M is for Magazines

Yesterday's post I talked about the quotes from General Conference that stood out to me the last few months.  This year, I have been making an effort to read the Ensign each month. I have been wanting to share some quotes from these magazines on here---so in the effort to catch up here are some of those quotes.

Life is full of obstacles, some of which seem insurmountable.  We are to endure them cheerfully and faithfully.  By so doing, we will ultimately return to live with God forever.--Elder Lansing January 2014 Ensign

As I have been dealing with the obstacles that life has thrown at me, I have been trying to do the cheerful thing.  This was a welcome quote to remind me that there is more than just the things in this life.

Many times we lose sight of our divine purpose and the Lord's promises, and the world's measuring stick can cause us to think we are less than adequate.  As Elder Wirthlin pointed out, however, the measure of our creation is to reach the exaltation and eternal life promised to those who remain faithful and obedient.--Joshua Larsen from January 2014 Ensign

This goes along with the previous quote---just sticking to that eternal perspective is so important.

There is no more solid foundation than faith in the love Heavenly Father has for you,  faith in His plan of happiness, and faith in the willingness and power of Jesus Christ to fulfill all His promises.--Elder Richard G. Scott February 2014 Ensign

It has been an unsure and unsteady time--but Heavenly Father can get us through.

I am still getting through March 2014's issue. Nothing has really spoken to me yet--but that just means you'll have to check back for future inspirational moments.

L is for Latter-day Saints

In the spirit of catching up, I have wanted to do a Sunday feature on this blog for the past few months.  Yeah, it isn't Sunday but I thought I would share what I wanted this feature to be.  I wanted to share some quotes and ideas of what I have learned spiritually over the course of the week.  These might be scriptures, quotes from the prophets or the Church magazines, and they might just be random thoughts that have run through my head. I thought today with it being L, doing LDS would be a good choice to help me catch up a bit of the thoughts I have had and the quotes that I wanted to share.

Before I get too far, I wanted to talk a little about LDS. LDS stands for Latter-day Saints.  It is a quick acronym people use because we are lazy.  But I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  By latter-day, it shows that we are apart of the same Church that Christ established during his ministry, just we belong to it in this day too.

We believe that God speaks through his prophets to us on this earth right now. As members of the Church, we participate in General Conference which allows the prophets to instruct us in what we need to hear.  We just got done with General Conference on the first weekend in April, and we won't have another session until October.  However, in between we are encouraged to read and ponder the messages received at the last conference and any other conferences previously.  I have become very fond of one particular speaker, Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

This is President Uchtdorf

President Uchtdorf is in the presiding body of the Church called the First Presidency. He is a sweet man from Germany-his accent is great.  And he says things that I usually need to hear.  I have been really studying two of his talks the last few months and I want to share a quote from each (which is going to be hard because there are soo many!).

In the October conference he gave a talk called, "You Can Do it Now!" In it he said:

Stand tall and walk in the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! You are stronger than you realize. You are more capable than you can imagine. You can do it now! 

I loved this because life can be really hard sometimes.  But I know that I can make it through with the Savior by my side.

The other talk was from October 2011 called, "You Matter to Him".  In this talk he reminded me how much my Heavenly Father loves me.  He said:

My dear brothers and sisters, it may be true that man is nothing in comparison to the greatness of the universe. At times we may even feel insignificant, invisible, alone, or forgotten. But always remember—you matter to Him! 

The power in which he says those words just reaffirms to my soul how much my Heavenly Father does love me.

I am grateful to be a Latter-day Saint because I can receive the guidance and direction I need to help me through life's hardest challenges.

K is for Kimberly

So....K has been alluding me for an idea.  My catch-up ideas were not working for the letter K.  So tonight, I said to my husband--I need a word that starts with K to write about.  And he was like "K is for Kimberly..." in this "duh" why haven't you thought of this tone.  And I was like yes it does....but how do I write some thing about my name.  And he starts with suggestions....and then I stop him and I'm like that doesn't go with my theme of "catching-up" on what I haven't written this year.  And I love him for this---he said, "It will catch people up on who you are that haven't ever been to your blog before--and isn't that the point of this thing." So I now have my idea!!! This one will be a tricky one to write but here goes nothing.

The first suggestion my husband gave me about my name was actually pretty good--explain why my name is Kimberly not Kim.  It's actually become a pretty good way for me to know if people actually know me or not by which name they call me. So, my mother named me Kimberly because she liked the name.  As a kid I thought that was a lame answer because you seem to want to have a meaning to your name like other kids.  But now that I'm older I get that more.  But at school people would call me Kim--teachers/other students/friends etc.  And I didn't really care.  My mother would always tell me to correct people and I didn't like doing that.  She would even tease me when someone would call the house asking for "Kim".  One of my best friends in high school was Kim too and we had fun being Kim squared.

As I got older, I started to care like that I was Kimberly and not Kim. I'm not sure if it was because of maturity, if I finally understood what my mother had been telling me all these years (I named you Kimberly and that is your name!), or if I realized that I actually had a preference. But I had been Kim/Kimberly for so long in one place that it was hard to really fathom correcting that many people. When I went to college I made a commitment to correct people I met no matter what. As a result, everyone there called me Kimberly and knew me by that name.  That commitment was tested pretty well with my husband ironically.  We were on our first date and he was calling me Kim.  I really liked this guy--and I didn't want to offend him with correcting him--but I also didn't want to actually start dating him and have him be calling me the wrong name.  So I remember sitting in his car waiting for the other couples to catch up to go into the house where we were all going to play games. And I just said it--and he was so understanding.  He even has started correcting people for me.

The ironic thing is that some people still never catch on no matter how much I correct them--but that really is a test of someone's commitment to a relationship in my mind.  If they take the time to learn someone's name (and I have noticed even how to spell it), it shows that they really care about building that relationship with you.

J is for JoAnn's

So in the spirit of continuing to catch-up, I wanted to share this picture of a happy Saturday a little while back.  Living in small town Utah, any time I wanted yarn or knitting supplies, I either had to order it or wait until I went out to the city (2 hours away). Then a few weeks ago, a JoAnn's opened 30 minutes away! I have gone almost every weekend that they have been opened.  I have doubled my bamboo knitting needle supplies.  I now feel like I can do two projects at the same time, because I have access to the resources.

I cannot express in words very well how exciting this is.  It is a brand-new shiny store.  And knitting has really gotten me through the last little while. It has really also made me want to take up scrap-booking seriously and sewing.  There is so much I can get now!!!

This is the new yarn that I got on the first weekend opening:






My yarn organization is finally done:

I is for Insurgent (Book Review)

So I did a review for Allegiant on the first day---and saved Insurgent for today with I.  I am so glad that I am getting caught up.

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Genre: Dystopian/YA

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Why Did I Read? I really really enjoyed Divergent--and this was what came next :)

Summary: I finished this book in December-so again I'm using a Goodreads summary. Which might contain spoilers One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

What Did I Love: You really get to know Tris and Tobias a lot more-I like how the characters are developed more

  

What Did I Hate: I felt like Divergent was a lot better--this one just seemed to move a bit slow. The character development was great, but the plot development was lower.  It also didn't seem to be really moving much forward--just getting it so Divergent and Alleigant weren't too long.

H is for How I Met Your Mother

So on March 31st, the series finale of How I Met Your Mother aired.  And it was one of those bittersweet moments.  It was sweet in the fact that they were ending it the way they wanted to and not because they were cancelled by the network.  It was bitter in the fact that you don't want one of your favorite shows to end--but it is.

It has been a very controversial ending, and I immediately thought of the fact that I didn't have an "H" when I saw it....so my opinion needed to go up on this blog.  So here comes the next catch-up! WARNING! If for some reason you haven't seen it/don't want spoilers I will understand if you stop reading now.

Should it have ended with the mom dying?
Eh, not my favorite.  It makes sense as to why she kind of seems like a distant memory the whole series. However, I did really like the mom and it was just too bad.

Should Ted have ended up with Robin?
I have been saying this for most of the series.  I was crushed when they ended the pilot with....your Aunt Robin.  I was really upset when they couldn't figure out how to make it work when they actually did have a real relationship.  And honestly the kids are right...he does seem to spend a lot of time talking about her in the stories.  And it does explain why they stay friends for so long.

HOWEVER--here is what I didn't like about the series finale:

• I had really gotten use to the Barney and Robin.  I liked them as a couple. They tried, and failed--they could have just left it there.  But then they persevered in the relationship--which makes us commit! They seemed to work and fit.  It was nice to see Barney be more normal and Robin to be happy with someone.  I HATED how they got divorced like 5 min. after the wedding.  I mean really...we spent this entire season going through three days of them getting married at a snail's pace and then it is just gone in a second!
• Again....we spend the whole season in three days--and then a whole hour in like 20 years; some balance would have been nice
• The HORRIBLE editing job....which sounding like after reading a Josh Radnor interview...they actually filmed together...so then why did we have to have it like that?!

Things I Have Learned Since Watching

• The creators did keep writing the whole series...it wasn't like they left and came back to do the last few episodes. They didn't write each one the whole time anyway--but they were involved the whole time
• CBS has commissioned How I Met Your Dad---I don't know how I feel about this.  If it like this article implies, the same idea just from mom's perspective--we know she dies at the end so what's the point. 
• They had an alternate ending---and will put it on the DVD....might actually have to get that (I wasn't thinking this before because they are on Netflix)
• I read one article which told everyone who was mad to go back and watch the pilot...it will make more sense.  I have now--and yes it actually does.  I am now going to watch the whole series and see if it feels better at the end. We shall see.

G is for Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven #3) Book Review

So as I mentioned yesterday, I have been just reading the Fablehaven series and I haven't written any reviews about it yet!  So even though this is the third book, it fits with today's letter :)  I will get all four on here before the end of A to Z! I finished this back in January, at least I keep my Goodreads account somewhat updated :)

Title: Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven #3)

Author: Brandon Mull

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 5

Why Did I Read? Continuing along the series...by here he had me hooked!

Summary: (again stolen from Goodreads) Strange things are afoot at Fablehaven. Someone or something has released a plague that transforms beings of light into creatures of darkness. Seth discovers the problem in its infancy, but as the infectious disease spreads, it becomes clear that the preserve cannot hold out for long. 
In dire need of help, the Sorensons question where to turn. The Sphinx has always given sound advice–but is he a traitor? Inside the Quiet Box, Vanessa might have information that could lead to a cure–but can she be trust? Meanwhile, Kendra and members of the Knights of the Dawn must journey to a distant preserve and retrieve another hidden artifact. Will the Society of the Evening Star recover it first? Will the plague eclipse all light at Fablehaven?

What Did I Love: I liked how this one allowed Seth's character to grow a bit more.  Yes I still have the moments of really why is he doing that, and I can't really trust him.  But I liked how he is getting his own powers and starting to really contribute.

What Did I Hate: I didn't really hate anything about this one. I rated it in the moment, and to be honest I can't really remember why it was a 4 over a 5 or a 4.5.  But I do remember thinking that this story didn't grab my interest as much--it was becoming a bit predictable.  Fablehaven is always about ready to be destroyed.