Higher Education Meme

It's been almost a week since I posted anything, so since I was tagged by My Ice Cream Diary, I'll post this cute meme!

Here are the rules:

Devise a list of 5-10 courses you would take to fix your life. It’s more fun to be in classes with friends, so include one class from the person who tagged you that you’d also like to take. Tag five.

Remembering Anything 201 (I'll take this class along with Ice Cream!!)Learn how to remember names, birthdays and to actually look at your lists, to do lists, calendar and every other place that you have written things down so that you won't forget and yet still do!

Learning to Say NO As long as you say "Yes" to this class, you will learn how to say no to everything else. Also, several lessons on not feeling guilty for saying no, especially when you can't do it even if you wanted to!

How to enjoy and continue to exercise and eat well for more than 5 minutes 101 Learn how to exercise in your sleep, while eating and anytime of the day that you won't notice!

How to Just Do It! Lessons in going from the list (which I am great at!) to reality and making it all happen at the right time and place! (Not always so great at...)

Forcing Children to Eat Healthy food Why is it that there are only about 4 meals that I make that my children will actually eat? (Not including Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets) I need some kind of lessons for me to learn how to convince them that carrots and broccoli taste good. Maybe she has it right with hypnosis!

Now, who should I tag??

Gretchen

Kathleen

Amber

Laura

PJ

Have fun!!

Story Request

I am giving a lesson in church, soon, about achieviing friendships, sociality and especially sisterhood through service.

My request is that I'd love to have some original stories about ways that you have gained relationships through service. It can be from someone serving you, you serving them, or from serving together and bonding that way.

If you have any personal (or family or whatever.. :) ) stories, would you PLEASE send them my way! It would help me a lot!!

Thanks!!!

What to do you think?

I'm not going to bother with trying to commit to a new SMART habit this week or probably next, either. There is just too much going on. I did, though, want to report on last week's progress. This is the hunting mask that my Dad requested. I think my design turned out pretty well. We had fun trying it on. I also made the Mary Jane slippers that I have been wanting to try for Belle. She loves them. They still need some latex on the bottom. I still need to find some. I also made a hat for my niece and play snakes. This week I started mittens and a matching hat for Luke. I am really taking a chunk out of my list!! It feels really good to be able to catch up to myself once in a while!When I come up with a plan to accomplish everything we have planned this weekend, or when I recover from it, I'll have to post about it! If we survive as more than piles of goo!

My Night

We watched my friend's kids at the last minute, last night. Things went pretty smoothly with stories, running around like crazy people and magic tricks. Oh, and splashing in the toilet. Right after Emily knocked on the door, I found Belle and two of the other kids playing in the toilet.

I could probably turn this into a much more entertaining post full of laughs, but I am having trouble spelling this morning. Seriously, I am misspelling every other word! I guess I didn't get enough sleep. I got uninterrupted sleep, since the kids were worn out, but I need more.

Cuties!

Moments like this are wonderful!

Lately, though, these two have been on each other's nerves! Belle loves Luke and wants to do everything he does. They both want the same spot. And she STILL wants to be him, too! It is really wearing on him. He just wants her to go away!

Any tips on how to get your young children to like each other? I haven't had to deal with this until now.

Human For Sale

HumanForSale.com - I am for sale!

Okay, no more posts today! This was an interesting quiz. Go see how much you are worth! LOL

Blog Action Day

I just found out that it is Blog Action Day. It is a day to post about the environment! I was on a real "green" kick for a while and I have gotten busy and not been doing as well. I should get back to that better attitude!!

For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught. Baba Dioum 1968

I found this quote on the wall at the aquarium we visited this summer. I think it is really true. We need to be aware and make our children aware of the beauty around us. There is so much to enjoy in this world! We have the responsibility to teach our children about our world. If we can teach them to love the planet and make them aware of how to preserve and make it a better place to live, we can change the attitudes of the next generation!!

SMILE

A while back a friend shared this with me. I thought it was really neat. If you aren't LDS, here is a link to the Book of Mormon online at lds.org. (Or just click below to go to the full reference.)

2 Nephi 9:39

...Spiritually-minded is life eternal.

What a wonderful reason to smile!! We are here to grow and learn and also to prove ourselves worthy of eternal life. If we attain that, we will be eternally happy!

Also, here in life, if we are spiritually minded, we will be happy!

Wuthering Heights

I just finished reading Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, for the first time. I was first introduced to the story by a movie version. I loved it.

I'm not sure what the draw is for me. Usually, I have to like characters to be able to read a book. The characters are horrible. They are well written, but they are mean and malicious people. Though, there are some very good characters who redeem the story and make the some of the others better people.

It is a story of love, betrayal, revenge and redemption. As I was telling Aaron the plot, and as I am writing here, I can't figure out what it is that makes me really love the book and movie! Maybe it is the ending that pulls it all together for me.

Does anyone else love this story?

Chalk Art OR Graffiti??

I just read this article and I think New York is taking things way too far!!

Since when it a child's chalk drawing considered a nuisance? I can't believe it went that far. Why would a neighbor report on that?

Even here in Utah where we don't get much rain, chalk washes off all on its own!

What's next, driving citations for toddlers on tricycles?

Smart Habit Saturday

This week I was working on getting up at 5 AM. I have done an okay job. I have usually at least turned on the light and read in bed instead of trying to squeeze a few more minutes out of the night. So, I think that is a keeper and one that I need to continue to work on!

This week, and probably until I finish all of my current projects, I am not going to add more projects and I am going to complete the ones I have started.

When it gets to be closer to Christmas, I start thinking about all of the things I could make for friends, family and for my home. I usually get too carried away and I don't get them all done. I hate that so much!! I even started early this year, but I keep getting fun, new ideas and I put the ones I really need/want to finish down for too long.

So, no new projects and I am going to finish up the old ones.

It's too bad that I did this goal a long time ago. I guess it is the curse of a crocheter to start too many new projects!

If you are new to SMART Habit Saturday, go and check out The Lazy Organizer. She has great ideas and is always inspirational!

Two Spidermen?

Luke has been wanting to be Spiderman for a long time. I like to make my kids' Halloween costumes if I can, but I didn't think I could do Spiderman justice, so I found one at Wal-Mart that was cheap and cute. He loves it.

The problem is that now the only thing Belle wants to be for Halloween is Spiderman! I want her to be something pretty or cute. She won't have it! Do I let her have her way, or do I have mine??

Cute Sleeper

Belle has always been a great sleeper, Luke, not so much. So, when she started not liking naps so much, I wasn't happy. Today she wouldn't go down at all.

Then, this evening, she was looking really groggy as she ate a treat from a neighbor. I was thinking that she'd fall asleep really soon and I told her I'd eat her treat (I'm so bad!) if she went to sleep. She said something and then the next time I looked at her, (about 10 seconds later) she was asleep! It was so cute.

So I am debating whether I should wake her up. It isn't even 7 PM, yet. I wonder if she'll sleep all night...

Eclipse

(If you haven't read this book, and will, I may give away some plot points...)

I really enjoyed reading these books. This one not so much. There were several things that really bothered me.

Bella (the main character) is a jerk! The author tries to make her this mature teen, but I really don't think she knows what mature is. She is a twit! She is mean and hurtful and she does it on purpose!!

When do love triangles happen in real life??

What 17 or 18 year old really knows what they want for the rest of their lives? They don't know what life is really about!

Why did she even bother to use vampires? The only similarities to fabled vampires is that they drink blood and are pale. They are killed in different ways (nastier in her book), they can be in the sun, they can have control...it goes on. She should have just made up her own creature, rather than change one so much that it isn't a vampire anymore. I know she tried to make it as if the old type were just legend, but still!

The thing that bothers me the most is that Stephenie Meyer advertises that she is LDS and then she puts LOTS of things in her books that are definitely NOT LDS. (She doesn't claim that these are LDS books, but still!) She is also writing these books for teenagers. She has the two main characters in bed together all night, every night!! Sure, they don't DO anything, but it is a horrible example for the teens reading. She also has Bella hate marriage, but want to spend eternity with Edward. I don't get the point.

Side note: Meyer also has no idea how to properly use foreshadowing.

I will probably read the last book in the series next fall, but I don't think I'll recommend the books to anyone without some warnings.

Smart Habit Saturday

I did better this week than I did last week. That is a big step!

This week, I want to work on waking up (and actually getting out of bed) at 5 am!! I know, it sounds like some crazy person time to wake up and I agree with you. Aaron commutes and carpools, so he has to leave the house at about 6:15. I get up with him, make breakfast and help him get ready for work. The kids also get up pretty early. Belle does anyway. Luke is not a morning person!

Anyway, Aaron usually gets up and showers at about 5 and I stay in bed until 5:30 or 5:40. That doesn't give a lot of time for helping him much.

So, I want to wake up and actually get out of bed at 5 and start the day. I think it will give me some time to get myself ready for the day as well.

Come see what all the fun is about at The Lazy Organizer!!

Aaaaaahhh!!!

So, I think I may have solved a little of my stress issues!

I have been taking care of a friend's 9 month old, my SIL's dog and my own darlings. It was really hard at first, but then I thought I had it under control.

That was until I wigged out on Aaron. He totally didn't deserve it and I owe him some big and fancy dinner or something to make up for it.

The night before last, I had had my fill of being mauled by children and dogs and I was completely stressed out. It carried over to yesterday and I blew up at Aaron. He has been working so hard at teaching, trying to finish his masters' degree and being a great husband and father, that he didn't deserve the added stress I gave him.

Anyway, I think a lot of what it comes down to is hormones and not getting chances to calm down and de-stress throughout the day. (Also, my current crochet project has been frustrating me. Crochet is a great de-stressor for me, so that just made things worse.)

Anyway, lately, I try to relax while the two little ones sleep and Luke has some video game time. The dogs have been wrestling, growling and barking like crazy!! I get so frustrated with them and I yell to try to make them stop and not wake up the kids.

But, the good news is that Daisy will be here in the mornings rather than the afternoons, so I can have some peace and quiet during the day!! I think I can be a much better wife and mommy, now!!

Note: I am usually not a stressed out person. I let most things roll off my back or sleep them off and I am great and relaxed again in the morning. Therefore, I don't think I handle stress very well since I've not really had to very often...

Poor Freckles

My dog, Freckles, has an ear infection. She has scratched it for a while, but we didn't realize it until she started whimpering when she did. She'd whimper and then lick her paw, so we thought it was her paw. I checked it and didn't find a problem. We didn't see anything on her head and then the other night, my SIL looked in her ear and it was rough and goopy. We were able to get her in at the vet's office, yesterday. She got her shots and we also got antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory to take care of her ear. I hope she feels better soon.

Owls

Yesterday I asked Luke if he knew his school's mascot. He didn't so I told him that it was an owl. He replied:

Can I turn into one?

General Relief Society Conference

I was able to go to Salt Lake for the General Relief Society Conference* at the Conference Center. We were given tickets for the balcony section, but they had open seating and we got wonderful seats on the floor. I've never been able to attend in person before and it was a great experience!

I think two of the talks are going to be great for the lesson I have to teach in November. I want to talk about the importance of women and ho we can be better wives, mothers and sisters if we are first whole and complete people. I'll post my lesson when I have it done. It is a topic that has been on my mind for a long time.

I started feeling sick before the conference and now I am staying home from church. I hope I feel better, later.

*Relief Society is the organization for the women of our church. We are able to be organized to learn from each other and serve others.

Smart Habit Saturday

Well, I don't have much to report. I didn't do any better on my goals than when they weren't goals. I mostly forgot to do them for most of the week.

I think I want a more concrete goal to go along with scripture reading. I still want scripture reading to be something that I do EVERYDAY without fail. That is something I definitely need in my life.

I also want to have my whole house better each day than the one before. I think I should at least take this one floor at a time. I'll start with downstairs. That is where we spend most of our time and what is the most visible. So, I want to tidy up (with the kids' help) the living room when the extra creatures are gone at the end of each day. I've heard several people say that they clean up after the kids are asleep so that it is nice in the morning, but at that time of night, I am too tired to care, much less do anything about it. I also want to keep the kitchen clean by actually getting around to empty the dishwasher and then refilling it as well.

So that's it. Scriptures, tidy living room and clean kitchen! I think that is manageable.

If you are new to SHS, go check out what everyone else is up to!