Pyles of Clutter

Feelings of fall...

It comes surely, creeping up on us with just a nip in the air.  Autumn! Fall! The winding down of the lazy summer days. 

It's there in the changing colors of the leaves in both trees and shrubs....

And those same leaves fall to the ground like rain.

Of course, there is pumpkin everything!

I start feeling the need to store away food for the future; in this case a very large batch of vegetable beef soup! Frozen in individual size servings.

And of course, Halloween makes a massive comeback in the candy aisle... Miniature candy bars are my nemesis.  I can't resist them! I just try to stay out of the store in order to hide from them!

Along with all this comes sweatshirts, long pants, socks, real shoes, heavy blankets.  Goodbye shorts, sandals, and tan legs.  Ready or not, here it comes.

Tripping to the Zoo -- Monday Memories

As we are getting into fall, we took the last bit of opportunity to head to Woodland Park Zoo with some of the grandkids.  The weather cooperated perfectly, and we had a great day of animal, and people, watching!  We only had one.... mostly one, meltdown, but I promised I would be much better after I got some food in me.  Hence the huge bag of Kettle Corn we ate.  All in good fun. ;)

Poppy was in agreement with Grammy, and we both loved the Kettle Corn.  She would grab a handful, put it in her mouth, close her eyes, tip back her head, and say, "Yum, so delicious!!" Every. Time.  I couldn't agree more, Poppy.

The animals were out and about in their cages for the most part.  All of the different kinds of monkeys were super active, but this female Silverback Gorilla was by far, the most amazing thing to see!

She was standing on the top of a tree, but the tree had no limbs/leaves, so really just a pole.  In this picture, she was hunched over, but she also stood straight up on the pole, not holding on at all.  We were watching her over the top of the enclosure, but as you got closer to the watching window, you could see the pole swaying back and forth, but she was perfectly stable up there on the top.  It was truly Amazing! Then, just as calmly, she swung herself back down to the ground, and over to the hammock.  All in a day's work.

No trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the carousel.  Our carousel adventure was towards the end of our trip and Grammy got her 10,000 steps, so you know what that means! I don't have to stand up any longer! I found a bench and sat down, but I didn't see that someone had left an open can of soda on the arm rest, and I totally knocked it over! Soda all over.  I just got up and left.  People, I couldn't even.  At that point, I was too tired to care....

We weren't the only ones that were done with the walking... these parents were equally done.

Lillavie had also had as much fun as she could stand... Her tolerance for Grammy pictures was OVER.

But I prevailed and got a good smiley picture from my sweetums!  Love these two girlies!

As much as I would have loved a weekend just sitting at home, it is always worth it to spend time with family!  I'm trying to remember that the best choice is always to choose the Bigger Life, and get outside of myself.  It pays off.

Love,

Me.

Thursday Thoughts - I Am....A Writer.

That's misleading.

I'm not really a writer, at least in the classic sense.  I love to put words down on paper.  I have journals, upon journals, upon journals. And I like to blog.  Putting my thoughts together in a coherent article gives me such fulfillment.  Not that I have anything earth-shattering to say! But it helps me feel more settled, more myself.  (Thank you Mental Health.) So here I am, putting my blog back out into the world, hoping that it will help to heal my head, and boost my heart.  Maybe in the process, I can help someone else's head and heal someone else's heart at the same time.  Join me.

Do you listen to Podcasts?  Oh man, I'm getting addicted!  I have to stop listening because I will find a podcast and in typical binge mode, I will start at the very beginning of the podcast or at least as far back as it will let me access the episodes and get to listening! But those are not downloaded and use data on my phone. Ugh.

My favorite podcast is Happier with Gretchen Rubin.  I promise I will talk about her podcast more later, but right now, I want to talk about another podcast, Super Soul Sunday with Oprah. In my binging, I happened to listen to four very interesting episodes in a row; Arianna Huffington, Paulo Coelho, Deepak Chopra, and Joel Osteen.  In looking at those names, you might not see much that they would have in common to talk about but each conversation was so similar that I felt like my Heavenly Father was absolutely telling me something.  That something is the power of I AM.

The power of I AM is that we tell ourselves, everyday, what we are or want to be.  We may not be conscious of doing this, but when we say, "I'm tired" or "I'm overweight", we are telling our soul what we are.  What we need to be telling ourselves is what we want to be, if we aren't that already, or telling the positives to ourselves, such as "I AM beautiful", or "I AM enough".  Joel Osteen goes further in that you can tell yourself "I AM successful" and the (Universe)(Higher Power)(God) will give that to you, but right now, I'm not interested in that.  I'm just interested in feeling like I'm the best version of myself and being content with that. 

In listening to Deepak Chopra talk about meditation, Oprah asked him about quieting the thoughts that are in your head while meditating.  He said let those thoughts go, because eventually, they will wear themselves out and only the best will remain, if you stay focused on the positive.  Every time a negative appears, turn it to a positive.  Send that out into the universe.

Paulo Coelho said that he decided that he wanted to be the person he thought he was on Nov.17, 2007, the day he decided that he was a writer.  He did everything he could from that point on to be a writer.  He put it out in the universe, and then did the work to make it happen. He wrote one book that was moderately successful, and then wrote "The Alchemist" which has been on the New York Times best seller list for 313 weeks.  This is a book that he felt someone else (God) wrote, using him as a vessel to write it. 

Arianna Huffington says we need to redefine success beyond money and power, into things that include well being, wisdom, wonder and giving.  She said we need to give up what no longer works, in order to stay close to what is sacred.  Is that a grudge? Or a project? Unrealistic dreams? Are we living our dream or someone else's (society) dreams?  Do we every pause to reconnect with our place of wisdom, strength and understanding?

So for me, putting these four conversations together, I have realized that I have to be more positive towards myself, telling myself what I AM, and what I can become.  I also need to turn off my screen in the evenings way before I go to bed.  The job as mother is a 24-7 job, and it is so hard to turn off your mom consciousness and take a minute to pause, to reconnect to me and my spirituality. All four did some form of meditation (each calls it something different), for varying amounts of time.  I need to use my moment of pause (that's what I'm calling it) to let go of injustices, redesign dreams that are unrealistic, ponder on the blessings given me by a loving and generous Heavenly Father.  As I ponder on those blessings, I want to ponder on how I can be a blessing to others in my realm.  What can I pass on to them that will enrich their lives? 

And I want to tell the universe, I AM.

Love,

Me.

 

 

26 Sept 2018 - Benefits of Walking

Do you ever feel like there is just too many thoughts in your head at once, and that's why you just can't remember anything?  No.  Just me. 

Oh.  Shoot.

Well, I like to use Wednesdays to get all those thoughts out of my head that aren't really good enough or long enough for a whole blog post, but that just won't go away.  So that's what you can look forward to on Wednesdays.  You are warned.

:: One of the things I have found with my anxiety is that the stricter the schedule I keep, the more I can function within my anxiety or even the more I can keep it at bay.  I feel like that is why I seem to have more episodes of total dysfunction during the summer, because those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are completely unstructured, which is what my little heart loves, but my mental health can't abide.  Stupid mental health. As we've been getting back into school, dance and drill, and music lessons, the schedule has been getting tighter and tighter, but still my days were pretty loose, while everyone is gone.  This week, I decided to be super tight with my time, scheduling all activities (making dinner, exercise, homework, even showering!) to make sure they all had their allotted time during the day.  We are only three days in but my life is feeling more settled and so consequently, I'm not feeling as paralyzed as I have in recent weeks.  It's a good feeling and I'm hoping it stays around.  The problem I have to guard against is trying to schedule Terry and Tessa's time as well.  They don't take kindly to it; unless I'm scheduling golf time for Terry in which case he is all for it.

:: With my strict schedule, I have been enjoying my walking so much more!  Knowing that the time schedule is put away specifically for exercise frees me from feeling like I should be doing something else, because those other things have a time scheduled for them also.  Amazing!  I used to walk/run with my Very Good Friend, Christina.  But.... schedules got in the way and now I walk by myself and I need distraction so I listen to Harry Potter books on my iPod.  I finished Book 1 today.  This is my third time through the books, and I will probably listen to them until I can't hear anymore.  I love the Wizarding World.  I listen to Harry Potter instead of something else, say conference talks, because my mind tends to wander while I'm listening, but I've heard/read these books so often, that I don't miss anything.  But with a conference talk or something else, I would feel like I missed something and having to mess with my iPod to go back to hear what I missed is too much for me when I'm walking.  I have to concentrate on just keeping moving, right?  Just keep moving.

:: Speaking of Harry Potter, I was thinking of all the things I love about book 1, The Sorcerer's Stone.  Here are some of my favorite quotes:

When Harry is looking in the Mirror of Erised and Dumbledore says to him, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."  Such good advice

Harry, Hermione, and Ron have gone through the trap door and they are bound by the plant, Devil's Snare and Hermione needs to make a fire, but she says she doesn't have any wood.  Then Ron yells, "Have you gone mad? Are you a witch or not?" That's supposed to be in all caps because Ron is bellowing, but you get the point.  I snigger every time at that.  I did today again when I was listening to it.... ;)

Harry and Dumbledore are talking about the Stone, that it has been destroyed.  First, Dumbledore says, "After all, to a well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."  Yes.  Death is the next great adventure.  I agree with that.  And then he says, "....the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."  Again, yes.  Yes, we do.

Lastly, Harry and Dumbledore are talking about Voldemort, and Harry shies away from saying his name. Dumbledore says, "Always use the proper name for things.  Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."  This reminds me of when we don't call hard or tough things by what they really are, but try to couch it in a nicer, softer tone.  Sometimes, a spade is just a spade.

:: Well, that's enough brain emptying for today.  Until next Wednesday,

Love,
Me.

I did it!! -- S'mores cookies

Guys.

Are you as sad as me about the fact that summer is OVER?!?  Usually, round about fair time, I'm just ready to get on with it.  Let me wear a long sleeve shirt!  I need to wear socks!! Please don't make me wear shorts anymore!! But not this year! This year, I'm still holding out on those Hawaii sandals I have and let me tell you, my toes are cold.  I don't want to give in though.

So as a tribute to those lazy, summer nights, with the windows open, and a soft breeze blowing, I made these cookies for a last goodbye.

S'mores Cookies

Now, I first became acquainted with these little beauties when I was a camp cook the first year, and my niece Jaye Dean came to help me.  She found these cookies and we made up the dough ahead of time and cooked these for our campers the first day up there.  With the graham cracker base and marshmallow additions, they are a perfect substitute for real s'mores.  I love the cookie dough though, that has just enough cinnamon in it, to give it another taste.  Try it.  I promise if you love s'mores, you will love these!

Let me know how it goes for you!  Next week, I'm making some new cards for birthday/weddings.  I'm excited to get back in the craft room and start creating again. 

Come back and join me!

Love,

Me.

Here we go again.... Wednesday Wanderings

I could go on now about how I haven't blog a long time, and all the goodness about trying to get going again and blah, blah, blah.  But that's just awkward, so let's just skip it.

I have ten minutes until I have to get back to work, so let's see what I can say.

I recently discovered THE best bath bombs in the world.  They are called "DaBombs" and they are made by some high school students turned entrepreneurs.  I first saw them on GMA as a Deals and Steals, for half price so I bought several and guys: I love them!  They have a great scent, lovely oils, and a prize in each one!  How fun is that?!  So then after I used them all, I was desperate to have more, but the full price was a little hard to swallow.  As I was going through the website, I found what they call "Whoops" bombs.  Whoops bombs are misshapen, cracked, or wrong scent bath bombs that they sell at a discounted price.  Needless to say, I bought several.  I bought the quotes bombs, and the fortune bombs which have, you guessed it, quotes and fortunes in them.  I love them so much.  And because I take a bath almost every day, it's money well spent.

We have finally gotten so sick of DISH network, that we cut the cord.  Honestly, they were raising the price of satellite every quarter, and it was getting ridiculous to pay that much for TV.  Seriously.  At one point, we had called to disconnect and they were very conciliatory and cut our rate in half for 18 months, only 18 months turned into about 5 months before they started all over again, raising our rate.  We started talking to our resident technology guru, Tyson, and told him we needed to do something. Our main problem had been that I still wanted live TV for news and sports, so that was our requirement.  After a long time..... like a really long time, he called and said, go right now and set up a YouTube TV account.  Which we did. Right then.  So with YouTube TV, Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video, we have everything we want and more, all for about half the price of what we were paying for Dish Network. Win.

I love my day planner.  I've used the same brand for a couple of years, but this year, I've been decorating it with some stickers as well, so it makes it really fun to go back and look at as well as feel inspired each week.  It also makes me feel so much better about the fact that I have stickers coming out. of. my. ears.  There are some really adorable planner stickers out there also, so that's been really fun.

I'm a movie going machine.  Terry gave me a MoviePass for Christmas, and I have enjoyed it so much!  He bought mine through Costco.com, and it works out to be about $7.50 a month. At that price, I only need to go to one movie a month and it is paid for.  So awesome.  When Greatest Showman was here, I went to the movie on the average, a couple times a week.  It. was. amazing.  I highly recommend looking into the MoviePass. 

Ten minutes up!

Do you hear me now?

This is my view this morning:

I'm working on the computer this morning, trying to get a whole boatload of work done.  But lest you think that is my fancy computer in the picture, no.  That would be Terry's computer.  Mine would be the old Toshiba underneath.  I can't remember when I got that computer, but I think it's been about 8 or so years now.... which brings me to today's story.

Get comfortable.

About a week ago, Terry and I were discussing that we need to get Tessa some kind of computer, since we had gotten rid of the "kids" computer we had for the rest of the children when they were all gone.  We are just going to get her some kind of cheap-o thing and then when she goes to college, get her something better and faster.  As we were talking, Terry asked me if I want a new computer, since mine is getting on in years, but I declined because mine works just fine.  I think most people that know me understand that I really like the idea of wearing something out, or having something for a really long time.  I have a deep sentimental side, that struggles with not saving E-V-E-R-Y thing.  So far, I've been able to squelch it somewhat, but it's an inner struggle every time. 

Ahem. Going on.

We start having this whole discussion about the pros and cons of getting me a new computer and giving Tessa my old one.  But mostly, it's just Terry telling me to get a new computer, and stop dragging my feet.  This is our way; me resisting the upgrade in technology and Terry telling me that I will be so happy when I just do it.  Usually, he just buys me whatever he thinks I will like without really consulting me, and usually (like 99.9% of the time) he is correct.  This time though, I'm adamant.  I'm not giving in and getting a new computer.  A big part of this is the dread of learning how the new technology works.  I like mine, and it works, so there is no need.

Until there was.

Not to be a conspiracy theorist, because really, those guys are just annoying, but people, my computer quit working.  I'm not even kidding.  The very next day, I went to write an email, something I do daily for my job, and the keyboard was going crazy!!  I kid you not!!  Keys not working, double strokes happening, space bar not engaging.  What should have been a 10 minute email was taking upwards of 30-45 minutes!  Now, I really don't know this, but I really think someone was listening through my computer and heard that Terry is contemplating buying a computer and they threw a switch that made my computer all wonky!!  I know, I know.  That sounds crazy, but I'm telling you, the VERY NEXT DAY.  What are the chances?!?

I've felt that someone was listening before.  Honestly, because I'll be having a conversation with Terry about something, oh, let's say about purple socks, and then all the advertising on my social media is about purple socks!  It's down right eerie!  I will say though, I don't care too much if someone is listening in.  I'm not saying anything really worth hearing, so go ahead and listen.  Maybe if I start bearing my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel enough, someone will be converted, right? ;)  So go ahead and listen, I got nothing to hide.

But please, give me back my computer.  I really don't want to learn how to work  a new one. 

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Coming back

I've been writing blog posts in my head again.

It's been awhile since that has happened.  In fact, I can't remember the last time my mind has written a blog post before I even turned on my computer. 

I use to do it all the time. I would wake up with the words just pouring out of my brain.  Images of what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it, pictures that could go with it, were all there, just waiting for my fingers to type it out. 

Blog posting was another casualty of my anxiety, I think.   I started to worry over how the words went together instead of just allowing it to flow out and work it over later.  I worried over if I was saying it "right" instead of having my own voice.  I felt pressured to be.... something other than what I was being, which stifled my thoughts and my creativity.  I'm not listening to those thoughts anymore. 

I recently went to a Relief Society weekday meeting (formerly enrichment meeting), where we discussed using planners and making the most of your day using organization.  I started thinking about when I was in the thick of family raising and didn't have much time.  Always on my list was the usual things like laundry, dishes, dinner, etc.  But I would add 5 more goals on my to-do list for each day;  the acronym I used was C-H-A-P-S. 

The "C" stood for children. I would try to do something extra for one of my kids each day.  Sometimes, it was go to their game, and sometimes it was more, but I tried to give a little extra attention to one child each day.

The "H" stood for house.  I picked up an extra chore each day beyond the normal day to day routine.

The "A" stood for art.  Really it stood for creative.  The drive to create for me is very strong and when I don't create for a few days, I start to feel antsy and out of sorts. 

The "P" stood for personal.  Just a little me time, reading, taking a bath, having a cup of hot chocolate, talking to my sister on the phone.

The "S" stood for spiritual.  Spending time reading scriptures, being active in my calling, or rendering service.  Something to remind me of my membership in the gospel.

I want to talk about that "A".  Because of the cramped quarters we've always lived in, being crafty was sometimes impossible.  So often my creativity came in the form of my writing, in journals, and later in my blog.  Words are friends to me, and as they came out in my writing, I would feel like I was seeing old friends again.  I miss that.  I want it back.  I miss having descriptions of the my life come alive on paper... or on a screen. ;)

So here's to blog writing again, getting some of these words out of my dreams and onto paper, and having a say in my own words.

I'm excited!

What to get a guy who only wants stuff that's expensive.....

The other day, Terry and I were talking with someone about how hard it is to have a birthday in December, or in January.  Terry knows this from experience, since his birthday is in January.  He talked about how his mom would forget his birthday for a while, and I can totally relate, because I would rack my brain to get him something for Christmas, so that when his birthday comes around two weeks later...

Not good.

So when I saw James Taylor tickets were on sale for his Spokane concert.... Um, yes!! Unfortunately, they came on sale after his birthday, so you know, he had a really good father's day.  Which he deserves.  Because he is a very good dad.

The concert was in July, thankfully right before when we were headed to Rexburg for Zoey's graduation and birthday.  Phew!  SO glad that all worked out!

We had great seats, about 15 rows back from the stage and right on an aisle.  That was super helpful as the seats on the floor were so close together that I felt like I was sitting in the lap of the guy next to me.  That's just a little uncomfortable!

This is not a great picture, but it was so great to be this close!  We got to see lots of the stuff going on in the background.  I'm not sure why that is so fascinating to me, but it is! 

That old guy sitting there~ That's James Taylor signing autographs during the whole intermission.  Who does that anymore?  I was thoroughly impressed with how unimportant he thought himself.

James Taylor is very fun to listen to, not just in his music but his commentary!  He's pretty funny, and also really very self effacing, which is a nice change to some celebrity's attitudes.  Here's the deal, Terry had discovered the brother of James Taylor some time ago, and he looks, and sounds just like James Taylor.  I really like his name, which is Livingston..... Isn't that funny?  We've been to Livingston Taylor concerts maybe 3 different times, and we have really loved it.  His venue's are much smaller, and much more intimate, but the styles between the two are so similiar, you could pretty much interchange them! 

At first, I was like, I don't know any of these songs!  But it wasn't stopping me from seat-dancing, which is akin to car dancing, but seeing as how the guy next to me was not digging it at all, I decided to be a little more controlled in my seat-dancing.  What can I say, I'm just really nice like that! ;)

He's getting old, but his voice is strong, and it was just the best to go watch him!  And best of all, Terry totally loved the whole thing.  Finally!  A present this guy who only wants expensive stuff, loved.  It was a really good night.

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Tried it! - Electronics edition

Both Terry and I have been struggling with all the paraphernalia that comes with having the modern electronic convenience.  I have to say that Terry almost always has to drag me kicking and screaming into the next technological era, and I'm not even kidding.  Lately, I've finally got my wireless printer to print wireless-ly for me!  I've only had the computer for 5-ish years so..... you know. 

The latest thing for me has been all the cables that come with every device you get!  I have a cable for my Garmin, my jambox, my Ipod, my Ipad, my Iphone, and my computer.  TOO many cables for my little desk, so I've been looking for a solution. 

A while ago, Tyson gave me a little black box that had multiple usb ports in it for charging different things at the same time.  It was awesome.... except that the plug in cord for the box was too short to reach on top of my desk, and if it sat on the floor, the charging cables were also too short to reach to the desk, so it was not helpful outside of being able to charge several things at once.

I started looking around and found a similar box, this time it was vertical and it had a long plug in cord.  Score!  I plugged it in, found a spot on my desk, plugged in all the charging cables to the usb ports, and..... then I had a mess of cables on my desk. 

I starting looking again.

After searching on Amazon for a bit, I found this:

Is that not the funniest?!  And on the top it says, "Fashion and Elegant appearance".  That makes me smile so much.  I had no idea that a cable holder could be both fashionable and elegant, and I'm also not sure that is what I'm looking for in a cable holder.  Just Sayin'.

People.  I love it.  Here is what it looks like on my desk:

Very elegant, right?  It has a sticky strip on the bottom, so it is stuck to my desk towards the back, and the length of the cables hang down behind my desk.  Love.

And this is what my desk looks like, after I put everything back where it belongs:

Can you see it?  Behind my blue cup?  It is hidden perfectly, as well as the vertical tower, which is behind the lamp.  No cables in my way!  Love!  When I need the cable, I just pull it forward to charge up whatever device needs it, and then slide it back.  People.  My heart pitter patters.  The cable clip was on Amazon for 2.99 with free shipping with Amazon Prime.  Love. Again.

And I also got this little ditty yesterday:

I love it as well.

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