Friday Five

1. Well I missed Love Thursday. It seems that I forget about it more often that not. And that's not a good thing. Why is it that things seem to slip through the cracks in my brain?
   
2. M. was in a storytelling festival yesterday and did a great job. She told the story of Goldy Locks and the Three Bears. She made it to the top of her school level but did not move up to district. That's o.k. though because she did her best and had fun!
3. I'm actually keeping up with my house work. For two days so far but two days is two days. It's the weekends that kill me because everyone is home all day everyday and it seems that things just go to pot.
4. The weather here has been FABULOUS! I've actually thrown open my windows in attempt to air out my house. Today it's supposed to almost hit 60 degrees! WOOT! Unfortunately we also have the worst air quality in the country so I'm not sure about getting out and walking. But it's beautiful out there. My tulips and crocus are poking up in my front flower beds and I can actually see my lawn! I love it.
5. So in honor of the coming of Spring and my looking forward to the blossoms "popping" out on our trees here's this picture from last year.

How Fast Are You?

65 words

Speedtest

Heh. I'm not all that great and the more I make mistakes the more flustered I get.

Silence=Golden?

You know that old phrase "Silence is Golden"? Well I think that it should be changed to "Silence CAN BE Golden". There are times when silence is not good, not golden. In fact there are times when silence can be down right wrong and hurtful. One of the times when silence is not a good thing is when there is someone who needs our help, or if someone is hurting us we need to speak up. When I was younger there was a time when I should have spoken up about something and I didn't for fear of the repercussions that it would have on my family. It wouldn't have gotten me in trouble but it would or could have done some serious damage to my family. So I kept silent. So silent that even I forgot (repressed) what had happened to me until I was in Jr. High. I've still kept my silence about that incident some because I feel that it's in the past but still there is a fear of what will happen if I ever break that quiet. I've been able to move forward with my life and forgive what happened. I've been blessed that way. That's not to say that I haven't had my struggles, because I have. but I've been blessed to be able to work through things with the help of a wonderful husband. He was the first person I talked to about it. I've told a few other people but not many.

Another time where we need to speak up is when we see someone that needs help. Yesterday I had an incident where I was talking with someone about someone else who is struggling with a drug dependency problem. As we were wrapping up the conversation I was asked "Not to say anything". I stopped the person who I was speaking with and asked "What good is that going to do?" "How is keeping quite going to help this situation?" The person I was talking with was afraid of embarrassing this person with the drug problem. So I asked "Would you rather there be embarrassment or would you rather see them die?" What good does it do to hold your tongue in this case? I can understand if I were to call someone up and say "Hey, you'll never guess what I just heard!! So and so is totally wacked out on drugs today! Can you BELIEVE it?" That's gossip and I don't do that. But if I were to call others who know and love this person and let them know about the situation I could ask them for advice, for comfort. Maybe someone else might have insights that I don't have. Maybe they have the answer and maybe not but they can still pray for this person. They can be aware of what is going on and give this person a call or a note or visit with a hug. In the vacuum of silence none of that can happen.

All my life I've been taught that we don't talk about things. Anything. It's so incredibly frustrating. And I think it does far more damage than it does good. If you can talk about problems in a manner that is respectful and helpful then how does that hurt? How does that knowledge hurt anything? Maybe people can not only help but they can learn. We can learn and grow together if we let ourselves, if we can open up and talk instead of shutting down. Yes that openness can hurt sometimes but who knows what good might come of it? No one will ever know unless that silence is broken.

Friday Five

Five things I want to do this weekend.

1. Get the housework caught up (hopefully today so tomorrow I can do whatever)
   
2. Have the O. Boys get haircuts
3. Work on some crafty things
4. Go to the temple with my hubby
5. Go walking

Not what many would consider an exciting weekend but that's o.k. by me. Maybe next weekend will have more excitement. Hope you have a good one!

Love Thursday

Happy Love Thursday!

New Attitude

I've been going to a workout group with a bunch of great ladies. To be honest I hate working out. But it's hard to have a bad attitude about it working out with these wonderful women. So with that in mind I'm really going to work on getting a better attitude. Not just about working out but about everything. I used to have a pretty good outlook on life. Somewhere along the way I lost that and I'm not sure why.

The leader of the group has this incredible outlook on life. She is always upbeat and has a great smile on her face and when you see her and talk to her she seems genuinely happy to see you and be conversing with you. She has been having gall bladder attacks and is looking at gall bladder surgery in the future. Another lady in the group has a husband who is facing cancer. He is in the middle of Chemo right now and they don't know if he will have to go forward with radiation treatments as well. He is unable to work. She is also the mother of 4 small children two of which are 5 month old twins. And yet here she comes to the workout with a smile on her face and totally LOVING how she is feeling as she is working out. Just amazing.

So today, I'm making up my mind to have a better attitude about life in general. I

Oooo! Oooo! Ooooo! I've got a new attitude!

Mosaic

I jumped online tonight to finish reading up some blogs and when I came to Ali Edwards blog and she had an awesome Mosaic with a link to where she created it (Big Huge Labs) I just had to go make one of my own. I LOVE Mosaics. This one is more of a Summer theme because, well I'm in the mood for some Summer and some color. Don't you just love it? You can click on it for a bigger view.

Sledding

Today we took the kids to a fun place to go sledding. It's part of a golf course so it has some good hills. The snow was nice and slick so the runs were fast. We only have three sleds so we have to take turns but that was okay. Next year though we're going to have to invest in some new ones. The sleds we have are actually from T.'s childhood so they are kind of coming apart. The kids had a blast and it was a nice enough day that no one even got really cold. Here's the pics that I took. I'm frustrated with my camera though because the pictures were really pixelated. I don't know if that's because much of them were action pictures or if it was glare from the snow or what. They look okay small but larger they don't look very good at all. I'm hoping that if I print them it won't show the pixelation. Anyway. Here they are!

More Love

This is a valentine that j. made in preschool yesterday. I love it. Looking at it melts my heart. She holds my heart in her hands.

Love Thursday - Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to all! I have the best husband in the whole wide world. These were dropped off this morning. I love them. They are beautiful. Flowers and Chocolate...he's a keeper for sure.

14 things I love

I was tagged by Stacey for this. In honor of Valentines day. I like this idea.

1. Laughter. I love to laugh whether it be a small giggle or a big belly laugh. I also enjoy watching others laugh.
2. Music. It can reach me in ways that nothing else can.
3. My husband. Who believes in me and loves me more than anyone else....even myself.
   
4. My children. Who love me unconditionally with the love that only children know how to give.
   
5. Photography. I love seeing things through the camera lens. And I love how those images help me to remember things that otherwise would slip through the cracks in my mind.
   
6. The family I grew up in. It formed and shaped me into the person I am today.
7. Learning. I love learning about new ideas and things.
8. Color. I really love color. The many different shades and hues that are out there. This is another thing that can really speak to me.
9. My religion. I love the peace and the anchor that it gives my life.
10. Re-arranging furniture. Yes, I really love to do this. Ask my dh if you don't believe me.
11. The Change of Seasons. I love watching the buds come out in Spring. The color of new green in the lawn. I love the warming and lengthening of the days as Spring turns to Summer. I love the vibrancy of the colors in Fall and how the air turns crisp and cold. And the first Snows of Winter.
12. The smell of rain. Anytime, anywhere....but especially in the mountains among the Pines.
13. Thunderstorms. The bigger the better.
14. Being Creative. I love to think of creative and different ways to do things. Sometimes it take a long time for an idea to come to fruition but I love it when it does.
    

Monday

Yesterday just as I sat down to breakfast before church it felt like someone dropped a bag of (insert something heavy here because my brain is too fogged to come up with something creative) on me. But I had to go. I was in charge of the lesson for my primary class and my kids were singing a musical number in sacrament meeting so I sucked it up and went. The kids sang great. Well the older three. j. was asleep on my lap. We came home and I huddled up on the couch upstairs reading and trying to feel better. Still felt yucky when bedtime rolled around.

This morning I still didn't feel well. Thankfully the older three can get themselves off to school pretty well. I was on the couch downstairs drifting in and out and j. brought down an orange. I told her to take it upstairs and peel it. She's peeled oranges before so I didn't think anything of it. A little while later I got up to use the bathroom down here and as I'm finishing up I hear this wail from upstairs. I yell up to ask what is wrong but I can't understand. I can tell she's hurt but it's not a piercing, shrill yell...it's a low moaning yell that something is wrong. I finish up and head up the stairs asking what is wrong as I go up. "I have blood" is her answer. And indeed she does. As my head gets above the railing and I can see her she has her hand splayed out on a paper towel on the table with blood all over her hand. Trying to remain calm (and I did pretty good if I do say so myself) I asked her what happened. She told me that she tried to stop it bleeding but she couldn't find any bandaids. I look at her hand with the blood and try to figure out where she is cut. I ask her and she shows me. It's by the base of two of her fingernails. "How did this happen?" I ask. She tried to tell me that she did it with her other fingernails trying to get something sticky off but when I washed off the blood and saw how it was cut I told her that fingernails didn't do that. She then fessed up to trying to cut the orange with a knife and it slipped. I'm amazed that she didn't start screaming when it first happened. There was even blood on the kitchen floor that she tried to wipe up. I calmly explained to her as I tried to get through to the dr.s office on one phone and T. on the other, that there was a reason that we didn't let her use knives and that she should have come and asked me if she needed help. I finally got through to the dr.s office and got an appt. T. wanted a picture so I sent him one and he said that there was no way to stitch it up because it was just a think flap of skin. So I called back and canceled the appt. I put a bunch of anti-biotic ointment on and bandaids and I guess that's all I can do. j. handled it pretty darn well. Here is the picture that I sent to T.

I am still feeling cruddy and I need to make a trip to the store to get some cold medicine so that I can make it through the day and get stuff done. I don't think I'll send j. to school today her nose is totally running and she has a cough as well so I think I'll keep her home....again. She's been one day this month.

Ah Monday's. Ya gotta love em.

Saturday Six

Well since I didn't get a chance to do the Friday Five. Here is the Saturday Six. Heh.

• My annual visit to the dr. is over and I'm good on bc for another five years. Woot!
• Sledding is on the schedule for today. Georges party FINALLY. Only two weeks after his actual birthday.
• I'm not too sore from the workouts that I've been doing.
• It's starting to warm up so I may get out walking again plus the work outs YAY!
• Mary Kay eye firming creme rocks!
• T. and I are getting out with some friends for adult time tonight. Yee-Haw!

Love Thursday...on Friday

Yesterday was kind of crazy so I didn't get a chance to post my Love Thursday picture. Here it is. It's a favorite of my dad at our families 4th of July celebration. In the Spring of the year this picture was taken we almost lost my dad, so it's all the more special to me. Love you dad.

No Pain, No Gain

Last night I went to the first gathering of The Get Fit Club that has started up in our church. It was SO much fun. Erin is the one who started it up. She rocks! We did kind of a kick boxing/isometrics/yoga deal. I am SO out of shape though. I wanted to come home and get in the tub but I knew if I did I probably wouldn't be able to get back out. So I got into a nice hot shower and relaxed my muscles that way. Then I rubbed down with some lovely smelling heating rub called Formor then I headed for the heating pad. And boy was I ever glad for our Tempurpedic mattress because laying there with that rub on there was some extra heating for my poor shocked muscles. I know that tomorrow will probably be worse but I really need this and I'm grateful to Erin for being willing to come and teach us. She's been some form of fitness instructor for 10 years and you can totally tell when you look at her. She has a rockin' body even after three kids. I don't think that there is anything that lady can't do.

I'm also heading out the door to take j. to the dr.s I'm afraid she has a uti and a head cold. Poor things been in and out of the bathroom SO much. So I'm outie

Housekeeping

So I come here to admit that I am a serious hit and miss house keeper. Just ask my husband. I know it drives him crazy during my "miss" times. Seriously though I so struggle with house work. The vacuuming, the dusting, the dishes, the laundry, the making of beds and keeping things picked up off the floor. Most of the time I am in between the hit and the miss...but probably more towards the miss end of things. It's just so hard for me because once I do something someone (including myself) comes behind me and undoes all that I've done and I have to start all over again. I feel trapped by it a lot of the time and overwhelmed by it at others. I admire those people who seem to have it all together and their houses always look great.

Anyhoo...does anyone have good tips to keeping on top of the mound of house work? I keep thinking about making up a daily "to do" list. I also know that if I am not able to get all of those things on the "to do" list done I will flog myself and feel like a failure so I have been hesitant to make one up. Do you have a daily list? If do would you care to share?

Right now I am sitting in the pit that is my office/craft room and I know I need to do something with it but it's so overwhelming. I have wait for a time when I feel up to the challenge. It will come soon, I hope.

Super Hero Challenge (Shutter Sisters)

Okay here is my attempt at the Super Hero challenge at Shutter Sisters. It's cold outside but I thought it would be cool to get a shot in the snow. I did bring a magazine out to set my camera on it wasn't just on the snow. I was frustrated because they didn't come out as crisp as I would have liked and I don't know if it's from the snow or what. This was my favorite shot.

Learning

As I was sitting in church on Sunday I was thinking about learning. What I've learned, how continue to learn and who do I learn from. I think that most people would be surprised if I told them that I have learned something from them. All of my life I have watched people. Looked at them and what they are doing and how they are doing it. I've also watched to see what happens when people do things. Do good things happen or bad? And I've taken little bits of insight from here and there. I've learned much from watching. I watched and I've learned from other people's mistakes. I am sorry that those mistakes were made but I'm also grateful for them because I learned from them. Because I watched and learned, I didn't have to make those same mistakes or go through the pain that those mistakes caused.

I also learn through listening. Hearing things has a big impact on me. Words, spoken words and Especially words put to music. They have this amazing power to reach me. For some reason the written word, not so much. Although I do love to read. I just have a harder time retaining what I read than what I hear. If I put the two together it helps but I can read a book and then go back and re-read it a year or two later and still be surprised or not remember how it turns out.

Hands on is also a good way for me to learn but it terrifies me. I worry about making mistakes and messing up. So I don't try this way too often.

I'm also learning that when I watch other people I need to be careful not to go into a "comparison mode" because lately whenever I compare my self with someone else it seems that I come up lacking. Not that before I thought I was better than other but that everyone was equal. Now for some strange reason I find myself falling short. I don't like that. I don't even know if it's a reality or not. In my head I know it's not, that I'm just as good as others but then there is a stupid little voice that comes from somewhere saying things that make me doubt myself. It's not a good place to be. I'm working on getting out of it and if you're wondering why I'm saying all this, it's because I feel that I have to own up to it before I can get out of it. So I'm hoping that by putting this down here it will help me to squash that little voice and move forward instead of seemingly staying in one spot.