{In Unlikely Places}

In the early hours of yesterday morning I was brushing the snow from the windows of my car and I noticed that the snow was falling in perfectly patterned snowflakes. The outside was still frozen and kept the snowflakes preserved in their angelic beauty. Using my handy pocket camera (a.k.a iPhone) I took some pictures that I can't help but share.

For size reference, that is my thumbprint next to one of the larger snowflakes.

In truth, most of these were taken on top of my garbage can and
not on my car, but you'd never know... :)

 

I can look at these pictures for hours and not get tired of them. Each and every one is so beautiful and different from the rest. In truth they aren't perfect. Each has some asymmetry, a defect, a flaw, but they are even more beautiful because of their imperfections. 

These little snowflakes are a reflection of the heavens. They are stars in their own right, just incredibly small instead of enormous. Each and every star is different, unique, and created by a loving Father in Heaven. God made the giant stars that are millions of miles around, but he also made these incredibly small snowflakes that melt before their beauty is ever seen. God is love, and he amazes me with it everyday.

Happily Ever After...?

To my friends and loved ones:

The slipper didn't fit.
He came home and after a week of joy,
It was over.
Four years over in an instant.

I'm not going to pretend that it was easy because it wasn't. My life shattered and lay in millions of pieces for weeks. Those two years seemed like such a waste.

At first I was mad at him for not giving me a fair chance, for leading me on, and for altogether being stupid. Let's face it, one week off the mish is NOT enough time to make these decisions. Then I was mad at Heavenly Father for letting this happen. Why? Why did I have to wait all this time? What did I do wrong? What am I supposed to do NOW?

Once I calmed down enough to listen, Heavenly father told me. Trust. I have to trust that He knows what He is doing and that He has a greater plan in store for me.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3:5-6

This trust thing is a hurdle, but each day it gets a little better . I've learned that there ARE decent young men out there and I'm trusting that one of them will be right for me. I've learned to trust in the Atonement and that it covers ALL pain, and Christ will comfort me. Even though it's a silly breakup, it's important to me and I trust that it is important to Him. I trust that God loves me and has a plan that is better than one I would choose for myself.

My biggest struggle was telling myself to just "get over it." But how? How do you get over it? The scriptures don't tell you how to deal with a breakup, and, contrary to popular belief, time does not heal all wounds. I was lost for a while until the answer hit me like a ton of bricks:

Forgiveness.
I needed to forgive.

The answer was staring me in the face all along, but I was looking for a miracle cure and not a "plain and simple truth". That day a weight was lifted. That day I acknowledged that I was feeling real pain. This wasn't mommy-kiss-it-better pain, or awkward teenage I-don't-fit-in. This was heart-wrenching pain. This was real. He hurt me, and I needed to forgive him. Through that process I trusted in God, and He made up the difference.

I can finally say that it has stopped hurting. All of it. I have forgiven and my heart is free.

So Tyson:
I forgive you for the two years.
I forgive you for being dumb.
I forgive you for not trying harder.
I forgive you for hurting me so deeply.
I forgive you.

And to everyone else:
Trust in God, He knows what He is doing. And don't worry about me, God is in control now!

Life will be good. Life will be fantastic.

{Neverland}

One of the greatest pleasures since coming home has been reading. I have time to read again! I've taken to it like a fish to water, and I go nowhere without a book in hand.

My latest adventure has been J. M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan. It's a masterpiece of storytelling, full of imagination and magic. It has topped the list of "Books I Will Read to My Children." It's a very old book, but a lovely one.

Here is a collection of my favorite lines:

****************

"The loveliest tinkle as of golden bells answered him. It is the fairy language. You ordinary children can never hear it, but if you were to hear it you would know that you had heard it once before."

"Boy, why are you crying?"

"Of course the Neverlands vary a great deal. John's for instance, had a lagoon with flamingos flying over it..., while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it."

"Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars."

"Do you want an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?"

"Of all delectable islands the Neverland is the snugest and most compact; not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed. When you play at it by day with the chairs and tablecloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very nearly real. That is why there are night lights."

"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

"If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"

"To die will be an awfully big adventure."

"O George, never ask me to do that. The window must always be left open for them, always, always."

"There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a strange boy who was staring in at the window. He had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be for ever barred."

"Years rolled on again, and Wendy had a daughter. This ought not to be written in ink but in a golden splash."

"Just always be waiting for me, and then some night you will hear me crowing."

**************** 

This book made me wonder, "What would my Neverland look like?"

I would have LOTS of adventures,

but I don't think any of them would include killing pirates.

Maybe a little fencing wouldn't hurt.

Giant zip lines are a must.

Trees so tall that you can't see the sky.

Wet sand and bright blue water.

A volcano would be pretty adventurous.

Gigantic waterfalls, amazing views.

I would definitely, DEFINITELY be able to fly in Neverland.

There would be fairies, and they would be annoying and cause a lot of trouble.

I would talk to animals just like Ro on Barbie Island Princess.

Diving into the water would turn you into a mermaid.

A whole other world of adventure lies below the sea!

Admittedly the first fish I came across would scare me, but I'd face it bravely.

What is an adventure without conflict? Peter Pan faced pirates, Indiana Jones faced Nazis, Ro faced...uh ...the evil pig lady? Volcanoes, sea monsters, bandits, it would be pretty awesome.

Hey, it's better than finals.

What would your Neverland look like?

The Quilt that took Four Years

When I was in high school I took a class called "Needle Arts" as an elective. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching--it was all in the repertoire. Mind you I haven't retained all of it [any of it] over the years, but one thing I can do: Sew.

In that class we made pieces for a quilt. I always meant to finish it, but never did. Each holiday when life slowed down a bit I'd pull it out and make grand plans, but was never any closer to finishing. When grandma spent the holidays with us we'd pull it out to give her something to do, but it just never happened. I'm the queen of unfinished projects.

BUT THEN. Taylor moved home. Taylor had no job or school. Grandma came to visit. What do you think happened then?

Finallly. After four years of gathering dust, my quilt finally became reality. 

It is finished! It's cozy, it's gigantic, and I made it! 

Can you see that? It's all hand quilted. I had arthritis by the end...

And now, crazy enough, I'm aching to get started on the next one!

Bogeys, if you will

This post is for my dear friend Mallory. :) I miss you Mal, and I have definitely not forgotten you!

We all have them. They run down your nose when you have a cold. They dry up and make you snore at night. One bad experience and you are forever conditioned into checking for them.

Boogers.
Snot.
Affectionately called "bats" at the Anderson home. "You've got a bat in your cave Kenz... Left side... still there."

Boogers and I have a very strange relationship. Everyone has been caught unawares with one in plain sight on the tip of their nose. I have fallen victim to it many times--most of them within those 3 awkward years of life called "junior high".

BACK STORY: Tyson and I never officially "met". We attended the same school from 6th grade until we graduated. We were in classes together but talked only on occasion. We just knew that the other existed and nothing much came of it.

A few years later when we started dating all of this changed. We spent all of our time together and became best friends. When we were comfortable enough with each other Tyson told me his first distinct memory of me.

A booger.
Yep.

Apparently we were table partners in a class [advanced science with Palfreyman if I recall correctly] and were politely talking to each other before class. Unbeknownst to me I had a bat in my cave, hanging there for all to see. He told me,

"I couldn't stop staring at the booger cause it was bugging me. But I couldn't tell you. That would have been too embarrassing." 

I would have been mortified out of my mind at the time, so maybe it's good that I don't remember. I guess it didn't scare him away forever, so for that I'm grateful. :)

I must admit, it's a pretty great story to tell my future children. Our relationship started with a booger, can you top that?

With maturity I've found that boogers are just a natural part of life and nothing to be embarassed about. My roommates tease me about being a monkey because I pick loose hairs from anyone I meet. But rest in peace friends because if you ever have a booger in your nose I will tell you about it, because I hope that someone would do the same for me.

Now I get to the heart of this post:
Physiological Findings!

I got a text from my dear friend Mallory:

Physiological topic of interest: boogers. Bogeys, if you will. I know that they are supposed to block or catch germs or whatever, but WHY must there be so many?! Everytime I get sick or my allergies flair up, I feel like my brain is melting and dripping out of my face. Haha do you have any info for me? Why is there a never ending supply of those grody things? :)

As per request I looked up the reason we have boogers. Despite the fact that they played a key role in my current relationship [however questionable] they have to have some real function in the body.

Now I will present to you my discoveries:

As you know, mucus coats the inside of your mouth, nose, throat and into your lungs. This sticky, wet, slimy substance traps the incoming harmful particles so that we aren't sick all the time. With each breath we inhale germs, bacteria, dead skin, and all sorts of airborne things. Mucus coats these particles entirely so they cannot harm us. The prickly hairs in your nose also contribute to this effort. They catch particles and keep them from entering the lungs.

Along your nose and throat the passage is lined with cilia. These microscopic hairs push pollutants upward--away from your lungs--and into the mouth and nose where they can be swallowed or expelled from the body through coughing or blowing your nose.

Imagine, for a moment, that this system didn't exist. All of the toxins that you have inhaled in the years of your life would build up in your lungs. Perhaps they would build up so much that we would die before the age of twenty. Maybe each and every germ that entered your system would make you sick and with no way to get it out of the body, you would be sick for the rest of your short life.

Isn't this body miraculous? Even something as mundane as boogers has a purpose.

Now back to Mallory's question: Why so many?


When the body is functioning normally our mucus membranes make about 1 quart of mucus per day [source]. When we get sick it typically means that some pollutant made it past the front lines and is now in a place where it can affect our homeostasis. In order to counter this attack the body sends out white blood cells to fight the germs that made it inside. It also increases the production of mucus to ensure that nothing else makes it in. So, if our body makes 1 quart on a healthy day, how much does it make on a bad day? That, my friends, is evidenced in your garbage bag full of tissues.

Allergies are usually caused by airborne particles. Pollen, animals, even peanuts all have histamines that carry through the air. Since our principle method of breathing is through our nose, the body sends extra amounts of mucus to our nasal passages when allergens enter. Allergies in themselves are an interesting topic. They are, by definition "abnormal reactions of the immune system that occur in response to otherwise harmless substances [source]." Allergens are not naturally harmful to our bodies, but for an unknown reason our bodies react to these substances, sometimes violently.

Why is my nose running?

There are a couple different reasons why our nose runs, and they each have a different cause. [Source--This guy says it much better than I could]

You have a cold or the flu: When you have either one of these, your nose goes into mucus-making overdrive to keep the germ invaders out of your lungs and the rest of your body, where they might make you even sicker than you already are. You know what happens then: The mucus runs down your throat, out your nose, or into a tissue when you blow your nose. Or it can fill your sinuses, which is why you get that stuffy feeling.

You have allergies: Kids who have allergies get runny noses when they're around the thing they're allergic to (like pollen or animal hair). That's because their bodies react to these things like they're germs.

You're crying: When you cry, tears come out of the tear glands under your eyelids and drain through the tear ducts that empty into your nose. Tears mix with mucus there and your nose runs.

Baby, it's cold outside: When you're outside on a cold day, your nose tries its best to warm up the cold air you breathe before sending it to the lungs. Tiny blood vessels inside your nostrils open wider (dilate), helping to warm up that air. But that extra blood flow leads to more mucus production. You know what happens next. Drip, drip, drip.

There you have it! Now you can claim to be an expert on boogers, and when your future children come running with one attached to their finger, you can tell them exactly what they are touching.

Freezer Paper Stenciling

I have had a habit of looking at craft blogs as of late. People are so creative! I'm not sure how I stumbled across this one, but I happen to love it: www.dana-made-it.com

I found her post about T-shirt making here, and my life was suddenly complete! I'd been eyeing and debating over some Canada T-shirts [of course] but $30 a piece wasn't exactly in my budget.

So I made my own!

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own t-shirts!

Helpful Hints:

--Keep it simple. You can really only do one or two colors and the design has to be pretty basic. Good luck experimenting with more complicated designs, but that would be a lot of work.

--Don't paint with wet brushes. The paint gets watery and bleeds and messes everything up. Not being a particularly artistic person I didn't know this, but I want to warn you right up front. Brushes are cheap, just use new ones.

Supplies List

T-shirt [Choose your flavor--any kind!]

Freezer Paper [Available at local grocery stores. Walmart, unfortunately, does not have it. It's a heavy duty type of parchment paper made by the brand Reynolds. It only comes in a huge roll of 150 ft for about $7, but you can use it for the rest of your life.]

Fabric Paint [In my search I found only the bubbly cheap kind of fabric paint at the regular stores. Even Joann just had the cheesy stuff. I found the right brand at Hobby Lobby that is like a real paint for brushing and it cost about $5 per bottle. On the blog she said she uses the Tulip brand and she likes it best.]

Exacto Knife [Luckily my parents had it laying around the house, even if it was a bit broken...]

Iron [Hopefully every home has one of these. If not, your neighbor does!]

So let's begin!

Trace your pattern on to the freezer paper.

Using the exacto knife [or another such tool] cut out your
 pattern being careful not to lose any important pieces.

Iron the paper onto your shirt--make sure to get it straight,
and  EXACTLY where you want it. And make sure all the
little pieces are ironed down too, or you won't have crisp edges.

PAINT!
[put a piece of cardboard between the layers
of the shirt just in case it bleeds]

Now you have to be quite patient. It took all of my self control to let the paint dry, because I wanted to know right then if it had worked or not. But it does work! I was quite amazed and very pleased with how they turned out. [Also, in the instructions it tells you to iron the paint to fix it to the fabric. So after it dries put an old towel on top of your artwork and iron it for a while.] Here is a picture of me wearing the finished product on a hike to Stewart Falls.

Poor man's screen printing. It's fantastic. [Canada is fantastic too...]

And P.S. I'm not an incredibly thorough writer, so if you 

have any questions, please ask!

Dinosaur Day--August 12

It started with this:

Harmless enough, right? I found it at Walmart for $1.88 and could not live without it. So I put together step by step instructions for you to enjoy. :]

Step 1: Assemble ingredients

Peanut Butter

Nutella

1 butter knife

2 slices of bread

1 Dinosaur Sandwich Maker

Step 2: Spread on the PB

Step 3: Lick your fingers

Step 4: Spread on the Chocolate :)

Step 5: Lick your fingers, and the knife [and possibly eat another spoonful...]

Step 6: Chocolate meets Peanut Butter

Step 7: Place Dino on top and push down

Step 8: Make sure it cuts all the way through

Step 9: Eat the extra crust

Step 10: Bite the head off of your Dino, and slowly consume

It might be worth mentioning that we didn't set out to have Dinosaur Day, it just kind of happened. But now I'm positively sure that it is a yearly tradition that I will never forget. August 12--Dinosaur Day. It's official now. So if anyone wants to celebrate with me next year, I will make great plans!

Kenz and I were quilting and so in the background we watched/listened to We're Back! A Dinosaur's Tale, and Land Before Time. [If you haven't watched the original Land Before Time in a while, you should do it. It really is fantastic! The others are quite...awful, BUT the first one is really cute.]

FACT: There are now XIII Land Before Time movies. If you don't read roman numerals, that's 13. Yep. No I haven't seen them all, but most of my childhood was based on the first 3.

So, naturally I looked for other dinosaur things to do. Kenz and I printed some coloring pages and colored pictures of them. I even learned the names over in the process. When I was little I knew all the dinosaurs, but that little tidbit had been silent for so long I had to try hard to remember. Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, "Apatosaurus" instead of Brontosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex.

If you know me, no celebration is complete without some special food. More often than not it's cookies shaped like a holiday object. But tonight was different.

Dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. I just HAD to have them.

So I set out to convince my mom. I told her how easy it was, and that they are just at Reams, and that we can make those yummy yam fries with it. I pointed out that she is always asking us what we should make and I was finally telling her what to make. But the REAL seller was this:

"Winner winner.
Chicken Nugget Dinner."

Have I ever told you that I have the coolest mom ever? She lets me act like a 3 year old.

I was really excited

So that, my friends, is how Dinosaur Day is done.