Trusting Spiders

I was standing at the sink in my bathroom washing my face at the close of a seemingly uneventful Wednesday when a small movement on the wall to the right of me caught my attention. I turned my head and saw a small, brown spider taking a jaunt up the wall and in no time it was headed across the door frame and then back up the wall again towards the ceiling. Feeling generous, and perhaps a little over confident concerning the good nature I was positive this spider possessed, I decided to spare its life and let it proceed with whatever plans it had for the night.
I went on with my face washing and was right in the middle of wondering how many other people noticed my stray eyebrow before I did when . . . WHAT THE?! My spider decided to get a friend and pay me a visit by dropping vertically on their invisible webs at lightning speed! I instantly began an intense boxing match with myself in an effort to get my friend turned foe off of my shoulder, and, if nothing else, away from my face. I need this face!

I saw one spider fall to the floor and make a run for its life while the other fell into the sink and did a backstroke down the drain to what I hope was a watery grave.

This is the actual culprit... Looks friendly enough, right?

Oftentimes, seemingly small and harmless things creep into our lives. We are confident that these things. . . Weaknesses, temptations, will have no lasting effects on us and certainly lack the power to knock us down. Believe it or not, there are people who like spiders, but that doesn't make their bite any less poisonous to them than it would be for a person who despised them. Just because we like something, doesn't make it right or any less harmful.

There seems to be a confusion plaguing the entire world on whether or not there is a definite line between right and wrong or good and evil. What is right for some, others will certainly argue is wrong and vice-versa. The two sides will then proceed to fight aimlessly to protect their cause.

Here is an unpopular belief: The Lord Himself has drawn a sure line between good and evil, right and wrong. No matter how hard we try we cannot change the laws of God. As much as I would have liked for that spider in my bathroom to be friendly and non-aggressive, I couldn't change it!
2 Nephi 15:20 - "Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter."

This whole experience has caused me to reflect back about 24 years ago to a time when I saw this video. I would have been five or six years old, but I remember it and have recently found it. It's worth the time to watch!

- Mandie

Who is My Neighbor?

        One of my favorite subjects when I was in school was history. When we come to understand history, then we can also understand how we came to be where we are at today.

         In the history of the world it seems that there has always been a division among people. The division always stems from some sort of difference, whether it be political, religious, cultural or something else, the difference is always the root of the division.

         One of these great divisions took place during the time of Christ and was between the Jews and the Samaritans. Because of wars and religious differences the Jews had "no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus could have very easily used a Jew instead of a Samaritan as the person who came to the rescue of the Jewish man who had been robbed, beaten and left to die on the road, but perhaps, and I think certainly, the point of the parable was not to teach the importance of having love and compassion for those who share the same lifestyle and look the same as us, but to have that same love for all people despite our differences. (Luke 10:25-37)

        So, as I sit home on this day in commemoration of a man who lost his life trying to close the division that existed between people in our own country, I will not ask, "Who is my neighbor?", but will instead think of the words by Martin Luther King Jr: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'"

-Mandie

Apply Yourself

I think I have always loved to write. When I graduated from High School and went off to college I met with my academic adviser who asked me what I was doing and why I was going to college. This was the moment I had been waiting for! I didn't have to draw a career out of a hat or just be assigned a community responsibility, the choice was mine and college was where it was all going to begin! I choose a major: English and Creative Writing and then somewhere between the beginning and what I would estimate to be around day 97 I found myself wishing that someone would have just assigned me a community responsibility! 

Needless to say, the English and Creative Writing degree fell by the wayside and writing became a hobby instead of a career. 

Fast forward from August 2004 to April 2013. . . The day that Mandie started a blog. Let me just say that I can see now that it's a good thing I am not counting on my "skills" as a writer to pay any bills, otherwise I would be living in the wild and wouldn't even be able to afford a pencil to write with! I have had this blog for about one year and six months and have managed to churn out a measly 32 posts! It's okay, I understand that I don't deserve a standing ovation or anything! 

As I have contemplated making a return, I have analyzed what the problem(s) could be that have caused such a minimal performance during my blogging career thus far. I am thinking way back to my Elementary days when I would get four report cards a year for six years. I'm pretty sure every single one of them said something to the effect of "Mandie is a good student, but needs to stop talking during class and apply herself more." That's right, I have a history of being a slacker! 

While I was away at college, I realized that the apartment I was living in had not had the floor mopped... EVER! Upon this realization, I decided to apply myself to a good cause and went forward with the decision to go buy a mop and to mop the floor. I made it home with the mop, filled the sink and dunked the new mop in to the fresh Pine Sol water. I soon found that I did not know how to squeeze the excess water from the mop and the slide feature that was supposed to fold the sponge and squeeze the water out seemed to be malfunctioning (or I just didn't know what I was doing). 

Here is the story in picture form:

Dunking the mop

 

Something is not working right

I'll just ride it like a broom instead

Or use it as a guitar

Or as a paddle

I obviously have a problem! The first step is admitting it, right?

I keep telling myself that I haven't blogged because I haven't had time, but believe me when I say I have found plenty of time to watch almost every single show on television, "friend" and stay up to date with all of the happenings for every person on Facebook in the world, make it to level 117 on Candy Crush AND make sure that my eyebrows are combed everyday before I leave the house. Yes, I have been busy! I came to the decision just today that I am going to make time in my super busy life to do something that I really do enjoy, and will be reintroducing myself to the four people who read my blog. I have tried a lot of new products, watched a lot of new movies and learned a lot of new lessons during my hiatus and I can't wait to share them. So be on the lookout! 

-Mandie

1964

Ahhh, 1964! The year of the first Ford Mustang, Mary Poppins, and the Beatles first trip to the United States. A time when the average cost of  a house was $13,050.00, average income was $6000.00 per year, cost of gas was 30 cents per gallon and a ticket to the movies was $1.25! All of these things are quite amazing, but none of them even compare with what happened on May 18, 1964 in Merced, California.
On this day came the arrival of this lady, except in baby form:

                         

This is my mom. She loves holidays, planning parties of any kind, reading, watching movies, seeing new places and I could go on and on, but I think the thing she loves the most is family. She loves being around us for some reason!

Whether it's canning peaches,

Eating delicious food, 

Hiking around,

Or sitting around wearing awesome hats on Christmas Eve, she's always happy, and nice and totally awesome!

She is always standing by with words of encouragement and makes us feel like we can do anything in the world! She makes us feel important, and if everything in life seems to be going wrong, just talking to her makes everything better again! I can't make any important (or unimportant) decisions without asking her opinion because she is so wise, like an owl! 

I'm grateful for the year 1964 because that's the year she came from. Fifty years. . . That's nothin'! Don't even worry, fifty is the new thirty-five!

I hope your day is a special one! I'll try to not burn the chicken enchiladas or let a cat eat half your birthday cake! (Yes people, that cat incident actually happened!) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MA'!

Love ya',

Mandie Price

Womp-momp-meeta-momp!

Growing up, I was lucky enough to have one of the best friends around. Sometimes we might not have wanted to admit we were actually friends, but I think we were. 

This wonderful friend of mine would suggest things like, " Let's play animal crash up derby. You can be the ant and I'll be the rhinoceros!" You can imagine how that derby ended. . . Usually with me hanging upside down by my leg from the springs on the trampoline! I think I still have scars!

               Such an innocent face!

But really, this friend of mine is also my brother. The only brother amongst three sisters. He and I spent many hours playing GI Joes (and Barbies), Mad Max (and Polly Pockets), micro machines,  creating huts out of tall weeds, shoveling silage, and learning to drive mini vans!

My brother is a fun loving, tang drinking, brownie eating, book reading, hard working family man. 

Happy Birthday, brother! I hope your day is as awesome as you are! 

- Mandie

For those wondering, womp-momp-meeta-momp is a word we invented while in the silage pit one day. It can mean anything so today it means happy birthday Jesse!

Feliz Cumpleaños

Awhile back and for two years in a row, I had the chance to speak in church on Father's Day. My assignment was, of course, to speak about Father's. In my research I found some pretty remarkable facts about some of the world's best fathers. Take for example the Emperor Penguin: Once an egg is laid, the father emperor penguin has the responsibility of protecting it. The father stands out in the freezing Antarctic wind and holds the eggs on his feet until they hatch. During this time the father penguin doesn't leave the eggs for anything, not even to eat and it can take up to sixty days for one of those things to hatch! That's a dedicated dad!

Take a look at this guy. . . 

That's right, he's my dad, and he has all the dedication that any emperor penguin ever had!

He loves his family and would do anything to provide for and protect them. Ever since we were just kids, he has been giving us advice to keep us safe and to keep us out of uncomfortable situations. I'm going to post some of that advice, so please know that this is your lucky day and you are getting these words of wisdom for free:

* Watch out for crazies!

*Don't sniff perfume in parking lots!

*Look in your car before you get in!

*Trust no one!

* Signal in plenty of time!

I could keep going, but just know that he is filled with wisdom and I have taken great heed to those phrases throughout the years.

Today (even though this will show on the 27th, I am really posting on December 26th) is my dad's birthday. What a great day for a birthday, right?! 

He was born at 12:33 am on December 26th missing Christmas by just 33 minutes.

My dad loves horses and farming and chocolate. I told you earlier that he has the dedication of an emperor penguin and that applies to all aspects of his life. He is able to do hard things, and tells us sometimes that we give up too easy!

I look up to him so much, and am forever grateful to have him as my dad!

Happy Birthday Herman, I hope your day was a great one!

-Maria

Five Years Old?!

I realize that this day is pretty much over, but I didn't want it to wrap up without writing a post for one of the most special people in my life. Madison is my first and only niece, my friend, and the person who seems to like me no matter what. She hugs me and tells me she loves me for no reason at all, and I'm sure she'll never outgrow that practice! ;) <--- wink

 Maddie loves anything with a screen and buttons and can operate any electronic device she can get her hands on! She also loves coloring, writing her name, singing, saying words that start with the letter M and she wants to be able to read so bad!

Madison and I seem to have a lot in common with exception to the fact that she requested the classic hot dog dinner to be eaten on the day of her birthday party!

I love Madison so much and am grateful to be her aunt!

Happy Birthday Chicken Lips! I hope your day was mmmmmmarvelous!

-Auntie M