Who am I...

I have been thinking about a lot of stuff lately, and one of the things that has been on my mind is a phrase from a hymn " who am i to judge another when i walk imperfectly". Another is when the savior said to the many people that wanted to stone a woman, " whom ever is without sin may cast the first stone". These things have been on my mind a lot lately and for a while i was thinking that other people need to have these thoughts on their mind. For the most part, they do, but i have realized i need to as well. I need to stop worrying about other people and what they think and what they do, and just try to be the best person that i can be. As long as the lord and I know what i am doing is right then that is all that matters in the end. I also wish others would take that last part on as well. Sometimes i think we get so caught up in what others may think or say that we forget about the lord and what he will think or say. So, for now i am going to worry about Brandie and making her the best person she can be inward and outward. I am going to try and be kinder to people, more respectful, and start treating everyone as a son or daughter of God, because we all are and we all deserve to be treated like that! I guess i need to remember that when i feel people have done me or my family wrong. Whether they are family or not, they desesrve to be loved and treated like the wonderful son or daughter of God that they are, because in the end we are all family.

Quote of the Day/Week!

I found this quote this morning in a Deseret Book catalog, and i love it! "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain." Oh my goodness, i really love this quote! Love it, love it, love it! I need to find this quote on a bigger plaque, so i can put it in my room where i can always see it! Wow, i love uplifting quotes, and i think i will need to find a new one every week, and i will share them with you all every week as well! Hope you all enjoy your day and i love ya tons!

Humbled

I am very humbled from conference this year! I always love conference and am so thankful for all that i learn each time it comes around! It amazes me how each time conference comes around that it always addresses what i need at that point in time. I have been very angry lately about how work and life in general are going. This conference had made me realize that all of that does not matter. There are so many more important things in life to worry about, and the new cashiers at work is not one of them. I realized i need to give them a chance and pray for love of my new coworkers and knowledge and understanding with and about them. Quentin L. Cook said, "it is not appropriate to be disagreable". This small statement hit me hard. I realized that i have not been the most enjoyable person to be around lately, and i feel horrible about that. He also said we need to "manifest our love for god when we keep the commandments and serve his children". Another talk that hit me was one by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Some of the things i enjoyed were: We all are in need fo mercy, we condem too quickely, every person we meet is a vip to our heavenly father, everyone is walking his or her own difficult path. It is unworthy of christians to think that those who suffer deserve their suffereing, true love requires action. All of these really made me think. I found that i am condeming my fellow coworkers and judging far too quickely. I have not been giving them the appropriate respect and love that they deserve as one of heavenly fathers children. Another talk that helped my realize how not acceptable i have been treating my coworkes was by Keith B. McMullin. He talked about how god helps us forgive and that god forgives. Things can get better and better even in the face of tragedy. Another point he talked about was duty. Duty does not require perfection, but dilligence. We are duty bound to god first. All that we have is due to god, and we need to always remember that and not take it for granted. Second is duty to the lord jesus christ, our examplar, redeemer and king. We need to magnify our talents and pray always. Prayer is the lifeline to heaven. "Ye must watch and pray always to avoid temptation." "Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." This was the talk that really made me think. I realized that i have not been acting in the best christ like attitude that i have wanted and need to. I need to rely more on the lord. No one is perfect, but that cannot be an excuse, just something to remember when we get down on ourselves. I am so thankful for the savior and all that he has done for me. I am so very very thankful for the atonement, and that i know that i can be saved and forgiven because of the savior and what he did for me. I know that i can do all that i can, and the savior will help me get the rest of the way there. My goal is to remember all that i have learned this weekend and take it with me through the next while, and not just today!

Long week over.

One of the longest weeks of my life is finally over. Dans funeral was held on Saturday March 13, or better known as my birthday. I am so thankful for some closure that has finally come with his funeral. We will miss him very much and will always remember him. Because of this little trial i have learned that you must not let a day go by that you don't tell the people in your life that you love and care about them. I am so thankful for my family and friends, and i am also very thankful for the gospel. I am thankful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation and knowing that the lord is on my side no matter what. I am so thankful for the temple and how it helps me get through each day and each week. I know that the gospel is true and have a testimony of temple attendance, church attendance, tithing, and prayer. I know that the lord listens and answers all our prayers. We don't always get them answered the way or in the amount of time that we would like, but he answers all of them. I know that the temple can help you stive to keep the commandments and chose the right, and that it helps you to work through all of your problems. It does not desolve your problems, but it helps you get through them. I know the lord is always on our side and that we our never alone. He is always there with an outstretched hand just waiting for us to take it. I am so very thankful for my family and all that they do for me. I am thankful for my IFA family, and all they do for me and for each other. I am also thankful for my dance family. They are a buch of wonderful woman and i love them so much. I have no idea what i would do without all of these wonderful people in my life, or the gospel. I am grateful for all the trials that we have in our life, because i know that they will strenghthen us in the end. Thank you Dan for making me a better person and for allowing me to come and work at IFA and finding some of the best friends i could ever have.

Here are some pictures of the better half of my birthday:
This first one is how the night ended. It is right before everyone left to go home.

This one is also right before everyone left, but we are giving our pleasant faces instead of goofy ones.



I decided i wanted to play Rock Band for my birthday and these are some pictures of our crazy care free night:)

This is me eating a strawberry off of my fruit bouqet. I wanted a fruit bouqet instead of a cake, and boy was it yummy!

My bouqet before i took a bite out of it.
All of us at dinner. I decided i wanted to go to tepanyaki for my birthday! Deja, Mom, Dillon, Kim and I all went! Lots of fun and yummy food! Love this place!

My week ended today with Stake Conference, and it was wonderful. It talked about how we needed to stay strong and hold onto the gospel. It talked about staying strong through adversity, and that was exactly what i needed to hear. I am so thankful for the lord, and how he knows when we need a little extra something to help us get through our trials. I love you all and hope you all enjoy your week! Thank you for all the love and support you have shown me in the past week and a half. Until next time:)

Rest in peace Dan!

Today i found out that my manager Dan Dudley died. He was on a cruise with his wife and died in his sleep yesterday. Dan was a wonderful man and was always concerned about his staff. He was always checking up on me after my dance teacher died and acted as if he really cared about my well being! I am deeply saddened at his passing, and pray for his family and all of those who got the pleasure of working with him. He was the reason our store ran so well, and his presence will be greatly missed. He always made me smile, and i will miss coming into work in the mornings and seeing his smile! One of the things i remembered about him was when he brought me a bag of grandma cookies, the iced oatmeal ones. He knew they were my favorite and he knew i was having a hard time. He always knew when his employees were havign a rough time and always gave us space. When we got off track or didn't treat a customer as well as we should have, he was always understanding and just talked us through it and made us feel better about ourselves! It is times like this that i am eternely grateful for the plan of salvation. It is great to know that we will see our loved ones again, and that Dans family will see him again. They were sealed in the temple, and i am just so very thankful that we have the oppertunity to be sealed to our families. I really loved that man, and he was a great example to me. Thank you Dan, for being a wonderful friend and an excellent boss! You will be greatly missed! Love and will miss you tons Dan.

and the days go on!

Boy how time just flies by these days. It seems like just yesterday that it was the beginning of the year. Well, here are some pictures of whats been going on lately! The one above is right before we went out to dinner for Dill's b-day!

This is Dill in his new pea coat and thinking he is cool because some dude gave him a cigar on his last day of work, and now he is actually of legal age to smoke! So not that exciting!

Every year, my friends and i always do an anitivalentines day dinner, and this is it. The whole gang went to Ruby Tuesdays! We had a lot of fun and a really great dinner!

This is when i went to St. George the beg. of february! For some reason this is the only picture i took, and i don't even know what fathead and i were doing at this point. Im pretty sure it was saturday night, or right before the superbowl. Cute little fathead! I've had a lot of fan the past couple of months and look forward to my own b-day which is in a couple of weeks! Will have to remember to take pictures then! Tah tah for now! Love you all!

Boy how time just flies by these days! It seems like just yesterday that the new year started, and yet it is March 1. WOW, thats all i can say. I do however have some pictures of all the stuff i have done since my last post.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm really looking forward to this new year, and all that it holds. I honestly can't wait to see what it brings! I am also so very thankful for all of my family and friends and i love you all so very much! Thanks to all those who helped my family out so much this last year! Mainly neighbors and the amazing John and Jane Bracken clan! You guys are wonderful and i am so thankful that you are apart of our lives!
So, i have a couple of new years resolutions this year. The first two are to workout every day, minus sunday, and eat healthier! I also want to make sure that i continue going to the temple every tuesday, because i know that is a life saver and probably the only thing that keeps me going sometimes. I also just want to be more Christ like. I want to be kinder to people(mainly customers), and not talk bad about anyone. I have a problem of talking about people when i need to vent, so my solution is to only vent to my mother and my Heavenly Father, and just realize that we are all human beings and no one is perfect, including my self! I am just so thankful for all that i have and can not wait to see what the new year brings! Lets go 2010! Love you all and hope all of you have a wonderful year!- will try and post pictures soon-
Love Brandie xoxoxo