Prayer

My job is sometimes very high stress. I've endured more layoffs in my 16+ years here than Carter has pills. That, in and of itself, is stressful. But the Lord has been VERY good to me and my family. Knock on wood, I'm still kicking.

Other days my job's about as non-stressful as any job could be. I purchase some items for the group, I assure that everyone in Managed Services is happy, I assign some IP addresses to some ports on a router, I open and receipt a few Purchase Orders and I go home happy. It's actually very fun sometimes.

Then there are days when I'm actively looking for things to keep me busy. So has been my plight lately. On days like that, time creeps by slower than winter's sluggish strides toward spring. The end cannot get here quickly enough.

Don't ever think otherwise...I love my job! I am SOOO thankful for it. I don't mind the 24-mile commute, I don't mind the baloney I have to wade through from time to time, and I work for the best boss a man could ever hope for. I am VERY blessed.

Lately, though, there have been more of the slow days than the quick days. I can only clean up and arrange the storage closet so many times.

So, I decided to ask Heavenly Father a few days back if He would fill up my day. "Please give me something to work on", I said. I just want to work hard for my money. In fact, I sounded a little bit like the Brother of Jared when he pleaded with the Lord to touch his stones. He said, "Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men." (Ether 3:5).

In the preceding verse, the Brother of Jared said, "And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea." (Ether 3:4)

As you know that the Lord touched those stones and made them shine in the darkness. In like manner, He touched my job and made it shine in the darkness, as well. The first day I asked for this blessing, I was so busy I didn't have time to do everything. There were still two or three tasks in my in box when I left for home.

The next morning, I thanked Heavenly Father for the day before and then asked for the same blessing. No sooner did I finish my prayer than several more things hit my desk and I felt busier than a one-eyed cat watching nine mouse holes. At the end of the day there were again several tasks left on my desk. Talk about going home happy! I was ecstatic! I LOVE days like that!

Now here I am on the third day of my little experiment and it's already nearly 11 o'clock. I've got enough work today to last me three days...and I am loving it. (By the way, I wrote this last night, not at work!)

May I just tell you, prayer works. It absolutely works. Like the Brother of Jared or Enos or any of those great Book of Mormon praying heroes, I have found from this small experience that it absolutely works. If done with real intent and with faith, the Lord will touch your life, too. He will touch those dark, lifeless places in your life and will make them shine in the darkness. Search for Him. Talk to Him.

As Richard G. Scott said in the last General Conference:

"Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life. Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences."

If there is anything more mundane than my work life is some days, I don't know what it is. But despite that, Heavenly Father listened to me and showed He was interested. He will do the same for you, if you will just talk to Him. It REALLY works!

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The Bronx is Up and the Battery's Down...

It's been several years since I was able to go to Yankee Stadium, and I've NEVER been to the one I was in last week. Jacob and I both wanted to see it, so I took the week off and we drove up to New York City (New York City?). Believe me, the new Stadium is MUCH nicer than the old one, and much nicer than I figured it would be.

Though it evokes memories of the old, old Stadium (before it was renovated in the mid-70s), this new one is every bit as modern as any of the other new stadiums to which I've been (Camden Yards, Nationals Stadium, Citizen's Bank Park, etc). It has all of the amenities, such as a Hall of Fame, the Great Hall, lots of places to buy food and souvenirs, and the gingerbread going around the top of the stadium. It looks A LOT like the ballpark I remember from my youth.

Jacob and I sat in Section 203 with the Bleacher Creatures. Let me tell you, they are TRUE New Yorkers. Every other word out of their mouths was one I can't print here, and they got on Red Sox fans mercilessly. We helped do the roll call, first with Jacoby Ellsbury, then with Brett Gardner, then to Ichiro and then around the infield. It was something neither one of us had ever done before, and it was an experience. I LOVED it. It was also Derek Jeter figurine day, and we got our share (as you can see from the picture to the right).

The Yankees lost, unfortunately (something they've been doing too much of lately), but we enjoyed the heck out of it anyway. After getting out of the parking lot (which cost us $35!), we drove on out to Kenvil, New Jersey, where for five years I spent some of the happiest days of my life.

We stayed the night in a Marriott hotel, and got up the next morning and went over to my old neighborhood. It was pretty much as I remembered. There were Lincoln and Jefferson schools. There was John Gonzalez' old house. There was Alan Ruddy's old house. The Novelty Shop was still there, but it looked different inside. The hill across the street from our old house was much, much smaller than I remembered it, and it was covered with houses (that used to be a GREAT sledding hill).

The house I lived in way back when looked different, too. They'd added on a little room on the side and it was a different color. The tree in the backyard was gone and the screen porch on the front was gone. But it was home. We drove around the town a little bit, too, and I drove to an old friend's place like I'd been there the day before. Kind of like spawning salmon. They never quite forget from where they come.

When we finished in my old hometown, we went over onto Long Island (another $13 just to go through the Holland Tunnel!!) and looked at Citi Field where the Mets play. Nice stadium. Then we got onto I-95 and headed for Philly. We drove right to Bob Laney's house (old college roommate). When he got home from work, he and his son, Ethan, joined us at a Phillies game at Citizen's Bank Park. The Phils were playing the Giants, one of Jacob's favorite teams.

For the last couple of years, Jacob has wanted to be number 55 on his baseball teams. It's because of Tim Lincecum. He is a Giants' pitcher and is one of Jacob's favorites. He's a starter, though, and was not scheduled to pitch this game. However, the game went into the 14th inning (talk about getting your money's worth), and who should come walking out of the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the 14th inning but Tim Lincecum. When he started coming out, I looked out there and said, "That looks like The Freak (his nickname)." Jacob looked at me and said, "Not funny, dad." But when he looked and saw him, he was thrilled.

The Giants won the game, though Lincecum did give up a run. Jacob was happy and so was I. It was 1am Wednesday morning.

I'm glad I got to spend this time with my son. We need to do more things like this. We're talking about going to the BYU game up in Connecticut at the end of next month. But that's not for another month. How about something sooner?

Can anyone say, "Getting his learner's permit this afternoon?"

Yea, I think I could wait on that one.

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Spuds

I'll never look at potatoes the same.

Last evening I spent a little time in my garden. So far I've got potatoes, shallots and onions planted. The spuds went in about three weeks ago. I usually have a lot of fun planting my potatoes, since it's always seemed funny to me to be planting potatoes, instead of seeds, to grow potatoes. You plant real, whole potatoes. Well, not whole, but you get the idea.

In case you don't know anything about growing potatoes, let me elaborate.

The first thing you need to do is get your hands on some seed potatoes. These look and feel just like regular, every day, store-bought potatoes, but they're not. The store-bought spuds won’t work because they spray some chemical on them that stops the growth of the eyes. The eyes, as you may know, are the things from which the roots and such grow. You have to have them to grow new plants.

Once you get the seed potatoes, you cut them in quarters, making sure that each quarter has at least one eye. Then you wait for two days while the cut heals over. Once you get a little hard part on the cut, you throw them in the ground and cover them up.

In no time you'll have little plants pushing up through the ground.

The picture on the right gives you an idea of what these plants look like.

Keep an eye on these guys (pun intended) because every time you see them poking out of the earth, you cover them up with dirt. Yes, you completely cover the tender little plant with dirt. A couple of days later, it will poke it’s head up above the ground again, and you just throw more dirt on it. It’s called mounding. I've never really been given a good answer as to why you mound you potatoes, but I figure it’s so the potatoes have enough earth to grow in down below. Anyway, just remember, until you see flowers on the plant, just keep throwing dirt on them.

Last night, I stood in my garden thinking about this and the somewhat tough times we’re going through as a family right now. Jacob has a concussion and Hannah has a severely sprained ankle. Both of them are less than happy. Consequently the rest of us are clinging to the last nerve like it was a rope thrown to us in a turbulent sea.

People should be a lot more like potatoes. Potatoes don’t get discouraged every time you throw something new on top of them. They just keep growing. I think it's because the potatoes know that without a little bit of dirt thrown on them, they won't grow quite right. They welcome the dirt and use it as an opportunity to grow stronger.

I don’t think people should welcome difficult times, but I do think we should see them like potatoes do, as an opportunity for growth. After all, that is what they are. We are in the Lord’s garden. He knows how much dirt He can throw on top of us before we break or wither or wilt. He won’t throw that much on there. He loves His garden and tends it every single day. Without the dirt thrown on us, we don’t grow. We don’t sink our roots deep into the ground and bring forth new fruit. The Lord knows what He’s doing. When difficult times comes, and they will, take them as a sign that Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to grow.

Dangerous

Mr. President, I don't agree with you much, I admit. I don't like your insurance fiasco, I don't like your stance on immigration reform, I think your administration has been one big comedy of errors after another. Benghazi, Guantanemo, and "you can keep your policy" are just a few of the examples, among many. To be frank, if it weren't for the thought of Mrs. Clinton being elected in 2016, I'd look forward to the day when you were gone from the White House. I'd thought I'd heard it all from you, but now you go one step further. I now wonder if you have any idea whatsoever of what you're doing.

Let me quote you here, so there's no mistake.

"As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol."

Excuse me? Not more dangerous than alcohol? Do you have ANY idea how dangerous alcohol is? If not, please be patient while I educate you just a tad.

First, if all 17 million people who admitted to driving drunk had their own state, it would be the fifth largest in the United States*. Larger than every other state except Alaska, Texas, California and New Mexico. That's a big state, Mr. President. That's A LOT of people driving around drunk. Maybe, if you're lucky, we can have another state that big filled with people who are driving around while stoned.

Second, drunk driving costs each adult in this country almost $500 per year. I know you're a millionaire and all, and so don't really think much about 500 puny dollars, but the rest of us middle-class people still consider $500 as a big sum of dough. I'd rather keep that in my own pocket than shell it out for someone who's too self-important to get a designated driver.

Third, on average, one in three people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime. If you consider that there are about 300 million people in this country right now, that's about 100 million people involved in drunk driving accidents. One hundred million! With that many people involved, some of them are bound to be children. Do you think some of these dope smokers will be crashing into children, too? You bet your sweet bippy they will.

Now, for some "sobering" statistics. Every single day in America, on average, another 28 people die as a result of drunk driving accidents. In 2012 alone, 10,322 people died in drunk driving crashes. Mr. President, that's one every 51 minutes.

So, let's assume you're right. Marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. Let's assume they're about the same. So now you're saying that we'll have to shoulder the burden of 20,644 people dying every year, or 56 people every day, because of alcohol and marijuana use? What you're saying is that since sticking your head in a moving dryer is no more dangerous than sticking your finger in a wall socket, it's ok to do it? Oh, STD's like Syphilis aren't nearly as bad as AIDS, so don't worry too much the next time you're in a red light district. Maybe I'm stepping too far out on this limb, but you see my point, don't you? Marijuana use, just like alcohol use, is dangerous, and it will kill people.

And what kind of message do you think you're sending out to our kids? How about to your own kids? Yes, I know you said that you consider it a "bad habit" and "a vice", but that all depends on what your definition of "is" is, doesn't it? That excuse worked for another, hopefully less-scrupulous President. You shouldn't try and let it work for you, too. Call marijuana use what it is, Mr. President. Dangerous.

*All stats from MADD

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Birthday Service

It's all about the service.

My sister, Julie, had a birthday back in September. Around that same time, her daughter, Brooke, sent her an email about a gal she knew who was celebrating her 38th birthday by doing 38 acts of kindness for others. Brooke had such a good time helping this friend that she told Julie about it and Julie decided to do it for her birthday, too. She invited some of the rest of us to participate, and together we did more than 65 acts of kindness during her birthday week. By the way, my sister is not 65.

My birthday was at the end of December, and after participating in Julie's service week, I wanted to do something similar for mine. Therefore, I invited my family to participate to see if we could get more than 100. Below is a list of the acts of kindness that were done during that week. We ended up with 136!!!

Let me just take one minute to express to you how wonderful this made me feel. During that week, I was much more focused on others, trying to think of their needs more than my own. One act that I did made me feel extra special, and it wasn't even that big of a deal. I was at Target, and after paying for my groceries and such, I took the buggy out to the car. After loading all of my stuff into the car, I started to take my buggy to the little buggy motel that all Target stores have. As I did, I saw a man across from me who was also taking his back. I walked over to him and said, "Please, allow me." He said thank you, but stood and stared at me with mouth agape until I got in my car and drove away. "Merry Christmas," I said with a wave, and he waved back, with a smile.

Service doesn't have to be that big of a deal. It just needs to come from the heart. And that act of service, small though it was, made my heart feel very, very good.

So does this list. My most heartfelt thanks go out to all of those who participated. Some of these lines sound the same as others, but it's because so many people were doing service for others. I love my family and am so grateful for their participation in this. What a great birthday present!!!

1. Went to the Salvation Army to separate gifts for the angel tree recipients.
2. Went to the Salvation Army to pass out gifts to the families who were receiving them.
3. Stayed after at the Salvation Army to help clean up the gym.
4. Went upstairs to check on Joel.
5. Took Joel some medicine.
6. Made Mom some Gluten Free pumpkin/chocolate chip muffins.
7. Made Mom some gluten Free lemon poppy seed muffins.
8. Made a GF menu so mom wouldn’t have to worry about what she could eat.
9. Helped Alison teach mom Sudoku.
10. Helped mom do some Brain games on the Kindle.
11. Did some laundry for Alison and Joel.
13. Did some laundry for Paul.
14. Made 12 loaves of bread to take to our neighbors.
15. Delivered 12 loaves of bread on Christmas day.
16. Shopped for groceries.
17. Made sure the fridge always had enough milk.
18. Made dinner for 9 people for 6 days.
19. Took mom to look for tatting needles.
20. Made our traditional Christmas breakfast.
21. Made our traditional Christmas hot ham and cheese sandwiches.
22. Made french fries for Joel when we had stroganoff.
23. Made mom 10 kits of GF Millet bread so she can make them when she gets home.
24. Made hot chocolate on a stick to give to my Beehives.
25. Taught mom some things on her computer.
26. Taught mom some things on her phone.
27. Gave Rachel a head rub.
28. Put hairspray on for mom.
29. Helped mom in and out of the van about a hundred times.
30. Made some bran muffins for Brooke.
31. Decided to wait a day to go to Braums so that Joel would be feeling better and could go with us.
32. Got the notebooks out for the girls in Young Women.
33. Got cleared to take mom back to her gate in a wheelchair.
34. Went to visit Wanda and rubbed her legs.
35. Gave Rachel a head rub.
36. Took shopping cart back to cart motel for stranger at Target.
37. Helped make cookies for Home Teaching families.
38. Delivered cookies, along with a Christmas message, to Home Teaching families.
39. Wrote to two missionaries out in the field and wished them a Merry Christmas.
40. Vacuumed the house without being asked.
41. Did every stitch of laundry in the house while wife went to work.
42. Went and got wife's oil changed and tires rotated.
43. Replaced the air filter and wiper blades in wife's car.
44. Allowed a woman to go ahead of me in line at grocery store.
45. Taped coins on a vending machine, along with a note explaining, so that the next person could get something for free.
46. Took a bag of chocolate candies to church and gave it to my Sunday School class.
47. Got a bunch of empty cigar boxes from a local gas station (they make GREAT storage boxes) and gave them to some guys at work and to my Sunday School class.
48. Went to the Salvation Army to pass out gifts to the families who were receiving them.
49. Stayed after at the Salvation Army to help clean up the gym.
50. Gave Joel a blessing for his cold/flu.
51. Upgraded Sheri's Mac OS X to Maverick.
52. Installed new printer drivers on Sheri's Mac (we will need to connect and re-select her printer when she gets home).
53. Installed and configured Teamviewer on Sheri's Mac and ours - tested remote connection.
54. Set up Sheri's Apple ID, etc.
55. Set up Sheri's Mac to automatically login at startup and on waking from sleep, and automatically start Firefox, iMessage, and Teamviewer.
56. Installed Firefox add-in to enable video in Google Chat on Sheri's machine and tested.
57. Got a new hot water heater purchased/installed as Christmas visitors arrived.
58. Adjusted hot water temperature down a couple of times to accommodate everyone at home.
59. Fixed the shower control.
60. Scheduled special tithing settlement times for people who couldn't make normal times.
61. Helped out-of-town family of ward members schedule building time for baptisms, weddings, etc.
62. Found shelving to put in the garage to handle extra food for the holidays.
63. Called the neighbor to tell him he left his trunk open.
64. Emptied and loaded the dishwasher much of the time over the holidays.
65. Hauled wood up to the house and started a fire over the holidays.
66. Put up Christmas lights, decorations, etc.
67. Installed a new towel rack in the laundry room - added extra support so it could be used to hang clothes.
68. Kept the garbage emptied over the holidays.
69. Put the sheets on Mom and Dad's bed because they were stressed and busy with other things
70. Bought a candy bar for the cashier at Hobby Lobby
71. Let Rachel drive when we both had to go somewhere
72. Gave Joel a head rub
73. Helped Rachel make dinner
74. Helped Grandma learn how to use a typing test on her computer so she can learn to type fast again
75. Make myself available whenever my old roommate wants to skype or call
76. Listen to her talk about all of the boys she has a crush on at the moment
77. Let another driver get in front of me at the stop light instead of zooming forward and making them go behind.
78. Got Joel stuff while he was sick without complaining
79. Got out of my car to get two balls the kids had accidentally thrown over the fence at recess
80. Helped make dinner
81. Helped clean up dinner
82. Helped Grandma with Sudoku
83. Printed out a bunch of 4x4 Sudokus for her and found a book of them for her
84. Cleaned up her downloads folder
85. Started organizing Mom and Dad's computer
86. Tried to keep my stuff put away from the living room and took other people's things upstairs when they forgot
87. Did Rachel's hair
88. Helped distribute Christmas presents at Salvation Army
89. Explained how Salvation Army's food distribution worked to a woman who didn't understand how to get her food but didn't speak English
90. Stayed after to clean up at the Salvation Army
91. Helped Grandma with brain games on the Kindle
92. Played a musical number at church when Brooke couldn't (when they were stuck in Las Vegas)
93. Taught Gma how to cast on in knitting
94. Did extra laundry when Jon's allergies were flaring up (to try to get rid of whatever was causing it)
95. Took on an extra tutoring session at the last minute because my student's sister had an in-class essay the next day that she was worried about
96. Went to Vegas to hang out with Kelli when she was stuck in airports!
97. Changed the date of a friend gathering at home so one friend could make it
98. Allow grandma to hold onto my arm while we walked from house to house delivering bread.
99. Took an extra sweatshirt when picking up Jon so he wouldn't be cold.
100. Rubbed dads head.
101. Took out the trash when asked (without complaining!).
102. Let the dog out to do her business about 5000 times.
103. Made salad for Jessica.
104. Helped mom at the grocery store.
105. Let dad and Jacob wrestle without complaining while I was trying to practice.
106. Sent Piper (friend) a copy of the English paper.
107. Patiently explained the dance to Kiersten.
108. Helped Josie with the arms in pom.
109. Helped grandma with her computer
110. Helped grandma with her phone
111. Helped grandma get some source of scriptures that had good print that she could read while she was here
112. Got out of bed to turn the light off for Kelli
113. Helped grandma in and out of the van
114. Helped grandma with her seatbelt quite a bit
115. Gave my friend, Hannah, a ride to the stake New Years Eve dance
116. Went with the family to deliver 12 loaves of bread and sang at each door
117. I texted a couple of my friends to make sure they were happy and having a good day
118. I offered to get things for people that weren't feeling well
119. I went to the Salvation Army to help separate toys for the kids
120. I went back to the Salvation Army to help distribute the bags of toys to the families
121. I helped clean the gym at the Salvation Army after we distributed toys
122. I helped mom make our traditional hot ham and cheese sandwiches
123. I play the piano in Young Women's
124. Gave grandma a hand rub in the airport
125. Took care of Brooke when she was feeling sick
126. Washed the dishes when nobody else wanted to
127. Volunteered to go to the store for groceries
128. Smiled and said hello to someone who was unhappy that day
129. Helped Grandma with her computer
130. Sent Christmas cards to widows in my home ward
131. Wrote a letter to a missionary
132. Stayed up late to talk when I was feeling tired
133. Got up to change the channel for the group when the remote was broken (ha ha)
134. Brought treats to a friend who was having a hard day
135. Sent a nice note to someone to cheer them up
136. Took a loaf of bread to the bishop when he was sick

Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

To say that it was cold this morning would be like saying the Pope is a little bit Catholic. Yea, just slightly.

It was 5 degrees when I stepped into my car (as evidenced by the photo of the thermometer in my car at the left), and by that time the sun was already pushing the horizon. The wind had stopped blowing, too (it's mainly calm now), so the wind chill had risen above the big fat 0. Out of the minus degrees.

It's currently 10 degrees in our fair city, though it's supposed to get up to a balmy 18 degrees by this afternoon. "We're having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave, the temperature's rising, it isn't surprising..." By Saturday they say it will be up near 60. Excuse me? A 55 degree change in less than 4 days? What is this, the last days?

It was so cold this morning the kids stayed home from school. Really. They really did. Schools were closed because it was too cold. Don't want those little rugrats out at the bus stop in 5 degree weather, right?

You know, when I was a Senior in High School (cue wavy lines like in Wayne's World - doodley do, doodley do, doodley do!) we went to school one day in February because it was so cold. Seriously. One day. Man, we were loving it. Of course, back in those days we had Carter for a President and a big energy crisis. They said it cost too much to heat the buildings. Yea, what about today? The price of gas back in 1977 was $1.50 (oooo, say it again!) and we thought we were being ripped off. Yesterday I paid $3.20.

But I digress.

It was so cold this morning my shadow froze to the driveway.

It was so cold this morning I had to open the freezer to heat the house.

It was so cold this morning (how cold was it?) I saw that the Statue of Liberty put the flame inside her dress (bada boom!).

It was so cold I saw a Democrat with his hands in his own pockets. Now THAT'S cold!

As I walked from my warm car to the building at work today, I seriously wished I'd worn my scratchies. Brrr!! The wind was blowing through my jeans and down my neck. The geese out on the pond weren't the only ones with goose pimples this morning.

Now, I realize this is just any other day for people who live in the Great White North, eh, (coo roo coo coo coo coo coo coo) but down here in the lower 48 (ok, I know it gets cold in Utah and Colorado and Montana and all those other Rocky Mountain high States), we're sort of on the sissy side when it comes to cold weather. When it gets down to minus degrees, I'm sorry, but you can call me Mary. When you can count the degrees on one hand, umm,

I'm staying inside with a blanket (or two), a steaming mug, a dog to lie on my lap and a crackling fire (not to mention the tv remote).

Geez! I thought the sun was going to freeze over.

But no. The sun is up there and shining away just like every day. In fact, it's now warming me through my office window, as hot chocolate courses through my veins and hot pizza awaits for lunch.

Let the frigid winds howl.

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