Christmas is coming. Tomorrow is Dec 1st. I'm a rule follower. Somehow, I decided that the rule was that all moms had to make the month of December a magical wonderland for their children. (I decided this years ago while watching Sleepless in Seattle when Tom Hanks said his angelic wife did this).
This is my 6th Christmas as a mom. I'll say the one when the twins were 3 was great. I did Advent activities and I really got to teach them that Jesus' birth is the true meaning of Christmas. As a mom, it was one of my most treasured memories with them.
Last Christmas missed that wonderful mark. We did Advent activities, but I just didn't "feel as Christmasy" as I wanted to. Granted, we had moved in the summer before and I didn't really feel settled into our house yet. The decorations looked wrong. The boys misbehaved in the Christmas Eve service. Boy #2 insisted on eating the carrots we put on a plate for Rudolf beside Santa's cookies by the fireplace. In my mind, there were lots of ways lacking as the best Christmas ever.
The ironic thing is that on the way home from Church last Wednesday night, son #2 talked about everything we did last year and to him, it was absolutely magical. He wants to do it exactly the same this year. Really?
I succeeded in my crazy notion that to be a mom, I have to make Christmas a magical, special time. How ironic that I was kicking myself, thinking I had somehow failed as he waxed on about the greatness of Christmas.
Tonight my husband and I have a date night. We're going to talk through how we want Christmas to go for our family. In years past, I've been very structured with daily activities with the kids. This year, I've decided to put things I want to do in a file folder with materials nearby and if there's time, I have energy and I think we'll enjoy it, we'll do something. If not, we won't and I won't feel bad.
Advent is about preparing my heart of Jesus' coming. There's a peace, a joy and such beauty in that. The materialism of our culture robs those jewels and leaves in their place a busyness that leaves all of us feeling frustrated. There's this pervading feeling that we have to all be this superChristmasMom or else we've failed. Pintrest has only made this worse. I've decided to not get on Pintrest again until after the new year. It's my way to say, "Stop that Polar Express. I want to get off and sit at the station, pondering the miracle of this season." Easy to write, much bigger challenge to do.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
New #34
#34. Focus on the long range with my boys.
After some prayer this morning, I decided I need to quit getting so upset about the right now and spend more time thinking about down the road. With my boys, my marriage and me. I worry plenty, but I need to keep in mind what's worth making important now based on what's important in the long run.
Like sheep herding. We don't have a sheep dog yet (my husband's burning desire) and since we don't, I'm called upon to help him move sheep from one pasture to another. I've never herded sheep before and I can't say I'm super excited about it, but my boys aren't quite ready to do this yet. I'm sure they'll try to help, but I definitely have to be the one on point to make this happen.
Focusing on the short term I would primly wrinkle up my nose and tell my husband I don't want to do this. More realistically, I would do it but have a bad attitude. Focusing on the long term, I'm asking him for work boots for Christmas. I want to enjoy working beside him. I want this enterprise to be both of ours. In the long range, I want us to laugh about him teaching me to farm. I want the boys to remember Mom and Dad working together, hand in hand, to make the dream of farm into a reality.
After some prayer this morning, I decided I need to quit getting so upset about the right now and spend more time thinking about down the road. With my boys, my marriage and me. I worry plenty, but I need to keep in mind what's worth making important now based on what's important in the long run.
Like sheep herding. We don't have a sheep dog yet (my husband's burning desire) and since we don't, I'm called upon to help him move sheep from one pasture to another. I've never herded sheep before and I can't say I'm super excited about it, but my boys aren't quite ready to do this yet. I'm sure they'll try to help, but I definitely have to be the one on point to make this happen.
Focusing on the short term I would primly wrinkle up my nose and tell my husband I don't want to do this. More realistically, I would do it but have a bad attitude. Focusing on the long term, I'm asking him for work boots for Christmas. I want to enjoy working beside him. I want this enterprise to be both of ours. In the long range, I want us to laugh about him teaching me to farm. I want the boys to remember Mom and Dad working together, hand in hand, to make the dream of farm into a reality.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Looking over the 50 goals
Today I'm taking some time to look back over my list of 50 goals. I was thinking I would actually print them out and scrap book them, but I'm seeing that I need a bit more brain work first. Some of these goals just need to go.
The first to hit the chopping block is #34: Find an enchilada recipe that
my family loves. Why is that a goal? My husband loves Mexican food and I've learned to enjoy it, but it's not my absolute passion. My parents are anti-spicy food so as a kid I rarely ate Mexican food. Aaron is generally a great eater. No weird food stuff with him which is awesome. My boys are also amazingly good eaters. (I think the Lord knew that with 3 little boys so close together and all the noise, dirt and stink that goes with that, I just couldn't handle having picky eaters as well). Anyway. Even though Aaron is a rock star with eating anything I put in front of him, he's pretty picky about Mexican food, chili and other random things that come up out of no where from time to time.
If he wants Mexican food, there are plenty of excellent places in town to go get it. All will be happier with that.
I was so happy to be done with my list and now I have to find another #34. Hmmm...I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Legacy scrap book page
Admittedly, I call myself a "quick and dirty" scrapper. I sort the pictures, get them on the page, put on a few stickers and call it good. Not works of art, but enough. I especially do this for the events that are important to our family, but they don't really pull at the artistic part of my soul.
I'm getting to a point now that when there's something to scrap that does touch my soul, I want to spend more time on it and really savor it. This is a new place for me. It's neat. The page I posted above is a scrap book page that really stirs my soul.
A few months ago I wrote out a favorite memory of my grandma, thinking I would admit it into a short story competition. Not really a short story, but my fabulous friend Kathryn encouraged me to use it for a scrapbook page. Genius! My mom gathered up some pictures of me and grandma and even found a black and white photo of where the specific incident happened that the story addressed. Super cool.
Today, the little one is napping (rare but wonderful treat) and the big boys are happily building and playing demolition in the play room. I have some me time. I scrap booked this page and boy, do I feel wonderful. My grandma was one of my favorite people I've ever known and my heart aches for her. By doing this scrapbook page, I paid homage to her beautiful memory and I allowed myself to go down a road that is really special to me.
I get frustrated with Pinterest and trying to keep up with the cutsie stuff out there when my soul longs for deep, meaningful expression. I know scrap booking isn't that for many, but I love that I'm making it that for me. I love even more that I've developed a system where I can spend 15 minutes on it and in that time I can get out my stuff, do something really special and get the stuff back away.
THAT is cool in a house of 3 little boys who are just destructive. It's like living with a pack of bear cubs. This probably explains why my soul longs for expression. None of my pack speaks my language. But that's OK--by showing them my creations on paper, they can start to appreciate it. More than that, it's for me. I find I'm the sweetest mom, kindest wife and best self when I'm taking care of myself.
I guess the question of the day is, Why don't I make a point to do it more often?
The Pioneer Woman is my hero
The boys don't generally love cooking shows, but they really like The Pioneer Woman. So much so that we watch it together. They like the parts where she cooks, but they love seeing life on her ranch. She has 4 kids and a neat husband. They actually act out "Mrs Ree" outside sometimes. J pretends to be Josh, her youngest son, W is Lad, her husband, and D is just happy to be there. I think he's the dog sometimes.
At dinner, sometimes D will just decide he's Mrs Ree and he'll pretend like he's her--the host of a cooking show. Cute in theory, but he makes a mess of whatever's on his plate as he creates his recipe.
Yesterday we made monster cookies which we watched her make one day. I'm not a bake from scratch kind of girl. Just not. I was super motivated and tried to let the boys help me. I just don't have the patience for much of that.
I had them all sit at the table and they could help pour stuff into the stand mixer. They did OK. I actually let the big guys break eggs. J did surprising well. W tried, but when I told him to firmly bang it, boy did he. Egg flew all over the table. I have to brag on myself here--I didn't get mad at him. He did his best. We cleaned it up together and kept going. Soon after that I told them I would finish up from there and they got to watch Bob the Builder while I did.
The cookies were amazing! They were an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe with rice crispies. I threw in some chopped up butterfinger just because I had some from Halloween. Wow. These are my boys' responses:
W: 20 times scrumptious!
J: Crazy yummy delicious
D: Even better than cottage cheese and turnips
I plan to write Mrs Ree a note telling her the high praise her cookies received from my brood.
When I like even more about Mrs Ree is that her attitude is wonderful. She embraces her country life and thrives there. I'm working on that. We recently got 5 sheep (to sell for meat eventually) and 2 pigs (to prepare the soil for a garden and eventually our own table). I find myself complaining about the smell of the pigs (yuck), the grass burrs (really painful but somehow my boys aren't all that bothered by them) and the amount of time all this takes from my husband.
But he loves it. It's his dream. And my boys get to be a part of it. That's really, really cool.
I doubt the Food Network will ever give me a cooking show nor is that an aspiration of mine. However, I like the thought of being more like Mrs Ree, a beautiful woman that is at peace with where the Lord has her. She blesses her family and many others. That's just a cool thing.
At dinner, sometimes D will just decide he's Mrs Ree and he'll pretend like he's her--the host of a cooking show. Cute in theory, but he makes a mess of whatever's on his plate as he creates his recipe.
Yesterday we made monster cookies which we watched her make one day. I'm not a bake from scratch kind of girl. Just not. I was super motivated and tried to let the boys help me. I just don't have the patience for much of that.
I had them all sit at the table and they could help pour stuff into the stand mixer. They did OK. I actually let the big guys break eggs. J did surprising well. W tried, but when I told him to firmly bang it, boy did he. Egg flew all over the table. I have to brag on myself here--I didn't get mad at him. He did his best. We cleaned it up together and kept going. Soon after that I told them I would finish up from there and they got to watch Bob the Builder while I did.
The cookies were amazing! They were an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe with rice crispies. I threw in some chopped up butterfinger just because I had some from Halloween. Wow. These are my boys' responses:
W: 20 times scrumptious!
J: Crazy yummy delicious
D: Even better than cottage cheese and turnips
I plan to write Mrs Ree a note telling her the high praise her cookies received from my brood.
When I like even more about Mrs Ree is that her attitude is wonderful. She embraces her country life and thrives there. I'm working on that. We recently got 5 sheep (to sell for meat eventually) and 2 pigs (to prepare the soil for a garden and eventually our own table). I find myself complaining about the smell of the pigs (yuck), the grass burrs (really painful but somehow my boys aren't all that bothered by them) and the amount of time all this takes from my husband.
But he loves it. It's his dream. And my boys get to be a part of it. That's really, really cool.
I doubt the Food Network will ever give me a cooking show nor is that an aspiration of mine. However, I like the thought of being more like Mrs Ree, a beautiful woman that is at peace with where the Lord has her. She blesses her family and many others. That's just a cool thing.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Flat brain tango
When we moved about a year ago, my husband and I had an ugly moment. I will admit it--it was my fault. I didn't mean to upset him and I really did think I was helping, but in our 8 years of marriage it was probably the most upset he's been with me.
We were packing, me doing the lion's share of it while 3 young, very active boys were at home with me. Not a fun summer. Aaron posted on Craig's list that something was free for the taking. I think it was a broken lawn mower.
A guy came out to get it one afternoon while my husband was at work. I had no knowledge of the item and had to worry about my boys while this stranger was looking around our garage. He asked if it had a key. Who knew? Aaron wasn't answering his phone. (He was in a meeting and couldn't). The man also asked if a wagon was available for the taking. I called again. No answer.
The wise woman would have said, "No." Please only take the mower and have a nice day." Not me. I gave him the wagon. All I thought was how much stuff was in that garage, my boys were antsy, I wanted this man out of my garage and Aaron had a ton to pack. Giving the wagon seemed to be a favor. Wrong.
When Aaron realized what I had done, he was really mad. Aaron isn't a yeller. He's a quiet seether. Not fun. He found out what I had done at the dinner table in front of our boys. In hind sight, they got to see a great example of conflict resolution. I cried. He voiced his upset--he had huge plans for this wagon that he had actually told me about but I hadn't been listening when we told me. I offered to track down the wagon taker and drive to get it back but that wasn't acceptable. It irked me at the time that the wagon was a big enough deal to get really angry at me over but it wasn't a big enough deal to go retrieve.
Now I see that the bigger issue that was just waiting to blow up was my listening. I'm bad at it. Horrible. I'm a talker. I'll admit it--I plan what I'm going to say before the other person has even finished talking. My husband isn't at all chatty and he speaks slowly. (It's a west Texas thing, not a reflection of his intelligence). I'm a fast processor and I lived in Spain for a year. In Spain, the family I lived with interrupted each other constantly and spoke really loudly. I fit in just fine. But it left my Texas social skills a bit lacking.
When my dad, Aaron or son #2 choose to talk (which isn't super often since they're all pretty introverted) they tend to give verbal dissertations. I get bored pretty quick with many of the chosen topics of interest. Before I know it, my eyes glaze over, I zone out, nod and feign interest. Super cool.
Aaron was right to be upset. We clearly had an issue to address. So, he got on Amazon and got me a book: Why Don't We Listen Better? I like the "we" in the title. Being a good wife, I read it, taking notes diligently.
I got some great ways to grow from it. My faves:
*really listen. Repeat back what I hear to be sure I've gotten the true meaning of what was said. This really helps in heated conversations. It also helps friends who need to process through something without making judgements, offering unwanted advice or being dismissive. I'm finding it's also really helpful with my kids--they are challenged to find their own solutions and not rely on me to tell them what to do.
*Be more thoughtful of the speaker. Don't interrupt. Don't plan my come back.
*Keep in mind that normal conversation is like volleying a ball back and forth. I talk, you talk, I talk, you talk. This is helpful with Aaron.
*Use a number system. If Aaron and I are at an impass about something, we rate our feelings. Ex: it's takeout night. I want Chinese. He wants wings. I'm at 3 (with 10 being highest) and he's a 9. We get wings and it's easy for me to let it go.
The big thing I got from the book, though is the concept of the Flat Brain Tango. The author says that sometimes our brains just go "flat" when something huge is dropped on us and we haven't let it go yet. It's all we can talk about, think about and everything else around us is filtered through its lens.
After my twins were born, I was flat brained for a while. Their birth was very traumatic (which I've come to decide all births are) and even though 5 years later we have a happy ending and all is well, I had a lot of disappointment, anger, guilt and shame to work through. These really strong feelings would come out at odd times. I remember being in chick-fil-a with my then twin babies and a stranger asked how big they were at birth. The answer--1 lb 10 and 1 lb 11oz--would make me cry. In front of a stranger. And I would stay upset for a while.
I wisely saw a Christian counselor and we worked through these feelings and I was able to let them go and move on with my life. I still get flat brained over their birth from time to time, but I understand now to pray, journal, talk through it and release the emotions so I can "unflatten my brain" and be who I need to be again.
Some people (Aaron) rarely get flat-brained. I do easily. The tango is figuring out how to stay un-flat brained when something happens (often in conversation) and you find yourself in a tango with being flat-brained.
This term helps me and Aaron a lot. When I'm flat-brained, we call it. It helps removed some of the charge of the emotion. It also helps me start the process of figuring out what the root of it is. We have figured out that once we put a feeling word (lonely, sad, disappointed, mad) on what's going on, it's like the air comes out of the balloon. On a good day I can journal to figure out what's going on. I've also figured out that when I'm really flat-brained, I need to retell what the issue several times to truly get it out.
Did Aaron ever read this fantastic book? Nope. But listening comes relatively easily for him and now that I've found my "sea legs" in marriage there are times when I gently insist that he listen to something I need to say.
I'm finding that when I text I use the listening skills I learned. I can tell I'm becoming a better listener. Boy #1 is like me. Listening is not a strong suit. But I can show him how to develop it. I like to think his future wife will thank me.
I like knowing that there are ways I can grow and become a better person. Just as God's mercies are new every morning, so is our chance to take an honest look at ourselves and say "Hmmm...I sure could be better at that."
We were packing, me doing the lion's share of it while 3 young, very active boys were at home with me. Not a fun summer. Aaron posted on Craig's list that something was free for the taking. I think it was a broken lawn mower.
A guy came out to get it one afternoon while my husband was at work. I had no knowledge of the item and had to worry about my boys while this stranger was looking around our garage. He asked if it had a key. Who knew? Aaron wasn't answering his phone. (He was in a meeting and couldn't). The man also asked if a wagon was available for the taking. I called again. No answer.
The wise woman would have said, "No." Please only take the mower and have a nice day." Not me. I gave him the wagon. All I thought was how much stuff was in that garage, my boys were antsy, I wanted this man out of my garage and Aaron had a ton to pack. Giving the wagon seemed to be a favor. Wrong.
When Aaron realized what I had done, he was really mad. Aaron isn't a yeller. He's a quiet seether. Not fun. He found out what I had done at the dinner table in front of our boys. In hind sight, they got to see a great example of conflict resolution. I cried. He voiced his upset--he had huge plans for this wagon that he had actually told me about but I hadn't been listening when we told me. I offered to track down the wagon taker and drive to get it back but that wasn't acceptable. It irked me at the time that the wagon was a big enough deal to get really angry at me over but it wasn't a big enough deal to go retrieve.
Now I see that the bigger issue that was just waiting to blow up was my listening. I'm bad at it. Horrible. I'm a talker. I'll admit it--I plan what I'm going to say before the other person has even finished talking. My husband isn't at all chatty and he speaks slowly. (It's a west Texas thing, not a reflection of his intelligence). I'm a fast processor and I lived in Spain for a year. In Spain, the family I lived with interrupted each other constantly and spoke really loudly. I fit in just fine. But it left my Texas social skills a bit lacking.
When my dad, Aaron or son #2 choose to talk (which isn't super often since they're all pretty introverted) they tend to give verbal dissertations. I get bored pretty quick with many of the chosen topics of interest. Before I know it, my eyes glaze over, I zone out, nod and feign interest. Super cool.
Aaron was right to be upset. We clearly had an issue to address. So, he got on Amazon and got me a book: Why Don't We Listen Better? I like the "we" in the title. Being a good wife, I read it, taking notes diligently.
I got some great ways to grow from it. My faves:
*really listen. Repeat back what I hear to be sure I've gotten the true meaning of what was said. This really helps in heated conversations. It also helps friends who need to process through something without making judgements, offering unwanted advice or being dismissive. I'm finding it's also really helpful with my kids--they are challenged to find their own solutions and not rely on me to tell them what to do.
*Be more thoughtful of the speaker. Don't interrupt. Don't plan my come back.
*Keep in mind that normal conversation is like volleying a ball back and forth. I talk, you talk, I talk, you talk. This is helpful with Aaron.
*Use a number system. If Aaron and I are at an impass about something, we rate our feelings. Ex: it's takeout night. I want Chinese. He wants wings. I'm at 3 (with 10 being highest) and he's a 9. We get wings and it's easy for me to let it go.
The big thing I got from the book, though is the concept of the Flat Brain Tango. The author says that sometimes our brains just go "flat" when something huge is dropped on us and we haven't let it go yet. It's all we can talk about, think about and everything else around us is filtered through its lens.
After my twins were born, I was flat brained for a while. Their birth was very traumatic (which I've come to decide all births are) and even though 5 years later we have a happy ending and all is well, I had a lot of disappointment, anger, guilt and shame to work through. These really strong feelings would come out at odd times. I remember being in chick-fil-a with my then twin babies and a stranger asked how big they were at birth. The answer--1 lb 10 and 1 lb 11oz--would make me cry. In front of a stranger. And I would stay upset for a while.
I wisely saw a Christian counselor and we worked through these feelings and I was able to let them go and move on with my life. I still get flat brained over their birth from time to time, but I understand now to pray, journal, talk through it and release the emotions so I can "unflatten my brain" and be who I need to be again.
Some people (Aaron) rarely get flat-brained. I do easily. The tango is figuring out how to stay un-flat brained when something happens (often in conversation) and you find yourself in a tango with being flat-brained.
This term helps me and Aaron a lot. When I'm flat-brained, we call it. It helps removed some of the charge of the emotion. It also helps me start the process of figuring out what the root of it is. We have figured out that once we put a feeling word (lonely, sad, disappointed, mad) on what's going on, it's like the air comes out of the balloon. On a good day I can journal to figure out what's going on. I've also figured out that when I'm really flat-brained, I need to retell what the issue several times to truly get it out.
Did Aaron ever read this fantastic book? Nope. But listening comes relatively easily for him and now that I've found my "sea legs" in marriage there are times when I gently insist that he listen to something I need to say.
I'm finding that when I text I use the listening skills I learned. I can tell I'm becoming a better listener. Boy #1 is like me. Listening is not a strong suit. But I can show him how to develop it. I like to think his future wife will thank me.
I like knowing that there are ways I can grow and become a better person. Just as God's mercies are new every morning, so is our chance to take an honest look at ourselves and say "Hmmm...I sure could be better at that."
Numbers 49 and 50
I started thinking of goals back in August and here we are in November and I can finally finish it off. Hooray!
49. Hem up pants in a timely manner. (Not a task I enjoy doing, but my boys are skinny and their pants just need to be hemmed up. I tend to put it off because I don't like it but it needs to be done).
50. Smile at the future. (This is from my favorite bible verse: Proverbs 31:24. She is clothed in dignity; she can smile at the future. I tend to worry and fret. I shouldn't. I should let go and trust God with today as well as the future).
49. Hem up pants in a timely manner. (Not a task I enjoy doing, but my boys are skinny and their pants just need to be hemmed up. I tend to put it off because I don't like it but it needs to be done).
50. Smile at the future. (This is from my favorite bible verse: Proverbs 31:24. She is clothed in dignity; she can smile at the future. I tend to worry and fret. I shouldn't. I should let go and trust God with today as well as the future).
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thanks for nothing, Starbucks
I'm starting to see that marketing has way too much power over me. And I want it to stop. Just as my goal is that my boys' behavior doesn't dictation my mood, I don't want some marketer to dictate my emotions.
I have this weird expectation that each season should feel a certain way. This is most noticable at Christmas. Every year we've been married I've been disappointed after Christmas because it just didn't "feel right." This always confused my husband. What was it supposed to feel like? How did it miss? I couldn't even say how, but it just did. Silly.
I noticed this year that I expected fall to feel a certain way. Why? I wasn't sure. Now I do. I bought into some savvy marketing from Starbucks. If I didn't have a pumpkin spice latte in my hand, fall just couldn't be fantastic. So I bought pumpkin spice coffee for my coffee maker, sure that would do the trick. Didn't.
Now I'm seeing the error of my ways. Aaron has the right idea--enjoy the day. Don't expect certain feelings to be there. Just live the life God calls you to.
How freeing. Wish I could live on a desert island so I don't have to be bombarded with all the marketing around me. Oh well. Such is life.
I have this weird expectation that each season should feel a certain way. This is most noticable at Christmas. Every year we've been married I've been disappointed after Christmas because it just didn't "feel right." This always confused my husband. What was it supposed to feel like? How did it miss? I couldn't even say how, but it just did. Silly.
I noticed this year that I expected fall to feel a certain way. Why? I wasn't sure. Now I do. I bought into some savvy marketing from Starbucks. If I didn't have a pumpkin spice latte in my hand, fall just couldn't be fantastic. So I bought pumpkin spice coffee for my coffee maker, sure that would do the trick. Didn't.
Now I'm seeing the error of my ways. Aaron has the right idea--enjoy the day. Don't expect certain feelings to be there. Just live the life God calls you to.
How freeing. Wish I could live on a desert island so I don't have to be bombarded with all the marketing around me. Oh well. Such is life.
More goals to add
This morning I was awakened to the howling of coyotes at 2:30. Really. Yep, living the farming dream. Coyotes make an eerie sound. I couldn't really go back to sleep after that and I thought of lots of great goals. I'm almost at 50.
37. Be physically active
38. Stay in contact with friends
39. Not allow my boys' choices to affect my attitude
40. Get certified to teach Spanish. (As of now, I have bilingual certification to teach Pre-K through 4th grade, but I want to broaden my horizons to be able to teach Spanish classes in middle or high school).
41. Be joyful in giving
42. Enjoy agriculture
43. Wake up with a peaceful attitude
44. Know my burning "yes" so my lukewarm interests don't take up all my time and attention
45. Greet my family with a smile in the morning
46. Let go of the plastic pearls so I'll be ready for the real ones (figuratively)
47. Live where righteousness and bliss meet
48. Be a blessing and be blessed as I serve on church committees
Today is MDO and I'm going to celebrate being so close to 50 by doing some "me" shopping at Michael's. I love scrapbooking and it's time for our new year book. I start a new book each September with the boys' birthdays. The front page is going to have all 50 goals on a fabulous Eiffel Tower paper that I found a while back.
Now that I think of it, 50 goals will probably take 2 pages. I should get a few more pages for that. I'm funny--I scrapbook for me, but I get all boyish stuff. I'm not super froo froo but I'm finally getting to a place where if I see a paper that I just really love I get it. Something--at least my hobby--should be about me.
Am I the only one who thinks of everyone around her and then doesn't take care of herself?
37. Be physically active
38. Stay in contact with friends
39. Not allow my boys' choices to affect my attitude
40. Get certified to teach Spanish. (As of now, I have bilingual certification to teach Pre-K through 4th grade, but I want to broaden my horizons to be able to teach Spanish classes in middle or high school).
41. Be joyful in giving
42. Enjoy agriculture
43. Wake up with a peaceful attitude
44. Know my burning "yes" so my lukewarm interests don't take up all my time and attention
45. Greet my family with a smile in the morning
46. Let go of the plastic pearls so I'll be ready for the real ones (figuratively)
47. Live where righteousness and bliss meet
48. Be a blessing and be blessed as I serve on church committees
Today is MDO and I'm going to celebrate being so close to 50 by doing some "me" shopping at Michael's. I love scrapbooking and it's time for our new year book. I start a new book each September with the boys' birthdays. The front page is going to have all 50 goals on a fabulous Eiffel Tower paper that I found a while back.
Now that I think of it, 50 goals will probably take 2 pages. I should get a few more pages for that. I'm funny--I scrapbook for me, but I get all boyish stuff. I'm not super froo froo but I'm finally getting to a place where if I see a paper that I just really love I get it. Something--at least my hobby--should be about me.
Am I the only one who thinks of everyone around her and then doesn't take care of herself?
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