#ChristmasWish #TheTruth #DearSanta #CouldYouPlease #ThanksSoMuch

When the holiday season begins,

this is how I feel;

And then comes a little of this;

And eventually even this;

. . . . . . . . . .

But then I start thinking about 

having to find dates to take to all the inevitable parties,

and I'm like;

Sometimes I look forward to having a husband

just so I don't have to stress about if I'll have someone

to kiss at midnight on New Years Eve.

Frozen Eyelashes.

It doesn't snow in mid/south Texas.

We had a snow day only twice growing up;

one time it rained and then froze on the roads,

and the other time, it wasn't snow...

....it was sleet.

It melted before the end of the day,

but they closed school anyway.

Winter in Texas = 30 degree weather, and rain.

The first time I encountered snow

was during my first semester at BYU-Idaho.

And it was magical.

Like, really really magical;

please take note of my face.

It was like sparkly pixie dust falling from the sky.

And it stayed pretty magical for a while;

we'd even go build snow men in our pj's

late at night if it had just started snowing.

But then, 

after a few months,

instead of thawing quickly like it had initially,

the snow started to build on top of itself.

Layers and layers, and inches and inches of snow.

And it got colder and colder...

...and weird things started happening...

...like, my nose hairs would freeze....

...and people got frostbite if they wore earrings outside...

And then one day, I was late to my 7:45am class,

so I slapped on some mascara literally on my way out the door...

And this girl from Texas didn't factor all together

that because Rexburg is relentlessly windy,

gusts of wind would most certainly

be making my eyes water,

and I would be blinking instinctively...

and if one does such a thing with wet mascara

in -20 degree weather,

their eyelashes will freeze together.

After a thorough freak-out,

and rubbing my eyes to warm up the mascara,

so that I could open them again,

I arrived to class looking like a racoon,

and thought to myself,

"Why ON EARTH would anyone want to live here??"

"Why does anyone like the winter??!"

...

And that was roughly 8 years ago,

but it was pretty traumatic, so it stuck with me

and I've never reeeeally enjoyed winter since.

But a wise friend of mine told me recently

that although winter is not his favorite,

he's set a goal to enjoy each winter more than the last.

And I figure since I have been hating on winter for years,

it can only go up from here!

So here's to the best winter yet.

I do love scarves and jackets and boots,

so that's a start

PS-I recognize it's still technically fall,

but it's snowing outside, dangit.

It's winter.

Working On...

"To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements.  Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.  But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. 

To love is to be vulnerable."

--C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

I love laughing, laughing's my favorite.

I recently heard from a coworker about this article,

and have to say, #5 on that list of

"Ten Things Supremely Happy People Do"

is probably up there with one of the wisest pieces of advice

I've ever heard

about being happy....

As a key to finding supreme joy and contentment,
the article suggests that;

"Happy people use laughter as a medicine.
A good old-fashioned chuckle releases lots of good neurotransmitters.
A study showed that children on average laugh 300 times a day
versus adults who laugh 15 times a day."

(And I think that is why I love working with kids;

thanks to them my daily average of laughs per day

is most definitely higher than the average adult.)

#iLOVEtolaugh

Plus, one of the biggest lessons I've learned 

about working with people, 

is that if you really want to impact them,

you've got to make them laugh.

It eases tension,

and lightens even the heaviest of situations.

And if you share a laugh with someone,

it increases their trust in you.

It sounds crazy, but believe me.

You can make friends everywhere you go
if you can make people laugh.

And nothing stops crying quicker,

or more effectively, than laughing.

So here's a few little treats to make you "LOL"...

(and not surprising at all, these are all videos of hilarious kids...

so you can share in a few of their "300 laughs of the day")

Ok, just kidding, there is one of a grown-up...

HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!!

"The only way to get through life 
is to laugh your way through it.
You either have to laugh or cry.
I prefer to laugh.
Crying gives me a headache."
--Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Too Fast!! Stop!

Someone please tell me how it's possible

that my youngest brother, Dylan,

turned 16 today!!!!

Man, I'm old.

Also, he might kill me for this,

but good glory he's just too cute...

I mean, wasn't he just supposed to stay like that forever??

Just sayin.

Happy Birthday my handsome brother!

Stop growing up now! Thanks!!

Love,

Mimi