Goooooaaaal!!!!

Our Need for Goals

A goal is a standard, a skill, an ideal, or a destination that is to be achieved. We set a goal when we decide to accomplish a particular thing. Some goals, such as cleaning a room or reading a book, may take a short time to accomplish. Other goals, such as saving money to buy a new home or doing things to improve the love and peace within the family, may take months or years. Goals that will help us become worthy to dwell eternally with our Heavenly Father may take an entire lifetime. Some goals may not even be attained during a lifetime on earth, but may require additional effort in the hereafter.

In the scriptures Heavenly Father has stated His major goal concerning His work: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). In order for His goal to be realized in our lives, we need to set goals that will enable us to make our lives productive and happy and that will help us be worthy to return to our Heavenly Father.

 

A goal is an anticipated accomplishment.

The value of a goal helps determine its priority.
Prioritizing goals means to put them in a desired order.
A calendar helps us schedule all that we need to accomplish.

www.lds.org


With the new year, comes new opportunity to become a little better. I know that I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but I also didn't sit down and actually write out my goals point by point. This year I took some thought of what I would actually like to look back on and say 'I accomplished this..."

Of course I had to make it fun to look at it if I wrote them down. And Goals are meant to be shared so I have some accountability right? So here it is my friends, my goals for 2014. For those wanting to know about the 52 Week Savings challenge, click here - My co-worker gave me the tip to start backwards - putting in the big chunks of money first.  I had so much fun making this, that I thought I would provide a free download in Black, Grey, Turquoise, Blue and Red. What are some of your goals for 2014?

The Raven

Here is another quick Halloween décor printable.

The Raven 5x7.pdf

Conference Quotes

I felt so blessed to receive counsel from my Mission President, Elder Timothy J. Dyches, over General Conference weekend. He always speaks with such power, eloquence, and conviction. You can watch by clicking here.
I am jumping on the band wagon of the Conference Quotes on Pinterest - and adding some of my favorites from Elder Dyches.
Hope you enjoy. If you would like a specific size or color let me know. I would love your feedback.
Clink on the links to download a free printable pdf.

Believe Blue
Believe Bright
Believe Orange
Believe Green

Walk
Heal
Faith
Answer













To see what else I did this weekend click HERE!

Fall decor

I love Fall decor, but usually don't embrace Halloween. But I had a few fun ideas and the house is coming together. First I did some pallet art. 

And today I added some headstones from the Dollar Store and made a cute pumpkin pile, and added a witch hat I found at Lowes. 

And I also made a cute wreath with some leftover burlap. 

Here it is all together. 

Most projects are self explanatory, but comment if you have any questions. 

The White Line

A few nights ago I was traveling back from Salt Lake City after a long day of meetings. Nothing was out of the ordinary and after a quick dinner with a friend and some grocery shopping I was on my way home. It has been rainy, but most of the drive was fairly dry. It was getting rather dark though. While I can still see when I drive at night, my Astigmatism and Cataract make oncoming traffic a little unpleasant. Because of this I tend to focus on the white line on my right hand side when traffic passes. I was just getting into the canyon after Heber City and there was a lot of traffic coming out of the canyon. I was focusing on the white line, when I realized there was a car in my lane coming (rather quickly) towards me. (Some awesome driver decided to pass two other cars and a semi). I was able to slam on my brakes and swerve to the shoulder and luckily was safe by a few inches of what otherwise could have been a very different ending.

Reflecting on this experience, I learned several things. First, that I know without a doubt that were it not the Lord's will for me to still be on this earth, I would no longer be here. Second, that life will always be full of surprises, and I need to be better at knowing I'm square with The Lord and fully using the Atonement, because you never know the hour that you will be called home. Third, I realized that too often I am focusing on :the white line" of the world and not aware of the sin, snares, and entrapments that are hurling my way. However, if I keep my focus instead on the Savior and God's will, then I can maneuver the pitfalls and dangers of the world and be shielded by the Gospel. Last, I learned that all too often I am like that other driver rushing to get to no-where and putting myself in danger where if only I would be patience for a little while longer, the destination will be clear and free from harm. 

Above all, I was reminded tonight through one of my favorite verses, 1 Nephi 11:17 "I knoweth that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." 

Many would chalk this up to luck or just a close call, but I know that is was a tender mercy from my loving Heavenly Father and an opportunity for me to learn the power of prayer, faith, and be reminded of the love of God. 

Oregon for Ellen!

This post will have a lot of pictures so be warned. :) Ellen was one of the great ladies I was able to teach while on my mission, and lucky for me, we've been able to keep in touch and have lots of fun over the last 4 years since she showed up to church one day wanting to know more of the Gospel. She found the man of her dreams, Nate, that shared the "mutual weirdness" she needed (as they say). So her reception in Oregon, was a great excuse to take my mother back to the mission and visit friends and family. We started in Springfield and stayed with Mom's Uncle. We were able to visit with my cousin Cynthia and had a lovely dinner, and hear about Vean and Marie's mission to Tahiti. We drove up the coast and stayed in Astoria. Had a fancy meal at Baked Alaska including the flaming Baked Alaska dessert. The rest of the trip was spent around the Portland and Oregon City areas.  We stopped and visited with more then those we remembered to snap a picture with, but it was good to see everyone. Thank you to the Remy's and Ramirez family for putting us up a few nights. It was a great little road trip.

Uncle Vean and Aunt Marie 

Mt. Angel

GPS Detour adventure- Lava lookout

Tillamook and Cannon Beach

Mom sending a message to Dad

Seaside and Rockaway Beach

Astoria - View from Hotel

Dinner at Baked Alaska

Rose Gardens

Sharron Mathews, Theresa Franco, and Chris Wood

Breakfast with Jeff, Amy Jo, Nicole, and Linda

Traditional VooDoo stop with Kristen Schlupp and Bryce!

Fish Hatchery

Multnomah Falls and End of the Oregon Trail

Pallets, Pallets, Pallets

I have been perusing Pinterest for some good patio furniture ideas, and finally settled on some pallet ideas. After a lot of looking and budget crunching, I came up with something simple but nice and functional.

I left the pallets full width, which fits a twin mattress. I left the plastic on it and put an old sheet over it. Added some pillows and viola! Patio furniture. I debated adding some pipe for armrests but it was too much for the budget. The leftover areas are great as side tables for drinks.

Some lovely summer naps have already been accomplished.  

In my scavenging for free pallets, I found a smaller one perfect for some front porch Americana decor. I got the idea from here. 

Pinterest Conquest!

I had an old filing cabinet sitting around my house for awhile just begging to be refinished. I simply sanded it down (messy, messy) sprayed on some primer and then double coat of this lovely blue, and now we have some extra storage in our living room. I am still searching for a decal to put on the front, but couldn't find one I liked. I also tried to put new handles on, but couldn't find any the right size, so I just spray painted the old ones with a metallic silver to bring new life in to them. All in all I think it was definitely a win.



I saw this pin on Pinterest and thought...I could do that! So I did, this weekend. Holla! I didn't love the birdbath and I have crazy neighbor children so I didn't want to make it too tall, so tada here is my version below.



So my version along with some other lovely gardener skills. I hope I don't kill it all, I don't have the best track record with plants.

Love Life

 I feel that my life is a constant search for ways to balance it all. Most days I just feel like Gus-Gus trying to carry all the corn and not getting very far.

I read a blog about some heroes of mine, whether they even remember me or not. This family is AMAZING! If you want some inspiration in life, get to know the Hall family by reading Kolette's blog.  Recently, this Healthy Living Challenge was posted. I rounded up some family and friends, and we started on our health journey yesterday. I'll post more about in the future I'm sure.

My new motto is this old quote that has been floating around the Internet quite a bit a again, and made a lovely version to hang on my wall. While in high school, President Hinckley shared these thoughts. Afterwards, my mother started calling me 'Twinkle.' I fear the twinkle fades from my eyes as I let work, school, and my ever so fab. dating life (err lack thereof) consume my thoughts. It's time to LOVE LIFE! my friends! For a free download, click here.

Hydrate!

Today's recipe is similar to the last. I definitely did not drink enough water yesterday, so decided to do a juice that would get a lot of liquid in me.



Juice:
1 full cucumber
Parsley
1 medium apple
Quarter of a lemon peeled
Wheat Grass
Chia Seeds
Water - Fill it to the top!


Super Simple - Been drinking it through out the day. I love these bottles. When I know I'm not going to down the juice, I like to use these bottles because I can mix it all back up again.

A Juicy Story

I have been Juicing for a while now. One of my most popular boards on Pinterest followed by strangers is my juice board, so I thought, why not add my own on there. So hopefully this won't drive people nuts. This won't just turn into a juice blog, but hopefully it will help me be more accountable if I try to post at least once a week about it.

I will warn people though, I don't measure. I'm pretty awul at that process. I enjoy the trial and error of 'that was a little too much lemon or not enough spinach.'

So here is todays: (Most ingreditents will also include a link to expalin why that ingredient is healthy and good for you - Just click on the word!.)

Green Juice Ingredients:
Juice:
Spinach
Quarter of a Lemon (peeled)
Parsley
2 small Apples
1/2 a Cucumber
Blender:
Wheatgrass
About 1 TBS Flaxseed (I grind that in the blender first then add the Wheatgrass whole and then add the juie from all the other ingredients.)
And last Water!

Well - There you go. Give it a try - Its better than you think!

Who knew you could still have fun in Winter....

Well, It has definitely been awhile. I feel like there is probably a lot I could have been writing about, but alas I have let the blog fall to the wayside - BUT my homework time is really eating into my free time. I can't believe its already the end of February and this is my first post in 2013.
I saw this youtube video (click to watch)  from the son of someone in my mission. I then realized it was only a short 3 hour ride away, so it was time for an adventure. It also happened to be the winterfest in Craig - So that added to our adventure on our way to Steamboat Springs, CO. It was a pretty fun trip - a cool little town. Great company, and made for a memorable Saturday.

The greatest feat is that I finally crafted again. My roommate made an awesome wreath for Christmas, and it was finally time to change it. I just used 4 rolls of ribbon, yellow and grey - and attempted to make my own burlap flowers after browsing lots of ideas on pinterest.

Overall, I think it turned out pretty cute and didn't take to much time - My kind of craft!
I way overestimated my burlap needs, so will have to come up with another craft.

Not much of an update, but its been a busy week.