Pay It Forward

I'm intrigued by this idea, and without having anything planned about what I will be making, I decided to take up this challenge from my cousin to "pay it forward".

So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy paste it like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Come and play!! :)

St. Paddy's Day Celebration

Well, it's St. Patricks Day and as a salute to our heritage (ok, only Sharon has irish blood, as far as I can tell) and the love we feel for our native Ireland, Sharon and I made the traditional green ice cream and ate until we had freezer burn in our brains. Next year we plan on wearing our green leprechaun tights, hats and of course clovers with the ice cream to bring our celebration into full bloom.

We both got food coloring in our clothes and under our fingernails trying to color our ice cream - a little bit goes a long way, and more than a little bit, well, it got everywhere.   I think that everything we spit or comes out of any orfice in our bodies will be green for the next month! Praise the Irish!

May St. Paddy bless all who feel with the Irish and fall with the potato!....What? Just laugh and be merry will ya O' kay?

Grand Jury Duty

Well, 4 months of Grand Jury duty are finally to an end.  I'm so excited to stop working 4, 10-hr shifts every week so that I can have Thursdays off for Jury duty; I'm happy to stop hearing about the drunk and stupid things that people do in Coconino County; but I am just a tad sad to get that weekly break from work.  In honor of my last day, I wrote "Ode to Grand Jury Duty".    It's probably funnier for those that served with me, but hopefully you can all appreciate a bit of what I've been dealing with for the last 4 months.

"A letter in the mail, a day in the court, we all gave our excuses, the judge she did sort.

At last the process was done and 16 jurors were selected that day;

A four-month commitment was made we and we started our Grand Jury foray.

The AZ Law manual was read; thank goodness it doesn't have to stay in our head.

One after another the cases did come, an average of 14 a day until we're done.

A summary of cases brought to be, assualt, drugs and burglary.

Lots of cases of DUI's; too many people with red watery eyes.

100s of pounds of marijuana travel through our state; DPS officers help drug traffickers meet their fate.

The accused pays of court fines, oh but wait, "that credit card wasn't mine".

The re-po officer trying to get back a car; ramming into the car, I think she went a bit too far.

Important questions asked by the jurors were, "how old were they?" and "what kind of beer?".

We've learned a lot about what not to do, but now that it's over, "What are we to do?"."

I even got a certificate of completion, (but I couldn't figure out how to rotate it).

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.