20minutenap.com

I found a great site on Stumble for taking a 20 Minute Nap.

I'm not a huge nap person...I LOVE to sleep, but doing it during the day seems to have a negative effect on the rest of my day. However, this site has approximately 20 minutes of great music to guide you through your nap, waking you up at the end. If nothing else, I'll probably utilize this to take a 20 minute BREAK, relaxing my mind and body instead of sleeping.

Wedding Bells!!!

It's official!

Saturday, September 8th, Patrick and I are getting married!!!!!!! I am really excited!

We're doing a double wedding with my friend Dee and her hubby-to-be, Troy. I've got a dress to find and some planning to do in the next 3 weeks!

I'll post details as they manifest themselves. :)

It's easy to do the right thing.

My new mentality and thought process for life is that it is easy to do the right thing. It makes my life run smoother, increases my happiness, and brings me closer to my Savior and loved ones. It is easy to do the right thing. It is easy to do the right thing.

This is a huge paradigm shift for me. Those who know me really well know that I make things a lot more complicated than needed. I have a belief about myself that I learn things the hard way, and I'm a stronger person because of it. I'm just starting to grasp how unhealthy it is for me to carry that belief. Life doesn't have to be hard. I know it's bound to be hard now and again, but if I carry the belief that it WILL be hard, and a desire for it to be hard...to justify why I think I'm such a "strong" woman...then OF COURSE I'M GOING TO FIND, IF NOT CREATE, DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.

Also, rather than thinking of all the things I need to do, I need to think of what I'm willing to do. Little bites at a time...what am I willing to do? Then do it. And, I need to find my WHY...my truly passionate WHY.

That's enough for now...gotta go clean the kitty litter. :) THAT is one thing that I am willing to do.

Nourish Thyself!!!

I haven't posted anything journal-related for awhile. I've been in a bit of a rut. I get in ruts, usually, when I'm neglecting the spiritual side of life. For me, I have formulated a list of basic ways to nourish the spiritual side of myself. This list is influenced by my upbringing, faith, and life experiences. Here it is:

1. Pray. Pray daily. Pray throughout the day. Pray anytime you have a question, want to say thanks, or just need to tap into the source.

2. Read good books. Whether it is the Bible, Book of Mormon, something by C. S. Lewis, or any other great authors, read good books.

3. Take some time each day to meditate. I have a hard time getting myself to do this, as it takes effort to sit and do nothing while having a completely productive brain-session. I think that people in general have allowed too much clutter to fill our lives, and we're way too stimulus-driven. I'd love to get in touch with the 6-year-old-Alison who could go outside for 8 hours and be completely entertained without music, video games, movies, tv, the internet, etc. Meditation helps me get in touch with that again. So does going camping or to the mountains, which leads me to...

4. Go outside. Drive up a canyon and sit for a few hours. Meditate while you're up there. Or take a good book. Skinny dip in a cold stream and lay out naked in the sun. It's liberating!!!! Make a fire and think about God and your purpose in life as you listen to the crickets and watch the stars. That is my favorite place/situation to be in, 100%.

5. Serve others. Doing something nice for someone else is so rewarding. They are blessed by it, and so are you. If I'm feeling depressed or sorry for myself, I can get out of it immediately by thinking of someone who's day I can brighten.

6. Exercise. Man, this is a super way to feel good. Exercise really helped me get through my divorce. If I were pissed, frustrated, sad, etc., just spending 45 minutes on an elliptical machine or a treadmill would completely eliminate the negative energy/emotions.

7. Keep it clean. Whether it is my car, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, or my language...cleanliness IS Godliness!!! I feel so much better when I create and maintain a clean environment.

8. Be a friend. And have friends. Support systems are great.

9. Have integrity. This is one I feel like I struggle with lately. In MANY areas. I know how rich my life can be if I am a woman of my word. Yet I still struggle with it every day. Whether it is getting out of bed when the alarm goes off, doing the chores I said I would do, eating well, exercising, watching what I put into my body, going to church, etc., I have really been struggling lately. I get overwhelmed with it all and rather than overcoming this piece by piece, I just stagnate. So.....I need to do it piece by piece until the puzzle is back together.

10. Have a hobby. Have fun! I started doing Mary Kay because it was fun, a great environment, provided many wonderful friendships, built my self-esteem, etc., etc., etc. It's a business, not a hobby, but even when I slack off and treat it like a hobby, I'm still having fun and enjoying the benefits. Everyone needs something fun to do on the side, other than work, clean the house and cook meals.


So, those are some things I do to eliminate the rut...emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I'm going to have to look at this list for a while to get myself back where I want to be. :)


This is a mandala I did one day while meditating in the wilderness. :) I'm half-hippie, I know.

ANYTHING can be

This is a great one by Shel Silvertein. My favorite of his works is The Giving Tree...what a great message.

Anyway, just wanted to share this.

There are no ordinary people

This is one of my FAVORITE quotes by C. S. Lewis.

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

~ C. S. Lewis

I can't get over how much I LOVE Paulo Coelho's works

I added the quote to the cover of his book The Pilgrimage.

"Never pass a fountain without filling your container as you never know what lies ahead."

What a beautiful quote. A guy who walked the road to Santiago posted that quote in his explanation as to why he walked/hiked the road and a few tips for people who decided to do it as well. It's a pretty basic tip for hikers, but for some reason it really struck me.

It made me think of all the people in my life who have been "fountains" for my container. The thought overwhelms me with gratitude and humility.

I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to make my own pilgrimage along the road to Santiago as well as to hike the Inca Trail. I am so intrigued by both of these pilgrimages. People hiked both of these roads/trails for spiritual purposes, and I think that is an aspect of it that attracts me. I want to spend 30 days, walking, thinking, sweating, struggling, growing, sharing, communicating, praying, etc. I want to invest that in myself and to come out a more grounded person. I can hardly wait. :)

Master Cleanse

Today I started the Master Cleanse(MC). The longest I've ever gone before was 5 days (and 3 days another time). This time I am going to cleanse for at least 10 days. I've read that you should really go as long as it takes for all of the white stuff to come off of your tongue. The whiteness is a sign of candida in your system. So, once your tongue is back to a healthy pink color all over, then you're done cleansing. I'm hoping this won't take longer than 2 weeks, but who knows. It's been a long time since my body felt really healthy, it's only fair I put in whatever time is required to get it back to a happy state.

Already I'm having to watch my thoughts. Every so often I'll think to myself, "Mmm, a hamburger sounds really good right now," or "I wonder what there is to eat in the house?" Then I reach for my Lemon Aid (LA) and chug a lug. So far I've drank about 56 ounces. I need to drink another 32 ounces or so. The last time I did the MC I remember feeling like drinking 80 ounces or so of the LA was an unbearable task. This time (so far), it's been pretty easy.

Oh, last night I drank some Smooth Move tea and did the salt water flush (SWF) this morning. I'm sure it's because it's my first day, but the flushing took quite a while. It should take about 30 min when your system is running clean. That'll be nice, because who has a couple hours to lay around...staying near the toilet? Yeah, not me.

Tomorrow I start my new job as a server. I'm looking forward to it. Between that and the cleanse, I should get a pretty good jump start to a healthier lifestyle!

Alison Largin....has a nice ring to it!!!

Well, I have some exciting news!!! On Tuesday, Patrick proposed to me!!! :) Quite naturally, I said yes. Here's how our road trip back to Utah from Phoenix went:

We took a lot of side trips on the way...that turned a 10-11 hour drive into about 21 hours. That part sucked, but the trip was wonderful.

We stopped at some Hopi ruins, which was really cool...

...stopped at the Cameron Trading Post (my favorite stop...the one right by the bridge over the Little Colorado)...

...walked out on the Navajo Bridge...

...stopped at Jacob's Lake Inn, almost went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon but decided not to spend $25... (no pictures)

...stopped at another rest stop between Jacobs Lake and Panguitch...Kaibab outlook or something...

...stopped in Kanab and ate dinner at an awesome Mexican food restaurant (mmmmm), then made our way over to I-15 and headed home. We got super tired around Fillmore and pulled over at a drowsy-driver spot and Patrick set his alarm for a 30 min nap. 3 hours and 47 minutes later we woke up. :) Patrick drove to Nephi then I drove home from there. We rolled in at about 7am!! Wow, that turned into a long trip!

At the Cameron Trading Post, Patrick disappeared for awhile. This was unusual, but I could tell he was up to something mischievous, so I gave him some space. At the Kaibab lookout, we walked around and took some fun pictures. Patrick got a camera at DI for $15 and it came with a few good lenses, so he was playing with his Macro lens, taking pictures of bugs and spiderwebs and stuff. Too funny. There's a nice little ramada at the stop where we took a picture of us last time we drove back from Utah. We went up there and checked out the view. Then Patrick got on his knee, told me how much he loves me and asked me to be his wife. :) His sneakiness at Cameron Trading Post was looking at rings. He saw one that screamed of me and sneakily bought it while I was looking at other stuff. :) It is turquoise and opal and very simple and pretty. It looks awesome on me! :D
We don't have any plans yet, but it feels great just to know that I found someone as amazing as Patrick is, and we're going to spend eternity together. I love him so much! And obviously he loves me quite a bit too, because he puts up with all my crap!!! :)

Happy 4th of July

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Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. Last year it pretty much sucked, because I moved out of my ex-husband's house that evening. I can't believe that was a year ago. Sometimes it seems like more time has passed, sometimes it seems like it was last week. At least it no longer feels like yesterday!

Tonight I'm making grilled chicken and pasta for dinner, then Patrick and I are going to watch some fireworks. I LOVE fireworks. My favorite part of the 4th of July, though, is hanging out with family and friends, grilling up some burgers and dogs, and enjoying the heat together. That's not happening today, so maybe next year. :)