High Uintas

That's where I spent my weekend. I went on my first back packing trip, and survived! It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, and a desire to keep on doing it. I climbed a mountain, carrying a pack, camped up there for three and a half days, and hiked down.
Each day though, other than the first and last, we did small hikes to lakes or such. So we were always busy. It was amazing!
It was quiet, yet we intruded the forest with jolly singing. :) It was great. My time and words run dry for now, so hopefully I will be able to add some more later.

Home Dazzle

For approximately the past two weeks I have been abroad, well on a car trip. We braved long hours in the car, stopping in Colorado, New Mexico, and for the most time; Texas.
It was fantastic. And I mean it too. Vacation means a whole lot more when you live on a farm!
But there's something special about home. And right now I'm in what I have decided to call, the Home Dazzle. It's when everything about home is beautiful. Even doing chores to make it look cleaner. (The chickens still don't sound quite that fun to feed but I'll manage.)
It's difficult to explain, and my writing skills are rusty. (Vacation does stuff like that.) But nonetheless I'll try.

Karen Arnold

Upon hopping out of the car a deep blue sky greeted my eyes, the stars shining brilliantly, a sight I had missed dearly. Sadie whimpered till my Mom said hello, and I soon followed, petting her affectionately.When I walked into the house last night (or rather this morning) the lights were dimmed and the air seemed hazy. The floors were mopped and the counters cleared. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I made my way to my room, laughing at myself when I saw the little messes I made in haste to pack and get out the door. I switched my tank light on and watched my fish swim around in the water, enjoying the small current from the filter. My bed was wonderful, crawling into it in clean pajamas and snuggling with my quilt as it still hung lopsided, shorter by the wall and touching the floor where I hop in. But it didn't matter, it felt exactly like my bed feels on a regular basis, and that was what I wanted. Truly "There's no place like home."

Billowing Grass

I am sitting at my desk, writing a post for my blog where I can go "wriding free". My fingers itch to type and my mind relaxes as I allow the words to flow. The grass in the field outside my window is blowing in a calm pulse with the wind. It reminds me of the way the wind blows the waves onto the beach, scooting ever forward, receding only for a moment. A giant tree nods its shaggy head, bobbing in an exhilarating way as the wind brushes its fingers through the tree's leaves. The sight is beautiful. It is moments like this when I am so glad I live out here. Out far enough that I can see the stars at night and hear birds chirping in the trees with the sun. Yet still close enough to habitation that I can look at the horizon of the land and see orange lights twinkling like earthly stars when my world has gone to bed. The cows graze happily, chomping up mouthfuls of grass to fill their growing belly. One calf stops for a moment to stare past the wind, a slight smile echoed in his ears. He moves on, but the wind continues to blow.

Note on Video: This is my first video so I apologize for the simplicity of it. I do hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Scavenger Hunt for Happiness

In life we all experience different challenges. We all have different family and living situations, different trials, whether physically or spiritually. All of those things can build us up, or break us down. It just depends on what we decide to do with what we have.
Often times it is easy to wish for more. If only we had this, we would be happy. If only this happened, we would be happy. The very thing we want though is right in front of our nose. If we were to only take a step back, a deep breathe, and look, we would see that we can be happy.
I don't have a magical solution to make all  problems go away. I can't give instructions and tell people that everything will be perfect. But I do know this. I know that if someone is unhappy it is because they choose to be, whether consciously or not.

"When life seems just a dreary grind,

And things seem fated to annoy,

Say something nice to someone else

And watch the world light up with joy."

--Anon.

 Last night for a youth activity we put this into action. This is what I wrote about it last night:

 Tonight for mutual we went on a Scavenger Hunt. However it was unique. We had three challenges.
1-Find a youth in our ward who was not at the activity, invite them to come, and bring them along. 

2-Share your testimony with someone. 

3-Invite someone to church. 

Potato Chips by Junior Libby

For each challenge accomplished we earned an item of food afterwards at the campsite for dinner. We went to my neighbors house and invited Mckaylin, a girl my age. She was babysitting so couldn't come. Two of the other young women pushed me right up to the door then and told me to bear my testimony! Mckaylin and I both stood there a little awkwardly so I turned it around and invited her to church. Next we went to the people next door and ended up picking up both of their boys to join us for the activity. Last but not least we went to "Uncle Bob"'s to bear our testimony. We all ended up bearing our testimony. It was a great activity. Then we had a brother in our ward give a ten minute talk about it. It was a very special experience. I am very glad we were able to do that. It was fun, spiritual, and both physically and spiritually fattening. 

Everyone was in high spirits when we reached the camp spot. A young woman in a different car told us this experience, that is just too good to leave out. 

We were driving along and we saw this bicyclist (in our ward boundaries) so I rolled down my window and asked him if I could bear my testimony, and we could keep on rolling along while I do it. He said sure. I bore my testimony, said Amen. He said that it took a lot of courage to do what I did and thanked me. Then we dispersed paths.

I know that these principles work. For that short amount of time I was able to get my mind off of me and my problems and share happiness with others. I invite all people to do the same.

Ideas

An idea is such a magical thing. It is new, intriguing, and holds us captive till we explore it. We yearn to taste it, to see if it is any good.
Sometimes, we let it sit, aging like cheese to enhance it's flavor. Other times it sits and grows moldy, like soggy bread in a bag. Then there are the times when we dip our spoon in, and taste something exquisite we can not rush, savoring the flavor. Those are the amazing ideas, the ones we love because we want it now.
I love the taste of a new idea. When I wake up in the morning, with it dancing in my mind, dangling before my eyes. Like the light at the end of a tunnel, it holds us captivated, longing to reach the light.  It's almost like a persistent child begging for a toy, only the idea begs to be written down, put into action, or told. Finally, giving in, it calms itself slightly, but never fully so long as it lies incomplete.
Every once in a while, we ignore the idea, and it eventually drowns itself in our river of thoughts, lost forever, or just for a very long time if we are extremely lucky, but the river is strong and is difficult to make yield its prey.

Like the light at the end of a tunnel, it holds us captivated, longing to reach the light.

 

Some people think of an idea like a light bulb, a switch turned on, or connected to the electricity. Other people like me feel it creep up on us. Sometimes like the ocean waves lap at the sand, gradually crawling further and further up. Other times like a tingle up my spine, shivering me with delight. There is also the sensation of a buzzing fly by my head. Nearly impossible to swat away, swirling around our head until we get out of bed.
Ideas hold promise. Some hold failure, but in fact it's a lot more like what Thomas Edison said about making a light bulb, he learned many ways how not to do it, and when we look at ideas like that, we realize that we have learned quite a lot.
Ideas are a part of our being, a yearning we feel. We want our idea to be unique, amazing, and wonderful. They promise us possibility, adventure, and a feeling of success.
Yes, ideas are magical.