“The most beautiful people I know are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These people have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion and a deep loving concern.” -author unknown People who have been […]
Tonight my husband and I were invited to go to the Governor’s mansion to celebrate Diwali. Diwali is a five day Hindu festival known as the Festival of Lights and it is one of the biggest holidays of the year in India. This festival is as important to Hindus as Christmas is to Christians. During […]
“Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along.” – Rae Smith Ya know every now and then you just have to have that momentary break down…that day when you break down and cry…when you fall apart just a little bit…it […]
Anyway People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and […]
Today I heard about one of the coolest ideas ever so I couldn’t help but share it with all of you. In 2012, a woman decided that for her birthday, rather than having anyone give her gifts, she instead challenged all her friends to perform a random act of kindness for someone else on her […]
Hug O’ War I will not play at tug o’ war. I’d rather play at hug o’ war, Where everyone hugs Instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, And everyone grins, And everyone cuddles, And everyone wins. – Shel Silverstein When someone tries to pick a fight with […]
I came across a story today that really touched me. This story is an amazing reminder for all of us to express our love to our families and friends. Life is full of uncertainty and we should never let a day pass without having those in our lives know how much we love them. The […]
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit- Rest if you must, but don’t you quit. Life is […]
Today was an exciting, whirlwind of a day. First I attended my board meeting for the Governor’s Economic Development Board that I serve on for the State of Utah, and then I ran over to attend the Women’s Tech Awards where I was humbled to receive their Impact Award at a large luncheon. Next I […]
When is the last time you were in a parade? Like actually in the parade itself? Marching down the street smiling and waving at the crowds along the route as you enjoy the music of the marching band… For me it was today as I drove the homecoming royalty (which included my daughter) in the back […]
At least that is what I am telling myself tonight. Today was…well….not the best day. I was over at our new home construction site meeting with plumbers, electricians, framers, etc doing a walk through when I turned right smack into a huge wood beam that was setup to temporarily hold up one of the walls. […]
When my kids were little time-out at our house consisted of sending the kids to sit in the “happy chair” where they would have to stay until they were able to be happy again. Our “happy chair” was a bright yellow chair with a sunshine and happy kids painted on it – all designed to […]
Feeling bored with your daily job? Tired of saying and doing the same thing day after day? We all get that way at some point – feeling like life is stale and like we are stuck in the movie Groundhog Day where it starts to feel like each day is repeating itself over and over […]
“Make Just One Someone Happy. And You Will Be Happy To.” – Jimmy Durante. I love that song btw. If you haven’t listened to it in a while you totally should listen to it again. It’s fabulous. This last week I have been so grateful to all of my daughter’s dear friends who have come by […]
All of us have worries and concerns in life. Things we are scared of. Things we are dreading. Worries about what “might” happen or what “might not” happen. It seems that there is a truly endless supply of things to spend our time being worried about. Yet, at the end of the day does the […]
Sometimes we get so busy living our lives that we forget to slow down enough to make time for our friends. I have been guilty of that myself over the years, especially with working such crazy hours for so many years of my life. Taking time off this summer to spend with my family has […]
Today I was reminded of the importance of the smallest kind act: a simple smile, holding the door open for someone, saying hello, giving a compliment, lending a hand, being a friend. So many times we think to ourselves that we want to be a good person and do something kind for someone, yet when we […]
Okay so I saw the best you tube video ever made regarding male and female communications today as it was played on the morning news show. I seriously could not stop laughing when I watched it. It is a MUST WATCH FOR EVERYONE! I kid you not. It is only 1 minute 42 seconds, but […]
This past weekend I was able to go with my husband and our daughter to Disney in Los Angeles to see the World Premier of the movie The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger. For those who are not aware, a good majority of the film was […]
Breathtaking – what a great word! It’s the best word I can think of when I drive up the road toward my home, set into the side of a beautiful mountain in Utah. The weather is amazing, the trees are green, the flowers are blooming and all I can think is…breathtaking! We don’t take enough […]
My day started out on a great note. I was getting things done this morning and feeling a good sense of accomplishment. But by the time 10:00pm rolled around and I was just pulling into my garage from a very long and frustrating day, I was feeling grumpy and stressed out. As I came in […]
A while back I was able to attend a seminar by Dr. John Lund on communication where he gave some amazing advice on how to better communicate with others. His input was simple and easy to follow, yet powerful. The best quote of the entire event was this: “Don`t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate […]
Over the past several years there have been many of us who have dealt with tragedy and loss: with everything from illness, to injuries, to the loss of loved ones. Some have shared their losses openly with those around us, such as I did with the death of my best friend Steve Gasser a few […]
For those of you have followed my blogs the last few years you know that every now and then, when we are really lucky, my teenage daughter Ashley will write a guest blog for us, which tend to be everyone’s favorite blogs (especially mine). Today I had to give the keynote speech at an early morning […]
I woke up this morning to the most amazing surprise. An email from a total stranger sharing a heartfelt, sincere, yet simple thank you for the positive impact my blog was having on his life. I was blown away at the impact this man’s simple, kind words had on me. I was genuinely choked up […]
So it’s tax day April 15th. Oh my gosh there is just no way to say that without bringing everyone’s mood down into the dumpster. So for my blog today I thought I would put together a list of suggestions of things you can do to help get over the sadness and gloom that comes […]
There is little that I enjoy more than spending quality time with a group of great friends. Today I went to the BYU Founders Board Meeting (Brigham Young University board I serve on). It was a great meeting and I truly joy serving with such amazing board members. All are highly successful people who place integrity and […]
I can hardly believe it is already April 1st! All I know is that I am super excited for Spring to finally bring some warm weather to Utah. It has been a crazy cold winter and I, for one, am not a big fan of the cold. It makes me so incredibly happy to walk […]
Last night my daughter came in to tell me about her day. She was clearly in a really good mood despite the fact she wasn’t feeling well still. As she started to tell me about her day she was really excited to share her experience with a substitute teacher that taught one of her classes. […]
I was married five years ago, but prior to that I was single for ten years, and for every one of those ten years I dreaded Valentine’s Day. It was as if there had been a holiday created just for the purpose of torturing anyone who was single! They may as well have renamed the […]
