One of those books you hide while you read ....

As I left for the gym, I realized the book I was reading could be potentially dangerous if spotted by any of the wrong eyes...especially guys' eyes!  It's called "An LDS Girl's Guide to Getting a Date" by Dr. Brent Barlow.   So I wrote some fake "to-do" lists on a few pieces of post-it-note paper and stuck them all over the cover.  

(yes, that does in fact say, "the ACT formula and Other Surefire Methods for Catching a Man")

Amazing little book it is, and though the title is kind of embarrassing, the book is about much more than getting a date.  It is short, sweet, and to the point, and helps you to think about dating and relationships in a more positive and proactive way.  

One of my favorite chapters is called "A Mental Makeover."  There is one sentence that seemed to hit home...it says, "If your own self worth is low, you may have a difficult time focusing on the positive attributes of others because you are so preoccupied with your own imperfections..."  He then challenges us girls to think about the things that we like about ourselves and that we could offer someone in a relationship.  He says that when we learn to love ourselves, then others will come to love us.  

Now, I am not someone who thinks its good to sit around thinking how amazing I am all the time--in fact, I think a lot of LDS women get down on themselves for everything because they are TRYING not to be high-and-mighty, among other reasons such as comparing themselves to others (which is a big one).  I tried making the list....Do I like my personality?  No, I'm boring and quiet and grumpy-looking....do I like how I treat others?  Sometimes, but I'm not the best...Do I like the way I am with my family? Yeah, I guess, but I could do better... Well, then it went to the "My hair is blah, my nose is big, my lips are thin, my skin is awful ...my big thighs..UGH!! There's a reason I have the nickname "ghetto booty"...my feet are wide ...my skin will NOT tan, my teeth aren't as white as so-and-so, why am I not as happy and friendly as so-and-so...the list went on and on and on...and on.....it was pretty eye opening in that I could not find a single thing that I liked about myself.  Even the things that I thought could be potential strengths I found something wrong with.  (sad, huh! Don't feel too bad for me :)   )  

Well, after that realization how much I didn't like myself, I almost cried with relief that Dr. Barlow said that we SHOULD like ourselves.  Yeah, I know, crazy huh! Since I am always telling girls that they ought to like themselves, I myself didn't realize how much I wasn't following my own advice!  YOU try making that list...The next few days I tried really hard to make mental lists of the things I DO like, even if I had to make some up, and you know what?  All the things that I said I didn't like are slowly coming to be not so bad.  I feel a lot happier, and it wasn't because I was telling myself that I SHOULD be happy, and it wasn't because I was all of a sudden becoming perfect in all the things that I didn't like--it was because I was telling myself that I am worth something, and that happiness is naturally coming as a result.   Not only that, but my cynical and sarcastic humor isn't really wanting to emerge (gasp!), nor is my teasing wit....(which sometimes I think is fun, but not at the expense of others).   I realized that I have also come to see the good in others a lot easier--its like a breath of clean, wonderful air with great potential for love and life.  And you know what?  There are a lot of good people in this world, and I can be one of them.  :)  

LIke I said, please don't feel bad for me or whatever, seriously we all say these things to ourselves, but please remember that there is always something good about you, and the Lord has commanded us to love ourselves.  Part of pride, as stated by President Benson, is seen when we degrade ourselves, even though we often associate it with thinking we are the best person ever.  

Anyway, thats my rant for the day.  :)  Have a GREAT weekend!  

-shayna

Going to Italy! Who's With Me!!??

So, I've decided May it is!  WAHOOO!!!! May, because according to our security guard at work, who served his mission there, May is the most beautiful time to go to Italy...and if not in May, he said, then September.  So I was thinking, it may as well be May, because then everyone is off of school, PLUS, I am sure I won't have a job by then, so its perfect.

I am looking for people that would like to come with me!!  Any takers???  I am going to try to get $4,000 saved up, and hoping that is enough to cover it.  I would like to go anywhere from 3-4 weeks and want to hit the major cities, like Naples and Pompeii, Capri, Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Verona, Genova, Tuscany, Bologna, Turin.......I'm thinking something like 2 or 3 days in each city.

(from Pompeii...those are real bodies that were casted after the major eruption of Mt. Vesuvius....crazy, and terribly sad but I am wanting to see it so bad!)

And this is Napoli...where my dad was born and my grandma was raised, she left it as a war bride in 1945, and I think she only went back once, when she was very old!

But seriously, let me know if you want to come!!  I'm researching more on costs right now....so hopefully they wont be too bad :)  

Validation

Ha..This video is awesome...enjoy!

Blowing Stuff Up

If only my brother could see THIS!  ha...yes, that is me, and yes, that is an AK-47.  It was so much fun blowing up the targets!  

"What did you do for FHE?"

"we baked cookies!"

What did Shayna do?

"I blew stuff up with an AK-47..no big deal."  

Haha j/k...but seriously it was fun.  I wish my brother was there to show me how its really done.  Love ya, Ryan!  

Simple Things That Bring Such Joy

You know, there are a lot of little things in life that bring a ton of joy.  

Today I ran into a man at DI in Provo who was cashiering.  I told him that this was the only place I could find jeans that fit--and he said "Yeah, and they are the right price, too!" Maybe that doesn't sound too significant, but he had a big smile on his face, and cute little glasses, a bald head, and his fingers were twisted and knotty.  He looked like he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, which from what I understand is the most painful and debilitating kind.  But here he was, smiling and standing up straight and tall, looking mighty healthy for his age.  Then, when I couldn't figure out how to work the credit card machine (yeah, sometimes I'm not smart), he said, "It should have a voice activated "I'm Done!" That made me laugh.  It was just the way he said it!  He was so funny.  It dawned on me as I drove home what an impact that made on my day.  

Secondly, Kettle Corn.  It's a wonderful creation....Sweet and Salty, all over a popped and airy piece of corn.  So not only is it delicious, it is healthy too.  Oh, Kettle Corn, how I love you.  

I could eat this stuff all day.  Yum.  

And third, I cleaned out my car.  It was so perfectly sunny outside, and now my car smells great and no longer is covered in bird droppings....thats another story.  

And tonight....I'm going shooting and riding horses.  Yeah, that's a pretty dang good day. 

So I'm Thinking about Writing a Book....

......on dating.  What?  Shayna has opinions on dating? haha.  No, its more like one of those "how to survive dating in Provo" books, about how to be happy when you are single, about making the most of your life and still embracing the idea of marriage and not getting bitter about being single, yet still using your single years to keep moving forward in life.

So does anyone out there have any great dating stories, any piece of advice that you would like to suggest, or maybe horror stories, or things you have learned from your experiences, etc.?

I'm just playing with the idea at the moment, since I've never even done something like this before, but I think there are a lot of people out there that really struggle with this, and by all means I am no expert so I don't claim any rights, but maybe if we all help each other out we can all learn something from each other.

:)

"We Turn Not Older with Years, but Newer Every Day." ~emiliy dickenson

I've been meaning to post for days, but you know how you get these moments of enlightenment, and then you think, "oooh, I should blog about that!"  and then there's a lot of fun stuff going on at the same time that you also want to blog about...so then you just don't blog about anything because there is just SO MUCH to say???

Well, I guess I will put in some pictures, since they are worth a thousand words.

Kleresa's Birthday Party...Completely and utterly a surprise, despite the fact that EVERY year we throw her a surprise party....

(We started out with a list of "24" things we love about Kleresa, but had to add more paper because people wanted to write more things! Aw!) Thanks to her family, the place was decorated from head to toe! Even her bedroom door.  :)  Why is being sneaky so fun?

Got Kids?? I Need Your Ideas!

Hey there friends and family and fellow bloggers! I know a lot of you have kids, or maybe work with kids, so I am appealing for your ideas!

I work at a place that oftentimes assigns me to work with the children.  I LOVE working with the children, but oftentimes there are a few hours in the day where all they have to do for fun is roughhouse with each other and throw paper airplanes...which leads to random objects getting thrown in the air, toys getting fought over or thrown at others, and the ever-present lava-monster games (...i.e. running and bouncing on all the furniture on the unit, which leads to people falling off and getting hurt and then starting fights 'cause "someone pushed me off!") 

(I just thought that little girl's face was priceless....:)   )  

(dont worry, I have no idea who these kids are....they aren't the ones I work with..ha)

So, my question to you all is, what are some good, easy entertainment ideas for children ages 6-11 (both indoors and outdoors...though we tend to need more indoor ideas)?  And we are talking about really rowdy kids...ha!  Any ideas are helpful!  THANK YOU!!!!  

"I am not to be intimidated into anything so wholly unreasonable."

"How despicably have I acted!" she cried; "I, who have prided myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity in useless or blameable distrust. How humiliating is this discovery! yet, how just a humiliation! Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself."

I love this woman!  She is so witty, so intelligent, and has such a delightful way of seeing others--to the core of their very being--

How do I love her? Let me count the ways.

1.  Elizabeth is considered "older" in her society, and yet refuses to marry anyone that she does not love.  This defied the very grain of society's purposes for marriage at the time.  And love, to Miss Bennett, meant more than a pretty face or a indefinite amount of funds.  She was looking for a truly noble character of manhood and decency.  Maybe I love this part of her because Provo life is so marriage-minded--which in all respects is not a bad thing, per se, however I believe that many problems arise from the lack of truly coming to know another person's soul before making such an immensely weighty decision.  

2.  Miss Bennett has courage and self-comfort, so much so that she can mingle with any level of society and keep her head without falling prey to vain scrapings or brown-nosing of the upper crust.  She has her own opinions and a positive self-regard, yet is quite aware of her own shortcomings--but never displays any sentiment of feeling lower than another merely because of her socioeconomic status. And her power of discernment is strong and incredibly insightful, which, I believe, contribute to her ability to mingle with every person. 

3.  When she sees her mistakes, she rightfully acknowledges them and then proceeds to humble herself and to change.  (Hello, Mr. Darcy, you may now enter here...)

\

4.  She is indeed pretty, however, she doesn't focus on that.  She isn't the most gorgeous woman, no, but her attractiveness comes from the qualities that are within.  In the book, there are other women around her who are silly and focused on outward appearances, as many of us quite often fall into this trap, but Miss Bennett is more concerned about keeping herself sincere and pure, and about being a good sister and friend and daughter and developing and maintaining those relationships with those whom she loves.   

5.  She walks everywhere--she gulps down books--she gets the hems of her skirts dirty--and she has "flushed cheeks" from keeping herself physically active instead of sitting inside all day wringing her hands or gossiping with the other women.  She is a strong woman who does what makes her happy, and she lives a more fulfilled and mentally, emotionally, and socially satisfied life than any other women in the book.  

I hope my own character can reflect the most endearing qualities of Miss Elizabeth Bennett.  Though her looks may be only "tolerable", she has so much more on the inside.  

Ahem....I refuse to continue to complain about my outward appearance, and embrace the most weighty and important matters that are all too often overlooked in our day-to-day concerns.  (or at least try a little harder..)

And despite their rocky romance, I hope to find a man who can see in me what Mr. Darcy sees in Elizabeth--even if it takes him a long time to realize how he really feels, and even if we both have to overcome or own pride to realize what is truly there. (Sigh..this is my romantic side coming out :)  )

What an awesome book--if you haven't read Pride and Prejudice, I highly recommend it :)

-Shayna