Till We Meet Again

For those of you that don't already know I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--LDS or sometimes referred to as "Mormons." This past Sunday night our beloved President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinkley passed away. We are all saddened by this loss, however, the joy that we feel because he is being reunited with his beloved Marjorie is so tender. He was 97 1/2 years old. He was strong and healthy until a few days ago. He has been an incredible blessing in my life.

There are many wonderful tributes. Mine doesn't do him justice. He was like a grandfather that always had a twinkle in his eye. He was wise yet kind. He seemed to truly understand what we struggle with daily.

He will be missed.

I need Sunshine!

We have been in a drought. We have prayed for snow. The snow has come, and come and come---in fact it just won't stop!

I am now feeling the lack of serotonin in my system. I just want to lay in my bed and do nothing. I don't really like people right now, including my own family.

PLEASE SEND SOME SUNSHINE! (a warm beach would be nice but we aren't going on a cruise this year-which was my decision, which I am now second guessing!)

Saturday check up!

Saturday already!

I did well on a few things and not so well on others!

FHE-we played games with the ward.

Morning Study-NADA --this is going to be tough

Personal Scripture Study- again-not once

Exercise-YEAH!!!! I exercised 5 days this week!

Not Yelling-this was a much, much better week. It must help to not have a full moon, PMS and a PMSy teenager!

So go and check out Smart Habit Saturday--join in, it might help you with something!

Shoes

I learned something very interesting today. So, I will share!

I have been having a lot of heel pain in my left foot. I believe that it is plantar facitis. Well, it has been getting worse in the last three weeks. A gal in my class has it also and she told me about a performance shoe store that she went to and it has helped her. So, I went.

The first thing he did is ask me when I bought my shoes. I bought them the beginning of January to start my class. He then asked me if they were on sale. Why, yes they were! He said that the shoes are actually a very good pair of shoes but they are last years model which means that they are old. I looked at him funny. I bought them new. Yes, however, with the new material that they make the soles(impact spot) out of it starts to deteriorate. He said that I probably only had about two weeks life left in them! I couldn't believe it.

He says that that is why large retailers of good shoes will have these really great sales. They need to get rid of the shoes because they know about their life span.

He also did a standing test etc. to see how I walk. The shoes didn't support my feet in the right places.

So, the moral to this story? Go somewhere and find a specialist and have your feet measured and checked. I will let you know how my feet feel. I hope better very soon!

Tuesday

Once again we are buried in new snow! Yesterday we got at least 12 inches. There is just nowhere else to put the snow! Hubby will have to borrow someones front loader so that we can scoop the piles away!

It is now COLD! Like zero degrees cold!

I am trying to get myself motivated to get to the gym. I have to do this thing, get more exercise. Three days a week is not enough for me!

Wish me luck!

Goal Update

This post is basically me accounting to myself -if reading my goals is not your thing just skip this post!
How did I do on my goals/habits this past week?

Lowering my voice/not yelling---This was not a good week.Miss E was a bear and my stars must not have been aligned because I could have given her to the gypsies with no questions asked. This is going to be such a struggle. If I could only really figure out a way to help her control herself. I have tried numerous things but she is the most stubborn and obnoxious of my children. I just don't know what to do with her.

Reading my scriptures--I did a tiny bit better. I know that I read at least two times. I also read some articles from the New Era but that is stretching it! I just have to keep trying!

Clean the basement--I managed to get this almost finished! I still have to vacuum under the couch cushions, reorganize the books, dust. The main mess is taken care of! I have to make my DI run. The ping pong table is still covered!(This isn't one of my real GOALS it is just something that had to be done!)

Exercise-I am going to my boot camp class at the gym three days a week.It is tough! I really enjoy the class. I am exercising harder in this class than I have ever done before. However, I am not seeing the results that I want. I realized that I used to go to the gym 4 to 5 times a week. I think that my body is one that must need more. So, this week I am going to try to increase my exercise by at least one day, hopefully two. I am also going to try to reduce my sugar intake. I know that I am consuming way too much.

Useless computer time- I did better with this. This is such a hard thing, there are so many things that I want to learn about and do that some of this information comes from the computer. However, I KNOW when I am just wasting time. I will continue to really pay attention to this.

Family Home Evening-We had a quick FHE again last week. Nothing fancy but we did have it.

Morning Scripture time--not so good. We only had it one time. We were up so late numerous times that we all slept in. We will try again.

Reusing

My friend Lara over at The Lazy Organizer has created a spot that anyone can share things of interest. Talk about Tuesday is the name. Well, in true form, it is Thursday so I thought that I would play along.

When you buy new sheets, blankets, etc. they usually come in a zippered plastic bag. What do you do with these bags?

My smart Mom started using them to store seasonal items such as pillows and sweaters. I have been doing this for a few years and it is a wonderful idea. In the spring when I don't want to wear my sweaters anymore I wash them and then put them inside one of these clear bags. They stay totally dust free up on the upper shelf in my closet. I have some seasonal decor pillows, Christmas blankets, pillows etc. stored in them. Whenever I purchase something that comes in one of these bags I put it in the closest and save it for the next use.

Skating

When was the last time you went iceskating? Have you ever gone?

Monday night we went to Salt Lake City to an outdoor skating rink for Family Home Evening with Hubbies church group. It has been eight years since I have been on the ice. The last time #1 child was six years old. We went with my friend and her nine year old daughter. Well, to say the least I was TERRIBLE! My poor daughter was almost crushed to death when I fell on top of her. She still remembers this event. She reminds me of it often!

So, I was going to be old and not put on the skates. Then I decided that I should just try, I don't want to be one of the "OLD" Mom's that won't do anything. #2 and #4 children had never been skating before. They were so hesitant but they picked it up pretty quickly. Poor little Miss #3, she fell and fell. She was such a good sport however, she didn't get frustrated and want to quit. She just kept going and going. By the time we left she was going pretty quickly around the rink. Mr. #2 picked it up quick. He is quite athletic so he does pretty well with most physical things he trys.

Here are a few pictures from the event. I was messing around with settings so some of the images aren't that great. The picture of the large group is the entire group doing the "Hokie Pokie!" It was so funny to watch. We had a great turnout. They are a great group of people!

If you haven't been skating for awhile. Consider doing it with your family. I am sure that there is a rink somewhere near you!

Where did they go?

January-record snow, cold wind. What do these equate to in your house? In mine it means that many of my children will be playing outside in the snow. We have a few great hills near us so sledding is a very popular thing in the afternoons. Well, Miss #3 needed new snowpants. No big deal, I will go and get her some.

I called three stores and went to three more! Every department store and farm store has already gotten rid of them. It is January! It is snowing! We need snowpants!

So, I had to go to the dreaded sports store, where everything costs a fortune. This is why I went to the last THREE stores. I just wasn't in the mood to spend $92 on a pair of pants for a seven year old. I finally found some basic black ones(have you seen the crazy patterns in good ski/board clothes this year?) and they were actually %50 off so I could stomach them. While searching and searching I found a coat that WAS a good deal. It is a really nice ski coat that retailed at $135 and I bought it for #3 for $33. I didn't feel bad about this. I am a skier and my older two kids board. I understand the value of some of the more expensive clothing. It really does keep you dryer and warmer. However, #3 isn't really to the point of needing this type of expensive gear. I want her warm and dry.

Fast forward to the late afternoon when we are at the ski hill for my Hubbies ward ski party.

"Mom, I can't get my coat to zip" I thought that it was just because it was -10 degrees and her hands were frozen already. No, the little hard plastic thing on the bottom of the zipper was gone!

So, not only do I have to go looking for snow gear once, I have to go again! I am not really a big shopper so this just makes me crazy!



The skiing party was fun--but freezing! It was probably -15*/-20* at the top of the hill. We had a great turnout with lots of people fed.

Evidence

Do you ever walk around your house looking at the normal messes that abound and then you look at something---something that won't be there in a few years? I had that happen yesterday while I was cleaning the dungeon.

Evidence that I have a three year old boy in the house!

My Dungeon

Do you ever walk around your house and just realize that you are the only one that actually cares whether it is clean? I do daily. Usually, I don't do it all that pleasantly. It makes me crabby that I am the only one that realizes that a bathroom is close to a health risk and the HAZMAT crew is going to be the next line of defense!

Well, I have been working on my dungeon, better known as my basement. Now, for those of you that haven't been to my house my basement is completely finished. It is a wonderful place. It has a family room, playroom(space under stairs) a bathroom, 2 bedrooms, my studio(junk room) and the laundry room. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, it becomes the dumping ground for my family. Unfortunately, I am not as diligent at cleaning it as the rest of the house. (not that the rest of the house is always so clean!) We have a ping pong table that many times is covered with STUFF.

Well, yesterday was the day! I started tackling the dungeon. It has been a horrible mess since the beginning of December. With Christmas, I just avoided it, which made it even worse. We all know that any mess laying around gives permission to make MORE messes! Somehow everything mutates! So, I started with the dirty clothes. The laundry room is two feet away, why are there dirty clothes on the floor? Garbage-why do people dump cereal on the floor? For 6 1/2 years we have had the "no eating" except in the kitchen rule.

To say the least it was disgusting. I have the ping pong table now completely covered in mostly stuff going to DI(like goodwill). I have also picked up and removed almost every toy and stuffed animal that my family owns(too many after 15 years). They are all in totes on top of my deep freeze. I am going to actually go through the mound and sort, trash and DI. My little guy just doesn't play with n*ked old barbies! That task will have to wait for another day. Today, is finishing up with the rest of the basement, you know, vacuuming under the cushions(yuck) and stuff like that!

Blog Feed info

For those of you that care-if you have numerous blogs that you are interested in you can use a feeder program. What that means is that you subscribe(free) to a program that tracks the blogs you like to read. This way you don't have to waste time checking a blog when the author hasn't updated with a new post.

I use Bloglines. I have really like it. I actually check quite a few blogs because I only check them when they post.

I have tried to include a link to Bloglines. If it doesn't work just google it and you should be able to find it.

Moving right along!

January--the beginning of a New Year, the time for resolutions, new diets, cleaning house, etc. etc. etc. It is already January 13th. Where are you on all your New Year plans?

I have been exercising! Thanks to doing the extra rough(for me) boot camp at the gym. It is actually really fun! It is hard for me, I am not a fast runner and we do a lot of running. However, I am getting stronger and I feel good about that!

I am still struggling with my scripture study. I believe that this will be a hard one.

My family did have family home evening (FHE) last week. We made some goals, etc. We did our early morning time twice--not great--however, two is better than none. None is where we were before. I am hoping that we can do better this week.

I think I did quite well at trying to lower my voice and not yell. This coincides with the children trying to do their part as well.

So---January 13, 2008.

What am I going to really work on this week? Adding personal scripture study. This week I honestly only read from my scriptures one time. This week I will improve, I hope that I can manage at least three.

Continue to focus on lowering my voice. This is HARD!

I am a terrible time waster. I do not watch t.v. however, I have a blogging habit. If I have time to look at the computer throughout the day I have the time to do more of the things that I want to do such as scrapbook. So, I am going to really try and limit my mindless computer time. This will be good in two ways. One-I will accomplish something that I feel good about and I will not be setting a poor example. (I try to not be on the computer much when my bigger kids are home-I don't want them wasting their time so I better not waste mine!)

I will finish cleaning my basement!!! Anyone want to help?!!!

Is the drought over?

We haven't had a really bad winter for years. Utah has been in a drought, with a little bit of reprieve in the last year or two.

Well, I think that this year has to count for something!

Today was a warm, melting type of day. I was hearing crashing of sorts so I went out to investigate. This is what I found!

We have lived in this house for 6 1/2 years and I don't believe that we have ever had ice like this before! If you really look closely(or click on the picture to enlarge it) you will notice that the icicle is actually touching our little table!

Finally!

Yeah! I finally got my Christmas stuff put away! I had decided that I wanted to go through all the boxes before I put them back in the tunnel(strange, extra narrow, storage spot). What had happened up to this point was me taking the Christmas decorations down and plopping them on the ping pong table. Well, today was the day! My basement is disgusting and I just couldn't really seem to get it clean with all the Christmas stuff snearing at me. I just went through every last box to see if there was broken, old, boring stuff that I wanted to get rid of. I am so proud of myself--I got rid of a LARGE box! It will be going to DI with a large load of outgrown clothes and other odds and ends.

It feels so good to have a BIG job finished!!

Let it Snow!

We can officially stop praying for snow for a little while! We have been walloped with snowstorms again! Today Hubby went plowing in the morning and within two hours it didn't look like anything had been touched!

My friend Sheri and I went to our boot camp class at the gym, hoping that the roads wouldn't be to terrible. They were pretty awful. This is where my upbringing actually pays off. I grew up in Southeastern Idaho. They use no salt on the roads there. Therefore, the roads are terrible from the first snowstorm until April! There is a constant solid pack of snow/ice on the roads at all times. I am pretty comfortable on bad roads, especially in my 4x4 Suburban.However, it took us 45 minutes to go 12 miles! Those are nasty roads!

These are pictures out my back door. I wish that I could actually get a better perspective of how deep this snow truly is. Hubby shoveled this deck completely a few days ago, this is snow from Sunday and Today! It literally was about 2 1/2 feet deep. Even the dog was not about to attempt to go into it. Little J thought it was great fun!

If you look closely at these pictures(color is poor) you will notice the railing. It is a standard height. The snow is MORE than 1/2 way up! The second picture is taken at ground level from inside. That is some snow!

Silly Boys!

Daddy and the little guy are so silly! Little J has a few pairs of slippers, he is constantly carrying them around, wearing them, throwing them etc. Well, he decided that Daddy needed to wear slippers as well. So, he went and found brothers and put them on Daddy.

Then he said, "take a picture, Mom." I was happy to oblige!

Dad in Dr*g!

What do your children do when their Dad is sitting in the chair?

This is what mine did to their Dad a few nights ago! He is such a good sport to let Miss E make him "pretty"!

I think he must have had half a bottle of gel and enough eye shadow for four days!(for me of course!)

What I Did Today!

This pile is what I should have been doing today.

Putting away all the Christmas decorations!

This is what I was actually doing today!

Shopping with my sweet friend Tina!

Miss A always says that when I go shopping with Tina I bring back stupid baskets and stuff. She likes it when I shop with Maggee because I bring HER clothes!

Well, today, I purchased some decorations for my large shelf. I need some frames for the pictures of my kids, they get lost on the white boards against the cream walls. However, it is a start to actually decorating my house after 6 1/2 years!

We are buried underneath a ton of wet, sticky snow. It is the stuff that skiers love.

Tomorrow I begin a new round of "boot camp" at the gym. My friend is actually going to take it with me this time.

I am hoping that I will have some time to really post soon!

Slide show info

Just thought I would give a little suggestion about the slide show. You can either watch it as it on the screen or you can click on the right hand side-where it says something like "view all images". If you choose that option you will be redirected to a little slide show where all the pictures are-it will scan for you or you can go to the top of the screen and click the arrows for it to go faster.

I am new at this so we will see how it works.

Let me know if you like it or if it is annoying!

Check out my Slide Show!

Ok, then!

"Mommy, carry me!

"Can't you walk?"

"No, my leg is broken. The bear ate it."

HAPPY 2008!

Happy New Year! 2008

Wow, another new year! I remember when I was a kid--1980! It was the first time I really remember celebrating a new decade. It was a big deal. Since then I have celebrated many new decades and even a new Century! It is hard to believe that it has been eight years since 2000. Y2K was on everyone's mind.

Here are a few things that have happened in my life in the last eight years!

* baby #3-2000
* 9-11-01 (changed us all)
*built and moved into a new home
*baby #4 2004
*went on 4 cruises
*went to Germany
*took family to Disneyland
*took a 4000 mile family trip to New Oreleans and Nauvoo
*bought a new tv armoir
*new dining room table
*returned two complete sets of new couches(still don't have new ones)
*found an old love in photography
*changed my hair color a few too many times!
*cut my hair short
*said goodbye to many people we love
*Husband became a Bishop
*RS teacher
*cubscout leader
*took up exercise
*lost weight
*gained weight
*went parasailing
*went on a HUGE zip line tour!(lost my voice screaming)
*started skiing again after 15 years!


These are obviously only a few of the MANY things that have happened in our lives in eight years. I didn't record the 8 million loads of laundry or the 4200 loads of dishes or the 9000 times I have vacuumed the floor. I also didn't record the 15 million kisses that I have given or been given.

I am beginning to understand how it is recorded that this mortal existence is as a blink of an eye. My life is moving so quickly. I often feel like I need to push the slow button so that I can actually absorb all that is out there to experience. I just don't seem to have enough energy to experience all that I want to.

What do you want to experience this year?

New Year's Resolutions have such a bad rap. We are all so good at setting them but not so good at following through.

I haven't really written those things that I want to work on this year.

A few that come right to my mind are:

read my scriptures more regularly--I have been trying, getting a bit better but not enough to really feel like I am doing it regularly.

have more meaningful Family Home Evenings--just for our family. We have been going to the singles ward FHE for most of this last year. They are great, however, there are times that they are not meant for the children. So, I want to have our own personal family time, perhaps on Sunday evening. These would be a bit more lesson oriented. Topics etc. that are important. This is going to be a challenge-but I feel strongly about it.

Less yelling by me. I have a LOUD voice. I am not proud of it. I want to work on my childern learning to listen without me hollering. This is going to be hard. I have very determined, stubborn children!

I want to learn how to use my new camera--not just on automatic!


These are a few--I will have to write a list of others.


What about you?