Is That How You Think of Me?

One of my friends on Facebook posted this ("Don't make some your priority when they only make you an option.") as her status and it made me start thinking...

How many of my friends to I still try to maintain contact and friendship with when they only consider me an 'option'. Why do I frustrate myself in trying to upkeep those friendships? I think my life would be less 'annoying' if I stopped trying to be the optional/friend. I don't like to be only an option. Not saying that I need to be a priority to everyone, but merely saying that if I don't feel 'friendship' coming from someone, why should I try to keep sending friendship their way?

Does that make sense?

I think I'm going to clean up my "friend list" in life. And then on Facebook. Or maybe on Facebook first, then in life.
If we haven't talked in a while, there's no need to panic. I don't base this clean up on how often we talk. I base this clean up on how my friendship to you has been received and/or reciprocated. If you know me as well as a friend should, you know what I'm talking about. I am debating about actually posting this on Facebook before I clean up that list, but I'm not sure yet.
At least, I have posted it here. If I do "unfriend" you in the real world, you will not necessarily know about it. If I keep you as a friend in the real world, you may not necessarily know about it. So why am I posting about it? Because I read a quote and it made me think about my friends and who I feel like an 'option' with. Or in easier terms to understand... who am I in a one-sided friendship with? Those are the friends who are in danger.
Blah blah blah

I love my friends and am very loyal to them. But enough is enough. If I don't feel like you view me as a friend anymore, then there's nothing more I can do. I love you, but Bye.

Washington - Week 4

My last and final installment of photos from Washington (very sad... *sniff):

Mount Rainier was pretty clear this day with no clouds and not a lot of smog.

We went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
This elephant baby was dancing to some hidden earphones. Swaying back and forth... it was funny to watch!

Camel ride, anyone??
Camel photos are courtesy of Laura

Yep, that's me... on a camel.

His name was Picasso. Him loves the scratches :)

Monkeys just hanging around

The last time we came to the zoo, there were two baby tigers just born. Here is one of them playing with mom (he pounced on her seconds after this shot). It was fun to see how much they've grown since I was here last :)
This photo is courtesy of Laura

Tapir... not sure how I feel about this animal. Apparently, all species of Tapir are endangered or threatened. Sad.

What photo shoot would be complete without some of the beautiful flowers?

Warming in the sun

Sea Otters

We got to see polar bears this time too! They were sunning, so this is what we got.

This photo courtesy of Laura

Taking a break.

This guy tried going home with us. He just walked up to the car like he was getting in. Quite the brave peacock.

This guy was having fun chasing a small bird. Then two big crows chased him and the fun was over. Run for your life, little buddy!!

I finished another bracelet. This one is in the Young Women value colors. Laura made one too... there's a picture of us later on wearing them.
White - Faith
Blue - Divine Nature
Red - Individual Worth
Green - Knowledge
Orange - Choice and Accountability
Yellow - Good Works
Purple - Integrity
Gold - Virtue

We all (Laura, James, the kids, and myself) were able to go to the Northwest Trek. It was a lot of fun. Very beautiful park.
There were animals on display
River otter





Badger

We took a tram ride and there were all these geese. It reminded me of all the ducks that surrounded us at the park.

(My pictures are a little out of order, sorry. This one should have been before the geese)
Mommy Beaver

Cheese!!

Do you know the difference between American Buffalo and American Bison?
There is no difference!! It is the same animal.

So cool seeing all the animals they have living there.

Moose - apparently he does not come out very often for visitors to see him. We were blessed with his presence on this trip.

Mountain Goat

A random picture I took :)

We can't decide if we're showing off our muscles, or our bracelets. Hahaha.

Trip to downtown Seattle. Boy am I glad I'm not a city girl. Sheesh!
This is the Experience Music Project building. It's metal sheets all over the place, and not a straight wall. I'll have to post a few more pictures of this in another post.

We took the monorail from the Seattle Center to Westlake Mall. The kids were very entertained by the 2-3 minute ride.

We found this troll under a bridge. These pictures are a little hard to see, so I'll do another post with better pictures. But this gives you an idea.

Yes, that is a VW Bug in his grasp.



Space Needle

In the Children's Museum they have a Lego model of the Space Needle. We didn't go up into the Needle this time, but perhaps the next time I'm here.

Kira was proud of this 'city' she made.

This picture was taken by Kira. She did a good job! and, I'm not making a funny face :)

Kira and Malcolm painting.

Laura doing sand art

Not that I think we are amphibians... but we are friends :)

HELP!!! I'm being eaten by a Killer Whale!!

Some cool Japanese masks



There was a 'library' room with this cool tree standing right in the middle. The ceilings and walls were painted foresty too. Very fun room.
There are more pictures to come... that were not included in blog posts for whatever reason.

My flight home is tomorrow. I am sad to be leaving, but also excited to see what new adventures await me back home. I'll also be keeping you updated on my living arrangements... when I find a new place to live.
This has been a great trip, and I'm already planning my trip back next summer!! Wahoo!

Just a Thought...

Yesterday in church, an olderly (not elderly and not old... just 'olderly') sister in the ward played a musical number. She needed assistance walking up to the piano, she sat down, and started playing "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" from the Primary Songbook. It was slow and choppy. There were many wrong notes, and no one would have been able to sing to it as she played.The spirit was so strong in that moment, it brought tears to my eyes (and even now as I think about it) watching and listening to her play. Here is a lady who has no easy access to a piano to practice on. She is self taught. And here she was, in front of the congregation, playing a beautiful song. My soul was stirred while I sat there listening to her. I smiled, closed my eyes, and listened with my heart.

While I sat there, I thought of all the people I know who say "I just can't" when they are asked to play the piano. It makes me sad that many people aren't sharing or developing their talents because 'someone else is better than me at that'. It's a bunch of crap.

After church, I found out that there were people in the ward who were actually asking the music director to NOT have that sister play anymore!!! It makes me so sad that they think our church is one of 'showing off' and 'being entertained' by those who are "truly talented". It hurt my heart that they could not see and understand what this sister brings to their meetings. It also hurts my heart that there is such a feeling that if you can't do it well, you can't do it at all. I am sure I've used that excuse as well (not in the musical area of my life, but other areas), but I am trying to be better and not say that anymore (or think that anymore).

Sometimes when I am listening to someone play the piano or organ, and they are not very good at it, others look at me with a face of 'embarrassment' for that person. I look back at them with a look of 'pity' - because they do not understand the great thing the person playing is doing. I love hearing other people play when they are not "as good" as others think they should be, because those people are the ones bringing the spirit and helping bring about goodness in the world.

Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions about what they see and hear. But especially in a church meeting, to roll your eyes at or think unkindly about someone who is sharing a talent is not very Christ-like behavior. I am not perfect, I make mistakes and mis-judgements frequently, but in terms of musical numbers or even playing the piano in a class as accompaniment, I do not begrudge anyone that opportunity, and always make a point of expressing my appreciation to them for their contribution.

I guess, the whole point of this post is: I was greatly inspired by the sister who played in church yesterday. Not because she played it perfectly, but because she played with the Spirit of God. Thank you, sister, for your hard work and dedication to building the Kingdom!! You are an inspiration!

Washington - Week 3

Sorry for being a few days late... but better late than never :) A few of you have asked about the cards that I made and posted about. My friend, Laura, is a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! So the cards that we made are her designs. The last card I posted about (with the blue and green flower) is an original creation by myself and Laura. Hopefully that answers some of your questions.

Here is a better picture of the bracelet I made for 4th of July.

We took a trip to a local park, and were pretty much "attacked" by these ducks. It was like they smelled human flesh and came out of nowhere to get bread from us. Luckily, we had some.
There were so many, we couldn't count them at all!!



At the park, there were these flowers (which I can never remember the name of) and a few bees buzzing around them. This was the best "bee" picture I got.







Kira and Malcolm learned how to go down the 'fire pole'



Even Laura went down! I didn't... so I'll have to work on that. Hahaha.

Buzz Lightyear pose

Playing in the sand with the Cars cars

Sitting in the car waiting for Laura to get done with a meeting.

Matching toe nails for the 4th!

Here's a picture of my toes while I was standing outside.

A wavy green and orange bracelet I made.



I had some extra strings from another bracelet, so I made this one as an anklet.



Last Friday, for the 4th Weekend, we went down to Longview, WA to spend the weekend with Laura's in-laws. It was very nice of them to have us all stay with them.
Friday night, we went to see some of the cardboard boats that were made - people make them, then there is a cardboard boat race the next day with them. We missed the race, but it was fun to see the boats that were made.



An appropriate licence plate for the Oscar Meyer wiener boat:

I think this is the boat that won the race

People were walking around in this "human wheel"

Lobster boat

My favorite boat: The Lazy Dragon









We got back to the house, and Kira and Malcolm played Mahjong with their Nana (James' mom). It was neat to see how smart they both are, to know and understand how to play it!

Saturday, Laura, the kids, and I drove down to Oregon to see Grammy Myrtle (Laura's grandmother). We picked up lunch at Burgerville, which is comparable to JCWs. Yummy food!

This was a funny sign they have posted in their drive-thru.

Here's Grammy helping the kids water the strawberries.



Anyone know what these flowers are called??





We were visited by a squirrel (Allison, I tried to catch it for you, but I was too slow and it ran away - but I "caught" a couple pictures of it. Hahaha)


Pretty flowers (are these bleeding hearts??) I need to get better about knowing names of flowers.


I found this spider hanging from its web in a tree. It looks like a magic trick :)

Pretty flower. Another one I don't know the name of.



Bed of Lilies



Kira and Malcolm were playing 'chess'. Watching them took me back to when my sister and I were younger and tried playing chess. Good memories.

Kira decided to play solitaire. She set up the cards and started putting them in numerical order. Her only experience playing solitaire has been watching her mom and/or dad playing it on the computer.

On our drive from Portland back to Longview, we passed this jeep being towed. I thought it was cool, so I took a picture of it.

Saturday night, Laura, James (her husband), and I went to see Transformers 3.

We were all ready to go!!
It was a really good movie, and I would definitely see it again!

Sunday, we went to church with the in-laws. After church, Rene (pronounced Reen; Laura's mother in-law), Laura, and I made salads for the 4th. It was fun :) I made a fruit salad with cantaloupe, grapes, almonds, celery, and yogurt. James took this picture of us all being 'domestic'.

Monday morning we woke up and walked down to the parade. This group made me laugh. Bridezillas... all the women were wearing dinosaur masks. Hilarious!

Malcolm enjoying the parade (in the background behind my leg is James and his dad, Alan)

Kira having a good time



Lots of fun cars in the parade







I don't know what these dogs are, but there were lots of them in the parade.

We even had a visit from Po!



Dino-car

This BigFoot was a little creepy looking

It was different going to a parade with no marching band, only a drum line. But that's ok, these guys did a really good job :)

(this is my future car... but don't tell anyone)

What the... ??

Old fashioned Fire truck. The exhaust was VERY stinky!

Looks like Uncle Sam had a little too much to drink last night... LOL.

A funny poster I saw on the walk back to the house after the parade.

After the parade, we went down to Lake Sacajawea. We got lunch and walked thru the booths. There were lots of people, but it was really cool being there. After a few hours, we went back to the house, grabbed our salads, and drove down to Vancouver, WA to Laura's sister in-law's house for a BBQ and fireworks.
It was fun meeting James' family - they reminded me a lot of my family.

Time for fireworks! Laura and James and the kids

Here are a few pictures that I took of the fireworks. They turned out kinda cool looking.



While in Longview, I finished this bracelet. I have at least one more to make before I leave Washington (and while that is happening, my cross-stitch is NOT getting done. LOL)
My next (and last) blog post from Washington will be next Wednesday... a week from today. Thanks for reading! Come back soon :)