Birthday Wishes

It has been well over a month since my actual birthday and I have had the best intentions of posting about what an amazing time I had but I guess it has had to wait until now. the thing about my birthday is that I don't hate it but I also don't like planning it for myself, it has always just felt like something someone else should do for you. Don't ask me why I think that, I can't tell you where that line of thought comes from. So now that I am older I just kind of go with the flow when it comes to my birthday. I might plan small things but no big parties, at least not until I am turning 30... only a couple years away *sigh*

This year turned out to be the best, somethings just came together and somethings I planned but overall it turned out pretty great and in the end what more could I really ask for. It turned out to be a weekend event type thing without me even trying, I had to work late that Friday night but still wanted to go out after work even if just for a little while. On the way out of work I found a $5 bill just hanging out on the ground. I feel like that was a good sign of things to come. I spent a couple of hours after that with friends at a local bar, drinking some cherry coke and listening to awesome karaoke. But I couldn't stay too late because the next day I had to be up early.

That Saturday was the day before my birthday, this year it happen to coincide with the San Francisco Color Run, also known as the happiest 5K on the planet. My friend and I got up early, especially for a Saturday and drove to San Francisco where we really did have a great time run/walking our first 5K. After we were tired but she wanted to take me to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner, neither of us had ever been there but it was great. We were sunburnt and tired, the robotic snake was ridiculous, and we got stare after stare from people because we were a pink color, but let's face it I would of stared as well. It was great!

Finally on Sunday, the real day of my birth, I went to church and then hung out with family. Well sort of my adopted family, that is what we are calling it anyways. We had pot roast for dinner, watched a movie, opened some presents, had some cake, and played Skip-Bo. All in all it was really a great day, I even enjoyed that my Dad used his Facebook to wish my an additional happy birthday. He is learning the ways of technology, I am so proud!

How does it feel to be another year older? Sometimes I wonder what the heck I am doing with my life. How did I get here and where am I going? But then I realize how very blessed I am, I may not have everything in the world that I expected to have at this age when I was younger, but I have a lot of things that I never could of dreamed of having at this age when I was 20. My own apartment and my little Guido, great friends and family, two jobs and a church calling, my health and the ability to do activities that I enjoy. I may not have everything I expected to have at this age, but I have come to realize that there are so many things in this life that I will obtain, I would just be spoiled if I got it all at once, and I wouldn't appreciate the things I do have nearly as much.

Losing My Mind

Losing something or someone is never a good way to have a great day. Somethings are easily found and the day seems to get better, but there are things that you may lose forever that take a toll on ones emotions. It maybe a relationship that needs a change and you feel like it is a lost cause so you move on. Or it maybe a life the was taken because you could no longer watch the suffering.

Whatever the loss maybe it can seem to weigh heavy on your heart and your mind. You may even think how is it possible to continue from this great loss? Well like many wise people before myself have said, time can heal all wounds. That is not to say the wound will never hurt again, or that in the beginning it can't be reopened. I think of it like when my previously broken foot aches when the weather changes, just like that a loss can ache at times too. Not a day goes by that I don't miss my grandparents and the time that I could of spent with them.

Moving on can seem impossible when everything is fresh and a change is new. Forgiving someone who may have caused that loss may seem like it will never happen, but to move on you will have to forgive. Everyday that we hurt but continue to live we become that much stronger, just like a muscle that you work out and train. There are few things in this world that last forever, loss of some kind is inevitable, it is a sad but true fact. What we must focus on sometimes is Plan B, because even though we may think that there is only one path to happiness that is not true. We are blessed with multiple good ways for life to work out.

Musings from Stake Conference

Thoughts and feeling received during today's Stake Conference meeting:

Sometimes it is lonely being the only person in your Stake with your last name. Counter point, it is easy to get a cushion seat for one when you come in late. No plastic chairs today!

It requires a lot more attention to follow along with a talk that is being translated. However the spirit is still very strong in the room.

The power of the Holy Ghost is strong, it knows all languages and it's reach goes beyond any borders or boundaries that we human beings create.

The church is made up of people who are courageous and willing to stand against all odds for something they believe in. How blessed are those that can be a part of this church with their families, how strong are those that can stand for their personal beliefs without all the support of their loved ones.

Temple attendance and renewal of covenants help with all trials and temptations we face in our lives. During times of trials more frequent attendance and focus on convents will help relieve the tensions that arise.

Licking the surface of a watermelon, I'll use that idiom some day, thanks to President Walch for sharing.

Surprise Blessing

Had a great experience tonight, got a phone call around 6:30 pm from the branch president asking if he could come visit me. Well he actually used the word "we", I did not know who that implied but I said yes anyways. especially since he said they were just coming over to check in on me.

This might seem odd but I need quite a bit of checking up on. Though I can take care of myself and another living creature, as shown by my dishes drying on the counter and my sleeping dog in the corner, it is nice to have someone of high authority come by and bring a priesthood presence to the house.

And that is what happened, though I was a little shocked that I was being visited/ home taught by the branch president and the stake president. When you open the door to that image you tend to wonder what exactly you did to warrant this visit. They truly did just come by to visit and talk though, and once they got past the vicious dog they were able to sit in peace. We talked about how I am doing in work and at home, with my finances and my interest in theater and what I am doing with that recently.

The best part of the night came when they were about to leave and unexpectedly the stake president asked if I wanted a priesthood blessing. I was taken aback by the question at first, I guess my first thought was why would I need one everything seems to be going fine right now, but when the stake president offers a blessing how can anyone refuse. So I accepted and branch president blessed me with all of the things that I need right now and somethings that I have been thinking about and some that I have not. What a wonderful experience to have tonight, when I was feeling a little low before.

My Daddy

I don't have any pictures on my computer of me and my daddy, so I am sharing a picture of my family from my brother and sister-in-laws wedding. That is me and my dad on the left.

How very lucky I have been to have my father in my life. He is not a man of many words and sometimes he just doesn't know what to say, but he was never at a lack for words when it came time for a blessing before the school year started or if we were sick. How wonderful it was to have him be an example of what to look for in a husband in regards to being a worthy priesthood holder.

How grateful I am to him for the countless number of times that he checked the oil in my car, changed my brakes or just added some water. For an example of someone who works hard and provides the necessities and a little bit more for his family. How grateful I am for all those times I get upset, my mother can't calm me down and my dad picks up the phone, says his simple words of comfort and a calm washes over me.

I am so very blessed to have a father in my life that continues to grow spiritually and physically. For the example he sets for how to treat his spouse well. And most of all for always make sure to support his children in all their endeavors even when he doesn't agree with everything that they are doing. Happy Father's Day to my wonderful daddy!