A Trip to Walmart

I try hard not to make extra shopping trips. But sometimes we run out of things. And sometimes kids tell me that they need items for school BY TOMORROW. And when that happens, sometimes I have to make an extra trip to Walmart.

Tonight was one of those nights and I had to make a trip to Walmart for the following items:

• butter
• eggs
• black duct tape
• 3x5 notecards

And that is sometimes how things go.

Focus: Learning

One of my focus words for this year is "learning". I'm taking a holistic approach to learning. This means I am learning in many different areas.

Intellectual: I'm currently reading a fascinating book titled Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World. It is about the central bankers of the US, England, France, and Germany who were in charge of their respective countries' central banks in the years between WWI and the Great Depression. The similarities between that time and 2008-present are quite eery--out-of-control spending, lending, inflated values of commodities, etc. For the most part the book is an easy read in not being over technical, but I do wish that I remembered more of my Econ 101 that I took my freshman year at BYU. Ah, but that leads into another learning opportunity.

Physical: For the most part I do a pretty good job at taking care of my physical body. But this year I am going to be more intentional in my eating, trying harder to incorporate more veggies into my diet. For some reason, eating my veggies seems to be a difficult thing for me. I am also trying restorative yoga...again. I don't like yoga. It hurts and I can never "stay in the moment" and "use my breath" the right way. But restorative is a little less intense and focuses more on stretching. It still hurts. My hamstrings are so tight! But I'm going to do my best to stick with it and maybe even learn to like it.

Hobbies: I'm branching out here. Most of my hobbies revolve around either reading or physical exercise. But Dave gave me a fancy digital-SLR camera for Christmas and I need to learn how to use it so it's not just some fancy point and shoot. I've signed up for a "camera basics" class through the Parks and Rec Dept. I'm going to be taking it with a friend who also got a fancy, schmancy camera for Christmas.

Professional: Probably the one area where I really should set some learning goals. The closest I am going to get here is learning about contract negotiations. I am an at-large board member representing Special Services on our local education association. This year our contract is up for negotiation. I've never been involved in a contract negotiation so there will be a steep learning curve for this process. But I am determined to learn, to be thoughtful, and to speak up even if I am in the minority.

Spiritual: I will continue to focus on learning more about following God's plan for me and being a leader (what does that even mean?) I will continue to study about grace and seek to understand that principle better. I also want to learn more about other denominations, not to see if I'm missing something in mine, but so that I can learn the best way to stand with them as we defend Christianity in the last days.

I am hopeful that this will be a fulfilling year and I won't get to next December and feel like I wasted another year.

How Do You Spell Relief?

I spell "relief"....

BYU-I

Katelyn told me this morning that she found out last night that she was accepted to BYU-I.

They notify everyone via e-mail these days, which I think is a rip-off.

Because there is no letter to rip open with trembling hands.

Stupid.

Anyway, she's in and we are excited for her.

She doesn't know which track she is in yet. She has to fill out another survey.

But now I can stop worrying about what college she will be at next year.

Katelyn was never worried so I don't know how she spells relief.

Good job, Kate. You are

Awesome.

I Don't Want to Jinx Anything, but I Think I Found a Cure

I have had chapped lips for as long as I can remember. I mean horribly flakey chapped lips. I think I have tried almost every possible chapstick or lip-balm remedy there is. Nothing works for very long and before you know it, I'm again chewing off flakes of skin.

Most of the time the chapped lips are just a nuisance, but sometimes they do cause me to be a little self-conscious. Like the time an elementary student looked at me with utter disgust and horror and said "Your lips are ugly. They are really chapped." Ah, you gotta love kids and their honesty. Or when a last month when I was trying to show the dermatologist a spot on my lip that I was concerned about because it was discolored & he couldn't identify the area because me lips were so chapped.

But the conversation with the dermatologist was an enlightening one. He asked about how long my lips had been chapped. I told him literally for as long as I can remember. He said that it appeared that the chapping was due to something come in contact with me lips. There are only two things that have routinely come into contact with my lips for as long as I can remember...milk and toothpaste.

I have had enough food allergy tests done to know that I am not allergic to milk. Then I started thinking about toothpaste and when my lips seem the most chapped. They are most chapped every time I brush my teeth. So then I thought that maybe I'm allergic to some of the ingredients in toothpaste. I hoped that by changing to a "natural" toothpaste this would cure my chapped lips. But it didn't.

Finally I thought about times when the dentist has put vaseline on my lips before my flouride treatments and times when he doesn't. Vaseline on lips before flouride = no chapped lips; no vaseline = chapped lips.

LIGHTBULB!

Vaseline on lips before brushing my teeth!

I've been doing this for about a week and there is a marked improvement in the state of my lips...no more flakey skin. What a remarkable thing this might be if this turns out to be the cure for my chapped lips. I just can't believe it took me 40 years to find the answer.

I Miss Kate

No I'm not talking about crazy Kate of Kate Plus 8. I'm talking about my Kate. My super sweet, incredibly faith-filled, an absolute joy to be around Katelyn.

Last night she was at work and the rest of us were watching American Idol together. I thought about how much Katelyn would have enjoyed watching that with us. She's worked a lot already this week so we haven't seen much of her. And last night I realized that I missed her.

This letting kids grow up and encouraging them to be responsible, independent young adults is sometimes tough stuff. It's even a little tougher when you realize that, as a parent, you've done a half-way decent job at helping her become responsible, independent young adult and now that she is acting on those teachings you really just want her to be 4 again so you can hold her chubby little hand and listen to all of her millions of stories.

Great, now I've just made myself cry.

Ok, tears are dried and I can write again. Like I was saying, I'm glad that Katelyn is becoming more responsible (for the most part, just don't ask about college applications. At least she has in 3) and she definitely has self-confidence; but sometimes I feel like we are missing too much time with her.

But I'm super grateful for the times she is at home. I love you Kate.

A New Blog Post

I don't know what it is about school breaks and me, but it seems like after being on a school break I lose all momentum for blogging. I think it is pretty pathetic that it is the 14th of January and I only have one other blog post for January.

Last night was an awesome family night. We went to Red Robin for dinner where I got to enjoy a delicious cheeseburger on a BUN! Yay for Red Robin adding Udi's hamburger buns as an option for those diners who are on a gluten-free diet. I enjoyed every last bite of that cheeseburger. Did you read that, Dad? I ate the whole thing! But my enjoyment of the cheeseburger wasn't the only thing that made last night awesome. Last night was awesome because everyone was in a good mood. We laughed and joked. We reminisced. We just really enjoyed each others company. It's weird to think that next year it will just be 3 of us at home for most of the year.

I'm speaking tomorrow in Sacrament meeting. It's the "farewell" for one of the young men in our ward. He will be leaving for his mission in Brazil this next week. I feel a little weird about speaking tomorrow only because I'm of the opinion that people who are close to the soon-to-be missionary should be the ones speaking and I don't fall into that catagory. But no one asked for my opinion and any way, that's not how the Church does things any more.

I'm watching the Broncos get decimated by the Patriots. The Elders Quorum in our ward are having an informal get-together to watch this game. Dave and I didn't go. We didn't go mostly because Dave can't take me out in public to watch football games, particularly if is the Broncos. I yell way too much and talk back to the TV.

And with two blog posts under my belt for the month of January, I will now try to get back in the swing of things and get more blog posts done.

We Could Be a Comic Strip

My conversation with Dave last night as we were preparing for bed would make a great comic strip.

First frame: Me, brushing my teeth and looking in the mirror, realizes something horrifying..."I'm getting an old lady neck."

Next frame: Dave, brushing his teeth and looking in the mirror, begins to chuckle and rummage around in the vanity drawer.

Third frame: Me, finished with teeth brushing and now extending and stretching my neck..."I'm too young for an old-lady neck."

Final frame: Dave, finished with his teeth brushing and now with tweezers in hand, "Do you want to know why I laughed? Because as you were saying you had an old-lady neck, I was noticing another gray hair and wondering where the tweezers were so I could pull it."


We both had quite a chuckle at our conversation and predicaments.

Dave's final comment? "Please don't put this on the blog!"

But really folks, how could I not? It's just too good. Maybe I should send it to the illustrator/creator of the Pickles comic strip.

Hope you enjoyed a laugh or two.