The Happiest Place on Earth

On Friday night, Lisa, Hillary, Rachel and I drove down to Anaheim to go to Disneyland. We had a great time. We got there early enough on Friday to attend "Mickey's Halloween Party" which is limited to a certain number of guests, and involves them changing the entire ambience of the park. They have TONS of fog machines and play Halloween themed music, and they even have trick-or-treat stations where we happily filled our bags with LOADS of candy.





On Saturday, we got up early and headed back to the parks. We had so much fun, and met up with Shaine and Kevin for dinner at the Wine Country Trattoria.



Apparently, the excitement was NOT too much for Shaine, but Kevin and I "passed out" on Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy.




I had a great time, and was happy to be at Disneyland with such amazing and fun people. I can't wait to go back in December!

more thoughts..

On my Facebook page, my saying is, "a grudge is the heaviest thing you can carry." I truly believe that to be true. Me remaining angry at Mike and Kathi will do nothing to them, but will destroy my soul if I let it. Yes, my feelings are hurt that my dog, which I'd surrendered to them a month ago, was put to sleep without so much as a courtesy call, but there's nothing I can do about that now, is there? Mike told me he's, "tired of [my] bull...." and he never wants to talk to me again, a request I will comply with.

Throughout the whole ordeal that was our breakup, I remained silent and worked through my conflicting emotions alone. The only communication I had with him was to let him know that I know that this was for the best (via the Holy Ghost) and that I was passing my well-wishes along to Kathi when she got sick a couple weeks ago. I guess that was too much.

I learned some great things from Mike, for which I am grateful; I learned that you can't sweat the small stuff, I learned how to change the oil on my car, and I learned how to adapt to life with a chronic illness. But now, it's time to forgive and forget. I know that if I am to expect God to forgive me, I have to forgive then, even if they don't feel they did anything wrong. I got hurt, and now it's time to put some neosporin and a butterfly bandage back on and march bravely forward; I am definitely ready to have fun, travel, and date again.

TOFD

It is astounding to me how quickly wounds that had almost healed can be ripped open, then have salt rubbed in them. People who I opened myself to and cared about deeply seem to have no trouble acting as though I don't exist, and even if I do, I'm certainly not important. Since they blame me, I can't help but blame myself for being so naïve and making my heart so vulnerable, and for not recognizing that I would be figuratively euthanized the second I walked out the door.

I'm ready to get on with MY life, and have been for awhile. I'm tired...tired of trying to understand when they stopped caring and tired of feeling guilty for doing NOTHING wrong, tired of letting the adversary convince me that I don't deserve to be happy. According to pretty much everyone in my life, I am a good person and am worthy.

I need prayers right now, because the forgiveness and charity I've been working on are fighting against rage and sadness. Thank you to all of you.

...and WAY too many green beans

Monday, October 11th, 2010 was Canadian Thanksgiving. Yes, our friends to the north also celebrate Thanksgiving, since, as Sariah kindly explained, "the pilgrims came to THE AMERICAS."

That being said, Sariah has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Canada and so, at her urging, we hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday the 10th. She and Jon did a fabulous job on the turkey, and several of us also did fabulous things with green beans...there were more green beans than there were mashed potatoes. Sauteed, baked into a casserole, and steamed.

It was lots of fun, and got me excited for Thanksgiving again in a month. Here are some pics from the fun festivities:

Jon does NOT have a drinking problem

Gingerbread cupcakes

Turkey; tryptophan coma to follow.

Lisa's very cute centerpieces

Dear Katie:

We will miss you; the state of Ohio is blessed to get you back, but it's our loss. I am excited for you to finally get school over with; as an eternastudent, I do not recommend staying in college forever - it gets annoying. You have an infectious laugh and such a giving heart, and you better believe that one or more of us will come out there to visit (whether you want us to or not).

Come back soon and often; especially for Disneyland!

Double-edged sword

America is a great country; we have rights and freedoms here that many wish they had, and indeed will go to great lengths to obtain. One of these rights is free speech. Unfortunately, many people use their right of free speech to try to say stupid things. Example A of this is the idiots at the Westboro Baptist Church, who have chosen to exercise their right to free speech to insult the military, gays, America, and basically everyone who has even a slight bit of intelligence. Nope, I definitely do not agree with their "God hates [insert group here]" message, but I have to say that they have a right to say it.

This is the great double-edged sword of free speech: if you agree that we have it, it applies to everyone. If not, then it also applies equally across all groups.

Domestic...bliss?

Amy (aka Mrs. Averett) has graciously volunteered to teach me, Lisa, Shaine, and Lyndy how to sew. The entails full use of a sewing machine, which even though hers is not the fancy model, and still be quite intimidating. There are all these loops and hooks that the thread has to go through, and then, if you press the pedal too hard, the needle really starts flying, and you better watch your fingers! I decided to start simple - a "roll" pillow, made with one piece of fabric and a 14"x6" pillow form. Although my seams were not quite straight, I am pretty pleased with how the pillow came out...



Any suggestions for my next project?