Funny Friday -- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Basement

I have two funny stories to tell you today.
1. Many of you may not think this is funny unless you have known me long enough to know how much I hate to exercise. Today on my way to the basement where I run laps without having to brave the cold or other people's curious eyes, I discovered I was actually looking forward to running. Me looking forward to exercising. Wierd and funny for me. And after I was finished I actually felt good. It has been a surreal experience for me since I have never felt this way in my life about exercise -- NEVER!

2. My little Lia is forever stubbing her toes. It happens many times a day. Usually she stubs her pinky or "baby" toe. I don't know how such a little itty bitty toe gets bonked against so many things. It truly is a mystery. Well a couple days ago she was wailing something fierce from the other room. I asked her what was the matter and she sobbed out that she had hurt her "Mama toe." Apparently, this is what she calls her big toe. Oh I laughed.

Talkative Tuesday -- Rambles

I have not done a talkative Tuesday in forever. And here I am thinking I have nothing exciting to talk about. So please excuse me while I randomly ramble.

1. I am on a diet. I know a lot of you are doing the "biggest loser" thing but I don't do well with other people's diet programs. I need to exercise and diet on my own terms. I have lost at least 6pounds so far but I have a week and a half to meet my 10 pound goal. I am afraid I totally lost it this weekend. There are too many yummy places to eat in SLC and my diet and exercise plan went out the window. I am almost back on track but the chocolate candy in the pantry keeps calling my name.


2. I am sorry all you lovers of winter white but I just really don't like the cold. My friends tease me, asking me how I can possibly be from PA. I have to remind them that PA gets ice storms not snow storms, they have had less than 1 inch of snow this winter. 1 inch!! I have, however, lived in Rexburg and Colorado and I know how fun sledding and skiing can be. Still, I am in a constant shivering state. Lia keeps asking me if Spring is here and she loves the snow. I am trying to stay positive. Notice the snowscape photos I take to remind myself how awesome winter is. I am so ready for a green lawn and warm days.

3. A lot of people are curious about my experience with the charter school. Here is an attempt to update you. I do have my concerns but they are nowhere as big as the concerns I had the last two years with Isaac's shool experience. Basically, my son had lost all his drive to learn by the end of 4th grade and Isaac is a naturally curious child. I do feel like his enthusiasm for learning has returned. He actually enjoys school and has only missed a couple days compared to the dozen or so he had racked up last year with his mysterious stomach illnesses. These seem to have dissappeared. Yes, he is still Isaac and because the school is based on a more self motivated program he occasionally forgets to complete items or work on his math as much as he should. But he seems to be adapting and he actually instigates additional research (not required) in some of his favorite subjects. He has also started orchestra and loves it. he does miss his friends but he has made a passle of new friends. I struggled with the decision of whether I should send him to Canyon View middle next year but I have decided to keep him where he is. There are several middle school age students who attended the middle school who said they prefer the social climate at the charter school (i.e. less foul language, more modesty in dress).

Becca is thriving but then she is an academic at heart and she is able to excel and help her classmates as much as her little heart desires. She actually assists her teachers in many ways. She misses her friends something fierce. The friend thing seems to be a little tougher for Becca. I honestly believe she would do well no matter where she went to school but she does have a considerable amount of freedom and she loves art class and spanish class.

Monday - Write a Little

I can't believe I only blogged one time last week and here I am on Monday trying to find a "write a little" idea. I am going to cheat. This past weekend I spoke at a mothering convention in SLC. I was really nervous and so I was afraid to say anything on the blog because I know so many people who would have been more qualified to speak than me. Still, it was something I felt I had to do. Because I was scared witless and I believe in facing my fears, I felt I had to accept this challenge. So I pulled it off ,kind of, and today I am just going to give you a mini version of my 45 minute lecture that focused on this list of ten ways we can find joy in motherhood. My topic was "Exchanging Martyrdom for Motherhood."

10 Steps to Enjoy Motherhood


CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE -- Spend less time indulging the "poor me" attitude and find more time to find joy and peace in your role as a mother.
1. Grow a Sense of Humor – Laugh More. Laughter always changes your perspective. Always!
2. Prioritize – When they are your priorities they are easier to swallow. Remember why you chose to become a mother.
3. Make it your Dream Job – See yourself as top management. You are not the maid you are the executive. All jobs have glamourous and non glamourous aspects -- even dream jobs.
4. Recognize your Achievements – Give yourself a high five. Recognize your awesome mom days and give yourself some credit.
5. Document your Feelings – Write it, Sing it, Blog it.

CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR
1. Embrace your Mothering Style – Paint by number paintings don’t get in museums so embrace your unique traits as a mother, use your own mothering style to bring beauty and joy to your family.
2. Teach Don’t Do –
“We will be more effective the less we act as managers and the more we act as coaches, consultants and guides.” James D. MacArthur, PhD – Director, counseling and Career Center, BYU
3. Take a Time Out – You are a person too so Pamper, Breathe, Learn, Escape.
4. Create a Support Circle – Accept Help, Vent for Sanity, Give Back. Don't judge other mothers in your Support Circle
5. Play – Schedule a playdate with your children. This is where we get to know and understand our children and where they get to know and understand us.

Ok there is a seriously pared down version.

Also, I forgot to tell you the answer to my word wise question a few weeks ago.
The difference between uninterested and disinterested is:
Uninterested means lacking interest
Disinterested means impartial. i.e. A district court judge must always play the part of a disinterested observer.

Write A Little -- Fairy /Flower project

I am giving you a sneak peek. My sister and I are writing a children's book together. No title yet but it is an ABC book with fairies, flowers and tanka poems for each letter of the alphabet. Today I thought it would be fun to give you a peek at what we are working on. Someday soon, when we are done, we will start looking for an agent to help us get it published. My sister is painting the fairies and flowers and I am penning the poems.
Here is one of my favorites:


S for Sunflower
Standing tall in the sunshine
smiling at the sky

Ssh,Look a sassy sweetheart
sharing a summertime snack.

Favorite Friday Find - Girl clothes deal

I am sharing my favorite deal of the day today. I love this site
pinchingyourpennies.com and today I got their first newsletter. My favorite little girl store Justice (they have tween clothes also)is having an awesome sale and with this handy coupon code I got 4 clothing items for $21 plus shipping. So I am sharing. The site has Justice and Limited Too stuff. Just go to the clearance link on the site to get the best deals. Alot of their items are b1g1 50% off an equal or lesser item
Link: shopjustice.com
coupon code: 649 -- the coupon code gets you an additional 50% off your entire order.

Talented Thursday -It's good to be Cheap

I am so excited because I have really reached new heights in my budget buys and finds this week. Granted I feel newly invigorated and educated by my friend Taryn's coupon class this week. I just didn't get how to make coupons work for me but now I totally do and I am proud to say that although I am a beginner in the cuopon cutting world I didn't do so bad on my first try. I got Kellogs Raisin Bran for 50 cents a box and none of my cereal was more than 1.50. But that is nothing compared to the free Teva's I scored this week. I had a $15 coupon to a shoe outlet and I found a pair of Teva's on clearance for $15. They rang up to a beautiful $0. Yea!

I also discovered the best frame shop in Southern Utah (courtesy of my painting teacher). Both me and my Mother-in-law about fell over when she quoted us our prices for the two solid wood custom frames we ordered for my last two paintings. One beautifully carved frame was only $25 and the other frame, a combination of two beautiful frames, was only $37. Seriously I have paid more than twice that for a very simple custom frame job before. This little gem is called A Passion for Painting and is located on 310 East Tabernacle in St. George.

My third deal is still in the works but basically I will have new window covering for 7 windows for around $75 all because I am shopping the sales and finding more discounts. This week my talent is bargain shopper extraordinaire. I know I am cheap but I just can't help it.

Write A Little - When I Grow Up

Today my writing prompt is to encourage everyone to reflect on what they wanted to be when they grew up. I was talking about this today with my kids and it really got me thinking.

I want to be an oceanographer. At least, I was sure this was my career path when I was in 4th and 5th grade. Everything about the ocean fascinated me and I thought Jaques Cousteau was the coolest and luckiest man ever. Like many kids this age, the science of water and animals was an easy attention getter.

In highschool, I had dreams of becoming an architect. This seems a little odd to me because I took more English electives than any of my friends, but I loved the science of homes. Pretty soon, I realized I would have to use math all the time and even though I was good at geometry, the word math just made me panic. I also couldn't draw a straight line to save my life. I know they have drafting programs for this but the math and the straight line requirements scared me away from the architect biz.

So, I launched myself into college with no direction and no clue where I was going. After some serious soul searching and a great deal of prayer I finally decided to graduate with a degree in journalism. I would write because, I had always been a writer. I have many amateur novel starts to prove it. Eventually, with my degree in hand I became a mother. I had no idea that being a mother was a job like any other job. At least, I didn't put them in the same playing field. Of course, now I understand that mothering is a job choice and a life choice just like anything else. This morning by 9:30 I had fed my kids, taken the two older kids to school, came home got dressed, got my preschooler off to school, dropped off Isaac's forgotten violin for orchestra, picked up a prescription and arrived at my dr. appointment. Last night I spent a good two hours in the ER after a little scare. I had a scary looking infection that was spreading across my face. It ended up being an infection, associated with kids - impetigo. I felt pretty cruddy yesterday but I still got up this morning and did my mom stuff. If mothering is not a job I don't know what is. The crazy part was I didn't feel annoyed that I had to get all these things taken care of by 9:30 a.m. Actually, I felt empowered, maybe the same way a high exec does after they make a successful presentation. This morning I was good at my job.

The other day my sister asked me "Does anyone really love their work?" I had to quickly answer yes. I get to do what I love everyday. I get to write and occasionally, I get paid for it. I even get to write about houses a lot which kind of dovetails with the whole architect thing. But more importantly I have the privilege of being a Mom and no ocean discovery, no building design, and no essay, article or book I write will ever give me the satisfaction of discovering my children's personalities while I help build them into unique individuals.

Random Moments

My 10 year old makes me laugh all the time. This week he spent a silly amount of time digging out this snow cave so he could hide inside and jump out when the babysitter came up the driveway. He did manage to scare her. Poor girl. Luckily she is a great sport and had a good giggle over it.

It's been a pretty calm week. Tom and I are still battling this confounded sickness. We did have a great anniversary which we spent at our favorite restaraunt -- The Cosmopolitan in Leeds. Mmm. It did not dissapoint. I finally got my Christmas decorations down and put away. Now if I could just tackle the pile that has been growing on my desk. It is beyond overwhelming.

I am officially sick of winter and ready for a little sunshine that actually comes with a little warmth so the ice pack on my driveway will melt. Maybe then I will be well on my way to getting the Christmas lights down. Isn't it funny how we spend January regrouping, organizing and cleaning. I guess I should be happy for cold wintry days that force me to clean and organize.

My Most Recently Published Article

My Manners article with Wasatch Woman is now posted. Take a peek here. "Please Don't Sing With Your Mouth Full."

Happy 14 Years.

It is hard to believe I have been married for 14 years.
What is even more hard to believe is how my love keeps growing for that rascal husband of mine.
10 Reasons I Still Love my husband:
1. He still makes me laugh. He kind of has an hornery sense of humor which sometimes gets him in trouble but I just can't help laughing most of the time.
2. He really does have a great smile.
3. He always shovels the driveway. I know this is silly but I love that he doesn't expect me to do this hateful job. He even feels bad when he can't do it for some reason. Luckily he does have two good kid helpers.
4. He makes really good eggs.
5. We have similar tastes in books. It's nice to have something in common.
6. We are opposites in most things. Yes, this causes some issues but it is also really great.
7. Sometimes just his presence in a room can calm my overactive dramatic tendencies.
8. He has always supported me in my writing. In fact he insisted
I graduate from college.
9. He works really hard for us. He is good at his job and he works hard to give us the things we need and a great deal of what we want.
10. He is a wonderful musician. What girl doesn't have a weakness for musicians.

Wow, I actually could think of more than 10 things if I wanted but I will spare you anymore gushing. Love ya Tom. Thanks for hanging in there with me for 14 years.

Monday - Write a Little - Word Wise

Because I have an article due today I am seriously only going to post a little tiny post.

This is totally trivial stuff but I thought, word hound that I am, that it was interesting. I also think I may throw one of these into my Write A Little blogs from time to time because I think we should all be familiar with our own language. Here is a word we use all the time that is not an actual word.

IRREGARDLESS: It is a double negative. Regardless is the proper word to use.

I say "irregardless" all the time. Now I have to stop.

And Kudos to who can tell me the difference between "uninterested" and "disinterested."

Favorite Finds Friday

Ok so, I thought it was still Thursday so I almost missed doing this post, eventhough I have been looking forward to it. I have been sick in bed and on the couch for three days and so I totally lost track of time.

Here is my list of favorite finds this week:
After a little conversation with some friends over lunch last week I decided I better post this book we gave our 10 year-old boy after he expressed his concerns about going through puberty. We have already the sex talk with Isaac but he still has a lot of worries and questions. I read this book and loved it, even if Isaac has yet to pick it up.
Growing Up by Brad Wilcox

Because I am doing an article on virtual communities I have had the chance to check out some fun sites for women.
Utahmama.com which is an offshoot of the larger todaysmama.com.

I really like this site called yourheartout.com . They have all kinds of fun finds and stuff for women.