as I was getting into my car and told me he was really happy to see that I wasn't supporting Prop 102. It was surprising but he went on to explain (as I believe) that government should not be the one making moral judgment calls. He was a huge Ron Paul supporter so it makes sense that he would agree with me. It certainly wasn't what I expected walking out of the church building! LOL

Vote NO on Prop 102 and Prop 8...

With three days remaining before election day I would like to take this opportunity to discuss why I am voting NO on Prop 102--the Gay Marriage Ban. For those of you not familiar with this proposition, Prop 102 seeks to amend the AZ constitution to state that "only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." There is also a similar measure in CA (Prop 8) which seeks to define marriage in the same way.
So, why would I be against such a measure? Good question. When the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic Ocean they were seeking a land where they could worship the way they pleased and be free from the discrimination in Europe. This whole idea is what eventually evolved into the constitution we currently enjoy in this wonderful country. A place where people are free to believe and worship the way they see fit.
The current definition of marriage is based (mainly) on religious values which have been adapted over the years to exclude acceptance of "alternative" lifestyles. I have no problem with people disagreeing with same-sex marriage; however, writing a religious-based doctrine into the state constitution is more than an attack on same-sex partnerships--it is an attack on the very ideologies that our country was based upon.

Now, I realize there are some serious fears that supporters of Prop 102 have regarding intrusion on their religious freedom. I have spoken to a couple lawyers regarding the fear that churches will be sued over not allowing same-sex marriage and--according to them--this is not a valid argument. Religions are free to worship as they please and would not be required to marry those who do not ascribe to their policies regarding matrimony. For example, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not currently required to marry couples in the temple who do not meet worthiness guidelines and there is no problem with that. Those who try to plant this fear into the hearts of voters should really take a lesson in US government.
Another fear that proponents on Prop 102 are proposing is that same-sex relationships will be taught in schools. Well, I hate to break it to you but educators are--more than likely--going to do their best to inform children of what is going on in the world around them. It is not a teacher's job to teach a child right from wrong, rather a parent should do their best to present the facts to children and help them understand the reasons they believe as they do. Turning a blind eye to the fact that same-sex couples are raising families accomplishes nothing in terms of "protecting" a child from what many consider to be sinful. Of course I do not advocate elementary aged children being taught the ins and outs of what goes on in the bedrooms of homosexuals (or heterosexuals for that matter) but there is nothing wrong with them acknowledging that there are many different family makeups in the world while being guided and directed by their parents in regards to these matters.

The bottom line...same-sex couples will exist in the world and will raise families just like "traditional" couples do. We can either embrace them with love and equality and share in the joy of their families or we can shun them out of fear and ignorance. We can grant them equal treatment to encourage a stable family situation or place a stumbling block to their ability to live the American dream of liberty and justice for ALL. Let's focus on initiatives that truly strengthen families of every kind instead of dividing people into unnecessary subclasses.
Please join me in voting NO on Prop 102 in AZ or (if you live in CA) NO on Prop 8. Thank you!