"When Good Plans Don't Work Out"...

Looking at the title of this post, you may think that it would be on my leather couch fail...or my shampoo-less hair, not that it's failed yet...but NOPE, this is about real, nitty-gritty, painful-happy LIFE.


I have a great friend, who happens to live super close and have boys the same age as mine that adore spending time with each other(in fact I'm listening to them play/fight as I write)...we also spend a LOT of time together talking about plans, failed plans, new plans...ya know. 


She has been going through something, a happy, yet nerve-racking, something that is finally turning out well for her...and it got us talking about the Lord's timing, his all-knowing and perfect timing when it comes to our lives. 


Although what I'm going through is a totally different situation from hers, it is the same. We have been planning, hoping, praying, listening to inspiration...and following. 


BUT....what happens when "Good plans don't work out"? Or in my situation, GREAT plans:)


My friend had directed me to this great article in this months Ensign, with that title. 


It was SO perfect for me, exactly what I needed to hear. 


It follows the experiences of 4 different people and what they went through after having received an answer to pray, and then the end-goal not "working out"...or at least not in the way that they had expected in the first place. 


It reads:


"No one likes having to resort to "plan B". But even when our plans fall through, Heavenly Father does not abandon His children. There are multiple good ways for life to work out. In time, we may even find that the roadblocks that changed our plans gave us needed insight and experience (D & C 122:7) and led to something better."


One of the individuals explains their feelings about their failed plans..."I learned something from his example[the Apostle Paul]: the period of waiting is not merely the process that we must go through to get what we want. Rather, it is a process by which we become who our Heavenly Father wants us to be through changes we make."


 This is what I've been needing to hear...yes, I may have gotten a confirmation of what I thought was the right plan for us...and I know there was a reason for us in doing that...but I hadn't figured out what it was I was supposed to be learning throughout this long journey of waiting and wanting and waiting some more. 


That's it!! I was learning...and I was growing...I was becoming a better person, a better mother, a better sister, a better daughter. 


"Being patient is one of my hardest trials because I want to understand my entire plan-but I realized that Heavenly Fathers plan and timing for us will always be the best".


One of the men talked about in this article does end up having his plans work out, completely differently than he expected, and years later...and he says: "It is a testimony to me that the Lord is waiting to bless us, but it's always on His timetable."


"Regardless of the turns life's journey may take, the final destination of eternal life is what Heavenly Father plans for His children. Some may even find that "plan B" was simply away of making His "plan A" a reality."


I realized that I am still on "Plan A", I've always been on "Plan A", and with the help of the Lord, and following inspirations I can make sure that I am always on His plan...I just need to remember that His timing, and His plan is always what is best for me, even if I don't see it at the time. 


Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (The best is yet to come): 
"We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that 
   faith is always pointed toward the future."

Family Party Night

This is what we did tonight:

                                              JAMMIES

PUSS IN BOOTS and YUMMY SNACKS....

pure awesome:)

My little tender mercy...

I've been reading the Old Testament for a few months now...which is new to me, I don't think I've ever read the Bible cover to cover. 
Anyways...it's been difficult to read, to say the least...and I've been having a really hard time with it. 
On Thursday I went to a great Relief Society activity where we talked about books, listened to an author and learned more about our Public Library. 
While I was there, I picked up a few books at the book exchange...

One is "Tom Sawyer", which I started reading aloud to the boys. Another is "7 Habits for Highly Effective  Families", which I know my family loved, so I thought it'd be a good read. 

My tender mercy was the 3rd book..."A Peculiar Treasure, Old Testament Messages for Our Day"...and so far, I love it! It's really been answering, word for word, questions that I've had...I love it.

I can't wait to finish it and learn so much more:)

Just in case you didn't think I was crazy...Spray paint leather couch

Well...after reading THIS I was convinced to spray-paint my own leather couch....and well, it didn't turn out so well...l.a.m.e!!

Here is the final product...

The only good thing that came from this whole project (besides the fact that it will be easier to convince my hubby to get us a nice new couch soon) is that I learned how NOT to do it next time...and a few tips on how to do it if you want to:

1) If you don't have a really smooth surface to work with, get a good leather filler. Unfortunately none exist here in L-town, but I did find some good ones online...and I would definitely try them out next time...it would really smooth out the surface.

2)I would use a primer. The lady on the blog that I read didn't, and it might be tricky to find  Vinyl Spray Paint primer...but if there is one, use it. 

3)After that I'd use a LOT more spray paint than she did, we went through 6 or 7 cans, and could have easily used more.

4)ONLY use Vinyl Spray Paint...I cheated and did half and half because it's pricey up here in Canada, and hard to find. Next time I go to the U.S. I plan on stocking up on every kind of random and cool cheap spray-paint I can.

Just in case you didn't think I was crazy enough...going shampoo-free, 7 days and counting

YUP...you read it write...shampoo free, or as the nature-moms call it "Poo-free"...it's all the crazy for crazy-natural moms out there. 
I'm probably above average on the "natural" scale...so it probably isn't too much of a surprise that I would be trying this Poo-free method. 

Reasons:
a) I'm lazy...if I can somehow figure out how to shampoo WAY less...awesome(it also saves money, ya know)
b)It's supposed to be good for your hair. I'm interested in seeing how healthy my hair looks at the end.
c)My hair is SO super oily....seriously. It gets greasy my the end of the day, I usually shampoo every day, or every other day if I'm in a rush. I'd love to figure out how to get less oily hair. 

I thought I'd keep track of it via blog, and then I could really tell if there was a difference or not. 
So here goes....

Week 1
I let my hair just go....no shampoo, no conditioner, nothing except for day 3 when my hair was just not brushing, and I had to spray a little leave-in conditioner to brush it out. Every time I'd shower I'd rinse with water, and then put it in a bun or a french braid, so it was harder to see the grease-craze.
My hair got increasingly oily, so much so that I couldn't stand to take a picture of it. It was pretty much stuck in place...ewwww. 
Anyways...I looked up recipes for natural shampoo, to help my scalp "re-calibrate" or so the cool-blogs say. 
I went with one that called for 1 cup of warm water and 1 tbsp of baking soda. The problem I found was that the mixture just sort-of skiffed off...I couldn't massage it into my scalp or anything. 
I got out and read some more blogs, and found another recipe that I prefer...here it is:


2-3 teaspoons of baking soda
Enough water to make a paste
-massage paste into scalp and rinse. 


Next time I plan on rinsing with a combination of water and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, which is supposed to work as a conditioner. 
Here is my after-showered 7th day hair:

More to come in 7 days!! :)

I wish I had so much more time to blog. Most days I start babysitting bright and early, and watch anywhere from 1-6 extra kids during the day. By the time I'm done, which is usually around 5:30ish, I'm soooo...tired...and still have cooking and cleaning to do. The occasional half-day that I have off is usually spent running errands, or doing something fun with the boys, that can't be done with so many kids. Thus, my blog has been severely neglected. One day.... I've been really itching to write a post on parenting, and all this great stuff I am reading, and somewhat implementing....so hopefully that will happen. I've also been busy helping plan my little sisters wedding...T minus 3 weeks!! And still so much to do:) Soooo....one day Ill be a better blogger. I am seriously decreasing my babysitting hours in the fall, so that will help. Besides that....life is great! JD still loves his job, his benefits kick in in 3ish weeks, which I'm super excited about. We have a few fun summer things planned...and maybe a last-minute vacation as well. Oh, and babies! So many friends are having babies....a sweet little boy born yesterday that I got to snuggle, and another one due in a few weeks...I love babies:) Blog out.

Reno's...my dream...

The funny thing is, I really did have a dream about reno's. I dreamed that I actually finished all of the things I want to do, and it only took a day, and looked awesome! The moral of my dream was that it was much easier than I had been planning, and I shouldn't be so worried about going all out. 
Well, I'm hoping that the moral comes true, as I have been day-dreaming about finishing it all ever since that dream, and it just won't get out of my head. 
So...here's what I'm thinking...
Painting ALL of the trim, and everything that is currently oak for that matter, WHITE....like this:
http://pinterest.com/pin/43699058853826558/


As for the banisters, I would probably mix it up, a little bit of wood, a little bit of white....like this:
http://pinterest.com/pin/142567144424318096/


I want a really bright and open kitchen re-do...putting in a few glass doors, changing the knobs, putting on crown molding, and painting it all....WHITE...like this:
http://do-it-yourselfdesign.blogspot.ca/2012/02/painted-kitchens.html
(her before kitchen pics look a LOT like mine now)


THEN, I'd finish up with a little kitchen table re-do....like this:
http://lollyjaneboutique.blogspot.ca/2012/01/dining-room-table-re-do.html


OH....I almost forgot...and a CRAZY leather couch re-do (in, you guessed it, WHITE, from the original hunter green)...like this:
http://pinterest.com/pin/153685406004102811/


I think with all this white, I'm going to have to paint the one large dining-room/living-room wall too....hmm...charcoal grey? something bright? I don't know...we'll see. 


Anyways, so far, just a dream....haven't fully decided yet. By decided, I mean, convinced the hubby;)