SunshineFive

The best kind of Monday there is!

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 17:01:37 GMT

I'd have to say that the best kind of Monday there is, is the kind that begins on Tuesday. That is to say, I love the three day weekend that ends on Monday night! The week goes by SO much more quickly... it makes the whole morning beautiful.

It's amazing how obsessed we can be with getting the week over with, only to have another one follow. And then we complain that there's never enough time! I'm trying to change that. I'm going to start getting up at 5:30 in the morning instead of 6:00. I'm going to be beautiful inside and out every day. And I'm going to thank God from the bottom of my soul for the person that invented air conditioning!

The Scott Peterson trial starts today. I was all set to rush out and call the cable company so I can follow it. Laci Peterson and I had birthdays close together. Her baby was due 4 weeks before mine was. That's about all we had in common, but it was enough to feel... even more disgust than the regular Joe out there about what happened to her and her baby. And just now I've decided that I don't want to know all the gory details. That's for the jury to know. I'm going to devote my time and energy to something more positive. Like teaching Son 1 to stop freaking out all the time by doing yoga.

Well, MOMS Club duties call. End of the Year Brunch is this morning and I have thankyous to write to last year's board.

Success

Sun, 30 May 2004 19:48:01 GMT

I don't think I have ever felt this successful in my life. It's a wonderful feeling!

I found out that I won the election for the MOMS Club secretary that I belong to. And by quite a bit, they tell me. I feel really honored.

I turned 29 on Friday. Woo. I was pretty sure that it was not going to be a good day that day, but I am amazed at the sense of peace and accomplishment I felt throughout the day. I feel so blessed to live in this country. I feel so grateful to the men and women who willingly give their lives to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy in this country. I think there are many out there who don't realize just how lucky we are. They sure enjoy their God-given rights (although they will be quick to point out to you that they got themselves wherever they are without the help of God, thankyouverymuch) and complain if you should happen to express an opinion different than the one they are foaming at the mouth to express that very moment. As far as I'm concerned, there's only one person who knows it all. That's God. And since I'm not him (that's right, I said him not her) I'll just have to do my best and agree to disagree if I cannot respectfully persuade you to believe as I do, or vice versa. (I'm not sure how I got off on this tangent, but I'm going to go with it!) I'm pretty sure that that's what "freedom from religion" means. You believe what you want, I'll believe what I want, and when we don't agree we're going to have to work to reach an amiable compromise because we both live here.

Ok, back to being grateful. I also feel blessed to be the mother of three handsome and intellingent boys. I don't feel oppressed or dominated over, this is what I choose to be. A wife and mother. I love that!

Well, I don't have as much free time as I thought this morning. So I gotta run. It's Sunday you know. Got that whole church thing going on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

It's later on in the day now. I've been freaking out because on the seed packets, it says that it takes 7-10 days for germination. It's been 14 and I have yet to see anything peeking up from the dirt! So I was going to call my mom and ask her if I should just start over, when I decided to stoop down one more time. Lo and behold, I saw green! There are bean plants sprouting up and there are sunflower thingys where there weren't before! I feel an entirely new form of success now.

Phase II

Tue, 25 May 2004 22:07:19 GMT

Well let's just hope that I have a green thumb because I got a bee in my butt today and decided I had to plant more. I learned from the last time though, SOAK THE GROUND FIRST when needing to hand-till an area. This way, the ground will be soft and not rock-hard and there will be no arthritic pain for three days after and blisters on your palms.

So now there are four strawberry plants, some rosemary (which smells suspiciously like lavender...), cosmos and soon-to-be dahlias. I need another plot tilled for that, and I just didn't have the time today. I've got a MOMS club potluck and Primary presidency meeting tonight and I'm thinking I should probably shower before then, right? I was hoping to take a nap too, but I guess this afternoon is proceeding faster than I planned because the baby already woke up from his.

I got my May and June Organic Style yesterday. I love that magazine!! I highly recommend subscribing. I've learned so many different ways I can change my lifestyle, and it's nothing real radical mind you, that will help the earth.

Anyway, I gotta run. Lotsa stuff this afternoon!

The Garden of Eatin'

Mon, 24 May 2004 18:28:08 GMT

Well, after a week of procrastinating, we finally got the garden planted this morning. I bought the plants and a hand-held garden weasle (oh my crap, how do you spell that?!?) last Tuesday while Son1 was at preschool. It took two days to hand-till the little 4' x 4' plot, and then I found out that the landscapers have turned off the sprinklers on that spot so I had to go and get a watering can, and it took me until Saturday to get around to that! So we watered Saturday night, I went out and tilled again this morning, and then we planted!!

Our little garden consists of: A row of sunflowers along the back. Then there's a redwood 3' x 3' trellis shoved in the dirt (hopefully it will stay there... it's already been stolen once!) and then in front of that are the two cherry tomato plants and one squash mound. then on the left side of the plot, I've got a row and a half of blue lake bush beans (grean beans that grow in a bush). In the section in front of the tomatoes and yellow squash, I've got a bell pepper plant and a herb section that has sweet basil and Italian oregano. Then in the front left corner (at the end of the beans) I have a section of California poppies and in the middle is another squash mound and on the front right corner is a pumpkin.

Well, was that boring or what???

It was really great to get it done though. I've always loved planning gardens for when I get a house. The best thing is getting that Burpee Seed Catalogue at the beginning of the year. It's a sign of all things new and beautiful. I feel so accomplished with this little plot, I immediately thought of other things I want planted!! I don't know if I have the strength to till another square though. It was soooo hard and so much work!! I'll see how this little one goes and then maybe I'll start another one.

So my next project is making a "schedule card" for every day. It'll have a list of what to do for that day in very generic terms, like I'm not going to say clean this on this day at this time. I'm just going to have a cleaning hour or two and whatever gets cleaned, gets cleaned. Along with all our other junk we do during the day! Then I'll have them laminated. Staples has a very reasonable laminating charge, unlike Kinko's. If you ever have to have anything done there, don't. Not lamination, I mean.

At church yesterday, I spoke with a few people to let them know what's going on with us. I've been taking a friend's family dinners on one night a week because she's on bed rest for the next couple of months. Well, things aren't getting better financially for us, in fact, they've gotten worse. On Saturday morning, we found out the van has a blown head gasket. So that's not cheap. So anyway, I let the RS President know that I just can't take my friend dinners any more. Hubby and i haven't been able to go out on dates because we can't afford the date AND the sitter. So I talked to the Young Womens President and asked her if any of the YW in the ward do service babysitting, other than for when you go to the temple. To my great relief, she said yes. I explained to her also that things are so hard right now, and we were both moved to tears when discussing how special it is for these girls to get to provide a service to families like us in the ward, because it's not only a great blessing for us but it is a great blessing for them too. I feel like my husband and I can be a couple again, not just mommy and daddy. I've always felt great love for this wonderful man, my husband, but I feel an even greater outpouring of it now that I know we can be adults again. I mean, we've always been adults, but now we can be more like we were before we were blessed with these children.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Gonna get started on that scheduling project. I may be back later, I feel so productive today!

Have a good one, I know I am.

The Word of Wisdom

Fri, 21 May 2004 21:55:06 GMT

So I was just reading this posting on www.lds.about.com about Mormons and drinking Coke. I found it interesting to read everyone's opinions and have decided to offer my personal theories here. It has occured to me that there have been many studies on many things, both natural and man-made, that enter our bodies in one form or another. Some studies say Product X is good for us, others say it's the worst possible substance you could partake of. I am reminded of a saying that goes: "Everything in moderation..." and "Even too much of a good thing can be bad for you...". (Forgive me for not being able to quote those directly to the source, I am too lazy to look it up.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith has been quoted as saying: "I teach them (the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) correct principles and they govern themselves." Being that we are humans and are not perfect, we do not always make the right choice. I think we can all agree that there are substances out there that alter our normal and natural way of thinking, and can take from us the clearness of thought that we need to remind us of "everything in moderation" and that "even too much of a good thing can be bad for you". The Lord knew this and that is why we, as Latter-Day Saints, have been given the Word of Wisdom. We are still free to choose for ourselves, and so here is my personal choice based on the theories I have presented.

I personally do drink a fully-caffinated Coke now and then. But I am aware of the reaction that my body experiences when I consume too much or too frequently and base my consumption on that.

I don't drink coffee or tea (other than herbals) because I am vain and don't want it to stain my teeth.

I don't drink alcohol because it would alter my natural self, and why would I want to be someone other than who I really am?

I try to eat more fruits, vegetables and grains than meats because it is good for me. But a complete diet needs the nutrients you get from beef, chicken and pork (my favorite carnivorous choices) so I eat those too.

Well, I seem to have lost my steam. The afternoon is wearing on and I'm running out of time to get ready for the weekend!

Anyway, my point for today was: rules are not for confining but defining your life. I have been given the teachings of my church and have chosen what to do with them. I think I'm better for following those guidlines. There are those that would say "Look what you are missing!" But to them I say, "Look what I have gained!" It's just like when people ask me what it was like growing up without a father....

You can't miss what you never had.

Woo! Been a long couple of weeks!

Mon, 17 May 2004 15:47:38 GMT

Wow, so I guess I've been more than a little neglectful to my blog here. Sorry 'bout that!

We went to the beach again. This time it was Sunset State Beach. What a blast! We found sand dollars on the shore. I know I sound like the biggest moron, but honestly? I never thought I would find something like that on a beach! I thought that only professional shell finders could find something cool like that. We saw little bitty baby crabs and hermit crabs, too. Being sensitive about my fatness, I of course did not bring a swimsuit. I wished I had though... it was so inviting! Next time, I may consider going in... SHORTS!! I wouldn't want to blind anyone though... except, there were quite a few plus-sized women on that beach besides myself who didn't seem to care that they were blinding everyone...

So, what else have I been up to? Fat lot of nothing. Oh yes, we went to the Sunset Celebration Weekend for Sunset Magazine in Menlo Park on Saturday. My mom was in town from Utah with her neighbor. It was great! I highly recommend going to that if you live in the area. And you love Western living. Mind you, that's not country-western (as in the most depressing music in the universe), it's the lifestyle.

I've decided that, unfortunate as it is, I need to take Son 2 to a child shrink. He is just... beyond what I know how to control. And I'm not a big softie, so it's not like I was a major contributor to how he is. And I also don't think I have no culpability in it, either. I just don't know what else to do to get him to behave better, and to stop harming his baby brother.

Our VCR broke again. That is to say, our first VCR was killed by the boys. This second VCR that hubby's brother gave us? It's died of old age. Although... it just occured to me that maybe I should run that head-cleaner tape through it to see if that helps. I'll let you know. I hope so because there are a LOT of great movies at the library I'd like to borrow.

I used up all my frequent flyer miles to subscribe to TIME and Organic Style. I would've liked to have spent them on renewing my Sunset subscription, but it wasn't available. I also would've liked to have gotten Reader's Digest, but that wasn't available either. Our church magazines finally came. Like any other publication, it takes FOREVER to get it started! Oh yes, I also started getting National Geographic.

Well, the villagers are beginning to riot. Sorry it's been so long, I'll try to get back into blogging every other day. I know my life is just sooooo interesting to the world! Ha ha ha....

Monday, again???

Tue, 13 Apr 2004 23:05:09 GMT

I'm sure it doesn't make sense. Monday again. But hubby had the day off yesterday, so it's like I've had two Mondays in a row. UGH!!!

So I made this oatmeal cake this morning. Yummmmmmmmy! And of course, because it has oatmeal and whole wheat flour in it, it's healthy, right? Good. Because I had some for breakfast.

I found this cute little townhouse in Stockton last night. Only $129,000! So we'd definitely qualify for that mortage. Except for that we don't have any money anyway, so there goes that. I have only myself to blame. I'm the one that spent us into this debt. Oh sure, we used the credit cards to move us here and other legitimately nescessary things. A car emergency or two. But everything else is me and my addiction. Oy!

Well, we're having the neighbors for dinner. Chicken enchiladas. So I should probably go start putting that together. Sorry it's short today. And that I skipped a couple of days. I was tired.

That's all folks!

Look out for that water, it's everywhere!

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 03:41:34 GMT

I'm pretty sure my brain wasn't screwed in tight this morning. I don't know what ever made me think it would be so easy to throw everything together and get out of here on time, but... at least we made it out!

I'm not sure if we ever found the actual place we were looking for or not, but we found our friends we were supposed to meet and that works for me! And especially lucky was the fact that they hadn't been there long, and we got there an hour later than we said we would. Hallelujah for bad internet driving directions!

I've never been truly tidepooling before, but today was one of the best days I've ever had. (I think I say that a lot, but I guess that just means that I have a lot of really great days!) I found a lot of beach glass, and I don't know why, but I just never thought I would ever actually find that on my own. I thought it was something I had to buy at a craft store, knowing full well it wasn't real beach glass but something they made up and said they found at the ocean. So that just made my day altogether fantastic, and that was only after 5 minutes of trying to make it through the gravelly beach to where my kids were!

I was amazed at the things we saw. Lots of dead jellyfish. I call them "rubber"fish because they look like, well... I think you get the picture. Tons of hermit crabs (I think that's what they were, using up dead sea snail shells), a dead fish that looked pretty cool, LOADS of sea snails and barnacles on the rocks we climbed on. And last, but not least, the tide unexpectedly came in very quickly. We noticed we were running out of places to make it back to the shore without having to wade in and decided to hike back while we could. And, OF COURSE, I stepped on the ONE STINKIN' ROCK that wasn't permanently fixed into the ground and fell smack on my butt. Nothing really hurt, not even my pride. I just hope I didn't kill anything underneath me, or start a tsunami over in Hawaii!

Another funny thing... I made a big stink about stopping at Target to get some baby sunscreen so it wouldn't hurt the kids' eyes when it ran. I noticed as we were repacking the van to go home, it was still in the wrapper. Thankyouverymuch.

Already?!?

Fri, 09 Apr 2004 01:38:44 GMT

I think my anemia is back. I seem to be tired all the time. YUK!!! I can't believe it's Thursday already. My mother-in-law is here with my niece from Salt Lake to visit the boys. We went to Sonic for lunch. I, of course, just got the ice!

We've been planning this trip to Asilomar for a few weeks now, and do you think I'm ready? Nooooo..... I thought of like, 4 million things I have to do tonight, on top of helping hubby with a school project. Oy! Time just sneaks up on you, doesn't it?

So tonight, I'm making peasant tacos. Brown rice, black beans, corn, all mixed together with about 1/2 bottle mild taco sauce, served in soft tortillas. Mmm..... I think mom's not altogether excited about it, but we just eat differently than they do. "Meat at every meal" is their motto!

I hope I can be responsible about what to do tonight. You know, play with the relatives, get all the work done, and still make sure you get enough rest to do all the driving tomorrow, because honey falls asleep at the drop of a hat!

The Next Day

Wed, 07 Apr 2004 17:21:22 GMT

So, sorry I didn't put more on yesterday. Got busy. Didn't end up making the curried tofu, either. Good news is, we did get to go to Sonic! I tell you, I have died and gone to heaven ever since they opened up. They have the BEST ice in the universe! I go just for the ice. Mmm....

Today we're going on an egg hunt with the local MOMs club. I've had a lot of fun with that group. Got to get gas for the Friday trip to Asilomar State Beach. Grocery shopping (every Wednesday!), although that will be hard since we didn't get any grocery ads. Dangit! Also, I've embarked on a quest to find the words and titles to all the corny songs I used to sing with my grandfather. He was such a great grandpa! I wish my kids could have known him. Oh well, they will!

I feel bad that we haven't made more of an effort to celebrate the meaning of Easter. I made such a big deal about Christmas and Valentines and the kid's birthdays.... I guess I got a little burned out. Every year, I try to have a more Christ-centered holiday. Every year, it sneaks up on me and I forget to plan it. I guess part of it is, I keep trying to celebrate Passover. Which is a wonderful tradition, but we're not Jewish. Oh well, at least we're not making a big deal out of the Easter Bunny, either!

I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My beliefs are very important to me, they're my whole life. I feel grateful for the knowledge that I have of the gospel. Mind you, I'm no great scholar. And I won't participate in a discussion that causes contention. But I'll probably mention stuff from time to time on here, and I'm happy to answer any questions I can.

Well, I suppose now that it's 9:30ish I should think about getting the kids ready for that egg hunt. As always, I may or may not post later. The day's just begun!

Well, we had LOADS of fun at that egg hunt! I'm not prepared to go grocery shopping though. I guess I should get going on that. Anybody got any ideas? My grocery ads didn't come this week. I usually get inspiration from them. Gotta run!

Just thought I'd make one final visit. We went to the farmer's market this evening. Opening day, yay! You'd think they'd be open all year since we live in the growing capital of EVERYTHING, but no.... April-August is it. Lame, huh? Anyway, we had a grand time. Strawberries so red and ripe you could smell them from two booths away. Tri-tip so juicy and melt-in-your-mouth good, and fresh sourdough baguettes.... Mmm! And best of all.... PEAS! It's like eating candy... just get a bunch of peas and shell them. Then pop them in your mouth, and you've got spring right there. Only drawback is it turns your thumbnail green, but then I guess you can literally say you've got a green thumb!