My Loves and Hates

I just finished reading the first chapter in Retire Young, Retire Rich by Robert Kiyosaki. He suggested writing down a list of things you love and hate so that you can see where your passion is. I tend to be pretty easy going about most things, so I thought I would take some time and really look at what I like and what I don't like. This is something of a major effort for me, as I tend to enjoy life in general and don't think too much about what I want. . . which also means that it takes a lot to get me excited (as my poor husband has pointed out.) I love passionate people, they have energy, purpose, and things just happen around them. My husband is a passionate person, and many of my closest friends are also passionate. These people invigorate me, I love being in their presence. So, here we go, in no particular order. . . Believe it or not, there are some things that I both love and hate.

Things I Love - - - - -Things I Hate

A good night's sleep - - - - - A night where sleep is hard to find

My husband - - - - - - - - - - When work takes him away overnight

Making my son laugh - - - - When he cries and I don't know why

Stephens Hot Chocolate - - - When it is so hot it burns my tongue

Reading a good novel - - - - -When it ends depressingly

A long and soothing shower - My hair has to be redone afterwards

Going to see friends - - - - - -Canceling the trip for money reasons

Feeling Productive - - - - - - -When a day feels wasted

Laughing Hard - - - - - - - - - Crying, especially for no reason

Constitutional Conventions - -Stupid Proposals that hinder progress

Public Speaking - - - - - - - - -Teaching to people who won't learn

A Good Discussion - - - - - - - Pointless arguments

Truth, principles - - - - - - - - Lies, twisted assumptions

Learning, growing - - - - - - - Stagnation, uneducated opinions

Surrounding myself with success - Doomsayers, Lobsters

Helping my friends - - - - - - -Seeing them struggle, and I cannot help

Sabbath Day - - - - - - - - - - -Not going to church

Being with my family - - - - - -Feeling torn between my families

Watching a good movie with my Hunny - - Scary movies, all of them

A cat's purr - - - - - - - - - - - -Ticks, they are evil

Well, it is a start. It amazes me how I can find more and more things that I have opinions about as I start looking.

During Nap Time

Typing and holding a wiggly four month old are a couple of things that don't really go together. I somehow manage it, making him sit between my arms while my fingers fly across the keys, hoping to get an uninterrupted sentence in. Today has been a day of mini difficulties . . . but it was still a good day. It was just that Daniel didn't want to take a long nap - at all. Plus he wants to be constantly entertained. So all those things that I save for nap-time have had to be done with creativity. This has also made me realize how much I rely on nap-time.

During Nap-Time I do the following:
Clean my house (which was done in 1 minute increments today or one handed while holding Jr.)
exercise (I usually try to walk on my tread mill, but today I swayed in the kitchen, trying to put him to sleep. . . does that count?)
Type my Blog (this one is taking awhile, cause sometimes I am typing one handed.)
Go over finances (which didn't happen today)
Read a little from a good book (I finished the One Minute Millionaire today)
And any other random things that need to be done.

My son has been extra cuddly today, so even putting things off until he is playing happily on the floor (which is Plan B) didn't work. All in all though, it has been a good day. I have done a load of laundry, swept the floor, cleaned the kitchen, finished a book, did a few things for my mom, and still was able to blog. There go all my excuses. I am going to have at least write once a day now. Oops.

The First Day of Snow

I just want to curl up by the fire with a nice warm cup of Hot Chocolate. Stevens anyone? I couldn't believe it when I woke up this morning and looked outside. Yesterday was absolutely delightful, I even walked barefoot to the mail box. This morning there was a good three inches or more of snow on top of cars and on the parking lot. The Good News (since we are managers) is that it is already melting away. But still - It Snowed.

My son just stared at it. 4 months old, and he is already accepting of changes. Maybe it is because everything is so new to him all the time. He just takes it in stride. What he really hates is boredom. He wants constant new stimulus. Sometimes all I have to do to make him happy is go into another room and he is fascinated by all the new sights. "Thats right, Danny, someday you can read War and Peace too!"

Sleep Anyone?

My son has decided to change his sleeping habits. He wants sleep, and lots of it, but is doing his best to mess up all of mommy's sleep at the same time. He has started getting fussy every two hours of the night. But, get this! he is still asleep while fussing!!!! So, he wakes me up, and I try my best to keep him from really waking up, but he is still in dream land. Plus, he has been waking up at 6 in the morning. . . instead of the previous 7:30.

I think he is gearing up for some serious teething. . . and while I am prepared with plenty of calc-phos 6 for his teeth, I am not looking forward to it.

Yesterday I was so exausted, that after letting Scott sleep in until 9am, I asked him to watch the baby while I took an hour long nap. He is such a wonderful husband! I was awakened an hour later to hear my son crying and my husband saying "just hold on, and I will finish changing you and then we can go for a walk!" By then I was well rested enough to face the day, so the walk didn't happen. But kudos to my dear husband for taking care of me!

I think that Mothers adapt to less sleep. The sleep that I would call normal and invigorating now is not the same sleep I needed before having my little son. Scott will wake up sometimes and look at the clock and say "Wow! a whole 8 hours! Perfect!" I just smile, because his eight hours is my eight hours minus interuptions during the night that start about midnight. I do kinda miss the uninterupted sleep. Now my dreams are very short, but I think my body is compensating by slipping into REM sleep quickly. Either way, while I could take a nap to catch up, I never do. When Baby is sleeping is when I get things done!

The Power of Positive Thinking

For the last week I have been inundating myself with positive reinforcement. I watched a special on it, listened to a very good talk about it, and have a "vision board" where I put the things I want and look at it every day. I have also been reading books and books about finances lately, and they all see to start with. . . attitude.

Whether or not it works on a financial level doesn't matter to me (but I postively beleive that it does!) What I find amazing about this little principle called Hope, is that it changes how you live your life. When you get up in the morning and chase away anything negative and focus on all the positive things, the day is wonderful. It doesn't matter what goes wrong, you are happy. I find myself getting excited easily. Just the thought of something I want going right, and it brings a smile to my face, a lift to my step, and I feel like I have already received the blessings. This is also affecting my gratitude. I find myself being grateful for so many things, and literally feeling the positive energy flowing through my body.

In the documentary, they call our thoughts magnets. Whatever we focus on, we attract. I have definately been feeling magnetic as I get excited about the wonderful things in my life. I feel abundant, and it seems to be coming to pass. Not that I have an overflowing bank account at the moment, but I feel the effects coming closer and closer.

No, I am not going to go on a shopping spree tomorrow, that would be irresponsible. But, I can get excited about the idea of doing it. . . and it tickles me to death.

The biggest change has come from my husband. I have always tried to be positive and hopeful, I learned these things young (and have recently been reminded how powerful they can be.) But as I have watched the realization enter his mind the He is in control of his thoughts and that they have a powerful affect, our week has completely changed. Understand, my husband is a pretty positive guy, he doesn't go around being grumpy on a regular basis or anything. It is just that he grew up in an enviroment steeped in negativity. Fighting that has been hard, but he has learned how to do it, and the power it has in his life. He is happier than he has been in awhile, and confident . . . he doen't doubt himself as much. It is really amazing to see the difference.

A dear friend and I had an ongoing debate about hope and whether or not it was a good thing. I firmly declare that it is the BEST thing in the world. Hope is what colors your veiw and makes life a joy to live. Without it all would be grey, colorless, and despairing. Should we hope for the impossible? YES! Should we dream about our deepest desires? YES! Why would we put any kind of limit on our potential when a little bit of hope in ourselves opens up our creativity in wonderful ways?

"What man can conceive, man will acheive."

What a Week!

My poor son had a difficult week. His mom was so caught up in the events of Chiya's wedding that he didn't spend a single day at home. I think that is why he started learning how to scream in that high pitched, ear-splitting way. My little sisters love him to death, and don't bring him to me until he is really upset. Needless to say, it is with a sigh of releif that I sit here at home while he sleeps peacefully for a full nap, without carseat distractions, for the first time this week.

I enjoyed the wedding, and am pleased to see my sister so happy. It brought back alot of memories for me, and I am so glad that I married my husband. I watched Chiya dance with my father, and I became a little teary eyed. Dancing with dad has always been a treat. He is an excellent dancer, and we all want to be swept off our feet by daddy. I hope that all of my sisters will have the pleasure of dancing with Dad at their weddings.