Life Ain't Always Beautiful

Australia: Two Thumbs Way Up

If you haven't seen this movie - go see it . . . NOW! And see it at the theater - it's just better on a big screen.

The "S" Word

The other night Carena and I were talking about setting some standards - as far as appropriate ways to behave. We started talking about using nice words and not using bad words. I asked Carena if she knew any bad words and she said yes - she knows the "s" word.

I asked her what the "s" word was. She told me that she knew TWO "s" words.

She leaned over to me, and whispered in my ear:

"stupid" and "shut up."

How sweet. If only those were the worst "s" words she'd ever meet.

The Shack: Book Review

Ok, this book has been screaming at me to read it. Every time I enter a book store - there it is - just staring at me, begging me to read it.

But I was strong and I didn't succumb . . . until just recently.

The major reason I was hesitant to read this book was because it dealt with God, Jesus, and The Holy Ghost - but in a fictionalized story. I was afraid that somehow it would be disrespectful and take lightly the gravity of the sacrifices made and the sacredness of Them.

Now, I didn't agree 100% with the philosophies or ideas presented. But, there were some really great gems in that book, that made me stop and think. Gems such as this one:

"Mackenzie, I never left him, and I have never left you." [God]

"That makes no sense to me," he snapped.

"I know it doesn't, at least not yet. Will you at least consider this: When all you can see is your pain, perhaps then you lose sight of me?" [God]

Synopsis:

Mackenzie Allen Philip's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence thatshe may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to the shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

An interesting read - very thought provoking - and left me with the desire to be better and to draw closer to my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost. As far as I know, this book doesn't cater to one particular religion, but really focuses on our relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost - and that we can indeed have a relationship with Them and that They love us. There were some parts where I was a little . . . "erm. no," but it's a book, it's fiction, and I was able to better understand what another individual believed.

Two thumbs up!

Close Encounters

I am a terrible "sleeper." In fact, what I do doesn't even come close to sleeping. I'm an insomniac. I typically fall asleep relatively easily, but staying asleep is just not in the cards for me. I'm a light sleeper. ANY sounds, fluctuation in the air quality and temperature and I'm wide awake. If Chris moves or sneezes, I'm awake. AND THEN I CAN'T GO BACK TO SLEEP FOR HOURS. I kid about it, but it really is a difficulty for me. I am always sleep deprived which then leads to mental health issues. I will lie awake for hours, sometimes in tears, because I'm so tired and I know that the next day will be a terrible one due to sleep deprivation.

Now, last night was a little interesting. I expected to wake up at some point. But what woke me up was alarming. I woke up to a light shining in my window. It was quick . . . but it was there. I had visions of an intruder with his flashlight watching me sleep. Yick. I quickly woke Chris up and grabbed the phone (I have an itchy 911 trigger-finger). Chris jumps out of bed and looks out our windows into our back yard. He doesn't see any thing. So he decides to GO OUT THERE. I tell him to turn the spot light on (sensible - the light might scare anyone off). He disagrees. I think he wants to nab whoever is out there - and do it unawares. He doesn't want to scare anyone off . . . he wants to catch them! Guys are such heroes.

My finger begins to itch.

Chris quietly exits the house into the back yard.

He tiptoes around our property.

Nothing.

My finger begins to relax.

He comes back in after a thorough check around our house.

So, we get back in bed. My heart is still pounding and I'm feeling a little confused. I swear I saw a light, but there was no evidence that anyone was out there. I started to feel a little silly . . .

Until I started to think about it - really think about it.

I think I know what happened. I think I was abducted by aliens. The light that I saw - it was actually their space craft leaving my back yard area after they have dropped me back off in my bed after a night of whatever aliens do to their abductees.

It all started to make sense . . . this is where my insomnia stems from. The aliens abduct me each night after I have fallen asleep. They then conduct experiments on me. Then, they drop me off at home in my bed. This is when I typically wake up - the jarring action of being put back in my bed wakes me up and then I can't go back to sleep. Perhaps this is part of their experiments - to see how I can survive on so little sleep or to see how completely insane I can get on two hours of sleep for days, weeks, months, years at a time.

Yes, yes. It all makes sense.

I swear I saw a light last night.