A Quiet Little Woman

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hmm... why is this not working??

my *fabulous* major

Hello everyone... long time no see... AGAIN!!  I love blogging, but other things take first priority right now.  I will try to stop by as often as I can, because I love "talking" to you all!!

One of the reasons I haven't posted about my fabulous major is because I had to do a fact sheet for my major's introduction class, and I wanted to share it with you all as a simple way to explain the amazing major the Lord chose for me! 

My wonderful major (as you will soon find out :), is a terrific blend of music, psychology, helping others and becoming and loving yourself.  The more I learn about it, the more I love it.  It's as though I were made for me!! 

My major is {{{DRUMROLL}}}... MUSIC THERAPY!  Here are 10 wonderful facts about this amazing occupation!

&     Music Therapy is an INTEGRATED ARTS APPROACH (intermodal therapy), meaning that it uses more than one therapy.  Music Therapists can incorporate drama therapy, art therapy, dance and movement therapy and others into a single session of therapy.

&     The use of music as therapy is based on THREE FOUNDATIONAL FACTORS:

      1)  the physical components of music (beat, meter, timbre, etc.)

      2) the fact that humans use music in their daily lives

      3) the fact that humans react to music individually   

&     Music Therapy is an EVIDENCE BASED therapy.  We know that music works as therapy because it has been researched, practiced and used by music therapists and others through the years.

&     A unique element of music therapy is that there is ACTIVE CLIENT PARTICIPATION.  Clients are involved in re-creating (performing), improvising, composing or simply listening to music.   

&     In Music Therapy, IMAGINATION is considered a “healing agent”.  Music therapists use many different forms of music in helping client reconnect with their inner self.  Having a strong mind-body connection makes people more aware of themselves, and helps them allow their bodies to heal.

&     Contrary to popular opinion, music is NOT a universal language.  Music is a UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE.  Everyone relates to music differently, but we all relate!  We all have a musical language, and everyone’s is different.  Music Therapists must learn their client’s music language so they can relate to their clients.

&     Music Therapy is built upon the ways MUSIC WAS USED THROUGHOUT HISTORY.  Many civilizations throughout the ages have used music in many different ways.  Native American Indians used music in their healing ceremonies.  They used chants and different instruments in their ceremonies to promote healing.  The Egyptians referred to music as the “medicine for the soul”.  The music healers were very privileged people, and associated closely with priests and other important government officials.  If we study the lifestyles of ancient civilizations, we can learn a lot that we can apply to modern practices.

&     There are several ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS for music therapists.  A music therapist must have emotional stability.  Emotional stability entails having a healthy self esteem, being centered (not self-centered, but having a solid emotional foundation.), and having a balanced view of yourself, others and the world.  Being creative and having a sense of humor are also essential qualifications.  Sometimes therapy needs to be more serious, but a lot of times what is needed is a light hearted approach to life, love and living. Being selfless, compassionate and having empathy are also very important qualifications.  Another obvious qualification is being a good musician.  A music therapist must have musical skills such as playing the piano, guitar and singing.  They must also have a wide and varied knowledge of many different styles of music including jazz, classical, popular and religious music.   

&      Jerold Ottley (director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) once said, “Something very intimate and personal happens when people make music together.”  When people MAKE MUSIC TOGETHER, they create a special bond that can help one or both of those people overcome challenges in their life.  That bond that is created can be between therapist and client, family members, or even within one’s own self.  Music therapy can be used in helping individuals function at their personal best in society.         

&     Music has been called “the soul’s own speech”.  Music has the ABILITY TO REACH people were words cannot.       

following the promptings of God

feelin' feminine!!

Hello friends!!  Sorry to be so long in posting... I've been extremely busy, and have had lots of good things happen over this wonderful summer!!  Hopefully I'll have some time soon to tell you soon.

I just wanted to drop a note to tell you about a wonderful new website which Jocelyn just started... her goal is to encourage girls and women to dress and be feminine, just like God created us!!  Be sure to stop by and participate in some of her challenges... they'll make you think!!  Have a most wonderful rest of this summery day!!

I've been tagged!

this is the first time i've ever gotten tagged!!  i actually got tagged with this twice in the same week!!

1.) Where were you ten years ago?

i was most likely playing with a friend after a day of schoolwork, or curled up with a good book with my mind off somewhere in a distant land.

2.) What are five things on my to-do list?

a) make rhubarb strawberry muffins - done

b) go to institute (I'm taking a class called "The Gospel and the Productive Life"  It's VERY good and teaching me so much in the area of balancing my life!!) - done

c) work at my grandma's - done

d) have a cheerful spirit, while trying to love everyone - trying :)

e) go to bed on time! - we'll see if I can do that!

3.) Snack's I enjoy

pretty much anything healthy and delicious!!  I love fruit, both fresh and dehydrated, muffins of all kinds, cookies (made with honey of course ;), and for a extra sweet treat - breyers ice cream with newman o's (organic oreos).

4.) What would I do if I was a billonaire?

pay 10% to tithing, travel the world and study history in depth while in the places where things happened, buy a huge farm, fix it up, and put what's left in savings while generously giving to all in need!  oh, i'd also go around the world and do service projects in third world countries.

5.) Places I have lived?

ut, ut and ut!!  i've lived in the same place since i was a week old!!

Others I plan to tag:

anyone who wants to be tagged is tagged!! 

violence in videos

This past week we have been watching a movie as a family, a VERY long movie I might add!  I really was enjoying it, but feeling kind of like I shouldn't watch it as it was really violent and there were some inappropriate things (nothing bad, just enough to make me uncomfortable).  I woke up one morning after watching it the night before and I felt terrible!!  I felt unclean, full of bad thoughts and just down right terrible!!  I prayed to feel clean again, and felt like I shouldn't watch it again.  On sunday in sacrament meeting I just didn't feel worthy to partake of the sacrament and renew my covenants, so I was praying and praying and commited that I wouldn't watch the rest.  It was really had to keep my commitment, as the rest of my family watched it... but I felt clean and pure again!!

Interestingly enough, I have been so angry the past week!  I usually am not a very angry person, but I have been SO angry!  I didn't want to be, I just was!  I have been praying that I wouldn't be and remembered something I had learned from an email I had recieved awhile ago.  This is a video that everyone should watch (How Television Affects Your Brain Chemistry -- And That's Not All!)!!  It is only 4 minutes long, but so good!!  We are all being brain washed when we watched tv and movies!!  Scary thought!  It's no wonder I was feeling violent, I was watching Robin Hood!!

This experience has really made me think about my movie standards...  as a family we have commited to not watch anything worse than PG.  We don't even watch some PG and G as they are so crude and disgusting!!  But I think that I need to raise the bar on my movie standards and become better.  My church has a booklet of standards that we are supposed to live (you can go HERE to view it if you want) and under Entertainment and the Media it says "Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable... Depictions of violence often glamorize vicious behavior. They offend the Spirit and make you less able to respond to others in a sensitive, caring way. They contradict the Savior’s message of love for one another."

I pray that I may be able to change my movie standards and wisely use every moment for the glory of GOD, in the service of others and for the edification of myself!! 

“If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13). 

curly girl catch up!!

okay, I've learned my lesson, ALWAYS save a draft when you start, then half way through and again towards the end!!  I had a long post all typed up and well.. it's gone!!  Here is a brief version as I don't have time to type it all again!!

I'm sorry I haven't been doing curly girl updates, I just don't usually have time to do it everyday!!  Plus, my new blog has been keeping me busy!!  Guess what!  I have now been doing the curly girl method for 2 weeks and I think it's working great!  I've only shampooed (is that a word??) once as we retired a flag and I had lovely smokey-smelling hair!!  I've also used the baking soda/water a couple of days as I've had slightly greasy hair a couple of days.  But, I would say that is pretty good for not washing for 2 weeks!!  (i can just picture all the disgusted looks, "no washing or brushing for 2 weeks and you expect us to think it looks good??"  no worries, it's looking pretty good!)  It has actually been a little less curly than usual, but I remembered something I learned from the curly girl book... the top part of your hair is called the canopy and it is exposed to LOTS more than the rest of your hair (wind, sun, chemicals, etc.), so it just might take awhile longer to rehydrate!  On sunday the top part of my hair was really wavy and frizzy, then next layer was better looking, but the bottom layer was simply beautiful... moist and curly!!!  I hope and pray that the rest of my hair starts looking like that!!  

So, has any one else been trying the curly girl method??  If so, have you had any luck?  OH, and on a side note, Belle asked about taking care of straight hair... here is a link from a curly girl website on taking care of straight hair!  I think that a lot of you straight haired (believe it or not, that IS A word!!) girls might really be wavy ones in disguise!! 

photo courtesy of fotosearch.com

guess what!!!

I have a new blog, now don't panic... I'm not getting rid of this one, just adding a new one.  And before you think I'm getting obsessed, let me explain.... I've had many people (here on my side of the world) ask me to share recipes, and I simply don't have time to type them all up and give them out.  SO, I decided to have a blog devoted to cooking and healthy eating/living so I can share all the information at once!  Be sure to stop by... and if you see anything that looks good, try it out and let me know what you think!!

Simply Homemade

give away

Jocelyn is having a give away at her blog... for an adorable Pondur Me baby shirt!  Be sure to stop by and enter!!

love is not...

Yesterday I watched Sense and Sensibility with some friends, and re-heard this inspring sonnet.. doesn't it just conjure some great pictures in your mind of absolute devotion??  I just thought that I would share this wonderful thought with you!  I just LOVE shakespeare, and am going to be starting reading the complete works this week.  My sister and I just love talking in old-fashioned language... oh to live in the by-gone old days!!

Curly Girl: days 2 &3

Day 2: My roots were quite greasy when I woke up, but my ends were kind of dry, so I washed the top of my head with the only shampoo that is allowed BAKING SODA and WATER (1 TBLS to 1 CUP), and then conditioned with coconut oil.  My hair still seemed greasy that day, but better (I think it is starting to adjust!).

Day 3: Today when I woke up my roots were still a little greasy, so I washed again with baking soda and water... but just a tiny little bit.  Then I conditioned with coconut oil and scrunched like you are supposed to.  It's didn't seem as curly at first, but then it was after!  I had to clean at my grandma's today, so I put my hair in a bun with some bobby pins, and my sister told me that my hair looked like Nancy's hair in "Pollyanna" (the 2004 version, an EXCELLENT movie!!).  Quite a compliment, since I LOVE Nancy's hair!!  She ALSO said that on the first day she thought that if my hair kept looking like that (very greasy), she was going to have to disown me!!  (he, he ;)  My hair has been changing, which is very encouraging!!  I had about a 5-6 inch area on top of my head that wasn't curly, but it's starting to become very curly!!  And even when I pull my hair back into a loose bun, I still have waves, which is VERY cool!! 

And while we are on the topic of hair... has anyone here used hairsticks?  I found some VERY neat instructions on how to make you own here.  I really want to make some, so hopefully I'll be able to get some made in the next little while.  Oh, and I also found a website that has some beautiful hair-do's using hairsticks!!  Have a most wonderful rest of this terrific thursday!! 

an attitude of gratitude

Yesterday was a HORRIBLE day!  Things happened, or didn't happen, and I have just been feeling like everything I have wanted has been taken away.  I was in the bathroom for a minute last night and was crying to God saying "Why have you taken so many things away from me that I wanted or thought I needed!?" 

And the thought came... "you are SO incredibly blessed, count your blessings!"

So I looked around, and saw the toilet paper... something we all take advantage of, but all have and use!  And so I thought, "I am grateful for toilet paper!"  Since I can only see with my glasses on, I thought "I'm so grateful for glasses so I can see!!"  I have been focusing on what I don't have, or what I wanted... instead of being so grateful for ALL the blessings that I have been given!!  So... I've decided that I am going to start a gratitude list and go to 1000!  I'll try to do 20 things a day, or if I'm feeling extra grateful, I'll do more! 

I'm grateful for...

1) my wonderful mother, who is always so willing to listen

2) my great father, who works so hard to provide for all of us

3) my sister#1, who doesn't live with us, but I love her & know that she loves me!  

4) my sister #2, who is lots of fun, and is weird with me!

5) my brother #1, who is strong enough to help me carry heavy things!

6) my sister #3, who I can talk to about homesteading!

7) my sister #4 who has so much energy and can give me an extra boost when she has energy and I don't!

8) my brother #2, who is so willing to give me lots of hugs and sweet kisses!

9) my little sister in heaven... I love her and miss her, but know that I have her looking out for me in heaven!

10) my little brother in heaven... now I have another sibling in heaven that I have to look forward to meeting someday!

11) my beautiful home, that has electricity and running water!

12) my computer, that gives us options to learn so much.. just at the click of a button!

13) my washer... that can wash huge loads and makes laundry SO much easier!

14) my beautiful dryer... makes it so easy to dry and makes clothes clean smelling!

15) my shower, that helps me be clean, I love a warm shower in the morning!

16) my warm bed, such a comfortable one!

17) our beautiful 15 passenger van, which makes it so easy to haul things for others!

18) my glasses ;), I love putting them on each morning and being able to see clearly!

19) clothes that help me be modest and feminine!

20) little woman, who is such a good friend to me, even though I've never met her... I'm so grateful for her prayers!!

Join me in being grateful today!!

Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. (D&C 59:7)

My Curly Girl 'do: day 1

Well, fellow homesteaders... I've been trying for awhile to make my own shampoo, use different things (like baking soda, egg), use a multi-purpose soap, and MANY other things to try and save money.  I stumbled upon a new way of washing hair awhile ago... or actually UNWASHING!  I just got my new book in the mail yesterday "CURLY GIRL", read through it... and promptly started it this morning.  I know from my own experience that it can be down-right mortifying to have curly hair at times, it never does what you want, curls the WRONG way, and can be just plain ornery!  So, I've decided that I'll journal my journey and you can follow along and hopefully glean something! 

Ever since I was a little girl I have had curly hair, it used to get straighter as it got longer, but the past few years it has gotten down-right crazy!!  We've been changing our diet and changing our lives too... and I feel so much better!  My hair must too, because where it used to be wavy, with some ringlets... now it looks like a perm!  In fact, LOTS of people have asked me if I got a perm, or asked if I got a haircut (nope, just my curly-curls drying!).  But I've still had a ways to go as it was quite dry and didn't quite do what I wanted it to.  Hence the reason I bought the book... 

The curly-girl way is to not just get rid of harsh shampoos and styling aids that strip your hair of essential oils, BUT to get rid of EVERYTHING!  UNPLUG the hairdryer, straightener, curler, etc, throw away your hairbrush and THROW OUT the shampoo!!

So, today I didn't shampoo, but followed the curly-girl method... just rinsing, massaging and conditioning (with coconut oil).  Well, to be perfectly honest with you, it didn't work so well!!  BUT if at first you don't succeed, TRY, TRY AGAIN!!  My hair is a little greasy (actually a little more that greasy!!), but certainly LOTS curlier than usual!!  Lorraine Massey (the lady who wrote Curly Girl) says that it can take 2-3 weeks for your hair to regain its moisture... so I'll give it awhile!  I'll keep 'ya all posted on how my locks transform (at least that's what I'm praying for!!).  So, do any of you have curls that have been driving you crazy, or caused you to shed a few tears?  If so, join me on my journey to better hair!! 

A special kind of love

The most important kind of love that I feel is from my Heavenly Father... to quote a quote we have posted on our wall

The Love we need to have

For God

From God

Like God.

Recently I have been feeling SO much love from and for Heavenly Father!  One of the lessons I have been learning most of all lately is that it doesn't matter what ANYONE else thinks of me... because I have a Father in Heaven who loves me more than words can express!  His shoulder is the only shoulder that I can cry on ALL the time, His arms are the ones that I love to be comforted by, and His praise is the praise that is the only one worth earning!  His love is never wavering and always constant... and I have SO much to learn so I can make my love for others like HIS.

Even though I don't know who my future husband is... I have in the last little while developed such a love for him!  I think that this love truly is starting to become like God's!  My sister and I were talking the other day and she said that she wants to come and stay with me when I get married, and I said "Oh, but you have to give us time together!"  It was rather funny because I was getting rather defensive of someone that I don't even know!  I've started to realize that this love is a very special kind of love.  I love lots of people... friends, family, neighbors, and lots of other people... but there are two kinds of love that are set apart, very sacred and special!  The love that I feel for my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the love that I feel for my future husband.  Those are both loves that I won't feel for ANYONE ELSE!!

I think of my future husband often and pray for him daily, and I can't wait to meet him!!  All you unmarried girls out there (and boys too!) learn NOW to love your future spouse with ALL your heart and save that love for them, don't give it away!    

My future husband...whoever you are, wherever you are... know that I am learning to love you with all my heart, and I'm keeping it special and pure JUST FOR YOU!

some farmgirl laughs!!

A few weeks ago I had to run down the road to get my little sister from an activity at our church and my only shoes nearby were my rubber boots (whoops, just typed boats, but in reality they are since I have quite large feet!!), so I slipped them on and ran to the church.  I waited and waited for her to come out, but she just wasn't coming so I decided to just go in and get her.  One of her leaders opened the door to the room just as I walked up to it, and she took a good luck and me and didn't say anything!  (I was wearing a beautiful floral skirt and the classic dirty farmgirl boots, I had recently cleaned out the chicken coop!!)

I came home and walked in the door, my mom took one look at me and said "you didn't go like that did you?", sadly I just nodded my head.  She then asked... "did you go inside?", again I just nodded my head and we all started laughing! 

We have a new subdivision going in just above our house and this particular lady happens to live in the largest house up there... we just kept coming up with crazy things we could do if we invited them over.  We said that we would invite them over to play games JUST as we cam in after the evening chores, with our fresh goats milk, and a basket of eggs... of course with our dirty boots and our farmer hands!  It's become quite the family joke!!

THEN, just today as we were in the car together and we had just picked up the aforesaid sister from another activity... my mom said "I never told you this, but..." she had just called the leader a couple of days ago to ask if we needed to wear church clothes to a family event that evening, and she said "I am, and you can... just don't wear your boots!!"  Then when we were there the same evening she came up to my mom and said "just had to see if you were wearing your boots!!"

OH, the joys of being a farmgirl!!!

I just have to tell you, today I made some delicious muffins with... 

Eggs from our chickens, milk from our goats, and honey from our bees!! Can you believe that??  And we recieved them all from the hand of our most gracious GOD!!!  Isn't it amazing to look around you and see what HE has given us!!??  I love HIM so very much and delight to be HIS daughter... a simple farmgirl!     

Courtship: A pure, whole heart

One of the most frightening things now days is how quickly and often people change from one boyfriend/girlfriend to another!!  To quote a girl I once heard "he changes his crushes as often as he changes his pants!"  What state is this world in??

A couple of years ago I stumbled across a small book called "The Three Weavers".  This book started my heart on a journey that I'm still on!  It is a story of three girls who are born to three weavers who are neighbors and friends.  When they are born, an lady comes and gives them a gift of a loom, and the girls' job is to weave a cloak for the prince that will someday come to marry them.  One of the girls just wastes her weavings on the common boys in the neighborhood, another falls in love with a shepherd... but the third has a wonderful father who teaches her to save her weaving for the prince that is someday coming for her.  She keeps a yard-stick in her window that has the measurements of a true prince on it... multiple people come and she asks "is he the one?"  But they never measured up to the true measurement of a prince.  Finally her prince comes and she is able to marry him because she has made a cloak fit for a prince, while the other girls can't go with the princes' that have come for them, because they gave their weavings away until they didn't have any left.

I had done the very same thing when I was younger... given my heart away little by little until I don't know how much I had left.  About the same time that I came across "The Three Weavers", I came across a book called "Emotional Purity".  This book is life-changing!  I would highly recommended it to ANYONE, everyone has something they can learn from its pages!  Little by little God had been tutoring me, and teaching me the joys of having a whole heart to give to my future husband and the importance of emotional purity (for a great object lesson of purity of the heart, visit the emotional purity blog).  

One of the most important things that I learned was from a video called "Victory over the dating spirit".  This WONDERFUL video taught me that I was SO guilty of a dating spirit,  BUT the most important thing that I learned was that I could ask GOD to give me a full, new, and completely pure heart for my future husband!  I am so grateful that the atonement of Jesus Christ that makes this possible!  

BUT, lets be honest with ourselves and our very human hearts... sometimes there are people that you just REALLY like and you can't seem to get out of your mind!  What do you do then when you are honestly and truly trying to keep your heart pure and whole and you just can't seem to overcome?  The simple answer is to PRAY!!  There is a certain young man that used to come to my church, and every time that I would see him it would be such hard work to get him out of my mind.  I couldn't stop the feelings from rushing into my heart, but I certainly prayed my HARDEST for help to keep my heart pure.  I would pray that those feeling would be taken away unless he is the person that I'm supposed marry.  It usually isn't right away that it happens, but over time, the feelings that hurt my heart so bad are lessened and then my heart is filled with a simple sisterly love.  I'm by no means perfect, but I'm trying... and that's all that we can do!  It's part of our test here on earth, to see if we can overcome the natural man and conquer our emotions.  Here are some simple things that we can do to keep our heart pure and whole for our future spouses!   

*        Remember that a dating spirit is where you allow your mind to wander and wonder.  If you want to have a WHOLE heart to give to your future spouse, you can start today by not thinking about anyone in a romantic way.  One of the things that has helped me most is to think of all men as my brothers!  

*        Something that I have done to help me stop having a dating spirit and start loving my future spouse with all my heart, is to keep a journal where I write him letters.  Sometimes my heart has been so full of love and longing, and instead of wasting those feelings on someone or something, I pour out my heart onto paper!  I can’t wait to give it to him when we are married and talk to him about the struggles I had waiting for him and the pleasure I had in writing to him, even when I didn’t know who HE was!

*        Another thing that I love to do is to pray for my future husband.  I started doing this a few years ago and I’ve only missed a couple of nights.  Sometimes I pray for specific things, like courage or strength, but usually I just pray that God will bless him wherever he is and in whatever he is doing!  Besides praying for your future spouse in your kneel-down prayers you can pray for them whenever you are tempted by someone else.  There was one time when I was pressing cider and there were some young men working with us, and I started thinking some dating spirit thoughts.  But when I realized what I was doing I turned those thoughts to my future husband.  I prayed that he would be blessed with strength and started thinking how much fun it will be when he is working beside me... maybe even helping me with cider!!

*    And one last thing that you can do is to get a purity ring.  They are very  simple yet they are great for helping you remember to keep your heart pure, and also to help you remember that your thoughts need to be centered on GOD! (go to www. generationsofvirtue.com to see these beautiful rings!)

Just remember that our hearts are very human things, but God can help to overcome our dating spirits if we will just ask.  And if our hearts have been left with different people, he can give us a whole, new one so we can once again be blessed with a WHOLE, PURE HEART!!