live.

Whenever I talk to any of my family or friends about my beliefs and they ask me how I can believe that we are only living in the now, and that there is nothing after this life. I wish I had something like this to say in return:

"When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me-it still sometimes happens-and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don’t ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive and we were together was miraculous-not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance… . That pure chance could be so generous and so kind… . That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space and the immensity of time… . That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me and it’s much more meaningful… . The way he treated me and the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other and our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don’t think I’ll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful."

Beautifully said.

study.

Instead of studying, like I was supposed to be doing, I was up all night making this étagère à livres.

That is french for bookshelf.

::fancy isn't it::

This is before I started.

This is when I was all finished.

I added some candles, but you can't really tell because of the glare.

This picture is better. I like how it turned out.

::next for bedroom::

COW SKIN RUG

fabrique.

Kolby always gives me crap for staying in my room for hours during the day, which I often do.

::This is why::

This is my room.

From another angle.
My work area.

I can slide the paintings that I made to cover the windows. I put black fabric on the back to blackout the room.
The other wall with the painting moved to cover the window.
This is my newest painting. I think it's my personal favorite! I make the canvases myself because it is a fraction of the price to make them compared to buying them at an art store. When I was at Home Depot today I bought more supplies for my next painting. I'll post pictures when I'm done.
If you have been to Ikea you have seen this couch. I got this very one about 3 years ago. I paid $49 for it. I think it is now priced at $149 (both are very good deals).

I reupholstered it about 2 years ago because it was looking grungy, due to its light color.

It had been a while, so I decided it was time to give my couch a facelift. This picture is when I was about half way done.

Ta-dah! About $35 worth of fabric and supplies later, and I have a brand new couch!

It's been done for about 10 minutes and I'm already in love!!

Today I also bought some quality lumber to build a bookshelf.

I want it to look something like this.

As soon as I'm done with construction, I'll post the finished product.

I absolutely love having days off that I can do projects like this. It's so rewarding to see what you can do if you set your mind to it.

My room is a place where I can just forget about the rest of the world and leave my problems at the door.

happy.

I started my day bright and early.

Around 5:30AM.

Drove to American Fork Hospital to wait for my sister, Andrea to have her baby.

7:45 finally arrived.

Warner Tyler Peay

8 lbs and 19 inches long.

::Hour 1 of life::

Sharon and my Mom anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new grandson.

5 minutes old.
First bath.
Handsome little guy.
Faux Hawk.
The Peays: A Beautiful Family

Being an uncle has been one of the most rewarding things that my sister has allowed for me to do.

Watching Kwynn grow up has been a huge joy in my life.

I can only imagine how great it will be to be a part of Warner's life.

I admit that I got a little bit choked up this morning as a first got to hold baby Warner.

I looked back on when I heard Kwynn say her first word, take her first step, to when she went to her first day of preschool and realize the immense happiness that she gives me.

I will cherish everyday that I have my family in my life.

Warner Tyler Peay, I love you.

I wish the world for you.

anyway.

::Quote for the day::

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

fitness.

I will talk about this once, and only once, because when people constantly talk about this subject I tend to get irritated...

For the last 3 months I have been making an effort to go to the gym, and I have been blown away by the amount of dedication that I have had this go-around. On average, I make it to the field house 3-4 times a week. I really push myself to my limits, and i feel great afterwards. It usually takes me around 90 minutes to complete everything. I have been meeting with Angie on occasion and she helps me focus on what I want to accomplish.

::PROGRESS::

• When I started I could run about 2.5 miles. Last week along with today I ran 5.5 miles (without walking). That's 3 mile increase. Hooray!
• When I first started, I would only do cardio; meaning I would only run as far as I could. Now, I run for 40 minutes to an hour, and then I do both arm and abdominal exercises.
• I have increased the weight on my arm exercises by 5 lbs, along with the number of workouts I do for both abs and arms.
• I not only see a difference in my physique, but also their has been a huge increase in the amount of energy I have.
• I have lost about 10 lbs and I am nearly down to the weight I was in high school.

::FUTURE GOALS::

• My mom signed my up to run a 15 K, which is roughly 9.6 miles. I just might die, but I'm hoping for the best.
• I want to loose 10-15 more pounds and bring my body fat percentage down, too.
• I would love to have defined abs and nice arms. I don't want to be a ripped wildebeest, but being physically fit would be nice for a change.

I have never gone this long without stopping, and I have a theory why. I don't have a really strict diet other than the fact that I have been trying to eat healthier, but I do let myself slide sometimes. I have been trying to focus on eating smaller portions more throughout the day. I bring my gym bag to school with me so I have no excuse not to stop by the field house. I think I can accredit my success so far to a great support system. Angie has been a huge help in teaching me what to do, and making these awful exercises somewhat enjoyable, and along with Angie I have Jessica who I always meet up with at the gym and we do exercises together. Maddie has also been a big support in that she is trying to get in shape as well and it's good to have friends around that have the same goals in mind.

Thank you all!

-Regan

material.

::Bother for the day::

I tend to get irritated when I see grown adults that still have a unibrow [when your (2) eyebrows join into one brow]. Come on people, it might be understandable when you're five, but it's never acceptable to have a creature living on your forehead. People are talking.

These little beauties are for sale at Smith's for less than $2.00.

You're welcome.

Shipping container houses:

I have been obsessed with these lately. Not only are they beautiful and extremely functional, but they are incredibly eco-friendly. Instead of using lumber for building material, these structures recycle the vast amount of unused shipping containers that are located around the world.

-Regan

fresh.

::1ONE1::

I demand that everyone goes out now and purchases a scooter! I have had mine for about three years and every time I get to take it out it instantly boosts my mood and my day takes a turn for the better.

::2TWO2::

Church leaders is are it again with their gay bashing. Boyd K. Packer stated in his last talk during conference that homosexuality is next to murder in the eyes of god. Many argue that it is only that way because sex without marriage is a serious sin in the LDS church. I find it ironic that the church played a vital role in taking that right away.

Sex before marriage is bad-->Gays can't get married-->Gay sex it baaad! Vicious cycle isn't it?

He also made a comment saying that sexuality can change. All of that electroshock therapy that the church used to perform on it's 'confused' members really worked out (insert sarcasm here). I wonder why they have stopped using that form of treatment?

I'm aware of some people who get offended by some of the things said on here. Don't take what I say about the LDS church as a personal hit, and I really feel bad for you if you think I'm being an ass. I just refuse to sit and watch respected men and women of my community state things that degrade the LGBT community. The church has full right to have their opinions, and they can go right ahead and not allow gay people to be part of their religion (being a suppressed homosexual mormon would be an awful existence), but stay out of the lives of the people who want nothing to do with your church and keep your extremely conservative beliefs out of politics.

::3THREE3::

I spent the weekend at the cabin. It was just me with my parents, and on Friday night all of the aunts on my Mom's side came and stayed. There wasn't a quiet moment from when they got there. My mom's sisters (there is 7 of them) are the most outrageous, funny, and out-of-control people I have yet to know. On saturday, the Jensen's (my parent's neighbors) came and spent the night with their four little boys. They are an adorable family, and really funny as well. I didn't do much the entire weekend but watch movies and the entire last season of Will & Grace.

On Sunday, when we drove the snowcat out to the road where our cars were parked I was shocked to see how buried my car was. Here is a picture:

::4FOUR4::

Kolby, Ally, and I recently moved to a house in the Avenues. We live with Allison (our friend that we met through work), Rikki (Allison's friend from school), and Matt (Rikki's boyfriend). This house is incredible! There is two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a living room in the basement and that is where Allison, Rikki, and Matt live. On the midlevel there is the kitchen, dining room, living room, family room, another bathroom, and a balcony. Here are some pictures from the main floor:

The sun room/main floor balcony

The kitchen

The dining room/family room

The entry

The living room

On the upper floor there is two more bedrooms, another bathroom, a commons area, and another balcony. I love having all of the room that we do, and the people that I live with are awesome!

That's all for now.

-Regan

thoughts.

ANGRY thoughts!

I was just doing as a do and surfing the web, and viewing certain political debates regarding LGBT rights. Just about every person that is against gay rights, whether it be to marry or to have an equal work environment, uses reference to religion and/or the bible during their argument.

WHERE IS THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?!

I don't think that there should be allowed even the slightest inkling of religious bigotry during any political debate. The bible was written by who-knows however long ago, and we might as well have cavemen running our country. If we went word for word from the bible, blacks would still not have rights, unicorns would be real, and it would actually be possible to fit two of every animal on a boat (really?!). Why should peoples' rights be based on a 'god' that no one has any proof exists?

Go ahead, believe what you want to believe. Religion can be a good thing. Don't let those beliefs determine how everyone else should live though. The bible is not the constitution. The constitution is made to protect the citizens of this country of EVERY belief.

If it weren't for a few stupid scripture verses that state that gay acts are an 'abomination' I bet a lot more people would be more accepting and tolerant.

On a more positive note, here is an amazing story of a 7-year-old that is trying to change the world:

HERE

apparently.

There are few, but some people actually read this thing.

So I will continue to post.

First off, I want to say that people who get offended by what I say should either get over it or leave.

Why?

This is my blog, these are my opinions, deal with it or don't read it.

I'm not going to delete previous posts. This is how I feel, and it's not going to change.

There are certain people who are upset over my post 'religion ridiculous'.

Let me clarify.

I don't hate all LDS people.

My entire family is LDS, along with many of my close friends.

My love for these people has never, and will never be up for debate.

I just don't agree with their beliefs.

I do dislike the church as an organization.

It's involvement in politics is not only wrong, but it shouldn't be allowed.

Organized religion is a fancy word for bigotry.

Bigotry=bad.

Organized religion=bad.

Moving on....

My top 10 Facebook "NO ONE CARES!" moments:

1. When someone posts something about sports. I hate sports, and I would rather see a picture of a dead baby.
2. When people think I care about them going to the gym. Yes, I realize that its good to get a support system and let people know what your doing in order to succeed with your fitness goals. That's what weight watchers meetings and/or online chat rooms are for. When I see a daily post saying, "The gym was so awesome today!! :DD" I want to punch you in your awesome face! Stop making everyone who doesn't care about your fitness goals feel fat.
3. Profile pictures that don't show your face. Your Facebook page is your online networking site, and I'd appreciate it if I could see the face of the person I am trying to Facebook stalk.
4. I'm going to publicly humiliate the next person who intentionally removes vowels from their words (people=ppl).
5. "Elder John Johnson," your first name is NOT Elder.
6. Those who post long depressing song lyrics that fill up half of my feed. Go see a psychiatrist.
7. I really, really don't care what your astrology symbol means!
8. If I wanted to play FarmVille with you I'll ask. If your pretend animal needs food I really don't know what to do for it.
9. When girls talk about the letter they got from 'their' missionary and how happy it made them. It's almost like these letters contain the solution to cancer, AIDS, and when/where Jesus is coming. Guess what! He wrote the same thing to 15 other girls, including his own mother.
10. If you can't write a proper sentence and/or spell, delete your Facebook and enroll your ass in the 3rd grade until you can.