Change of Plans

I have decided that maybe I should not be such a planner. It seems that whenever I make plans to do one thing, I end up doing something completely different. This is seemingly becoming a norm in my life. Honestly. Here is why I say that.

In my last post, I had decided to home for the upcoming weekend and attend my class reunion. The decision was made and the money sent in. Tuesday, we received notice that the reunion had been canceled. Yup, that meant that I had a whole weekend with nothing to do because I had been planning on leaving. The best part though is that, because of the change of plans, I was able to spend the weekend helping some friends move and serving others, which I truly needed. It gave me the opportunity to think more of others and less of myself.

Next, I had planned to do something with a group tonight. However a storm thundered in and lighting struck. It was loud and close enough that it seemed to shake my place... or maybe that was just me feeling me shaking, but I promise that it was the thunder. There was one clap of thunder that sounded like it hit a close-by building, with another clap of thunder right behind it. (This may be a good time to let you know that my biggest fear in the world is thunder and lightning.) This storm scared me enough that I was shaking for the next hour. Wow! Basically, that did not goes as planned either.

Basically, July was the month of plans changing plans and it has taught me a lot of things. Honestly, changes in plans can make for some fun and interesting times, as well as some well-needed help and changes.

On a side note, the focus on family has yet to subside. Basically for the past three weeks, it has become a major focus in my life. Though I am not sure why, it has been a time of great learning and has increased my desire for that exact thing.

Reunited and it Feels So Good!!!

Last night I went to dinner with an amazing friend who I don't get to see very often. She is here for the summer and it was fabulous! One of her first comments to me was that I needed to blog more, so this one is for you! ;)

After dinner, we met up with two other friends and had a RSP 11th ward reunion. Everything seemed to pickup where it had left off. These girls are great. Basically, we covered ever subject possible in one way or another. My goodness, we even talked about crazy and awkward situations, seeing people riding bikes while carrying a scooter and smoking, SNL like situations, changes, bawling in movie theaters and more. Definitely made my night, plus we got Gelatto! Pretty fabulous stuff there. I got Mamma Mia Mango. YUMMY!!!

This got me to think about how fun certain reunions can be. I was really looking forward to this one because we all know each other and have fun when we are together. Family reunions are usually something I look forward to as well. We don't have them a lot in my family, but we have certain times when we get together that I look forward to. For instance, an uncle who lives in Tennessee comes out once a year, usually in July. When he comes, if possible, I try to head home. Last year, we had one for my dad's family that was nice. It was great to see cousins that I usually don't get to see. These kind of reunions always turn out to be fun.

Which brings us to the class reunion. That's right. I have one of those coming up and am not sure what to think. I am going into it with some major trepidation. I have my reasons, but will keep those inside because nobody needs to know how odd I am. To me, they seem valid, but to others they may appear silly. However, I am thinking I will brave this one out and see how it goes. Who knows, maybe it will be a fabulous experience. If not, I don't have to go ever again, right?

Maybe the reason I am not looking forward to it is the fear of the unexpected. Not knowing what is going to happen is sometimes really hard for me. I take that back, not knowing what is going to happen is usually pretty hard on me, but I am getting better at it.

My hope is that I will leave my class reunion thinking, as I have thought with other reunions, (in the words of Peaches and Herbs) "Reunited and it Feels So Good!"

Amazing Fourth of July Fun!!!

In case you don't remember, I LOVE the Fourth of July!!! It is pretty much my favorite holiday ever!!! Basically it is in part because of the fireworks: the colors, the sounds, the smell, and all that fun stuff. Usually we spend some time as a family with a picnic and all that fun stuff. However, this year did not turn out that way. My parents were with my sister and my brother was up at school. Where I live, they do a big firework display on the Friday before. I watched those from a parking lot and hurried home after to get to so I could get up early the next morning. I thought about heading back to Poky for the big firework display, but nothing seemed to work out and the weather didn't look to promising Monday morning, so I stayed put.
A couple of friends and I went to a parade in a neighboring city. It was nice and the weather was perfect.




This was followed by some yummy food. I came home and cleaned a bit. I went to "Kung Fu Panda 2" which was good. Then it was off to a party and some fireworks in the same neighboring city. It was so fun!!! After that, we went back to a friend's house to watch some more fireworks. That totally made my day!!! Basically, this Fourth of July was AMAZING! :D Thanks to all those who were a part of it!

Help!!!

I am going to be speaking in church in a couple of weeks and the topic is a really tough one for me. Basically, here are the three topics that I need to incorporate:

~Pioneers
~Establishing a Christ-Centered Home (Conference talk from April 2011)
~Developing Celestial Traditions

As I have read through this talk and some scriptures on traditions, I realized how family-centered this talk is going to be. I feel completely out of my league. Tonight I have been searching the Internet for some pioneer stories that could be used. Does anyone have any suggestions where to look or have any stories or thoughts.

Please share!!!

Thanks! :D