This has profoundly changed me!

For several years I've been working on overcoming procrastination. I've come a long way and am so much better than I used to be. But this video has produced more change in me than anything else. For too long I couldn't get things done because I was waiting for the right motivation. Or the right circumstances. Or the right mood. How did I get to be 61 years old and not understand the principles taught so succinctly in this video?

Jocko Willink is pretty intense! But he speaks the truth!

I hope this positively impacts your life too. Let me know what you think.

A Livable Living Room

After taking down Christmas I rearranged the living room. Here are the results:

View from the entry - door at right goes to kitchen

Next view over - splotches on the walls are paint color samples

Seating (Nothing matches!) - Dandylion made the coffee table and TopDad made the round table!

Television and curio cabinets

So nice to have someplace to display things!

Pictures, as promised

See the old color here.

See my pretty pink room, with a sparkling white ceiling!

The view from the window; such gorgeous pink walls!

Later this evening, with the help of Topdad and PW, we'll pull up the yucky carpet, scrape off the pad, (which has fused to the wood floor) wash the floor and voila! All finished. More pictures tomorrow.

By the way, I was very blessed to have just enough paint to put on two coats with no leftovers. I prayed mightily for that tender mercy and was granted my request. Thank you Heavenly Father.

What's Happening in Our Town

An imposing old school, built in about 1916, is being torn down. In addition to tearing down the school a lovely old fir tree was cut down to accommodate the demolition equipment. To my frugal mindset it seems an abominable waste of resources, but what do I know.

Tall building behind tree is the middle school

It in being demolished from east to west.
Crane to the left is sitting where the tree once was.

Three floors of memories

A horrible waste of materials (to my mind)

I love old brick buildings!

De-Cluttering Monday

Noble introduced me to Miss Minimalist last year. Although I'm not ready to downsize to 100 items and live like a Nun, it has helped me to move in the direction of owning less.

Two other factors have come into play recently. One was helping my mother, and sisters-in-law, clean out my younger sister's room after she died. My sister was confined to a wheelchair most of her life. She had several hobbies and interests, all of them heavy on the stuff. She loved make-up and nail polish, and had tons of both, along with dozens of bottles of perfume and bath products. She was a "Stamper" and had hundreds (maybe thousands, since I'm not sure what they cost) of dollars worth of stamps, ink, paper, paper cutters, doo-dads, and such. All her life she'd been given stuffed animals and had kept most of them. She never got rid of clothes as she outgrew them. We must have had a dozen large garbage bags of clothes to go to the charity shop. Oh, one other thing she loved was jewelry, she could have opened a store!

Helping my mother sort through this and bag it up was interesting. To me it was just junk to be gotten rid of, for my mother it was all kinds of memories. What it taught me is, of course, that we leave all our stuff behind when we go home. I knew that, but had never gone through the actual clean out before. Second, that the most valuable things to leave behind are not material goods; it's the journals and photo albums (if they are well labeled) that are the most valuable, as they are a record of a specific life lived. I have often wished my grandmother's had left journals and photo albums. I don't feel I know them well enough. My father and grandfathers each have written a personal life history; those are precious volumes to me. My dad has been really good about putting together and labeling photo albums. My mom is currently working on her life story.

Clothes, dishes, jewelry, knick-knacks, toys, hobby supplies, furniture, music cd's, DVD's, and any other personal belongings usually get divvied up, sold, donated, or trashed. Unless it is an unusual piece or it has specific sentimental value to another family member, it is simply excess junk.

The other factor in moving me toward a less encumbered life has been children leaving home. I don't need so many things in the kitchen, or the linen cupboard; outgrown games, toys, and books can be donated; the fact that we live in a much smaller house than we did five years ago helps too. There just isn't room here for all my "stuff." Plus, the fact that some of it has been packed up for the past three moves means I probably can get along without it. I also want to get rid of the cost of our storage unit. Little by little I'm proceeding toward my goal of a place for everything and everything in it's place.

Today I went through my kitchen cupboard where I keep serving bowls and such. I removed duplicates and excess, reminding myself that I have enough and some things can serve in multiple ways. I rearranged what was left and it sure feels good to have more room in the cupboard.

Our town has a community-wide yard sale in the Spring so I'm preparing for a big sale. Whatever is left will be taken to my favorite thrift store.

P.S. Happy Birthday to Elder PW - He's 21 today!

I Changed My Mind

Just a quick post about what I'm doing to lose weight. I know my problem is overeating and eating the wrong things so I say to myself all day long "No, I don't want that, I want to be slender more than I want to eat that." I've discovered that I have strongly ingrained habits of just picking up a cookie each time I walk by the cookie jar, or popping into my mouth whatever candy is laying around. (True Confessions here) So I'm consciously changing my mind habits so I can change my eating habits. The month of January will be about changing habits--then, I hope the rest of the year will be easier (is mortal life ever easy?).

My two new habits are:
1. Reprogramming my mind to eat or not eat consciously
2. Measuring portions at mealtimes

My goal is to change my mind so I can change my body. (And wear all the pretty clothes I have stashed away!)

A New Year, A New Beginning

A fresh calendar, a clean slate, a new year in which to pursue goals, hopes and dreams. This past year was one of change and adjustment. I passed the one year mark of living in Iowa, a new to me experience; Noble joined the Air Force and left home permanently; JET graduated from High School and left home, temporarily it turns out (he's home again for a short time); as of this week Elder PW has just three months before he returns from Argentina; Dr. Hair surpassed me in height; and lastly, fortunately Dandylion still fits under my arm and still likes to cuddle.

I began my blog a year ago to announce and record my weight loss. LOL, that didn't exactly work; but it got me blogging and introduced me to a whole world of wonderful people and ideas that I didn't know existed. I've "met" seamstresses, crafters, preppers, scriptorians, moms of Large families, homeschoolers, poets, writers, photographers, gardeners, and more. What is so fun to me is that every blog I find leads me to at least a couple more (sometimes dozens). I've learned so much it's like attending a university.

With just two children at home now my time is more my own and I look forward to finally getting to some projects that have been on the back burner for years. My New Year's Resolutions include "making measurable progress" on five projects: weight loss, photo albums, cookbook, de-cluttering, and sewing.

I've written out a detailed weekly schedule to include all those projects so I don't get distracted and can focus more clearly on my desired outcomes.

Today we took Noble to the airport and said goodbye again. The time together was just too short! But I'm so thankful she got to come home at all and so grateful the weather cooperated so she could arrive and depart with no trouble.

Thanks to all who read this and may there be more of you in the coming year!

Another Fledgling . . . Fledges!

Today our 6'4" hunk of an eighteen year old man moved out of the nest. JET goes to school and works in Council Bluffs, just over an hour away. He has wanted to move out since August but hadn't found just the right situation. The decision was made easier on Saturday when he slid off the road into the ditch on his way to work. When Topdad went to pick him up they drove immediately to see a house with a room for rent. Today he and I packed up the most necessary items into the family Suburban and he drove off to a new home in the big city. (We are driving a rental car until JET's car is fixed.) He'll be back tomorrow after school to get the rest. It's always nice when a child moves out under good circumstances rather than in anger or rebellion.

Time continues to race ahead us our readiness. When I think of where our family will be in five years it boggles my mind. JET should be home from a mission; Dr. Hair on a mission; Dandylion preparing for a mission. And here's an interesting tidbit for any LDS readers: In our family we have a High Priest, an Elder, a Priest, a Teacher, and a Deacon. How's that for priesthood representation!!

Christmas preparations are coming along slowly, had that major hiccough this weekend, but I think I'm back on track. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post about what we do and why.

How Much Does Stress Weigh?

I don't know about you, but I'm a stress eater.  Very bad for health.  I knew a woman a long time ago in Virginia who said "I eat three times a day, and my metabolism eats five times a day."  After age thirty-five I was lucky if my metabolism ate three times a week!  The only way I've found to jump start it and then keep it going is by walking briskly three to five miles EVERY DAY!  Well the every day is difficult enough without little children (and no stroller), but nigh impossible WITH.  And the stresses of life just add the wrong mix of hormones and eating.  Oh my!  I guess I use that as an excuse, but I ask you, what's a girl to do?  Watch for some major progress as my life settles down, stress is decreased and I'm free to do the best things to get healthy and fit.  And work on my long neglected projects.

I originally wrote this October 19, and then didn't post it and I can't remember why.  Well here it is.  My stress level is decreased somewhat, but I'm weak and undisciplined so haven't made so much progress.  TopDad and I have plans to help each other, but life keeps getting in the way.  Deep sigh.  Does anyone have wise counsel for us? What is the formula for success? What works as a motivation? How does one conquer self?  HELP!

Procrastination

I'm working on overcoming a life-long bad habit--procrastination.  This week I decided that I had put off washing the windows for long enough (a whole year!) and would do it.  Do you ever put off something that seems to be overwhelming and then when you buckle down and do it you wonder why?  We have these wonderful tilt-in windows that are so easy to clean!  It took just minutes, not hours.  And the difference in my outlook, literally! The world is a better place with clean windows.  Now I'm encouraged to tackle other seemingly onerous jobs.

This bad habit has been on my list of New Year's resolutions for the past couple of years; and while I make some progress each year it is difficult to overcome all at once.  Small changes are easier than big changes.

By the way, I'm asking Santa for a digital camera this year so I can SHOW as well as TELL with this blog.

Go ahead, brighten your day, wash a window or two.

Change is Constant

When we got home from seeing Noble at Air Force graduation I began making plans for the school year.  It was going to be the first time in twenty-two years for me to be home alone.  Wow!  Plans included walking daily, baking regularly, sewing, de-cluttering, working on long neglected projects, etc.  That all came to a screeching halt when I agreed to look after the neighbors two little boys.  Because my "baby" is thirteen our home and yard are not equipped for child care; no booster seats for the table, few toys, no fenced yard to play in, no playground equipment, and so on.  That made it difficult to "entertain" them and we struggled with balancing my needs to get things done with their needs to play.  All my good intentions and neglected projects were put on hold.  I found it stressful to face the day longing to get things done; things that I had put on hold for my own children for many years.

Last night our lives reversed directions.  The neighbor called with the news that she finally got the boys into a daycare facility that she's been on the waiting list for two years. Halleluia!

Of course there is the financial loss of that little bit of income, which was making our ends meet.  But there are other means to that end.  I made a long list of things I can make and sell.  But first I want to spend a day baking: bread, cookies, muffins, scones, whatever!  I want to turn on some music and dance around the room.  Walk to the library and not worry about little people making a ruckus.  Cut out and sew something new to wear.  Work on those long neglected projects!

There is nothing as constant as change.  Thank goodness.  When we're in a bad situation, just wait, it is not forever.  Patience and prayer accomplish miracles.

School Started Today - And other life changes

I still can't get used to school beginning before Labor Day.  But here in Iowa, ready or not, school begins the third week of August.  TopDad teaches woodshop, drafting, keyboarding, small engines, and an eighth grade exploratory class at the local Middle/High School.  (Our town is smaller than the high school I attended in San Diego)  Our two youngest boys are in ninth and eighth grades.  We had breakfast together today, read a chapter in the New Testament, had family prayer and they were out the door.

HOWEVER!  I am not alone as I had been looking forward to.  No, I am the caretaker of two very little boys, ages 4 and 2.  Sons of the neighbors across the street.  This came to be because I had prayed for a way to earn a little money to fill in the gaps of our budget; the neighbor prayed to find someone close and dependable to tend her two boys.  So here we are.  I get a chance to use all the patience I've developed over the years!

Jet, the recent HS graduate, is working in Council Bluffs and preparing to begin college on Monday.  He's getting his wisdom teeth out tomorrow and hoping to be hired for a different job at a extended-stay hotel which includes a room, so he can move to CB and live close to school, work and play.

Noble is at Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California studying Korean.  She's doing well and very happy.

Elder PW has been sick with a cold this week, but otherwise in good spirits, and pressing forward.

Yesterday was my first day tending Little Boy and Cutie Bug, and it brought back all the suppressed memories of how time consuming and exhausting having little ones around is.  Wow!  The best thing about children is that they grow up!  They learn to dress themselves, feed themselves, wash themselves, entertain themselves (boys are always better at this than girls, in my opinion), converse intelligently, etc.  So any mothers of young children reading this, press forward with steadfast faith--whatever stage you are in--it is not forever.

Along with all the usual household chores, and the new responsibilities for little people, I am an early morning Seminary teacher!  Am I crazy?  This will be a challenging year, but my mantra is "I need the money."

Sometimes it is impossible to cut expenses anymore, so the alternative is to raise income.  I'm thankful I can do something at home, allowing me a modicum of freedom to get things done.

Three steps forward and two steps back, Wanna Dance?

Last week we had some great weather here in Southwest Iowa.  Noble and I went walking twice and I even got my husband out once.  I ate great for two days, then went back to the "see-food" diet, you know, see food, eat it.  How are others consistent?  I'm constantly battling SAD, that pesky winter-time disorder of wanting to hibernate until spring.  When the weather is good, which means the sun is shining and the temps are about forty, I feel better and can stay on task.  When the sun hides behind a thick layer of clouds and the temps hover around freezing I just want to crawl back into bed (I have to get up to get breakfast for my family and see all the males off to school) and not get up until it's lighter and warmer.  Also this past week I've been malingering and blue because of some situations at church.  This is definitely a different kind of congregation.  But that is another blog.  So back to the problem of consistency.  I admit: I'm weak willed when it comes to changing my habits.  I did much better when I was single and living alone.  I didn't have anything in my house that I didn't want to eat.  I ate in more of a vegetarian style, and I walked everyday (living in So. California is so convenient).  How can I adapt for Iowa, with a husband and sons who demand MEAT at every meal and the winters are icy and snowy and impossible to navigate outside on foot?

Winter is the worst time to begin a program of change!  I'm going to wait for spring and the sunshine.