Blogging is Soooo 2008 (and other ramblings on from a not so little woman)

Actually I hope not. It is looking that way for me right now though isn't it? Maybe it is something that is going out with the Bush administration. Maybe I am having a brain freeze with all the below freezing temperatures. I just havn't had a lot of ideas for Blog entrys lately. I apologize for being delinquent. Here is a blog to remind you why it isn't such a bad thing.

I watched "Little Women" with my daughter last night. The one with Susan Sarandon as Marmee and Christian Bale as the Laurie (speaking of being late, yes) last night. I read the book with Elisabeth last year so we wanted to see the movie of course. Very well done. Great acting, great casting, great music. The romance between Joe and Frederich was more believable and less pitiful than the one in "Sense and Sensiblity". I cried . . . a lot. I told Elisabeth I really liked it and she responded "Except you kept crying through it!" Of course I had to explain to her that isn't always a bad thing, unless you are a particular friend of mine who hates to cry during movies.

Lacking Inspiration

I have not been doing very good on my blog but I guess the good news is I am spending less time in front of my computer and that is a good thing since that is my goal. Tim isn't helping me by introducing me to Pandora. com. If you havn't heard of it is a website where you put in your favorite song or music group/musician and they will create a radio station based on that and find all kinds of songs that are similar. I put in "Crack the Shutters" and found a new musician I really like. Peter Bradley Adams. I am really into acoustic guitar lately. I think I have to give credit to the movie "August Rush" for that. Tim learning to play the guitar doesn't hurt either. Anyway. Here are two clips of some of Adam's songs. The "Angeles" one is so much better on the album recording than in concert but still worth listening to. Enjoy!

Always


Angeles

More Joy in the New Year

This year I want to find more Joy in life. I want to do more of the things that actually make me happier. Less of the things that are easy at the moment but make me feel lousy later. I find the most joy in life through my relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and God. It is sometimes hard to balance this with my need to be alone and have my "quality me time. " I think I can improve my relationship with myself by spending my time in better ways.

I want to spend less time sitting in front of the computer, more time keeping my house in good order, so it is more pleasant to be in. I always feel so much more at peace when my home is clean. Work is one of the other sources of great joy in life. The things that bring most happiness in the long run require work now.

I want to spend less time reading to myself when I should be spending more time reading to my kids. I feel content when I know I am spending time with my kids. Granted, I don 't plant on dropping computer time and reading from my life, it brings me a lot of joy, but I need to keep my priorities in order and only do them when I don't have other things that are more important at the time. The days I have spent just reading or in front of a computer , therefore ignoring my house and family are always followed by a feeling of remorse. A feeling I missed out on something important that day.

I want to spend more fun time with my family. Playing games, doing fun activities, talking and working together. It feels like we spend a lot of time together doing the day to day stuff but it is the fun times that seem to really strengthen our relationships. The week between Christmas and New Years day is a special time for our family. Tim takes the week off of work and we dedicate our days to playing games with each other and with friends. This year in particular I came from this so rejuvenated rather than worn from spending so much time with my kids. I think I can take something from this and apply it to the rest of the year. I can't play all day of course but I can play more with my family on a regular basis.

My "me time" could be better spent improving upon myself, reading scriptures, more prayer and meditation. I will come to terms with myself better by coming to my Savior.

I want to improve my relationships with my neighbors. We get along but I am quite the hermit and really don't put myself out there and allow them to get to know who I am. I want to make a greater effort to get to know my friends and neighbors and bless their lives the way they have blessed mine.

It isn't in the "me time" that I will find most joy in life, it is in the "we time" (no not Wii time, although that is a great way to spend "We time" :). . . ) Quiet alone time is important for me, but it is not what is going to bring me happiness in this life.

New Carpet Cleaner

I wonder how many other carpet cleaners were bought the morning after a child has thrown up down an entire (carpeted) flight of stairs at 2 a.m.

Late, but Still Inspiring

When Tim and I visited England (1999) with his parents we stopped one evening at the York Ministry. There was a choir practicing inside and the music was ethereal and brought chills down our spines. Tim and I have agreed it was one of the most spiritual experiences of our lives. We have looked for music that sounded like it ever since. I just found a performance of a favorite German Christmas carol that I found very comparable.When I hear things this beautiful, I know there is something greater and glorious than what can be found in this sometimes dark and dreary world. Happy New Year Everyone!

Cats 1, Tree 0

We finally got our tree yesterday. I have been dreading this day ever since it occurred to me that it is going to be a totally different experience with cats. I asked a number of friends who have cats for their advice and experiences. Some have had no problems with their cats but many of them have pretty much wished me good luck with a knowing smile on their faces.

I am thinking of keeping score in this battle of the pets versus the tree. Today: Cats 1, Tree 0.

We came home to the tree laying down on it's side today. We havn't decorated it yet so no harm done. I think we will be making our Christmas Tree ornaments out of paper this year and every year until things change in one way or another. It is too bad I have grown attached to our cats. If it had been our rats..they would have been OUT OF HERE!

J.C. Penny Redemption (more Christmas Cheer)

This is a pretty hilarious add.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx

A Little Christmas Cheer (. . . at the expense of others)

For the holidays one year, rather than send gifts, my friend decided to enclose checks in her greeting cards. Inside each card she wrote "Buy your own presents" and then sent them off.
A few months later, she discovered the checks she'd "mailed" under a pile of books.
-Ruth Williams (found in Readers Digest, Jan 2009)

Lincoln's Dream

Last night Tim was reading the Advent scripture for the night with the kids. The story was the wise men receiving a dream that warned them not to return to Herod after visiting Jesus. Tim told the kids that some day they may receive an important dream as well, and they should not ignore their dreams.
Lincoln then shared that he dreamed about Jesus. At risk of not giving it the proper reverence I would really like to share it. He said,
"I had a dream about Jesus once. He told me to be quiet."
The Lord really does understand doesn't he?

Layering is in!

Sam has decided he will "change" his own clothes, like 4 times a day. "Chainging" in Sam's language however is "layering" in mine. In this picture he is wearing a blue knit shirt with a collar, then a batman undershirt over that, then an orange and green striped shirt over that and then a blue, white and green striped shirt on top of that. With this in mind, I am glad he asks me to "Change" his diapers for him.