Outside the Window

Today I decided to track down one of the writing prompts that are on the main lists floating around Pinterest.  This list has 365 Creative Writing Prompts.  The prompt is:

What’s the weather outside your window doing right now? If that’s not inspiring, what’s the weather like somewhere you wish you could be?

It is winter in the Uintah Basin (Utah) which either means one or two things.  There is a ton of snow on the ground or it is bitterly cold outside.  With this year being an El Nino year, we have had a lot of snow--like days on end of snow at some point.  We got pretty pounded today, but a lot of melted so I'm not sure how much we actually got but I would say at least 2 inches on top of the foot already on the ground outside my house. My phone says it's 21 degrees outside, which is actually not that cold.  If we don't gain any cloud cover tonight it will probably bitterly cold in the morning.  Not excited about that at all.

I would love to be some place where I could go to the beach anytime I wanted.  All the white/grey is starting to get old.  This is the beach that would be great to go and sit and just read all day.  No work, no responsibilities, and warm weather with no stuffy noses and coughs.

I know it is generic....but this picture looks like a great idea

School Starts Tomorrow...

This is too late for me to be posting...and I didn't get a chance to plan out posts today.  Maybe I will tomorrow.  The sad thing is that I keep thinking of things that I really need to do tomorrow....so I'm not sure if I will get to it tomorrow or not.  Yeah this is real...

Pros and Cons of 365....

Okay...so I'm still trying to figure this out.  I'm going to take a cue from Rory Gilmore--and do a pro con list

Pros:

• It gives me something besides work to do everyday.
• It forces me to write everyday which I know is good for me.
• I like being able to talk about books, knitting, teaching, and I want to add in some more journal writing type ideas.
• It might force me to use some better time management.
• Might help me to get a brand off the ground, which I do think about a lot.
• It is important to have accountability which this blog is giving me

Cons:

• It is really hard to come up with topics to write about everyday.
• The last time I tried this while working at my current job, I was often too tired and it was too late to write--which is actually kind of sad about my "new" job that I thought would give me more time.
• Getting too personal that I cross professional/ethical/moral boundaries
• Is there something else that I really should be doing with my time?
• My computer is being silly...at some point I might have to replace this thing if I decide to keep this up

What if I can't do it....it looks like the pros are winning but just barely....maybe I should start planning

From Pinterest

Priorities

Today has been a day where I have been super overwhelmed with everything that I have to accomplish--and honestly I really don't feel like this blog post is a huge priority right now.  However, I am grateful that I have an outlet to write, even if I only write for a minute or two everyday. I feel like it is a lot of who I am--to express myself.  I don't see myself as a writer per se, which is why I think I like doing this blog because I would like to become a writer.

Book of Mormon Challenge

So it is a two post day as I make the effort to catch up...and I thought these were a great two to post together.   I found out about this blog over the weekend. This sweet mom has been helping the sister missionaries in her area that are going through a hard time, and with their help she has set up a 40 Days and 40 Nights challenge.

To sum up, she has challenged everyone to read the Book of Mormon in 40 Days and 40 Nights...starting on the 16th to be done at the end of the year.  Yes days and nights--that is the only way to really get this done.  And it is a great challenge to me because she doesn't want this challenge to just be for people who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but any one who is interested in giving a gift to Christ this holiday season.  She even has an alternate challenge for people who would rather read the Bible with a schedule for the New Testament, which I am going to try to do after the first of the year.

In addition, she has paired the other two little things that I think makes a great scripture study--prayer and journal writing.  To me, prayer makes scripture study more meaningful and journal writing helps our testimonies to really grow. Also--as if it couldn't get any better--she has highlighted a section of verses for each day to really focus on and they have been great so far.

So I didn't really start until the 17th....but I am glad that I had just started the Book of Mormon over again because I was actually a little bit ahead instead of behind her schedule.  The schedule is going to be a bit grueling, and I have a feeling I might spend some Sundays catching up--but that's ok in my book.  Last night, as I began in earnest--I felt motivated to achieve my goal which was new with my scripture study--I haven't had an achievable goal with that in awhile. And I felt the Spirit stronger last night than I have the last two--so I am excited to see how this goes.

I encourage you to join up on which ever challenge fits you--you aren't too far behind and it won't be too hard to catch up!

Thank you again to http://countrymomatheart.com for this great idea!

Importance of Records

I struggled today with what to write about…but I started to think about a conversation I was having with my grandmother today.  She was talking about her aunt…her mother’s sister. She had never had children so her stories and history died with her—unless someone in the family had kept something which no one knew for sure.  And then we were talking about another ancestor previous to that who had emigrated from Sweden to the United States and no one knew exactly why.  As much as I hate journal writing because I think I have a boring life, it is important for people later on.

I am very curious about how people lived before—hence the history buff in me.  I like to hear about the little stories of their childhoods, and how they lived before.  It makes you wish that you could talk to them and ask them questions---why did you do this or that? Or did it just make sense at the time?  Were you really in love with that widow or did you just marry her for her money?  We don’t know the thought processes of people that come before unless they write it down. 

So I guess that’s a good thing about my blogging this year—it is like keeping a journal, though I don’t always write about the daily things. However, I do write about what I think and what my thought processes are. And that is better than no record at all.

From productivemuslim.com 

Inspired by a Quote Today

Today's quote is:

You're alive only once, as far as we know, and what could be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing you hadn't lived it?  --Edward Albee

Edward Albee apparently was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright whose birthday is today (therefore Goodreads' quote of the day). So it seems appropriate that this quote has inspired me today.  I had the opportunity to travel to Salt Lake City yesterday and return today.  For work, I went to a Social Media Marketing seminar with a fellow co-worker (more about that a different day).  One of the things about driving to Salt Lake City from Roosevelt--is it is a 3 hour car ride.  We had an audio book all keyed up to play if we needed it--but surprisingly we spent the whole car ride up there and back just talking back and forth.  We traded stories from our lives and it was SO much fun.  While I won't call this co-worker old....its not hard to have more life experience than me with how young I am.  I love hearing about her experiences.  I hope that I continue to have great experiences in life that I can share with other people--and not get to the end of my life wishing I had more.

I think that's one of the biggest reasons that I need to keep going with this blog. As hard as it is some days to  come up with what to write--I need to share my experiences with others and mostly myself too.  I forget sometimes the little things that have happened.  My job lends itself for everything to blur together.  Writing about it will help everything not to blur together so easily. I tried to do a write down one positive thing from each day in a journal--and I got out of the habit with that.  I think that's why I am so determined to not give up on this blog writing. I have a habit now! So I hope you keep sticking with me through it all :)

P.S. Shout out to my two newest followers Christine and Lyndsey--it was so cool to see the follower number go up for the first time in a while :)

Hmm no picture yet...I should get one with Kathy and I and post it later :)