A Fresh Start.

31 December, 2014.

Happy 5 year anniversary to my man.

It's seems like it's been a life time together.  

I look forward to a lifetime more.

...

Lately I've come to enjoy the a.m. crunchwraps at Taco Bell.  It's a treat I let myself get every now and then on my way into work.

When I don't ride Trax, that is.  And with this 3 degree weather, I'm not riding Trax.  I don't have enough dedication to stand at the bus stop in subfreezing temps.

So with this morning being my anniversary, and with it being New Year's Eve, and with the simple fact that I was already a half hour late to work (let's face it, no one else is even going to be there) I stopped in for a crunchwrap.

The thing about doing this is that the employee who is always there in the morning is super awkward.  I'm pretty sure she's trying to flirt with me and I am beyond uncomfortable with the advances.  Yes, I said "she".

After having it happen yet again this morning, I'm pretty sure I'm just going to have to find a different Taco Bell.  I can't take it anymore.

...

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions because I feel like if I want to make a change, then I'm going to do it, I don't care if it's the 1st of January or the 21st of April.  But it just so happens that I want to make a change.  And it's New Year's.  So let's call this a resolution, shall we?

First of all, I want to love my body.  

I know that this is going to take some time getting to know my treadmill and my free weights again, but I also know that this a mental struggle and not purely a physical one.  

I'm going to figure out meals that I actually enjoy eating, but are clean.  No more crap.  And this is really hard for me, because I love my crap.  *ahem* a.m. crunchwraps and McD's Coke *ahem*

I also have two half marathons on my calendar this summer so I'm going to be training for those as well.  I'm thankful for my friends who ask me to run marathons with them.  

It holds me accountable for getting myself there.

But I'm also going to make sure that I'm putting my time into filling my mind with positive influences as well.  Which means significantly less social media.  I've already started following that rule of thumb, but I'm going to continue it in the coming year.  I feel I'm easier with myself when I don't have so much pressure to live up to everyone else.  Also, I don't tend to compare myself to anyone else when I stay off of social media.  

This also means that I'm going to increase my time spent studying my scriptures and the words of the prophets.  I tell my Young Women all the time, I never feel so pretty and sure of myself as I do when I'm reading my scriptures consistently.  Which I haven't been lately, so I know that it's problem.

This brings me to my second resolution: I'm going to study and read through all four of the standard works in one year.  I have my reading schedule set out for the entire year and plan on using study guides as I go.

I'm so excited.

And my third resolution is to get myself back in the habit of using my Flylady schedule. Because it works.  And it will relieve a lot of stress and mess if I just take the small amount of time required every day.

I know that these changes are actually big and will require a lot of determination and follow through on my part.  I know that changing habits aren't easy, especially when those habits are rooted from laziness.

I'll use my daily posts to keep myself invested in following through.  I'm too easy on myself and let myself slide from changes with a shrug of my shoulder and an "oh well."  I don't want to be like that right now.  I really want to make these changes.

2015 is going to be crazy.  Casidee gets her learner's permit for driving this year.  Jayme will go to high school in the fall.  Cali turns 10 which makes all my kids old enough to not have any single digit ages anymore.  This is the year we knock out some debt, and actually take a cruise for Christmas.  Hopefully.  I haven't made resolutions on those so we'll see how that works out.  I can't overhaul every aspect of my life in one year, but then again, why not?

For tonight I will simply celebrate my man and the simple fact that he loves me completely. Which is all that I could have ever hoped for.

The Ordinary, The Common Place, The Routine. And A Rehash Of New Year's Eve And Happy Anniversary To Us.

There's something about having been both a stay-at-home and a working mom to make me appreciate the pros and cons of each "job."  To know the effort that goes into the expectations of each.

I took so much time off the past two weeks with all of the holiday fun, including Jayme's birthday and our anniversary on New Year's Eve, that by last night I had completely slipped back into stay-at-home mode.

I was scrubbing the house and keeping up with not only the daily mess of six kids, but the construction mess of one husband as he worked on our house remodel.

Last night I was satisfied.

But all good things must come to end.

That's what makes them good, the fact that we don't always have them.  If we always had them we'd take them for granted and they'd lose their goodness to us.  They would become ordinary, common place, routine.

Last night I relished in my stay-at-home time of the past weeks.

I woke up this morning satisfied and refreshed with my time off and ready to hit the ordinary, the common place, and the routine.

I was ready for it.

It's not so bad really.

I haven't set any resolutions this year.  I never really do.

When I feel I want to make a change, I do it, whether it be in January, or June.

I do have some personal goals set, but I hate to call them resolutions.

Resolutions never happen and it almost feels so cliche that I don't want to admit that I have them.

But I feel the want of change, even if it does happen to be at the break of a new year.

So without claiming that I've made resolutions for the new year, I will say that I plan on focusing more on learning about my Savior this year.

And I plan on being more true to my flylady schedule, because let's face it, with work, school, and half a dozen kids, I need that schedule to help me keep up with my housework.

I can't shake that expectation of myself.

This week I'll post before and after pictures of our bathroom (finally, I know), the project that started it all.  And I'll  post pictures of the transformation of the main floor as we painted the walls and replaced the flooring.  It doesn't even look like the same house anymore.

Though the pink counter tops are still there. Taunting me.

On New Year's Eve I celebrated 3 years with The Man.

I said, "I feel like we should be celebrating longer than 3 years."

He said, "we're celebrating that I still want to be with you."

Can't argue with that logic.

I am so in love with him.

He gave me a beautiful rose and a gift card to go shopping at my favorite store.

I gave him... Taco Bell for lunch.

The Man likes what he likes.

We rung in the new year eating way too much food and playing game after game with our circus.

Or 2/3 of The Circus anyway.

Casidee and Jayme got invited to a party.

The clock hit midnight and we were out in the icy cold yelling and cheering as the kids ran around in the snow with sparklers.

Fireworks were booming in the sky over our head and snow was softly, lightly falling.

And then The Man came out with our surprise for them.

 We won't mention that he lit it in the house.

I was sitting on the frozen porch steps, lighting sparklers for the kids and we heard behind us, "boom boom boom!"

I turned around and saw the flaming lantern in the window of the door.

"Hurry and open the door for Dad!"

Once he was out in the frozen air he let the lantern go and it softly floated up above our heads.

I watched that lantern for a bit.

But by the time the sparklers were fizzled out and done, I was ready to high tail it to bed.

2012 was pretty decent to us.

I suspect 2013 will be as well.

I suspect we'll make more strides with the house.

I suspect we'll visit some place new.

I suspect I'll tackle a good portion of my general ed.

I suspect West will progress in a way he wants with his work.

I suspect The Circus will continue to join new things and find new talents and keep us busy in life.

I suspect that my life will continue to be better than I deserve.

Bucket list for 2012

Pinterest is inspiring.  It really is.  But there are so many ideas and so little time!
I've gone through my boards, I've checked them twice, and I've created a bucket list of sorts of the things that I will do, make, or visit in the year of 2012.
Are you ready for this?

1. I'm going to read "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey.  And not only read it, but explain it the The Man as I go, and then we're going to apply it to our finances.  Our total goal (that won't happen in 2012, but we'll at least start it)? Debt free. Can we do it? Yes we can! But I have to read this book first.  I hear it helps you get in the right frame of mind to actually want to follow through with it.  Yes.

2. We have a pretty awesome job chart system going at our house.  But it's just boringly written on a dry erase board.  I need cuteness.  Our job chart is going to be converted into cute form.

3. Also in the name of converting to cuteness, instead of hanging my handwritten menu on the side of the fridge, I want to paint our cabinet end with chalk paint.  It's in a prime position to look awesome.  It hangs where the bar starts so it would look like a cafe menu board. I get giddy just thinking about it!

3. We will finish the blasted bathroom.  Which means I get to do all these fun details in it.

4.  I looked at my "Please take me there" board longingly.  *sigh*.  But in the name of getting out of debt I suppose I ought to visit a new place that's close to home.  Arches anyone?

5. I'm going to try my hand at bleach pen shirts.

6. And I'm making this shirt.  Because I love everything about it.

7. As well as this skirt.

8. This one kind of scares me to put on my bucket list. But I would like to have my six pack back.  Not a big six pack, just a slightly there cute girly six pack.  I had one a couple of years ago.  I want it back.  Yikes.  Now it's on my list.  So I have to do it.

9. I'm going to make a quilt.  Maybe not all of these, but at least one them.  Or maybe not even one of these per say, but I will end 2012 with at least one quilt made by my hands.

10. Because I can't stop laughing about this.  I need this in my house and my parentals will probably receive them as gifts.  Because I can.

I think I better stop there.  I actually want to do/finish this list so I need to keep it realistic (and I've probably already over shot realistic).  Okay, wait.

11. Run another half marathon.  But this time actually complete a full training for it.  Besides, I have a time to beat now, and my cousin wants me to go to San Diego to run one with him.  Done deal.

12. Go diving in the ocean.  I have been a certified scuba diver for... 15 years and have never gone diving in the ocean.  Sad.  Is it cheating to add this to the list if I know I already have the trip planned for March to do this?  Plane tickets are already purchased. (This also includes seeing my brother Nick get married and going to Universal Studios Orlando (both of them)).

Okay, now I'm done.  Time to get started!

We still have a week and a half before 2012, and perhaps I should be writing this post on New Year's day, but I'm not one for "resolutions" on the first of the year, I do them when I'm ready.  I happen to be ready.  Let's do this.

Resolutions... I guess *sigh*

I've never really been one for making resolutions. I understand the talk and the idea of a new year, so perfect a time to determine to make a new start. I really do understand all the significance of this, I do. It's just that, for me, when I get the itch to change (or rather the shove by life :)) I do it. Whenever it comes. I don't wait for the timing of a new start, I just do it. I make rash decisions and changes in my life, and they seem to work for me. Though there was one year I made the resolution not to miss a single birthday on my calendar. And I did it too. For that ONE year, every brother, sister, parent, niece and nephew got a card. And I haven't done it since. I actually have resolutions this year.
Resolution number one: I'm going to introduce my children to flylady. They will have their very own fly routines. AND, thanks to my friend Aislinn telling me about this (via her blog), I'm going to set them up online with www.myjobchart.com with interactive job charts. West thinks I'm crazy for wanting to try it, but I think it adds a level that the kids are going to love.
And my second resolution (I know, amazing that I have TWO resolutions when generally I don't have any at all!): West and I finally broke down and got a vehicle that will fit all eight of us. I found a super sweet deal (you know, the kind that you brag about) on ksl. This lovely Yukon Denali is now mine. And West's. I guess I have to share now and then :). What does this have to do with my resolution? Well... on the occasion that people say to me, "I don't know how you do it all", I squirm. Because I DON'T do it all. I have a mountain of laundry, a sink full of dishes, and a very dirty car to prove it. The laundry and dishes I just hate so I procrastinate it until I can't anymore. But my car... it truly is one of the things in my life that just falls through the cracks. Papers, toys, blankets, shoes, jackets, books, all these things collect and pile up, and I simply do not have the time, I'll even give the concession that I don't make the time, to clean my car out. So we search high and low for things we need, and are probably getting trampled on in the car. I blame it on my circus, and rightfully so. When I do finally get around to shoveling it out, 97% of the crap in it is theirs. Taken out to the car for whatever reason, despite my telling them not to, and then it gets left there. My car absolutely is something that falls between the cracks for me. Not this year. With this new car, and now that I have cleaned the Camry out, I will, every Friday, clean out my cars, vacuum them, and run them through the car wash. It's a simple common courtesy that I need to give to West, as he's sold his truck, and we're sharing these two cars. He'll get his truck in time for summer, but in the mean time... just for him, I make the resolution to better myself in this area, and keep these suckers clean and nice to be in.