Last night for FHE, Morgan planned an activity where we each wrote ten small notes about the other and then hid the note somewhere that the other person would randomly find over the next few weeks. It was so wonderful to channel my thoughts into ten little notes, and I was so excited for Morgan to find his. Little did I know mine would come with gifts too!
I have to share with you this note I just found, because it really is too sickeningly adorable, and honestly made my day - so maybe you should do something like this for someone you love.
Taped across my credit card was the following:
"Everything I ever have is now yours! I want you to be super happy with yourself, so take this card, and go buy yourself some new shoes, some chocolate, a new special hat, etc. You deserve it!"
Oh how I love my Morgan. Unfortunately, since I used my lunchbreak to write this blog, I will now have to wait until tomorrow to go shopping, but I will definitely go buy some new shoes AND chocolate, sheesh Morgan, twist my arm.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Doggy Daycare
Well, we've come to find out that having a puppy isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's not all snuggling, playing, wrestling, going for walks, teaching new tricks, etc. There's also pooping, peeing, separation anxiety, chewing, whining, and destroying of homes without human supervision. She's a darling when we're around, but when we're gone.....well, she let's us know that she doesn't appreciate it.
So, we decided to sign her up for doggy daycare so someone else could deal with the negatives of us not being able to be around her all the time. Strangely, you can't just give a doggy daycare cash and have them watch your dog whenever you want. First, your puppy has to be "accepted" to their prestigious educational institution. Then, the dog has to make tryouts to be on their weekly schedule. We found this all out the week before Jenny was going to start her new job, so we had to move quickly, and if Chipson didn't make it, we would have had to leave her as master of the house while we were gone.
On Friday the 4th, we went snowboarding and left Chipson at the daycare for her varsity tryouts. Remarkably, she didn't even notice that we handed her leash to someone else as we left. And when we came back, we were told not only that she had made the team (pack), but also that she was a perfect sweetie the whole time. One of the daycare workers said she played very nice with the other puppies, and that when she got tired, she would just come and cuddle up on the nearest human's lap. So, she also made the starting rotation so that we could bring her in Monday-Friday!
Now, we bring her in every morning, and pick her up every night, and she's the happiest pup in the world. And the big bonus is that she also gets all the exercise she needs, so she's just a big puddle of cuddle when she gets home. Now, Jenny just needs to find something like that for me.....
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
A Note About Perfection
I was asked to write a spiritual thought for our Relief Society this month, and though it has nothing to do with our puppy, or Morgan's awesomeness, I thought it would still be nice to share here. Enjoy.
Last night about 50 million people tuned in to watch the Academy Awards. They critiqued and admired the perhaps thousands of stars dressed in what they would consider their very best. For months the women had been dieting and trying new ways to sculpt perfect arms. For weeks they had met with designers and stylists trying to stay ahead of the styles and create that groundbreaking beautiful look that journalists would praise. As these gorgeous women stepped onto the red carpet nerves, fear, and self-consciousness flooded their thoughts as they desperately attempted to portray confidence. Many of these women have been on a no food diet. Many exercise 4 hours a day, and many are addicted to various drugs that pump their bodies with adrenaline and caffeine thus hyping their metabolism. These unhealthy bodies are cloaked in diamonds, fine materials, and excessive makeup. Some have gone into serious debt to pay for their appearance. But they know they are under critique and as a star and a model to the world they are obliged to be what the media coins “perfect.”
So we sit back and soak in “perfection.” We watch from the comfort of our homes in old sweats with a big bowl of pasta wondering why our bodies don’t look like theirs. We admire the clothes, the makeup, the accessories and hair, curious if we could ever look so beautiful. This handful of women, not even half a percent of our country’s population represents the ideal, the standard by which we will judge ourselves for another year. We agree with the journalist when it is noted that so and so has put on weight, or that some other girl had an outdated dress. We admire, we critique, we get it, we now know what “perfect” is.
But do we? Sisters, these women attended parties last night drinking away their sorrows, their stress, and their pain. Many went ‘home’ to truly broken homes with a number of divorces already behind them. Few have children, and those who do are forced to deal with teaching them how to be perfect children of perfect people. A great number of lives have been cut short by substance abuse, but at least they looked good on camera.
These are not perfect lives. How dare we degrade such a divine concept, perfection, with images of sickly women bathed in material beauty? What is perfection? What should I look like? What should I wear? Who should I be?
As Christ says in Matthew 6:24; 28-33“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Strive to be perfect in the way the Lord would have us be. Our healthy lives, our softer bodies, our chaotic homes bursting with Christ-like love, families and happiness, our $20 dress from Target is far more perfect than most of those beautiful idols flaunting “perfection” will ever be. By looking to them as models, we are setting ourselves up for self-deprecation, depression, and angst. Look to yourself; look to the example of the Savior. Be proud of the beautiful and original woman God made you to be. Flaunt your own shape, delight in messy joyous children, celebrate a life without debt, and be confident in knowing your divine worth. Be a perfect you.
Read tonight a few scriptures about being perfect and throw away those images of what you deem to be a truly beautiful woman, and replace it with a picture of somebody you admire: perhaps a grandmother, a sister, or maybe even you. May I suggest 3 Nephi 12:48, Psalms 101:2, James 1:4, Moroni 10:32 and Deuteronomy 25:15.
Oh Sisters, we are so blessed to have good role models in our lives, but more importantly, we are blessed to know that we are daughters of God, and he made us unique in so many ways. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” I completely agree and therefore encourage you to be a perfect you.
With love,
Jenny Dipo
Last night about 50 million people tuned in to watch the Academy Awards. They critiqued and admired the perhaps thousands of stars dressed in what they would consider their very best. For months the women had been dieting and trying new ways to sculpt perfect arms. For weeks they had met with designers and stylists trying to stay ahead of the styles and create that groundbreaking beautiful look that journalists would praise. As these gorgeous women stepped onto the red carpet nerves, fear, and self-consciousness flooded their thoughts as they desperately attempted to portray confidence. Many of these women have been on a no food diet. Many exercise 4 hours a day, and many are addicted to various drugs that pump their bodies with adrenaline and caffeine thus hyping their metabolism. These unhealthy bodies are cloaked in diamonds, fine materials, and excessive makeup. Some have gone into serious debt to pay for their appearance. But they know they are under critique and as a star and a model to the world they are obliged to be what the media coins “perfect.”
So we sit back and soak in “perfection.” We watch from the comfort of our homes in old sweats with a big bowl of pasta wondering why our bodies don’t look like theirs. We admire the clothes, the makeup, the accessories and hair, curious if we could ever look so beautiful. This handful of women, not even half a percent of our country’s population represents the ideal, the standard by which we will judge ourselves for another year. We agree with the journalist when it is noted that so and so has put on weight, or that some other girl had an outdated dress. We admire, we critique, we get it, we now know what “perfect” is.
But do we? Sisters, these women attended parties last night drinking away their sorrows, their stress, and their pain. Many went ‘home’ to truly broken homes with a number of divorces already behind them. Few have children, and those who do are forced to deal with teaching them how to be perfect children of perfect people. A great number of lives have been cut short by substance abuse, but at least they looked good on camera.
These are not perfect lives. How dare we degrade such a divine concept, perfection, with images of sickly women bathed in material beauty? What is perfection? What should I look like? What should I wear? Who should I be?
As Christ says in Matthew 6:24; 28-33“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Strive to be perfect in the way the Lord would have us be. Our healthy lives, our softer bodies, our chaotic homes bursting with Christ-like love, families and happiness, our $20 dress from Target is far more perfect than most of those beautiful idols flaunting “perfection” will ever be. By looking to them as models, we are setting ourselves up for self-deprecation, depression, and angst. Look to yourself; look to the example of the Savior. Be proud of the beautiful and original woman God made you to be. Flaunt your own shape, delight in messy joyous children, celebrate a life without debt, and be confident in knowing your divine worth. Be a perfect you.
Read tonight a few scriptures about being perfect and throw away those images of what you deem to be a truly beautiful woman, and replace it with a picture of somebody you admire: perhaps a grandmother, a sister, or maybe even you. May I suggest 3 Nephi 12:48, Psalms 101:2, James 1:4, Moroni 10:32 and Deuteronomy 25:15.
Oh Sisters, we are so blessed to have good role models in our lives, but more importantly, we are blessed to know that we are daughters of God, and he made us unique in so many ways. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” I completely agree and therefore encourage you to be a perfect you.
With love,
Jenny Dipo
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