Yesterday in Relief Society (the women's meeting of our 3-hour block), someone told of a woman in our ward (congregation) whose daily saying was, "Today is the best day of my life!" She said it to herself everyday of her life up until, and including, the day she died. Something about that really resonated with me. I've decided to make it my mantra. I think I want my awesome friend Brooke to put it in vinyl for every room of my house. This morning I wrote it in my journal three times in a row. S read it and asked why I wrote it three times. I told him that it would help me remember it and make today the best day of my life. Cynical S muttered, "So far." Maybe it needs to become our family motto.
I just love all that that simple sentence says. I love that it can lift my spirit, change my perspective, and alter my attitude as I strive to make every day the best day of my life. It encourages me to make the most of each day by working my tail off for my family, smiling at the kids -- especially when it's hard to, reading my scriptures and actively striving to feel Heavenly Father in all that I do. I'm excited to begin this lifelong experiment of trying to make each day "the best day of my life."
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Blogging Etiquette?
Are there blogging rules of etiquette? I've had people comment (which I love, by the way; keep 'em coming!) and ask questions. Do I reply in the comments or do I send an email and connect personally with the asker? I'm inclined to do the first, because it seems more polite and like a conversation between two people. Which is it? Are there any other blogging rules I should know?
Friday, January 15, 2010
Run
I want to go for a run. A nice long one on the Provo River Trail with a hill or two thrown in. I want to put in my earbuds and crank up my running music (RHCP "Stadium Arcadium") and go go go. I'll even run on the treadmill if I have to. One small problem:
I just have to keep telling myself that it'll all be worth it once I can start running again. Patience...
I just have to keep telling myself that it'll all be worth it once I can start running again. Patience...
A Weary Week
This week has not been stellar. It is looking up now, so I can (hopefully) objectively recap...
Monday:
I had a follow-up with the podiatrist who was very pleased with the surgery and very optimistic about the good it did. I am ready to kick off the cast; it's a cumbersome inconvenience that slows me down -- except for when I accidentally kick something and then I'm glad it's still on.
Tuesday:
I desperately needed to make many batches of peanut-butter cookies, so I did. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll deduce that Tuesday was not good.
Wednesday:
I went to S's school to watch the school spelling bee. He was #1 out of 18, the youngest and the tiniest. It took a little coaxing to get him up to the mic to begin, but when he finally did and spelled his first word, "glad," he was just fine. I expected him to be nervous and was proud of how he conquered his nerves, but I wasn't prepared for how nerve-wracking it would be for me. Every time he stood up to spell, I held my breath. Every time he completed the word, I'd let it out with a sigh (along with everyone else in the auditorium. It was so cool -- you could just feel everyone rooting for this tiny shy boy.) He stayed in to spell, "cartoon," "piano," "significant" (that was impressive -- I had no idea he knew how to spell that one), and "monarch," before incorrectly spelling, "scruple." As he explained to me later, "I thought it was a pole made out of screws," which explains "S-C-R-E-W-P-O-L-E."
Here he is before everyone started filing into the auditorium:
Wednesday night was bad for everyone, boys and mom. Yelling, crying, grumpiness all around. I went to bed determined to do better on...
Thursday:
3/4 of this day were great. I woke early for some quiet, spiritual rejuvenation and handled the morning grumpiness around me calmly and graciously. When we returned home from dropping S off at school, O and H painted. I was proud of myself for doing that since I rarely get crafty.
Thursday night was bad again. More yelling, screaming, crying. So bad that everyone was in bed by 6:30 (not happily) and I was very seriously considering abandoning my post as mother. My neighbor came over later to visit and buoy up my spirits. It worked. She's an angel.
Friday:
Today was great. Somehow a good night's sleep made me love my kids again and we passed a pleasant morning playing with cars and making chocolate cookies in preparation for J's homecoming tonight. For lunch we drove down to Springville and spent $2.34 on 3 kids' meals, a taco, a burrito, and 3 frosties. (Love those coupons!) We came home and rode bikes and now the younger two are settled in front of a movie. Life is good and my three little monkeys are fantastic, caring little people. I can't imagine a better trio with which to spend my days. And J will be home shortly -- hooray!
Monday:
I had a follow-up with the podiatrist who was very pleased with the surgery and very optimistic about the good it did. I am ready to kick off the cast; it's a cumbersome inconvenience that slows me down -- except for when I accidentally kick something and then I'm glad it's still on.
Tuesday:
I desperately needed to make many batches of peanut-butter cookies, so I did. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll deduce that Tuesday was not good.
Wednesday:
I went to S's school to watch the school spelling bee. He was #1 out of 18, the youngest and the tiniest. It took a little coaxing to get him up to the mic to begin, but when he finally did and spelled his first word, "glad," he was just fine. I expected him to be nervous and was proud of how he conquered his nerves, but I wasn't prepared for how nerve-wracking it would be for me. Every time he stood up to spell, I held my breath. Every time he completed the word, I'd let it out with a sigh (along with everyone else in the auditorium. It was so cool -- you could just feel everyone rooting for this tiny shy boy.) He stayed in to spell, "cartoon," "piano," "significant" (that was impressive -- I had no idea he knew how to spell that one), and "monarch," before incorrectly spelling, "scruple." As he explained to me later, "I thought it was a pole made out of screws," which explains "S-C-R-E-W-P-O-L-E."
Here he is before everyone started filing into the auditorium:
Wednesday night was bad for everyone, boys and mom. Yelling, crying, grumpiness all around. I went to bed determined to do better on...
Thursday:
3/4 of this day were great. I woke early for some quiet, spiritual rejuvenation and handled the morning grumpiness around me calmly and graciously. When we returned home from dropping S off at school, O and H painted. I was proud of myself for doing that since I rarely get crafty.
Thursday night was bad again. More yelling, screaming, crying. So bad that everyone was in bed by 6:30 (not happily) and I was very seriously considering abandoning my post as mother. My neighbor came over later to visit and buoy up my spirits. It worked. She's an angel.
Friday:
Today was great. Somehow a good night's sleep made me love my kids again and we passed a pleasant morning playing with cars and making chocolate cookies in preparation for J's homecoming tonight. For lunch we drove down to Springville and spent $2.34 on 3 kids' meals, a taco, a burrito, and 3 frosties. (Love those coupons!) We came home and rode bikes and now the younger two are settled in front of a movie. Life is good and my three little monkeys are fantastic, caring little people. I can't imagine a better trio with which to spend my days. And J will be home shortly -- hooray!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Quick Random Post
I should have surgery more often -- I'm posting like crazy!!
Check out Jessie O'Neal's Photography Blog link to the left. She just posted some pictures from our session. Most of the pics there I've also put on my blog, but my mom will enjoy the one of her, my dad, and S. An interesting note about my sassy mommy -- this photo shoot was the first time in her ENTIRE LIFE that she'd ever worn a pair of jeans. She looks good, doesn't she?
Ward Conference was great today. I'm sure the 2nd and 3rd hours were terrific but I only heard the first. The theme was Joshua 1:9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
This scripture is my motto for the year. I'd like to be stronger in many ways, but spiritually and emotionally foremost. Courage -- much needed. And to always remember that God is with me always -- how will that change how I act? How I respond to situations with which I'm faced? Will it give me confidence and faith no matter what I do? I have faith that it will.
And regardless of whether or not you believe as I do, this is a good scripture and promise to keep in mind. There is nothing to be afraid of. Most of the limitations we face are there of our own making. It's a good reminder that there are no limitations, nothing to be afraid of, if we have faith.
And now to sleep...
Check out Jessie O'Neal's Photography Blog link to the left. She just posted some pictures from our session. Most of the pics there I've also put on my blog, but my mom will enjoy the one of her, my dad, and S. An interesting note about my sassy mommy -- this photo shoot was the first time in her ENTIRE LIFE that she'd ever worn a pair of jeans. She looks good, doesn't she?
Ward Conference was great today. I'm sure the 2nd and 3rd hours were terrific but I only heard the first. The theme was Joshua 1:9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
This scripture is my motto for the year. I'd like to be stronger in many ways, but spiritually and emotionally foremost. Courage -- much needed. And to always remember that God is with me always -- how will that change how I act? How I respond to situations with which I'm faced? Will it give me confidence and faith no matter what I do? I have faith that it will.
And regardless of whether or not you believe as I do, this is a good scripture and promise to keep in mind. There is nothing to be afraid of. Most of the limitations we face are there of our own making. It's a good reminder that there are no limitations, nothing to be afraid of, if we have faith.
And now to sleep...
Day 5
I promise that I didn't go to church today with no husband and a big purple cast on my foot to get sympathy and dinner. I really went to church today to be uplifted and give me a spiritual boost for the week. I received sympathy and dinner because I have awesome friends. It may have been easier and more sensible to stay home, but I am not easy ;) and I am definitely not sensible. I've often thought that church is like an addiction. That said, I must be the addict. I need the weekly spirit that I feel at church on Sundays to get me through the Mondays-Saturdays. I need the interaction with the fabulous women at church since I tend to live in an isolated bubble the rest of the week. I need the 2 hours of my kids being taught by fabulous Primary teachers. That's really why I went to church today. I had my amazing, wonderful, incredible friend and neighbor help me with the boys during Sacrament Meeting. And by help I mean that she wrangled them all while I just sat and actually paid attention for once! Then the older two headed up to Primary and I went to drop H off at Nursery. One small problem: He would not be dropped off. This happened last week too. Last week, after 3 Nursery workers tried to calm him down and interest him in toys, they brought him to me in Sunday School where he fell asleep on my lap. Last week I had J bring him home so he could finish his nap in his own bed. This week -- no J. I gave H a choice: go play in the Nursery or go home and nap. He chose to go home and nap. After I let the older ones know that they would be coming home with our neighbor (and stumping up and down the stairs and through the hallways, running into curious, sympathetic people left and right) I put H in the van and drove home. As soon as I got him ready for a nap and he saw the inevitable course of events, he started screaming, "I want to go back to church! Take me back to Nursery!" and went down for a nap not as happily as I'd imagined he would. Oh well. Make a better choice next week, little H.
And so much for getting my spiritual lift. But I did get dinner. One friend wouldn't let me walk away from her without committing to a day and time that she bring me dinner and another just brought one over. With the dinner I cooked tonight, the one my friend brought over, and the one planned for Monday at 5PM, I won't have to cook at all this week! That's probably good, considering my foot is throbbing -- reminding me that yes, it is still there and still less than a week out from surgery.
The reason I didn't really want people asking me about my foot is that it's no big deal. Plus, it's not an exciting story. If only I was kicked in the foot while harnessing a team of wild horses, or if my foot was run over by a semi truck while I was rescuing a small, frightened animal about to be crushed by the semi's wheels, that would be an exciting story. Extraction of extra bones? Just confirms that I'm a freak. I'm still not sure I want to post pictures of my feet -- people may really think I am a hobbit and send me off on dangerous impossible quests. (That's ok if I get to go with Viggo Mortensen.)
Anyway, here's the official update for my mom:
No pain pills since Friday. The antibiotic and anti-inflammatory haven't made me sick. I can feel that I've been on my feet too much today, but nothing a night of ice and elevation won't fix. I don't have to make dinner this week. The doctor was right about me wanting to kick the cast off already. I feel a strange absence of discomfort on my accessory navicular bone, simply because it's not there anymore. (For those of you who wonder why I update for my mom on the blog as opposed to the phone: It's quieter this way. Anyone who talks to me on the phone during the day knows that you hear me and the boys.)
And so much for getting my spiritual lift. But I did get dinner. One friend wouldn't let me walk away from her without committing to a day and time that she bring me dinner and another just brought one over. With the dinner I cooked tonight, the one my friend brought over, and the one planned for Monday at 5PM, I won't have to cook at all this week! That's probably good, considering my foot is throbbing -- reminding me that yes, it is still there and still less than a week out from surgery.
The reason I didn't really want people asking me about my foot is that it's no big deal. Plus, it's not an exciting story. If only I was kicked in the foot while harnessing a team of wild horses, or if my foot was run over by a semi truck while I was rescuing a small, frightened animal about to be crushed by the semi's wheels, that would be an exciting story. Extraction of extra bones? Just confirms that I'm a freak. I'm still not sure I want to post pictures of my feet -- people may really think I am a hobbit and send me off on dangerous impossible quests. (That's ok if I get to go with Viggo Mortensen.)
Anyway, here's the official update for my mom:
No pain pills since Friday. The antibiotic and anti-inflammatory haven't made me sick. I can feel that I've been on my feet too much today, but nothing a night of ice and elevation won't fix. I don't have to make dinner this week. The doctor was right about me wanting to kick the cast off already. I feel a strange absence of discomfort on my accessory navicular bone, simply because it's not there anymore. (For those of you who wonder why I update for my mom on the blog as opposed to the phone: It's quieter this way. Anyone who talks to me on the phone during the day knows that you hear me and the boys.)
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