“If you don’t believe in miracles perhaps you’ve forgotten you are one.” I’m sure there are those who wonder if miracles are real, but I love the quote that says “We live on a blue planet that circles around a ball of fire next to a moon that moves the sea, and you don’t believe […]

“In the long run the pessimist may be proven right, but the optimist had a better time on the trip.” –Daniel L. Reardon I love Brian Tracy. He is a motivational speaker who has some great books and audio recordings that have helped me a lot over the years. He shares some thoughts on the […]

Most days when it rains outside we tend to feel bummed out about it and we seem to behave a little less cheery those days. But something happened last weekend that reminded me how easily we can rectify that. It was a bright yellow raincoat just hanging on the rack at the Mall. My 20 […]

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you had an awesome holiday today. For those who are wondering what Labor Day is about, don’t feel bad…I myself have celebrated Labor Day holiday my entire life but never really thought about why we had the holiday or what the holiday was about. I always just thought of […]

The only way to chase out the darkness is to turn on the light. I am not a fan of evil or trashy books or shows. The reason for that is that they always seem to create a feeling of darkness that lingers in the house and I cannot stand that feeling. It leaves you […]

The last day of August really is like the Sunday of Summer….it’s like the night before you have to go back to real life again…summer vacations are over, school has started, and we are no longer able to lose all track of what day of the week it is….darn it! Yes, having August come to […]

Tonight my husband and I attended a political fundraiser event that I was on the host committee for where politicians from both sides of the aisle participated in a talent show / variety show. There was everything from legislators performing a Riverdance celtic dance to Congresswomen singing Broadway tunes from Wicked and Hamilton to the […]

The older we get the more we realize how much better life is if we are just willing to learn things the easy way – like by listening to those who have been there and done it and who have the experience to give us advice on avoiding pitfalls we will face. In the early […]

“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.”   Oh, how I love that quote. And it is such a great reminder for all of us that have the blessing of being a parent. I remember throughout the growing up years of my children when they would ask me […]

This week I have been sharing life lessons I learned during my family trip through the Mediterranean on the Disney Magic cruise ship where we visited Spain, Italy, France, and Monaco. To wrap up my posts for this week I will share the biggest life lesson I gleaned from my trip – “Where there is […]

Our first three stops on the cruise were all locations in Italy. I happen to LOVE Italy. A few years back my brother and his family were living in Rome and we had come to stay with them for several weeks and we absolutely fell in love with the country…after all, they do food better […]

The next life lesson I learned on my European Adventure came about the day we boarded our Disney Cruise ship in Barcelona. I have taken many other cruises before but never have I gone on a Disney cruise. For one they charge significantly more than other cruise lines so I have always opted for the […]

I promised this week I would share some life lessons I learned during my families recent European Adventure. Today I want to start by sharing my experience in Spain, specifically, during my visit to the Lladro factory in Valencia, Spain. First I need to explain my love for Lladro porcelain statues. My Mother once received […]

Over the last two weeks my husband and I and our son Dalton and his wife Alexis and our daughter Ashley all went together on a European Family Adventure! We planned this trip to be our first family trip of just our own family because we wanted our daughter Ashley to get to know her […]

Since my daughter Ashley has gotten home from her mission she constantly says the word “Retweet” whenever we say anything she agrees with. So today, in honor of her, I thought I would “Retweet” a blog she wrote for me back when she was only 17 years old. It was such a great blog that […]

“She[/he} was never meant to be a common creature – extraordinary takes time.” Can I just say how much I love that quote – do you want to know why? Because it is so easy to go through life being so hard on yourself for not being perfect right this second, when the reality is […]

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.”  –Michelangelo Talk about a man who didn’t aim low in his life! Michelangelo was only 25 years old when he finished carving the statue known as […]

We have only one life to live. That is why it is so important to decide how you will choose to live your one remarkable story! Do you want to try to accomplish incredible things, or do you want to sit on the sidelines too afraid of failure to ever take the risk of even […]

“Today before you think of saying an unkind word– think of someone who can’t speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food– think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife– think of someone who is crying out to God for a companion. Today before you […]

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he […]

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They […]

I happen to have two of the most adorable dogs in the universe. They are super tiny and so so cute and our family loves those two dogs tremendously. Not only are they adorable, but if you observe dogs in general them they will teach you so many great life lessons. I found this list […]

“Laugh. Laugh as much as you can. Laugh until you cry. Cry until you laugh. Keep doing it even if people are passing you on the street saying, “I can’t tell if that person is laughing or crying, but either way they seem crazy, let’s walk faster.” Emote. It’s okay. It shows you are thinking […]

Last week my family and I went down to Lake Powell for the week to host our kids and their college friends for a welcome home celebration trip for our daughter Ashley. We knew she had missed Lake Powell vacations tremendously while she had been serving her mission for 18 months so we made it […]

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” – Henry David Thoreau You could take a group of people and have them all look at the very same situation and yet later if you asked each person what they saw they will likely describe having seen different things. That’s because everyone’s […]

Yesterday I wrote about something called Gratitude Deficit Disorder and I shared a few ideas on how to overcome the disorder and increase your feelings of Gratitude each day in order to become happier. The next step toward being EVEN HAPPIER is to express our gratitude to others! “Thank You” – that is one of […]

Gratitude Deficit Disorder is an ailment that far too many people suffer from. I don’t personally think that people intentionally catch this ailment…I think people catch it as a result of getting too busy and letting life drive them instead of them driving their life. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but the good […]

“If you want to appreciate what you have, imagine your life without it.” It’s an unfortunate thing, but it is all too often the case – In life it is so easy to fall into the trap of not appreciating all that we have. Whether it’s a person, or an experience, or a material possession, […]

Last weekend my family and I headed up to Idaho to visit my husband Rollin’s family for the Anderson family reunion. My husband comes from the most amazing parents – I truly lucked out getting his parents as my in-laws when we got married. Rollin’s family is awesome. His family has eleven children and they […]

I LOVE McDonald’s. Yep it’s true…so there…I’ve said it…and I will not feel any shame for having admitted it because as far as I am concerned a McDonald’s Happy Meal is truly the happiest meal in the world. Perhaps its because it not only comes with the perfect size meal to fill you up wihtout […]