Wow. Just Wow guys.
My blog has reached a whole new level.
I never thought it would happen, but this month...it did!
You see, one of the perks with having a blog, is that you can see what posts of yours are popular, where people are from that are viewing your blog, and what searches have been used to reach your sight.
But my favorite part of the whole 'see what your stats are' on the blog is....
The pageviews. How many people come to this blog in a day? a week? the last month?
It also shows you the overall pageviews.
And guys. I just broke the ceiling.
I mean, I nearly reached it like three times this year already.
But the month of July I broke it.
I broke 1,000 pageviews in a month!
And not just by a squeaky margin. Like 1,002.
No.
By ALOT!
1,152 Pageviews in the month of JULY!!! WOW!!
My blog is never going to be the same again, because now the new ceiling is 2,000.
I have a new goal. lol.
I just find it super amazing. Because I expected the pageviews for this month to be pretty low. I mean...I took like 11 days off from the blog! I didn't post at all for 11 days and what happens?
I GOT OVER A THOUSAND PAGEVIEWS!!
WOW!!
You Guys Are All AWESOME!!!
Thank you so much for making this month a memorable one! :D
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
My family and I were going on a cruise ship for a vacation. We were in the loading area, where all the boxes of food and other necessary stuff were being loaded, and I somehow got separated from my family, and I didn't know what rooms we were staying in. So I wandered around the ship, looking for them, and found them in a room next to a lounge area.
My parents asked me where I'd been, and informed me that I had missed the big parties celebrating us leaving the dock. I knew this and it frustrated me, but then my mom said that Meralto had a present for me. He pulled out this big ten gallon office water bottle thing that was filled with orange liquid and pepperoni slices and present it to me saying "I talked to the people at Arctic Circle and I convinced them to now sale Tampico Juice and Pepperoni Crescent Rolls!
That was super exciting! Though internally I was a bit disgusted to see the two of them mixed together in that one bottle, I was glad to know that it wouldn't be like that when they hit the actual menu....
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
A Roommate Rant
It's amazing how words can make you feel soo many emotions.
Today I had to go into work earlier then expected, to help cover a shift.
And I wonder if this conversation would have happened if I'd been at work...well. When I was supposed to be. I would think not as I would have still been home when the problem arose.
You see, I had created a 'custom list' of channels I like to watch. Since my roomies are gone like...most of the day. I didn't think much of it. In fact...I wasn't sure they even watched TV.
Since...well they're not really there.
I guess they do. I mean, I'm not there all the time to watch them and see if they watch tv.
But last night, one of my roommates asked me to take off the custom list I'd created.
Sure no problem. I wasn't quite sure how to do it. So I fiddled around with it, found a thing that said "Channels I get." And hit that.
There. Problem solved. That would show us all the channels that we got. (or the ones that the cable company wants us to get, but add into the package)
I didn't think much of it.
But apparently...I did it wrong.
Which is saddening.
Because I'd been having a pretty bright and cheerful day before my first break. I mean, yah I had to get up earlier then expected, but I was still in a good mood as that meant I would be able to leave earlier.
Then...I saw the text.
My roommate had texted me.
And basically yelled at me.
"YOU DIDN'T CHANGE THE CABLE OFF OF YOUR LIST AND THANKS TO THAT I COULDN'T WATCH MY SHOW BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO CHANGE IT MYSELF! DON'T YOU KNOW I LIVE HERE TOO? YOU CAN'T JUST HOG THE TV AND MAKE YOUR CUSTOM LIST WILLY NILLY!"
Of course, it wasn't written in caps lock like that. Or written with those words.
But that was the general meaning.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
No, I'm sure it was written in a way that was meant to be "Uh...Hey, so I tried watching a show, but the playlist I found didn't have it on it....and I couldn't figure out how to change it so I could see that channel. Could you please make sure it's changed at your convenience so I can get that channel? Thanks"
It didn't come across that way to me though. Accusatory is the better word.
Of course my first reaction was.
"O.o But...I did change it. I changed it right when you asked me to. Unless I did it wrong...but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I'll have to see when I get back."
Then the problem solver in me came into play.
I mean...did she try everything? Or did she just assume that since it wasn't how she wanted it that nothing she tried would work?
So I asked her "Did you try doing this? What about this?"
Then the anger came in.
I mean. Come on. TAKE THE FREAKING TIME TO FIGURE OUT THE TV YOURSELF!! Weren't you paying attention last night when the boys came over and they were having problems finding the channel they wanted to watch? (sports...bleh. boring.) They knew the channel number and put that into the remote and GUESS WHAT? It took them straight to that channel. Even though it wasn't listed on my custom list.
-I know this only works if you actually know the channel number, but still. If she was going to watch a particular show...I would think she would know what channel it was on and just try putting that in.- (who knows, I don't know if I would think of that...though having recently watched the guys do it...who knows if we can even get this 'channel' that has her 'show' she wanted to watch.)
Another angry thought was: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME LAST NIGHT WHEN YOU ASKED ME TO CHANGE THE LIST THAT YOU WANTED TO WATCH A PARTICULAR SHOW? Seriously. I figured by asking me to change the list you wanted to watch shows that weren't on my list. (probably sports...but who knows. Maybe she likes all those shopping networks. I don't know) But how was I supposed to know that there would be a particular show on at a particular time that you had to watch? (In this day and age, I'm sure you can find it online somewhere.)
I mean, if she had. Mentioned something like. "Could you make sure this channel is on that list? There is this show I want to watch." I could have done that.
"Oh, I'm so excited to watch this show tomorrow morning!"
Okay, that second one might not have been an obvious clue to me to make sure that channel was on the list I'd set it to, but still.
But seriously. It's totally frustrating. And totally darkened my day.
I felt like I was being attacked.
For something that I hadn't purposely done.
And that remark "I live here too!"
Ugh. ARE YOU SURE YOU LIVE HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT HERE THAT OFTEN! How was I supposed to know you actually watch TV when you're hardly ever here. How am I supposed to know that there are channels you like to watch when you don't tell me? It seems like whenever you are here you're hiding in your room. Soooo WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME? When seriously I feel like the only one who actually lives in the apartment!
Grr. So I spent like...3 or so hours warring with myself at work. Fighting between anger and hurt.
Seriously. I didn't purposely do anything. And you accusing me of not thinking of you. Hurt me. Hurt me deep. I don't purposely try to make life difficult for people.
I'm an easy going person. I try and make it so everyone is happy and everything is running smoothly.
I am aware that I spend a lot of time in the living room with the tv on.
But seriously, I'm sure I mentioned to her that at any time she could kick me off the tv. More then 90% of the time the TV is only on for background noise.
So yah. I seriously got sick to my stomach. Literally because I was angry. hurt, worrying, and desperately trying to just keep from lashing out back at her.
-Not that this isn't what I'm doing right now (lashing out), I just couldn't think of another topic to talk about today because it's foremost in my mind.
And then, when I was finally able to take my next break.
Her first words back to me are "Oh, It's okay." followed by more stuff.
()_() IT'S OKAY?!
You Had Me Literally Sick To My Stomach because I thought I was being a bad roommate and I wasn't sure if what I suggested to you would help out or if there was even a problem in the first place.
And all you can say is "Oh, it's okay?"
I don't get it. like literally three hours ago you were practically yelling me over text for 'hogging the tv and making my own custom list without consideration for others'
And now...it's just okay?
I guess the anger cooled.
Mine quickly cooled after I vented out my frustration that 'it was just okay!' She's okay now. Things are good, I can stop stressing.
My anger cooled because I convinced myself that she realized I wasn't trying to be a bad roommate and I had tried to switch the list. And that I was doing all I could when I wasn't there to fix it myself.
*shakes head*
And guess what? She's been gone all day. Again. She probably won't come back to the apartment until after midnight...when nothing is on TV....if she comes back at all. (maybe she needs to be away from this environment of contention that was unnecessarily created)
But just in case she did come home...I've been hiding in my room since I got home from work. -And yah, I figured out how to actually switch the list to 'all the channels' for her. -Which I think is frustrating. As 4/6s of the channels we can't watch, a fourth of the remaining bunch is music, another fourth sports, and the last fourth..shopping channels. There's only like 100 channels at the most of 'good shows.' I mean, you have to scroll through all those channels you can't watch or are useless channels to every try and find the right ones that you can actually watch.
So problem solved. Everything has been smoothed over....I think. Since she isn't home I don't know.
Yet.
There is just one little thing wiggling in the back of my head.
I've had this custom list since the first week I moved in. Three months ago. She is moving out within the next month.
And she chooses NOW to tell me that I can't just create my own custom list?
WELL WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME THIS WHEN I FIRST MOVED IN!
"Hey I noticed you created your own list on the tv, but it doesn't have the channels I like to watch, can you add those in?"
"Oh, sure! I didn't know you liked to watch those. Here let me do that now."
But no. She just blows up at me now. Out of the blue!
Why?
Why?
It leads me to believe she only watches tv once in a blue moon.
Otherwise...wouldn't she have brought that up to me sooner? Or tolerated it for like...two more weeks when she would move out and never have to see me again? And I'd never have known? I mean, I'm tolerating the fact that she likes to take my cup and put it in the dishwasher when I specifically told her. "Hey, I like to leave a cup out for easy access when I get thirsty, that way I don't have to constantly get new ones. So don't touch it." It's only two more weeks of that....
Who knows. There might be something in the atmosphere, Jupiter is making a triangle with Venus and Pluto or something to just cause people to have a bad day and snap.
I mean, Reth had a pretty rough morning as well. Where nothing seemed to go right at work. Things were empty, dishes weren't done, cages not cleaned, people not coming into work, being out of cleaning supplies, having to go to the vet, leaving the water on and causing the sink to flood....just to name a few things.
Yah. Something's up. Something about the 30th of July is just aligning to give people rough days.
I'm glad that we managed to smooth over the problem. (maybe who knows. she might still be angry too) But, It's still going to bug me that she hasn't asked me about changing the list before now though. Where has she been the past three months to only mention it now?
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I dreamt that I was at somebody elses house, but when I went back to my car, I came to it just in time to see this big red monster truck, roll right over it. Tearing off it's bumper while knocking the wheels off my car and smashing in the hood. I turned away, going back in the home, hoping that it was only a dream and that my car hadn't just got destroyed. But I had to go back to it later. Only, I ended up in my sister's apartment complex parking lot, searching for something while this gang of guys were hanging out. I think I was trying to find that truck that had run into me, wishing that when the accident had happened that I'd taken a picture of the license plate number...
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
Today I had to go into work earlier then expected, to help cover a shift.
And I wonder if this conversation would have happened if I'd been at work...well. When I was supposed to be. I would think not as I would have still been home when the problem arose.
You see, I had created a 'custom list' of channels I like to watch. Since my roomies are gone like...most of the day. I didn't think much of it. In fact...I wasn't sure they even watched TV.
Since...well they're not really there.
I guess they do. I mean, I'm not there all the time to watch them and see if they watch tv.
But last night, one of my roommates asked me to take off the custom list I'd created.
Sure no problem. I wasn't quite sure how to do it. So I fiddled around with it, found a thing that said "Channels I get." And hit that.
There. Problem solved. That would show us all the channels that we got. (or the ones that the cable company wants us to get, but add into the package)
I didn't think much of it.
But apparently...I did it wrong.
Which is saddening.
Because I'd been having a pretty bright and cheerful day before my first break. I mean, yah I had to get up earlier then expected, but I was still in a good mood as that meant I would be able to leave earlier.
Then...I saw the text.
My roommate had texted me.
And basically yelled at me.
"YOU DIDN'T CHANGE THE CABLE OFF OF YOUR LIST AND THANKS TO THAT I COULDN'T WATCH MY SHOW BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO CHANGE IT MYSELF! DON'T YOU KNOW I LIVE HERE TOO? YOU CAN'T JUST HOG THE TV AND MAKE YOUR CUSTOM LIST WILLY NILLY!"
Of course, it wasn't written in caps lock like that. Or written with those words.
But that was the general meaning.
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
No, I'm sure it was written in a way that was meant to be "Uh...Hey, so I tried watching a show, but the playlist I found didn't have it on it....and I couldn't figure out how to change it so I could see that channel. Could you please make sure it's changed at your convenience so I can get that channel? Thanks"
It didn't come across that way to me though. Accusatory is the better word.
Of course my first reaction was.
"O.o But...I did change it. I changed it right when you asked me to. Unless I did it wrong...but I'm pretty sure I didn't. I'll have to see when I get back."
Then the problem solver in me came into play.
I mean...did she try everything? Or did she just assume that since it wasn't how she wanted it that nothing she tried would work?
So I asked her "Did you try doing this? What about this?"
Then the anger came in.
I mean. Come on. TAKE THE FREAKING TIME TO FIGURE OUT THE TV YOURSELF!! Weren't you paying attention last night when the boys came over and they were having problems finding the channel they wanted to watch? (sports...bleh. boring.) They knew the channel number and put that into the remote and GUESS WHAT? It took them straight to that channel. Even though it wasn't listed on my custom list.
-I know this only works if you actually know the channel number, but still. If she was going to watch a particular show...I would think she would know what channel it was on and just try putting that in.- (who knows, I don't know if I would think of that...though having recently watched the guys do it...who knows if we can even get this 'channel' that has her 'show' she wanted to watch.)
Another angry thought was: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME LAST NIGHT WHEN YOU ASKED ME TO CHANGE THE LIST THAT YOU WANTED TO WATCH A PARTICULAR SHOW? Seriously. I figured by asking me to change the list you wanted to watch shows that weren't on my list. (probably sports...but who knows. Maybe she likes all those shopping networks. I don't know) But how was I supposed to know that there would be a particular show on at a particular time that you had to watch? (In this day and age, I'm sure you can find it online somewhere.)
I mean, if she had. Mentioned something like. "Could you make sure this channel is on that list? There is this show I want to watch." I could have done that.
"Oh, I'm so excited to watch this show tomorrow morning!"
Okay, that second one might not have been an obvious clue to me to make sure that channel was on the list I'd set it to, but still.
But seriously. It's totally frustrating. And totally darkened my day.
I felt like I was being attacked.
For something that I hadn't purposely done.
And that remark "I live here too!"
Ugh. ARE YOU SURE YOU LIVE HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT HERE THAT OFTEN! How was I supposed to know you actually watch TV when you're hardly ever here. How am I supposed to know that there are channels you like to watch when you don't tell me? It seems like whenever you are here you're hiding in your room. Soooo WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME? When seriously I feel like the only one who actually lives in the apartment!
Grr. So I spent like...3 or so hours warring with myself at work. Fighting between anger and hurt.
Seriously. I didn't purposely do anything. And you accusing me of not thinking of you. Hurt me. Hurt me deep. I don't purposely try to make life difficult for people.
I'm an easy going person. I try and make it so everyone is happy and everything is running smoothly.
I am aware that I spend a lot of time in the living room with the tv on.
But seriously, I'm sure I mentioned to her that at any time she could kick me off the tv. More then 90% of the time the TV is only on for background noise.
So yah. I seriously got sick to my stomach. Literally because I was angry. hurt, worrying, and desperately trying to just keep from lashing out back at her.
-Not that this isn't what I'm doing right now (lashing out), I just couldn't think of another topic to talk about today because it's foremost in my mind.
And then, when I was finally able to take my next break.
Her first words back to me are "Oh, It's okay." followed by more stuff.
()_() IT'S OKAY?!
You Had Me Literally Sick To My Stomach because I thought I was being a bad roommate and I wasn't sure if what I suggested to you would help out or if there was even a problem in the first place.
And all you can say is "Oh, it's okay?"
I don't get it. like literally three hours ago you were practically yelling me over text for 'hogging the tv and making my own custom list without consideration for others'
And now...it's just okay?
I guess the anger cooled.
Mine quickly cooled after I vented out my frustration that 'it was just okay!' She's okay now. Things are good, I can stop stressing.
My anger cooled because I convinced myself that she realized I wasn't trying to be a bad roommate and I had tried to switch the list. And that I was doing all I could when I wasn't there to fix it myself.
*shakes head*
And guess what? She's been gone all day. Again. She probably won't come back to the apartment until after midnight...when nothing is on TV....if she comes back at all. (maybe she needs to be away from this environment of contention that was unnecessarily created)
But just in case she did come home...I've been hiding in my room since I got home from work. -And yah, I figured out how to actually switch the list to 'all the channels' for her. -Which I think is frustrating. As 4/6s of the channels we can't watch, a fourth of the remaining bunch is music, another fourth sports, and the last fourth..shopping channels. There's only like 100 channels at the most of 'good shows.' I mean, you have to scroll through all those channels you can't watch or are useless channels to every try and find the right ones that you can actually watch.
So problem solved. Everything has been smoothed over....I think. Since she isn't home I don't know.
Yet.
There is just one little thing wiggling in the back of my head.
I've had this custom list since the first week I moved in. Three months ago. She is moving out within the next month.
And she chooses NOW to tell me that I can't just create my own custom list?
WELL WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME THIS WHEN I FIRST MOVED IN!
"Hey I noticed you created your own list on the tv, but it doesn't have the channels I like to watch, can you add those in?"
"Oh, sure! I didn't know you liked to watch those. Here let me do that now."
But no. She just blows up at me now. Out of the blue!
Why?
Why?
It leads me to believe she only watches tv once in a blue moon.
Otherwise...wouldn't she have brought that up to me sooner? Or tolerated it for like...two more weeks when she would move out and never have to see me again? And I'd never have known? I mean, I'm tolerating the fact that she likes to take my cup and put it in the dishwasher when I specifically told her. "Hey, I like to leave a cup out for easy access when I get thirsty, that way I don't have to constantly get new ones. So don't touch it." It's only two more weeks of that....
Who knows. There might be something in the atmosphere, Jupiter is making a triangle with Venus and Pluto or something to just cause people to have a bad day and snap.
I mean, Reth had a pretty rough morning as well. Where nothing seemed to go right at work. Things were empty, dishes weren't done, cages not cleaned, people not coming into work, being out of cleaning supplies, having to go to the vet, leaving the water on and causing the sink to flood....just to name a few things.
Yah. Something's up. Something about the 30th of July is just aligning to give people rough days.
I'm glad that we managed to smooth over the problem. (maybe who knows. she might still be angry too) But, It's still going to bug me that she hasn't asked me about changing the list before now though. Where has she been the past three months to only mention it now?
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I dreamt that I was at somebody elses house, but when I went back to my car, I came to it just in time to see this big red monster truck, roll right over it. Tearing off it's bumper while knocking the wheels off my car and smashing in the hood. I turned away, going back in the home, hoping that it was only a dream and that my car hadn't just got destroyed. But I had to go back to it later. Only, I ended up in my sister's apartment complex parking lot, searching for something while this gang of guys were hanging out. I think I was trying to find that truck that had run into me, wishing that when the accident had happened that I'd taken a picture of the license plate number...
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
Monday, July 29, 2013
October 1995 General Conference Saturday Afternoon
Thomas S. Monson -The Sustaining of Church Officers
Neal A. Maxwell -"Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father"
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Neal A. Maxwell -"Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father"
- A second group of members are "honorable" but not "valiant." They are not really aware of the gap nor the importance of closing it. These "honorable" individuals are certainly not miserable nor wicked, nor are they unrighteous and unhappy. It is not what they have done but what they have left undone that is amiss. For example, if valiant, they could touch others deeply instead of merely being remembered pleasantly.
- If the Master is a stranger to us, then we will merely end up serving other masters. The sovereignty of these other masters is real, even if it sometimes is subtle, for they do call their cadence. Actually, "we are all enlisted," if only in the ranks of the indifferent.
- Many of us thus have sufficient faith to avoid the major sins of commission, but not enough faith to sacrifice our distracting obsessions or to focus on our omissions.
- Most omissions occur because we fail to get outside ourselves.
- He is only asking us to lose the old self in order to find the new self. It is not a question of one's losing identity but of finding his true identity!
- Thus, brothers an sisters, consecration is not resignation or a mindless caving in. Rather, it is a deliberate expanding outward, making us more honest when we sing, "More used would I be." Consecration, likewise, is not shoulder-shrugging acceptance, but, instead, shoulder-squaring to better bear the yoke.
- A life is not a trivial thing, and its passing should not be memorialized with trivial things.
- Knowledge is not of equal value. Some knowledge is more important than others.
- "Love is not just an ecstasy, not just an intense feeling. It is a driving force. It is something that carries us through our life of joyful duty.
- If we remember that we can pray and be heard and helped, we can always withstand that feeling of emptiness.
- "The difference between God and the Devil," he said, "is that God creates and organizes, while the whole study of the Devil is to destroy."
- Remember, our Savior, Jesus Christ, always builds us up and never tears us down.
- "Never take no cutoffs and hurry along as fast as you can."
- A person so moved by the Spirit not only knows these things himself, but the Spirit carries them into the hearts of others.
- The witness of the Holy Ghost is even more compelling than the witness of sight.
- The sun rises rather quietly, and at times we think that the Lord's voice is that quiet, bu this voice is audible if we will only pray, meditate, and listen as he places clear thoughts in our minds.
- While most of the earth's inhabitants do not recognize this priesthood power, all living creatures are its beneficiaries.
- The blessings of the priesthood are available to everyone.
- You brethren who have the priesthood--magnify it. You who have had the priesthood but have allowed it to lie dormant--reactivate it. You brethren who have never had it--seek diligently to obtain it.
- As technology sweeps through every facet of our lives, changes are occurring so rapidly that it can be difficult for us to keep our lives in balance.
- The Savior made it clear that we cannot place sufficient oil in our preparedness lamps by simply avoiding evil. We must also be anxiously engaged in a positive program of preparation."
- "The Lord will not translate one's good hopes and desires and intentions into works. Each of us must do that for himself."
- We have been instructed for years to follow at least four requirements in preparing for that which is to come.
- First, gain an adequate education.
- Education has, of necessity, become a lifelong pursuit. we must, in our scheduling of time, allot sufficient time to educate ourselves for now and for the future.
- Second, live strictly within your income and save something for a rainy day.
- Third, avoid excessive debt.
- "Live within your means. Get out of debt. Keep out of debt."
- "Interest never sleeps nor sickens nor dies. ... Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you."
- If you do not have the discipline to control the use of credit cards, it is better not to have them. A well-managed family does not pay interest--it earns it.
- "Thems that understands interest receives it, thems that don't pays it."
- Fourth, acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life.
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Feasting Upon The Scriptures
I'm impressed with my bishopric. Why? Because they actually caught me on a weekend when I was actually home, and asked me to give a talk in church today.
It's surprising because when summer hits and school is a distant memory...my family is gone. Seriously. Gone. Vacations, birthdays, other things....we don't make it to church that often during the summer.
So to find me, when it was summer, and I was home for a weekend, and didn't have to work? Wow.
That didn't mean they found me on the first try. No, it took them a couple of times to find that one weekend I would be in town. But they persisted, and they got the reward of me speaking in church.
So, here it is. :) My talk. lol Can I just say that I'm glad it wasn't Fast Sunday?
Everyone knows that Turkey is the main dish of Thanksgiving Dinner. And everyone tends to have a favorite part of the bird. Dark meat, white meat, wings, legs, whatever. I heard all the time growing up about how good Turkey was with anything. However, I remained unconvinced.
"Surely," I thought to myself, "Turkey is only good as a thin slice of meat between two gigantic pieces of bread. The less you can taste that turkey, the better. Having it any thicker or eating it with anything else was just plain crazy!"
You could say that I got my first real taste of Turkey in 9th Grade when I started Seminary. I was served a heaping pile of white meat with flavorful gravy covering it. And not wanting to fail my class, which requires me to eat the whole heaping pile of the New Testament to pass, I began cleaning my plate. How else would I get that nice shiny necklace t the end of the school year?
That year marked the first time I'd read through the New Testament. And unless you think otherwise, I hadn't read all of the other books either. Like I said, I liked my turkey sliced a thin as possible. However, in that first year I surprisingly discovered my favorite scripture while having to mark scripture masteries. 1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
That scripture has influenced a lot of my life as I took it to mean that God wouldn't give me any trials that I couldn't handle. It was comforting, but the next year brought something that I couldn't really call a trial.
I'd had my first real taste of turkey. I thought I knew ho all parts of the turkey would taste. I was learning different as we started munching on the legs. Aka the Book of Mormon. It was good, delicious.
Only, I wasn't feeling right. It could be compared to that urge to go take a nap after you've stuffed yourself with Thanksgiving Dinner. It wasn't a trial. Just a feeling. A feeling that at any moment through a freak accident I would suddenly die. A feeling that my life was going to be cut short. Eating Turkey sandwiches -going to church- and having Turkey and Gravy -reading the scriptures and going to Seminary- would help in the moment. But once I was done eating, that feeling would come again.
I'm not sure what or who gave me the suggestion to try my Dad's Mashed Potatoes. It could have been a teacher, a talk in conference, family, or a combination of other things. All I knew was that I needed answers. I needed comfort and I convinced myself my Dad's mashed potatoes would be the solution. Why? Because my Dad never makes his mashed potatoes the same way twice. And I needed something that I could return to again and again. Where the base ingredients of it stays the same, but at each meal it would taste slightly different. I needed my own personal set of scriptures meant just for me.
So on October 30th 2005, I got my Patriarchal Blessing. And it is a lot like my Dad's Mashed Potatoes. Every time I read it, something different sticks out to me and helps me when I'm going through trials, or when I want to win an argument about what I should be doing with my life.
"No Dad, I can't get a job right now, my blessing says nothing about that. It just states that I should learn, that I should be in school. So lets forget the job for now okay?"
Just so you know, that dark feeling didn't fade right after getting my blessing, but it did help me to look up and see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And if I thought that I could slack off on my consumption of the turkey, my blessing knocked that idea right out of the window. For a phrase in to goes as so:
"You have the responsibility to study the scriptures" -oh darn.- "and the words of the latter-day apostles and prophets, through them you will find safety."
You didn't have to convince me twice on that. Read the scriptures and I'll be safe? That totally had an impact on me, especially back then when I felt like my life could end at any moment.
But being new to reading my scriptures, I wasn't quite perfect at continuously reading them. Once seminary ended for the school year, I would slack off on reading during the summer and go back to just eating my turkey sandwiches.
That attitude ended upon graduation from High School. Graduation from Seminary. The main motivation to read my scriptures had left my life and summer was approaching. I had to make a decision then. I knew myself well enough that if I didn't do something to provide my own motivation, I would probably never eat turkey again without two big slices of bread surrounding it. I would probably only eat the mashed potatoes once I a blue moon.
And...I didn't want that. So I decided in my first year of college that I would try to eat the whole turkey in a year. I would make the goal to read the Quad in a year -Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, and D&C- That would mean that I would have to read four chapters a day and eight chapters on Sunday.
Surprising even to myself, I accomplished it. I'd established a pattern of eating turkey that meant that when I finished the four books at the end of the year, I just returned back to the Old Testament and started reading it again, though at a much slower pace.
Only, by the last year of college, I was beginning to get tired of eating the same things over and over gain. I recognized that if I didn't find something else to eat with my turkey and mashed potatoes...I would start to slack off on my consumption. But what else could go with that?
Stuffing. I discovered stuffing my last year of college. Like really discovered it. That year I ended up being on the Orem Institute of Religion's Student Council as a co-chair for the Publicity Committee. Now Institute wasn't the stuffing. It was more like a helping of veggies. Delicious and different enough from Seminary that I would often go there for peace and found a second home there from the very start of college.
No, the stuffing hearkens back to the line from my blessing. "Study the words of latter-day apostles and prophets."
General conference. Something that I had experience with in that my parents would blast the talks from every available means; TVs and Radios, at the same time. It was hard to escape it, so I would end up listening because I had to, but not because I wanted to. And I wouldn't go back to the talks when they came out in the Ensign. It was a one time listen for me. But then, my committee decided to do an art show, where the artworks would be themed around the idea of one-liners from the most recent session of General Conference. One-liners are like the name suggests. One line from a talk that basically 'says it all.' For example one that has stuck in my mind for years was when President Monson said "Every Cinderella has her Midnight...it's called Judgment Day."
My committee also recognized that people wouldn't have the time to go search for a one-liner to draw, so we took the goal upon ourselves to read a set of conference talks, mark up the one-liners we found there and left them on tables in the Institute for others to look through and also mark up.
Doing that. Marking up the talks. I found my Stuffing. This was actually fun! It was applicable to my life! I read my set of talks and then went right on marking the rest of the conference. This. This I enjoyed. why hadn't I done this part of my blessing before?
I had a slight problem though. My access to conference talks was rather limited. I only had so many available to me, and when I ran out...my only option was to go look them up online. Not something you can do when you only have five minutes between your class periods.
But two Christmases ago, that changed. You see, I got an Itouch. Originally it was so that I could put more music on my playlists as I'd run out of room on my previous Ipod. But then I discovered this crazy thing called an App. And you could find an App for everything. So, for fun, I downloaded the Gospel Library Ap. Mobile Scriptures! Just in case. For who knew what reason.
You really don't know how excited I was when I discovered that not only was the Quad available I this App, but conference talks were as well! Tons of them, from way back before I was born. Back to when my parents were kids. But also the most recent sessions as well!
"Study words of Latter-day Apostles and Prophets." What did latter-day mean to me? To me it meant my time. My life. And in my blessing, I took it to mean that I needed to study the words spoken by apostles and prophets in my lifetime. That's when I got my crazy idea. Literally, on Facebook, I titled it: "My Crazy New Years Goal."
I would read all the talks from the year of my birth to the present day. This October will bring the total up to 46 General Conferences. Could you not see that this would be fun! And it has been fun. As I'm now in my second year of this new years goal.
I started off easily enough. Two talks a day. I mean, it's pointless to sit down to a Thanksgiving Feast and stuff yourself until you're sick. After that point, you're not anxious to continue eating. It could take months or years before you'd even want to try. so I started off easy with two talks and hadn't reached the year 2000 before New Years Eve was again knocking at my door.
So this year I upped to anti to Three. And as of now, I only have 12 more conferences to go! Yay! I recognize I'll probably take this goal into a third year, but I really don't mind it. It's been worth it.
Reading Conference Talks has made me aware of the feast spread out on the table before me. Before this goal, I'd only been focused on what I had on my plate. Nothing more. After reading conference talks, I can find principles within them that I can apply to my past, present, and future. That I can use to give words of advice to others. These modern day scriptures have also increased my love for the Quad -ancient- scriptures. They're no longer words on a page to me.
No, I've come to realize how real these people are. How the ancient prophets must have shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to write down, their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and teachings onto plates in order to have us be able to read them today. To know that these people actually existed, that they had lives and could have done other things, risked their lives in some cases to write down words of wisdom for our day. It's humbling.
I mean, how would we feel if we worked all day to prepare a wonderful feast, only to have a guest come to the table and insist that a sandwich is the only way to go. They don't need to eat anything else.
Would you want to shout at them: "No! There is so much more to eat on this table! Come, partake of something else. The Mashed Potatoes! The Stuffing! THE TURKEY! Come on! You can have so much more then a sandwich if you would just reach out and take it. There is so much more then just bread and turkey on this table.
There are so many sources we can draw from in the modern day to make our simple meal a feast. Yet many of us, myself included are only focused on the plate of now, not the banquet table of eternity. You can find answers not only in church, the temple, or reading the Quad. You can gain so much more by Patriarchal Blessings, General Conferences, and Mormon Messages. There are so many more side dishes to sample from this feast then you might be aware of at this time.
Beyond that, what good is it to have this feast if you eat it by yourself? A feast generally means a group of people eating a big meal. It's fun, it's lighthearted, a cause for celebration. So why not share your discoveries of the feast with others? Share your sudden love for mashed potatoes or green beans. An example of sharing that I've found is that when I'm reading the conference talks, I mark down thoughts, phrases, and stories that had meaning to me, and I post them periodically during the week on my blog for others to read.
Elder Robert D. Hales in the October 2006 Conference -I read this last night!- stated: "AS with voices from the dust, the prophets of the Lord cry out to us on earth today! Take hold of the scriptures! Cling to them, walk by them, live by them. Don't nibble."
That's what feasting upon the scriptures means to me. It means gathering a bunch of people together and sharing our discoveries, trying new dishes, and especially...eating more then just the turkey and bread. We were meant to feast upon the Lord's words, both ancient and modern. Not nibble at them.
I have a testimony that scriptures, both ancient and modern can help us out in life, that they can make our day brighter, and our lives happier. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
My family and I were all hanging out in my parents living room, talking. When I looked out the window and saw this big long mostly white with red and blue squares -drone rocket- hanging out right outside the window. My Mom yelled at my brother, who was sitting on the couch in front of the window to get down. He stared at her blankly, and we repeated it. Get down get down! He hit the floor as the drone burst through the window, and it's long nose tipped towards the ground, I went behind the couch only to realize the bomb was heading straight towards my couch and it surely couldn't give me much cover for when it exploded. So I dove for the couch the rest of my family had been on, wondering, why were we being attacked? We hadn't said anything! Done anything wrong!
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
And I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
It's surprising because when summer hits and school is a distant memory...my family is gone. Seriously. Gone. Vacations, birthdays, other things....we don't make it to church that often during the summer.
So to find me, when it was summer, and I was home for a weekend, and didn't have to work? Wow.
That didn't mean they found me on the first try. No, it took them a couple of times to find that one weekend I would be in town. But they persisted, and they got the reward of me speaking in church.
So, here it is. :) My talk. lol Can I just say that I'm glad it wasn't Fast Sunday?
Everyone knows that Turkey is the main dish of Thanksgiving Dinner. And everyone tends to have a favorite part of the bird. Dark meat, white meat, wings, legs, whatever. I heard all the time growing up about how good Turkey was with anything. However, I remained unconvinced.
"Surely," I thought to myself, "Turkey is only good as a thin slice of meat between two gigantic pieces of bread. The less you can taste that turkey, the better. Having it any thicker or eating it with anything else was just plain crazy!"
You could say that I got my first real taste of Turkey in 9th Grade when I started Seminary. I was served a heaping pile of white meat with flavorful gravy covering it. And not wanting to fail my class, which requires me to eat the whole heaping pile of the New Testament to pass, I began cleaning my plate. How else would I get that nice shiny necklace t the end of the school year?
That year marked the first time I'd read through the New Testament. And unless you think otherwise, I hadn't read all of the other books either. Like I said, I liked my turkey sliced a thin as possible. However, in that first year I surprisingly discovered my favorite scripture while having to mark scripture masteries. 1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
That scripture has influenced a lot of my life as I took it to mean that God wouldn't give me any trials that I couldn't handle. It was comforting, but the next year brought something that I couldn't really call a trial.
I'd had my first real taste of turkey. I thought I knew ho all parts of the turkey would taste. I was learning different as we started munching on the legs. Aka the Book of Mormon. It was good, delicious.
Only, I wasn't feeling right. It could be compared to that urge to go take a nap after you've stuffed yourself with Thanksgiving Dinner. It wasn't a trial. Just a feeling. A feeling that at any moment through a freak accident I would suddenly die. A feeling that my life was going to be cut short. Eating Turkey sandwiches -going to church- and having Turkey and Gravy -reading the scriptures and going to Seminary- would help in the moment. But once I was done eating, that feeling would come again.
I'm not sure what or who gave me the suggestion to try my Dad's Mashed Potatoes. It could have been a teacher, a talk in conference, family, or a combination of other things. All I knew was that I needed answers. I needed comfort and I convinced myself my Dad's mashed potatoes would be the solution. Why? Because my Dad never makes his mashed potatoes the same way twice. And I needed something that I could return to again and again. Where the base ingredients of it stays the same, but at each meal it would taste slightly different. I needed my own personal set of scriptures meant just for me.
So on October 30th 2005, I got my Patriarchal Blessing. And it is a lot like my Dad's Mashed Potatoes. Every time I read it, something different sticks out to me and helps me when I'm going through trials, or when I want to win an argument about what I should be doing with my life.
"No Dad, I can't get a job right now, my blessing says nothing about that. It just states that I should learn, that I should be in school. So lets forget the job for now okay?"
Just so you know, that dark feeling didn't fade right after getting my blessing, but it did help me to look up and see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And if I thought that I could slack off on my consumption of the turkey, my blessing knocked that idea right out of the window. For a phrase in to goes as so:
"You have the responsibility to study the scriptures" -oh darn.- "and the words of the latter-day apostles and prophets, through them you will find safety."
You didn't have to convince me twice on that. Read the scriptures and I'll be safe? That totally had an impact on me, especially back then when I felt like my life could end at any moment.
But being new to reading my scriptures, I wasn't quite perfect at continuously reading them. Once seminary ended for the school year, I would slack off on reading during the summer and go back to just eating my turkey sandwiches.
That attitude ended upon graduation from High School. Graduation from Seminary. The main motivation to read my scriptures had left my life and summer was approaching. I had to make a decision then. I knew myself well enough that if I didn't do something to provide my own motivation, I would probably never eat turkey again without two big slices of bread surrounding it. I would probably only eat the mashed potatoes once I a blue moon.
And...I didn't want that. So I decided in my first year of college that I would try to eat the whole turkey in a year. I would make the goal to read the Quad in a year -Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, and D&C- That would mean that I would have to read four chapters a day and eight chapters on Sunday.
Surprising even to myself, I accomplished it. I'd established a pattern of eating turkey that meant that when I finished the four books at the end of the year, I just returned back to the Old Testament and started reading it again, though at a much slower pace.
Only, by the last year of college, I was beginning to get tired of eating the same things over and over gain. I recognized that if I didn't find something else to eat with my turkey and mashed potatoes...I would start to slack off on my consumption. But what else could go with that?
Stuffing. I discovered stuffing my last year of college. Like really discovered it. That year I ended up being on the Orem Institute of Religion's Student Council as a co-chair for the Publicity Committee. Now Institute wasn't the stuffing. It was more like a helping of veggies. Delicious and different enough from Seminary that I would often go there for peace and found a second home there from the very start of college.
No, the stuffing hearkens back to the line from my blessing. "Study the words of latter-day apostles and prophets."
General conference. Something that I had experience with in that my parents would blast the talks from every available means; TVs and Radios, at the same time. It was hard to escape it, so I would end up listening because I had to, but not because I wanted to. And I wouldn't go back to the talks when they came out in the Ensign. It was a one time listen for me. But then, my committee decided to do an art show, where the artworks would be themed around the idea of one-liners from the most recent session of General Conference. One-liners are like the name suggests. One line from a talk that basically 'says it all.' For example one that has stuck in my mind for years was when President Monson said "Every Cinderella has her Midnight...it's called Judgment Day."
My committee also recognized that people wouldn't have the time to go search for a one-liner to draw, so we took the goal upon ourselves to read a set of conference talks, mark up the one-liners we found there and left them on tables in the Institute for others to look through and also mark up.
Doing that. Marking up the talks. I found my Stuffing. This was actually fun! It was applicable to my life! I read my set of talks and then went right on marking the rest of the conference. This. This I enjoyed. why hadn't I done this part of my blessing before?
I had a slight problem though. My access to conference talks was rather limited. I only had so many available to me, and when I ran out...my only option was to go look them up online. Not something you can do when you only have five minutes between your class periods.
But two Christmases ago, that changed. You see, I got an Itouch. Originally it was so that I could put more music on my playlists as I'd run out of room on my previous Ipod. But then I discovered this crazy thing called an App. And you could find an App for everything. So, for fun, I downloaded the Gospel Library Ap. Mobile Scriptures! Just in case. For who knew what reason.
You really don't know how excited I was when I discovered that not only was the Quad available I this App, but conference talks were as well! Tons of them, from way back before I was born. Back to when my parents were kids. But also the most recent sessions as well!
"Study words of Latter-day Apostles and Prophets." What did latter-day mean to me? To me it meant my time. My life. And in my blessing, I took it to mean that I needed to study the words spoken by apostles and prophets in my lifetime. That's when I got my crazy idea. Literally, on Facebook, I titled it: "My Crazy New Years Goal."
I would read all the talks from the year of my birth to the present day. This October will bring the total up to 46 General Conferences. Could you not see that this would be fun! And it has been fun. As I'm now in my second year of this new years goal.
I started off easily enough. Two talks a day. I mean, it's pointless to sit down to a Thanksgiving Feast and stuff yourself until you're sick. After that point, you're not anxious to continue eating. It could take months or years before you'd even want to try. so I started off easy with two talks and hadn't reached the year 2000 before New Years Eve was again knocking at my door.
So this year I upped to anti to Three. And as of now, I only have 12 more conferences to go! Yay! I recognize I'll probably take this goal into a third year, but I really don't mind it. It's been worth it.
Reading Conference Talks has made me aware of the feast spread out on the table before me. Before this goal, I'd only been focused on what I had on my plate. Nothing more. After reading conference talks, I can find principles within them that I can apply to my past, present, and future. That I can use to give words of advice to others. These modern day scriptures have also increased my love for the Quad -ancient- scriptures. They're no longer words on a page to me.
No, I've come to realize how real these people are. How the ancient prophets must have shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to write down, their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and teachings onto plates in order to have us be able to read them today. To know that these people actually existed, that they had lives and could have done other things, risked their lives in some cases to write down words of wisdom for our day. It's humbling.
I mean, how would we feel if we worked all day to prepare a wonderful feast, only to have a guest come to the table and insist that a sandwich is the only way to go. They don't need to eat anything else.
Would you want to shout at them: "No! There is so much more to eat on this table! Come, partake of something else. The Mashed Potatoes! The Stuffing! THE TURKEY! Come on! You can have so much more then a sandwich if you would just reach out and take it. There is so much more then just bread and turkey on this table.
There are so many sources we can draw from in the modern day to make our simple meal a feast. Yet many of us, myself included are only focused on the plate of now, not the banquet table of eternity. You can find answers not only in church, the temple, or reading the Quad. You can gain so much more by Patriarchal Blessings, General Conferences, and Mormon Messages. There are so many more side dishes to sample from this feast then you might be aware of at this time.
Beyond that, what good is it to have this feast if you eat it by yourself? A feast generally means a group of people eating a big meal. It's fun, it's lighthearted, a cause for celebration. So why not share your discoveries of the feast with others? Share your sudden love for mashed potatoes or green beans. An example of sharing that I've found is that when I'm reading the conference talks, I mark down thoughts, phrases, and stories that had meaning to me, and I post them periodically during the week on my blog for others to read.
Elder Robert D. Hales in the October 2006 Conference -I read this last night!- stated: "AS with voices from the dust, the prophets of the Lord cry out to us on earth today! Take hold of the scriptures! Cling to them, walk by them, live by them. Don't nibble."
That's what feasting upon the scriptures means to me. It means gathering a bunch of people together and sharing our discoveries, trying new dishes, and especially...eating more then just the turkey and bread. We were meant to feast upon the Lord's words, both ancient and modern. Not nibble at them.
I have a testimony that scriptures, both ancient and modern can help us out in life, that they can make our day brighter, and our lives happier. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
My family and I were all hanging out in my parents living room, talking. When I looked out the window and saw this big long mostly white with red and blue squares -drone rocket- hanging out right outside the window. My Mom yelled at my brother, who was sitting on the couch in front of the window to get down. He stared at her blankly, and we repeated it. Get down get down! He hit the floor as the drone burst through the window, and it's long nose tipped towards the ground, I went behind the couch only to realize the bomb was heading straight towards my couch and it surely couldn't give me much cover for when it exploded. So I dove for the couch the rest of my family had been on, wondering, why were we being attacked? We hadn't said anything! Done anything wrong!
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
And I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
Saturday, July 27, 2013
How Did You Know?
"I don't have to tell you what to get me, you'll end up finding something that's absolutely perfect for me in the end."
Kikay told me that a couple of years ago. I laughed it off then, thinking she was crazy. I mean...that's totally setting me up for failure right there. I can't always get a gift right. Right?
Now...I'm not so sure. Her words have been on my mind a lot recently.
Because I just got back from a cruise. I ended up getting souvenir's for a few people.
A lot of the time, I had no idea what to get them. What would they like from Alaska? I took what I knew of them, and...just got them stuff.
And surprisingly....most of the gifts went over really well. Sure there were a couple where I couldn't tell if they actually liked what I got them.
But like 6/8 is a good thing.
It's just weird. How I don't know much about them, yet when I give them the gift they're like "I LOVE THIS! HOW DID YOU KNOW I LIKE THIS?!"
O.o Uh...."I saw it and thought of you?"
"How did you know I liked bears?" "Uhh....I saw it and thought of you?"
"I would have totally picked these earrings out for myself. This is great! How did you know?" "Uhh...I thought they were your type of earrings?"
"You remembered to get me a key chain! This one is absolutely fantastic! I would have picked this out myself."
The comments were a lot like that....and all I could do was really shrug, smile, and say...I saw it and thought of you. lol.
It's still weirding me out really. Surely I should have messed up on a gift? Surely?
Who knows. Maybe I've tapped into a sixth sense that just lets me see stuff and think of certain people liking it. lol. :)
Still, I'm really glad that all the gifts went over well enough. :) I love seeing the expressions on people's faces, especially when they didn't expect me to get them anything. Even though I said I would. lol. :)
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was traveling through a desolated city. It felt like I hadn't been there in years, and everything had changed so drastically. What used to be a busy street, a airport parking lot...was now a swampy area full of docks with gangster type people waiting to rob the unwary. I was with a guy friend -who wasn't from around there- and we were trying to reach my car, where I'd last seen my car. We found it, now rusted and decrepit, but were trying to get it to start anyway, when the gangsters came. We ended up in a big...sports arena type place, on the outskirts where all the venders usually set up, trying to convince them that we weren't a threat to them. While there, I discovered in my car an old box that had some tiny mice in them. They were soaking wet, having been trapped in the damped conditions for a while, but unable to do anything. But one mouse set out to change that. He switched between being a white mouse, and a spider with a body that glowed white or a yellow orange color depending on the scene he was in. At great risk of being smashed, he triumphed a lot like Turbo the snail triumphed in the movie. Convincing the big bad human guy -who didn't like spiders- to relent and let the other mice go and live.
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
Kikay told me that a couple of years ago. I laughed it off then, thinking she was crazy. I mean...that's totally setting me up for failure right there. I can't always get a gift right. Right?
Now...I'm not so sure. Her words have been on my mind a lot recently.
Because I just got back from a cruise. I ended up getting souvenir's for a few people.
A lot of the time, I had no idea what to get them. What would they like from Alaska? I took what I knew of them, and...just got them stuff.
And surprisingly....most of the gifts went over really well. Sure there were a couple where I couldn't tell if they actually liked what I got them.
But like 6/8 is a good thing.
It's just weird. How I don't know much about them, yet when I give them the gift they're like "I LOVE THIS! HOW DID YOU KNOW I LIKE THIS?!"
O.o Uh...."I saw it and thought of you?"
"How did you know I liked bears?" "Uhh....I saw it and thought of you?"
"I would have totally picked these earrings out for myself. This is great! How did you know?" "Uhh...I thought they were your type of earrings?"
"You remembered to get me a key chain! This one is absolutely fantastic! I would have picked this out myself."
The comments were a lot like that....and all I could do was really shrug, smile, and say...I saw it and thought of you. lol.
It's still weirding me out really. Surely I should have messed up on a gift? Surely?
Who knows. Maybe I've tapped into a sixth sense that just lets me see stuff and think of certain people liking it. lol. :)
Still, I'm really glad that all the gifts went over well enough. :) I love seeing the expressions on people's faces, especially when they didn't expect me to get them anything. Even though I said I would. lol. :)
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was traveling through a desolated city. It felt like I hadn't been there in years, and everything had changed so drastically. What used to be a busy street, a airport parking lot...was now a swampy area full of docks with gangster type people waiting to rob the unwary. I was with a guy friend -who wasn't from around there- and we were trying to reach my car, where I'd last seen my car. We found it, now rusted and decrepit, but were trying to get it to start anyway, when the gangsters came. We ended up in a big...sports arena type place, on the outskirts where all the venders usually set up, trying to convince them that we weren't a threat to them. While there, I discovered in my car an old box that had some tiny mice in them. They were soaking wet, having been trapped in the damped conditions for a while, but unable to do anything. But one mouse set out to change that. He switched between being a white mouse, and a spider with a body that glowed white or a yellow orange color depending on the scene he was in. At great risk of being smashed, he triumphed a lot like Turbo the snail triumphed in the movie. Convincing the big bad human guy -who didn't like spiders- to relent and let the other mice go and live.
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
Friday, July 26, 2013
I Can Totally Eat That This Week!
My head thinks more creatively then what my reality dictates.
Especially when it comes to shopping.
Shopping for food.
I have all those moments staring at the various items on the shelf where I think:
"Oh, I can eat that this week. Oh I can totally make that! No problem."
However.
I've come to the realization.
That my food meals, outnumber the actual number of meals I can make in a week.
I over buy.
Because I'm not really a 'cooker'
Though my mind thinks I should be.
I think I should be.
I should be able to make a meal!
Three problems...
1) Most of the meals I want to make...I can't eat all of it. It's meals that are meant for two people, and unless I'm starving, I can't eat it all. And I dislike leftovers. And I dislike wasting food. So unless I can wrangle a roommate -rare- or grab Kikay -rare- or I decide I'm starving....it doesn't happen.
I've kinda gone away from those types of meals. It doesn't mean that I don't have the odd can of chili, or a box of mac and cheese (that I intend to make...sometime) It just means that unless I can portion it out to one person...it doesn't usually happen.
2) I tend to go for the snack foods first. The quick grabs. The food that doesn't require silverware of any kind in order to eat it. So anything that takes too long...is left on the shelf until I can find 'time' and 'energy' to really make it.
3) I don't quite do the 'three meals a day' thing. I tend to snack throughout the day. Which means big meals...aren't up there on the list. Especially since I've realized that work usually takes up two of the three meals of the day. And the meal that doesn't happen at work...either happens too early in the morning...(when I don't eat breakfast...or it's a quick granola bar) or...I get home late enough in the day...that I don't want to make anything because I have to go to bed.
Yah.
I plan to make all these meals.
But it doesn't happen.
I mean...if I plan for four 'dinner' meals....I'm lucky if even one happens that week.
I'm better when the food has been on the shelf for a week already, surprisingly enough. It's like it takes me a week to really realize I have that food and that I can make it.
So, this week. I went shopping for food...on Tuesday.
It's now Friday.
Here's what I planned to make.
1) Chips and Cheese + Salsa already at home = Nachos. Haven't made it.
2) Eggs and Sausage =Breakfast for Dinner. Haven't made.
3) A Loaf of Bread =A Variety of Sandwiches. Haven't opened the loaf. No Sandwiches Made.
4) Crescent Rolls and Cheese + Pepperoni already at home = Pepperoni Crescent Rolls. Haven't Made.
That's four meals.
I've had four days to make them all.
And...I haven't touched any of them.
The most distressing is the bread.
lol If only it lasted for two weeks instead of a week...I'm sure I could make those sandwiches.
Yet, time and time again. I convince myself. "This week! This week I will make sandwiches!"
Ah, my mind. My idealistic naïve mind.
What I really need....is a roommate that can join me for dinner.
Someone who can share a loaf of bread with me. (or find a place that sells half loaves of bread.)
Just someone who can share my bounty. So I can make those 'bigger meals' that require more then me to eat them.
*shakes head*
It isn't going to happen with my current set of roomies.
Two are already moved out.
The third...has dinner group with some of our ward people...every night. And therefore has no need to eat another meal.
*sighs*
Maybe this next group...when they move in in a month or so....
Will be better. We could do roommate dinners. Or I could say "hey I'm making this! You're eating it!"
Or at least find one roommate...who drinks milk -for those random meals I make once in a blue moon that requires milk in it. (I only use it for that. I don't like the taste of just plain milk), and likes to eat sandwiches. So that loaf of bread I might make two sandwiches from, gets used.
Yah. *crosses fingers* I really hope that happens when the new roommates move in.
Until then.
I'm grounded from buying loaves of bread.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Especially when it comes to shopping.
Shopping for food.
I have all those moments staring at the various items on the shelf where I think:
"Oh, I can eat that this week. Oh I can totally make that! No problem."
However.
I've come to the realization.
That my food meals, outnumber the actual number of meals I can make in a week.
I over buy.
Because I'm not really a 'cooker'
Though my mind thinks I should be.
I think I should be.
I should be able to make a meal!
Three problems...
1) Most of the meals I want to make...I can't eat all of it. It's meals that are meant for two people, and unless I'm starving, I can't eat it all. And I dislike leftovers. And I dislike wasting food. So unless I can wrangle a roommate -rare- or grab Kikay -rare- or I decide I'm starving....it doesn't happen.
I've kinda gone away from those types of meals. It doesn't mean that I don't have the odd can of chili, or a box of mac and cheese (that I intend to make...sometime) It just means that unless I can portion it out to one person...it doesn't usually happen.
2) I tend to go for the snack foods first. The quick grabs. The food that doesn't require silverware of any kind in order to eat it. So anything that takes too long...is left on the shelf until I can find 'time' and 'energy' to really make it.
3) I don't quite do the 'three meals a day' thing. I tend to snack throughout the day. Which means big meals...aren't up there on the list. Especially since I've realized that work usually takes up two of the three meals of the day. And the meal that doesn't happen at work...either happens too early in the morning...(when I don't eat breakfast...or it's a quick granola bar) or...I get home late enough in the day...that I don't want to make anything because I have to go to bed.
Yah.
I plan to make all these meals.
But it doesn't happen.
I mean...if I plan for four 'dinner' meals....I'm lucky if even one happens that week.
I'm better when the food has been on the shelf for a week already, surprisingly enough. It's like it takes me a week to really realize I have that food and that I can make it.
So, this week. I went shopping for food...on Tuesday.
It's now Friday.
Here's what I planned to make.
1) Chips and Cheese + Salsa already at home = Nachos. Haven't made it.
2) Eggs and Sausage =Breakfast for Dinner. Haven't made.
3) A Loaf of Bread =A Variety of Sandwiches. Haven't opened the loaf. No Sandwiches Made.
4) Crescent Rolls and Cheese + Pepperoni already at home = Pepperoni Crescent Rolls. Haven't Made.
That's four meals.
I've had four days to make them all.
And...I haven't touched any of them.
The most distressing is the bread.
lol If only it lasted for two weeks instead of a week...I'm sure I could make those sandwiches.
Yet, time and time again. I convince myself. "This week! This week I will make sandwiches!"
Ah, my mind. My idealistic naïve mind.
What I really need....is a roommate that can join me for dinner.
Someone who can share a loaf of bread with me. (or find a place that sells half loaves of bread.)
Just someone who can share my bounty. So I can make those 'bigger meals' that require more then me to eat them.
*shakes head*
It isn't going to happen with my current set of roomies.
Two are already moved out.
The third...has dinner group with some of our ward people...every night. And therefore has no need to eat another meal.
*sighs*
Maybe this next group...when they move in in a month or so....
Will be better. We could do roommate dinners. Or I could say "hey I'm making this! You're eating it!"
Or at least find one roommate...who drinks milk -for those random meals I make once in a blue moon that requires milk in it. (I only use it for that. I don't like the taste of just plain milk), and likes to eat sandwiches. So that loaf of bread I might make two sandwiches from, gets used.
Yah. *crosses fingers* I really hope that happens when the new roommates move in.
Until then.
I'm grounded from buying loaves of bread.
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Family in Distress
Our Church members demonstrated the healing and pacifying power of love in their shipment of food and clothing to relieve the suffering of the German Saints just after World War II.
U.S. President Harry S. Truman was amazed when President George Albert Smith told him the supplies would not be sold.
"You don't mean you are going to give it to them?" he exclaimed.
President Smith replied simply, "They are our brothers and sisters and are in distress."
A few months later, Elder Ezra Taft Benson saw a German member in tears as he ran his fingers through a container of cracked wheat and whispered, "Brother Benson, it is hard for me to believe that people who have never seen us could do so much for us."
-Dallin H. Oaks -World Peace -April 1990 General Conference
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
U.S. President Harry S. Truman was amazed when President George Albert Smith told him the supplies would not be sold.
"You don't mean you are going to give it to them?" he exclaimed.
President Smith replied simply, "They are our brothers and sisters and are in distress."
A few months later, Elder Ezra Taft Benson saw a German member in tears as he ran his fingers through a container of cracked wheat and whispered, "Brother Benson, it is hard for me to believe that people who have never seen us could do so much for us."
-Dallin H. Oaks -World Peace -April 1990 General Conference
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The Race
Kikay and I have two different driving styles.
She enjoys being on the right side of the highway. Going the speed limit.
I love to be in the left lanes....well not going the speed limit. I enjoy going fast. ^^;;
Well, a bit ago, she and I happened to be home at my parents at the same time, but we drove up in our separate cars.
So, quietly, I decided to race her.
It wasn't much of one. I ended up in the lead....and left her in the dust.
But then more recently, Kikay was ready to leave before I was. So teasingly I said "Okay, you get the head start. I'll see you soon." -As I do drive faster, I was sure I'd catch up to her. She laughed and said "Okay, signal me when you pass me by so I know its you."
I think she had around a 5 minute head start.
Well. It was quite the head start apparently.
The sun was setting as I took off....on a rather paranoid drive.
With the setting sun, colors of cars became more difficult to tell.
So I'd see tail lights in the distance, and speed up to see if it was Kikay.
Kikay?!
Not kikay.
Kikay!
Not kikay.
:S I rounded the point of the mountain....and I still hadn't seen her.
This was worrying.
The point of the mountain was the halfway mark. :S
Had I given her too much of a head start?
Was she already home?
Had she been driving faster then I thought she would?
Such paranoid thoughts spurned me on.
Worrying still.
I mean, I hadn't been able to go as fast as I like to....as the drivers in front of me were content with going much slower...like 5 or so mph below the speed limit. So I found it hard to get to the faster MPHs which would allow me to catch up to Kikay.
I nearly missed her. I'd been expecting her car to be lighter, but when I saw the taillights ahead. I was like ()_() COULD IT BE!!
Unfortunately the left lane of this car was blocked, so I moved over to the right. Pulled up along side the car. And saw Kikay driving in it!
KIKAY! Ha! I found her!
-Do you know how weird it is to be driving, and have your sister driving....and be in separate cars but next to each other? It's rather weird.
I pulled out in front of her. She flashed her brights at me a couple of times. I flashed my emergency lights before moving over to the lane left of her....and left her in the dust. lol :)
She still managed to get home before me, (she lives closer off her exit then I do) But I passed her! That's all I cared about lol.
Whew
I managed to catch up to her....like 7 miles before her exit.
-My exit is now the one after hers.
In any case. SEVEN MILES!
Can I say cutting it close? Cus it was rather close. If I'd been a minute or two slower in leaving my parents place...she could have probably made it home without us ever seeing each other.
But, I found out I wasn't the only one to experience a paranoid drive. lol.
Kikay did the same thing.
"Was that Sarnic?"
No.
Was that sarnic?!
No..
lol so I think we were both relieved to see each other in the end. :)
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
She enjoys being on the right side of the highway. Going the speed limit.
I love to be in the left lanes....well not going the speed limit. I enjoy going fast. ^^;;
Well, a bit ago, she and I happened to be home at my parents at the same time, but we drove up in our separate cars.
So, quietly, I decided to race her.
It wasn't much of one. I ended up in the lead....and left her in the dust.
But then more recently, Kikay was ready to leave before I was. So teasingly I said "Okay, you get the head start. I'll see you soon." -As I do drive faster, I was sure I'd catch up to her. She laughed and said "Okay, signal me when you pass me by so I know its you."
I think she had around a 5 minute head start.
Well. It was quite the head start apparently.
The sun was setting as I took off....on a rather paranoid drive.
With the setting sun, colors of cars became more difficult to tell.
So I'd see tail lights in the distance, and speed up to see if it was Kikay.
Kikay?!
Not kikay.
Kikay!
Not kikay.
:S I rounded the point of the mountain....and I still hadn't seen her.
This was worrying.
The point of the mountain was the halfway mark. :S
Had I given her too much of a head start?
Was she already home?
Had she been driving faster then I thought she would?
Such paranoid thoughts spurned me on.
Worrying still.
I mean, I hadn't been able to go as fast as I like to....as the drivers in front of me were content with going much slower...like 5 or so mph below the speed limit. So I found it hard to get to the faster MPHs which would allow me to catch up to Kikay.
I nearly missed her. I'd been expecting her car to be lighter, but when I saw the taillights ahead. I was like ()_() COULD IT BE!!
Unfortunately the left lane of this car was blocked, so I moved over to the right. Pulled up along side the car. And saw Kikay driving in it!
KIKAY! Ha! I found her!
-Do you know how weird it is to be driving, and have your sister driving....and be in separate cars but next to each other? It's rather weird.
I pulled out in front of her. She flashed her brights at me a couple of times. I flashed my emergency lights before moving over to the lane left of her....and left her in the dust. lol :)
She still managed to get home before me, (she lives closer off her exit then I do) But I passed her! That's all I cared about lol.
Whew
I managed to catch up to her....like 7 miles before her exit.
-My exit is now the one after hers.
In any case. SEVEN MILES!
Can I say cutting it close? Cus it was rather close. If I'd been a minute or two slower in leaving my parents place...she could have probably made it home without us ever seeing each other.
But, I found out I wasn't the only one to experience a paranoid drive. lol.
Kikay did the same thing.
"Was that Sarnic?"
No.
Was that sarnic?!
No..
lol so I think we were both relieved to see each other in the end. :)
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Ice Cream and Drive Thrus
I'd just bought some cake and ice cream for a birthday party later in the evening.
Only...I was starving.
I hadn't really had anything to eat in....well who knew how many hours. I couldn't even remember if I had breakfast.
But with ice cream in the car...I couldn't really go anywhere that required me to sit down.
With this hundred degree heat wave we've been having...the ice cream would have been soup in like five minutes if I didn't keep the AC going.
So.
I did something I've never done before.
I went through the drive through.
Talk about traumatizing. ;)
"Welcome to such and such a place, care to try our thingymabobber? Order when you're ready."
"Hi! Uh, can I get a number 4?"
"Size?"
"Huh?"
"What size do you want the combo."
"Oh, uh, Small."
"Drink?"
Thinking they were asking about the size still I responded "Small."
Then I realized.
"Oh. Sprite. I want sprite."
"Is that it for you?"
"Yah."
"Okay, I have a number 4 small combo with a sprite, that will be $4.40 at the next window."
Phew. :S At least they understood me. I'd half worried that they wouldn't be able to hear what I was trying to order.
So I pulled around.
Gave the person my card.
They gave me the card and a drink in return.
And I thought they said "And your food will be ready in a moment."
Though they might have said "Please pull forward and your food will be ready in a moment."
I mean...the whole thing was traumatizing as it was.
So I just sat there waiting.
Then the person open the fast food window and said "Can I please have you pull forward?"
"Oh! Sure!"
I saw in my rear view mirror that there was a minivan pulling around the corner.
So I pulled up.
To wait.
A second later.
The person walked outside and said "Can I have you pull up a little further?"
....Apparently the mini van was bigger then I thought it should be.
"Sure." -Already traumatized. I was like 'Great! This is a good first time.'
So I pulled up a little further.
Then to make sure they had plenty of room.
Pulled up a little further.
But I didn't want to go past the curb.
And then I waited.
The minivan got their ice cream, backed up a bit...before leaving.
>.> Apparently I hadn't pulled up far enough. But come on! I gave them plenty of room.
But then this big red truck with a black trailer on the end of it came around the corner.
()_() Uhoh. I hope my food comes soon.....as I don't imagine this beast of a vehicle backing up.
But still I waited.
I readjusted the AC to point down on the Ice Cream.
-It probably was like 5 minutes top. But still that's a lot of time in a car, that has the sun beating down upon it.
Then! Finally!
My food arrived.
Piping hot.
I smiled, and drove away as quickly as possible, food on the seat.
I'd done it!
I'd done it!
Yay!
And I probably won't do it again any time soon. lol.
Especially since the trauma didn't stop there.
Because I realized on the drive home.
My AC wasn't blowing cold air anymore!
:S I'd just gotten it fixed. Spent a good chunk of money on the parts too.
And I was like "No! It can't have been broken already!"
I had a mini panic attack. I mean, had I spazzed out my poor car by messing with the controllers to get the air on the ice cream sitting on the floor?
I got home. Turned off my car. turned it back on. It seemed a little cooler.
But I was still worried.
Soo I went inside for a bit. Ate my food. -It was delicious. :) Yay for drive thru food. :)
I went back out. Turned on the car.
Still no cold AC. So I messed around with it bit, then realized.
The little button that turns on the AC
Wasn't blinking its little light at me.
So I pressed it.
WALLA! Cold air!
I fixed it!
I guess somehow in the midst of everything I'd accidentally pressed that button.
Which brings the question.
Why do they even HAVE that button?
I mean, seriously, you don't have to press any buttons to turn on the heat. Why can't you just switch over to AC just as easily? Why do you have to TURN ON the AC by pressing a button? If I move the dial over to cold...that should mean I want cold. Who wants warm steamy air blowing at them? Certainly not me.
*shakes head*
Yah...I don't get it.
In any case. I got the ice cream home unmelted. Had food, and kept my AC working. ^^;;
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was in school...and there was something along the lines of me pretending to be someone I wasn't. To make everyone else believe that that person was alive...when it was quite possible that they were dead.....
-S.N.D
Only...I was starving.
I hadn't really had anything to eat in....well who knew how many hours. I couldn't even remember if I had breakfast.
But with ice cream in the car...I couldn't really go anywhere that required me to sit down.
With this hundred degree heat wave we've been having...the ice cream would have been soup in like five minutes if I didn't keep the AC going.
So.
I did something I've never done before.
I went through the drive through.
Talk about traumatizing. ;)
"Welcome to such and such a place, care to try our thingymabobber? Order when you're ready."
"Hi! Uh, can I get a number 4?"
"Size?"
"Huh?"
"What size do you want the combo."
"Oh, uh, Small."
"Drink?"
Thinking they were asking about the size still I responded "Small."
Then I realized.
"Oh. Sprite. I want sprite."
"Is that it for you?"
"Yah."
"Okay, I have a number 4 small combo with a sprite, that will be $4.40 at the next window."
Phew. :S At least they understood me. I'd half worried that they wouldn't be able to hear what I was trying to order.
So I pulled around.
Gave the person my card.
They gave me the card and a drink in return.
And I thought they said "And your food will be ready in a moment."
Though they might have said "Please pull forward and your food will be ready in a moment."
I mean...the whole thing was traumatizing as it was.
So I just sat there waiting.
Then the person open the fast food window and said "Can I please have you pull forward?"
"Oh! Sure!"
I saw in my rear view mirror that there was a minivan pulling around the corner.
So I pulled up.
To wait.
A second later.
The person walked outside and said "Can I have you pull up a little further?"
....Apparently the mini van was bigger then I thought it should be.
"Sure." -Already traumatized. I was like 'Great! This is a good first time.'
So I pulled up a little further.
Then to make sure they had plenty of room.
Pulled up a little further.
But I didn't want to go past the curb.
And then I waited.
The minivan got their ice cream, backed up a bit...before leaving.
>.> Apparently I hadn't pulled up far enough. But come on! I gave them plenty of room.
But then this big red truck with a black trailer on the end of it came around the corner.
()_() Uhoh. I hope my food comes soon.....as I don't imagine this beast of a vehicle backing up.
But still I waited.
I readjusted the AC to point down on the Ice Cream.
-It probably was like 5 minutes top. But still that's a lot of time in a car, that has the sun beating down upon it.
Then! Finally!
My food arrived.
Piping hot.
I smiled, and drove away as quickly as possible, food on the seat.
I'd done it!
I'd done it!
Yay!
And I probably won't do it again any time soon. lol.
Especially since the trauma didn't stop there.
Because I realized on the drive home.
My AC wasn't blowing cold air anymore!
:S I'd just gotten it fixed. Spent a good chunk of money on the parts too.
And I was like "No! It can't have been broken already!"
I had a mini panic attack. I mean, had I spazzed out my poor car by messing with the controllers to get the air on the ice cream sitting on the floor?
I got home. Turned off my car. turned it back on. It seemed a little cooler.
But I was still worried.
Soo I went inside for a bit. Ate my food. -It was delicious. :) Yay for drive thru food. :)
I went back out. Turned on the car.
Still no cold AC. So I messed around with it bit, then realized.
The little button that turns on the AC
Wasn't blinking its little light at me.
So I pressed it.
WALLA! Cold air!
I fixed it!
I guess somehow in the midst of everything I'd accidentally pressed that button.
Which brings the question.
Why do they even HAVE that button?
I mean, seriously, you don't have to press any buttons to turn on the heat. Why can't you just switch over to AC just as easily? Why do you have to TURN ON the AC by pressing a button? If I move the dial over to cold...that should mean I want cold. Who wants warm steamy air blowing at them? Certainly not me.
*shakes head*
Yah...I don't get it.
In any case. I got the ice cream home unmelted. Had food, and kept my AC working. ^^;;
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was in school...and there was something along the lines of me pretending to be someone I wasn't. To make everyone else believe that that person was alive...when it was quite possible that they were dead.....
-S.N.D
Monday, July 22, 2013
October 1995 General Conference Saturday Morning
Gordon B. Hinckley -As We Gather Together
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
- Each is entitled to such a testimony of this work. It is an individual knowledge of great fundamental truths that binds us together into what we call the church and kingdom of God.
- I think God that in these difficult days of moral decay and departure from sound values, we have no shortage of revealed truth to guide our lives.
- In the quiet moments of personal introspection, the Spirit can teach us much.
- The scriptures were obviously part of Hyrum's being, and he turned to them during times when he needed comfort and strength the most.
- We do not need more members who question every detail; we need members who have felt with their hearts, who live close to the Spirit, and who follow its promptings joyfully. We need seeking hearts and minds that welcome gospel truths without argument or complaint and without requiring miraculous manifestation.
- Hyrum's example of selfless service could be a powerful influence in the world today if enough of us choose to follow it.
- It seems to me that the power of a testimony of Jesus Christ is one of the great, untapped sources of direction in our lives today.
- To be married in the right place to the right person at the right time by the right authority is critical to exaltation.
- "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
- Sometimes I think that we fear too much to link all of our teaching to the foundation of gospel truths.
- Satan wants us to fail to reach that mountaintop that will allow us to develop a testimony so powerful that he will be unable to influence us.
- "Go forward with your lives. The best lies ahead."
- My parents were home at night. Our home seemed more warm, full. There was a different power. It seemed to grow from the inside. It felt more permanent, unlike the temporary power I felt with my friends. It was calm and peaceful--the power of goodness, the power of love.
- There is a power in goodness that is often learned in families. There is a void when it is lacking.
- Political power, on the other hand, can be used as a force for good or it may be a force for evil. It is always temporary. We all have political power. We each need it. We should use it for good. Without proper exercise of this power, we might lose our freedom.
- My plea for each of us is to recognize that God has given each of us power--the power to act, to choose, to serve, to love, and to accomplish much good. Perhaps it is time to take control of ourselves.
- "You become an instrument through which the Lord can bless another. The Spirit will let you feel the Savior's concern and interest, then the warmth and strength of His love."
- "All the minds and spirits that god ever sent in the world are susceptible of enlargement."
- In the parable of the prodigal son, only the eldest son remains true to his father; in his own words, "Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment." Similarly, I the plan of salvation, the Firstborn of the Father is sinless and without spot. Yet there is a vital difference. In the parable, the eldest son is jealous of the attention paid to the returning prodigal. In the plan of salvation, however, the eldest son makes possible the return of the prodigals.
- Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more.
- He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where he wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.
- Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed fro your personal benefit or for that of those you love.
- Because of our Father's desire for us to grow, He may give us gentle, almost imperceptible promptings that, if we are willing to accept without complaint, He will enlarge to become a very clear indication of His will.
- When the Lord closes one important door in your life, He shows His continuing love and compassion by opening many other compensating doors through your exercise of faith.
- Don't let the workings of adversity totally absorb your life. Try to understand what you can. Act where you are able; then let the matter rest with the Lord for a period while you give to others in worthy ways before you take on appropriate concern again.
- We are punished by our sins, if not for them.
- There are times you cannot mend that which you have broken.
- I repeat, save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, o rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ.
- How all can be repaired, we do not know. It may not all be accomplished I this life. We know from visions and visitations that the servants of the Lord continue the work of redemption beyond the veil.
- This knowledge should be as comforting to the innocent as it is to the guilty.
- "There is never a time...when the spirit is too old to approach God."
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Is it a Speck a Fleck Or....
Panning for Gold.
Such words always bring up expectations of nice nuggets suddenly discovered in a pile of dirt, instantly making you a gazillionaire!
The real life version....well....can be somewhat disappointing.
On our first trip to Alaska, my family decided to do a group excursion that included the opportunity to mine for gold at the end of it.
It was a super duper....disappointment.
We panned for gold.
And...
Got two itty-bitty-didn't-quite-look-like-gold-Flecks to take home.
In a plastic baggy.
The flecks were soo tiny,
that I'm pretty sure all of our bags got thrown out because we thought they were empty.
Needless to say...it was a bit of a let down compared to the awesomeness that had happened before.
Well...
This time.
I saw another opportunity to mine for gold.
I was a bit skeptical.
I mean...last time I was in Alaska...panning for gold....
But, the reviews I read online seemed promising.
And my father surprised me the gold panning excursion as a birthday gift. ^^
Soo off to pan for gold I went!
In the rainy mountains.
Waterfalls crashing down all around.
A cold river soaking up my shoes.
I was handed a pan full of dirt.
Shown what to do.
And I set to work.
No.
No gold nuggets found.
But to my surprise.
I could actually tell that I had gold when I reached the bottom of the pan!
It was awesome!
Nice golden flecks. That were more flecks then the specks I'd gotten the first time around.
And not only two flecks.
I got a little over a dozen flecks.
And a handy dandy container to put them in!
I could actually see them!
I could see them!
That was what was important.
Lol that didn't mean that I didn't spend the rest of the cruise, constantly wondering where I'd stuck that little container.
It sure loved to play hide and seek with me.
But it made it safely back to college town.
Where I can totally show it off to people.
And they can see the flecks too!!
Yep. Definitely a much better experience then the first time around.
I'd totally be willing to try it again. As it was Awesome! :)
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Such words always bring up expectations of nice nuggets suddenly discovered in a pile of dirt, instantly making you a gazillionaire!
The real life version....well....can be somewhat disappointing.
On our first trip to Alaska, my family decided to do a group excursion that included the opportunity to mine for gold at the end of it.
It was a super duper....disappointment.
We panned for gold.
And...
Got two itty-bitty-didn't-quite-look-like-gold-Flecks to take home.
In a plastic baggy.
The flecks were soo tiny,
that I'm pretty sure all of our bags got thrown out because we thought they were empty.
Needless to say...it was a bit of a let down compared to the awesomeness that had happened before.
Well...
This time.
I saw another opportunity to mine for gold.
I was a bit skeptical.
I mean...last time I was in Alaska...panning for gold....
But, the reviews I read online seemed promising.
And my father surprised me the gold panning excursion as a birthday gift. ^^
Soo off to pan for gold I went!
In the rainy mountains.
Waterfalls crashing down all around.
A cold river soaking up my shoes.
I was handed a pan full of dirt.
Shown what to do.
And I set to work.
No.
No gold nuggets found.
But to my surprise.
I could actually tell that I had gold when I reached the bottom of the pan!
It was awesome!
Nice golden flecks. That were more flecks then the specks I'd gotten the first time around.
And not only two flecks.
I got a little over a dozen flecks.
And a handy dandy container to put them in!
I could actually see them!
I could see them!
That was what was important.
Lol that didn't mean that I didn't spend the rest of the cruise, constantly wondering where I'd stuck that little container.
It sure loved to play hide and seek with me.
But it made it safely back to college town.
Where I can totally show it off to people.
And they can see the flecks too!!
Yep. Definitely a much better experience then the first time around.
I'd totally be willing to try it again. As it was Awesome! :)
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
Saturday, July 20, 2013
The Popcorn Necklace
My favorite souvenir of our trip came from our first port in Alaska.
You see, there are a lot of Jewelry stores up there, and of course all of them want you to come into their store and buy something nice and expensive. Like two months of rent expensive or even more.
And a gimmick they do, is to offer 'a free gift inside!'
Of course, everyone likes free. :P lol.
So you walk into the store, say "there's a free gift in here?" and they say "yes! follow me!" and promptly lead you to the very back of the store, making you pass by all their nice and shiny gemstones in the process. Where they say "Here you go!" and hand you whatever free thing -a charm, pendant- they have decided to offer. Before you can go though they say "But wait! You can get the chain for just $10, or You can buy this nice earring set to go with it for just $15" along those lines. Or "Look at what is right beneath your hands. Do you want to try some on, they're 70% off today."
Those are the nice stores. The middle stores make you try on some jewelry first -and try their bestest to convince you to buy something- before giving you your free little gift. And then there are some stores...that offer the free gift after you buy something.
Well.
It was near the end of our day at Port. We would have to board the ship soon.
And I happened to be in this outlet store, that had a jewelry store connected to it. Meaning, there was a door leading from the outlet store to their store within the store.
I happened to glance at said door. And saw a sign that said "Free Gift Inside"
Well, why not? I thought to myself. I had time.
So I walked in. Smiled and asked "Is this where I get the free gift?"
They said "Yes, but you have to buy this necklace/earring set, or just the necklace first." (It's weird, they were the same price, I'm pretty sure.)
I was like ()_() "Oh..."
Not my type of store. I don't want to have to buy something I didn't like. But I was obedient and looked at the necklace. -I don't have pierced ears so earrings are meaningless to me.- but wasn't willing to fork the money over.
Then, the manager threw in. -halfway teasing- "Or you could go buy us some popcorn, we'll give you the charm then." He laughed. I laughed, looked around a bit and went back into the outlet store.
As I walked in, I noticed that there was definitely a strong popcorn smell in the store. And those poor people in the jewelry store next door...had probably been smelling it all day.
So for kicks and giggles, I went over to the popcorn shop inside the outlet store just to see how much said popcorn would cost.
Small $3.00
Medium $6.00
Large $9.00
O.o Wow. More expensive then movie popcorn. Crazy!
They offered three different flavors. Movie Popcorn, Kettle Corn, and...I can't remember the third.
The lady at the counter was like "Do you want to buy something? I can give you a sample?"
I was like ()_() "Uh! No! I'm just looking!" And I wandered away.
Considering.
Did I want to buy some people next door popcorn to get a charm? I didn't even know what said charm looked like....
Well...why not? I thought. It would be fun just to do something random like that.
So I went back to the counter like 30 seconds later and was like "yes, I'd like to buy some popcorn."
But...I had my reasoning thought out.
What if...the jewelry people didn't actually want the popcorn?
I only had a few minutes before I had to board the ship. I could only eat so much popcorn before having to board...as I wasn't sure they'd allow food onto the ship from the port.
So I went with the small bag of popcorn. (small being about as long as my elbow to wrist and twice as wide) That way I could eat it if the jewelry people actually didn't want it, and not waste a bunch of money on popcorn I couldn't finish myself.
I took the bag.
Walked back into the store next door.
The manager guy was on the phone.
So I made eye contact with one of the sales girls, smiled and said "Here you go." Holding the bag out to her.
Haha! The surprise on her face! Everyone's faces! "Are you serious?!!?" they exclaimed.
I nodded handing it to them. "Yep. Here."
lol. They were like kids in a candy store....or well a popcorn store I suppose.
"Now Now! Be sure to share between all of you." the manager said -having gotten off the phone. With a big smile on his face.-There were like three or four of them in the store.
They dove into it like they were starving, big smiles on their faces as well.
The manager guy was like "Give her the charm! No! Two! Give her two charms! Let her pick whichever ones she wants to have!"
-Stores of the same chain often have multiple charms you can collect along the way. But I noticed they each have all the charms....
So one of the girls took me to the back of the store (where else?) and pulled out a box and opened it to reveal different silver and gold charms. I looked through them seeing what was there, but hadn't gotten far when my mom walked in. "Hey Sar, whatcha doing?" she asked.
"Hi mom." I said.
The girl...or maybe the manager...was like "Oh! This is your mom?! She can pick out a charm too!"
O.o lol who knew that a bag of popcorn could get everyone so excited and in the giving mood? lol.
So we picked out the charms. I might have said "enjoy the popcorn!" or something like "Thanks! bye!"
And we left.
Headed back to the ship. Leaving all the people in the store to partake of the buttery goodness.
At least...I hope it was good. lol I didn't try any of it. :S
In any case Kikay, Mom, and I had just crossed the street.
When I hear "Ma'am! Ma'am!" and someone grabbed my arm. I turned, and there was one of the girls from the jewelry store. A bit breathless.
"My dad (the manager), was really impressed with what you just did. So he wanted you to have this." she said holding out....the necklace.
The one they'd wanted me to buy in the first place to get the charm.
It's a beautiful thing. Called "Glacial Ice" in Alaska. It's like the opposite of the "Northern Light's" (Mystic Topaz) stone they also sell up there. It's clear with multiple colors shining from it.
I was like ()_() :D "Oh! Thank you!" And I took the necklace offered. "Thanks so much!" ^^;;
She smiled and left. And me. Now all giddy, went onto the ship.
Hehe. ^^ Ah. Such a fun memory. ^^
And that's why that necklace is my favorite gift of the trip. Because I went out on a limb and got them popcorn when they hadn't expected me to follow through with it. :) lol.
Seriously, I would have been just as happy with only getting the charms. I mean...I'd bought the popcorn just expecting to get one in return. But they had given me three. (okay me two, mom one. I gave one of my charms to Kikay when we left the store...so I really ended up with just one myself.) I'd thought that reward enough. Then to get a necklace as well. Ah. It just makes me happy all over. Just because I decided to go with it and have a little bit of fun while in Alaska. :) lol ^^;;
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was with my uncle Odey, and he needed to put a bunch of stuff in a box and ship it out. So I proceeded to put stuff in a box, and label it, but also have stuff wrapped on the outside of it, like a blanket and scissors...among other stuff. Only, I realized they probably wouldn't ship a box with scissors on it...and so I ended up rearranging the box -which eventually turned into a rolling suitcase, to the point...where I'd misplaced the label that had been on the outside of the box. I'm pretty sure it was on the inside. My family were getting impatient with me, as they were holding the elevator for me to get in, but I kept stopping to fix the case/box. After our trip, at home, Ali dropped by to say Hi. and I was like "Oh! I got a gift for you in Alaska for your baby shower! Here let me get it." Soo I got it and gave it to her. She was happy to get it. and we ended up hanging out on the top bunk in one of my grandma T's bedrooms. Only I noticed that there were these random brown globs on the walls that I hadn't seen before. Turns out...bees were invading the room and were working on building their hive. We were seeing the beginning process of it. More bees were flowing in and I was paranoid about being stung. I ended up smacking something away from me. Startling a couple of bees. One flew up the sleeve of my T-shirt...and I could feel it moving around there, heading up to my neck. I wanted it out. So I stayed as still as I could, but I didn't want it getting closer to my head then possible, so I gently squished it back. Then against my skin, hoping to get it out of my sleeve before it stung me. I could feel it trying. and....
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
You see, there are a lot of Jewelry stores up there, and of course all of them want you to come into their store and buy something nice and expensive. Like two months of rent expensive or even more.
And a gimmick they do, is to offer 'a free gift inside!'
Of course, everyone likes free. :P lol.
So you walk into the store, say "there's a free gift in here?" and they say "yes! follow me!" and promptly lead you to the very back of the store, making you pass by all their nice and shiny gemstones in the process. Where they say "Here you go!" and hand you whatever free thing -a charm, pendant- they have decided to offer. Before you can go though they say "But wait! You can get the chain for just $10, or You can buy this nice earring set to go with it for just $15" along those lines. Or "Look at what is right beneath your hands. Do you want to try some on, they're 70% off today."
Those are the nice stores. The middle stores make you try on some jewelry first -and try their bestest to convince you to buy something- before giving you your free little gift. And then there are some stores...that offer the free gift after you buy something.
Well.
It was near the end of our day at Port. We would have to board the ship soon.
And I happened to be in this outlet store, that had a jewelry store connected to it. Meaning, there was a door leading from the outlet store to their store within the store.
I happened to glance at said door. And saw a sign that said "Free Gift Inside"
Well, why not? I thought to myself. I had time.
So I walked in. Smiled and asked "Is this where I get the free gift?"
They said "Yes, but you have to buy this necklace/earring set, or just the necklace first." (It's weird, they were the same price, I'm pretty sure.)
I was like ()_() "Oh..."
Not my type of store. I don't want to have to buy something I didn't like. But I was obedient and looked at the necklace. -I don't have pierced ears so earrings are meaningless to me.- but wasn't willing to fork the money over.
Then, the manager threw in. -halfway teasing- "Or you could go buy us some popcorn, we'll give you the charm then." He laughed. I laughed, looked around a bit and went back into the outlet store.
As I walked in, I noticed that there was definitely a strong popcorn smell in the store. And those poor people in the jewelry store next door...had probably been smelling it all day.
So for kicks and giggles, I went over to the popcorn shop inside the outlet store just to see how much said popcorn would cost.
Small $3.00
Medium $6.00
Large $9.00
O.o Wow. More expensive then movie popcorn. Crazy!
They offered three different flavors. Movie Popcorn, Kettle Corn, and...I can't remember the third.
The lady at the counter was like "Do you want to buy something? I can give you a sample?"
I was like ()_() "Uh! No! I'm just looking!" And I wandered away.
Considering.
Did I want to buy some people next door popcorn to get a charm? I didn't even know what said charm looked like....
Well...why not? I thought. It would be fun just to do something random like that.
So I went back to the counter like 30 seconds later and was like "yes, I'd like to buy some popcorn."
But...I had my reasoning thought out.
What if...the jewelry people didn't actually want the popcorn?
I only had a few minutes before I had to board the ship. I could only eat so much popcorn before having to board...as I wasn't sure they'd allow food onto the ship from the port.
So I went with the small bag of popcorn. (small being about as long as my elbow to wrist and twice as wide) That way I could eat it if the jewelry people actually didn't want it, and not waste a bunch of money on popcorn I couldn't finish myself.
I took the bag.
Walked back into the store next door.
The manager guy was on the phone.
So I made eye contact with one of the sales girls, smiled and said "Here you go." Holding the bag out to her.
Haha! The surprise on her face! Everyone's faces! "Are you serious?!!?" they exclaimed.
I nodded handing it to them. "Yep. Here."
lol. They were like kids in a candy store....or well a popcorn store I suppose.
"Now Now! Be sure to share between all of you." the manager said -having gotten off the phone. With a big smile on his face.-There were like three or four of them in the store.
They dove into it like they were starving, big smiles on their faces as well.
The manager guy was like "Give her the charm! No! Two! Give her two charms! Let her pick whichever ones she wants to have!"
-Stores of the same chain often have multiple charms you can collect along the way. But I noticed they each have all the charms....
So one of the girls took me to the back of the store (where else?) and pulled out a box and opened it to reveal different silver and gold charms. I looked through them seeing what was there, but hadn't gotten far when my mom walked in. "Hey Sar, whatcha doing?" she asked.
"Hi mom." I said.
The girl...or maybe the manager...was like "Oh! This is your mom?! She can pick out a charm too!"
O.o lol who knew that a bag of popcorn could get everyone so excited and in the giving mood? lol.
So we picked out the charms. I might have said "enjoy the popcorn!" or something like "Thanks! bye!"
And we left.
Headed back to the ship. Leaving all the people in the store to partake of the buttery goodness.
At least...I hope it was good. lol I didn't try any of it. :S
In any case Kikay, Mom, and I had just crossed the street.
When I hear "Ma'am! Ma'am!" and someone grabbed my arm. I turned, and there was one of the girls from the jewelry store. A bit breathless.
"My dad (the manager), was really impressed with what you just did. So he wanted you to have this." she said holding out....the necklace.
The one they'd wanted me to buy in the first place to get the charm.
It's a beautiful thing. Called "Glacial Ice" in Alaska. It's like the opposite of the "Northern Light's" (Mystic Topaz) stone they also sell up there. It's clear with multiple colors shining from it.
I was like ()_() :D "Oh! Thank you!" And I took the necklace offered. "Thanks so much!" ^^;;
She smiled and left. And me. Now all giddy, went onto the ship.
Hehe. ^^ Ah. Such a fun memory. ^^
And that's why that necklace is my favorite gift of the trip. Because I went out on a limb and got them popcorn when they hadn't expected me to follow through with it. :) lol.
Seriously, I would have been just as happy with only getting the charms. I mean...I'd bought the popcorn just expecting to get one in return. But they had given me three. (okay me two, mom one. I gave one of my charms to Kikay when we left the store...so I really ended up with just one myself.) I'd thought that reward enough. Then to get a necklace as well. Ah. It just makes me happy all over. Just because I decided to go with it and have a little bit of fun while in Alaska. :) lol ^^;;
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
The Dream
I was with my uncle Odey, and he needed to put a bunch of stuff in a box and ship it out. So I proceeded to put stuff in a box, and label it, but also have stuff wrapped on the outside of it, like a blanket and scissors...among other stuff. Only, I realized they probably wouldn't ship a box with scissors on it...and so I ended up rearranging the box -which eventually turned into a rolling suitcase, to the point...where I'd misplaced the label that had been on the outside of the box. I'm pretty sure it was on the inside. My family were getting impatient with me, as they were holding the elevator for me to get in, but I kept stopping to fix the case/box. After our trip, at home, Ali dropped by to say Hi. and I was like "Oh! I got a gift for you in Alaska for your baby shower! Here let me get it." Soo I got it and gave it to her. She was happy to get it. and we ended up hanging out on the top bunk in one of my grandma T's bedrooms. Only I noticed that there were these random brown globs on the walls that I hadn't seen before. Turns out...bees were invading the room and were working on building their hive. We were seeing the beginning process of it. More bees were flowing in and I was paranoid about being stung. I ended up smacking something away from me. Startling a couple of bees. One flew up the sleeve of my T-shirt...and I could feel it moving around there, heading up to my neck. I wanted it out. So I stayed as still as I could, but I didn't want it getting closer to my head then possible, so I gently squished it back. Then against my skin, hoping to get it out of my sleeve before it stung me. I could feel it trying. and....
Then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away....
and I became myself again. :)
-S.N.D
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