The Holiday Season . . .

is here, and I'm trying to simplify this year. It's easy to get carried away and I'm trying to avoid that this year. The kids each chose a gift to donate to the Christmas Box, and I think that has helped the kids focus on the giving aspect of Christmas, not so much the receiving. I overheard Tyler telling is friend Estee that "everyone knows Christmas is about giving." For a six year old, that's pretty good (at least in words, we'll see in actions). Anyhow, the kids are off for Christmas break on Friday and I realized I have three afternoons to finish their shopping before they're home. So far, pretty good. I mostly just have neighbor and friend gifts to put together.

I did decide that I wasn't going to do Christmas cards this year, although Pete put together a little Jibjab video of the kids and emailed it around. Next year. I love receiving Christmas cards, so keep sending them, I just haven't had a chance to put any together this year, and in the spirit of simplifying, I decided to avoid that stress altogether!

Anyhow, happy holidays!

Autumn, 2011

Peter and I just returned from a 12 days river cruise in Europe. We began our journey Prague, Czech Republic, where we stayed the first 3 days. We drove to Nuremberg, Germany, where we began our river cruise. We stopped in Nuremberg, Regensberg (probably my favorite place we visited), Passau, Germany then into Linz and Vienna in Austria. Our last visit was to Budapast, Hungary. As soon as I can get Pete to download the pictures, I'll post them and give more details descriptions. We traveled with Peter's parents, and his three sisters and their spouses. We really had an incredible time. My only complaint is that its so tough to fly home--such a long flight and hard to get back into the swing of things. It was also a long time to leave our kids and I am grateful to my parents and good friends who helped take care of my kids so that we could have this adventure. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be home and have no plans to travel anywhere soon. I am just happy to be home to enjoy this incredible fall weather we're experiencing in Salt Lake. Today Tyler and I drove from American Fork Canyon through Provo Canyon with a stop at Sundance Resort. So incredibly beautiful!! I'm glad I didn't miss the peak of the fall colors while we were gone.

Jake has just a few football games left, Mitch is finishing up fall tennis and continuing with his piano, Madeline is dancing 3 days a week and taking piano, and Tyler is thrilled to be in a play, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." He is Thing #3 (I know there's only 2 things in Dr. Seuss, but that's what happens when you have a lot of kids to give parts to.) We may have found his niche in acting!! I am thrilled that our garden is growing pumpkins, tomatoes and green beans. I planted from seed in mid-July, so I'm thrilled to have any harvest at all. Pete is busy with work and just was called to the Stake Young Men's Presidency as First Counselor. We are loving our newly completed yard, and grateful for great weather to enjoy it!!

There was a time . . .

when I thought I would have more time to write in my blog. So far, not so good.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Today I finished reading the classic novel, A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I think old Oscar was very ahead of his time in his thinking. The book is about an artist, Basil Hallward, who paints a portrait of Mr. Gray that he thinks is his best work of art, and holds a bit of himself in the painting. He is also obsessed with Dorian Gray, a young, innocent, good looking man, his muse of sorts, who inspires his best art. The other main character, Lord Henry Wotton or Harry, is a bit of a pessimist who corrupts Dorian Gray's innocence with his cynical views on life and relationships. Dorian Gray destroys his soul in his quest for pleasure for the sake of pleasure only. The painting shows the decay of his soul, while Dorian stays perpetually young.

Though I don't agree with many of the thoughts expressed by Oscar Wilde, there are some classic quotes in the book that really represent how people of 2011 feel today. Here is a smattering of quotes from throughout the book.

Lord Henry, p. 45, "Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cavemen had known how to laugh, History would have been different."

Lord Henry, p. 46, "To get back one's youth, one has merely to repeat one's follies."

p. 49, "Lord Henry had not yet come in. He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality is the thief of time."

Lord Henry, p. 52, "Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed."

Lord Henry (to Dorian Gray), p. 54, "My dear boy, the people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination. Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect--simply a confession of failure. Faithfulness! I must analyze it someday. The passion for property is in it. There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."

Dorian Gray (to Lord Henry), p. 60, "How horrid you are! She (Sibyl Vane, Dorian's first love) is all the greatest heroines of the world in one. She is more than an individual (she is an actress). You laugh, but I tell you she has genius. I love her, and I must make her love me. You, who know all the secrets of life, tell me how to charm Sibyl vane to love me! I want to make Romeo jealous. I want the dead lovers of the world to hear our laughter and grow sad. I want a breath of our passion to stir their dust into consciousness, to wake their ashes into pain . . . how I worship her!"

p. 85, Dorian Gray laughed, and tossed his head. "You are quite incorrigible, Harry; but I don't mind. It is impossible to be angry with you. When you see Sibyl Vane, you will feel that the man who could wrong her would be a beast, a beast without a heart. I cannot understand how anyone can wish to shame the thing he loves. I love Sybil Vane. I want to place her on a pedestal of gold, and to see the world worship the woman who is mine. What is marriage? An irrevocable vow. You mock at it for that. Ah! don't mock. It is an irrevocable vow that I want to take. Her trust makes me faithful, her belief makes me good. When I am with ehr, I regret all that you have taught me. I become different from what you have known me to be. I am changed, and the mere touch of Sibyl Vane's hand makes me forget you and all your wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories. . . your theories about life, your theories about love, your theories about pleasure. All your theories, in fact, Harry."

Lord Henry, p. 87, "Being adored is a nuisance. Women treat us just as Humanity treats its gods. They worship us, and are always bothering us do something for them." (Say What? That's from me. How sexist is that?)

Dorian Gray (to Sybil Vane, a day after he declared his undying love), p. 97, "Yes, he cried, "you have killed my love. You used to stir my imagination. Now you don't even stir my curiosity. You simply produce no effect. I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid (OUCH!! Me again.) My God! how mad I was to love you! What a fool I have been! You are nothing to me now. I will never see you again. I will never think of you. I will never mention your name. You don't know what you were to me, once. Why, once. . . Oh, I can't bear to think of it! I wish I had never laid eyes upon you! You have spoiled the romance of my life. How little you can know of love, if you say it mars art! Without your art (acting), you are nothing. I would have made you famous, splendid, magnificent. The world would have worshipped you, and you would have borne my name. What are you now? A third-rate actress with a pretty face." (Talk about rough break-up speeches. No wonder the poor girl committed suicide).

Yesterday, I had actually added several other quotes from the book, but somehow, they were not saved and honestly, I don't feel like looking through the book again to find them. I will say, I'm glad I read the book. There was one chapter that was really hard to get through, but I thought it was an interesting read. Happy reading!

Coming To An End

I have spent the last three days with my kids, volunteering for field trips and school activities. I am grateful to be in a situation where I can do that, though I must say, I am tired and looking forward to a relaxed Memorial Day weekend. The countdown to summer is on . . . one more school activity, field day and one more week of school. I think I may be looking forward to it more than my kids--the chance to not have to wake up to get kids out the door for school. Then again, when you add in swimming, golf and tennis lessons, plus the end of lacrosse, soccer, baseball and dance, we still have a lot to do. Its a good thing I love my kids, cause they sure keep me busy.

Tyler "graduated" from preschool today. I was a bit sad, realizing that my baby is going to kindergarten. He, on the other hand, is very excited to go to "Mitch's school." In some ways, I dread the 1/2 days of kindergarten. You barely get grocery shopping in, or a gym class, before your back to school for pick up. I'm not ready to have Tyler gone all day though, so I suppose I can deal with it.

Here are a few "kid" updates.

1. Jake was elected as an 8th grade SBO. He has also played some of his finest lacrosse games in the last week. On Saturday, he scored 4 goals, and made 2 assists of his teams 7 points. On Tuesday night, he scored 3 goals and had 1 assist of his team's 6 points. The other team, seeing that he was doing so well, called a stick check, where the ref said his stick was 1/8 of an inch too stretched out and therefore, illegal. Pete and I were not very happy with the ref, to say the least, but it was a compliment to Jake that they considered him such a threat that they'd have his stick checked. (I still get a little angry just thinking about it!)

2. Mitch is playing baseball and is a great batter. He's an easy-going kid, such a pleasure to have around. He just finished making a "Mercedes-Benz" boat for the Raingutter Regatta, but was disappointed when his boat didn't win. He is a reading machine, he may even put me to shame. At night, I always have to double check before I go to bed to be sure he's not still up reading. Barnes and Noble may be his favorite place, as long as he's got cash for a new purchase. (I know, try the library, but he's not nearly as psyched about that.) He's also a fabulous piano player.

3. Madeline is my busy social girl. She's currently playing soccer, taking dance and piano, and has a dance concert coming up in June. The concert theme is Mary Poppins, so Madeline was anxious and excited to get her costumes (since she's wanted to be Mary Poppins for Halloween the last two years, but I don't have the skills to make the white and red dress from the chaulk scene in the park). Unfortunately, the costumes weren't what she hoped, so the search is still on. Her teacher told me that after struggling with a math at the beginning of the year, she has worked her way up to being one of the top math students in her class. She also learned how to crochet this spring and thinks its awesome. She and I spent last Sunday cooking together, making homemade pizza and other delicious food for Sunday dinner. She is also taking piano lessons and doing a great job.

4. Tyler is my funny boy. Last summer, he fell in love with an older woman (she's 8 to his 5). Though he hasn't seen her but once, he hasn't forgotten her and her awesome toys. He finally had the chance to see her again. I asked if she was like he remembered (we've all built someone up in our minds, only to realize that the dream was better than reality, I won't site any examples to protect the guilty) and he smiled for ear to ear and said yes, she was, even if she was 8, she was still his girlfriend. I asked if she knew that she was his girlfriend, to which he replied, "Of course she knows, I gave her the love look." What, pray tell is the love look, you might ask? Well, apparently she knows because she saw it and everyone knows what the love look is. He makes me laugh. He's also decided to change career paths from being a person who builds Lego sets on video to teach kids how to do it, to being a person who creates Lego sets. He is the Lego master. I have felt bad that his bedroom is our old office room, full of old oak bookshelves. I told Ty he could switch rooms, but he said that he has the best room ever because its not just a bedroom, its an office with lots of shelves for his lego's. He even has two empty shelves set aside for his next Christmas presents--I know, its only May. What can I say, the kid thinks ahead.

Pete and I are great. We are grappling with the finances and design of landscaping our yard. Pete's big request is that it be lawnmower friendly. That means that he wants cement curbing anywhere that grass meets dirt, so he can have one wheel on the cement curb and avoid edging all together. I think for the price of the cement curbing, he can hire someone to edge, or better yet, teach me and then pay me! He also wants a circular drive in the front yard so that we have as little grass as possible to mow. Pretty soon we're going to look like a playground in the Bronx! Ah well, I'll do my best to blend both of our ideas.

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me . . .

And who am I kidding, probably don't care to know. But this is my blog, so here it goes!

1. I was a witch for Halloween every year through elementary school. I'm not talking about cute Glinda (Wizard of Oz) either, I mean a plain, green faced, pointed hat, clad in black witch . . . every year. Talk about lack of creativity!

2. My ideal weight, in my very unhealthy mind, is the weight I achieved in college, when a Giardia parasite deprived me of all food and nutrients that entered my body. It also helped that I dropped all academic classes that semester and took all dance classes. It was the one time in my life when my parents were worried that I might be anorexic. Now, four children later, I still lament that I can't get down to that weight or wear those really tiny, light blue denim Guess jeans that I saved, just so I can remind myself that at one time, I could wear them.

3. I never rode on an airplane until I was 20 years old, and took a flight to Portland with my roommate Amy. I've flown many times since, but I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of flying.

4. I love to change the furniture around and have since my father built my sister and I a Barbie house as kids. If only it was as easy to rearrange full-size furniture.

5. Before I married my husband, I dated many and kissed two of his good friends. He took my sister to Junior Prom. In my defense, he wasn't taller than me until he was a junior in high school, so I really didn't think about him in that way. In his defense, my sister was shorter than me.

6. If it were socially acceptable, I would make my life a musical. Happy . . . I'd break into song and dance. Sad . . . I'd let the tears flow and ad-lib a really touching monologue about the woes of life. As it is, I will continue to dream about writing a Tony Award winning musical some day. (I've got it all outlined in my mind, I just haven't gotten it down on paper yet.)

7. I'm a dreamer in general. Here are a few of my other dreams: own a Country French style furniture/decorating store, go back to school to become an interior designer/architect, write the novels I've thought about writing for the last 10 years, and last, but not least, move to the south of France, where I will become fluent in French and buy baguettes from street vendors just like Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

8. I have decorators ADHD--self-diagnosed, but I'm sure its a real thing. That explains the constant state of flux in my house and yard.

9. I really love the idea of having a garden where I can provide fresh veggies while I cook incredible, simple healthy meals. So far, I have a rhubarb plant that doesn't produce very good rhubarb, or I just don't like it. But one day I hope to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, pumpkins, peas, beans, strawberries, and water melons, in addition to apple and peach trees. I just tore out the two apple trees I had, but I'm hoping to create my own little mini orchard by summer's end.

10. I'm a bathtub person. Why, you may ask, when you lie in your own filth? I'll tell you. Its the one time, other than bedtime, when I've justified "reading time." I think that is explanation enough.

Crazy. Busy Saturday

This has been an incredibly crazy day for us. Let me just rehash the schedule to give you an idea, though I'm sure, you too have days like this on occasion.

4:30am-Wake up to get ready for Salt Lake Marathon bike tour.
5:00am-Leave to pick up friends for bike tour.
7:00am-Pete train with personal trainer then hospital rounds.
6:00-7:35am-Ride my bike along with over a 1,000 others, beginning at the University of Utah and ending at Gateway. Always a fun ride.
8:15am-Back home, help get kids breakfast.
9:00am-Madeline's soccer game, Pete was the chauffeur today.
9:30am-Personal trainer for 30 minutes, although I skipped cardio. Figured 25 miles on a bike should suffice.
11:00am-Jake's first game in a basketball tournament in Murray.
12:30pm-Grocery shop for dinner Saturday and Sunday.
1:00pm-Jake's second game in his basketball tournament in Murray.
2:00pm-Jake has to be at Juan Diego high school in Draper for a Lacrosse tournament.
3:00pm-Jake's first lacrosse game.
5:00pm-Jake's second game and the start to our Easter Egg Hunt with Families at a friends house. (I prepared salad between games).
7:00pm-Elder's Quorum Date Night: Square Dancing. We had to attend, and it was fun, because Pete's in the presidency. We left early because . . .
8:45pm-Jake's 3rd lacrosse game of the day, the Championship game against Alta. Unfortunately, they lost, but they did get to play under the lights at the Juan Diego stadium.
10:00pm-Finish final touches and print the Bulletin for relief society. I didn't get to make copies this evening, which means I'll need to get to church a little early, or scramble during church.

AAAHHH! This day is finally over. So many good things, just too much for one day. I'm happy to have good, accommodating kids and a very helpful husband. Luckily he wasn't on call this weekend, or I'm not sure we could have pulled it off. I'm also grateful for wonderful friends who help with carpools and taking kids when I have more on my plate than I can manage (that refers to Friday night when Pete was operating late, so I was working solo!) Thank goodness for spring break and hopefully, a little more relaxation!

Winter Walk in Springtime

This morning, I dropped off my car to have the interior detailed. I found out, to my chagrin, that it would take 4 hours. Since Tyler comes home from preschool at noon, and I have to drive middle school carpool at 3pm, I decided I'd walk home, in hopes that the car would be done inbetween those times. Anyhow, this morning it started to snow, so after a delicious breakfast at "The Black Bear" cafe, I bought some gloves and a hat at the ski store and began my walk home. I was lucky to have my iPod with me, so I walked from 9400 South and Highland Drive, to my home on 8200 South. Walking home, I thought about all of the times I've visited New York, and walked miles and miles around the city. Yet, at home, I've never walked from The Firehouse Car Wash home (I've ridden my bike though). I decided that I would like to walk more. I live in suburbia, so its not as ideal for walking as New York City, but its such a healthier lifestyle and doesn't have to be just for exercise. I'd like to make it more a part of my everyday life. I've started walking with the kids to school on nice days, rather than taking the bus. I think I'd like to take my bike to the grocery store for small purchases and try to not be so dependent on my car. I figure less driving will equate to less fast food and Diet Coke runs. All good things.

Now, I had a good experience walking today, but it is March 25th and it is snowing outside. My lawn is a blanket of white. I love it and find it beautiful, but I hope its the last winter walk I take until 2012. Here's hoping!

Good news and Bad news

Last week was a hard week in many ways. I spent a lot of time worrying about my friend Lesa, and her upcoming surgery to remove a brain tumor last Thursday. So far, the news is really good for Lesa. They were able to remove almost all of the tumor and her neurological tests have been positive. I know she's in for a long haul, but I am happy for her and her family that all has gone so well.

The same day as Lesa's surgery, Peter and I found out that a good friend of ours from BYU, and even earlier, Pete's mission companion, had his younger brother die very unexpectedly. He was only 35 years old, very healthy, a young father of 3 with a baby on the way. His wife woke up to a snoring sound and tried to rouse him unsuccessfully, and later, paramedics could do nothing for him. His death is explained as Sudden Cardiac Arrest. He had a healthy heart upon autopsy, so it was just a freak thing. So very sad! Our friend Jared and his brother Justin were close in age and the best of friends, two of the funniest guys I've ever met. I am heart broken for Jared, his family, and especially Justin's wife and kids. Its crazy how you can wake up one night and have your entire life changed in a few short moments. A tragic reminder that we never know what will happen in life, so we need to make the best of life and enjoy it.

The good news is that Jake had a great, fun weekend in Twin Falls playing in a basketball tournament. His team won the championships, and though he didn't get as much playing time as on his old team, he had a great experience. There was another boy on the team whose father was one of Pete's college roommates (along with our friend Jared) and it was so great reconnecting with him. I lived across the hall from Pete at BYU, so we share a lot of past friendships and memories, which is nice. The whole family tagged along to support Jake. It was a great way to end a tough week.

Crazy Twists

I feel compelled to blog about how grateful I am for amazing friendships. I feel really blessed by these incredible associations I have whether in my neighborhood, my high school and college friends, through church and school and family. Technology is such a great way to stay in touch with friends . . . (thanks Steph for reading my blog, I think about you often, especially since your relatives live in my neighborhood . . . do you remember taking your parents Taurus for a cruise one sleepover?) I had a chance to spend time with friends from high school today, discussing books, kids and our lives. I love these friends. Its so nice to know that there are people who know you so well that it doesn't matter how different you are or if you're not wearing your make-up, or if you've put on noticeable pounds due to a steady diet of Girl Scout cookies, they accept you for who you are. I love that and look forward to laughing and relaxing and just catching up.

I also have great associations and friendships in my neighborhood and ward. This winter I've had the chance to ski on several occasions with ladies from my ward. We've danced Thriller and played tennis. I've also seen several of these women end up sick and its been amazing to watch others gather round and help them. One neighbor has a rare liver cancer, another breast cancer and most recently a brain tumor. As a ward, we have knelt on our knees after sacrament and asked prayers in their behalf. We've also had ward fasts. They are sad situations, but its such a strength to see how faith can build us and guide us. On a much lesser note, I have been the recipient of this service. Women reaching out and showing concern. Blessings from home teachers and ward leadership. Its nice to feel that type of love and concern. I hope in some small measure, that I can stretch myself and be less selfish.

In particular, one friend, who will have surgery on her brain tumor this Thursday, has been so incredible to me when I had my surgeries the last couple of years. She brought me movies, did my dishes, swept my floor, make incredible enchiladas Cafe Rio style, called to talk and check up on me. I really cherish her friendship. Its so hard to hear that someone you love has to go through these difficulties in life. I've slowly begun to learn that the people we meet and the relationships we build are the most important experiences we have in our lifetime. I think we come to know and become like God as we learn to love and serve others. I'm sure for others that's an obvious statement, but its really become apparent to me as I grow older.

Anyhow, my thoughts and prayers are with this friend and her family right now. I pray that her surgery will be successful and that somehow, in some small way, I can help her feel as loved and appreciated as she has made me feel.

Sick of Being Sick

We are having a hard winter at our home. It seems like someone or a multitude of family members have been sick since school started with very few healthy breaks. Just a few weeks ago, we had stomach flu, thankfully short lived, which compelled me to lysol the entire house and dry clean all of the quilts in the family room. A few weeks later, we took a trip to the pediatricians to find that the kids had strep. I was so relieved that antibiotics might actually help the kids feel better, but no, that's been followed with terrible colds that won't seem to go away. I've actually gotten embarrassed about saying I'm or anyone else is sick, since it seems like we've been sick all winter. Please bring on the good weather and health to our home. It makes me sad to hear kids with barking coughs, red, chapped noses, and watery eyes. Plus I'm tired of being sick myself. Hopefully, next year will be a better one for us.

When I tend to have sickness, I do a lot more reading. I've added up my number of pages read so far this year, and so far its 4,763 pages. I don't know whether to be proud or think about myself as pathetic. I just finished a good one by Jodi Picoult called The Pact, very compelling, actually hard to put down. I got it yesterday when I was buying decongestant at the pharmacy and I finished tonight. I also read the Forgotten Garden and Winter Garden, both were excellent books, some of my favorite that I've read recently. Just a few reading suggestions.

Since I started by complaining about my life, I better end with a few simple things that make me happy.

1. A warm house on a cold, snowy day. We had an incredibly beautiful snow storm last night that dumped about a foot of snow. Despite a lot of broken tree limbs, we woke to a glittering, beautiful, sun shiny snow day in the Salt Lake Valley. Its hard to beat the beauty of snow-capped mountain peaks against a vivid blue sky.

2. Grateful that Jake was the student of the day at Albion yesterday. He was nominated by his health teacher who says his enthusiasm is contagious, that he's a great kid, and she loves his updates on the Jimmer (BYU basketball player for those who don't know). I'm proud of him! We don't always see eye to eye, but I'm grateful for a teacher who celebrates his unique, great, confident personality.

3. I love that Tyler still loves to crawl in bed with me to cuddle in the mornings. Its become a bit of a ritual and the day doesn't feel quite right if he doesn't cuddle with me. Today, since I had a horrible, sleepless night, he didn't come in first thing in the morning, but later in the afternoon, we got to cuddle and read our favorite storybook, Skippyjon Jones. Its hard to have your kids grow up. Its nice to cling to those simple, kind moments--I recognize they're fleeting!

Life is good!

Lately, I've been trying to simplify my life a bit. Life can be so busy and hectic, its nice to pause and appreciate the great things that uplift our spirits. So here are a few things that have made me happy as of late.

1. Finishing a good book. I just finished The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman, a novel about the life of the Henry III. I also finished a book called Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah, a novel about a woman and her daughters, coming to have a relationship as they learn about their mother's past. A good book is a like a cheap vacation. So nice to get away from the everyday, for a fraction of cost and headache!

2. NPR, National Public Ratio. I have felt very current in the last few weeks, especially with the situation in Egypt. My wonderful neighbors are originally from Egypt and so I was elated to hear that the peaceful protests were paying off. Unfortunate that so many were killed, but nice to see that people can make a difference in their lives. I also got some great book recommendations: The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik and a teen novel for my son, entitled something like "When my name was Joe." NPR can be addicting!

3. Skiing, Zumba and Pilates on a Ball. I have finally felt up to getting exercise other than walking or swimming, post-surgery. I've been down on myself for putting on some of the weight I worked so hard to loose last year, but you can't help but feel better when you get up and start to exercise. My friend Janie and I have been doing Zumba (BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM is stuck in my head) and Pilates, even a yoga class at Cottonwood Heights. Its been great to have an exercise partner--makes me accountable. Plus I've been able to go skiing during the week with some of my girlfriends. So fun and extremely beautiful on sunny, clear days. I'm grateful to have some many great outlets for exercise and friendship.

4. Experimenting with recipes.

5. Cleaning my closet.

6. Switching up the furniture. This is always a good way for me to create change, which I thrive on, without drastically upsetting the rest of my family by moving or another remodel!

7. The lesson today in Relief Society. We had a lesson on work and finding balance in our lives between work and rest. Always nice to feel rejuvenated spiritually before another busy week, and a nice reminder that to work is great, but that rest is also necessary.

Reading for 2010

Wow, just added up my list of books for 2010 . . . I read 62 books last year. That's a little over 5 a month. I'm surprised, I didn't think I read that much in a month. Maybe this year I'll keep track of page numbers too. Its interesting to record how you spend your time. I really do other things! (Correction, just found another book I forgot to record, so 63 books for 2010.)