January Report

Here's my report on the month and my goals and resolutions:

1. First things first: going pretty well. Most days I get my scriptures and exercise in. Of course, there's always room for improvement, but I feel great about how it's gone so far.
2. One shelf/drawer per day: I only missed four days this month, three of which were when I was sick. 27 out of 31 days is pretty good. You'd think things would look a little better around here, but if you open some drawers and cupboards, improvement is happening!
3. 30-30-30: I'm still loving this! There are many days when I don't have the discretionary time to do it, but when I do, it's magic for my efficiency.
4. Skype/video chat: I've got my webcam set up, and have used it to talk to Audrey's children. I've done face time on my phone with the other grandchildren, but haven't actually set up Skype yet. Maybe in February.
5. Music: Thank you Audrey! She's been here this week and set up all, yes all, my music on my computer, and got my iTunes going. Now I have to learn how to play it on various electronic devices, and make my play lists. 2012 will be a musical year for me.
6. Photos: I have not had time to delve into that yet. The year is still young, and with my music mostly taken care of, I should have lots of time to get going with this.

Not bad for month one. Of course, this may be my only monthly report if 2012 goes as most years do. But I feel great about things so far!

Healer by Carol Cassella

I almost don't know what to say about this book. It's early in the morning, and my thoughts don't want to settle down. I'll make a list (I'm in a list phase in my life right now).

1. Good writing - I wanted to keep reading, but at the same time I wasn't just driven to get to the book every minute of the day.

2. It is set in Washington state, which I loved. She had Seattle and Eastern Washington down pat.

3. The story was hard for me to read. Perhaps that's why I'm having a hard time settling down to write about it.

Enough list. I think of myself as enjoying most kinds of books. In particular I love historical novels and biography, and of course there is a special spot in my heart for a fun mystery at anytime. But I do like all sorts of books, and if the writing is excellent, then my world is complete.

When life is worrisome or anxious I want to read to escape my world. That's what I want from a movie too.  I don't have anything in particular going on right now, but I do have some things weighing on my heart (is life ever empty of those moments?). I need light reading, or at least escapist reading that doesn't add to my worries. This book wasn't exactly like that. It's about a couple who have been wealthy, and have now lost everything. The story is how they deal with this change in their life individually, as a couple, and as a family (they have spoiled 14 year old daughter). Their road is a little rocky. The plot is timely, in this world of financial ups and downs that we live in. People everywhere are dealing with this struggle in one way or another. I'm aware in my own life of people I love dealing with this. It's not easy, and I have to say it wasn't easy to read about either.

So. If you're in a place to read a story like this, I recommend the book. Good writing, good character development, good plot. If you want escape from the real world, wait awhile and read the book when you are in a better place.

You Say It's Your Birthday

It's my birthday too!

Yup, it's true. Today I am 55 years old. The numbers tell me it will be a great year! My kids make fun of me because I hate math, yet I love numbers. Well, truthfully, I love odd numbers. And if it's a prime number too, even better. 55 is two prime, odd numbers put together. And divisible by 5. The 25th is an odd number, and divisible by 5 (I love that). And, two plus five equals seven (odd, prime) and five minus two equals three (odd, prime). So you see, all the numbers align just right in my world. I love my birthday.

When I was young my mom made a big deal of our birthdays. No parties really, but I was pretty much queen for the day. The only downside was my mom was not a morning person (understatement) so we didn't open gifts until my dad was home from work. Torture for children! All day people would ask what I got for my birthday, and I had to say I didn't know yet. Luckily that didn't ruin birthdays for me at all.

In college my roommate Shawn would put on the Beatles' You Say It's Your Birthday and crank up the volume full blast to wake us up on our birthday. That song always puts a smile on my face.

Some wonderful people in my world were born on my birthday:

• My cousin Nancy was born exactly one year earlier than I was. I always loved sharing my birthday with her.
• My best friend had her son Todd on my 36th birthday. Every year Todd and I count down the days till our birthday during the month of January.
• My fourth grandchild, and second granddaughter, Rachel Diane, was born three years ago on my 52nd birthday.
• This morning a friend in my neighborhood had her baby. At church on Sunday I asked her exactly when this week her baby was due, and she told me Friday. I told her to try for Wednesday and her baby could share my birthday. She complied. Wasn't that thoughtful? That baby has many great birthdays in store.

My birthday wish for today? That everyone has a wonderful day. I know I plan to have one!

Rise and Shout!

We are avid BYU fans. We have season tickets for football and men's volleyball. (Ray played for BYU's JV volleyball team many years ago). Ray's parents and his sister Amy and her husband Jim have tickets with us. I love it. 

Football season is fun, but volleyball season might even be better. Inside (thus warm) seats, bigger seats, closer seats to the action, and an exuberant crowd make for very fun games. Last night we played USC, and the crowd went wild at the very end when we spiked the final hit (we won 3-1). I was reminded of my first experience with college athletics.

BYU vs. USC, January 20, 2012 in BYU's Smith Fieldhouse

I was on the swim team in high school. I wasn't any good, but I enjoyed it and I really enjoyed the social life that went with it.

My junior year, out of the blue, our parents bought tickets for me and my sister Cheryl (she was a freshman) to go to the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.  The Championships were in Long Beach which was a couple of hours away for us. We drove down, just the two of us, and stayed the week with some friends of the family. We had tickets for every part of the Championships - all the qualifying heats for swimming and diving, and all of the finals.

That week was one of the most exciting of my life. I had never been to a college athletic event, much less one where several schools were gathered under one roof, all fiercely competitive with one another. We spent all day sitting on the bleachers watching every qualifying heat. As the swimmers took their place on the starting blocks the cheers began. U-C-L-A, U-C-L-A, U-C-L-A Fight! Fight! Fight! We are S-C!, We are S-C!, etc. etc. We were thrilled!

But we had no idea what excitement really was until the evenings, when the finals were held. Holy cow! You could not even hear yourself think for all the noise. Suddenly a team would break out in a cheer, then follow it with their fight song. Soon all the teams were cheering and singing. I tell you, my adrenaline is pumping right now just remembering it.

That week was one of the best, most fun of my high school years. Last night as BYU fans broke out in the fight song, followed by the Rah-rah-Rah-rah-rah! Rah-rah-Rah-rah-rah! Gooooooo Cougars! I immediately thought back to that wonderful week in Long Beach. What a great memory.

GiGi

Meet GiGi:

Well, that's not exactly GiGi, but it's pretty close. GiGi is my grandson Matthew's (age 5) latest obsession. GiGi goes everywhere with Matthew and provides endless entertainment for all of us.

Matthew talks to GiGi, listens to GiGi, and explains the inner workings of GiGi's mind to us. Here's an interaction that Matthew and I had the other night:

Matthew had eaten an orange, and was in the middle of eating a hot dog for dinner.
Matthew: GiGi wants an orange
Me: GiGi can have an orange when you have finished your hot dog
Matthew: GiGi is thinking how fun it would be to jump on the orange and smash it
Me: If GiGi is going to jump on the orange and smash it, he may not have an orange
Matthew: He's only thinking about it
Me: You just tell GiGi that I will not give him an orange if he will be jumping on it
Matthew: GiGi will do anything I tell him. He is always obedient
Me: Like you should be with your mother?

What a way to crush a conversation with a five year old. Matthew immediately covered both ears to signal that he was no longer listening (which gives me little faith on the ultimate obedience of GiGi).

I will note, however, that after Matthew finished his hot dog we got an orange for GiGi. Matthew happily ate every bit of it for him.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House was chosen for our book group this month. The girl who chose it and I usually have the same taste in books, and I always look forward to reading what she recommends. I finished the book several days ago, and I keep ruminating over it. How do I express how I felt about the book?

Then I came across the Goodreads review of the book by another member of our group. It was spot on:

"This was the most horrifying, depressing book I have ever read. Yet I couldn't put it down or stop reading it. I hate violence, which was in full force here. But the topic was real and the writing compelling. It will be an interesting book club discussion next week. "

I honestly could not word it better myself. I could not put the book down. I can't wait to discuss it. I'm hoping someone can offer some glimmer of hope to be found from the book.

The book is primarily about slavery in the South. Hence, there's not a lot of room for hope or a joyful outcome. However, I would say the one thing I gleaned from the book was that the slaves made the best of the life they were given. They did not wallow in despair, but rather got on with life. I guess that's the lesson we can all take from the book.

Romance

I love romance. I always thought I'd be the romantic in my relationship. Well, it turns out that although I think romantically, Ray behaves romantically. Lucky for me. Not as lucky for him.

Ray's the one who wanted to get married on Valentine's Day. We knew were going to get married over President's Day weekend, and Friday was the 15th. We planned on being married on Friday, and having the rest of the weekend for a honeymoon. Then Ray said if we're that close to Valentine's, let's just get married then. So we did. Valentine's Day this year will be our 32nd anniversary.

Two recent happenings spurred this post. The first was a bridal shower I attended last week. It was during one of those "ask the bride a question and see if the groom gets it right" games. The question posed was "when was your first kiss?" I leaned over to the girl next to me and said, "September 26, 1975 for me and Ray." I still remember that day. We hiked up to the Y on the mountain east of BYU, then went to an exhibition volleyball game. BYU men's team vs. the 1976 Olympic team. BYU's volleyball coach at the time was also the Olympic team coach. Ray kissed me for the first time after the volleyball game. Right at that tree in the picture above.

The second occurred this morning. I got in the car and turned on the ignition. Immediately the radio came on, with James Taylor singing, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You).That's our song. Anytime Ray and I went on a special date he would cue his tape of James Taylor so that when he started the car, that song would come on. Today I actually checked to see if there was a CD and Ray had cued it in the car. No, it was just the radio.  It was a sweet start to my day.

First Things First, Shelves and Drawers, and 30-30-30

I love the month of January. It's a time of fresh beginnings, and of course having a birthday added in there is always a help. I like to reflect on the past year through rose-colored glasses, then plan ahead for what I'd like to happen in the upcoming year. I'm often hyper-productive for a few weeks, then settle back down into reality.

So here's my plan for 2012:
1. First things first
2. One shelf or drawer a day
3. 30-30-30

Translation:
1. I have a few things I will do my best to do each day. They include reading my scriptures, exercising, and completing my chores for the day (laundry, pay bills, clean, etc - depending on the day). The plan is to complete these things first, before I do anything else.

2. I would like to clean/organize/weed out/simplify one shelf or drawer in my house each day. I'm keeping a chart. I may have to think of a reward for this one (maybe a piece of chocolate after I complete the task).

3. 30-30-30 is my latest attempt to keep myself on track during the day. So far it's working pretty well, so I'll keep this system until it fails. Then I'll have to be creative again and try something else. This is how it works: for my discretionary time I choose three areas I want to work on that day. Typically it's a sewing project, working on my list of general things to do (for details on that, see this post: To-Do List: Friend or Foe?), and one other area - usually something pressing in my upcoming schedule. I set my timer for 30 minutes and work on the first area. Then I set the timer again and work on the second area. Then 30 minutes for the third area. I do that as many times as I can fit in during the day.

It's silly, but knowing that timer is ticking away really keeps me on my toes and working instead of dawdling around.

I tend to save the best for last. I save the best food on my plate to eat last. I put off doing fun things until after I get more mundane things done (no dessert until you eat your vegetables). With 30-30-30, I get the fun things done too, and no guilty feelings. Some days I don't have time for 30-30-30 because of other obligations. Sometimes I only get in one rotation. Other days I get a few rotations in. I always feel a sense of satisfaction no matter how many rotations I fit in.

30-30-30 also allows me a lot of flexibility (a key to happiness for me right now). It seems like a win-win-win situation. This way I pare down that to-do list slowly but surely, one step at a time.

Resolution

My number one resolution for the year (it moved to first place yesterday) is to take a few steps out of the dark ages and into the 21st Century.

1. Learn to Skype/video chat so I can see my grandchildren more often. Oh, and my kids too.

2. Learn new ways of listening to my music via computer, iPhone, etc.

3. Figure out Picasa or some similar program so my photos can be stored in an additional place (cyberspace?) for safekeeping.

No laughing. It's true.

One step at a time.

Gift of Magic by Lynn Kurland

Gift of Magic is a novel of the Nine Kingdoms, and the third book in the Spellweaver trilogy.

I love Lynn, and really like most of her novels. This one wasn't as great for me. It was work to remember who and what and where everything was in the story. And quite frankly the story was anticlimactic.  Maybe I would have liked it better had I read all three novels right in a row, but I didn't want to go back and read the other two. I have too many books I want to get to right now.

The other problem I have with her fantasy books are the names of people and locations. I am such a literal reader that I try to sound out everything, and it takes longer to get through the books. Kind of like reading a Russian novel.

So, hard as it is for me to say anything negative about anything Lynn writes, I must admit to disappointment in this one. I liked the Princess of the Sword trilogy much better. And of course her romance novels are fun, and clean.

A Tiny Little Complaint (Or Two)

I hate to do this (every time I say/write that phrase the thought runs through my mind that I must not hate it enough, or I really wouldn't do it), but I have a few small complaints. I'll just voice them, then be done.

1. I had big plans for the week after Christmas, and they all fell by the wayside. I'll just say it this way: my granddaughter threw up on Christmas day (also her birthday) and that may have been the highlight of the week.

2. I know the week wasn't all bad, but I didn't feel well. And when I don't feel well it obscures reality.

3. My sister's family was here. It should have been a blast. Parts were fun (a couple of great meals, some good Dr. Mario games), but no one was really feeling on top of the world the whole time.

4. Debby and family were here for the whole week. We had fun plans. None of them got done (at least my part). Debby worked and worked on our 2010 family photo album.

5. Today I went to put away my parents' Christmas decorations and the carpet was wet in that room. There's a leak somewhere in our utility closet. I did not move to the desert to have to deal with water problems. I wanted to leave all that excess water behind in the Pacific Northwest.

6. Okay, this one has been sitting in my gut for a month now: my daughter Audrey and her family were in a car accident on December 2nd. They hit packed snow and the car spun around and around. The back window blew out. They lost most of their possessions in the car which flew out that back window. No one was hurt, thank heavens, but not one, let me repeat that, NOT ONE car (and there were several on the road) stopped to see if they were okay. NOT ONE.

There, now I feel better. At least mentally. I still don't feel up to par physically.

The good news is: I set a goal for myself this year, and I'm only three days behind on the goal so far.

Maybe that's why this year I'm going to work on being flexible.

A Dublin Student Doctor by Patrick Taylor

I really, really like these books. This is the sixth book written by Patrick Taylor about Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly and his Irish Country Doctor experiences.

This book is actually about O'Reilly's student doctor days in Dublin (as you can tell from the title) in the 1930's. I found myself mentally walking the halls of the hospitals he trained in, picturing the patients he encountered. Patrick Taylor is a gifted storyteller.

I highly recommend these books. They'd be a great start to anyone's reading New Year. The first is An Irish Country Doctor.