January 29th I Think We All Need a Pep Talk

All I can say is, you'd better watch this, because it's AWESOME.  Oh, and he's really cute!  ;)  Comment on this post and let me know what you think.  :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l-gQLqv9f4o

Guys.  We're all going to dance.

Amory

January 27th Tournaments

For the first tournament that I was ever going to attend as an actual participant, I got sick. I know, right? Silly me... The second time, I was able to go! I had such a wonderful time, and I ended up looking forward to the next one. This time, I was looking forward to it with so much enthusiasm, I was not even concerned about my speech, and was even willing to get up early without being tempted to complain! And, the day before (on Friday), I got sick. Argh! I was so disappointed!! I have not gotten sick ever since the last tournament that I was sick for, and here I am, sick again. Is it something in my system? I don't know. But right now it's really getting on my nerves. Anyway. I hope (very sincerely) that I will be in perfectly fine condition for the next tournament. I love being with the people there, and look forward to this next tournament more than before. I missed you guys!

January 21st A Cool Story

So, I see this book on the floor and I read the title.  The Art of Raising Parents - A Young Person's Guide.

"Haha!  'The Art of Raising Parents.'  That's funny.  Mom, did you see this?"

"Yeah, that's for you and the Puppy."

"Wow, thanks!  Heh.  I'll read it now..."

So I start reading it.  I love it already after the first three sentences!  I liked the following story.

"One day [there was a] young man [who] was in a crucial and exciting football game.  With the score tied, only seconds remaining before the final whistle.  In an effort to win the game, the opposing team threw a long pass.  The young man, a defensive back, leaped high into the air and speared the ball with one hand.  He came down with the ball in his grasp and his feet in motion, outran the opposing team, and crossed the goal line as the game ended.

"The fans went wild.  The victorious team ran quickly to the dressing room.  There was much jubilation there.  The boy's father came in as his son was loosening his shoulder pads.  The son shouted, 'What did you think of that, Dad?'

"The father tried to speak.  His mouth opened but nothing came out.  His eyes moistened.  He stood there looking at his son with his weight first on one foot and then on the other.  And then, not knowing what else to do, he quickly reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, opened it up, and plucked out his last five-dollar bill.  He extended the bill to his son.  He took the money without even realizing what it was, and while he was looking down at it, the father turned and was leaving.  The son tried to call him back by shouting "Hey, Dad, I don't need this," but the father continued across the room and disappeared through the door.  He had done the best he could to convey to his son his love and pride.

"[This young man] told me:  'That was the only five dollars my dad had (I made him take it back that night).  He was so proud of me that he couldn't even talk.  That was an unforgettable day for me, because making a touchdown to win a game is a thrill of a lifetime.  But that thrill was not as great as knowing that I had a dad who was so filled of love and pride for me that he couldn't even speak.  After these many years, that loving gesture from my father to me is my happiest memory.'

"How would you like a father like that -- so proud of you that he couldn't even speak, so he handed you a five-dollar bill?  I can hear you now saying, 'I'd really like that.'

"I told my second son the story that I've just related to you.  He's an athlete.  He said, 'Dad, that kid really had a fine father.'  He then added, 'How much would a winning basket in overtime be worth to you?'

"I replied:  'I'd use words instead of money.  I'd say, "I love you, my son."'  He replied, 'I was afraid of that.'"

I love that story!  It's so cool.  :)  I really, really like this book so far.  My mom told me that the author is LDS.  I was guessing at first.  I was right.  George D. Durrant is LDS.  So I highly recommend this book.  :)

A. J. McKay

January 19th A Picture of the Past

Literally!!  I was going back and looking at past blog posts and found this.  Haha!  Back in the summer before he cut it short.

Love ya!  (Heh.  He didn't even know I was taking it...)

A side note - the prophets said to write in a journal.  Keep a record of important activities that happen, and the details of them.  I have challenged myself to journal daily, and have been successful.  It's now a part of my day.  It's great handwriting practice.  ;)  It also helps me to gather my thoughts.  I'm sure a lot of you are tired of hearing that, especially from me, but give it a try and see what happens.  :)

Oh.  One more thing.  "NEW!! - Cardozada's Pathway," the page, has now been deleted.  It will come back when I have finished revising the story.  That should happen before June of this year, as that is when I need to have it finished so that I can get my five free copies through NaNoWriMo.  So you will have to wait patiently to read it.  If any of you even do...  So... that's all!  :D

A. J. McKay

January 10th Moldy Bread

I have resolved never to go to a stake dance again.  There are a few reasons.  The first one is because I just never feel that great when I go to them.  The second is that too many people get in trouble, and there's always drama.  The third is... well, see, I have a goal.  My goal is to let virtue garnish my thoughts unceasingly.  When I go to stake dances, it's really hard to do that, especially with some of the songs that are played.  One of my friends, Carson, came up with an analogy for stake dances.

It's a piece of moldy bread.  All of those green splotches are the people, in little cliques and groups, and when you think about it, or watch how they act, they just don't seem to be letting virtue garnish their thoughts unceasingly.

Since that is my ultimate goal, I have decided that I never want to attend a stake dance again.  That may be sad news to some of you.  To others it may be wonderful news.  To others it may not even be significant news at all.  But whichever one of those it is, I would like to thank you for respecting my decision.

Guys, I don't want to hear any comments like, "But what about this!  And this!  Isn't it okay?"  Just so you know, I will not be swayed.

Thanks, everyone!  And please, oh please, don't be offended.  That is never my intention with my posts.

A. J. McKay 

January 9th I Wouldn't Be Surprised If You All Plugged Your Ears Right... Now

Okay, guys.  First of all, my Driver's Ed. teacher SERIOUSLY should go study English.  He has such bad grammar it's hard to understand him.  I also think he should take Speech and Debate.  He is not organized.  I learn the most from his videos and worksheets.

Okay, here's the part you're going to kill me for.  See, I want to be an English teacher when I grow up.  I want to teach about proper grammar and punctuation and stuff like that.  Once, I was doing research on this one kind of dog (it really was for class, I promise!) and I found this article about it.  I was reading it and came across the word "which."  It should have said "with," but I dismissed it as an accidental mistake.  Then I came across it again.  And again.  My friend was sitting across the table from me.  She saw me tense up.  I was horrified!!  I could not believe that someone would purposely do that!  I mean, there are frequently misused words that I can deal with like "then" instead of "than" and "to" instead of "too," but this time, I was just thinking to myself, "How could you even mistake those for each other?!  They don't look alike AND they don't sound alike.  So how does that work?!"  In YW's, my teacher was writing the word "architect."  But instead she spelled it "artichetect."  I was completely baffled!  How do you DO that?!  I'm the girl who ends up correcting half of her friends' short stories, shudders when someone says, "The fact is, is that," and cringes inwardly when she can't do anything about it.  Now do you see why I want to be an English teacher?

Okay, you can unplug your ears now.  I actually have something worthwhile to say.  You all saw my poster that I got for Christmas, right?  If not, you can look at my post entitled, "CHRISTMAS!" or you can just read on.

According to Allie, the friend that gave it to me, she didn't even know what the whole poster said.  She just saw the first couple of lines and thought it was cool, so she picked it up.  But I'm very glad she did, because it was exactly what I needed.  I finally wrote it down.  A small back-story goes with this.  In Testimony Meeting, one of the sisters said that she was going to do all she could to act as if she was in the Celestial Kingdom, at all times, and that actually getting there was her ultimate goal.  Before she even finished, and challenged the rest of us to do the same, I had decided that I wanted to do that.  Okay, now the poem.

Some days
I can be strong, I can be weak
I can be proud, I can be meek
I can be gentle, or I can be tough
I can explode when I've had enough
Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry
Sometimes I lose, but I will always try
I will always get up when I get knocked down
And make a smile out of any frown
I hope that God likes me the day that we meet
If only for a chance to sit at His feet
And be by His side, year after year
While all of the bad things just disappear
So when life gets tough, and it's hard to be strong
I'll never forget...
     HEAVEN
is WHERE
   I BELONG

Okay, I didn't make those last words all fancy of my own accord, it was actually emphasized like that on the poster.  Just so you know.  I like that ending part a lot because it reminds me of my new goal.  I read it again after Testimony Meeting and it was inspiring to me.

I hope that I've inspired someone somehow.  Thank you all for reading my blog!  It means a lot!  Have an amazing day for me, okay?  I love you all!

A. J. McKay

January 5th Thankfullness

My friend posted this on her blog, and I thought it was such a great description of what I'm thankful for, because I haven't really been able to say it like this. Here goes!

"I AM THANKFUL: FOR THE WIFE WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.


FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.


FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.


FOR THE TAXES I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.


FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY BECAUSE IT MEANS I
HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.


FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.


FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM
OUT IN THE SUNSHINE.


FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.


FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.


FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE
PARKING LOT, BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I
HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.


FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.


FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.


FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.


FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.


FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.


AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MANY E-MAILS ........
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME."

~Patty

January 2nd Inspiration

Okay, guys.  Don't make fun of me.  I have complained about Facebook and said it was useless.  But when I come across things like this, I change my mind.




Yes, you. The one feigning to not see me when we cross paths on the running track. The one not even wearing sports gear, breathing heavy. You’re slow, you breathe hard and your efforts at moving forward make you cringe.

You cling shyly to the furthest corridor, sometimes making larger loops on the gravel ring by the track just so you’re not on it. You sweat so much that your hair is all wet. You rarely stay for more than 20 minutes at a time, and you look exhausted when you leave to go back home. You never talk to anyone. I’ve got something I’d like to say to you.

You are awesome.

If you’d look me in the eye only for an instant, you would notice the reverence and respect I have for you. The adventure you have started is tremendous; it leads to a better health, to renewed confidence and to a brand new kind of freedom. The gifts you will receive from running will far exceed the gigantic effort it takes you to show up here, to face your fears and to bravely set yourself in motion, in front of others.

You have already begun your transformation. You no longer accept this physical state of numbness and passivity. You have taken a difficult decision, but one that holds so much promise. Every hard breath you take is actually a tad easier than the one before, and every step is ever so slightly lighter. Each push forward leaves the former person you were in your wake, creating room for an improved version, one that is stronger, healthier and forward-looking, one who knows that anything is possible.

You’re a hero to me. And, if you’d take off the blaring headphones and put your head up for more than a second or two, you would notice that the other runners you cross, the ones that probably make you feel so inadequate, stare in awe at your determination. They, of all people, know best where you are coming from. They heard the resolutions of so many others, who vowed to pick up running and improve their health, “starting next week”. Yet, it is YOU who runs alongside, who digs from deep inside to find the strength to come here, and to come back again.

You are a runner, and no one can take that away from you. You are relentlessly moving forward. You are stronger than even you think, and you are about to be amazed by what you can do. One day, very soon, maybe tomorrow, you’ll step outside and marvel at your capabilities. You will not believe your own body, you will realize that you can do this. And a new horizon will open up for you. You are a true inspiration.

I bow to you.

Everything in blue is from Facebook, along with the picture.

A. J. McKay