Harry Potter Movie Review

It was sad. It took a boring part of the book and made this part of the Harry Potter series the most human of the movies. You could really understand relationships and the depth of despair. It was so much better than #6. You can tell the story is winding down because all the pieces are falling into place. And it gets bad. But doesn't life always get bad just right before the light? I will watch this movie again when it comes out on DVD. I didn't find the "skin" scene to be that scandalous, but I also have a picture in my bedroom that is of a lady in a see-through dress, so it didn't bother me. I don't know if children will like this movie, but if you were a teenager when the films first came out, you will love this movie. Again....it was sad....be prepared. It was gritty, dirty, and heartbreaking but also inspiring. Hope you go see this movie soon.

When I Need Meat...

  This lady is quite the amazing bible scholar.  I find her writings to be especially thought provoking.  I am not the kind of reader that loves a light book.  This book gives me the meat I need to chew on.  White bread and honey might be easy to digest but it leaves you hungry for more in just a short time.  This kind of read sustains you, fills up your stores of knowledge for long periods of time.  I have found that the classes I am taking right now are quite....easy.  I already know 99% of what is being taught.  I am not finding intellectual stimulation in the least bit.  So this is how I exercise my brain.

Here's a quote or two to stimulate those of you who need a little meat now and then...

" When we covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ, we become passengers on a plan that moves steadily toward it's destiny in the celestial kingdom, with all the sights, sensations, relationships, and experiences particularly selected for our personal.most effective use of this preparatory period.  Elder Richard G. Scott said: "H would have you suffer no consequence, no challenge, endure no burden that is superfluous to your good. "  We may know then for ourselves that what is coming in our individual futures is benign in its design if we will pay attention to the lesson it means to impart while we are faithful to the Lord. " pg 16

" God will "wake us" if we need to be wakened; God will bring to our attention that which it is necessary for us to know when we need to know it.  He may also withhold certain information so as to precipitate a situation which is pregnant with learning possibilities for us.  The right orchestration, the right timing for events, even sad ones, is part of the covenant promise..." pg 15

"When a woman accepts in spirit who she was in the premortal world, her beauty of spirit, her valiance, her power, her passion, her great love; and when she accepts who she is destined to become; and when she acknowledges that that gifted, premortal woman is present now in the mortal woman and is seeking expression now in the mortal probation, she will know that she does not have to accept behaviors meant to demean her nor act in self-demeaning ways.  Rather she can honor her inner divinity and step forth in her God given power and birthright to bring to pass much beauty and holiness, and thereby fulfill her own unique earthly mission." pg 164

Anyone that can use the word pregnant like she did, just has my upmost respect...such great imagery in this book while dealing with deep subject matter...

November 2nd: This is taking up my precious time...

  I think I might have been a large black women in my former life.  I highly recommend this book!

And The Winner Is.....

AFTON!!!

 Now, do you want me to drop it off tomorrow when I go get my hair done at Corrins.  Or would you like me to snail mail it to you?

Happy Baking!  You'll love the ease, the taste, and the crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside texture.

(of course the random drawing was done by my daughter who picked a number...  :)  )

Ecstasy

Daydreaming, reading Ethan Frome and Hugh Nibley collected works on the Old Testament, burying my feet in the sand, listening to music while napping on the sand, eating seafood, watching my kids enjoy themselves...that is ecstasy.

Letting Go

I finally did it.....  I've had it since my senior year and I keep hanging on to it like a security blanket.  Oh sure, there have been others, but nothing like this one.  I keep going back to this one.  It is just so comfortable and it knows me.  It makes my life so much easier.  But it was time to move on no matter how hard it would be to let go.  It was missing things I needed in order to grow.  But I loved it's imperfections.  They kinda grew on me.  At it was just so darn colorful and easy to understand.

Piqued your curiosity yet?

Well I am speaking of my first set of real scriptures.  You know the pair: the one you had your name engraved on.  The one that gave you answers to all your questions in your late teens and twenties.  Yes, I have had a relationship with my triple combination for almost 20 years.  It's been through Hell with me, literally and figuratively.  Many a tear stained page lies within it's binding.  Some were tears of joy, and others, tears of sorrow.  But it's time to let it go.  See, my scriptures were one of the last sets of white scriptures to leave Deseret Book.  And they are really dirty now.  In fact, whenever I go to the temple, I look up at the officiator and covet those scriptures he has in his hands.  Oh how I want a white pair!  But since that is almost impossible to procure, I settled on a dark green pair.  Yes, I went for separate books.  I know, way to be old school, but I like it better.  Which brings me to my next point...why don't they make scriptures waterproof?  See, my Bible bit the big one after being "baptized" in the bathtub one dreary night.  Tried as I might, those feather thin pages just dried themselves together like glue.  So I have been hangin on with a spare set of either Patrick's or Kevins and mine.  See, that just doesn't fly at our house when Patrick happens upon the Carter set of scriptures.  Panties get all wadded up and the spirit just flies out the window.  So I have been covertly "stealing" a bible from one kid or another.

Now, I am going to have to let my triple go!  It met it's match with a certain dead lab that just so happened, met his death from a cougar last year....see, God does punish those that take the Word of God lightly!  But seriously, it is tattered and torn and most of Alma is unreadable( really, who needs to read about all those wars anyway?).  It's not the chewed on leather or the torn pages that matter though, it's the footnotes about an investigator on my mission, or an answer to prayer.  It's like a sacred heirloom, and I'm having a hard time letting go.
What will happen if I ever get to go back to Gospel Doctrine and I can't find that perfect scripture I remember?  It's marked with the yellow and blue on the left hand side right in the middle...that's how I remember my scriptures.

So I am retiring the worn white combo and have decided to move on.  After all, it's time to fill in all those margins with things other than missionary scriptures right?  Green will be just as good...it's my favorite color...and who knows, I bet I can find some cool pencils to color in all the white with....sigh...

Deep Thoughts

My next book will be this...http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html  I feel like this past two years can be likened to this experience.  It has caused deep introspection and a letting go, a cleansing.  God has his hand in this no matter how much it has pained me, I have learned.  So now that I am about to enter the land of suburbia again, I will look at things a little differently.  Playdates, friends over, neighbors, sidewalks, and somehow trying to keep the vauable lesson that the Jones spray paint their lawn and I don't have to keep up with them will be my reality.  As my son explored his new room last night, I was reminded of all the many things my children have learned from living out in the country.  The most vital thing is an imagination.  Anderson and Evan don't have just a regular room...it is the imagination room as my little monkey so aptly named it.  The sky and sunset, the chalk board and the road way the mountain and fort...it will be his inside playground.  Would he have been this imaginative if it weren't for exploring in the woods or picking apples?  In my humble opinion, NO.

Not only am I determined to learn from this experience, but take from it the things that I enjoyed the most.  My backyard will be transformed into a garden (with a chicken coop  shhh...I am not giving up my chickens so bring it HOA!  It's legal for the city!)  and I will slow my life down more...walking instead of driving, cooking instead of consuming, being still instead of cramming too much into my life.  The peace that descends upon me as I drive through the quiet country to my home, can be achieved in my own home. I don't have to have a 15 minute commute to calm me down.  And this one thing, is the thing I hope I will always remember as I begin another journey.

15 days and counting...

What did you do this Friday?

I just finished Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyers....I recieved my borrowed copy at 6:00pm and read most of the night...and I finally finished just a few minutes ago! Fabulous book! She was true to form. Now I must go clean the catastrophic mess my children have made in my book induced coma!

Book reviews...husband still gone....

Did I call it, or what! Still in Italy with still, no end in site. On a brighter note, I have been honing my homesteading skills. It is very comical that all things for survival, from building a cabin to cleaning horse hooves, can be found in one volume. Barnes and Noble is my friend. The book is titled Back to Basics and is filled with cool stuff.
After finishing Eat, Pray and Love by Gilbert, I was looking for something a little more practical. Although this book had some very noteworthy passages, the ending didn't hold me like I wanted it too. I felt cheated by the fact that in the end, it was all about getting laid! I seriously don't recommend it. If you do want to read it...just read Italy and India. She makes amazing discoveries about herself that can apply to everyone. Bali....skip it. It's not even sexy.