Church is the best.

Seriously. It's like, everytime I am having the worst time, and don't want to go to church...but force myself to go...I am spiritually filled more than I even thought possible! This morning I was in a dark place...I wanted nothing more than to stay home. Clay wasn't feeling well, so he wasn't going. I was tired, sick of my life, and just down. Then I decided....I had to go. If I stopped going to church because I didn't feel like it, I'd lose myself, and Satan would be so happy. So I went. I was late, but I went.

Church was basically prepared for me today. It was all about waiting on the Lord, and how our trials are "but a small moment". We need to remember that He is aware of us, and He knows the right timing, and if we know we are waiting on the Lord, and endure with faith...all will be well and we will be rewarded more than we can imagine.

I am counting on that.

I'm so grateful for my faith. I don't know where I'd be or what condition I'd be in without it. Just the simple faith I have that God knows me, cares about me, and is there for me if I TRULY put faith in him...is really what keeps me going. I had an experience recently where I prayed for something specific. I prayed so much. I then felt the urging to do certain things, and they didn't logically make sense to me... but I did them anyway because I knew my prayer was being answered... I had faith and my prayer WAS answered and my problem solved. I feel like if we REALLY have no reservations and just put our full trust in God, he will lead us to the right place everytime.

I am SO grateful for lessons I learn from the scriptures, and especially the Book of Mormon. Today I was reminded that if something sucks, or we don't like a situation we are in...there is NO way you will get out of it by complaining or just waiting around. You have to ask the Lord for help, and work for it. We talked about Nephi, and how when he was in the wilderness his bow broke. Him and his family had no food, and all his family were complaining and doing nothing and blaming Nephi. Nephi prayed for help, built another bow, and searched for food. He was led to the right place, and got food. He never complained and didn't get mad at his family. He just did what he had to. I needed to be reminded of that. Sometimes my life feels so crappy. But I felt really good because I feel like I AM doing everything I can to get better. I just need to trust in the Lord more and have more faith. And remember that this is "but a small moment". Want to get some comfort? Read this from the Doctrine & Covenants.  My favorite part of this:

 7 My son, ^apeace be unto thy soul; thine ^badversity and thine afflictions shall be but a ^csmall moment;

 8 And then, if thou ^aendure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy ^bfoes.

 9 Thy ^afriends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

I seriously needed reminding of that. I am happy because I DO have friends/family that stand by me, and they help. And even though sometimes I feel really lost or lonely, there are moments when I get personal revelation and confirmation that Heavenly Father knows me, Christ knows me, and they love me and are rooting for me. And I know that this dark place I feel I'm in sometimes...wont be forever. 

Do you want a free copy of the Book of Mormon? Go here. You wont regret it.

Disney Princesses

K guys. So I've seen this picture with everyone liking it on facebook lately...like all over the place. There's a caption under the picture that says something like, "What messages are your kids getting from this?"  It makes me TERRIBLY SAD, for those people who agree with this!

The main thing I think when I see people saying, "so true", or "this is so sad"...is...I grew up LOVING these movies, and I feel like I'm a fairly confident, strong, independent female. I got a college degree, passed the CPA exam, am working for a CPA firm, grown many talents, and have accomplished a LOT in my short life so far. When I watched these movies growing up, in no way did I think I had to be pretty, had to abandon my family or my talents, had to have a man to protect me, or any of that!

The main problem in my opinion, is LACK OF PARENTING. If your kids are honestly learning their life values from a cartoon? THAT is sad! My whole life I was taught that anything on TV or in Movies was just that. TV or Movies. NOT real life. My parents taught me the difference between stories and reality. You know what else they taught me? That I am beautiful, that I am smart, that its important to work hard. They taught me that appearance and showing off your body isn't what gets you places, and isn't what brings happiness. They taught me that being a good person, being kind to others, working hard, and staying close to the Lord, is what brings happiness. I was taught that just because someone is different, or maybe not as good looking as a disney princess, doesn't mean they are any less! Never was I encouraged to be a disney princess or act like one.

That being said, are we completely ignoring the qualities that some of these disney princesses possess? Kindness, purity, humility, rising above mean people (beauty), or how about not judging someone by their rags or wealth (Aladdin)? Yes, I have ALWAYS thought Ariel's outfit is stupid. But like...are we forgetting values like, "Whistle while you work"? There are a lot of good values in these movies that are being ignored.

Here's the bottom line. There are FAR worse cartoons and tv shows that children can watch with blatantly bad messages. If you are leaving your teaching up to disney movies, then yes. You are certainly in trouble! But if you raise your children to be confident, and teach them to actually know what value is, you wont have to worry about them thinking appearance or prince charming is all there is in life. I know that is NOT what I took from those movies growing up, and I plan on sharing these movies with my kids, and grandkids, and any child in my home! Just as I plan on actually PARENTING and teaching my kids...spending quality time with them so they know what's right and wrong.

Now, toddlers and tiaras on the other hand :) Clay and I watched an episode last night...I decided that show is kind of like a car crash. As horrifying as it is, I just could not. look. away. Sickening.

This is basically my life.

Had another Zumba allergic reaction. BOOOOH. I'm gonna try a different class next week. Hopefully I'm not juts allergic to exercising? Just kidding...I think that school is moldy or something.

Made a mint chocolate cookie (the two best combos in the universe are: chocolate and mint, and chocolate and peanut butter), and it is made with 100% quinoa flour, and coconut sugar (obviously other ingredients too...but those were the main oddities). Yum. I love love love them.

REVENGE! I know I mentioned this before but seriously- I just can't get enough! I'm so mad that I don't get to see what happens next for like 2 WHOLE WEEKS! Actors shouldn't be allowed to vacation. Seriously- I know that Emily loves Jack, but she totally loves Daniel too. I love them both- and don't even know which team to PICK! Were you completely ENRAGED at Victoria when she implied that David Clarke raped her?!?!?! GAH! I hate her! But love her! Cause she's so crazy and wicked and I just love characters like that (when played as well as her). Oh and don't get my started on the ache I feel for her when she has those David Clarke flashbacks. And then outrage! When I think about the betrayal!

Don't trust that smile...

When the heck is this all going to blow up?! Emily is slowly losing control of these situations and its got me hangin on the EDGE OF MY SEAT! Oh man. If you haven't seen Revenge, do yourself a favor and get a free trial of huluplus and just watch it for a week. There's only like...13 episodes. It could definitely be done :) 

Oddly, I'm actually staying ontop of my homework, and not going too crazy. I say that cause a few times I have really gone crazy. Like, I think I just have the worst life in the world. Then I remember that all it is....is homework and work and life and I just need to keep a fresh perspective. I'm a woman and my emotions are crazy. That's okay.

Bachelor...dare I say it? I actually kind of like Courtney the model. I know she's kinda weird, but she reminds me of Michelle and I kinda love Michelle. Also, she seems to have some good chemistry going with Ben, and she's just funny. Obviously Kacie B and Emily are good ones. But I don't understand why everyone loves that one divorced girl so much. I mean, she seems fine and all, but she also seems SUPER dramatic at times...like the Shawntel deal (which by the way, was so ridiculous on so many counts I just can't even...). Anyway- Courtney is just so much more interesting and funny. Did you hear Emily is the next bachelorette? SNORE. Oh well, I thought Ashley would be boring or annoying- but I liked her. Except for the way she talked.

Lastly...EW ON NEWT. Newt Gingrich is so dispicable. I know we are supposed to forgive and forget but he smells TOO MUCH like Bill Clinton to me. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, just google "Newt Gingrich Open Marriage". Yeah...he asked his wife to have an open marriage...and admitted to having an affair for 7 years (with the woman he is now married to- his 3rd wife), and that SHE was fine with whatever he wanted and that she shouldn't want him all to herself. His first wife got cancer, and he left her. His second wife got MS and he left her. OH and when he was proposing the idea of an "open marriage" to his second wife, it was at the same time that he was speaking on family values and going against Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky thing. My dear. Supposedly he's repented and changed. But it's one of those things where it's okay to forgive, but it's also okay not to trust. Hello? I just don't like him. He's gross and a wimp.

Alright. Enough of my wisdom :) Have a good night!

Getting ready for V-day?

Are you getting excited to put Valentines decorations up? Try a print from my shop :)

 This one has been in the shop for a while. It's VERY valentines-y. 

This one is brand new! If you can't tell, it comes from the famous Elvis Presley song, "Can't help falling inlove". I LOVE this song. But I must admit that my FAVORITE version is Ingrid Michaelson...just play this

LOVE!

The great thing about that print is it doesn't have to be valentines day to put it up (although it goes really well with the holiday), and it'd actually be really romantic to put in a bedroom or something. Also, I am flexible with different background color options, if you aren't into purple.

Anywho...those prints are both in my shop for $15. OR- a favorite thing to do among many is to buy the digital file for only $4 bucks! Print it at costco or sams club, and have it hangin on your wall within a few hours.

So far...

I've had some major meltdowns.

Major cry sessions.

A dirty kitchen.

REALLY dirty bathroom.

A whole lot of, 'tomorrow will be better' thoughts.

Completed homework.

Successful zumba session tonight with no extra bumpy things growing on my face.

Successful gluten/sugar free chocolate cookie.

Major breakthrough when I realized that for sure, I basically could omit or reduce a lot of the salt in recipes when I use coconut sugar cause everything I use coconut sugar in tastes really salty.

I'm ready for the weekend...

Did you know we had to find new insurance? I tell you. I hate dealing with insurance and meds and everything. I just can't wait for the day when I DON'T have to worry about these things. Walgreens doesn't fill for blue cross. What? That's only like...one of the top two insurances in the world I think. Transfer...blah blah blah.

Sometimes...I look at blogs and I just feel so crappy about myself. I feel like I just need to be better at everything and like...what's wrong with me?!?! Then at church when everyone looks perfect and acts perfect and everyone is best friends...I feel like...what's wrong with me?!! Everyone has perfect pictures and perfect friends and perfect husbands and perfect houses and everything. I go to tell Clay all this and he basically says..."I think that you are just a woman. I don't understand why you all worry about these things." Seriously...I think that's the truth. Why must we worry and bring ourselves down SO MUCH?! Why do I give myself such a hard time? Why can't I choose to be happy? The fact is...I can. I can choose to love ME, and be ME and see that just cause someone can take a really pretty picture of something and describe it or their life in a really pretty way, doesn't make my life any less. It doesn't discount my successes, my goals, my things. Isn't it crazy how quickly we can go from a high to a low? That's something else Clay said, "I don't have these emotional highs and lows like you...alllll the tiiime." Seriously like...last week or something? I was talking about how my attitude was great! Well, it went down in a hurry. But I'm ready for it to go back up.

Good news. My bumpy thing did in fact, go away. I did have a kinda puffy eye the next day.

In other news...I am obsessed with the show Revenge. It's basically exactly like it says. A girl is getting revenge on everyone who betrayed her father which then KILLED him. It's so crazy and kinda horrible cause like...obviously its about revenge, not forgiveness...but I just love it. And I'm okay with that. 

Lastly, Ben the bachelor is kinda boring. Which annoys me.

Alright. Till next time!

I look like an alien....again...

Allergies aren't fair.

Did you know this is my second allergic reaction in less than a week? First I tried some dip at work, ONE BITE- then by the time I got home from work my stomach had hives, my throat was swelling, and I was wheezing. 

Benadryl saved me.

Next I'm at Zumba. This isn't the first time this has happened. I'm telling you THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL MUST HAVE POLLEN OR HAY ALL OVER THE DAMN WALLS. Ugh. Sneezing every 10 seconds or so, and eyes beginning to form special bumps with tears running down my eyes (see above picture). 

Took some benadryl. Hopefully it saves me again.

What would I do without that most precious pink pill?

Seriously- Allergies? Why? It's just not fair. I don't think I will ever learn life lessons about why we must have allergies. I sort of have appreication for things I've learned from Lyme. Sort of. A lot of times I think, "I'd be fine being healthy and less wise". But you know...I have learned a lot of things from this disease. But allergies?! Nope. Nada. 

Ugh.

My crazy life...

Well, don't be surprised if you don't here from me as much...my life is kind of crazy right now. When I think about all of it, I think I may just be really insane. Oh well!

Right now I am........taking 12 college credits online. Two business classes, a nutrition class, and a family finances class. The danged requirements to actually become a CPA not only requires the CPA exam to be passed, but requires you to have 150 college credits...I graduated with only 132. I already took 6 credits last semester. Anyway...this is the last of em, and hopefully it all goes well.

No big deal right? Well...not really considering I'm working FULL TIME in TAX SEASON! GAH. Everyone says, "you can break it up Danielle...don't wear yourself too thin" blah balh. But I'm so sick of dragging this on. I just want to finish and be done. So if I'm busy for 4 months and then never have to worry about it again, I'm fine with that.

Not to mention I am still fighting Lyme Disease, fighting sugar/gluten cravings, and taking care of a hubby.

Oh well.

However, you just might hear more from me because of all this. You know...I love to procrastinate and do anything that isn't homework. So I just might end up writing more blogs! Who knows :)

Today is the day I take down my Christmas decorations. It makes me kinda sad. Oh well...V-day is coming up and I have some new decor for that!

Time to make some cinnamon rolls (gluten/sugar free of course), and have my morning date with Clay.

Oh by the way- we watched the new Planet of the Apes movie...."Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and HOLY SMOKES we loved it! Really really really loved. It was super cool and good and sweet and awesome.

Oh yeah- one more thing...my stupid stomach is deciding to hate my antibiotics. Yes. I'm eating lots of yogurt, and taking them with food. Oh well. I am going to get some kefir which is supposed to work wonders for the stomach.

Okay. Cya!