Monday, May 10, 2021

The Right Things

Ever felt like there is just too much on your plate, but feel like there's nothing you can do about it? That's how I am at the moment. I started getting involved in too many things and am neglecting my own self-care and my house. Sometimes it's just so hard prioritising the right things. So here are the things going on in my life at the moment, which may or may not be the "right" things. 

House Updates: 
Windows in, roof done, electrics done, and soon enough we shall have walls! It's gone surprisingly fast when there are delays for almost everyone in the industry. So far the builder has done an excellent job and we can see the difference in quality between us and our neighbours. 





Work Updates: 
A lot has happened in the work space for me. I am now basically a business manager for Matt's business and my friend's psychology clinic In Mind Therapy Pty Ltd. It wasn't my intention, but after many conversations with Jared we found our visions align in how we can help people connect to the right supports to have better well-being. Adding this to my studies has made me too busy for comfort, but we are hoping that once we get our foundation built strong, then I can transition in
to doing behaviour support for people with disabilities. Basically, this involves created a detailed plan for how an individual can manage their disability. As many of you know, I love planning so it will be nice to use those skills to help people while I continue studying to be a clinical psychologist. Watch this space! 

Growing Plants: 
We are trying to grow plants. We shall see how long this lasts. 


Meet Boi: 
On a whim, I went out with Sakura and visited a pet shop. We ended up coming home with a betta fish. Sakura decided to name him "Boi". 



Birthday Parties:
Multiple birthdays happening resulted in Sakura having lots of fun at playgrounds and other places. The last one she asked me all day to make a birthday cake. 




I got to go to some awesome girl's night birthday parties as well. I'm so lucky to know incredible women that I can do fun things with! 

Live production of Footloose
Live production of Footloose


Karaoke!


Date night: We've moved on from volleyball and are exploring other activities including trying out the new Burrito Bar by our house. Another night we went to a place where they have a ninja warrior course, laser tag, and trampolines. Matt was shocked the warped wall was actually really easy for him. He surprised me too with how well he did on most of the course that now I think when he is smack talking people on the ninja warrior show, he might actually be right that he could do better. 



Basketball Team: 
I just started on a basketball team with friends on Tuesday nights. I'm absolutely terrible, but it's fun. It's the most competitive formal sport I've done in a LONG time. The first game I managed to at least sprint to catch up with the other team, but then the next game my legs were not prepared and seized up anytime I tried to sprint. I had to take the girls last time and Sakura loved watching me and cheering me on. 

Sakura loves... 
Pikman Sometimes we play video games and Sakura likes to watch. This time I let Sakura take the reins and we discovered she actually does really well at Nintendoland Pikman. 



Taking Photos 





The Beach 




Sea World 
We had a fun visit with the Arderns at Sea World. Sakura got to go on some of the rides for the first time. She LOVED it! Of course, the sting rays were still her favourite. 



Playing with friends 





Sushi - I took her to her first sushi train. We had a lot of gluten/dairy-free tuna rolls.



Her Sister I keep trying to record her doing open/shut them with Azalea, but they always stop once I get the camera. We just got Azalea's cot set up and Sakura was upset because she wanted to sleep with Azalea and I wouldn't let her. 




Azalea Updates:
4 months old and rolling from back to front! Geez this girl will be walking before you know it. 










Monday, May 3, 2021

Kindness and Easter

My sister and I have a weekly meeting to discuss the book The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns. The last month focus has been on communication skills. We both discovered it is HARD to practice good communication. I won't go into details, but what we determined from the reading is that the most effective communication comes from a genuine interest in understanding the other person's perspective. In short, if you think about yourself and what you want to say or achieve from the conversation, you will likely miss the mark. 

This leads to some other themes I heard in General Conference last month and my recent Stake Conference over the weekend. Here are some of my favourite quotes or messages: 

"The only way to take sorrow out of death, is to take love out of life." Russell M. Nelson  (Quoted by Reyna I. Aburto)

"The gospel is not part of our life, our life is actually part of the gospel." Chi Hong (Sam) Wong

We need to remove the "debris" in our lives. Russell M. Nelson

"To do anything well requires effort." Russell M. Nelson

"We are ultimately more alike than we are different." M. Russell Ballard 

"Everyone has the RIGHT to be loved, to feel peaceful, and to find safety at home." Jeffrey R. Holland

"All that is unfair can be made right with the Atonement." Dale G. Renlund

The rabbit effect: the rabbits under the care of the loving researcher had significantly higher health outcomes. "Foundation of kindness ....can heal hearts emotionally, spiritually, and.. even physically." Gary E. Stevenson

"Our failures do not DEFINE us, they REFINE us." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

How we managed to watch the conference

Between conference sessions break at the park.

 Below aren't quoted necessarily, just notes I took from stake conference talks. 


Personal revelation is specific to YOU! It is not for someone else even if they are in the same situation. Unknown speaker 

We need to see things as they REALLY are - we all make mistakes. 
Rachael Lougadakis 

"There will always be laundry, bathrooms to clean, etc. Simply do what you CAN do in the best way you can." Shayla Thayer

"God uses us BECAUSE of our imperfections, NOT in spite of them." Sis Thayer

Show GENUINE interest in others. - Multiple speakers 

"All of us NEED to be loved. How to do that is different for everyone." Unknown speaker

Build a village of kindness. Cameron Thayer

"There is no such thing as a perfect home. Just do WHAT you can WHEN you can." Sidney Pauga

The overwhelming message I got was showing kindness to all (even your enemies); you are ENOUGH, and just do what you can. 


Sakura loves her little sister!

To avoid this being too hefty of a blog, I'm just adding Easter details and saving other updates for another day. 

Easter Painting!! This is mine - Sakura destroyed my 1st version.


Easter breakfast!

Easter crafts