Tag Archives: grateful

Love Isn’t Love Til You Give It Away

Do you remember how fun Valentine’s Day was when you were a kid? You would spend hours making your cute little cardboard mailbox out of the empty Quaker Oats container or an old shoe box. You would cover it with colored construction paper and then put cute heart stickers on it, and don’t forget the […]

Some People, Good People, And Extraordinary People

“Some people see the glass half empty. Good people see the glass half full. But extraordinary people are just grateful for the glass!”  That quote came today in the weekly email letter I get from my daughter Ashley on her mission and I loved it so much I had to share it with everyone. What […]

Groundhog Day Says We’re Going to Have To Make Our Own Sunshine

With all of the amazing technology we employ today it’s amazing the credibility we attribute to the shadow of a little brown rodent each Groundhog Day. But every year I admit that, I along with everyone else, wait to hear whether Phil saw his shadow or not. It never fails to bum me out when […]

Don’t let yourself take any of it for granted

This last week has been an absolute whirlwind! It has been back to back events for the Sundance Film Festival. I wish I could sit and write every amazing experience I have had this week but it would result in far too long of a blog for anyone to want to read. I will tell […]

Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it’s inspiring.

What impact do you want to have? How do you want to influence your world? In each of our lives, at some point we will find ourselves in a position of influence. It may be influence that comes as a result of a talent in filmmaking, or acting, or music, or writing, or speaking, or […]

If the world was blind how many people would you impress?

If the world was blind how many people would you impress? What a great question to consider. We live in a world that applauds beauty. After all, beauty attracts the eye. When there is a thing of beauty we stop and take notice. We are drawn to a person of beauty…at least momentarily. So we spend […]

The Power of One

“Never question the power of one! Throughout history it has been the actions of only one person who has inspired the movement of change.” – Steve Maraboli Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I would be remiss if I didn’t express gratitude for the amazing life he lived and the example he set […]

Life is supposed to be Fun…The Joy is in the Journey

Today I want to write about JOY! And being HAPPY! Because I had a pity party for myself last night where I got all my tears and sadness out and I woke up today and decided that it is time for me to follow the advice my brilliant daughter Ashley gives me anytime I feel […]

Don’t Take A Single Moment For Granted

Yay! I am so excited that Christmas break has officially begun and both my kiddos come home from college tonight to spend the holidays back at home with us!  BEST PRESENT EVER!!! Having your family back together again is the absolute best gift in the world.  For me this will be our first Christmas together […]

A little laughter to brighten your day

Sometimes something as simple as a funny little quote can totally make you laugh and brighten your entire day. I love it when I am having a down day and then someone comes along with a funny quote that makes me laugh out of the blue.  My kids send me hysterical quotes in text messages […]

Make a List and Check it Twice and Every Day!

Before I get into tonight’s blog topic I just wanted to share that last Friday night I was able to go to a huge Christmas concert which featured the star of the Disney animated feature film Frozen (one of my favorite Disney films), Santino Fontana who plays Hans in Frozen, singing with the world famous […]

Never Suppress A Generous Thought

In our cities so full of hustle and bustle it is amazing to watch how people are so absorbed in their own thoughts that they barely notice one another as they hurry past each other on the streets.  Often times we see someone lost or someone who dropped something on the ground and is struggling […]

December is the “Friday” of the Months

Seriously, don’t you just LOVE December! It really is like the Friday of the months…the month you look forward to all year and you relish it, wishing it wouldn’t have to end. It just seems like we spend more time with family and friends just being HAPPY during December, and it is so nice!  December […]

Stop and Thank the People Who Make A Difference in our Lives

On this week that we celebrate Thanksgiving, I cannot think of a better way to honor this holiday than to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. When I stop and really think about all the people who have made a difference in my life I am overwhelmed with how […]

Forgiving Doesn’t Require Forgetting

We have all heard the term “Forgive and Forget”, and some people have heard that phrase so much that they begin to think that the two must work together.  They mistakenly think that “Forgiving” someone requires you to “Forget” what the other person did to you  – That is simply incorrect – Forgiving someone does […]

Warning – This Might Make You Cry!

No doubt that the contents of this post may in fact lead you to cry.  It certainly made me cry!  I was watching the news a few days ago when I heard them announce that Garth Brooks was going to be performing on the show that morning. I was so excited when I heard that […]

The Best Part of Life is When Your Family Becomes Your Best Friend

There is very little in life that we value more than a true friend.  And if you are truly lucky in life, you get to have the privilege of having that true friend also be a member of your own family. This afternoon some things happened that made for a really tough day emotionally. Toward […]

Redefine Failure (Forbes Article)

Fear of failure is said to be the greatest barrier to one’s success, which makes total sense given that our fear of failure is what stops us from making attempts in the first place. Yet, can anyone blame us for fearing failure? Just think about it, from the first moment we are born we begin […]

The Friends We Choose

“If you find yourself racing through life, slow down long enough to take along some good friends.”  – L. Tom Perry This last week I was reminded of how blessed I am to have amazing friends in my life.  My husband and I were able to spend last week with a group of 15 friends […]

Be thankful for the bad things in life

“Be thankful for the bad things in life.  They open your eyes to see the good things you weren’t paying attention to before.” A story about something that happened this weekend will help explain why I started today with that quote. Friday night my husband and I were invited to watch the BYU Football game […]

Just Remember Life Goes On

“You have to take the good with the bad, smile when you’re sad, love what you’ve got and remember what you had. Always forgive but never forget, learn from your mistakes but never regret, people change, things go wrong, just remember life goes on…” Tonight as I was FaceTiming with each of my kids I […]

Time Management and the Parable of the Rocks

Getting back into work after being gone for the summer has made for a hectic week so far. As I started to go through all of the meeting requests and emails and calls I missed the last few months in order to prioritize them, the memory of a parable I once heard came to my mind. […]

“I’m Grateful For All The Things My Parents Didn’t Do For Me”

Tonight I received a phone call from one of my dearest friends who is out of the country right now traveling.  He said he was thinking about me and my husband today because he realized I was probably saddened with my kids leaving off to college and he just wanted me to know he was […]

Making Memories

“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.” This summer has been such a special time for me. I have been able to have so much fun with my children and the memories we will walk away from this summer with will be with me forever.  The most interesting […]

A few words of advice for kids leaving home to college for the first time

First off you need to know that your parents are freaking out right now that their babies are leaving home for the first time.  Know that this is a hard time for them so be patient and kind with your parents the next few weeks…they are not trying to hold you back…they just don’t want […]

Breaking Bad Habits

Today I am going to share a very impactful analogy that a counselor once shared with me. It was an analogy that literally changed my life and I hope that it can help some of you that might be facing challenges in breaking bad habits that are holding you back from finding real happiness, so […]

“Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”

In all of living, have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.  –Gordon B. Hinckley What an important reminder.  You would think it would be a no-brainer that life is meant to be enjoyed, but I think the reality is that it is not.  It is so easy to […]

THE WORDS WE SAY

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” -Buddha Words are such a powerful thing. Especially the words we speak. They can build up or tear down, hurt or heal, uplift or destroy. I personally believe that words, when unkind, […]

The Most Beautiful People

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not […]

“Every New Beginning Comes From Some Others Beginnings End.”

When a happy time of life comes to an end it is hard, plain and simple.  Tomorrow I will be attending my daughter Ashley’s High School Graduation. It is a major life event for a young person.  Ashley had an amazing High School experience. She was surrounded by good friends and she chose to be […]