Monday, January 18, 2010

jUnIOr prOm






He had attached a firecracker to her door so that when she opened it, it exploded. She was in such a state of shock at the way her room was decorated that I don't think she even noticed that the firecracker went off until she could smell it!




Her Answer: She went and filled his truck with balloons and put the sign on the dash board. Sticking with the "stars" theme that he used, she attached Star Bursts onto paper stars and outlined the YES with them.

Now all the work begins, finding a dress, finding the shoes, figuring out the hair-do, etc. (All of which I have been told that I am too UNCOOL to be a part of. Gotta love teenagers.)

Friday, January 15, 2010

What is JOY?

In one of my classes yesterday, the Professor posed the question, "What is Joy?". We had to ponder it for a bit. There were a variety of answers. It was interesting to see how joy was defined by each of the students.

Some of the answers given in class were:

*Happiness
*Laughter
*A day without anxiety or depression
*My husband
*My Children
*Contentment
*Achievement
*Blue skies
*Being in this class (okay, so this kid was a bit of a brown-noser, haha ;)
*Etc.

Webster defines joy as:

joy (joi), n. 1. a feeling or state of great delight or happiness; keen pleasure; elation. 2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight. 3. causing or bringing joy; delightful.

For me, I think that joy can be found in the simple things. For instance, yesterday morning I was rushing around like crazy. It isn't easy to get myself and all of the kids up and ready for the day so that I can leave the house by 7:10am. It was hectic and insane. No time to eat. Grab a yogurt and run out the door. Get in the car and find that I am leaving 5 minutes later than I needed to, kind of a morning.

I got to the school and parked. I was getting out of the car and out of the corner of my eye saw the St. George temple standing there with its lights on. I thought how lucky I am to live in this beautiful place and to be finishing up my degree.

As crazy as life is, it really is the simple things that bring true joy. A glimpse of the beautiful white building surrounded by the red rocks caught for just an instant out of the corner of my eye did it for me yesterday.

Have you ever thought about what brings YOU joy?

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Hi Diddly-Dee, It's Back to School for Me.

So much going on this week! I start back to school this week. Six classes a week and Practicum on top of that. It will be interesting to see how this semester stacks up to last semester. Last semester was INSANE!!! At least this semester will be night class free! Gotta love that!

I enjoyed my break, I am not sure I am ready to start back yet though. I am thinking that one more week off would be a GRAND idea! Oh well, the sooner I start, the sooner I will be done.

We have made a lot of important decisions lately. I can't share them yet, but hopefully I will be able to soon :) Kind of fun and exciting news! (Well for us anyway)

I have been working on projects. A bunch of projects. I have shared some on my craft blog and I am hoping to get my bread box transformation posted on there by tomorrow. I do so LOVE the way it turned out!!! It is divine. (Since this post I have posted pics of the Oh So LOVELY Bread Box!~CLICK HERE~ to see it in all its glory!)

As of this week I am officially in the Bachelors program and will be with the same cohort of people until I graduate. Here's hoping that none of them are too annoying. How sad would that be to be with a really obnoxious person in all of my classes for the next 4 semesters???

I have a meeting to go to on Tuesday and I will know more about what to expect for this semester. Wish me luck ;)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Long List.

I am enjoying my last week of freedom. I have a LONG list of projects that I want to complete before my life is consumed with school again.

1. Bread Box Transformation

2. Dining Room Chair Redo (for a sneak peek of this one CLICK HERE)

3. Dining Room Table Redo

4. Growth Chart (this one is done, just need to post pics!)

5. Washer Jewelry w/Bracelets

6. Some Scrappy Layouts using my NEW BAMBOO that Santa brought me :)

I am loving having some free time, but I think that I pretty much have it all filled up with all of the projects I want to complete!

Well, that being said, I am off to create something :)

Monday, January 4, 2010

Slacker.

I don't know why, but, I have not sat down to write any New Year Resolutions. Each January I always sit down and write down some goals for the year. This year I have hesitated to do it.

Perhaps it is because last year was so unpredictable and crazy that I feel as though I have no control over so many aspects of my life, so why bother? Why not just roll with the punches and see what happens?

Perhaps it is because since I am back in school, this year is pretty much planned out for me. (6 classes each semester, homework, papers, projects, practicum, etc.)

Perhaps it is because then I have to feel guilty when I realize that all the goals that I placed on paper aren't being met.

Perhaps it is just because I am not feeling like I have much I want to accomplish other than the usuals of being a good wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.

I am not sure what it is. Maybe at some point I will change my mind and sit down and figure out some goals for this year.

Until then, well, I guess I will just keep plugging along and hope that 2010 is the best year yet! :)

Sunday, January 3, 2010

H1N1.

My oldest son called us bright and early this morning. He sounded like death warmed over. He said that he couldn't breathe and that he was feeling really, really sick.

Bryan got dressed and met him over at the hospital. After testing him, they diagnosed him with H1N1. Dang! I thought that maybe our family was going to get by without any of us getting the stuff.

This flu is going to be really hard on him because he has asthma. Anytime he gets sick he has problems with his lungs. I hope that all four medications that they gave him kick in soon and that he can start to feel a little bit better. He wasn't well at all this morning.

I am hoping that he doesn't end up staying a night or two at the hospital because he can't breathe!!! We have spent countless nights with him as a child giving him breathing treatments, now he is living on his own and I hope that he realizes how important it will be to keep taking his medication and let us know if he has any problems.

I asked him to stay here with us, but he said that the way he felt, he didn't want to stay here and then get all of us sick. He said he was certain that none of us would ever want to feel as sick as he is feeling right now.

I hope he gets better SOON!!! Poor kid!

Friday, January 1, 2010

Things I Learned in '09

Happy New Year!!! I cannot believe that it is 2010! Where did the past 10 years go? It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating Y2K.

2009 was an interesting year for our family. It brought about a lot of changes and some challenges. I wonder what 2010 has up its sleeve for us?

Some things I learned in 2009:

1. I learned that a house is just a house and your family is what makes it a home.

2. I learned that I can survive 15 credits of classes over a Summer semester and still stay somewhat sane.

3. I learned that I can turn around and start an even more insane Fall semester and survive that as well.

4. I learned that working for someone you don't respect is a very difficult thing to do.

5. I learned that being on tv really isn't "all that and a bag of chips" ;)

6. I learned that I do LOVE being creative. (I always knew that, I just found that finding an outlet for my creativity is something that makes me happy).

7. I learned that I really, really, really hate living in the snow. It is not my friend.

8. I learned that I was accepted into the Bachelor's program for Elementary Education and will be pursuing that degree.

9. I learned that moving several times in one year really isn't all that fun to do.

10. I learned that no matter how financially stable you think you are, it can change in the blink of an eye.

11. I learned that things are just things and that it doesn't matter how big your paycheck is, you can learn to live with less.

12. I learned that my kids are the 5 best kids on this planet :D

13. I learned that my husband will support me 100% with my crazy school schedule, even if that means moving 350 miles away.

14. I learned that my husband will do whatever it takes to provide for his family.

15. I learned who some of my friends really were and some that really weren't. (Having good friends you can trust is a great thing!)

16. I learned that I can survive turning 40 even when I really don't want to.

17. I learned that letting my daughter finally get her driver's license really wasn't so bad after all ;)

18. I learned that having two of your children grow to be taller than you is a strange thing. (It is strange to discipline someone when you are looking up at them).

19. I learned that my knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ is more precious to me than I ever realized it was. It is my strength, my happiness, my foundation. Because of my beliefs, I can survive anything that is thrown my way.

20. I learned that family is the most important thing in my life. They may drive me crazy at times, but I couldn't go on without each one of them.