Rambling Thoughts

The other day at church, one of the ladies mentioned that she hated reading people's blogs because everyone was boasting so much about everything, and it made her feel inadequate.  My first thought was, "you must be reading the wrong blogs."  A lot of the blogs I read are people being honest about themselves or their children, which usually involves them disclosing how inadequate they feel about something, which in turn, makes me feel normal because I have similar feelings of inadequacy.

Which brings me to my next random thought.  Why do you think it is that people blog about things they seem to have a hard time telling someone?  It seems to me that people are much more honest and open in their blogs than they are in person.  I think it's because it's a form of journaling, and even though they know they're "posting" the blog, it's like we don't really expect anyone to read it, and yet, we want everyone to read it because then they know what we're really like/ feeling/ experiencing.

Last Saturday, Ken and I went to Phoenix for the day, so that Ken could volunteer at a Wheelchair Rugby Tournament.   After he was through there, we went to the Mesa temple to do an endowment session.  February marked the 2-year anniversary of our sealing.  I couldn't help thinking how incredibly happy it made me to be at the temple with Ken, and how lucky I felt that I had this great blessing in my life.

I'm also incredibly blessed to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  As the world around us struggles and panics, it's easy to get caught up in it.  Recently, my employer gave all the employees a 5% pay cut.  There was a lot of panic and concern at my work, but I was amazed at how calm I was compared to the majority of the employees.   The Gospel brings great peace to my life; I know where to turn for answers and strength.

As I struggled with concerns of my own (I fear I'll never be able to have children), the lesson at church one Sunday spoke about Fear vs. Faith, and how it's impossible to have both at the same time.  I have slowly realized that I need to stop fearing, and put my faith in the Lord.  He will bless me with what I need and give me the strength to handle what ever comes my way.

8 Tag

8 Favorite TV Shows

1.Friends

2. Frasier

3. Seinfeld

4. According to Jim

5. anything on the Food Network

6. Who's Line Is It?

7. Don't Forget the Lyrics 

8. I don't watch much TV, and when I do, it's all re-runs

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Helped clean the church

2. Grocery shopped

3. Made wheat-free bread

4. Cleaned the house

5. Took a nap

6. Attended the NAU basketball game

7. Read the March Ensign

8.  Ate dinner at 8:30 pm

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Ken's graduation

2. Ken getting a job

3. Me not working anymore

4. Having a baby

5. Being able to eat wheat again

6. My friend coming to visit in April

7. Family Reunion 2010

8. Summer

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Papa Haydens

2. Sushi Fuji

3. Karma Sushi

4. Alexis

5. Gubancs

6. The Montage

7. Papa Murphys

8. Baja Fresh

8 Things I Wish For

1. A baby

2. We could sell our house instead of renting it out.

3. Faster internet at home

4. A real piano in our house

5. Someone to do my shopping - food, clothes, etc

6. A year's supply of Ben & Jerry's ice cream

7. Money & time to travel

8. A self-cleaning house or someone to clean it for me

8 People I Tag

1. Kathryn

2. Sarah

3. Kedra

4. Jeanna

5. Carol

6. Kristen

7. Rachel

8. Holly

A Dream Come True

I love music, I love to sing, and I've always loved to be on stage (whether real or only in my head).  And somewhere along the way, I thought "wouldn't it be way cool to be a back-up singer for a band someday?"  I have an okay voice, but definitely not solo quality; so I thought, a back-up singer would be perfect.  I could be on-stage singing, but wouldn't feel the pressure of doing a solo.  However, I had no idea how one becomes a back-up singer, and so I let my dream linger in the back of my mind, hoping that someday it would just happen.  And there my dream has sat, until a few wonderful years ago, when I married a drummer, a man who was involved in multiple bands.  "Here's my chance", I thought.  I was even brave enough to tell the man of my dreams, my dream.  But his bands were already put together, and there wasn't much need for a back-up singer.  And so I waited and wondered if I'd ever have a chance to live my dream.  And then it happened - Ken came home from a band practice and announced that the lead singer thought it would be cool to have back-up singers for 2 of the songs they were performing.  Wow - it was finally going to happen and I couldn't believe it.  After a few practices, the "Heartletts" were ready to sing back-up for "Ten Percent", at our ward's Valentines Day Dance.

We sang "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "Running on Faith" by Eric Clapton - it was a blast and sounded great.  We tried video taping the concert, but our video tape ran out before our big numbers, so you'll just have to image four lovely ladies singing back-up to an awesome band.  Ken says maybe I'll have another chance someday to sing back-up and we can record that, but I think it's wishful thinking that I'd get 2 chances to live my dream.

25 Random Things About Me

Coming up with random things was much harder than I thought it would be, but here they are - useless trivia about Sharon:

1. I eat M&M's based on color, always leaving a pyramid of colors, but I eat Skittles in pair combinations.

2. I hate driving, and have been in 2 accidents.

3. As much as I hate driving, I dislike being a passenger even more, and have been known to say "are we there yet?"

4. I hate clothes shopping, especially for shoes - I think my husband has more shoes that I do.

5. I hope to have at least one child before I turn 40.

6. I was selected for a 4-month Grand Jury and serve as the clerk.

7. I love to celebrate my birthday.

8. I tend to clear up food (at dinner, at parties, etc) before people are done.

9. I plan everything - when to clean, what to eat, what to wear, what to buy - there is little spontaneity in my life.

10. I once had eggnog and Sprite come out my nose while laughing at a New Year's Eve party.

11. I love to travel and have been to Europe 4 times . . . in my young and single years.

12. I once owned a red pant suit, and when I wore it to work one day, they made me be the "fire" to find in the fire drill.

13. I became a Thespian in high school.

14. I am not a patient person; I want everything now, when I'm ready for it.

15. I was recently diagnosed with an allergy to wheat, oats, and peanuts.

16. If I was stuck on a desert island, and could only bring one thing, I would want a box of band-aids.

17. I like most foods - especially those I don't have to cook.

18. I dislike peas unless they're fresh from the garden.

19. I rode a Hippity-Hop down our wooden stairs when I was little.

20. I hate being late to things, and I'm even more irritated if someone else made me late.

21. I like to go on walks and hiking, but I dislike jogging.

22. I love to play the piano and hope to have a real one in our house some day.

23. I hate watching scary movies.

24. I've written in a journal almost every week since I was 12.

25. I love to laugh - loud, and long, and clear.

Stress from the Unknown

I hate not knowing and /or having little control over where Ken will be doing his internships next school year.  We got this huge list of possible internship sites, which we are studying and making our list from, but then we have to wait for NAU to do the assignments from our "wish" list.   It would be great if he got assigned to clinics close by, so that he can stay at home, but Ken also doesn't want to pass up great opportunities outside of the Flagstaff area.  I say, just as long as he gets an internship in Flagstaff for the last 8 weeks, I'll be happy . . . I certainly don't want to try to pack and move by myself.   And so we wait, for another month or so, to find out where he is assigned.

I Love My Birthday . . . Every One

I hope I never get tired of celebrating my birthdays.  I love the cards, the well-wishes, surprises, free lunches, parties with friends, dinner with my husband (that I don't have to cook), and the positive attention.  I celebrated my birthday by taking the day off work, spending a lazy morning watching movies, hiking in Sedona with Ken in the afternoon, and a dinner of sushi - my favorite . . . and wheat-free!

Happy New Year!

A Flagstaff tradition is the annual Pine Cone Drop - similar to the ball dropping on Times Square in New York.  Ken and I decided to go this year, even though it was below freezing outside - we just bundled up (I was wearing just about 2 of everything).  Since many of you know I'm not exactly a night person, I was happy to attend the earlier of the two Pine Cone Drops.  (They do one at 10pm and one at midnight.)  

The "Pine Cone" is made of aluminum, is approximately 6 feet tall, and is decorated with lights, which flashed as it started its drop.

There were a lot of people there, braving the cold.  We ran into my boss and our friends, Andy & Amber (Kylee was soundly sleeping).  They even had a band, which Ken was excited to watch - of course he would have been happier if he had actually been playing the gig.

And they had fireworks after the ball dropped.  It's a great idea, because the 4th of July fireworks always get cancelled due to dry weather.  And with all the snow we've had lately, it's certainly not dry.  We video-taped the "drop" with our camera, but forgot that you can't rotate video like you can pictures - so you'll have to turn your head to watch the pine cone.  Happy New Year.  Here's to a great year ahead!