Changes in L'attitudes - Jamaica

Always treasuring that "alone time" that is the holy grail to all parents, Steve and I went big and decided to grab some alone time in Jamaica.

Yep, again.

We went to the same place we went before.  Why go anywhere else when you've found paradise?

I love who I am when we are on vacation.  Intense Tiercy gets left at home.  And, life if just easy and good.

So many people have asked us which time we liked best and that is a hard question to answer.  I always said that there was so much to do that we didn't get to do it all the first time.  Even if we had, so much of what we enjoy is laying on the beach just relaxing...which we were able to do both times. I have never been a lay in the sun type of girl, but I really have enjoyed it both trips.  Steve really enjoys it too.

The only slight damper on this trip was the rain.  We had gone the same exact week 2 years ago and we only had rain one very early morning about 5 a.m.  This time it rained every day, about half the day.  You can't let a little bit of rain stop your fun though.  So, Steve and I found the game room.

We played ping pong the most.  We both loved it.  I knew that he was way better a player than I so I had a strategy.  And, it might have worked if I hadn't blurted it out with my big mouth.  Next thing I knew, my strategy was being used against me.  LOL. I am happy to report though, that by the end of the week, I was increasing in my score and making Steve work a little bit harder for each point.

On this trip, I was able to go scuba diving.  I would call it a try-ump.  After spending all morning getting "trained" (we watched a video and practiced in the pool), I let the worrier in my win.  Once our boat was anchored, I descended about 16ft to the bottom of the ocean floor; in fact, I was quite surprised at how easy it had been.  But then I couldn't get my body to sit there in zero buoyancy (I think that's what it's called) to wait for the other divers to descend and this started to worry me.  Of course.  I started to worry that since I couldn't do that, how would I be able to clear my mask if I needed to.  When I had tried this task in the pool, I had had problems doing it correctly, and had hurt my ear probably by blowing too hard to clear the water.  And, my worry won.  I motioned to the guide that I was going up.   I didn't feel so bad when about 5 minutes later another lady, who had dived 4 times previously, appeared on the surface.  Oh well.  It was such a new experience for me.  I would try it one more time now that I would be a little more familiar with the process.  I am happy that I tried it.

I also went snorkeling one day. (Steve opted to stay and relax on the beach.)  I had a little fish that was so curious about me that he kept swimming up to me.  I could reach out my hand and touch him.  What a neat experience.

Maybe you can't read the writing in the sand...a wave had come and washed it away.  It says:  Jamaica 2012

Oh my goodness, how could I almost have forgotten to include one of my favorite things.  We were able to get a couples full body exfoliation and massage.  It was awesome!  I must admit I wanted to cry like a little girl when she was doing the exfoliation.  It hurt.  But, my skin has never, I mean N.E.V.E.R. felt so soft.  Ask Steve, he would know.  I love the new experience. 

Looking at the resort from the beach.

In the Caribbean Sea

This is what my view was most of the time while we were on the beach.

I love that there is one fancy restaurant--resort fancy--that you are required to dress up and to have reservations.  We were lucky and ate there twice.  Since we were dressed up, we decided to walk around the resort and take some pictures.

The girl teaching me to dance is Kadian.  (Haha, I should say trying to teach me.) She is one of the entertainment coordinators at CTI and her job is to make sure the guests are having fun!  She was there the last time we were there and we totally remembered her.  In fact, through a series of events, she gave us her own carved wood turtle to take home with us last time.  I always felt so guilty about that.   Anyway, she remembered us too.  She is an amazing person!  So, we would watch the evening entertainment, then dance for an hour, then head to the piano bar.

I am not sure why, but last time we didn't make it to the piano bar. Our loss.  This time, we closed the piano bar down with the sing along.  It was so much fun!  Even though I couldn't carry a tune if you handed it to me in a suitcase.  Steve can and I love listening to him sing.

Funny thing about perspective.  One night, next to Steve, I was feeling quite ordinary.  I mean he can dance and he can sing, and people were noticing.  Someone even said, "Who knew a white boy from Salt Lake could sing and dance like you."  He was being the life of the party.  And, me, I was boring.  So a few nights later I was telling Steve my perspective of that night.  He looked at me and laughed and said, "Let me tell you my perspective.  I was there just dancing where I was watching you be a good sport on the dance floor laughing and having a good time.  Then we move to the piano bar where you immediately make friends with everyone around us.  I thought, 'I'll just sit here and sing.' "  Are we funny or what?

We also met these friends who went with us to the piano bar.  We met them the first night we were there.  They were sitting at the table beside us.  The resort, while big, is small enough that you run into the same people.  We hung out a few times and it was fun to meet new friends.






COUPLES SAN SOUCI

Think San "Suzy" and you would pronounce it right.

This is one of the other Couples resorts that is close to CTI.  While staying at Tower Isle, you are allowed to visit San Souci one time or vice versa.  But we fell in love with it over there and we went twice.  The Jamaican's are so laid back that they were fine with us going over there twice.  CTI provides a shuttle service to take you there at 10 a.m. and return at 4 p.m.  Just perfect for us.

We both think that CSS is great for the day but we prefer the dinner options and night life at CTI.

This charming little path is right at their main front entrance.  I loved it!

Below is Charlie's Veggie Bar.  I never met Charlie, but our bartender, she made the best smoothies that we could ask for.  Steve ordered mango and I ordered StrawberryBanana and we loved them.  These were made with greek yogurt and that made them so creamy.  We wondered why CTI's veggie bar didn't make them with yogurt.  We made sure to stop by here on both trips to CSS.

The bartender was kind enough to take this picture for us right after making our drinks.  (This time I had ordered cucumber water.)  Could you imagine this being your "office" every day!

This charming grass hut is where we sat during our visit to San Souci.  And, I must say that they keep the rain out quite nicely.  Even though we had rain almost every day on this trip we didn't let it stop us.  Because it wasn't a cold rain, it was still nice to be laying on the beach, under these grass huts.  

We also loved floating on rafts holding hands in this little pool and enjoying the privacy of the "cave" or  enjoying the sun on our bodies.  Ahh...sweet relaxation!

We seriously are already planning our next trip back!

It's Like Pulling Teeth

I can't believe it's here.

My little daughter has lost her first tooth!

And her second!

Well, she needed a little help.

I wasn't gonna be the one to pull it.  So Dad did.

I can't believe how brave she is this little girl of mine.

And it's out!

Bunny Sitting

We had a blast bunny-sitting over Spring break.  

She was in heaven.

 So was he!

 Did you know bunnies had leashes?  Me either.

Tyler played with him a little but I was never able to get pics with him.

Here is my favorite experience from the week.

I was getting ready to clean out the cage and I asked Ethan to get the bunny out.  He looks at me with trepidation and says, "But Mom, he poooped in there."  I just had to belly laugh.

Uh I know, that is one of the many reasons we don't have a pet.

Easter Morning

Starting the search for baskets.

The clues were a little harder this year...the boys asked for it that way.

 Ethan trying to reason the clue out with Dad.

Success.  The baskets are found!

I was in the kitchen after the bakset search...

 making these.

Homemade cinnamon rolls.  So delicious!

Mormon at the Baptist Fellowship Meeting

It's funny to me the timing of this post and my last. While I have been thinking about my last post for about two months, this post just came to me tonight. They go hand-in-hand.

Remember Mormon = Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

What happened that made tonight different? Tonight, I was a Mormon at a Baptist Fellowship meeting.

Wait. What? How did that happen?

There is an amazing woman, "Sally" in my neighborhood who is not Mormon. While there are many people who aren't Mormon, where I live it is predominantly Mormon, or full of "members." Sally is the anomaly. She is also a Baptist.

Could she feel completely isolated where we live? You bet. Could she feel intimidated because "everyone" in our neighborhood attends the church on the corner and are members in the same church? You bet.

But she doesn't.

Sally has made friends with many people, and by people I mean members. It's been fun to watch as our list of mutual friends on Facebook grows longer and longer. She has embraced where she lives. She plays in our church basketball games, she comes to aerobics at our church several days a week, she has attended some of our evening relief society meetings, she's a regular player in our Bunco group. I totally admire her.

So, she was having a bible fellowship meeting at her house tonight.

I invited myself.

I am always eager to talk about the gospel. It's a big thing in my life. Wow, that's a little bit of an understatement. It's THE thing in my life that all other thoughts and decisions are filtered through...trying to keep that natural man in check. (see previous post.)

So, I invited myself. I saw it as a chance to talk about the gospel and to build on our common belief of a Savior.

I met an amazing group of women, daughters of our Heavenly Father.

Right off the bat, not really meaning too, one of them disparaged my church on two counts of gospel doctrine. As I have learned a little bit of wisdom at my age, and that I had invited myself, I didn't really speak up. Perhaps I should have. But, I did't want to bring a negative vibe to the meeting, we were all there after all to be spiritually uplifted. Having a "my religion believes this" was not what these women had signed up for.

One of the topics was about a hard to understand gospel principle. (In fact, when I taught this principle in my gospel doctrine class, I felt such anguish as I prepared the lesson. I wanted to understand it perfectly before I taught it and it was complex and has many layers.) And, I could totally see how it would come about.

It's like when I teach my children. I give them "line upon line, precept upon precept." In fact, we are all taught this way, even the Savior himself. So, I give them the first line, and maybe the second line. Who knows exactly when they are ready for the third line or a precept...but at some point they need to take responsibility for their own spiritual progression and learn for themselves.

The thing the lady said, was that first line (x). So, while right (x) but because the principle wasn't taught in it's entirety (xyz) it could totally be misconstrued.

Listen to this. This message is from Elder L. Tom Perry, at Women's Conference a few years ago. (Ironically his message has always stood out and been remembered the most by me.) And from him I learned:

I learned that our church is so misunderstood by people in the United States and abroad in the world. (Hence, my last post.) He says that for every person who strongly likes us there are four who don't. And then he provided statistics from non-members polled in the United States. Of those polled across the United States:

51% had little or no awareness of Mormons
47% did not have a favorable impression
31% believe that Mormons aren't Christian

He went on to say that many of the misunderstandings and wrong impressions are our fault because we don't talk about who we are and what we believe clearly enough. (Hence, this post.)

He says of the four sources for people to hear of the church--church media, outside influences, members, and missionaries--members are the primary source for people to gain a clearer understanding.

Back to the lady, I am sure her limited understanding of the principle was taught by a well meaning member. So, I guess that is my invitation tonight. Let's talk about who we are and what we believe more clearly.

I am a Christian...with an Invitation

...who is a Mormon.

Let me clarify, I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Our nickname is the "Mormon Church."

It surprises me how many people think we aren't Christian.

It's almost laughable, if we weren't so misunderstood. People who think this have obviously spent no amount of time trying to learn about something which they know nothing about, and thus, should not be saying anything at all. It seriously would only take one minute of a google search to see that the true name of our church has the name of Christ in it.

The apple dictionary defines Christianity as: a person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings.

So consider this:

One of my favorite scriptures (there are many) from the Book of Mormon from a prophet named Nephi:

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26)

That is the epitome of my religion. If that doesn't qualify us to be Christians, I don't know what does.

This post started in my mind during my mom's visit while we were walking around the Visitor Center on Temple Square. Here is what I was looking at:

My son looking at the mural of Christ calling his first apostles.

My step-father looking at the mural of Christ's baptism by John the Baptist.

These beautiful murals covering the wall almost from floor to ceiling. I don't remember how many there are in all (maybe 12) but they depict major events in Christ's life starting with his miraculous birth.

Finally, following the ascending spiraling path you end up here, looking at the Christus.

We are Christians.

Who are also human, the natural man. Do people in my church make mistakes? You bet. Are our actions sometimes not Christian? You bet. Well, that's because "the natural man is an enemy to God...and will be, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit." (Mosiah 3:19) Do we hope with our works, repenting of sin, and through the redeeming grace of God that we can one day enter into his presence again. You bet!

With all the interest in Mormons because of the presidential candidates, I offer an invitation to people everywhere: "Get to know us, properly. Drop into our services, talk to our people, have dinner with a local leader, spend a family home evening with a family, be present when a young soon-t0-be missionary opens his/her "call letter" and learns where they will be spending the next couple of years. Join with us on a service project. And then, when you have scratched the surface in this way, closely observe the transformation of people's lives outside the church as missionaries teach them and they go through the conversion process. Watch those who transition from attitudes of hopelessness to lives of purpose and meaning and learn new ways to follow Jesus Christ. Talke to a Mormon bishop--our version of a local pastor, but who is unpaid for their volunteer work--as he helps people grapple with problems of addiction or shaky marriages or unemployment. Examine the doctrine--not through simplistic "us and them" comparisons that we see so often, but in ways that explain how the doctrine of the church influences behavior." (This is quoted from an article in The Washington Post called More than a 'Mormon moment.')

What's So Pinteresting?

Pinterest...I love you!

It's so hard to believe that this amazing web site was developed by men. For women.

Well, it used to be only women but more men are starting to "pin."

Last summer, Time magazine listed Pinterest in its "50 Best Websites of 2011" column.

And, I can see why. It is so much fun.

For me, it keeps the clutter out of my house. It is also my "go to" site when I need a new recipe. For now. It's categories are growing all the time. I have made several things I have found on there and loved them all. My favorite was probably this find:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip!

This is my new favorite "go to" dessert because it was delicious, so easy to make (no baking involved at all), and did I mention delicious! (I do have to agree with the website where the recipe orginiate though that using milk chocolate chips are probably the best to use. Paige made this same recipe and used semi-sweet and her friends didn't rave about it like my friends did. I think the chocolate chips make or break this sweet treat.)

I love that Pinterest is so much fun and while I couldn't imagine my life without it (stop laughing Steve) I am not on it every day. It's just fun.

When I first started, it was like eye candy to me. The visual world that was mesmerizing and I found myself pinning anything that was colorful...but that was before I understood the purpose of the site.

And now. Well, I have a whole board on ideas that are going to keep me from a deep depression next year when my daughter is in school all day. LOL. I have always wondered how I would keep busy. Okay, not really, but kind of. But, I am formulating a plan on how to keep busy next year, and that is by making my days devoted to something. One of my days may be spent on "Pinterest Projects" whether that's sewing something, doing a deep clean using a technique that I saw on their site, or prefecting making perfect chocolate chip cookies.

What are you pinning?