a year of happy

have you read it yet?

 

Contact me

and I'll send you a

free copy of the Book of Mormon.

The language of your choice.

the three 3's that inspire me

On her blog yesterday,
my cute cousin posted
her favorite things in threes--
and she invited her readers
to do the same.

Her favorites inspired me....
and so I'm doing it!

These are the three 3's
that lift me up,
encourage me,
and motivate me
to keep going.

Songs

Come to Jesus by Kenneth Cope

Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band

Viva la Vida by Coldplay (sung by these kids)

Places

Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/vxla/ / CC BY 2.0

The Salt Lake LDS Temple

The Ocean





Books

The Greatest Salesman in the World

The Book of Mormon

A Heart Like His





What are the three things
that motivate and inspire you?

three great links to make you smile

Link #1

On Saturday,
I received a package in the mail.
How often does that happen?!
Not often for me.

This package was from a new friend--
Sherry from Everyday Possibilities.

Sherry makes the most beautiful
mixed media paper goods
and collaged altered art.

Her shop is called Bella Rennie
and as it says on her site,
her art is "sometimes whimsical,
sometimes serious and
always with an eye to grace and beauty."

Take a look at what she sent to me.





This whimsical gift card--
wouldn't it be cute in a frame?

And this lovely bookmark.
I'll use it everyday!

Thanks, Sherry!
Be sure to visit her blog
and her shop.
You don't want to miss it!


________________________________


Link #2

The other day I discovered
a new photography blog
that I really like.

It's called
Dream Tomorrow, Live Today,
Cherish Yesterday,
and the photographer is
Bob Towery.

I'm really taken
with his amazing photos,
but I also like
how he writes about
what he did to get
his great results.

This is the first photo I saw.
You should take a look--
it blew me away!

Here's another one...
but don't take my word for it.
Check it out.
I think you'll like it too!


________________________________


Link #3

And finally,
this link is a video
from my 17 year old son.
If you like chain reactions,
you've got to see this!




______________________________

Do you have any great links
to share with the
rest of us today?
Please do in the comments!

click here and smile

Isn't it great
how the internet works?

You find something good,
and tell a few friends.
They like it too,
and tell a few more.

And pretty soon,
everybody's clicking
on that one good link
that made you smile.

That's how I found
the t.ruffle girls.

I heard about them from Beth,
and she found them
through Relyn.

And now I'm telling you.

You need to check out
the t.ruffle girls.

Each morning,
the one who loves ruffles
posts a dazzling, delicious photo.

And later in the day,
the one who loves turquoise
stops by to leave a note
with the juiciest words
to complete the day's post.

It's so much fun,
and really creative.
You just can't imagine
what will come next.

Check it out.
Just click here....and here.....
and here.....
and smile!


Photo from the t.ruffle girls.

blogs to watch in 2010

These are a few blogs
I'm keeping my eye on in 2010:

• Vision and Verb: This is a fairly new collaboration blog created by and for "women of a certain age." These women are so talented in photography and writing, and have joined together to create something beautiful. So far, I really enjoy it--and I expect it will continue to please! Each of the collaborators also has her own personal blog--check them out to see some amazing photography! I especially like this one.
  .
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  .
• Blog Segullah: This blog is also a collaboration of several women. They are LDS and the themes of their writing often deal with life as an LDS woman. They write about many different issues--and one of the interesting things is the conversations that follow in the comments section. The blog has been going quite some time, so there is plenty of back-reading if you're interested.
  .
  
  
  
  
  
  
  .
• The Pioneer Woman: If you want a good laugh, read this! The Pioneer Woman is very popular and you're probably already a fan...but I'm still recommending it because I enjoy it so much. She is a city girl turned cattle rancher's wife--and describes her life in hilarious detail. Here's my question: how can one woman be so good at so many things--writing, cooking, photography, home and garden, she does it all! (And she offers free high-res downloads of many photos, like this one.)
  .
  
  
  
  
  
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• What blogs are you watching? Do share!

.

.

___________________

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A Year of Happy

A Year of Happy: One Hundred Photos

my mission

Twenty-five years ago this month,
I returned home from serving
a full-time mission
for the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.

.

I had the opportunity
to serve in the
Taiwan Taipei Mission.
I learned to speak
Mandarin Chinese
by spending eight weeks
in the Missionary Training Center
in Provo, Utah.

Well, let's say I began learning
to speak Chinese!
It took a few months more
to really start communicating.

I rode a bike (in a skirt)... 

.




I ate lots of unfamiliar foods...

.

And I grew to love a country
that was so different from my own.

.

.

But my mission
was about
much more than that.

To help you understand
what my mission meant to me,
you have to know why I went.

.

Ever since I was very young,
I have had a burning testimony
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I know that He is the
Savior and Redeemer of the world. 

I have been taught
since I was a child
about living prophets
and restored priesthood
and Another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

When I was nearly twenty-two,
I felt an urgent need
to share that message.
I have been so blessed
by having the gospel in my life--
it hardly seemed a sacrifice
to take the time
to share it with people
who had never heard about it before.

And so I submitted
my missionary papers--
and a few months later
I was in Taiwan.

The next eighteen months
can best be described
as life-changing.

I developed courage,
a love for teaching,
and discipline to do
hard things.

But most of all,
I grew to love the people.
And I watched their
lives change
as they embraced the principles
I knew to be true. 

.

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ
is still what my life
is all about.
It gives me purpose,
and clarity,
and meaning.

Every day,
I read from the Book of Mormon---
probably more than any one thing,
that's what invites
the spirit of the Lord
into my life.

And because of this--
no matter how hard,
or how hectic
or how mundane
life can be--
my life is really good. 

.

can you name that book?

.

These quotes come from
three very popular books.

Can you name the books
and their authors?

Give it a try! The answers
will be posted tomorrow morning.

"Inconceivable.
You keep using that word.
I do not think it means
what you think it means."

.

"Oh well....
I'd just been thinking...
if you had died,
you'd have been welcome
to share my toilet."

.

"Angry grizzly bears
are going to look tame
next to what's
waiting for you at home!"

.

.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/linnybinnypix/ / CC BY 2.0


.

the help

Have you read
"The Help"
by
Kathryn Stockett?

I read it earlier this spring
and I loved it!

The characters
are so well
developed
you feel like
you know them.

The topic
is profound, and
it really makes you
think....

But hold on!
I have a major
pet peeve.

I hate it when somebody
starts telling me
about
the plot
or the
characters
or "just one
little thing"
about their
favorite book.

I want to
discover it
for myself.

So I'm not
going to tell you
anything
about this book.

Just this:

I liked it.
A lot.
And I think
you will like it
too.

Here's a link
where you can
read an excerpt
from
Penguin Books.

(I read it on my Itouch Kindle!)

daily grapefruit

 

I love to read.

I would choose
a good book
over television
anytime.

The only bad thing about it
is that once I start
a book
I can't put it down
until I'm done.

Lately
I don't have time
to get involved in a whole novel.

So I'm getting my
reading enjoyment
from a few good blogs.

One of my favorites is
The Daily Grapefruit.

I just discovered this blog
about a month ago.
Already
I love it!

The writer
has such a way with words.
She knows how
to savor life.

She writes about food
in such a way
that I can almost
taste it.

When she writes
about parenting,
it makes me glad
I'm a mom--
even on the bad days.

The Daily Grapefruit helps me
find the everyday
happy
in my life.

Thanks, Grapefruit!