Lots of time for thoughts right now

Pmc here (yes I'm still alive despite very little written evidence in the form of blog posts recently...)  I -obviously- don't write very often, which means that when I do I tend to wax philosophic and try my best to make this count for about 3 months worth of posts! (Sneaky, right?)
Just like every other week of my life, this week has been unlike any other...  It started off with some bad news: (See Atec's post about LAME car criminal mischief)  Then there were a couple of good chapters... on Tuesday I made a couple pots of my personal recipe chili for a competition sponsored by a local radio station.  I won this round and advanced to the finals in a couple of weeks. I'm excited to know that my chili recipe is good enough to win a competition, and I'm super hopeful that I'll win the grand prize - a $500 gift card and a trip to a Utah football game!
Also, Thanksgiving day was perfect.  I had fun playing in a local 'Turkey Bowl', then coming home to be with my family and making the rolls for a splendid dinner with some of my extended family.  Dinner was even better than usual, and the night ended with some games and a good night's sleep.  (Which marks the last night in which I slept well...) Which brings me to the next piece of bad news: The Utes' football loss to the lowly Colorado Buffaloes. It was a disaster. Cold. Windy.  Ugly.  It's literally been the first football game which I've lost sleep over; each night since I've awoken with the game on my mind and it's taken me at least 30 minutes to fall back asleep.  What's wrong with me!!??!!
All of this led me to do some pondering over the last 36 hours as we spent time up at my family's cabin in the mountains East of SLC and came back home last night.  I've known for a long time that sports, especially University of Utah sports, mean more to me than they probably should.  What I'm trying to figure out now is, why do they mean so much, and how can I change it?  I don't think it's unhealthy, I just want it to be more... uh, more manageable!?!?
This time spent in thought lately has been good for me.  I've realized that most of the time I know I'm a wonderful guy in a lot of ways.  (Humble, I know.)  But there are moments almost every day that I honestly struggle to feel good about myself, and I think the best way for me to feel better about myself as a whole is to adjust some of the little things - like caring a little too much about sports- which are holding me back.  There's nothing big and glaring, but the accumulation of small deficiencies can be as bad as one big obvious flaw.  Life isn't about perfection, but improvement.  I'm enthused and slightly terrified at the opportunities I have right now to improve and I'm actually grateful that my eyes have been profoundly opened to some specific changes I can make. Carpe Diem!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. I just love having an entire holiday to remind us how important it is to be Thankful. I only have a minute, so I'm just going to tell you about two things I'm grateful for.

Leaves to rake and jump in with my boys in the fall. I am grateful for something that teaches so instantaneously the value of work. You rake up the leaves, and then you have fun jumping in them. It helps me try to remember that in all the other work we do around here.

My little sister Cse who just left on her mission last week. We miss our in-house babysitter, her serene presence, and someone to always care. But we are already feeling the blessings of her service.

CTR

In our church there is a common phrase used: "Choose The Right." It is used most frequently with children and youth to help them remember to make good choices. Often it is shortened to CTR and placed on things like rings, bracelets and necklaces. Cpc has a little bracelet that says CTR on it. We haven't yet really talked about this phrase, but he loves the bracelet. Actually, he loves to chew on the bracelet because he's always seeking some oral input.

Anyhow, this morning we drove daddy to work and he was chewing on his bracelet in the back of the car when we heard him say "CTR means not getting on time-out." It sure made me smile.

LAME

Our car got broken into last night. LAME! Actually, it didn't get broken into, it was unlocked. We are usually pretty good at locking up, but I probably got a little lazy thinking "it's behind the house, who even knows it's there?" There wasn't much to steal, we managed to remember to bring the camera in (although it's usually in the diaper bag/backpack that was left in the car). So, the only thing of real monetary value was the GPS.

Yes, we're sad about the GPS, it was really nice to have. But we did get it for free, and we can live without it just fine (now that we're not living in New York!).

However, they also stole our little diaper bag/backpack. I don't get it. Yes, it is Kelty brand (because it came with our Kelty child carrier) - but really? It's a kids size backpack that didn't even have decent straps. Why in the world would you dump everything out if it (including a pretty nice little travel camera tripod) and take the bag? I don't get it.

We hope that on judgement day whoever stole it will have to watch a little playback of Cpc crying when he found out it was gone. Either that or return it to our porch. We won't look for fingerprints or even try to turn you in. He just wants his backpack returned!

P.S. Why in the world would you take the GPS and not take the charging cord (even though it was RIGHT THERE with the GPS)?

Couples Workshop

We spent our date night last week on supporting my "Power of Moms Trainer Manager" and attending her Couples Workshop. Can I just say QUA-LI-TY? Yes, that is exactly what it was. That was a quality way to spend our date night. I highly recommend attending one sometimes. Much more manageable than getting away to a Couples Retreat. Anyhow, we got lots of great ideas, but the one we're choosing for now to implement is some family rules.

I know all family's have rules - but I also think most family's are like ours - we had too many rules. We needed to pare it down and make our system easy enough for our kids to understand. So we now have 4 family rules: Respect, Love, Order and Happy. Pretty much all our other family rules fit into one of these categories. We also have specific consequences to go with each of these rules - and they're working much more effectively because the kids know exactly what to expect (instead of their behavior getting responded to with anger, time-out, or ignorance - depending how much time or attention mom or dad want to give!).

I wish I had remembered to get a picture of Tiffany and I with our husbands or something - one of these times I guess!

Bubble Bath vs. String Orchestra Pit

So the other night we were listening to one of my very favorite pieces ever written - Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. I love this piece for so many reasons, one of which is that I performed it in Europe with my orchestra just after high school. Anyway, there is a part in the piece where it goes from super-duper quiet, almost inaudible, to super loud very suddenly. Pmc mentioned how he thought that was obnoxious and I argued that it was one of my favorite things about the piece - and ultimately we just got talking about music and how it affects us.

Toward the end of the conversation I made a startling realization. If I was seeking relaxation, I would prefer to sit in the center of a quality string orchestra over a bubble bath. Yes, really. I think the vibrations of a string orchestra are as relaxing/comforting as a bubble bath. I have always cherished quartets and string orchestra's and I think that's why. There is something about those vibrations that just melt my heart and make my troubles melt away. I always found it funny when my friends said that listening to classical music puts them to sleep. How can you possibly fall asleep in a bathtub? For me, that kind of music is totally relaxing, but in an entirely different way than would put me to sleep.

Now you know a little more about me. No wonder I stuck with violin for so long, but too bad I can't be a quartet all by myself. So anyone else think there is something better than a bubble bath?

The Candyman

Remember back here when Cpc got to dress like "The Candyman" from Candyland? Yeah, well, because of Cdc's name - he has received the official nickname of "The Candyman." We apparently got rid of the hat and mittens we used for Cpc's picture - but we figured we better get a picture of him in this outfit - even if he's outgrown it a little.

Trick or Treat

Our boys just might have really enjoyed and understood Halloween this year. And we just might have tried to live it up.

Just kidding, those things are both definitely true.
 
The Cundick Cousins' Halloween party was as great a hit as ever this year. We're so grateful for cousins who live close to have these fun things with!

The boys also really enjoyed carving pumpkins this year, and Cpc even helped clean out the seeds and strings in his own pumpkin and only washed his hands when we were done! They each got their own small pumpkin from the Sprague Library Pumpkin Storytime this year - we sure thought that was generous! They got to decorate them with stickers and glue and stuff at the library, and then strip it all off and carve them.


Cpc got to be a clown - in the costume Grams made years ago for her kids. His favorite part was honking his nose at people. Originally he got the comedic timing of it down just right - but then he just got so excited he was honking it before the door even opened. Cpc may have also really enjoyed getting candy from people. We tried really hard to help him understand that you just take one candy (or two if they tell you to), but he was too wrapped up in getting more and more candy in his bucket to listen. He was thrilled however at the generosity people had to provide him with such fun treats. He was very good at saying "Thank you" along with his "Happy Hawoween!"

Cdc was just thrilled as could be at how everyone thought he was so cute, as well as the fact that people kept giving him "chokut." It didn't take us long to realize that he's definitely a momma's boy in this category as well. We've been letting the kids get something out of their buckets each morning after breakfast and each night before they brush their teeth. As soon as we tell them it's time for candy Cdc starts chanting "chokut, chokut, chokut." What can I say, he knows the good stuff!

Lost in Learning in UTAH!!!!

My dear cousin Eva is coming to do a lecture this week at the Leonardo Museum. The bad news is that it's during my workshop on Thursday, so I can't go. Bad timing on my part. I hate to tell you to not come to my event - but if you weren't even thinking about it - you can go hear Eva lecture. She is absolutely brilliant, so personable and her photography is stunning. I mean, have you seen those pictures on our blog title? Yeah, she took those.

If you can't make her lecture either, you can go see the Lost in Learning exhibit down in Provo until January. I've blogged before about Lost in Learning here (there's a link there to buy her book) and here she's also working on a a few new projects (including finding freedom) too that I can hardly wait to see! For more information on the lecture and exhibit go here. For more information on Eva and her work go here. Too many links? Sorry!