Farewell, Facebook!

Hi! So, you might be wondering where I've been. Well, I've been thinking a lot, spending time with my awesome little family as much as possible (Oh, how I adore them!), exercising consistently (Yeah yeah!), serving in my church's youth program, talking on the phone once in a while, Instagramming a bit, oh, and I can't forget sleeping and eating! ;) Basically, I felt like I shouldn't be blogging for a while, so I kept myself busy with other things. But now I'm back, and I have much to say! :)

Today, I want to publicly say farewell to Facebook. Why would I do that, you ask, especially after I just got back on Facebook in October, 2013? (See "My Facebook Experiment.") I have several reasons for quitting my Facebook habit, so I'll share them here—in no particular order. By the by, I'm sure some of you are tired of me posting about Facebook, but I'm writing about it anyway!

1. I care too much—meaning, I care too much about my family and friends. Maybe that seems like an oxymoron, but for me, Facebook and my extremely caring nature is a recipe for a frustrated Adrie.

You see, I never "friended" anyone I didn't feel completely comfortable with. I absolutely had to personally know someone and have (or have had) some sort of a relationship with that person in order to open myself up to them. (Not a formerly-romantic relationship from years ago, mind you, for my husband is the only one I care for!) If I didn't know a person in real life and have a reason for allowing them into Adrie World, I didn't accept their friendship. Similarly, if I felt that someone had crossed my boundary line of appropriateness, I unfriended them. Furthermore, if I felt that someone wasn't really my friend, or they didn't have caring, friendly feelings toward me in real life, I also unfriended them. You know the type of Facebookers that are purely interested—er, shall I say, nosy—in what's going on in other people's lives, like Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched?! My attitude and actions toward unfriending people might sound harsh, but it was the way I could be okay with sharing so much of my life on Facebook. For the record, I unfriended only a handful of people.

Anyway, back to my over-caring...

I spent a lot of time reading my family and friends' posts on Facebook. I loved keeping up with those wonderful people that I care so much about! I read the articles they recommended. I oohed-and-ahhed over their photos. I researched their stances that were different from mine. I commented on their news, be it happy, sad, mundane or exciting. I truly loved connecting with my friends and family and wanted them to absolutely know I was there for them! :)

All of that said, I felt sadness when my excitement and support didn't seem to be reciprocated. Don't get me wrong, I totally get how busy people's lives are. I understand priorities and have mine firmly in place. Yet I let it get to me when my loved ones and friends didn't like or comment on all of my fun news. *And I completely understand that a lot of my friends/family members didn't like or comment on my updates simply because they weren't on Facebook, or their newsfeed wasn't being fed my updates.

2. When it comes to Facebook, I'm a wimp.

Despite what I said previously in my post "Unfriending vs. Unfollowing," I guess I really can't take unfriending as much as I said I could. As pathetic as it sounds, the last person to unfriend me was the straw that broke this lady's Facebook-back! *Remember, I didn't friend someone unless I felt there was a good reason to so. Thus, it hurt when I opened myself up to them and then they ended up unfriending me. And I know there are probably some people out there thinking, "You're such a baby!", but I don't care! These are my feelings and I own them! :)

Many people have asked me, "How did you know you were unfriended?" Well, it's because I went to comment on, or see who liked another friend's post, and saw my prior friend listed with the box "Add Friend" next to their name. I'd think, "I thought we were friends!" Then—despite all reasonable/adult logic inside me (I do have some! Ha ha.)—I felt badly. I wondered what status update or comment I wrote that was so unfriendable. My sad feelings wouldn't last long, maybe a couple hours, but my friends' actions hurt, nonetheless.

My feelgoods (that's a phrase my little family uses in the place of the word feelings when we're telling someone they've hurt our feelings) were hurt a little when people I care about "Facebook attacked" political positions that I completely identify with, or made fun of my religious beliefs. They didn't "attack" me personally to my "face," but there were many incidents when people I care about shared links, or liked other pages/posts—that subsequently showed up in my newsfeed—that bummed me out, frustrated me, or made me feel unhappy/unkind feelings. I truly strove to not feel that way, but after many months of being strong and pretending to not care, I realized I really did care. No matter what logic I tried to put in my brain, my feelgoods still didn't feel so good. When those instances kept repeating, I came to the conclusion that my Facebook use wasn't worth the time or effort I put forth.

3. The way Facebook operates continually frustrated me.

Up until the day I deactivated my account, I was annoyed at the way Facebook allows everyone's newsfeeds to receive certain posts, but not others. I've written before about their blasted algorithm and my feelings haven't changed. I mean, when I friended someone, or someone friended me, I expected to see their updates! I didn't want to have to check each friend's page every time I wondered about what was going on with them.

Similarly, I didn't want to have to check the "receive notifications" section for each of my friends because then every time someone posted something, my notifications window would have gone bahzonkers-busy. Then I would have had to uncheck all of my notifications each time I logged-on. It would have been so much easier if Facebook would have allowed me to receive all of my friends' updates while simply scrolling through my newsfeed. And I remember it being that way when Facebook began.

That's another frustration I had with Facebook: they were constantly changing their program/standards. It's like one week they were this way, another week they were that way. I'm all for upgrades that actually help people, but many of the "upgrades" Facebook instituted were just a big pain to figure out and get used to!

Oh, and I despised the fact that my friends would see anytime I liked or commented on a public post, or if they were friends with my friend whose status update I interacted with. It's like I had to save my likes and comments so I wouldn't clutter people's newsfeeds. Also, I didn't want to see all of my friends' interactions. I simply wanted to see their personal status updates! Com'on, Facebook, this idea is not difficult to grasp!

I seriously debated about deactivating my FB account for several months before I actually deactivated it on March 9th, 2015. Yet I kept my account active because of my public Enthusiastic Fantastic Facebook page. In case you're wondering, Facebook won't allow anyone to have a public page without having a personal account—which is another big issue I had with Facebook. People should be able to create a public page without having to have a personal account! *Granted, I know I could have used a different email address and created a new account for myself and a new public page, but it really wasn't worth my time!

I honestly thought creating a public FB page would have created more traffic for my blog, but it sooo did not happen...silly me! I hoped I would make some money for my blogging with a public FB page, but that didn't happen either. I think I gained one "like" outside of my personal circle of friends and family. (Thank you to whoever liked my page, that was super kind of you!) I also thought more of my family and friends would have "liked" my Enthusiastic Fantastic Facebook page, but they didn't and their inaction hurt a wee bit. (Refer to reason #1 for an explanation as to why their liking inaction hurt.)

Frankly, I was dismayed to learn about the way Facebook operates its public pages. Before I created my public page, I had zero clue as to how different they are are compared to personal accounts. I didn't realize that FB wouldn't feed my Enthusiastic Fantastic posts to all of my public page's likes/followers. I was frustrated when I realized that even though I had 45 likers, my updates/posts were sometimes fed to only six newsfeeds! Anytime I uploaded my typographic designs to my Enthusiastic Fantastic Facebook album, my posts were only shown to like two or three people—three out of 45! That totally bugged. Yet once I started sharing my public blog posts through my personal timeline, FB showed that my posts were usually shown to about 29 followers. 29 is better than six, but it's certainly not 45!

What was most annoying was this: Facebook's favorite thing to tell me was something like, "To share your post with more of your audience, create an ad (i.e., an advertisement)!" Duh. I didn't realize until I created a public Facebook page just how much they are all about the money. It took a while, but I finally internalized that my personal timeline posts were probably not being shown to as many of my friends/family as I thought they were. And while that made me feel a little better about the lack of reciprocation, I was mainly thinking, "Duh! Facebook really is just a research and marketing machine! They want to keep us guessing so we'll spend more time on Facebook, thus we'll end up sharing more information with the companies who receive our data for marketing purposes!"

It might sound wacky to some, but I think people are working for Facebook for free, and they don't even realize it! Maybe many people realize it, but they feel the benefits are worth the trade-off, or, maybe they just don't care. Yes, I still believe Facebook has some benefits, but I'm no longer willing to sacrifice my time, energy, happy feelings or personal data in exchange for those benefits.

Now I'd like to explain why I'm okay being done with Facebook:

• I finally feel truly settled in my life—for the first time since I've been married! This tremendously happy feeling helps eliminate my need for Facebook because I feel connected to my friends and family who have stuck with me, despite how many times we've moved. Those dear, wonderful people who have stayed in my life mean more to me than they'll ever know! Thank you, thank you, my peeps, from the bottom of my heart! :)
• I've discovered Instagram! This lovely little app would have been highly beneficial to me the first time I quit Facebook. Yes, I know Instagram isn't perfect either—one can find inappropriate images if they barely try (Of course, I avoid those like the plague!!), but for the most part, I think Instagram is filled with positives! Here are a few reasons I like Instagram: It's only photos. Then my heart doesn't have to hurt like it did when I was active on Facebook. Instagram takes up much less time. It's so simple to just page down my Instagram feed, look at and like my friends'/family members' photos, and then log-off! Things are so organized on Instagram by hashtags and names, there's never been anyone I couldn't find—unless they didn't want to be found. *Unlike Facebook, I receive ALL of my friends' updates on Instagram, and I know they receive mine! :) I love never having to wonder whether my friends/family saw my posts, or not. I know the only reason they wouldn't see something I shared is if they didn't log-in for more than three days. I've been able to connect with so many new people on Instagram—more than I ever did on Facebook!
• My soul is much less cluttered, which makes me feel so free!! I didn't realize just how much Facebook filled my mind and heart until I was no longer on it. I've been pleasantly surprised over the past two weeks that I've not missed Facebook one bit. I didn't miss it the last time I got off, but I was a bit concerned this time that I would miss it, so I'm really grateful I'm totally fine! :) Again, I think Instagram is greatly helping in this area because I'm still connected with many of my friends and family. I love that we can still see each other's photos!
• I asked my little family if any of them would ever be on Facebook, and they all firmly said, "NO!" Knowing that my beloved husband and children will never be on Facebook made my decision to deactivate my account super easy. Again, I don't want to miss out on updates from the most important people in my life!
• My husband, Greg, loves the fact that I'm not on Facebook anymore. He's never liked it, never will like it, but he supported me when I was on it for so many years. That tells you what kind of a stellar guy he is—always supporting and loving me, no matter what! I enjoy knowing I've done something that makes him happy! :)
• I still have my blog! :) I will always have my blog! I love Enthusiastic Fantastic, it is my happy place! I have many other happy places, but you know what I mean. Blogging has always been much more beneficial to me than Facebook ever was. Hmm...beneficial blogging(!), I've just created a new phrase! Yay me! Ha ha. Anyway, I don't write perfectly, but I love knowing my words will last for my loved ones long after I'm gone. :)
• I've continued having good contact with my family members and friends via texts, emails, phone calls, Instagram, and in-person. I enjoy asking them, "Hey! What's new?!" and really meaning it because I didn't just see everything they posted on Facebook! Ha ha. No, it wasn't as bad as all that. Despite what I just said, people aren't incessantly on Facebook. :) But it really is fun talking with others and organically finding out what they've been up to. It honestly feels just like the good ol' days! As my youngest son always jokes—in his best grandpa voice, "'Back in my day,' we used to have face-to-face conversation! None of that new-fangled walkie-talkie-ing through that little rectangle in your hand there!" Ha ha.

In conclusion, when I first perused Instagram with my public Enthusiastic Fantastic account, I found a lovely little saying, "Defend your tenderness." I immediately latched onto that sentiment because leaving Facebook is one way I've chosen to protect and defend my tenderness! Off to YogaX I go! :)

*Update, 05/13/16: I just read this fascinating article on the New York Times, "Facebook’s Bias Is Built-In, and Bears Watching," by Farhad Manjoo. I highly recommend reading it because it shares even more reasons I'm so glad/relieved/happy I quit Fakebook! Yes, I refuse to be manipulated! #feistyAdrie! Ha ha.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Today I taught a lesson in my Mia Maid class about the Atonement of Jesus Christ titled, "What is the Atonement of Jesus Christ?" I thoroughly enjoyed preparing for my lesson by reading and listening to scriptures about the Savior's last days in mortality. (See Matthew 26-27.) I also loved reading various Church talks and articles, and watching many Bible Videos—I have come to deeply appreciate them!

(If you've never seen my church's Bible Videos, I highly recommend checking them out, for they are very well done—their dialogue follows the Bible's verses almost exactly! The videos are available for free online and via iOS and Android apps. I love free, don't you?! :) They're also available on YouTube, but I prefer the Church's backgrounds, for they are much less distracting than the endless video suggestions on YouTube.)

We all know the Atonement of Jesus Christ has been talked about for centuries. I've had so many lessons on the topic, I literally can't remember the number! Yet, I don't think we can ever talk about the Atonement enough. In True to the Faith, the first paragraph about the Atonement of Jesus Christ states,

"The word atone means to reconcile, or to restore to harmony. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father (see Romans 5:10-11; 2 Nephi 25:23; Jacob 4:11). We can ultimately dwell in His presence forever, having been 'made perfect through Jesus' (see D&C 76:62, 69)."

Will there ever be a time in the history of our world when the Atonement isn't applicable? No, there is not. The Living Christ points out, "None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth." Later, The Living Christ continues, "I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father." (D&C 110:3-4) Furthermore, former Church President, Gordon B. Hinkley stated,

"[Jesus Christ] is the chief cornerstone of the church that bears His name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There is no other name given among men whereby we can be saved (see Acts 4:12). He is the author of our salvation, the Giver of eternal life (see Hebrews 5:9). There is none equal Him. There never has been. There never will be. Thanks be to God for the gift of His Beloved Son, who gave His life that we might live and who is the chief, immovable cornerstone of our faith and His Church. 

"We know not all that lies ahead of us. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. for others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing we do know. Like the Polar Star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith. 

"In Sunshine and in shadow, we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us." – Gordon B. Hinckley, We Testify of Jesus Christ, jesuschrist.lds.org

Isn't that quote so beautiful? President Hinckley was such a great wordsmith. I can't adequately explain the fondness and appreciation that fills my soul when I read or hear his words. I attribute President Hinckley's wonderful ability with words to the fact that (I think) he spoke directly from his soul to everyone else's soul! What a marvelous gift his words are to generations of people! :)

Three of the many principles/points I tried to convey to my Mia Maid class were taken from Sister Linda K. Burton's Relief Society talk, "Is Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts?", General Conference, October, 2012:

1. "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." [This point was taken from Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2004), 52.]
2. There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ. [This point was taken from David A. Bednar's talk, "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality," Ensign, April, 2012, 40-47.]
3. The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father's love for His children. [See Dallin H. Oaks, Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 26.]

It's just so true: there is truly nothing in, on, or around this earth that shows God's love for us better than the Atonement. Because of our Savior, we can be forgiven of our sins and gain access back into our Heavenly Father's presence!

Speaking of our Savior, I was thrilled to find out that the entire musical production of Savior of the World is available for free to the stakes/wards/members of the Church to participate in and present as a church activity! Wow. I remember seeing the original production in the Conference Center many years ago—it was marvelous and I felt the Spirit so strongly. I remember crying a little bit as I watched certain parts of the musical. It was so very well done. I wish my stake—with its supremely talented members—would do a production of Savior of the World! I would totally participate in it! :)

During my lesson, I showed the stunning painting Peter's Denial, by Carl Heinrich Bloch. I wanted my Mia Maids to see Peter hiding out on the porch, and Jesus looking at him. Can you even imagine what was going through our Savior's mind?! I think there were probably no words. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He still had human feelings. I imagine His sadness at Peter's denial must have been profound. They both must have been so disappointed by Peter's actions! :(

I then read Matthew 26:33-34 to them:

"33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
 35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples."

I continued in Matthew 26:69-74:

"69 ¶Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. [i.e., reveals you]
 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew."

I tried to convey to my Mia Maids the great importance of never denying our Savior or Heavenly Father. I then quoted a portion from the Young Women Theme, "WE WILL 'STAND as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.'" Each Sunday, every Young Women group within the Church stands together and says the YW theme, but I wanted to give my Mia Maids another example of what standing as a witness really means. I hope they have the desire to not be like Peter—at least in this situation. But I also pointed out that even after all that Peter did, he was forgiven because of the supreme gift of the Atonement. :)

Because I ran out of lesson time today, one point I didn't get to make is found in D&C 20:22, "He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them." I'm certain there were endless temptations our Savior could have accepted in His life, yet He chose time and again to ignore every single one of them. And when He could have removed himself from the crucifixion, He chose to bless all of our lives instead. What a fabulous example He is to us! Yes, I have much to work on in my life. :)

Thankfully, I remembered to ask the question, "What can we learn from the Savior's final words he spoke while on the cross, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' (Luke 23:34)?" I'm so happy my Mia Maids really understand the importance of following the Savior in forgiving everyone—even down to the smallest, most mundane instances in our lives. Granted, I clarified that none of us are perfect. We don't react 100% in the correct way each and every time something bad, sad, annoying, frustrating or catastrophic happens in our lives. That said, my Mia Maids are such strong souls! I have no doubt that if they choose to, they could perfectly follow our Savior's example of forgiveness!

I created this typographic design of John 17:3-4 as my handout for today's lesson. I chose the colors based on what the Savior was wearing in several of the Bible Videos: For God So Loved the World; The Parable of the Talents; Render unto Caesar and unto God.

"3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

Don't you love Jesus' words?! He clearly and honestly stated that he did everything our Heavenly Father wanted and needed Him to do. What an exceptional example He is for us to follow. If we pray daily to know and do what Heavenly Father desires of us in every circumstance, we will be unstoppable!

I couldn't help but include these wonderful scriptures, for they are exactly what I'm trying to do in my life. 2 Nephi 25:23,26 (emphasis added):

"23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

Do I do all of that ^ perfectly? Nope, I don't. Yet I try my best every day. I repent when I mess up—which happens a lot, but I just keep swimming in the right direction! Don't you just love that movie?! Finding Nemo, that is. ;)

Anywho, I'm grateful I've been able to study the Atonement of Jesus Christ throughout my life. Knowing what I know makes me happy! I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the Atonement—even though I know my human mind can't possibly comprehend all of it. But hey, that's why we're all here on earth: to keep learning, growing and becoming the people our Heavenly Father knows we can be. I have peace knowing this great plan of happiness (i.e., the plan of salvation) is made possible by our sweet, unselfish, perfect Savior. :)

ABSolutely Fantastic!

Today my friend shared this video (below) she found on Facebook. It completely inspired me—I cannot wait to try it for my ab workout tomorrow! I'll let you know how I do with it...I'm guessing I won't be as proficient at it as these amazing young gymnasts. But since I was a gymnast for many years of my youth, and I've been doing P90X for the past seven-and-a-half-months (only three-days-per-week, mind you), I think I actually have a decent shot of making it to the end! I may be a bit optimistic, but optimism never hurt anyone, right?! ;) I'll give it my very best efforts! I wonder if Tony Horton (of Beachbody's P90X) has seen this genius and fun workout?! I'm pretty sure Mr. Horton would love it!

You go girls! You're absolutely fantastic!! :)

*Update 02/21/15, 11:20 p.m.
This morning I turned on my TV and Roku, and pulled up the video (above) on our YouTube channel. I was a little nervous to try the video, seeing that those girls are in such fabulous shape (Sorry, the cheesiness escaped me!), but I was also totally excited!! There were a few spots that I wasn't as speedy as they are: 1:13 (the first pike-up), 1:25 (individual leg pike-ups) and 2:41 (fast in'n'out crunches {I don't know what else to call them!}).

Even though sometimes I completed the moves a little later than they did, I'm thrilled I was able to finish the entire video! Yay me! I'm not being prideful here. I'm just so pleased this old body of mine can still keep up with my desires! If I keep practicing the video, I know I'll eventually catch up to their speed!

I will say this: At 4:00, their side v-ups are easier than the ones on Ab Ripper X. So, for once in my life, I felt pretty advanced! Thanks Tony! ;) In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, the side v-ups on Ab Ripper X have the bottom arm on the ground next to the body, by the thigh. It's definitely harder to do it that way than extending the bottom arm out, away from the body. And after I finished this happy ab video, I did Yoga X—it's one of my favorites!

Anyway, I'm just excited that all of my hard work exercising this past year has paid off! I was completely surprised and delighted that I could keep up with those fit gymnasts! Again, don't get me wrong, I'm not as precise in my movements as they are, but hey, it's not too bad for a mother of three in her late thirties! (Nope, I'll not share my age! Ha ha.)

*I debated not sharing this photo for many negative reasons...which I won't explain. :) Yet I decided to share it because of the following positive reasons:

1. I've worked hard to be fit and I'm utterly happy with my healthy body. I love knowing I'm doing my very best to take good care of this body I've been blessed with. I hope our Heavenly Father is pleased with my efforts in caring for the marvelous gift he's given me.
2. I'm wearing my little sister's ballet leotard. I will always miss Mackenzie! I know she would love the fact that I'm still happily using something she loved.
3. Mackenzie's leotard fits me better now than it has in years.
4. To show it's absolutely possible to get one's body into shape—even after giving birth to three babies!
5. I miss doing gymnastics. I need to wear leotards more often when I workout. :)

Now, I must get ready for bed...church comes early tomorrow morning!

Judgy Pants

"Stop judging me, Mom!" Those are the words my oldest son spoke to me several weeks ago. I was taken aback by his directness and said, "What?" He then explained how in his seminary class, his teacher taught them a big lesson on not judging others. I thoroughly apologized for making him feel badly and let it go. I thought that judging interaction was the end of our discussion, but it wasn't.

For the rest of the day and into the night, my son continued bringing up the fact that I was judging him. Every little thing I asked him to do, any question I had for him was met with, "Don't judge me, Mom!" or "You're judging me again!" I became a little annoyed at his persistence, so I decided to do some research on judging in the scriptures.

When I logged into my Gospel Library app and searched judgment, there were zero results. Weird! So I searched judging and was given hundreds of results! I started looking over the list in each book of scripture. There were so many scriptures on judging, judges, judge, etc. It was all informative, and I'd read most of those scriptures before. Yet I wanted to help my son understand that sometimes we must judge others or a situation. So I decided to narrow my search to righteous judgement.

Bingo. I found exactly what I was looking for! :) The next morning I had a wonderful conversation with my oldest son. While I don't remember what I said to my son verbatim, this is pretty much what we talked about:

I understand that we shouldn't judge others harshly, frivolously, or without just cause. We truly have no idea what other people are going through, or how their life experiences have shaped them. What might be easy for us could be difficult for someone else, and vice versa.

For the most part, we should absolutely leave judging up to the Lord, as we are told in 1 Samuel 24:15, "The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee..." And Matthew 7:2 teaches that we must be careful with how we judge others: "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Yes, we must be thoughtful and cautious when putting on our judgy pants!

Whatever people choose to do with their lives is their business. We have been given the awesome and amazing gift of agency to make our life choices—which I am extremely grateful for! I love being able to make my own choices! (I'm pretty sure I'd "fight to the death" if someone tried to take away my agency.) Aren't we so blessed to be able to make our lives exactly how we want them to be? :) Just like we want others to allow us to live our lives as we see fit—and without harsh judgments—we must allow the same courtesy to everyone around us...within reason, of course.

There are certain times in our lives when when we must judge others. I believe mothers and fathers have that judging stewardship over their children living at home. It's a parent's duty to judge what their children are doing/saying/watching/participating in so they can help them as they grow. Things could go very wrong if all parents did was say, "Oh, I don't want to judge my child. I need to just let them do what they feel is best." No. Our job as parents is to help our children along the way—to help them understand right from wrong, and hopefully put them on the correct life path. Then, when our children are older and living on their own, they can make the decision to either follow what we've taught them, or to go their own way.

I also think we have a right to judge anyone whose actions directly affect us, or those within our stewardship. If others' choices don't have any sort of effect on us, we should happily let them be. But the instant someone else does or says something that involves us and/or our stewardship, we have every right to judge the situation and/or person.

If we know it's truly okay or needed for us to judge a person or situation, we must remember to follow what John 7:24 teaches us, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." Yes, that phrase has stuck with me throughout my entire life—or at least when I heard it in church for the first time! I love that our Savior has fully clarified that we are supposed to judge righteously! :)

I truly try my best not to judge others or situations unnecessarily, but there are those moments when I need to become the judge for the well-being of my family, or myself. As long as I'm prayerful and listen for a response from the Holy Ghost about what needs to be done, I can sleep at night knowing that I tried my very best.

Side note: Not judging is a very difficult task for me when children are involved simply because they have zero control over their lives—they are at the mercy of their caretakers! I'm working on this issue of mine... :)

One of the greatest talks I've ever heard on judging is "Judge Not and Judging", by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. I remember hearing his talk a couple of years after he originally gave it at a BYU devotional in 1998. He goes into much greater detail on judging than I've written here. Yet I look at judging in such simple terms. As I said previously, judging is something I try to my best to avoid, but when necessary, I have no problem hiking up my judgy pants, throwing on my black polyester robe, climbing the stairs of my mahogany desk, sitting up straight in my high-backed chair, listening to both sides of the story, consulting with myself (and whoever else is affected), and slamming down my gavel with a verdict! Just kidding, I don't own any of those judging accessories...except judgy pants! Ha ha.

*In all seriousness, I highly recommend reading or listening to Elder Oaks' words for his talk is filled with clarity and brilliance! This is one of my favorite paragraphs in his talk:

"So far as possible, we should judge circumstances rather than people. In all our judgments we should apply righteous standards. And, in all of this, we must remember the command to forgive."

I'd forgotten about that paragraph because it's been so many years since I heard his talk. But he's absolutely right. Like anything else in life, in order for our judgments to be successful and not catastrophic, forgiveness is key! When we've made mistakes (or sinned on purpose—only to later regret our choices), we want everyone to forgive us! Thus, even after we've seen all the evidence and given our ruling, we must be willing to forgive everyone!

How is the judgy situation with my oldest son, you ask? Well, he fully understood what I was trying to teach him. Yay! And he agreed with me. Bigger yay! Whew! Now I don't have to hear him say, "Mom, you're judging me!" anymore...what a relief! ;)

It's been interesting to see my darling and inquisitive son ask me questions now and again about both people that we know, and the many varied stories in the media. I enjoy hearing him ask what my thoughts are about how others handle their lives—I love that he respects my opinion! We have great conversations simply because he's curious about the world around him.

My son has also gotten used to my reply, "Well, they have nothing to do with us, so I'm not going to judge them." It's also been really funny to hear my son say, "Well, maybe you should [insert activity] so then you can judge them!" In those cases, I reply, "Well, if you really must know, here's my take [on the person/situation]—but don't speak this information to another living soul!!" or "Here's what I would do [about said situation/person]."  (That's a rare occurrence.) Then I absolutely clarify that it's their life and/or situation, and we just need to leave it alone.

I'm grateful for the opportunity I've been given to not only live my own life, but to be able to influence the lives of my amazing and wonderful children! I'm even more grateful that my darling Gregor agreed to not only accompany me on this grand life adventure (And create/raise beautiful children with me!!!), but to also share his thoughts, opinions and laughter. :) The gift of Greg's affection, adoration, eternal love, and our precious children, is literally my dream come true!

10,000 Thank Yous

I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who reads Enthusiastic Fantastic. I don't have a large readership, but I truly thank those of you who have read and continue to read my words. :) I know you all have so many ways to spend your time (Aren't we all so busy with life?!), so the fact that any of you would want to read my thoughts, well it means a lot...a lot, a lot a lot! (That last italicized part is a movie quote from The Parent Trap, 1998. I love that movie!)

Granted, I will happily continue blogging regardless of how many people are reading or how many views my blog receives. (My heart swells with joy when I blog!!) That said, I appreciate your support even more because my little blog just passed 10,000 views! To those fancy-schmancy-high-powered bloggers, my excitement must truly be small potatoes (and probably worth a chuckle), but to me, it's a significant number. 10k views are even more fun because after writing on my personal blog, Adrie World, for five years, my end total views was a mere 8,035. Thus my excitement for 10k views in less than two years is—in my mind—absolutely justified! :)

What I wish is that I was blogging more consistently. I have no excuse other than I'm busy being a wife, mother, and ward Young Women presidency member. My days are filled with serving the people I love and I'm happy with my decision. :) But I definitely want to blog more often—I have umpteen thoughts continually rolling around in my mind, so hopefully I'll be able to spit some of them out shortly! :) Until then, I hope everyone is having a super great day!

In Line with the Divine

Obviously this gorgeous ocean image isn't mine—it's pretty much everywhere on Google. But I created the overall typographic design, so I copyrighted it—meaning, I copyrighted my design...I hope that's okay with our copyright laws! :) Anyway, it leaves me nearly breathless every time I look at it, and I just want to dive in and swim for days! 

For my ward's combined Young Women activity this past week, the Mia Maid class presidency decided to focus on Divine Nature. Our MM adviser found a darling activity somewhere on Pinterest that gave us the idea. I don't know where she found it, so I can't give the person/people credit for the idea. However, I feel we totally made the activity our own, so I decided to share it here!

My ward's Mia Maid adviser, class presidency, a few class members, and I came early to our church building to set up. We decorated a chalkboard and whiteboard with be you chalkboard banners and balloons. The girls—including my daughter—had so much fun blowing up two packages of pearlized balloons! We also set up a card-writing station—to write cards for those young women who weren't able to attend. And we had to have treats(!), so we set up a cookie-decorating station too. :)

Our MM adviser made/brought regular star-shaped sugar cookies—because our young women are stars(!)—and frosting. I made/brought gluten-free sugar cookies, and sprinkles, but my cookies were sadly round because the dough wouldn't hold up for rolling and cutting. I was thrilled that our MM adviser bought gluten-free frosting and didn't even realize it! Gf frosting definitely kept my daughter happy! Yes, I think our MM adviser gets bonus points in heaven for her good deed. ;) One of our Mia Maids even had her little brother make snicker doodles for us—they were a big hit! :)

We started our night by singing As Zion's Youth In Latter-Days—I was asked to accompany the Young Women on the piano and have been practicing quite frequently for our big debut at New Beginnings! ;) That said, playing As Zion's Youth has given me a bit of trouble. I think it's probably because I simply haven't played the piano as regularly as I used to—because Greg has been working from home for nearly a year-and-a-half and I frequently need to be quiet during the day. That bad habit of mine is absolutely going to change! I've really had such a wonderful time practicing As Zion's Youth—mixed in with other songs so my hands and brain get a bit more of a workout. Thus, I was thrilled when, yesterday, I had a breakthrough! I actually played the song three times completely without any mistakes! I'm not expecting that to happen the night of New Beginnings, but if it does, I won't complain. :)

*Side note about playing a song perfectly on the piano: I've been reminded through this experience that it's all about the fingering. If I don't get the fingering down, I'll be continually surprised with the end result of my song...i.e., it won't sound the way it's supposed to! But I digress...

Our Mia Maids' first counselor introduced the theme of Divine Nature—taken from the scriptures 2 Peter 1:4-7:

Be partakers of the divine nature. … Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

She was followed up by our Mia Maid class president who talked about what it means to be divine. We then had each young woman in attendance stand in front of either the chalkboard or the whiteboard to get her photograph taken! :) Before the photos were taken, we had many of our other young women write a word or two (in chalk or whiteboard marker) to describe the good/divine qualities they've noticed or admired in their friend. Some of the young women's descriptions were a little silly, but I'm grateful they had a good time. I hope they felt bonded with each other that night! :)

Last night, I had a wonderful time editing the photos that my Mia Maid adviser and I took. It was interesting to note how deeply I care about these darling young ladies. I mean, I've been in my calling (First Counselor in the Young Women Presidency) for nearly a year-and-a-half (almost to the day!), so I've had a lot of time to serve the young women of my ward—including my beloved daughter! Because of all the time I've given in their behalf, I can't help but feel so concerned for their happiness and well-being. I only hope they know how much I care and want them to be successful in their lives!

Anyway, here are the photos of our Divine Nature Night. (I didn't include photos of our young women to protect their privacy.) It wasn't fancy, by any means, but I think our night turned out super cute! Our Mia Maid class presidency did a great job of planning and following through! I was so happy everyone was dependable and did what they said they would do—three cheers for their success!

Notice my gluten-free sugar cookies protected under the bubble, and on the right side of the table away from the gluten! #supersafemom

I won't take credit for the cute Divine Nature photo on the table or the darling tablecloth, as I found the photo in our YW closet (thanks to our YW President!), and our MM adviser brought the tablecloth...I did, however, bring the napkins and knives! ;) 

Yes, I totally airbrushed this photo of me—don't judge! Ha ha. You see, the fluorescent lights were a bit harsh and I was just getting over being sick, so I looked (and felt!) really tired. *And might I say, those words on the chalkboard totally made my week! I especially love the word anything. I don't know exactly what the young woman was getting at by writing it, but hopefully it means that she thinks I can do anything! :)

Here are the finished cards our young women wrote for the girls who didn't come that night. I wrote a word on each card too, sealed them, and wrote their names on the front. I hope they enjoy reading those happy words!

As I researched being divine, I came across this quote, "...keep in mind anything that detracts from your divine nature should be avoided."– Glenn L. Pace. I completely agree with him. His entire talk "The Divine Nature and Destiny of Women" is really really good. In fact, I'd say it's truly excellent. I highly recommend everyone read it! :) 

In case you don't want to read Elder Pace's entire talk, please read this lovely bit (below)—it made me teary simply because I've tried my best to do those things for my own sweet children every single day of their lives. As a mother, do I say or do everything perfectly in line with the divine all the time? Of course not, but I never give up in my efforts! :)

"...the first woman in my life was my mother. How can I describe the impact of my mother’s love? A lullaby, being tucked in bed, are you warm enough, a kiss goodnight, Glenn, you’d better get up, you don’t want to be late for school, a kiss good morning, you are such a special boy, oh honey, how I love you, I made some chocolate chip cookies, I want to take your picture, I’m so proud of you, I know you can do it, are you going to go on a mission, you are going to go on a mission, I miss you so much, frequent love notes, let’s go look at the roses, did you see the full moon, aren't the mountains beautiful today, the love in her eyes, her touch, her smell, her elegance, her tender heart, her sensitivity, her femininity. 

That was just a blink in a lifetime of nurturing." – Glenn L. Pace

Isn't that so beautiful? I love his words! I also love the fact that his childhood experiences help illustrate there is no doubt that mothers positively influence and impact their children forever! :)

I'm just so grateful to have the opportunity to daily strive to improve my divineness. (Google is trying to tell me that's not a word, but you know what I mean!) I wish more people would seek to consistently be in line with the divine! Besides, what could be better than striving to become closer to our Heavenly Father (God)? Those impressive qualities only make us better people! :) If we have any question as to how to work toward that divine goal, we need look no further than our Savior, Jesus Christ! "...physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked." – President Thomas S. Monson, "Ponder the Path of Thy Feet", General Conference, October 2014.

Now my feet must walk upstairs and get back to cleaning my house. Le sigh...for you know I'd much rather stay in my cozy basement, seated at my lovely retro architect's desk, blogging all day! ;)

Even Though I'm Not a Millionaire...

I have wished I was a millionaire many times during my life. As a child, I remember watching a scene from Little House on the Prairie's episode "At the End of the Rainbow" when Laura fantasizes that the Ingalls family becomes very wealthy. I related to that episode because I, too, had daydreamed that my family would one day be rich. :) (By the way, I think this episode has a lot to do with my love of white dresses! Well, that, and staring at my mom's gorgeous bridal photo nearly every day during my childhood!)

I took this photo of the Little House on the Prairie DVD case. I could copyright it, but since it's not my original photo, I won't. I just wanted to clarify that I indeed took this photo...of a photo. ;)

In fact, when I was 11 years old, my dad thought about purchasing the very grand house on 335 E. 5th Avenue in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Back in the late 1980s, the house was in not-great shape which is why it was such a great deal. It would have required a lot of labor and money! Still, my dad drove our family to 335 E. a couple of times and asked what we thought about possibly moving there?? My head instantly filled with thoughts of living in my very own princess tower room! Oh, it was a grand daydream for a couple of weeks...until my dad wisely decided against it. As an adult, I'm glad he didn't purchase the house for I believe the financial burden would have been too great for our family, but as a child, that decision was a very sad one for me. No, I wouldn't get to be a white-dress-wearing Princess Adrie after all. Boo. :'(

Side note: from the research I've done through various real estate websites and the county assessor's office, 335 E. 5th Avenue was renovated in 1988, and remodeled in 1996 and 2000. It was converted into three separate apartments, which makes sense, but I would have loved to have that impressive mansion remain combined for one blessed family! :)

Throughout my childhood, and until I left my parents' nest, my family was never rich in the worldly sense. Thankfully we were never poor, either. We always had enough, which is a great blessing! Thus, it wasn't a hard adjustment for me to be so amazingly broke when Greg and I married (young). We truly lived on love, prayers, and tithing blessings—but we had our plans! :)

As many of you know, when we first married, I worked and put Greg through college so I could eventually become a stay-at-home mom. Greg received two bachelor's degrees in three years (economics and Japanese), while I worked full-time (until our oldest son was born) and he worked part-time.

After Greg had worked for a couple of years in a full-time and steady grown-up job, he began his first master's degree program. I made him take the slow route so he could still be an active and involved husband and father.

Over the next several years, things did not turn out the way we expected or planned, so he was never able to complete his first master's degree. Shortly after we realized he wouldn't be able to finish his master's degree in time—before his classes started "falling off" and he would have had to retake them—Greg decided to get his MBA. Happily for all of us, he graduated in a year-and-a-half! :) Greg's graduation day was one of the happiest days of my life!!!

In terms of education, I think Greg and I prepared very well! I was certain that because of Greg's amazing and dedicated diligence in working and gaining an education (three awesome degrees!), he would be greatly compensated. Don't get me wrong, we have been greatly blessed over the years by the companies Greg has worked for, but our efforts have not yielded the financial results we expected.

I used to think our financial struggles were due to the fact that the companies Greg worked for simply didn't appreciate him enough, but I was wrong. Then I blamed our misfortune with layoffs on the terrible economy—which is partially true. But after gaining the proper perspective over many years, I've determined that Greg's and my path is not supposed to be one that's paved with gold. I've come to believe that we are to live a modest life.

Like my childhood family, my little family has always been blessed to have enough. Whenever Greg and I have anything extra, we now completely understand that it's for a reason: we are to save it for the next financial burden that's just around the corner. This way of thinking/behaving is most definitely not sad, it's actually served us very well and has helped us stay financially afloat during times when we shouldn't have made it!

All of that said, there are times when I wish my little family had unlimited funds:

• When I see others in true need. I would love to give money wherever I go!
• When I receive requests for me to donate to "Go Fund Me" websites. I feel badly that I can't contribute.
• When people I love are gravely ill...it hurts my heart to see them suffering physically and financially. I literally wish I could afford to pay all of their medical bills.
• When I want my little family to go on an amazing vacation (Or I want to learn how to snowboard!), and I don't want us to go into debt for it! :)
• When our house and/or cars have expensive problems to repair.
• When my husband longingly looks at Cadillac Escalades on Auto Trader for years. How I wish I could just go pick one up, put a humongous red bow on the hood, blindfold My Gregor and grandly reveal his present!
• When my children ask for various iDevices because they want to fit-in with their friends. Hey, I'd love to buy iDevices for all of my children's friends, and my friends too! Ha ha.
• When I want to buy everyone I love (That's a lot of people!) grand presents for their birthdays and Christmas.
• When I want to bleach my teeth with the special supplies from a dentist. I know, first-world problems!

I'm guessing there might be some critics that look at my silly woes and say, "If they'd just quit being members of that darn church of theirs, they'd get a pay raise post haste!" Well, readers, I assure you, quitting our church is not ever going to happen. :)

I love my church with my whole heart. I love what it represents. I love that my family history is inextricably linked with Church History! I love what it gives to me and my family. I love the service my family and I are able to render because we're members of it. I love how our tithing funds and fast offerings benefit others. I would love to be able to contribute financially to more of The Church's charitable causes one day! I love being instantly connected to endless amazing people across the entire world—and into eternity! I love feeling the Spirit each and every Sunday while participating in sacred ordinances. And the temple? Well, there is nothing that compares to the temple!

So. Even though I'm not a millionaire—and probably never will be—I'm truly, honestly, and sincerely okay with that. And even though I probably won't ever be able to endlessly give money like I desire, there is one thing I can do for myself and others: I can pray. I know that sounds like an oversimplified response, but it's true and prayer works!

For as we learn in Alma 34:17-27,

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren [and sisters!], that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.

Yes, I pray for myself and everyone I care about. My prayers are pretty lengthy! :)

In addition to praying, I can also fast. And you'd better believe I fast! I usually fast on Fast Sundays, but when someone I know is suffering, or otherwise in great need, I will do a full fast for them any day of the week. I've seen miracles come from fasting and praying!

This past Fast Sunday, January 4th, 2015, Greg and I fasted for our children's well-being, and for our family's finances. Again, we're technically totally fine financially speaking, but we're still digging-out from our move in 2013 (read: credit card debt); our mortgage is increasing this year due to rising property taxes and homeowners' insurance costs; we're starting our two oldest children in braces next month; we have two 17-year-old minivans with needed repairs; and our garage door is broken. The great news is, we finally paid back the loan Greg's wonderful dad provided for us when we sold our Colorado house at a loss in 2008. Yay us!! Yes, it's always fun to pay off a loan on a house you haven't owned in six years! (Not really. I don't recommend it.)

Anyway, I felt the need for inspiration on how to make all of our endless ends meet—without me re-entering the workforce or Greg getting a new job (because we're settled and we don't want to have to move again!). So, we fasted for help. :)

That lovely Fast Sunday, I "broke" (completed) my fast with my children. (Greg was still at church serving in his calling for our bishop.) I prayed while we held hands around the foot of my bed. It was a sweet, warm and marvelous moment. The Spirit was very strong. I can still envision that lovely experience in my mind! I was so pleased my children willingly participated and listened to my l.o.n.g. prayer, even though they were tired from church and wanted to relax!

I felt such peace that following week. My children were very happy and doing so well in school and their other social activities. And even though our money will be stretched even farther this year, somehow I just knew that everything would work out all right! That said, my husband and I were totally amazed at the email he received Wednesday, January 7th.

I won't go into too much detail, but suffice it to say, my husband was contacted by a recruiter for a position that's a step above his current position. It would have easily covered our financial burdens and then some. The only problem was, the job is located in another state. Still, Greg and I saw this opportunity as a direct answer to our fasting and prayers, so we discussed our options. Not only would Greg have received a nice raise, wonderful recognition and a job title he loved, but the overall cost of living would have been less than what we're currently experiencing. It was quite the amazing prospect!

In the end, we decided to have Greg stay put in his current position because we love our family's stability, adorable city, great friends, and fantastic schools. Plus, his current position allows him to work from home, which is such a priceless blessing to our family. Basically, my family's overall happiness is worth more than money!

What blew me away is the fact that Greg received this email a mere three days after we completed our fast and prayers. It's like Heavenly Father was saying, "Yes, Adrie, I absolutely hear you. I know you're concerned, and I love you! Does this job opportunity help make you feel better?" I just can't get over the fact that Greg and I were given a legitimate option of a way to change our financial circumstances if we so desired. And in the end, we decided we are okay with our lives the just the way they are! We are truly so happy living in our 1970s house—even though it needs umpteen repairs and updates! :)

But that's not the end of our story! Read on!

This past week, Greg was working in Texas. I missed him terribly! I was such a busy mama, which is why I haven't blogged in a while. During the long hours of Greg's absence, I've had a lot of time to think of ways I can cut our budget. I was feeling so positive because as we all know, it's not how much money you make, it's how much money you spend! Thus, I've made many plans I know will help our family make it financially through these next few tight years. :)

And any time I begin to feel picked on because of our tight finances, all I have to do is remember that amazing email Greg received from the recruiter that gave us the legitimate opportunity to change our circumstances, and how we absolutely chose to stay put and live our lives simply! :)

Thus, you can imagine my total, complete, and utter surprise when, yesterday, Greg received some really wonderful news during his year-end review at work. I love that his review was filled with praise, for I fill him with praise every day! Ha ha. What I love even more is that he was given a small raise—for the first time in six years(!)—and a bonus that will help us finally recover from our move from Texas to Utah!

Anyone can say this experience was all just a coincidence, but I firmly and pleasantly disagree. For I know my family's fasting efforts were absolutely recognized. Our prayers were heard and spectacularly answered!

All of that said, just because Greg and I have been given a little financial respite, that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon the inspiration I received in regard to the ways I can cut back my family's spending and save money. Like I said before, anytime we get a little break, I know that means something else is coming around the corner. I'll make sure we're prepared—I won't get sidetracked! :)

Yes, friends, even though I'm not a millionaire, I am so very rich in all of the ways that truly matter: love, family, health, faith, knowledge and friends. And to top off my delicious sundae of life, I positively know that our Heavenly Father knows me, hears me, and answers my prayers!

P.S. I know He hears and answers your prayers, too, I just got caught up in my moment of happiness. :)

How Safe is Your Food? How Clean is Your Kitchen?

Tonight I went on a Google Quest (I coined that phrase! As far as I can Google, no one else has said it previously! Yeah yeah!) because I wondered if my chrome shelving unit in my kitchen was safe for storing dry, canned, or packaged foods.

You see, my lovely 70s kitchen doesn't have enough cabinets to store all of my dishes, small appliances and food. Plus, we don't currently have the funds to redo our entire kitchen, so I lined one of my kitchen walls with two chrome shelving units. One is wide, one is very skinny! They're your basic Target-brand chrome shelves (I totally love them!), but they aren't NSF-certified. Thus, I wondered if there is a safety issue in storing my family's food on them??

These are not my shelves, this is a Target photo. My shelves are jam-packed with a lot of food and a few miscellaneous kitchen items. :)

As you might guess, I'm a little nervous when it comes to food safety. I'm already very concerned about avoiding gluten cross-contact, so I didn't want to add to my family's food problems with metal-shelving-contamination too! Ha ha. Thankfully, when I did umpteen Google searches of chrome-shelving-safety, I couldn't find anything on the dangers of using non-NSF-certified chrome shelving units. Yay for that good news! :)

After researching, I've come to the conclusion that it's okay to store dry/canned/packaged goods on metal shelving units as long as they aren't rusted or corroding. I'm guessing it's okay to make your own shelving units out of wood, as well. By the way, be sure not to store any chemicals on your food shelves or anywhere near your food. (*Please don't sue me for my statement if something goes wrong with your food storage—I'm not an expert. If someone else knows of information about this topic, please share.)

All of that said, I will state that I absolutely feel it's best to use NSF-certified shelves if you can. I was just curious about the safety of my chrome shelves that didn't have the nifty NSF stamp on them—did I need to buy new NSF-certified ones? I'm really happy I don't have to buy new shelves, or transfer all of our stuff onto said new shelves! Whew!

While perusing many documents I found on food storage safety, I came across a gem of a jewel! This 97-page PDF, "food PROTECTION TRAINING MANUAL", is authored by New York City's Department of Mental Health and Hygeine. Here's its opening paragraph,

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has the jurisdiction to regulate all matters affecting health in the city and to perform all those functions and operations that relate to the health of the people of the city.

I read most of the manual (I couldn't help myself, I wanted to know more about food safety!), but skimmed some parts of it. Granted, this manual is for commercial/public food establishments, but the PDF shares great tips for keeping all kitchens and food storage areas clean and free of unwanted problems—which ultimately leads to safe food and healthy people. Thus, I had to share—and I highly recommend reading it! :)

I think every kitchen (and food storage area) in America should be as clean and safe as any public food establishment in New York City—ready to be inspected by employees of The Inspector General's office at any moment! Ha ha. But really, if we expect restaurants, cafes, diners, food trucks, grocery stores, etc., to be so clean and safe, why would we expect anything less from our own homes?! I mean, most Americans spend more time eating at home than anywhere else! Well, maybe not everyone. I'm assuming a lot of people eat-out for most of their meals. Because of my children's celiac disease, my family eats 99% of our meals at home—or when we do eat away from home, our food is from our kitchen.

Full disclosure? When I wrote that previous paragraph, I was totally thinking of myself. Yes, my kitchen has been known to hold dirty dishes for a few days in a row. Don't get me wrong, I'm so completely safe when it comes to food preparation (and my dishes are always perfectly clean when preparing food), but kitchen cleanup is a different story. (See my post "Downton Adrie" for illumination.)

I can pinpoint the cause of my kitchen-cleanup habit back to when I was working through hypothyroidism after my daughter was born. I was simply too exhausted to finish the dishes after making dinner. I would get around to doing the dishes when I finally found the energy. Throw in the fact that, at one point, my husband and I had three children ages four and under, and we moved 11 times in 16 years of marriage, and you have neglected dishes in our kitchen. And it became a habit.

Don't blame my husband for our dirty dishes problem, either. For he was busy working 10-14 hour days and getting his Master's degree (he almost finished), and then his MBA (he graduated)! He did the dishes whenever he could. Yes, we were busy and worn out!

These days, our kitchen is much improved! :) It's clean more often than not. Yay us! But, would it be ready at a moment's notice if The Inspector General knocked on our door? Not always. Thus, I'm going to make a concerted effort to clean our kitchen after every meal. I refuse to have OCD tendencies about it because I know there are times when life happens and the dishes will simply need to remain dirty for a while, but I will do better. :)

Lastly, here's another great article on food safety "Safe Food Handling Fact Sheets" by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. It has numerous PDFs that will pretty much answer any question you might have about food safety.

The good news is, I'll continue being thrilled with my space-saving happy-shiny Target shelves! I'm relieved knowing I'll sleep soundly tonight, for I won't worry one little bit about my family's food safety! :)