Author Archives: Christie Perkins

About Christie Perkins

I'm just and ordinary girl (yes, girl) who loves life. After a battle with chemo, radiation, and two types of breast cancer I can't help but see the perks of every day. I celebrate life by writing and loving more deeply. Couldn't be happier. I live in Utah with my husband and four boys.

Change Your Attitude, Change Your Outcome

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Just Tell Yourself “I’m Making Memories”

by Christie Perkins

“We’re just making memories!”

It was something Grandma always said when plans fizzled, plopped, or dropped; when the days course when askew or blew.

2014 Fish Lake with Paxtons 198

She always said it at the right moment.  At the flicker of a face scrunching episode she would immediately interject the distractor phrase: “we’re just making memories.”  The squished face always detoured and softened to a half smile.

“So true.” It was impossible to disagree and a little chuckle changed my perspective. Continue reading →

Chemo Hair Gets a Compliment

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Share Your Thoughts: Quit Keeping it a Secret

by Christie Perkins

baby blessing, etc 138“I love ‘urs’ hair Mommy.  It’s cute,”  my three year old said as he ran his fingers through my 1/2 inch stub of hair.

His timing could not have been more perfect.  I was laying in bed after a radiation treatment chalking up everything that I’ve lost control over since I started this cancer journey: money, my 1st graders empty reading calendar, my 3 1/2 year old who was still enjoying his soggy diapers, and selling and building a new house.  I was stressing about the day I go wigless in my new ward, and frustrated about my personal power cord fiasco from the chemo treatments…

All these thoughts were buzzing around in my head and bugging me. Continue reading →

The Practice Prayer

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Fine Tuning Your Prayers Requires Evaluating Your Prayers, First

by Christie Perkins

A practice prayer may look a little like this!What are your prayers like?

Check.  Yep, my morning prayers come as a little check mark on my to do list.  It’s a bad habit, really.  It’s a bad habit because the prayer is insincere.  It can be quick.  But, sometimes it’s insanely long.

I find my mind scuttling around in my to-do list.  It replays funny moments from yesterday.  And it dwells on, and hashes out, current frustrations.  It even wanders over to planning out the day’s outfit.  And sometimes it’s replaying scenes from a movie or dream.

And my eyes flash open.  I’m praying about this?  The prayer’s not pretty.  And I end up finding myself talking, not to God, but to myself.

Go ahead- judge me.  Diagnose me with some crazy explanation for my behavior.  Call it whatever you want.  But I call it my practice prayer.

Continue reading →

The Bad Idea of Wannabe Cupcakes

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The “I’m Going To Be Like Her” Game

By Christie Perkins

001So, um yeah.

This is what happens when you play the “I’m going to be like her game.”  So, this disaster all began on a stormy night.

Well, kind of.  I came home from church storming into the house excited to make these delicious cupcakes.  Ok, ok…so, technically, it wasn’t night but broad beautiful daylight.  Now, I’m not much of a cupcake lover (go ahead, glare if you must) but things changed for me one Sunday. Continue reading →

Let Some Things In Life Drop

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Don’t Squeeze Time, Make It

by Christie Perkins

2015 st. george narrows and temple, etc 033Sometimes, just sometimes, you need to let some things drop.  And today it’s my blog post.  Life will pick up again and for a moment you will think that the world just might crash without your undivided attention.

Then, you realize a fine truth.  It’s not the world that’s going to crash… but you.  So, to save my sanity and live up to a more awesome me I am choosing to drop my very sketchy blog post and go to bed.

And you know what?  It feels great to let go.

I’ll be back next week.  In the meantime, why don’t you just drop something today and feel the burden lift.

Go ahead.  What are you going to drop?  Leave a comment below.  Inspire me.

 

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Share The Truths You See In Others

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Build Up Those Around You With Words Of Truth

By Christie Perkins

Germany 6-12 072Gasp.   My little guy drew in his breath.

I was trying to listen to the speaker at church amid an acrobatic stunt.  You see, I was working on crushing my 4 year olds dreams of pursuing his talents… well, at least here on the church bench anyway.

I wasn’t even sure he was listening to the speaker because usually when the jaw’s flapping the ears are slacking.  I was anticipating that the lions and bears would be arriving any time soon. Continue reading →

Twitterpation

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Finding and Keeping Love

by Christie Perkins

007

Spring’s coming. It’s time to find a man. Classifieds or are you in the comics? No. My lifelong love is in the obituaries. Next place for ideas is slave dungeons.

So.  I created this sign in high school.  And I am happy to admit I did not find my guy in the slave dungeon (although he may have found himself in the slave dungeon when he married me… sorry guy.)

I found my guy in the Human Interest section.  Oh yes I did.

He was checking off the list for me: good with kids, treats me well, always talks me up, most forgiving person I’ve ever met, and showcases a perfect bald head (which I discovered later in marriage… he fashioned the parking lot hairstyle for quite some time).

These are just a few of his perks.  Everyone has their unique set of perks and most likely no two are exactly the same.  Everyone is awesome is some way. Everyone.

And we all have our quirks.

I wrote this poem in high school… I think it can apply well to any relationship.

Continue reading →

The Cancer Whisperer

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Family History Helped Me Find My Lump

by Christie Perkins

004You know that telephone game?  The one where you whisper in someone’s ear and by the end it gets all messed up.

Yeah, well… that happened to me.

Although it wasn’t a mixed up message but some fabulous tumor instead.  It was passed from generation to generation, until it got to me all mixed up and messed up.  Some static message ended up clunking out 2 types of cancer and 7 tumors (thankfully, only five were malignant).

Oh, the cancer whisperer messed that one up. Continue reading →

Maximize Your Time

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The Power of 20 Minutes

by Christie Perkins

Copy of Germany 6-12 177Alright, we’ve all said this lame excuse: “I just don’t have time.”  In fact even I’ve said it a lot this week.  But as we know, the truth of the matter is that we don’t “make time.”

Blah, blah, blah.  I know you’ve heard it a million times.

“Having time” relies on the day being blind to the journey that leads it; never getting to what you really wanted.  “Making time” is prioritizing, planning, and squeezing.

If you’re a chronic lame excuse user- you’re going to like this tip to power up your day.  So, you want 24 hours and 20 minutes out of your day?  I’ll fabricate how you can.  Yes, fabricate.  You know, as in trick your mind into thinking that you actually created more time in your day.

I have used this tip for years to accomplish the things I dread.  And it all started with a dresser top.

Continue reading →

Understanding the Purpose of Death

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In Love and Death

by Christie Perkins

December 2014 011I pass my Grandma’s house one last time.

A brief vision of days past flash through my mind.  A wave of emotion overcomes me.  I remember Grandma standing at the edge of her yard in her curled hair and up curled lips.  Grandpa in his navy blue pocketed shirt is waving with those knobby knuckles.  I watch out the back window of the van as we turn the corner.  Until next time.

It is just a vision, for Grandpa’s been gone for years.  Grandma’s only been gone a few days.

I fight the stinging of hot tears brimming in my eyes as I realize that today will be the last time I visit Grandma.  No more aqua rainforest soap, aloe vera plants for bee stings, or Tang coupled with amazing breakfast eggs edged with that secret ingredient.  (Seriously!  How could she not like her own eggs?)

All is gone.  But not forgotten.

I touch the corner of each eye to drain the tear and I take a breath.

“Bye Grandma, love ya.”  My thoughts cradle my memories.  Good byes are never easy but today I say my final good bye.

I believe the wave of emotion I feel is from Grandma whispering back one last good bye. The emotion I feel is not in the doom of her death but in the power of her love.  Until next time… as for now Grandma and Grandpa will stand at the edge of heaven and earth and watch over us until we see each other again.

Continue reading →