5 Random Things

In my BlogStalking adventures today, I came across a Blogger that listed 512 Random Things about herself. It inspired me to do my own version of Random things....if only to get something New posted up on "dis here" Blog!! :D So here we go (by the way, I'm not doing 512, I'm only doing 5...I'm "underambitious" that way)~

5 Random Facts About Ardis Kanani Cardejon Weight

1. I have TWO middle names. As I signed my Marriage Certificate, my mom stood beside me and convinced (or coerced...depending on the day....hahahaha) me that I should keep my maiden name as part of my name. I don't like hyphenated names so I made my maiden name one of my middle names.

2. My dad will eat ANYTHING! What that has to do with me you say? Well, he got me hooked on Tuna & Honey on toast Sandwiches! Don't hate on it until you try it! The people who have, have thanked me for it ; D! (p.s. make sure you make a tuna salad spread...just plain ol' tuna outta the can with Honey WON'T work! Tuna mixed with mayo, salt, and pepper on one side, and honey slathered on the other ~ Mmmmm, Mmmmm GOOD!)

3. I served an LDS mission in Sendai, Japan{ *moment of Silence for the great people of that region who are still suffering the aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami in March*} but I had high hopes that I would get sent to Venezuela. I loved EVERY MINUTE of my mission in Sendai, Japan and learned that Heavenly Father truly does know Best!

4. I took Piano lessons from age 13 or 14, to age 18 ~ if you asked me to play today, I'd ask you to play the bottom line since I only remember how to read and play the top. In truth, this fact is so Random, I often forget it exists. My poor Mom paid $20 a month for her daughter to NOT be able to play the piano for her *SOB*!!

and last and MOST Random...

5. I am totally ADDICTED to, not only Facebook, BUT also to watching make-up/fashion gurus on YouTube! Pathetic I know, and not something you'd think just by looking at me (I'm not the most FASHIONABLE gal around, but I try a lot more since watching the videos), but I absolutely enjoy watching em! It's BAD...no seriously~my YouTube Subcription box is totally FULL! A few of my favorites are annershine,BEAUTYQQ,emilynoel83,MichellePhan,kandeejohnson,wendyslookbook, & lisaeldridgedotcom, just to name a few!

AnyHOO, I hope you enjoyed this Random Post about Random things about Random Ol' Me...if you're currently going through a "Blog Posting Brain Fart" then go ahead and Tag yourself in this! I'd love to learn some Random things about you all!!

sidenote: I thought a TOTALLY RANDOM photo of me would be appropriate for this post! :D

I Love My Mom because {Day 3}...

If ever there was a time when my mom felt like I wasn't listening to her counsel, she made sure to repeat her counsel during Family Prayer ~ {the same thing applied to the rest of my siblings} ~ "Please bless Ardis, that she'll make righteous decisions 'cause she sure is being a hellion right now"..I kid of course, but you all know what I mean...well, at least those of you who knew me in my High School years. I love my Mom because she knew that if I didn't listen to her, God would listen to her pleas and help her steer me aright!

I Love my Mom because {Day 2}...

One thing my mom did that I look back at and think "Thank goodness she did that!" is feeding the missionaries. I know ~ such a simple thing, and not anything that really portrays her love for her children, BUT if you think about it, it really shows her children how to serve and love others. What loving Mother doesn't want to teach her child that? Growing up, we ALWAYS had the missionaries over for dinner. We didn't have much, but we always offered our best and made them feel like family. When I grew up, my mom said to me "I like to feed the missionaries because I hope that if you guys ever decide to serve a mission for the church, I hope there is a Mom who cares enough to make sure you guys are fed!" You never really think about those kinds of things until you are a mother yourself, OR when you observe mothers who have children out on their missions...how much they worry for their child and pray that they are being taken care of. I'm glad that my mom was able to be the answer to some mother's prayer.

I Love My Mom because...

I probably should've started these at the beginning of the week but I didn't so there ~ Better Now then Never eh? :D AnyhOO, I wanted to share some stories I remember about my Mom and why I love her, so here's one for today ~

When I was 11, my mom decided that we (my sister and I) should play club volleyball, which was great because it taught me sportsmanship and kept me active. It also taught me that I am NOT very athletic at all and I probably should've signed up for sewing classes or something. :D There was one practice that was particularly hard for me, not just physically, but also mentally. The coach kept yelling and going on and on about how I needed to move my lazy butt (not just at me of course, but when you're 11, that's what you assume). I finally decided that I was done! I proceeded to tell my mom about how I felt in the car ride home and she seemed to be okay with it and said, "Well, it's your decision", but she also seemed really sad about it. The next day my mom sat me down and said, "Ardis, today I heard something on the radio that I thought would be really good for you to listen to. I went to the radio station and got a copy of the tape for you." (I wonder if my mom still has it or if she even knows where it is?) It was a guy talking about NOT giving up, about how things can and WILL get hard but to not give up and to keep trying. After listening to that tape, I decided to stick it out. Not because of what the guy on the tape had said but because I felt in that moment that my mom believed in me. I'm sure she knew that I didn't have the natural born skill of a star volleyball player, BUT she also knew that I needed to try Hard Things and to follow through and Finish what I started (oh how I wish that attitude had stuck with me through college!!). I went on to play high school volleyball and sucked really, REALLY bad (I only played my Freshman year) ~ I was the sub to the Sub for goodness sake....seriously pathetic!! It's alright though because I have a fond memory that comes from my days with volleyball~ I will always remember listening to the tape with my mom and thinking "Wow, she went to the RADIO STATION for me?", but more importantly, that she Believed in Me!

Interesting Things to Note about the Top Three Happy States (circa March 2009)

As I was going through my Notes section on my Facebook I decided that there were some Notes that should be moved to my Blog....so here's one for your Thursday reading Pleasure! HaHaHa! Some things have been revised because I realized that it's the state of Wyoming with ONE Season (Winter) and not Utah...unless you live in Logan or Park City that is :D Enjoy!

So when I read on Yahoo this morning that I was moving to yet another Happy State, I had to giggle at what they had listed as number 1..."Why?" you ask, because Utah was number 1 (a March 2011 report states that 2010's top 3 Happy States are Hawaii, Wyoming, and North Dakota). I know, I've baffled you all even more, but the thing that made me laugh so hard is that just last week it was announced that Utah was also the Top State in subscriptions to Porn (incidentally, Hawaii was ranked Number 2)!! I know there's no correlation people (really?), I just found it awfully funny! It also made me Google around to see what the other two States might have that's not so redeeming...just for fun.

So here is what I found for Hawaii ~ On the downside for that state is the fact that they bear the nations highest Tax Burden...if you ask me they bear the Highest Priced Everything! The only reason I know this is because I grew up there and unlike my children, having C.A.N.D.Y. for us, was a treat, NOT an everyday snack! And the reason why I think I Love Skim Milk is because I grew up eating my cereal with Mr. Milkman (for you people who've never had it before, that would be Powdered Milk). Despite all that, the children there grow up to be Happy Hawaiians, so THERE, you Gov't People who inadvertantly impose big taxes on us!

As for Wyoming, it's the Least Populated State....What this means to me, you ask? Why, I'll have to search Hi and Lo for friends since on average, one site stated, that would equal to about 5 people per square mile...I won't survive people!! But eh, I'll still live among 5 Happy People who either don't have the internet or have no interest in Porn, so who cares right?

And as for Blessed Utah, although statistics say that I may have at least 2 neighbors that have Subscriptions to "special" websites, I am still dang happy and that's saying a lot! "Why", you say? Because it's not the Porn thing that's a downside for me, it's the fact that there is only ONE Season here in my part of Utah {Logan to be exact} and it's,...You Guessed It....WINTER (with much more sprinklings of Spring/Summer-esque weather than where I live now, I might add)!! And who can claim blissful happiness in that (besides Polar Bears)??? Apparently myself, and a whole lotta Northern Utahns!

Crafty, Crafty!!

Have you stopped by my blog and noticed that every couple of days there is a new button in the sidebar? I know, I know, it's getting a bit out of hand, but I can't help it!! I love, love, LOOOVE perusing craft/marvelous decorating/repurposing idea sites!! But, let me be honest with y'all ~ I Can't Craft/Decorate Worth a Darn!! This is what would happen if I tried to do something crafty ~ What should look like this {a super cute refinished wicker chair}:


Could EASILY turn into this:

Yes, I'll admit that I'm THAT awesome at failing {I'd only be able to produce the failed chair of course, not the "awesome" cowboy sitting in it!} Anyhoo, I just wanted you all to bear with me and my crazy obsession over all these awesome blogs AND of course stop on by and visit if you'd like, I'm sure these Crafty Peeps would love you for it!!

Flying Kites

A couple of weekends ago, Aaron's mom and stepdad came out for a visit. It was a sunny day (albeit windy and cold) and Nana (A's mom) had brought kites for the kids to fly ~ perfect for Windy Wyoming! We put the kites together and off to the park we went. The kids had so much fun flying their kites but Hannah's princess kite wasn't quite able to take off and truly FLY...at first we thought it had something to do with the tail that was on the kite. If it is too long, it can drag the kite back down. The other kite that was flying really well had a tail that was just as long though, maybe even a little longer so it couldn't have been the tail. Upon further research, I found that it was because her kite was missing it's bow ~ a string (or long skinny plastic piece in this case) that goes from side to side and keep the edges of the kite bent back so that it can properly catch wind and take flight. Of course, I didn't realize this until a few days after we had flown kites so Hannah took turns flying her brothers' kites.

Now I'm not one to draw parallels or make analogies ~ I'm just not that much of a deep thinker...well, at least I don't think so, but this activity had me thinking aaaaall week about how life can be that way sometimes ~ Some of us are able to easily take flight and others just can't seem to take off.....at times there are those who are flying high and then "the bow" breaks because "the winds" are too strong and they come crashing down. It made me ponder and think, "What is it that we can do to help us take flight? What can I do, to help those around me that seem to be struggling to fly?"

Oh that life were simple and that I could "borrow" others kites at times when I might need to, or that others could borrow mine...Of course it isn't though, so I hope that we all take the time to check our "Kites" ~ do we have "holes" that need to be fixed? Do we need a new "bow" to ensure that we can take off? Have the strong "winds" of adversity and trial broken vital parts that need to be fixed? Although we can't just hand somebody our "Kites" we can still share what we have to help those who need it ~ through our example, or service, or even just a kind word.

For the kids, it was just a fun day of Flying Kites with Nana & Boyd, but for me, it ended up being one of those poignant Life Lesson days.