Positively another 2012 goal

We set a lot of personal and family goals for 2012. I didn't use to think much of New Years "Resolutions" and, well... I still don't! But I do recognize that January 1st, the start of a new year, is a good time to set or update some goals for oneself. So Nate and I chatted about it at the end of December and each decided that we would set goals for ourselves. After sharing, comparing, and discussing our goals, we recognized some common themes and decided to create a few family goals.

Related to this, I like to come up with a personal theme/motto for myself each year. (Several years ago, this is something I read about on a friend's blog, and decided to copycat the idea. Brilliant.) My first motto year was 2010, when I decided to do hard things. That was a phrase I'd heard in a church talk (stake conference), and it hit home. Sometimes doing the right thing also means doing something hard, or something that involves sacrifice. Like many people, I tend to shy away from challenges and look for the easy road. But in 2010 I wanted to work on that problem! I also knew that 2010 was, finally, the year we were going to try and "start a family" (I pretty much hate that phrase). The idea of being pregnant and having a child terrified me. So I knew that if I was going to take a huge leap of faith and get pregnant, I would have to do a very hard thing! It was a perfect motto for me that year.

Last year, in 2011, my goal was to pray always. Not much to say there, except that I needed to be more prayerful in my life. I was less successful with following that motto, probably because I didn't even come up with the motto until April or May. Arg.

This year, I want to become a kinder, more positive, more considerate person. As much as possible, I want to fill my life with good things. So my motto for 2012 is "Think Positive | Be Positive". I strongly believe that change starts in our minds and hearts, with our attitude! So if I want to be happier, friendlier and more Christlike, I better start getting my head in order.

I shared this motto with Nate, and he loved it. He decided to also set a goal of thinking positive thoughts and being positive. So we've started to work on it together, and oh! What a blessing it is to be a team on this one. We've been able to remind each other to look on the bright side and to always say nice things about others. I am looking forward to 11 more months of building and encouraging each other towards this goal, and growing together.

Well, I had hoped to share some of my other goals, but it's after 9pm so I have to get off the computer! Maybe I will find time for another post this weekend. :o)

Blog goals, getting things done, and (helping with) house hunting

As I mentioned in my last post, I set a goal for myself in 2012 to blog more. To be specific, my goal is to blog at least once a week. The post can be as long or as short as I'd like. It can be on one topic or many. It should be positive; ideally it should be encouraging or at least uplifting. Knowing myself and my schedule, the posts will probably be written in the evening after the baby goes to sleep. I will most likely write on Friday or Saturday. For now, I intend to just talk about what's happening with me and my family. (And as I mention elsewhere, I will try to avoid politics or other derisive, divisive topics.) My blog posts should not come at the expense of journal writing. That is, I should not avoid the more important, more introspective and personal format of a journal in favor of a blog post. But if I sit down to write about something that could just as easily be a blog post, I can blog instead of writing in my journal.

There. Whew. I put my goal into specific, measurable terms and posted it in a public place, so it will be easier to be accountable. You can all hold me to it.... all of you, my readers... okay, my one reader... Hi, mom.

Now on to the updational portion of this blog post!

It is Saturday evening, a little after 8pm. Today I went to the grocery store, dropped a package at UPS to be mailed, dropped off some donation items at Goodwill, checked out a baby-clothes thrift store, made cinnamon raisin rolls, spent time with my parents, balanced the checkbook, helped limb part of the evil fir tree in the backyard, and talked to the neighbor. (Oh, and all the usual mommy stuff -- diaper changes, nursing, naps, playtime, kisses, snuggles, etc. :)

I need to make a chicken and rice casserole, which will be dinner tomorrow. I also need to sort and fold my white laundry. (Did I do the laundry today, or is it left over from yesterday? I honestly can't remember. I think it was today, so add that to my list.)

It's interesting how my definition of what's an accomplishment has changed during the last several months. It use to be that loads of laundry and grocery trips were just routine to-do items, and that I measured myself by the amount of yard work I completed, or my progress on a home renovation project (take your pick), or some other "big" thing. Now I measure myself on the routine things, celebrating if I can get two loads of laundry through the washer, dryer, folded and put away, all in one day. On Friday evenings I make a to-do list of all the possible errands and tasks (simple tasks, like vacuuming the office) that I could do on Saturday. Then I decide which ones are the most important, and which ones I will forgive myself for skipping if I can't find the time.

Such a change in perspective! I never thought doing laundry would make me feel accomplished!

Getting back to the topic of today's errands: I spent time with my parents. Currently, mom and dad live about 90 minutes to the north. My mom is retiring in a few months and so they have decided to sell their house and move closer to some of "the girls" -- meaning me and the baby, and also my sister (who lives about three miles south of me). They also want to stay close to "the boys" (my older brothers, who live closer to their current home), so they are looking primarily at properties north of town.

Thus the reason my parents came to town, as suggested by the previous paragraph, was to look at a couple of houses. The houses were both... how do I say this?... less than ideal. The first one had a beautiful, breath-taking view, but the house needed a lot of (primarily cosmetic) work. The land was also underdeveloped. The second house... there's no way to briefly summarize the experience. There wasn't really anything redeeming about the house or land, except maybe one of the out buildings, which was fairly large and appeared to be in good condition.

It's disappointing, not finding the right property. My parents have very specific criteria and no reason to rush the process, so it will take time. Nevertheless, I'm REALLY excited to have them move closer, and thus I'm REALLY impatient for them to find the right property. I honestly wish I could go preview some properties for them. I love looking at houses (do I get that from my dad, I wonder?) and it would save them some headache of traveling all the way down just to be disappointed.

On the bright side, with spring rolling in and summer soon to follow, more houses are popping up on the market. The perfect place might be listed next week, you never know! In the meantime, maybe I can convince my parents that they don't really want to live out in the country with a couple of acres... they want to live down the street from me :o)

Blog more, be happier.

A post yesterday, and now a post again today?! What is the world coming to?

Well, the thing is, I set a goal for myself to blog more. I set this goal as one of several New Years goals, which Nate and I developed for ourselves individually and as a family. I tend to do a lot of journal writing, so when I have free time for writing, pretty much everything goes in my journal. I've found it to be an invaluable resource for working out my personal feelings and frustrations. It's also important to keep a record of my life.

But some of my record keeping can certainly be public. While I don't think blogging should be used to air one's "dirty laundry" or to thrust upon the world every thought -- particularly not the more inane thoughts -- or for whining, complaining, arguing, or otherwise spewing forth darkness and vitriol, I DO think it's good to keep people informed and to provide uplifting discourse, whenever possible.

(Side note: A couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful conversation with my "uber boss" in which we discussed the importance of using social media to be kind, uplifting, and show forth Christlike attributes. The boss described himself as "a bit of a pollyanna". I decided that I want to apply his "pollyanna principle" to my use of social media. Ahhh... I just adore the uber boss; such an amazing person to work for. I feel really blessed to be under his leadership. (I really hope he's not reading this.))

I anticipate success with my renewed blogging efforts, since I recently repaired both my laptop and my netbook. Sadly, my tablet is not a good tool for blogging. (Arg! Typing with ones fingers is quite the challenge!) I am somewhat hindered, however, by a new rule in our house: No computers after 9pm.

I've been very good about that rule, except not last night or right now, since I'm trying to reach my blogging goal.

Anyway, it's past my bedtime. (Ack! It's 9:40!!!) I need to feed baby girl and go to bed. So, until next time.... Goodnight.

An evening gone awry, and other updates

This evening has not gone at all like I expected...

Nate is on a campout with the young men from the youth group. No surprise there. He came home at about 2pm (?), spent a couple of hours getting things together, and then left. Meanwhile, his mom watched the baby and I worked. A little after 5pm, I wrapped up for the day. I chatted with my mother in law while warming up some sweet potatoes for baby girl. MIL left, baby ate. I reheated some broccoli cheese soup for my own dinner. Baby got fussy while I ate (typical selfish little thing :o). We had some playtime, then she got a bath. I nursed her.

She was in her bed, asleep, by 7:15. Excellent. All normal, except for Nate's absence.

I started to write a blog post but couldn't think of what to say. I decided to ponder it while I finished up a project for New Beginnings. Down to the craft room with a week-old episode of Wait, Wait to amuse me. Sewing away efficiently, on target to quickly finish and then get some other things done before bedtime.

Baby girl abruptly awoke, screaming. That's not totally abnormal -- she sometimes needs a little extra burp after bedtime. I dashed upstairs, squeezed her burbs out, and put her back down.

That's when things started to slide off kilter. Usually she goes right back down, no fuss, easy as can be. It's bliss. But not tonight. She was very fussy.

Diaper change. Rocking. Attempted to nurse again. More rocking. A couple of 5-minute crying sessions (sometimes she just wants to be left alone, and she will cry for 2-3 minutes and go back to sleep; it sounds awful and I certainly don't like it, but sometimes that's what she wants). Turns out she was only content and willing to sleep if I held her.

Groan.

Of course I want to hold her. I love to hold her! And since dad is gone camping, I was going to have her sleep in our bed when I went down for the night. I just wasn't prepared for that to happen at 8:30!

So I shut down things in the craft room, closed up the basement, cleared the pillows from our bed, and brought the baby into my room. Where she fussed for 0.2 seconds and then fell asleep. I didn't have high hopes that she would stay asleep, but I needed to get myself ready for bed, so I just prayed that she wouldn't get too upset while I was in the bathroom.

Uhhh.... she didn't. She just continued to sleep. In fact, she's been peacefully asleep for an hour now. I guess this whole week of telling her, "You're going to sleep in our bed on Friday when your dad is gone. Lots of mommy cuddles!" really went to her head. :o)

So I sneaked around the house for about 40 minutes, first getting myself ready for bed, then getting the kitchen cleaned up, then starting a to-do list for tomorrow. Nate will be gone most of the day so it will be an all-day mommy/daughter date. Awesome.

What does our typical Saturday look like these days? Glad you asked...

We do a whole lot of running around. In the olden days, before the baby (we call this time in our lives "BK"), we would run errands any time, whenever we needed. But baby girl is needy and has her own schedule, so now we have to work around her. Plus Nate is currently the main person in charge of the young men in the youth group, so there goes two evenings a week. And I'm working part time. So the TO DO items pile up during the week until, finally, it's Saturday.

There's pretty much always a Saturday (usually morning) grocery store trip. We're trying to do a good job of planning our meals a week at a time, and making sure there are lots of leftovers. (This is all part of a broader plan to eat healthier, smarter foods -- but that's probably a whole separate post.) On Fridays we make our list of meals and compare the recipes to the food in our cupboards. Saturday we squeeze in a grocery store trip, usually between baby's naps. Sometimes we start cooking through our meal list on Saturday, but sometimes it doesn't start until Sunday. Either way, we're usually polishing off the assorted leftovers by the next Friday and ready to start the cycle over.

(Side note: Lately, it seems like our lives are nothing but one continuous loop. Every day follows a similar schedule; every week is nearly identical to the one before and after. Sometimes I lose track of time -- when someone asks me about my weekend, I have to wonder if my memories are from the current weekend or the one before! It makes me feel like an old person. :o)

A couple of weeks ago I finally had enough time on Saturday to make bread again. I haven't made bread since BK. I was probably 8 months pregnant the last time I baked bread. It was liberating to pop a couple of loaves in the oven again.... but it didn't help that Nate consumed all of it in about 5 days. (No joke.)

Hmmm....

It's my bedtime. I think there was more that I wanted to say, but I have to stop now. This bright screen is totally giving me a headache. So, rather abruptly.... The End.

Going old school with "20" questions

Does anyone remember those old "20 questions" emails? They were pretty popular back when I was in middle and high school. I use to enjoy them. I always loved it when I would get one from my sister because she has this snarky, sarcastic sense of humor that totally cracks me up, and invariably she gave the best responses.

My sis-in-law Amy posted one on her blog a couple weeks ago "tagged" everyone. I promised her I would fill it out. She's had her baby since then, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't care anymore, but a promise is a promise. Here it goes...

Words you always mis-spell typing: None come to mind.

Words you don't know how to spell: Nauseous. I have to google it every time; drives me crazy. I also struggle with necessary and occasionally. Why does necessary have a single c and a double s while occasionally has a double c and a single s? Bah!

Things that really annoy you: Bad drivers!!! Probably because my mom is an exceptionally good driver, and thus the standard to which I hold all other drivers. No one else compares; only grandma even comes close.

What's that meal you can always eat over and over again? It changes. I go through phases where I really love one particular thing and want it all the time, then it gets old. Recent examples include Moroccan chicken, mango chicken, Thai food, and QBC (quinoa, broccoli, chicken). Now that I'm looking at my list, maybe I should just say "chicken dishes". :o)

Do you brush your teeth at night? Yup. Can't sleep unless I've brushed my teeth. I also brush after lunch and sometimes after breakfast.

Dumbest movie ever: Napoleon Dynamite. I hated it after about 15 minutes; I wanted to kill myself after about an hour. I'm not trying to be dramatic -- I loathed that movie.

What's a song that you would be embarrassed to admit you really like? Hmm. Nothing comes to mind.

Are you capable of eating an entire bag of candy in one sitting and not feeling THAT sick? I'm not. I would hurl.

Do you love sea food? I love a few types of sea food. I miss my bro-in-law's cooking for precisely this reason; he prepared salmon and halibut better than any other person or restaurant. Yes, even better than Tony Starlight's salmon.

When you fix meat, are you anal about what you've touched, and sanitize a lot? Yes. I try to make N8 take care of "the meat part" of meals because ugh... I just hate it.

Do you put your leftovers in the fridge after dinner in fear of it spoiling or can you wait? I've become a frequent reader of food-related articles the last couple of years and have consequently learned a lot about food safety. Things go in the fridge within an hour, staying out only that long if they need to cool a bit first. I get uncomfortable if food is out any longer.

Do you use a sponge or rag to wipe your counters? Sponge! They are super easy to sanitize in the microwave and do a better job clearing off surfaces (in my opinion). Plus, after a sponge gets a little old, I can use it to clean the toilet and then throw it away!

What's your favorite Holiday? Flag day.

What's your favorite pie? Apple, but really only if my grandma makes it. (Okay, my mom's is pretty close to gma's; I like it too.)

What's your favorite candy bar? It just depends on my mood -- sometimes I want caramel, sometimes peanut butter. But I always return to Snickers, so I guess you could call it my fav.

When you pick something up at the store and change your mind, do you put it away? Always. I think it's exceptionally rude to put things in the wrong spot, forcing someone else to go around and pick up after you. Sure, it's part of someone's job to put things away in the right place, but it wouldn't be if people weren't so rude and would just put things away themselves.

Do you like raisins in your Cinnamon rolls? Yes. But I prefer them un-raisined.

Do you shower every day? Every single morning. I don't feel awake until I've showered. Plus I shower after I work out, and sometimes in the evenings too.

Are your dreams scary? Sometimes.

Do you like scary movies? Love them. Psychological thrillers are my favorites. But I don't like gory movies.

Do you like roller coasters? Again, love them!

Do you have a fear of needles? Yes. It's pathetic. I get light-headed and have been known to pass out. N8 has to hold my hand.

What's your guilty pleasure TV show? Oh gosh, so embarrassing.... Vampire Diaries.

What is something you're really stuck up about? Keeping a clean house. I don't need other people's homes to be clean, but I need my house to be in order. ESPECIALLY the kitchen. I turn into a really scary crazy person when someone gunks up my kitchen.

When you're at a restaurant, can you ask questions about the food? I suppose I could, but I never feel the need.

Are you a lake or a river person? River. I like water that flows; I like to wade.

Are you a good swimmer? Nope, terrible. I can barely doggie-paddle to save my life. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that I basically hate swimming. We had a swimming pool growing up and my friends always wanted me to throw swim parties but I couldn't have cared less. Swimming does not appeal to me. (I don't even own a swimsuit.)

Do you like to camp? Yes but... again with the cleanliness and showering... I have a hard time with the fact that I get dirty when camping. A couple of years ago I camped on a lake, and was able to bathe in said lake on both days of our trip. It was freezing cold glacial water and there were mosquitoes everywhere, but at least I was clean!

Do you like rodents? Not especially. Some are okay, some are heinously disgusting. (Think: hamster vs. nutria.)

Are you afraid of spiders? I don't know if fear is the right word. They make me quite uncomfortable.... They give me the creeps, let's put it that way. When I see one I imagine it crawling on my skin, especially getting in my hair or on my face. Shudder.

If you could be an amazing singer or dancer, which would you be? Dancer. For the exercise benefits. Oh, and the flexibility, which I sorely lack. (Insert teasing from my mom.)

So now I'd like to TAG all of you! Especially Dianne (because she's always so funny) and mom, I know you're busy, so pick your favorite 5 questions :o)

Some baby pictures

Amy, these are pretty much for your amusement. So...enjoy!

Dual surprised faces:

Dry tub? Why not!

She takes up more of her crib space than she use to:

Cute!...

Blue dress -- opinions wanted/needed

Once again, I'm working on a project and I just can't seem to make up my mind!

I made a very pretty blue dress for the baby, and I sewed a white ribbon around the middle. Now I'm trying to to decide if I should add a white bow with ribbons hanging down, or leave it as-is. Personally, I think it's cuter with the bow, but I'm just not sure! So here are a couple of pictures. Please let me know what you think.

Without the bow:

With the bow (sorry it's not the best picture):

In case you're curious, here's the back:

A close-up of the back (I couldn't get the white ribbon to line up when I sewed it down -- arg!):