A Nest

So. I may have found a temporary solution for my sleeping problems.
To where I can get comfy enough to fall asleep faster than like...in two hours.
To where I almost feel normal again being able to get to sleep.

That solution?

Well.
A while ago.
The roommate who's not in the apartment hardly ever anymore,
Who has excellent sewing skills.

Made a giant pillow.
For the sole purpose of us being able to lounge on it.
As our current seating arrangement in the apartment, makes it rather hard to fit all of us comfortably in the living room.
So she created the pillow to give us another option when picking places to sit.

Well, the other night, on a whim of inspiration and desperation because I once again couldn't sleep. I decided to grab that pillow.
And take it into my room.
And stuff it in the space on the floor between my closet and my bed.
Other pillows and blankets had already found their way down there from my restless tossing and turning.
Which ended up creating a 'nest' of sorts.
A soft fluffy place where I could curl up and relax. Feel safe and warm and whatever else I needed to feel to get to sleep.

And it worked.
Surprisingly it worked.
I was able to get to sleep!!

So great!
But like all great things....
They must come to an end.
As I had another one of those stupid cleaning checks. (can't wait to get away from the monthly cleaning checks in this place)
Which meant....I couldn't exactly leave the 'nest' on the ground and call it 'clean'
So the nest had to be cleaned up.
Which meant last night....was another night of restless sleeping.
To the point where I had to remake the nest -in a quick to clean up modified form- in order to finally get to sleep.

So tonight, you can guess what I'm doing.
Yep.
Rebuilding that nest.
Because for now...
That's the only way I'm finding a good night sleep.

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

A Third Party

The hard thing about Betta fish....

Is the fact that you can't have more than one in a tank at the same time. :(

As they can be rather aggressive to each other.

So you can't put a whole group of them in one tank.

Which is depressing.

As they come in so many different cool pretty colors.

That it would be amazing to just have one tank of them.

Instead...you have to keep them separated.

Which makes it difficult to get a ton of bettas...

As you have to find a tank spot for each one. lol.

I already had two bettas at home in their tanks.

When I texted my roommates asking if they would kill me if I brought home a third betta.

-Which would mean a third tank.

You see....I've managed to resist for a long while of getting any more bettas.

Because again. Space.

I already had two bettas and I wanted to call that good.

But there was this one betta that kept calling to me.

Usually I can resist this call to purchase.

Mostly because the bettas sell pretty quickly at work.

So I don't need to worry about growing attached for long.

But this particular betta....

had been in the store for like 10 days or so.

Which is long for a betta fish.

I mean, I'd shown him to multiple friends and family as they'd come into the store.

but none of them were into purchasing him.

So.

With the permission of my roommates. (which I got)

I finally purchased him!!

He's a bit camera shy. But oh so pretty! ^^ lol.

I called him Mosaic aka Mosey. ^^

He's so pretty.

I literally spent like an hour watching him swim around.

It also gave me motivation to clean out my other betta tanks.

....as they were green and black from algae growth as my snails....once again didn't make it. *Sighs*

I need to also work on not keeping the lights on so much....

So now all three tanks are sparkling and clean. :)

So yah. ^^ I'm excited for a third betta fish. lol.

though the roomies said if I got anymore I would need to have an intervention. lol.

It's okay, I'm not planning on any more betta fish.

Not planning on any more fish for a while actually....not until I get my big fish tank. :)

For now. I'm happy. ^^

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves. (and my bettas)

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

Departing the Doorstep

The testimony of the Prophet Joseph continues to change lives.
Some years ago I served as the president of the Canadian Mission.
In Ontario, Canada, two of our missionaries were proselyting door-to-door on a cold, snowy afternoon.
They had not had any measure of success.
One elder was experienced; one was new.

The two called at the home of Mr. Elmer Pollard, and he, feeling sympathy for the almost frozen missionaries, invited them in.
They presented their message and asked if he would join in prayer.
He agreed, on the provision that he could offer the prayer.

The prayer he offered astonished the missionaries.
He said, "Heavenly Father, bless these two unfortunate, misguided, missionaries, that they may return to their homes and not waste their time telling the people of Canada about a message which is so fantastic and about which they know so little."

As they arose from their knees, Mr. Pollard asked the missionaries never to return to his home.
As they left, he said mockingly to them, "You can't tell me you really believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, anyway!" and he slammed the door.

The missionaries had walked but a short distance when the junior companion said timidly, "Elder, we didn't answer Mr. Pollard."

The senior companion responded: "We've been rejected.
Let's move on."

The young missionary persisted, however, and the two returned to Mr. Pollard's door.
Mr. Pollard answered the knock and angrily said, "I thought I told you young men never to return!"

The junior companion then said, with all the courage he could muster, "Mr. Pollard, when we left your door, you said that we didn't really believe Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
I want to testify to you, Mr. Pollard, that I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that by inspiration he translated the sacred record known as the Book of Mormon, that he did see God the Father and Jesus the Son."
The missionaries then departed the doorstep.

I heard this same Mr. Pollard in a testimony meeting state the experiences of that memorable day.
He said: "That evening, sleep would not come.
I tossed and turned.
Over and over in my mind I heard the words, 'Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
I know it.
... I know it.
... I know it.'
I could scarcely wait for morning to come.
I telephoned the missionaries, using their number which was printed on the small card containing the Articles of Faith.
They returned, and this time my wife, my family, and I joined in the discussion as earnest seekers of truth.
As a result, we have all embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We shall ever be grateful to the testimony of truth brought to us by those two courageous, humble missionaries."

-Thomas S. Monson -The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example -October 2005 General Conference

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Trouble Sleeping

For the past little while, I've had trouble getting to sleep.
Like nearly every night.
I go to bed.
And lie there for an hour or two or three.
Mind racing with different things. Sometimes its work, sometimes it's story ideas, sometimes it's hopes and plans for the future.

Normally I think about such things before going to bed, it usually helps me fall asleep.

But now....now it takes forever to sleep.

And today, I came to a realization as to why this may be the case.
Why the sudden difficulty in sleeping.

It's because there has been a change in the apartment.

The energy has changed.
And apparently I'm having trouble adjusting to it.

As a few weeks ago, my roommate's fiancé got an apartment.
One that they will be sharing when they get married in a month.

Yet, now it's a place for them to go hang out. To get away from his roommates and from her roommates.
So needless to say.
Instead of spending every evening here like they used to.
They're over at that apartment.

Leaving me to deal with the energy/aura of the other roommates.
And like I said.
I'm apparently not handling this sudden change in the environment too well.

*exhales*
Needless to say, I'm missing having my favorite roommate around. :(

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

Driving on Empty?

I'd borrowed my parents car to go grab us some food.
-As I'd been picked up by them, I didn't have my own car with me. Which btw is the weirdest feeling ever to be somewhere without your car. O.o

In any case.
After finally getting my food.

I got in the car, heading home.

And out of the blue,
I hear this ding.

I look down and there is this orange light shining next to the symbol of a gas pump.
Which naturally draws me eyes to the gas gauge.
It was sitting on empty.

()_()

I immediately had flash backs to the last time I drove a car on empty.
I nearly killed my car lol.
I basically sputtered into the gas station and spent the next hour or so recovering from shaking as I'd been worried about breaking down in the middle of the freeway or something.

I learned from that.
Never ever ever trying to drive anywhere without my tank being over a quarter full lol.

But this was my parents car....
So I'd hadn't even thought to check the gas levels when I left.
Because why would I?
I never drive this car. So I'm not aware of gas levels in it as much as my own car....I just assumed it was full. lol.

But now.
The car was telling me I was on empty. ()_()
And I literally had no idea what that meant.
I mean, I know what empty means.
But how 'empty' was 'empty?'
Like, would the car stop moving in two feet? Or in four miles? Or 20 miles?
How far could I get further?

Could I get home? But if I got home....would the parents be able to get the car to a gas station?

Could I make it to the gas station?
I'd literally just driven past it like 2 minutes previously.

So, I did a quick decision.
To turn the car around, and head back to the station.
And get gas.
Hoping and praying that the car wouldn't go 'sputter sputter' on me and trap me somewhere away from home and away from the gas station.

Luckily!!
I made it to the station and filled the car up with gas. ^^

Woot!

When I got home....
I was told that the gas gauge in that car has been acting up.
One second saying a quarter tank, the next showing it's empty....and the next it being back up to a quarter tank.

Apparently I could have made it home just fine lol. As the gauge was probably supposed to still show a quarter tank. Since I didn't fill the car all the way up (big tank.) Yet it showed the gas was at full. *shakes head*

So yah.
Brush with another car disaster.
I managed to avoid it! :)

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

-Sarnic Dirchi

October 2009 General Conference -Sunday Morning

Henry B. Eyring -Our Perfect Example

• Different as we are in circumstances and experiences, we share a desire to become better than we are. There may be a few who mistakenly feel they are good enough and a few who have given u trying to be better. But, for all, the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can and must expect to become better as long as we live.
• "Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God."

L. Tom Perry -The Past Way of Facing the Future

• "I do not want to go back to the past; I want to go back to the past way of facing the future."

H. David Burton -Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts

• Virtuous traits form the foundation of a Christian life an are the outward manifestation of the inner man.
• We need only look around us to see what is taking place in our communities to realize that personal traits of virtue are in a steep decline.
• Brothers and sisters, we need not be a part of the virtue malaise that is penetrating and infecting society. If we follow the world in abandoning Christian-centered virtues, the consequences may be disastrous. Individual faith and fidelity, which have eternal consequences, will diminish. Family solidarity and spirituality will be adversely impacted. Religious influence in society will be lessened, and the rule of law will be challenged and perhaps even set aside. The seedbed for all that plagues the natural man will have been planted, to the sheer delight of Satan.
• We need to stand tall and be firmly fixed in perpetuating Christlike virtues.
• Integrity is the mother of many virtues.
• Integrity can be defined "as a firm adherence to a code of moral values."
• "Integrity is the light that shines from a disciplined conscience. It is the strength of duty within us."
• It is difficult for a person to display virtuous traits if he or she lacks integrity. Without integrity, honesty is often forgotten. If integrity is absent, civility is impaired. If integrity is not important, spirituality is difficult to maintain.
• Traits of virtue broadly practiced can loosen Satan's firm grip on society and derail his insidious plan to capture the hearts, minds, and spirits of mortal men.

Ann M. Dibb -Hold On

• "Remember that you are entitled to our [Heavenly] Father's blessings in this work. He did not call you to your privileged post to walk alone, without guidance, trusting to luck. On the contrary, He knows your skill, He realizes your devotion, and He will convert your supposed inadequacies to recognize strengths.
• Heavenly Father has not left us alone during our mortal probation. He has already given us all the "safety equipment" we will need to successfully return to Him. He has given us personal prayer, the scriptures, living prophets, and the Holy Ghost to guide us. At times, using this equipment may seem cumbersome, awkward, and horribly, obedience, and persistence. But I, for one, choose to use it. We must all choose to use it.
• The Savior has extended an open invitation to us: repent, hold on, and don't let go.

Russell M. Nelson -Ask, Seek, Knock

• A desire to follow the prophet requires much effort because the natural man knows very little of God and even less of His prophet. Paul wrote that "the natural man [receives] not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The change from being a natural man to a devoted disciple is a mighty one.
• Personal revelation can be honed to become spiritual discernment. To discern means to sift, to separate, or to distinguish. The gift of spiritual discernment is a supernal gift. It allows members of the Church to see things not visible and to feel things not tangible.
• Revelation from God is always compatible with His eternal law, It never contracts His doctrine. It is facilitated by proper reverence for Deity.

Thomas S. Monson -What Have I Done for Someone Today?

• Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish--and in effect save their lives.
• Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart.
• Too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.
• "It is difficult for those who are young to understand the loneliness that comes when life changes from a time of preparation and performance to a time of putting things away. ... To be so long the center of a home, so much sought after, and then, almost suddenly to be on the sidelines watching the procession pass by--this is living into loneliness.

Until you next see these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Villains Approach

It's not always the easiest thing to shop for your Mom for Mother's Day.

Especially as you get older.

Because you feel like you've already gotten her everything.

And she usually ends up feeling the same way....

lol. Because the last few times I've asked my mom what's she's wanted....

It's rather hard to pin her down on things she still needs or wants.

So when my Mother Dearest actually says she wants something.

I jump on it as quickly as I can before she changes her mind. lol

Last year, My Mom decided that she really wanted a Betta Fish.

^^ Which, since I work in a Pet Store, is really easy to get for me lol. The fish the tank, some decorations.

Awesome!

Well this year....

My Mom decided that she wanted another Betta Fish.

O.o lol. I was like "...Didn't I give you one last year?"

But she had a tank that had had a fish in it die recently, and betta fish usually live longer.

The difficult thing this time around was finding the colors she wanted lol. :)

She wanted a black betta with blue/green shimmers to it.

Which we do carry, but they're not as common as red bettas or blue bettas.

(Strangely enough, we've gotten a lot more black bettas in the past couple of weeks. O.o Weird.)

I managed to find one!! Woot!! lol.

And so, I had my mother's day gift!!

Woot. ^^

She decided to name him Vader lol. ^^

In any case, I got him a couple of weeks before Mother's Day, so she got him earlier.

Then, the day Before Mother's Day.

My parents came down,

As my Daddoo is into fish as well, and he was looking to get some Goldfish.

lol Since I work at a PetStore.....and I get discounts at work....

They decided to come down and check out the fish.

It just so happened that I had in like 200 bettas. (that's not much of an exaggeration. I had four locations of bettas in the store, all with like 50 bettas in each location.)

And it so happened that I ended up getting caught with customers.

So they had to wander around for a bit before I could go clock out.

And Mother Dearest found two more bettas that she really liked the colors of.

One ended up being a dark blue and white.

The other is more of a silver grey with red edges.

Both super pretty.

And it so happened that we sell this tank called a "Betta Falls"

Where it's basically one long tank.

But its been divided into three sections, with water flowing between all three sections.

So you can have 3 bettas in one area. :)

So she got (as a mother's day gift from Daddoo) two of the bettas and the tank set up with the intention to add Vader into the third tank when we got back to their home. :)

Such happy fishies. :)

lol.

She ended up naming the Blue and White one Loki.

And the grey/red one's name is Khan. :)

So she now has Vader, Loki, and Khan in her room. lol

Hope they don't end up causing trouble. ;)

Until you next read these words;

I'll be watching the leaves.

Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi