three, two, one ... tomorrow's the BIG day!

on saturday i went out with nicki - girl's night/birthday outting ... we had yummy dinner at the cheesecake factory and then went to see 'obsessed' (it was good - i'm not a scary movie fan ... but there were no scenes and not even 1 f-bomb!!) after the movie i followed her home and we sat and talked until about 2 am! it's funny ... i'm almost 33 and i still feel like a dumb kid. i'm not always sure if in know who i am ... somethings i know about myself and i've come to grips with most of my peculiar and unique quirks. but still i think i'm learning about myself all the time. for example: i told andy that he is a creature of habit ... and the more i think about it - so am i! did you ever see Runaway Bride? julia roberts makes eggs 15 different ways to try and figure out which is her favorite ... goal #31 - figure myself out. who am i?? (when i figure it out - i'll share!)

sunday again ... quiet books ... goal #32 - make 'em! nuf said.

and for my final goal ... goal #33 - write a bucket list. i need to rent and watch that movie as well ... but i really feel like i need to have a list of things to accomplish before i die! not that i'm close ... not even half way there ... but i figure the more time i give myself ... the more i will be able to achieve!!

4.

(it's fun to have to option to manipulate the post date and time ... cuz even though i'm actually posting this on the 25th {oops!} i can make it look like i posted on 4/24 at 4:44 - i'm in love with alliteration and consonance)

goal #30 - listen ... not just hear but listen.

... to my Heavenly Father, friends, family, husband and children.

five

Don Ford, technically speaking he's my first-cousin-once-removed - which means that he's my mom's cousin ... but he's only a few years older than me so it's like we're just plain cousins ... which really just means family!!

one of my favorite people came into town and called me up! he came over for a visit and i am so glad he did! it's always fun to catch up with friends and family! and what's better - i called him today and we talked for about an hour while he was driving thru oregon on his way home! while my mom's sisters were in town i spent a fair amount of time probing them for infomation and wish now that i had recorded them - for my own enjoyment as well as posterity sake!

goal #29 - do better at keeping in touch with extended family, with letters, facebook, blogs, and attending reunions!! families are forever and it's best if you know who it is you're going to be spending eternity with!!

six

as a general rule i'm not a litter bug ... i try to pick up garbage when i see it on the ground.

so, today in honor of earth day ... goal #28 - i'm going to be more conscious and follow the lead of my good little people who are always pointing out litter - and the evils thereof. i should carry a garbage sack with me when we walk to school so that i can pick up the stuff that they point out!

... so add that, be more conscious and carry a garbage sack when going for a walk!

seven rhymes with heaven

and in heaven there is music - all kinds ... good kinds of music. the angels sing (they sound like motab) and i'm certain there will be pianos, organs, and even bands (maybe we'll have a disco ball or two)!! music brings the spirit like nothing else ... it's also a release. this morning i used music to get thru to my daughters that were at each other's throats. i put them on the couch with their arms around each other - which made it worse and literal ... and then moved them to sit knee to knee in chairs and played songs like "we are a happy family" and "love is spoken here" and "jesus said love everyone ..."

we have also had flashlight dance parties! footloose is great for those!!

and ... music is great while cleaning!!

shoot - andy and i met at a dance - that says a LOT for musical influence in our lives!

goal #27 - use music ... play music ... have more music in our home.

10, 9, 8, ...

10. saturday was a good one! we played as a family ... it's been a long time since we really played. we spent the day as a family and we had a great time! so, goal #24 - play more as a family - i'll have to get andy on board with this one ... but it shouldn't take too much convincing!
9. sundays run so much smoother when i have clothes clean and set out for church ... goal #25 - have sunday clothes laid out and ready saturday night!!

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood today and we walked/rode bikes to school today!! i think i'm happier when the sun shines!
today is also monday ... family night. i've been a little lax in my preparation for FHE lately and i'm recommitting to family night - including all the essentials: opening prayer, song, lesson, activity, treat, and closing prayer. i actually have a chart ... just gotta use it! goal #26 - use FHE chart and plan!!

eleven days

goal #23 - get the junk out. i think i've said that before ... and tried to mean it then. but i'm getting older now ... i have to say what i mean and mean what i say. i think i may need some professional help (psychiatric as well as organizational)!!


ideas and help ...
1. peter walsh on oprah
2. peter walsh again
3. clean sweep tips and tricks - sign me up!!
4. fly lady - declutter 15 minutes a day!
5. who can pass up martha's tip of the day!?

say a little prayer for me ...

12

i signed the kids up to be a part of the birthday club at baskin robbins ... it's been 4 or 5 years now ... and they email me the coupon for a free scoop 2 or 3 days before the birthday and it's good for a week. i received elyssa's last thursday ... so it expires today. thursdays are usually reserved for eating dinner at the Shaw's (we've been doing that for ... ever) and tonight andy and i are headed to the temple ... making going to the ice cream store out of the question. i hate to miss out on free ice cream (even if i have to buy ice cream for everybody else)! SO ... i excused the girls from school and we went to Baskin Robbins and then i took them back. it was fun and yummy!!

goal #22 - do more fun stuff with my kids ... even though it's not always easy and/or convenient!

thirteen days

{isn't there a movie - kennedy ... cuba conflict ... never did see it ... hm - maybe i will}

today is tax day - are your taxes done? do you wait"until the last dog's hung and the rope's cut"? (to quote my dad) my problem is ... i see april 15 creeping up on me and i say to myself ... just get them done - take all your stuff and have the guy work his magic and just do it ... but i don't listen to myself and then april 13 stares me down and i make a panicked call to the tax man's office and the nice receptionist girl says, "we have several openings ... we also take walk-ins if you can't commit to a sprcific time ..." it's like she saw me comin' ...


my beef with tax day? i'm not organized. i pay my bills and leave them all in a stack (read: monster pile of papers) and then when tax time comes aroundi can't find all the papers i need ... or i can't find one month of papers and i have to guess what that amount was. and what is really annoying?! we are 1099 ... we don't have w-2s - so we get the 'important tax documents' in the mail mid-january ... why the heck don't we take care of our taxes in february!? it bothers me.


in short, goal #21 - get organized ... make a habit of filing the pile. and actually do it this year!

14 days - another magic day

... magic because today is the 14th and there are 14 days left {wink}

goal #20 - actually do my morning 'schedule'!!

i made these lists at the beginning of the year ... great idea huh!?

3x5=15 days ...

my little brother got his mission call on friday and waited to open it until the 50 people that he invited were assembled - on saturday. i was not able to wait that long ... and i didn't invite as many people to be at the 'opening' ... but listening to him read his call has me thinking of when i was a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and bearing my testimony on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. it was a humbling and challenging time in my life ... but, by far, the most spiritual.
goal # 19 - in conjunction with my 'preach my gospel' reading, scripture reading, daily prayer, religious picture posting and all the other goals that pertain to being a better Christian ... i am going to share my testimony with my family during family night ... and at every opportunity. i know that this will help my testimony to grow and teach my children at the same time!

by the way ... he's going to LasVegas West -

reporting to the MTC on June 10th.

sixteen

today is sunday again ... (i have 2 more before the big day ... ) and not only sunday but Easter Sunday - so today's goal needed to be a special one. i have been making a lot of goals related to my relationship with my Savior and Father in Heaven ... reading my scriptures more, praying daily, etc. i want my children to have a strong relationship with Them as well, i want them to know how important They are to me. we have a few 'religious' pictures up ... but i need to post more ... and talk about them ... teach about them ... so that when we have friends over and they ask, "who's that guy kneeling in the trees?" we can answer with a better answer than, "um that's just a picture from my church."



goal #18 - i will post meaningful pictures - and we will know how to share our testimonies when people ask about them.

today i'm thinking of my Savior and Friend

He lives!

and he loves us - all of us!

17 - the magic day ...

magic because there are 17 days left and i'm on goal #17 (doesn't take much to make things magic!)


today is also elyssa's birthday (o, but it was trav's first) which has me thinking about my kids ... {i gyped them all out of birthday parties this year ... and now it's back to elyssa again and i'm planning a big 'every birthday party'!!} but more importantly i'm thinking about how each one of them needs face time with me alone.


elyssa is my one right now that longs for it. she loves for me to touch her (play with her hair while we're sitting anywhere ... especially in church, tickle her back/arm/neck/anything, hug her, she leans on, sits right next to me - you name it) ... she just wants attention.


goal # 17 - give my full attention to each individual child for a solid hour at least once a week.

one.eight.

goal #16 - all this goal making and posting everyday has me thinkin' ... i need to journal better - write stuff down. my friend, lindsay, is a genius and when she was in town i chatted with her a little about her great idea and i wish i would have had that chat 10 years ago ... so that i could look back on my whole relationship with andy and the great things that have come of it!

here's to the next 10 and a million after that!

today marks 10 years since our first official date ...

we're in the teens now ... nineteen

'Wherever He Leads Me' by Greg Olsen

today is the first day of Passover - Passover Thursday as Elder Holland put it ... i'm thinking alot about the real meaning of Easter this year ... (since my 11th goal ...)


goal #15 - i will stand as a witness/companion/representative of Him ... which means: 'at all times, in all things and in all places' - do what He would do, say what He would say, be what He wants me to be. He made this great sacrifice for me ... this is the least i can do for Him.

only 20 days?!

goal #14 - i will take a 'timeout' when i need it ...

(today i'm a little stressed - but it will be over in a few hours!!

and everything will work out and be fine ... it's crunch time!)

21 - late

goal #13 - i just love it when someone compliments me for a job well done, and i find that my kids try to do better when i compliment them ... so that is my 13th goal - i will compliment people (my kids, especially), sincerely compliment someone - more than one person - everyday!

goal update: how's my progress, you ask?

ok ... so first i better list them (there are SO many now! what did i get myself into?)

1: exercise at least 5 times a week. Not so much … but I’ve done at least 3x a week … I’ll get there!
2: write down everything i'm putting in my mouth for the next 32 days. I did it for a week … then spent the weekend in front of the tv and ate a bunch of crap … I’ll do better.
3: drink.more.water. Got this one down!
4: i will read my scriptures daily ... even if it's just one verse. Doing really well at this one too!! Yay me!
5: early to-oo bed and early to-oo ri-ise … Um … This one is a tough one too … but I’m committed to do better!
6: daily meaningful prayers. Hmm … this one needs work too …
7: i will smile and laugh more. I’m doing better here but still working!
8: break my bad habit and start hanging more pictures. Need to send them to Costco and order the prints – I have the frames!!
9: "Come what may, and love it." It’s daily … work in progress!
10: sign more. Yes, signing more!
11: learn more about what i know, know what i know and share what i know. Workin’ on it!
12: read from the pages of "Preach My Gospel" daily. Starting today!!

two two

(not to be confused with 'tutu' - cuz i'm no ballerina!)

goal 12 - in an effort to accomplish goal #11 ... i will be reading from the pages of "Preach My Gospel" daily. i recently read the title page and first presidency's message to missionaries ... ahh, to be a missionary again ...
but it got me thinking - "every member a missionary", right?! so why can't i read that message as if it were written to me? and why can't i take all these 'missionary' lessons and teach my own little 'investigators' in my own household? and then 'share what i know' with my friends and neighbors!?!

so there you go ... if you don't have a copy - get one! they're only $6.00!! let's read it together!

twenty-three days

goal #11 - today is Palm Sunday ... today is also Conference Sunday ... today my goal is more of an inward commitment to think about my Savior on a more regular basis and allow the atonement to work in my life more fully. after spending the day at the feet of the prophet and apostles, i feel an urgency to learn more about what i know, to know what i know and to share what i know. i think i'll start by downloading conference on my zune and listening to it while i'm exercising and then read the conference ensign from cover to cover when it comes ... i think i'll even mark it up while i study it and internalize these last two days of great council.

24.

love is spoken here - in ASL!!

goal #10 (double digits, baby! an update on how i'm doing on all these many goals is in the works!) as some of you may know, we are a bilingual family - well ... most of us. our babies learned to sign to alleviate some frustration as well as communicate with their aunt Ann, who is deaf. it's great to be able to 'silently' communicate during sacrament meeting, across a crowded room, and through a window without shouting. andy is an interpeter and working to get certified and start interpreting for a living (along with his real estate appraising work). in an effort to be more fluent we are going to sign more at home. hopefully it will help the decibel level around our home as well.

twenty and five

goal #9 - become more like Elder Wirthlin's mother ... and "Come what may, and love it."
if you haven't read it - do, if you have - read it again! it's a good one!

two.six.

goal #8 - i have a terrible habit of taking pictures, (i even have a bunch of them taken by a professional - thanks mon!) and then they just sit on my computer ... never.get.printed. or hung until they are out of date!! i'm going to break that bad habit and start hanging more ... it will help me with yesterday's goal - i'll definitely smile more with stuff like this around!

no joke ... only 27 days to go.

happy april fool's day!!

with that in mind ... i think my 7th goal needs to be something fun/funny - i will smile and laugh more. instead of hollering at my kids, i will laugh with them - instead of spanking, i will tickle them into submission.

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle
Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. ~Bob Newhart
Seven days without laughter makes one weak. ~Mort Walker
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cumming

wish me luck ... or laugh at me ... we'll see if it works!!