Who Raided My Chocolate Stash?

 

Bella just got back from the Doggy Diva's
Bella loves her rope

And we discovered she LOVES chocolate!

So, got home from our grand-daughters baby blessing on Sunday. Bella, our little dog, was very excited to see us, yet was acting like she did something wrong...well, imagine my horror when I go up to my room to discover my CHOCOLATE stash has been raided! LOL! Oh my! Naughty puppy! Well, we ended up having to take her to "puppy" emergency to have her stomache pumped! It was scary to see her acting so wierd. Her little eyes saying "help me, I feel like crap." and us feeling helpless. I'm glad we called the vet, dogs can die from this...

It made me think...if it is making Bella feel this way and she has to have her stomache pumped, imagine what it is doing to us?  Maybe not in this same manner, dog's can't digest chocolate.  However, it can sure play havoc on the human body too.

The alternative?  Healthy Chocolate.  Yes there is such a thing and I am going to stick to it from now on.
Check out this link to learn more.    http://daniejolley.isagenix.com/us/en/isadelight.dhtml 

You can still have your chocolate and eat it too.  Healthy Chocolate, you may experience:
*Increased energy

*Reduced cravings

*Lighter mood

*Greater brain and heart health


Here's to your chocolate and possibilities.  Enjoy!

Miracles Begin That Way

Make new friends and keep the old
One is silver and the other gold
A circle is round
It has no end
That's how long I want to be your friend.

I love this little song my daughter and I learned when she was in Girl Scouts.  By the way, what an amazing organization.  We loved our Girl Scouting years!  They are some of our very favorite memories.  In fact I'm tearing up just thinking of all of our friends we made during those years.  Absolutely wonderful! 

Lately (over 2 years to be exact) I haven't felt much like "making new friends".  I have been in a space of "you make the first move and I'll be your friend."  Well, it doesn't always work that way.  Often times the other person is thinking the same thing.  Or in my instance, I know that one of my missions on this earth is to be friendly and/or to make friends.  Not to say that it's always easy to be the one to initiate a conversation or to extend a friendly hello.  Some times you just want to "cry in your beer" so to speak....:>) 

I recently moved into a new neighborhood, and I'm here to tell you, some of these people are "pretty tough nuts to crack."  Infact my neighbors won't even say hello when we are outside and 5 feet away from each other in our driveways!!  Okay so that's not entirely true, a few of them, out of an entire neighborhood, have said hello.  So, I have gone into this little "pissy" attitude of fine....I don't need this and I have become absolutely miserable! 

In fact I am so miserable that at a gathering I smiled and said hi to one of my very next door neighbors and she just walked on by without returning the gesture.  Well, I was just fed up with the coldness I have been perceiving in this neighborhood, so I touched her arm and said "hey wait a minute, I just said hello, you do know that we are neighbors now right?"  To which she said "oh, I know."  To which I said "well, I think it's rude when you won't even wave or say hello."  To which she replied "oh, I don't mean to be."  Well, I guess it didn't matter because to this day neither she nor her husband will say hello or look at us when we are outside.....

When I am not in my pitty party my natural personality is one of humor, laughter, loudness, the more the merrier, when's the next party....hence the great time in the very large bin in Wal-Mart!  LOL!

It is even harder when I go to church and the one giving the "sermon" that day talks about how wonderful this neighborhood is and how wonderful the people in this "ward" are.  What?  Are you kidding me?  Is my perception of these people in my head?  I would get so upset I finally asked my hubby, what's up with that?  Do you feel that it's wonderful and that people are so friendly here?  And he would agree with me that it's not the most friendly cuddly group of peeps we've met before. 

I had all but given up on the idea that I would really meet anyone that I could relate with in this particular neighborhood when the other night I received an invitation to join a group of ladies in my neighborhood who meet each week to learn more about taking control of their families health and some of them are even taking control of their wealth.  I will admit that this is the second invitation I had received, but I was attracting things to come up so that I couldn't attend.

And this day was no different, though, I asked how long the group was going to meet for and said that I could come after my previous commitment.  She said that would be fine.  So I did.  And I'm really glad that I did.  It was wonderful. 

Although I have my own business and don't see that I will be joining them business wise, I can see myself joining them in friendship and support of our common goals of being stay at home mom's and bringing in an income while raising our families and being pro-active in our health.  Ya gotta love NWM.  If you are not familiar with this industry you MUST learn more.  It could really bless your life.  I know it has mine for the past 25 years. 

I am always amazed at how powerful the energy is when you get a group together, especially women, in my opinion, who are joined together by a common goal or interest.  The energy in this group was electrifying. 

I walked away from this gathering with a renewed sense of inclusion, enlightenment and wanting to take the initiative to be more out going.  Thank you ladies.  :>)

I generally  love making new friends, though I am like anyone else, I have times of turning into myself and throwing pitty parties and close myself to others in a sense. 

Think what would happen if I wouldn't allow myself to stay there.  It's okay to have those feelings, I just don't need to "live" there indefinately.  And I have to say....I've been "living" there far too long! 

If I would just be more willing to share a smile, a wave as I pass some one on the street and/or offer a friendly "hi, how are you, my name is _______________" how much better would the world be?  My neighborhood?  My community?  

This reminds me of a saying I have on my living room wall above a mirror  "Be The Change You Want To See In The World".   Well, baby...it's time for a change!  LOL!  It's time to put on my big girl panties and play like a big girl!  LOL!

Kind words and deeds can lift burdens and gladden hearts.  I'm reminded of a story about a friend of mine that literally saved a young mothers life simply by saying “hi, how are you doing?” and extending his hand in offering a warm-heart-felt handshake and a genuinely warm-bright smile.  He was willing to wear his big boy undies and play like a big boy...:>)

We’ll call the young mother Tracy and the Friend who saved her life, Jim.

Tracy had given up hope, she was recently divorced, raising her son as a single mother and struggling financially, emotionally and spiritually.  She had come to an event that Jim was in attendance also as her last hope for answers that she was seeking.

Jim noticed Tracy standing alone, somber, arms folded as if trying to protect herself and closing herself off to more hurt and pain.

Jim, being the friendly and open guy that he naturally is, extended his hand and said “hi, how are you?”  To which Tracy accepted his handshake and began to cry.  Jim, was not expecting this response and inquired if there was something wrong.

Tracy began to open up and tell Jim that she felt that her life was hopeless, she expressed her sense of loneliness, told him of her struggles, her fears….as she did so, she sobbed uncontrollably as this sweet and genuinely interested stranger listened on.

Tracy told Jim that she had arranged for her son to stay with a friend while she attended the event for the weekend.  She had prayed to God and told him that she was just too tired to go on and that this weekend was going to be her last attempt at seeking hope.  She asked that God give her a sign if she was to continue living life in-spite of all of her challenges.  Tracy was planning on taking her own life.  She had brought a gun with her and had left it in her room.  My friend, Jim, was the sign she needed from God to encourage her to keep moving forward and bring a sense of hope in to her life again.

As Jim listened on, Tracy explained to him, thank you so much for taking time to introduce yourself to me, a perfect stranger, and saying hello.  If you had not done that, my plan was to go up to my room when this session was over and end my life.  Thank you again for gifting me a friendly hello, for smiling and inquiring, how I was doing?

Now granted, we are not all going to experience something this dramatic, however, we never know when our friendly smile, warm hand-shake or friendly hi, how are you? Is going to impact someone’s life.

Life is buisy.  We all have our "issues" we are dealing with.  Sometimes we feel too tired or too shy to be the first to extend a warm smile and an enthusiastic hello. Sometimes we cannot see a single minute to serve, however, the Prophet of my church, Gordon B. Hinkley, states that difficulties are often opportunities for service. Someone has said that hell “is frozen in self-pity.”   Sometimes the solution is not to change our circumstance, but to change our attitude about that circumstance. 

Treat everyone (this includes ourselves) with more kindness than is necessary because everyone is fighting some kind of battle.
I have found writing this little message cathartic and am grateful for the inspiration to share.  Thank you for reading and allowing me to be human in my thoughts and feelings and aiding me in a resolution of getting over it already and move on!  :>)  LOL!

For when we love and serve and teach those who come within our reach.... Miracles Begin That Way....

I believe in the power of music and I remember this song that I sang in church one Sunday and I feel that it sums up this little message beautifully.  I hope you enjoy it.
www.defordmusic.com (Becki Madsen)

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=698502    Click green link listen to Song

http://www.defordmusic.com/miraclessolomed.pdf   Click green link Sheet Music and Lyrics

If You Can Laugh At It You Can Live With It

 

Are you able to laugh with yourself when you do silly things or embarassing things?

Camera’s are rolling.   I’m having a blast.  Everyone is watching….all eyes are on me….it’s like I’ve been cast in a real life comedy film.  My handsome beau is at my side, spectators are watching to see what I’ll do next….the crowd is laughing hysterically…..okay so that isn’t exactly what happened, yet a girl can dream right?

 So….it’s after Valentine’s Day and I’m at Wal-Mart shopping with three of my kids and two of my grandkids for milk and eggs…I emphasize MILK and EGGS!  Can you see where this might be going?  LOL?

 So, we arrive in the store, grocery cart in hand, I’m determined to make it to the BACK of the store for the items necessary for our short visit to Wal-Mart.  Yes!   SUCCESS!  We head toward the front of the store, taking a different route than the one we took originally…..ooops, never do this because you always end up seeing new stuff on your treck to the check out…!

We almost make it to the check out line and what to our wondering eyes should appear…but a very large bin stuffed with soft toys to the top!  Well of course we have to stop and look.  Not only that… each plush, furry, cuddly toy is only  .75!  What a bargain!…good morning k-mart shoppers..oh, yeah, wrong store.
Well, the search for the perfect plush, furry, cuddly toy goes on for several minutes.  I wait patiently as each child makes there sort through the lot of fur covered foam with eyeballs!

I even assist my grand-daughter Sierra as she announces “grandma, how bout I go stuffed animal diving?  You know instead of dumpster diving? Get it?”  I laugh and reluctantly tip her upside down head first into the very large bin.  We conduct this ritual for at least 10 minutes, digging to the very bottom and still not finding the perfect furry friend to retrieve and take home.  I personally think she was having so much fun that she got side tracked and forgot what the TRUE mission of this exercise was…

I finally put on my voice of authority and say “Sierra, grandma is ready to go, find an animal now or you will not get to have one.”  To which she immediately gets serious, for at least a minute more…I finally tell her…”move over, grandma’s going in…”  Oh I know, your thinking, you didn't and I’m here to say…oh yes, I did! 

I tipped myself upside down over the edge of the bin to assist my grand-daughter in retrieving the perfect stuffed toy.  I would lift a toy from the lot and ask, how about this one…no grandma….so in I go again…this goes on for several minutes.   I think she found it so amusing that grandma would actually do such a silly thing that it still took her several minutes to find the toy(s) she wanted.

Yes, mom/grandma gave in and allowed each child to choose 3 toys each and in my ventures I thought, heck, I might as well get a toy for each child for Easter too.  So not only did we get milk and eggs but we purchased $20 of those .75 stuffed, plush, furry, cuddly pals to take home!

 Well, the story doesn’t end there, oh no.  When I get home I discover that I haven’t heard my cell phone ring for quit some time.  This is highly unusual.  I check my purse, nope not there, I have the kids go check out in the car.  Nope not there either.  I check my pockets in my jacket, nope not there…OH NO!  The horror!  No Way!  Oh my gosh!  It is!  You guessed it, my cell phone had fallen out of my pocket during my “down dog” yoga pose in the very large bin in Wal-Mart!

It’s Friday night!  Date night!  Oh for heavens sakes I might as well let Steve know that before we can go on our date we have to stop by Wal-Mart for a brief work-out in the very large bin…. “Steve, guess what, I’ve lost my phone in a very large bin of stuffed, plush, furry, cuddly, toys at Wal-Mart and I have to go and find it.”  He just laughs and doesn’t even blink an eye…H E L L O, he has been married to me for 14 years!  And every day is an adventure being married to the one and only….

 So, off to Wal-Mart we go to retrieve my phone.  We get to the store and we march straight back to where the very large bin is located.  I immediately remove my shoes and jump right in!  Yes, the cameras are rolling!

 Steve stands by and directs traffic and informs people “it’s okay she’s just lost her phone.”   All the while I’m laughing as I swim in the mountain of stuffed toys.  I am obviously enjoying this way too much!   I energetically sort through the mass of furry covered foam with eyeballs and hear a CLINK!  Oooooh  I hear something.  Steve tells me to hang on as he calls my phone.  For a minute we don’t hear anything further because of course, it’s on vibrate, making the adventure even more adventurous!  He calls again and we are very still and….oh! oh! I hear the vibration, I move towards the sound and in the process discover my earring!  Oh I forgot about those, oh and my wire wrapped polished rock that my son had just presented me that afternoon…finally success we find the phone but I’m still missing one of my earrings…

The search continues because I refuse to stop searching for the other earring.  I love those earrings.  I must appear to need assistance because a very nice lady stops and inquires if I’ve lost something….I tell her that I’m looking for my earring.  She offers her shopping cart to transfer some of the toys into it to aid in the search.  We proceed to transfer the toys from the bin into her shopping cart.  Oh joy!  I find the earring at the very bottom of the very large bin!  We then transfer the toys from her shopping cart back into the very large bin.  I thank her and she moves on her way and I hop out of the very large bin, put my shoes on my feet, scoop up my purse, announce that all items have been retrieved and take a bow…well…not really, but I feel like I should for such an astonishing performance!

Steve and I walk out of the store giggling all the while.  The night was a fun filled date night full of laughter and comments about how funny it is going to be for security when they watch the tape and see a grown woman diving head first into the bin and then later…. full on inside the bin, like a caged animal, rummaging furiously through the mass of furry covered foam with eyeballs!   My day in the spot light may come yet…watch for episodes of this fun-filled adventure on youtube!  :>)  Remember….If you can laugh at it, you can live with it!  Oh really you ask?…of course you can!

Don’t Let Anyone Tell You Differently!

My story really begins back when I was still living with my Father In Heaven in the Spirit World. Okay now before you start thinking that I’m a whacked out crazy loon….allow me to voice my disclaimer. I am a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So the views and beliefs periodically may or may not be the same views and beliefs as yours. However, may I just say this, let’s put our differences aside right now and allow us to take the beneficial parts of what I have to say and use them to make our lives more productive and use them to serve in a greater capacity in His Kingdom to build each other up. The world has enough people who tear each other down, let’s not nit pick at the content, if you can’t say something nice, please, just don’t bother to say it. Okay, enough said about that.

Where was I? Oh yes, the pre-existence. I believe that we lived before we came to this earth and we were for-ordained to be who we are by our Father in Heaven. D&C 138:56 we are here for a specific purpose and it is up to us to fulfill that purpose to the best of our abilities. Though, I must put in another disclaimer….some of us take the scenic route on our way to remembering our true purpose, and that’s all I’ll say about that for now.

So my mom tells me that my journey began even before I was born. She and my Dad were in attendance at a church meeting in Levan, Utah where an agent for the Indian Placement Program was speaking. He was encouraging the congregation to get more involved in the Indian Placement Program that the church used to place Indian Children so that they could further their education.

As early as 1947, American Indians in the Southwest were seeking foster families in the Church so their youth could attend high school. These individual requests led to the establishment in 1954 of the Indian Student Placement Service (ISPS), sponsored by the Church to serve members who were Native Americans. Ensign » 1990 » January

During this meeting my parents very instinctively heard this gentleman state that anyone interested in “adopting” an Indian baby should call this number and he gave a number to call.

My mother immediately called the number that Monday to which she received some disheartening news. The Church did not advocate adopting Indian Children. My mother was told that she had called the “Indian Placement” office.  My mother insisted that she heard the speaker say adoption.  My mother was gently informed that she must have misunderstood.

My mother hung up the phone very disappointed. For she had experienced four miscarriages by this time and was so excited at the prospect of adopting a baby and an Indian baby to boot! Though she was saddened by the news she had just received, she was convinced of what she heard in that meeting and so she proceeded to phone friends that were present at the meeting also. To which they all informed her that she had heard incorrectly. Mom knew in her heart what she had heard and refused to believe any differently. So, when Dad got home from work, she asked him what he had heard. My Dad heard the same thing that my Mom heard. They were the only one’s who heard the wording differently than the rest of the congregation.

Well, she went to bed undeterred by the news she received and knew that everything would work itself out. To her surprise, the next day she received a phone call that confirmed what she and my dad had heard. The Indian Agent asked for Sister Nielsen. My mom replied “this is she.” They  proceeded to tell my mother that she wasn’t going to believe this but he went to a meeting and someone stood up and said “if you know of anyone willing to adopt and Indian baby, let them know.”  This mother wanted her baby adopted into a white Mormon family. My mother was ecstatic as you can imagine!

My mom and dad were so excited about the news of adopting an Indian baby, contrary to the discouraging comments that came from friends and even some family members. Back then it was not openly acceptable to adopt out of your “race” I guess. I’m so glad that our culture has evolved into being more accepting rather than segregating. Anyway, my parents were so thrilled at the prospect of adding another child to their brood of two amazing Sons. My mom began educating my brothers about this new Indian baby that was going to be their new sibling. From what I understand they too were very excited for the new addition to the family.

Because of the discouraging comments that my parents were receiving from others out of concern for them, she had the opportunity to talk to Elder Spencer W. Kimball, then an Apostle and later became our Prophet, at Stake Conference.  My mother was very shy back then and it took all the muster she could to go up and speak to Elder Kimball.  She told Brother Kimball about the Indian baby for adoption.  Brother Kimball misunderstood at first because he told my mother that the Church did not advocate adopting the Indian children.  My mother explained more about what was happening and Brother Kimball told my mother that if an Indian mother was giving her baby up for adoption and she and my dad had the opportunity to adopt the baby, that they should do so and that great blessings would come to them for doing so.  After that nothing made my question her and my dad’s decision to adopt me again. 

Finally the day came when my mom received the call to come to Salt Lake and pick up their new bundle of joy at the Relief Society Headquarters on Temple Square. Just one problem….my dad, as usual, was not at home. My dad has always been a hard-worker and he was busy keeping up his reputation working up Payson Canyon for the Forest Service.

My mom loaded the boys into the car with my basinet in the back seat and proceeded the long journey north from Nephi, UT. First stop, Payson Canyon to find my Dad. So, up the canyon they went, honking the horn as they drove, hollering out the window “Brryyyyaaaannnn, Brrrryyyyannn! Finally success! Mom says it took awhile to find him but they finally found where he was washing out garbage cans. My dad had to finish washing out the cans before he could leave sooooo, my mom and my two new older brothers to be, helped my dad wash out the garbage cans before proceeding up to Salt Lake.

With great anticipation they arrived at the Relief Society Headquarters and waited for them to bring me out. They were so excited and shocked at the same time! What! This Indian Baby is WHITE! Okay, granted she has black hair and a cute little Indian flat nose and adorably fat squishy cheeks, but she’s no papoose!

My mom said that my brothers took one look at me and then looked at her with very confused looks on their faces that seemed to say “ummmm, mom…so what’s up with the white baby, I thought we were getting an Indian baby…” Well, I guess it was unanimous that they would keep me, inspite of my “pale face” skin….

And so begins, the journey of my life time…..

Here We Go!

Some say I started adult life very early in life, some may say a little too early, though, it’s like one of my insightful mentors always says, “compared to what?” I have had a life full of adventure, heartbreak, triumph and creation…..First and foremost I am a Wife, Mother of 6, Grandmother of 8 and Friend.
I run a multi-million dollar business from the comfort of my home while raising my family and spoiling our grandkids.
I love to share all of my “secrets” so that others can create whatever success they choose in their lives, I guess you could say I’m a “tool gatherer and tool sharer”…mmm is that grammatically correct? Did I spell that correctly? Well, let me just say, you don’t have to be a brilliant wizard to create happiness, harmony and freedom in your life, you simply have to be willing to board the vehicle of your choice and begin your journey…..so, fasten your seat-belt, stay tuned because….HERE WE GO!