Happy as a Clam

Over on Instagram, or, more appropriately named, bookstagram, I did a photo challenge. It was #middleearthmarch. Boy did I unleash a dragon. I never realized how much I loved Tolkien's work and on how many different levels it touches me. I really enjoyed the challenge of taking beautiful photos, finding quotes, reading through the books and discussing them with others. I won't tell you everything I posted and discussed or put up all the pictures. Let me just share with you my favorite things and post my favorite pictures. But first, I have to tell you how I learned about hobbits. There and Back Again... Growing up my parents had several dozen kid movies recorded on VHS for me to watch. We didn't go out and buy every movie that was released so I ended up watching these movies on an endless loop. My favorites were Rainbow Brite, The Care Bears movie 2, The Land Before Time and the hobbit movies: The Hobbit and The Return of the King. The hobbit movies were cute lil carto

So online I found a list of 53 things about introverts and it made me all warm inside like a toaster. The bread that popped out of this little toaster? This post. So read the commentary on my personal favorites then go check out the link at the bottom. It's real GFG (Good For Giggles). 53 is a lot to read so let me give you the highlights so you can understand me better: #1.Have you ever been at a party with me and I suddenly just...disappear...I'm off recharging my battery. Leave me be. #8. After about 3 text messages into our digital conversation you you be getting a saved response I have in my notes App. #18. If you don't think I spend 3 hours every weekend starring at the ceiling fan or watching ripples in the river...you don't know me at all. #22. If you show up to my house unannounced and I'm not home...SHH! In actuality I'm probably watching you through the blinds wishing you away with my mind. I need time to prepare to talk to peo

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas_D_Kristof My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars This book is incredibly informative, in-depth and important. It focuses on giving first hand experiences with the woes that women around the globe face. The authors are clearly very involved in the cause they are writing about. It's always wonderful to hear about world issues from people who've ventured through the heart of the hurricane as opposed to people who've simply done good research. The way the book addresses some malignant and dangerous flaws in society is perfect. Not so much I feel like a terrible human being because I live somewhere that has fresh water; enough that I want to help those who don't. Which leads me to one of the best parts: it teaches and shows you HOW to help. It describes others who have found ways to give assistance and offers suggestions. Beautiful book that makes me proud to be a woman and anxious to change the wa

As I was flipping through a book today something it talked about caught my eye. The woman was talking about strengths and weaknesses. We all know how easy it is to find fault in ourselves. It's easy to say I'm too this or not enough this. Finding strengths can be trickier. She mentioned how she went to her patriarchal blessing (a blessing members of the LDS church receive that is guidance from God, spoken through a priesthood holder) and as she read it she noticed that it mentioned many of her strengths and only a few weaknesses. So I went and read mine and found the same thing. Then the little starfish in my head said "if God focuses more on my strengths than on my weaknesses, maybe I should do that too." More often than not, as we build upon our strengths and leave our little box of weaknesses on the bench next to us, those weaknesses will take care of themselves. It's like a cut. If you pick at it repetitively, it tends to get worse. But if you leave it alone

This quote is so sage and deep yet so simply clear. It's easy to think that Jesus is the center of our lives when we look at our religious practices; church on Sunday, prayer daily, scripture study, service. We can DO all the right things and be emulating the life of Christ, but there is more to the invitation that is given by Jesus as He accepts the role of our Savior. I think an often forgotten role (at least by me): FRIEND. I know that Jesus is my friend. After all, he did for me what no one else would or could. He suffered for me, He died for me, His whole earthly existence was to secure my salvation. But do I really understand that He is my friend? I always picture Jesus at the Great and Powerful, the Almighty, the Lord of all the Earth. I always see him as the Sun: great and wonderful, giving me light, but out of my reach. Jesus is always in our reach. He can be our personal friend. We don't need to be intimidated by Him or think He doesn't understand or care a

It was beginning to be one of those days. Couldn't find my glasses, locked my keys in my car, the shower nozzle broke and water got EVERYWHERE, cut my finger. Who let all the monkeys out of the cage?! SERIOUSLY?! I hate those days. Not only that, a particular person in my life was being hard on me and making me feel like an idiot. Whether or not that was their intention, I was starting to believe it. It all hit at once and it felt like too much to bear. Since crawling into bed and disappearing for a couple decades wasn't an option (I'd rather not sleep through the end of my twenties, I think they have lots of potential) I knelt down to pray. All I could say was "God, tell me I'm not an idiot. I just need to feel like I'm worth something." Almost instantly all those bad feelings went away and I felt, no, I KNEW I was important. Even if nobody else loved me (don't worry, I know I'm loved ❤️) I KNEW God loved me unconditionally. He knows my poten