Hearts Full of Joy

bits of blogs

i love to read lovely blogs, and pass on their goodness to you. here are some of my favorite recent postings from some of my favorite bloggers:

bobbie in australia has a wonderful blog that you can get lost in. so glad you found my blog bobbie, so that i could be led to yours. this post was a wonderful reminder of the fragility of life. and greatly inspiring to read of incredible challneges and people you are facing them. i have referred to some of the people she links to in this post, and some were new - and very compelling - to me.

as a new and past relief society president, i enjoyed and related to this post by heather. be sure to click on the link to her fabulous photography blog while you are there.

and i completely related to this post by mary - her moments with babies & teenagers. i love mary, and loved every minute of togetherness with her in st. louis at "time out for women" last weekend. we haven't seen each other since she left japan eight years ago, and mia was a very chubby three month old. when mary and i first met in our ward in japan, we knew that we knew each other. we finally figured out that we had taken japanese 101 together at byu. some time later, we realized that we had taken that class during different years. so that wasn't it. but i'm still quite sure we already knew each other. mary is a great writer, and i always enjoy her blog.

a match made in cyberspace

i never imagined myself being part of a match made by an online marriage service, but this post goes to show that anything can happen, and frequently does, out there in cyberspace. and this is thanks to my friend from our days in the tokyo 3rd ward, jeni. she married my blog to a blog of another friend, on her post, "blog marriages". fun idea! i'm excited to read the new blog she hooked me up with.

and now, an ode to photography. i treated myself to some virtual reality scrapbooking (digital scrapbooking online, which now that i have five kids, is the only realistic way that i can find time to scrapbook AND keep up with it - and so this is another "cyberspace match" for me - the concept of online scrapbooking). and i am always amazed when i scrapbook after taking some time off from it, how therapeutic it is. i'm so enthralled with the power of a photo...how it can bring back the most subtle and warm memories that would have been forgotten without it. things that weren't even an integral part of the photo, like the delicate & intricate snowflakes that my girls cut out and stuck on the window. it reminds me that my life is even happier and more blessed than i generally remember that it is. and i am grateful for that. it brings me joy...... here is a photo (one of many) that warmed my heart from this latest scrapbooking session.....

noah (2) & mia (5) at kasai rinkai koen, on our christmas card photo shoot, december 2006....among other things, this photo reminds me that although i was terribly sick with my pregnancy, and it took great effort to walk around the park and take the photos (which is what i tend to remember most about that time - in fact i distinctly remember wondering if i would make it back to the car, or just have to lay down on the grass and spend the night in the park), life was still wonderful and beautifully blessed -  these precious kids, the ocean so close to our home, the warm sunlight, etc.

and a random question to throw out there into cyberspace....is it possible for me to do pilates without getting upper back and neck tension? i've been working towards this goal for 5 or 6 years now, and sometimes i do better than others. sometimes i think i've got it figured out, and i even put my main focus on relaxing my back and shoulders while i do the workout. but i still have problems.

i have some fun projects going that i want to share, but although my camera has been returned from repairs, my lens hasn't....still eagerly waiting.

to all my friends & family

dear friends and family who don't blog, but i wish you did,

please visit this posting on kelly's site.

love, me

alexa's blog

lexi works very diligently (sometimes too much so - especially when I am trying to get on the computer) on her blog, and has been trying to get me to become a blogger for the longest time. she loves that fact that i am doing it now, and the best part is that she did it FIRST, and she is my mentor. she just added a great post on my mom. check it out on her post "Friday, March 2, 2007".

love to hate WALMART

living in japan, i fortunately don't get many opportunities to shop at walmart. but when i am in the u.s., and have a lapse of integrity, and find myself shopping at walmart, i always like myself less. i don't shop at walmart for ethical reasons. i disagree with how the company is run, and most everything they do, and don't want my money to support any of that. but rather than getting on a soapbox about those issues, let me refer you to a great posting by someone I have never met, but whose blog i really enjoy. i was trying to read what she wrote out loud to brock last night, but had great difficulty doing it, because i was laughing so hard. i love the way she puts it in her posting, "I HATE Walmart". for ideas on how to save money and get great deals without shopping at walmart, read this fun posting on another favorite blog of mine, "a bad day thrifting is better than a good day golfing". you'll have to scroll down even further to find this one, but again, it's worth is. it makes me wish i lived in the u.s., so i could go thrifting like her.

credit where credit is due

i would like to feel that i have created this blog myself, but it should be stated that without the help of alexa, it wouldn't exist. i would still be struggling to figure out how to post my sakura branch photo, how to add links to other sites, how to upload my photos in general, etc. thank you lexi for being patient with your mommy, and your willingness to share your time and amazing computer skills!

Me, a blogger?

after long resisting the encouragement of friends, and even more so, my 15 year old daughter, to make a blog, i have finally been hit by the inspiration to start, and here i go......

why is it that i always resist new things within the scope of technology? this is a mystery, but the fact remains that i do. i resist and resist, knowing that i will eventually break down and try whatever i am adamently resisting, and when i do, i will love and embrace it, and it will grace my life. i know this even as i resist, and yet i persist in resisting. no, this does not reflect well on me, but it is who i am.