The Piano Guys

Confession - I have a major music crush on Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson. I've heard them in concert twice now and love all of their music. My hope is to develop my piano playing skills to be anywhere near half as good as these guys! This is one of their new pieces - Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Simple Gifts...enjoy! You know I do...

How do you feel?

Sunday night we had a fireside where the topic was feelings. In announcing this to members of our ward, each time we said the word “feelings”, people shut down – you could see it happening. We weren’t sure how the turnout would be, but we had a full room…almost every chair full. The guest speaker was a therapist who works with people who deal with addictions. She said that when people have feelings they don’t understand or don’t know how to handle, they turn to addictions of one variety or another to mask those feelings.

She taught us how all feelings can be traced to either fear-based or love-based feelings. So, if we ask ourselves what we’re feeling (pride, anxiety, happiness, etc.) we can determine what motivates us. She shared an example of this from her life. She said she was going on a business trip and they have two cars; one that is really fun to drive, the other not so fun to drive. Her husband told her that it would be better for her to take the not so fun to drive car. She insisted that she would be fine in the “fun” car and took off. She made it to her meetings and was ready to return home. On the way, a state patrolman let her know that she had exceeded the speed limit of the area she was driving in. She said that her very first thought was that she wanted to hide it from her husband. She explained that she is a very honest person and doesn’t keep anything from her husband, and how in this situation, it was her first reaction. She said that as she was driving, she was thinking about this and was trying to determine why this was her first reaction. She thought about embarrassment, but realized that she had embarrassed herself enough in life that she knew it wasn’t it. As she kept going through reasons, she thought about pride and she instantly knew that it was the one (she said that the feeling you usually fight in yourself are those you dislike in others). Once she was able to identify what it was, she was able to deal with it head on…and she even called her husband and told him what had happened.

Another point she brought up is that life happens so quickly that we rarely have time to process what we are feeling before the next emotion hits us. She encouraged us to take time to discover the root emotions we face; either love or fear. If it is fear based, we can determine exactly what it is, and then transition it to a love based feeling. We really are in control of our emotions. Growing up, one of my parents’ favorite sayings was that no one can make you mad; you let yourself get mad (which in turn would only make me angrier). After this discussion, I realize just how in control we are and I’m grateful I learned that now and can implement it in my life.

The Word Is...

Epiphany - a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something


I was talking on the phone with my dad the other day and I told him that I had had an epiphany. The conversation went something like this:
Me- "Dad, I had an epiphany"
Dad - "A what?"
Me - "Epiphany"
Dad - "A Tiffany??"
Me - "No - epiphany"
Dad - "Who's A Tiffany? Whose kid do you have?"
Me - "Not A Tiffany...epiphany - e.p.i.p.h.a.n.y"
Dad - "Oh...epiphany..."

We laughed and talked about my epiphany and the fact that I like to use "big" words in conversation. Then he said something like, "Don't use big words like that on your redneck father."

Which leads to the second word story. About three weeks ago I was talking with dad, again, and he was telling me a story about something that had happened. He was getting all worked up and was getting really animated during our conversation. At the end of the story, he said, "I can't believe he had the au...au...audacity to do that." The moment he finished this sentence there was an almost audible gasp as he told me he had used a "big" word (for clarification..."big words" aren't so much big as they are not used frequently).

I love you, Dad...thanks for the fun stories!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I've NEVER read a book that made me upset and anxious every time I opened or, or even thought about it. I've been reading it for several days and made it about half way through, but I just couldn't do it. I didn't follow the characters, I never really caught the story line, and while I think if I would have finished it I may have had some appreciation for it, I didn't feel it worth my time. I told Lori about this and she started laughing at me, making some comment about how I must really like structure in my book (true statement). So, if you've read this book, do you want to tell me how it ends??

As Time Goes By

This book was another book that is not on my typical list of reading, but it was a great read. The story covers the Carlyle family and their experiences being scattered across three continents during World War II. It's a story of responsibility to country and to family and a tribute to the survival of the human spirit. This isn't necessarily a quick read, but worth the time.

True Colors

My dad just sent me these pictures of him and his brothers and sisters. There is always a good time to be had when this bunch gets together. 6 out of the 7 Crawford siblings made it in to the picture, and in true Crawford style, (maybe more mafia style...take your pick) a memorable picture to be sure! It's one of my new favorites.

 And because everyone deserves to be remembered at their best, a picture of them all behaving. :)

I love this bunch and can't wait to be in the same time zone with them again (oops, did I just let that slip??). It's been way too long since I've seen a few of these faces! 

The Attack on the Lusitania

Add this to the list of recently read...The Attack on the Lusitania tells the story of one of the largest and fastest luxury liners. On its journey home to England, with just shy of 2,000 people on board, a German sub attacked. It took only 18 minutes to sink such a large ship and nearly two-thirds of the passengers and crew lost their lives on this fateful day in 1915. 

The first part of this book moves a little slow as the author is building each of the characters story. Soon, the lives of three strikingly different characters is intertwined in this tragic story. Something I learned from this book was that people are people, no matter what, and each is important.Also, that forgiveness is truly the key to happiness. The main characters come from different classes in different countries, and in some instances with misguided ideas, but the concern each person shows for the other is evident as the story progresses.