February 2025 Randoms

I like this painting of the Hill Cumorah, which is a beautiful, special, and sacred place.

Fun fact: My boyfriend is a great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, Joseph's brother. His mother's maiden name is Smith from the Smith family line.

We had a few worthwhile storms in February (church was canceled two weeks in a row!), but no Nor'eastahs.

A good question about MWEG

I want to do this!

Sam had been studying WWI and WWII at school and was interested in seeing movies about them. We watched Dunkirk and it was very good. I want to watch Pearl Harbor next. I never saw it!

A pretty sunset sky

I think HelloFresh has a slightly inflated view of its significance in life. 😂

My mom got her ears pierced! Finally!

My mom, Sam, and I went for a nature walk on the Cape. We came upon a partially frozen lake, and she freaked out when we went out on the ice, so I didn't go out too far, even though I wanted to venture out further. Moms!

This mom (me) let her child go out a little further on the ice, and (not surprisingly), he was fine!

Pretty sunset colors in the distance on our way out of Cape Cod Creamery

Here I am wearing one of my favorite sweaters, and I like how my hair looked. 😄

I went out to lunch at a Korean hot pot/BBQ place with friends. It was unique, and it was good!

Wisdom, Humor, and Inspiration in February 2025

 I think so, too. 😉

Adam Grant is a Wharton professor who's about my age, and he says such wise things on LinkedIn. 

I think this is so funny 🤣 The last line is my favorite!

This is a financial philosophy that has become more of a reality in my life over the last few years as my budget has been curtailed by a lot but I still have some money to play with: "Spend freely on whatever you care about most" (but not too freely in my case!) and "cut back mercilessly on what you don't." It works! ✔

An element of the art of listening well...

This is true. I lived in a marriage that was very painful and emotionally unsafe for the last several years of it, and I sacrificed big time to hold onto what I knew it had the potential to be. But you need two willing people to make that potential happen, and I didn't have that. I tried my best and worked my hardest to save it, and I don't count divorce as a failure on my part.

This is key to righteous living and a truly happy life.

I can see this happening to me 😆

I enjoy solitude, and most of the time, I don't find it lonely.

Crazy Times Scrapbook, February 2025

 Speaking of crazy times, February was a crazy month for me with getting back from my trip to Guatemala, having some GI issues for a couple of weeks after (probably due to the water there), and being very distracted by a new and exciting relationship. So I didn't really follow the news as much as I usually do. I was pretty content because, well, Trump, and I stayed up to date on many things through my MWEG work. So anyway, here are the TWO things I took pictures or screenshots of in February.

I don't like for people to be fired unless it's merited, but the government really is bloated, and there is so much waste (in more ways than one). The U.S. needs to get its financial situation under better control. I fully support cleaning out government bureaucracies in order to help accomplish that. 

I'm excited about RFKJ being HHS secretary. I think he's spot-on in a lot of his views about health, chemicals, additives, preservatives, the potential dangers of vaccines, and so on. I like how he thinks outside of the mainstream and how he calls out the literal crap in the food and drug industries.

Around La Casa in February 2025

 Here are some pictures from around the house in the cold, wintry month of February.

This is where I spend a lot of time, working at my desk on the computer.

Olive loves it when I pour some milk on a plate for her.

The table was set for dinner with Sam, David, and myself, and honey lime chicken enchiladas were on the menu. This was the first time they met, and it went well. Afterwards, David and I went to the temple together.

 

I found this cute hearts-and-roses garland at Target to go under the TV. It was too bare in that spot, and this filled it in nicely. And check out the cute scene on the TV streaming from YouTube!

Here are a couple of random shots of the basement at the Cape house. We spent a few days there over February break. Sam set up shop in the basement with his computer and sleeping arrangements, following in John's footsteps!

John's Mission Pics, 5-6 Months In

 John continues to do well as he grows and thrives on his mission in Colorado. In February he reached the six-month mark, which means he's 25% of the way done. I miss him A LOT, but I'm so happy he's made such selfless Christ-centered choices in his life. Not to make it about me, because it's not, but I'm finding that it's a rewarding blessing in my life to have a child who is turning out like this. It gives me a small glimpse of what it must be like for Heavenly Father when His children choose to follow Him. 

John is having fun, making good friends, working hard, navigating through challenges and adversities that sometimes come up, learning and growing, and loving and caring about people in a way that he never has before. It's a wonderful thing to see!

He and this guy are planning to link up at BYU-Idaho after their missions. Kindred spirits, these two!

One of Elder Carlson's Facebook Stories