Act Upon This Land as for Years

It has been a rough go health-wise (I feel like this is always the story....) for the past few weeks. My doctor has restricted a lot from my diet in an effort to help, but in general my mood has been pretty sour. I feel sad, lethargic, and up until the past few days, really depressed. I feel a lot more sick when I am depressed. Haven't eaten anything yet today but my stomach is still giving me grief. Student teaching is starting. And at one of the most physically challenging times in my life, I am preparing to spend a majority of my time and effort away from my sweet husband. So the refiner's fire is hitting me pretty hard this week. I don't know how I will possibly do it, and I am dreaming of happier times ahead, away from Pullman-- a place I have associated with feeling "stuck". I don't think I have ever experienced a stronger feeling of negativity attached to any one place before, but for some reason my emotions have convinced the rest of me that this is a place I loathe. I feel like a pre-teen that still has training wheels on my bike, lonesomely circling around a cul-de-sac until dinner time. (so in other words, I guess I feel like a loser?)

I want desperately to have people to talk to, but most days I am not feeling too good. And even when I do feel good, it seems every activity I want to go to has food everywhere (and I am trying to put on a brave face but it is really hard not to eat 90% of what you guys eat!). I have been extremely grateful for all the loving ward members who have stopped by just to say hello. I am trying to stay positive. Even though I am a lot weaker than I was a few months ago, the gym is my solace and it helps straighten everything out in my mind. I am remembering the words spoken by almost every seminary teacher ever-- "The scriptures say 'and it came to pass' not 'and it came to stay', so keep going!" 

*refreshing breath in* *refreshing breath out*

Anyways, that is my place today. An article I read in the Ensign (and LDS magazine geared towards adults) keeps coming to mind, so I figured I would share the love:

"In the Spring of 1831, the [early Latter Day] Saints began to gather to Kirtland, Ohio. A member...agreed to allow a group from Colesville, New York, to stay on his from in Thompson, a short distance from Kirtland." Joseph Smith, the prophet and leader of the church wrote the following revelation from God:

"And I consecrate unto them this land for a little season, until I, the Lord, shall provide for them otherwise, and command them to go hence.... And the hour and the day is not given unto them [when I shall provide for them otherwise], wherefore let them act upon this land as for years, and this shall turn unto them for their good" Doctrine and Covenants 51:16-17

So, like the children of Israel who wandered for 40 years, and the early Saints on the Copley farm, we too know that where we are now (geographically, emotionally, and spiritually) is not our final destination. But God doesn't say, don't worry about your choices and your actions because this is only a little bit of your life, he says "go and do something today!"


We are counseled to act upon this land as for years. Live our lives and conduct our homes in a state of permanence. Be open to the Lord's call when he asks you to move and change, but be just as open when he asks you to stay. For Derek and I this means trying harder to meet new people and make friends (this has been our biggest challenge in our ward here), serve in callings diligently, find pleasure in the work we do, find activities that we enjoy in Pullman instead of thinking of all the activities we WISH we could do.

The early Saints only ended up living on the Copley farm for very long. Shortly after getting all settled, Copley broke his promise, sending the Saints to Missouri. But "they did their best while they lived in that farmer's field, and the Lord blessed them for it." Pullman isn't our forever, but our choices here dictate the blessings we will receive throughout our lives. Praying for lots of peace and physical strength!

Sunburst Mirror DIY

The space above my TV has been longing for SOMETHING for months now. That big blank wall has just been staring me down. Because my TV is a giant rectangle, the last thing I needed was another rectangle of art--- To pinterest I went!

I quickly discovered what I had been needing all my life long was in fact a sunburst mirror. I mean, how in the heck can you say no to this:

$135 from Samjen Arts' Etsy shop

Or this:

$199 from Bliss Home and Design

Or this?!:

$34 +shipping from Target

The Target one by far was the most affordable, but all of the mirrors were about 2ft in diameter (hello, my TV is 50 inches, 2 feet above that looks like NOTHIN.

So the pinterest search continued and I found some great DIYs. I got some great ideas from Stephanie Lynn and House of Fifty that you should check out. Awesome. After some more looking though, I really found a way to blend these and other DIY mirrors into something that was absolutely what I wanted. So without further ado, My Sunburst Mirror DIY!

Yes, we were watching TV and Yes those are our bikes. BUT IT LOOKS GOOD RIGHT?!
Don't worry, more pics to come.

All my shopping was done at walmart and I got everything for $22.33. Roll with me here.

For about $14, I got this mainstays 5pc mirror set.
Mirrors range from 8-11 inches. So for $14, I got 5 little mirrors waiting to be born into lovely sunbursts.

For 97 cents I got a pack of 100 of these BBQ skewers. They may seem small (12 in long) but when we glue them to the mirror, it is going to add a full 24 inches to the diameter, without even adding the mirror into that measurement, its bigger than the ones from the websites above. 

And for 3.97 I got this gold spray paint. I have never bought spray paint before so I didn't know what was good. For future reference: THIS WAS GOOD. It was all I could do not to spray paint everything I own gold.

So that is our shopping list. I already had my hot glue gun and tape at home. Woohoo! I will add that when I bought these three things at walmart the guy was like "So what are you going to do with all of this?" and I tried to explain it to him. He said "interesting". Clearly did not get my vision. Well walmart guy, I will prove you wrong.

First, take out your mirrors. Notice it says "ready to hang?" Ohhh mainstays mirror set, you couldn't be further from being ready to hang.

Take out your mirror, grab some fat tape (all I had was packing tape. C'est la vie.) And go across your mirror with the tape, pushing down in the corners.

Repeat that a bajillion times. I did a pattern like I was cutting a pie. You can see in this photo I still have some more tape to do, but you get the picture.

Once it's all taped up. Grab a knife and slice around the edge of the mirror. 

Once you have cut the tape, pull it all off so the frame of the mirror is exposed, but the mirror itself is still taped up. Essentially we are just taping off the mirror here, but it's a trick that worked for me.

Grab your sticks and your mirror, and spray paint them!

Once dry, peel off that tape. It won't be perfect (as shown), but just grab your knife again and scratch off the paint that got stuck. 

Once the mirror is taken care of, flip it around and start gluing! Just like with the tape, we are going to place our sticks across from each other. One DIY-er said they layered on the glue, after doing a few of them, I can tell you now that that isn't the best for the hot glue. It doesn't need a crazy amount, just a dollop. 

I actually would put the glue down and let it cool a bit before I stuck them on there, otherwise I had to hold those sticks for a looooong time.

Here we are, about half way!

I had to take a sneak peek!

And here all the sticks are glued. You could probably fit some more in there if you want an even fuller look.

Even though there was already a hole in the back for hanging, I fashioned one out of photo frame wire. Much easier to hang up in my opinion!

TA DA! It is finished!

Usually my projects seem to look....homemade....but I can honestly say these have turned out looking WAY better than I ever expected. They have a nice clean look to them! My mirror ended up being 34 inches in diameter, and it really fills the space. I love it because it really does look very high end and expensive (and it was not!)

Local folks, if you are interested, I have made up all the mirrors and I am selling them for $10 bucks a piece. Cheaper than it would cost to do it yourself AND you help me get rid of all these sunbursts I have now ;) So let me know if you want one!

xoxoxo