Friday, April 29, 2011

How To Win Friends & Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

Aside from scriptures and the words of our prophets and apostles, this is one of the best books ever to be written. This, and Sheri Dew's 'No One Can Take Your Place.'
It's not just really good - it's INCREDIBLY eye-opening and insightful.
And I'm only on the 3rd chapter. (Although my parents read parts of it to us as teenagers for Family Home Evenings.)
Well written, easy to read, and GREAT stories.

If you haven't read it, I STRONGLY suggest you make it the next book you read (aside from scriptures, etc). And whoever reads this post, I'd be really interested to know if you have or have not read it.
Here are just a few of my favorite parts so far:
"Criticism is futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous because it wounds a person's precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses resentment."

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving."

"'The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement. There is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors. I never criticize anyone. I believe in giving a person incentive to work. So I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise'" (Charles Schwab).

"Of course flattery seldom works with discerning people. It is shallow, selfish and insincere. The difference between appreciation and flattery? One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out."

"Emerson said: 'Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn from him.' If that was true of Emerson, isn't it likely to be a thousand times more true of you and me? Let's cease thinking of our accomplishments, our wants. Let's try to figure out the other person's good points. Then forget flattery. Give honest, sincere appreciation. Be 'hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise,' and people will cherish your words and treasure them and repeat them over a lifetime - repeat them years after you have forgotten them."

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Bruises & Scrapes, But Still Alive



Ugh. I fell down the porch stairs today while holding Jason. Scary and painful. I was holding him in front of me and was at the edge of the top step, just about to go down when I somehow lost my balance. I think maybe he lunged forward to grab something, but the details are sketchy. When I started to loose my balance, my first instinct was to use my hands to catch myself. But I was holding Jason, so I quickly brought my arms back to keep holding him, but that made my balance worse. I fell forward - head first and sideways. I tucked Jason in close to me and tried to roll around him so I wouldn't crush him. Then tumble tumble tumble crash. There are probably 8-10 wooden stairs with cement at the bottom.
Somewhere along the way I had lost my hold on Jason and he came tumbling down behind me. So when I hit the cement and stopped rolling, I reached behind me to stop his rolling b/c I did NOT want him to crack his head open on the cement. He was crying/screaming. And was on the last step, on his tummy. I lifted him off the step and held him while I checked him for blood. None. Wow, what a blessing.
My body hurt everywhere. I kissed him and tried to comfort him as best I could amid my shaking and trying to breathe. He semi-calmed down fairly quickly; I could tell he wanted the bucket of dirt right in front of him, so pulling that to him did the trick. Haha. He's so tough - it amazes me. My shoulder, my elbow, my foot, and my head all got hit pretty bad. I hobbled us back in the house and checked myself out. Also no blood. Just lots of big scratches/scrapes, bruises, and a big goose egg on my head.
After we got inside, I stripped Jason down to further check for damage. Nothing but one long not-so-bad scrape on his forhead and a little red spot under his hair. That might be a goose egg tomorrow though, we'll see. And as soon as I let him go free, he was running and playing like nothing had happened.
Man am I grateful that Heavenly Father answered my prayer for safety today. Obviously he does every day since I'm still alive and well. But that fall could have been SOOOO much worse. No one died, no one was knocked unconcious, nothing broken, no need for stitches, no concussion. I feel so very blessed. I am so, so grateful that Jason is okay. So so grateful.
So grateful.
One lg one and one smaller one above it.

This is just to show the size of the goose egg.

This doesn't look that bad, but it's swollen and bruised.



Sunday, April 17, 2011

Random Words & Lots of Cuddles

Jason is now 15 months old. He can whistle and blow his nose!
Stats: 58% for weight and 93% for height
He is rambunctious and happy and strong-willed and affectionate. He's learned how to give hugs and kisses :). Oh, and he's very, very loud.
I often hear people comment: "He is just all boy!" He loves trucks and cars and motorcycles and airplanes and trains and lawn mowers - all of which he sees or hears regularly.
Words:
     potato (toe-toe)
     woof woof
     hi
     kitty (diddy)
     hi kitty (see above)
     teddy
     ta da!
     uh oh.
     what (uht)
     elbow (eh-bo) (thinks elbows are hilaaaaarious)
     mommmm
     tie (learned the day the above tie pictures were taken)
     cheese (chz) 
     dada
     oh no.
     this! (dis!) (says vigorously a million times in a single day while pointing)
     vroom! (vvvvvv)
He also folds his arms for prayers and knows some sign language: food, tiger, bear, more, duck, and lion.

p.s. Recommendation: You can see the pictures better/bigger if you click on them.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Headband up for grabs

Just made this headband:
thinking of all the outfits I'd wear it with. Silly me. I can't wear tie-under-the-head things b/c they gradually slide off during the day. Thanks, flat head. Bummer. So, if anyone wants it, let me know.
Got the tutorial from You Seriously Made That!?.

Monday, April 11, 2011

YUM!!!

I just made this and it is SOOOO DELICIOUS!
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-red-lentil-soup-recipe.html
Yum Yum Yum.
Best part: the raisins. Do NOT leave out the raisins. I didn't have yellow raisins, so I used my really old, really dry, normal purple raisins. And I added kale (my favorite addition to pretty much everything). I halved the recipe, but kept the amount of carrot and coconut milk about the same. Also added more salt than the recipe suggests. And served over rice.
Yum Yum Yum.
If you don't have red lentils, any lentils will do. But if you don't have any lentils, GO BUY SOME NOW :). Then look up recipes w/ lentils. Every lentil recipe I've tried so far has been divine. Which reminds me, I didn't (and still don't) have dried split peas, but because I halved the recipe, I just used 1 c. of  red lentils.
Sorry, no picture. It wouldn't have looked appetizing from my camera. But hopefully the picture on the site will whet your appetite.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Crafting Lately - Painted Glass Jars

Painted jars w/ fake ranunculus flowers

Framed Paper Hearts

A friend needed a pick-me-up (in case you were wondering why I'd make that and write "Someday"). Favorite thing about this: the shadows that the hearts create on the poster board.
You can see the colors a bit better in this one.
 p.s. Got the idea for this from my cousin Christy @ creativelychristy: framed paper hearts who got it from someone else.

Clip-on's No More

Turning Grandma's vintage clip-on's into pierced earrings:

Pruning sheers (that I use as metal cutters - turns out, not so
good for them), knife sharpener, and jewelry glue.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Weird Dream - Snoop Dog

In this dream, I was somewhere in Europe - it felt like a mix of London/Vienna. Three of us (two friends from high school, one of which was Shelley Creque) sat down in a cafe for lunch and talked. Then Snoop Dog came and sat w/ us, across from me. His entourage remained standing nearby. Without introductions, I inlcuded him in our conversation by asking, "So Snoop, do you believe in God or have you ever had any spiritual experiences?" (I'm pretty sure I was a missionary or something in the dream.) My friends were shocked that I would ask him that.  But he replied completely nonchalantly by saying the words to his rap song that was simultaneously playing in the cafe. Turns out, he had recently written and released a rap song addressing that very topic! He really is a deep thinker, you know. ;)

Unfortunately, I don't remember what his answer was.

Mae Bean Hinman

I LOVE my Grandma Hinman. And I miss her immensly. She was so incredibly witty and quick and active. She was 92? when she had a heart attack and died, but was on her way to get her driver's licence renewed when it happened. And if she had gotten there, she probably would've passed.
She was the first woman to serve a mission in mainland Europe. (France and Belgium, I believe.)
When she came home, she was a secretary to Laurin Hinman, a fiesty man of 5'7". Grandma was still at least 5'10" when she passed away. A mutual friend and business man of theirs, and a member of Mae's ward, gave Laurin a copy of the Book of Mormon. He read it, knew it was true, and got baptized. After that, EVERYone wanted them to date and marry. Someone sent him tickets to some event, two tickets, with the stipulation that he had to bring Mae.
They later got engaged, and married 3 weeks after that. Grandma married a man shorter than she was, a high school drop-out, who had been divorced, and was a convert who couldn't yet take her to the temple.
She called him Lorny and he called her Mae-day.
Prior to their courtship, in a letter to her sister, she wrote, "I have the nicest boss. Too bad he's shorter than a parking meter."
She also once said, when depressed, she feels "shorter than a duck's instep."
She climbed to the top of Mt. Hood once. Said it scared her out of her wits. Some years later, she did it again. Why? She said she wanted to know if she could ever be that scared again!
After her husband passed away, some 20? yrs before her, she told him that he couldn't come to take her until after the turn of the millenium. She died in 2001. :)


And this isn't about Grandma, but it's along the same humor-lines:
"The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list."

p.s. Grandpa Hinman, although a high-school drop-out, still got a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Ironic Allergy & Heel Spur

I just think this is really ironic: I am allergic to the Johnson & Johnson ORGANIC baby wash. I like to use the regular J&J baby wash on my face, but when I bought the organic kind, it made my face sting and turn red. Then the other day when I was bathing Jason and used it on him, apparently some got on my arm and didn't get washed off. My arm was itching and red. Jason, however, who has sensitive skin, has no problem with it. Weird.

Also just discovered why I have a horrible shooting pain coming from the heel of my foot. Extremely. Painful. It's called a heel spur, or plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is some kind of tendon in the bottom of your foot and when it gets overworked for whatever reason, it *smarts*.  Oh, and they seldom occur in people under 25 - another reminder that I'm nearing middle-age. Ugh.

p.s. While bathing Jason today, I noticed that the J&J Organic Baby Wash states "Allergy-tested".   ???  So they tested for allergens, found that there were some, but did nothing about it? except to say that they had tested it? Gee, thanks.
p.p.s. I'm not really bitter about it, like the above p.s. may indicate. I just thought it was chuckle-worthy.