Category: Goals

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“Be Nice or Be Quiet”

Update continued…

New Year’s Goal #2   “Character”

“I will take my own advice and “be nice or be quiet” while mingling with the other drivers on the road. No matter how “amazingly” everyone else drives, I will keep my mouth shut and not say, ‘The nuts are loose!’ Not even once.”

How’s it going?

Welllll….I’d love to fib and tell you that I’ve been “snarky comment clean” for weeks now, but my beloved kids would rat me out. The problems start just about any time that I promise to ‘keep my mouth shut.’ You’d think I’d know better by now.

Now, mind you, it isn’t like I’m an angry, cursing fiend or anything…even on my worst day. No, I’m more of a “Pacha, WHAT are you thinking?!” or  “Stay in your LANE, Sparky,” type of gal. Harmless.

At least I strive to be entertaining. (insert sheepish grin here)

Ok, ok. The fact is that my family, actually, one big, tall, nameless, bald boy–to be exact, would like me to ‘less contentious and more peaceful’ to those around me when I drive.

‘More careful and less erratic.

More quiet and less yacky.’

Freedom of speech has died at the Anderson place.  Hmmph.

Nevermind that I’d like HIM to have more hair and less burping, but let’s not open THAT wound.

So, our compromise its this.

To help myself think calm, peaceful thoughts that should seal my naughty lips shut, while driving, I’ll picture the beautiful, soothing Caribbean Ocean–at sunset. Ahhhh… Yes…I’m relaxing all ready.

If I slip up, that boy I mentioned, can hum some nice, encouraging tune—Bob Marley should work. Star-Spangled Banner would be fine. Whatever.

Believe me, this beats his suggestion of squirting an ocean-like spray of Dasani water my direction. Sheesh.

This may take some time.

Pray for me.

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Saving Baby Kisses

So, it’s been roughly two months and a week since New Year’s and the goals that I puttered around with, during the month of January. In the interest of personal accountability, I am forcing myself to evaluate my progress…or–in some cases–lack thereof. Necessary adjustments will be made accordingly. Kinda scary…

Never fear. I’ll look at the goals one at a time to save the sanity of all involved.

This could be painful, but being a sturdy mountain woman, I intend to forge ahead..

“Ahhh…be brave, little piglet.”

So I shall.

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New Year’s Goal #1  Gratitude.

“I will keep a gratitude journal and each day record at least one blessing, one joy or one example of  ‘the Lord’s hand in my life.'”

How am I doing?

My very first goal has been more challenging than I expected. Not so much because I don’t recognize my blessings–I do–but more because I fall into bed each night, when I can no longer function with my eyes open. It makes it difficult to remember all the sweet baby kisses when you can’t remember how to hold a pen.

I did go to bed earlier last night and actually wrote down a few things, but, alas, it has not been anywhere near a daily thing, like I’d planned.

THEREFORE the adjustment I will make is to put the Gratitude Journal on the desk next to my bed. If my night memory doesn’t work–I’ll jot things down first thing in the morning. The point will be to leave it out where it’s easier to see. That should do it–because I truly enjoy this goal.

Gratitude makes the heart happy.

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Family ‘Success’

aprils-family2

“Families unite when they do meaningful things together. Children should work together under the leadership of parents. Common employment, even on a part-time basis, is valuable. So is a family garden. Common projects to help others are also desirable. Families may establish a perpetual missionary fund. They can research and write family histories and share them with others. They can organize family reunions. They can educate family members in the basic skills of living, including managing finances, maintaining property, and broadening their general education. The learning of languages is a useful preparation for missionary service and modern life. The teachers of these subjects can be parents or grandparents or other members of the extended family.

“Some may say, ‘But we have no time for that.’ As for time to do what is truly worthwhile, I suggest that many parents will find that they can turn their family on if they will turn their television off. . . .

“President David O. McKay taught:

” ‘The home is the first and most effective place for children to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self-control; the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home.’
Dallin H. Oaks
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Winter Schminter…

With all the busy-ness and excitement of this holiday season, with all the gift-giving and new babies and stuff to make—I never got around to sending any Christmas cards. Now, I know that there aren’t actually that many dinosaurs left these days that like to send them…but I do. So I missed it because my days were filled with so much to do all ready. We even had pictures to send this time (whine, whine). Oh, how’d that baby picture get in there?

Then, while at Michael’s a few days ago, I accidentally took a walk down the dollar aisle–a very dangerous place indeed. For me, the dollar aisle always turns into the twenty-dollar aisle, so I was wary. Then, I spotted some really cute cards. They were a set of 10, Mary Engelbreit notes–with blank insides…on the dollar aisle. They weren’t Christmas or New Year’s cards. In fact, they didn’t mention any holiday at all.

These great little doo-dads are making it possible to connect with all the people that I normally grab up at Christmastime–only now, in the lull of the holidays–at a time that isn’t quite so busy. So maybe instead of that scrawled message inside, I can actually write a real note…or letter even. Depends on my mood.

I think I’ll call them Winter Cards.

Wahoo!

I feel a new tradition coming on…

New Year’s Goal #8– I will write a real letter to Dane–not  just email–every week because sometimes you just need to find something in the mailbox.

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Wonderful Life

 

 

 

Awhile back, I was casually reading a good friend’s blog and found out that she’d never seen the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

“Positively obscene,” I told her. Everyone knows that you can’t go to heaven if you haven’t seen “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Slight exaggeration, maybe, but it still felt wrong to know anyone on earth who hadn’t seen it.

So even though it was past Christmas and we really have been making every effort to put all the green and red tubs back in the garage–we kept this one movie out and invited our sweet friend over to see it for the first time in her life. It was a lovely experience to watch someone–besides me–cry in all the right places. She was even a great sport with all our commentary, which can try the patience of even the most sturdy mountain woman. In the end, of course she loved it, so I’ve come to a conclusion of sorts.

Maybe this “Christmas movie” isn’t such an exclusively Christmas movie. In fact, it felt like the perfect show for this time of year when we are all trying in our own way to be little better than we were last year. What a great reminder to “bloom where we’re planted,” and make the most of what we’ve got–whatever it is. Because we just never know the difference we may make in the lives of someone else, just by being ourselves.

New Year’s Goal #6– I will pay attention to the tiny feet that may be stepping in my footprints.