Sometimes I think the forces of the universe all come together to try to tell me something. Either that, or Heavenly Father is trying really hard to get a message through to me. It's probably the latter.
A few weeks ago, A came home from school and told me all about the evils of caffeine, as learned from her 7th grade social studies teacher. "Mom, did you know that you are addicted to a legal drug?", she asked. Huh??? She proceeded to tell me about the evil conspiracy of cola companies to get us addicted to their drinks. She then told me how horrible caffeine is....and asked how many Cokes I drink every day. I managed to avoid answering the question. Of course, there's a 12-pack of Coke sitting on my kitchen table right now (but, in my defense, it's been there for over a week and it isn't empty yet).
I admit it...I love Coke. Yum. It is the nectar of the Gods. I have one every morning. Some days I only have that one. Other days I have more than one. For some reason, restaurant food doesn't taste right without a Coke. Water just doesn't do it for me.
Then yesterday on NPR I heard a new story about caffeine, and how much is in energy drinks and other drinks...and of course the reporter talked at length about how addictive caffeine is.
The subject of caffeine has come up a few other times, in various situations, over the last few weeks.
OK, I probably need to back off. For personal health reasons I was cautioned many years ago to give up caffeine entirely, or at least cut way back. And I did for a while. But then I started drinking it again. I love it. Coke...Cherry Coke...yum. Caffeine free just doesn't taste the same.
But I think maybe someone is trying to communicate something to me right now. Maybe I'm just imagining things...I don't know. But to be hit with so many messages about caffeine within such a short amount of time...it's one of those "things that make you go HMMMMMM....".
So I think it's time to cut back. Maybe not cut it out totally, but cut back. I do need to drink more water (yuck), so maybe I could have my morning Coke and then no more until after I've had an entire bottle of water (I did find some lemon flavoring that makes water taste much better). And none after a certain time in the afternoon...? I don't know. Maybe I can try switching back to Caffeine Free Coke.
Hmmmm...something to think about. But right now, I have a few sips left in my morning Coke and I think I need to finish them off!
Friday, January 5, 2007
One Little Word
One of my favorite "celebrity" scrapbookers is Ali Edwards. In her newsletter and blog, she posted an article about choosing one word to be sort of your "theme" for the upcoming year. (You can read the article at http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2007/01/one_little_word.html). I love this idea!
I've been thinking about what my one word could be for 2007. It's hard to choose just one. I love words. At home, we have the words "joy", "hope" and "love" on the top of our entertainment center. Those are special, important words to me. I started a list of possible words I could use as my theme for 2007, thinking it would be easy to select the right word. It's not. The list gets longer and longer and longer the more I think about it.
Possibilities include:
Calm (who, me? Yeah, right!)
Free (free from...free to...)
Relax (I so need to work on this!)
Play (I seriously need to work on this)
Experience (as in experience life, be open to new experiences)
Simplify or Simplicity (for the Queen of Stuff, that's a hard one!)
Organize (again, a hard one for the Queen of Stuff)
Enjoy (needs no explanation but I'll give one anyway. I have a favorite CD and one of the songs on it talks about not just enduring to the end, but also enjoying to the end.)
Balance (again, something I need to work on)
Do (just do it...stop thinking about it and stop procrastinating...just jump in and do it)
Can (I loved Sis. Tanner's talk from the New Year's Eve Youth fireside..."I can do hard things." LOVE that!)
I'm not sure what my theme will be this year....I'll have to ponder that over the weekend. Ali's article includes a challenge to do a scrapbook layout, a project, or a blog entry explaining why we selected our word and why it is important to us. I can't even get my foot in the door of my scrapbooking room (that's where some simplifying and organizing would come in handy), but I can certainly post an explanation here about why I chose my word (when I actually do get the list narrowed down to one!).
I love that each new year brings with it the possibility to change, grow, learn, and start over. I don't love that it's already the 5th of January and I'm not doing so great on the resolutions I posted a few days ago. But that doesn't mean I can't start now.
So what will your word be?
I've been thinking about what my one word could be for 2007. It's hard to choose just one. I love words. At home, we have the words "joy", "hope" and "love" on the top of our entertainment center. Those are special, important words to me. I started a list of possible words I could use as my theme for 2007, thinking it would be easy to select the right word. It's not. The list gets longer and longer and longer the more I think about it.
Possibilities include:
Calm (who, me? Yeah, right!)
Free (free from...free to...)
Relax (I so need to work on this!)
Play (I seriously need to work on this)
Experience (as in experience life, be open to new experiences)
Simplify or Simplicity (for the Queen of Stuff, that's a hard one!)
Organize (again, a hard one for the Queen of Stuff)
Enjoy (needs no explanation but I'll give one anyway. I have a favorite CD and one of the songs on it talks about not just enduring to the end, but also enjoying to the end.)
Balance (again, something I need to work on)
Do (just do it...stop thinking about it and stop procrastinating...just jump in and do it)
Can (I loved Sis. Tanner's talk from the New Year's Eve Youth fireside..."I can do hard things." LOVE that!)
I'm not sure what my theme will be this year....I'll have to ponder that over the weekend. Ali's article includes a challenge to do a scrapbook layout, a project, or a blog entry explaining why we selected our word and why it is important to us. I can't even get my foot in the door of my scrapbooking room (that's where some simplifying and organizing would come in handy), but I can certainly post an explanation here about why I chose my word (when I actually do get the list narrowed down to one!).
I love that each new year brings with it the possibility to change, grow, learn, and start over. I don't love that it's already the 5th of January and I'm not doing so great on the resolutions I posted a few days ago. But that doesn't mean I can't start now.
So what will your word be?
Thursday, January 4, 2007
100 Things You May or May Not Know About Me
I saw this on a friend's blog and decided to do the same thing for myself!
100 Things You May or May Not Know About Me
1. I love listening to music, but I can't keep from dancing or moving to the beat whenever I'm listening to music
2. In high school, some friends and I had a "circle journal" and we would spent all of our free time (and some class time) writing notes to each other in it
3. I learned how to knit once but forgot how to do it about a week later
4. I love to read "fluff stuff" like People Magazine
5. I love school
6. I love writing research papers -- seriously!
7. I never had a pedicure before I moved to the south, but now I'm addicted
8. I love snow -- actually, I love looking at snow. Being in it is o.k. for a little while, but I love to look at it through a big window.
9. I am not an outdoorsy kind of person, but I love Alaska.
10. I love sunsets and sunrises.
11. I have seen the Northern Lights and they are truly beautiful.
12. I am afraid of horses.
13. I started going gray immediately after B was born...I've been coloring my hair nonstop since then.
14. I like beets.
15. My favorite colors are blue, white, and brown.
16. I have 7 pink sweaters...so I guess I love pink, too!
17. I wish I had been able to graduate from BYU. One year there just wasn't enough!
18. I am incredibly forgetful so I rely heavily on my DayPlanner to run my life.
19. When I was growing up, I planned on getting married and having two sons and two daughters.
20. I want to visit Ireland and England.
21. I hate flying.
22. DH wants to go on a cruise, but the thought scares me to death.
23. My favorite treat is Cherry Coke with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yummy!
24. I drink too much Coke and need to cut back...someday!
25. I do everything from left to right -- getting dressed, doing my makeup, putting in my contacts, brushing my teeth...everything.
26. I am mildly obsessive/compulsive about certain things (see #25 above!)
27. I don't mind cleaning other people's houses, but hate cleaning my own house.
28. Toenails must be polished at all times during sandal season, but I don't like wearing toenail polish in the winter when no one sees my toes.
29. My parents knew DH and I would get married before we ever started dating.
30. I love shopping.
31. I took years and years and years of French in junior high, high school, and college but have never used it.
32. I used to be a very high soprano but am now an alto and sometimes second soprano if the part isn't too high.
33. I wrote a weekly newspaper column during my senior year of high school.
34. I am not a very adventurous person.
35. One of my biggest fears is the fear of failure.
36. DH loves country music...and I'm actually starting to like some of it.
37. I love 80s music.
38. Europe was (is) one of my favorite bands ("It's the final countdown.....")
39. I do not like eating alone in a restaurant. I think I've only done it once and it was agonizing.
40. I like flowers and fresh vegetables but don't like gardening.
41. I can't stand to have anything dirty, sticky, or yucky on my hands. It literally turns my stomach.
42. I like ironing.
43. I like watching football (preferrably college) on TV....other than during the bowl games, when there are just too many games!
44. I love daffodils, lily of the valley, and tulips
45. I can't stand sweat -- yuck!
46. I like water aerobics.
47. I love holding babies.
48. I love musicals.
49. I think Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and the guy who played Capt Picard on Star Trek TNG (can't remember his name!0 are absolutely gorgeous.
50. I'm a Trekkie
51. When I was dating, I preferred my boyfriends to be several years old than me.
52. I am stubborn.
53. I love shoes, especially heels.
54. During the summer I sleep with lots of covers on the bed and the ceiling fan running.
55. Bedsheets cannot be messy...they must be neat and pulled straight when I get in bed.
56. Sheets must also be tucked in, preferrably very snug.
57. I love playing the piano but rarely have time.
58. I love to decorate for Christmas, but I don't care for traditional red and green decorations. I prefer burgundy, silver, blue, and dark green.
59. I love fireworks on the 4th of July.
60. I love ribs from Tony Roma's.
61. I can't stand dirty fingernails, toenails, and ears.
62. Don't tell me I can't do something...that's the surest way to guarantee that I will do it.
63. I'm a procrastinator.
64. I'm terrible at keeping in touch by phone or snail mail, but I am great at keeping in touch via e-mail.
65. I want to go to law school.
66. I want to get a PhD in either public policy or political science.
67. University of Utah offers a joint law degree/PhD, but I'm a true blue BYU girl and just can't stand the thought of going to the U!
68. I love scrapbooking.
69. I love beautiful paper, pens, notebooks, and journals.
70. I love little things...anything that is little and miniature. So cute!
71. I rarely ever wear perfume.
72. I love lazy Sunday mornings.
73. I am very organized at work...but at home it's a totally different story.
74. I love the smell of grass after the lawn has just been mowed. But please don't ask me to mow the lawn.
75. Cardboard boxes give me hives.
76. I have a strong testimony.
77. I love reading biographies of historical figures, especially American Presidents and early political leaders.
78. I love hearing babies laugh
79. I love exploring little shops and stores
80. My family is very important to me and I can't imagine life without them.
81. I get physically sick to my stomach at the thought of something happening to DH, A, or B.
82. I love cuddling in my bed with A and B on nights when DH isn't home.
83. I love leftovers for breakfast.
84. I love beautiful, deep colors but am afraid to use them in decorating my home.
85. I don't like to be alone. Anywhere. Ever.
86. I am not a spur-of-the-moment person. Everything must be planned in advance.
87. I love to play board games.
88. I love cuddling on the couch with DH, watching football on TV.
89. I love to watch Food Network but don't particularly enjoy cooking.
90. I don't like to watch crime/law shows on TV. Sorry, people -- but in the real world, courts just don't work that way!
91. I have 12 years of legal experience.
92. I tend to be shy until I get to know you.
93. I love girls' nights out with my friends, just going out to dinner or shopping. I think it's crucial to my mental health!
94. I love my three sisters and wish all of them lived closer so we could spend more time together.
95. I want to go to BYU's football camp for women.
96. I want to go to Education Week at BYU with my Mom and my sisters.
97. It is so neat to watch my daughters grow up and see their blossoming personalities. I'm amazed that two siblings can be so different from each other.
98. I still tuck my 12-year-old DD into bed every night. I love that she still wants me to.
99. I detest bad manners and coarse, crude behavior. I also tend to be a corrector of poor grammar.
100. I desperately want to be debt-free but I'm a shopaholic so it probably won't ever happen.
So, tell me 100 things about you!
100 Things You May or May Not Know About Me
1. I love listening to music, but I can't keep from dancing or moving to the beat whenever I'm listening to music
2. In high school, some friends and I had a "circle journal" and we would spent all of our free time (and some class time) writing notes to each other in it
3. I learned how to knit once but forgot how to do it about a week later
4. I love to read "fluff stuff" like People Magazine
5. I love school
6. I love writing research papers -- seriously!
7. I never had a pedicure before I moved to the south, but now I'm addicted
8. I love snow -- actually, I love looking at snow. Being in it is o.k. for a little while, but I love to look at it through a big window.
9. I am not an outdoorsy kind of person, but I love Alaska.
10. I love sunsets and sunrises.
11. I have seen the Northern Lights and they are truly beautiful.
12. I am afraid of horses.
13. I started going gray immediately after B was born...I've been coloring my hair nonstop since then.
14. I like beets.
15. My favorite colors are blue, white, and brown.
16. I have 7 pink sweaters...so I guess I love pink, too!
17. I wish I had been able to graduate from BYU. One year there just wasn't enough!
18. I am incredibly forgetful so I rely heavily on my DayPlanner to run my life.
19. When I was growing up, I planned on getting married and having two sons and two daughters.
20. I want to visit Ireland and England.
21. I hate flying.
22. DH wants to go on a cruise, but the thought scares me to death.
23. My favorite treat is Cherry Coke with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yummy!
24. I drink too much Coke and need to cut back...someday!
25. I do everything from left to right -- getting dressed, doing my makeup, putting in my contacts, brushing my teeth...everything.
26. I am mildly obsessive/compulsive about certain things (see #25 above!)
27. I don't mind cleaning other people's houses, but hate cleaning my own house.
28. Toenails must be polished at all times during sandal season, but I don't like wearing toenail polish in the winter when no one sees my toes.
29. My parents knew DH and I would get married before we ever started dating.
30. I love shopping.
31. I took years and years and years of French in junior high, high school, and college but have never used it.
32. I used to be a very high soprano but am now an alto and sometimes second soprano if the part isn't too high.
33. I wrote a weekly newspaper column during my senior year of high school.
34. I am not a very adventurous person.
35. One of my biggest fears is the fear of failure.
36. DH loves country music...and I'm actually starting to like some of it.
37. I love 80s music.
38. Europe was (is) one of my favorite bands ("It's the final countdown.....")
39. I do not like eating alone in a restaurant. I think I've only done it once and it was agonizing.
40. I like flowers and fresh vegetables but don't like gardening.
41. I can't stand to have anything dirty, sticky, or yucky on my hands. It literally turns my stomach.
42. I like ironing.
43. I like watching football (preferrably college) on TV....other than during the bowl games, when there are just too many games!
44. I love daffodils, lily of the valley, and tulips
45. I can't stand sweat -- yuck!
46. I like water aerobics.
47. I love holding babies.
48. I love musicals.
49. I think Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and the guy who played Capt Picard on Star Trek TNG (can't remember his name!0 are absolutely gorgeous.
50. I'm a Trekkie
51. When I was dating, I preferred my boyfriends to be several years old than me.
52. I am stubborn.
53. I love shoes, especially heels.
54. During the summer I sleep with lots of covers on the bed and the ceiling fan running.
55. Bedsheets cannot be messy...they must be neat and pulled straight when I get in bed.
56. Sheets must also be tucked in, preferrably very snug.
57. I love playing the piano but rarely have time.
58. I love to decorate for Christmas, but I don't care for traditional red and green decorations. I prefer burgundy, silver, blue, and dark green.
59. I love fireworks on the 4th of July.
60. I love ribs from Tony Roma's.
61. I can't stand dirty fingernails, toenails, and ears.
62. Don't tell me I can't do something...that's the surest way to guarantee that I will do it.
63. I'm a procrastinator.
64. I'm terrible at keeping in touch by phone or snail mail, but I am great at keeping in touch via e-mail.
65. I want to go to law school.
66. I want to get a PhD in either public policy or political science.
67. University of Utah offers a joint law degree/PhD, but I'm a true blue BYU girl and just can't stand the thought of going to the U!
68. I love scrapbooking.
69. I love beautiful paper, pens, notebooks, and journals.
70. I love little things...anything that is little and miniature. So cute!
71. I rarely ever wear perfume.
72. I love lazy Sunday mornings.
73. I am very organized at work...but at home it's a totally different story.
74. I love the smell of grass after the lawn has just been mowed. But please don't ask me to mow the lawn.
75. Cardboard boxes give me hives.
76. I have a strong testimony.
77. I love reading biographies of historical figures, especially American Presidents and early political leaders.
78. I love hearing babies laugh
79. I love exploring little shops and stores
80. My family is very important to me and I can't imagine life without them.
81. I get physically sick to my stomach at the thought of something happening to DH, A, or B.
82. I love cuddling in my bed with A and B on nights when DH isn't home.
83. I love leftovers for breakfast.
84. I love beautiful, deep colors but am afraid to use them in decorating my home.
85. I don't like to be alone. Anywhere. Ever.
86. I am not a spur-of-the-moment person. Everything must be planned in advance.
87. I love to play board games.
88. I love cuddling on the couch with DH, watching football on TV.
89. I love to watch Food Network but don't particularly enjoy cooking.
90. I don't like to watch crime/law shows on TV. Sorry, people -- but in the real world, courts just don't work that way!
91. I have 12 years of legal experience.
92. I tend to be shy until I get to know you.
93. I love girls' nights out with my friends, just going out to dinner or shopping. I think it's crucial to my mental health!
94. I love my three sisters and wish all of them lived closer so we could spend more time together.
95. I want to go to BYU's football camp for women.
96. I want to go to Education Week at BYU with my Mom and my sisters.
97. It is so neat to watch my daughters grow up and see their blossoming personalities. I'm amazed that two siblings can be so different from each other.
98. I still tuck my 12-year-old DD into bed every night. I love that she still wants me to.
99. I detest bad manners and coarse, crude behavior. I also tend to be a corrector of poor grammar.
100. I desperately want to be debt-free but I'm a shopaholic so it probably won't ever happen.
So, tell me 100 things about you!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Happy Anniversary!
Today is my wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, DH!! It doesn't seem possible that we've been married as long as we have -- I'm not old enough! LOL It doesn't seem like it's been this long. I still remember details from our wedding day as if it was yesterday.
Yesterday we went to the Temple. We try to go every year as close to our anniversary as possible. The drive, normally just under 2 hours, took about 3 hours because of traffic. At one point, DH wondered if we shouldn't just turn around and go home. I didn't want to push one way or the either, but I was secretly praying that we would be able to get to the Temple and do a session. I wanted and needed so badly to be there. I'm glad we made it. DH has a cold right now and wasn't feeling all that great (and neither was I), but I'm so glad we went. We did an evening session and it was so empty, with just four couples (including us) and one other man. But it was wonderful. As always, I learned new things, noticed new things, and thought more deeply about other things. One thing in particular happened that is not appropriate for public discussion, but it definitely confirmed to me that I was supposed to be in the Temple yesterday.
When we announced our engagement, DH's BIL told me, "Don't ever expect him to be able to read your mind. We can't read women's minds!" He was right. After this many years, he can sometimes read my mind but not always. Things go much better when I just come out and say what I want instead of waiting for him to read my mind.
He balances me. We're just right for each other. I'm so grateful for him!
Happy Anniversary -- I love you!
Yesterday we went to the Temple. We try to go every year as close to our anniversary as possible. The drive, normally just under 2 hours, took about 3 hours because of traffic. At one point, DH wondered if we shouldn't just turn around and go home. I didn't want to push one way or the either, but I was secretly praying that we would be able to get to the Temple and do a session. I wanted and needed so badly to be there. I'm glad we made it. DH has a cold right now and wasn't feeling all that great (and neither was I), but I'm so glad we went. We did an evening session and it was so empty, with just four couples (including us) and one other man. But it was wonderful. As always, I learned new things, noticed new things, and thought more deeply about other things. One thing in particular happened that is not appropriate for public discussion, but it definitely confirmed to me that I was supposed to be in the Temple yesterday.
When we announced our engagement, DH's BIL told me, "Don't ever expect him to be able to read your mind. We can't read women's minds!" He was right. After this many years, he can sometimes read my mind but not always. Things go much better when I just come out and say what I want instead of waiting for him to read my mind.
He balances me. We're just right for each other. I'm so grateful for him!
Happy Anniversary -- I love you!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
New Year's Resolutions
I've never been very good at keeping New Year's Resolutions. Not good at all!
But I had an interesting experience...opportunity...on Sunday and I think this year I might actually be able to get somewhere with some resolutions.
Normally on the 5th Sunday, the youth meet with the adults during the third hour of church in our ward. So that's what we planned for this past Sunday. The Young Women's President left church early to drive up north to visit family, but we figured we were good since the youth were meeting with the adults. Imagine my surprise when I found out at the end of Sunday School that the plans had been changed and no one had told the Young Women's Presidency! I had approximately 3 minutes to come up with a lesson. Yikes! The bishopric counsellor over the YW said he would do something since he was going to be visiting YW for a little while, but I told him we could handle it.
After a quick prayer as I was walking down the hall, inspiration hit and my sister E and I started frantically looking up scriptures to go along with the blossoming idea. I think it all turned out really well -- and I couldn't have done it without E's help. I thought of the four categories New Year's Resolutions fall into: home improvement/organization, personal health/fitness, knowledge/learning new things, and spirituality. We found some scripture to go with each category. We talked about why people set goals/resolutions, and what causes people to not reach their goals or keep their resolutions. We talked about breaking things into small, manageable, realistic goals and finding the right kind of motivation. We talked about each of the four areas, read the scriptures that went with them, and then the girls had a piece of paper and pencil so they could write out some goals/resolutions in those four areas, along with ideas for how they could achieve those goals. They really seemed to enjoy the lesson and participated a lot more than I expected. Yea!
I shared with them some of my failed resolutions and they gave me ideas for making the goals more achievable and manageable. I think I'm going to try it.
Home Improvement/Organization: Dejunk and declutter our home by the end of 2007. That gives me one full year. DH is on board, and so are the kids. If we manage to dejunk one room every month, plus the garage, attic, and yard, we'll be in good shape.
Personal Fitness/Health: Exercise a minimum of 15 minutes every day. Right now, that will be accomplished by doing my physical therapy exercises on a daily basis. That, and walking with my best friend, J who lives right behind us. We used to walk together all the time and we need to start again!!
Knowledge: Decide if I'm going to go to law school or do a PhD, and start working on the applications and preparing for entrance exams.
Spirituality: Read the scriptures every day -- even if it's just one verse. We need to get better about doing this as a family, so that's part of the goal, too.
I think these are pretty manageable. We'll see what actually happens!
But I had an interesting experience...opportunity...on Sunday and I think this year I might actually be able to get somewhere with some resolutions.
Normally on the 5th Sunday, the youth meet with the adults during the third hour of church in our ward. So that's what we planned for this past Sunday. The Young Women's President left church early to drive up north to visit family, but we figured we were good since the youth were meeting with the adults. Imagine my surprise when I found out at the end of Sunday School that the plans had been changed and no one had told the Young Women's Presidency! I had approximately 3 minutes to come up with a lesson. Yikes! The bishopric counsellor over the YW said he would do something since he was going to be visiting YW for a little while, but I told him we could handle it.
After a quick prayer as I was walking down the hall, inspiration hit and my sister E and I started frantically looking up scriptures to go along with the blossoming idea. I think it all turned out really well -- and I couldn't have done it without E's help. I thought of the four categories New Year's Resolutions fall into: home improvement/organization, personal health/fitness, knowledge/learning new things, and spirituality. We found some scripture to go with each category. We talked about why people set goals/resolutions, and what causes people to not reach their goals or keep their resolutions. We talked about breaking things into small, manageable, realistic goals and finding the right kind of motivation. We talked about each of the four areas, read the scriptures that went with them, and then the girls had a piece of paper and pencil so they could write out some goals/resolutions in those four areas, along with ideas for how they could achieve those goals. They really seemed to enjoy the lesson and participated a lot more than I expected. Yea!
I shared with them some of my failed resolutions and they gave me ideas for making the goals more achievable and manageable. I think I'm going to try it.
Home Improvement/Organization: Dejunk and declutter our home by the end of 2007. That gives me one full year. DH is on board, and so are the kids. If we manage to dejunk one room every month, plus the garage, attic, and yard, we'll be in good shape.
Personal Fitness/Health: Exercise a minimum of 15 minutes every day. Right now, that will be accomplished by doing my physical therapy exercises on a daily basis. That, and walking with my best friend, J who lives right behind us. We used to walk together all the time and we need to start again!!
Knowledge: Decide if I'm going to go to law school or do a PhD, and start working on the applications and preparing for entrance exams.
Spirituality: Read the scriptures every day -- even if it's just one verse. We need to get better about doing this as a family, so that's part of the goal, too.
I think these are pretty manageable. We'll see what actually happens!
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