Life

This came to me in the form of a forwarded email, sent by my wonderful friend, Lise (THANKS Lise!). It is very inspirational. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. :)

"Loyalty...

Sorrow...

Innocence...

Departure...

Pain...

Respect...

Compassion...

Friendship...

Patience...

Rescued...

Divine...

This year we have truly learned...

'Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass....

it's about learning how to dance in the rain.'

Be kinder than necessary,

Because everyone you meet

 Is fighting some kind of battle. "

Here is another quote which I found on lds.org.

" 'When you’re of service, you lose yourself,' Howell said. 'All of a sudden your trials don’t seem nearly as big because everybody else is going through something. It puts it in perspective, and it’s very, very healing.' (italics added)

Howell still has her struggles, but she has truly allowed the peace of humanitarian service to heal her broken heart."

For the rest of the article about Howell, go here. Enjoy! :) 

Wishing you your own journey to healing through the service of others.

Boating the Inland Northwest

 

WOW! All I can say is WOW... on several accounts.

First, I'm amazed that Miles (with my assistance :) has actually created this online/ e-publication. All of it! Even some of the maps are created by Miles. Yes, he made the logo too (of course - however, the lettering was my idea :D). Most of the photos are taken by Miles (I took a few, and a few were taken by others). The research is all done by Miles. The content is created by Miles - all of it - even the information about the lakes etc. Way. To. Go. Miles! And, finally, the editing and sometimes re-writing are done by me (no, actually, Mindy does some of it now and then, and she is SO GOOD AT IT! Thanks Mindy!  :)

The editing is done here and there in spurts; so when I do get around to it, the task is overwhelming daunting! But big as my job is - his is a whole lot bigger! Miles has been working on creating it day after day, hour after hour, week after week, month after month, year after year for the past few years. Every time business slows down, he fills his days working on it. I am so proud of him for sticking with it and accomplishing such an enormous achievement!

Like I already stated, this has been a HUGE project. But the great news is that it is now, finally, ready to be advertised to the public. There are many who already know about it and love it already, but now I am finally confident about really publicizing it! I am absolutely excited that we (mostly Miles :) are pulling this off!

I went to the Spokane Boat Show and passed out fliers and talked to the vendors there about the new publication. It was so much fun! I did this a couple of years ago, but was so nervous about it then, knowing that the publication really wasn’t ready. How great it was to just relax and enjoy it this time around, knowing that it is finally ready to be seen (A LOT of work has been done in the past couple of weeks and months)! My confidence in the publication and in our ability to make an income out of this has really grown. It feels so good!

I have to tell you. It was so neat to also find out what a rock star Miles is in the boating world! LOL :D While I was there advertising the magazine I would sometimes get to visiting and the conversation would evolve into people finding out that I am married to Miles. When ever that would happen I would be taken by surprise with the sudden warmth extended to me.

On one such occasion, I was standing and talking to three men. Two of them were quite near me, the other was back behind them both by a few feet, mingling in and out of our conversation in a lackadaisical sort of way. I said something that gave way to making connections in their minds, connections that caused them to perk up and get excited. The gentleman who was back behind the others suddenly made a bee-line towards me and, interrupting my sentence, asked,

"Wait. You're married to Miles Moore?"

I assured him that I was, and suddenly saw him leap between the two other men to get to me. I then found my left hand clasped in between his two hands and vigorously shook as he proclaimed;

"I LOVE YOUR HUSBAND!"

The two men who had now been pushed aside then made the connection and turning to look at each other followed by looking at me, also asked for verification;

"You're Miles' wife?"

"Yes." I again proclaimed. "Miles is my husband."

"We LOVE Miles, TOO!" one told me.

"Everyone loves Miles!" the other insisted.

And you know what? They were so sincere! Boy does he have them snowed! Ha ha! ;)

The three of them then all loosened up and started laughing, telling me to tell Miles this, and tell him that. And, of course, going on about what a great guy he is. It was such a fun and pleasant surprise; I just had to tell you about it.

I'd like to tell you more, but it is time to get ready to go to the boat show again. I'll just tell you one more thing for now.

I had another great experience speaking with the Coast Guard Auxiliary. They were all over bragging about what a great publication Boating the Inland Northwest is. They told their neighbor's about it (boat show booth neighbors) with great enthusiasm, and encouraged me to bring fliers by for them to help distribute to those coming by. I left a box of business cards with them since I didn't have extra fliers with me.

I am so excited! :D

Enjoy! :)

Jan - 2011 - PS. The publication is an ongoing work in progress; there is always more being added. The Lakes Guide has been moved from boatingtheinlandnw.com.to our main website http://www.funtosail.com/ (which used to be http://www.sailcda.com/).



If you're wondering about the time frame... I wrote this while Miles and I were busy with the Spokane Boat Show earlier this month; and since I was on my way out the door, followed by being too engrossed in catching up on things other than blogging - I just didn't post it. Better late than never.

Lightening Thief - Life Thief

Miles and I went on a date last night and watched a movie called Lightening Thief.

(Photo taken from on line Regal Cinemas trailer advertisement)

And after all the fun rambling I did in my last post about breaking rules and being a "rebel" etc., a scene from this movie served as a clear reminder to me that rules and laws are actually, usually, a very good thing.

In the movie there was a scene in which the characters were at a Casino while on an important quest. However, while at the Casino they were offered an unlimited supply of very delicious flowers to munch on, which turned out to be drugged.

Consequently, they quickly began to feel quite good, and to lose all track of both time and even sense of purpose. In this new state they quickly forgot about their mission. Their minds were weakened and their senses dulled. All that seemed to matter was enjoying the moment.

One of the characters heard his father’s voice speaking to him in his heart and mind, telling him that he must “wake up” from the “trap” that he was in, which trap would cause him to not accomplish his mission.

The character heeded the voice and refused to indulge further in the lulling temptation that beset him, though offered it repeatedly afterwards. As a result of the drug, much time was lost and the mission was in jeopardy of being fulfilled by the critical deadline.

Though the movie showed the characters only being drugged, but not addicted, I couldn't help not thinking of both. I have known several individuals who have been trapped in some serious addictions. So as I watched, I thought of times in which I have witnessed individuals struggling to live with purpose … lulled into an apathetic and sometimes uncontrollable state of being… a trance of sorts in which they don’t seem to be able to focus on and enjoy the truly important experiences in their lives due to addictions completely consuming them.

In a way, drugs and other addictive substances and experiences are "Life Thieves."

Would that not ruin the desirability of it – even with the seemingly uncontrollable desire for it? How contradictory. How insane it would be to continue in it. And yet, how common a thing in this world in which we live.

I have been really blessed. I have never experienced even the slightest taste of any drug. I’m truly thankful for this; because judging from statistics, abstinence seems to be the only sure way to avoid becoming addicted to anything that tends to be addictive.

I desire to be free, in every way. And so I am quite thankful for the God given wisdom and law, of abstinence from all things addictive, and the wisdom and courage to resist them!

100 Favorites

I read a blog around the first of this month in which the readers were challenged to list 100 of their favorite things. Since it sounded like an uplifting "count your blessings" activity, I took up the challenge. I wrote about 90 things somewhere around the 3rd or 4th, but with the business of editing an online publication (I actually got around to doing it again, and I'm enjoying it!!! Yeah for me! :) and working at a boat show, the rest of the list waited until this morning. For any who are curious - Enjoy!

100 of my Favorites… :)
1. Colors – all of them! I even like orange (which I despised in my youth). I esp. love purple, green (varying shades - esp hunter green), red-orange (though perhaps with more of a brick red tone than shown here), burgundy (this is not a good example of burgundy!!), and am growing fond of blue (esp since I think I may look good in it - if that is possible. ;)

2. Good Music
3. Writing
4. Reading
5. Humor, laughter, jokes
6. Miles, and the way he loves me, his patience with me and complete devotion to me; he is an amazing and wonderful husband!
7. Levi - my darling, hilarious, sweet, loving, funny, snugly, cuddly son, who has an awesome personality and is an absolute gentleman! I am so incredibly proud of him!
8. Devry and his incredibly sweet and darling ways. I love the way he is so amazing and good with animals. I love hearing him play the drums! I love his amazing persistence; that boy knows he can do hard things!
9. Dausen and his calm and sober and yet comical personality; while quiet in some settings, he is a comedian in others! I love that he is fun to hug (still breaking him in), that he is so diligent about developing his talents and that he loves me (despite what he says when he is angry)! :) I also love that he is so cooperative and hard working! He is a home-schooling mother’s dream child!
10. Mindy, and her incredibly supportive ways! She is always there to volunteer to temporarily take over the cooking for me, or to attempt to hold down the fort here at home when I have to work more than usual (not an easy task when you're not the mom!). I am especially thankful that she enjoys spending time with me and for the relationship we have with each other; I love the way we love and enjoy each other so much! She will always be one of my best friends!
11. The relationship that I have with my mother; she too, will always be one of my best friends.
12. My sisters and brothers - I can't imagine life without them, and I miss them more than they know.
13. Visits from family, however rare...
14. My dad – I love him a ton! I love the way he is so funny and fun and I love that he comes to visit me as often as he can!!!
15. Traveling with my family to go visit relatives and friends
16. Traveling to explore beautiful places
17. Holidays and birthdays
18. Making friends :)
19. Having friends :)
20. Memories
21. Poetry
22. That there are people who sing so beautifully, for all to hear, and the hope that one day I, too, can learn to sing beautifully (That will be a major accomplishment!)
23. Rollerblading – I don’t do any tricks, but I do know how to rollerblade backwards now, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to rollerblade to music (one of these days I will get myself an iPod to take with me when I go)!
24. Hiking – This is a Major Passion of mine! I love it! :)
25. The beautiful outdoors: mountains, trees, rivers, streams, flowers, blue sky,
26. Both sunshine and rain (esp. if the sun shines though the rain and makes a rainbow)
27. Camping :)
28. Watching people ice skate and ice fish
29. Thinking of ice skating and ice fishing

30. Playing games with my family
31. Visiting friends
32. Receiving letters, e-mails and cards
33. Giving letters, e-mails and cards :D
34. Giving and receiving hugs
35. Smiles
36. Compliments
37. Compassion
38. Love
39. America
40. The Constitution
41. Freedom
42. Good people
43. Our Founding Fathers
44. Prophets and Apostles
45. The gospel of Jesus Christ - I am thankful for it every day of my life!
46. Family and friends - I can't even begin to convey the love I have for family and friends.
47. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
48. All good music
49. Good uplifting and inspiring books
50. Scented candles and my candle warmer (so I don’t have to light the candles and smell the nasty matches; and I can still smell a candle when the wick is trashed).
51. Kayaking – especially on the Hobie Adventure Island (it has pedals and a huge sail as well as paddles! :)
52. Temples and temple work
53. Genealogy
54. Family history stories
55. Cousins, aunts, uncles, all extended family
56. Photography (even though I am an amateur… big time!)
57. Food from The Cafe Carambola (Latin foods Café in downtown Coeur d’Alene – fresh, real food!) *This is my favorite restaurant without a doubt! Had I eaten there before attending college, I might have gone into cooking in addition to nutrition... I WISH I HAD! I would love to cook like that!!!!
58. Scriptures
59. Education
60. Brains
61. Art - You should see the art work my kiddos do! Perhaps, one day you will, right here on my blog (mother's bragging rights - not that I can take any credit. I can't; they get it all from dad).
62. Being and feeling productive
63. Exploring
64. Sailing to Kidd Island with my family and goofing off there as a family
65. Talking to people at Boat Shows
66. How much the Cost Guard loves the online publication that Miles and I are making...
67. Talking to people and having them reach out to take my hand like I am a movie star, when I tell them I am married to Miles! (Yes, that happened at the Boat Show!); the man who did this said to me, “I LOVE Miles!” Followed by his buddies, who chimed in, “We all love Miles; every body loves Miles!”)
68. … that being said; I love being married to a wonderful and kind person, who is so cheerful and giving to others that people love him everywhere he goes. Those who do not love him, simply do not know him.
69. Integrity
70. Pianos
71. Paper
72. Computers and programs, like Photoshop (anxious to use that one :).
73. Photos
74. Scrapbooks
75. A clean house :)
76. Learning new things and developing skills and talents
77. General Conference
78. President Hinckley, President Monson, and Ezra Taft Benson, along with all the rest (esp. Joseph Smith Brigham Young, and Howard W. Hunter)
79. Inspiring stories *******
80. Being fit (which seems to be somewhat challenging now – I must stretch and exercise constantly!!!! But, thankfully, I love it!)
81. Dancing
82. Serving others!!!!!!!!!!!!! ******
83. Making some one else’s day!!!!!!!!!
84. Bringing a smile to someone’s face*********
85. Children (especially mine :)
86. Cheerful, uplifting and inspiring books, stories, photos and movies
87. Jump Ropes
88. Almond Roca (esp. with mint – like you get at Christmas time!)
89. Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
90. Peanut butter and chocolate - (esp dark chocolate) – together :)
91. Fresh carrots from a garden; fresh anything from a garden!
92. Summertime fun! Hiking, camping, sailing, swimming, kayaking, rollerblading, traveling, going to the Avondale pond with the kids to see turtles, frogs and the like… (I would really love to add fishing to that list!)
93. Church Conferences, not just General Conferences, but the fun ones too! (Fun and spiritual together are like dynamite! :)
94. Nail polish, nails (perhaps I’ll grow some, and actually polish them :).
95. Sun and wind, and sitting on the deck with a good book as I feel the wind on my face (especially in the early fall while it is still warm, but not too hot).
96. Missionaries and experiencing missionary opportunities
97. My book of quotes that I continue to compile and love to read (I love good quotes!) – New favorites include “Keep moving forward” and “Do away with that which troubles you.”
98. History, esp. early American history and the great people who helped to form our nation… I love the Founding Fathers! :D
99. Celebrations, birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, valentines day, family reunions, get-togethers with friends
100. MILES !!!!!!! – MY BEST FRIEND! I love the way he is! :)

Whether you blog or not -You may find it fun to put on your thinking and thankful cap and list 100 of your favorite things! ;)

Blond... and Loving It! ;)

I'm a home schooling mom. Normally, I am outstandingly strict about the schedule. Study time is strictly study time - no visitors, no goofing off, no chores, no facebook etc.!

But, there are rare exceptions and fluctuations with the schedule, like we had this past Wednesday. I had been working a lot (shocking, I know) - and I needed a break. So, quite out of the ordinary, I decided to boss the kids around with nothing but independent assignments, so I could go on facebook for a break! :D

The goal was to advertise this new blog of mine. I thought of the best way to go about this by considering my habits on facebook. I reflected on the fact that when I get on FB I seldom go to what I considered the "absolutely EVERY STUPID THING MENTIONED, - WASTE YOUR LIFE AWAY" feed, also known as the, "Live Feed."

I do appreciate technology and love that I can keep in touch with friends; but don't want to lose hours of my life reading what Joe writes for Suzy. (BTY- I’m also a big believer in not creating addictions of any kind… and spending too much time on anything can create an addiction.)

I want to read the things that were written to me, or to everyone (which includes me :). So I decided to post my blog advertisement in what I assumed to be the "to everybody" feed: also known as the "News Feed." (I know; I know... thus the title!)

I figured, there are a few other people like me who won't see what is in the "Live Feed." Thus the logical conclusion..., my ad must hit the "News Feed" to be seen.

(Honestly, I'm not stupid, just a bit hasty about jumping to conclusions at times, and humble enough to admit it (ha ha! So humble I HAD to point it out!:) Or maybe I'm just crazy enough to admit it! :O

Anyhow..., no matter what I did, everything I posted went onto the "Live Feed" only. I would post in one location, repost in another (yes, again, I am a blond! Augh! I hope you still believe me about the "humble but not stupid" bit. LOL).

My daughter then noticed my dilemma and came to my rescue,

"Mom, maybe it only shows up there on your account. Maybe I could get on my account to see where your post shows up."

Followed by my facebook addict, Dausen, (who is anything but blond) quickly leaping over a stool, flying across the room towards the computer, and eagerly echoing a helping hand with...

"Good idea! I'll check it out on my account, too!"

Mindy and I immediately turned to look at each other, and then simultaneously burst into laughter.

Ahh... to laugh! :)

This reminded me of an instance with Levi recently. He and I played chess together (He is 11, and played once when he was nearly 8, but just started playing again a couple of weeks ago).

Afterwards he emphasized to me how much he loves to play with me. When I asked him why, he proceeded to give a wonderful list of great qualities about me. He said things that really boosted my ego... that I am so much fun to play with, funny, cute, cheerful etc. :)

And then he got this look in his eye and added, "and, because you are such a 'good sport.'" This of course was followed by a look of, "Oh crabapples! Please don't let mom catch on to the fact that she is delightfully easy to win."

Wow! There it was... the icing on the smooth and glossy cake... the reminder that it is great fun to play games which require one to think - with a blond.

Now I know why God created blonds... so others could snow them, or win games with them when the odds would suggest a loss to be more probable in more common situations... thus multiplying the number and frequency of laughable scenarios.

:O

God has such a sense of humor! :)

Ahh, to be in the company of a blond! :D

PS. My "blond" head has been enlightened. For all you other blonds out there, who also live life blissfully unaware of the difference between "live feed" and "news feed," here is the moment of truth you have been waiting for...

I "googled" it, and discovered that FB has certain criteria which determine the "importance" of each comment made. FB then places the "important" comments on the "News Feed."

EVIDENTLY, FB NEEDS HELP SORTING OUT WHAT IS AND ISN'T IMPORTANT! :)

Oh well. Such is the reasoning and life of a blond!
PS. To all you blonde's out there... Love ya! ;)
PPS. For those of you who do not know me. I really am decently smart (despite the blond moments). I'm just sure of it! After all, my 11 year old tells me so!

PPPS. One of my talents is laughing at myself. (Why, I practically live to laugh at myself! Mua.. ha..ha..ha..ha!) Of course, I do have an advantage over the average person; I’ve had lots of practice!