Cold Winters Made Warmer

     I realize it has been too long since I have had a post...and I'm not ok with that. Sigh. It's hard to be a dedicated blogger when my school work consumes my life, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! (Not to mention that fact that I L.O.V.E December because we all know what that means-CHRISTMAS!!)
     I will post more later about my obsession with Christmas, but what am I grateful for today? Well it's been super cold and snowy lately, so of course I'm grateful for a warm house, a car, a bed...the list goes on.

      But....have any of you seen this movie?

     I have!! (if you haven't, then you NEED to). This is the movie that "Sleepless in Seattle" is based on, not to mention who doesn't love a little Cary Grant?

    

Anyway, one of my favourite quotes ever comes from this movie. It goes a little

     something like:

"Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories"



     While winter can be absolutely enchanting, no one likes having to warm up their cars, dry skin, cold wind, icy roads etc etc etc. So this is what I simply do when I feel absolutely chilled to the bone-I think of a warm memory with someone I care about, or a memory that makes me giggle a little inside...or just some good memory in general.

     And that's what I am grateful for-my warm memories :-) But even more...I'm grateful for the people in them! Suddenly winter doesn't seem like it's so bad afterall.

Together We Have It All

So today is my parent's anniversary. Naturally, that's something to be grateful for. It's only been 9 years, but they have been wonderful nonetheless. I can't believe how it's flown by so fast! It feels just like yesterday that my mom was bringing this guy home for the first time. I was only a kid, and I'm not sure what I pictured in my head...but regardless he's dad to me now. I am so thankful for a loving family, and for the emphasis that the church places on families, and that families can be forever! There's something that we say often and it goes something like this:

"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."

I am happy to have a family that certainly helps me out along the way and makes up for what I lack..because I definately don't have it together lol. So here's to you Mom and Dad...Happy 9 years!!

Blogging Amateur

Helllloooo world! (Imagine that...Ty Pennington: Extreme Home Makeover style). Why am i starting a blog? Well I love reading blogs. I think people are so fascinating. I love knowing what makes a person tick. It seems like the big thing with a blog is that people always make a blog when they get married, or they move away, or go on some HUGE adventure. So I got to thinking...why can't I see my own life as an adventure like that? And why is it that I feel like I need some grand new occassion in my life to start a blog? Well..I don't.

BUT...rather than make this a giant rant and rave session, why not have a theme? I remember hearing people talk about having a "grateful" journal before, but it didn't seem quite catchy enough for a blog. One day a couple weeks ago I took a tour with my clinical group of Kainai High School...and as I was walking out, the principal thanked us for coming and says, "Enjoy the view!." I highly doubt that anyone else really caught what she said, but it really struck me. How often do I take the time to just sit back and "enjoy the view"? Not often enough. This incident happened a day or two after General Conference. During that conference, President Thomas S. Monson's talk entitled, "The Divine Gift of Gratitude" really struck me. Here I am, always so worried about the problems in my own life that I had been forgetting to recognize how blessed I am and to "enjoy the view." In his talk, Pres. Monson said:

How can we cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude? President Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church, provided an answer. Said he: “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued: “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”

It would have been more fitting to do this on Thanksgiving weekend..but alas my nursing school chaos consumed my life. I don't know if anyone will even ever read this, but if you do, I hope you are inspired with an attitude of gratitude. Afterall, I'm just trying to Enjoy the View.

PS-to read or watch Pres. Monson's talk and other talks from General Conference, click here. I HIGHLY recommend it. :-)