Miscellaneous Monday--Life Rewind

Landon went through 5 weeks of physical therapy (3x a week) and finished on January 24th. He surprised us by being able to play basketball with the deacons that night! The most crushing thing (other than pain and frustration of his injury) has been missing basketball season in P.E., through the Rec Center and through church basketball.

 I was so excited for him that I actually went to the game (I haven't gone to any church games in the past). He did great and even scored the first 2 points of the game. He scared me at one point when his wrist on that arm was twisted and he went down in pain. I feared all his hard work had been in vain and that he'd jumped in too soon, but after a short break he recovered and went back into the game for some one-handed play (it was funny).

We had New Beginnings last Tuesday! Whitney was one of 6 girls who will be turning 12 and moving into Young Women's at church this year (I can't believe it! When we moved into this ward she was 3 and a new Sunbeam!)

I got to introduce her to everyone and tell all about her, plus at the end they did a slide show of pictures the moms had submitted of the girls. It was fun to see cute pictures of Whitney up on a big screen; she loved it and told me I should have given them more!

I commissioned Landon to make me morning mix that I can listen to on the way to work to help me get pumped up for the day. I need this! He did a good job, but I think I'm going to need several in my rotation...any volunteers?

Thursday night was Maturation night for all the 5th grade girls at Whitney's school! I remember this being highly traumatic for me back in the day, but we're worlds more open these days so this wasn't stressful or embarrassing at all. In fact, they didn't cover a lot of the "stuff" I thought they were going to cover, so it was even easier than I'd guessed it would be (mostly girls' cycles and body changes).

Afterward we went to a new bistro to check it out and get a treat. Whitney got a ginormous cookie ice cream sandwich and I got a ginormous sugar cookie. Doesn't she look older in this picture?! We're on the cusp of teenagerhood and she's not even 12 yet!

Last week was a rough week for me pedometer-wise. I'm not sure why my steps were so much fewer than normal, but I have got to get to the bottom of it. One afternoon I dropped Whitney off at dance and then walked 5-6 laps around the pond (my new favorite place). It is such a gorgeous place to walk, especially since the sun is setting at that time and with each lap the sky is totally different.

Since Randy had a seminar to go to early on Thursday and Friday I brought Whitney to work with me so she could hang out until I could drop her off at school close to 9:00. She loves coming to school with me because we have vending machines! (It's a good thing she doesn't get to come very often!). She was content to eat her treat and draw the whole time.

I made these baking powder biscuits on Sunday morning and was so pleased with how they turned out, they were the perfect balance of flaky and soft and full of buttery goodness.

I came home from work today to find this note from Randy on the kitchen counter...this is one of the reasons I keep him around!

**How is your miscellany?

Do you enjoy biscuits?

Have you gone walking lately?

Will you make me a mix cd?**

Sunday Thoughts

As I mentioned in my last post, Amy gave us a great scripture journal tutorial, but she also told us about this great book she's been reading along with her study of The Book of Mormon. I was excited about this because I'm always wishing I had a way to sort of translate things so they're easier to understand. I ended up ordering it from Amazon last Monday and had it in my hands by  Wednesday (glorious) and could tell immediately this was the book I'd  been waiting for!

This morning I woke up at 6:00am to use the bathroom (if you must know) and ended up "waking" up for the day. I took a shower, dried my hair and was on the couch reading before 7:00am. It is a very rare thing for me to have the quiet house to myself since Landon is usually such an early riser (Sunday is the only exception most likely because TV and video games aren't an option).

It was so peaceful to sit on the couch reading over today's Gospel Doctrine chapters in The Book of Mormon, and it was exciting to have this new book which explained things and pointed out insights I had never considered before! I was so into it that I didn't want to stop and then found myself totally prepared and excited about class today.

For example:
"Note: Just a quick comment about some possible symbolism in going up into a mountain to commune with the Lord. It requires effort to climb up a mountain. Similarly, it requires effort for us to live worthy of inspiration and guidance from God. Symbolically, climbing up into a mountain could also represent drawing closer to heaven, or closer to God." page 126

I am so excited to expand my very limited view! I have already been experiencing a high level of motivation/increased desire to spend more time in the scriptures, but this is going to make it so much more rewarding!

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: This has been such a great Sunday! It has been the perfect balance of study, church, food, and family time.

January Book Club

Last Tuesday (17th) we met at Collette's house for our January Book discussion and to celebrate Jenn's December birthday.

We combined efforts to provide a scrumptious birthday dinner for all of us. Michelle brought her homemade grape juice, Jana brought fabulous rolls, I brought a salad, and Amy made Martha Stewart's beef stew (Collette made dessert).

It was so good!

Jenn's family had just returned from a 10 day vacation at Disney-world so she was kind enough to bring us all some souvenirs.

Amy gave us a little lesson on The Red Headed Hostess' scripture marking and journal methods because she has been using them and loves it! Michelle and I were particularly riveted because we have been planning on doing this too.

We discussed this month's book (don't judge it by the cheesy cover) and all really liked it.

Ah dessert!

Apparently I didn't take a picture of Jenn opening her $100 Mall Gift Card, but that's what we gave her.

It was a good night, but I really can't take staying up until 11:40! I had already stayed up until midnight the night before in order to finish the book (my fault), but then to stay up late a 2nd night in the row did me in. I was out of sorts the rest of the week and really struggled at work. I just can't do that. We're starting our gatherings earlier (6:30) but they're still going late, so I'm going to have to give myself a curfew. This makes me feel old, but when I end up feeling terrible it affects a lot of people so I need to be smart about it. 

**Have you read this book?

How much sleep do you need each night?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful...

Life in My World

Aargh! Life in my world these days feels a lot like playing catch-up, which is so NOT my favorite thing to do! I thought things would ease up this semester since Whitney is no longer doing Elementary Orchestra on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and while it is very nice not to have to run around on both of those days I still feel like I'm going a little bit crazy.

I was walking through the cafeteria looking for a student (which was unsuccessful because there were 800 kids in the area) and one of the boys I know offered me part of his peanut butter/chocolate-chip on wheat sandwich. I politely declined, but he insisted and then wanted me to try it in front of him! Yikes! I pulled a chocolate chip out and ate that, but there was no way I was biting into that despite the kindness it came with! It's probably a pretty tasty combo when made on good white bread in one's own home. Ha.

Whitney gave us a very interesting (fly by the seat of her pants) FHE lesson on Free Agency which included these cute, personalized handouts for each of us. She is a visual learner and so creative that her favorite part of any lesson is the handout or visual aids she makes.

We also let her be in charge of the game that night because the rest of us didn't care what we played. She chose Apples to Apples, which involved each of us reading our personality-trait descriptions (based on the cards we won during the game) at the end...these were my cards. I felt like they were strangely accurate for me, dang it.

I continue to have up to 15 games of Words With Friends going on all the time and continue to be skunked regularly. Cathy seems to be killing me the worst and early on as evidenced by this game we started yesterday! Either I should give up playing or start cheating for real!

Randy had to check Landon out of school today for his last elbow-related doctor's appointment (hooray!) so he brought Wendy (the other secretary) and I a burrito from Cafe Rio to split (I had requested this in detail this morning. I have instructed Randy that he is never to come to the junior high empty handed! It feels like battle conditions to me so food, beverages and treats are particularly precious to me.) It was so fantastic to have a good lunch at work, even though it took us an hour to eat it. Cafe Rio is still good when cold! I was a little bugged that I left work with a killer headache despite the large medicinal Coke he brought me. The kids (at school) were really on one today and I think there was no escaping the headache they gave me.

**Are you playing Catch-Up all the time?

Ever had a peanut butter/chocolate chip sandwich?

Any Words With Friends advice?**

Comment Window Tidbit: We have New Beginnings tonight for Whitney and Maturation on Thursday, what is going on?!

Five for Friday

1. The mother of a student at the junior brought this box of Dipidee Cupcakes  to the office staff to say thanks for being so nice to her! She calls multiple times a day to help keep up with her daughter's work (she was out for a long time because of a surgery). Though this was unnecessary, it was definitely a thoughtful gesture and kind thing to do. I have a much greater appreciation for school office staff now that I am one of them!

2. Adam and Amy have been coming over weekly to play Dominion, I think we're all addicted to this game right now.

3. I was all excited to find Landon reading in the cozy the other day, but it turns out he was playing a game on the iTouch!

4. One of my co-workers gave me a bulb kit for Christmas and it has been so amazing to watch it grow. I love see its progress each day.

5. Now that Randy is unemployed, I have been referring to him as a man of leisure. He has actually been doing a lot of free lance work and projects, but it cracks me up to think of him this way. Michelle was asking me if he had turned into a "groove buster" (as in times past) but I'm happy to report that since I'm at work all day I have no groove to bust! He has been very helpful and just yesterday did 3 loads of laundry, made lasagna for dinner, went to the Pinewood Derby for his calling, then came home and made a chocolate bundt cake for me to take to work today since I had a migraine!

**How was your week?

Did you force any bulbs this winter?

Have you thanked your school's office staff?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I had to miss dance last night because of my migraine! I hate it that I was useless from 3:30 on yesterday!

Creative Friday--Sinus Infection Edition

Michelle and I almost had to cancel Creative Friday (on Monday) again because she'd been sick all weekend and was going to the doctor on Monday morning. I was on standby, but was pretty sure she'd end up not feeling well enough to get together. She surprised me by wanting to get together despite her Sinus Infection Diagnosis. It's amazing what a shower and antibiotics can do!

I noticed this self-portrait Eva had drawn and had to laugh at her Hollywood-sized lips!

I brought us big drinks and some food from Taco Amigo.

Michelle's first dose of antibiotics!

I love it that Michelle sets out books to loan me, they always feel like gifts. We recently split the cost of a couple spools of baker's twine and this is my half of the stash!

Michelle printed some vintage designs on this funky shrinky dink paper, so she spent a long time cutting them out.

Eva was at a friend's house for a lot of the time, but joined us at the table for awhile so she could continue to work on a bunch of Valentines...she's ahead of the game on those.

This is the one she made for Whitney, they're riding a horse together.

The boys were in and out, but spent some time playing a video game together.

Michelle's super cute shrinky dinks!

I spent the day writing Christmas thank you notes and a few other just-because type notes. I really love it when envelopes are cute!

**What did you on Monday (MLK Day?)

Have you thought about Valentine's Day yet?

Do you enjoy cute envelopes?

Comment Window Tidbit: Even though this is only a 4 day week of school it's feeling long to me.

Comedy

We had school off for Martin Luther King day yesterday (which was glorious) and I planned to go for a walk in the morning before heading to Michelle's house for Creative Friday. But it was super windy and cold outside so I couldn't go. Instead I chose to do the kids' new "Just Dance" game on the wii! Oh my goodness, it was so funny. Luckily Landon was at Physical Therapy, Randy was in the shower, and Whitney was having a sleepover at my parents' house, otherwise there would have been witnesses to the humiliation of seeing my large, uncoordinated self "dancing" in the family room. (I have lost a lot of the rhythm I used to have.)

I was able to appreciate the humor of this sight even when there was no one there to see it! I kept looking over to make sure Randy wasn't peeking around the corner! It was so funny and proved to be a good workout for me. My heart was going, I was sweating and smiling, plus I got 5476 steps on my pedometer. Good times.

**Have you played a game like this?

Was it embarrassingly fun for you?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Today is the first day of the new term at school, which means tons of kids will have lost their schedules and won't know where to go. Aargh! Plus, I stayed up until midnight (unheard of!) to finish my bookclub book so I'm tired today!

Sunday Thoughts

I'm a day late on my Sunday Thoughts' post because my Sunday ended up being too dang busy! (That is NOT how I like my Sundays to be!) Even though I'm loving the extra 2.5 hours we have in the morning because of our new 11:30 schedule, I'm finding that my day feels way shorter because of this huge chunk of time taken out of the middle. Mathematically it should all work out the same, but somehow it doesn't.

I mentioned last week that I am really feeling motivated to change the way I read the scriptures and that I want to spend more time doing that this year. Last Sunday after church I was asked to teach Relief Society on the 22nd on one of the General Conference talks, but she didn't know which one it would be. I thought about this for the next day or so until she got back to me and said I was to teach Elder Scott's talk The Power of Scripture! (Chills!)

I've listened to this talk several times throughout the week and then was reading it yesterday morning. I started to write down all the things Elder Scott said about the scriptures and came up with this great list.

• They are packets of light
• They are pure truth
• Key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
• Provide Strength
• Stalwart friends
• Always available
• Foundation for truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost
• There is great power through memorizing scriptures.
• We forge a new friendship when we memorize them.
• They give help, inspiration and comfort.
• They are a source of motivation.
• Give great direction.
• Foundation of support.
• They are a large resource of willing friends.
• They are an enduring friend.
• Key to unlocking revelation
• Calm the soul
• Give peace, hope and restore confidence
• They have the power to heal emotional challenges
• Accelerate physical healing (!)
• Communicate different meanings at different times in our lives.

Isn't this a great list? I think it's interesting that he referred to them as our friends so many times. It made me think about how I can teach my kids to feel that way about them so that they will always think to turn to their scriptures in times of need. I'm excited for more insights to come as I continue to study this talk this week.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Oh how I love a 3-day weekend!

12 on the 12th--January Edition

Michelle has started the new year off by saving my bacon once again by making this grid for me!

{click to enlarge}

1. My morning started like every morning with my Instant Breakfast, a Feverfew pill, 2 Vitamin D pills, and a Super B Complex pill.
2. I played several of the Words With Friends games I have going on.
3. Family Scripture Reading, we started The Book of Mormon again.
4. My phone at work...I answer this 100s of times a day (though usually with the ear piece I wear).
5. A crazy student who visits me several times a day, was at school early so she chose to "delight" me with her conversation while she used all the pens on my desk to write me a note...her grammar is atrocious! It was all I could do not to circle all the mistakes in red!
6. I came home from work to find Randy (who is newly unemployed...we had warning) doing some leaf blowing! What is up with our "winter" weather?!
7. Whitney holding up the flyer for the upcoming Maturation Program at school. She said, "Bella went to this last year and said it was horrifying! She almost passed out!"
8. I got my Mammogram results in the mail--no cancer!! That gives new meaning to Good Mail!
9. Landon was thrilled (as am I) that Randy figured out why our internet has been torturing us by timing out and being slow, now it's super fast and doesn't kick us off anymore. Hooray!
10. I started a Jazz class the hour before my weekly Tap class! Oh Nelly, it kicked my butt so hard. I am so sore I am moving like an old lady, but I'm excited to wake up my dormant muscles!
11. I worked on a fun quiz for our Office Aides at work for the next day's party we were having for them because it is the end of the term.
12. Reading in bed before crashing for the day. I've only been getting 3-5 pages read before falling asleep, so this has slowed my reading progress down substantially.

**Did you document your 12th?

Were you horrified by your Maturation program?

Is your internet fast?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I must tackle my office today or I am going to go crazy!!

Five for Friday

1. Cathy and I have been braving the cold to go walking on Saturday mornings for the past couple of months. We haven't had to deal with any snow or ice since we haven't had any this winter (so weird!) but it has been really cold so our bundling has been quite comical.

2. I put this photo on Facebook but it bears documentation here as well. What in the world?! These are the shoes of a 7th grade girl (who looks 17)! She brought both pairs to school and wore one of them and then complained about her back hurting! I was flabbergasted by this on so many levels.

3. Randy brought me a medicinal Coke at work on Wednesday when I felt a doozy of a headache coming on, and Landon happened to pop into the office during his lunch break at the very same time! He didn't know Randy was coming, so he was surprised by the little reunion.

4. I picked Whitney up from school the other day and found her wearing this ensemble! Clearly Randy is on the morning shift before school! He thought her outfit was creative and coherent, but for me it was a head shaker for sure.

5. I got a nice thank you note from Amie this week but was surprised by the damage done to it. It looks like a shark got to it! There weren't any protrusions so it's weird that it was damaged in the mail, it must have gotten stuck in one of the machines.

**How was your week?

Thoughts on Whitney's outfit?

Would you wear those heels?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I started another dance class last night and feared I'd be too sore to walk today, but I'm only slightly sore (more aware of my muscles than anything else). I'm very grateful for this!

12 on the 12th--Year in Review

I successfully accomplished another year of 12 on the 12th grids, thanks to my bacon-saver Michelle who made 10 of my 12 grids because of my technology woes. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having these snapshots of my days and feel like they capture my life (and my family's life) so well. There are so many repeat things going on, but really aren't most of our days variations of the same day anyway? I'm okay with that and am excited to participate in another year's worth of memorable grids! Check out my sister-in-law Amy's post about this idea and how to do it...you should do it too!

 Wednesday January 12, 2011

Saturday February 12, 2011

Saturday March 12, 2011

Tuesday April 12, 2011

 Thursday May 12, 2011

Sunday June 12, 2011

Tuesday July 12, 2011

Friday August 12, 2011

Monday September 12, 2011

Wednesday October 12, 2011

Saturday November 12, 2011 (a day I will NEVER forget).

Monday December 12, 2011

Some Observations

• I'm a little preoccupied about what time I start my day.
• I really like to read.
• I take various kinds of pills.
• I like to end the day with a TV show and then a book.
• Cafe Rio is a fixture in my life.
• Work became a bigger deal since August.

**Will you participate this year?

Did you make any other observations?

Comment Window Tidbit: I woke up on my own at 4:30 this morning! Of course I didn't get up until my alarm went off at 5:00, but still!