My stomach has always had issues. I've had to bow out of activities and
parties because I've had these crazy, disabling, sharp, pains in my stomach. I thought that maybe I was experiencing the precursors to Irritable Bowel Syndrome or even Crohn's Disease, which my mom had later in life. Thankfully I
figured out that the majority of my problems stem from my unhealthy
stomach environment and that I am able to correct it with a few things. I must have given myself a good headstart at having a horrible gut environment every time I took antibiotics as a kid, and there were quite a few times! I'm sure most kids have to have at least several rounds of antibiotics to get through childhood. But I'm definitely for medicine if you need it. Then we added insult to the injury and my little sugar addiction turned into a monster! You know you've got a sugar addiction when the sight of macaroons (or brownies, cakes, twinkies, candy, or anything sugary) makes you salivate! And when you succumb to having "just a taste", you find that, like a crack addict, you can't stop at just one. You have to go back again and again!
Music has always held a special place for me. That is why at various times I have become very determined to practice dance, violin, or piano. Never at the same time and never for long periods of time. I don't enjoy playing in public, but will if the need is desperate! I don't get paid for it, but the satisfaction is priceless when you are able to practice and perform something to the best of your ability! Last week I, along with my talented cellist and pianist friends, recorded a rendition of "The Lord Is My Shepherd", a free arrangement by Jenny Garlock.
I take a photo editing class along with my class of Spec Ed students at the high school where I work. I need to monitor things like behavior while I try to learn the material so I can "assist" them. Thankfully, they were born at the turn of the century and they can pick up the various tasks on Photo Shop surprisingly easily. Not so myself, I sometimes struggle! One thing that I caught onto pretty quickly, however, was the concept of 'Forced Perspective', using the camera to trick the mind to see something differently than what is really happening.Oh yeah, I'm an expert on forced perspective--considering I get it everywhere, and have for years now. Consider the following:
Camouflage--Animals are experts at using the art of camouflage to protect themselves from the dangerous eyes of predators. I am amazed at chameleons and the octopus. They are wonders of nature at blending into their environment! Celebrities do the same thing! You can be sure that at San Diego Comic Comic Con there are celebrities everywhere going incognito via disguise. Unless you make a study at recognizing a certain celebrity or animal, you'll be forced into a false perspective!!!
News - I thought news was supposed to be impartial and based on fact. But, apparently, that is so pre-Vietnam War. So much of what is going on today is based on inflamatory rhetoric and intentional fact distortion. To get an accurate picture, one is now forced to rely on multiple news sources and experts. If you rely on just one source, your perspective is sure to be skewed and inaccurate!
Peoples' Lives - So many times my perspective at what I thought was the truth about someone has been shattered. I've learned long ago, for instance, to never expect any kind of permanency in Hollywood marriages! They will break up 90% of the time. When I was a teenager, I babysat for a couple, Mike and Jan, with 3 beautiful little boys. I idolized them because I thought that they had it together so much more than my own family. I felt like they were so classy, neat, clean, and beautiful. When she filed for divorce a few years later, it really shocked me. Apparently Mike was flirting around with girls as young as me and she finally had enough. It forced me to realize that things, no matter how perfect they look, often aren't what they seem.
Pinterest and Instagram Accounts - Oh those picture perfect lives! They inspire me and discourage me at the same time! I can immerse myself for inordinate amounts of time, in awe of the creativity, beauty, and picture perfect settings. Sometimes I am forced to turn off my phone and leave it so I can get something else done! Little did anyone realize, when both start-ups officially began 7 years ago, how they would explode into a collective mass public obsession! It changed the public's perspective of how they look at potential purchases and where they look!
Fashion/Makeup/Cosmetic Surgery It is the job of the beauty industry to create looks that are designed to deceive the eye into believing someone is thinner, younger, more aesthetically pleasing than they could ever be on their own. They aren't doing their job if the following discussion isn't forced--"was she was born with it or wasn't she"? It is amazing, to the point that just because you were born a certain gender doesn't mean that you can't be transformed to look like the opposite gender. These days, just because you were born with it, doesn't mean you can't get rid of it! The sky is the limit and it's a perspective that many welcome, while confusing and frustrating to just as many.
As for myself, I realize that I am a product of my environment and I happily go along with some views and reject others. I feel like I have wised up and developed a good sense of what is real and what is fake. But I always want to be able to step away, hit the re-set button and try to see things in a different perspective! What other examples of forced perspective can you think of?
Image - Caroline Stone
Today is "My Post Monday!"It's
all about original content from bloggers who care
to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
Image Credits - Mashable imgur
Baby Animal Season is in full swing and I'm teaming up with This Is The Place Heritage Park to give out 4 free all-day passes (Adults - $12.95, Children - $8.95)! The baby animals are just so sweet! Life is teeming and spring is in the air!
We checked out the park a week ago and it was so much fun! I can't think of a more fun and diverse place for family fun! Emigration Canyon is just above the park and you can see people trekking across with horses, dogs, or bikes! We especially liked shopping at the Gift Shop this time. It is packed with many unique and beautiful items, one of the largest inventories in the West! Just a couple of my favorites are shown below. Check out their 50% off section too!
Beautiful Copper Bracelets
Hilarious when you open it!
Horseback trail rides are also so much fun and right now you can score an introductory rate of 2 for the price of 1 plus $5 if you book online and put in the code SPRING! And don't forget to tell them A GAL NEEDS...sent you!
For a chance to win 4 all-day passes, enter in the Rafflecopter below!a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: Open to U.S. A GAL NEEDS...received free passes from this sponsor to facilitate the review of this venue. Affiliate links may be present. No Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', Klout nor any other social platforms are involved in any way!
Must be 18 or older to participate, Winner will be contacted by e-mail
after 04/20/17. Must respond within 48 hours.
After notification, winner will be asked to acknowledge their win by contacting sponsor on Social Media and letting them know of their win.
Entrants with invalid entries will
be disqualified.
Sponsor, This Is The Place Heritage Park, is responsible for fulfillment of prize package. A GAL NEEDS...is not responsible for prize fullfillment.
Easter is upcoming and it is the second most popular religious season in the U.S., Christmas being the first. I love Easter because it gives me a chance to pause and think about why we celebrate it! This video is so moving to me and hopefully to you as well!
In addition to this video, the Easter Campaign called #PrinceOfPeacehas identified 8 spiritual gifts that belief in Him, Jesus Christ, can give to us. The first one is Faith and I'd like to sharea story about my friend Jen. Her simple faith in the Savior and His ability to heal us today, just like when He was on the earth, gave her a miracle that made her faith even stronger and set a great example for me.
It started on Christmas Day. Jen lives alone--an Aussie who became a U.S. Citizen some years ago.Her family lives far away in Australia. I just love listening to her accent!
Although it was very cold and the roads were covered with snow
and ice, she decided to walk to church to celebrate Christmas there. Halfway through her trip, she
saw that it was more icy than she previously thought. But she decided to continue on.
Unfortunately, she fell and broke her hand in 2 places. It was excruciatingly painful but she had to wait until the next day to receive medical care
because it was Christmas.
She requested a priesthood
blessing from a member of the clergy in her church group (known as a ward). In the blessing, she was counseled to be patient in her
recovery. From that blessing she got two things. 1) That she would
eventually be healed and 2) She needed to practice patience.
She
had two different injuries. One was the bony side of her hand where the
little finger adjoins to the hand. It had been shattered into 5
different pieces and the doctor said they wouldn't even try to repair
that. It would not heal, but it also wouldn't be too critical(his way of reassuring her, nothing else to do!), with
arthritis probably occurring later in life. The 2nd part was the
thumb. It came off of its "shelf" and also had a very bad break. That was set while
she was in the hospital by a surgeon from Arizona. It was still
severely injured and broken.
She went back every 10 days, 2 or 3 times, each time with the doctors not being sure whether or not surgery was the route to go.
Her cast became painful and made her hand swell and was
in danger of infection. She had to take it off, but since it wasn't
healed, her doctor left it up to her whether she wanted to opt for
the surgery or if she wanted to try her luck and let it heal on its own.
She
thought about her blessing and thought about what option would require
"patience". If she opted to not have the surgery, she would need to hold
her arm and hand completely still until it hopefully healed, with no
guarantees. Could she even do that? Having the surgery would also require patience and risks,
including an incision and extra cost. also with no guarantees. She opted
to NOT have the surgery.
To ensure that optimal healing take place, she had to keep her hand still for 4 weeks. But she found that the patience
that she needed was readily available. She found that, amazingly, it was even a
pleasant experience. She felt that she couldn't have had that kind of
patience on her own, but that she had been given the gift of patience in
order to bear the burden.
Finally, her hand completely knit
itself together on its own, even the part that they said wouldn't heal.
All 5 shattered pieces came together and became whole. She still needs to practice patience, however. Because of the length of time she had to hold her hand still, she has atrophy and needs extensive physical therapy. But it is a small price to pay in exchange for her hand being eventually completely healed!
I feel that this
was a miracle that occurred because she practiced faith. First, by
going to church even though it was hard. Second, by requesting a
priesthood blessing. Third, by being mindful of what was said in the
blessing and following the instructions given in that blessing. Because
of her faith and obedience, she was blessed with a hand that is whole
and a stronger testimony of the power of the priesthood and the
blessings of being faithful!
I'm so grateful to know women of faith like Jen! I need examples like her in order to strengthen my own faith! And I'm grateful for the blessings that our Savior, Jesus Christ, gives to each of us as we reach out in faith to Him. It doesn't matter that we just have a little bit. It just matters that we practice it. And once we practice it, we can see it grow!
Sometimes the outcome of faith doesn't look like a miracle to other people. In fact, it could look tragic. But it is how we rely on our faith in Christ that is personal to us and not to anyone else. Consider the video below, where the family had every right to become bitter but didn't and continues to have faith!
Getting out after this long winter and enjoying the crisp, clean air in the Rocky Mountains is something I relish this time of year. It is absolutely gorgeous. And to enhance it even more, why not enjoy it on a horseback ride? 'This Is The Place Heritage Park' has an amazing set-up for riders of all experiences, making it a great group activity. There are horses for first-timers, horses for adults, and horses for children. The setting is beautiful and there are some historical points of interest along the way as well!
I found out that my sister was expecting last year when we went horseback riding at the park. She had some reservations about riding because she was about 8 weeks pregnant at the time and so she privately asked James, the cowboy at 'This Is The Place' if it was safe. He reassured her that it was and gave her an especially gentle and slow mare, just to reassure her. I happened to overhear a bit of the conversation and asked her about it. She confirmed it and so I became one of the very first people to hear the good news! The ride was really fun and we had a great time!
To kick off the riding season, I've got an amazing offer from 'This Is The Place Heritage Park'! Normally a one-hour ride at the park is $55 per person. I've seen it on the signs at the park and on their website. But for anyone who mentions the code word, or that you are with A GAL NEEDS....at booking, you can get a one hour ride for 2 people at the great rate of $60! That's just $30 per person!! It's basically buy one, get the other one for $5! I totally recommend this if you have ever wanted to go horseback riding and just never had a chance to do it!
Bookings are open for March 15th and go Mondays thru Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. You can either call James the Cowboy at 801-448-6126 and make sure to mention you are calling from the Bloggers Network, specifically A GAL NEEDS... OR Visit www.thisistheplace.org, go to the 'HorsebackTrail Rides' Tab and put in the code SPRING before you complete your transaction for your discount! Say you heard it from 'A GAL NEEDS...!' I can't wait to go again this season! Remember to wear a good hat, sunglasses, and some good riding boots or shoes! Hope to see you on the trail!!
Right now in the Rockies the weather is temperamental, and we are longing for spring! One day it's snow, the next rain, and the next sun! Patience at this time of year is indeed a virtue! To help you get through these last dicey weeks before the sun comes out for more than just a tease, we'd like to let you in on a giveaway from Del Sol! Del Sol literally means 'of the sun'! Del Sol makes color-changing apparel, nail polish, and accessories. Using Spectrachrome Crystals that work like a flower exposed to sun, they literally change colors outside during the day! Even cloudy days will work because clouds can't block out the rays of the sun! Check me out in my Del Sol Solize sunnies while I was accompanied by my Civil War Era detail! What a fun day! All their sunglasses are polarized (and more) and come with an amazing lifetime guarantee!
Everyone needs time in the sun and Del Sol makes your fun sun time even better! Join us as we give someone a $50 eGift Code to Del Sol. Read the review here and enter below and your valid entries will be counted at the time of the draw! a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclaimer: Open to U.S. and Canada! A GAL NEEDS...received product from this sponsor to facilitate the review of this product. Affiliate links may be present. No Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', Klout nor any other social platforms are involved in any way! Must be 18 or older to participate, Winner will be contacted by e-mail after 03/30/17. Must respond within 48 hours. After notification, winner will be asked to acknowledge their win by contacting sponsor on Social Media and letting them know of their win. Entrants with invalid entries will be disqualified. Sponsor, Del Sol, is responsible for delivery of prize package. A GAL NEEDS...is not responsible for delivery of product or prize.
I've decided which movie star my youngest son resembles! I had figured out long ago who my first-born son looks like, duh, Tom Cruise! I swear he has his profile to a tee, and even down to the little twitch Tom gets in his jaw when it tenses up. (I study these things very carefully) Tom Cruise is an action star and my son is 100% action as well. He just won his 2nd belt, held simultaneously, for his work in the ring. He's an MMA fighter, right now ranked #1 in Utah for his weight class. (Look him up on Instagram!) He's also in the military and ready to go to war for our country. He's as full of testosterone as anyone I've ever seen.
But I could never find anyone that my youngest son favors. Not that it mattered one bit--I know I have the best looking sons on the planet! (lol, do all moms think like I do? ) Joe is a gentle giant. He has two championship rings from playing on his high school football team, winning the state division championship two years in a row, and he is an awesome wrestler, making state. But his easy-going nature is a contrast to my eldest son. He chose to serve an LDS mission. He cleaned up his act, put his affairs in order, and left in January to serve for 2 years in La La Land! Yes, he's in L.A.! He e-mails me every week giving me short updates on what it's like to serve. It has been so much fun to share some of the things that happen to him since he decided to take on that role.
Once a week they are able to take some time off and have a day to do laundry, grocery shopping, get together with other missionaries in their area, and maybe even do a little sight-seeing, like last week. They went to the Petersen Automotive Museum to check out all of the amazing cars there. But what was really cool is that they ran into Chris Pratt, star of Guardians of the Galaxy, and Passengers! Only in L.A. am I right? They were in the gift shop, with no one else there but themselves and Chris Pratt! They said hello and introduced themselves. He had his little boy with him and he explained, "Hey, it's the elders! They meet people and talk about God!" When he drove off, he waved to them. Nothing huge, but enough to certainly make me take notice.
Well, of course, I had to go see Passengers, because I am a slacker and didn't see it when it first came out. As I'm watching it, and seeing Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) go through that agonizing dilemma of whether or not to wake up Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence), and then living with what he did, trying to make up for what he did, and more than making up for what he did, I was so moved because I saw my son in him. He has those gentle blue eyes and those good looks! And what a coincidence that he met his doppelganger so early on in his stint as a missionary in L.A.!
Am I being unrealistic in thinking my sons are so amazing and good-looking? Some people would say yes. But I know the feeling is real for me. It doesn't matter that other people may see it quite differently. The point is that those you love take on a beauty that maybe only you can see, or maybe the whole world can see. But the point is, the beauty is there for you!
Image - Eric Melander
I've seen so many examples of little old men and women who have been married for years and years. They are old, wrinkled and past their prime, but to each other they are beautiful. They see beyond the imperfections that time has wrought and they just see the beauty. It's so sweet to see!
I've given up rejecting the compliments my husband gives me, telling me I'm pretty, cute, sexy, etc. I realize that to him, it's true. As time passes, I quit thinking that he's just saying those things to get something from me, a fault on my part. He genuinely believes it! So I must conclude that despite the deluge of photographs, models, fashions, and fleeting standards of beauty, truth be told--true beauty must be seen with eyes that are led by the heart! Today is "My Post Monday!"It's
all about original content from bloggers who care
to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
I occasionally do accompaniment work on the organ or piano. This past Saturday I played organ for a funeral. It was for some friends of ours, whose mom had passed away. I had never met their mother, but by the end of the funeral I felt that I knew her personally.
I had heard a few things here and there just because of our associations with our friends. Before the funeral I had heard in passing that their mother, Jackie, wasn't in good health, that sometimes she wasn't the most pleasant person to be around, that sometimes she upset her children, that her husband had it rough because she was hard to manage with her poor health. That was about it.
Then Jackie died rather unexpectedly after some surgery. During the service I learned a little bit more about her life. Apparently she had been healthy until the last 20 years of her life, when she was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. For one reason or another, this disease really did a number on her. She was constantly in pain, and her extremities started to slowly die. Her feet especially gave her lots of trouble and she ended up losing one of her big toes. Because of that, she wasn't very mobile and spent a lot of time indoors or bedridden.
But what I learned as well is that Jackie was passionate about her hobby of making dolls--and these dolls were special! (They were displayed at the funeral) Every one of them was individually made and had so much character. They really were little works of art! If she had been healthier, she could have had quite a business, either on Etsy, partnering up with retail chains, or something of that nature. She had given many of her friends the dolls and so there were many memories told about them.
Jackie also loved her family very much, as was revealed. Her only son remembered that she defended him with vigor, even when, as he admitted, he may have not have always deserved it. But she was also very vigilant about making sure her children were honorable and learned valuable lessons. As her daughter recalled, once the kids were out in the local horse park and started a small fire, which was prohibited. She somehow saw the smoke and went out to investigate. When she saw that the incident involved her children and their friends, she came out to the park and after a severe reprimand, took them all to the fire department so they could learn the full impact of starting a fire in a field next to homes.
Her husband told of the time they went up to the State Park in the mountains, where he had proposed to her. She had been totally taken by surprise and apparently always remembered it with fondness. She had a best friend whom she had known for years. At the funeral this friend learned why Jackie always loved to go up to this State Park on outings with her. It was the place where she had been proposed to! She had never suspected, until then, that was why Jackie always wanted to go there any chance she could. She was a closet romantic and loved her husband dearly.
We also found out that she loved beauty around her, tried to keep her home beautiful, loved spiritual things, and loved Jesus Christ and taught her children to do the same. Her youngest daughter talked about her last association with her the week that she died. She was in bed and her daughter was leaving. Jackie insisted on getting out of bed and walking her to the door when she left. She slowly and painstakingly walked each step with her, told her she loved her and that she was going to try and walk more and more. Unfortunately, that was the last time her daughter ever saw her alive.
I'm sure there were a lot of people who didn't know her before she got ill, before she suffered with all her health problems. To others, she may have seemed "out of it", "lethargic", "bedridden", "grouchy", "temperamental", or even "lazy". But when you put together the whole of her life, and understood just what she had gone through and who she was before her illness, you start to realize that she was a beautiful and strong individual, who endured many years of pain, probably just to be with those she loved a little longer.
It makes sense to withhold judgement just a little longer than usual next time we are tempted to make a swift character assessment, because everyone has a story and just because we may see one part of that story, doesn't mean we can interpret the whole of it! Today is "My Post Monday!"It's
all about original content from bloggers who care
to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
Do you ever do the coulda' woulda' shoulda' game? Not a smart idea to do for very long. But sometimes I do occasionally indulge in a bit of 'What if' reminiscing.
For instance I wish that I had treated my two grandmas so much better. Not that I treated them badly at all, but I wish I had written them more letters, and shown them more consideration and honor. They were such wonderful women, whom I loved dearly. If I had known that they wouldn't be with me forever here on this earth, I might have gleaned more of their wisdom, spent more time sitting at their knees, and taken their words more to heart than I did. If I had known that my boys would have turned out to be such amazing young men, and that I really had such a limited time to be with them, as it turned out, would I have spent so much time trying to improve them, mold them into what I thought they should be, disciplining them, and most regretfully, raising my voice at them? Honestly, I would have spent much more time just laughing with them, and admiring their individual characteristics and God-given traits. I am lucky that now I can still spend time with them on occasion and I can do better by them than I did my own grandmas because I know that I won't always have those moments to enjoy. And of course there is my own husband. Wow, we've been through a lot of ups and downs. With my own baggage from a previous marriage, along with his own previous marriage, and our own individual childhood upbringings that occasionally don't mesh, especially when it comes to dealing with kids and our family. But I do love him after all of it, and there is still a long way to go. In him is the ticket to every bit of happiness that I'd ever want. He's kind to me, kind to my aging father, and kind to my boys. He brings me nice gifts (my love language), thinks I'm pretty, and compliments me enough to make me blush. And there are more and more times of just peaceful contentment between us! What's not to look forward to and appreciate now? I think that I've learned enough from the past to know that the very best things in life have been right in front of me all along. I just needed to see it!
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