Happy Birthday HW

I am making a public birthday announcement for this lady:

The big 3-0 deserves its own post.  

You are welcome that I used a great picture. That is my birthday present to you because I was tempted to use the video footage I have from you at Disneyland singing a song. (Mr. Magoo)

Thank you for being born.

Valentine's Day 2009

Valentine's Day has been perfect. Not really in the sense of something huge and romantic - Darren and I are not Valentine's Day people. Maybe a small gift and card. I didn't really want anything but I gave Darren a card that looked like this:

I stole the idea from Oh Happy Day. My message said a little something different but that is personal. 

Our day was simple. Clean the house. Mostly cleaning up my messes. I literally stayed in my PJ's all day. We played a rocking game of Monopoly in which Lexi and I won (we were a team and we owned the orange and red properties - of course we won). Then Lexi and I made sugar cookies and went to the night session of Stake conference. Pretty sexy Valentine's Day, huh? Actually it was perfect. 

I love the night session of stake conference but this was needed. Elder Richard Hinckley was there and looks and talks quite a bit like his wonderful father.  He shared some stories about his Dad. He read from one of his father's notebooks and gave us the advice we needed. I am going to paraphrase his message but he mentioned that general authorities of the church are encouraged to not to write talks. They are supposed to show up and let the spirit guide them. 

He talked about how we are living in a time when it is not popular to be a member of the church. That standing up for what is right is sometimes very unpopular and the noise around proposition 8 has affected the church worldwide. He referred to it as a sifting process. He said that as time goes on, it will continue to be difficult but beautiful things can come from adversity (he was referring to Joseph Smith and his words from Liberty Jail). But that we as members of the church treat others with dignity and respect, no matter what their beliefs or their actions against us. We should embrace diversity. 

He said that missionary work is important, we were able to hear the testimony of a recent covert and he focused on us sharing the gospel. We have approx. 57,000 missionaries (he had the exact number but my memory is not as sharp as his). 

And one of his messages that resonated the most was me was something that Elder Uchdorf and his father said, "Do the best you can." Put your family first, serve diligently in your callings and do the best you can. Which is exactly what I needed to hear. Sometimes I seem to be overloaded and I am trying to do too much. Which results in a lot of things getting halfway done. Then I get more frustrated. It is just a simple nice reminder.  Elder Hinckley said that his father was the king of short answers. He shared the message "do the best you can" and one of the brethren told him afterwards that they needed to expect more from the saints, that doing "the best you can" simply wasn't enough. The next time President Hinckley met with the group he told them to do the "VERY best you can." Brilliant. 

So I am going to get back to our Valentine's Day. I think the All-Star dunk contest is tonight and we have it recorded. Don't ever think that married life isn't exciting ;) 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Update Challenge

Darren and I went on a little date tonight. We started at Barnes and Noble (who doesn't love that place?) and meandered over to Cheesecake Factory. I leave the Cheesecake Factory always thinking - why, why, why are there so many things to choose from? And why are their portions so big? We usually order two appetizers for dinner - which is plenty big. 

I promise I'm getting to a point. We are leaving the Cheesecake Factory when we run into my friend Ali. She had met up with a group of friends and was walking back to her car with her roommate. I have not seen Ali in FOREVER and said as much - but then followed up with this embarrassing statement - "It's okay - I look at your blog all the time - I always know what is going on." (Which is true - could I be the laziest friend ever?). Then she replied - "I look at your blog too but you don't update it very often." She spoke nothing but the truth - why on earth don't I blog more? It isn't from a lack of having something to say, I always have something to say. Hmmm. 

So here is my own challenge (can I make my own challenges?) I am going to update my blog at least once a week. Once a week, I will religiously update the Harris Happenings (even if there isn't a lot happening). 

But right now - it's Saturday night. It's raining outside and I just want to cuddle up with this guy:

 

Tag - You're It.

I've been tagged a few times and have never responded. This is in response to Lexi's tag a few months ago. 

Name:  Darren Lynn Harris

1. Where did you meet? Pierside

2. How long did you date before you got married? 4 years (on and off)

3. How long have you been married? 1 1/2 years

4. Who is smarter? Darren - definitely but I am pretty quick. 

5. What is your favorite feature of his? Dimples

6. Who cooks more? Me

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Babe

8. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Darren, he is a better person.

9. What is his favorite food? Pizza

10. What is his favorite sport? Basketball - especially the Lakers

11. When and where was your fist kiss? November 2003 - his house

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Cuddle and cook 

13. Does he have a hidden talent? He has an amazing voice but hates to sing in public. 

14. How old is he? 31

15. Who said I love you first? First time - Me, Second time - Darren (we had a few dating periods)

16. Guilty pleasures? Pizza, chocolate chip cookies, A&W root beer

17. What do you admire most about him? His honestly 

18. Do you think he will read this? No

Three's

3 Joys

1. Darren 

2. Family

3. My new iphone

3 Fears

1. Losing Darren

2. Having to date again

3. Hurting someone unintentionally. 

3 Goals

1. Run with Darren (he is fast - so improve speed to run with Darren)

2. Lose 10 lbs. 

3. Write more

3 Current Obsessions

1. Hot yoga

2. Organizing

3. Mrs. Myers Cleaning Products - they smell yummy!

3 Random Surprising Facts About Me

1. When I stand, I always stand pigeon toed - but I don't walk or run that way - Just stand. 

2. CSI - why did I start liking that now? 

3. I just got allergies for the first time this past year - apparently you can develop them later in life - who knew?

Eight's

8 Favorite TV Shows

1. 30 Rock

2. The Office

3. House

4. Fringe

5. The Soup

6. Grey's Anatomy

7. How I Met Your Mother

8. American Idol

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Hot Yoga

2. Found new recipes for crock pots

3. Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish

4. Cuddled with Darren

5. Shopped at Fresh and Easy

6. Watched American Idol

7. Cleaned my tub

8. Woke up early

8 Things I Look Forward to

1. Girls weekend

2. Pandora on my iphone

3. Valentine's Day

4. Doing a race

5. Speaking spanish better

6. Organizing my house better

7. Being able to balance aspects of my life more effectively

8. Visiting the family in Utah. 

8 Things On My Wish List

1. Travel more - no clue where. 

2. Have a real dining room table.

3. Find a house to buy. 

4. Run a half marathon in under 2 hours. 

5. Be a better friend

6. Be a better wife. 

7. Win the hgtv dream house :)

8. Darren to live a little closer to work. 

I tag Nellie, Katie, Bethany