Creativity and Cravings

The satellite signal at our ward building was being a little testy Saturday night,

so I was not able to watch the Relief Society broadcast.
However, I was able to watch it here at home yesterday, snuggled up with a giant mug of apple cider (thank you technology!).

Marty got home from work around the time President Uchtdorf began speaking to the women.
As President Uchtdorf talked about women focusing on
what they do wrong rather than what they accomplish,
Marty said, "that sounds like you, babe."

I realize that I do this, as I think most women do.
It is a hard habit to break.
But I listened intently to the rest of President Uchtdorf's talk and truly want to work on exercising my ability to create WITHOUT criticizing and nit-picking my creations.

I love to paint--picking a canvas, mixing colors, watching the paint come to life--but that old stinker
(that part of me that likes to nit-pick),
always keeps me from finishing or hanging one of my own paintings.
But today is a new day, and I am going to try to not make up excuses in the process! Here is the progress I have made so far:

And while we're on the subject of creating, I have to share the oh-so-delicious dinner we made last Friday night:

Yes, that is a steak and onion ring salad.
No, it is not super healthy for us.
Yes, I enjoyed every bite.
I have to take a moment to thank Beezers for 6 years of training in order to make those onion rings. Those years in a hot, greasy kitchen are sure coming in handy when I get hankerings during this pregnancy.

So, ladies, let's be kinder to ourselves
and let ourselves more freely exercise creativity.
Our Heavenly Father trusts us to be vessels for the most important of creative processes. It's time we realize our worth instead of recognizing our faults.