A Simple Woman's Daybook~April 26, 2013

Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember

the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  

That is what this daybook is all about.

Focusing on the little things that become my life.

One entry at a time.

Just for today~Friday, April 26, 2013

 

Outside my window...It is 9:00 am and still chilly but bright and sunny with a nice breeze.  In fact as I sit here gazing out the big window by my desk there is a tree "snowing" little white blossoms all over the place.  Pretty.  We are solidly in spring with summer jumping in every once in awhile over here.  Sunday was in the 90s and today will probably be in the 70s.  I am trying to figure out east coast weather right now.  Watching the temps and it is clear that it is still cold up north while the south is climbing into the high 70s and low 80s the last little while.  It should be very pleasant!  Layering is the only way to go on this trip.  In fact that is how I always dress so it shouldn't be too bad packing.

I am thankful for...family, friends, good neighbors, house sitters, gardening volunteers, etc. and neighborhood watch.  It makes leaving for awhile work out just fine.  Love all you guys!

From the learning room...affirmations all the time about how sweet life is even when there are problems all around us.  One day at a time and with the help of God we live, we grow, we learn, and we manage.  One way I cope with the craziness is I just avoid learning every sordid detail of the news.  Honestly!  You don't want to be uninformed  but I can get by very nicely without looking a gory pictures from bomb sites as an example.

I am reading...New materials online and the updated User Guide for FamilySearch/Family Tree.  A recent update to the website of major proportions again, has sent us on another tour of the monopoly board.  You know what I mean...pass go and do not collect $200.00!  In other words, just when you think you have it, you feel like there is yet another do-over.  But that is the nature of a living, vibrant discipline.  You have to keep learning and that's one of things that most appeals to me.  And what you have previously learned serves you well as a foundation for the new and improved.  

I like to think of it as the difference between the static encyclopedia and the vibrant Wikipedia.  The ability to make these changes useful and up to date is what keeps the boredom at bay.  It also almost always improves the accuracy of your work and the functionality of the website. 

I just read one hundred comments by people regarding the changes and wanting it to be all perfect...yesterday.   That somehow seems incongruous to a bunch of people that think nothing of spending years looking for one person on the old dusty microfilms.  We are all more impatience than we use to be.    We have become a society of instant gratification seekers.  We often apply that characteristic to the youth, but alas, it is all of us.  We seem to have a cultural lag here somewhere.  The resistance to change is real and painful but it is good for us.  I actually think I love it.  Sorry for the lengthy response to this one.  You are a true friend if you are still here!  
 

From the kitchen...not much going on there but we are surviving nicely.  Jim made us a great lunch today while I was out getting errands done.  What a nice thing to come home to when you are tired and hungry.
 

I am missing...Downton Abbey, and Lark Rise to Candleford.  Just some good and wholesome down time to just relax is the translation for that I think.  And another thing...time to write.  Hopefully  there will be time for that on our vacation.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...my thoughts have been on how being reliant on the Lord all the time is so much a part of how we do day to day living and how grateful I am for that.  It is that one constant that never changes, the one place we can go for peace and rest and unconditional love that is so strengthening.  Whether it is a great day, a hard day or something in between, knowing He is with us makes all the difference.

I am hearing...the sounds of the end of the day.  People are driving past our house on the way home from work, kids playing next door, the frogs are starting their backyard concert and there are some wild turkeys outside gobbling away.  There is classical music playing in the kitchen and I am just absorbing all that into my thoughts as I type away.  There is an excitement in the air that it is the weekend which I find kind of interesting since it is not much different than other days now that we are not out in the workforce.  Still it remains magical.

One of my guilty pleasures...taking time out to get away with Jim and just be together uninterrupted.  A rare pleasure that I am looking forward to on our vacation.  

Pet Peeves...graphic displays of other people pain and suffering as was the case after the bombing in Boston.  I refused to look at the pictures as I shared above.  What a huge invasion of people's privacy to witness them in such pain.  I wonder about the media and those that are so blood thirsty.  I do not want to become desensitized to that through the media's indiscretion and crassness.

I am going...to have a Harry Potter movie night with Jim which means I will be working/playing on my iPad while eating popcorn.  His night to choose.  I am good with that, he lets me choose most of the time.  So Pinterest here I come.  Woohoo!

I am quoting...Thomas S. Monson

"As we face the temptations of time, the confusion of choice, the embarrassment of error, the pursuit of perfection, our Heavenly Father is there to listen, to love, to inspire. Our Father, to whom we earnestly pray, is not an ethereal substance or a mysterious and incomprehensible being. Rather, He has eyes with which to view our actions, lips with which to speak to us, ears to hear our pleas, and a heart to understand our love.  ("A Quest for Eternal Life," BYU-Hawaii Jubilee Celebration, October 21, 2005)

If I could change one thing it would be...it is so hard to pick just one, but I'll say that there was more trust in the world between people.  Honesty, trust, goodwill.  Less suspicion, less being out for personal gain at all costs, etc.  I will paraphrase the words of Gordon B. Hinckley...Be kind, it would cure so much of what ails this world. 

  

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...The Love Letter with Jennifer Jason Leigh.  It is an old Hallmark movie directed by Dan Curtis who is one of our favorite directors. There have been other movies out with this title so if you decide to watch it be sure it is this one.  It has romance, intrigue, sweetness and a little fantasy thrown in.  I think you would love it too.

I am curious about...what tomorrow will bring.  Are you?  Life is truly an adventure.

Plans for the rest of the week...Well let's just say there may be some tangible, southern charm surrounding us in the near future.

One of my favorite things...hope.

Some things that made me so happy this week...We hosted a wedding reception here for our dear friend's son and his new wife, enjoyed a quiet lunch with two beautiful ladies when it seemed like time stood still for an hour or so, finishing the last of my 10 presentations that have been ongoing for four months during which time I changed the PowerPoint four times, and got a thoughtful note from a  treasured friend.  And my sweet friend, Carol, became a grandma again after what seemed like a long wait for labor to begin.  She is such a gem, I do love you, Carol!  It was a great week.


The most surprising thing this week...discovering we are leaving one day later than I thought we were.  I am actually a little ahead of schedule, thus I had time to do this Daybook.

Some photos I am sharing this week... 

Alex and Shauna Leal had their wedding 

reception in our backyard a week ago tonight. 



We cranked up the waterfall for the first time this year.  
It is always fun and exciting like lighting the Christmas
 tree for the first time each year.

The youngest guest, Alex's nephew, John

This is towards the end of the reception. 

 At the high point we had over 100 people here

It was so neat to be able to be a part of  this for our good friends.  We have known and loved Alex since he was born.  Many hands worked hard to get this all together for them.  It is a thing we do in our church and is so much fun!  I didn't have lots of time for picture taking but the yard was so pretty with the dozens of beautiful flower pots designed and planted by Michelle Simpson's Creations.  This is my friend that beautifies the world one flower at a time.  Here are a few of the pots all gathered together on the table while she was working on them a couple of days before.  

Our yard is pretty much a sea of green

 so the color has been so beautiful!

They had two heaters out but 

It truly was like a summer's night.

There could not have been better weather for April 19th!

Everything was in your favor, Alex and Shauna!

May it ever be so!

          Until we all return...happy day to you!

❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon

Working For The Love Of It

An LDS Chapel

Google image

Today for church I was finishing my last two Ward Conference presentations on Family History in a building I do not normally attend.  Our block of meetings each Sunday for each ward lasts 3 hours.  I went to the first block of meetings and did my presentation.  Then I returned home for awhile and came back to church when it was nearly time for my second presentation.    The Church service was still in session for the meeting right before my part in the next ward.  So I quietly slipped in to the last row and sat down next to this young woman.

She was very sweet and noticing she didn't recognize me,  she introduced herself to me when the meeting ended.  I explained to her why I was there and we chatted for a brief moment.  As she stood to leave she said, " I am sorry to miss your presentation but, I get to go and work in the nursery now. "I thought her response was unusual and delightful.  She didn't have to go to the nursery, or need to go to the nursery...She got to go to the nursery.  She either had a natural desire to go be with the babies and work, or had cultivated it, but she was definitely happy to be going to the nursery.

It has been said that if you love what you do it will not seem like work to you.  Sometimes that love comes naturally, you just seem to have a passion for a particular thing and do it for the sheer enjoyment of it.  Other times that love must be cultivated.  I think a lot of people fall into the second category on most things.

How do you feel about the work you get to do?

One thing we can do is to change our paradigm of the meaning of work in our lives.  Work need not be drudgery or unfulfilling.  When we recognize that work is essential to our livelihood and well-being as productive members of society it makes a difference in how we view it.  It adds a richness and sense of accomplishment and meaning to our days when we find a purpose in what we do.

Sometimes we have a problem with maturing beyond the feelings we had as children when asked to do our daily chores because we'd just rather be doing something else.  When we have that feeling of being forced to do something, the natural resistance of that creates quite a drag on our ability to do hard things.  We can also have that resistant attitude when someone else suggests we should be doing something.  We may also be well-intended, but procrastination paralyzes our movements forward.

Often times a task seems overwhelming and undoable just from a fearful point of view.  There is not enough time, I cannot master the skills needed, it is just too much to ask of me when I have X, Y, and Z all pulling me in different directions. We are afraid to try for fear of failure.  We forget that an arrow rarely hits a bull's eye on the first try.  Often what is needed is a call to action within ourselves.  Being self-motivated creates the best environment for cultivating a love for the work we are called to do, no matter what it is.

I have a problem with this when I feel over-extended. The more pressure I feel I have, the less I  enjoy work.  So I really have to pace myself and not let it get to the boiling point.  I think this comes from years of burning the wick on both ends of the candle."

A wise doctor I once worked for said, "You manage the daily patient schedule,  or it manages you!"  Such true words.    Retirement from  the work-a-day world has taught me that my time is valuable and I need to be wise when I schedule my days.  Perhaps it is not just retirement but a sense of maturity that comes as one gets older and hopefully wiser.  I have learned to trade something good for something better sometimes.  In creating that balance I am truly able to love the work I choose and get to do.

We all have a work to do.  I am going to concentrate and make an effort to say what I get to do and not what I have to do, when I am speaking about my life and specifically about work.  Our words shape our thinking and every time we say I HAVE To Do Something, that little kid inside of us puts the skids on it.  At my age I should be able to outsmart that little Bonnie inside of me.  I am going to give it a go!

She may have a hard time listening to me the little Brat...Darling

but Hey,

 I am bigger than she is!

I HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU GET TO DO TODAY!

I Was A Child Bride.....Happy Birthday Jen!

Here is our 41 year old daughter to prove it!  What a delight you have been, Jen!  You have kept us on our toes, happy, laughing and being amazed for all these years.  You are such a wonderful person, so giving and generous with everyone and so especially good to our family.  We love you with all of our hearts and respect the amazing job you do at everything you attempt.  Here is our favorite so far of your many, many good deeds and accomplishments!  Happy Birthday, Beanie!

Piper

Julia Mae

Chloe Jane

Hazie with Piper

And about here they are all saying...enough already, Grampa!

It was a Happy Easter Morning!

It's Spring, a New Day and a New Life!

Spring in Full Bloom!

Yesterday I saw this beautiful wisteria vine and decided it was worth a moment for a photo.  It reminded me of so many lovely things.  The fragrance of my childhood, the color my mom loved best and new beginnings.  It was the theme color for a baby shower for our nephew and his wife just weeks ago. Such a beautiful and royal color.  Strong and yet feminine too.  A perfect blend of blue and red.

I cannot remember the last time I smelled wisteria blossoms.  Can you?  I love this stage in my life.  I love that I realize more than ever the importance of slowing down and paying attention to the little things.  It is in the little things that we know we are bound to the ages.  They are the things that remain constant in our ever-changing world.  I love the little things that seal us to a happy life and always have.  The things that bring more than happiness; the simple, the familiar, the joyful.  And the big things, the really big things like a new baby!

Last night we learned that as I was stopping to smell the wisteria a little tiny girl was born.  She is our great-niece, the first child for one of our two nephews.  Now that is joy.  A new baby, the smell of her sweet, new skin and the warmth of that little one so fresh and new.  I think Spring is the ideal time to have a baby.  They get the whole summer and fall to get strong and thrive and stay healthy before the next winter comes along.  My brother, Steve, and his wife, Emily, are grandparents again.  This is #3 for them and the first little person with our surname born in nearly 3 decades.  My Dad and Mom are beaming from heaven today.

So welcome Miss Quinn Kylie to our family.  We love you so already.  Babies have a way of wiggling their way right into your heart right away, the instant they come.  Unconditional love..I love that, don't you?

                 

Our family history records are already updated. 

 We are so happy you are here, safe and sound 

and pray we might get to know you well.

Congratulations to Nick and Mara!  We love you!

This is even sweeter and more beautiful 
than the sight and fragrance 

of all these wisteria blossoms!

Happy New Beginnings!

A Simple Woman's Daybook~April 10, 2013

Our lives pass swiftly by! I want to do something to remember

the everyday moments and my thoughts about them.  

That is what this daybook is all about.

Focusing on the little things that become my life.

One entry at a time.

Just for today~Wednesday, April 10, 2013

 

Outside my window...It is a glorious Spring day!  The leaves on all the trees that have been dormant for the winter are all fresh and new and such a pretty light green.  There is rebirth and renewal going on out my window today.   It is 8:45 am and I am on my way to being ready for the day.  It has been a pretty busy ten days or so and today I am feeling less pressure and have a little more discretionary time on my hands at last.  There is plenty to do but at least I am not racing the clock.  It is supposed to be 84 degrees here today but I'll believe it when I see it.

I am thankful for...the thing I am always thankful in the morning~a fresh perspective, renewed faith and hope and a clean slate.  As the day goes on things press in on us but in the morning...new energy, new enthusiasm and faith in the prospects of a great day.  As I have gotten older I appreciate this more and more.  Perhaps that is because I get tired easier as the day goes on and have more aches and pains which can be discouraging and frustrating.  But in the morning...the world is my oyster.  So it is morning and spring and what's not to love?
 

From the learning room...keeping your mind active is a real plus.  Learning has become more important to me than ever.  I just cannot express how much I love it.  I think the teaching of family history and genealogy is just perfect for me at this stage in my life.  I love being able to do something worthwhile and rewarding and to also be a contributing member of society.  I have a heart full of gratitude that inspires me to want to give back to life and be an asset to others if I possibly can be.  There is joy in doing it with no thought of financial compensation  When that "have to" mentality is gone from the equation something in your heart changes for the better. When no one is able to put a price on what you do and your time, it becomes priceless.

I am reading...online.  Lots of great things pertaining to our vacation coming up to the east coast and to Charleston and Savannah.  Lots about the Colonies and The Mayflower.  Lots of other interesting things.  Always uplifting spiritual things as well.

From the kitchen...All stocked up for the week, lots in the freezer as options for dinners this week and a broken outdoor grill/bbq.  Why does that always happen when you least expect it?  I guess I will be looking for a new one soon.  But no where close to Father's Day as the prices will be skyrocketing around then. We are having a wedding reception here on the 19th so I do have some deep cleaning to do in my kitchen drawers.  Holy cow how do they get so messy all the time?  Ohhhh, maybe two people putting things away...just sayin...not that I do not love the help because I do!

I am missing...All the friends I rarely see or hear from and of course always the kids and grandkids.  Jen and her girls drove home on Sunday.  Our daughter is my hero.  Honestly eleven and a half hours with four girls in the car as well.  She is amazing that girl of ours.  Big void right now and it is so quiet.  It is feast or famine for us.  We haven't seen Chris and his family for over 6 months now.  Way too long.  And we haven't seen Robert for almost two years.  But all that is to be remedied soon so we have much to look forward to in the coming months.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...if you saw my post from yesterday you know we just had our semi-annual conference for our church.  Just listening to the beautiful music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and all the inspiring talks puts one on a spiritual high for quite some time.  I have been very thankful for the many years of these types of blessings in our lives that shape the very fabric of who we become as followers of Christ through such rich experiences.  I love the unity within our family and the community that the Church gives us in our pursuit to learn more about our Savior.

I am hearing...Peace and quiet.  Nothing at all.  It is clarifying, rejuvenating and restful.  A huge contrast from yesterday where I was teaching, talking and chatting with a lot of people for many hours.  James is off helping a friend install a sink and it is just me and you.  Nice.

One of my guilty pleasures...read the previous answer!

Pet Peeves...carpets that are too light and show all the dirt and carpets that are too dark and show all the lint.  We have only one wall to wall carpet in the cottage, it's in our family room and it causes me more grief than all the wood floors in the entire house.  The problem with the one we have now is it's too light.  Construction and light carpeting; disaster ummm, not a match.  Removing work boots all day long to come in, not a viable option.  Solution... Finish workshop.... get a new carpet.  Wiser choice coming right up about this time next year.  In the meantime, Chris Rossi, of Siggy's Carpet Cleaning to the rescue next Tuesday.

I am going...to run some errands after I finish this and then do some work on my PowerPoint revisions for my presentation on April 21st.  I realized I must get it completely done this week....so I'm on it a little later today.  Next week....wedding reception for Alex and Shanna trumps all.

I am quoting...Pinterest:

I have been thinking about people and what I call "intentional authenticity."  So many people hide behind a cloak of invisibility.  I am planning on writing about this very soon.

If I could change one thing it would be...the darkness of sorrow and sadness and hopelessness that we all experience once in a while but many never escape from it.  It is hard to watch people struggle with their esteem, worth and that plague of despair.  It is so hard to know how to help.  Love is all, really.

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...I have been watching season 4 of White Collar lately.  Love that show.  It is really fun to watch the interplay between the main characters.  Purely entertaining, a nice break after a busy day.

I am curious about...how the people who voted for the current administration feel when they go for their tax refund and discover they have to forfeit nearly 1,000 dollars for their "free" medical insurance?  3.5 more years to endure.

Plans for the rest of the week...Work, clean, prepare for the wedding reception.  We are going to SF on Sunday night to see "The Lamb of God" a beautiful and highly recommended musical performance about the Savior of the world.

One of my favorite things...Reflections on the past, what I have learned and how I am hopeful about the future.  I have been thinking a lot about true friends.  How important they are to me and how much I love them.  I had two friends tell me this week how devastated they would have been had Jim and I decided to move to Utah as we once planned to do after retiring.  That was so sweet and they are safe.  We are staying here.


One thing that made me so happy this week...being with Jen and the girls.  We had a ball.  Grampa ran us ragged but then we knew that would happen.  In the quiet moments, we just hung out and enjoyed it all.  The weather was problematic and overcast and chilly and wet but the hearts were warm and toasty.

The most surprising thing this week...My 87 year old mother-in-law bought a new car.  Hello?  Yep, she did it. She wanted something a little smaller and sportier.  The fountain of youth seems to be in her backyard.  She is a physical marvel. 

A photo I am sharing this week... we took lots of photos of the girls while they were here.  Captured them in every form of sweetness as a group and as individuals.  I have to go through all of them and choose some great ones to  share.  That will be its own post though.  Here is a goofy one of me and the only reason I would consider sharing it is the beautiful roses on each side of the thorn!

Piper~14, Me~Antique, Julia~ nearly 13

Aren't they the cutest?

And they are as sweet as they are pretty!

          Until we all return...happy day to you!

❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon

"Lord, I Believe"

This past weekend The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints held our April Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.  What a beautiful and uplifting experience it is for Church members and other Christians throughout the world to assemble and watch together via satellite broadcasts.  In all there are ten beautiful hours of faith promoting talks that strengthen us a followers of Christ and empower us to go forward in faith, regardless of our current situations.  I would like to share one message of hope that I just loved today.  This is by, Elder Jeffery R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and a Special Witness of Jesus Christ.  May it lift your heart, spirit and your day! Bonnie

Google images

Hazie's Family History

http://youtu.be/fjUTkknHrrs

One cute kiddo if I do say so myself!  Look what our friend
sent us!  Very cool!  Thanks! ;->

Cousins and Photos

Julia, Hazie, Thomas, Chloe and Piper

2nd cousins

Yesterday for Easter our great-nephew, Thomas came by with his Dad to say hi.  Thomas is the grandson of Jim's brother.  It was quite fun to see them for a few minutes before they were off to another branch of the family for dinner.  They were not here too long but we did manage to get in a few photos.

Here is the interesting part about this. Yesterday morning we did a photo shoot of the girls.  They were pretty funny.  You know how it is.  40 shots and someone looks goofy in each of them.  Eyes closed, not smiling, looking around, easily distracted...think little boy in the outfield. 

Well, we only took a few photos with Thomas and all are adorable.  Solution to previous problem...  Always have a handsome older boy to get the teen girls to pay attention, look beautiful and smile with their whole face.  And since they hadn't seen Thomas in years...a little blush on the cheeks makes the color all the better as well.  It was precious.