WHAT'S UP? |
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I can't believe April is just about over ... only
four more hours.
I am way over due on the fill you in on what is
happening in my life type of blog, so here goes.
My life is mostly consumed with work. I am still
at the Bank and have been mostly enjoying my job.
Some days (such as today) are more stressfull than
others, but I feel like I am constantly learning
new things and becoming better at what I do. One
of the things I love the most about my job is that
it is in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. I
spent my lunch hour on Thursday walking around Temple
Square taking pictures of the flowers.
It was beautiful!
I have really been enjoying the warm weather. This
past winter has been pretty tough on my body. I
have been fighting colds and most recently a case
of bronchial spasm which is similar to asthma. I
have to use an inhaler which helps me breath better.
This past term I have been taking an institute
class at the University of Utah. My teacher was
S. Michael Wilcox and his lessons were amazing.
The class ended last week and I can already tell
how much I am going to miss going and being enlightened.
I guess the most exciting thing to happen recently
was that I made contact with my father for the first
time in my life about two and a half weeks ago.
We have been talking via e-mail, and trying to get
to know each other better. This experience has been
some what overwhelming but I feel truly blessed
to be given this opportunity.
That is my life in a nutshell. I am looking forward
to May as I feel it is going to be a great month
full of many more blessings.
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posted on 04.30.2007 by Ali
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PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY |
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Today
in my ward my mission president and his wife spoke
in our student ward. I was happy to see them, but
I felt as if they were speaking directly to me as
they shared their lesson. Something Sister Walker
said really stuck with me. "You have the ability
to be anything you want to, if you are willing
to pay the price."
In one month I will be turning thirty years old.
The idea absolutely terrifies me. I have never dreaded
a birthday, to me getting older is part of what
life is all about, yet this year something is different.
I can't entirely put my finger on it, but something
is there taunting me. I have figured out that part
of it is that I feel as if I have let the past thirty
years go by and not done so many things I wished
I could have done. Yet if I am really thinking about
it I could ask myself, "What are you doing
about it?"
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posted on 04.29.2007 by Ali
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ONE GOOD WOMAN |
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Tonight I attended the Days of 47 Pageant to support
a good friend of mine. The theme of this years pageant
was Pioneer Courage -- A Beacon to the World.
This got me really thinking about pioneers.
Then on the way home I was listening to my Ipod
when the song "One Good Woman" by Cherie
Call came on and my mind really started to think
on the words.
... in a hundred years from now
Will there ever be someone who reads my name and
wonders
If I laughed, or if I believed in Jesus,
Or if my heart were ever broken
They may never understand
What I go through
But I will live
The best that I know how
For one big lifetime
It's not too much to ask
Of one good woman
I am blessed to be surrounded by not just one good
woman but by many. There are many pioneers in my
life. Starting with Stephanie who is only 19 years
old but is wise beyond her years. She is a pioneer
to the many people she is in contact with each day.
She teaches me about courage and being the very
best you can be to achieve the goals and dreams
in your life. She is one good woman.
Then there is her amazing mother Sally. She is
a pioneer to the family she has raised. She is a
woman of faith and integrity who motivates and encourages.
She is strong and passionate. She helps her family
to be the very best they can be not only teaching
them to excel in the various fields they study and
work in but also in the gospel. She is one good
woman.
Betsy is a great example to me of faith and integrity.
I enjoy discussing the gospel with her and watching
her teach her children about our Savior and His
gospel. I have watched her endure the hardest thing
any parent could be asked to endure and watched
her draw closer to the lord through that trial.
She is one good woman.
There is one woman who is my pioneer, my strength,
my example. My mother is a woman who has sacraficed
much to give me the life that I have. She has been
the one constant in my life. She taught me to be
the best I can be amongst the trials in your life.
She taught me to be stronger and to want to be better.
She has taught me to develop the talents that I
have been given and to share them with those I come
in contact with. She is one good woman.
I may never know all that these women do and all
that they go through, but they have taught me to
be the best that I can be with the lifetime I have
been given. And I hope that through their examples
I can be one good woman too.
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posted on 04.21.2007 by Ali
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A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE |
| Each page turned brought
more emotions as I relived old memories and discovered
ones that I had forgotten. This week I have found
myself sorting through old photo albums from when
I was little. I am not sure what exactly I was looking
for. I guess you could say I was looking for answers.
I was looking for guidance. I was looking for similiarities.
I was watching my life unfold in front of my life.
It is amazing that here I am almost 30 years old and
my heart is yearning for some of those moments again.
Wishing for the simplicity of tea parties and smashed
bananas. Reliving experiences so you can share them
with another. |
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posted on 04.20.2007 by Ali
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CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED PLAN |
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This morning a friend and I were talking. She made
the comment that she didn't believe in accidents
or coincidences. She believes that everything in
our lives is carefully planned out. I believe this.
I believe that there is someone that loves us so
much that He has carefully planned out every piece
of our lives. He knows us as only a parent can and
plans out the path that our lives will take based
on that knowledge.
I have the blessing of being taught by S. Michael
Wilcox once a week at my institute class. I listened
to his talk The Fourth Watch on my ipod on
my way in to work. He mentions in his talk about
the desired good verses the needed good. Often times
through out my life I have desired for things and
prayed fervently for them with what I thought was
no response. At the end of this week I received
the answer to a prayer that I have held in my heart
for many years. And as I have pondered this answer
I have realized just how involved in my life my
Father in Heaven has been. He knows when the right
time and the right place is. He knows what we need
better than we do. We just have to remember to turn
our lives over to Him and have the faith that He
will provide for us in the way that is truly best
for us. I am so grateful to Him and for the guidance
and direction He has in my life.
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posted on 04.14.2007 by Ali
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A LIFETIME IS NOT TOO LONG TO LIVE AS FRIENDS |
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What is friendship? Why is friendship such an important
part of life? What kind of people are a part of
your life? What kind of a friend are you to others?
Which friendships mean the most?
These are things I have been seriously thinking
about lately. I have been trying to figure out why
friendship is such an important part of my life.
Trying to decide what kind of a friend I am and
in which ways can I be a better one? I decided to
get some of my friends thoughts on this subject.
Here are somethings they shared with me and my thoughts
about them.
I think friendship is a relationship you have
with someone, either male or female, who you can
talk about anything with and have them be totally
honest about everything. They don't care what you
look like, how much money you have, or anything
else.
Friendship has no boundaries or prejudice.
Friendship to me, is someone who loves you unconditionally,
someone you can cry with, laugh with, and just be
yourself with. No matter how much time passes between
friends, when you do get together, it is like no
time has passed at all. You just pick up where you
left off.
Friendship is constant. Friendship keeps going even
when you are busy, even when you are struggling,
friendship is there.
I have 3 kinds of friends. One are friends that
I know well and love. I hang out with them often
(meaning anywhere from every week to once a month)
and know I can count on them for laughs, love and
support. I don't have to worry about them judging
me. These are true friends.
I think friendship is a warm fuzzy feeling that
you need to survive. To know that someone will always
be there when you need them for whatever reason,
to comfort, cheer and love you no matter how big
a dork you are.
Friendship is unconditional. A friend loves you
for you.
Friendship is ... being able to cry on someone
else's pillow, making each other laugh, knowing
which buttons to push and when not to push them,
eating ice cream at midnight, giving and listening
to advice, a gift on your windshield, a simple text
message to say hi, a note in the mail, encouragement
to live your dreams, quoting movies, understanding
that sometimes people just need to be alone, birthday
reminders, inside jokes, sharing the good things
you've found, asking the right questions at the
right time , helping someone move, prayers unheard
but spoken, and so much more.
Friendship is sharing life and growing together.
It is the little things that matter. It is caring
and giving and laughing.
Friendship to me is about loving someone no matter
what. It is forgiving the imperfections of the other.
It is about laughing at dumb jokes. It is about
holding them and letting them cry when they are
hurting. It is about a phone call to say "I
am thinking about you." It is about growing.
Friendship is honesty. Friendship is life. It is
about sharing your life with another person and
giving of yourself. It is about walking the road
of life and knowing that someone else is going to
be there for you.
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posted on 04.05.2007 by Ali
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A LITTLE BIT |
| Do you ever just want to
be better? or stronger? I get overwhelmed on days
like today with my short comings and weaknesses. |
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posted on 04.04.2007 by Ali
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'BOUT FREAKIN' TIME! |
| My appendage is back! YES!
Warning I have a feeling I am going to be "Snappy
Happy" the next little while ... any one up for
a photographic excursion!?!?!?!? |
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posted on 04.03.2007 by Ali
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HARD WORK PAYS OFF |
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After a lot of time and effort the gallery is finally
completely uploaded. All 14,000 images have been
moved. While going through the pictures I was amazed
to see how much I have changed the past few years
and the more I thought about it the more I decided
to do a comparison as to how I have changed physically
over the past 10 years. I know I had changed internally
... let's see how the outside reflected that.
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posted on 04.01.2007 by Ali
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SITTING, WAITING, WISHING |
| After a lot of praying
and pondering it is finally finished. I just have
to stick a stamp on it and stick it in the mail. I
am more nervous than I thought I would be. But I truly
feel it was the right decision. |
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posted on 03.29.2007 by Ali
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FALLING INTO AN OPEN BOOK |
| One of my greatest passions
is reading. I love to escape in a book and find myself
in another place. That is one of the greatest things
about books they can take you anywhere, from Neverland
to Hogwarts to Nauvoo. You can be a princess a prideful
female a knight at a round table a orphan looking
for a home. You can go anywere, do anything, be anyone.
Recently the books I have been reading take me into
the lives of people I admire and guide me with their
examples and teachings. I am taught faith at the hands
of a great teacher and I gain testimony of our Savior
through the choices of a future prophet. I was admonished
in a blessing to seek from the best books. I find
great blessings in each one that I open and absorb. |
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posted on 03.27.2007 by Ali
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TRULY IMPORTANT |
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There are three things in life that
mean more than anything to me.
1. The Gospel
2. My Mom
3. My Friends
I was reminded of that today.
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posted on 03.23.2007 by Ali
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A GREAT MAN |
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The
first time I met Mike was about two weeks after
I had started my job at East High School. I had
climbed up on top of my counter trying to reach
a binder that was on the top shelf. Mike stepped
in and joking said, "You are climbing the walls
already?" From that moment on I felt a closeness
to this amazing man. Mike was one of the most uplifting
individuals that I encountered in my daily activities
at EHS. He often would appear in my office at the
end of the day to talk and share his feelings, experiences
with treatments, and discuss how his soccer kids
were doing. I always looked forward to these visits
as this was a man who truly cared about others and
their well-being. He truly believed in his students
and athletes and was always there to encourage and
motivate. He had a way of seeing in others what
they may not have seen in themselves. He always
looked on the bright side of life and rarely complained
about the pains associated with his illness. My
life is better because of my association with this
great man. I will miss him.
Articles:
Obituary
- Michael Scott Kernodle
Deseret
News - East soccer coach Kernodle passes away
KSL.com
- East High Mourns Tragic Loss of Student and Teacher
Deseret
News- School reeling over 2 deaths
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posted on 03.19.2007 by Ali
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THE GREATEST FORM OF FLATTERY |
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Turnin on my sons
Scooby-doo nightlight.
He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees.
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands
Spoke to God like he was talkin to a friend.
And I said, Son, now whered you learn
to pray like that?
He said, Ive been watching
you, dad aint that cool?
Im your buckaroo; I want to be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
We like fixin things and holding momas
hand
Yeah, were just alike, hey, aint we
dad.
I want to do everything you do; so Ive been
watching you.
They say that the greatest compliment
in the world is imitation. This is extremely true
in a child. They watch everything you do and want
to be just like the people they admire and try everything
to be that person. Tonight my institute teacher
told us how his youngest son came into the room
one night while he was preparing a lesson. He had
his scriptures out and was marking the passages
in blue and red. He then would make comments in
the margins. He noticed his son leave the room and
come back with his copy of the Book of Mormon. The
son spread himself out on the bed and started marking
his scriptures while watching his father. The father
was flattered and then went on to continue with
his lesson. A little while later he looked over
at his son and noticed what he was doing. He picked
up his son's Book of Mormon and realized that his
son had found the exact pages his father was marking
and preceeded to make an exact copy of the markings
in his scriptures. He colored the same words in
blue that his father had and underlined in red just
like his dad had. To this day my teacher still has
his son's scriptures that are marked exactly the
same.
I have a friend who is extremely close
with her nieces and nephews. One night she was spending
some time with her niece when her niece commented
to her, "I want to be you." What a treasure
it is to be admired in a way that someone wants
to be like you. How many times have we done that?
Do we look up to others and want to be just like
them? Do we look up to our Savior and want to be
like Him? Do we try to mirror His life and teachings
in our life?
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posted on 03.13.2007 by Ali
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THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER |
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I have been thinking a lot about imperfections
today. Personally I think that imperfections are
an important part of who each individual is. They
are the things that add to a person's individuality
and give them character and make them unique.
I think we each see our own imperfections a lot
more clearly than others do. When we look at others
often times an imperfection becomes blurry and unfocused
the more we know the person or the imperfections
are things that we come to love the most about that
person. When I look at my physical self I see imperfections
such as the huge scar that runs down the back of
my right arm or the extra curves on my body or the
point on my nose. When I look at my internal self
I think of the way I laugh especially loud or the
way that I talk a mile a minute and can't seem to
shut up. These things in others I find attractive
or fun. I had a friend who was starting to go bald
and it was something that he didn't like about himself.
Personally I found it attractive. I love it when
my one friend snorts when she laughs because it
is a part of who she is and when I hear it I know
she is happy and enjoying life. I have another friend
who has these amazing dimples that he hates and
therefore he hates to smile big, I love them and
wish he would embrace that part of himself. I feel
we need to embrace our imperfections and enjoy the
little flaws that we have been blessed with.
P.S. Happy Birthday Spud Butt!
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posted on 03.05.2007 by Ali
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