“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11
I am thankful for my friends. I have a few friends that are very special to me. They have seen me at my worst and helped me become the person I am today. Some, I have lost contact with over the years but still have a special place in my heart. Some have continued to be my friend even when I was not a good friend to them. Some I have known for a long time, and I am still getting to know others. To any of my friends who my read then, I love you.
“When we have the spirit of Christmas, we remember Him whose birth we commemorate at this season of the year: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).” Thomas S. Monson
I am thankful for my Sean. He often sits in the background and gets overlooked, but I see him. He is funny, smart, and sensitive. He has been my magic baby since the day he was born!
“Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.“
I am thankful for my sister. We have been through a lot together. She is my rock. Happy birthday, Marleah!
“One of the most beautiful symbols of the birth of Jesus Christ into this world is light. The appearance of the long-promised Messiah brought light to a darkened world.“ Henry B. Eyring
I am thankful for my Eric. All I wanted out of life was to be a mom, and he had the honor of being the one to give me that title. He is an amazing kid with a big heart, and I am so blessed to benefit from that.
“Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. To us He has said, 'Come, follow me.'” Thomas S. Monson
I am thankful for my husband. He has taught me that I deserve to be loved. He was the miracle I needed when we met. I could not imagine my life without him. He is my lobster!
I am thankful for the Atonement. Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life knowing he would suffer and die for us. Because of Him, I am never alone. Because of Him, I can be forgiven for my sins. Because of Him, I can see my mom and brother again.
I love this time of year. I didn’t used to feel that way. It was a time of stress, but it has become a time of celebration. This amazing girl has taught me so much this past year and a half. I am so thankful for her!
***side note: She picked out these amazing matching Christmas jammies!
Last year, I went to the thrift store and bought a Christmas sweater for everyday from December 1 through Christmas and posted a picture everyday along with a quote on social media. I am so excited to be doing it again this year. I didn’t keep all of the sweaters, and some of them are too small, so I will have to make another trip to the thrift store to make sure I have enough. I’m not quite sure how it will look on the blog, but I am SO excited to get out the sweaters again.
Last weekend, I was invited to see My Fair Lady with some friends. It was such a fun night out! We met at my house, went to dinner, and headed downtown for the play. We talked, we laughed, we reminisced. Best of all, the play was wonderful! I love live entertainment! I am so thankful for the people who invite me to these kind of events.
When Eric was a few weeks old, I was told I was not a good mom because I was giving him a bottle (he was both bottle and breastfed).
A few months later, I was told I didn’t really give birth because he was bitten by c-section.
A few months later, I was told I was nothing more than a glorified babysitter.
Comments like this have continued for most of my adult life. They often play in the back of my head.
Whenever I see a post on social media where a mom is bragging about her mom abilities, I take it as a personal attack. Is someone saying I’m a bad mom if I made Thanksgiving dinner with only the help that was offered (Noel made the mashed potatoes)? Am I inferior if my family doesn’t have matching jammies for Christmas? Is there something wrong about a family that doesn’t have themed costumes for Halloween? The answer to all of these questions is no.
My children love me. They want to be around me. I must have done something right…
The dishes from Thanksgiving Dinner are not as exciting. Most days I have about two loads, this is going to be at least three is not four loads in the dishwasher. That doesn’t even count the roasting pan (not pictured) that will need to be hand washed. It’s a small price to pay to have everyone under one roof for a few hours.
I love when the kids are home on holidays. I love spending time with them. I love cooking for them. I love having my home filled with laughter and love.
When I decided to major in Marriage and Family studies, I didn't think about how it could affect me personally. I only tough about the help I could give others. I'm not sure what kind of classes I though I would take, but I did not realize I would take classes that would bring up emotional issues I have yet to work on.
At the beginning, I took a class called Family Relations. This was hard because it pointed out exactly how toxic my first marriage was. I learned from the texted book methods of abuse I didn't know existed as I realized that was how I was treated. I had to come to terms with that. As I worked through those emotions, I became more aware of how lucky I was to find Chad when I did.
A few years ago, I took a parenting class. There was a project in which I was supposed to interview my parents or grandparents as well as a sibling. The week before this was assigned, my grandfather, my last grandparent on this earth, passed away. That meant that I would not be able to acquire two interviews between my parents and grandparents. It highlighted the fact that all of my grandparents and one of my parents were gone. I had no problem interviewing my sister and my dad, but I had to think outside the box and get special permission for the final interview. I was able to get the permission to interview my mother-in-law.
This semester, I am taking Family Stress and Coping. Every week I read several exerts from various books to learn about ways of coping and models that can be followed when dealing with stress. There have been assignments asking how the readings relate to our family of origin or creation. Most of the time, I sit thinking about how I wish we had these tools growing up or that I had known about them when my children were younger. I worry that I haven't taught my kids the right way to cope with everyday stress as well as the big stressors of life.
There have been other classes that have been hard, but these are the three that have affected me the most so far. I am sure there will be more.
I went in to the doctor's office today for thyroid testing. (That's right, Noel is no the only one that doctor in this house. Who knew?) This is usually not a big issue. I go in, tell them if any of my symptoms have changed, and give them some blood for the lab to check my TSH and free T4 levels. This time was different.
Today, I saw a different doctor because mine will not be in the office this week. As I was brought back to the room, the medical assistant took my vital and verified my reason for coming in. Then, she started asking me questions as if I was trying to find out if I had hypothyroidism. She asked if I had sensitivity to hot and cold, quickening or slowing of the heart, excessive weight gain or weight loss. I understand that the questions are to determine hypo- or hyperthyroid. I stopped her after the third question. I just told her that I have been dealing with this for almost 25 years. I know the diagnosis. I just need to make sure my meds are tweaked if needed. Once the doctor came in, it was obvious that she knew that was not new to this. She just asked a few questions and sent me to the lab for my blood draw. I am honestly hoping they will raise my dosage. I have been feeling like my thyroid levels have been off for a while.
The last four or five years have been frustrating with this disorder. I have been accused of being a drug seeker by doctors and pharmacists because I am on a high dosage for my age. This literally a life saving drug. If I don't take my meds, it can cause heart and kidney problems as well as other issues. I do not want to have to take medication everyday for the rest of my life, but I will. I know there is more that I can do to be healthy, but without this, I have no hope.
Life is hard. I have lost friends and family members in tragic ways. I have overcome a horrible marriage. I have been mocked and ridiculed for my beliefs. I will not let these things define me. Hopefully, one day I will be seen as a strong resilient woman.
I am loving working on the shawl I started last week. I didn't realize how much I missed knitting something simple. It is so nice sitting back and relaxing as I go. I like that I don't have to look at the pattern for every row. I can knit while I read, watch TV, and participate in conference calls. This should get me through the next few weeks at least. I am enjoying the simplicity so much that I may make socks next. I know the knitted on border will be a bit more difficult, but I am excited to work on cables again. I'm glad I picked this pattern and this yarn!
I signed up for next semester last night. Since I am getting closer to being done, I don't have a lot of choices of classes left. The two classes I will be taking are Family Theories and Dynamics, a 400 level class, and Family and Community Relationships, another 400 level class.
I am a bit nervous about Family Theories and Dynamics. In the Facebook group I am in for online BYU-I students, it is described as being as intense as Research Methods which was the hardest class I have taken so far. I am hoping that the people who said this were exaggerating the difficulty at least a little, but I have a feeling they weren't.
I am determined to not fail another class. I have failed and retaken classes along the way. I am not ashamed to admit it. Life circumstances have made it hard to study at times. I am hoping my determination will get me through the last four semesters without having to retake any more classes.
"This present era seems very similar in many ways to those turbulent war years. Today we face many perplexing issues. In addition to significant international political problems, we are experiencing one of the most difficult economic periods we have faced in many decades—the problem of inflation and personal financial management."
I love reading older talks that are still applicable today. This talk was from 1979. I was a year old, so I don't particularly remember the economic and political temperature of the day. If it was anything like today, I could imagine that the inflation rate and looming recession were not fun at all. This talk gives guideline that, if followed consistently, could help people reach their economic goals. Some of these ideas, such as being more diciplined with our spending, are lessons that I have learned the hard way during my twenties and thirties. I am still working to dig myself out of a few holes because of out of control spending on my part as well as others.
I can’t say I have voted every year. There were times I missed the deadline because I am a procrastinator. However, I can say I have voted in most elections that I have felt passionate about including in 2020 and this one.
For the most part, I will not tell people who or what I voted for because I don’t feel it is any of their business, and I have received hate from people on both side when I have let it slip. I vote according to my convictions. I study candidates and issues and decide what I feel is best. I refuse to vote party lines because I believe one of the big problems with this country is the predominantly two party system.
It is important to vote. It is important to follow your heart when doing so. The elections are becoming more and more important. We can’t leave it up to just a few people to determine our fate.
This is why I do not really feel the raises I got over the past year. I am not one of those people who will publicly scream about inflation, but I am one of these people who feel this strain. I hate spending $300 per week for groceries.
We have financial goals that we are struggling to meet and thought there would be some relief when I got a raise in December and again a few months ago. We are able to work on some but not how we planned. For now, I will have to be happy that we are able to do that. There was a time we were not able to do that.
I continually try to find ways to improve myself which seems to often mean finding the next challenge for me. In July, I learned about the 75 hard challenge. Chad did some research and did a modification of it until our trip to South Dakota. Then, he stopped until last this last week.
For the past week, I have seen my husband work hard to do every part of this challenge. His hard work and dedication are inspiring. It makes me want to do it myself, and that means I will be doing it.
This is not an easy challenge and does not just work on physical health. I challenges people both physically and mentally. It includes no alcohol (not hard for people who don't drink), two 45 minute workouts (one outside), follow a diet plan (exactly), read at least 10 pages of nonfiction, drink one gallon of water, and take a progress picture daily. I expect the two daily workouts being the toughest especially the outside workout as it colder (I don't do well in cold). The reading should not be hard with all that I read for school, but I will probably have to fill in with other books here and there since the readings I do for school have deadlines. As far as diet goes, I will be working on a 14/10 intermitted fasting schedule that will probably at times have a bit longer of fasting times. Drinking a gallon of water will be easy. It is more than I usually drink, but if I cut out some of the soda I have been drinking, it should make it a bit easier. The picture will only be hard because I am not sure I want to see evidence of how much I have let myself go in the past few years, but it will be nice to see the changes as I go.
The website says to start without delay, but I need to wait until tomorrow. I had to take the time to research diets and decide on what I thought would work best for me. I considered South Beach again, but I remembered how I felt trying to follow it exactly and how it made my body feel. I considered Keto, but I have heard that it is not good for people who have had their gall bladder removed. My next step was intermitted fasting. I have done it in the past and only stopped doing it because I couldn't afford the app I was using to track it. I will be tracking this in my bullet journal. I have also created a tracker the all of the habits.
I have officially completed the first week of the Glow Up challenge. There were days that felt easy, and there were days that were hard. Monday was the hardest. I haven't done many lunges or squats since quitting karate. My knees reminded me why I hated doing them back then, but I pushed through. By Wednesday, it was starting to feel good. However, today was hard again. The 55 second plank was the hardest. My arms are hurting, and I didn't take off my socks which made me continually me slip. I'm sure it will get easier as I go. As for now, I have two days to rest my sore muscles a bit.
I have a goal weight in mind. I have had this weight in my mind for many years. I know what I need to do to get there, but it is not easy. Chad tells me I need to make the sacrifices necessary. That's very true. I will do so little by little.
Getting to a heathy weight has been a goal of mine for a long time. I have had set backs, but I am not going to let them break me. I will make this happen.
My daughter has been struggling with her Algebra II class. Since she is taking online school, she is not in the classroom with her teacher as problems arise. Because of this, she has fallen a bit behind. I have offered her help several times, but she wanted to figure it out on her own. Today, she finally let me help her. It was not easy.
I had to Google a few terms that I haven't seen in many years. I have completed college level math classes, but I could not figure out some of the things she needed to know. Thankfully, with the help of some good math site found from our search and the magic of her understanding better as I struggled to help, she was able to figure it out in the end and even got a good score on her quiz.
I will always be willing to do my best to help her whenever she asks for it. Hopefully, next time it will be something I am more familiar with. Of course, I may just offer to find her a tutor instead.
Sometimes running sucks. This morning was one of those times. It was my first time running five minute intervals during this training cycle. I was hard. I glanced at my phone several times to check the time left on the timer. My legs were hurting, I was out of breath, and I was getting light headed near the end. Worst of all, my brain kept reminding me that I was able to run for at least 20 minutes nonstop less than six months ago. (I'll get back to that soon enough.)
Why was it so much harder today than two days ago? There are a lot of things that may have been the cause. First of all, even though it was only one extra minute, I was running longer. Second, I ran at different time of day. I know a lot of people that hate running at night. I have actually grown to like running as the day closes. Also, I didn't eat or drink much before I went out. I only had a bit of water and a yogurt. That may have been one of the biggest issues. All I can do at this point is remember the things I can change and change them.
Thankfully, the app that I use for my training asks at the end of each run if it was hard, easy, or just right (basically). I told it that the run was hard, so it adjusted the plan by adding another run that mirrors the one I did this morning. It will bump the plan out by one run, but I would rather that happen than keep struggling. Hopefully, it will help me be prepared for the rest of the plan.
