Do or DIE!!!! ?

Today I have to make a major decision.... Should I stay as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator or let it go and move on to something else. I have seriously have wanted to keep my Real Estate License again and I feel really good about that, but I think due to many contributing factors that maybe the timing is not right.

So with much stress and sleepless nights I have decided to stay with my first love and passion of crafting. But with that being said, I need to get my butt in gear and move myself from hobby status to business demonstrator status.

And my first step in that direction is to set up my new demonstrator website... www.aharris.stampinup.net

Beehive Sunday

     Our lesson in Relief Society today was all about being a "worker bee", filled with love, service and sweetness for other sisters around us. We talked about praying each day for someone to help or serve that day and paying it forward every chance we get. I love the sisters that share their ideas and feelings, this group of Southern Bells are not afraid to tell you the way it is and yet most of them would give you the shirt off their back or go the extra mile to help you out. I am so grateful for the opportunity that the Lord gave me to be here a lot longer than planned... It has strengthened my testimony in the world around me and taught me the importance of  "stopping to smell the roses".

Gun Control & Weigh-in for "Biggest Loser"

I am getting really tired of hearing about all the hipe about gun control... I believe that we should have the right to bare arms and be able to exercise our right to use them when necessary...

 

3 pounds gone ---- WHAT MORE CAN I SAY ----- probably all the stress from this past week. lol! :)

Miracle at the Church on 48th...

       Today was Ward Conference, Marty and I had been asked to furnish the main course for the "Linger Longer" we were having right after our block of meetings. We choose Chicken Enchiladas, to go along with the pot luck salads and desserts that were being furnished by other members in the ward. We were told to plan for two hundred and we put together four large hotel pans full of enchiladas, each serving about 50-60 people.

       Everything went as planned, then we started eating and the people kept lining up. The line got longer and longer, Marty and a couple of the sisters started getting nervous that we were going to run out of enchiladas. We talked about it, but knowing that there was nothing at that point I could do but trust in the Lord. I started to think about the story in Mark, when Jesus fed the thousands with one loaf of bread and two fish. I shared my thoughts with Marty and the group, I asked them to watch and to trust, then I stood back and I prayed in my heart that the food would last, even if I didn't get any.

       When the line had ended and I approached the table to start cleaning up, I noticed in the bottom of one of the pans was a single serving, just my size. :) I am very grateful for the opportunity I have of serving in this ward and enjoying the blessings and benefits of having a wonderful husband who trusts in the Lord like I do and having faithful friends who know, love to gain strength and share their talents and testimonies as much as I do.  It was an awesome day that I will never forget...

GYM or NO GYM????

I have finally advanced from thinking about getting a gym membership to talking to my husband about getting one. We talked about it and weighed our options. I went a checked out PLANET FITNESS, it came highly recommended by Spencer and Kalee. Not sure yet what we are going to do, I have a hard time paying for stuff when the Lord provided all the same stuff for free, if you know what I mean?! So I decided to make a Pros & Cons list...

GYM                            /                                BEACH
have to make time                                       can go anytime
have to drive                                               can walk in 2 mins
have to deal with other people                     can deal with people is want to
have to pay                                                 can go for free
have to deal with people germs                   have to deal with ocean germs
can't take my dog                                        can take the dog



And the list goes on....

Learning with Lorenzo Snow

        This year we studying the Teachings of the prophet Lorenzo Snow. He is one of my favorite prophets to learn from, his words of wisdom seem to leave a lasting impression on my heart. He was really big on learning and listening to the Spirit of t[he lord and following it with reading and studying from the scriptures. So I find it only fitting that the first chapter and our lesson on Sunday was entitled "Learning by Faith".


One quote, from the lesson, that stuck out in my mind today was... 
 "We must not neglect our spiritual improvements while we seek for worldly wealth. It is our duty to make every effort for the purpose of advancing ourselves in the principals of light and knowledge, as well as of increasing around us the temporal blessings and comforts of life."

Seems so simple!

Listening to the wisdom of the Lord.

       Over the course of the past few months I have felt the words and wisdom of the Lord pushing me to make some career changes in my life. The Food industry has always been a big part of my life, I absolutely love what I do and because I don't really need to work, managing Coldstone has been perfect for me. It provides me with the opportunities I need to come and go as my family needs me and it allows me the benefits of vacations and crafting supplies to feed my hobby / paper obsession. :) 

     But as the past few months have come and gone, the feelings in my heart and mind have grown stronger and stronger. So as I started to pray about and contemplating the path I should take, going back to teaching is definitely not where I am headed, Real Estate and Sales are the only other income resources that I am good at and feel comfortable with. I love houses and decorating, I would love to be able to flip some homes and provide some income avenues for a much needed retirement back-up plan.

   Now I could stay with Stampin' Up! and that sales path, but honestly I make a much better self absorbed scrapper than and a glorified paper pusher... So with than being said; I have spent a lot of time this past two months, fasting and praying about what the Lord is trying to say and prepare me for and pursuing the Real Estate path feels totally and completely, unquestionably to way I should make my move. It has been over twenty years since I was licensed to sell real estate, which means I have to go back to school. It has also been over ten years since I was in class, other than for crafting. SO... I am a little nervous!

Lucky Pennies

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I saw on facebook was this poem about Pennies from Heaven. And I started thinking about all the pennies that I found since the first of the year. Now I am not superstitious or anything, but I am kind of fond of the number 13 and I have had a great year so far. I have commented to my hubby several times that I "Found another lucky penny today".  I have found a penny everyday for the first nine days and I thought it was so unusual that I started putting them in a special box on my desk. Not really thinking about it I had decided I would see how many I find this year. Then I read this poem and my heart just sang... MY LIFE IS BLESSED WITH MANY ANGELS!!!

Official Biggest Loser Weight-in!

Ouch.... I had gained more weight in between this round than I had expected. So now I am going to have to work harder than I had planned. This will be good though, I made my cousin a promise at the wedding in October that if she seriously wanted to join me than this summer I would come to her home town and run my 5k there with her this year. So I have been thinking, maybe we should all get together and run a 5k all together as a group. What do you say?

Biggest Loser Sunday

It was a great Sunday...





AND I am once again going to attempt to lose another 25 pounds this round. I am so excited that the new season kicks off tonight. Who wants to join me?

Pay-It-Forward in 2013...

Yesterday, a friend posted the following on her facebook page: 

 "2013 CREATIVE PAY-IT-FORWARD -- The first thireen (13) people to comment on this status will receive a gift from me sometime in the next calendar year--perhaps a book, baked goodie, candle, music--a surprise! There likely will be no warning and it will happen when the mood strikes me. The catch? Those thirteen people MUST make the same offer on their Facebook status."

I really liked the idea, so I became one of her thirteen people... So today I am posting this for my own thirteen friends.

And so far we have....

Krystal Mitchell Leaaetoa
Melissa Stalvey
Mary Gardner

Back to work...

The holidays are over and the new year has started... so back to work for me! And I decided that I was going to move on into the new year with the keys that President Monson gave us today...

 

One More Holiday DAY & Sarah's Key.

      I have one more day off in my holiday schedule and then it is back to work for me. Now that I have spent the past week fighting the cold that my hubby so generously gave me, I am starting to feel better and see a light at the end of the flu season tunnel. Being sick this week and resting a lot has given me lots of time to think about the new year and what goals I would like to shoot for. I have always considered the number 13 to be one of my lucky numbers and so I am looking forward to this upcoming year and all it has to offer.

     


 Also while I have been resting this week I was able to spent time finishing the book we are reading for Book Club this entitled "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. Awesome book, easy read and very heartwarming. I highly recommend it!

Happy New Year!

        I am so excited to be jumping into a new year. As many of you know, I am not big on making NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS. I don't like setting myself up for failure, but I do sit down and evaluate where I am at the end of the year and I do make a few new goals and always pledge to do better. That way I know that no matter what happens I will not FAIL!!!
        Does that make me a chicken or just tired of setting around beating myself up over all the little crazy things that I didn't get done in life? I call it looking forward instead of backwards!!! Plain and simple.... I think that if you spend more time looking back at what you should be doing (resolutions) than spending time paying it forward, then you never really get ahead in life and if you don't get ahead in life then you never move forward and you deny yourself a lot of blessings and opportunities that the Lord places in front of you. So there you have it! My goal for the new year is to do something very simple for myself everyday. It could be creative or maybe a simple walk on the beach...

And with that being said.... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!