On another note, I read something interesting in my scripture study this morning. At the end of Matt. 5 (Sermon on the Mount) Christ says "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." I've heard this a million times. I understood that to mean to try not to sin. Don't make mistakes. Do your very best so that you are error-free. But I checked the footnote, and the Greek translation of the word which we get in English as "perfect" is: complete, finished, fully developed. That's quite different from the admonition I thought Christ was giving. In this instance, He's not asking us to be perfect at what we currently do (although that is certainly one of our goals), but is asking us to strive to be more than what we currently are. I've decided that I like this idea very much. God wants us to be well-rounded, to be always adding skills, seeking knowledge, stretching and branching out. We should be putting effort and energy not just into perfecting what we are but looking forward to a better, stronger, smarter, more compassionate and complete person. To be perfect doesn't just mean to be sin-free, but includes the charge to seek and acquire talents and skills that are good and right. If we believe that "by their fruits ye shall know them," (Matt 7:20) then we should be striving not just to bring forth delicious apples, but also beautiful grapes, and nutritious cherries, and peaches, and watermelons, and every other good fruit we can. How better to serve those around us than to be not just the best we can be, but also the most we can be? (Note to self - don't forget Mosiah 4:27 is also a commandment.)
Friday, February 26, 2010
His girl Friday
I never ended up exercising yesterday. Shame on me. So I'm planning a long walk this morning - first I will walk the kids to school (1.4 miles). Then (the big plan) down to the Post Office to mail a package and a certified letter, and on out to the IHC clinic for a weigh-in (1.3 miles). Then back to the school to pick up Katie (another 1.3), and head home by way of the library (1.6), for a grand total of just over 5 and a half miles. Yeah, baby! Actually I really love to walk, and as long as I keep the speed up so the heart rate stays up, it's great exercise. Tomorrow is a long run day, if I can fit it in. I really need to get up early and do it before the kids even get out of bed, but that's so hard. We'll see. ("We'll see" means probably not. Even my kids have figured that out.)
On another note, I read something interesting in my scripture study this morning. At the end of Matt. 5 (Sermon on the Mount) Christ says "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." I've heard this a million times. I understood that to mean to try not to sin. Don't make mistakes. Do your very best so that you are error-free. But I checked the footnote, and the Greek translation of the word which we get in English as "perfect" is: complete, finished, fully developed. That's quite different from the admonition I thought Christ was giving. In this instance, He's not asking us to be perfect at what we currently do (although that is certainly one of our goals), but is asking us to strive to be more than what we currently are. I've decided that I like this idea very much. God wants us to be well-rounded, to be always adding skills, seeking knowledge, stretching and branching out. We should be putting effort and energy not just into perfecting what we are but looking forward to a better, stronger, smarter, more compassionate and complete person. To be perfect doesn't just mean to be sin-free, but includes the charge to seek and acquire talents and skills that are good and right. If we believe that "by their fruits ye shall know them," (Matt 7:20) then we should be striving not just to bring forth delicious apples, but also beautiful grapes, and nutritious cherries, and peaches, and watermelons, and every other good fruit we can. How better to serve those around us than to be not just the best we can be, but also the most we can be? (Note to self - don't forget Mosiah 4:27 is also a commandment.)
On another note, I read something interesting in my scripture study this morning. At the end of Matt. 5 (Sermon on the Mount) Christ says "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." I've heard this a million times. I understood that to mean to try not to sin. Don't make mistakes. Do your very best so that you are error-free. But I checked the footnote, and the Greek translation of the word which we get in English as "perfect" is: complete, finished, fully developed. That's quite different from the admonition I thought Christ was giving. In this instance, He's not asking us to be perfect at what we currently do (although that is certainly one of our goals), but is asking us to strive to be more than what we currently are. I've decided that I like this idea very much. God wants us to be well-rounded, to be always adding skills, seeking knowledge, stretching and branching out. We should be putting effort and energy not just into perfecting what we are but looking forward to a better, stronger, smarter, more compassionate and complete person. To be perfect doesn't just mean to be sin-free, but includes the charge to seek and acquire talents and skills that are good and right. If we believe that "by their fruits ye shall know them," (Matt 7:20) then we should be striving not just to bring forth delicious apples, but also beautiful grapes, and nutritious cherries, and peaches, and watermelons, and every other good fruit we can. How better to serve those around us than to be not just the best we can be, but also the most we can be? (Note to self - don't forget Mosiah 4:27 is also a commandment.)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
10 on Thursday
I'm not good at finances. I was thinking about that when I woke up at 3am this morning and had a difficult time falling back to sleep. Oh, I can do math, and balance a checkbook, and pay the credit card bill monthly to avoid an interest charge. I'm just not good at staying under budget, and keeping my spending at a certain level. It's like gross motor skills vs. fine motor skills. I do well at the gross financial skills, but not so well the the fine financial skills, at the finesse, the nuance, the more abstract skill of mentally monitoring my spending habits and keeping things under perfect control. I guess the real issue is impulse control.
What frustrates me most is that my "excesses" are not those you might expect from a shopaholic (which I have determined that I am.) I'm so good at finding great deals that I spend too much on great deals. I rarely pay full price for anything we don't eat (often food just has to be paid full price for, even at Costco.) For example, I spend too much on clearance clothing for my kids. Believe me, I don't even spend a lot on that, but probably more than is necessary. And I love bins and containers, but I won't pay full price for those either, so my house is quite organized, but nothing really matches, which is fine in my book. The problem isn't the mismatching, but that I buy bins on sale when I don't need them. Right now I have about 5 large totes under the stairs that I found on sale. They are just waiting for me to need them. I also have several smaller containers like pencil boxes and recipe card boxes and photo albums, all new and empty, just waiting to be put to good use. (I used to do the same with fabric, even though I rarely sew, but I have kicked that habit. I still have enough fabric to make a small wardrobe for someone should I need to. )
This isn't necessarily a bad practice, to buy on sale what you don't need now, knowing that eventually you will need it. In most circumstances it would be considered in a positive light. For me, however, it is a symptom of my inability to say no to a great deal. I have determined, due to the current financial situation in the world, and the looming cutbacks in the education budget for the state, that I need to cut my spending by about 20%, across the board. It will be an exercise in self control, practice for the coming lean years. So, no more buying ahead unless I know the need will be realized in the immediate future (say, 3 months.) This includes clothes, storage containers, and even wrapping paper and ribbon (no, don't take away my paper and ribbon!!!) Only year's supply items will be allowed to be purchased ahead.
In one month I will check my spending and return and report (my financial month runs from about the 28th to the 28th of each month.) This should be a good month to start this project, as there are only 28 days in Feb., which makes this financial month about 3 days shorter. Less time to spend!
What frustrates me most is that my "excesses" are not those you might expect from a shopaholic (which I have determined that I am.) I'm so good at finding great deals that I spend too much on great deals. I rarely pay full price for anything we don't eat (often food just has to be paid full price for, even at Costco.) For example, I spend too much on clearance clothing for my kids. Believe me, I don't even spend a lot on that, but probably more than is necessary. And I love bins and containers, but I won't pay full price for those either, so my house is quite organized, but nothing really matches, which is fine in my book. The problem isn't the mismatching, but that I buy bins on sale when I don't need them. Right now I have about 5 large totes under the stairs that I found on sale. They are just waiting for me to need them. I also have several smaller containers like pencil boxes and recipe card boxes and photo albums, all new and empty, just waiting to be put to good use. (I used to do the same with fabric, even though I rarely sew, but I have kicked that habit. I still have enough fabric to make a small wardrobe for someone should I need to. )
This isn't necessarily a bad practice, to buy on sale what you don't need now, knowing that eventually you will need it. In most circumstances it would be considered in a positive light. For me, however, it is a symptom of my inability to say no to a great deal. I have determined, due to the current financial situation in the world, and the looming cutbacks in the education budget for the state, that I need to cut my spending by about 20%, across the board. It will be an exercise in self control, practice for the coming lean years. So, no more buying ahead unless I know the need will be realized in the immediate future (say, 3 months.) This includes clothes, storage containers, and even wrapping paper and ribbon (no, don't take away my paper and ribbon!!!) Only year's supply items will be allowed to be purchased ahead.
In one month I will check my spending and return and report (my financial month runs from about the 28th to the 28th of each month.) This should be a good month to start this project, as there are only 28 days in Feb., which makes this financial month about 3 days shorter. Less time to spend!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
10 on Wednesday
After a tome like yesterday's, I feel reluctant to write anything at all because it will seem trivial, but I guess the point of this blog is to include all the unimportant events and emotions that make up the fabric of my life, so here goes.
I love Alan Rickman. He may just be my favorite actor. Certainly the favorite who is still alive. I love his diversity, but I also love the characters he plays. I watched Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility last night. I love that version. I know it's made for the movie-going public, and is therefore shortened in length and complexity of story, but I love the cast, and the whole feeling of the film. And I love Alan Rickman. I watch stuff like that and wish I could meet him. But I know I really want to meet Colonel Brandon, and Severus Snape, and the sheriff of Nottingham, etc. I really don't know Alan Rickman at all, even though I love him!! I also love Harrison Ford (more before he took up with Calista Flockhart and got an earring than after) and Lawrence Olivier, and Gerard Butler, and Sean Connery (the accent beats all comers) and Hugh Grant, and I could just go on and on. (I love women actors also, many of them, but I'm thinking of a certain feeling here - admiration mixed with attraction.) I have met several celebrities. Most notably (and least notably, really) I have breakfasted with Mikhail Baryshnikov and lunched with David Strathairn (in the Juilliard school cafeteria - see what I mean about notability?) But the point is that they are usually really nice people, but just that. Just people. Not really exceptional face-to-face, despite the reams of paper devoted to following their every public move. I know my favorite actors are just the same, but there is a part of me that wants them to be as big and colorful in real life as they are in the movies. It's probably for the best that I never meet them, so as to never be disappointed with their all-to-human personas. Their gas passing, BO smelling, poor grammar-using, over-bearing, under-handed, stuff-caught in-their-teeth, bad breath, greasy hair, plain old normal personas.
I love Alan Rickman. He may just be my favorite actor. Certainly the favorite who is still alive. I love his diversity, but I also love the characters he plays. I watched Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility last night. I love that version. I know it's made for the movie-going public, and is therefore shortened in length and complexity of story, but I love the cast, and the whole feeling of the film. And I love Alan Rickman. I watch stuff like that and wish I could meet him. But I know I really want to meet Colonel Brandon, and Severus Snape, and the sheriff of Nottingham, etc. I really don't know Alan Rickman at all, even though I love him!! I also love Harrison Ford (more before he took up with Calista Flockhart and got an earring than after) and Lawrence Olivier, and Gerard Butler, and Sean Connery (the accent beats all comers) and Hugh Grant, and I could just go on and on. (I love women actors also, many of them, but I'm thinking of a certain feeling here - admiration mixed with attraction.) I have met several celebrities. Most notably (and least notably, really) I have breakfasted with Mikhail Baryshnikov and lunched with David Strathairn (in the Juilliard school cafeteria - see what I mean about notability?) But the point is that they are usually really nice people, but just that. Just people. Not really exceptional face-to-face, despite the reams of paper devoted to following their every public move. I know my favorite actors are just the same, but there is a part of me that wants them to be as big and colorful in real life as they are in the movies. It's probably for the best that I never meet them, so as to never be disappointed with their all-to-human personas. Their gas passing, BO smelling, poor grammar-using, over-bearing, under-handed, stuff-caught in-their-teeth, bad breath, greasy hair, plain old normal personas.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
"Hygeine" vs. Health, or Why I don't bathe my kids every day
I have, until recently, been reluctant to mention my practices regarding my kids and bathing. I think peer pressure has a lot to do with it. I am now far more confident in my ability to make correct choices for my family in spite of what society deems appropriate. This doesn't mean I am never wrong, or that I am not still learning, but just that I trust my choices far more than I used to.
Here's the deal. I do not bathe my kids daily. Or even every other day. Throughout the winter, my little kids bathe once a week, every Saturday night. (Whether they need it or not. Old joke. Ha ha.) I know that in today's cleanliness obsessed world, this is tantamount to saying I don't love my children. But I do, and it is because I love them that I make the choices I make. Let me explain. When Aubrey and JR and even Liz were small, I bathed them more often. Still not every day, but at least every other day. I found myself constantly slathering them with lotion to keep their little legs and arms from developing what we called "alligator skin," that dry and scaly condition that itches so much. Finally I said to myself, "Why am I washing off the bodies natural moisturizers in order to replace them with man-made moisturizers? Don't I trust nature to make a better moisturizer than Johnson & Johnson?" And so I decided to try it. I quit bathing them so often. And their skin improved. A lot. I learned an important lesson. If the body (and by extension, the Lord) has a system in place to do a particular thing (like moisturize), then I will allow it to work before I try to replace it with man-made solutions.
Even though I was happy with the results of bathing my kids once a week, I was embarrassed about it. Society seems to demand we bathe our kids nightly. Any article on bedtime rituals includes the evening bath. Mothers extol the lovely smell of the freshly washed child (Which I agree it true. It's a lovely smell, but what we smell is fragrance, not child.) The advertising machine pushes every kind of baby wash, baby shampoo, and baby lotion with photos of the warm and intimate act of bathing the child. Barely veiled warnings of the danger of germs and bacteria are everywhere. Lysol everything, they tell us. Dirt is the enemy!! There are some practical considerations as well. Sheets stay cleaner much longer when the body between them is clean every night, as do pajamas. So, in the face of the implied criticism of being unwashed, I kept my silence.
Then I started looking harder at other natural ways of living, including diet. I found that most Americans are deficient in Vitamin D. (The article linked at the bottom of this post greatly influenced me.) And I discovered that the bodies natural production of vitamin D hinges on exposing skin to sunlight to create the vitamin on the skin's surface and then allowing the skin to absorb the vitamin D back through the skin!! This can't happen in just the few hours between sun exposure and the evening bath. It takes longer. My belief was reinforced. It is better for my kid health to bathe them less frequently, even once a week. And as the years have passed, I have become more confident in the rightness of my choices for my family. There are of course exceptions. My oldest is on the verge of teenhood, and she runs a mile in PE almost everyday. She needs to shower more often, like I do. In the summer, they get sweaty (and stinky) much faster than in the winter, and they are dirtier, too, from working/playing outside most of the day. Also they swim often, which exposes them to chlorine and many other icky things. In the summer, the vitamin D thing is far less important, because I figure all the sun exposure probably keep their levels pretty high. We bathe more often in the summer, although still not every day.
I am pretty happy with the levels of illness we have in our home. My kids go years without seeing the doctor (except for the occasional well-child or immunization visit.) We miss very little school. I believe this is partly a result of allowing their vitamin D levels to be optimized by not bathing every day. (I also use sunscreen sparingly.) I don't have to keep them lotioned up all the time. And quite frankly, I'd rather have the time in the evenings to read to them, and play with them, and get their homework done, etc., instead of having to bathe them all.
http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/SunlightSpecial.pdf
[I have even extended this practice of allowing nature to work first to healing itself. A study I read concluded that children with ear infections (acute, not chronic) who were left unmedicated recovered in the same amount of time as those who were medicated. Wow! And you don't have to mess up their little systems with antibiotics (which are useful at the appropriate times, but also quite harmful to the digestive system, etc.) I quit taking my kids in to the doctor every time they had an ear infection, and we have never looked back. I feel I am contributing to the goal of keeping antibiotics from being overused, and I'm also keeping my kids far healthier that they would otherwise be. (Please do not read this to mean I eschew modern medicine, I don't.)]
Here's the deal. I do not bathe my kids daily. Or even every other day. Throughout the winter, my little kids bathe once a week, every Saturday night. (Whether they need it or not. Old joke. Ha ha.) I know that in today's cleanliness obsessed world, this is tantamount to saying I don't love my children. But I do, and it is because I love them that I make the choices I make. Let me explain. When Aubrey and JR and even Liz were small, I bathed them more often. Still not every day, but at least every other day. I found myself constantly slathering them with lotion to keep their little legs and arms from developing what we called "alligator skin," that dry and scaly condition that itches so much. Finally I said to myself, "Why am I washing off the bodies natural moisturizers in order to replace them with man-made moisturizers? Don't I trust nature to make a better moisturizer than Johnson & Johnson?" And so I decided to try it. I quit bathing them so often. And their skin improved. A lot. I learned an important lesson. If the body (and by extension, the Lord) has a system in place to do a particular thing (like moisturize), then I will allow it to work before I try to replace it with man-made solutions.
Even though I was happy with the results of bathing my kids once a week, I was embarrassed about it. Society seems to demand we bathe our kids nightly. Any article on bedtime rituals includes the evening bath. Mothers extol the lovely smell of the freshly washed child (Which I agree it true. It's a lovely smell, but what we smell is fragrance, not child.) The advertising machine pushes every kind of baby wash, baby shampoo, and baby lotion with photos of the warm and intimate act of bathing the child. Barely veiled warnings of the danger of germs and bacteria are everywhere. Lysol everything, they tell us. Dirt is the enemy!! There are some practical considerations as well. Sheets stay cleaner much longer when the body between them is clean every night, as do pajamas. So, in the face of the implied criticism of being unwashed, I kept my silence.
Then I started looking harder at other natural ways of living, including diet. I found that most Americans are deficient in Vitamin D. (The article linked at the bottom of this post greatly influenced me.) And I discovered that the bodies natural production of vitamin D hinges on exposing skin to sunlight to create the vitamin on the skin's surface and then allowing the skin to absorb the vitamin D back through the skin!! This can't happen in just the few hours between sun exposure and the evening bath. It takes longer. My belief was reinforced. It is better for my kid health to bathe them less frequently, even once a week. And as the years have passed, I have become more confident in the rightness of my choices for my family. There are of course exceptions. My oldest is on the verge of teenhood, and she runs a mile in PE almost everyday. She needs to shower more often, like I do. In the summer, they get sweaty (and stinky) much faster than in the winter, and they are dirtier, too, from working/playing outside most of the day. Also they swim often, which exposes them to chlorine and many other icky things. In the summer, the vitamin D thing is far less important, because I figure all the sun exposure probably keep their levels pretty high. We bathe more often in the summer, although still not every day.
I am pretty happy with the levels of illness we have in our home. My kids go years without seeing the doctor (except for the occasional well-child or immunization visit.) We miss very little school. I believe this is partly a result of allowing their vitamin D levels to be optimized by not bathing every day. (I also use sunscreen sparingly.) I don't have to keep them lotioned up all the time. And quite frankly, I'd rather have the time in the evenings to read to them, and play with them, and get their homework done, etc., instead of having to bathe them all.
http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/SunlightSpecial.pdf
[I have even extended this practice of allowing nature to work first to healing itself. A study I read concluded that children with ear infections (acute, not chronic) who were left unmedicated recovered in the same amount of time as those who were medicated. Wow! And you don't have to mess up their little systems with antibiotics (which are useful at the appropriate times, but also quite harmful to the digestive system, etc.) I quit taking my kids in to the doctor every time they had an ear infection, and we have never looked back. I feel I am contributing to the goal of keeping antibiotics from being overused, and I'm also keeping my kids far healthier that they would otherwise be. (Please do not read this to mean I eschew modern medicine, I don't.)]
Monday, February 22, 2010
10 on Monday
Good weekend here at our house. Going backwards:
Nice relaxing evening in front of the fire last night with my husband. We put the kids to bed and just relaxed and talked. Russ has a bit of a chest cold, so he's taking things easy these days. He talked in church yesterday at 9:00 in the ? ward, then came to church with us at 11. Then he felt he needed to go to the 7th ward, as they are his stewardship for the high council. So at 1 he went to all their meetings, getting home at about 4:15. That's church for 7 hours. Glad I don't have to do that. My 3 hours are enough for a day.
Singing time went well in primary, which was nice. I feel we are really on top of things in terms of learning the new songs. We've got "I Know that my Savior Loves Me" down, and the senior primary does quite well at "He Sent His Son" (junior - not so much. If only they could read the prompts.) Next month we learn "Follow the Prophet," already well-known and a favorite, so I'm feeling pretty in control right now. Sarah didn't want to go to class with her teacher. Maybe she wasn't feeling well, although she seems fine this morning. One disadvantage to being the primary chorister is that if kids, especially Katie and Sarah, don't want to go to class, they just come and hang on my legs, which drives me crazy. Luckily it doesn't happen too often. They are really great kids.
JR played the prelude music for primary yesterday, and did a pretty good job for his first time. He'll be doing this every week, I think. He also played the opening song for senior primary. As we're ready to start, I asked him, "Do you know how to play an introduction?" Nope. SO we just started cold. A little more work to do this week so that he can be ready for next time. Not next week, though. Next week is stake conference. Yea!! A break from primary!! Primary callings are like being with the family. I love it, and I love a break from it.
Sunday morning, which can really be a bear sometimes, went well. I have decided to soften my stance on the superiority of 9am church. I'm really liking 11am church. It still feels like you've got time to do something after you get home, but the morning has far less stress in it. There's actually time to get everybody, including myself, ready for church without rushing around, and I can get singing time organized in the morning, instead of the day before. No rushing out the door just to realize in the car that someone's hair isn't brushed, someone else is wearing sport socks with their church shoes, and my teeth aren't brushed. (This has really happened to me, and I hate it. And I have realized that I care much more about the socks my kids wear to church than I do about their hair. Funny, but boys wearing white socks, or girls wearing socks without lace just embarrasses me.)
We even had time for the kids to go outside and play in the snow when they got up. I hope the Lord doesn't mind that I let my kids make a snowman on Sunday, but snow comes so rarely to us here in the southwestern desert. It was pretty wet snow, though, so they didn't stay out for long. The snowman withstood the hail and rain later in the day, and is in fact standing guard over the back yard even now. His head did fall off, though. Poor fellow. All in all, a very good Sunday.
Saturday was full of cleaning and errands. Much accomplished, though it never seems like enough. It rained most of the day, though, so I didn't get my long run in that I was supposed to. I've made arrangements for Candy to watch my kids later this morning so I can go run my 7 miles. 11:30am. Anyone want to join me?
Nice relaxing evening in front of the fire last night with my husband. We put the kids to bed and just relaxed and talked. Russ has a bit of a chest cold, so he's taking things easy these days. He talked in church yesterday at 9:00 in the ? ward, then came to church with us at 11. Then he felt he needed to go to the 7th ward, as they are his stewardship for the high council. So at 1 he went to all their meetings, getting home at about 4:15. That's church for 7 hours. Glad I don't have to do that. My 3 hours are enough for a day.
Singing time went well in primary, which was nice. I feel we are really on top of things in terms of learning the new songs. We've got "I Know that my Savior Loves Me" down, and the senior primary does quite well at "He Sent His Son" (junior - not so much. If only they could read the prompts.) Next month we learn "Follow the Prophet," already well-known and a favorite, so I'm feeling pretty in control right now. Sarah didn't want to go to class with her teacher. Maybe she wasn't feeling well, although she seems fine this morning. One disadvantage to being the primary chorister is that if kids, especially Katie and Sarah, don't want to go to class, they just come and hang on my legs, which drives me crazy. Luckily it doesn't happen too often. They are really great kids.
JR played the prelude music for primary yesterday, and did a pretty good job for his first time. He'll be doing this every week, I think. He also played the opening song for senior primary. As we're ready to start, I asked him, "Do you know how to play an introduction?" Nope. SO we just started cold. A little more work to do this week so that he can be ready for next time. Not next week, though. Next week is stake conference. Yea!! A break from primary!! Primary callings are like being with the family. I love it, and I love a break from it.
Sunday morning, which can really be a bear sometimes, went well. I have decided to soften my stance on the superiority of 9am church. I'm really liking 11am church. It still feels like you've got time to do something after you get home, but the morning has far less stress in it. There's actually time to get everybody, including myself, ready for church without rushing around, and I can get singing time organized in the morning, instead of the day before. No rushing out the door just to realize in the car that someone's hair isn't brushed, someone else is wearing sport socks with their church shoes, and my teeth aren't brushed. (This has really happened to me, and I hate it. And I have realized that I care much more about the socks my kids wear to church than I do about their hair. Funny, but boys wearing white socks, or girls wearing socks without lace just embarrasses me.)
We even had time for the kids to go outside and play in the snow when they got up. I hope the Lord doesn't mind that I let my kids make a snowman on Sunday, but snow comes so rarely to us here in the southwestern desert. It was pretty wet snow, though, so they didn't stay out for long. The snowman withstood the hail and rain later in the day, and is in fact standing guard over the back yard even now. His head did fall off, though. Poor fellow. All in all, a very good Sunday.
Saturday was full of cleaning and errands. Much accomplished, though it never seems like enough. It rained most of the day, though, so I didn't get my long run in that I was supposed to. I've made arrangements for Candy to watch my kids later this morning so I can go run my 7 miles. 11:30am. Anyone want to join me?
Love the lyrics
Take a minute to read the lyrics to this song (It's also the second song on my playlist, so you can listen as well. Great song.) Sometimes, this is exactly what my life feels like.
Bottle of Rain (by The Town Pants)
Morning came through my window
Didn't stop to say hello
Quickly made way for afternoon
Afternoon stuck around
Only 'till the sun went down
Suddenly I'm staring at the moon
Monday came and went so fast
Barely noticed Tuesday pass
Wednesday just couldn't stick around
Thursday Friday Saturday
What happened to them I can't say
I'm losing time and losing ground
(cho)
Where'd it go
The time that I had
Where'd they go
The plans that I made
Once upon a time was like an ocean before me
Now its like a bottle full of rain
Today feels like yesterday
Yesterday's a mile away
Don't believe tomorrow never came
Tomorrow came weeks ago
I don't have a thing to show
All my life is still the same
The New Year began today
Tomorrow is the end of May
Indian summer's round the bend
I'm moving at a crawl
I still trip over fall
I'm right where I started at the end
(cho)
Life can be funny
When you're spending time like money
Never saving for a rainy day
You have to go and take it
You can't buy it you can't make it
There ain't enough hours in the day
Constantly persistent
Annoyingly insistent
Can't be any other way
Even as I kill it
I can't seem to still it
The rest of my life still slips away
Bottle of Rain (by The Town Pants)
Morning came through my window
Didn't stop to say hello
Quickly made way for afternoon
Afternoon stuck around
Only 'till the sun went down
Suddenly I'm staring at the moon
Monday came and went so fast
Barely noticed Tuesday pass
Wednesday just couldn't stick around
Thursday Friday Saturday
What happened to them I can't say
I'm losing time and losing ground
(cho)
Where'd it go
The time that I had
Where'd they go
The plans that I made
Once upon a time was like an ocean before me
Now its like a bottle full of rain
Today feels like yesterday
Yesterday's a mile away
Don't believe tomorrow never came
Tomorrow came weeks ago
I don't have a thing to show
All my life is still the same
The New Year began today
Tomorrow is the end of May
Indian summer's round the bend
I'm moving at a crawl
I still trip over fall
I'm right where I started at the end
(cho)
Life can be funny
When you're spending time like money
Never saving for a rainy day
You have to go and take it
You can't buy it you can't make it
There ain't enough hours in the day
Constantly persistent
Annoyingly insistent
Can't be any other way
Even as I kill it
I can't seem to still it
The rest of my life still slips away
Friday, February 19, 2010
10 minutes - Friday Feb. 19
These are my goals for the year. Each New Year's we make a list of resolutions or goals we want to work on for the year. All the kids have one of these bookmarks, each with their own goals on it. On the back is a list of our family's monthly scripture "theme" that we try to memorize on which we base our family home evenings. (These themes come from a book that I have that helps families with young children have effective scripture study in their home. If you want to look at it, let me know. It's a great resource.) So these are my goals - year long and then monthly. (Hope you can read it in the photo.) I'm supposed to be working on getting to bed by 9:30 this month, important since I get up at about 5:15 every morning. Haven't been too good this month. It's so easy to forget. Next month is going to be more of a challenge: no store bread. I'm nervous about that one already. But I really want to say how much making these goals helps me to do better in my life. There is real value in writing things like this down instead of just thinking them. There's more accountability if you can see them in front of you, and it's easier to remember and keep on track. I am a master of relegating things I don't want to think about to the back of my mind and ignoring them. This comes in handy when they are things I cannot do anything about, but not so handy when I need to actually be dealing with them. But I love the bookmark form, as it's always in my scriptures and I see it each day. I think this has helped the kids learn about goal-setting as well. I don't always accomplish the goals, but even if I can get them done half the time, I figure I'm significantly better off than if I never even tried.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
10 Minutes of My Life - an Experiment in blogging
I haven't been using this blog as much as I envisioned when I set it up, nor as much as I want to. So I am trying a new experiment. Instead of waiting until I have a post organized and ready in my mind, I will sit down for 10 minutes each day and just put down what is on my mind. Perhaps this will bring this blog closer to the vision I had. For me, right now, facebook is closer to what I see as my ideal blog; little entries that sometimes are important, sometimes not, but an accurate reflection of my life as it occurs. We'll see how dedicated I am to bringing this blog closer to this ideal.
So....today...
I'm studying the New Testament in my private scripture study and am looking at the Sermon on the Mount. One issue: Matt. 5:14 deals with being the light of the world. City on a hill, light not hidden under a bushel, let you light so shine and all that. I think I understand the directive - to be visible in your religious adherence, so that God my be glorified. So why in Matt. 6:1-6 are we directed to be so secretive in much of our religious work? Prayer is directed to be private, which I can sort of understand, because communication with God is so intimate as to beg to be private. We could not communicate nearly so deeply if we were worried about appearances. But why should all our almsgiving be private as well? Is it it avoid the praise of men? If so, why does Christ advocate being a light, a banner, an example to the world and giving glory to God EXCEPT when we are helping others with donations? I don't think I see the distinction between charity's face when giving alms and charity's face in all other respects (helping neighbors, fellowshipping, and generally loving everyone.) I wonder why we need to separate these out. I guess a little more study is in order.
My finger is feeling better today. For those who missed it in facebook, I almost cut the tip of my thumb off the other day while slicing onions. The Instacare glued it back on, and I'm looking forward to losing this big, ugly thumb-guard in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I 'm going to exercise today, and then shower. I hope a plastic bag taped over the hand will keep things dry.
2 months to the 1/2 Marathon. Woohoo!! I ran 7 miles last week, and will again on Friday or Saturday. Next week it's up to 8 miles. As I drive around town and watch mileage (like I never really have before), I'm surprised at how close everything really is here in this small town. I could actually run to WalMart and back to get my 9 mile run. It seems so far out there, but it's just over 4.5 miles from my house. And I need to start running more hills anyway.
Well, that's 10 minutes, folks. Actually a bit more, but I got quite a bit written. Now it's off to get the kids to school and go for a good walk with Candy. I gained 5 pounds in one day yesterday, if you can believe it. I think (I HOPE!!) I am retaining water from eating lunch out yesterday while in St. George (lots of salt.) But, I need to burn a bunch of calories today, So I will probably walk for a good 2 hours all told.
So....today...
I'm studying the New Testament in my private scripture study and am looking at the Sermon on the Mount. One issue: Matt. 5:14 deals with being the light of the world. City on a hill, light not hidden under a bushel, let you light so shine and all that. I think I understand the directive - to be visible in your religious adherence, so that God my be glorified. So why in Matt. 6:1-6 are we directed to be so secretive in much of our religious work? Prayer is directed to be private, which I can sort of understand, because communication with God is so intimate as to beg to be private. We could not communicate nearly so deeply if we were worried about appearances. But why should all our almsgiving be private as well? Is it it avoid the praise of men? If so, why does Christ advocate being a light, a banner, an example to the world and giving glory to God EXCEPT when we are helping others with donations? I don't think I see the distinction between charity's face when giving alms and charity's face in all other respects (helping neighbors, fellowshipping, and generally loving everyone.) I wonder why we need to separate these out. I guess a little more study is in order.
My finger is feeling better today. For those who missed it in facebook, I almost cut the tip of my thumb off the other day while slicing onions. The Instacare glued it back on, and I'm looking forward to losing this big, ugly thumb-guard in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I 'm going to exercise today, and then shower. I hope a plastic bag taped over the hand will keep things dry.
2 months to the 1/2 Marathon. Woohoo!! I ran 7 miles last week, and will again on Friday or Saturday. Next week it's up to 8 miles. As I drive around town and watch mileage (like I never really have before), I'm surprised at how close everything really is here in this small town. I could actually run to WalMart and back to get my 9 mile run. It seems so far out there, but it's just over 4.5 miles from my house. And I need to start running more hills anyway.
Well, that's 10 minutes, folks. Actually a bit more, but I got quite a bit written. Now it's off to get the kids to school and go for a good walk with Candy. I gained 5 pounds in one day yesterday, if you can believe it. I think (I HOPE!!) I am retaining water from eating lunch out yesterday while in St. George (lots of salt.) But, I need to burn a bunch of calories today, So I will probably walk for a good 2 hours all told.
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