niece photo

so i finally got a cute photo of the new niece. here she is with her older sister. just too cute i say.

fatness

it's official. i weigh more than my father. he's my ideal weight. poor man. it just seems ironic.

Nephew

I can't remember if I posted this or not - but I meant to. It's my nephew being held by his aunt chewing on his grandpa's saline infusion bag. I guess empty bags can be fun for teething.

sermons

i'm having my students give sermons (or lectures) in class today. it could be about any problem - their own or someone else's or the world's. the best looking kid, highest gpa, and on the football team - one sharp well respected boy - got choked up on his first sentence and couldn't deliver his. luckily a classmate volunteered to do it for him. i nearly cried. he wrote about the problem of families and divorce. his parents got a divorce recently. he's stuck in the middle. all of his siblings have gotten injured and sick since this began. he's had to scrounge for change to buy school lunch lately. how horribly sad that people can't get along better. oh, how sad.

Baby!

I have a new niece today! She had to be delivered by c- section because she was breached (is that the word?) - anyway, pretty exciting!

when music offends

so in my reading classes my students are reading about some of the cases where music has been deemed offensive and it's resulted in a band. all of my students agree that some music little children shouldn't listen to, but that as mature 16 year olds they can decide what is appropriate or not. they are also very capable of pointing out the risks of listening to offensive music. strange that they still choose to listen to it. ANYWAY, that's not my point. what i wanted to comment on was a funny discovery. i noticed that my blog had been read by someone in maryland. i looked to see where they came from. the site from which they came was 2pac. as in the rapper guy. it's a whole blog about tupac. call me insensitive and narrow minded and bigoted, but the site made me laugh. that guy sure seemed to take himself way too seriously. at least that's what my impression is. like i said, i'm probably too narrow minded, but such is the extent of my experience.

Being an artist

Who we are speaks volumes to what we do on the outside.

That's a quote (or close to it) from a presentation by that famous lds fantasy painter whose name I think is christensen. It is part of his advice to artists - know who you are spiritually - be connected to your family and be active in church. Keep your priorities and keep balanced - it feeds your art.

Flags

Finally it seems all the flags are at full mast. For so long it seemed some or all were at half mast. I should look up the rules on such things since the inconsistancy was bugging me. Anyway, they're finally all up, which seems odd since it feels like they've been at half mast more often than full mast ever since 9/11. Am I right or am I right?

superhero test

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 70% Wonder Woman 70% Green Lantern 60% Spider-Man 45% Supergirl 45% Hulk 45% Robin 42% The Flash 40% Iron Man 40% Batman 30% Catwoman 15%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

attitude

here's a perfect quote for a monday:
"if you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." - mary englebreit. isn't she the wrinkle in time lady? smart one.

honeymoons

there's nothing worse than spending lunch with a bunch of old married women and one single guy who just got engaged. he likes to ask everyone for advice on proposing, ring buying, and now it's honeymoon planning. makes me sick. and for a bit i had a crush on him. well that's gone. now i'm just plain jealous and feeling oldmaidish. especially when no one likes my honeymoon suggestions. today they said i'm too bohemian. not sure what that means. i was all for going on a cruise. how is that bohemian? he's the dork who doesn't want to spend more than 8 or 9 hundred dollars. cheapwad.

Ice

So it's a bit cold here. The ice cicles coat everything. My poor rose bushes are draped in them. Under the weight of ice they bend over.

gold

there's gold in the northern hills of slc. at least yesterday i saw it. shining so bright in big chunks i was convinced i could touch it from my car on 7th east. after breaking at 13th south i looked again and the gold was gone. it had merely been the setting sun reflecting on the oversized windows of the oversized homes in the federal heights neighborhood. after a week of inversion and biting cold, that gold had been most inviting. too bad it was so fleeting.

Holiday

Yep I had a holiday today. I would have liked to ski but i'm suffering from a cold, besides we're having subarctic temperatures lately. Instead a took a road trip to logan with my parents. My little sister lives in wellsville, a couple miles outside logan. They have 9 wards in wellsville - even have their own tabernacle. But they have no library. The post office may be the only "business" in town. Anyway, logan is just a few miles away so we went there for lunch. We dined at the coppermill. This is a photo of alicia standing in front of a sign by the entrance to the coppermill. I took the photo because one of my brother's nicknames is "rj hunt" - like on the sign. Pretty cool we thought.

beauty

it seems i haven't had a lot of good stories to share lately. nor good photos. luckily, my siblings share photos in their weekly letters. this one is so perfectly peaceful and since plewe seems to like temple shots i decided to share this one that my brother took outside my mother's kitchen window. it makes winter/snow/cold not seem so horrible.

Strange

I found this stuck to the towels in my bathroom cupboard. Where could it have come from? Very very very odd.

more niece

this cracked me up. she's learning to dress herself. apparently she could only get so far before deciding she needed a play break.

Nicknames

We all have them and generally throw them around to others. At least I do. So do my siblings. Well, some anyway. My brother Stephen has had more than my brother Ron has had warts - we're talking near 50. Anyway, I think I just got a new one tonight. I was talking to Mitch (short for Michener which is a variation of his real name, Marshall) and when he said goodbye he called me "Harry" - or "Hairy" - he was not specific - but I think it was the first. For many years he's called me "Sarah O'Hara" after that great TV show that starred Mr. Miagi from "Karate Kid" - what's his name? Pat something. Anyway, I think it's now morphed to just plain "Harry."

Sunrise

You can't tell - but it's beautiful. My house faces north so this is the best view I have (out my kitchen window) - sad for me. I went to the front porch all bundled up to watch it before realizing it was the wrong angle. I'm just happy to be up. I ate the best aotmeal, started my wash, skimmed through the ensign (being reminded that marriage is the best), and still have time to blog before heading out for some rigorous schlecking for day!

nephew

i love this kid. he's always been a character. here he's showing off some christmas presents. he's about 8 years old. i envy his courage and love of life.

The park

While in the park the other day I came across this piece of trash - a page from some magazine. It's will smith. His head is just smiling out at all the passersby. He's a happy guy. It's just a floating piece of trash offering a bright moment to anyone who cares to notice.

Football

Look at me. I'm watching football. It's in overtime. I'm still here. I have to get up at 5 to go to the gym before work. Who have I become? I think it's just a fluke in the space time continum (s?).

Niece

She's sporting the flower clip I gave mom with her year membership to red butte gardens. I love my niece.

My sister's new house

I LOVE the sponged lower half of the wall - the top half is wall paper - tiny yellow flowes. The floor is vynl (sp?) made to look like bricks.

The bathroom was pink. The cupboard doors have rose wall paper panels.

the garage had a door plastered in decals implying the decorator was a fan of the outdoors.

This home is in wellsville, ut - just outside of logan.

Leaves

I love leaves. I love impressions of leaves. I guess it's impossible for concrete to dry untouched when surrounded by so much nature! I only wish it showed better - there were so many impressions - all different.

Lawn decor

I must have this for next year! It is only 40 dollars!

holidays

okay, the holidays are a wonderful season. there's nothing more fun than walking into your room and finding presents. unfortunately, finding a plate full of homemade candy when you still haven't had breakfast is probably not a good thing. now i don't want to eat my healthy breakfast. i've already finished the fudge. next comes caramels!

Snow

I tried to photograph the snow encrusted foliage this morning. It didn't work. Driving and photograhinng isn't always easy. But trust me - it was beautiful. I was heading to the gym and I was just grateful to live in a world of beauty. Luckily the snow wasn't sticking to the roads.

argh and double argh!

my stinking school's internet service now blocks blogger. just when i was recommitting myself to blogging i found i can't do it at my convenience. i have to wait until i'm at home using super slow dial up internet. my life is so sad! anyway, just as a warning that i may be less diligent in my blogging and in my commenting. so sad.

squash

this morning while reading the ny times i debated letting my blog die. i never came to a decision. then i came across a photo taken a couple years ago of an acccident i had with squash. i decided the photo should be shared. i guess the blog lives another day. don't microwave squash without poking some holes in it first for steam to escape.

book report

i finihsed "a patchwork planet" a few weeks ago. this morning i finished "the tin can tree". both are anne tyler books. i loved them both. tonight is book club and we'll discuss the first. i wish i'd read them in reverse order. i look forward to a library trip this week!

Gaaargeous!

So which is better?

my snow

well it's not really mine. i mean it comes down all fair and random like. but my experience with snow so far this year goes like this. i worked late at work, but was finally so cold i decided i may as well go home to freeze. i was pleased that it was only drizzling a bit on the drive home - no snow. but for fhe we were due to visit temple square to check out the lights. in my new down filled jacket i headed out a bit early to gaurantee a good parking spot. score! i was 20 minutes early. so i visited the facilities. while washing my hands a lady walked in and pointed out that i had a train. i turned to look at my feet and kept on turning until i discovered a long train of tp tucked into my pants at my waist on my far side. the other end was still attached to the tp dispenser in the stall. i had noticed that there was a good foot hanging, but since it wasn't touching the ground i let it hang free. little did i know it would attach itself to me as i tucked in my shirt. yep, very classy. anyway, back to the snow story. few people showed up for fhe and no good solid leader. we stood around in the visitors' center for too long. finally i decided to lead out. the entire group trailed along behind me. i took them up and down the trails of lights. i tried to get them to play red light green light (the crowds were nill) or even to spin around under the pink lights by the assembly hall that always reminds me of a drug trip - but no one would. sigh. we checked out the tons of nativities from various countries - trying to be cool and recognize their country of origin. all we were sure of was japan's. they had the cutest sheep! wish i'd photoed it. bother. once we were sufficiently cold we headed to a nearby apartment for cocoa and cinnamon rolls. i had a little recorder jam session with some friends before finally heading home. STILL no snow. the news has been going on and on about the big storm, but nothing! this morning i awoke to about an inch or so on the car. nothing to shovel, though. then on the drive to work i finally found some snow. right about 500 north - i could see it in my headlights. there was a little on the road around 800 north. people braked. i got nervous. then it was all over. easy drive from there. maybe tonight we'll have more! i'll be shut off from the outside world all day in my honeycomb of a school building.

tday fun

we made gingerbread houses. it was good family bonding filler. this is me with my cousins - we were a team! later the family at large played disney's scene it. good times, although my family lost to the cousins. the best part of tday 2006 was going outside at sunset with the niece and helping her slide and swing in the cold. the moon was just a sliver and the nephew joined us for a bit lying on the grass and commenting that it was cold. very nice bit of nature and family in one.

niece

this photo came in one of the family emails this week. i love it. they're watching a parade.

Music

I'm listening (and dancing to ) "don't feel like dancing" by scissor sisters. Love it!

Motab

I went to m & s w this morning - what a kick! I loved the music and the spoken words. It had a patriotic theme, in honor of veteran's day. People were crying. I was amazed at how many veterans were in attendance. I secretly took this photo during the final number. Can you see the red white and blue?

Lamp

I dined at saltimboca again. This time I got a photo of the fancy lamp.

quote

okay so i've been a crazy poster today. it's friday. i'm on my prep period. so here's a quote i just loved.....

The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen
incidents, meetings and material assistance will rise up to help you.
The pure and simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet all its own.

trees post 3

here's the last of the series.

trees post 2

these are all the same tree, by the way. just different views.

trees

plewe said i should share my art on my blog. great idea. thanks plewe! here's one of my trees. i shall try to post more. i'd love to know your favorite! some i'm proud of. some i'm not. i shared one with the students as an example of bad art - in relation to bad writing. i'll tell you which one after i get some votes on a favorite.

For cindy

This blog is dedicated to the goose girl - my hero. I look forward to wearing heels tomorrow - lined with dr. Scholl's gel insoles. Wish me luck! Thanks for the inspiration.

Last post

I almost forgot - while at al's looking for hair advice I got to see her old furnace. And I mean old. It used to burn coal. It's from 1910 I believe. It's been converted to gas. It's huge - straight from a ray bradbury story or something. Here she is with the door open to the gaping jaws of hell. too bad it doesn't properly show up in my poor camera phone photo.

Hair

Another post for today - a new haircut. A little less cute and a little more pat benetar I think. It should grow out - they always do. Maybe i'll work on going long next time. This one gave me lots of short layers throughout.

hike pictures

okay, here are a couple photos from the gorgeous hike in the rain. i think we're a bit blurry due to all the mist in the air. seriously you could look out at the whiteness and see it just all blurry like moving around - like a microscope or something.

Hike

This morning I woke up to seattle weathe - which would be fine except we had a hike planned to celebrate my friend's birthday. There was some debate but we went anyway. We chose wisely. We were wet and our shoes muddy but it was just gorgeous! We saw yellow and pink leaf carpets and walked through sheets of clouds and mists. It must have been a few miles - the trail went forever. We hiked to elephant rock up mueller park canyon. What a great experience! Hopefully i'll get photos soon that I can post later.

Sky

One of today's many blessings.

deep thought from a student

i found this on a note my students were passing around....

crushes crush.

to my seattle bloggers

okay, i began this blog because so many of my seattle friends were big on blogging. i followed their example the best i could. it makes me happy that they read my blog and comment. i'm especially happy, though, when they update their blogs. yep, some (you know who you are) could use a new post. you can do it!

the party

okay, i shall try posting party photos. wish me luck. first a report. overall it ws a huge success. i had fun all evening, as did the other hosts - and by my standards that's what counts. the guests enjoyed themselves as well - which is a bonus. i have no control over their feelings so i just hope for the best. some of my favorite costumes: christmas tree, transformer (no photos sadly), storm trooper (no photo again), sock, three's company cast, north korean dictator, and a one night-stand.

Party over

It's late. i'm showered. Dona's in bed. Time for my prayers. I forgot to take photos of the festivities - so here's one of me looking pooped. :)
good night.

stuffed cat

v sent around photos from our little cabin trip. i loved this one of my new cat - i just had to post it. plewe already has a good cat photo on her blog, now i've caught up in coolness. =)

ears

i have a student that always wears a baseball hat. he's new to the school and from peru via french speaking canada, so he's in my english as a second language class. anyway, i just saw him in the hall, with his traditional white cap on and it suddenly occurred to me that his ears stick out. yep, he's got poking out ears - that's why he wears the hat - it goes down over his ears keeping them tucked into place. cute kid. glad i don't have poking out ears.

Puppets

So at fhe tonight we made hand puppets for kids in guatemala. It was a good time! Mark made the white one, I made the brown one. Mark's a monkey, mine's a bear - aren't we talented?

For jrm

I noticed on plewe's blog that a certain person was feeling frustrated with the lack of entertaining blogs. What kills me is that he's no big blogger - he just happens to be on an endless holiday and wants to be entertained. And truthfully, I can't blame him. I know that need for stories. So this is for him. It's a story about food - which is one of his favorite topics.

Tonight I went to a restauant open house. Saltimboca is the place. delicious is the appropriate adjective! We got there early so the food was slow and meager. We went somwhere else to get dinner and came back later to see friends. By then the place was less crowded and there was tons of good food! We had cheese circles and salad for orderves (sp?) and when we returned we had chicken and panini and chocolate pudding. The pudding was perfect! Dark and rich! Actually all the food was great. So was the company. My favorite part of the night (next to seeing so many good friends) was this huge lamp thing at the counter made out of a stack of dishes. Funky! I curse myself for not getting a photo.

Oh speaking of photos - I took one for the blog today! A remote controlled ambulance that was running around our stake's preparedness fair where I sent my morning helping direct traffic. Good times. It was startling for the children when it rolled up and greeted them.

good story

i read this story in the ny times today. i loved it. i recently read "night" for book group so it especially caught my attention. i recommend the book.

Appreciations
A Survivor’s Optimism

By MAURA J. CASEY
Published: October 20, 2006
When Sigmund Strochlitz was starving in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and, later, mourning his wife, parents and two sisters, who died at Birkenau, he could not have imagined the rich and varied years still to come.

Mr. Strochlitz, who died Monday at 89 in his New London, Conn., home, typified the determination of so many Holocaust survivors. He refused to allow grief to immobilize him. He remarried, emigrated to America, raised children and began a business. In time, he became one of the dearest friends of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, and traveled thousands of miles with him to ensure remembrance of the millions of Jews who were murdered during World War II.

Mr. Strochlitz worked to inspire each state and Washington, D.C., to dedicate one day of Holocaust remembrance during the year, and was a member of the council that established the national Holocaust Memorial Museum.

His life was rooted in gratitude. He was generous, because the memory of having nothing was never far from his mind. He was fluent in five languages. He met popes and presidents, yet he spoke with wonder of the love of his children, grandchildren and his wife Rose, to whom he was married for 56 years.

Every day, the ranks of Holocaust survivors like Mr. Strochlitz dwindle. Their lives defied their losses. Their families died, and they started over. Their homes were destroyed, and they built again. Their communities were wiped out, and they emigrated, often to America, to begin anew.

The triumphs of Mr. Strochlitz, and of the others, are measured not merely by length of years, but by the children they raised, the stubborn optimism of their lives, and a legacy of kindness. Would that we could all say the same. MAURA J. CASEY

breathe (not the song)

i came across this prose poem in my lit book this afternoon and thought it was beautiful. since my book group recently finished "one day in the life of ivan denisovich" it caught my attention. (i liked the book - but one guy in the group thought it was the most boring thing ever.)


Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Freedom to Breathe
translated by Michael Glenny

A shower fell in the night and now dark clouds drift across the sky, occasionally sprinkling a fine film of rain.

I stand under an apple tree in blossom and I breathe. Not only the apple tree but the grass round it glistens with moisture; words cannot describe the sweet fragrance that pervades the air. I inhale as deeply as I can, and the aroma invades my whole being; I breathe with my eyes open, I breathe with my eyes closed--I cannot say which gives me the greater pleasure.

This, I believe, is the single most precious freedom that prison takes away from us: the freedom to breathe freely, as I now can. No food on earth, no wine, not even a woman's kiss is sweeter to me than this air steeped in the fragrance of flowers, of moisture and freshness.

No matter that this is only a tiny garden, hemmed in by five-story houses like cages in a zoo. I cease to hear the motorcycles backfiring, radios whining, the burble of loudspeakers. As long as there is fresh air to breathe under an apple tree after a shower, we may survive a little longer.

Octoberfest

For fhe we celebrated october with apple and root beer and bratwurst with a fun kick in the pants of polka dancing. I was one of the lucky ones to have a male partner - it pays to have male friends! Brent and I were told we were one of the best couples out there. Wahoo! After the fun my friend jared showed brent and me his accordion. We got to try playing it. Brent was better than me - he has an ear for music. Then brent gave me a music history lesson on the 12 note scale bach helped establish as the standard for western music. Apparently the accordion is greatly responsible for spreading it across the world. Few cultures today bother with other standards. Cool stuff. I wish I were as smart and talented as my friends brent and jared. I also wish i'd gotten a photo of us playing the accordion.

Cabin

Oh what a grand weekend it's been. We went to ed's cabin friday night where we ate chatted dozed cuddled laughed played. Plewe and I slept in a tent outside and saw stars before falling asleep. In the morning we watched the office and put a puzzle together. We got mostly done. We worked while plewe and al played us some tunes and we sang along. Lynn and I also enjoyed a nice chat by the river. Here he is as we're waiting for plewe to lock up. I love that place!

stress

i've shared these notes with friends and family. they were well received. i'm thinking i now need to share them with the world, i.e. the friends i failed to send them to previously. =) anyway, they came from an enrichment meeting i attended last night. it just so happened that i'd had a super stressful visit at the hospital (father's still there with gut pain)right before attending. the lady who presented has apparently endured her share of stress in life (abusive husband, cancer 3 times, 10 kids, dead father and brother last week, etc.) and now she's a therapist - her patriarchal blessing says she'll learn about life and teach others. she's doing it. i learned lots. my stress evaporated afterward. read on......

Stress management and emotions:
Emotions can have huge impact on health of the body. Higher sugar food escalates blood sugar - normal american diet sends blood sugar rocket high - pancreas excretes insulin to bring it down. Need 2 insulin level meals to stabilize. Stress does same thing as junk food. High insulin is the problem because it stores fat. It takes time for body to heal. When we mix foods wrong our bodies can't handle it. Potatoes digest in small intestine, meat takes 6 to 9 hours to digest, potatoes have to hang out with meat and they putrefy and that spikes the insulin twice. So grains/starches (including starchy vegetables) and proteins don't mix. This mixing also causes acid reflux. Fruit should always be eaten alone - half hour later it's digested so you can eat other stuff.
when we go into high stress situations our bodies hold onto fat and calories. Life is like a roller coaster and the ups have to be enjoyed with the downs - life is designed for growth - don't fight the curriculum of life. Emotions are as addictive as drugs. we will all experience victim feelings and energy - you must ask god what is to be learned from it. The layers of lies we pick up need to be shed and real truth learned about our worth. Too often we allow those negative lies to be a magnet attracting people that will validate our victim type beliefs. As children of god we possess energy and power to change. We cannot judge people by their actions because we don't know what terrible things they've been through. When we sit and meditate we may discover things - joseph smith lay musing and suddenly discovered answers. When we are wounded we behave differently than we know we should. Negative emotions are part of mortal experience - use them to visualize the savior in gethsemane and remember you'd do anything for him and allow yourself to be drawn closer to him. Learn to focus spiritually instead of temporally. when you dwell on problems you're in temporal world when you focus on blessings you are in spiritual world. Regardless of what you suffer in this life you can experience god lifting your burdens and strengthening you so you can testify of god. Victim statements drive the holy spirit away and you will be lost. Learn from the spirit - don't pray negatively because holy spirit is driven away, he can only testify of truth. Express gratitude and the spirit will come and confirm your faith and provide answers. Read "the little princess" - she believed she was a princess and brought joy to the other kids despite her suffering and the mean things the old lady told her. We are princesses - daughters of god - the truth of who we were in the premortal is who we still are despite what satan and the world tells us. Christ will run to your aid no matter your pain - he suffered in order to succor us.

sounds of success

i hear popping. i am being successful at canning grape juice concentrate! yep, this morning before church i picked a whole basket full of grapes. after church i boiled them down to mush and squeezed out as much juice as i had the patience for - 2 quarts. now it is evenly divided between pint sized jars being sealed by the power of heat pressure. i can be such a homemaker! i remember a few summers ago when i did this with apricots from the plewe family tree. what a chore that was - just the cleaning up of the stove. my floor right now really needs to be mopped, but the stove looks good. and i have 8 pints of grape juice - hooray! i intend to use some to make spooky halloween punch at my big party. i had some juice that didn't fit in the jars. i drank it. wow - it's good. hooray for grape vines. hooray for science. hooray for god's blessings of nature and knowledge. now i'm ready for bed.

p.s. my dad went to the hospital yesterday with a sharp pain in his abdomen. he had surgery at midnight last night because the ct scans showed air in his abdomen and they feared a punctured colon. he had no puncture. now the pain in his abdomen has a mysterious cause and an obvious cause. two weeks ago they took out his spleen so now he has two wounds to heal. sometimes my dad is like the star patient on "house" - mysterious symptoms and impossible to cure. he gets closer to death with every attempt to fix him. the good news is he's walking around (relatively) and is healing fine from the spleen surgery so he should heal fine from the air in the gut surgery too.

Toothpaste

I'm hanging out at the huntsman cancer hospital, as I often do it seems, and I discovered the complimentary toothpaste in the bathroom. The name made me laugh. It seems like a flashback to some 70's commercial for deodorant.

Temple

I got off work early so decided to catch a session. I got here early so I decided to blog. I wish my camera didn't have lighting issues - it would be a really great photo. Leaves changing colors add the perfect touch. I gae up after two attempts.

Omen of the best kind

I'm listening to pres monson's talk from conference on kbyu. I figured I could always learn from a replay. And I did! I remember hearing the story of the girl with cancer who hiked with her young women's group despite surgery on her leg. What I didn't remember hearing, though, was her name - jami palmer no less!

gas

this is a cool site my mother sent me. as far as i can tell it works!


**http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

brother thoughts

i have a deep thinking brother. in my family we all generally write a family letter once a week. this brother's letters are generally a pretty thorough thought fest. i really liked what he had to say tonight. so much so that i've decided to share those thoughts with all of you! here's what he wrote....

On a distant but connected thought: in the Doctrine and Covenants God, speaking of gifts, says to Oliver Cowdery, “this is thy gift; apply unto it.” Any gift that we have is a gift first from God (Eccl. 3:13, James 1:17, Mosiah 2:21, Moroni 10:18, D&C 46). We are supposed to give that gift to others else it is no gift at all. The moment a gift is not passed on to another is the moment it ceases to be a gift. By its strict definition a gift is no longer a gift when it is not given. I’ve been slowly studying the Doctrine and Covenants, preparing each day for a lesson to give to the seminary students. It is very clear to me that Joseph Smith had a gift for translation and revelation. God says that Oliver has the same gift (D&C 8) but that he must apply unto it. Later we learn that he did not apply unto it (D&C 9:5). He started but did not continue. It was expedient when he commenced but he feared and the time passed and it was no longer expedient. As I’ve thought about the gifts that I’ve been given, and the doubts and fears that have hindered me from “continuing” with the gift – meaning, my fear stopped me from giving my gift on to another, sharing it – then I have not made progression and was forced to wait. Thus, my new motto to self, is not to hesitate in giving my gift to others, whatever that gift may be. I will not hesitate to share knowledge, skill, time, whatever it may be, to furthering your happiness and perfection. We are that we might have joy, and as Elder Nash said in Priesthood Conference this past weekend, we cannot live contrary to our nature and expect to be happy. To have joy we must live a life of joy. This means courage, honesty, and patience will be the first thoughts of the day, and from those three virtues I will take each opportunity to share a gift and will not be afraid.