sun...soothes my soul

Week #18, in this 52 gratitude challenge, presents me with this simple idea...the weather.  Am I grateful that it is spring, the sun is shining and I can spend time outside?  YES!  My favorite thing in the entire world is the warmth of the sun.  What it does for my soul, nothing else can do.  It's like one massive anxiety pill - the sun is out, the air is warm - peace, calm and still in my soul.


The weather, on this very day, is beautiful!  The temperature will rise to 73...which is my most adored amount of degrees!  The sky is a light spring time blue and there are a few wispy clouds floating above south mountain.  The breeze is a bit chilly, but it's April...so, that's normal.


I love the warmth of the sun.  I am a sun child.  My mood is influenced significantly by the sun, it's brightness and warmth.  I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to pictures of sunshine and quotes about sunshine....the board itself is called "Sunshine".  A couple of the best quotes I've found are:

Sunshine is the best medicine
I was made for sunny days
Let the sun shine through your heart
Yeah!  I felt sunbeams on my skin today!
Dear Sun...My whole world revolves around you.  Sincerely, a person on earth
Keep your sunny side up!

And, obviously, I love songs about sunshine:

You are my sunshine (Johnny Cash version #1)
There is sunshine in my soul today (will be sung at my funeral)
Sunshine on my shoulders (John Denver)
Walking on sunshine (Katrina and the waves)
Here comes the sun (Beatles)
Summertime (Kenny Chesney)
Lazy Days (Enya)


Sunshine has been proven to medicate the souls of the needy, terminally ill, blind and emotionally unstable people of the world.  It's not a miracle cure, just a moment of calm and wellness that feels like a miracle.

Shine!
Lisa Lucille

ps...post needs pics that don't want to upload...don't forget!

EVERYTHING!

I'm pretty sure I take EVERYTHING for granted.  I mean...really, I do.  When I'm grocery shopping in a supermarket, with almost everything I need, filling my grocery cart to the brim....my mind isn't consumed with gratitude for my abundant blessings of availability and convenience!  Why?  It should be.  For real...my closet is a joke, I could clothe a small village of women!  I am grateful daily for my large closet and all that fills it, however, there are still days I can be heard saying, "I don't know what to wear?" (yes, in a whiney tone!)  And, I have a car...that works!  How many times, while sitting in traffic, have I really taken time to appreciate my awesome car???  My house has heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.  My husband owns a business that runs successfully.  I am a member of the church that contains the ONE true gospel, and sometimes I complain about going to church?  So, I think my point is clear...I have a whole lot to be grateful for, which I take for granted everyday!  I have seen poverty, given to the homeless and watched friends struggle with serious illness, therefore, I do think I have a pretty grounded idea of what I have been blessed with...it's just that it all becomes common and mundane, I forget how grateful I really am for with what I am SO bountifully blessed.

may I never take EITHER of these for granted!
***Family and Food***

My life is like my grocery cart...always full...to the brim!  I've got to try harder to NOT take it all for granted!

52 gratitude #17: What do I take for granted?  EVERYTHING! :]

Keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille

catching up!

Sometimes life is rolling along smoothly...and then BAM...it hits hyper speed!  That's about it, my life for the last 3 weeks.  I've been to doctor appointments (not for me...for once!), to St. George for Easter break and then down to Scottsdale, Arizona for a little spa trip.  I LOVE being home with my family...it's always good to be home. 

So, I missed a few journal/blog/posts...whatever this is?  Now I'm catching up...

52 Gratitude....

#14 = A talent I have:

When I was young, I was a fantastic dancer.  Classically trained, none of the cheesy competitive dancing that goes on today.  I was taught ballet, tap and jazz - but - lyrical is my favorite.  I enjoyed choreography, and was really very good at it!  I have a deep association with music and movement.  Every time I hear a great song...I'm choreographing in my chaotic and creative mind!  I don't dance anymore, should never have let that go...oh well.

Now, at the age of 44, I am a talented doodle-er and journal-er.  I love to journal and add doodles and images to my pages.  It's fun.  I'm not super sure that it is a talent...but, I'm saying it is!  I have several different journals entitled and devoted to several different subjects.  I CAN NOT have enough note books...I love new note books.  But, I've always been a big fan of paper, pencils and markers my whole entire life, so it's not a shocker!  I am grateful for the blessings of creativity!

#15 = What I like about SPRING!

Well....DUH...the sun, warmth, colors, smells, rain and flowers!  Need I say more...nope.  I couldn't be more grateful when spring rolls around because I'm not a fan of winter!  So, I greet spring with arms wide open every single year!

#16 = Simple things in life:

I totally believe that the big things in life bloom from the small and phenomenal everyday things!  

The small (but HUGE) things in my life that I am most grateful for are my family, Tom, blue sky's, music, sunshine and warmth, comfortable clothes, kindness and character.  Those are a few of my favorite things (...when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things...)!!!  I love life.  One of the most valuable blessings I received post surgery was that the small everyday blessings are to be cherished and appreciated.  It's the most important "mantra" I have...enjoy the little things.  Big, great, happy feelings are produced from small and little occurrences!  I am grateful for SMALL and precious things....they make my BIG life extraordinary!

OK...I'm caught up now.  

Live, Laugh, Love

Lisa Lucille :]

challenges...that's life!

I've struggled with this blog post...maybe this blog post IS my challenge!  The question posed is "A challenge I've overcome?" and I think I have many challenges, nothing real big, just challenges...I think everyone does, that's just life.  So, to pick just one challenge has me very perplexed???

I picked 2 challenges that I have overcome in the last few years, that have meant a lot to me and left me full of gratitude and made my life a much easier place to exist.

The first challenge I've overcome is that I can drink, even gulp, water!  I couldn't drink water at all for a few months.  After surgery, when my ability to swallow started to come back, I could still only sip at water...a full on swallow would send me into a choking spasm.  It hurt, it cracked my ribs, the coughing was more than I could even take.  So, water was a tough one!  When I came out of surgery and was alone in my recovery room, I made a list of "things I want to eat again" and water was the first one on the list...it was the last one I was actually able to consume.  I couldn't gulp water until 1 year out of surgery!  Now I can, and it is DELIGHTFUL!  I can only take up to about 7 gulps before my throat gives out and can't control it anymore...but I'll take 7 gulps!  The groovy thing is...now I'm a water snot!  I will only drink delicious water!  I order water on amazon and have it delivered to my house...yep, that kind of snot.  I love NEO Water.  It's my favorite.  But, for CJ's sake I will sometimes order SmartWater...because that's his favorite.  At any rate, water is divine...and until you literally can not drink it, you don't realize how much you love it!  Diet Coke is still my favorite, I'm not gonna lie.  But at least my NEO Waters made it to the top shelf of the refrigerator!  I love them!

CJ calls these my 'little grenades' :]

The second challenge I've overcome is that I actually like me and I'm grateful to be me.  Loving myself has always been a challenge.  Since I was young I've been comparing myself to ALL who surrounded me and have always thought "I'm nothing special, look what they can do" or "Wow, she is amazing!  I could never do that."  Ya know, those thoughts.  I felt inferior and under-appreciated.  It took 43 years for me to realize...I AM AWESOME!  I don't look in the mirror with disgust anymore, I learn about others with curiosity and I'm honest with myself.  It's so great to think of yourself as a viable being in this world!  I am an introvert and love to do my own thing...I'm totally ok with that.  I can't speak in a crowd (my voice is too weak)...but I can listen, and that's even better.  I LOVE to lay on the grass, look into the sky and ponder eternity...it's a beautiful feeling.  I KNOW my husband loves me...not every women can say that!  There are 2 quotes that I feel describe me just perfectly..."I have an intense desire to be where I am not!" and "I'm not anti-social, I'm just really pro-me."  I am grateful for the challenges that helped me to love me!  Teaching preschool, being the primary president, surgery, scars on my face, accepting service from loved ones, recovery, being a mom, being a grandma...THANK YOU!

Me and Ava
Mine is a wonderful life!

FEWF!!!!  52 gratitude blog post #13...DONE!  I am so grateful for life's challenges.  I can say that with a full heart and a smile on my face.

Keep on keeping on!
Lisa Lucille

i'm nice....

My whole entire life I've been nice.  Nice-ness is what I do.  Being nice is a chronic torture.  I love that I am a nice person...I just don't always love how being nice affects me.

Niceness is double edged and is not the same thing as kindness.  Kindness takes heart, niceness doesn't.  Nice people are not always kind.  I am not always kind.  I have to work really hard at kindness (sometimes), I think many sensitive people do.

It's not just me...the dictionary interprets nice as agreeable, satisfactory and kind as affectionate, loving.  The difference is heart, attitude and spirit of intent.  Both dictionary entries offered up the word pleasurable, which is ironic to me.  I'm not knocking the value of being nice...being nice is good.  Being kind is better.

Being a nice person, with good intent, is the suckiest thing that ever sucked.  You either have domineering people dump their problems on to you or you acquire strange friends who end up being like a boogar on your finger.  Both scenarios leave you standing stupid with a smile on your face because you're too afraid to say "NO" or "OK, go away"...because that's not the NICE thing to do!!!!!

Being a nice person, with good intent, is also the best thing that ever was.  It proves you can tackle uncomfortable situations with a smile on your face and come out victorious and introduces you to richly interesting people who you would, otherwise, never have known.  So, ya know...it's chronic torture!  I choose kind...it holds more integrity, virtue and grace - but I'll take nice...it might be as close as I'll ever get?!!?

I have a sign hanging in my house that says "because nice matters"...it does matter.

*week 12 of 52 gratitude....What is your favorite personality trait?  My nice-ness. 

Peace!
Lisa Lucille

someone who inspires me...

Lisa Christensen
on the right...orange striped shirt :]

I have a friend who inspires me, her hame is Lisa Christensen.  I don't know Lisa as well as I know some of my other friends and she is a relatively new friend to me, but, I do know that she is amazing.

Lisa has all the skills I admire most.  She is smart, thoughtful, intuitive, classy, well spoken, spiritual, funny, calm and honest.  She is a good mom.  She is beautiful.  Wherever she works, she is well respected and trusted. Lisa loves to read, sing and enjoy the quiet moments.  Lisa is a perfect introvert.  She is not shy and can teach and speak with amazing ease and clarity.  I love sitting in on her lessons in young women's, I get excited when it's her turn to teach.  She doesn't talk down to anyone...she simply talks with you.  If you're wrong, she lets you know with a smile on her face.

Lisa has reasons to NOT be so kind and friendly.  She spends most of her time in pain from something her doctors can't explain or diagnose.  That's not for me to share....so I won't, in fact the only reason I bring it up is to prove how incredibly strong and committed she is to being a great person.  I also believe her quiet suffering enables her to be 100 times more sincere than almost anyone I've ever talked to.  I really love this woman for the example she is to me and the inspiration she has sparked within me to just go for it....be a better person!   She is my week 11 "52 gratitude" person who inspires me most :]

Happy Day!
Lisa Lucille

5 things....

52 gratitude challenge #10....

5 things I like about MYSELF

#1.  I love my testimony of God the Father and His Son.  

#2.  I love that I have a desire to study, learn and create.

#3.  I love my other half...WE make a whole.

#4.  I love my boobs...not God given, but they are fabulous!

#5.  I love my hair.  It's soft and shiny and it's purple.

I like me.  There's way more than 5 things I like about me.  It makes me smile that I can even say that.  Took a long time though, wow...age, wisdom and a few battles do wonders for the soul!  GO ME!

ALWAYS exist in the sunlight...it's really warm there!

Lisa Lucille  

how did I do?....how did I feel?

9 weeks into 2015...wow!  My #9 52 challenge question is "How did you do and feel?"  That is a wide open question, so, I'm opening up wide for the answer (because it's one I'd rather not talk about or dwell on, mostly because it's boring and pointless)....

So...had a CT scan yesterday.  Obviously, they scanned my head and neck to see if my existing ganglioma tumors have grown and if the others were growing back.  My last 2 CT scans, showed no growth in the existing tumors or new growth where the others had been removed.  So, I wasn't nervous about this one.

Each time I get a scan, they shoot that "dye" through me.  It's a funny sensation...you feel like you're peeing your pants!  Last time I got kind of sick and dizzy for a bit, while the dye did it's job, but not this time...i felt great and was pretty comfortable with it all.  The room was even warm :]

After the scan, I met with Dr. Sharma.  Well....the existing tumors have grown.  I guess there's nothing growing on the right side (where the other tumors used to live), because he didn't say a word about that?  I'm not going to lie...I was a little shocked.  I'm not a 'freaker-outer' though, so I did ok with the news.   But, sure...I'm a bit pissed off that the left side tumors have grown.  Prognosis = I will eventually have to get both of them removed.  Shit.  For the last year and a half, scans have shown NO growth and there were NO surgeries on the horizon.  I'm not nervous though...I truly feel like everything is ok.  And, like I always preach, IT IS WHAT IT IS.

I think I'm doing a great job with all my ganlioma issues!  I'm positive, have a great support team and the whole experience is a blessing.  I am a whole different person than I was 3 years ago:  I'm stronger;  I'm grateful;  my life is a gift;  my husband is a saint;  my girls are angels;  death isn't my biggest fear;  my voice is softer (in more ways than the volume); I know exactly what means the most to me.  How do I feel....FANTASTIC!!!!!  I've beat the worst of this before...I'll just kick it in the ass again!

My most adorable Caitlyn posted this quote onto my Facebook page.
She's a tender one...and I love her.

My tumors don't define me.  There's more to life than sitting around worrying about a couple tumors, that are growing a little.  So what.  It's all about the sunshine baby!  That's all I seek - light, warmth and a little bit sparkle.  Oh, happy day!

Keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille

3 people I'm grateful for...

52 gratitude #9....give GRATITUDE for 3 PEOPLE! 

RONALD REAGAN

I am grateful for President Reagan because he served america with a valiant spirit.  I have always been so impressed with his ability in being confident, being a friend and making friends (i.e. Russia!), being God fearing and a true american man.  

Growing up in the 1980's was glorious!  However, there was always fear of atomic bombs and Russia.  Well, this great man ended all that fear for me.  He proclaimed of a strong america with unbeatable forces and ended the cold war which brought forth a friendship with Gorbachev and made Russia seem friendly-ish.  On a more personal level...I just loved the way he looked, carried himself and laughed.  He played the part!  He was a master at his job!  He seemed strong and unbeatable himself, which just made him a more endearing leader to me.  It's because of him I felt like I was definitely an american and most certainly a conservative.  I am grateful he was the  President of the United States at the most impressionable time in my life.  He helped mold my future.

GORDON B. HINKLEY

Besides being my most favorite prophet of this dispensation, President Hinkley just makes me smile! His spirit, attitude and grace made me feel like he was sincerely personable.  His quotes are ones I live by.  There a many, but my favorite (this year) is "Try a little harder to be a little better."  He is the kind of man I could confess all my sins to with a smile on my face...the man exuded grace!

I love that his doctor told him to carry a cane with him wherever he went, but he didn't particularly like the idea.  He was obedient, however, and carried that cane everywhere...he just didn't use it much.  He had a "can do" attitude.  Maybe that's why 77 temples were built during his service?!  

I am grateful for President Hinkley because he made being a "mormon" acceptable.  No longer did I feel like mormons were the  nerdy outcasts.  We had a voice, and a likable one!  I've always had a pretty strong testimony, even so, President Hinkley strengthened it by being a quality example of happiness and strength of character.  

I love Dr. Seuss.  He is the end-all-be-all man of imagination.  I adore his spirit and his attitude.  All he has done for children astounds me.  This mans example helped me start a children's book club, which eventually became a preschool.  I accomplished being a teacher because of this man!  His quotes, ideas and character molded and verified all my thoughts and feelings of how children should be viewed and considered.  

I enjoy the silliness of every Seuss book.  There is a tender heart within every naughty or askew character...which parallels any naughty or askew little boy!  I also love how the characters Seuss creates are all proportionately challenged, brightly colored and not normal.  They are all strictly imaginative!

I am grateful for Theodor Seuss Geisel and his brilliant imagination and tender hearted theories.  I am grateful for his contributions to the literary and visual world of children.

All 3 of these men have challenged me to learn more!  They each gave me a path to follow and helped me grow.  How can I not be grateful for that?!!

If you're going to be an example...then be a good one

Lisa Lucille

my friend Cake! BFFL!

This is  my friend Kay Ward

or CAKE

*a nickname my Caitlyn gave her...

and it stuck!*

Cake is one of the most amazing and unconditional friends I've ever had.  She is really more like a sister than a friend to me.  I've known her for 20 years.  She married CJ's very good friend Craig Ward.  We have been through years of going out to dinner, girls trips, girls lunches, vacations, tri-races, ironman races, spa days, sad, happy and so on.  Most importantly (to me) is that she 'get's' me.  I'm introverted and a sketchy friend at best!  She is ok with that!  She has never let me down...EVER!

What makes Cake amazing is that she is an unconditional friend to everyone ... not just me.  I believe everyone thinks they are Cake's best friend!! Whether I'm her best friend or not, doesn't matter, because she treats me like I am.  I love her so much.

My favorite Cake memories are:
*Girls trips to Vegas...every time we 'vegas' it stays in vegas, enough said!
*Sitting on a beach, any beach...we judge other women and giggle, we hide quarters in the sand (a long story in itself!) and we laugh, talk and figure out life problems.
*She's completed an Ironman and had a killer time...under 14 hours...her first one!
*Watching her take care of Lisa Hoj...towards the end.  Brings tears to my eyes, Cake is so loving.
*Never "really" knowing what is going on in her life...because it's NEVER about her!!!
*Taking care of me after surgery...cleaning my house, grocery shopping, talking, etc....
*Cheesecake Factory (in whatever city)...mojitos ;]
*People watching...she is the best at it!
*Spa Day...any spa - any city...we're so there.
*Being sneaky...we can be SO sneaky, and it's fun!!

52 gratitude challenge #8 - Friend 1...I love my friend Cake.  She is my favorite friend and my favorite sister!

be a BFFL and have a BFFL...
Lisa Lucille

It's a Bluffdale thing!

I love where I live.  Bluffdale is not really a city as much as it is a community.  There's not a store or a bank or even a post office...just a Maverick.  We live at 15149 south 2990 west.  Our neighborhood is the bomb because everyone sticks to their own business while still being friendly and helpful. We get together for bon fires in the summer and shovel each others snow in the winter.  Bluffdale is not a 'middle of nowhere' place...it's just quiet.  That's what I love the most, the quiet.  I'm almost spoiled by it.  I visit other areas of town and think "what's with the traffic and stuff???"  

just this morning I perched on a dirt mound up behind our little city...
what a view! what a day!

There is a canal that runs along the back of our subdivision, along it is a canal road.  I love to walk that rough road and I'm usually with my dog when I do.  Many of my neighbors use it for trail rides with their horses and we used to drive our 4 wheelers back there, until more houses were built and it became a hazard for some people.  There is nothing built beyond that canal road, so it's kind of like a big back yard!  If my girls lived here when they were little, they would have played the crap out of those fields!  

Off trail exploration...our favorite!

Some 'old-timers' have lived in Bluffdale FOREVER!  And it's fun to hear how they resented all of us building new fancy homes and moving in, but now they love us.  Our subdivision was developed on property that everyone called the sheep fields.  Someone used to graze their sheep there I guess?  CJ and I were the first family to purchase property (Cascade Cove Lot #5) & dig a foundation in our subdivision, but we were the second to finish building our home.  The Lewis family finished their home 3 weeks before us, and they were our only neighbors four months!

after 10 years...
this is still the place I want to be :]

So, when I read this weeks gratitude challenge "They city you live in" I smiled...because I love it so much!!!!!  Most everyone who moves to Bluffdale likes it here, I don't know why?  Maybe it's just a Bluffdale thing? :]

Happy Living!!!!

Lisa Lucille

something i've been given...

Week #5...something I've been given.  I've been given many things during my life that are very special to me.  My most treasured gifts are the handmade and sentimental ones.  I could write about every single little gift I've ever received and the gratitude I have for each one...however, I decided to choose only 2.

First:  My incredible husband made me a table almost 22 years ago.  He doesn't think it's anything special, but I do.  He crafted it with his own 2 hands.  It's beautiful!  Most often it resides in a noticeable spot in the entry of my home.  It has also spent time in my bedroom and dining room.  It shows subtle signs of time and wear which makes it more endearing to me.  I'm grateful for it because CJ made it for me when we were young and poor.  It was a surprise gift and it's my favorite thing.

Second:  Mason Forbush gave me a lego alligator.  I can't even begin to explain why this gift is so incredibly special to me.  Let me just say that Mason is a tough and mischievous boy with a gigantic heart!  He makes me smile and I am grateful to have had him in my life for 2 years!  He will grow big and forget all about me but I will always remember him...and...I have his lego alligator ;]  What a boy!

Notible mentions would definitely go out to anyone who has ever given me a transformer or diet coke.  It's those people who know me best!

Keep your sunny side up!

Lisa Lucille

ps...this is Mason :]

Erna Arlene

My grandma, Erna Arlene Pedersen Jones, was an adorable lady.  She was kind, quiet and an exemplary homemaker.  The very best chocolate chip cookies ever made came from my grandmas kitchen.  Homemade chocolate chip cookies remain my favorite to this very day!  She always stirred up a superior sunday roast dinner and homemade rolls.  My grandma sewed/created almost every single one of my dance costumes.  Her house always smelled like safeguard soap, except in the kitchen and living room where it always smelled like lion house rolls :]

My grandma hardly ever wore pants.  Most often she wore skirts.  I always found this fact curious and admirable...always dressed up for the day.  Until the day she died, at 81 years old, she was blonde.  This continues to strike me as so cute...since no 81 year old lady is a natural blonde.  Keeping it beautified until the very end!  My grandma was also fond of big brimmed hats, so to keep her beautiful pale skin from being destroyed by the sun (a trait I WISH I would have picked up from her...but did not).

Grandma Jones was never a complainer.  She had reason to complain, but never did.  My grandpa was in the FBI and moved her around the country for several years to stay on top of his esteemed job.  My grandma was young with a baby - and stories tell that it wasn't easy, but she always made the best of it.  The FBI life itself was a rough one, always watching her husband leave for work with a gun on his hip.  I think once they moved to East Millcreek, my grandma was able to settle down and slip into a more comfortable life.  Even as a child life gave my grandma a few challenges...but you never heard about that, it wasn't her style.  And my grandma had a LOT of style.  She was a lady.

I have felt close to my grandma the last couple months and I think it's due to the fact that my grandma loved to write.  She had journals everywhere.  She wrote poetry, that sometimes made it to the newspapers and even won her some awards and recognition.  I love to journal, type and write lists...I'm sure this comes, somehow, from my grandma.  I have so many journals and notepads with lists and ideas scribbled throughout them.  I can't help but appreciate my grandma a little more considering we both appreciated writing, in one way or another.  So, I thank my grandma for her whispered gift of writing...I didn't realize I received it until recently.  I love knowing my grandma is still around in my life and recognized by my heart and spirit.

"Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete." -Marcy DeMaree.  I don't know who Marcy DeMaree is, but she nailed it right on the head with that quote!

My adorable grandma, Erna Arlene Pedersen Jones
with her handsome man and my grandpa
Ralph Harvard Jones
They are absolutely fantastic...
I mean, LOOK at them!

My 52 weeks of gratitude challenge this week was to express my gratitude for a particular family member...I am grateful for the influence and love of my grandma, Erna Arlene Pedersen Jones.

Bright, Happy and Sunshiny Day!
Lisa Lucille

Family!

Family.....

Sadie (aka Twist) and Savion

Oh how lovely
Sadie and Caitlyn

SO grateful for Kyle

One can not live without a dog.
...ok, well, I can't

My family is small.  I chose to only have 2 children.  I chose to have a couple dogs.  I'm grateful for my choices.  I'm grateful for my family and the additions being made to it!  Pretty soon I'll be a gram gram, that's a crazy thought.  I still feel like I'm living it up in my early 30's, being all sassy and shitty...but in reality, time is moving on and so is my little family.  I LOVE it!!!!!  I'm grateful the time has come for 'grandparentdom' and that I am healthy enough and young enough to enjoy it!  I absolutely LOVE living...and HOW could I live without my family?  I couldn't...just simply could not.

Handsome Man!

CJ...I could not have a family of my own without this guy!  I'm grateful for him. Being married and sealed to this man was the best decision I've ever made.  We will always be together...like, FOREVER!  CJ and I are one in purpose...life, family, friendship, up's, down's....all of it.  We are united and grateful for all that we have - but mostly our family, we love our family.

Sunshine and Happy Days!
Lisa Lucille

PS - I think family consists of the people who love us.  They are not always related.  I love those people too...they are my family.

CJ

a perfect example of CJ's great worth to me.
I was feeling low...he surprised me with a Sunday morning drive
to see the Manti Temple.
He KNOWS a sunny, mountain drive will cheer me right up!
He also bought me 2 diet cokes...smart boy

The gratitude I feel for this man goes beyond my ability of verbalization!  If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times....NO MAN on the face of this planet could possibly love and care for me the way my CJ does.  He is my everything.  I am indebted to him.

I can't verbalize well...but I sure can make a great list!  Here's a list of reasons why CJ is the treasure I am most grateful for...
*CJ protects me, completely
*CJ honors his priesthood, which has played a big part in my life
*CJ senses my ups and my downs, he celebrates and comforts me
*CJ never forces me into uncomfortable situations, he respects my quiet-ness
*CJ flirts with me, and he will continue to do so until we are 90...and beyond ;]
*CJ has passion for my happiness & desires
*CJ provides all he possibly can for his girls and family, and then some
*CJ keeps himself strong and motivated...Ironman, hunting in excruciating circumstances...
*CJ is not afraid to call me out when I'm being a brat (yes, I'm super grateful for that!)
*CJ exudes integrity...an attribute of his I honor the most
*CJ works hard!  He also plays hard, but, only after he makes sure his family content
*CJ makes me laugh...until I can't breathe or I have to pee my pants
*CJ quietly serves his fellow man

There it is, 13 beautiful reasons why I am so LUCKY -and grateful- to have CJ in my life...for eternity!

(project gratitude: week #2)

Keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille



  

what's with the challenges?

Last year I accomplished two goals.  The first was a 365 day "attitude of gratitude" journal challenge.  My second challenge was a "read the Book of Mormon in 365 days" chart.  I've accomplished long term goals before, but always with a group of people - this time it was just me...I did it on my own!  I was so proud of myself!  However, the first 2 nights of 2015 have left me empty and a little sad, I don't HAVE to write in my journal and I don't HAVE to read my scriptures, I kind of miss it.  So, I came up with a couple more challenges for 2015...YAY!

1. 52 weeks of gratitude - This will be documented on my blog (for the most part)...

My blog has become my main source of journal documentation...
no one knows about my blog (therefore, it isn't being read)...
so...this is the perfect spot to follow through with this challenge!
(I can post pictures!!!!)

2. 52 weeks of Random Acts of Kindness - This challenge will be kind of tough.   It will also be a secret...to those receiving the 'kindness'.   D&C 24:7 For thou shalt devote all thy service in zion, and in this thou shalt have strength. 

"service is just being kind with your work gloves on!" House Bunny

week 1:
Why start the gratitude challenge?
I start both challenges to keep myself focused.  Helping others and extending myself is a challenge that freaks me right out.  I believe focusing on these challenges will help me become more aware and grateful for the world outside my little (anxiety filled) bubble.  For a whole year and 3 months I have been scared to death to be a part of the world...my voice is quiet, my spirit still healing and my "normal" life gone.  I have entered into a new world with a different perspective.  I have embraced it but it intimidates me...how do I be the introvert I've become?  I can do it, I can move forward a little more quietly than I'm used to and with more reserve.  I've had a year to prepare and practice...I will now put myself to work (ready, or not!).

keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille