Lessons From Sugar Cookie Dough

Tonight I started my Halloween sugar cookie process.  Making the dough is not my favorite part but it is what is needed before you can make the cookies. Needless to say I have been able to learn a few life lessons while making sugar cookies over the years. I know it sounds kind of strange to say that but trust me when I say it is a surprise what you can take away from sugar cookie dough.
My first lesson is one that m mother taught me when I she taught me how to bake / cook.......Clean Up As You Go.  She taught me that if I spill something to wipe it up and not wait until the very end.  I think this lesson can be used for more than just baking.  But I will confess if you look at my room right now you will see that I am not too good at following this rule.  LOL  I have tried to clean up my messes as I make them.  Sometimes it has taken me awhile but I have tried my best to do so.  I have also probably been to cautious so I would not make too many messes, I am not very good at cleaning. Another thing thing that I have learned from making these sugar cookies is there is going to be something added that you have to do that you don't like but you can't let that one thing ruin it for you.  I do not like sour cream. I do not like the smell of it, the feel of it, or the taste of it. The sugar cookie recipe that I make calls for sour cream to be added.  I am sure if I did not add the sour cream they would taste fine but they would not be the same.  I have learned that sometimes in life you have to do something you don't like but that doesn't mean your whole life is going to be bad.  Just do it and enjoy the rest of the wonderful stuff that comes with it. I am sure a mother doesn't like changing a dirty diaper or two but it is something you have to do when you have a child. Yet I am sure that all the other stuff that comes with being a mother is worth it.  
There also comes a point when I am making the cookies where I have to add lots of flour.  There comes a point in this process where the beaters on the mixer are not strong enough to mix all the flour into the dough. At that point I do not stop mixing and say the dough is done because it is not.  It is sticky and will not roll out correctly if I stop now.  So in order to finish and make the dough just right I have to put the beaters aside and use my hands, yes I wash them first.  LOL I have to really get in there and mix the dough. The lesson I have learned from this is you have to finish the job even it it starts to get hard.  Sure I would like to stop when the beaters stop working but then the job / dough is not done.  So you have to keep going until it is ready and you are done.  The flour is the last step for the dough making process and once it is all done I cover up the dough and put it in the fridge to chill. So you see sometime there are good thing in life that take work and if you don't put in all the work you will never fully understand or realize its full worth.  Things in life are going to start out good and maybe easy but there will come a point where it starts to get hard.  You can't give up! You have to keep going, keep working, and do all that you can to finish and when it is all done you get to sit back and chill for awhile until the next adventure begins. 

GIFT GIVING

I LOVE to give gifts.  I love trying to find that special present for someone, that great card that fits them perfectly, fun wrapping paper and ribbons to wrap the present(s) with.  I think I more excited to give the gift than the person who is getting the gift will be. While I enjoy the whole gift giving process I am not so good at the receiving gifts things.  While I do know it is better to give than receive and that is something I try to do everyday.  I try to give a little more than what I get or receive. But I have learned that sometimes it is ok to be on the receiving end of the gift giving processes.  While I am sometimes embarrassed and feel bad that people would spend money on me I have to remember that by not accepting their gift I am denying them the same wonderful feeling that I get when I give.  
I have also learned that you don't have to spend a lot in order for it to mean a lot to someone.  While I do love to give gifts I do have to limit myself on the amount of money that I spend, now you know why I don't have credit cards.  I have always hated that fact that I can not give and / or do for others what I would love to do because of my limited budget.  My friends often laugh and tell me the reason I probably would not win a big lottery is because I would give all the money away.  LOL 
But as I have gotten "older" I have learned that you don't have to spend a lot of money in order to give a gift.  Sometimes a gift to someone could be a "Hello", phone call, e-mail. giving of your time to help someone can mean more to a person than just giving them a gift wrapped in pretty paper with a bow. I often think of Christ and the MANY MANY gifts that he gave and has given to all of use.  He did not buy them at the local mall or market or spend hours wrapping them but they are gifts that are precious and loving.  I think if what you give to someone comes from your heart and is given with love than it is a gift.  The most amazing gifts are not always bought in stores or wrapped up with pretty bows but come from your heart and that is what makes them priceless. So remember it is better to give than receive but it is also ok to receive just as long as you are willing to give back to someone, someday and sometime. 

BUSY! BUSY! BUSY!!

So I have REALLY REALLY messed up and not kept up with my plan to write everyday before the BIG 40 arrives.  I guess that is another thing that I have learned in life.....Things Do Not Always Go As Planned.  LOL  Needless to say my life has been CRAZY busy the past couple of weeks and often I find myself leaving earlier each day for work and getting home later.  I wish that was not the case but have you seen the price of gas in the Bay Area?  I girl has to work for her gas!  LOL But between work and church stuff life has have been keeping me pretty busy.  So going forward I am going to have to try and knock off about 4 life lessons to reach my 40 before I turn 40!
Like I said at the start I have learned that things do not always go as planned but if you go with the flow and keep you chin up some amazing things can happen.  I have also learned that sometimes you can not do it all and if you need to ask for help it is OK.  Just cause you need help doesn't mean that you have failed.  It has taken me a REALLY REALLY long time to learn that last lesson.  I often find myself wanting to do try to do it all on my own and really find it difficult to ask for help.  I think that if I have to ask for help then that means I have failed. But over the last couple weeks and years I have learned that as long as I have tired if I need help than it is OK to ask for help. I am thankful for those that have been willing to help me and teach me that just because I have asked for help does not mean I have failed. 

WORK & PLAY

So I kind of messed up again yesterday and did not get a chance to write anything.
Work has been really crazy busy the past couple of weeks. While I LOVE my job and I LOVE working sometimes it does get to be a little too much.  I often wonder if I am ever going to get caught up at work and just when I think I am another "project" comes my way or someone goes on vacation and I have to cover for them  But with that being said it feels good to have a job and work a full day 10 / 11 hour day. I guess that is another lesson that I have learned in my life.  If you are going to do a job make sure you do it well! I am trying my best to do my job well and keep on top of it all. If I could stay at the office until 10 at night to get stuff done I would.  But I have also learned in life that you need to take time away from work and play a little. That second lesson I am often not too good at but maybe I will learn to get better. 

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD

I LOVE CHILDREN'S BOOKS! 
One thing that I have learned is that you are never too old to read or buy a good children's book.
I love going to the bookstore and going right to the children's section.
It is fun to look at the fun art in the books, the characters that these writers have created and see the ways they have tried to bring things to life for their readers.  But most of all I love how they bring a simple and true message that not only is beneficial for a child to remember but also an adult.  While I do not have children of my own I find myself buying children's books to just enjoy.  I love to give some of my favorites to new mothers or little kids.  I only hope they will enjoy them as much as I have So you see while the section in the bookstore may have smaller shelves, stuff animals and little chairs you are never to old to go browse through and read / buy a book or two.  And who knows if you are lucky you might get a better life lesson out of the book than you would have reading the latest vampire series.

MAKE SOMEONE SMILE

Another lesson that I have learned in life is it always great to make someone smile.
You don't have to do something big or glamorous to make someone smile.  Sometimes it is the little thing(s) that you do that can add a big smile to one's face. It could be something simple as a little e-mail/ text to say Hello or Good Luck.  It could be an unexpected card in the mail or just a simple Hello at work, church or school.  
I know how great I feel when someone does something that makes me smile and so I try everyday to try to something that will make someone smile or happy.

FORGET-ME-NOT

In June of this year I was released from my calling as the Valiant Girls primary teacher.  Needless to say I was not to thrilled with this release but I was put in as the Activity Days leader so I would still get a chance to see the AMAZING girls that I was teaching.  I was also put in as the Primary Music Leader so I was still going to get the chance to be around them in sharing / singing time.  Yet there comes a time when each one of these beautiful girls that I have taught turns 12 and moves on to the Young Women's program. Needless to say this is kind of a sad time for me.  I am sure they are happy about it and excited to be moving, growing up and no longer be called a "primary" child. This year there have been 3 girls turn 12 and leave my class / primary.  These girls have changed my life for the better and I have grown to love in ways that I never thought would be possible.  While I am not a mother in some small way I have gotten a little blink of what motherhood is like.  I have grown to care about and love these girls so much.  I have been able to see their amazing beauty (inside and out) and watch their amazing talents grow.  I want the best for them, have tried to encourage them and remind them just how much they are loved. In so small way they have become "my" girls.  Just as a mother is sad to see her child leave she is happy and excited for the new steps and adventures that await their child.  Sure they will see their child again but that child might not need them as much as they once did and that is hard.  I know that I will still get to see these girls in church and I will do my best to always keep in touch with them.  But I do know that as they grow they will have new adventures and things that take place in their life and keeping in touch with their old primary teacher may not be that big of priority.  So as each one of "my" girls has left I have given them a little special gift and something I want them to always remember from me. There is this beautiful Willow Tree Forget -Me-Not figurine that I give them.  I give them this gift not because I want them to not forget me but for them to not forget how much they are loved.  I want them to look and the figurine and have it remind them of how much they are loved by their family, their friends, their teachers and most of their Heavenly Father.  I want them to know that now matter where they go in life, what they do and what path they take that they will never be forgotten and they will always be loved.  And if by small little change I am lucky they might look at the figurine and be reminded of that "old" primary teacher they had in the Valparaiso Ward and know how much she loves and will never forget them.

IT'S HARD TO SAY GOOD BYE

Growing up we moved around a lot.  I have lived in 5 different states and 12 different cities so far in my life. As a child it was hard for me to move and say good bye to friends and teachers.  At one time it got to a point that each time we moved I told myself I was not going to make any friends because then I would not have to worry about saying good bye to them.  Well that never worked and I did have to say good bye to some great and amazing people. I did not have Facebook, e-mails and IM to be able to keep in touch with those friends.  Sure I have tired to find and reconnect with some of those old friends but it is hard to do.
Now that I am older I find that it is even harder to say good bye to those people you meet and form a bond with. Since moving to California I have had the chance to meet and work with some AMAZING and WONDERFUL people that have changes my life for the better. Many of those people that I have met and / or worked with have moved one. Watching them leave was hard and I have done my best to stay in contact with some them but it is just not the same.   Sure it is hard to say good bye to people but I have learned that you have to treasure the moments you have with people. Take time to rejoice in the fact that you have had the chance to meet such wonderful people and to always be thankful for the friends that have enriched and blessed your life.  Yes it is hard to say good bye but it is even harder to go through life not having anything and / or anyone to say good bye to.  

MUSIC IS MAGICAL

I messed up yesterday and did not update my blog.  I got home from work and it was like 8:30pm at night and I was super tired so I am sorry that I did not write. But because I messed up yesterday I am going to try and make up for it today by writing out 2 lessons learned.

Growing up as a child we listened to a lot of music. I remember my mother and father having a big record collection and even 8 track tapes.  Their music collection was very large and they enjoyed a variety of artists.  I was educated at a young age on the different music genres and styles. As I have grown my taste for music has not changed it has only grown. 

I LOVED to sing as a child and at one point in my life I actually thought that I sang better than Whitney Houston.  I don't know where the confidence I had as a young pre-teen child went because now days I hardly sing unless it is in my car.  Yet Regardless of what I am listening or singing to it always brings joy to my heart.  
Sure there are those songs that make you cry, songs you listen to when you want to cry, dance, sing, scream and / or just get relax. There are songs that you hear that either help you create a memory or help you recall a memory. It is magical how much power one can find and / or get from a song. I love when I hear a song or put on a song to listen to how it can transform me back to a time, place and event. It is almost as if my music collection could be a journal of my life.  

So I have learned that music is magical and that as long as the music plays the memories and magic will live on.

ONE IS NOT A LONELY NUMBER

I am the oldest of six kids and for as long as I can remember I have never been alone. Even when I moved out and started living on my own I always have had roommate.  I remember always having someone around to do something with growing up.  There were times when I would wish that I was an only child, had my own room and space or just had my mom or dad all to myself.  But looking back I don't think I would have enjoyed that to much. But with that being said one should not be afraid to be alone.
I will never forget the first time I cam to San Francisco. I was in my mid 20's  and I had always dreamed of coming to San Francisco. Growing up I loved watching a TV show or movie and seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the Bay Bridge, Coit Tower and the famous San Francisco skyline.  I knew one day I would get to be able to see this amazing city, ride a cable car, visit Alcatraz, and cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Well that dream came true and when it did I was alone.  Sure I wish I could have had someone to share that experience with and point out all the things that I wanted to see and was now getting the chance to see.  My first trip to San Francisco was a scary one and I had NO IDEA what I was doing or where I was going.  I just had a map in my hand and heart full of excitement. After I got back from my trip and told people about what I had seen, where I had been and what I did they were a little shocked that I had done all that by myself.  It think they were even more shocked that I was not mugged and made it back safely.  I guess some of the places I went alone where not the best places for a person to be.  I guess I was just going on blind faith and had angles watching over me. My love for San Francisco did not change after that trip and today I love the city and this area even more.  I never get tired of seeing that skyline, crossing those bridges, taking that cable car ride, driving or walking down that crooked street, eating clam chowder out of a bread bowl, taking that boat ride for yet another prison tour, driving up to that tower, walking along that pier, going to that square with all the shopping, visiting that really big park or seeing another ferry building.  I am reminded of that first trip I took and how I would never have gotten to experience all that I did if I was afraid to go alone.
While now days I do not like to go to movies or dinner alone there are AMAZING and WONDERFUL plays, concerts, sporting events, parties, events and cities that I have seen and gone to alone.  Yes, it would have been fun to have someone to go with but I was not going to miss these wonderful opportunities and turn down some once in a lifetime moments just because I had to go alone.
So I have learned to not be afraid to do something, see something or go somewhere just because I was alone.  Plus chance are once you get there you won't be alone!

DREAM JOB

It is officially Tuesday but I have not gone to bed yet so I still have 38 more sleeps until my BIG BIRTHDAY!
Monday is always a SUPER BUSY and CRAZY day for me.  I am not very good at going to bed early on Sunday so that I am bright, alert and ready for Monday Morning. I know that every Monday, unless a holiday, I have to be to work at 6:30 am which means I must leave my house no later than 6 am to get to work on time.  Because I go in earlier on Monday's I am suppose to get to leave earlier, 3:30 pm, but that hardly ever happens. For instance today I did not leave the office until 6:30 pm and got home around 7 pm.  So needless to say Monday's are a pretty long day for me but you know what I don't mind because I really like my job.  There was a time in my life, about 10 years ago, when I HATED my job and the thought of going to work each day made me sick. It showed in my work, working skills and work environment suffered because of it.  So I had to make a big decision!  I could either find a job that I liked or suck it up and find a way to enjoy the job that I have.  For the first time in a long time I started interviewing for other jobs and found that what I had was pretty good.  So I had an attitude change and tired to find a way to make things better.  Things did get better and I found that as my attitude changed so did my work and it was all for the better.  While the job that I have is not the job I dreamed of having but in a way it is pretty close. 
When I was a little girl I wanted to be many things, a Nurse, a Super Model, Miss America, a Movie Star, a Singer, a Lawyer, a Fashion Magazine Editor, a Sports Broadcaster,  and a Mother. After eliminating many of those "future" job choices the one that always stayed on my list was Mother. Well for those of you that don't know me I am not married and my chances of being a mother get slimmer and slimmer each year but I still hope one day to be able to be have that job. But until that job opens I work as an Admin Assistant (Secretary for those "old school" folks).  Not the Mad Men version of a Admin. Assistant but you could say I am kind of the Joan of the office minus the whole dress attire, cigarette and sleeping with my boss thing. 
There are many things that I have to do all day and most of them require taking care of other people. I often have to ensure that their needs and wants are met before mine, they are happy and that they have everything that they need. I guess in some odd way you could say I am a mother.  Not the one that I hoped and dreamed to be but it is a start for now.  LOL
So I guess what I am trying to say is that I have learned is in life you may not get the chance to have your "dream" job but it is up to you to make the job you do have a worthwhile and successful one. 

KEEP THOSE TRADITIONS POPPING!

It is now 39 more sleeps until I turn the BIG 40!  
Due to the fact that tonight the Emmy Awards were on I find it kind of appropriate that the thing I am going to write about today is in reference to a to TV.  Yes I was one of this kids that grew up watching TV BUT I also grew up playing outside until the sun went down.  I remember watching fun TV shows, sporting events, award shows and movies with my family.  Some of my most fondest memories are of me watching TV with my family. I did find it kind of funny that growing up we were not allowed to watch Dukes of Hazard because Daisy Dukes shorts were too short and 3's Company because a guy was living with two girls but I think I got to watch every Soap Opera show possible.  LOL 
Growing up as a kid every Sunday night we would make a BIG HUGE bowl of popcorn.  I loved hearing that air popper going and watching my mom or dad butter the popcorn.  Each child got to pick a special color Tupperware bowl and we filled it to the rim. On Fast Sundays it was a special treat because my mother would make caramel corn and it was OH SOOOO GOOD! After that we all would sit down together as a family and watch a TV show or movie.  Those were good times!  Even today I find  myself on Sunday night popping some popcorn and sitting down to watch a TV show, sporting event, award show and / or movie. Granted with technology today I don't just have to sit in one room to watch TV.  I can now watch it on my iTouch in my room or on my laptop. So while times have changed the memories and traditions have not.  While I don't have my own kids and family to carry on my old family traditions I can still carry them on and share them with others.  So I guess the lesson that I have learned is that one single person can still carry on fun family traditions.  It is not the number of people that carry on the family tradition that make it a tradition but the fact that someone keeps the tradition alive that matters.

I'M BACK & 40 MORE SLEEPS!

HELLO! Yes I am still alive! It has been well over a year since I last updated my blog.  I wish I could say I have been MIA because I have been busy traveling the world, falling in love, got a new job, got a husband and / or had a baby but unfortunately none of those are true.  I have done some traveling, I have fallen in love and I don't have a new job but still have a job so that is good!
So I kind of stopped writing because I was feeling like no one really was reading or cared about what I wrote, so basically I was having a pity party for one. Well I have come to realize that this blog is not about who reads and / or does not read it but kind of more so for me so I can review the happenings in my life.  But with that being said I would LOVE for all of those who want to read about what is happening in my life to feel free to read away and I hope you enjoy what you read. So let me first say this "CHECK PLEASE"! The pity party for one is now officially over and it is time for me to leave and get back to living Life in the Wright Lane! Now is perfect timing for me to start writing again because as of today it is officially, as my niece Bella would say, 40 more sleeps until I turn the BIG 

So for the next 40 days I will be posting each day something I have learned about life over the last 39 years and 325 days!  My TOP 40 list will not be in any kind of special order because I think it would be hard to rank everything.  So in some small way all the things that I list are pretty important thoughts / lessons to me and I hope maybe they will be to those that read them.  So here it goes.....let the list begin!
One REALLY IMPORTANT thing that I have learned is you have to have HOPE in your life!!! 

There are different kinds of hope that one can have but I think as long as you have some kind of hope in your life than life is worth is worth living!