Happy Memorial Day!

I'm so looking forward to watching the Memorial Day Concert tonight on television. It's the next best thing to being there.

There actually was a year when I was lucky enough to be there in person. It was incredible. I still say there's no better place to be on Memorial Day weekend than Washington DC.

Here's my favorite performance from that concert in 2008. I know the audio isn't perfect, but I still watch Idina's performance every year.

Put on a Happy Face

Picture from Everyday Inspirations

It's been a while since I took a moment to count my blessings, so I think it's about time to consider some things that make me smile.

* Walking through Liberty Park on a Sunday morning

* Listening to EFY music and thinking how great it will be to start in one week!

* Finding a box of still-fresh cookies in my trunk that I forgot I had. YUM!

* Digging my hands into rich, dark potting soil

* Thinking about all the delicious tomatoes that will come from my two little seedlings

* Being with "my kids"

* Seeing a grandpa and his grandson playing catch on my drive home from work. It made me think of my own grandpa.

* Shaking my groove thing at Zumba

* The funny winks/grins/nods I get from my fellow staff members at school when a certain someone walks by

* Tulips on Temple Square

The post where I discuss my love/hate relationship with the blogging world

Sometimes I love blogging, and sometimes I hate it. There. I said it.

I love blogging because it is a great way to process all the wonderful things that happen each day in my life. I blog because I want to be able to look back at my life, pictures and all, and see how truly blessed I am. Of course, I'm always hopeful that there is someone out there in the great wide blogosphere who will read what I write, but whether or not, at least I get to go back and read it. Blogs are a way for me to share what's on my mind - the things I love, the things that make me happy, the things that make me giggle, and the things that make me groan.

On top of writing on my own little blog, it's great fun to peruse others' writing. I am often inspired by what I find on my favorite blogs. It's entertaining to see what my friends are doing or read about someone's great outfit or delicious new recipe.

However... have you ever noticed how depressing blogs can be? Quite often I find that I feel sad after reading other people's blogs, because they are off doing exciting and wonderful things with their lives, and I'm just sitting here in front of a computer. Why can't I live in a big, bustling city with a million things to do around every corner? Why can't I always have something interesting to say? URGH. Have you ever felt this way? Please say it isn't just me.

Then comes the real clincher. I absolutely cannot stand when I read a close friend's blog and find out something really notable has happened in her life and I HAD NO IDEA! Do I really have to find out about it on the computer? This is where most of my love/hate comes in. Blogs make it possible for us to stay closely connected with each other, but they are also tools of isolation. I don't want to read that you graduated, got married, found out you're expecting, moved to a new place, etc., etc. over the internet. I want you to tell me yourself.

So, there you have it. I probably won't give up blogging for good, because, let's face it, it's pretty addicting.

But sometimes it's also pretty aggravating.

How do you feel about it?

If you liked the umbrellas...

You might enjoy these pictures from the Urban Trees exhibit in San Diego.

Each sculpture was so unique and inventive. I loved walking around each one and seeing it from all different angles and in different light

Sunday Thought

"Joy is not accidental. It isn't given to lucky winners like a lottery prize. We choose it. We choose it when we choose to be obedient to the principles upon which joy is predicated."

~ Sandra Rogers

from The Joy of Our Salvation

Oh yeah!

I have a blog! You might have thought I'd forgotten, but don't dispair, I've returned.

Sometimes there's so much life going on that I forget to blog... and then I feel really behind so I put it off.... and then more life happens. Hence the vicious cycle.

Anyway...

The weather today reminded me of this cool sculpture I saw during my most recent vacay to sunny California. I wish I'd had one of these cheery umbrellas to keep the rain off my glasses today.

Umbrellas always bring a smile to my face.