Happy Now-Feb. 6

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to read at least two books a month.  Twenty-four books in 2012 would definitely be an improvement over last year.  I know to some of my friends and family who are avid readers, this may not seem like a very lofty goal.  As much as I love to read, however, it is not something for which I always make time.  Unfortunately, I am already a 1/2 book behind, but I plan on catching up to stay on track.  Fortunately, I did not make a resolution about making regular blog posts. :)  Here are my Happy Now 10 for the past couple of weeks.

1.  Rock Climbing--In my last post I mentioned that Darren chose rock climbing for our next activity.  This was definitely a new experience for me.  I started to get nervous when we stepped out onto the padded, blue floor beneath the rock climbing walls.  We started by having an instructor show us how to tie the proper knot and what to do should your partner start plummeting to his death while climbing.  I wish I could say that I totally jumped at the opportunity, rolled up my sleeves, and sprinted up the rock wall on the first try.  It definitely took more than one try, and my forearms have never been so sore after grasping desperately to the hand grips, but I did eventually make it to the top and actually really started to enjoy myself by the end.  I was lucky to have such an encouraging partner who kept the rope taut and sent words of motivation up to me while climbing.  I was the first to suggest we go rock climbing again soon.

2.  Dessert with the Grossarths--I grew up with Jeanne through elementary school and jr. high until her family moved to Utah after our freshman year of high school.  While I haven't been able to see her as often as I would like, we have kept in touch and I have loved watching her beautiful family grow.  Darren and I were able to have dessert with Jeanne, her husband Kevin, and their three adorable kids about a week ago.  It was great to talk with Jeanne and Kevin, and Darren and I were both charmed by the kids, especially their oldest little boy.  Such a fun evening!

3.  Classroom Comics--For Christmas I received a tear-off daily calendar of teacher-related comics.  One day last week Darren came to pick me up at school and help me sort some papers.  Before leaving, he noticed the comic for that day on my desk and decided to try and draw it on the board for my students to see the next day.  I have to admit, I didn't know my husband had such artistic talent.  My kids loved the comic and I definitely gained some "cool points" just by being associated with Mr. Myler.

4.  Geneva Memories--In 2006 I was lucky enough to spend some time in Geneva, Switzerland on a BYU internship.  While in Geneva, I was able to meet some amazing people and life-long friends.  One of those people was Afton Beutler, my internship mentor.  Afton has dedicated the past several years of her life to the Worldwide Organization for Women.  She has worked tirelessly to unite women and their cause for good throughout the world.  I felt privileged to join in her work, if only for a few months.  In December, Afton e-mailed me that she would be visiting Utah in January and wanted to see me and meet Darren.  We met Afton for dinner last week, and it was SO great to see her.  I was flooded with some wonderful memories from my internship and was, again, so inspired by the work she and the NGO are doing.

Me with Afton and some others from the UN on the International Day of Peace in Geneva in 2006

Dinner with Afton 2012

5.  Death Comes to Pemberley--My first book of 2012 was P.D. James's Death Comes to Pemberley.  Mystery is probably my second favorite genre, after historical fiction.  When I heard that a well-known mystery writer decided to set her next novel among the characters of Austen's Pride and Prejudice at Pemberley, I knew I had to get my hands on that book.  I was only able to figure out part of the mystery by the end, and enjoyed being kept on my toes.  What else did I enjoy about the book?  The author twice snuck in peripheral mentions of characters from  Persuasion (my FAVORITE Austen novel) and Emma.  She made several of Austen's characters seem like contemporaries whose lives occasionally intersected.  Love it!

6.  Personal Quote Book--My Dad has encouraged my brother and me to keep a book of favorite quotes we come across.  It becomes our own, personal source of gathered inspiration.  I was reading through some of the quotes I've gathered over the past several years and was, again, touched by the power of words.  I love how these words of wisdom and inspiration continue to affect the lives of those who read them generations after they were written.  Here are just a few examples:

• "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." (~Thoreau, Walden)
• "Oh who can tell, save he whose heart hath tried." (~Lord Byron)
• "I gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which I must stop and look fear in the face ... I say to myself, I've lived through this and can take the next thing that comes along ... We must do the things we think we cannot do." (~Eleanor Roosevelt)
• "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." (1 Nephi 21:16)

The most recent addition to my quote book came just today when I read this quote on the inspiring blog of a dear family friend, Karen Holmes: "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." (~Teddy Roosevelt)  Thanks, Karen!

7.  Dryer Faux Pas--I was helping Darren fold some laundry over the weekend when he came across a sweater of mine that I had left in the dryer a little too long.  We just had to laugh.  Perhaps it could work as a shirt for a future daughter?

8.  Greek Yogurt--I have been wanting to try some greek yogurt for a while.  I came across a simple and delicious-sounding breakfast idea that involved greek yogurt, honey, and a variety of berries.  I decided to try some this past weekend and loved it!  It was really sweet, so Darren and I had some for dessert tonight, as well.  I think we've found another favorite!

9.  Movie Night--Darren and I went to see our first movie of the year in the theater two weekends ago.  I love the whole experience of going to the movies--there are no distractions and, for better or worse, you can become completely wrapped up in the on-screen action.

10.  Dreaming with Darren--I love talking about the future with Darren.  Talking about the immediate future fills me with excitement about the realistic changes we can anticipate.  Sometimes Darren and I venture into the unknown distant future and talk about, ideally, where we would like to be several years from now.  We talk about the design of our dream home, the land we would want surrounding our home, and our future family.  Most recently we got on the subject of future pets.  Fortunately, I have married someone who loves animals (almost) as much as I do (he stops short of hamsters and mice :).  Today over dinner we were talking about the pets we would like to have, and I went ahead and chose names.  Darren decided that he would at least need a horse and a dog, and I proposed that I would need my own horse, dog, and cat.  Here are the names I'm currently considering (pictures from pinterest):

• Horse: Indie

• Golden Retriever: Atticus

• Orange Striped Tabby Cat: Scout

Now to make that idyllic future a reality. :)

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