Thursday, January 24, 2013

I Scrapped a Layout!!

I worked nearly all day decluttering computer software on Tuesday, and wore myself out. Wednesday I slept most of the day, and when I finally woke up enough to do anything, I decided that I had earned a day off from decluttering, so I made a scrapbook layout about my Mom's 80th birthday instead. It took me many hours (I am the slowest scrapper in the world lol) but I am immensely pleased with it. A Drop of Awesome for me, for actually finishing a creative project, instead of just planning and thinking about it! After I declutter today, I am going to work on loading the layout onto my blog, then make one (or maybe more!) layout(s). I need to stay awake today, so I can sleep tonight.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Family Night Fun

Cambria Reading's family came over for Family Home Evening tonight!  We began planning this shortly before Christmas, when they came over to sing Christmas carols for me.  We had such a wonderful time that we couldn't wait to get together again!  All afternoon I kept checking the clock, "Is it 6 o'clock yet?"  I set the table buffet style; we were having ice cream with toppings, and popcorn to "fill out the corners" so no one would go to bed on a sugar high.  All of us ate our evening meal before getting together.

The doorbell rang precisely at 6 and the fun began!  Jonathan and James helped move furniture while Cambria vacuumed for me.  Emmalyn is walking now and I felt the floor was too dirty for her to be playing on.  (I have been spending more time in the wheelchair and it tracks in a lot of dirt!)  Nathan and the other kiddos took a walk outside while the cleaning went on, which didn't take very long.  I had washed the kitchen floor, but that took all the energy I had, and Cambria and I both wanted me to be able to enjoy their visit, not waste the precious energy on cleaning.  .

After opening with a prayer, everyone had a chance to select a song to sing.  We had such a good time singing!  Then James presented a wonderful lesson from "Come Unto Christ" on service.  The kids were good as gold, paying attention and participating.  Emmalyn, being the baby, really didn't participate, but she didn't get into trouble, either!  Her older brothers are experienced baby sitters, "heading her off at the pass" when she found some plant food and the telephone!  Daniel also had some trouble focusing but I thought he did very well for being only 3!  

Then we had ice cream with toppings and popcorn. (the others had popcorn, I stuck to just ice cream with maple syrup.) After cleanup, it was time to go, and there were hugs from everyone!  James is a real cuddlebug, I got 7 hugs from him before everyone got out the door!  I gave Mark and Jonathan a 550 piece dragon wizard puzzle, and all of the older children received a pez pack with a dispenser to share.  It was so much fun, I hated to see them go home!  I hope we will do it again very soon!

Drops of Awesome

My church's weekly newsletter had a link to this wonderful blog post called "Drops of Awesome".  Go here to read the entire post:
www.daringyoungmom.com/2012/12/19/drops-of-awesome/

Every time you do something good, something kind, something productive, its a drop in your Bucket of Awesome. You don't lose drops for each misstep. You can only build. You can only fill.

I ate fresh fruit with my breakfast cereal. Drop of Awesome!
I sent a birthday card on time. Drop of Awesome!
I told Jonathan I loved him. Drop of Awesome!
I read my scriptures today. Drop of Awesome!
I had a critical thought about my Mom but I brushed it away and replaced it with one of love. Drop of Awesome!

All day long I chanted these words in my head.  When I started thinking about my life in terms of adding these little drops of Awesome for every tiny act of good, I found I was doing more and more of them because it was a lot more fun to do good when I was rewarded with joy, rather than beating myself up about every failure in my past.

By the end of the day, I realized something important.  If I was spending time on the phone with my Mom, really listening to her in the moment, then I was a good listener, regardless of the other times I had interrupted her or multi-tasked while she was talking over the past week.  If I engaged in sincere prayer with my Heavenly Father, really communing with Him and seeking to do His will, then I am a person who prays sincerely, regardless of how my prayers were (or weren't) yesterday.

As I added up those Drops of Awesome,  I found that in those moments I actually became the person I had always wanted to be.

Have you ever said any of these things: "I always fight with my mother and my sister. Our relationship is broken."  Or "I can't stop spending money. I will never be out of debt." "My house is always a mess." "I am too self-centered." "I talk too much." "I never exercise."

These things are lies, depending on the next decision you make, the next Drop of Awesome you put in your bucket. You may have done these things in the past or have a hard time with them, but they don't define you and you can change this very instant. You may not think you can change permanently, but you can change the next choice you make.  And as you change that next tiny choice, in that moment you are the person you want to be and that is a triumph.

You do not need to wait three months to be who you want to be. Pick up ten things right now and say, "Drops of Awesome! I am someone who takes care of my house (or office, or car). That is who I am. I have proof."

It's really about allowing yourself to feel joy and allowing yourself to be pleased with the small victories of life. This builds momentum. You want more drops in your bucket. When you don't get as many, you begin to ask, "What can I do next?" Small. Tiny drops. Go forth. Be Awesome!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Thanksgiving 2012, Revisited

11-22-12 ~ I had a wonderful day today! I think it is a result of feeling especially grateful for so many things this year--my wonderful family and friends; better health on less prednisone than I have been able to do for years; my strong testimony and love for my Savior, Jesus Christ. All these things have especially reminded me that Thanksgiving is so much more than a national holiday romanticizing the relationship between Pilgrims and Native Americans, so much more than an excuse to overeat. Enjoying the company of those we love is so much more important than when, where, and what we will eat to commemorate the day.
Jay and Sara are at Sara's parents in Gastonia, Amanda and Brandon are at Brandon's grandparents in Fayetteville. I stayed home and made a gluten-free pumpkin pie, but then I received a surprise invitation to the Despains for Thanksgiving dinner! They picked me up at 12:30, and I was back homeat 3:45 p.m. I had a lovely time, and took my pumpkin pie with me. After blessing the food, we took turns going around the table to say what we were grateful for this year. The food was delicious, and the company was very nice as well.
Sharon called after I returned home, and I enjoyed talking to her and hearing about her week. She and Sam celebrated Thanksgiving with friends at their house on Tuesday evening this year, and tomorrow [Friday] they are getting together with other friends for a Christmas movie marathon.
Then I called Mom and talked to her and Ruth for a bit. After that, I called Beth--I struck out there, but I think that means Beth felt well enough to travel and they are either at Andy's sister's or his parents for Thanksgiving, so that is another blessing. Anyway, I left her a message, and will see if she returns my call later today or tomorrow.
Now the day is over, but I am not feeling sad nor lonely. I am all full of "warm fuzzies and gratitude!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Pack Rat Confessions

Since right after Christmas, when I began pondering what my New Year's one word theme and supporting goals would be, I have been wading through "stuff". So far, I have found missing hearing aids, 2 pairs of reading glasses, and 3 pairs of scissors that I thought were lost forever, but I haven't found the journaling I did for Thanksgiving 2012, which was supposed to be the subject of today's post. I have been clearing out drawers, cupboards and closets because then I can declutter without things looking "different" (which probably comes close to defeating the point.) If I declutter/downsize too much too fast, I fear I will just fill up the 'holes" again. Therefore, I am trying to apply the "one in, two out" principle, which hopefully won't be too stressful.
But I never thought about the large cd holder that lives right beside my recliner and is full of games that my 8-year old PC is too "new" to play. Those should be easier to let go of... instead, I stop and reminisce about playing the King's Quest series with my kids, back in the day when it was "Mom! Can we PLEASE buy the hint book!! I still can't figure this part out!" Or Myst, which boggled my brain for months. I still have Terratopia, which was a Windows 3.1 point-and-click adventure game that I dearly loved, and played at night when the housework was done, the kids were asleep, and I should have been sleeping or working on my computer science degree. I keep it because I hope someday someone will upgrade it. Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving journaling is in a "safe place" somewhere! Maybe tomorrow I will find it.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Christmas, Revisited

Clean, toss, unclutter...this is beginning to read like a middle-schooler's "dear diary". Time to try something different!
12-25-12 ~ I had a lovely Christmas with Jonathan and Amanda's families at Amanda and Brandon's home! Amanda and Brandon picked me up at 11 a.m. I had baked apple crumb pie and Sara's pumpkin pie that morning -- the pumpkin pie was HOT out of the oven. Picture transporting hot, juicy pie over 5 miles of periodically bumpy road while Amanda dodged man-hole covers and other drivers. Brandon told me if he ended up with pie on his clothes that he would "kill" me! Fortunately, thanks to Amanda's skillful driving and his quick reflexes, the pies stayed in their pie plates where they belonged.
At Amanda's, we ate a light lunch (okay, mostly we snacked) while preparing my family's traditional Christmas dinner: standing rib roast, Delmonico potatoes, candied parsnips, baby peas, butternut squash, and banana bread.
We exchanged gifts while food baked and simmered. Jonathan and kiddos' arrival was perfectly timed! Watching small children open and play with their gifts was so much fun! Xander, 16 months, pulled his Christmas gift from Sharon out of the box, and then proceeded to play with the box for the next hour. (Days later, that box was still his favorite Christmas toy.) Aaron, almost 3 years old, enjoyed opening gifts the most. He wanted to unwrap everyone's! Lily, 3 and a half, liked the 60-piece dragon puzzle from Great Grandma D the most. Jo had received a beautifully colored red and blue betta fish at home, so she loved her clown fish pillow from Sharon. Ammon, who had been given a live hermit crab at home, was thrilled with the hermit crab soft puppet Sharon gave him. (Amazingly, none of these gifts were planned between the two families.) Christmas is still magical if there is a small child involved!
Jonathan and Brandon gave each other NERF automatic weapons. After assembling them and teaching all of us correct gun part terminology (a major undertaking), the two of them battled it out for control of the kitchen and living room. No one was spared! Careful! Don't shoot your eye out!! We all laughed and squealed when hit by the soft foam "bullets". At first, Lily and Xander hid behind boxes and the curtains, but eventually when the laughter was not followed by anyone crying (Jonathan's kids had played this game before), they came out and attacked their father and uncle too. Even Xander took his share of "hits" and loved it. I have never seen our family let loose and have as much fun with each other as adults as they did Christmas afternoon!
Dinner was only 15 minutes off-schedule. The roast beef was perfect, everything was hot, and nothing was over- or under-done. We made a great team of chefs, disproving the old saw that "too many cooks spoil the broth". Only Amanda and I ate parsnips, although everyone tried them.
I couldn't believe it when Jay insisted he had never had them before. Amanda exclaimed, "Mom always makes these!" He still insisted he didn't remember them and finally replied, "that doesn't mean I ever ate them." After trying them and pulling a face, Amanda said with dry humor, "Apparently you tried them once and disliked them so much that you blocked them from your memory." "That's okay, there's all the more for me!" I laughed and exclaimed between mouthfuls. There was so much food, no one went hungry. I shared leftovers with all and still had plenty of everything to take home with me. Most of us were too full for dessert!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Unfinished Projects

I awoke feeling pretty rotten, but in spite of this, I got a lot done today: I wrote and mailed 5 get well cards and 2 letters to friends; got the Christmas decorations down and put away, thanks to help from my wonderful visiting teachers, Hope and Michelle; finished one unfinished project (the cinnamon fall leaves ornaments begun in early November); began learning how to change the appearance of my blog; photographed my paper scrapping items I am offering to my card maker friend Sandra; uploaded all photos currently on my camera to my EHD, labeled Sandra's photos with product names, and sent them to her. That project has also been hanging over my head since early November. Then I labeled the rest of the camera photos and sorted them into folders. Most of this work was done in my recliner with my feet up. I wanted to put away my bare Christmas tree also, but it was too heavy, I couldn't pick it up. After eating, and learning how to add a new blog header to my blog, I wrote a blog post introducing myself and my goals/aspirations/resolutions for 2013. That's it for Tuesday! Good night!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Intro About Me, 2013 Version

Since I am basically restarting my blog, I thought I would begin by introducing myself. I am an LDS mother of 5 children and 12 grandchildren. I spend as much time with family as possible, and divide the remainder of my time between duties, resting and interests. My one word for 2013 is Simplify. I have made resolutions in 4 areas of my life: Spiritual: increase spirituality by using daily chart begun in 2012; Physical: Declutter and downsize; Social: learn how to be a better friend and apply those principles to strengthening current friendships; Intellectual: read good books that invite the Spirit (apply same rules as for movies - i.e., no R-rated stuff).

Long Time, No Write

It has been almost 4-1/2 years since I abandoned this blog; years that have seen a lot of challenges and some personal growth. I have decided to resume writing here, but this time my focus will be different. I am going to write to track my own behavior and progress toward making positive changes rather than writing to try and stay in touch with other people. Therefore, it won't matter whether anyone else reads it or not. Hopefully, later today I will enter another post with my 2013 Resolutions (yes, I am one of those people who makes New Year's resolutions, and I try to keep them! Later, 'gator!