What are you expecting?

What are you expecting?

Some commentary from my Dad about my “formula for happiness” had me thinking more about it. I was writing in a hurry at the time and just threw it out there. I do that a lot and sometimes regret it. My thoughts just sort of spew into the keyboard and what comes out is sometimes intelligible, sometimes not, sometimes coherant and sometimes pretty scattered.  Especially...
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I’m so crafty

February 3, 2012
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Happy February!  With Valentine’s approaching, love is in the air – and cutesy decorations are on your walls.  Or aren’t they?  Up until about 5 minutes ago, there weren’t any here to hang in Smithtopia.   Oh, sadness. With a little creativity and just about 5 minutes...
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Heebie Jeebies

February 1, 2012
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Heebie Jeebies

    Remember this post? It gets better. Late Sunday night… a week and a half ago now… John and I went to double-check on the boys before we went to sleep. Gotta shoo away any bad dreams hiding in corners, you know. Turn fans to “low” instead of “hurricane” (man,...
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – Conclusion

January 20, 2012
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – Conclusion

My other posts were kinda wordy. I’ll try to make this one short. I’m so good at brevity, you know. I like gratitude. I like ham. If I had to pick one, I’d...
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – part 4

January 18, 2012
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – part 4

-Worth a Thousand Words- In light of how fabulous this ham was going to be, I went and splurged.  As if the cost of one ham in Hawaii wasn’t splurging...
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – part 3

January 13, 2012
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – part 3

-The Sauce Thickens- My friend of Thanksgiving planning fame had another great idea a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. “Let’s can applesauce!” “Okay!” And we tried.  We got a great big box of apples,...
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – part 2

January 2, 2012
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – part 2

- The Plot Thickens - Ding-dong! “Hi Sister Smith!” “Hello there son-of-a-friend-dressed-in-his-scout-uniform.  What’s up?” “Have you heard about the Thanksgiving umu pit?” “Nope, what is it?” “Well, the Boy Scouts are doing a fundraiser.  For...
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A Smile on Our Faces

January 2, 2012
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A Smile on Our Faces

From Neil L. Anderson’s talk entitled The Divine Gift of Repentance: “Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life. And, of course, only through repentance do we gain...
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – Part 1

December 31, 2011
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Gratitude vs. The Ham – Part 1

-Great Expectations- Fully a month before the big day (maybe more!), a dear friend and I planned to do Thanksgiving dinner together. It went something like this: “Wanna do Thanksgiving together?” “YES!” With...
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My Great Idea

December 30, 2011
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My Great Idea

So I know I’m not the first to do this, but I’m still calling it my idea.   It’s not my fault other people also happened to think of it...
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Christmas in Polynesia

December 28, 2011
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Christmas in Polynesia

The Polynesian Cultural Center is a fantastic tourist spot where people can come and get a real taste of the islands — literally (at their restaurants & traditional luau)...
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All good things…

December 19, 2011
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All good things…

Our sandman was fun while he lasted. For all you Primary music directors out there… “Once there was a sandman, sandman, sandman, Once there was a sandman, big and fat! Then the waves...
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Mele Kalikimaka

December 18, 2011
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Mele Kalikimaka


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Nestled all snug in their beds.

December 3, 2011
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Nestled all snug in their beds.

“Is it tomorrow now?” Yes, is was tomorrow.  Thursday was, to be specifically, because Wednesday he’d been told a package was coming, “tomorrow.”  Sadly, it didn’t come Thursday.  Mail is...
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Resolved:

November 30, 2011
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Resolved:

Hi. What’s up? Oh, me?  Same old same old. Which means, in case you’re wondering, doing laundry, washing dishes, kissing boo boos, wiping noses, cracking the homework whip, slave-driving the chore train,...
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Created in America

November 24, 2011
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Created in America

Could it be that so many children in America want plastic junk made in China because they simply don’t know there’s something better out there? That there are simple...
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Grateful

November 21, 2011
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Grateful

I’m grateful for little boys, for plaid shirts, sippy cups, and telephones. …
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If you chance to meet some frosting, do not let it stay…

November 15, 2011
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If you chance to meet some frosting, do not let it stay…

I made cinnamon rolls today. Between me & the two little boys at home this morning, we finished off the smaller pan. Ah, the perks of being home with mommy. As...
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To Comment or Not To Comment…

That's a very good question.
I am happy to hear from you, thrilled to hear from you!, but I am also content to have you drop by, read a little, laugh a little, and move on quietly to whatever else you have to do. This is a guilt-free blog. ;)

Just a Reminder…

The Church is not a place where perfect people gather to say perfect things, or have perfect thoughts, or have perfect feelings. The Church is a place where imperfect people gather to provide encouragement, support, and service to each other as we press on in our journey to return to our Heavenly Father. ~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, (May 2005 Ensign)

Why I Try

God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future - to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities. God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers, and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe.

~Jeffrey R. Holland, "This, the Greatest of All Dispensations"

"It is not for you to be led by the women of the world; it is for you to lead the...women of the world, in everything that is praise-worthy, everything that is God-like, everything that is uplifting and... purifying to the children of men." Joseph F. Smith, in this talk by Elder Ballard