Let them eat cake

Think of what your favorite dessert is. Mine would definitely be a chocolate shake or chocolate chip cookies. But for the sake of this story I will stick with cake, mainly because shakes and cookies are hard to compare. And because this story really is about cake, there is nothing underlying.

You walk into a bakery but don't really want anything. You are browsing because you have the time but don't care to eat, your stomach is full of wholesome things, not stupid cake. As you are there you see someone making red velvet batter so you think maybe you could use a little dessert to top off all the healthful things you have eaten. The person making the cake approaches you and explains to you a little bit of how the cake is made and says "ya know, if you want some you might be able to have some but I'm not really sure because there are a lot of other people that want it too, and one cake can only go so far."
After a lot of back and forth you are finally able to try some batter and it is pretty good, you can only imagine what it would taste like after it was actually baked. So you taste this batter and the person making it knows that you would definitely want some of the cake after it's made the only problem is that if you try a piece, you'll want the whole thing. The baker tells you that you could try a bite when it's ready so you sit down, get out a plate and a fork and as soon as you do that, the baker realizes that you're too ready and won't be satisfied with just a bite, you'll want a whole piece and then you'll want the whole cake. The baker starts talking about the other people that want the cake and that you're not the top priority at this point. So after a little hesitancy, you put the plate and fork away and accept that you just won't have any cake today and you sheepishly walk back to the table you were sitting at.
As soon as you sit down someone puts a piece of yellow cake with chocolate icing in front of you and says that if you like it, you can have the whole cake. No questions. Other people have tried it and liked it, but the whole cake is yours for the taking if you want it. Easy as that. At this point the person making the red velvet cake realizes what is happening and becomes concerned because everyone wants a slice of what they are making. It's not the fact that they want to share the cake with you, it's the fact that someone else can come along with a cake that required little effort to make and yet it still tastes just as good.
So the red velvet baker has to act fast and they open the oven just enough for you to smell the cake and be reminded of what you originally wanted. The cake is almost ready and you start to slow down on the yellow cake just in case they decide to share the red velvet. The only problem is that you know that you can have the whole yellow cake and you're still unsure as to how much red velvet cake you really would get. So you begin to debate with yourself. Red velvet was the original and you know that you would like it but yellow cake tastes just as good, it just wasn't what you were craving. But you know that if you take the yellow you get it all. If you go for the red the baker is prone to changing their mind and might only let you have a piece, leaving you cakeless and craving something that you never needed in the first place.

The moral of the story is that the world is a cruel place and you are never allowed to just have your cake, and eat it too.

If only

Some days (Tuesday mornings) I wish so badly I could have just one...two or three...of these.

In high school, Gina and I would joke wishfully about a 24 hour punch card. You are allowed 24 hours in a lifetime to do whatever you want. Hours can be earned for good behavior, in which case I'm up to...unlimited hours, naturally. Of all the things in the world, I'm not sure why I want to waste my hours on drinking coffee but for a chilly November morning, that drink sure looks good...

But, I'll continue my endeavor in obedience, and stick with Diet Coke.

Letting Go

You know how some people will say they have really let themselves go and by that they mean they ate a cupcake while on their diet or haven't done laundry in over a week?

I envy those people. The gym and I have been having a rough patch and only see each other about once a week for half an hour. Other than that, I am now drinking soda in any flavor just to stay alive, pretzels are whats for dinner, I only wash my underwear because I think that's the only thing that matters, and now sleeping on the couch is no longer a novelty. It is a necessity.

Now you might be asking yourself, what does sleeping on a couch have to do with anything? Well, because I don't actually fit on my bed anymore.

So now you might be thinking "why don't you just dump it onto the floor?"

Well, because then, I won't actually be able to fit in my room, anymore.

Yeah. I remember someone once telling me that I was put together. I think I remember it so well because that was the only time it has ever happened.

On a lighter note, I have been slowly coming back. Today, I tried to see how many articles of clothing I could put away while brushing my teeth. It's a good idea, in theory. But unless I want to brush my teeth for 6 straight hours, I should probably come up with a different method.

A little advice.

"I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite."
-CK Chesterton
I've never heard of him (him?) but I sure love the quote.

I have started to find that other people's advice is not always a bad thing. Some people know what they are talking about and some have experience in the matter of which I need advice.

However, some do not. Some people have very different experiences and have lived very different lives than mine. I rarely give people advice because I am a very circumstantial person. (I'm not sure if I used that word in the right context) what I mean is that I think everyone has a different situation and different story and what I would do in a situation is different than what they would or should do. So really my advice is no good unless I have been there...or I'm giving the advice to myself, even then it's questionable.

No one's family life is the same. No one's dating life is the same. Everyone has different goals, dreams, and aspirations. We may all see fit that we end up in the same place but not very many of us will get there by taking the same route.

That being said, unless we know why we are saying what we are saying, sometimes our personal wisdom really isn't that necessary to share with someone when we don't know them on a personal level.

I'm not saying advice is bad. Advice is meant to be shared. As long as you can differentiate between good advice and strong opinion.

I'm Lovin' It

It is that time of year again. The moment I don't realize is happening, until it's happening.

I always love Monopoly time at McDonald's. I am entirely convinced that the amount of McDonald's my family consumes we will eventually make us millionaires.

The real problem I am currently facing is this:

Both of them are only a dollar. Only one of them has Monopoly stickers.
Guess which one that is..

(Hint: not the bigger one.)

Sgt. Maxwell the 1st (and only)

I will never forget the day that Maxwell came into my life. My dad was not thrilled about it and had no idea that Max would be the only dog that stuck around for so long.

Max was the kind of dog that made people question if they really hated dogs or not. He was brilliant. He knew every trick from giving fives to army crawling (that's why we call him the Sarge) . He learned how to spell walk and car, I think that's all he really ever liked. Going for rides in the car and walks. I wouldn't be able to count the number of miles we have walked together and the number of times he was my main source of comfort. So many memories, I'd start from the beginning but it would take a few years to explain.

He learned how to unlock our back door so we could sneak in during the day...or night. He knew when company came over he had to "go hide" which to him meant "sleep under the couch". He worried so much about being a good dog. He loved everyone. I don't just mean he loved other people, he loved everyone including the toad that lived in the window well.

He was an emotional dog. He broke out in hives when he got nervous and if you took his collar off, he was lost. Unless you did it to scratch his neck.

No amount of words can give this dog justice. He was just too great.

I love you Maxwell. Thanks for years of endless amusement and love. Thank you for being a constant companion to everyone that ever needed it. Thanks for always going crazy when I came home and for being sad every time you saw one of us packing to leave. Thanks for car rides and walks. Thanks for knowing how to smile.
You will be greatly missed and always, irreplaceable.

“So we see that the Lord intends to save, not only the earth and the heavens, not only man who dwells upon the earth, but all things which he has created. The animals, the fishes of the sea, the fowls of the air, as well as man, are to be recreated, or renewed, through the resurrection, for they too are living souls.”-Joseph Fielding Smith

Doctrine.

Until we meet again, Fluffy.

Faith

Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true.



The other day I was texting my friend and I said "I think Heavenly Father is laughing at me right now". She replied saying "I think he's teaching you to have a little faith."

She has a really good point. I always considered myself to have a great amount of faith. I have never questioned the truth of the church and I have always had faith that things always have a way of working themselves out. Regardless of how it works out, it's never as bad as we think, a lot of the time it's even better than we think.

Over the past few months my faith has not been tested. As far as me and my life were concerned, my faith was there but sitting still. Not needing to be used and not being tried at all.

It wasn't until my friend told me this that I really stopped and thought about the amount of things that have happened to me in the past few months, that weren't faith testers but were faith provers. There was an event where I silently looked up at the sky and asked Heavenly Father where he was, to help get me out of a situation, and within seconds I was saved. There was a time when I prayed asking that I could feel at peace with something that was going to happen and I had no control over. I asked that if I couldn't have more time, I could be at peace with that. That very day I was overcome with a huge amount of love and a feeling that told me it's going to be ok and I am not alone in this.

Through a simple text message response, I was able to see that I need to have more faith. I need to have faith in things that cannot happen immediately. I need to have faith that the good decisions I make today will lead not only to a good tomorrow but to a good forever.

I have always had a great amount of faith in Heavenly Father and I have always known of the truth that is restored on this earth. I have taken huge leaps of faith and muttered short prayers only to see and feel his love for me. Whether it happened that day or years down the road. His love is there. He shows it to us through our families and friends. He shows it to us by surrounding us with beauty. He shows it to us by simply giving us that feeling of peace we have been longing for.

When he sent us to earth he had faith in us. He gives us challenges because he has unwavering faith that we can overcome adversity. When I was told that maybe I was being taught to have a little faith, I thought I already have enough faith. But sometimes we need a reminder that even though we have put our faith in God, we need to find a little faith in ourselves, as well.