Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Work Smart AND Hard

I read such a good article today- I just have to share it with you. It is called 'How many are following the worst advice in the world' by Mark Rowe. In the article he talks about how our society is constantly selling the idea of higher education, and he explains that in doing so, we have come to the belief that one size fits all. But when has that ever been the case with anything? Nothing in this world is one size fits all because every person is different, and education is no exception. His idea is that we need to stop selling higher education and start selling a strong work ethic. Too many people these days are in debt from school and when they graduate they can't even find jobs that they were trained for. I myself know several people who have graduated from a major university but are not working in their studied fields because there were no jobs available for them. Just because you get a degree doesn't necessarily guarantee you a job, but that is the mindset that we have come to know.

Also, the whole selling education idea, has come to make people without degrees feel worthless or like they are second class citizens. Because if you don't have a degree, you must be stupid right? But the thing is is that we all have different talents. That's why society works so well. We can't all be doctors and lawyers. Who would fix our cars for us or grow our food for us? There HAS to be "blue collar" workers for everything to balance out.

I guess this article hit kind of close to home. I myself had to take out student loans to pay for college but ended up never finishing school. So I am in debt without a degree. I have referred to myself as a "dropout" before which honestly sounds like a "stupid person" term, but I do not consider myself as stupid. I am smart in my own ways, college just wasn't for me. If I could just take English classes than I would be back in a heartbeat, but math and science kick my butt. I hate taking those classes and I REALLY hate paying thousands of dollars to take subjects that I loathe completely. It wasn't worth it for me. I have never excelled in the scholarly world, even back in high school. But there are times when I feel like a big fat failure because I never got my bachelors degree. Mark Rowe's article definitely made me feel better about that.

I think this is a must read. Especially for teachers and parents. I think we should stop selling education and start selling a strong honest work ethic and gaining skills that are actually marketable. We need to teach our children that if they don't go to college, that it is okay, as long as they are working hard and doing the very best that they can. College is great. It really is. But it is not meant for everyone and we need to change our mindset that it is the ONLY path to success.

You can read the full article here (and please do, it's a good one).

Saturday, December 28, 2013

This is Me

Yup. Pretty much.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Wright's Christmas Pajamas
Ogden lights with the Palmers


Leland and Daddy at the lights

We love lights!

Ogden lights

First time seeing Christmas lights. He was mesmerized. 

The Paulsen Family Christmas party

Aunt Leslie gave these two the cutest hats for Christmas

Soooo Spoiled!

Grandpa and Grandma Wright bought him his first sled

He would rather eat the wrapping paper than play with his new toys

Cute Christmas Cousins

LOVE these two!

All tuckered out after a long day of fun

My cute Tenley girl
I just love this picture. I  think it's priceless. 
Our Family Christmas Card

My families Christmas card. Duck the Halls!
 Hope you all had a merry December! Our Christmas was so good. We got to see tons of family, had a lot of fun, and were super spoiled this year. Have a happy new year!


Monday, December 23, 2013

My Statement about Phil Robertson and Gay Rights



Thanks to Phil Robertson the issue of gay rights has once again spread itself all over the media and social networks. Phil’s name seems to be on everyone’s lips these days with everyone debating back and forth. In this blog post I would like to share my thoughts on the world’s reaction to Phil’s interview and to also, finally, share my belief about gay rights.

First I would like to state that Phil’s suspension is completely ridiculous. I do not believe that this is a gay rights issue whatsoever, but a freedom of speech one. It is completely unfair that someone asked what Phil’s personal beliefs are on an issue, and then attack him for his answer. If you don’t want to hear his truthful answer, don’t ask him the question in the first place. Secondly, the show Duck Dynasty is a reality TV show, which means it explores the beliefs and lifestyle of the Robertson family. They should not have to adjust their beliefs or lie to the media about them to appease the world. I for one am disappointed in the A&E network for not standing behind Phil and his right to express himself freely. And thirdly, Phil was not trying to force his beliefs on anyone. He was asked a question and he answered it honestly. He did not attack the LGBT community- he just stated his opinion. Phil Robertson said, "I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior," he said. "My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together."However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other."

Phil stated that he would never treat anyone with disrespect because they are different from him. Doesn’t he deserve the same treatment in return? Doesn’t he have a right to believe what he wants? Because I sure as heck think so.

Next I would like to tell you what I believe about gay marriage, but to do so, I need to tell you a little about my religion and what we believe. You see, I believe that before we came to this Earth we all lived together in a pre-mortal life. While we were there, there was a great debate about how this world should be run. Two plans were presented to our Heavenly Father, one by Jesus Christ and the other by Satan. Satan wanted us to come to Earth and be forced to choose the right. Sin would not exist and so all of us would be saved. Jesus Christ’s plan was completely different. We would come to Earth and we could either choose to follow good or evil. Heavenly Father didn’t choose what plan He liked best, instead, He let His children choose for themselves. 1/3 of the people decided to follow Satan, the others decided to follow Jesus Christ. Majority ruled and Jesus Christ’s plan is how we run things on this Earth today. We had the right to choose for ourselves, clear back from the time when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden when they had to choose to eat the forbidden fruit.

You may now be asking yourself what that story has to do with gay rights, am I right? Well folks, here it is. It is a little something that I like to call AGENCY. We have the God given right to choose for ourselves what we do with our lives and what we believe in. This includes choosing who we love and who we marry. Now, God may have the right to tell someone who they can love and marry, but I myself, being an insignificant human being, do not. I may believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, ordained of God, but I would NEVER force that belief on anyone else, or think less of them for believing differently than I do. I would NEVER bully, harass, or judge someone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. And I for one think that there is too much of that going around these days. I do believe in the commandment to love one another and I do believe, no, I KNOW that God loves EVERY SINGLE ONE of his children. The suicide rate among LGBT teenagers is shocking. It breaks my heart. It needs to stop. It is something that I feel very strongly about. So to sum things up: I am a Mormon. I believe in the Family, a Proclamation to the World. I believe that the LGBT community should be allowed to love and marry whoever they want to. I believe that the bullying needs to stop. And I KNOW that God loves you no matter what you believe.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Fav

This is my favorite Christmas song ever. I can listen to it over and over again. Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Crash!

Tuesday night as I was leaving work I got a text from Justin telling me to drive safe cause the roads were really bad. He wasn't kidding.  The whole way home I was driving at least ten under the speed limit- which is a big deal for me and should give you a clue as to just how bad the roads were. I was driving on 600 West and was just coming to the curve in the road by the furniture warehouse when a van coming in the opposite direction hit ice and plowed right into the drivers side of my car. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to think about swerving at all. Later the cop told me it was a good thing that I didn't swerve cause if I had I probably would have ended up wrapped around a telephone pole. So anyway, I had never been in a serious car accident before so I called up Justin and asked him to come be with me. My hands were shaking so badly I knew my body was going through shock. We called the cops but they said there had been 20 accidents already that night so they would get to us when they could. I could tell my back, neck, and shoulders were stiff and sore but other than that I felt fine. The cop came and took pictures and our statements and then we were free to go.

The next morning I woke up with a splitting headache. The whole left side of my temple felt bruised. That morning we went to the Allstate, the mechanic, and the car rental place, and my head just kept getting worse the entire time. It was time to go to the emergency room. They scanned my head and determined that I had gotten a concussion during the accident. I don't even remember hitting my head but the doctor told me that my adrenaline after the crash had probably covered my head pain and that's why I didn't feel it until the next morning.  He gave me three different prescriptions but told me that the best medicine for a concussion was time. I've had to call in sick to work every day this week and have pretty much been a walking zombie. On Wednesday I went to bed at 5 pm and did not wake up until 8 am the next morning. It had been a long, sucky week and I am more than ready for this pounding headache, dizziness, and loopyness to go away. I had no idea concussions hurt this bad and for this long. Maybe I am just a big bawl baby but....... Ouch! 

Flor-i-daaaa!

This year my parents celebrated their 30'th anniversary and to celebrate the occasion they flew the entire family to Florida over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Wednesday was a long traveling day but Leland did great on both flights there and I was one relieved momma!

Thursday morning everyone was tired and just kind of chilled out. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant in the resort which was actually pretty good and had all the usual turkey dinner fixings. After dinner Justin and I went to Ron Jon's and spent a good chunk of money. I freaking love that store! Some of our purchases included new swim trunks for Justin, flip flops for me, bathroom decor, and much much more. 

Friday morning we woke up early, went to breakfast, and headed to Animal Kingdom in Disney World. Holy Moley is that a freaking awesome place! If you have never been there you need to put it on your bucket list! You can't miss the Lion King show, the roller coaster, or the gorilla walk. But my all time favorite was the Safari ride. It was like a legit Safari ride!! NONE of the animals are in cages so you are actually riding a jeep through a wildlife preserve. We saw giraffes, zebras, lions, elephants, a wild boar, hippos, rhinos, antelope, and so much more! And the animals were less than twenty feet away from you. All of the drivers have radios communicating with one another and a jeep ahead of us got on the radio to tell us that some antelope were in the road blocking the way. We had to stop until we got the all clear and we fortunately got stopped by a mom and baby rhino. The baby started approaching the jeep and the driver told us that the baby was very curious and was coming to check us out. He got so close to the jeep that my little sister could have literally reached her hand out and touched him. It was surreal. These are wild animals and yet we got so close to them! It was by far the best part of the trip for me!  

On Saturday we woke up and hit the pool. Ron Jon Resort has a pretty cool set up complete with pool, hot tub, water slide, and lazy river. After a few hours there Justin and I decided to go to the movies cause it had started to rain. We went to Catching Fire.... Whew! It was awesome!! After the movie we picked up Zach and Cassie and headed to City Walk at Universal Studios. We ate at the famous Bubba Gumps restaurant and the walked around all the shops and watched the street performers. 

Sunday I went to the Magic Kingdom with my two sisters. They have a new Little Mermaid ride which was a lot of fun and a whole area dedicated to Beauty and the Beast. We ate lunch in Belles ballroom and it was so amazing. After you order your food they hand you a rose and you go pick your seat. The rose has a tracking device in it so that the waiters can find you to bring you your food. How cool is that?! We rode all of our favorite rides and luckily didn't have to wait in line for very long on any of them. Just as it was getting dark my mom met up with us and we watched the show before they turned on the Christmas lights on Cinderellas castle. After that they made it snow on Main Street, which was actually soap bubbles. It was all so magical and the perfect end to a great Disney day. 

On Monday we didn't have oodles of time before we had to be to the airport so we spent our last moments in Florida at the beach. My Aunt Carol and cousin Mallory met up with us and my other cousin Carlie made it to lunch with us before we had to leave. The flight home was a direct flight this time and unfortunately Leland didn't do as good as the first time. It was a long flight and by the end of the day we were happy to be home and sleeping in our own beds. 











Four Months

On November 27'th my little man turned four months old. It is amazing to me how much a baby can learn and grow in just four months. Here is a little update on what Leland has been up to lately:
  • He now grabs his toes while lying on his back. 
  • He usually sleeps 9+ hours every night, but of course there is a random rough night where he wants nothing to do with sleep.
  • Leland loves blowing spit bubbles. 
  • His favorite toy is a monkey we call Mr. Crinckles
  • This month he has been on three planes, been to Disney World, and seen the Atlantic Ocean
  • He laughs hardest when you play peek a boo with him
  • Leland loves kisses on his very kissable cheeks
  • He has the most to say in the mornings when he wakes up
  • He still loves his swing but we no longer need it to get him to sleep- he is now a full time crib baby
  • When he is over tired he throws a temper tantrum. He screams so hard his face turns red. The only way to settle him down is to rock him and hold him tight. Eventually he will do 'squishy face' which is when he burrows his face into your chest. At that time you can get the binky in and he'll eventually fall asleep.
  • Leland's walker is shaped like a car. He can only push himself backwards so far but has recently learned to push the buttons. His dad was so proud. 
  • At his four month check up Leland weighed 16.10 pounds and was 25 inches long. He is in the 87 and 88 percentile for weight and height. 

The Divine Calling of Motherhood

It's late. I need to be in bed right now, but the pull to write is stronger than the pull of my night time meds, so .... here I am. T...