Smith Family Ice Cream Scoop: January 2011

Monday, January 24, 2011

Somebody Pinch Me

I think this might all start going to my head. I love photography, and it seems like good things keep happening with it... and I just want more and more... and who knows, maybe I'll really go somewhere with this... and maybe I won't, and that's okay too. But... Pioneer Woman chose my photo AGAIN!! I think this makes 4? Go check it out... and read the comments too. Some of them really made me smile. :)

Oh, and I think I'm going to make this one available as one of my fine art prints. Maybe as a canvas? Or do you think framed? Maybe framed... I think I'd like it framed best.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

I Heart Faces: Innocent Wonder

I had such a hard time choosing which photo to put in for this challenge... but I kept coming back to this one. Innocence... sweetness... a life of wonder and discovery ahead of her.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

I Heart Faces: Smile

I LOVE a subtle smile... a secret smile... a smile that makes you wonder... you know, the Mona Lisa smile. :) So, this may not be a typical big grin, but I had to pick one of my favorite kinds of smiles for this one... even if it doesn't fit the norm.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Blogging? What's That?

I've neglected this blog, I know... it's partly because something has to go, and facebook keeps me pretty busy. ;) I'm also boring. Very boring. That's why 92.5% of my readers won't even read this entire post. (Don't you love statistics that are pulled out of the air? I do. They're awesome.)

So, lucky you... you get random thoughts about boring nothingness. (Well, 7.5% of you will get random thoughts... the rest have stopped reading.)

That picture up there? I've always loved it, and now I have a reason to love it even more. I'm not going to go on and on about it here, you can read about it on my photogblog if you want more details. It's going to be auctioned off at Paul Cardall's benefit for congenital heart disorders. I'm super duper excited about it. And okay, a little bit nervous. What if nobody bids on it? That would be mortifying. Really really mortifying. I don't know if I'd recover. ;) Here's my question about this photo: do you see the heart? Do you see that each leaf is a heart, or that the leaves overall make one big heart? I saw the individual leaves first... but Brandon saw the big heart first.

Speaking of photography, because let's be real... what else do I ever talk about?... I got 6th place in the I Heart Faces best face photo of 2010 contest. I'm really excited about it. Not as excited as I'd be if they had been judged and I had won, but still excited. It was decided by votes, so lots of my awesome friends (and a bunch of people who I don't even know) voted for it. I found out last night about 12:30 a.m., and I was dying to tell somebody, but people are sleeping then, darn it. Weirdos. I thought of waking Brandon up to tell him, but I knew he wouldn't remember I told him anyway, so it was useless. And mean.

We all know I don't ONLY talk about photography, because I also love to talk about running. So, just so this post is complete, I have to say that I'm already dying of excitement about Wasatch Back this year. It's 6 months away, but I'm looking forward to it more than Christmas. I'm not kidding. :) We have a team of awesome girls, and we're going to have a blast. I will miss Brandon swearing at us while he's running... that was a highlight of 2010's Wasatch Back, but we'll have to make do without, I guess.

We have more medical bills than we ever did before we had health insurance. What's up with that? I about have a heart attack every time I think about it... maybe that's their strategy... give their customers heart attacks so they can get even MORE money. ;)

Guess what? I learned how to swim!! I am so proud of myself, and proud of my awesome friend, Tari, for teaching me. I never knew how to, and couldn't even really put my face in the water without plugging my nose, but now I am actually really swimming. I love it! So learn this, my friends... it's never too late, and you're never too old. I'm still not sold on doing another triathlon though. Ugh.

I went cross-country skiing with some of the girls yesterday. Brandon bought me some cc skis at DI, so I was excited to try them out and learn. All I have to say, is that I need more time. I loved it, and would like to go lots and get good at it. I will go at least a couple more times this winter, but I wish I could add this to my list of regular things. Unfortunately that list is already way too long.

My kids are awesome. Brandon is the best husband in the universe. There, was that enough about the rest of the family? ;)

Thank You for your Votes!

I got 6th place on the I Heart Faces contest!!! Click on the button on the side that says "top ten photo" to see!

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Vote For Me... Pretty Please. :)

Go to I Heart Faces... vote for me, #23! :)

Monday, January 03, 2011

I Heart Faces: Best Face Photo of 2010

I loved so many faces in 2010... but it has to come back to this one. I'm so in love with this face!

Click on the camera to see other favorite faces of 2010. :)

Sunday, January 02, 2011

New Year's Resolution

I'm not even going to talk about how I failed my last year's resolutions. Nope... not going there.

This year I just have one thing I'm going to set a goal to improve in: not sweating the small stuff. I have a list of questions from a talk I went to (Andrew Horton) that will hopefully guide me in this quest:

-Is it really worth getting upset over?

-Is it worth upsetting others?

-Is it that important?

-Is it that bad?

-Is the situation irreparable?

-Is it really your problem?

Oh, I also have to make sure Brandon has clean underwear.

Happy New Year!

‎"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." — Marianne Williamson

To Do Today

* Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you.
* When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God.
* In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take.
* First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness.
* You cannot communicate with God unless you have first sacrificed your self-oriented natural man and have brought yourself into the lower levels of meekness, to become acceptable for the Light of Christ.
* Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul.
* Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his Church.
* God knows that you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.
* God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen, and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us--everything will fall into its place.
* Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin.
* When you cannot love someone, look into that person's eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of the child of God in him.
* Never judge anyone. When you accept this, you will be freed. In the case of your own children or subordinates, where you have the responsibility to judge, help them to become their own judges.
* If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again.
* Avoid at all cost any pessimistic, negative, or criticizing thoughts. If you cannot cut them out, they will do you harm. On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts. If something is wrong, God will give you clarity but never doubts.
* Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words. Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet. Be aware of that as you enter places of worship.
* Be not so much concerned about what you do, but do what you do with all your heart, might, and strength. In thoroughness is satisfaction.
* You want to be good and to do good. That is commendable. But the greatest achievement that can be reached in our lives is to be under the complete influence of the Holy Ghost. Then he will teach us what is really good and necessary to do.
* The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.
* Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve.
* And finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that, as you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.

from "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit by F. Enzio Busche