Just For Fun

Had lots of fun with this birthday present =o)

West Jordan Symphony

There is something about being involved with music that is deeply fulfilling to me. I have played since I was 10, was drum major in high school, and also played in the pit orchestra in the school musical My Fair Lady. Mom and Dad and VoNique always came to my concerts and we would go out for ice-cream afterward to celebrate. I played in the UVSC orchestra and band until I really had to focus on my major and put music on hold.

All of the sudden it had been a decade and I was seriously missing music in my life! (Other than singing in the car and while cleaning my house, of course.) So when I heard about the West Jordan Symphony I joined--almost quit out of frustration of remembering a time when I was better--and have stuck with it thanks to the encouragement and patience of the symphony members. =o) Since Mama passed away it has somehow been very healing and I know she would be glad I'm playing again. I hope she was there tonight. I missed her gushing when I was done and going out to ice-cream.

(Side comments: 1) Russian Easter Overture was my favorite! There is so much energy in that song. Very fun to play! 2) The mayor and his wife came tonight. He complimented me, though I'm sure he'd have done that whether it was good or bad. =o) )

Houston, You Have A Problem!

What a game! What a game to BE at! But being at the Jazz playoff game with my brother Barry and brother-in-law Paul made it a million times more fun. They are very excitable fans, and I loved every bit of their craziness. =o) From tipoff to final buzzer the game was intense, and I've never heard the fans so charged. It was by far the most enjoyable headache I've ever had!

BYU Women's Conference!

Erica and I were roomies for a long time. Somehow she still likes me, and invited me to Women's Conference at BYU with her. I'm so glad she did! Opening remarks were given in the Marriott Center by Julie Beck, recently called General Relief Society President. The Relief Society is the largest organization of women in the world--consisting of more than 6 million members! Then we went to a few classes of our choice--one of which was taught by John Bytheway and his mom.

Closing remarks were given by President Thomas S. Monson--the man who succeeded Gordon Bitner Hinckley as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and prophet, seer and revelator to the world! His talk was so full of love and admiration of the women of the church, and encouraging. He recognized our efforts, and encouraged us to do the same by not focusing continually on what we haven't accomplished, but pausing to recognize what we have done.

"Find joy in the journey!" He said. Don't save things for special occasions; everyday is a special occasion! Don't delay or postpone anything that can bring joy or laughter into our lives. (I think of this analogously when I burn my candles, not saving them as decorations--his words resonate with my soul!) Keep your list of regrets or missed opportunities as short as possible. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows. Pile up tomorrows and you'll realize you've piled up a lot of empty yesterdays. "'Someday' is fading in my vocabulary," he said. "Everyday is a special day!"

He spoke about adversity as well. "Not one of us hasn't felt of adversity in one form or another," he said. "Faith is what gets us through." It is not difficult to be happy on perfect days, he said. "But a loving Heavenly Father knows we become refined through dark days." (These words spoke to my heart, as well.) Those days are the "real test of our ability to endure." He says we become more polished by the things we suffer and endure, and that no pain we suffer or trial we endure is ever wasted. It builds our character, expands our hearts, and makes us more charitable.

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!"
"The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees."

I'm out of Kindness quotes, but they all apply

I came home tonight to find my front lawn mowed! These blogs really aren't a girl-like hint. But I do love you people--all of you! (If I knew who did it, I could focus my appreciation. But as it is, you all get the glory =o) ) THANK YOU! Whoever you are, I'm sending out nice thoughts and hopes of glorious blessings into the universe for you!

How Beautiful a Day Can Be When Kindness Touches It

I came home tonight to find someone had put my garbage and recycling out for me. You guys, I cried. I cannot express to you the love I feel when I see random acts of kindness. When I am the recipient, it has a way of making me love everyone around me more (someone did it, and I have no idea who. So I can love everyone more, just to make sure that one person is covered =o) ).

A few years ago I kept a journal of acts of kindness I saw each day--ones I witnessed, ones that someone did for me, or the ones I secretly did for others but wanted to share somewhere. Something about these little things gives me greater hope for humanity. I want to believe in people, and sometimes in this world it can be hard. But things like this...this is what love IS, isn't it? Isn't this what God is talking about when he says love your neighbors as yourselves (the second great commandment)? To think of others when you're doing your daily, little trivial things, like taking out your garbage?

* "No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted." ~Aesop
* "Act on all impressions to do good." ~Camilla Kimball, my heroine
* "Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
* "Kindness gives birth to kindness." ~Sophocles
* "Help your brother's boat across and your own will reach the shore." ~Hindu proverb
* "Do good, and care not to whom." ~Italian poverb
* "Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle." ~Plato
* "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." ~Archbishop Desmond Tutu
* "At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is how kind you are to other people. Everything else is secondary." ~Anna McBee
* "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven in the lives of others." ~Perciles
* "The ideas that have lighted my way have been kindness, beauty, and truth." ~Albert Einstein
* "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single minute before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank
* "Forget injuries. Never forget kindnesses." ~Confucius
* "To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue...gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness." ~Confucius
* "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~Dalai Lama of Tibet
* "The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention." ~Duguet
* "Goodness is the only investment which never fails." ~Henry David Thoreau
* "Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." ~Henry James
* "The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." ~William Wordsworth Longfellow
* "Today, make an investment in someone else's happiness." ~Unknown
* "What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" ~Jean Jacques Rousseau
* "Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love." ~Mahatma Gandhi
* "How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world." ~William Shakespeare
* "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." ~Mother Teresa, my heroine
* "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~Mahatma Gandhi

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you truly see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships as long as they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's Your Personality Type?