What's Your Armor?

I read a thing somewhere.
About putting on your armor.

Not like literal armor that knights wear.
But armor.

Putting on things that make you feel protected.It
That put you in a 'save zone'
A comfort zone.

Things that help you/make you feel at ease when you're heading into a tension inducing scenario.

For some, it may be a certain pair of socks.
A brand of perfume.
A particular piece of jewelry.
A favorite coat.
A brand of lipstick.

Something that makes you feel at ease.
Your armor.

It doesn't have to be anything noticeable.
Just something well...comfortable for you.

I've been thinking about this the past couple of days.
My armor.

Not that its much thinking involved. lol.

I wear a couple of items basically everyday that I would feel lost and stressed out about if I forgot to wear them.
Because really they are my armor.
My comfort thing when stress tries to strike in my life.

For me its two things.
One is a Ring my Dad gave me.
The other is a Necklace that my parents gave me as a College Graduation gift.

I've worn both of them pretty consistently over the years.
Yes Years.
I mean, I occasionally wear other rings and necklaces. lol And they can do the same comfort job just fine.
But there is something about those two pieces that were given to me by family.
That just...well...helps me get through situations.

Its become natural to have them on me.
and to realize I forgot to put one on...
Yeesh. Stress inducing. lol. I miss it the entirety of the time that I'm away from it.
Because its my armor.
My protection.

And I really don't know what I'd do without either piece. :)

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Multi-Cooking

My roomies keep saying that they need to learn how to cook. It's

Particularly whenever I cook and offer them food.
That they need to learn how to cook.

It is getting to the point where I'm like "Let me teach you."

lol though what I could teach them I have no idea.
Me, I just read the directions on the packages.
And then make things up as I go.
Recipes also are handy. lol.

But to teach how to cook? *shrugs* I'm not sure what there is to teach.

In any case.
I cooked dinner last night.
And offered it to the roomies.

Breakfast for dinner.

Eggs.
Waffles.
Hashbrowns.
Bacon.
Sausage.

And once again.
I did an excellent job.
Of multitasking. lol

I managed to cook everything.
Get it done at like the same time.
And not burn anything.

Woot!
Totally am getting the hang of this multi-tasking thing!
To cook everything at once....or at least figure out when to cook each item so it all ends up getting done at the same time.

Haha.
I feel so accomplished when I manage to do that. ^^
Serve everything hot.

I'm sure this is excellent practice for when I become a mother, with kids running around. I can just imagine cooking and keeping an eye on them at the same time.

Oh yes.
I'm going to need practice for that. :)

Whenever that happens.

But for now.
I content myself with cooking for me.
And occasionally sharing with others. :)

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

25 Cent Integrity

Some 30 years ago, while working in the corporate world, some business associates and I were passing through O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois.
One of these men had just sold company for tens of millions of dollars--in other words, he was not poor.

As we were passing a newspaper vending machine, this individual put a quarter in the machine, opened the door to the stack of papers inside the machine, and began dispensing unpaid-for newspapers to each of us.
When he handed me a newspaper, I put a quarter in the machine and, trying not to offend but to make a point, jokingly said, "Jim, for 25 cents I can maintain my integrity.
A dollar, questionable, but 25 cents--no, not for 25 cents."
You see, I remembered well the experience of three towels and a broken-down 1941 Hudson.
A few minutes later we passed the same newspaper vending machine.
I noticed that Jim had broken away from our group and was stuffing quarters in the vending machine.
I tell you this incident not to portray myself as an unusual example of honesty, but only to emphasize the lessons of three towels and a 25-cent newspaper.

-Richard C. Edgley -Three Towels and a 25-Cent Newspaper October 2006 General Conference

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Day in Review -November 4th

Thursday, November 4th 2004

-Yesterday Yum Yum (kitty) died. Mom and Dad had to put her to sleep because her leg was too shattered to fix and even if we could help her she would not have been the same. :( Kikay is really bummed because she was her cat. Today, after Dad gets home from work we're going to bury her by Wishbone (one of our dogs that died) Y_Y Yum Yum was the best cat and loved to be outdoors. I hope she's found a happy place up in heaven.

Tuesday, November 4th 2008

-Today we elected our new President to lead our country and his name is BARAK OBAMA! I voted for him! Basically the only one out of everyone I know to do so...So now for the first time in history we'll have a Black President! I really hope he isn't assassinated/killed :( or else that will throw our whole country into chaos. Anyway I woke up this morning feeling cheerful and relaxed and full of relief because I'm not in pain! (much.) (been suffering from pain in the chest, figured out that it was ribs out of alignment.) 

Wednesday, November 4th 2009

-Today was pretty normal schoolwise. Didn't have my first two classes so I went to the Women's Appreciation Luncheon at the Institute before coming home and hanging out the rest of the day. Got a card from Aunt Linda and Cousin Justin today ^^ Had to deal with TinMan again today. XP Hopoe he deletes me. Eventually. (Tinman was a guy from HS that skipped small talk and wanted to go straight into deep soul baring questions. Totally uncomfortable. I ended up deleting him.)

Thursday, November 4th 2010

-Woke up this morning and prepared some more for my presentation later in the day. Walked to school like normal, though today my eyes weren't nearly as sensitive to the light as they had been. I felt almost normal. Went to Brother D's class. I feel bad...he's speaking in the Devotional tomorrow and I won't make it back in time. :( (had an eye doctor appt to figure out whats up with my eyes...) I had Sister T next and Kikay showed up just as the song was starting so she didn't play the piano today. A girl brought delicious chocolate chip cookies w/ frosting and caramel in the middle. Because I had an hour break between classes instead of buying the $2 lunch at the institute, I went to W's class early to meet with my group for last minute changes. Then we presented on segregation. I think we did well, but we didn't finish so I have to continue on Tuesday. :(  W spent the last 5 minutes of class ranting about how rude it was to text and chat during our presentation and that he was fed up with it. :S Went to boring business class and did some group work. Met up and walked home with Kikay. We had BLT. Before grabbing gas for the car and meeting with our writing group. Didn't stay long as I had to leave to drive home in order to see the Eye Doctor tomorrow. Ended up hanging out and watching CSI and the Mentalist with the parents before doing homework.

Friday, November 4th 2011

-Woke up with the headache that I had last night. I was blessed though in that it went away by the time I was on my internship. Things were rather normal. The Devotional was Elder Kearns of the Seventy. He was a really cool guy. Did publicity stuff went food shopping and watched Iron Man for the first time with the Fencers at the fencing arena. Surprisingly the movie was better than I expected it to be.

Sunday, November 4th 2012

-Daylight savings + Fast Sunday + 1:30-4:30pm church = me with a headache even after eating food at munch and mingle. Good thing I worked on writing this morning, as I'm sure not getting it done tonight.

Monday, November 4th 2013

- My day today had a little bit of a rocky start in that I had a headache that lasted most of the night. Luckily I didn't have work until 2pm so I could sleep it away. I didn't go to work first though as part of my contract to live in my apt is that I have to be a 'student' and I can be a 'student' by going to institute classes. So at noon on Mondays I go to Bro S's class. It's not my favorite, but I'm learning to like it. I originally took this class when Cinres was still the boss and told me I would have Mondays off for sure and Bro S's class was the only Monday only class I could take. So I'm sticking it out for the semester. Next semester I plan to make it easier on myself and work to take a night class and redo my schedule at work so I can avoid any future scheduling problems. I've had trouble getting to class the last couple weeks due to mixups. Anyways went to work and Reth had me "behind the scenes." for most of my shift. I spent a couple of hours cleaning up the mess of cages left in the back rooms before doing some organizing on the floor with our products. 5 hours went by quick. I got home in time for FHE. Then I hung out with the roomies watching Warm Bodies and writing.

Tuesday, November 4th 2014

-A strange thing happened during the night.  I woke up and looked at my wall and there was a shadow there of a person with head and shoulders showing just above my TV. I didn't panic though I moved my blanket, saw the shoulders move with the motion and figured it was just a shadow caused by something and went back to bed. But when I woke up, that dark shadow was gone. I don't even know how the "head" could have been formed from anything and be that big. So I think I was visited by a spirit last night. Not sure who's...a male from the shape, but I felt safe enough in his presence to fall back asleep. Work itself went well enough. I had training with Kendra again. She ended up spending her 4 hour shift doing bedding changes. Which wasn't bad but still rather slow. But not bad considering it was her first time. :) I managed to get the dept open and had time to even work on tanks before my shift ended. Went to Institute and came home and ate some cake balls. So tasty. :D

Wednesday, November 4th 2015

-Totally felt the pressure at work today to 'do things by the book and fast.' *sighs* I spent waaaay too much time telling my managers why I was doing things and then having to prove that they were policy to them before I could actually get work done. So. Annoying. I know they want to do it right, they just need to trust that I know how to do it right! In any case. I had my opener doing the bedding changes while I opened the rest of the department. Even with me giving her a headstart in cleaning the dishes for the bedding changes, it still took her three hours to do the job. O.o So weird. But we managed to get basically everything done by 11 when our deadline to 'stop tasking' was. As the managers are being more hard on the 'tasking' thing... >.< Don't understand it. They're constantly tasking. But with our offered assistance at 0% that has to be our focus. :S ugh.... Managed to get odd and end tasks done by noon and spent the last three hours of my shift trying to keep myself from dying of boredom because there were hardly any customers in the store. I was glad to come home and I relaxed by watching the Episode of the Flash that aired last night. Ah. Its my new favorite!! love it so much. ^^ Went with Tik and Tok (roomie and her fiancé) to Institute after picking up Tok. After Institute we dropped by the DI to find some artwork to hang up in the living room to fill up some of the empty spaces on the wall. ^^ Found some! Loved it! We grabbed Wendy's -and had to deal with boys that remind me again why dating is hard. Ugh. Such children for being college students. - and hung up the pictures. One roomie didn't really like it...but the rest of us did. ^^ Watched Arrow and hung out the rest of the evening. :)

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Down with Gravity

There are some days...
Where gravity just doesn't work with you.

So, last night.
I was watching a movie with my roomies and friends.
and decided to get up.
Not the easiest task considering that half of them were sprawled out every which way on the floor.
Making for quite the jigsaw puzzle
Trying to make my way across the room
to get to the kitchen.

And as it happens.
As I took a step...
Something happened.
Gravity stopped working for me.
And my foot twisted.
Sending me crashing to the floor.

Who knows why my foot twisted as I had already done a similar journey a couple of times before this point.
But down I went to the floor.
And yeesh.
It hurt.
My ankle ached for a bit.
Nothing too major.
But wow. Its been a while since I've hurt my ankle.

I took it easier for the rest of the night.
Which was easy considering I went to bed soon afterwards.

Today at work though....
Was a different story.
Yeesh.
Walking on your feet for 8 hours is already hard enough.
To walk on an achy ankle for that entire shift.

Wasn't the best.
I had to be careful a bit on how I moved it.
So I wouldn't over twinge it again.

Ugh.
Hopefully it stops hurting soon.
As I have the rest of the week.....to deal with.

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

April 2007 General Conference Priesthood Session

Joseph B. Wirthlin -Life's Lessons Learned

• It's easy to get distracted and lose focus on the things that are most important in life.
• Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them.
• "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams," wrote Henry David Thoreau, "and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
• Never take your eye off the ball.
• "Do what is right, no matter the consequence. Do what is right and things will turn out OK."
• The Light of Christ helps us to discern right from wrong. When we allow temptations to drown out the still voice of our conscience--that is when decisions become difficult.
• Brethren of the priesthood, I urge you to cultivate the gift of an obedient spirit. The Savior taught that "whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man. ... And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man."
• How do we know if we are wise or foolish? When we hear inspired counsel, we obey. That is the test of wise or foolish.
• What does it profit us if we listen to wise counsel and do not heed the words? Of what use is experience if we do not learn from it? What good are the scriptures if we do not cherish the words and incorporate them into our lives?

Robert D. Hales -To the Aaronic Priesthood: Preparing for the Decade of Decision

• How you bear the priesthood now will prepare you to make the most important decisions in the future.
• You must develop your own preconditioned responses for the important decisions you will make in the next decade of your life. You must know what to do and when to do it when each decision presents itself. Remember that making no decision at all could be just as deadly as making the wrong decision.
• True friends make it easier to live the gospel. They never make us choose between their ways and the Lord's ways. They help us be the kind of person that attracts other true friends. And they help us become the kind of person a righteous companion can choose to be with forever.
• Brethren young and old, when we practice selective obedience, we change our position relative to the Lord--and usually by only one degree at a time. As the deceptive forces of the adversary work on us, we cannot detect them, and we experience spiritual vertigo. While it may seem like we are going in a safe direction, we are in fact headed for disaster.
• Finally, be there. Each of us was there  in the Council in Heaven to choose the great plan of happiness we now enjoy. Young men, when you have made a commitment to yourself, your family, your bishop, your employer, be there. When it is time to be in church, at Mutual, or fulfilling a priesthood assignment, be there. When it is time to graduate from school or training programs, be there. When it is time to serve a mission, be there.  When the young woman you love most kneels at the altar of God's holy temple, be there (and not as a witness.) When your family is gathered in the celestial kingdom, be there. When the Savior waits to greet you as you return with honor from your life on this earth and your Heavenly Father wants to encircle you about in the arms of His love, be there.

Keith B. McMullin -Lay Up in Store

• Be faithful.
• Unencumber your life.
• Lay up in store.
• "Begin in a small way, ... and gradually build toward a reasonable objective."

James E. Faust -Message to My Grandsons

• We are all accountable for our actions. My experience as a lawyer taught me that those who follow a life of crime frequently blame their father or mother or society when they are imprisoned. Yet they willfully chose to act "contrary to the nature of God" and consequently are "in a state contrary to the nature of happiness." Some of them even claim, "The devil made me do it!" The truth in that statement is that the devil entices us to do evil. The falsehood is because we have agency. The devil can't make us do anything we choose not to do.
• Friends and acquaintances add much to the richness of life, but these relationships can be temporary. No one loves you more or has greater concern for your welfare than your parents. You may question what they tell you, but you cannot question their love for you and interest in your well-being.
• Each of us is a unique creation of our Heavenly Father. No two of us are completely alike. No one else has exactly the same gifts and talents that we have been given. We should increase those talents and gifts and use them to leverage our uniqueness.

Thomas S. Monson -The Priesthood--a Sacred Gift

• Courage counts.
• Wherever we go, our priesthood goes with us.
• If, every time we started a little detour away from the straight and narrow, we would remember, 'I am carrying my Priesthood here. Should I?' it would not take us long to work back into the straight and narrow." 
• "There is no limit to the power of the priesthood which you hold. The limit comes in you if you do not live in harmony with the Spirit of the Lord and you limit yourselves in the power you exert."

Gordon B. Hinckley -"I Am Clean"

• Let us all put our shoulders to the wheel and push along, do our duty with a heart full of song. This cause needs work; let no one shirk. Put your shoulder to the wheel and push along.
• In a world that wallows in filth, be clean--in language, in thought, in body, in dress.
• To each of you I say, be clean in your language. There is so much of filthy, sleazy talk these days. Failure to express yourself in language that is clean marks you as one whose vocabulary is extremely limited.
• A filthy mind expresses itself in filthy and profane language. A clean mind expresses itself in language that is positive and uplifting and in deeds that bring happiness to the heart.
• Be clean and neat and orderly. Sloppy dress leads to sloppy manners. I am not so concerned about what you wear as I am that it be neat and clean.

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Hanging Up Pictures

Ahh.
I'm getting waaaaay too much stuff.
I mean...if I lived in an apartment to myself, then I would still have plenty of room to expand things here and there.
But...I don't live by myself.
*sighs*
Which means I'm seriously limited in space.
Because the only area I can call my own...is my bedroom.
And there are only so many surfaces and walls that I can place/hang stuff on in there.

I mean...I can always place more of my things out in the 'public' areas.
The kitchen, living room, bathroom etc.

There's just more of a risk....
Of my things getting broken/damaged/lost.

There's also a risk of creating tension with the roomies.
If I do something they don't like.

Or tension with me...if I'm the only one decorating the apartment...

In any case.

I had a few pictures I wanted to hang up.
That I'd gotten like...over a month ago. :S

But because I'd been 'busy' I'd just placed them temporarily in my closet so that my room would be considered clean for the cleaning check last month.

Yah...things in closets tend to be forgotten......

But tonight, with a reminder, I remembered them!!
But I was back to the same dilemma as before.
Where should I hang my pictures?

My roomies hadn't seemed so keen to have them hung up in the public areas. Which is where I really wanted them hung up.
Which meant rearranging my room's pictures on the walls.
A task...
I didn't want to do.
Sooo
I didn't.
lol
Not quite.
I moved a couple of pictures around to get one new picture hung up.
Place some others in the living room that better matched the theme out there.

And finally...
Still had like 4 pictures I wanted hung up....with no place to hang them up.
At least not in my room.

There was the wall outside my room. The hallway wall that shares my bedroom wall.
However that is used.
And I could hang the pictures there.
Only....across the way is a roommate.
Who's door opens out onto that wall.
aka -when she opens her door she would see whatever was hanging on the wall across the way from her right away.

This is where tension could be caused.
If I just hung up the pictures however I wanted.

But I wasn't that inconsiderate of my roomie.
So I went and found her.
And asked her if it was alright if I hung up some pictures across the way from her bedroom.
She asked what type.
I just told her to come see them so she could decide which one (if any) she wanted hanging up.

Thankfully one of the ones I had she liked, and said she'd be okay opening her door to that picture everyday. So.
I went ahead and hung up all my pictures!
And then again double checked with her to make sure I'd hung them up in a way that she would like.
Which she did.

So yay for ensuring that there wasn't unnecessary roommate drama caused lol.

But even more Yay because I finally have all my pictures hung up!! Woot!!

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi