Peace brings happiness…

Day 67….

As I was reading tonight an incredible book, The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox, I came upon a couple of quotes that truly spoke to my heart.

Obedience—that which God will never take by force—He will accept when freely given. And He will return to you freedom that you can hardly dream of—the freedom to feel and to know, the freedom to do, and the freedom to be, at least a thousandfold more than we offer Him. Strangely enough, the key to freedom is obedience”. Elder M. Russell Ballard confirmed this when he taught, “Although freedom always brings with it certain risks, challenges, and responsibilities, it also brings real power to those who choose to exercise it wisely.”

I really loved these quotes. They are so true. We usually don’t think that obedience equals freedom but as I think about it more and more, it does. It truly does. I LOVE learning new things or things that bring me to an AH HA moment. I know that I need to study each day to learn and bring myself closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior. I need to do this every single day and feel the peace that I do right now.

Peace brings me happiness!!!

~Michelle

Reading and loving it!

I can’t believe that this year is coming to a close.  Where did the time go?  It seemed to pass by so quickly.   I just can’t believe it.  I have been pondering the goals that I set at the beginning of last year.  I was hopeful to accomplish every single one of them sometime during 2012.  As I read the list, all I do is  smile not because I accomplished them but because I have actually set goals that help me become a better person.  I am hopeful for the upcoming year…a new beginning…a time to re-evaluate and to move forward. 

One of the goals that I set for 2012 was to read more often.  I love to read but when I do, I feel guilty because I have so many other things that I SHOULD be doing.  I set out a goal to read 100 books.  I knew that  I probably wouldn’t be able to accomplish this particular goal…I was just hoping that if I had that high of a goal, I would make myself read and not feel so guilty. 

Well, dear friends…I did read more and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I read 19 books…a lot more than I would have read if I wouldn’t have made it a goal to read more often and enjoy it.  So…for the year 2012, I read

1.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2.  The Gift of Angels by Rachel Nunes

3.  Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

4.  Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins

5.  Nourish & Strengthen by Maria Hoagland

6.  Lost Without You by Annette Lyon

7.  Lemon Tart by Josi Killpack

8.  English Trifle by Josi Killpack

9.  Devils Food by Josi Killpack

10.  Lipstick Wars by Christine Thackeray

11.  Last Entry First by C.K. Abbott

12.  Key Lime Pie by Josi Killpack

13.  He Loves Me Not by Christine Kersey

14.  Don’t Look Back by Christine Kersey

15.  Blackberry Crumble by Josi Killpack

16.  Scrappy Cupcake Angels by Kristah Price

17.  Your Happily Ever After by Dieter F Uchtdorf

18.  Forget Me Not by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

19.  Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

As for 2013, my goal is to read and enjoy 25 books.  Look out world, I am going to read and not worry so much about the other things that I need to accomplish!

Happy Reading!

~Michelle

Books that every girl should read…

I love to read.  I love when I am reading and the characters come alive.  There is something with forgetting about reality and checking into the pages of a book. I just love it.   I love that I can sit for hours and read without moving…maybe only to grab a blanket and  a box of Kleenexes.   I love when I read a book and experience every type of emotion.  I just love it.  I love to read!

Anyway, tonight,  I came across a list of books that every girl should read.   I am not sure who published this article or where they got their facts but I found it interesting.  I might just add these books to my list.  So…I ask you my dear blog readers, have you read…

Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic, #1) by Sophie Kinsella

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self by Ellyn Spragins

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

What Did I Do Wrong? by Liz Pryor

20-Something, 20-Everything: A Quarter-life Woman’s Guide to Balance and Direction by Christine Hassler

Single: The Art of Being Satisfied, Fulfilled and Independent by Judy Ford

What are your thoughts?  Would you put these books on your top ten list?  I have heard of a couple of them but not all of them.  What book would you recommend?

Happy Reading!

~Michelle

P.S.  I am grateful that I know how to read!  So grateful!

fabulous things friday...I love to read!!

One of my most favorite things is...

to read.

Yes, I love to read and I can thank my sweet mom for this great love. She loves to read and through her example and love for it, I love to read. Reading is one of those things that can transport me into another place, another time, another era...but, there is one thing that I do not like about reading. It is the last page of the book. I hate it when books end. I want them to go on and on and on. I would love to know what the characters did after the last page of the book. See, we stopped being apart of their lives when the last word on the last page ended--but what happened to their characters on the next page. HMM!! I guess, we will never know.

Anyway, my question to is...do you like to read? What books are you reading now? Do you recommend it? I would love to know...please share.

My new best friend...

For the past while, I have had my best friend staying with me. His name is Mr. Insomnia. He frequents quite regularly and keeps me up all hours of the night. No matter what I have tried, he never wants to leave. No matter how exhausted I am, he will not leave. He is just too crazy. Okay, maybe he is driving me completely crazy!! Did you know that there really is not a whole lot of stuff on television between the hours of midnight and 5:30 am? So, Mr. Insomnia and I have become really close. In fact, I found myself talking to him--yes, out loud. Oh, do you think that I am really going crazy?

There are a few things that I have found that I can NOT do in the middle of the night--first and for foremost--I can not run the vacuum cleaner--even though it does not seem loud--during the wee hours of the morning--it is loud. VERY LOUD. Which does not make people living with me very happy. Nor can you really do a lot of baking. No matter how quiet I am trying to be, I always seem to drop a pan or something that is equally loud. VERY LOUD. Oh, also, the timer on the stove--sounds as if the fire alarm is going off--int he middle of the night, VERY LOUD! Did you know that even the washer is loud in the middle of the night? VERY LOUD!!! Did you know that there are a lot of people driving on the road in the middle of the night? Even the cars are loud. Not as loud of the mishaps in my condo, but loud. I always wonder where the people driving those cars are going and what they are doing. Oh, do you know how many times, the tow truck goes up and down our lane--in the middle of the night? ALOT!!!

I have found that my love for reading has really brought a problem with keeping Mr. Insomnia from leaving. I admit strongly that when I find a good book, I am hooked. When I say hooked, I mean really hooked. When I start reading, I want to know what happens at the end. I never cheat and read the last part of the book. I have to read it all the way through. Usually, I have to set a timer next me and when the timer goes off, I have to remove the book from my sight. I have chosen to blame this on my sweet mother. I inherited my love for books from my her. Bless her heart. She is the one to blame for all of this. She is the one to blame when I can not put a book down and find that I have read all night long. But, she is the same way. If it has intrigued her just a tad bit, she is out of commission until it is finished. As you can see, she is all to blame.

So, instead of feeding Mr. Insomnia with a good book. I have found something equally addicting. That is Grey's Anatomy. My friend, Vieve, has introduced to me her friends-Meredith, McDreamy, McSteamy, Alex, Callie, George, Izzie, Dr. Bailey, the Chief, Addison, Kristine and all the others that create this addicting delicious show. Well, I can definitely say that I am 100% addicted. Being addicted to a television show is not like me. It is crazy. But, since I am joining the crazy side of life--I will admit that I am addicted. So, since Mr. Insomnia has been an active part in my life, I have watched Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3 numerous times. The endings never change, but my ideas for new endings are right inside my head. Okay, actually, I do know how many times I have watched the entire show, but that will be for me to know.

As for me, I am off to finish the last episode of Season 3 one more time....Okay, I am not proud of this new addiction, but it does help with the lack of entertainment at 2:00 in the morning. On the other hand, I do wish that I would be sleeping, but since I am not doing that...I am analyzing all of the different relationships that are happening on my television set. But, most of all--I hope you are getting a great nights sleep!