October 2023 Randoms

I saw this ad and was interested in getting these shoes, so I did, and the ad didn't lie: you really don't have to touch them at all to get them on and off! They're comfortable and cute but I probably won't wear them until the weather warms up in several months. 

I finally replaced the pouch in my purse that holds a bunch of things. The old one (on the bottom) still worked but had gotten stained and old. I got it from a shop at the Orlando airport many years ago. I bought the new one several years ago from a shop on the Cape and then never used it. Now I use it all the time!

Isn't this the prettiest and most clever fall flower arrangement!? 😍

This is one of my sister Jennifer's cute dogs sitting on the lap of Jen's mother-in-law, Kay, who was visiting from Utah for a few days. My mom and Sam and I went over to have dinner with her one night while she was here. I've known her ever since I was a kid (she sewed my bridesmaid's dress for Jennifer and Adam's wedding!), and she's a wonderful, talented seamstress and woman. I wish I'd taken a picture of her!

John sent me this happy selfie. 😆

He got a buzz cut with a friend soon after getting to college, and thank goodness his hair was starting to grow back!

A healthy breakfast for my little Sam-man. 

I still call him that even though he's bigger than me now. He'll always be my baby!

This cupcake was yummy! I got it at Muffin House.

I used this note for years to regularly clean out my garbage disposal. I don't need it anymore because my new place doesn't have one. I took a picture for memory's sake and in case I ever have a garbage disposal again. This worked well! 

This is the national nonprofit that I started working for part-time in August. I manage their Op-Ed Lab, which is a service for its members to send their opinion pieces to that we can help them edit and get published in newspapers around the country. I'm learning and growing a lot from my work there, and it's the perfect blend of editing and government and politics, all things that I've had a longtime, genuine interest in. I feel very blessed to have gotten this job.

I did this for the library. Coloring is pretty much the only artistic thing I'm good at. 😄

Ohhhh, here really is my baby Sam! I absolutely loved these years with him!

Owls spotted in the Kripalu gift shop! 

Pursuant to my owl-buying ban as well as to my smaller budget and house, I resisted the temptation and didn't get them!

Sam and his friend and my mom and Jennifer and I went to a really well-done haunted trail in my town on a beautiful, mild October evening. It was so fun!

My real estate agent sent me this awesome Harry & David gift basket as a thank-you gift for hiring her to sell the house in the spring (she got a nice commission off that sale!). What a nice (and delicious) surprise!

I got to work at the library on Halloween evening, which was really fun. We were asked to dress up and I used a simple Wonder Woman shirt with attached cape that I'd bought at CVS the previous year and a few accessories that I got on amazon and wore it all with jeans and my usual shoes. Simple!

More importantly, one of my favorite Primary kids came in for the Halloween activities and her mom wanted to take a picture of us together. I think Komaki was shocked to see me somewhere other than church! 😂 She's Japanese and adorable.

Sam and I took care of my friend Laurie's dog for a few days while she and her husband were away. Molly was sweet and fun and I missed her when our job came to an end!

Wisdom, Humor, and Inspiration in October

I loved President Nelson's talk from Conference. I love all of his talks. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: following his counsel since he became the prophet nearly six years ago has blessed my life and changed me in ways I never could have imagined, especially during the most difficult time of my life.

I read a good article about living a focused life. Not surprisingly, I do my best work in all aspects of my life when I can focus and concentrate, not when I'm acting like a scatterbrained dunderhead 😆. Staying organized in my daily life gives me a calm and present mind that helps me to be a lot more focused and successful in the things that I do.

"Focus...amplifies our ability to see the quiet beauties of everyday life."

Here was another good article, this one about books and reading...

"A house full of books is a house full of blessings." It's true!

This is one of the reasons I hold on to many of my books.

I think I lasted until mid-October this year. 😆

I sent this to Sam. I'm the egg on the far right and he's the one next to me. 😱

I've been there, and I'm sure I'll be there again! 

I think I have this children's book somewhere.

"Bachelor of Farts" 😂

When I was at the Toyota dealership while my car was being serviced, I read the most heartfelt talk by Jacob Hess that he read at his daughter's funeral earlier this fall. It had me in tears. 

They all have their merits, but I'll take the last one!

Crazy Times Scrapbook, October 2023

 Shame on Mexico's government for doing this.

For a long time, I've believed that the governments of these Latin American countries with high (illegal) immigration rates need to step up and improve things so that their people won't want to leave as much as they do. But so often they don't, and the U.S. is left with the bill, so to speak. This was getting better under Trump, which could in turn have led to stronger Latin American governments and better lives for their people. 

"No nation in history has survived once its borders were destroyed..."

Censorship doesn't just apply to books...

I love The Babylon Bee. I think it's hilarious and smart and that it has a great perspective--see below. And I love it even more now that I know that it's devout Christians who are running it (which I suspected anyway).

"The Chinese Communist Party is responsible for more unnatural deaths than any other in world history."

I wish Trump were still president because of the immigration mess alone. And Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas knows it!

This was in The Wall Street Journal on the day of the October 7th attacks (it had gone to press and been published before the attacks happened). This peaceful scene happened just the day before when there was no inkling of the horrendous terrorist attack to come the very next day.

Possible signs of the times from a gospel perspective (which in the end is the only perspective that's actually going to matter)...

Another Democratic politician admits it. I'm glad they're speaking the truth even though it goes against their party's stance.

I wish more people understood this. I copyedited a book about this very subject several years ago. It was written by an undercover government agent who had vast objective knowledge of Islamic terrorism from his work, and this is pretty much exactly what he said in the book.

Remember that there's a big difference between the peaceful practice of Islam and Islamic fundamentalism/terrorism. 

I approve of the way President Biden has handled the Israel-Gaza conflict. I think it's the best thing he's done in his whole presidency.

Because of my work with the nonprofit I work for, I was invited to join a special Zoom meeting with John Kirby in October. It was a literal call with the White House. It was so cool!

The Wall Street Journal editorial board is right about this for our foreign policy.

Good for Utah!

 I continue to strongly believe that TikTok should be banned in the U.S. That's not censorship, it's national security, which includes the mental health of our citizens, especially the young, impressionable ones.

Good points about some bungling that was done by the U.S. in the Israel-Gaza war.

I know, I know, but I'm still suspicious. Someday, if the election really was stolen, the truth will come out.

This is such a good and telling point about anticolonialism.

This article really helped me to understand why so many (unhinged and poorly educated) Americans are supporting Palestine, and why groups like Hamas exist and what their ultimate goal is (which is satanic and purely evil in nature).

 

100%

"...like other totalizing ideologies, anticolonialism contains all the elements needed for moral derangement..."