It's a little late, but here are a few pictures of those favors I put together for Thanksgiving. What great times. I love getting together with the family and eating to your heart's content. Of course, that tends to be every holiday in my family.
On the back of each place card, this is what it said:
So, over the past couple of weeks, we've had a couple of good snow storms. After the first one, this is what I saw Saturday afternoon above our front door. Poor little bird! He was probably so shocked by the sudden cold storm.
Here's a not-so-good picture of our street at night after another small amount of snow fell.
Last night, I went to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert with the King Singers, and it was wonderful! I think one of my favorite things to do during the holidays it go to Christmas concerts. I love imagining the heavenly hosts singing praises at the most significant event to ever happen on this earth. The Choir's version of The First Nowell is exactly what I envision the angels singing.
I also love Christina Rossetti's setting of that first Christmas night. It's a song that often heard this time of year, but often, my favorite part of the poem isn't sung (the middle stanzas). Here's the full version:
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
I love the subtlety of the event--that the world at that moment didn't know or understand the significance (except for a few shepherd and wise men from the East). But the angels of heaven couldn't hold back their exuberance. They sang "glory to God on high." What must that have been like? To be a prophet who has prophesied of Christ's birth or to be one of the people that knew this is the event that has been anticipated for thousands of years. And here is the event that proves to the world that God keeps his promises to His children. He did indeed provide a Savior for the world, and this was the beginning of his earthly ministry--a humble birth where angels rejoiced, a star showed the way, and only the humble and faithful worshipped him.
Well, I'm afraid it's been a busy couple of weeks, hence no post. We officially have a functioning stove again. (woo hoo!) I have used it once since it started working again, and all's well so far, but I couldn't help but flinch just a little bit when I turned that burner on, hoping no infernal flames would come shooting out.
Heather, Graham, Sammy, and I spent one heck of a cold afternoon in P-town last weekend watching our dear Cougs oust the opponent amidst a lot of snow (particularly in the 3rd and 4th quarters). I love the anticipation of the snow and the upcoming holidays, but I'll admit, standing in the wet cold for that long wasn't very pleasant. I'll remember to be inside when the next storm hits, maybe.
It seems I'm embarking on that sentimental journey a little early this year. Perhaps it's because working for a magazine forces you to think six months ahead. Do you remember as a kid the crazy anticipation that led to any holiday? It didn't matter what it was, you were always excited. But you were doubly so when it came to holidays like Halloween and Christmas. We used to have really great extended family Halloween parties when I was a kid, and everyone dressed up in really great costumes. All of the kids would go trick-or-treating together and then come back to the party where we were on a sugar high for the next two weeks, depending on how long the candy would last.
And then there was the supreme magic that surrounded the entire Christmas season. You just never thought Christmas would ever come. Honestly, I hope some of that magic still exists in me somewhere--that hope of good things to come. I heard this broadcast from the Tabernacle Choir last year and have never forgotten it. On a more general scope in life, anticipation is that longing for good things. How interesting. Perhaps we ought to more frequently sense that feeling of anticipation, anxiously waiting, for those good things yet to come.
As life ebbs and flows onward, it's interesting to see how when certain events beyond your control take hold, they come not in solitary incidences, but in masses of big events. Those I have talked with recently know it has been a busy few weeks at work culminating in a rather tumultuous few days this week. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say it took some time and energy to get everything taken care of.
On top of that, I was cooking some quick dinner last night--some good ol' Mac and Cheese. I'll admit I have a weakness for the stuff. Perhaps it stems from being raised on it as a child. There's an interesting resurgence, it seems. You can read about it on Blueprint's blog from a little while ago. But I digress. As I was sitting in the living room waiting for the proverbial (or perhaps literal) pot to boil, my roommate and I heard this loud noise and looked around to see a large blow-torch-like flame spewing from the burner. My reflexes weren't quite as fast as my roommate's, who ran to the kitchen just to see the flame die back. All that was left was a smoldering, red spot on the burner where it also melted, a pot with a pretty good scorch mark, smoke and smoke alarms beeping, and a horrible stench. She quickly turned off the burner, but the light indicating a surface unit is in use was still on. So we decided to unplug the possessed oven to keep it from swallowing us whole. Here are a couple of pictures to prove the event happened.
(This is the offending burner)
(and the pot that had to suffer through the ordeal)
The fire department didn't actually come (but it makes for a good title, doesn't it? Thanks for that, Heather). But needless to say, we are now ovenless until we inform the manufacturer just what we think of their product. The funny thing is the oven is relatively new. My roommate bought the place and moved in in June. Everything was brand new at that point.
Thank goodness today is Friday. I don't know if I can handle much more of this kind-of drama in my life.
Well, I've been tagged by the creatively illustrious Jill (admit it--you have more creative talent than I can ever hope to possess), and this is a good one. So, without further ado:
1. Your rock start name (first pet and current car): Caramel Roxcy (seriously, my car's name is Roxcy).
Wow, sounds like a spice girl or something
2. Your gansta name (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Bunny Tracks Chocolate
Hmm, could be a whole lot better
3. Your "fly guy/girl" name (first initial of first name, first three letters of last name): M Dun
Jill, very similar! We're "Dun" fly girls at heart. :)
4. Your Detective name (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Panda
Isn't that a real animal?
5. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): no middle name, so simply "Salt Lake"
6. Your Star Wars name (first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Dunma
7. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The"): The Pink Lemonade
Sounds fierce and formidable, doesn't it?
8. Nascar name (the first names of your grandfathers): Seth Reed
9. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy): um . . . *feigns shock* Jill, I'm surprised and shocked. :)
10. Witness protection name (mother's and father's middle names): Anderson Willis
Sweet. I'm liking that one. It almost makes me feel as cool as Anderson Cooper is--almost
And to continue the fun, I tag Heather, Marissa, Brooke, Caron, Christy, and whomever else is lurking in the "admiring bog" out there.
And on to pun-esque related news (i.e., tags of another sort), I have recently discovered another cool website: Paper Source. It's a great one. I highly recommend it to all. In particular, I am seriously considering these darling tags for Christmas presents. It almost makes me want to give to everyone I have ever met so I can use more of them!
Okay, seriously. Have you ever seen anything so cute? I doubt it.
Welcome to the new look! Hopefully this is much improved to the tacky red and gray disaster this blog was before. I think it still needs some tweaking, but at least I can stand to look at it now. Just for your information, this painting is an ever-famous one in the local community--it is by John Hafen, and it's entitled "Girl among the Hollyhocks."
Since I have renamed this blog to encompass my musings, allow me share the first musing under the new guise. The fam has already heard this, but that's okay. I was thinking recently about one of the reasons I became interested in the writing aspect of my college degree, and it makes me once again want to write a book or at least something that is lasting. There's a fantastic address given my Orson F. Whitney entitled, "Home Literature." It's a fascinating read, if you're interested in that sort of thing, but I love what he has to say about the literature of the Mormon people: he says "We will yet have Shakespeares and Miltons of our own." That's a pretty bold statement in 1888 when most of the people were just trying to survive in a barren land where the government still hated them. I'm guessing most didn't have time for extensive courses in rhetoric or the art of writing. Yet he states that "In God's name and by his help we will build up a literature whose top shall touch heaven, though its foundations may now be low in earth." I think there are many wonderful writers and philosophers of our time and in this religion, but we are not nearing Shakespeare, Milton, or Carlyle just yet. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be part of that great work--at least at getting closer to that goal of having some of the finest literature ever produced coming from this history and background?
Susan Cooper (a well-known children's author) once said in a speech I attended that you must write from "a deep longing for home"--a concept the Welsh talk about. How interesting that she would talk of that and her own "deep longing" in her highly acclaimed writing. If you write from that deep longing, then what a reservoir the Mormon people must have to draw on! Perhaps one day (soon, I hope) I will stop musing on such things and start working towards them instead.
So, the fam has a new website: www.ididntcometoeat.com. It's a great place. Now, you non-family readers (are there any of you out there?), let me explain. You may be wondering, "why in the world would they choose 'I didn't come to eat' as their url?" Well, let me give a little background. It helps to understand this great family I'm genetically tied to. Ever since I can remember, my family has gone down to a small town in central Utah every summer to spend some time. It's where my grandfather grew up. My great uncle, my grandfather's brother was also down there frequently and later, he and his wife lived down there. Well, my great uncle often came to visit while we were there, but he always came, curiously around mealtime--whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Well, we always invited him to eat with us, but his reply was always, "Well, I didn't come to eat." He would then proceed to accept the invitation and break bread with us. That's exactly how it went ever time, and it was a very endearing, yet predictable event.
Well, upon further discussion, as my family often discusses such odd and random topics, we realized that whenever we get together, we actually do come to eat. There is always food, and it's usually the center focus of the get together. So, no one denys it these days. But the fact remains that the story is one of those things that we all find enormously humorous even today.
In other (although probably not more interesting) news, I'm going to my first official crop tomorrow. What's a crop, you ask? Yeah, I didn't know until a few months ago. It's a party where a bunch of people get together and scrapbook. Just ask Christy (thanks for the list of acronyms, hah. It's so true!), this whole scrapbooking industry is a world all its own. My coworkers and I are going to scrapbook and chat with others--they are the audience for the magazine, so it's good to get their perspective. But that's just it--we're going to scrapbook with them. That will be interesting. So, I guess I'll be packing up my patterned paper, ribbon, grommet tool (I still don't know how that thing works) for one big barrel of laughs tomorrow! It'll be fun. Maybe I'll actually get a page or two scrapbooked!
One past postscript: I realize this blog is very ugly. I keep experimenting with the templates available, and have decided I need to customize it. One of these days, I'll have enough time to do that. Really, I promise.
I know, it has been a long time since I posted here, and I even promised to be better about that. So much for good intentions . . . Well, life has changed quite a bit in the past few months. I am currently working for an awesome magazine, Creating Keepsakes.
Believe me when I say I have learned a lot about scrapbooking, especially for someone who hasn't really been into it in the past. I still haven't figured out how to use the grommet tool, or really what a grommet even is (isn't that the dog that hangs out with Wallace?) but I guess there's still lots to learn. :)
One thing I am sure of these days: I love working for a magazine. It's great to be able to see your ideas come to fruition. In fact, my first feature article was recently published in the October issue. Woo hoo! It won't win any journalism Pulitzer Prizes, but I'm okay with that.
I've also upgraded my living situation--from an apartment with two roommates to a townhouse with one roommate. I'm slowly getting there. Who knows, I may actually own my own place someday!
The summer has been fabulous. I've been able to spend sometime in the great outdoors, and the little bro returned from his mission a few weeks ago. And, in the spirit of summer festivities, here's a great pic from a couple of years ago (just before the bro left) of him, the sister, and me during a rousing game of miniature golf. Good times!
And while we're at it, ignore the fact that the sunburned kid is wearing a shirt he wore when he was in first grade (or earlier). Let's hope that phase has passed since he's been wearing suits for the past two years.
After dealing with many days of smog and cold, it's hard not to wish, and yearn with your whole soul, for spring. However, I was reminded a few days ago by my sister of a quote that helps us get through these days. I keep telling myself winter helps us appreciate the spring. John Boswell said, "Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour." I think I find much more time to read during the winter months. Or, perhaps it's the recent barrage of new books that lends itself to that. I don't complain. I find escaping into a fictional world or being enlightened with new knowledge a very envigorating experience.
In fact, I have wondered a lot lately about acquring truth and how it is done. (*warning: this may lead to something philosophical and boring. You may stop reading here, if you wish.) I find it interesting that many, particularly those who try to disprove religion, are not in the pursuit of gaining knowledge. Rather, they are in the pursuit of proving something wrong. I wonder, what have the disprovers gained? Not knowledge, for sure. An absence of knowledge perhaps. In fact, I would venture to say many "philosophers" and "critics" use proving something false as an escape from seeking real knowledge. It is much harder to find truth than it is to find an absence of truth, I think.
I may be completely off my rocker on this one, but I heard an interesting discussion the other day about Alma 32. Instead of the usual faith reading, which is wonderful in itself, the speaker used the symbol of a growing seed to gaining truth. It is much like the scientific method, he said. We start with a hypothesis, we experiment, and then we draw a conclusion. If our first experiement seems to lend us to believe our hypothesis is true, we continue to experiment to make sure. It's a never-ending process. If we find our hypothesis is false, we adjust the hypothesis and continue to experiment. You never see to prove something is not true using this method. How interesing. All of the phases the seed goes through as it grows can be compared to our different senses of knowing truth. If the seed is good, it swells (v. 28), which may be compared to a swelling within us--a spiritual and physical response that tells us it's true. It enlarges our soul (v. 28) which may be compared to a behavioral change in us. We want to act a different way because we believe something is true. It enlightens (v. 28, 34), which may be an intellectual response. Our view has been broadened and our minds enlightened. And last, it begins to be delicious (v. 28), which means we desire more truth.
