happy 1st anniversary, mmm!

modern molly mormon (where i am a featured columnist) is having an anniversary! lots of give a ways and fun stuff to check out, including a whole new look! go check it out and enter the contests. join the forums and meet new friends!

happy SITSmas!

Merry SITSmas to my SITSahs!

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i hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

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back to work today

i'm sad the long weekend is over. :(

(spoiler alert! don't read the following if you haven't seen twilight yet and want to be surprised...)

i went to see twilight on saturday with my friend kaitlyn. it was awful. terrible. horrible acting. cheesy. one scene that was eerily similar to something you would see on general hospital. and awful, awful, pathetic 1950s horror movie flashbacks. and jasper? what on earth was the deal with his hair? and lack of facial expressions? besides that one that made it look like he was surprised at how constipated he was? sad. so sad. i went into the movie with absolutely no expectations at all and i was still disappointed. (and i don't care what kaitlyn says, the actor who played edward is not attractive. at all. so sad.) bella was sulky. alice was almost annoyingly cute. rosalie was not that pretty. edward had matching "sparkly" sound effects when he was in the sun. seriously? special effects weren't that great. and james? don't even get me started. he wasn't scary, he was downright laughable. the facial expressions he had literally made me laugh. in fact, the only two characters that i found to be anything like my idea of them were emmett and charlie swan. i was horrified at how awful the cinematography was. i was appalled by the sheer pathetic-ness of it all.

now for the really sad part? i want to see it again.

but it really was lame. lame, i tell you, lame!

decorating for christmas

we get to put up our tree today! i'm really looking forward to it. i got the rest of the decorations put up yesterday. last summer hubby and i went to this "swap meet" of free stuff he read about on craigs list. yeah, it was full of crap. clothes and shoes even savers wouldn't take, food and energy drinks that were two years out of date, and random pieces of christmas trees. and random garlands. so after looking at the land fill that was supposedly the swap meet, i spied the garlands. and snagged a bunch. i really wish now i had spent more time and gotten more, because i love garlands, but they are pretty pricey. but we have garlands on our house outside, and over our french doors, and over the big window in the kitchen, and over the mirrored closet doors in the front entry. i would love to put some on our railing and over the rest of the windows! i also used leftover red ribbon from our wedding to put through the garlands and it is just so. cute. i love christmas decorations. the twinkly lights make me happy!

growing up, decorating for christmas was an all day event. my mom is an interior designer and is really into holiday decorating--and it always looks awesome. like we paid a designer to do it. we had two trees, the family tree and the one in our front room that matched the decor. we had garlands on the stairs, a cute santa shower curtain in the bathroom, stockings and lights on the bathroom mirrors, a christmas village that has grown over the years, a nativity (that we painted as a family) in the front yard. i loved christmas in my house. our home was transformed, it was so magical, so fun. when we were a little older my parents got us each a mini-tree for our rooms, and let us put up lights in there as well.

every year since i was born, i have been given an ornament. a few, actually. one from my parents, one from my grandmother, and one from my aunt. the same with my four siblings. so as you can imagine, the older we got, the more full our tree became. the last few years i was living at home there was no way we could fit all of the ornaments on the tree. we had to pick about half of our ornaments to put up every year so the tree wasn't drowned in ornaments! as a kid i adored cats, kittens, kitties, everything having to do with them. so a lot of my ornaments are cats. i loved putting up my kitty ornament collection every year. i'm excited to put it up again this year.

i think we are going to have a really fun time with our tree and little buddy. we will be getting a lot of exercise keeping him away from it! i know he's not quite old enough to "get" the whole concept of christmas yet, but i'm so excited to start showing him everything. he is already enthralled by the lights in our garlands.

suffering messengers of light

originally posted at modern molly mormon

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this article came from the ensign in august of 1986. i tried a few times to take a few parts from it to write this post, but found that it was impossible to do so and have the meaning conveyed well. this week, instead of sharing my personal experience, i will let this article speak for itself.

"I Have a Question"
by Carlfred Broderick, professor of Sociology, University of Southern California

"Q: So many children are abused, offended, and abandoned. If little children are precious to God, what justification can there be for permitting some to be born into such circumstances?

A: As children of God, we have been given the great gift of choice.

We may choose to help, or we may choose to hurt. Unfortunately, as the Lord explained to Moses, the iniquities of one generation are often visited upon the heads of following generations. (See Exodus 20:5) Anyone can see the truth of that saying by looking at many families in the world today. Often, troubled families seem to pass on their pain and darkness—virtually intact—to their children and grandchildren. The victim of one generation becomes the victimizer of the next.

On the other hand, the Lord told the prophet Ezekiel:

“What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:2-4)

This scripture suggests that children need not merely replicate the sins of their fathers, but that each generation is held accountable for its own choices.

Indeed, my experience in various church callings and in my profession as a family therapist has convinced me that God actively intervenes in some destructive lineages, assigning a valiant spirit to break the chain of destructiveness in such families. Although these children may suffer innocently as victims of violence, neglect, and exploitation, through the grace of God some find the strength to “metabolize” the poison within themselves, refusing to pass it on to future generations. Before them were generations of destructive pain; after them the line flows clear and pure. Their children and children’s children will call them blessed.In suffering innocently that others might not suffer, such persons, in some degree, become as “saviors on Mount Zion” by helping to bring salvation to a lineage.

I have had the privilege of knowing many such individuals people whose backgrounds are full of incredible pain and humiliation. I think of a young woman who was repeatedly abused sexually by her father. When at last she gained the courage to tell her mother, the girl was angrily beaten and rejected by her.

These experiences made the girl bitter and self-doubting. Yet, despite all odds, she has made peace with God and found a trustworthy husband with whom she is raising a righteous family. Moreover, she has dedicated her energies to helping other women with similar backgrounds eliminate the poison from their own lineages.

I think of a young man whose mother died when he was twelve and whose father responded to that loss by locking his son in his room, then drinking and entertaining women in the house. When he would come to let the boy out, he would beat him senseless, sometimes breaking bones and causing concussions.

As might be expected, the young man grew up full of confusion, self-hate, and resentment. Yet the Lord did not leave him so, but provided friends and opportunities for growth. Today, through a series of spiritually healing miracles, this young man is preparing for a temple marriage to a good woman. Together they are committed to bringing children up in righteousness and gentleness and love.

In a former era, the Lord sent a flood to destroy unworthy lineages. In this generation, it is my faith that he has sent numerous choice individuals to help purify them.

In the days of Jeremiah, the Lord used some of the same language he would later use in speaking to Ezekiel:

“In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.” (Jer. 31:29–30.)

Then he went on to say of this new, covenant generation: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31:33.)

Most of us, I believe, are acquainted with one or more of these valiant, struggling spirits. In the latter stages of their progress, they are easy to recognize and appreciate. But sometimes in the early stages they are suffering so much from their terrible wounds that it takes a mature degree of spiritual sensitivity to see past the bitterness and pain to discern the purity of spirit within. It is our duty and our privilege to befriend such individuals and to provide whatever assistance and support we can in helping them to achieve their high destiny.

Others of us may be, ourselves, the suffering messengers of light. Let us be true to our divine commission, forgoing bitterness and following in our Savior’s footsteps."

have a blonde thanksgiving

a happy thanksgiving to everyone!

i am so looking forward to all of the wonderful food tomorrow, and more importantly the time with my family.

i am so grateful for my hubby, and my little buddy. i'm grateful for my parents and siblings, and in-laws, and extended family. we are so blessed to have so many people that love us.

i am also grateful for blonde jokes. so i would like to share one.

It was the first time the blonde was eating Thanksgiving dinner without her family. Trying to re-enact the tradition, she prepared a dinner for herself alone. The next day, her mother called to see how everything went. "Oh, mother, I made myself a lovely dinner, but I had so much trouble trying to eat the turkey!" said the daughter. "Did it not taste good?" her mother asked. "I don't know," the blonde said. "It wouldn't sit still!"

do you share my love for blonde jokes? what are some of your favorites?

the best kind of stress!

christmas countdown: one month from today!

i am really anticipating the next couple of weeks!

i have never understood why people don't like the holiday season. i know it can be stressful, but i think it is a good kind of stressful. growing up, i loved all of the baking that went on, the parties, the family activities, the millions of places we had to go. i've always been very lucky in that i have a big family to spend the holidays with.

i can't wait for thanksgiving. i mean, seriously CAN NOT WAIT. my mom is cooking. do you know how long it has been since i have been to thanksgiving dinner in which my mother was chef? far too long. my grandmother is from back east, so we have this delicious traditional cranberry orange relish. and we have mashed rutabagas...which are to die for. plus the traditional fixins....turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (which i don't like, coincidentally), rolls, some kind of veggie. and this delightful jello my mom makes that has cranberries, nuts, and a bunch of other stuff in it, slathered with whipped cream....oh, i am just salivating thinking about it. and christmas lights officially go on that night!

friday we are heading back south to my parents to help decorate their house for christmas. it has been quite a few years since i got to decorate the tree with my siblings, so i am really looking forward to this. it will be fun to listen to christmas music and just be with my family.

then we get to decorate our house...put up our tree, hang our stockings, put up my christmas village, the nativity, the advent calendar hubby's mom made...sing christmas carols and love the holiday season more than anything.

next tuesday is my company party. we're having dinner at a really ritzy restaurant. (perks of working at a law firm where the attorneys make more money than i could even fathom.) here's what i'm having: "fresh atlantic salmon with seasonal risotto, covered in a traditional beurre blanc." hubby is having a hand cut new york steak with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh steamed vegetables. mmmmmmmmmm.

then the next weekend is crazy busy. hubby is taking saturday and sunday off from work, which i'm really excited for. friday night we are having a christmas party for a bunch of our friends. i am thrilled to death about this! i love doing stuff like that. i am still trying to figure out what games we should play. many of our guests won't know each other--any one have any good ideas? we are doing a white elephant, will be awesome.

saturday is busy busy. my friend jausi is having a baby shower, then we are heading to a giant tree display they do here ever year. i've been going since i was itty bitty, long before i can remember. i think that night we'll also be heading to a great christmas light display with my family and some friends that will be here from out of state.

sunday we're taking the trek to a really cool traveling anatomy display downtown. hubby has really been looking forward to this, and i'm pretty excited about it too.

so as you can see....tons to do. lots of stress! but i would much rather have this kind of stress than any other. there is a lot to do--but all things i enjoy. (even shopping, which will be extra fun this year because of our little buddy! even if we don't have a lot of money--we are still going to have an awesome christmas.)

i've already gotten one stress out of the way. our christmas cards are stuffed, addressed, and ready to go. all i've got to do is put postage on them and mail them in a couple of weeks!

so what about you? do you stress a lot during the holidays? is it good stress or bad stress? what are you looking forward to in the next month?