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Saturday, December 06, 2014

One Year of Walking The Creek

Just over one year ago I started this blog.  I can't believe how fast the year has gone.  I have learned much and grown even more in this past year.  I have had many experiences that have stretched me, some almost to my breaking point, but those probably have helped me to grow the most of all.  I wanted a place to share my meanderings in life - my own happy place to be - and this has been my walk the creek.  It has been good.

One thing I can say for sure, is I am actually kind of looking forward to Christmas this year.  I know I actually said that!  Me, who hates almost everything that has to do with Christmas, except the real meaning of Christmas.  I have been psyching myself up for it for the past few months, planning and thinking of how to make it great.

Of course, we are going to do our Santa deliveries again this year, which was so much fun last year.  We get my son to dress up as Santa, and on Christmas Eve we deliver presents and goodies to families that might need a little TLC.  I have been collecting treasures, goodies, gift bags, and picking up little things here and there for a while now, making my list of who I want Santa to visit,  and checking his list twice for him, so that Christmas Eve can be perfect.

I have decided to do a Christmas Eve box and start this new tradition in our family.  Logan and I went and bought a treasure chest type box, and are filling it with things that our family can do on Christmas Eve.  I found the idea of course browsing on pinterest (one of my best friends).  We are adding things like a new nativity dvd, yummy special treats, a gingerbread house to make, a new Christmas book, maybe a new game, and stuff like that.  I know our kids are older, but it is never too late to make traditions.  I think them being older is even a better reason to keep doing things.  It would be so easy to slack off and quit on some of the little things that mean the most.  I often think that because we are getting older, and we only have teens left at home, it would be all too easy to just do nothing and we all sit and stare at our technological devices and be happy with that.  Quitting, on setting those fun times and special times with the two left at home, would be too easy.  So thus a new tradition, a Christmas Eve box, for whoever happens to be at our house for the evening. 

Christmas Eve is also full of delicious yummy foods at our house.  Usually finger foods and snacking type things that are everybody's favorites.  I ask each person what they really want, and that is what our menu consists of.  There is never any rhyme nor reason to any of it, just whatever is the favorites at the time.  It always turns out great. 

So as far as Christmas Eve goes this year, it is shaping up to be a great one.  I am actually looking forward to it.  I will have both of my University / College kids home, which makes it about perfect!  Not sure which of my married kids will be around because it is their year with the inlaws, but that's okay too.  We will have fun.

Christmas Day is looking to be relaxing and lazy, which works for me.  If I could just figure out what everyone wants for Christmas!  For those of you, who have been done your shopping for some time now, how do you do it?  I just never know what to get for my kids.  A couple of them are really easy, and the rest, are unbelievably hard.  Often I just think I want to give money or gift cards, but then I feel like I am copping out by doing that.  Where is the fun in that?  But, when they have the means to buy what they want when they want it, I feel like I have to find something that they wouldn't think of for themselves.  Oh the pain!  That is a part of it I still haven't learned to love. 

I started this blog a year ago, to find some peace in my soul, to see if I couldn't find some peace in Christmas, and to have a place to keep some memories and thoughts.  Have I succeeded in this?  I believe so.  I have learned that I love blogging, and it does help me have a place to share my thoughts.  In writing some of these things, and doing a bit of research, I have helped others as well as myself, so success! 

Start a blog!  You just might find that you find yourself along the way!

Friday, November 21, 2014

When I grow up.....

Yesterday at work, it was dress up day!  For sure!  Because I work in a preschool, our theme for this month is transportation and community helpers, so therefore we had, dress up like "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Reflection - I am grown up.  Okay so, if I could be anything, who would it be?  What would I be?  Well I have always wanted to be a mom and grandma, check!   I have always wanted to be an herbalist, check!  I have always wanted to be a writer, check!  Too bad none of them pay well enough to do them as a means of survival right now, but that's okay, I have become pretty much what I have wanted to be.  I got to school and one of the little girls asked me, what I was supposed to be, and I just said ME!  I have always wanted to be
just ME when I grew up, and it worked out!  At least pretty close.  I always wanted to be rich too, and I am in some ways, but $$, didn't happen.  Anyways, it was pretty cute, because a little while later when the teacher was asking each of them what they wanted to be, most were doctors or fireman, a super hero, a couple of ballerinas, and a few others, but this one little girl just looked at me and said that she wanted to be just ME, meaning she wanted to be herself when she grew up.  She got it!

I was also chatting with my sister in law a couple of days ago, had a great visit, and she was telling me all the things she wanted when she grew up, and her epiphany this past summer, of how she realized she is living her dream of when she was a child.  She just didn't realize her dream involved other things.  It wasn't exactly how she pictured it, but it was there regardless.

I wonder how many of us, if we look back to our childhood, would realize we are living our dream?  And if we are not living our dream - so to speak - or if we didn't grow up into who we wanted to be, then why don't we start to change it?  You know, I am pretty sure I have lived more than half of my life now, and I have accomplished a few of the things that I really wanted, but I want to keep going.  I don't think I am ready to lay down and die yet.  I still love to write - and have a couple of book projects on the go.  I still am learning about herbal medicine, I don't think I can ever learn it all.  I still would love to be $$ rich, so I keep working!  :)  I have a few other things that I think I would like to be when I grow up, so I keep moving forward.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  When is grown up?  And what is your plan to make it happen? 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thinking Barriers


It is amazing what just the right little thing we read can do for us!  I was reading this little short book - in fact it is just a little pdf file that I downloaded - and you can find it here if you want to read it.  It is called How to Think Sideways  It's even free! It isn't much, in fact it is just a teaser to the courses that she offers on her site  www.howtothinksideways.com   and I am not promoting her courses, because I haven't taken them, they are focused on better writing, and they look like they would be great courses, but what I did love, was what she gets right into:

There are four thinking barriers that we need to overcome:


SAFE never starts,
PERFECT never finishes,
VICTIM never acts,
FEEL never thinks.


In this little pdf, she doesn't go into great detail on these barriers, it is all a part of her course she is promoting, but I want to apply these barriers to life instead of writing - for they are really barriers that we all face in life.  Perhaps at some time or another, we even may have to deal with some of these barriers that we don't even realize yet. Whether it is job related, marriage, abuse, other relationship, financial, depression, mental illness, or whatever it is that you are facing, hopefully you can find some strength in these few little words.

I do like to feel safe, in fact so much so that I am ALWAYS starting new projects, business ideas, blogs, etc and I never really take them past the stage of where I feel safe.  My business ideas never get off the ground, even though they are good ones, even though I may have done up a whole business plan, regardless of how much I have put into them, I always come to the point where I have to take that next step and push myself just a little bit out of the safe zone, and I stop!  Then I wait until the next brilliant idea comes along and I move onto it!  Safe isn't helping me!  Safe is keeping me locked up inside of my own little world and not allowing my inner me to explode!  Why do I do this?  Because it is my comfort zone, and I need to find within myself that desire to succeed at my task that is stronger than my desire to be safe.  I know I can do it, but there is that safety zone............always there.  So I push a little more each day to stretch the border of the zone out just a little bit further.  It is my way of growing!

I am not a perfectionist - or at least I don't think I am - until I am tasked with a project and I can't relax until I have given it my all.  I know inside of me that nothing will ever be perfect, but I have to give it 110% or it isn't good enough, at least most of the time, wink, wink. I think it is a good think to always be trying to do your best, but yet realizing that there is no such thing as perfect, at least not in this life as we know it, there is only doing  your best.

I understand why the victim never acts.  It is really hard to put yourself out there where you feel like you might end up being the victim again.  Being a victim is not fun.  It hurts, and it sucks - plain and simple.  But if we don't keep pushing ourselves, how will we ever find the point where we conquer being the victim and start being the victor?  I have some barriers to overcome in this one as well.  I recall a few different times in life where someone has made me feel less than good - in fact down right horrible!  Instead of pushing through these kind of situations and trying to solve problems, I just tell myself that I will never do anything that will allow myself to be in a situation where something like that might happen again.  Now there are smart points to this kind of argument, and it entirely depends on the situation, because if it is a situation where you may be abused in any way, then stay away from it.  It isn't worth it.  But if it is a situation where you could become the victor and push through to success - then push through!  We often are not the victim as much as we originally thought.  Conquer those fears and become the victor, instead of letting the fears conquer us and staying a victim to our fears.

FEEL never thinks!  Wow, what a concept!  Guilty as charged!  I am definitely one that thinks with my emotions, and through the years, I am learning to slow down and think things through.  It has taken me six children, and six siblings of my own, and 50 years of learning, to realize that there are solutions to most of our challenges and questions, if we just slow down and think them through.  It is way too easy to let our emotions get the most of us, we start crying, ranting, and freaking out over things.  We can't seem to find that light at the end of the tunnel because we can't even see the tunnel, it is all black everywhere!  Slow down and start to think things through, and sure enough answers will start to manifest themselves.  Sometimes these answers might come through inspiration, through other people, or totally unexpected ways, but they are always there if we are willing to think things through.

I have been thinking much lately about life - you know because I am 50 now - and reality is finally settling in that I need a better focus on a few things.  I am searching for some answers that I need, but I don't want to go into detail on these right now, but I am loving the results of where my research is taking me.  I kind of hit a brick wall a couple of months ago. I stopped writing on my blogs and on my books.  I stopped having hope that things would change or get better - you know that stuck syndrome that this is life and I just have to deal with it!  I seriously felt like life had come to a screeching halt, and I went immediately into survivor mode!  Not a good place to be!  You know that place where you just go through the motions and do what you have to do because you think there is no other options?  You know that place where you feel like a robot that just is on help mode and your whole life is there to serve others, never mind that perhaps you might actually want to enjoy it, because of course robots have no capacity to feel joy, they are just there to serve and do?  Ya well, this was the kind of brick wall I hit. Not a great place to be.  This has led me to some serious reflection, so now begins the new journey to push beyond my safety net, to quit trying to make everything perfect, just get it done the best I can, to quit allowing myself to fall victim to my insecurities, and to really start thinking through things because there is always a solution, I just have to find it.

So............

Quit worrying so much about SAFE, instead get STARTed,
Quit caring so much about whether or not something is PERFECT just get moving to do your BEST,
Quit creating myself as the VICTIM and start seeing myself as the VICTOR - I can conquer
Quit letting my emotions get in the way of getting things done - start THINKing and less FEELing



Tuesday, September 23, 2014

My Road Trip

My Road Trip - who I want to be in my life; how to forgive people, and how to love them regardless.

I can honestly say that I have been extremely blessed in my life with people surrounding me that love me. I went through a somewhat abusive situation in my younger years, in fact I can think of a couple of them, and I have had my struggles getting over them. It isn't an easy thing to do. I actually thought I was doing pretty good at handling them, until a few days ago, I was in a situation that tested me and I failed miserably. I was walking into a room full of people and I thought I saw a person in that room that had at one point in my life, offered me some pretty extreme verbal abuse. I thought until that moment that I had forgiven that person, and that I was okay to be in the same room with them, if that situation ever came up. Well thankfully I mistook someone else for this other person, and I panicked. I couldn't go into the room. I froze. Okay, so I still have some work to do to get over this. What a tough thing. I still love this family member dearly, but am terrified of letting this person in again, because I am afraid of what might happen. How sad. I want to have all of my family be a part of my life.

How is it that we can let other people control our lives to this extent? We must fight it and learn to get over it, and love again. We can turn our hearts to the example of the Savior who showed love and compassion on everyone, even after they placed Him on the cross. He still asked the Father to forgive them because they didn't know what they were doing. I guess I have some more turning my heart to get to this point. To really understand love and forgiveness like He did.

None of us are perfect. We can love others though. We can rise above the situations we might find ourselves in and be better. We can love people. We can trust people. There are good people in the world. We just need to seek them out. They won't be hard to find if we are looking in the right places. The right places – I think we can all figure out what those places are.

Learn to love again, because the world needs people who love people. Here is a great way to find people to love: “In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day looking for someone to help.” M. Russell Ballard. I guarantee that if you will find people to help, you will find some of the dearest friends to love in your life. You will also find that you will love yourself.

I love this quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley -

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.... I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.  I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.  I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.  I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.  I want the Lord to know I was here and that I really lived."  

Amen to that!  


Monday, September 22, 2014

Burnout - Don't Quit!!

Do you ever have those days where you just want to quit everything?  Do you ever have those weeks?  Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed and exhausted that I feel like I just want to say to heck with everything and quit it all.  But, now......... let's be realistic because we can't just do that.  So what do you do when you feel like that, because I am sure that I am not the only one who feels it?!!  I had a chat with one of my boys the other day and told him that often when I feel like that - because he thought he was the only one who ever felt that way - I just make myself go through the motions, because it is the right thing to do, and eventually I come to the point where I understand again why I do what I do, and then I can go on again with a renewed energy.

I can't tell you how many times I just go through the motions, because it is what we are supposed to do, not because I WANT to do it, but because I NEED to do it.  There is a difference for sure.  But "always" I come away eventually feeling like I can do it again for a short while.  Just go through the motions and try to put a smile on our face, and eventually you will be smiling again for real.  Not an easy task sometimes, but it works for me.

I have always liked this poem Don't Quit


I just keep telling myself this and I make it through again.  There has got to be victory around the next corner right?  Well we just keep walking the road and going around the corners and eventually, as we look back, we will see the little victories, the big wins, and all of the successes along the way that have helped us get to where we are today.  So don't quit! Persevere! Endure! Fake it if you must! Keep smiling!

Just don't quit! 

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Be Grateful

Sometimes it is really hard to see life clearly, and to see the things we should be really thankful for, until we come across someone whose story is far worse than our own.  It is so easy to sit back and see our own life as one that is miserable - and don't get me wrong, sometimes it is really miserable - but there is almost always someone who has it worse, especially if we take time to count our own blessings. You know, the blessings that really matter and the things we are really grateful for - like flush toilets, and a soft bed to sleep in. 

I know that sounds kind of silly that we should be grateful for these little things, but have you ever really stopped to think about them?  Have you ever really wondered what life would be like living in another place or time, where these little pleasures didn't exist? 

What would your life be like if you didn't have running water available to you?  I for one am so grateful for this little luxury.  I can't imagine having to carry water every day from a stream, if there were any water at all.  I often take for granted the fact that we do have running water.  I posted an article on water and the importance of it in our lives on one of my other blogs some time ago, if you are interested in reading a bit more about it.

I am really grateful for the simple little luxury of flush toilets and toilet paper.  I know that sounds silly, but can
you imagine??  Need I say more?  Every time you flush from now on, be grateful that you can!  There are many places in this world where that isn't an option.

I am really grateful for technology, and I actually mean kind of old school technology, like stoves, microwaves, and refrigerators.  It wasn't really that long ago, when they were cooking things over coal stoves and fires, (in their homes!) and keeping things cold was a real problem, so everything had to be preserved, or kept in ice chests, water streams, or outside in the winter.  Now I love camping, I really do, but I love to take my propane stove and fridge with me - my trailer.  I can rough it camping, and I have many times just to learn and experience, but I sure am glad I don't have to live like that every day.  It is so much work.  I really think that God blessed us mothers with these modern conveniences because He knew how much work it is.  I am grateful! Again, there are many people in the world today, who still don't have these conveniences and I wouldn't want to be without them.

I am grateful that I don't have to sleep on a straw mattress, or a dirt floor, or live in a tent! I know people who have done all of these, or less than these in their lives - today!  My body would hurt so bad, but then again, I probably wouldn't know any different so perhaps I would just not complain because I would be grateful for whatever I had.  But, I do know different, and I am so grateful not only for good beds, but memory foam!  I love my memory foam on my bed!

I am also grateful today for modern medicine, even though I think our lifestyles have created most of the medical problems that we have, I am grateful that we have options to fix these problems.  I have a minor heart issue, and it is totally treatable with modern medicine, and possibly a surgery.  There are many places in our "modern" world, that these options are not available.  Many places where people would just die, and do die every day because they don't have these options available to them.  Thank goodness that we have medicine and doctors to help treat all of the mental illnesses that we have created for ourselves.  Thank goodness that we have modern medicine to be able to treat all of the actual disease that we have, some of our own doing and some that just happens.  Thank goodness for modern medicine.

These are just a few of the things that I am grateful for today. I hope you take time each day, in all of the little things that you do, to be grateful for something.  Whether that something is big or small, be grateful that you have it in your life.  There is someone, somewhere, who doesn't have what you have.

Be grateful.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

If you don't love it - Change It!

I love life!  I have a great life!  I just don't understand sometimes how some people can be so grumpy and unhappy with their lives, when they are in control of it.  If you don't love it, change it!  I know that you are probably saying that it just isn't that simple.  You just can't go and change everything in your life and all of a sudden be happy! You are absolutely right!  You have to first of all make a decision, then make a plan, and
I love my sunflowers.  Oh ya the guy in the pic is pretty sweet too!
then make that plan work.

First of all making the decision to change your life - for the most part, is pretty easy.  Making the decision that you are not happy and you want to change.  Now comes the harder part.  What things about your life don't you love?  What things do you need to change to make you happy?

I know that so very many people think that money will make them happier.  And to some extent that may be true, so if you think you need more money, then what will YOU have to do, to make that happen?  Because it won't just fall in your lap.  Perhaps you need a career change, perhaps you need to cut back on your spending habits, perhaps you need to go back to school and earn a degree of some sort to create that career change.  Whatever it is, YOU need to do it.

Do you need to fix a broken relationship?  Do you need to discover who YOU really are?  Do you need to get healthy?  What is it that you need to make you happy?

Are you in an unhealthy relationship that needs to be fixed, then what are you going to do about it?  Make a plan, and put that plan into action.  Do you need to go on that self discovery journey to find out what you really want out of life?  Make a plan to do it, and carry out the plan.

Luffa Gourd!  I am gonna love making soap with you!
Know that as you move along the road, along your plan, there will most definitely be bumps and curves and things that will make you want to quit.  Things that will make you want to cave and return back to the unhappy life, perhaps because it was easier.  Don't quit, don't give in.  If you know what you want, keep at it, one step at a time, one day at a time.

I am always on a self discovery journey.  I love learning new things about myself.  I have my plan in place to help me get to where I think I want to be, and I am going through the journey.  It isn't always easy, in fact sometimes it is down right discouraging, but I keep going, and you can too.  Nobody can do this for us.  It is all up to YOU to do it for yourself.

If YOU don't love your life - Change it!  Life is just too short to not love it.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Family History - Handcart Companies


This story is told in as part of the history of Reuben James who was the son of William James and Jane Haynes.  Reuban was the brother of one of our great grandmothers.  

As I have been doing some family  history and reading some of these stories again, I so appreciate what they went through, so that we might have what we have today.  They sacrificed, struggled, and had enormous trials, just as we have trials today.  Our trials are different, but not any less significant.  We all fight for what we believe in, fight for our families, and fight the world against all that we don't agree with.  No less than what these people did, just in a different way.  I hope you enjoy this story of my ancestors.  Perhaps it might help put into perspective some of our own challenges.  I am so grateful that they kept records of these stories.

In the Church History Sunday School lesson for November 8th 1931, we read, “When they arrived at Rocky Ridge, another terrible wind and snow storm come upon them. As they went up over this ridge, they had to wrap themselves in blankets and quilts to keep from freezing.

On this day, Jon Chislett was appointed to help the rear of the company along. After the company had left the campground, he buried one of the brethren that had died during the night
and then set out on foot alone. He had not gone far up the ridge when he overtook a family who were unable to pull their handcart through the snow, which was here knee deep. He helped them pull their cart on up the ridge, and soon overtook another family, likewise unable to pull their cart. Now all pulled one cart a short distance, then returned and brought up the other. He and these families struggled up the ridge and overtook other families who were too tired to pull their handcarts. But by each family helping the other all managed to continue on.

He and these families now over took a wagon drawn by an ox team. In this he placed many who were utterly exhausted. All continue on and soon came upon an old gentleman and his family sitting by the roadside. The old gentleman, whose name was James, was unable to pull his handcart any farther. Jon Chislett could not place him in the wagon because it was already too crowded.

This elderly gentleman had a shotgun with which he had provided food for his family on many occasions. Jon Chislett took the gun from the handcart, tied a small bundle of necessities on the end of it, gave it to the old gentleman, and started him on his way, accompanied by his twelve year old boy. The old gentleman's wife and two daughters who were older than the boy took hold of the handcart and pulled it along. Soon all reached the summit of the hill.

They now journeyed on more easily and after several hours overtook two more wagons loaded with sick and several handcarts being pulled by tired out immigrants. There were now in the rear three wagons, eight handcarts and forty five people.

By dark they came to a stream of water which was frozen over. They could not see where the main body of the company had crossed. They started an ox team over, but one of the oxen broke through the ice and refused to go any farther. They thought it inadvisable to go on and leave this team of oxen and the wagon, yet they knew they could not camp there because there was no wood. John Chislett was therefore sent on foot to find the main company and secure aid.

Soon he came upon the old gentleman William James, and his little boy sitting by the roadside. The old man was worn out. John Chislett goe him to his feet and helped him along a short distance. Realizing that he had to hurry on to get help for his struggling party, he took the quilt which he had wrapped around him, and rolling the old gentleman up in it, left him by the roadside. He told the little boy to walk up and down by his father and be sure not to sit down or he would freeze to death. He also told him to watch for teams which would soon be coming back. John Chislett then went on in search of the company, which by this time had encamped. After walking several hours he saw the campfires and at 11 pm aroused Captains Willie and Kimball, who immediately got their horses and wagons and went back and brought in the straggling families and ox teams. It was five o'clock in the morning before the last of them got in camp.

The brethren found the old gentleman James as he lay sleeping wrapped in the quilt, and his little boy walking up and down, faithfully keeping watch over him. Father James and his son were placed in the wagon and taken to camp However the old gentleman died before morning. His wife and two daughters faithfully pulled the handcart with its load into the camp.

On this morning Captains Kimball and Willie, because so many were dead and dying, decided not to travel on this day. During the night thirteen had died. The brethren dug one large square hole in which they buried these faithful saints. They covered the bodies with willows and then with dirt. Two more died during the day and were buried in one grave. This encampment was on Willow Creek, a branch of the Sweetwater River.

The next day the company journeyed on through the snow; crossed the Sweetwater on the ice and at night camped a little northeast of South pass. Here two more of the faithful immigrants died and were buried. The following day the saints continued their journey, and near the South pass they met more relief wagons from Salt Lake Valley. These were filled with clothing and food.

After crossing the South Pass, the weather was warmer and nearly all were permitted to do away with their handcarts and ride in wagons. By this time about sixty seven of the number had died.

The Willie Handcart Company finally arrived at Salt Lake City on Sunday, November 9th 1856.
They were received with every possible kindness. The saints in the valley took them into their homes and made them comfortable.

They whipped Reuben to get him to move around to get the circulation in his body. He lived but never grew any after this experience.

He married Sarah Briggs Allen who had been married twice before. Alice Foutz is one of his step-children. She told me Uncle Reuben used to tell her mother about this experience He said it was more painful to get well from this than it would have been to die.

He was a good reader and would bring books to their home and read to them and their mother married him. They were married in the St. George Temple, 20 Feb 1878. They had no children. He was always stiff from this experience and it was hard for him to get in or out of buggies.

He died in Provo, Utah, and is buried there.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

What makes you happy?

I have been thinking on this lately, what really makes a person happy?  I have a friend, that no matter what she has before her, it seems like she just can't be happy with it.  It isn't good enough for her.  She wants more, different, better, and I just don't know how to help this friend.  I know that she is not alone in this.  The world of full of people who are looking for the thing that will make them happy.  Nothing is ever good enough.

I have found that I am happy with my life and who I am. I honestly can say that I don't care if I have more or
Be happy with whatever road you are traveling!
different, or better.  Those are just things, and things can't make me happy.  If you are one of those kind of people who always want something different, or more, or better, then I have some sorry news for you, I don't think you will ever be satisfied.  I honestly don't know if there is that peace to be found.  Perhaps I am wrong, but happiness is a choice.  It isn't made by having something different.  It isn't made even by someone.  It really is a choice to be happy with who we are.

I have found that being with my grandkids and my own kids makes me happy.  Family is where it is all at.  I hurt for people who do not have family, who for
Grandkids are the best!
whatever reasons haven't had family, either by their own choosing, or not.  Either way, it must be painful, and I hurt for them.  My own little family, we are very close, and that is what life is all about.  Family.  What a crazy, distorted, twisted world we live in, where people are so messed up that they don't put family first.  I am afraid it will be the undoing of us.

Doing what I am supposed to do makes me happy.  I am a Christian, and I believe that doing what we are put here on earth to do, makes us happy.  We can choose to whine our way through it, or we can choose to make the best of situations that we don't necessarily like.  Again, it is a choice.  We all have callings to fulfill in life, we all have jobs to do, and obligations to meet.  Meet them all with a smile, a for real smile, and it will make the difference to whether you are happy or miserable.  We don't have time to waste being miserable.  Make it right!

Writing makes me happy.  I was going through a tough time a while back.  I was finding that I was struggling with being happy at some times.  Finances would get me down, being too busy would get me down, and feeling sorry for myself would just make it worse.  I decided to start another blog, this one in fact, because I wanted to remember why I should be happy, and how I could get there again.  I also started several other blogs shortly after, because I found that writing is a great release, and it not only helped me, but others out there listened.  They listened and mentioned to me that I had helped them too.  Now, I don't write for others, for the most part, I write because I love to do it.  And if in the process it helps someone else, then all the better.  Maybe if you need a release, you could start a blog and write.  Help yourself and help others.  In helping others, is often when we find our true selves and become the happiest we can be.

Memories and Atwood's Front Porch Banner
Memories make me happy. I am big on making happy memories.  I believe when we die and move onto the next life, we only can take with us what is in our noggins - our knowledge and memories.  I also believe that our memories are what get us through the tough times here.  Making happy memories, top of my priority list.

I am creating a little place of Zen in my backyard right now.  I love creeks, and the sound and looks of water
Not my back yard - I wish - but beautiful
trickling over the rocks.  It brings back memories to me that are so peaceful and calming.  I will be posting it in the next few days as I get close to having it done.  I love it.  We all need to have that little place where we can go and escape the stresses and craziness.  Often when I am out there, I purposely will leave the phones in the house and not answer them, because it is my zone of happiness and peace.  I know it might seem silly to some, but to me, it is what works.  Xander, 2 years - almost 3 - was helping us build the river / creek the other day, and it is so fun to make those memories with him. 

So what is it that makes you happy? Do you have a place where you can escape to? And I am not meaning a bar or someplace like that, but a place that really brings peace to your soul.  Maybe it could be a place like your garage, your craft room, a special park, your parents home, your church building, or a field that you like to walk in.  It doesn't really matter where it is.  If you don't have one, then what would your special place be, and how can you create it.  Can you make it happen for the sake of your sanity? 

I don't care if you are rich, poor, famous, or not.  It doesn't matter if you think you have the perfect life, or even if everyone else thinks you have the perfect life, you still need to figure out what makes you happy and hold onto that, because the world tries really hard to suck it away from you.  Stress, anxiety, depression, are all very real diseases and are rampant in the world today and they are no respecters of persons.  Meaning they don't care who you are, they will attack you and rip your life apart.

Find what makes you happy. 

What makes you happy?  Really deep down happy?  Find it and hold on tight to it, and don't ever let anyone steal it away from you.

Friday, August 08, 2014

What If..........

I have always loved a good quote that makes you think a bit about life.  The other night I actually sat down and watched a movie from front to finish, which is rare for me.  I usually have a million things on the go and Letters to Juliet.  It was a great piece!  And of course, I found the great quote / piece of advice in it, right at the very end.  It is a letter that the main character wrote.  I don't want to tell you the story, because it is a movie worth watching, but here is what the letter says:
only get to see bits and pieces of it. 


Dear Claire,

'What' and ‘if’ are two words as nonthreatening as words can be, but put them together side-by-side and they  have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if?.. What if?.. What if?

I don't know how your story ended, but I if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true then it why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart...

I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like ... a love to leave loved ones for, a love to cross oceans
for... but I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I'd have the courage to seize it.

And if you didn't, I hope one day that you will.

All my love,
Juliet

A fabulous letter!  WHAT IF?.......  What if can have the power to haunt you for he rest of your life!  Oh how true that statement is. In all aspects of our lives, we have the choice to say, "what if", and then go and make the choice we think is best.

Maybe we all should say "what if" more often.  We should ask ourselves "what if" whenever there is a decision to be made.  It could really change the way we live our lives.  Your "what if" question could be so different than mine, but yet it could have just as profound an effect on my life as yours, if we pause just long enough to ask it, and then move forward.
WHAT IF............

What if.........
What If........
WHAT IF....??

The possibilities are endless!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

20 seconds of insane courage


“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” 

Benjamin Mee, We Bought A Zoo

I watched this show last  night for the first time.  What an inspiring show.  Could you imagine if you took 20 seconds per day - literally long enough to take a few breaths - to do something really courageous?  Something of ridiculous bravery?  I am not talking just once, but each day take 20 seconds, how would your life be different?

Would it make a difference in your marriage?  Your job? Your relationship with your child? Your self esteem?  Just think if you had the courage to ask your boss for that promotion that you have always been hoping for?  What if you did something crazy that reminded you why you fell in love in the first place? What if you actually sat down and listened to your child's words, instead of talking at them?  

Oh the possibilities are endless!  I love when I watch a show, or read a book that inspires me to be a better person!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

 

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Nobody's Perfect

Nobody is perfect!  It always amazes me how people think that they are always right, or their way is always
My Meandering creek past thyme, valerian, raspberries, yarrow and ferns
the best way, or that they can always do the job better than someone else!  What makes us think like that?  What makes us think that we are smarter, better, more organized, more anything.......than anyone else?  Yet we do!

My pondering place
I guarantee you, that I am not smarter, or better at anything..........but nor do I believe you are!  I believe that we are all a product of what we create ourselves to be.  If you want to be better at something, guess what?  You have to practice it, study it, and learn it.  And even then, it doesn't mean you will ever be better at it than someone else.  If you are, koodos for you, but you had better understand that there are people out there that are better at other things than you are too! So just accept people for who they are, and get over yourself!  Pretty much it, right!  We are all equals.  We are all good at some things and suck at others.  That is life, so let's just do our best and get over it!  Okay, enough said, I feel better!

My Walk The Creek blog, is a place for me to go to seek out some sanity, and in writing sometimes I come up with answers to the problems.  Sometimes I don't find the answers, I just get to vent.  I wish I could live where I had a nice little creek that trickled through my back yard. I am sure you would find me there often,
Where my creek begins
just pondering.

Well, since I can't have the little creek in my back yard, I have created one, sort of.  I have a beautiful little spot, that is shaded mostly by my grape vine arch.  I have dug a little ditch so that when I turn on the hose, it trickles through most of the small area, and I can hear the water trickling.  I
It wanders through the flowers and herbs
still have some work to do, in fact I want to make a small little pond at the beginning of the "creek", with some rocks, so that I get even more of that trickling and creek effect.

Xander calls it Grandma's River, and he loves to play in it.  I love to sit and listen to it.  I have even refinished an old garbage can holder, and turned it into a bench that sits just at the edge of my "creek", so I can sit and enjoy it. 


See the little creek meandering past my yarrow, valerian and ferns

The old garbage can holder now turned bench

This is the old bench that Cyera and I cleaned up and turned into what you saw above.  Who would have thought.

Oh how I love my little creek!  "Grandma's River".  It helps me stay sane in a really selfish, insane world!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Just Go Say I Can

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Camping and Creeks!

I love camping, and I really love camping when there are creeks involved.  You know how some people love chocolate, some love old barns, some love puzzles, etc, etc, .... well I love creeks.  To  me there is just something that is so peaceful and beautiful about a little creek bed, the water moving over the rocks, the trees around it, the sound of the trickling, I don't know for sure, but I love it. 

We were not camping by a creek this time, because when I booked the site, I didn't know there were beautiful little creeks so close to other
campgrounds that were not very far away.  But....we found them!  We went for a drive one day and did some exploring, and here are some of the creeks we found.

I know, I know I am probably weird, but man there is just something about these that just call to my soul.  Perhaps when I get back to Heaven some day, I will understand why I have that longing.  

I so wanted to spend all day exploring the creeks and just walking up
them, but we just didn't have the time, and I am sure that not everyone with us wanted to do it.  I am sure Tal would have gone for the walk with me!  Oh well, I know where they are, and they are only an hour from where I live, so guess what?  If I disappear for a day, that is just where I might be!  Any takers want to go walking in the creek with me?

I promise, it soothes the soul, and makes one forget that the real world is out there in all it's fury, just for a short while.


Monday, March 24, 2014

Believe In Brighter Things

You know some days, it is just darn hard to believe in anything, let alone believe in bigger things.  My husband and I were talking today at lunch about some of the plagues of the world today, which got me thinking on this a little deeper.  Which made me look up the actual meaning of a plague. 

Plague - an infectious disease - a disease that has a high mortality rate or a calamity with widespread and serious consequences for its victims

It also mentions things like the plagues of Egypt in the Bible, and plagues of insects or disease that destroy crops.

I like the definition of a disease / or a calamity, with widespread and serious consequences for its victims.

Going with this definition, it would be justifiable to say that laziness in the world is a plague.  It would
also be right to say that entitlement is a plague.  What are some of the other things that seriously affect people, that will have serious consequences?  How about lack of caring, abuse, depression / anxiety, stress, pornography, alcohol and drug abuse, and also the many health issues. 

We were kind of talking about being lazy at first, and how we are actually pretty concerned for the generations that are following us, because they don't have the same work ethics that we were taught.  They seem to not want to do anything more than what is absolutely necessary to get by.  There are a few who have been taught otherwise, but by and large, there is a serious problem with the next generation. 

Then to continue on with this thought, who is going to teach the generation that comes from them?  If they can not do something themselves, they certainly won't be able to teach it to someone.  The vicious cycle of this plague continues.  Where can we stop it?  How can we believe in things to come that they will be great, when we can't see past the plagues that are haunting these upcoming generations?  It makes it very hard to be positive.

I do believe that there will be good things to come in the future.  I do also believe that these good things will come because of hard work, preparation, education, and dedication.  I believe that if I teach my children to work hard, love learning, keep the laws of the land, and keeps the laws of God, then at least I have the hope that there will be good things in my future.

What am I going to teach them?
1. Work hard - don't be lazy, the world has enough lazy people, we need people to work hard and be committed to it
2. Love learning - always be learning something that will improve your life
3. Keep the laws of the land - there is no need to break the laws if you are living a decent life
4. Keep the laws of God - even more so than anything else, keep the laws of God, at least as you know them.  

I believe in brighter things to come!  I believe we can have a healthy productive world, especially if we could get enough parents to buy into it. If we can't, then I seriously worry for the future.  It is a choice as parents, what we teach our children.  Do we want them to be contributors to society, or leeches in society?  Depending on how we answered that question, will help decide what we need to teach them now.



Wednesday, March 19, 2014

What Matters Most

You know I always thought that when we grew up and became ladies and gentlemen, that the teenage drama would stop, and we could all be friends.  I always thought that the little petty things in life would kind of grow up and mature with us.  Unfortunately, I have figured out that this is not so.  In fact, I am finding that it seems to be getting more and more frequent.  I just don't understand it.

Are those little things really important?  I don't think so.  Do these things really matter in life?  I guess to some people they do.  To me I have more important things to think on.  Things that really matter the most to me.

Thomas S. Monson says the things that should matter most are to spend time with, cherish, and express love to the people we hold the most dear.  He tells us to relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family.  I don't see anywhere in his teachings does he say that petty things in life, matter most, or at all. 

My family matters the most to me.  I love my family and don't have time to waste on things that don't matter.  They matter most.  I do cherish them.  I do spend most of my time with them, and they are my
world.  They are the reason that I find joy in my journey. 

I have some really good friends that matter most to me also.  You know the kind of friend that has lived
with you through trials, has been there by your side through good times and bad, and has held your hand, laughed and cried with you, and has earned the title of dear friend.  They are rare, and when you find them, you need to realize that they matter most.  Hang on to them, and cherish them, treat them like a true friend, and they will always be there for you.

My faith matters most to me also.  It is my way of life that is a really good way of life.  My beliefs and my faith keep me grounded. They give me purpose in life.  They give me hope in a great future.  They give me reasons to keep going when life tells me otherwise.  They give me direction when I feel lost.  My faith matters most to me.

I don't understand the drama, the pettiness, the way some people are.  They have the wrong idea of what matters most.  People can not hurt me, because I choose not to let them.  I have a good life, and I wish that I could share with others the way that I feel.  I am in control of who I allow to affect my life.

I choose to only allow the things that matter most in my life, affect my life and who I will be.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

RED

RED

Red. That was his name. My faithful horse. Oh man, how I loved that horse. In the mind of a child he was the fastest, smartest, and nicest race horse in the whole area. The area being, all of the farms anywhere
Red as an old tired horse. Still riding bare back
within riding distance, of course. We loved him and he loved us children.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. I remember well one birthday party, where my father lifted six of us loud, crazy children up onto the back of Red. He allowed us all to be there, patiently walking around with us on his back, like a grandfather patiently allows his grandchildren to crawl all over him while he lays sleeping peacefully on the floor. Red transported us happily. We were his friends.

Transportation. Red was our transportation. He took us to the swimming hole. He took us to the field of peas. He took us to the old “haunted” shack down the road. He took us on picnics. He took us on many adventures. He took us to find friends. If ever we wanted to play with friends, within a 5 mile radius, (or so it seemed) we rode Red. We would ride to the neighbor's home, pick up a kid or two, and sometimes another horse, and then off to the races.

The races. We had many a races, out there in the wide open fields. Races with other horses. Races with imaginary horses. Races against the wind. Races with my hands held high in the air to feel the warm summer breeze, my hair flowing wildly behind me. Nobody out there to slow us down. Not a care in the world. Reins loose and free.

Reins. Yes, we had to use these, but only these. We learned young how to put these on Red, but rarely a saddle. Red preferred we go bare back, and that is what we did. After all, we were too little to put on a saddle, we couldn't even lift one up. We would simply put a rope around his neck, lead him over to the fence where we could climb up high enough to put the reins on him, and then hop from the fence onto his back. Yes we were big, but still oh so little. I don't remember a time when I wasn't allowed to ride Red. We were jockey's at five years old.

Jockeys. We raced. We jumped ditches. We herded cattle. We ran in and out, zigged and zagged between the trees. Red knew us well, and we were one with him, as we sat high up on his back. It was the life of a farm kid, back in the days of black and white. Ooops, I mean back in the '70s.

I sometimes long for those peaceful, carefree summer days. Just a girl and her horse. A wide open field. A world of adventure awaiting, and all day to discover it. That was the life. That was the best. That was perfect. That was my life!


Sunday, March 09, 2014

What is home?

I have been thinking a lot lately about home, and what really is home?  I feel a different sense of home in many different places, so I don't think that "home" is an actual place.

I feel at home when I am in my own home, for sure.  When my family are around me, when I am home alone, or when the house is rocking with a party of teenagers, they all still feel home, in my own home.  So in that sense, "home" is where I live.  It is the shelter that is over my head.  It is the place that I go to when I am done work.  It is the place that I go to when I am at some of my work.  It is a PLACE.

Dad and Grandma
I feel at home when I go to visit my Dad on his farm.  I never lived on that particular farm, or in that house, so it isn't the place there that makes me feel at home.  I think it is the feeling of being with my Dad.  For most of us our parents represent the feeling of home.  It is kind of a comfort and security thing, right?  It is kind of the same when I go to the in-law's home.  It is a FEELING OF LOVE, knowing that you are loved and accepted there for who you are. 

Old Chief Southern Alberta
I feel at home when I go to my family's old homestead in the mountains.  I went there several times a year as a child, and even to this day I love to go there.  This particular place is where the theme of this blog came from.  It is full of many happy memories.  Memories of playing in the creek, memories of hiking up in the hills, memories of riding in the back of trucks as we took trails that led us up higher into the hills, memories of bears, boys and baseball, are but a few of the memories that give me the wonderful feeling of home.  It is MEMORIES.

I feel at home when I am 1000 miles away, in the company of my sister, or one hour away with my other sister.  I can be on a vacation with my family or at the zoo with my nieces and nephews, and it is home.  It can be anywhere I am, as I am surrounded by family or people I love.  It is the PEOPLE you are with.

Home is so much more than just a dwelling place.  It encompasses everything that is in our world that offers us that feeling, those memories, and those people we love.  For each of us, home will be different things.  Maybe your home didn't have a dad, maybe it wasn't a happy place, maybe your childhood wasn't full of great memories, but you can create them now.  You can build a home full of love.  You can build a home full of people you love.  You can fill your life full of happy memories.  It is up to you, but it is can be done.  You can create your home wherever, or whenever, or however you want it to be.  Make it a great one.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Eat, Pray, Love

I often wonder, if I could pursue any passion of mine, would I be brave enough to do as the character portrayed in Eat, Pray, Love?  Would I have the courage to just go and do what I really wanted, without hesitation? 

First off, I have to really figure out what my passions are, that would inspire me enough to make me get of my rusty dusty and do what needed to be done. What makes me want to get out of bed in the morning? What makes me want to be a better person?  Do I have any passions that move me enough?  Is there
Waterton, Alberta
anything that I want that bad, that I would fight to find it?  Or am I dead in my heart?  Has the world beaten me down enough that I don't think my passions could ever become a reality?  No, I am sure they can become a reality, if I want them bad enough.  But what are they, really?

What does passion really mean?  Definition: a strong and barely controllable emotion.  Hmmmm, is there anything that I am passionate about?   Is there anything that I would move mountains for?

I am passionate about my writing. I love to write, and currently have a few books that I am working on, and several other ideas.  Writing seems to be more of an addiction than a passion.  I guess it depends on how you look at it.  It is a very strong emotion, but it is a controllable one.

My Boys
I am passionate about my grandchildren. I have very strong emotions, when I think about them growing up in this crazy world.  Sometimes my emotions are barely controllable when I think of this.  Thus, my book that I am writing, and my blog that I keep, dedicated to my grandchildren.  I am moved to passion regularly with my grandchildren and their futures.  But yet, I do not have a lot of control over their lives.  I can only influence from a grandmother's point of view.  So I must get creative and influence in ways that they will respect and listen.

I am passionate about getting out of debt.  This old world is kind of a scary place right now, and I really want to be debt free.  This is an extremely strong emotion.  It is barely controllable, because it seems to consume my time, thinking of ways that I can do this.  It does move me to action. 

I am passionate about owning a piece of land, close to where my Walk The Creek all started.  This has always been a very strong emotion for me.  There is just something about the foothills of the Southern
My Creek
Alberta Rockies, that speaks to me.  It calls to me.  Yet I don't think I have an uncontrollable emotion for it, until I drive that way again, and the emotions and memories seem to bring me home.  Then it is all I can do to return back to the city, back to reality, back to my other home. 

So really what am I passionate about enough, that I have such strong and uncontrollable emotions?  What will inspire me so much that I must move mountains to make it happen?  Honestly, I don't know.  It is kind of a sad thought, but I really don't know.  It is time to do some soul searching.  It is time to figure out how to answer these questions for myself.  It is time to figure out my own "eat, pray, love" story. 

Do you know what your passionate about?  Do you know what you would move mountains to make happen?  I would love to hear about it?

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Today Will Never Come Again

I found this picture here, and love what it says.  Today Will Never Come Again.  What are you going to make of today?  What am I going to make of today? 

One of my favorite songs is by Johnny Reid, "Today I'm Going to Try to Change The World".  I love how he talks about changing the world one day at a time, by the little things that we do.  We can be a blessing in someone's life.  How often do we walk right past someone and never even acknowledge that they are there.  How about today I walk past people and always try to make eye contact and smile.  Be a blessing in someone's life today. 

Everyone needs a friend.  I know this because I have watched people who really have no one around to call their friend, and life is pretty lonely and can get desperate.  How about today, I become someone's friend.  How about I look around me at every body and see who looks like they need a friend, and introduce myself.  I have found that some of my dearest friends are the least likely people to step out of their comfort zone and talk to me.  But once we start talking, the friendship just clicks and it becomes eternal.  Be a friend.

Encourage someone today.  How hard is it to say "Good Job", or "You can do it"?  Little words of encouragement can go a long way to whether someone is successful.  I work with little children in a day care, and little words of encouragement are so precious to them.  Often times I think they just get knocked down at home and there isn't anyone who encourages them to be better.  Big people need encouragement too.  It helps us want to go on.  It helps us believe in ourselves, that we can do better.

Take time to care.  We all need to feel that someone cares about us.  I am blessed with a large family that all care about each other.  I know that not everyone has this same blessing.  Many people go throughout an entire day and never even know that someone cares about them.  It is really sad.  It leads to depression and other physical illnesses.  It isn't hard to show someone we care.  A simple hello, a shake of the hand, a recognition of any sort will show them that you care.  Listening to someone is a great way to show that you care.  People don't want advice most of the time, they just want someone who will listen.  Take time to care today, care about you and the people around you.

Let your words heal and not wound.  Oh how much damage the unkind word can do!  We have all experienced unkind words from someone and we know how much they hurt, yet we still think it is okay to do it to others.  I don't understand that.  Why would we purposely hurt someone else by saying unkind words to them.  I must admit that I have a few select people that I would rather not be around, but even these people do not deserve thoughtless, mean words from me.  I just simply choose not to talk to them.  Most of these people have offered unkind words to me at some point, and I have found that it is best to just remove them from my circles, rather than be mean back to them.  We always have a choice on what we say or do.  Think before you speak, and let your words heal and not wound.

These are simple things to do, but they will make a huge difference in your life and the life of those around you.  Be a better person today, and each day to follow, and the world will be a better place because of you.  You will change it one day at a time.