Hooray! It's all finished- ends tucked in, properly bound off, and given to Morgen to enjoy. Next project is a hat for Jared. He wants an orange one that he can wear when he goes hunting. :)I have absolutely NO neon orange yarn [I know- what a shock!] so I'll be picking some up tomorrow. That project is my "take with me" one. The at-home project is the Christmas Tree skirt I meant to finish before Christmas... and I promise I will be done with it before Christmas this year!
Other things we've done: over the past week, my 1st and 4th graders had their SEPs [student education plan? I think...] where I came into the classroom and talked with their teachers about the progress [or lack of it] that my child was making.
Morgen is talking more than she should, which interferes with finishing her in-class assignments. On the plus side, she is doing better in math than she was last term, and she is reading well. She's also doing fantastic at her piano lessons, a fact I can attribute to her piano teacher. Annalee is firm and competent, and challenges Morgen musically. She is also supportive and encouraging and excited about music. :)She has a gift! Well, two: she is incredibly musically talented, and she is a wonderful and patient motivator of children :).
Hyrum made 2 goals last term: work on coloring in the lines, and use the bathroom at appropriate times [recess, lunch] instead of in the middle of classtime. He has met both of those goals :)and is settling into his classroom well. Both Morgen and Hyrum are friendly with their entire class [no surprise] and are enjoying school. Hyrum loves his karate class. Well, actually it is Tai Kwan Do, not karate. He enjoys the practice, and is surprisingly good at it. When we missed it last week [for his SEP- and we made it up on Saturday], he was upset enough to cry!
I have decided that I like having all this snow. We get more snow here than we did in Iowa, but this snow stays put- no blowing winds to drift it over a previously shoveled driveway! And the road crews do a great job clearing the roads :) Jared's been talking about getting a tractor. He wants a front-end loader attachment on the front, and a backhoe attachment on the rear. Obviously we're settling into the rural life. My favorite part, today, is that we've had almost a week of early morning fog. I love fog. Really. I think it is my favorite weather event:).
Walker's SEP is this week; I'm hoping that he gets a good report. He gets pulled out of science and reading to do band, and has some missing assignments from those classes.
Gratitude List:
* Jared got back safely from Chicago. Someday we'll go there, just the two of us :)
* He brought me Ghirardelli. Have I said how much I love this man? I do. I really really do.
* Morgen's lizard is absolutely the best. pet. ever. Perky has been wrapped and tied in various rags, given a "fashion makeover," and talked and talked and TALKED to. And she puts up with all of that for lettuce and the occasional cricket or mealworm.
* Yarn and fabric. And knitting needles. And crochet hooks and sewing machines and paper and stamps and ink and glue and... :) I am so glad I have hobbies!
* Quotes that inspire me to do better.
* Hulu. :)It's my free version of cable, and DVR. LOL.
* Surprise visits from friends.
* the red ink lines crossing out items that I've finished on my "crafty to-do-list" I cannot tell you how good it feels to finish and cross off each item!
* all the patterns [free! and otherwise] that are available online. I may never need to leave my house again...
* ditto with the yarn/fabric/paper/embellishments also available online...
* that none of my kids still lick inappropriate things [there was a little girl in Church that was licking and licking her folding chair. Eeeeew! but funny ;)]
* good books to read.
* my family and friends.
* Jared, Walker, Morgen, Hyrum, and Myles. I am so grateful for each one.
* Pictures and journal entries.
* my Savior, Jesus Christ.
* God.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Projects completed and to do
I have a list of things to do; specifically, craft things. And, I'm sharing them here because my mom always taught me to share :). Also, if I share them here, I'm more accountable, which means they might actually get done!
* Knit Hyrum's scarf. This was supposed to go with his hat, but I didn't have time, so the scarves ended up being a 'post-New Year, pre-Valentine's Day present. I finished Walker's before school started. Morgen's scarf is in progress. Oh, and this is done, BTW
* Finish Jennie's album. I typed out everything I can read, and I'm waiting for Jennie's translation of words I cannot read, then I will copy everything in my best penmanship into her album and give it back to her :). I think I can call this one half-way-done.
* Cut out and sew Christmas stockings for Hyrum and Myles. My MIL made stockings for Jared, Walker, and I after Walker was born. She gave me the fabric, and I actually cut out and sewed Morgen's for her. Then I cut out another stocking for Hyrum when he was born. It sat with the rest of the material for SIX YEARS in my sewing stuff. I know that because Hyrum is 6 years old. Yep. That's the kind of prepared mother I am! Anyway, I cut out another stocking, and sewed up both of them, so Hyrum now has a stocking that officially matches the rest of the family's. Myles' stocking will hang with the rest of the stockings at Christmas, and we're going to put notes to him inside of it. I finished these today!
* Sew tree skirt. I have the fabric. I need thread. But, this project is next on my list of things to finish [when I'm at home, anyway].
* Knit Morgen's scarf. This is in progress. I had it about 1/4 of the way done, but didn't like how the pattern was turning out, so I frogged it [I love that word! Even if I don't love the reminder that I make a lot of knitting mistakes], and re-started. It's my 'traveling somewhere/waiting for kids' project. This one's on the needles right now, in progress.
* Make birthday cards. I always need more of these :)
* Knit orange hat for Jared. He needs a hunting beanie.
* Knit hat, scarf, mittens for me! And I already have the yarn and quite a few possible patterns in mind... I want to begin these now, but the point of having a list is to get the boring [or difficult] things done, then reward myself later.
* Sew skirt for baker's rack to hide board games. Have fabric, have thread, just waiting for its turn to come up.
* Finish knitting baby blanket.
* Knit 3 more washcloths for master bath. I have the yarn, but this isn't a necessity, so it's further down the list than I wish it was.
* Finish felt wall hanging. And I've added some applique patterns, so this may take longer than I originally thought.
I also have some "as there is time" projects that really don't have an ending date: knitting dish cloths, scrapbooking, etc. These don't really count as UFOs, since they will never be completely finished, but I put them on the list anyway. That way I remember to do them, and I also remember how much I am accomplishing.
and that's as far as I'm going to post, since that will probably keep me busy through March. At least.
Random comment: Morgen calls her lizard "Sweetheart"
Gratitude List:
* Snow. I don't like driving in it, but I don't have to, today. Instead I can sit inside my cozy house, making stockings and drinking hot cocoa, and enjoy the beauty of white, fluffy flakes.
* Jared is back for a few days- hooray! He's been in St. George this week. [It's a lot warmer down there, and I was mildly jealous.]
* I got to go on a "walking report card" with Hyrum. He had a packet of work to show me what he'd learned so far in first grade. I had a great time seeing how much progress he has made since the beginning of the year.
* Homemade whole-wheat bread with soup. Mmmm.
* A house :) with electricity and heat.
* 4-wheel-drive.
* Kids that shovel the driveway [because they're earning money for the book fair].
* Bath and Body Works lotion and shower gel. I feel so pampered whenever I use that stuff!
* Time to meditate this morning.
* Good books, and time to read them.
* Food storage :)
* Faith in God.
* Knit Hyrum's scarf. This was supposed to go with his hat, but I didn't have time, so the scarves ended up being a 'post-New Year, pre-Valentine's Day present. I finished Walker's before school started. Morgen's scarf is in progress. Oh, and this is done, BTW
* Finish Jennie's album. I typed out everything I can read, and I'm waiting for Jennie's translation of words I cannot read, then I will copy everything in my best penmanship into her album and give it back to her :). I think I can call this one half-way-done.
* Cut out and sew Christmas stockings for Hyrum and Myles. My MIL made stockings for Jared, Walker, and I after Walker was born. She gave me the fabric, and I actually cut out and sewed Morgen's for her. Then I cut out another stocking for Hyrum when he was born. It sat with the rest of the material for SIX YEARS in my sewing stuff. I know that because Hyrum is 6 years old. Yep. That's the kind of prepared mother I am! Anyway, I cut out another stocking, and sewed up both of them, so Hyrum now has a stocking that officially matches the rest of the family's. Myles' stocking will hang with the rest of the stockings at Christmas, and we're going to put notes to him inside of it. I finished these today!
* Sew tree skirt. I have the fabric. I need thread. But, this project is next on my list of things to finish [when I'm at home, anyway].
* Knit Morgen's scarf. This is in progress. I had it about 1/4 of the way done, but didn't like how the pattern was turning out, so I frogged it [I love that word! Even if I don't love the reminder that I make a lot of knitting mistakes], and re-started. It's my 'traveling somewhere/waiting for kids' project. This one's on the needles right now, in progress.
* Make birthday cards. I always need more of these :)
* Knit orange hat for Jared. He needs a hunting beanie.
* Knit hat, scarf, mittens for me! And I already have the yarn and quite a few possible patterns in mind... I want to begin these now, but the point of having a list is to get the boring [or difficult] things done, then reward myself later.
* Sew skirt for baker's rack to hide board games. Have fabric, have thread, just waiting for its turn to come up.
* Finish knitting baby blanket.
* Knit 3 more washcloths for master bath. I have the yarn, but this isn't a necessity, so it's further down the list than I wish it was.
* Finish felt wall hanging. And I've added some applique patterns, so this may take longer than I originally thought.
I also have some "as there is time" projects that really don't have an ending date: knitting dish cloths, scrapbooking, etc. These don't really count as UFOs, since they will never be completely finished, but I put them on the list anyway. That way I remember to do them, and I also remember how much I am accomplishing.
and that's as far as I'm going to post, since that will probably keep me busy through March. At least.
Random comment: Morgen calls her lizard "Sweetheart"
Gratitude List:
* Snow. I don't like driving in it, but I don't have to, today. Instead I can sit inside my cozy house, making stockings and drinking hot cocoa, and enjoy the beauty of white, fluffy flakes.
* Jared is back for a few days- hooray! He's been in St. George this week. [It's a lot warmer down there, and I was mildly jealous.]
* I got to go on a "walking report card" with Hyrum. He had a packet of work to show me what he'd learned so far in first grade. I had a great time seeing how much progress he has made since the beginning of the year.
* Homemade whole-wheat bread with soup. Mmmm.
* A house :) with electricity and heat.
* 4-wheel-drive.
* Kids that shovel the driveway [because they're earning money for the book fair].
* Bath and Body Works lotion and shower gel. I feel so pampered whenever I use that stuff!
* Time to meditate this morning.
* Good books, and time to read them.
* Food storage :)
* Faith in God.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Keeping up
Well, I've finished one of my UFOs already. Hooray for me! In honor of this, I started a new project LOL. Well, not really a NEW project; I knit a headband over the holiday break, and discovered when it was finished that it was much too big for my head. So, I frogged it. [that means I pulled it apart] I planned on using the yarn to make another headband, but wanted to figure out another pattern before I began again. I have the pattern, and I'm over half-way done :) this is a pretty quick knit, thankfully.
Of course, that means [technically] that I haven't changed my "to-do list" status at all... but I'm choosing to focus on the positive ;)
Here's another picture of Morgen's new best friend:
and one more, wearing a stylish 'rag wrap' outfit that Morgen generously made for her. Can you see the long-suffering look in her eyes? Poor Perky.
Gratitude List:
* School tomorrow! [Hyrum was pretty excited about that, too]
* One less thing on my UFO list
* the flexibility to add projects to my UFO list ;)
* It snowed all day today, but was too warm for the snow to stick to my driveway.
* No shoveling!
* homemade pizza
* homemade vanilla ice cream
* oh, and homemade root beer floats ;) made with that homemade ice cream
* I've lifted weights this whole week [so far] and I'm pretending I can already tell the difference in my triceps.
* My husband was home last week. I love it when he's home!
* He fixed the dishwasher. I really love it when he's home!
* He took the kids sledding twice, to a really cool spot with a long hill and some jumps. I really REALLY love it when he's home!
* :) Celebrating 14 years of marriage last week. WOW.
* Good music.
* Healthy kids.
* We have all we need, and most of what we want.
* God is good.
Of course, that means [technically] that I haven't changed my "to-do list" status at all... but I'm choosing to focus on the positive ;)
Here's another picture of Morgen's new best friend:
and one more, wearing a stylish 'rag wrap' outfit that Morgen generously made for her. Can you see the long-suffering look in her eyes? Poor Perky.
Gratitude List:
* School tomorrow! [Hyrum was pretty excited about that, too]
* One less thing on my UFO list
* the flexibility to add projects to my UFO list ;)
* It snowed all day today, but was too warm for the snow to stick to my driveway.
* No shoveling!
* homemade pizza
* homemade vanilla ice cream
* oh, and homemade root beer floats ;) made with that homemade ice cream
* I've lifted weights this whole week [so far] and I'm pretending I can already tell the difference in my triceps.
* My husband was home last week. I love it when he's home!
* He fixed the dishwasher. I really love it when he's home!
* He took the kids sledding twice, to a really cool spot with a long hill and some jumps. I really REALLY love it when he's home!
* :) Celebrating 14 years of marriage last week. WOW.
* Good music.
* Healthy kids.
* We have all we need, and most of what we want.
* God is good.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
We have a lizard!
Ooh, and a lovely lizard it is, too :) It hissed at me once, when I was picking it up to place it in its new home [probably because I scared it]. Since then, it has been handled [and mauled] many MANY times a day. It has been given a "tissue dress" and a "lizard blankie wrap" and has been carried around and placed on a bed and fed multiple times [all approved food, thank goodness]. It has a heating pad and a lamp to keep it warm, its own little water dish specially designed and made by Jared, and an awesome top to its cage, also designed and made by Jared. It has also been named "Perky" and given more love than any lizard should be asked to endure :)
Most lizards are active in the day, and sleep at night. I think ours will be sleeping when Morgen is in school, and hoping for after-school activities!
In other news, vanilla cupcakes are a delicious treat :) and a great way to keep children [both my own and visitors] entertained for a good 2 hours. BTW, chocolate buttercream frosting goes quite well with the above cupcakes. And, 3 days later, it tastes divine on graham crackers, too! [Assuming you forget to hide a stash of cupcakes especially for your own self] The stash of chocolate buttercream frosting is safely hidden in the fridge, in one of the left-over containers. Kids never check those :) so I'm thinking it's safe.
My New Year's Goals are as follows:
1. Exercise and lift weights 4 times/week. [the end result should be a healthier me]
2. Daily meditation
3. Finish all my UnFinished Objects [this means, specifically, every single craft that has already been started. I either finish it or find it a new, and loving, home.]
4. Keep to our budget :) and save for a down-payment on our next home.
5. Have a nice long bath every week :)
Gratitude List:
* Meditation time.
* I love having too much music to fit on my ipod :) so many choices...
* A fast new computer, which means less time online and more time for those UFOs...
* This quote:
Failures want pleasing methods.
Successes want pleasing results.
-Earl Nightingale
which reminds me that the reason I make goals is not because I enjoy the process, but because I want the outcome. Good thing to focus on while I'm riding my bike, with my leg muscles burning and sweat dripping down my back.
* Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
* Just got a call from my doctor's office :) and my cholesterol levels are [and I quote] "Great!" :)I love getting good news from my doctor :)
* Good friends and neighbors.
* A loving, supportive, extended family.
* A husband and children I love very much.
* Faith in God.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Recap of the Holidays
Mostly because I'm too lazy to stop what I'm currently doing [more on that later] and upload photos, this will be a photo-free post :)
We had a great holiday season, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends. Christmas Eve we had dinner with Nate and Caitlin and their boys. That was awesome- my kids LOVE their younger cousins, and I love that they have the same play style [rough & tumble and chase-around-the-house-giggling]. Caitlin made the most delicious pork roast, with sweet potatoes [they tasted like pumpkin pie- seriously GOOD], a yummy cheese dip, corn casserole, and green beans. We won't talk about dessert. That would make me want to bake, and my to-do list is already way too long :) [Oh, and Caitlin? I would love copies of those recipes :)]
We put the kids to bed, then took candles to the cemetery to put on Myles' grave, and on my grandparents' grave, too. I love this tradition- seeing the flickering lights in the snow, and feeling the quiet solemn peacefulness there. We also saw a few deer in the cemetery, avoiding the people and looking for green things to munch on. Then it was back home to let Santa deliver his presents to us.
Christmas day began HOURS before I was ready. Jared was up early to start the pull-apart bread [or monkey bread, if you'd rather call it that]. My gorgeous girl decided to get up and "help" him. Part of that help was being so loud that her brothers woke up. Jared fed them all breakfast, and came to wake me up several times :) so I could take pictures and watch the kids opening presents. Yeah. It took me a while to get out of bed, but we still began the unwrapping process BEFORE 6:30am. All I can say is: wait until next year. The Grinch will be taking presents away if mom has to wake up before 8am. Anyway, getting such an early [hah!] start meant that the entire process was over by 7:30am, so I went back to bed until I felt decent. After lunch, and a wonderful nap, we drove down to my parents' house to visit. I forgot my parents' gift, but I'm blaming that on my early start. Interrupted sleep is never a good thing for me :) We all got a lot of loot; my favorite gift [and the one that has eaten up a lot of my time since Christmas] was a new computer! Hooray! More on that later...
As we drove home Friday night, Morgen was complaining of a sore tummy. I told her I thought it might have something to do with all the eating that had occurred lately, but Morgen was sure I was being silly :). Then she threw up early Saturday morning. She was sick most of the morning, and insisted on getting up and slowly shuffling around the house, quietly moaning. I sent her back to bed. I'm unsympathetic like that :). I mostly worked on setting up my [fabulously fast] new computer, and doing laundry for our upcoming visit to Fallon. Hyrum was busy playing Plants vs Zombies on the old computer. Jared and Walker were taking Walker's hunter safety tests, which took them until after lunch. Yes, my 11-year-old is now officially allowed to go hunting. Good thing, since his father has been planning for this particular event since Walker was born. Seriously.
The rest of Saturday, we took decorations off the tree, and the walls, and the shelves. Jared wanted to get the tree down, and dumped, before I left for Fallon with the tree-hauling vehicle. I thought I was doing really good with the decorations this year- I packed them all up and had 2 boxes empty when I was done! Then I realized I'd forgotten a few things. Nevermind.
Sunday we had church, and I decided to drive to Fallon on Monday, which gave me another day to pack, and Morgen another day to fully recover from being grumpy about being sick. If this is even a small taste of her behavior as a teenager, I am running away to join the bookmobile. I thought about joining the circus, but my talents do NOT include tightrope walking or lion taming, so I'm using Plan B.
Monday, after we stopped for money and gas [and breakfast sandwiches at McDonald's]we left for Fallon, Nevada. We made it 500 miles with 2 stops: one for gas, and one for food and gas. No fights, no complaining, no arguing or throwing things or any of the many other incidents that make traveling long distances with children so umm, character-building. Yeah, I used duct tape.
Kidding! ;)We had an audiobook- "The Last Olympian"- to listen to, which meant that my kids were perfectly quiet and enthralled the entire 8-hour drive.
The week was filled with swimming and Wii time [LEGO Indiana Jones and Wii Resort]. We also visited and played with cousins- thanks Josh and Brooks for bringing Ethan, Sloan, and Mason with you- aunts and uncles, and grandparents. We got to see Jon and Melinda's new house [beautiful, guys], and see it snowing in Fallon! I think their annual precipitation is 4 or 6 inches. I bet they got at least 4 inches in snow while we were there, too. Snow is not the normal there- cold, yes, but snow, no.
We drove home Friday, after I looked at the weather report [stormy Saturday and Sunday] and decided not to risk driving in snow. We finished up the audiobook, and the character-building behavior returned, but I threatened them: "If you continue that behavior, I'm stopping the car and PLAYING BARRY MANILOW!!!"
Not really. The Barry Manilow, I mean. :) But stopping the car, and extending the torture of sitting in it, seemed to work fine as a threat.
When we got home, I made the kids unpack their clean [thanks to my MIL's washer and dryer] clothes and put them away. I, however, sat down at my new [!!] computer and began to work on retrieving the data from my old one, courtesy of Carbonite backup [thank you very much]. Picasa found all my pictures, no problem. I installed Quicken and retrieved all the financial data, again with no problem. I was able to transfer my podcasts and purchased music from Itunes, but ran into problems with the CDs I had uploaded myself. Now, before you tell me how I could do this easily, using only my ipod and some barbed wire and chewing gum, I need to explain. When I got my ipod, a few years ago, I tried to upload my [rather large] collection of CDs to my old computer. After 2 DAYS of sitting at the computer, and after I ran out of storage, I gave up. So, really, it's okay that this part didn't transfer, since there wasn't much on the old computer to begin with. But that brings me to my "more on this later" part of the post. I spent most of yesterday [that would be Sunday] uploading my CDs, and organizing my playlists. I started with my religious music, it being Sunday and all, then moved on to Christmas and Classical. I went to bed at 11:30pm, and hadn't finished yet, but I'd made a good dent in the stack of 150+ CDs I own.
Now, going to bed at 11:30 normally means it's a bit hard to get out of bed by 7:30am to get kids ready for school. I was okay with that, though. Unfortunately, what actually happened was this: when my handsome and hard-working husband [oooh, I can alliterate] got up at 4:00am this morning, I woke up, too. I managed to pretend to be asleep until 4:30, then gave it up as a lost cause. Normal for me is NOT pretending to sleep at 4am. It is ACTUALLY SLEEPING at that time. I finally gave up in disgust, did my meditation, and got up. I started uploading more CDs, and did dishes while I waited for the CDs to load. When I ran out of dishes, I checked my email. Then I thought, "I know! I'll update my blog!" So that's what I'm doing.
Really, though, this behavior is sick. And wrong. But mostly sick. Jared has always chosen to get up early, so he can finish working at a decent time and spend the evenings with me [and, later, our kids]. As a night person, I put up with this because I enjoyed having him home when I was awake enough to appreciate him. But I never, ever wanted to do it myself! *sigh* I guess, after 14 years of marriage [minus 7 days], it isn't a total shock that I should start acting like my husband. I'm not sure I would have chosen this particular habit, though. On the plus side, though, I have now uploaded successfully 140 CDs. My total music listening time is: 6.4 days. Bonus :) only 44 more to go...
Oh, and kids are up and showering now. Time to start my "real" day!
Gratitude List:
* Sleeping in [except I'm thinking this might be something I admire from afar, now].
* Friends, family, neighbors.
* Good food [and the exercise bike to work it off].
* my new computer!!
* music.
* that I stopped buying CDs [and started buying songs online] when I got my ipod.
* fog [but not to drive in, just to look at :)]
* meditation time.
* My husband and kids.
* God
* the possibility of a nap later today.
We had a great holiday season, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends. Christmas Eve we had dinner with Nate and Caitlin and their boys. That was awesome- my kids LOVE their younger cousins, and I love that they have the same play style [rough & tumble and chase-around-the-house-giggling]. Caitlin made the most delicious pork roast, with sweet potatoes [they tasted like pumpkin pie- seriously GOOD], a yummy cheese dip, corn casserole, and green beans. We won't talk about dessert. That would make me want to bake, and my to-do list is already way too long :) [Oh, and Caitlin? I would love copies of those recipes :)]
We put the kids to bed, then took candles to the cemetery to put on Myles' grave, and on my grandparents' grave, too. I love this tradition- seeing the flickering lights in the snow, and feeling the quiet solemn peacefulness there. We also saw a few deer in the cemetery, avoiding the people and looking for green things to munch on. Then it was back home to let Santa deliver his presents to us.
Christmas day began HOURS before I was ready. Jared was up early to start the pull-apart bread [or monkey bread, if you'd rather call it that]. My gorgeous girl decided to get up and "help" him. Part of that help was being so loud that her brothers woke up. Jared fed them all breakfast, and came to wake me up several times :) so I could take pictures and watch the kids opening presents. Yeah. It took me a while to get out of bed, but we still began the unwrapping process BEFORE 6:30am. All I can say is: wait until next year. The Grinch will be taking presents away if mom has to wake up before 8am. Anyway, getting such an early [hah!] start meant that the entire process was over by 7:30am, so I went back to bed until I felt decent. After lunch, and a wonderful nap, we drove down to my parents' house to visit. I forgot my parents' gift, but I'm blaming that on my early start. Interrupted sleep is never a good thing for me :) We all got a lot of loot; my favorite gift [and the one that has eaten up a lot of my time since Christmas] was a new computer! Hooray! More on that later...
As we drove home Friday night, Morgen was complaining of a sore tummy. I told her I thought it might have something to do with all the eating that had occurred lately, but Morgen was sure I was being silly :). Then she threw up early Saturday morning. She was sick most of the morning, and insisted on getting up and slowly shuffling around the house, quietly moaning. I sent her back to bed. I'm unsympathetic like that :). I mostly worked on setting up my [fabulously fast] new computer, and doing laundry for our upcoming visit to Fallon. Hyrum was busy playing Plants vs Zombies on the old computer. Jared and Walker were taking Walker's hunter safety tests, which took them until after lunch. Yes, my 11-year-old is now officially allowed to go hunting. Good thing, since his father has been planning for this particular event since Walker was born. Seriously.
The rest of Saturday, we took decorations off the tree, and the walls, and the shelves. Jared wanted to get the tree down, and dumped, before I left for Fallon with the tree-hauling vehicle. I thought I was doing really good with the decorations this year- I packed them all up and had 2 boxes empty when I was done! Then I realized I'd forgotten a few things. Nevermind.
Sunday we had church, and I decided to drive to Fallon on Monday, which gave me another day to pack, and Morgen another day to fully recover from being grumpy about being sick. If this is even a small taste of her behavior as a teenager, I am running away to join the bookmobile. I thought about joining the circus, but my talents do NOT include tightrope walking or lion taming, so I'm using Plan B.
Monday, after we stopped for money and gas [and breakfast sandwiches at McDonald's]we left for Fallon, Nevada. We made it 500 miles with 2 stops: one for gas, and one for food and gas. No fights, no complaining, no arguing or throwing things or any of the many other incidents that make traveling long distances with children so umm, character-building. Yeah, I used duct tape.
Kidding! ;)We had an audiobook- "The Last Olympian"- to listen to, which meant that my kids were perfectly quiet and enthralled the entire 8-hour drive.
The week was filled with swimming and Wii time [LEGO Indiana Jones and Wii Resort]. We also visited and played with cousins- thanks Josh and Brooks for bringing Ethan, Sloan, and Mason with you- aunts and uncles, and grandparents. We got to see Jon and Melinda's new house [beautiful, guys], and see it snowing in Fallon! I think their annual precipitation is 4 or 6 inches. I bet they got at least 4 inches in snow while we were there, too. Snow is not the normal there- cold, yes, but snow, no.
We drove home Friday, after I looked at the weather report [stormy Saturday and Sunday] and decided not to risk driving in snow. We finished up the audiobook, and the character-building behavior returned, but I threatened them: "If you continue that behavior, I'm stopping the car and PLAYING BARRY MANILOW!!!"
Not really. The Barry Manilow, I mean. :) But stopping the car, and extending the torture of sitting in it, seemed to work fine as a threat.
When we got home, I made the kids unpack their clean [thanks to my MIL's washer and dryer] clothes and put them away. I, however, sat down at my new [!!] computer and began to work on retrieving the data from my old one, courtesy of Carbonite backup [thank you very much]. Picasa found all my pictures, no problem. I installed Quicken and retrieved all the financial data, again with no problem. I was able to transfer my podcasts and purchased music from Itunes, but ran into problems with the CDs I had uploaded myself. Now, before you tell me how I could do this easily, using only my ipod and some barbed wire and chewing gum, I need to explain. When I got my ipod, a few years ago, I tried to upload my [rather large] collection of CDs to my old computer. After 2 DAYS of sitting at the computer, and after I ran out of storage, I gave up. So, really, it's okay that this part didn't transfer, since there wasn't much on the old computer to begin with. But that brings me to my "more on this later" part of the post. I spent most of yesterday [that would be Sunday] uploading my CDs, and organizing my playlists. I started with my religious music, it being Sunday and all, then moved on to Christmas and Classical. I went to bed at 11:30pm, and hadn't finished yet, but I'd made a good dent in the stack of 150+ CDs I own.
Now, going to bed at 11:30 normally means it's a bit hard to get out of bed by 7:30am to get kids ready for school. I was okay with that, though. Unfortunately, what actually happened was this: when my handsome and hard-working husband [oooh, I can alliterate] got up at 4:00am this morning, I woke up, too. I managed to pretend to be asleep until 4:30, then gave it up as a lost cause. Normal for me is NOT pretending to sleep at 4am. It is ACTUALLY SLEEPING at that time. I finally gave up in disgust, did my meditation, and got up. I started uploading more CDs, and did dishes while I waited for the CDs to load. When I ran out of dishes, I checked my email. Then I thought, "I know! I'll update my blog!" So that's what I'm doing.
Really, though, this behavior is sick. And wrong. But mostly sick. Jared has always chosen to get up early, so he can finish working at a decent time and spend the evenings with me [and, later, our kids]. As a night person, I put up with this because I enjoyed having him home when I was awake enough to appreciate him. But I never, ever wanted to do it myself! *sigh* I guess, after 14 years of marriage [minus 7 days], it isn't a total shock that I should start acting like my husband. I'm not sure I would have chosen this particular habit, though. On the plus side, though, I have now uploaded successfully 140 CDs. My total music listening time is: 6.4 days. Bonus :) only 44 more to go...
Oh, and kids are up and showering now. Time to start my "real" day!
Gratitude List:
* Sleeping in [except I'm thinking this might be something I admire from afar, now].
* Friends, family, neighbors.
* Good food [and the exercise bike to work it off].
* my new computer!!
* music.
* that I stopped buying CDs [and started buying songs online] when I got my ipod.
* fog [but not to drive in, just to look at :)]
* meditation time.
* My husband and kids.
* God
* the possibility of a nap later today.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Christmas cheer
this is our tree. It's attached to the ceiling because it has a balance problem. Honestly, we just gave it one drink... Project Status:
Wood blocks- all sanded, and all but 1 set painted. That set is an extra, so it isn't urgent that I finish it before Christmas, except that I really want my dining room table back soon :)
Hats- 2 knit, 1 half-way done [finished by tonight for sure]
Scarves to match those hats- not even started :) that's an 'after-Christmas bonus present' at this point.
Towel Embroidery- finished, washed, and folded into neat packages.
Autumn Wall Hanging- I put this back into my 'unfinished projects' box. I'll pull it out in January :) maybe...
Tree Skirt- Sadly, I haven't even cut this out. It went into the 'unfinished projects' box as well. But it will be done by the end of January. That's the new goal anyway ;)
Baking- DONE. And enjoyed, and of course there is more to do, but that's for fun, not a deadline.
Books to Read- took several breaks from my non-fiction stack: some Georgette Heyer books, "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis [good book!], and a Mercedes Lackey novel [another favorite author]. But mostly I've been knitting and sewing in my free time...
All the presents are made. All the presents for other people are wrapped and sent. My kids' presents are almost wrapped- there's a family gift that we won't be wrapping [too big], and 4 other gifts that will be set out 'naked' after bedtime Christmas Eve. But, I'm done. Whew!
All Christmas Cards are sent. At least I hope they are... :) If you read this and didn't get one [and if you actually care LOL] please email me your address [jgailey4 at hotmail dot com] and I'll send one out. I do have extras!
Last night I dragged the kids and my husband to see the movie "The Blind Side." It was good! Of course, with the late night, we all slept in this morning. It is the last day of school, but Morgen and Hyrum have chess club, so they had about 10 minutes to shower, dress, and eat breakfast. All I can say is thank goodness M doesn't do makeup yet!
Gratitude List:
* We're all healthy.
* Presents done!
* Tree still smells like pine :)
* Presents piling up under the tree, and my kids' excitement about Christmas coming.
* I'm excited, too LOL
* Snow- lots of snow- making this a wonderful white Christmas!
* Looking forward to family dinners.
* Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ [I know He was born in April. I get that. But I'm still glad we can celebrate His birth at this time, and I don't think He minds if the date is a bit off.]
* Neighbors who come over and sing carols to us :)
* Fudge. I love fudge.
* My husband and kids.
* 4 wheel drive :)
* Dishwasher
* Clothes washer and dryer [can you imagine hanging your wash outside to "dry" in the wintertime? then bringing it frozen on the line back into the house to thaw out by the fire? Yeah. SO glad for my dryer.]
* Time to meditate in the mornings. Yes, I'm still doing this amid the holiday bustle. Totally worth the time, too.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Let it snow...
Okay, that's enough! :) Monday we got about 14 inches, mostly during the daytime. Spent the rest of the week reminding myself how to drive [safely] in the snow. Last night it started snowing again, and we've gotten another 12 inches since then. Enough for a snow fort in the yard [back] and there's more than enough to build a snow town in our front yard [if somebody gets bored].
Thursday we got a quick visit from my in-laws. They drove up, slept at our house, then Jared and his dog took my FIL and HIS dog hunting pheasants on Friday. My MIL and I went out to eat, and discussed Christmas stuff, and listened to Christmas music. Then we went and got my kids from school, had a snack [kids], and drove down to visit Nate and Caitlin. We ate dinner at Buco di Beppa, a wonderfully noisy Italian restaurant, with delicious food that they serve family style. :) And since it is already noisy, when I bring my three noisy children, they fit right in!
Saturday the boys went to the Dinosaur Museum, and the girls [including Morgen] went shopping for: fabric, old stuff [at this awesome junky store that has lots of cool treasures if you look hard], and new paint for our toes. We decided the pedicure was a nice treat after all that walking around :)
Oh, and today, despite the many inches of snow on the ground, Morgen wore her sandals WITHOUT socks to church. I wondered [snow, cold, bare toes], but she is old enough to know better, and I refuse to nag her about things that won't be fatal. Halfway to church I realized that her motivation was to show off those fancy new toes, with the little glitter flowers painted onto her big toenails. Fancy! And now I understand. :)
Having the Carrot and Squash Curry Soup again today, along with my stand-by bread recipe with rosemary added, made into rolls, and a Caesar Salad. :) Perfect cold weather meal.
Gratitude List:
* Good music.
* Cough medicine [not for me].
* Sunday naps [also not for me].
* That Jared is hardly ever sick :) and when he is, he just gets quiet and sleepy.
* Lots of snow, and lots of imagination to help us know what to do with it.
* Good food :)
* 4 wheel drive
* God
* My family, friends, and neighbors
Thursday we got a quick visit from my in-laws. They drove up, slept at our house, then Jared and his dog took my FIL and HIS dog hunting pheasants on Friday. My MIL and I went out to eat, and discussed Christmas stuff, and listened to Christmas music. Then we went and got my kids from school, had a snack [kids], and drove down to visit Nate and Caitlin. We ate dinner at Buco di Beppa, a wonderfully noisy Italian restaurant, with delicious food that they serve family style. :) And since it is already noisy, when I bring my three noisy children, they fit right in!
Saturday the boys went to the Dinosaur Museum, and the girls [including Morgen] went shopping for: fabric, old stuff [at this awesome junky store that has lots of cool treasures if you look hard], and new paint for our toes. We decided the pedicure was a nice treat after all that walking around :)
Oh, and today, despite the many inches of snow on the ground, Morgen wore her sandals WITHOUT socks to church. I wondered [snow, cold, bare toes], but she is old enough to know better, and I refuse to nag her about things that won't be fatal. Halfway to church I realized that her motivation was to show off those fancy new toes, with the little glitter flowers painted onto her big toenails. Fancy! And now I understand. :)
Having the Carrot and Squash Curry Soup again today, along with my stand-by bread recipe with rosemary added, made into rolls, and a Caesar Salad. :) Perfect cold weather meal.
Gratitude List:
* Good music.
* Cough medicine [not for me].
* Sunday naps [also not for me].
* That Jared is hardly ever sick :) and when he is, he just gets quiet and sleepy.
* Lots of snow, and lots of imagination to help us know what to do with it.
* Good food :)
* 4 wheel drive
* God
* My family, friends, and neighbors
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Full of it
Thanks, I mean :). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. All the best family traditions were present: someone raided the rolls before dinner, squealing baby noises [they took turns], bloody mashed potatoes [cranberry sauce is awesome!], guys played Risk, way too much food, several delicious pies, oh, and we got to terrorize a possible family member [my sister's date].
We like to play games when we aren't eating. Some favorites are Ticket to Ride, Bohnanza, Shadows Over Camelot [except when we have to cheat to win and the game gets really REALLY long], and Snorta. My brother brought a new game- Curses- and it was a huge hit with the kids :) I have one thing to say: Ye're always after me lucky charms! hee hee
I'm so grateful for my family!
Gratitude List:
* Pies. I was going to list them individually, but restrained myself.
* Dad and Mom- they are both wonderful people and I'm glad to be descended from them.
* Brothers and Sisters. :) Especially younger ones who aren't married and can be tricked into bringing dates to dinner LOL.
* Frisbee games
* Soccer games
* Board games
* Football games
* Other people's cooking [thank you mom!]
* knitting projects
* Audio books that make an hour-long drive a peaceful and calm experience.
* Babies to hold, and return to their own parents when they begin to cry. :)
* Peppermint Ice Cream and Brownies with Homemade Chocolate Sauce for Monkey's birthday party [and a niece with a monkey who NEEDS to have a birthday party].
* That I have so very much to be grateful for.
We like to play games when we aren't eating. Some favorites are Ticket to Ride, Bohnanza, Shadows Over Camelot [except when we have to cheat to win and the game gets really REALLY long], and Snorta. My brother brought a new game- Curses- and it was a huge hit with the kids :) I have one thing to say: Ye're always after me lucky charms! hee hee
I'm so grateful for my family!
Gratitude List:
* Pies. I was going to list them individually, but restrained myself.
* Dad and Mom- they are both wonderful people and I'm glad to be descended from them.
* Brothers and Sisters. :) Especially younger ones who aren't married and can be tricked into bringing dates to dinner LOL.
* Frisbee games
* Soccer games
* Board games
* Football games
* Other people's cooking [thank you mom!]
* knitting projects
* Audio books that make an hour-long drive a peaceful and calm experience.
* Babies to hold, and return to their own parents when they begin to cry. :)
* Peppermint Ice Cream and Brownies with Homemade Chocolate Sauce for Monkey's birthday party [and a niece with a monkey who NEEDS to have a birthday party].
* That I have so very much to be grateful for.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The deadline approaches...
Yes, and my kitchen table has crafts piled up on it, waiting patiently for me to stop reading blogs [and adding new crafts to my list of things to do], and actually finish making them.
:) Wood to sand, blocks need a pattern traced and painted, hats to knit, scarves to match hats [also to knit], some embroidery of towels, that adorable autumn [!!] wall hanging I need to finish, a tree skirt to quilt [I've decided the length of unhemmed fabric wrapped around the tree trunk is lazy and this year is the year I will replace it], baking- lots of baking- cookies and other fattening things, oh, and I've added a few books to my "read this" list. Ummm, anybody know any elves with nothing to do? Or failing that, a nice person who will clean my house and fix dinners for me so I can really focus on finishing up this to-do-list?
No? *sigh* Fine.
On the bright side, one set of Christmas presents is completely finished. Not wrapped [yet], but they will be soon.
I am so very grateful that I am not in charge of cooking the turkey this year! And I'm very thankful that my mother is a wonderful cook, and that she is willing to invite us over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. I counted, and she'll have 22 people over this year. That's 2 grandparents, 6 kids, 4 spouses, and 10 grandchildren. Wow. And [this is the slightly scary part] we're still missing 1 kid, 1 spouse, and 3 grandkids.
Gratitude List:
* walks with Jared. Even when it's chilly out and my mittens are scratchy.
* warm woolen mittens :)
* knitting quick projects [like hats] as opposed to long ones [like baby blankets]
* central heat
* tuna noodle casserole [comfort food at its best] because it reminds me of my dad. Every time my mom had to go somewhere around dinnertime, he would make us this. It is one of my favorite dishes :)
* the magic loop [it's a knitting thing, and it really is magic. Trust me.]
* family gatherings
* good food.
* pies [they are good, but not good for you, so they need their own separate category.]
* There is a special holiday just for being grateful. That absolutely rocks!
* freedom [of speech, to bear arms, of religion, to vote... this country allows me so much freedom and I am truly thankful of this blessing.]
* Faith. Hope. Charity. Prayer. God. Jesus Christ. Atonement. Love.
* books
* ipod for music and podcasts.
* waiting until after Thanksgiving to turn on Christmas music. The anticipation makes it even more special :)
* we have plenty- more than enough for ourselves and to share.
* opportunities to give.
* hot cocoa.
* friends.
:) Wood to sand, blocks need a pattern traced and painted, hats to knit, scarves to match hats [also to knit], some embroidery of towels, that adorable autumn [!!] wall hanging I need to finish, a tree skirt to quilt [I've decided the length of unhemmed fabric wrapped around the tree trunk is lazy and this year is the year I will replace it], baking- lots of baking- cookies and other fattening things, oh, and I've added a few books to my "read this" list. Ummm, anybody know any elves with nothing to do? Or failing that, a nice person who will clean my house and fix dinners for me so I can really focus on finishing up this to-do-list?
No? *sigh* Fine.
On the bright side, one set of Christmas presents is completely finished. Not wrapped [yet], but they will be soon.
I am so very grateful that I am not in charge of cooking the turkey this year! And I'm very thankful that my mother is a wonderful cook, and that she is willing to invite us over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. I counted, and she'll have 22 people over this year. That's 2 grandparents, 6 kids, 4 spouses, and 10 grandchildren. Wow. And [this is the slightly scary part] we're still missing 1 kid, 1 spouse, and 3 grandkids.
Gratitude List:
* walks with Jared. Even when it's chilly out and my mittens are scratchy.
* warm woolen mittens :)
* knitting quick projects [like hats] as opposed to long ones [like baby blankets]
* central heat
* tuna noodle casserole [comfort food at its best] because it reminds me of my dad. Every time my mom had to go somewhere around dinnertime, he would make us this. It is one of my favorite dishes :)
* the magic loop [it's a knitting thing, and it really is magic. Trust me.]
* family gatherings
* good food.
* pies [they are good, but not good for you, so they need their own separate category.]
* There is a special holiday just for being grateful. That absolutely rocks!
* freedom [of speech, to bear arms, of religion, to vote... this country allows me so much freedom and I am truly thankful of this blessing.]
* Faith. Hope. Charity. Prayer. God. Jesus Christ. Atonement. Love.
* books
* ipod for music and podcasts.
* waiting until after Thanksgiving to turn on Christmas music. The anticipation makes it even more special :)
* we have plenty- more than enough for ourselves and to share.
* opportunities to give.
* hot cocoa.
* friends.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Hay Rides
Dragged the kids to a primary activity [church group for kids 3-12] today. It was snowing, just the fat fluffy flakes that sort of drift down slowly, and we were sitting on hay bales stacked into the back of an open trailer pulled by a diesel truck. It was awesome :). We brought fruit and vegetables [or nothing if we forgot LOL], and made up 12 bags to deliver to people in the neighborhood. Then we all [parents, teachers, and children] hopped onto the trailer and sang holiday songs while we slowly drove around and delivered them all. Some of the songs weren't very holiday-like [911-away, for example], but it was pretty awesome to see the kids' faces when they got to sing our made-up thanksgiving song to each recipient. They'd race up to the door, thrust the bag into the person's hands, belt out the song, and race back to the trailer.
So, my reading list:
John Adams -David McCullough
Already posted about this book- absolutely worth the time it took me to read it. I'm a pretty fast reader, so working on this book got frustrating, especially since I had a list of books I wanted to read and I wouldn't let myself start any of the non-fiction ones until I finished this one. I'm looking forward to watching the HBO movie when it comes from Netflix.
The Go-Getter -Peter B Kyne
This is a very short book, and currently out of print. I ordered it through Dave Ramsey's website, because they keep this book in their shop. Very good, very thought-provoking, and one I'll be reading to my kids soon.
Glenn Beck's Common Sense
I wasn't sure if I would like this or not. Mostly because I'm not sure about whether I can agree with too much of what Glenn Beck says. [i.e. his support of the gold standard, which has not been used as a foundation for economics since the fall of the Roman Empire. If the world is really coming to an end, I'm going to stockpile food, water, and ammunition for the many guns my husband owns. Oh, and yarn :). I'll be stockpiling a lot of yarn.] He has a valid point, though, and I really appreciated the copy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense that was included in the appendix of the book. I do need to be more involved in what my representatives in Congress are doing. I do need to be aware that my freedoms are at risk whenever a politician gets a brilliant [or not] idea. So, overall, worth the hour it took to read it.
Handmade Home -Amanda Blake Soule
Wonderful [and sometimes weird] ideas for re-using fabric and other supplies around my house to create new things for my loved ones. I got a lot of good ideas, and I'm adding ideas to my list of projects.
Boundaries -Cloud and Townsend
Read this once before, and I was grateful for the reminder. I feel like I have pretty healthy boundaries, but getting a reminder of where the lines should be drawn is always nice. Since I got a bit carried away with volunteer work this year, I am making notes for myself for next year. :)
Tribes -Seth Godin
Another short read, and this author is a genius marketing guy. Very common-sense stuff about leadership. Looking for his other books [Purple Cow and Permission Marketing] just because I enjoyed this one so much.
The Last Lecture -Randy Pausch
Major tear-jerker. Lots of good advice. Quick, but intense, read.
Scratch Beginnings -Adam Shepard
AWESOME. This book needs to be taught to each and every person who is currently looking for a job [because they're unemployed, or don't like their job]. Basically, Adam decided to see if "The American Dream" still existed in modern America. He took $25, the clothes on his back, a duffle, and a sleeping bag, and took a train to a city he'd never been to before. He wasn't allowed to use his college education, any of his assets, or any contacts he already had. His goal was, at the end of a year, to have $2500 in savings, a car that reliably worked, and a furnished apartment [with or without a roommate]. He made it, and his story was a wake-up call to me.
We're also listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society audiobook. Very amusing :) and the kids are begging to go somewhere- anywhere- so they can listen to the end of it.
And, I've updated my list, on the sidebar, of books I'm reading. Well, actually, it isn't all the books I'm reading. That would be too long. The list is just the non-fiction books, or the really REALLY good fiction ones.
Gratitude List:
* Snow. Part of the blessing [or curse] of living in a mountain valley is that we'll get a lot of snow every winter. I am excited about this :)
* Kids who are old enough and strong enough to shovel snow. Probably this is why I'm so excited about the snow LOL.
* Books. I have so many of them, and access to so many more. Truly a blessing- knowledge is power, after all.
* I can vote, and I did vote. My voice counts. Plus, since I participated, I have the right to complain about the people I voted for :).
* Hot chocolate on cold days. Mmmmm.
* Cookies anytime. Really, you can't go wrong with cookies. Unless you leave out the chocolate chips...
* This recipe for Carrot and Squash Curry Soup. Yummy with homemade wheat bread. Or storebought wheat bread. Whatever ;)
* We have enough for ourselves, and plenty to spare.
* Showing my kids that giving to others will bless and enrich their own lives.
* My husband is home the rest of the year!!! [except for the hunting and fishing trips...]
* Rearranging furniture is almost as much fun as buying new furniture. Bonus: it is completely free, which is not true about buying new stuff, alas.
* I'm making cards again, after taking a break for a few months. Hobbies are only hobbies if they're for fun.
* Knitting a beautiful, soft, blue blanket. Not sure I want to give it away at this point LOL.
* Getting excited for Thanksgiving dinner with some of my family. Wish they could all come, but I'm thinking that 2 parents plus 5 out of 7 kids is a pretty good turnout.
* Family.
* Friends.
* Neighbors.
* God. He is so good to me.
So, my reading list:
John Adams -David McCullough
Already posted about this book- absolutely worth the time it took me to read it. I'm a pretty fast reader, so working on this book got frustrating, especially since I had a list of books I wanted to read and I wouldn't let myself start any of the non-fiction ones until I finished this one. I'm looking forward to watching the HBO movie when it comes from Netflix.
The Go-Getter -Peter B Kyne
This is a very short book, and currently out of print. I ordered it through Dave Ramsey's website, because they keep this book in their shop. Very good, very thought-provoking, and one I'll be reading to my kids soon.
Glenn Beck's Common Sense
I wasn't sure if I would like this or not. Mostly because I'm not sure about whether I can agree with too much of what Glenn Beck says. [i.e. his support of the gold standard, which has not been used as a foundation for economics since the fall of the Roman Empire. If the world is really coming to an end, I'm going to stockpile food, water, and ammunition for the many guns my husband owns. Oh, and yarn :). I'll be stockpiling a lot of yarn.] He has a valid point, though, and I really appreciated the copy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense that was included in the appendix of the book. I do need to be more involved in what my representatives in Congress are doing. I do need to be aware that my freedoms are at risk whenever a politician gets a brilliant [or not] idea. So, overall, worth the hour it took to read it.
Handmade Home -Amanda Blake Soule
Wonderful [and sometimes weird] ideas for re-using fabric and other supplies around my house to create new things for my loved ones. I got a lot of good ideas, and I'm adding ideas to my list of projects.
Boundaries -Cloud and Townsend
Read this once before, and I was grateful for the reminder. I feel like I have pretty healthy boundaries, but getting a reminder of where the lines should be drawn is always nice. Since I got a bit carried away with volunteer work this year, I am making notes for myself for next year. :)
Tribes -Seth Godin
Another short read, and this author is a genius marketing guy. Very common-sense stuff about leadership. Looking for his other books [Purple Cow and Permission Marketing] just because I enjoyed this one so much.
The Last Lecture -Randy Pausch
Major tear-jerker. Lots of good advice. Quick, but intense, read.
Scratch Beginnings -Adam Shepard
AWESOME. This book needs to be taught to each and every person who is currently looking for a job [because they're unemployed, or don't like their job]. Basically, Adam decided to see if "The American Dream" still existed in modern America. He took $25, the clothes on his back, a duffle, and a sleeping bag, and took a train to a city he'd never been to before. He wasn't allowed to use his college education, any of his assets, or any contacts he already had. His goal was, at the end of a year, to have $2500 in savings, a car that reliably worked, and a furnished apartment [with or without a roommate]. He made it, and his story was a wake-up call to me.
We're also listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society audiobook. Very amusing :) and the kids are begging to go somewhere- anywhere- so they can listen to the end of it.
And, I've updated my list, on the sidebar, of books I'm reading. Well, actually, it isn't all the books I'm reading. That would be too long. The list is just the non-fiction books, or the really REALLY good fiction ones.
Gratitude List:
* Snow. Part of the blessing [or curse] of living in a mountain valley is that we'll get a lot of snow every winter. I am excited about this :)
* Kids who are old enough and strong enough to shovel snow. Probably this is why I'm so excited about the snow LOL.
* Books. I have so many of them, and access to so many more. Truly a blessing- knowledge is power, after all.
* I can vote, and I did vote. My voice counts. Plus, since I participated, I have the right to complain about the people I voted for :).
* Hot chocolate on cold days. Mmmmm.
* Cookies anytime. Really, you can't go wrong with cookies. Unless you leave out the chocolate chips...
* This recipe for Carrot and Squash Curry Soup. Yummy with homemade wheat bread. Or storebought wheat bread. Whatever ;)
* We have enough for ourselves, and plenty to spare.
* Showing my kids that giving to others will bless and enrich their own lives.
* My husband is home the rest of the year!!! [except for the hunting and fishing trips...]
* Rearranging furniture is almost as much fun as buying new furniture. Bonus: it is completely free, which is not true about buying new stuff, alas.
* I'm making cards again, after taking a break for a few months. Hobbies are only hobbies if they're for fun.
* Knitting a beautiful, soft, blue blanket. Not sure I want to give it away at this point LOL.
* Getting excited for Thanksgiving dinner with some of my family. Wish they could all come, but I'm thinking that 2 parents plus 5 out of 7 kids is a pretty good turnout.
* Family.
* Friends.
* Neighbors.
* God. He is so good to me.
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