The cutest reason that my dishes don't get done:

Organizing!!!!

Okay, so I have gotten (or had maybe, we'll see what happens today) an organizing bug. I went through the downstairs closet. This is what it looked like before I got to it: And:
You can even see the horrible 70's carpet in there. If you are missing the 70's, you can come smell them in my closet. It is really weird.

After:
Then, I got to the junk drawer. It was so full that you could hardly see or find anything!!
Now, it is nice and most things are easy to see and grab...now if we can just keep it this way!!

Okay, so they don't quite look like that already, I added a few things after I took the pictures, but they are WAY better now!

Squirrel Nut Zippers

Okay, so I love the Squirrel Nut Zippers!!! For those of you who don't know...which is probably anyone but my husband who is reading this...they are a band that is really weird, but lots of fun! My husband thinks they are horrible. I have to admit that they are REALLY odd. But, the great news is that they are back together and performing!! So, that's all I have to say. If you like strange music that is a mix between jazz, swing and just oddness...go check them out!

SMART Habit Saturday

I learned how to set up an Etsy store...I don't have anything up for sale, yet but the framework is there when I am ready. I got insight on Sunday about needing to work to become closer to God. On Tuesday, I learned how to make a magic adjustable ring in crochet. If you like to crochet go check it out! It makes crocheting in the round really nice. I also realized that it is really important to check out your kids' teachers and classrooms!

So, I didn't do it everyday, but it was nice to make it a point to think about continually learning. I am going to try to keep it up!

So, for this week, I am going to write in my journal everyday. I blog at least three times per week, and that has become my journal, but I want something that is in print. I have thought about printing out my blog, but that is going to cost a fortune and I feel that I should be writing in my journal as well! So, that is my goal for the week!

If you haven't joined up and would like to, go see Lara's blog. She is the ringleader!

Happily UNmarried??

I just found this article and I am in shock! I can hardly believe that the world it falling apart so quickly! If people are living as if they are married, why don't they just go ahead and do it? They are devaluing marriage. God has taught us that the family is the basic unit of society. In the LDS church, we have been given the proclamation on the family to help us to know just how important marriage and family are! I just don't understand why people so easily give up on marriage. One point that was made in the article was that women are afraid of losing themselves in marriage. They feel more free when they just live together. I don't feel oppressed by being married. I feel more free now than when I was single. Aaron has helped me work past low self esteem and low body image! He wants me to be my own person and to accomplish things outside of the home. Yes, I stay home with my children and manage the house, but I am much more than that! What I don't understand, is why is it that people feel that marriage is the thing that ties them down? It is how they define their relationship, not whether or not they are married. It is still the same person, and they can still act the same way towards each other! Marriage is a commitment that is not entered into lightly, but it is a necessary choice to keep our society together. AND unlike a comment made in the above article, marriage is forever as well, if you do it right!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Okay, so Luke is only four and Belle is 18 months old...but I decided tonight that no matter what I am ALWAYS going to parent/teacher conferences with our kids. I guess Aaron and I decided that a long time ago and so this decision is useless, but I made it anyway. My reason is this horrible classroom where I teach the horticulture class! It is in the photography room of the local high school. You'd expect to find pictures all over the walls and he has those, but they are awful!! They are weird, grotesque and COMPLETELY inappropriate for a public high school classroom! I don't know why no one has complained. I can't imagine that even one student or other teacher or SOMEBODY isn't bothered as much as I (and many of those taking the class) am! It is just horrible. There are LOTS of nude pictures. Some are wearing nothing but a camera or only tattoos. I understand that people take nude pictures as art, but my children should not be subjected to that just because they like to take pictures. I think there is a point where people need to realize that there are people out there who don't share the same tastes.

Big or Small?

I've been thinking lately about all the "little" things that I am asked to do to be closer to God. I think most people look at reading scriptures, saying prayers, attending church, fulfilling callings, having a testimony and many others as things that are easy to do. Since they seem so easy and simple, I tend to let them slide. It is easy to skip small things. In Sunday school, before we got into the lesson, we were talking about the need for work, in this process. If we had to physically work to build an alter to pray on, we'd probably pray harder and not take it for granted. I think that we do need to work for productive prayers and all of the other seemingly small things. If we didn't have to work for anything, we'd get nothing. Take reading scriptures for example. If I just open my scriptures and read a couple of verses and then put them down, I'm not going to get much out of the exercise. On the other hand, if I start with a prayer, read and ponder, REALLY study, then I can learn things that are there to be taught to me. I think it works that way with all of the "small" things we are asked to do to be close to God! They aren't little things. They aren't as simple and easy to do as sometimes thought! These things are worth working for! As I was typing this, I thought of the verse that says "...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6) Things can be simple and do great work in us if we work for them and allow ourselves to be lifted up by them!

Saturday SMART Habit

This week, I want to learn or practice something new everyday. Whether it is the piano (which I really want to be able to play), a new crochet or knitting stitch, or a new topic in a book, I want to keep learning and make it a habit! This should be a fun habit to take on. I think it'll help be out of my habit slump as well!

If you want to join, go see Lara's blog!!

We got our bedroom set last night!! It is so nice. I really like it. I'll take some pictures when we get everything cleaned up and orderly in there.

LOST!!

No, I'm not lost, but I love "Lost"! I was so annoyed when they stopped mid-season to--well whatever they were doing. We watched it last night and it is such a great show. I just hope they don't keep us coming with all the questions and then get cancelled and never answered! It was so frustrating when that happened to "Pretender" and (so I am told, since I wasn't a viewer) "The X-Files". It seems that they could just take a two hour special and wrap everything up just so we don't have to be so frustrated. Anyway, as long as they keep going an eventually answer all of these questions, I'll be happy! It is such a great show.

Why do you blog?

There is a man doing a survey to gather information about blogging for a workshop. If you'd like to take it go to: www.whydoyoublog.com/

It is really short and you don't have to give a lot of personal information.

And, hey, while we're at it, why do you blog??

Vans and Radios

So, about four years ago we bought some two-way radios to use while we traveled or moved with family. It was a lot of fun to talk on them and tell each other things that were coming up on the road ahead. Well, at some point ours just disappeared. I looked everywhere I could think of and we have moved a couple of times. We still had the charger, but I just couldn't find those radios anywhere. It was like they had found a black hole in our house. Well, yesterday, I was cleaning everything out of our cars to trade them in. Apparently, the glove box in one of the cars is really deep (black hole deep) and the radios were in the back. So, we were all excited...I hate to lose things. Luke thought it would be a lot of fun to use them around the house. Well, Belle thought they were phones and was playing with them. I didn't think she could hurt them. Well, apparently she has a sense about things that are dangerous and damaging. She decided that they needed a bath in the dog's water! Aaron took them apart and let them dry out overnight. We need to let them charge and fix a wire that got disconnected to see if they'll work.

So, we have become a van family. It is kind of weird. I am excited to have the space that a van offers. I'll take pictures when we actually have it...the power locks aren't working, so the dealer is going to see what is wrong with them and fix it for us. We have also condensed down to one vehicle. When I was still in school, we really needed to cars. Now that Aaron is in a carpool and I don't need the car everyday, we only really need one.

Married Versus Single

There is a woman I go to church with who has never married or had children. I was sitting next to her, today and thinking about the different things that married vs. single women learn and know. Once, I had to change Belle's clothes at church because she had a blowout. She had never thought about having extra clothes on hand in an emergency. Today, I was thinking about the things she must have time for that I don't. She can sit down and read a book without having to put an action figure's hand back on or getting a drink for a toddler. There must be so many things that she has the time to learn, that I simply don't. On the other hand, I know the joy of putting a sweet baby to sleep on my shoulder, getting up to put him/her in bed and slowly, quietly leaving the room so they can sleep and I can get something done. Then, going back to check on them and seeing their chest rise and fall & and the relief that he/she is still asleep for a little longer. Then, I hear the little cry of "Mama" and I go get a sweetheart out of bed for more play.

There are so many things that a single woman can do, that I have to bring an entourage along for or not do at all. I would take my mini entourage any day!!

Crocheter at Heart

So, I have been trying to teach myself how to do knitted cables. Between instructions from the owner of the local specialty yarn store and online guides & patterns, I figured out how to do it. It was fun, but I am ready to go back to my crochet project. I tend to get bored when I work on a large project that I can't finish in a few days, so I end up adding little projects along the way. My current big crochet project is the double-sided baby blanket for my niece-to-be. She is due at the end of the month, so I need to get really busy. It takes longer to do, since I has two sides. Both sides are worked together, but it makes it slower. I hope I have enough yarn...

I learned that I really don't want to get into knitting all that much. I really enjoy crocheting so much more.

SMART Habit Saturday 2/3

Okay, so I am not even going to admit how little I exercised this week. I have decided not to add any new goals, but my SMART habit for this week is to get a little closer to having all my old goal be habits. I have done pretty well on some but I want to solidify them all. Wish me luck on my maintenance week!

Grumpy Faces

We play the "Who can have a grumpy face longest, without laughing?" game. The kids have the cutest scowls!

I think I'll try...

I went to the specialty yarn store, again today. This time I bought a bamboo crochet hook, a 22 inch Tunisian hook and knitting cable stitch holders. I have done very little knitting, but this store has gotten me interested. I am going to try to do some simple cables. We'll see how it goes... I wish I could afford some yarn, but it is WAY too expensive at the moment. Plus, it is so much easier to see with generic yarn, when I'm not used to a certain pattern. I also don't want to practice on fancy yarn. Anyway, long story short, I'm going to try something new in knitting.

Whirlwind

We just made an unexpected, weekend trip to St. George, Utah. Aaron had a job interview and we all went along. It was really fun. It was nice to get away, too. The kids did really well on the trip there. They just ate snacks and watched movies. We got there on Sunday afternoon and we had no gas to wander around on, so we stayed in the hotel room. It was nice to have the downtime. Then, in the morning we drove around to see where we needed to drop him off and find a park for us. We also drove around to check things out a bit more. We have no idea if we want to live there or if we want to take the job. So, on the way back the kids were more restless. Belle did a lot of random screaming, even though she was watching Winnie the Pooh 3 1/2 times. I guess I should have changed the movie, but they kept enjoying it and it has "fast play". On the drive home we were assaulted by a huge rock. It looked the size of a bowling ball to me, but Aaron didn't agree. In the dark, it looked like there wasn't any damage. I hope that holds true in the light. Anyway, we don't know if we should take this new job. In some ways, it is perfect and would be great. In others it isn't what we want at all. It is a tricky one.

SMART Habit Saturday

Okay, so I exercised three times this week. I am not doing so well. I guess that I won't add anything new this week. I have been using Joes Goals and that has helped me a lot with my other goals. I just love the check marks everyday.

If you want to join in the fun of SMART habits, check out Lara's page!

Learning

If you are handed something and you don't have to work for it, you aren't going to learn anything from it (except maybe how to be lazy).

How often have you learned anything when you didn't have to do something for it. If you are given a book, but you don't read it, you won't have a clue what is inside. If you are taught a lesson, but you aren't prepared to hear it, or don't listen, you won't learn it either.

How many easy, laid back days have taught you anything?

How have you learned and grown? Did you learn the most when you were prepared to hear something? Did you learn when you went through a tough time? Did you learn when you worked, read, studied and pondered?

I think some of the times that I have learned the most were the times when I had to go through a really tough time. I grew and changed and came out a better person.

I think you have to work to improve and learn anything in life.

Peanut Butter Surprise

Don't you just LOVE it when, just after you give your sweet little girl a bath, she wants a sandwich (since of course, if big brother has a sandwich, she needs one as well). She eats the sandwich just fine, although messily. Then, when she is done, and you don't notice soon enough, the peanut butter has to get off of her hands. Does she come to you with outstretched hands and keep herself and everything else clean?...Oh, that would be too easy. She has to find her own way to remove it. She smears it into her newly-washed hair! Eww! Just one of the joys of motherhood.