Tender Mercies

It's a common phrase for women to ask their friends, "what can I do to help?" The usual response to this inquiry is something along the lines of, "oh I'm doing alright, you don't need to help with anything," and then both parties go back to whatever they were doing in their day.   But yesterday I asked for help from my lovely friend (who also happens to be my visiting teacher*). It had been a rough day for me and I didn't have all the motivation or energy to make dinner all by myself, and I knew that If I asked her to help me make dinner when she stopped by for a scheduled visit, she would be willing and we could talk and laugh and get dinner into the oven in half the time it would have taken me to do it alone.  My happy face after a delicious dinner was made by the help of a friend.  I had so much fun spending time in the kitchen with her, cutting eggplant and garlic, whisking eggs, and simmering a fresh pot of tomato sauce on the...

Recently I've been praying really hard to find out what my "calling" is in life. I want a "purpose," a clear direct path to wake up for each day. When I was in college, I assumed I was studying to become a doctor of some sort, thinking I would be practicing medicine until the babies came, but when it came time to apply for grad school, I didn't feel right about it. I didn't further my formal education in that way. After graduation I moved to Alaska where I coached ice skating part time and found satisfaction in that. We've now lived in Kansas for one year. This past spring I was looking into massage school and starting there, only to have the owner of the school ask me to teach one of their night classes because he was impressed with my application. There again, although I wanted to accept, I didn't feel right about it and declined, only to find out the next day that I was pregnant. I felt like it was an answer to why I didn't feel good a...

For the past month, I have been thinking about how to cultivate self-love. I think it is an important topic that many can relate to. Throughout this post I am going to highlight some tips that have worked for me to cultivate my personal self-love.  Back in September, my husband and I went to the Kansas City Temple for a date night and I asked Marshall to take some pictures for me. I didn't know that would mean a whole bunch of candid shots :-). I suppose I don't mind much, since they do a pretty nice job of capturing the mood I was in. I hope you enjoy the pictures and tips. 1. Name your inner "mean" voice. It's that voice that tells you you're ugly, fat, not good enough, (fill in the blank), even when they are obvious lies. This voice gets much of its motivation from negative media. I named mine Bertha . Isn't that an awesome name? The fun part about naming the mean voice is that it often makes you laugh when you say it because it i...

101 ways to relax.  Ahhh, just those words make me feel relaxed already!  I could have titled this post, "100 Ways to Relieve Stress," but that just doesn't sound as positive to me.  Positive thought is the first step to feeling relaxed and happy! If you have any ideas that I have missed, please feel free to share! (These ideas are in no particular order). 1. Go on a walk. Even five minutes in fresh air can do the trick! 2. Eat spicy foods (hot foods release endorphins in the body) 3. Smile 4. Call your sister 5. Bake something really yummy! 6. Deliever some of the treats you made to somebody 7. Look through a picture album 8. Write in your journal about something fun that happened in the recent past 9.  Write in your journal about one thing you're thankful for 10.  Try a new recipe 11. Buy a chocolate bar and leave it in your husband's car to surprise him 12. Listen to Latin Pop 13. Dance around your living room ...