Projects

I've been working on a few projects lately, some I can't share with you just yet. This is my latest project:

A tree skirt that I made for a friend. It was the first one I've ever made. I used the idea from another blog. I changed a few of the instructions and if I were to do it again, I would change a few more. I like it and so does my friend.

Warm the Soles 6

It's that time of year again!  It's the 6th Annual Warm the Soles donation from our school. Warm the Soles is put on by our local credit union to provide shoes and other items for kids in need in our area.  We had each of the students at the school guess how much money we collected using this picture so now it's your turn!  Leave a comment with your guess, if you live close enough to me, I'll bake something for the winner.  Those that already know the answer will be disqualified if they share.

Hamlie's Thoughts on Dating

The conversation of dating comes up quite often in my life with roommates, friends, co-workers, strangers, neighbors, etc.  The conversation changes based on who I am talking to and their relationship status.  Some have a much better understanding of it than others.  Some are quite concerned about my relationship status (or the lack thereof) while others enjoy the dramatic stories I have to tell about my encounters.  It can all be very frustrating at times and seems to be a big game with too many rules to follow or remember but the rules even change from person to person so you have to know which rule book they are using.  I've decided to throw that rule book out and just go with whatever seems to work at the time.

One thing with dating that is kind of touchy for me is being set up on dates.  Honestly, I don't mind a little help getting to know others seeing as my educational and occupational choices haven't really put me in any situations to meet very many guys if any, but there are a few things to keep in mind when setting someone up on a blind date:

1. Height does not determine personality!  This is a big one for me seeing as most dates that I've been set up on are determined by height.  Just because we are both short doesn't mean that we're meant for each other.  I'm sure it's the same for someone tall being set up with someone else who is tall.  Also, don't set me up with someone tall just because you know I don't like being set up with someone because he's short, it's basically the same thing.  If you know he and I will get along and he just happens to be short as well, then ok.
2. Just because two people are single doesn't mean they are a match.  It seems like if height isn't the deciding factor, that just being single is.
3. Do you really know both people and think they would actually enjoy each other's presence?  This kind of ties in to the first two.  I've had people set me up with someone that a friend of theirs knew without them actually meeting the prospective date first to judge compatibility.  It really didn't work out well.  In fact, I even have an interesting story that resulted in a scalded tongue and not being able to taste anything for a week because of one of these dates.

Many analogies are used to reference this lovely topic and I use them quite openly when talking to others (it's somewhat entertaining to see who picks up on what).  One of my favorites was recently told/used in a regional conference by Elder Dallin H. Oaks who was quoting another (Kathy Grant, Ensign June 2002):

"The situation of a Church member who is single can be illustrated by a simple analogy. Imagine that your favorite hobby is stargazing and you’ve just joined a stargazing club. You come to your first club activity eager to participate. It’s a cold night, but you’re not concerned: most of the club members are wearing club jackets, and you’ve been told you should be able to get one as well. But there is no jacket for you. You ask about it, and you are told to keep looking and that if you do your best, you will find a jacket when the time is right.

"Meanwhile, you are getting pretty cold and a little worried. And you notice that most of the other club members are talking about how nice and warm their jackets are. In fact, throughout the evening the topic surfaces continually in various forms: how to wash and dry your jacket, how to add extra pockets, how to mend it, and so forth. Some of the club members notice you don’t have a jacket. “You really need a jacket for these activities,” they tell you. “Why don’t you have one yet?”"

My friends and I like to reference this one quite a bit.  In fact, just tonight, Sara and I were talking about it and she asked me what kind of jacket I see myself wanting.  She was surprised that the jacket I envision isn't a real sporty/athletic jacket.  Truthfully, I envisioned something along the lines of :

Of course, it would be good layered possibly with a hoodie underneath (a little sport action happening).  It also doesn't hurt that the shoulders are emphasized a bit.  My question though is shouldn't I be looking for a jacket that would look good on me?  I mean, I could wear this one too, but is that the way it should work?

O Come, Emmanuel

This year I have decided to spend each day learning more about Christ.  I have read some familiar stories and scriptures and I have also read some talks by prophets and apostles that I was not familiar with.  It has been a great experience so far and I plan to continue until at least Christmas.  You should join me in my studies, I highly recommend it.

To start you off, I am sharing one of my favorite Christmas songs with a favorite video:

I Lost My Voice

I haven't had much of a voice the last two days so I haven't had many conversations lately so my dad suggested that I catch up on my blog.  I guess it's almost been a month since my last post.

I went home for Thanksgiving this year.  I hadn't done that since I moved to Utah so about eleven years.  It just never made a lot of sense to pay for a flight to spend a couple of days and then fly back only to repeat it a few weeks later for Christmas.  I have a good chunk of family here so it's not like I was alone for the holiday.  This year, I used some miles for a free flight and was going to spend five days at home.  My flight out was cancelled due to winds in San Francisco and I was rescheduled on the next available flight which was 24 hours later.  I didn't know what to do with my extra day.  I got to see all of my siblings, their spouses and childrens, plus a few cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Thanksgiving day was good, we ate food and enjoyed the company.  I went to Wal-Mart for some Black Friday shopping with the siblings, we picked up a few good items but weren't willing to put our lives on the line for anything else.  We took some family pictures on Friday.  It was all well and good until we all started throwing up on Saturday.  I was the last to go and Mom never did get sick.  I bounced back pretty quickly, I had to, I was flying back to Utah the next day.  None of us went to church due to the sickies and Mom staying up taking care of the baby and the sickies.  My flight back was delayed three hours.  It was a good thing that I had already decided to call in sick for work on Monday as I didn't get to my house until 1:30 Monday morning.  I emailed my sub plans to my co-workers and slept as long as I could.

As much as I bounced back fairly quickly out of necessity, I have been pretty tired since then.  I've been going to bed before midnight most nights (shocking, I know) over the last two weeks and some nights before eleven (didn't think that was possible, huh?).  I think that and the fact that it's so dry here is what led to me losing my voice.  It's quite sad.  We had a ward activity up in Heber and my roommate and I were going to spend the night with everyone else, but with my feeling poorly and it being cold, we opted to stay for karaoke (that didn't help the voice situation either) and then head home for the night.  I slept in until 10 the next morning and felt justified in our decision.  My voice comes and goes, but I was really sad because today was the Sacrament meeting where we get to sing all the Christmas songs and I could only half-sing half of the songs before I'd start getting wheezy and need a drink.  I'm feeling just fine, just a little hoarse.  It's a good thing I'm not teaching tomorrow...I'm going to my "Park City" group, but we're staying in town for this one and touring the local alternative high school.

In other news...I've made progress in doing hard things.  No, I won't share what these hard things were, but I'm impressed with myself that I actually did them.  Go me!