My Heaven-sent Birthday Present

I had been feeling the push to get out and exercise, so last year, for my birthday, I wanted only one thing....a Nike+ Sportband. #1 had one, and I thought it would be so much more encouraging to exercise if I was able to track my progress.

The birthday envelopes limit how extravagant a birthday can be, and I knew this, but that was the ONLY thing on my list.

If you're not aware of just what a Nike+ Sportband is, let me give you a quick illustration.....

image: sportshoes.com

It's basically a watch. You wear the band on your wrist, but there is a chip (I don't know what it's officially called, but for now that will do) that is oval-ish in shape. The chip needs to attach to your shoe in order to keep track of your workout.

image: reodeekay.wordpress.com

They have shoes in which you can place the chip. They have a little compartment under the insole in the actual sole of the shoe. You slide the chip in, and voila. You're ready to go. But, you can also place the chip in a little pouch you can purchase and attach it to your shoelaces.

When you leave on a run, or in my case a walk, you hold down the
button on the band. The chip tracks how far you've gone, how many calories you've burned, and other important information while you exercise.

When you return, you slip the actual watch unit from the band itself and slide the USB into your computer. It reads the information and reports it to you in the form of a graph. It also keeps track of such things as how many workouts you've done during time periods, how far you've gone altogether, and how fast you were moving during your workout.

image: watchreport.com

Can you blame me for wanting one of these?

Well, this was going to cost the entire birthday budget. I would just attach the chip to my shoelaces. That was the plan, but I have to be honest, I was fearful the chip would fall off, and I'd be unable to use the band anymore without going out and buying a replacement chip.

My birthday is in April. I told the Warden my desire in February. In early March, a friend approached me. She said she'd cleaned out her closet and found a number of pairs of shoes, some of which had never been worn. What shoe size was I, and would I be interested in the shoes?

Of course!

A few days later, she brought me a few pairs of brand new shoes. I pulled them out and tried them on. Among these was a pair of tennis shoes. With my goal to exercise, I was very happy for these.

When #1 got home from work that evening, I showed her the shoes I'd inherited. She turned them over and looked at the sole...."Mom, do you know what this means?" She pointed at a symbol on the bottom of the shoe.

It looked like this:

image: thestrengthinside.com

"These are shoes that are set up for a Sportband."

In other words, these shoes I had just so kindly been given had the spot in the sole for the chip. No WAY!

So, here I was awaiting my birthday and a VITAL part of using the only thing I wanted had just showed up. My friend had no clue what I had asked for for my birthday. After talking to her and thanking her for the shoes later on, I shared with her why these shoes were so significant. It turns out that she wasn't aware of just what that symbol meant or that these shoes had that capability.

I had received what I felt were gifts from heaven before. I think with this many chance occurrences that happen in my life, luck is no longer a practical reason for this kind of thing to happen. 

I got the idea that I wasn't the only one who wanted me exercising. 

We went out later and used the birthday budget. I've been exercising ever since.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Goods and Bads for July 14, 2013

Okay, as if my mom asked me, here are my bads and goods for today:

Bads

• Not writing stuff on my calendar. I was doing so good at this, but lately, I've been lousy at it. I knew there was an open house to say good-bye to a wonderful family from our ward, but did I bother to write down the time? NO! We got there, but it was only because #6, who has the mother of this family as his Primary teacher, kept telling us we HAD to go. I finally got smart enough to check with someone (Thanks, Paige) about the time, and sure enough, it had started quite awhile before then.
• Walking into the open house. Just awkward. I feel this way much of the time. I had intended to make some brownies to take, but I had fallen asleep this afternoon (something I rarely, if ever, do. So, yes, we were those people. You know, the ones that show up empty handed. Considering how little time was left when we arrived, I figured maybe it was better anyway. Sure enough, there was a lot of food there.

Goods

• Having friends over this evening to play games. It forced us to straighten our house up a bit, and I also got the brownies made before they came over. It's been so long since we've done anything like this. After we do, I always wonder why we don't do it more often. Such was the case this evening. The conversation was fun, and I even caught myself laughing a few times at the great stories that were shared. Thanks, Kim and Sean. We HAVE to do this again sometime.
• Learning that I may not be needed at day camp tomorrow and that I will get to go on Friday and work with my good friend.
• Once I got warmed up, being at the open house was great. We really have such wonderful people in our ward. I love being around them. Sad to say good-bye to this great family, but glad for the chance to get to. Thank you, Caitlin and Ryan for opening your house. John and Stephanie, we're really going to miss you and your sweet children. Glad that we have blogs and Facebook to keep us connected, so we can watch the kids grow up. Thank you for all you added to our ward.

We also went to choir practice today, and I taught sharing time about family prayer, family scripture study, and Family Home Evening and how these things strengthen families. I challenged the kids to do these things for the next two weeks and gave them a chart on which to keep track. .If they bring it back at the end of the two weeks, they will receive a prize.

Crazy week ahead with EFY for #s 2 and 3, scout camp for #4, and day camp for #5. The Warden's taking the day off tomorrow to be with #s 6 and 7, but if I find I'm not needed, I'll come home after dropping the boys off and the Warden can head back to work. That's what I'm praying for tonight.

Most of us wrote to #1 today as well. That always feels good. I've got a package I've got to get off to her early this week. I have a couple of things to make before I can send it off, though.

The BEST of the Crockpot Recipes So Far

Dinner tonight was honestly SO GOOD! Yesterday, when I told the kids we would be having fish tonight, I expected them to groan, but was so surprised to hear the opposite. Two kids were going to be gone for the night. They were seriously trying to talk me in to changing the order of the menu, and I considered it. But the kids who are here wouldn't hear of it. I'm guessing we'll have to make this one again.

Thought I'd take a minute and share our faves of what we've tried in our crockpot so far. Here they are in no particular order:

• Bacon Ranch Chicken
• Caramel Rolls - we made these without the glaze and just called them Monkey Bread.
• Fish Au Gratin - This was tonight's dinner. We used tilapia. SO, SO, SO YUMMY!
• Southwestern Stuffed Peppers
• Loaded Baked Potato Soup - I think we've enjoyed every potato soup recipe we've tried.
• Sloppy Joes - A little spicy, but oh so, yummy!
• Southwestern Two Bean Chicken
• French Toast - the original name has "casserole" attached to it. I felt this was a misnomer, and a turn off for my kids.
• Foil Packet Tilapia - I wasn't home for this one, so my teenage daughter made it for the crew. They all LOVED it and raved about it. I will HAVE to make this one again, so I can give it a try.
• Cheesy Potato Soup
• Santa Fe Chicken
• Lasagna - My kids were unintimidated by the "green stuff."
• Nutella Banana Bread - We used the recipe provided, but next time, we'll use our favorite banana bread recipe, but follow their instructions for incorporating Nutella.

We've had some real losers too, so maybe that will be a future post. All in all, the kids don't love the recipes that have had eggs or hash browns in them. The consistency is just a bit grainy and not like what you love about either ingredient when they're cooked in a pan--firm and maybe even just a bit crispy.

I love that I've learned that pasta can be poured in uncooked for the last 15 minutes. That's so great! There have been too many times when I've made crockpot pasta dishes where they've asked that you pre-cook the pasta and pour it in. Ick! It ends up WAY overcooked.

Tonight's the Night

One of the biggest rites of passage in the LDS faith is going to the temple for the first time. #1 will have that experience this evening. What an exciting time!

If you'd like to know a bit more about LDS temples, here is a good article, or I'm sure I know a couple young men or young women who could tell you more if you're interested.

Here are some past blog posts in which I've mentioned the temple:

• The experience of taking our youngest son inside the doors of the temple.
• The temple's impact on our family history (sorry the video no longer works).
• How the temple figures into my view of success.
• The interesting find in my stolen purse.
• How the temple centers me.

So looking forward to #1's experience this evening. The temple will touch her for the rest of her life.

***

I just now received a phone call from a good friend telling me that her dad is dying. Ugh! Looking at the calendar, today is the day my mom slipped into her final coma and stayed there for five days dying. This coming Sunday it will have been 14 years since she left us.

Here is yet another reason why I love the temple. It gives me hope that I will see her again. I'm so glad that this friend has this hope as well. It just makes that awful pill a bit easier to swallow.

I Cannot Be My Mother

My mother did EVERYTHING for us kids. Seriously, everything--laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, you name it, she did it. Yes, I was VERY spoiled. By the time I left home, I knew how to dust and set a dinner table. Please don't judge my mother by this. She was an only child raising six children. I firmly believe she was doing the best she knew how and those were different times.

Because of that, though, I decided that as a mother I would do things differently. My children would learn how to do for themselves, and for the most part, they have.

This morning started out rough and led me into my mother's life (for the second time). Let me explain....

We, the Warden and I, began with a conversation surrounding the topic of a habit one of our children is adopting that might not bode well for the future. Such is the case with bad habits, right? In discussing this, I explained my opinion that this wasn't something that could be forced. We had to somehow help this child come to the conclusion that this wasn't a good thing and that the child would have to somehow decide to change it. We could not force the change. All we could do was explain and attempt to persuade.

We finished our conversation, and I went to talk to the child. Things were easily understood, and an agreement was peacefully made. Phew! It honestly took about two minutes. But, I also added that if what we had agreed upon didn't work, we would have to come up with something more to take care of the problem. That also was understood. Did I already say "Phew?"

All was seemingly handled, but then it unraveled before my eyes. We walked to the kitchen, and the Warden completely sabotaged my efforts. That child stormed out of the house and walked to school--no breakfast, no lunch in hand, nothing. Ugh!

I'm sure the Warden didn't mean to sabotage me. We hadn't even had a chance to discuss the terms of the treaty I'd pushed for yet. Did I already say "Ugh?"

image: tumblr.com

Add to this picture the fact that when said child walked out the door, I thought all that had happened was that the child had gotten into the car for the customary ride to school. I sent #7 out with a peanut butter sandwich (very like my mom would have done), so that the child, who has sports after school wouldn't collapse while doing said sports.

#7, after a few moments, rang the doorbell, she had accidentally locked herself out. We opened the door, and there she was standing there with her little blonde head against the wall, tears spilling onto the uneaten sandwich. Her words as she sobbed: "[Child]'s not there."This was when I understood how angry the older child really was.

image: theatlantic.com

Let's add to this picture, shall we? Immediately after that car drove away with its occupants, the last remaining children were milling around the kitchen. One of those kids comes to me and says, "We never have breakfast." In other words, we never have sugary cereals anymore.

That was IT! Really? Why is it that no one else around here can do what I do? I mean, that was the idea behind this motherhood thing, right? Teach them to do for themselves? Are they really this helpless?

image: mrbreakfast.com

I walked into the kitchen and showed the breakfast-less child the English muffins, oatmeal and bread. I explained about a dozen things that could be done with those ingredients.

I would like to step back in time for a moment....

Back to this, which was my rebuttal to some really ugly comments on this from March 4, 2011:

image: wakemedvoices.org

I confess

I made my 2nd grader go without lunch today.

My children make their own lunches.  They are given enough lunch money through their accounts at school to buy four lunches or one lunch a week for the month.  This particular child overdraws his account monthly.  It's to the point that the recorded voice from the school district calls and leaves messages daily about his account being overdrawn--they call until it's been paid off.  I only pay on the first of the month, so sometimes we're five days into the month when the calls start in.  He was warned last month that if he overdrew, it would be his last month with lunch money in his account.  So, you can see what happened.

Today, I volunteered in his classroom.  He came to me and told me he'd forgotten his lunch.  I told him I wished he would have told me earlier, so I could have brought it with me when I came to volunteer.  It was then that I found out he hadn't even made one.  His teacher was standing there--sweetest person in the universe.  She told me that he'd forgotten yesterday too.  She explained that she hadn't called because she was pretty sure what I would say.  This teacher is very good friends and a former co-worker with my mother by marriage, so she knows how things roll with the Hesses.  So #5 went hungry at lunch yesterday too.

I have full confidence that he'll start getting this.  Yesterday his teacher gave him some crackers to get him through the afternoon.  I thanked her.  She said she could do that again.  I asked her to please have him do something for her to compensate her for the crackers.  She agreed.

Do I sound like the worst mother in the world?  It all goes back to the idea of feeling entitled.  I don't want any of my children thinking that they can have what they want if they manipulate the system just right.

So, there will be a nice, healthy snack for him when he gets home today.  Like I said, I sure hope he learns this lesson soon.


Have I softened since that time? Maybe, but I don't think so. I am stressed about a child who goes off without breakfast and won't be home until after 5:00 tonight and will be doing sports in the meantime. I, however, wouldn't stress about a child who's had breakfast and misses lunch to come home to a substantial snack and dinner a couple hours later.

But, the child that went off without, set me off.

I decided that I'm tired of being sabotaged. I decided that if I'm the only one who cares, then I will be the only one who works. I will become my mother for awhile and see if there's maybe something I'm missing. I will touch every base. Every child will have a clean room and will be well fed. I will make sure of it ALL. They will wear the clean clothes I picked out for them.

At this point, I've finished four loads of laundry and three loads of dishes, fed seven people breakfast and four people lunch, put dinner in the crockpot, wiped tables and put clean tablecloths on, picked up #7 from preschool, visited the bank and deposited some checks, and welcomed two friends at my door. There is much else to do, and like my mother, I won't sleep tonight until they're done.

image: nairaland.com

I have to confess that doing this for a day makes me feel great love for my family. I now see why my mom did it for us. It was her way of showing selfless love, and in this I find my confusion. In serving them, I feel love for them, but what I've learned from teaching my children to do for themselves is that the greatest thing I've given them is self-esteem. When they are self-reliant, they come to see their own capabilities.

Is one right and the other wrong? I'm not sure, but I tend to think not.

Am I being a martyr? You'd better believe it, but I quickly learned that I can't do it grudgingly for very long. It has wrought a bit of a change on this morning's upset heart.

So, I wonder, will they notice my work and jump in to help? Yah, I doubt it too, but there was a little glimmer of hope this morning.....

#6 got up after all of this had gone down, having afternoon Kindergarten has its benefits. He asked what there was to eat. I told him about the bread, English muffins, and oatmeal. He immediately went for a bowl. He didn't sit around whining, begging me to get him a bowl, or to make it for him.

image: michelleprice.ca

Being in the mode I was, I think he was surprised when I took the bowl from him and poured the oatmeal and again when I took it from him as he was heading for the water and did it for him. I then took it, after he'd pulled it from the microwave and took over the job he was already doing of putting brown sugar in it. I think he was a bit confused as to what was going on. I think he wondered if I somehow found him incapable.

I was grateful to see that his natural tendency, at the age of six, is to do for himself. It isn't in his nature to sit around wondering who's going to serve him. He serves himself.

I have learned that my mom was wonder woman. How did she do this day after day after day?

Yes, I will continue this through today--picking up after everyone, every little thing they put down--but I don't know if I can do it like my mom did. Actually, I know I can't. I know my kids are capable of much more than sitting around, but this little perspective makes me appreciate my mom that much more. It reminds me to love and appreciate my family and all that they do and to overlook all of those things that I have been viewing as sabotage.

Maybe I need to find some balance--somewhere between me and my mom.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Shopping List - Crockpot Week #2

I just completed my shopping list and thought I'd share that too. I noticed as I created it that two of the breakfast casseroles are VERY similar. There's a day between them, but just thought I'd give you a heads up in case you want to move one of them to a different day.

These ingredients are for the dinners and breakfasts done in this week's crockpot recipes:

Produce
onion
green peppers (2)
cilantro
green onions
apples (8)
carrots
celery
potatoes
bananas
garlic

Meat
ground beef
ham (2)
chicken breasts (2)
bacon (2)

Dairy
eggs
cheddar cheese
milk
butter

Baking
cinnamon
vanilla
brown sugar
sugar
oil
flour
salt
baking soda
raisins
walnuts

milk chocolate chips

Spices
onion powder
garlic powder
cumin
cayenne pepper
oregano
chili powder
nutmeg
marjoram
basil
sage
pepper

Cereal
rolled oats

Canned
tomato soup
beef broth
diced tomatoes w/diced green chilies
black beans
chicken broth (4)
pumpkin
chicken bouillon cubes
light red kidney beans*
dark red kidney beans*
diced tomatoes (3)
corn (2)

Miscellaneous
Worcestershire sauce
lemon juice
mustard
ketchup

Frozen
mixed vegetables
hashbrowns (2)
corn

Starches
instant mashed potatoes
rice
Saltines


For lunches, I buy the same things every week:

• Bread
• Tortillas
• Crackers
• Pretzels
• Tortilla Chips
• Bagels
• Carrots
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Lettuce
• Apples
• Oranges
• Bananas
• Canned fruit
• Applesauce
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Cream cheese
• String cheese
• Lunchmeat - I typically buy honey ham and pepperoni
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Tuna
• Peanut butter

The kids choose to configure their lunches however they want to by what's available on the list, and I make the lunches at home with these same things or with leftovers from the previous night's dinner.


Enjoy!

Crockpot Menu - Week 2

I'm going grocery shopping today to gear up for this coming week. Here's what'll be cooking in my crockpot this week....

Sunday	Breakfast	hard boiled eggs
	Dinner	Shepherd's pie
Monday	Breakfast	Morning Casserole
	Dinner	Santa Fe Chicken
Tuesday	Breakfast	crockpot applesauce
	Dinner	meatloaf
Wednesday	Breakfast	Pumpkin Tea bread
	Dinner	baked potatoes
Thursday	Breakfast	crockpot oatmeal
	Dinner	chicken and dumplings
Friday	Breakfast	Western Omelet Casserole
	Dinner	cheesy potato soup
Saturday	Breakfast	crockpot banana bread
	Dinner	Chili

I'm not really going to use the banana bread recipe on Saturday. I'm going to use my friend Caitlin's, but I'm going to see how it goes following the basic instructions on the recipe I've linked to. I'm also sticking with my friend Suzanne's meatloaf recipe. It's in the Madhouse cookbook if you own one. If you don't, contact me and I'll send it to you.

I'm loving this crockpot thing. It's simplifying my life so much. I hope it's doing the same for you.

Enjoy!

A Little Something Learned from the Physics Department

I finally did it! I took some pages of my blog and made them into a book. It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time. It took me two days, and it ended up being around 60 pages long. As I reviewed it, I ran across a few things I'd forgotten about.

image: kneebouncers.com

We had stake conference in April of 2008. At that time, a woman in our stake said something along the lines of pride cannot exist where gratitude is. Those weren't her exact words, but regardless, the idea was what was important.

This morning, I went searching for a quote from a General Conference or something so that I could find the exact quote. I was unsuccessful, but I found a very interesting source of similar information. I found the notes from a discussion that took place among the physics staff at BYU-Idaho. Did you get that? The physics staff. I LOVE that! 

Here is a link to the site where I found it. I've copied portions of it here because I feel that there is much to be learned from it....

  "How do we avoid pride?"
 

• Associating with "different people outside our bubble." Pride is building oneself up compared to others. Reaching out to everyone keeps us humble.  
   
• No one is above another.  Teachers are not any better than students. We are all equal in God's eyes; shouldn't we be in our own eyes too?
   
• We are here to serve. When you serve, it means you love your fellowman and want to see him/her succeed. 
   
• "Keeping an attitude of gratitude will help us avoid getting prideful."  Sometimes we need to step back and remember where we came from and be grateful for just what we have in life.

 

image: lastdaysigns.blogspot.com

The steps of the pride cycle (The physics department only touch on two of these steps, but the other two are pretty self-explanatory):

1st step - Prosperity

When  people prosper and do well, pride creeps in, and we forget the Lord and where our  blessings really come from.                

In reality, with extra blessings comes the responsibility to share more.  Give to others more freely.

Each day, I need to step outside of myself and serve someone else unselfishly. I need to keep this perspective and pray for these opportunities. When I feel that tug, I need to just do it and not question it. 

2nd step - Lifting ourselves above others

As we prosper, we start lifting ourselves above others, we forget, and we even grow to despise those who need us. Remember to praise the Lord, and "recognize how much he helps and blesses us everyday."  When we treat each other this way, "we can more fully feel His love."

 

"The antidote of pride is charity....The scriptures teach that charity has a number of characteristics ([1] Corinthians [13]:1-13; Moroni 7:44-45).  We can tell if we have charity by how the feelings of our heart and our actions match up with the characteristics noted in these scriptures":

• Suffer long - be patient, endure well
• Be kind
• Don't envy or be jealous of others
• Don't brag
• Don't become big headed
• Don't act or think inappropriately
• Be unselfish
• Seek out others that are different from you. Love and serve them.
• Choose not to be provoked by things that might make you angry or frustrated
• Dwell on all the good that surrounds you
• Don't delight in sin or the failure of others
• Be grateful for the truth and seek out more of it
• Believe, knowing that all good things come from God--recognize His hand
• Hope
• Do your best no matter what circumstances you might find yourself in
• Be grateful even in the hardest of times
• Be meek (easily imposed on) - be ready to jump in and help anyone at any time
• Have a "broken heart" and a "contrite spirit" - continually seek to do better than you did yesterday.

 

image: kymberleefenn.blogspot.com

"...Humility is not the only cure to pride, but that charity, or the pure love of Christ, is a better cure...When we exhibit the characteristics of charity, we cannot be prideful.  The two cannot co-exist."  We need to constantly reevaluate our actions and keep things in the proper perspective. 

 

We need to identify pride and its effects in our daily lives.  Work together with and encourage others. Together, we can help each other achieve great things and help others grow and feel the Lord's love as we serve them.  

Of course, I took a lot of the BYU-I physics department's ideas and edited them here, but I thought they were SO good.

I know when I'm being prideful. I feel like I get a little warning in my heart, but I, at times, ignore it and do the prideful thing anyway. I'm going to work on heeding those little tuggings in my heart better.

Back to a Simpler Way

For the time being, I have disconnected from Facebook. Before I deactivated my account, it warned me that the two blogs I have listed there won't have administrators and updates won't show up on the Facebook feed. I thought about this and decided that was probably better anyway.

So, if you're reading this, I have a pretty good hunch that you sought me out. That's really great. It wasn't a matter of clicking a link because you were bored and just thought you'd read whatever was there just for the heck of it.

I went back this morning and looked over the very first blog post I ever wrote. There was no preface. There was no this-is-how-my-life-has-been-up-to-this-point post. I just started in writing about life at that moment--it was December 14th, 2007, I was a mother of six, I was a college student, brownies were in the oven, I was scanning pictures. To be honest, I didn't write for a reader. I wrote for myself--to keep track of the happenings and feelings I had about life. That was my blog's sole purpose--nothing fancy.

image: jakesluckylife.blogspot.com

I have to admit that as time has gone on, I've changed. To be honest, I haven't liked it. I think it started with the nomination for Young Mother of the Year. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't have accepted it. When it arrived in the mail, I highly considered just sending a "no" reply, but I let my pride drag me down a very different path than I was following. I'm sorry. I don't regret being involved with the organization, but I wish I'd come into it through another means--because I felt passionately about its cause, which I do.

Suddenly, I felt I had to be perfect in everything I did. I had to be someone I wasn't. I had to know everything. I was no longer genuine and was playing to an audience. I've learned that that's not me. So, things evolved in a very prideful way. Again, I'm sorry.

It was once said, "Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble" (Ezra Taft Benson). Today, I write here to humble myself.

image: nhs.uk

I find that lately that I've been preachy and feel a touch of sarcasm and maybe even anger in what I write. I apologize. I AM angry, or maybe more than "anger," I feel let down. I won't get into details, but I will share that a small part of that has to do with the election, even though I've made peace with that. I see prophesy being fulfilled, which I believe will all be fulfilled, and it makes me angry to know that we're heading that way. It can't be stopped, I know that, but still, it frustrates me. It seems like no one else sees it, and it perplexes me.

So, I've come here today to apologize. I have a desire to start fresh.

image: stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com

I want to write for me again. I don't want to chastise the rest of the world anymore, and I know that's not my place.

So, if you're here, and you sought me out, thank you. Thank you for putting up with my little stint of anger and frustration, and my enormous stint with pride. I hope your being here means you've just rolled your eyes, shook your head, and been tolerant and forgiving of me, and that maybe, to some small degree, you understood.

Thank you for being a true friend.

Me Mosaic Update

I'm missing the good old blogging days. Blogging used to be fun--total frivolous entertainment. Why have I let it get away from that? In an effort to bring a bit of that back, I turned to the early days of the Madhouse--what now exists as "The Annex." There were some serious times there too, but there were just more fun-just-to-have-fun times.

Here's one. I decided to update it here (I think if you click on it, it'll make it bigger)....

Here's the credit for the images:
1. Un petit tour en ballon..., 2. Crab People!, 3. IMG_4316, 4. Pink!, 5. Robert S. Leonard, 6. Ice Cream in Hot Chocolate, 7. Disneyland, CA, 8. Eclair, 9. Actresses Three, 10. Family outing, Paris, 11. Busy Bee, 12. Jolie


Each photo stands for something about me....
1. My first name.
2. My favorite food.
3. The high school I went to.
4. My favorite color.
5. My celebrity crush.
6. My favorite drink.
7. My dream vacation.
8. My favorite dessert.
9. What I wanted to be when I grew up.
10. What I love most in life.
11. One word that describes me.
12. My nickname.


Originally, I found this on my friend's blog. I still read her blog, she's on my sidebar, but here's a link for you anyway.

To make the mosiac, go to Flickr search and type the answer to the above 12 points into the search bar one at a time. The rule is you can only take an image from the first page. You choose your favorite, get the URL, and paste it into the provided spaces on Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker.

And there you have it!

Writing My Requiem

image credit: pippinmovies.blogspot.com

Have you ever watched the movie Amadeus? The film about the life of Mozart? I don't know how historically accurate it is, but it, near the end, promotes the idea that Mozart died as he wrote a requiem, a mass for the dead, for an unknown person--an individual who comes to his door in a mask and pays him a large sum of money to do it. This experience haunts him so much because of the recent death of his father, with whom he had a love/hate relationship, that it induces and leads to his own death. Mozart works tiringly, night and day, to complete the project. Here is a scene:





By the title of this post, I am not foretelling my own death. I don't plan on dying any time soon, but in many ways I feel like Mozart. In a very real way, In regard to how I choose to deal with my current situation, I could be driving nails into my own coffin.

image credit: http://omogun.webs.com

I have been working on a project with a gentleman I have never met. We have spoken on the phone a few times. I have been commissioned to "rework" an emergency preparedness document.

If any of you know me, I tend to be a bit driven. When I feel passionate about something, I go for it. After the experience in Japan, this is definitely something I feel more than strongly about. I feel honored to be asked to work on such a project. In many ways, I feel that it's yet another step in a journey I'm already on and have been for quite some time. I feel drawn to it.

image credit: http://phantasytour.com

Here's the thing, though. The deadline for completion is past and has been reset. The gentleman has been forgiving (hmm...a lot like Mozart); for which I'm grateful, but do I foresee the end of this project? At this point, to be honest, no. It's completely overwhelming me. It is a lengthy document and requires a lot of rewriting. I have been chipping away. It was easiest to start with the lists but now that the lists are somewhat in order, I have to jump into the meat of it. There is no avoiding it.

Each day, from the beginning of this project, I have woken at 4:30am and gone to bed at 11:30pm, at the earliest. I don't work on it all day, I work a bit at nap times and when I can steal a moment here or there, but early in the morning and late at night, there I am. I have missed meetings because of it. In some ways, I've rearranged my life around it.

Most of this time, I'm not being paid for. That was part of our agreement. Am I happy about that? I will refrain from comment at this time, but I feel that this document has become my project for my own learning. I will finish it. I'm determined. Only, here's the problem....

Let's go back to Mozart.

image credit: geolocation.ws

I got up yesterday morning and knew I was going to have to go at this differently. I, before I started to write, got to my knees. I expressed my frustration--I feel like I'm in a very confusing tunnel and am not able to find the way out. I prayed for direction and inspiration to know what to write.

I got into my chair, logged in, and opened the document. I started to write. As I wrote, I suddenly recognized the feeling I was having. GUILT. It was a feeling of shame. It was a feeling of hypocrisy.

image credit: informl.com

Am I prepared for an emergency? No. Yes, I have 72-hour kits out waiting in wheeled garbage cans in my garage. Yes, I have some food storage to hold my family over in the event of an emergency, but I'm not even a portion of the way there. To be honest, this idea so overwhelms me that it's to the point of inaction. I'm drowning in it just like I'm drowning in this document.

So, I fought through it and continued to write. The ideas that came to my head were these....

• Obedience must be the focus. Just do it to obey God.
• It's not too late to start being obedient.
• It's a lifetime commitment. You're never done, so it needs to become a daily focus.
• Baby steps are all that's required, but consistent baby steps are key.
• You must have a plan--but where to start? (This is my biggest problem).
• God desires my success (1 Nephi 3:7)
• Because of the previous point, every effort, no matter how small, will be rewarded.

This document in no way justifies my current existence, so it is very uncomfortable to write. The previous version of this book was very condemning to those, such as me, who weren't actively, or maybe I should say were half-heartedly, involved in preparing for the future. As I write, I feel despair, so as I rewrite, I rework it and interject words of hope. I add encouragement because as I write and feel pulled down, I feel impressions that bring me back up....Up to the point of knowing that I must do something. Anything....daily.

image credit: brainandevolution.squarespace.com

Any step in the right direction, no matter how small, is just that....a step in the right direction.

So, before I went to bed last night, I straightened the kitchen. As I did so, I pondered on the document I'd just been working on, and the impression came to do something. HaHa! Yah, right. What was I going to do at that time of night?

image credit: nationalgeographic.com

My eyes fell on the empty bottle from the apple juice we'd drunk at dinner. There it was sitting on the counter waiting to be washed out and recycled. Then it occurred to me that there were two others sitting at the top of the recycling bin under the sink. The one on the counter had a lid. The other two did not. I remember throwing one of them away earlier and #4 had already taken the garbage out for the day. No matter. I would wash them all because that's what I felt I should do.

I washed them and filled the first with water and put the lid on. Sure, the quandary of no lids for the others really tempted me to put them back where I'd gotten them from, but I thought I'd fill them with water anyway, what the heck? I was almost done filling the second when something caught my eye. I looked down at my feet. There, on the floor, sticking out from under the fridge, was a lid. I don't know, am I just lucky? Or could it maybe go with one of the principles above? I know what I think, but some people think I'm nuts because I think that way--thus the "madhouse" theme of this blog. One person's madness is another person's miracle.

image credit: rosemaryl.blogspot.com

So, am I writing my requiem? If I continue to write and do nothing about what I'm writing, then yes, I believe I am, but if I am wise and take all that I'm writing and do just what it says....Then, I am blessing my own life and that of my family. Not only that, but I believe in the points I've shared above. I believe in prophecy--ancient and modern. I believe these are the "last days," and I believe that hard times are upon us and harder times are ahead. Do I hide under a rock and hope it goes away? That's where I've been, but the time has come to change. It's time to "awake and arise." I'm pretty sure, because of past experience, that if I can move ahead even in just my little baby steps, there will be miracles as God meets me on the path and moves me ahead to the next step. I've seen in before; there's no doubt He wants to see me succeed.

image credit: begreeninfo.com

I will make sure that my fate and Mozart's are very, very different, but I'm the one that chooses that. The ability to change my fate may lie in something as simple as an empty apple juice bottle.

Envelope System for Kids

Oh how I LOVE back to school shopping!


Last year, we tried a new system. We did a repeat this year, but we tweaked it just a little bit.


We cleaned bedrooms in the morning. As we did so, I asked the kids to pay attention to what they felt they needed for school clothes. We put each child's name on his/her own envelope and jotted down just what he/she needed on the same envelope.

We estimated what we felt shirts, jeans, etc. would cost, figured a total for each child and headed to the bank. Before we got to the bank, we totaled the number of 1s, 5s, 10s, and 20s we would need. We divided the correct money into the correct envelopes.

Each child carried his/her own envelope into the store and shopped for what he/she needed. There were items that couldn't be afforded. There were no temper tantrums; they just found other items.

Of course, they couldn't wait to wear what they'd purchased and offered to do a fashion show for me when we got home. I had already seen what they'd bought, so I made them wait until their dad got home. So fun to see them so excited.

Before you go shopping, one last hint. We went online before we left and found that Old Navy had a printable coupon. We were able to use that in the store and saved 25% off our entire purchase. Make sure you take a look around online before you go.

Because we saved more than $12 out of the budget allowed, I took the kids to get frosty's at Wendy's. It was nice to teach the kids that just because they had it didn't mean they had to spend it. After our frosty's, we were still in the black--a pretty sweet feeling!