Mini Accomplishments

Today I am spending time watching Stargate SG-1 reruns, working with stocks, and making myself homemade postcards of sorts.

Hulu.com is having a . . . marathon of sorts for the Stargate SG-1 Television show. Each of the episodes of the 10 seasons are online right now. I'm currently on Season 4 Episode 7. lol.

Anyways, so I'm also working on my Dad's stocks. I'm currently learning a lot from the experience. Though I've "recently" read an article discussing that my generation/age group are probably not going to get as involved into the Stock Market as the pervious generation. That we are more likely to act like our grandparents who experienced the Great Depression and become more cautious with our finances. I found a simular article as I couldn't find the one I actually read. This article is entitled "Recession Can Change a Way of Life" by Tyler Cowen, published in The New York Times.

So as I am working on the stocks and watching the TV shows, I am also making my homemade postcards. Perhaps the word "postcard" would be the wrong choice, but I'm not sure what else to call it. But in anycase, I'm making some cards, hopefully a large collection of them, for me to take with me to Idaho. This way it will be easier for me to just pull out a card, write on it, and send it on its way with the envelopes I've had since my High School Graduation announcements. So I'm using old envelopes, scrapbook paper, and cardstock. It's rather satisfying. I'm going to be able to use them to easily send on to my friends who are on their missions. I'm also going to get my mother to take a family picture of our family, so that if I wished to I could print out the photos and glue them onto the opposite side of the written side of the homemade postcard.

Confused yet? Yes, me too.

But life today has been enjoyable.

Daily Random Excitement

Haha!

So today was a Late Start Day for school, a day which my brother calls a "Lame Day". It means that school starts an hour or so later, but ends at the same time as always. It's basically like a minimum day backwards.

Both my sister and brother who experience these day truly dislike them. They like going to school early and ending the school day over. For some reason High School is none of the Walker Kid's forte. College seems to fit to the two of us who have gone though.

Anyways, my siblings still have seminary at 5:55 AM, so the whole "sleeping in" idea of the school system isn't quite going to work out.

But in anycase, when my siblings and a friend came home we made and ate waffles, sang Christmas songs, and watched Stargate SG-1 reruns.

One of the songs we sang was "Mele Kalikimaka", which means Merry Christmas in Hawaiian. Which I had no idea. Until I heard the song on the radio. Then I listend to "Feliz Navidad" because it seemed appropriate. I just then wondered if there was a French, Chinese, etc language Christmas Song for English speakers. haha. We also listened to the Muppets "12 Days of Christmas" and Miss Piggy sings about her 5 GOLD-EN Rings!

After the High School students left for school, my littlest brother emerged from bed and I made him a waffle and we watched Charlie Brown's Christmas, which my littlest brother has never seen. I decided by that point that I wished for an egg. A fried egg. But I did not want to get out clean dishes only for a few eggs. So I cracked a couple of eggs and threw them into the waffle iron.

:D

It was pretty great. It broke the yoke on one of the eggs, but the other was kept whole. What was great was that it puffed up just like an actual waffle! It was the most exciting little cooking experiment I've had for awhile!

So I entirely and strongly recommend that when making waffles that you make your scrambled or fried eggs in the waffle iron as well! Wish I had taken a picture.

Maybe next time.

The Season of Christmas

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

~Charles Dickens

20 more Days until Christmas!!!

I'm listening to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional 2010.

Christmas is a time to remember the son of God.

Time of Remembrance.

Time of Gratitude.

Time of Forgiveness.

Time of Renewal.

Time of Recommitment.

Christmas Season is a time of looking back at the Birth of the Savior,

But it should also be a time to Look Forward to the Time when the King of Kings will come to Earth again.

Look for the Good in Christmas. Much like a child. Rather than the Grinch who looked only at the material worth of the season.

Time to draw closer to our Family, our Church, and our Fellowman.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

~Isaiah 9:6

We never need give up hope.

We never need to be alone.

"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

That conviction can bring you joy.

At Christmas time this is what can be expressed no matter in what stage of life you are at.

"I came to comfort her, but I left comforted."

We remember Him and the Gifts He has given us, but what can we give Him?

1. Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit

2. Doing for others what He would do for them

3. Witness of the Savior

Examples of Love, Faith, and Service during this season can bring Joy to other's lives.

Seems the time goes ever faster as the years go past.

Christmas' that you remember best are ones that touch your heart the most.

Bringing the Christmas Spirit in your homes takes much planning, but is much rewarded.

We can take the time to serve.

Take the time to think of the Savior.

Time to more fully feel compassion.

Time to learn the true meaning of Love and the Christmas Spirit.

What can you give in the Spirit of Christmas?

There is no better time to rededicate our lives to the teachings and principles of the Savior.

Let it be a time . . .

note:

President Monson every Christmas Season rereads:

The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke

The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Luke 2

Classic Movies

I heard that Disney is not creating any more Princess movies, which is mightily depressing as they are classics and made up my childhood. I hear that they are worried about the audience; young girls who wish to be hot and do not wish to be princesses.

Now, I do know that there is a stage that some girls go through in which they do know wish to be a princess. But before that stage and after that stage you still love those princesses and admire them and hum the songs at random moments throughout the day.

Someday, I'll own all the Princess movies. Also the Pixar movies, as they are quickly become classics as well!

Snow White

(Snow White and the Seven Drawfs) 1937

Cinderella

(Cinderella) 1950

Aurora

(Sleeping Beauty) 1959

Ariel

(The Little Mermaid) 1989

Belle

(Beauty and the Beast) 1991

Jasmine

(Aladdin) 1992

Pocahontas

(Pocahontas) 1995

Mulan

(Mulan) 1998

Tiana

(The Princess and the Frog) 2009

Rapunzel

(Tangled) 2010

Then of course there are the non-Disney Princesses:

Anastasia

(Anastasia) 1997

Odette

(The Swan Princess) 1994

Pixar Movies:

(Toy Story, 1995; Toy Story 2, 1999; Toy Story 3, 2010)

(A Bug's Life, 1998)

(Monsters, Inc., 2001)

(Finding Nemo, 2003)

(The Incredibles, 2004)

(Cars, 2006)

(Ratatouille, 2007)

(WALL-E, 2008)

(Up, 2009)

Also, non-Pixar movies:

(Kung Fu Panda, 2008; Kung Fu Panda 2, 2011)

(Megamind, 2010)

 (Alpha and Omega, 2010)

(How to Train Your Dragon, 2010)

(Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, 2010)

(Despicable Me, 2010)

I LOVE these movies!

Someday, I'm going to own all of the movies.

Someday.

But,

Honestly...

Could you imagine not having these movies in a family?

These movies mark childhood in my opinion,
&
Will continue to do so.

To Know God

I was reading a talk given in General Conference October 2009 by Robert D. Hales entitled "Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ" and was faced by the following question:

"Why is belief in God so important?"

So many people in the world today do not believe in any God. Many do not even believe in themselves and others. We know that it is disappointing and depressing to not believe in God, but why is it important to believe in God? Elder Hales then said:

"Without God, life would end at the grave and our mortal experiences would have no purpose. Growth and progress would be temporary, accomplishment without value, challenges without meaning. There would be no ultimate right and wrong and no moral responsibility to care for one another as fellow children of God. Indeed, without God, there would be no mortal or eternal life."

This paragraph is arguing that question. Belief is a powerful thing. It reminds me of Peter Pan; when Tinker Bell was dying they had to say "I believe in fairies! I believe in fairies!" Now that is fictional, but having a belief in something or someone causes you to do or don't do different actions. It does not give that something or someone power just because of your belief, you give that something or someone power because of your actions. However, in God's case He has power regardless that we do not fully comprehend even though we try. But believing in God gives us the power and guidelines by which we should live. It gives us a wider range of agency. If we do not believe in God and His guidelines exist, it will still affect us. But not for the better. It affects us by it's lack. Much like a vacuum. If we were in existence in the Garden of Eden, perhaps it would be different as there would be innocence where there really would be no good nor evil. But now, ignoring it does not make it go away. The fact is, there is a God and a Savior. There is a law and for every action there is a consequence, even if the action is inaction. To believe in God, who does Live, means that there is a better world around us.

To 'know God lives' is a testimony. A testimony to be developed and expounded. A profound testimony that many in the world do not believe nor understand. To 'know God' is something that is a personal journey and cannot be based on another's knowledge. It comes from the Holy Ghost, this knowledge. As we work towards building the relationship just like we build all relationships: by spending time, by doing what is asked, by serving, by loving, by understanding. 

SuperHeros & SuperPowers

I went to my friend's mission farewell talk last Sunday and in that talk he read a portion of a letter he received years ago at EFY. A girl wrote to him and told him how when she was younger she would always say that she'd marry a superhero, but that it wasn't until that year at EFY that she discovered that missionaries are superheros.

Missionaries save people.

Missionaries serve others.

Missionaries are always 'on call'.

Missionaries work for the greater good.

Missionaries sometimes lose the girl as a result.

There were other similarities but I have a faultily memory and do not recall them.

But in the end this one girl's thesis is that Missionaries are Superheros and someday she is going to marry them. Now I thought that was somewhat enlightening, and for my friend it was something that pushed him towards becoming a missionary.

The other night as I was thinking about all of this, I had another thought:

If I could have any superpower what would it be?

I thought about this for awhile as I really wasn't sure.

Flying?

Technopathy?

Talking to animals?

Super strength?

Invisibility?

I didn't really want any of these. But then I thought of one I'd probably like to have if I could have one:

Mind-reading.

Why?

Well, I would like to have it so that I could become a better listener. I think the skill of listening is so undervalued and so underdeveloped in the majority of the population. We all wish to be heard, but not many want to listen. We think that being listened to is so much more important. It means that we are a somebody. Someone who people like. We want people to know us. However, I think that in listening comes the greater power.

As we listen, we become better at helping each other. We know what to give people for Christmas without ever asking. We become someone that people rely on. We can be trusted. We can help make people's lives better in small ways.

This is why I'd like Mind-Reading as a superpower. This way when I ask someone how they are, I know what 'I'm fine' means. I will be listening to their thoughts and help that way.

Alas, I do not have the power of mind-reading, but I do have the power to be able to listen. It is something we all have, but few take advantage of.

So LISTEN.

It's a SuperPower.

I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father has figured that out long before the rest of us.

Gettin' Ready

The past 5 nights I've been having some very interesting dreams. Dreams about traveling, making crafts, writing lists, shopping... It's been a busy few nights in my head.

Two of the things I dreamed about were getting recipes and cute magnets for my little whiteboard so I can be "ready" for my next semester in January.

So today I was rather busy.

I began by thinking of ways to make cute magnets with the things I have or have bought throughout the years that I've kept around. Fabric, glass beads, scrapbook paper...

So I had the thought that I'd make myself a flower magnet, and one made of fabric!

On to the wonderful know-it-all machine Google:

"how to make flowers out of jean material"

Haha!!!

Found it!!

And I followed the instructions until the part where they talked about using a button, because I just hot glued it to my glass bead and then the magnet.

I also cut out interesting designs from the scraps of the scrapbook paper and glued it to the magnet and then the bead over it.

This is what I've made today:

I've also gone through my cookbooks and begun the steps of finding my favorite recipes and writing them down on cards for my Recipe Card Collection. My plan is to go through and create menus so I can mix and match and figure out what it is that I'd have to have in order to actually make the food. This way I won't starve and I'd be healthier! and Hopefully, even save some money.

If anyone has some favorite recipes that they'd be willing to share with me, please oh please contact me!

:)

It has been a good day!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

It is difficult to wake oneself up at 11 pm when you went to bed at 9 and actually fell asleep.

Last night, my mother, littlest brother, and I went to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. I had been debating if I really wanted to see it and if I really wanted to watch it at midnight. But there were several arguments as to why I should go.

I had no school, work, or activities the following day (today) to discourage attending.
It would be an opportunity to just have a moment with my littlest brother as he's a HUGE fan of Harry Potter. Looking at his blog, you can tell.
It was Harry Potter. It's a phenomena in modern culture. If I had missed it what would I tell people? Especially those who are fanatics. They'd be majorly disappointed. Haha.
My mom was paying. Yay!

The end result? I went with my littlest brother and mother. It was a lot of fun! I love to see people who are the true fans all dressed up and somewhat obsessive over the movie.

However, waking up to leave was one of the most tedious things I've done for awhile. How? Well, I had actually fallen asleep. Amazing. But I was. I was also having some pretty interesting dreams/thoughts. I rather enjoyed it. But of course, when my phone alarm vibrated, I looked at the time, turned it off, rolled over, and immediately went back to sleep. To my tired mind there was no real reason as to why I should wake up. No reason at all. Yes I'd miss the movie. But oh well. Sleep is something I love. I woke up again and looked at the clock because I knew there was a very good reason why I should go and I should wake for it. But it was only 3 minutes later. That is NOT enough time to sleep in pass an alarm, so I slept again.

Eventually, I did get out of bed. My little brother was the cutest to get out of bed. I'm pretty sure that he was half asleep all the way to the movie theater. He woke when the chilly air burst upon his face when we stepped out of the car.

At the theater itself as we waited for the movie to start, people began arguing over Twilight vs. Harry Potter. Even the security peoples. It was an interesting debate to hear from the diehard fans.

It was around 3:30 AM by the time we arrived home from a good movie. An hour and a half later my sister began readying for the day. I didn't wake until 11 AM.

What an adventure it was!

A Little Better, a Little Brighter

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

~Anne Frank

(http://annefrankbiography.com/)

It's amazing to me that Anne Frank only lived a few short years and died at the age of 16 and yet has affected much of the world through her written words that were jotted down only for her audience of "Kitty".

Joan of Arc also became an influential person. She died at the age of 19 years. She helped to reclaim her country, but was captured, put on trial, and executed by being burned at the stake.

I am all of 19 years and almost 6 months. What have I done with my life? Certainly nothing like those girls I've mentioned. I have not suffered as they had. I have not fought in a war. I have not been a source of inspiration for countries, nations, and people.

However, I am still me. I influence those around me daily by what I say and do... or don't. Helping to make one person's day a little brighter is something that makes the world a little better. I know that I could be doing better. I know that I could reach just a little further to help another.

We do not need to become war leaders, presidents, or a symbol of a cause.

What we must do it make each of our "Corners of the World" a little brighter, a little better. If we each focus on the places around us, the light will shine and spread. It may move slowly. It may move backwards. But someday, sometime, it will be everywhere.

I'd like to think that is what I have done in my life. I have made the places where I've been a little better, a little brighter. 

There is always work to be done. I may have just shined one place, but it will need shining again. So we do need each other to make the work easier. But if we do our own part it does become

a little better

a little brighter.

Counting Down

My vacation is coming to an end and I'll be going back to Idaho in January. I'll miss my family. I'll miss my ward. I'll miss the kids I babysit. However, I'm excited to go back to the college life. It went by so fast last time, and I'm sure these next two semesters will be no different. I'll be home again soon enough.

What's exciting is that for the Spring semester my brother will be up at school with me! This will probably be the only semester I'll have with him as he'll be turning 19 next Fall and going on his mission. The Spring semester is the best! It's warm! It's bright and sunny! It'll be a lot of fun! and my brother will be there!!!

But I have Winter to go through first.

Today I registered for my classes. I was able to get most of the ones I wished to have. Young Adult Literature, The Developing World, Family Foundations, Essentials of Human Nutrition, Money Management, and Intro to Web Design/Development. It looks to be a fun semester!

Young Adult Literature fits with my major and is something I have an interest in. I love to read all types of books and young adult literature is always a favorite.

The Developing World will be a foundation course, but looks really quite interesting. I like to learn about other countries and how they work. I don't know how exactly that class will go, but I'm excited for it!

Family Foundations is a religion course based on The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I had a Family course the last semester, but that was for my minor. This will be a different aspect of it.

Essentials of Human Nutrition will obviously be about nutrition. I think this is an important subject matter for me to know as being healthy and being wise in one's intake is something that will be significant for me to work towards living in tip-top shape.

Money Management is a class that will be much appreciated and valued. I, as a poor college student, will hopefully learn the wisdom and knowledge of how to best handle my money throughout my life. It also happens to work for my minor.

My Intro to Web Design/Development class will be for me to know more about, well, Web Designing and such. My brother is into computer programing and it might be helpful for me to know these things in the future.

In anycase, I am rather excited for this next semester. It'll be cold, but it'll be fun!

A few more weeks.