The kitchen started to get more decorated and I love the way that it is starting to look, the whole house will be decorated before the end of the year, Scrappy (the dog) ran away and the manhunt has begun, (I guess I should say dog hunt) And on the home front, I love mowing my lawn and pulling weeds and stuff. I need to get some fertilizer on my lawn, I need some green grass!
So to start off the month, Emily & Sterling got engaged, he proposed at the Murray arts center while they were ballroom dancing. He ran onto the stage and took the mic, professed his love and asked for a waltz with her in front of everyone. So they did that then he spun her around and he was on one knee and he proposed. Pretty cute I'd say! The ring is awesome. She likes it, they're totally happy and love each other, the whole thing just makes sense. They're great together. It cracks me up that he was one of the lucky few to have gotten out of the friend zone and now engaged to my sister, it's cool that they're getting married, I'm happy for them. The date is set for January 21st, 2012. They have a Facebook event, you should check it out and go!
Emotionally I got vulnerable and a tad lonely and was feeling fully ready for a relationship, so I feel as though I had a full and healthy relationship this month, there were many ups and downs emotionally and a lot of fun and memories made, but I learned the areas in which I need to improve and so the growing begins. Maybe next time? I have work to do on myself more before I am ready for the relationship that leads to marriage or "the one" as it's been said. Who knows when it'll be but I hope it's sooner rather than later, I have to seek god more and have patience. It'll happen when it happens and how it's supposed to happen. Till then it is about god and family and business. With Halli this month it was emotionally straining for her. I travelled a great deal, I went to Southern Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California all in about 3 weeks. So as a result of all that travel I was hardly home and she got mad about it, so towards the end of the month I focused primarily on her to strike back that balance at home.
The 4th of July was quite spectacular, we spent the day with Kylea and her boyfriend and our families and went to Layton to enjoy fireworks, face painting And festivities after the parade, we followed that up with a BBQ at Halli's Nana's house with everyone, then we split up and Emily and Sterling and I met up with our friend Michelle and her husband Brian and their family and we went to watch the fireworks in park city. For the last three years i have cried during fireworks, i get overwhelmed with gratitude for freedom and they move me, but i didn't let anyone see my tears :) the three of us enjoyed a nice and uplifting and fulfilling time with the Olsen family I love their family, this month I learned so much from them and their examples.
In California I got to reconnect with my cousin's Terry and Judy Kane. I love those two a great deal, they're truly exceptional people and they mean a lot to me. So it had been a year or so since I had been out there, that cousin time was greatly needed. I also enjoyed a really wonderful phone conversation while I walked the beach in Oceanside with my friend Michelle, she's such an incredible lady and has become one of my mentors in life. I really value that relationship a great deal. She is wise and gives some really great advice. I got to reconnect with my friends in LA in the Latin market, and we got the opportunity as well to reconnect heavily with the boys in San Diego. We spent a couple nights at Steve Wolf's mansion in Bonsall California, he lives in a villa style place that looks and feels like Tuscany with avocado trees and citrus trees everywhere. It was a real treat, I got to go to a few beaches, spend some time in la Jolla, and I got to go to the San Diego temple 3 times, I even ran into a friend that was on her mission from back at home. I got to reconnect with a couple old friends and spend some quality time with Bryan. It had been a while. The Mexican ice-cream on that trip was so good and that was needed.
On the way back I got an invitation to spend the weekend at lake mead with Michelle's family and go boating and go to a family reunion, how could I pass that up when I was passing through on my way back to Utah, so I spent so super quality time down there and got tanned, enjoyed the family reunion, i even cried when the grandma gave a speech from her heart, but i didn't let anyone see the tears, we got to have great uplifting conversations, I got to drive a fast car and i got to connect with a family that i some day hope to replicate, we rode the roller coaster at new york new york and we even made it to church in mesquite on Sunday. That was a really uplifting week! And fun too. A great deal accomplished. I returned home to Utah late Sunday after a really nice and peaceful Sunday drive and washed my clothes and put them back in my carry on and it was off to Albuquerque for the week. Oh the life of a networker.
I spent that Monday with Halli and we went boating with our friends at Willard bay and we ate and played and spent some real quality time and then left Tuesday, Payton and I drove down, this was one of the most uplifting trips I have had in a while. I was charged the entire time, even though I was dealing with emotional turmoil from a girl and confusion from a lack of direction and clarity as to what the next step was, I was charged because of who I was around and what we were doing, we (Payton and I) ate clean and started a new eating lifestyle which made me feel so good, it's amazing how good food and lots of water can make you feel, it's onto getting more ripped and eating good, nothing feels as good as being healthy. We had a good time in Albuquerque and I went to the temple twice there, Payton had his 25th birthday while we were there so there was deep conversation, re evaluation of purpose and direction and as he spoke I drew inspiration from his clarity and perspective. The drive back to Utah was great, we had great freestyle raps, conversation and food, that was such a wonderful Road trip. So uplifting and on that trip I had a break through and figured out what I wanted to do with my life and it is in the process if happening now, there were some beautiful sunsets while we were in Colorado and a few rainbows and I got a couple Really cool shots of them.
I came back to Utah on the war path to getting fit, and spending every possible minute with Halli, eating super clean and making some lasting memories, writing in my NEW pink and black notebook and getting even closer to God and NOT traveling as much. Halli and I immediately started having fun! there was a fierce work out that happened, then we went boating, my good friend Ammon came back from a summer of alarm system stuff and so we went to the lake with him. Halli and I went to a few festivals, did a bunch of shopping, went to the farmers market, and fully enjoyed each other's company. I didn't realize Halli really wanted a library card lime that bad but she had been promised it for quite a while and so we got that and it reminded me of all the nostalgia of me as a kid going to the library and getting tons of books, Halli has read over 30 books in 3 days, the whole books cover to cover! She loves it! I had to get pictures! That was a proud moment for us!Payton and I went out and bought these Italian custom tailored suits for the RevvNRG convention, it was really nice. I think i want to dress up from now on in suits as often as possible. I was going to buy shiny and flashy and I went conservative. I loved the aspect of service
For the 24th of July Halli got to go to handcart days and experience all of that, we lit off fireworks in front of our house with Danny and Bailee. It was really nice! They got to do sparklers and enjoy the first year I have ever seen aerial fireworks in Utah. That was an aspect of childhood that I cherish in my memory that Danny and I used to do, and we are now instilling that tradition in our kids. Growing up is pretty cool. I think I want to be that guy that has like 10 kids and is like madly in love with his wife and does so much family stuff all the time. Like performing musical numbers for each other and taking trips and dancing and doing so much family stuff. I think that would be a blast! I'd also be good with 3. Hahaha! I am easy going that way.
I learned a few things this month...
1. "You can do things with God or without God... With is better." I stole that quote from Brig Hart. I applied that this month. I tried 3 days without God and 3 days with this month, then I did it again. It feels so empty and dark and like something is constantly missing and then I filled it with being a little negative, "Sighing" a lot, being down for now reason, being sad for no reason and just an overall lack of zest in life. The contrast was unimaginable. I had a conversation with someone that didn't believe God existed, I said to try 3 days with and he wouldn't, so I tried 3 days without... Then 3 days with... UNCANNY!! Now I know that without a shadow of a doubt that if you wanted proof... Just ask. Prayer ALWAYS works! So with God is totally better. It's like being happy all the time with a sense of purpose and that hole is filled and so is your cup :)
2. You came into this world naked, you will die Naked
People won't remember what you had or what you said, they'll remember how you made them feel. Whether you drive a $500 car or a $300,000 car, you're still stuck in traffic. I met some really materialistic rich people in California this month and they were all about the cars, watches, clothes, brands etc. It blew me away how empty they all were and what gave their lives meaning. Their identity was tied into THINGS, when you die people might wonder who is going to get your stuff, then all you were to them was "Stuff." What impact did you make on the people around you in the course of your life? We cannot take our material things with us when we die.
3. We are either an Example or a warning. If we don't know what our purpose is and what gives us meaning we leave ourselves vulnerable to our environment and what ever comes our way. By doing that we are kind of floating along in life without direction or purpose. When we have clearly defined objectives, goals, and most importantly a higher calling of some sort, then what we are doing with our life becomes our calling or our mission. Some people live life in fear, some people never overcome daddy issues, abuse issues, self esteem problems, addictions, escapes, etc. Their life is their message, and their message was a warning. Their mission to make peace with those things opposing them of progressing. After that, well... They can accomplish whatever they're setting out to accomplish.
Often times I see a world of people hurting, blaming everything on something that happened a long time ago or someone that did something, or people using two of my top swear words: "CAN'T" & "BUT" while they incessantly fold their arms. Putting limitations on themselves saying they "Can't" or telling me how something would be good for them or that they should do something they want to "BUT" and then comes the excuse. The people that are always complaining, being negative, talking bad about other's and gossiping, the people that get mad all the time and have anger problems. We all know people like this, some of us are people like this. These people act as warnings that we need to make better choices, be forgiving, be more patient, more kind, more grateful, have more self control and discipline and to just be happier and smile more. I mean after all, we are alive. Isn't that something to be grateful for and happy about.
Then there is the flip side, the surfer that is up at the crack of dawn to connect with nature that humbly goes and does what he loves because it is what he loves. The guy that runs the mom and pop store that is always there and always smiling and remembers your name. The girl that asks you how your day is and genuinely cares about your answer. That guy at the gym that's really positive and gets more intense than anyone else there and he does it as if no one is around. The runner that pushes herself day in and day out. The mom that slaves away in the house with little respect and appreciation but does it because she loves her children. The hard working father that shows up before everyone and leaves after everyone has gone at a job he hates, works harder than his employees to set the example and doesn't ask something of them he doesn't do. We have so many examples in people that we know and respect and we have so many warnings around us of how not to be.
Are you a Warning or an Example?
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