Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!!!

hey y'all....!

look- we're at a NEW YEAR. amazing stuff! i've been thinking about it- seems every magazine has some article about healthy ways to approach new year goals.

dr. phil...i can hear the groans! but, he has some wonderful self examining bullet points to aid us in evaluating for change. he asks:

1. Is what you're doing in your life working?
2. Are your payoffs healthy?
3. Are you getting in the way of your own success?
4. Are you making everyone happy except yourself?
5. Is the most of what you're doing too high?
6. Are you living with a chip on your shoulder?
7. Has it been too long since you relaxed?
8. Have you gotten too comfortable?
9. Are you being spiritually fed?
10. Are you low on your own priority list?

the usual suspects aren't on this list but if you read between the lines, you will find wherein you know you need to make adjustments.

funny enough, i got to thinking of this list while i was in my vinyasa yoga class this morning. our instructor reminded us that stressful/painful/unhealthy memories are held in the hip joints. she led us through several poses to loosen the areas and then repeatedly asked us to exhale- deeply and vocally. it was interesting to me that at that moment i did feel different and invigorized to do more.

i wake up each year knowing that i want things to be better than the last. i'm thankful that as the years have progressed my goals have matured- this year no exception.

at the end of a good yoga class, the instructor will advise the group to get in 'corpse' pose. laying on your back, hearing the calming exercises for the mind to also rest, most participants lose themselves- almost drifting off to sleep. today the instructor walked around through the group and selected some here and there to nourish. i don't know what else to call it... and what she offers differs from one to another. when her feet approached our area i knew that she was coming to stand by me. i didn't have anything covering my eyes- which most in the class like to have- so she placed a warmed towel over my eyes, then gently pressed her hands into it, then to my shoulders, doing the same, and then finally letting her hand rest on my forhead. after she walked away i felt a tear dropping off my cheek.

we carry many things around with us each and every day- every moment- on our shoulders, on our minds, in our hearts. that small act of giving just touched me. and i realized that i need to find where my goals, dreams, and hurts are and address them.

along this line of thought- Randy Pausch (i'm sure you've heard of him)gave a lecture that ended up being on demand, picked up by tv, book rights sold, and moved into my world. i saw the advertisements, watched a bit of the special that was on tv, and heard the announcement of his death.

and, was given the book to read, which i did over this past week. i copied this summary from the website regarding what all the fuss was about:

"A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?"

to summarize even further- his book talks about these bullet points:

1. Always Have Fun
2. Dream Big
3. Ask for What You Want
4. Dare To Take a Risk
5. Look for the Best In Everybody
6. Make Time for What Matters
7. Let Kids Be Themselves

it's a great book. he's funny and full of life and how he lived it- and how he'd love to see his children get to live theirs. great perpective and, definitely worth reading!

and that's it! i'm done being all new yearsie in this post! yea!!!

to add: i've placed tay's 7th letter on his blog. check it out and be a dear and leave him a comment. he loved the last ones! :)

i wanted to share a pic of a gift i received from michael, my friend from israel. he wanted to give me a christmas gift- i dare say it was the first such gift he's given. so cute, too, kept saying 'merry christmas' days after christmas was over. the reason i'm posting this is- he had many observations of being here during the holiday. he didn't think that our area seemed to really celebrate. he told me that christians love the jews- but most people 'don't love us so much'. i try to show him what being christian is, outside of what he sees working here in america. anyway, he gave me this:



he explained that he bought the necklace in israel when he was home last, and that it 'wasn't so much but thank you for being my friend.' he further explained that he didn't know who he would give it to- but that he had decided he wanted it to go to me, adding, he didn't understand why i wanted to be his friend. well, i just do.

it's sterling silver, the star of david, and as you may have guessed, the gift was perfect for me. i love it!

i found this interesting too... he forwarded this to me from his jewish friends. it had made the rounds in their peer group- and after i translated the hebrew (sample בן ביקש מאביו "אבי, האם תשתתף בריצת מרתון איתי?", האב אשר למרות היותו
סובל ממחלת לב אמר "כן". הם הלכו והתחרו במרתון ביחד. יום אחד ביקש הבן
מאביו "אבא, בא נשתתף בתחרות איש הברזל ביחד". האב אמר כן. כדאי להזכיר
כי תחרות איש הברזל כוללת שחיה בים למרחק של 3.86 ק"מ, רכיבה על אופנים
למרחק של 180.2 ק"מ וריצת מרתון של 42 ק"מ. האב ובנו התחרו בתחרות ביחד.
עכשיו תראו את הוידיאו המדהים הזה של שניהם מתחרים) to english found that they researched the story, added details AND LOVED the message. (yeah, i get a kick out of it translating what i can w/the help of a website) you just have to watch it to see why it's so interesting (and again, blogger won't let me just add a link so copy and paste plz):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJMbk9dtpdY&eurl

and finally, out of the blue, i was released from my church calling as a primary teacher and was not extended a new one. (i think the comment i made a few months back about single moms being called to teach primary was overkill) sigh. lol.
love ya and Happy New Year!!!

Sunday, December 28, 2008

christmas!

talk about your untraditional celebrations!

em and i decided to celebrate on christmas eve (day) being that she was spending christmas eve and day with her dad.

she's so cute- she woke up early on c-eve morning thinking that we'd open gifts WAY early. i only slowed her down a tiny bit- made her wait while i finished putting bows on her gifts. i also wanted to deliver our neighbor gifts with her before we got started...

she helped me put them together and off we went...to our elderly widow next door who is just CUTE. she had full make-up on (em says it must be a goal to get the make-up in the vacinity of where she would like it to be) and was dressed up head to toe in christmas green...with matching eye shadow. so CUTE. i complimented her on how festive she looked and she confided, "well, you know, i have so many christmas outfits that i changed three times yesterday to get to wear them!" so CUTE. :)

our other two stops were to neighbors that in their small way are good to us through the year... watching out for us while we're out of town, bringing the garbage cans in, edging my yard... just nice. and this year, one of those neighbors and i began talking again after years of strain. it's a beginning. i'd like to think one that added straw to Christ's manger.

when we finished, em opened her stocking and gifts. she was so excited to get her new rant phone and digital camera...amongst other fun things.



i did a couple of things for myself- a new dress and boots, along with buying a copy of the book that i made and gave to mom and dad, along with both sets of grandparents. as a teacher i receive so many fun things to treat myself- and gift cards to share as a family, too. mom and dad gave me my first digital frame- a large one that i absolutely LOVE. i'm putting together a wall grouping with it. :)...me and my photos!



darlene had em and i over to dinner after i got em's phone all set up. we helped with the dinner and then off em went.

my christmas day was spent, off and on, with Lori- another single mom spending the day alone.

we went walking first thing in the morning and then i hurried home and did a few things waiting for my elder to call. when he did it was so exciting to hear his voice again. makes me get emotional just remembering our convo. he's such a good boy. one wonderful thing that happened- i got to talk a minute with the mom of the family that has the missionaries living with them. she seemed to be so warm and sweet and yet i could tell she was lively and fun. she was so gracious with me- i had sent their family a christmas card and she said it made her cry, and then she went on to compliment me for how young i looked. blessings come in ways you never expect! first i get to learn first hand how wonderful the family is that tay gets to stay with- sister gardner was so kind regarding what she had to say about our boy...and i even get to hear a compliment about how young i look. it was a good exchange. :)

anyway- i'm posting that convo on tay's blog sometime this evening... i would love for you to leave a comment for him. he LOVED the last comments that were left!

lori and i then spent the day in a movie and at dinner. we were very lucky to find a place to eat- i mean, the news said many places would be open on christmas day- but we only found one: the golden corral. lol. it worked. :)

and finally, the day ended with phone calls to and from family. i love you guys! i'm so blessed!

below- tonight em and i finally got around to cooking a holiday meal...even if it wasn't on a holiday! it was fun and super yummy- we made a turkey with all the trimmings, homemade bread and a new traditional salad: field greens and spinach, fresh pear and slivered almonds with a homemade dressing to die for. fun!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

ready or not...!




love this jibjab stuff- too fun! although, i'm trying to find a way to save and post so that em isn't cut off by my page limits...! (turns out that jibjab must be overloaded and so rather than deal with them- i took a pic of our design, and added it instead. it's not as good- but much more reliable!)

tay emailed AND sent a letter with a few pics... it's now on his page and ready for you to see! :)

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Kenneth Cope

...made this 'O Holy Night' video in conjunction with Liz Lemon Swindle's art work. i found it to be wonderfully done and so i wanted to share!

blogger won't let me make it into a link- so just copy, paste, and enjoy!

http://www.foundationarts.com/christmas_2008_ecard_high_def.htm

Friday, December 19, 2008

Christmas Naughties

this is what i am not so lovingly referring to the abundant amount of goodies that are passed around at this time of year.

at my house there is a rule: "enjoy it for a day (12-18 hours)then throw it away."

yesterday was the last day of preschool and it was fun, as always! and as always, there was left over pizza and cookies and plenty of gifts that included treats.

some of those left over cookies made it to our home, and today em decided to make up one for me:



do you see the i (heart) u? so cute! so caloric? so NAUGHTY. and actually, she knows that i don't care for lots of frosting but she did it anyway. just so you can see how thick it is:



i told her i loved her and then i put on my walking shoes, grabbed up a gift i needed to deliver, along with some mail- and walked to the post office and on for another hour. i feel much better! just looking at that cookie made my blood sugar go up... :)

okay- so tay finally sent another letter and i'm going to write and paraphrase it a bit on his blog because there were things in there that he wanted kept private. all i can say is that it choked me up good. i've held myself together, well, until i read this last one.

thank you, again and again for loving and supporting him. :)

and, i'm sending my best vibes your way that the remaining time you have to spend preparing for Christmas and to be with your family doing fun things... that time will be splendid!!!

love ya!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

tay's mission president letter arrived

with a pic and map and... i've posted it to his blog. ( a small map on the sidebar and a larger one you'll find by scrolling to the bottom of his page) check it out!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

to catch up a bit!

the biggest and saddest news i have to share is- miley is no longer our dog.

when tay left- and the care for her planted itself on this working mom's shoulders- well, i thought i was doing okay. but i guess miley didn't.

she started showing defiance for the new schedule by messing in her kennel- even with me getting up throughout the night to let her out- i'd wake and she'd have done it again.

it didn't help that the temps were in the 20's and 30's while i'm out trying to clean it out and start again.

so... i went out and bought a better collar and toys and a dog coat- and took her for long walks and she still tortured me with the messing.

i mentioned my problem to a friend who knows dogs and i was told that when i was ready to say goodbye to miley, that a new home would be arranged for her, by people that love dogs more than they love people.

this reassured me... but still i tried.

and it got me no where.

so, now miley is in another home- we know nothing more.

and we will miss her.

on a brighter note: i received the letter and picture from the mission president and his wife. i plan on posting that tomorrow, k? it's good stuff! (something to look forward to, right?)

and today i had an opportunity that was fun, and hopefully works out, too. Scott (from elm fork) asked me to shoot some head shots for a poster that his tv show is needing. this show is going to be on the outdoors channel and will be called, Beretta's Raw and Wild. if they can work with the photos that we took then i'll have something of a TV CREDIT.

add that to Wal Mart insisting that one of my families get my approval for copyright on their family portraits photos... :)

packages are sent out and cards are almost done. shopping is done! and now the organizing and cleaning begin!

i spent 10 hours of my life today at elm fork and i'm whipped. goodnight y'all!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

letter 4 arrived

check it out by following the link 'Elder Barron'. AND want you to know that i had two pages of comments to send him this week in my first letter to california. THANK YOU for taking the time to write a comment! BIG hugs :)

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Look Out...

rhonda's (yes that's me) bought and decorated a tree! and i love it! (as much as i can love doing something that i'm not really into.) it's a nine foot, pre-lit beautiful tree and replaced a tree that barely made it through the last season. honest to goodness- if it hadn't have been tay's last Christmas at home, i would've kicked that tree to the curb the day we put it up. in humor and some disdain, we called it the leaning tree...

aside: if you could help me figure out why i'm so loath to get into decorating anymore... how i got to be this way... i'd be forever grateful. :)

Christmas is a wonderful season and i remember days gone by where i made the most of every carol or Christmas CD. not only did i decorate- but i worked on decorations months in advance. a couple of those decorations i use and love, still. such as our stockings and the tree garland.


the stockings i made...


the garland to match...


we each have a new ornament to add to the tree, this is em's.


i've always collected nativities...


taylor was not here to choose an ornament this year... so when i came across this indian and eagle one, and it brought to mind tay's eagle scout ceremony, i felt it was a wonderful find. head's up friends and family- next year i want to find a missionary ornament. if i can't find one i guess i'll make him one :)

the other tradition that we have is to collect (and this will make you wonder even more about me-) ornaments from our vacations. yes, even though i don't like to decorate for Christmas, i go out of my way to collect ornaments in every town we travel to. but, it is a fun collection! here are two we have from hawaii:



i want to pass on a trick i have- i keep all of my ornaments throughout the year in the christmas gift boxes that can be bought in stores- it takes a couple of boxes for each of us- and yes i separate them out when we bring the tree down, so that the following year we can easily see who's belong to each of us. after we decorate the tree i place the boxes under the tree. it looks like we have presents under the tree- and as funny as this sounds- everyone who comes over is impressed with that! let's just keep that amongst ourselves!

as i was working on this post i listened to The First Presidency's Christmas Devotional. i love the stories, the music, the Spirit. it helps and it heals.

i heard to reach out and serve- and that will be my goal the rest of this season, at least!

for all of you, from me- i hope that you are loving this time with your family, that you are enjoying the festivities, too- and that you feel the Savior's love! xoxo

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

tay wrote again...

and he's officially in CA as of yesterday morning! (For those of you who missed this- Tay has a link on my sidebar where i am posting his letters!) leave a comment and i'll be sure he hears from you when i send my letters. :)