Saturday, August 31, 2013

A Simple Woman's Daybook~August 30-31, 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-Saturday, August 30-31, 2013
 
Outside my window...It is 7:00 PM and the sun is setting.  The days are getting noticeably shorter all of a sudden.  That means fall is coming.  Not yet but some of the leaves are already starting to turn a little.  It is cooler here and more comfortable then the Utah desert where we seem to have spend a lot of the summer.  I do love to visit there but their weather is not for us.  It is just a matter of what you get use to I guess.  It wasn't by any means cool in Utah but the overcast days were welcomed and it was a little cooler than normal and for that we were grateful.  We even got a few quick thunder storms and some rain.  But it is nice to be back to near sea level where the air has some oxygen in it, which for me is required.  That I have a hard time acclimating to more and more as I get older.  

I am thankful for....all that the Lord has blessed our family with and how he watches over us in the best of times and the worst of times.  We know that we will all struggle through mortality and it is nice to know we are never alone.  That we can turn to the Lord to succor us when we need it.  And he is always near, ready to come to our aid.  I am thankful to have a strong testimony of this through many years of implementing my faith and seeing the results time and time again. 

From the learning room....the joys of aging are balanced with a bags of things that make living as we once did not quite possible.  I have learned I cannot run all over a campus going to classes all day for a week without damaging my knees from so much fast walking.  So I have learned to compensate for that and still enjoy a rich experience at Education Week at BYU when we are able to go.

There are over 1000 classes taught on just about any subject one might be interested in from law or finances, to better family living in all stages of life, parenting little children, teen or adult children.  You can also take religion classes, history classes, music classes, travel classes, you name it they've got the classes.  It is such a fun and rewarding place to spend a week.  We always feel so enriched when we leave.

 Now when I go I try to pick a location or two and go to classes in that building rather that bounce all over the place.  That helped so much.  The knees are a little sore yet but nothing like they would be if I hadn't learned to compensate and adapt to my situation so that I can continue to enjoy things I loved doing in my 30s.  Just a little tip for you younger people as time goes by, discover adaptive techniques to keep on going.

I am reading...several books on my Kindle but one little snippet at a time.  Right now I am reading The Ensign Magazine from cover to cover.

From the kitchen.. I should be making my grocery list right now.  ;-).  Definitely doing all of that this morning.  We have been home for a few days but I haven't gotten that far yet.  I am planning on buying lots of things for yummy salads and some summer barbequing this week.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...I had so many spiritual thoughts while at the Y with Jim and Laura and Spencer this past week.  We stayed in the dorms and that was fun.  I was thinking about how if you are a member of our church you eventually get every experience to some degree.  As an example if you missed attending BYU in your youth, you can still do it as an adult.  You can be a primary teacher, young women's leader, a gospel Doctrine or Relief Society teacher, in a presidency, or serve a mission even when you do not join the church until age 30.  It made me think about how God loves all his children equally (which is completely) and how he wants us to have every blessing and provides a way for that to happen.

I use to be sad we had missed out on those youthful experiences but now I realize you can have a very enriching experience in all aspects of church life.  If you are just willing to say yes to any calling that comes along we will be blessed with a fullness.  If we do our part in service to him and his children he more than meets us half way.  He gives us all of it.  What an amazingly loving Father we all have.

I am hearing...Jim's outside radio playing some classical music through my open office window. Other than that it is very quiet this morning as it is still early.

One of my guilty pleasures...home grown tomatoes.  We cannot grow them here as we do not have fencing around our property and the deer think we are encroaching on their land.  They love to eat our flowers and tomatoes and anything else we have tried to grow in the past.  But last night our neighbors gave Jim some tomatoes that were still warm from the vine and yesterday's hot sun and we had tomato sandwiches for dinner.  Yummy.  I have missed the usual amount of tomatoes we consume in the summer due to traveling so much.  It was heavenly last night!  I think I have probably said this every summer in August that I have been doing these Daybooks.

Pet Peeves...The sprinklers that constantly spot our cars and windows.  Ugh.  The outside water we have is canal water which tends to be dirty water for the yard so it makes the cars and windows a real mess.  The watering is essential but the mess is annoying.

I am quoting...Pinterest...I love this quote, it is so true.


If I could change two things it would be...that the struggles that Laura and her family are having with trying to do too much, like remodel a house they just bought and Laura starting  a new job teaching music at a private school, and adjusting to high school for Spencer would all be lessened a little.  They are living in their basement as they try to make this house livable.  The boys are both struggling with that.  Too much change too quickly for them all.

And that Hazel will have a good transition to kindergarten that didn't really start out well with them letting her out of the classroom on the first day and not accompanying her to the bus.  She got lost and was found crying on the playground all alone.  That nearly broke my heart and that of her parents as well.  But they had a big meeting the next day and things have improved.  It is going to be a process but I wish she didn't gave a first year teacher that is 50 and overwhelmed and not the greatest at classroom management.  Hazel has so much to contend with and it is so hard for Jen to have sent her out into the world on her own so to speak.  But you know what?  The silver lining is that she is so resilient and each day she has been excited to return and try again.  That is our little Hazie for ya!  She is always teaching the rest of us how to be!

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...We liked The Butler very much except for the ending where I feel the butler was so excited that a black man has been elected President that he didn't not realize that he wasn't getting exactly what he may have wanted.  I think that is proof once and for all that race is not an important element in deciding who should be president.  One should not vote against or for someone because of their color.  Good and bad choices come in all colors.  But I think for him he was just touched by how far his people had come since his father was gunned down in cold blood on the cotton plantation where he grew up.  Oddly enough, everyone seems to forget that the president is half white as well as half black.  He is seventh cousin to Brad Pitt for crying out loud. LOL!   Heard that on the Ancestry phone tree while waiting for a real person to help me just yesterday.

I am curious about..the movie iRobot that we also saw this week.  I am not a fan of science fiction, needless to say Jim is...but that movie was not bad.  In fact, it was quite interesting as attested to by the fact I did not fall asleep during it or resort to Pinterest on our Friday night home date.

Plans for the rest of the week...go shopping for food in the next few hours and then come back and work on a class I am teaching in September.  Organize some family history notes into a summary on a person that I am trying to find records for so that next week I can talk to some experts and hopefully discover where she is from in Sweden.  Once that is accomplished I can find a lot of new ancestors for Jim's side of the family because Swedish church records are amazing!  Tomorrow church.  Monday no idea yet.  Tuesday work and teach.  And no clue about the rest of the week either for that matter.  I haven't even looked at my calendar for the week and hopefully it is mostly empty.  This ole gal needs a break and rest!  I am returning to Utah on September 14th for a week of genealogy research training and then home for a very long time hopefully.
 
One of my favorite things...having all the family together in one spot as we did during Education Week in Utah.  The cherry on top, being there at Ed Week with our good friends, the Holladays.  It was so much fun to be with Carol a lot and to just enjoy our time, one on one, together away from all the hectic things of everyday life.  I do love her, she is one of the most amazing women I have ever known.  I feel so blessed to have met her at the Genealogy Library and to be able to call her one of my best friends in such a short time.  Don't you just love it when you meet someone you feel like you have always known?  I do. 

One thing that made me so happy this week...that our son, Chris, got a distinguished award at the BYU's beginning of the new school year meeting for the faculty and we were invited to attend.  He also published his first book last week.  I will be devoting a post to these two things sometime in the coming week.  That boy always keeps us beaming and amazed.  He is such a joy!

The most surprising thing this past week...We all survived it!  And the realization that is it fun to go and all be together and it is also fun to come home and get back into our own little routine.  All aspects of life are good they are just filled with a lot of variety.   That is also great, each activity having its own intrinsic value.

Some photos I am sharing this week...This past week our granddaughter, Julia, turned 13.  Jen had a surprise party for her and it was great fun to be there and to have all the cousins there too.  She was genuinely surprised and so delighted and it was just a warm fuzzy experience for us all.  She is such a darling girl and so giving and sweet.  She is enjoying her first few days of middle school and we are so happy about that.  Connor and Julia are happy to be back in the same school again.  It would be so fun to have a cousin in your school don't you think?  The next time I am there will be right around Anyslee's 11th birthday and also Hazie will be six!  One thing about a lot of grandkids and a lot of trips is you are bound to hit the special days most of the time or come very close. 

I just realized that since I had to get a new iPhone this week upon our return that all my photos are not transferred over yet so I only have a couple for now.  Sadly not the best ones but you will get the idea!


The Whole Bunch of them and the
 reasons why we love getting up each day filled with
 love for them and hope for this crazy world they 
are growing up in these days!


Here is our birthday girl, Julia with Ross!
Three teen grandies and more on the way!  
(Teens not grandies!)


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

     ❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon

Monday, August 12, 2013

For Your Daily Laugh and Viewing Pleasure


Thursday, August 8, 2013

When You Don't Feel You Measure Up

I read this article by Kristen Welsh this morning and I thought it would be good for all of us but particularly our grandkids in junior high and those entering high school this year in just a few weeks.  Enjoy!  And Believe It!



Aug 08, 2013 01:20 am | Kristen Welch

I don’t remember the first time I felt it.
It could have been in the third grade when I was the last one picked for the kickball team or when I met my first mean girl at 12. Or it might have been when I opened my mouth to sing like my musical brother and sister and discovered I was tone deaf.
Not being enough has sort of been a faithful companion in life…always there, reminding me of ways I didn’t fit in or belong. When I didn’t date much in high school or couldn’t get pregnant for the first five years of my marriage, I believed the ever-present words whispered in my ear.
When I walked into a room full of stylish, pretty women, and searched for a familiar face, I knew the words that would pop into my head.
I don’t remember the first time I didn’t measure up.
But I do remember the first time I stopped measuring.

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To read the remainder of Kristen's post visit the incourage site here:

http://tinyurl.com/mbb5s9z


Monday, August 5, 2013

Summer Sizzle


How is your summer sizzling? 

I am heading home in the morning after nine days here in Utah.  I have had a wonderful time and am now ready to get back to work until we return in two weeks for Campus Education Week.

Here is my Summer Sizzle Pinterest Board for you to enjoy.  This is to help us remember about all the fun things summer holds on those crazy hot  sticky days when we long for fall.  Have some fun!  And Susan enjoy your trip!!

http://pinterest.com/onedesigner/summer-sizzle/

Sunday, August 4, 2013

A Simple Woman's Daybook~August 4, 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~Sunday, August 4, 2013
 
Outside my window...it is a brisk sunny morning in Utah.  I am in our condo and the computer desk is right near the front door so I have the door wide open and it is invigorating.  I have spent the week here in the condo and it has been really pleasant.  I haven't slept here except for one night in June for years.  Jen and Lowell own it and when they moved to their other house years ago, we bought in half so they could keep it.  Now they are living here again waiting for details on a work move.  So it is really their condo.  It is just fun to say "our" condo because half the time I forget we invested in it long ago.  Hmmm, off topic immediately not a good sign.  Utah mornings are so lovely.  The afternoons...hot.  Evening...beautiful sunsets.

I am thankful for....this wonderful week I have spent here with Jennifer and for the conference I have attended.  Jen stayed home from a family reunion that Lowell took all four girls to on Tuesday.  It is has been so strange not having everyone here but nice too when you can have one on one time with your daughter.  She left this morning for a little get away so it is just me and the hamster Mr. Boxer this morning.  I have never spent any time with a hamster...they are kind of cute really. 

From the learning room....Oh my, so much this week.  Four days of conference sessions from 8:00 to 5:00.  All I can say is there are some extremely brilliant people in this world and a lot of them were teaching this week at BYU.  My head is still spinning from all I learned.  There is just no end to it.   Family History is a lifetime pursuit.  It is fulfilling and fascinating and you learn so much about world history, geography, hardships and struggles of the human family, and also their amazing triumphs through the ages.  You learn about your own family which teaches you a lot about yourself.  And I have met some of my most favorite people on earth in the process.

I am reading...The nearly 600 page Syllabus from the conference.  Capturing presentations notes from the sessions I enjoyed most or needed most and transferring them to my Evernote files for easy access.  I have spent two hours on that this morning.  It feels good to extract what I need to have handy.  And to know I know exactly how to find it on Evernote.

From the kitchen...Haven't thought about the kitchen all week.  Now that is a vacation, right?  I will resume all that when I get home on Wednesday.  For now, out of sight out of mind.  In the meantime we have had some lovely meals out on the town, just Jen and me.

Some spiritual thoughts I have been having...I am just thankful for the restfulness of the Sabbath. I am glad it is Sunday and that in a little while our son, Christoper, will come and get me and then I will spend the remainder of my time here with them. He and Melissa have just returned from their vacation in Yellowstone so it has all worked out perfectly this week.  I love going to church with them.  They have a really fantastic ward and they are fun to visit.  They have wonderful teachers and I know we will come home edified after church and be ready for the new week.  It is wonderful to meet weekly with other Latter-day Saints.  They lift me so much and give a sense of community and fellowship that is very important in our spiritual lives.

I am hearing...The condo families leaving for church.  It is so unique to be in Utah in a neighborhood on a Sunday morning.  The people who live in this complex have church at 9:00.  So at ten to nine every door opens and out come all the families to jump in their cars and drive the five minutes to the church.  It is quite a sight really.  Dads and little boys in slacks and white shirts and ties and the moms dressed in their Sunday best along with the little girls in their pretty dresses.  Most have a baby in tow so slung over their shoulders are diaper bags.  Now it really is just me and the hamster.  Chris' ward meets at 11:00. 

One of my guilty pleasures...This week I'll have to say technology and how it has advanced all of our learning so much.  I was enthralled with all that is happening in my field in this area.  It is astonishing really and I love it.  The funny part of it is that if anyone had told me I'd be a computer geek today, twenty years ago I would have laughed out loud.  We just never know what the Lord has in store for us.  I love that about this life.

Pet Peeves...cats that try to run in the front door when there is no screen on it.  Every cat in the neighborhood has strolled by peered in at me and then had that look of... I think I'll just charge right in there and make myself at home.  LOL!  I am not chasing a cat around here in my church clothes so I have been watching them like a hawk.  Still I know if they do scamper up here I won't be able to catch them anyway.  Argh!  Then they have the option of running upstairs or downstairs to hide.  And they all know the floor plan here!  Funny, I think I'll close the door!

I am quoting... "The two most important days of your life are when you are born and when you figure out why." Author unknown

And the sharing of a sweet thought.  In the Polynesian culture when embracing another it is common to inhale deeply.  It is believed that in doing so you gather some of the essence of that beloved person to take with you when you part.

I am a hugger..I think this custom will stay with me.  I love the idea of it very much because it always seems like I am saying good-bye to someone that means something special to me.   The only consolation is in the process I am running towards someone else that means a lot. My wish is that we could all just live nearby.  But we make the best of it.  Life is good.

If I could change one thing it would be...That Jim had been with me here this week.  I have been missing him a lot.  We have been texting and phoning a lot.  He has had a productive week.  Looking forward to seeing him on Tuesday.  And another things I'd like to change..that Laura and Robert were completely moved into their new house and that was all behind them.  But they just spent their first night in their new house last night so that day is a little farther off yet. 

An enjoyable movie/ TV show we have watched lately...Haven't watched a thing this week.

I am curious about...so many things and I am thankful for that.  I will never be bored as long as I live.

Plans for the rest of the week...Church today with the family and a nice afternoon and evening together, tomorrow I am going to be in the BYU Library all day except for when I go to lunch with Chris.  Tuesday fly home and go straight to work until 9:00 pm.  Wednesday through next Sunday to be determined.
 
One of my favorite things...Evernote!

One thing that made me so happy this week...seeing our cousin and good friend, Steve, here at the conference.  I love that we had a little time to spend together as it has been two years since I have seen him.  He taught six classes at the conference.  He has mentored me in genealogy for almost three years.  I will always be so grateful for all his help.  He teaches in a language I can understand.

The most surprising thing this week...that is not unbearably hot here as it usually is in the summer.  And that even though my brain was fried I still felt so uplifted and energized by what happened here this week.  It was all I had hope for and more.


Some photos I am sharing this week...there are many family reunions in the summer and especially in Utah it seems.  Here is Lowell and little Hazie on a hike in southern Utah this week.  They will be home soon and tomorrow is Lowell's birthday.  Jen is such a great mom and wife.  Even though she will not be here because of her planned get away, she made him a beautiful cake and wrapped all the presents and invited Chris' family and me back over here tomorrow night for a little party. I just love that girl!  I hope she has a great time and a good rest on her little trip.






Happy Birthday 
to our wonderful son-in-law, Lowell. 
 Sure love this guy!

          Until we all return...happy day to you!
     ❤♡♥♡❤♡♥♡❤♡♥s, Bon