iPhone withdrawl

I am selling my iPhone.....

It is SO sad. I am totally addicted to it. It is controlling my life. I check Facebook, probably hundreds of times a day!

I just put it on Craigslist and I am waiting for a response. Tyson and I decided to go back to the days before Smartphones. I haven't even gotten rid of it yet and I am already suffering withdrawl.

Pathetic.

The REAL meaning of Christmas???

Something happened today that really made me feel like a failure as a mother. The past few days, I have been thinking about our Christmases as a family and have really been realizing that each year, we are missing a VITAL part of the holiday.... our Savior.

I talked to the Mister about it and he agreed with me 100%. We talked about ways to change this and how we can really get the true meaning of Christmas to be the focus this year and all of the years to follow. I wanted to gauge how much my children know of the nativity story so, after school, I sat Ashtyn down and asked her why she thinks we celebrate Christmas. Then, the unthinkable happened. Ashtyn shrugged. I decided to ask Kai to see if I would have better luck and not feel like a total failure. Kai looked at me and said, "we celebrate Christmas so the family can be together?" Then it REALLY hit me. How did I miss this? How have I managed to go through each Christmas and NOT teach my children the true meaning and how presents really have nothing to do with the real celebration at all.

It was a huge disappointment. And now, I have a bug project in front of me and I am excited to take it on. Saturday, we are going to the live nativity that the LDS church puts on every year. That'll be a start. If ANYONE has any cute ideas of ways I can keep the kids' attention while teaching them, please let me know.

Operation: Keep the CHRIST in CHRISTMAS, is in full swing!!! :)

Og Mandino

Anyone ever heard of Og Mandino?? He wrote 'The Greatest Salesman in the World' The book is an easy read and I think a MUST READ! It has some of the most insightful and self-healing words in it, and I am in awe of the book.

I've recently been reflecting on myself and the way I handle different relationships and, just everyday life. I've always respected and looked up to people who are very self-aware. I think it is so important in life to know your short-comings and your strengths and to always be trying to improve.

Dave Blanchard is the president of the Og Mandino corporation and he offers a training that helps you become a better, you. I went online and did the assessment and the whole time I was very skeptical. After I finished the online assessment, I made a phone appointment with Dave and we went over my results. I cried through most of the call. It was the most spot-on assessment of myself and I was shocked that he could know all of this by an online test. I was sold right then. Now, once a week for a full year, I am learning the tools that I need to overcome my own insecurities and to embrace and live up to my full potential. I am SO excited.

2012 will be a great year for me and my family. I can feel it and I look forward to the wonderful blessings and, believe-it-or-not, the trials that it will bring. Because, nothing humbles you more and brings you closer to God, than a hardship. :)

I'll keep all two of my readers posted throughout my experience.. :)

(Just in case you are interested in the training or just learning about Og Mandino, here is the link http://www.ogmandino.com/)

FRENEMIES

So, an epic fail on my Thankful posts! I always updated on my Facebook, but I keep forgetting to update on my blog.

Anyway, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Utah and it was an absolute blast!! I really miss those Utah Mountains, but as I visit Utah, and also grow spiritually, I find that Vegas is where I belong.

Along my path of spiritual growth and development, I have actually had to cleanse my soul of negativity. Which also includes negative people that only bring me down. I recently said this and I stand by it:

"It's okay to burn bridges if those bridges are leading you to a negative place."

I don't usually quote myself, but I really like this one! :)

I want to really get into this subject because I have recently been enlightened. Sometimes we make friends with people because they share the same interests or ideas. Sometimes it's because we have the same habits, either bad or good. There are many reasons why we make friends with people.
In the past, I became friends with all the wrong people. And I became one of those people. Since then, after changing my life around, I have realized that I don't share the same interests or lifestyles of these said friends, and it has been easy to detach myself from them and say, "good luck to you."

I recently had a surprise detachment. This person was someone I knew wasn't as loyal of a friend as I would hope for, but that has been a friend for a long time. I find that as time goes on and I mature, I cannot surround myself with those who live life always trying to be "popular" or those who constantly are judging others and gossiping about everyone they know. I have a really hard time with those people who are in the church who preach one thing and do the opposite. I call these people "Utah Mormons"

I say that generally speaking. There are SO many wonderful people and great examples of the LDS church in Utah. But, speaking from experience, I have noticed that moving away from Utah, there is a HUGE difference in the Mormons outside of Utah. There are absolutely "Utah Mormons" anywhere, but it has to do with their demeanor, and not where they are from. There is just a more accepting, less-judgemental way about the Mormons outside of Utah. But I digress.

Anyway, I recently had to confront this person about some un-kind and things that were said about me, and being the blunt person that I am, I would rather confront the problem and fix it. That didn't happen and needless to say, we are no longer friends. This is a sad thing, but a necessary thing. I wish her the best and I am happy with my choices in my life now. I am so very thankful for all of the supportive and loving people in my life. I appreciate the relationships I have now and even though I lost one of them, I feel it was for the best. :)

Which brings me to my point. I belong in Vegas. I spent the first 4 years of my marriage trying to convince my husband to let us move back to Utah and to get his old job back. But, as I visit Utah, I realize... I have made friendships that will last a lifetime here in Vegas. Friendships that are meaningful to me, the kind that I can be myself and not worry that one of my dear friends is hurting me or judging my every move. I would absolutely LOVE to live closer to my in-laws because they are so wonderful, but I've come to realize, I do have family here. :) I am so blessed with the love and support and caliber of friendships I have here. That being said,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! :)