Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

I didn't have to work on Monday!  For the next 8 weeks I will be working on Saturdays so I will have Mondays off.  This Monday I felt really ambitious.  I have needed to do some serious cleaning in my bedroom and was planning to get started on it first thing Monday morning.  Then, just as I was climbing out of bed - Kim climbed into bed.  I totally forgot that he would be sleeping!  DANG!  That plan wouldn't work at all. New plan, it was a beautiful day and so I went outside and did a little yard work.  My daises were tall and dead and pretty much out of control.  I lopped them all off and did a little maintenance.  It looks so much better. Then came the fun!  Tammy, Robin, Ashley and I went to Costa Vida for lunch.  I just love Costa Vida, especially the pork burritos, I just wish that they weren't 48 million calories! That night my favorite show, Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) was only half as long as usual due to ...

Happy Pioneer Day! Lately I have been thinking a lot about my ancestors who were pioneers, those early members of the Church who literally sacrificed all they had so that I could be raised in a place where being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not only easy but pretty much common place.  A place where all are free to worship in peace with little if no harassment. Today several members of our ward reported on the recent "trek" they went on.  It was a stake activity where all of the youth were arranged into "families" with adult "Ma's & Pa's" at the head.  They reenacted a portion of the pioneer trek from Missouri to Utah - of course the stake only traveled 30 miles in 4 days instead of over 1,000 miles in 3-4 months. The reports were all great, but a couple of them really touched me.  I honestly can't remember their words, but I was overcome with emotion as they talked of working together, helping e...

This week was fairly uneventful, just a good week.  I did have a fun morning on Tuesday.  I had scheduled to visit with one of my students before class.  Right before she arrived another one of my students showed up to turn in some work that she thought she had turned in previously but found at her house.  I guess she wanted to bribe me to not mark the work late so she brought me a Dr. Pepper.  I had to laugh because my adiction is so well known and everyone knows that I am frustrated because the school vending machines don't stock it any more .  I thanked her and then went into my office with the other student.  When the second student saw the Dr. Pepper in my hand she got a huge smile on her face and reached into her backpack and brought out two more DPs for me!  We got a great laugh out of that! Unfortunately I drank one before I remembered to take a picture! Thursday my co-instructor/friend, Sue, and my boss/friend, Sally, went to lunch...

It is quite amazing to me that I have to be creative and come up with lots of words in order to teach my students I have less and less desire to use words to record my life.  Today however, I have some forced down time so I decided to write - however I'm not sure that any of my thoughts will be creative, or even entertaining for that matter! My teaching job is unbelievably stressful.  It is mind numbing to think how much work there is to re-learn concepts and facts in order to know them better than the students.  Add to that the pressure of presenting the right information in the best way so that the students will be be prepared to pass the state boards and be good, knowledgeable caregivers.  Add to that the stress of preparing tests and quizzes that accurately assess the students' understanding.  Not to mention preparing and grading all of the assignments.  And I thought writing my master's thesis was hard! Teaching nursing is tough! I feel a huge...

WHOO HOO! I can't believe how excited I am!   After spending hours doing research I just printed up my formal request to perform temple ordinances for family members that I have found! I honestly never thought that I would be able to to actually see the fruits of genealogy work (read previous post  here ).  But since I caught the bug, I seemed to be driven to research family names and details, and now I have really done it!  And, I'm happy to report that this may just be the beginning!  Hooray! I firmly believe in the temple ordinances and blessings that are attached to them.  I believe that many people have passed to the other side without the information needed to make an informed decision on receiving the blessings of the gospel while in this life.  Performing the ordinances vicariously gives them the opportunity to receive the blessings of having eternal or forever families and living with Christ and Heavenly Father eternally.  I feel so...

For many years I have looked at the names in my family history.  Over and over I would stare at the names and wonder what good it did me to have the names.  I know that we are instructed by the Church leaders to do our genealogy, and I was trying to obey, but it appeared that all of the names were filled in by other family members and I didn't know what to do. A little while ago I decided that I could start posting pictures of my mother and her family from the scrapbooks she kept.  I also posted some pictures of BJ.  I was hoping that by doing so someone could benefit.  But once that was completed I felt the familiar sensation of being lost. Fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago.  My favorite cousin, Bob, has a much younger sister that I never got to know very well.  She lives several states away from us.  Through the boundless assistance of social media, namely FaceBook, I was able to connect with this cousin, Jamey.  Jame...