Blue Suede Shoes

Merry ChristmaseveChristmasNewyearseveNewyears! Yes, that is a word in the dictionary. Look it up, I dare you. I hope whatever celebrations you participated in over the last few weeks were peaceful and enjoyable. Mine definitely were! I seem to like numbering off things that happened or lessons learned, so I suppose I will again right now that give a recap of my break.

1. I went to Ohio for Christmas to spend time with my family, grandparents, cousins and aunt and uncle. What I learned: My grandma was born with a tooth coming out of the roof of her mouth and my grandpa went to Homecoming his senior year of college with the Homecoming queen; ankles swollen up to the size of Texas don't fit well in heels; (common sense, but the lesson still learned,) when playing ping-pong, screaming at your opponent every time they try to hit the ball can increase chances of success, and Santa can consistently deliver presents to the right state. 
2. I met Chuck E. Cheese. Lesson learned: Sometimes childhood dreams do come true. Also, his favorite dance is the cupid shuffle. 
3. I watched the Muppet Movie. If you haven't gone to see this movie, drop everything and go and watch it. For real. Many a people think they are too old or cool or mature or precocious for talking muppets with unbelievably unrealistic facial features, accents, and relationships. I mean in real life, a frog and a pig simply cannot be married. Most bi-species relationships don't work. (That's my common sense coming out again.) But in this movie, everything is possible. Lesson learned: I don't really know what I learned from this movie that you would benefit from me sharing. So you should probably go watch it.
4. I played a very long game of Life with my family. Lesson learned: when the 6 year old demands to be banker for the entirety of the game, expect to have the game last about as long as an actual life.
5. On a tad more serious note, celebrating the birth of the Savior is a sure-fire way to invite added happiness and peace into one's life. Without him, I would have little knowledge of who I am or why I'm here. With him, I know where I'm going and how to get there. Once you have that figured out, everything else seems to fall into place. Truly developing a relationship with Him will not bring immunity to life's temptations and trials, but His strength makes all things manageable and worthwhile.

So, that's about it. To end the year, I've included a website with some of the most stunning pictures taken in 2011. Click Right Here!

May the new year bring happiness, peace and wholeness to all. 

Love, 

AK

P.S. Story of My Life. And probably yours, too. You should probably click on that link...

P.P.S. The title of this blog is another one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Basically, my dad comes up with really... unique riddles that us kids have to figure out before we can look at the tree on Christmas morning. One of this year's riddles was: What is the type of shoe that reflects it's mood accurately when stepped on? The answer: Blue Suede Shoes. I forgot to tell you earlier! 

Have a GREAT day!