happiness.

nothing too big. i'm just happy. that's all.

Elegance.

David Starr Jordan, former president of Stanford University, wrote: “To be vulgar is to do that which is not the best of its kind. It is to do poor things in poor ways, and to be satisfied with that. … It is vulgar to wear dirty linen when one is not engaged in dirty work. It is vulgar to like poor music, to read weak books, to feed on sensational newspapers, … to find amusement in trashy novels, to enjoy vulgar theatres, to find pleasure in cheap jokes.”¹

This quote didn't really fit in quite as well as the others in my last post, but I couldn't let it slip away! At first when I read this I brushed it off, "that's much too strict, ridiculously strict." But then I read it again, when we think of elegant, admirable and praise-worthy people, do we see them in stained sweats telling a dirty joke? Of course not. Even the way they speak is beautiful and graceful. And I certainly hope that we all aspire to be just as elegant. 

Audrey Hepburn even looked elegant in a grocery store. Don't you worry, I'll get to her soon. And yes, that is a deer. That deer was one of her costars, Ip. 

David Starr Jordan, former president of Stanford University, wrote: “To be vulgar is to do that which is not the best of its kind. It is to do poor things in poor ways, and to be satisfied with that. … It is vulgar to wear dirty linen when one is not engaged in dirty work. It is vulgar to like poor music, to read weak books, to feed on sensational newspapers, … to find amusement in trashy novels, to enjoy vulgar theatres, to find pleasure in cheap jokes.”¹²

The talk continues, "Your Father in Heaven has sent you away from His presence to have experiences you would not have had in your heavenly home—all in preparation for the conferral of a kingdom. He doesn’t want you to lose your vision. You are children of an exalted being. You are foreordained to preside as kings and queens. You will live in a home and environment of infinite refinement and beauty, as reflected in the language, literature, music, art, and order of heaven."     UAdd a Note 

I close with the words of President Young: “Let us … show to the world that we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that our minds are set on beauty and true excellence, so that we can become worthy to enjoy the society of angels.”

Even more, may we become worthy to enjoy the refined society of heavenly parentage, for we are of the race of the Gods, being “children of the most High” (Psalm 82:6).

Read the talk here! :) Our Refined Heavenly Home

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." ~Groucho Marx

I started reading again! YES! This was one thing on my 3/4 of the year resolutions list, yes I have more than one resolution list. I wanted to start reading real books again. I got a little side-tracked when the Twilight books came out. Shameful, I know. But from then on I could only read vampire books, or random teen novels. Books that were "fluff", as some people would say. I could see a decline in my writing and grammar, and even my desire to be in English class.


So, I saw Of Mice and Men on a shelf in my teacher's classroom and I dared myself to read it, it's like 15 pages long! I ate that book up, while simultaneously trying to write an essay.. 


A few days ago I found another teen novel to seduce me. BUT, I promised myself that alongside it I would read a Jane Austin novel. I decided to get back into Emma. I started to read it, but never finished. I must read it! 





Sometimes I think that we put certain books of "literature" onto these pedestals because they are old and written by stuffy men, but only some of them actually deserve the title of Great Literature. Nevertheless, "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."  ~Mark Twain We had an excellent lesson in Young Women's about Culture and Arts. One of the topics was literature and our teacher asked, "Could our society today produce an Isaac Newton or a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?" 

"I don’t know whether our heavenly home has a television set or a DVD player, but in my mind’s imagery it surely has a grand piano and a magnificent library. There was a fine library in the home of President Gordon B. Hinckley’s (1910–2008) youth. It was not an ostentatious home, but the library contained about 1,000 volumes of the rich literature of the world, and President Hinckley spent his early years immersed in these books. To be well-read, however, it is not necessary to possess expensive collections of literature, for they are available to rich and poor alike in the libraries of the world." - Our Refined Heavenly Home, Elder Douglas L. Callister



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Isn't that wonderful to think about?! A grand piano in heaven, but of course! I haven't really thought about it like that, but that's an obvious. And a "magnificent library". I can't wait. And I agree with Callister, I don't think our heavenly home has a DVD player. Why can't we all just read books instead of tv? Get with it, it's the same stories except you get smarter after you read it. Why wouldn't you want that? 


Finally, President McKay noted: “As with companions so with books. We may choose those which will make us better, more intelligent, more appreciative of the good and the beautiful in the world, or we may choose the trashy, the vulgar, the obscene, which will make us feel as though we’ve been ‘wallowing in the mire.’” I don't know if I would call my novels obscene, but they certainly are guilty pleasures. 


Suggestions I found for starting to read good books again:

1. Keep a dictionary on hand. Use the "Oxford English Dictionary" as a reference for unfamiliar words or to define words that have changed in meaning over time.
2. Consider purchasing editions that have end notes and in-text references for clarification of outdated terms and allusions. (Barnes and Noble carries a line of inexpensive classics with thorough and clear introductions, end notes, and in-text notes that aid the reader with older and/or more complicated works).
3. Remember to enforce the importance of reading in your home. To read literature is to learn about history, human interactions, other cultures, and inner thought processes. To read is to force oneself to view life from a new perspective and to see one's own lifestyle in a more objective light.

P.S, Don't you just love these little reading nooks?!

True that.

My little Lancey.

Today I wanted to blog about the thing that makes me the happiest. That one that makes my heart burst everytime I see him. This is my little brother Lance. He's a year and a half and he's pretty much the best thing in my life. Okay, there may be a few other someones.. Haha  He is the cutest baby that ever lived, and I'm not exaggerating. He's not a "duh" baby, he's so smart! And he knows it. I love his awkward little walk and his cute cute cute dance moves! It's late at the moment, so I'll come back later and add more about his adorableness.  










He literally ate FOUR eggrolls! He's a little piggy when it comes to food. Sometimes he has thirds or fourths.. hahaha



He also decided that he didn't want to walk until quite a ways past his 1st birthday. He crawled and got rather good at it. Finally he decided to jump on the band wagon. Now, his latest fad is jumping! They taught it to him at primary and he's been using it as a new dance move.




Cute old, chubby picture of him.. He's getting so big. :(

I think this is my favorite picture of him. It's sad, but he is the most adorable cryer ever. Sterling and I looked over at him the other day and he was randomly screwing up his face into a sad little face. For no reason, and when we said "Laaaance haha", he tried not to smile and he hid his face. Eventually he laughed with us.

Snow flakes.

It's snowing! "In Kennewick?!", you might ask. Why yes, it is. Living in Omak, we got quite used to the snow. So, last Christmas came as a huge disappointment. Ice and fog, but only a sprinkle of snow. This year, everyone's been bustling around, gossiping about this major snow storm coming. Ha! Yeah right. I scoffed in their faces. And now, we're in the middle of a snow storm, 12.1 inch pile up. What?!






It's so beautiful though. Everything's so white and clean. I love the crunching under my feet, and the muffled silence of the city. I've had hot cocoa twice today, with peppermint and vanilla of course! And now I can wear my pea coat and my boots! And scarves and berets and gloves! And the best part of all, no one knows how to drive in this snow. So school is cancelled! Ahhh I love snow.

Speak Now.

Taylor Swift's new album, Speak Now came out last week. The girls and I have been listening to it non-stop. I probably should cool it down before I get sick of  it. But it's such a good album, I'm pretty sure I can relate to every song, but that's just how Tay Swift does it. Fearless is still my favorite album of hers but Speak Now comes in close. All her songs are from personal experience. The album storybook opening is so cute! I just had to post it.

'Speak now or forever hold your peace,' the words said by preachers at the end of wedding ceremonies all over the world, right before the vows.  It's a last chance for protest, a moment that makes everyone's heart race, and a moment I've always been strangely fascinated by. So many fantasize about bursting into a church, saying what they'd kept inside for years like in the movies. In real life, it rarely happens.

    Real life is a funny thing, you know. In real life, saying the right thing at the right moment is beyond crucial. So crucial, in fact, that most of us start to hesitate, for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But lately what I've begun to fear more than that is letting the moment pass without saying anything.

    I think most of us fear reaching the end of our life, and looking back regretting the moments we didn't speak up. When we didn't say 'I love you.' When we should've said 'I'm sorry.' When we didn't stand up for ourselves or someone who needed help.

My favorite on the album is Enchanted! 

Your eyes whispered "Have we met?"
Across the room, your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy
And it was enchanting to meet you
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you

The beat of your heart
It jumps through your shirt
I can still feel your arms
But now I'll go, sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don't know
How to be something you miss
I never thought we'd have a last kiss
Never imagined we'd end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips 

-Last Kiss