Simple Gifts: A Countdown to Turkey!

The past month has been a battle in the Osorio household. The source?
Christmas music.

I know. Christmas music is a magical and joyful thing! But for me it signifies the start of the Christmas season, and that didn't start until after Thanksgiving dinner while I was growing up. But that's besides the point. Anyways, many people say this as a reason to listen to Christmas music right after Halloween, "Well if there were Thanksgiving songs then I would listen to those but there aren't."

Well world, I am here to tell you that there is a Thanksgiving song! (At least in my opinion.)

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

Well, doesn't that just capture the Thanksgiving spirit? When we take the time to slow down and really think about all the blessings (or 'gifts') we've been given, we will literally find ourselves in the "valley of love and delight." There it is. Being grateful for the simple things is the secret to living a happy life.

Happiness should NEVER be placed on things. Material things, or even non-material things! If it is, it's not true happiness. And it won't last.

The bottom line is, true happiness is never conditional. Not on anything. 

However, my favorite part of "Simple Gifts" is this line: when true simplicity is gained, to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed to turn... til we come 'round right. We all make mistakes in life. I have found myself a time or another, turning and turning. Running around in circles, trying to figure out my life. Figuring out how to make it better, and how to make myself better. I'm human; we all are. So I'm not perfect and making mistake after mistake is very frustrating. But the lyrics of this old folk song give us the answer! Turning will be our delight once true simplicity is gained.

True simplicity. Well, I don't know how to gain that or what it would really look like, but in light of my blog post last month, I've been trying to be more grateful. (With Thanksgiving here, it's perfect timing, right?!) But especially be more grateful for the simple things. So I know that everyone and their dog has done this, but every single day for the past month, I have found one thing I was grateful for each day. Thought I would share.

My Countdown of Thanks:

1. My husband doing the dishes

2. My little nephew Daxton. I cannot stand how cute he is!

3. Sunday dinner with the family

4. Recorded TV - NO commercials. That's the only way to watch TV.

5. Early shifts at work. I can come home when it's still light out!

6. The miracle of Skype. It lets me see my family who are afar, including my adorable nieces, Kyrah and Sydnee!

7. Yummy new recipes from my co-workers. Shout out to mini chicken pot pies!

8. Our bed. It's awesome.

9. Modern medicine! I would die from migraines without it. (How did people survive before??)

10. Movies. It is amazing how much time and effort goes into an epic production! Also, I love popcorn.

11. Instant comfort that comes from prayer.

12. Sweet and fun co-workers that make working worth it. Well, that and getting paid...

13. Instant communication. Email, phone calling, texting, endless possibilities.

14. Science. It's amazing what truths we have been able to discover! I like to believe that when we discover truths of the universe, it's like peering into the way that God works. 

15. Central heating

16. Instant cereal. My favorite food. Whoever invented cereal is getting a HUGE hug from me in heaven.

17. Primary. I love that the church has a place for beautiful children to go and learn about the Gospel and feel of the Spirit. They have such faith and are so close to our Heavenly Father.

18. The crisp cool feeling of the air in Fall. I will never get sick of it.

19. Restaurants. Delicious food, ready to eat at a decision's notice! And you don't even have to clean up.

20. Modern transportation. Lets me take a much-needed nap on the way home from work.

21. Incredibly grateful for my husband! And that he's my best friend. And that he can make me smile and laugh, even when I'm feeling sick, exhausted and grumpy. Oh, and that he still loves me despite all of that.

22. To have a job! (I have to remind myself to be grateful of this one frequently...)

23. That I have family living so close!

24. Fingernail clippers. Seriously, how did people trim their fingernails before?

25. The holy scriptures and words from our modern prophets. They will never lead you astray! Isn't that so amazing?! And such a blessing.

26. That clementines are in season. That means Christmas is right around the corner!

27. My ancestors and everyone who has come before me. My parents, my in-laws and my whole family. They have taught me so much and have loved me unconditionally. I love them all with my whole heart!

28. And of course, my Father in Heaven and His Son, my elder brother, Jesus Christ. Their guidance and companionship is what gets me through this life and I know it is only through Heavenly Father's plan and Christ's ultimate sacrifice that we are able to live with Him again for eternity.

Lesson I've learned: If you want to happy, be grateful for something simple each and every day.

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Courtesy of one of Jonathan's students while he was substituting teaching at an Elementary School :)

Sometimes change requires Patience

Fall. The BEST season of the year! Maybe it's my favorite because I can roll out of bed and wear my sweatpants to work. Or maybe it's because jackets and boots are my favorite items in my wardrobe! Fall is my favorite because it's the season of warm hot chocolate, delicious harvest vegetables and caramel-apples, and crisp nights watching football. Or more often, warm cozy nights on the couch watching football. (We are poor lazy bums.)

Perhaps it's the season rubbing off on me, but I am finding myself to be incredibly impatient lately! I am wanting change. And I want it now. Maybe it's because I've been so used to consistent change. In college, I took different classes every semester, moved to a different apartment about every 6 months; there were things to look forward to that were planned out. Whereas now, I don't know what's going to happen! But I want it to happen quick, because I hate not knowing.

I still haven't heard back from about four of the PA schools that I've applied to. So far, all the ones that have responded have been rejections. That's always fun. At first, it hurt. But then after a while it started to dull and then it became an expectation. Each letter would come through the mail and I'd think, OK, onto the next rejection. In fact, a part of me is expecting not to get into any of the remaining schools. I guess that could be a bad thing in some people's eyes, but I think it's a mindset that is preparing me for something different in case this whole PA school thing doesn't work out. Rather than being devastated, I will have a plan to move forward. And in fact we do have a back-up plan! There are plenty of other exciting things we can do with our lives. And we are still just starting our lives together! 

The world is our oyster! - a quote I hear quite often from my husband.

Here is a new change. Jonathan has created his own business!

Bear River Media is a social media managing company where, you guessed it, Jonathan manages your social media! That means facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram, blogs, you name it. As well as coming up with other advertising efforts and campaigns. It's pretty smart, considering that's where all business is going anyways (if they haven't already gone there). Mostly everyone's audience is on social media. But no one likes to keep up with the million of social websites out there. There are way too many and it drains your time by the hour. That is why hiring someone else to do the work for you is so wise! Not to put in a shameless plug in for my husband's business, but I just did.

It is super exciting! I don't think this is going to be our sole future, but it is something that Jonathan is trying out and hopefully it brings in some side money, as well as such great experience! I am so proud of him, doing something so hard and brave.

I want to do things like this.... things that help us move onto the next chapter in our lives. I feel like we are still in this limbo-phase. My life is seriously this one tragic cycle. I wake up, snooze for 10 minutes, leave for work in a rush 5 minutes later, WORK, come home, eat, shower, turn on the TV, fall asleep on the couch and then go to bed. I totally get it now when older people used to tell me that work becomes your life! It truly does. I feel like these people sometimes.

Expressionless. No hope, no excitement, nothing to do with life but go to work. And I guess if you love your work then you don't feel like this! If you are passionate and feel like you are making a difference, then that is living life. Unfortunately for me, I fall far from that. I am a college graduate earning 10 bucks an hour and getting rejected from nearly every graduate school I've applied to. And if I'm not going to get into PA school, then what am I doing? I'm pretty over this whole work thing. I am wanting to move on! NOW!

However, that's not how life works sometimes. Sometimes change requires patience. 

I've had to remind myself recently that the point of this life is not to get to the end. It's to enjoy the journey. How many times have I heard that?! Like one too many. But it's true! And enjoying the journey means that sometimes we will have to patiently endure. Wait for what we want with a huge smile on our face and trying to be grateful for everything around us. And perhaps during that waiting, what we thought we wanted wasn't really what we needed in our lives. Patiently enduring can often take us on a different path. That may be happening to me right now. Who knows?

We will have to patiently wait and see........