Tonight Makenzie and Carson had a piano recital and graduated from Let's Play Music, a three year program. The program really digs in and teaches music theory, so they songs that they performed were their own personal compositions. I'm so proud of them; they did a great job. McKay also started the program with them, but this year I have had so much trouble getting him to practice and participate, that I finally decided to just focus on getting the other two more self-sufficient on the piano. At the same time, I wanted McKay to see that I was "taking him out of piano" rather than him "getting away with not doing it". Then, hopefully, I'll have more credibility next year when I focus on him doing his piano. The bonus of the kids doing this program is that it has made Keaton, while not excited about playing the piano, at least willing to start taking lessons again and have a better attitude about it. It is too bad he didn't work at it all these years, because he really has a good ear for piano, and learns it quickly.
We went out to the club to celebrate afterwards, which was good for me, because I did a yard sale this morning, then the dentist for the kids, so I wasn't on the ball for dinner. Okay, yard sales are two thumbs down! I only made $80 for all that effort. Not doing it anymore. I had a ton of stuff, too, because one of my big goals is to cut down on our belongings. A great thing about doing a yard sale on Friday is that my kids were in school. Otherwise, they are crying about what I'm getting rid of, or trying to buy everyone else's stuff, and I come home with more than I left with. As it was, we still bought 3 stuffed animals, waffle iron, 3 brooms, and a coffee table.
It has been a long day!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
What I'm reading
I've just finished reading a great book, Born To Run. It is a book about many things, including running form, ultra running (100 mile races), native populations that run as a lifestyle, the tarahumara indians of Mexico, the evolution of running shoes to the point where they are actually causing injury, barefoot running, interesting characters, veganism, proper running form to prevent injury, and having fun running vs viewing it as a chore. It has definitely helped me be a better and happier runner. I had the chance to meet the author at a book signing/lecture on Monday night, and really enjoyed that.
I bought some Vibram fivefinger shoes, and I really do not enjoy running in them, but maybe on grass? and after I have built up the correct muscles for it?
I am also now reading Les Miserables. In leu, I guess of spending $1350 to take the family to the musical :(. It is a slow read, no getting around that, but interesting. Whenever I read, I tend to branch it out, and research the topics I might come across that I am not as familiar with as I'd like to be. So, I'm looking a bit into the French Revolution, and all the changes in government that followed. It's a very interesting time in history. My brother introduced me to the Khan Academy, which is a series of online lectures and games, free, to teach mainly math. The math is from the very basics to calculus and statistics. They have 2100 videos in all. They have small history sections also, including a short series on the French Revolution. So, I've been watching those. It really isn't the same period as is covered in Les Miserables, as the French Revolution is 1789 and Les Miserables is 30-40 years later, but interesting anyway. Question: after all the blood of the Reign of Terror, when did France really become a stable democracy? Answers differ, but not until sometime between 1870 and 1958, depending on how you define democracy! So, how blessed is America to have enjoyed our freedom for as long as we have!
I bought some Vibram fivefinger shoes, and I really do not enjoy running in them, but maybe on grass? and after I have built up the correct muscles for it?
I am also now reading Les Miserables. In leu, I guess of spending $1350 to take the family to the musical :(. It is a slow read, no getting around that, but interesting. Whenever I read, I tend to branch it out, and research the topics I might come across that I am not as familiar with as I'd like to be. So, I'm looking a bit into the French Revolution, and all the changes in government that followed. It's a very interesting time in history. My brother introduced me to the Khan Academy, which is a series of online lectures and games, free, to teach mainly math. The math is from the very basics to calculus and statistics. They have 2100 videos in all. They have small history sections also, including a short series on the French Revolution. So, I've been watching those. It really isn't the same period as is covered in Les Miserables, as the French Revolution is 1789 and Les Miserables is 30-40 years later, but interesting anyway. Question: after all the blood of the Reign of Terror, when did France really become a stable democracy? Answers differ, but not until sometime between 1870 and 1958, depending on how you define democracy! So, how blessed is America to have enjoyed our freedom for as long as we have!
More To This Life
Today I went for a run, and this song, by Stephen Curtis Chapman, has stayed on my mind:
Today I watched in silence as people passed me by
And I strained to see if there was something hidden in their eyes
But they all looked at me as if to say
Life just goes on
The old familiar story told in different ways
Make the most of your own journey from the cradle to the grave
Dream your dreams tomorrow because today
Life must go on
But there's more to this life living than dying
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life alone can be
Tonight he lies in silence staring into space
And looks for ways to make tomorrow better than today
But in the morning light it looks the same
Life just goes on
He takes care of his family, he takes care of his work
And every Sunday morning he takes his place at the church
Somehow he still feels a need to search
Life just goes on
But there's more to this life living than dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life alone can be.
So where do we start to find every part
Of what makes this life complete
If we turn our eyes to Jesus we?ll find
Life's true beginning is there at the cross where He died
He died to bring us more to this life living than dying
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life living than dying
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
It's kind of a melancholy mood I'm in, thinking about how each day tends to be just a repeat of the same routine, the same issues and the same struggles. I guess the challenge is to find joy in the struggles, and in each of the small pearls that come along as well.
But, in addition, the question remains, "what can I do to make my life more meaningful?" One of the classes that I went to down at Women's Conference was about serving in our communities. It was inspiring to see all the things that people are doing and can do to make a difference in our communities. Things that I could be doing, if I would just break out of my daily routine. I'll let you know if I come up with anything great to get involved in.
Oh, I've got to tell you this story. At Christmas time, one of my friends told me that there was a humanitarian center at the local DI. Not only can you go there to make hygiene kits and so on, but you can get fabric and other items there to make quilts to donate. I was very excited about that, and decided to get some fabric and have my family tie a quilt at our Christmas party. So, I told my mom what I was doing, then called the DI. They said the humanitarian center was only open on certain days, and I couldn't get the fabric before the party. So I called my mom back, and she said she had some extra fabric she'd bring. I didn't have any batting, so she said she'd bring that, too. I called to borrow our ward's quilt frame, only to find that it was a PVC type that I didn't know how to use. So, I called my mom back, she said she'd bring her quilt frame, the yarn and the needles. We set up the quilt, and since my brother Spencer is an amazing quilter, we tied that entire quilt in 10 minutes. Then my mom said she'd take it and bind it and find somewhere to donate it. Wow, what an amazing service project I did. LOL.
Today I watched in silence as people passed me by
And I strained to see if there was something hidden in their eyes
But they all looked at me as if to say
Life just goes on
The old familiar story told in different ways
Make the most of your own journey from the cradle to the grave
Dream your dreams tomorrow because today
Life must go on
But there's more to this life living than dying
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life alone can be
Tonight he lies in silence staring into space
And looks for ways to make tomorrow better than today
But in the morning light it looks the same
Life just goes on
He takes care of his family, he takes care of his work
And every Sunday morning he takes his place at the church
Somehow he still feels a need to search
Life just goes on
But there's more to this life living than dying,
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life alone can be.
So where do we start to find every part
Of what makes this life complete
If we turn our eyes to Jesus we?ll find
Life's true beginning is there at the cross where He died
He died to bring us more to this life living than dying
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life living than dying
More than just trying to make it through the day
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
It's kind of a melancholy mood I'm in, thinking about how each day tends to be just a repeat of the same routine, the same issues and the same struggles. I guess the challenge is to find joy in the struggles, and in each of the small pearls that come along as well.
But, in addition, the question remains, "what can I do to make my life more meaningful?" One of the classes that I went to down at Women's Conference was about serving in our communities. It was inspiring to see all the things that people are doing and can do to make a difference in our communities. Things that I could be doing, if I would just break out of my daily routine. I'll let you know if I come up with anything great to get involved in.
Oh, I've got to tell you this story. At Christmas time, one of my friends told me that there was a humanitarian center at the local DI. Not only can you go there to make hygiene kits and so on, but you can get fabric and other items there to make quilts to donate. I was very excited about that, and decided to get some fabric and have my family tie a quilt at our Christmas party. So, I told my mom what I was doing, then called the DI. They said the humanitarian center was only open on certain days, and I couldn't get the fabric before the party. So I called my mom back, and she said she had some extra fabric she'd bring. I didn't have any batting, so she said she'd bring that, too. I called to borrow our ward's quilt frame, only to find that it was a PVC type that I didn't know how to use. So, I called my mom back, she said she'd bring her quilt frame, the yarn and the needles. We set up the quilt, and since my brother Spencer is an amazing quilter, we tied that entire quilt in 10 minutes. Then my mom said she'd take it and bind it and find somewhere to donate it. Wow, what an amazing service project I did. LOL.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Hair Decisions, Hair Decisions
Okay, so I'm thinking about cutting my hair, and maybe getting lighter highlights. So, give me your votes yes or no, and also if you've ever gone from long to shorter, did you regret it? My hair grows very slowly, so I don't want to mess up. What say you?
Women's Conference
Ouch. Instead of going to bed tonight, McKay came downstairs and raided the fridge. He broke a jar of syrup on the floor, and I wasn't too happy about having more mess to clean up. I was very surprised that he ran right away to get a towel and start cleaning it up. I started sweeping, and before you know it I had a big chunk of glass sticking out of the bottom of my foot. McKay ran and got a wet towel, dry towel and bandaid (complete with salve) and fixed me up. Before he got back, there was about a 3" puddle of blood on the floor, though. Then my friend called, and while I was sitting on the counter talking to her, the blood soaked through the bandaid and dripped all over the floor again. It was like I was bleeding to death or something. It's stopped now, finally. haha
Last week was a lot of fun. I took off Thursday and Friday to go to a Women's Conference down at BYU. Wow, I'd never done that before, and wow, a lot of women go. There were so many great topics that it was hard to choose which classes to go to. My favorite was one on how to prepare your children to go on a mission, and to handle the MTC, too. Wow, very discouraging to hear about all the problems and different reasons kids are going home now days. Anxiety, depression, not being able (willing??) to handle hard work, and so on. Well, I can say at least Keaton can cook and talk to adults, even if he can't handle being away from mom. :) At least we know what we need to work on, right?
I told Dave that my least favorite subject right now is Relief Society. Do you think every VT message for the whole year will be on Relief Society? They all seem the same to me. So, several of the classes at BYU were on Relief Society, which I carefully avoided. Then Julie Beck gave her address, and what do you think it was on? Yes, Relief Society! She talked for well over and hour, and it was actually a great talk. She implied that during Christ's famous visit to Mary and Martha, he could well have been setting up an ancient Relief Society! There you have the two roles of Relief Society: Service and Spiritual learning. Fun idea anyway.
I'm happy to say that I seem to have adapted to my new running style and shoes, and my sore calves are feeling great. I ran 6 miles on Saturday, and part of it was pretty fast (and part not). I'm very excited--and this is why I was bleeding to death on the phone with my friend tonight. I recently read this book called "Born to Run" which, among other things, promotes a new way of running with minimal "zero drop" shoes or barefoot. Anyway, the author is coming to a running store in Orem tomorrow to do a running clinic, shoe discussion, and talk about the book. I signed myself and my friend up to go, and we were just discussing the details, such as whether we were too much of running rookies to go run with the author. Anyway, it is going to be so much fun!!! Even if we do miss Family Home Evening!!!
Okay, Heidi, I got a clean eating book, and I was wondering if eating this way might help my kids to settle down. They have been so rowdy lately they are going to drive me to drink. Or something. But, eating clean is so difficult while living in the world. I was discussing this with my friend tonight. She is interested in looking into a very simple, vegan diet, because it was discussed in the book as something many long distance runners eventually assimilate. I just want to cut out the junk and eat nutritiously. But, then someone asks you to come over for lunch, or you go out to dinner with friends, or your kids are ALWAYS getting junk at school, from teachers and friends. It is very difficult to eat a healthy diet in today's America. As far as keeping the kids diet sugar free--well. We have some friends who are kind of pioneerish. There kids have never been to a movie, have no spending money, and they never have sugar at home. So, when they go to their friends homes, they literally empty the candy bowl into their pockets. My friend told me that she has seen the son actually loading donuts from Young Men's activities into his backpack. haha. No wonder my ice cream is always gone. haha. Yes, it is hard to control a diet enough to see if it makes a difference in behavior.
Like I said, I've been running a lot more, even though the weather hasn't been cooperating. I hate the treadmill, but I have even run on it a few times while watching a movie. Then I sit down and finish the movie. :) Remember Serendipity and You've Got Mail? Great movies. So, now I have to look at my race schedule and see what I really want to do. Goldie, guess what? My friend and I have decided to come up and do the TOU 1/2 with you. Yeah, that will be so fun. I decided to not do the Hobblecreek, because I won't have much time to run this summer, and I'd be mad if I got a slower time on it. So, we're going to do the Logan 1/2 and then full later on! :)
I have a bunch of pictures from Spring Break I want to post, but I can't find the cord so I'm still waiting....
Last week was a lot of fun. I took off Thursday and Friday to go to a Women's Conference down at BYU. Wow, I'd never done that before, and wow, a lot of women go. There were so many great topics that it was hard to choose which classes to go to. My favorite was one on how to prepare your children to go on a mission, and to handle the MTC, too. Wow, very discouraging to hear about all the problems and different reasons kids are going home now days. Anxiety, depression, not being able (willing??) to handle hard work, and so on. Well, I can say at least Keaton can cook and talk to adults, even if he can't handle being away from mom. :) At least we know what we need to work on, right?
I told Dave that my least favorite subject right now is Relief Society. Do you think every VT message for the whole year will be on Relief Society? They all seem the same to me. So, several of the classes at BYU were on Relief Society, which I carefully avoided. Then Julie Beck gave her address, and what do you think it was on? Yes, Relief Society! She talked for well over and hour, and it was actually a great talk. She implied that during Christ's famous visit to Mary and Martha, he could well have been setting up an ancient Relief Society! There you have the two roles of Relief Society: Service and Spiritual learning. Fun idea anyway.
I'm happy to say that I seem to have adapted to my new running style and shoes, and my sore calves are feeling great. I ran 6 miles on Saturday, and part of it was pretty fast (and part not). I'm very excited--and this is why I was bleeding to death on the phone with my friend tonight. I recently read this book called "Born to Run" which, among other things, promotes a new way of running with minimal "zero drop" shoes or barefoot. Anyway, the author is coming to a running store in Orem tomorrow to do a running clinic, shoe discussion, and talk about the book. I signed myself and my friend up to go, and we were just discussing the details, such as whether we were too much of running rookies to go run with the author. Anyway, it is going to be so much fun!!! Even if we do miss Family Home Evening!!!
Okay, Heidi, I got a clean eating book, and I was wondering if eating this way might help my kids to settle down. They have been so rowdy lately they are going to drive me to drink. Or something. But, eating clean is so difficult while living in the world. I was discussing this with my friend tonight. She is interested in looking into a very simple, vegan diet, because it was discussed in the book as something many long distance runners eventually assimilate. I just want to cut out the junk and eat nutritiously. But, then someone asks you to come over for lunch, or you go out to dinner with friends, or your kids are ALWAYS getting junk at school, from teachers and friends. It is very difficult to eat a healthy diet in today's America. As far as keeping the kids diet sugar free--well. We have some friends who are kind of pioneerish. There kids have never been to a movie, have no spending money, and they never have sugar at home. So, when they go to their friends homes, they literally empty the candy bowl into their pockets. My friend told me that she has seen the son actually loading donuts from Young Men's activities into his backpack. haha. No wonder my ice cream is always gone. haha. Yes, it is hard to control a diet enough to see if it makes a difference in behavior.
Like I said, I've been running a lot more, even though the weather hasn't been cooperating. I hate the treadmill, but I have even run on it a few times while watching a movie. Then I sit down and finish the movie. :) Remember Serendipity and You've Got Mail? Great movies. So, now I have to look at my race schedule and see what I really want to do. Goldie, guess what? My friend and I have decided to come up and do the TOU 1/2 with you. Yeah, that will be so fun. I decided to not do the Hobblecreek, because I won't have much time to run this summer, and I'd be mad if I got a slower time on it. So, we're going to do the Logan 1/2 and then full later on! :)
I have a bunch of pictures from Spring Break I want to post, but I can't find the cord so I'm still waiting....
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