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!

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!

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!

I am abandoning my post!

I am abandoning my blog; it is obvious that absolutely no one is reading it except for myself. The fact no one cares enough about me or my musings to read them bothers me; blogging takes time and I thought it was a good way to keep in touch with family members in other parts of the country. However, it isn't working and I have decided its not worth the amount of time it takes.

I'm finished!

Well, I finished the Book of Mormon today, 41 days ahead of schedule! Now, I will get back to work on the Book of Mormon seminary lessons that I had been studying but have slacked on for the last week. I am so grateful for my testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the things I have learned by reading and studying this book :) Woo hoo! I'm on a roll! Best wishes to each of you who has also taken the Book of Mormon challenge; may you too be victorious!!

I also am nearly ready to file my taxes. That's not nearly as exciting or fun, but it is quite necessary.... I'll be glad to get it completed. Part of my holdup is that I had completed all of my deductibles through June of last year, but now I can't remember where I put the summary sheet, and I'm reluctant to do all of that work again :p

I'm thinning down my book collection again, to make more room, and so I can organize my utility closet onto 2 of the book cases. Jay and Amanda are taking bets as to whether I can slim down my collection by half....

Hooray for Rain!

It rained this afternoon--wonderful, light, soaking rain that we so badly need here :) I am grateful to Almighty God for His great mercies to us all! I am still persisting in the Book of Mormon challenge. I am reading ahead, because this is one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon. When we get to the wars I will slow down, for I find the death and destruction very depressing, so I want to be far enough ahead that I can afford to slow down in those places.

Right now I am reading one of Jacob's sermons. Jacob was Nephi's younger brother, and like Nephi, he was humble and dedicated to serving the Lord. I never tire of rereading the Book of Mormon!

I remember the very first time that I read it, how skeptical I was (I was 20 then, and thought that I knew nearly everything), and how many doubts and questions would come up. Why was it written this way? Why is so much of Isaiah quoted? Why, why, why?

Now I am older, and much less "smart" than I was (or thought that I was) then. Over the years, as I have made mistakes, I have learned that there are very good reasons for so many of those "whys", that the remaining "whys" no longer trouble me. I have seen for myself that when I am trying my hardest to love God with all of my heart, mind and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself, that my testimony grows and it is much easier to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost. But when I grow complacent or procrastinate doing what is right, how quickly the trickle of faults becomes an avalanche of problems and shortcomings! How quickly I forget, stumble and fall! Then I too, like Nephi, feel to exclaim, "O wretched [wo]man that I am!"

But I refuse to be discouraged. I know that is why Jesus died for us; that we might press forward with faith, secure and confident that all He asks of us is for each of us to do our best, and He will make up the difference. Sometimes it feels almost like a dance: I go two steps forward, then one step back. If I look down at my feet, it will seem as if I'm not getting anywhere, but when I look at where I have been, I realize that I have made progress, bit by bit, line upon line, and that gives me courage to persist. I wish the same for each of you that may be reading this!

This is one way to make sure I update my blog:)

Today I had my monthly treatment, and tonight I am grateful that I am still feeling good!! Hopefully, tomorrow will also be good, but even if it is, I'm gonna take it easy. The weather here has been gorgeous, mild and breezy, but my heart sorrows for those killed and injured in all of the tornadoes last night in the midwestern states.

I've done my reading, now it is time to sleep! I'm glad that this time, my graph updated itself ...don't ask me why it didn't yesterday :p

OOPS My Mistake!

I thought the graph would automatically update but I was wrong! So here is my progress through today:

Book of Mormon Challenge

President Hinckley, my beloved prophet, recently passed away at age 97, living a full active life until the very final moments. I have joined a challenge to honor this tremendous man by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days, and I encourage each of you to do so, also! You can learn more about this terrific way to honor him and gain spiritual blessings for yourself at this free website:

http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/index.php?sentPage=/index.php

And here is a chart of my progress:

I've now added my Fav Movies to my Blog

Megan sent me a message about this cool movie review site that allows you to select and rate your favorite movies, and then add them to your blog. Now you can check out my favorite movies on the right! How many of them do you like? Thanks Megan!!

My Blog Now has Music!

I learned how to add music to my blog today, so I am sharing with you a song that I love... I feel it describes my life perfectly. And of course, I include my family among my circle of friends!

I am feeling much better now, and hopefully will start getting more things done on my huge list ;)

This week I replaced my hard disk drive (the original drive failed, and my computer is not that old!!) Of course, like most people, I have been sporadic about making backups, so I had a lot of files that I frantically tried to retrieve and back up onto disks, which took days and days, and I lost more than I wish but less than I might have. Nothing that I lost was irreplaceable (whew!) I am still loading some files back onto the new drive, but I don't have much more to go. I'm off now to start on that long list of tasks .....

Bad Blogger!

No, I have not been hijacked or died, I'm still here! I've been struggling with a recurring infection since Thanksgiving, and it drains my energy (both creative and otherwise.) But February is now here, its a new month, I'm on antibiotics (again) and I will try to do better, I promise!

Busy, busy....

Sharon and Sam arrived in North Carolina on Sunday. I spruced up the place for their visit :) We have been on the go, getting ready for Thanksgiving, which we are celebrating Wednesday at Jay and Sara's, as it is the only time we can all get together. That has meant plenty of menu planning, list making, shopping and baking, all of which I love but they also exhaust me quickly. So that is why I have not been saying much, but rest assured I am having a "fantabulous" time! Sharon cut off her gorgeous mane of hip-length hair and donated it all to Locks of Love, in honor of a friend who is battling breast cancer. She looks great with her new short do!

Simply Saturday

Saturday was a day of preparation. I got off to a slow start, probably because I had not drank enough fluids on Friday for all of this medication that I'm on. As the day progressed, I felt better and better, so I ended up getting done nearly everything on my list--and without exhausting myself. I'm so excited about Sharon and Sam coming here! I got out the spackle and repaired all of the minor wheelchair dings to my walls, I sorted through magazines and catalogs, throwing out a bunch that I don't need, I got my Visiting Teaching all done (hooray!), and I completed this week's lesson of an online Photoshop class on time. I had also planned on making banana bread for Thanksgiving, that didn't get done, but I am all set to make it tomorrow morning. Today I am taking it easy, so I can go to Church with Amanda and Brandon, and be all rested up for Sharon and Sam's arrival tomorrow! Woo hoo!

Happy Fall, Everyone!

Last night I got the first good night's sleep in quite a while. My neighbors were quiet, so my dog was quiet. It was cool and clear, a great night for sleeping. The storms were past, I have a new grandbaby and my daughter is doing well, my Christmas stressing has abated with the completion of some of my holiday shopping (I do as much online as possible). And, my increased medicine dosage is starting to work! Hooray!

So, I was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5:30 a.m. this morning, rarin' to go. It is now only 7:15 a.m., but I've already walked and fed the dog, eaten breakfast, read my email, and dusted my house. I'm now preparing to make my list of what I want to get done today, and sort it into active/less active so that I can pace myself.


The last of the leaves are clinging to the trees. The storms pulled off even the oak leaves, which usually cling to the trees into December and January. Although we got about an inch of rain yesterday, the brisk fall winds have already dried many of the fallen leaves, and they were blowing all around us as I rolled along and Snickers frisked beside me.

Its fun to roll over crisp leaves. They make a wonderful crackling sound and release a delicious scent that screams "Fall!" to me. And that's just what I want to do...run giggling and fall into a huge leaf pile, then bury myself or someone else so that nothing can be seen but leaves, in all their myriad shapes and hues. I just love autumn! It makes me feel as if I am 6 years old :) I hope you too will have a great day today!

I have a new Grandbaby!

Elijah Alexander Woolley was born at 8:10 a.m. PST this morning! He weighs 8 pounds, 3 ounces, is 20 inches long, and has lots of hair. Beth is still recovering from the C-section. Baby Elijah has had a "snack" and was sleeping on Andy's chest when he called me with the news. Congratulations, Beth and Andy!

Tornado Watch today

A large series of storm fronts is moving through North Carolina. It started last night, so between the storms and my new rowdy neighbors, Snickers and I did not get much sleep last night. Gaston County, where I used to live, was very hard hit and much of the county is without power. The tornado tragedy in Columbus County was southeast of here, and the storm front does seem to be weakening as it moves through my area, but we are on a tornado watch until 3 pm this afternoon. I have my television on, and while I am alert, I am not worried.

I am glad that I am here in Raleigh (Wake County), near two of my kiddos! I have talked to both of them this morning, and all is well with them also.

I know, I know....

Its not even Thanksgiving yet, but I'm already trying to gear up for Christmas. I really like to have most of my gifts made/purchased by Thanksgiving, so I can relax and really enjoy the holidays, but this year I haven't even started. Obviously, making gifts this year is not going to happen :(

But, I can't dwell on what isn't possible! With that in mind, I have sent an email to all of my family members requesting Christmas wish lists. I wonder who will respond first?

Waking Up with a Better Attitude

Well, after spending a week in a mental fog, I woke up this morning with a refreshing change in attitude, thanks to a dream I had. Now, some of you might think it was more of a nightmare, since it was all about everything that can (and did) go wrong when I was trying to give a graduate school presentation (yeah, I know....its been decades since I was in graduate school, but I still have nightmares about it.)

This time, the recurring nightmare was ever-so-slightly different, and that is what makes it exciting, and explains why I am feeling emotionally better. Just like always in these dreams, things out of my control go wrong, but just as I'm preparing to collapse into a heap of despair (in the dream), I realise that some of the things that go wrong could have been prevented with improved time management. And, because it is a dream, at that point, things dissolve and I redo everything, with my new insight, and although the same things that are out of my control go wrong, they no longer have the devastating, nightmarish impact. At this point, I woke up.

I'm once again being gently reminded that Life is after all, a chance to Learn. Its not about what I get done each day, or what I don't have done for Christmas (which is what I have been stressing about.) Other than taking my medications as instructed and otherwise following doctor's orders, I really don't have control over what is physically happening to me. But I can still look objectively at the parts of myself that are less than perfect, the mental/emotional parts that I can practice improving without expending an ounce of physical strength.

For example, Time Management has always been a life-long nemesis. Now, you might think, "Why does she need to improve time management? She's retired....speaking of which, what does she *do* all day?" One of my NCCES supervisors, Martha Burris, did me a humongous service by teaching me her system of time management. I use it to this day, color coding blocks on my calendar to organize my life, and I love it!

Well, I have been trying to take it to the next level. I am trying to use time management as a physical energy management plan. For some reason, I have a delayed reaction to physical activity. If I wait until I feel tired to stop whatever it is that I am trying to do, resting doesn't seem to have a restorative effect. And if I don't stop until the sweating and shaking starts, I can look forward to several days in bed.

Instead of waiting until I feel like I need to rest before taking a break, I break jobs up into 10 or 15 minute blocks with a timer. When that timer goes off, I stop and rest, no matter how much my busy mind shrieks in protest. I have been giving myself 50:50 active/resting periods. In the last few months, this strategy has not been as effective for me as it was before. Even using this strategy, by noon I can't do anything physically demanding, and my afternoons are spent resting. But at least I am spending fewer days in the bed, because I am learning to stop before I become exhausted. This is a major life-change for me! I had always been a "go until I drop" person.

OK, dear blog readers, you are probably bored to tears at this point and wondering where I am going with it. Time Management is a mental thing. It is something I can practice, fine-tune, and make even more effective, even in my current physical circumstances. Likewise, keeping myself in tune to spiritual promptings, fighting the tendency to isolate myself and my feelings, and improving integrity are other things that I can practice daily, no matter how bad I feel physically. Life's about doing the best you can with what you have. Isn't that great?