on being happy

Some days I struggle with being happy. I haven't ever been diagnosed with depression, but sometimes I wonder. I always pull myself out of slumps by counting my blessings and finding joy in the little things.

My mom always says that happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to let things make you sad.

Now I don't consider myself a "Sad" person. I always prefer to laugh when I am stressed rather than cry. Although sometimes a good cry can do wonders it is certainly not going to solve any problems. Normal problems are solved by finding a solution. Some solutions are just out of reach and so you have to work to bridge the gap.

That is the hard part. "Bridging the gap" usually is where the sadness comes in. Especially when it is a long "bridge." I ususally just decide that if there is nothing I can do about the situation right then and there then there is no sense in worrying about it. I get a sort of tunnel vision about my problems and let them go for a while until there IS something i can do about it.

This has worked for me up until yesterday...

For FHE we read the First Presidency Message by Pres Utchdorf. In it was a quote by Pres David O. McKay that said, "Some of us look forward to a time in the future—salvation and exaltation in the world to come—but today is part of eternity"

CRAP...

Some of my problems are really small. Some are not.

It seems that some of my bridges are too long. I guess I take this to mean that I shouldn't always count on a long bridge. Yeah I will get there someday long into the future but I really need to work harder at being happier NOW. Even when it is sometimes really hard to be happy.

I need to live more for today and decide that I will be happy no matter what. I deserve to be happy, not someday in the future, but TODAY!

I just have to choose to be.

Cook Books

I am one of those people who buys great cookbooks and magazines and then never makes anything out of them. Maybe it is because I am so busy with the rest of my life that I have never made time, or maybe it is because I am a chicken when it comes to cooking. Regardless i have about a million and I don't know where to start...am I the only one who does this?

BALaNCE

Finding balance in my hectic life is something I really struggle with. I made it to Enrichment for the first time in like 4 years and only because I was already at the Church for my calling as Bear leader. I find myself always rushing from the next thing to the next without finding time to really enjoy life. How does one balance Marriage, Motherhood, Money, Exercise, Talents, Personal Study, etc with only 24 hours in the day? I find myself coming up short 99% of the time. I guess that all I can really do is try to prioritize better. I am the most disorganized person i know. Well maybe not as bad as my mom. :) I think I just need to stop procrastinating LIFE. It will all balance out by itself i guess. Or not. Either way...I can't very well get off the train can I?

SpRinKles

...So my life like so many out there is as a wife, mother, and worker bee. There are many times when I feel totally overwhelmed by everything on my plate. Usually what is left over at the end of the day are "sprinkles." By that I mean the bits and pieces of life that leave a lasting impression on who I am and who I am becoming. Sometimes they are sweet sprinkles and sometimes they are not-so-sweet. Some are red and some are blue. Some are broken and some are perfect. I am terrible at keeping a journal as I should so I am attempting to record my "sprinkles" here. They are after all what make life interesting and usually a little crazy. Besides...who wants to be normal anyway? Certainly not me...even if I tried. :) HeRE WE gOOOOO...