They Might Not Need Me

This is the handout for Young Women Book 2, lesson 41 about Optimism, a poem by Emily Dickinson. It is a scraplift of wagsmom's "Raising Confident Girls." I used the GottaPixel October Kit, "Autumn Harvest." Thought I'd start putting these things on the web to share. E-mail me, if you'd like the full version for printing.



I'm rather new to digital scrapbooking having only put together a few pages of my own. Creating handouts seemed to be one way to practice and create some nice things. I've also used this skill to create invitations. You can see most of my work at my online gallery.

Enjoy!

Happy New (School) Year!

After much anticipation, the new school year is upon us. Of course after the first week, we have a long weekend. I'm not sure about the reasoning behind this, but I am enjoying some time to accomplish a few projects that were not accomplished over the busy summer.

One project that I actually finished was fixing a sprinkler turned water fountain that I discovered Sunday morning. It has likely been broken all summer, but I hadn't seen the great height to which it had obtained. It was completely watering down the Grand Am that we keep parked on the street. Unfortunately some grass was not being watered, so may likely be dead, but we'll see.

I completed two batches of indexing for Family Search Indexing. Unfortunately the server was down, so I wasn't able to turn in the second batch. (Later...got it submitted!)

Today is the first day of the new semester at BYU. So off to school goes son number two. He's the last one to get started. Daughter number two began her first semester at Salt Lake Community College on the 22nd of August. Number one son and his wife began their semester at Weber State on August 27th, the same day the rest of us began school in Granite School District. It's Em's senior year at Cottonwood High School. She's even at school today, when school isn't in session practicing Volleyball and meeting with the Seminary Council. Chris just began his sophomore year at CHS. Kathy is the only family member at Bonneville Junior High, but she has lots of friends, so it's going well. Tom has one more year of elementary school. Sixth grade is awesome though. It's a great start to another great year!

Slideshow

Losing Again!

Until ten years ago I had a terrible problem...I couldn't gain weight. Of course no one had any sympathy for me. They thought I was lucky. We'll that's over and I'm starting again to lose what I never should have gained. Who would have thought that so many pounds would sneak up on me?

When I look in the mirror, all seems okay, but when I see myself in pictures, or especially in video, I know that I need to get very serious. I've lost before. I know that I can do it. I'm just not sure why I have to do this again.

Anyway, I've found a fun tool to help me track my progress.



Let's watch it go down as I prepare for our next adventure!

Thanks in advance for the support!

Flashback to the Future

Today was my son’s twenty second birthday. We haven’t celebrated together since his nineteenth birthday, so it was fun. We had friends and family for a barbeque and video games. What a great time! The original plan was to have a barbeque at a local park, but when attempting to pack everything up to go, I recommended that we stay home for the barbeque and go to the park after we eat, but we never made it to the park. We had a lot of fun!

What just seemed strange was that the songs that they were playing were those from my teenage years, such as “Carry On My Wayward Son” by Kansas, “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and others. I knew all of the words. When I realized what I was singing I had a crazy flashback to the days when I was young, single and such, just like my son. What if at that time someone had said, “Many years from now your children will gather and have a great time playing this music on play guitars….”? What will their children do when they are teenagers?

I love the connection that we have through music. We enjoy many of the same songs, styles of music and performance of music, whether it be concerts, like the one we have tomorrow at the Gateway of the Granite Junior Youth Symphony where I have a son playing the trombone and a daughter the string bass, or like the fun we’re having tonight being Guitar Heroes playing the great rock songs of the ‘70s, or any of the other times that music brings us so much joy. We sing, we play, and we love to be together. We are truly blessed to be a family.

Savage Chickens in Utah!

It's been awhile since I had a chicken laugh. I found this one and wanted to share: http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2007/03/one-day-in-utah.html

I wonder if we'll run into the chickens on our southern Utah vacation?

Just gotta love the chickens!

Home Office Makeover

After help from the daughter who thought about becoming a professional organizer my home office was starting to become more functional. Unfortunately, when I originally put the furniture, book shelves and such in the office, I set it up so my desk was facing the east wall. That would be okay, except I found that I needed more workspace, so I put up another table. But the only place the table could go, was on my right. I need my workspace on my left. It was my daughter who came up with the new arrangement that would change the desk/tables to allow work space on the left. We were going to move it after I finished all of my organizing homework. I did most of the homework. I sorted through everything, but then I had a deadline. I had to create two portfolios and in doing so, left a wake of papers and projects all over. I was sad that I had piled things up again, so my first project of the summer was to get my office functioning again. I really needed to get things set up right, so I could work more effectively, so I moved stuff around. Now the desk is on the west wall and I have plenty of workspace on the left. It even allowed for more room because I could move the printer out of the main work area. This also allows for more functionality of the bookshelves. I use an antique dresser for storage and made a place to keep the video camera powered up. I think I'll also keep the iPod there, too, so it's always ready to go. Even the children like the new arrangement.

One of the projects I've completed is to add SnapShots to this blog and my family history website. It's a fun tool that gives the user a peek at the where the link will take them, before they click. Here, check it out: http://genealogy.annriding.com. Now off to add more fun goodies to the website!

Successful Update

As mentioned in my last post, I attempted to update my genealogy website, but "totally muffed it." Since it really didn't have that much on it, other than my database (that I hadn't updated for a few months) and a handful of photos, I decided to rebuild the entire thing from the ground up. Shouldn't be too hard. It went together quite easily the first time I put it together. Hah! Even though I was meticulous about following the instructions, there were a few things that I still didn't have quite right, so it took three tries, but I finally did it--I updated my TNG to 6.1. This was important since there were some security flaws in the previous version. (Why can't folks just leave others websites alone?)

Since I run this site with a documented database, it doesn't contain all of my research. Although I have rebuilt my genealogy database more than once, I felt the need to start a file entitled, "One last time," in reference to starting from scratch one last time. I wanted to have a totally clean database that was completely documented. One that represents my abilities. In the past I had determined that I would need to rely on some others research to ever pull together the information on the families to which I am related. I've decided to be even more particular before adding anyone else's research to my own. Fortunately Legacy, the genealogy software that I use, allows me to document any download that I add, so if I determine to add another database to my own, I'll know exactly where I obtained the information.

Once I got the site back online, I took the time to tweak a little bit of the homepage. I created the main photo when my graphic creation skills were a little less developed, so I recreated the file so the photo was no longer feathered. I think the shadow looks better this way. Now I'd like to try a few other templates and upload photos and the other goodies for which I decided to create a website for my genealogy research.

Today I also talked to two of my cousins. It was great to become reconnected. There are a few leads for research that I'd like to follow, too. I've never quite had the courage to call complete strangers about genealogy, but there are folks out there that I think are relatives and might know more about our family. I know that many researchers call and even visit such contacts, so I'd like to try it out, too. E-mailing has been a great way, but there are many people who are not connected to the Internet, so that's one research method I'd like to try this summer.

He's Our Bishop!

At the 2007 UCET conference David Warlick recommended that our blogs should have a purpose. I've been thinking about that for a few weeks now, knowing that this blog's purpose is just the miscellany of ideas that motivate me until I finally put fingers to the keyboard and share them. It's not that I really expect anyone to read them. Seems rather unlikely that any one does except for me. But I do like reading them myself, so I happily think I'll continue sharing. Then I had a brainstorm...what if this blog did have a specific purpose? Or what if I expanded its purpose?

Today I taught the lesson in Young Women about Appreciating the Bishop (YW manual 2, lesson #11) For some reason I become more nervous with each lesson I give. The lesson was straight forward enough. We were to discuss the responsibilities of the Bishop, who helps him with these and then why the Bishop is important in the lives of the Young Women. While preparing to give this lesson, I reflected on my days in the Young Women program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the only member of the LDS church in my family, I often looked to my Bishop when I did not have the family support that I needed. While we lived in Garland, Texas, and I attended Seminary, the lessons often recommended that the students discuss certain things with their parents, so I often visited with the Bishop about some things. Today, I really appreciate how my Bishop always had time for these visits. He always supported the role of my parents in my life, and had good counsel about how to nurture my relationships with my parents after they divorced. He cared enough for me to want the best for me.

During the lesson today I shared a special activity that meant a lot to me at the time and even more now. For one mutual activity when I was in Young Women we were each given a paper that was past around to the others in the room, including other young women and the leaders. Each took a turn filling out blanks about different characteristics about the person whose paper we held. Then the papers were passed on. I still have my paper from that activity. My Bishop had my paper when we were supposed to put the shape that reminded me of that person. I likely put "circle" or "triangle" about the person whose paper I held, but my Bishop wrote "perfect" about me. Knowing that my Bishop felt that way about me helped me through many difficult times over the years.

There are many folks that write derogatory remarks about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some even have received great acclaim from the world. I would like to use this forum to share my growth as I learn more about the gospel and apply it to my life.

Last night President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke to the Young Women of the church. He challenged them to not let a day go by without attempting to better themselves. There were four things he wanted them to remember:

1. Pray-speak to our Heavenly Father every day
2. Study-the gospel and get a good education
3. Pay tithing-open the windows of heaven
4. Attend your meetings-partake of the Sacrament

How blessed we are to have a prophet of the Lord!

The Sunday Night Phenomenon

After an engaging weekend supporting family members and pursuing my own passions, I find it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. I’ve tried many techniques to overcome this problem including foregoing a Sunday nap, a hot bath, quiet activities before bedtime, reading and daydreaming before sleep. Unfortunately this Sunday night seemed worse of all. After a fantastic UCET conference I spent the weekend doing some web activities that I haven’t taken the time to do, such as upgrade on of my websites (totally muffed it though…) Then I carefully began shut down mode on the early side and climbed into bed ready for a good night’s sleep and then my brain started going and I couldn’t shut it off. Fortunately I was tired from illness and being up all day, so I did fall into a busy sleep. Then about 2:30am the smoke detector decided that it was time for a new battery. I had a tough time getting it up on it’s mounting last summer, but I had it down and apart in no time. I took care of a few of my concerns: a new load of laundry in the washer, put together a few things I didn’t want to forget in the morning, and then settled back in for a little more rest.

Unlike most Monday mornings, I was able to get up when the alarm went off and begin my day, almost as planned. A trip to the gym for a brief workout did wonders for how I felt.

I took a pad of paper and pen to the gym and while I worked out on the bike and sat in the sauna, I wrote about all of the things that I wanted to do. Many ideas had come to me during my fitful sleep. After the brain dump I could process the day more clearly. Perhaps I should try writing before sleep?

Fortunately I can sleep on Monday nights.

Clean Office via Mission Get it Together!

I've used this blog to keep track of my progress attempting to get our home in tip top shape. There's just one bathroom and one hallway to go to complete the inside painting, but I don't like to paint when it's too cold to go outside to clean up the painting equipment. It has been wonderful to have things clean and organized, that is until you venture to the bottom of the basement steps and enter my home office.

About two years ago my two youngest sons determined that they would continue sharing a room in order for their Mom to have a room for an office. I had a desk and computer in the dining room, but stuff was everywhere. It was a kind gesture, so I took them up on it. Actually it was the home office where the painting began. The first wall was painted a beautiful rosewood color, but being on the dark side the next wall was painted a color that was a little lighter, but it still seemed a bit dark, so the rest of the room and the connecting hallway were painted an off white color that had just a hint of the base rose color. The bookshelves were moved in, along with a long table to serve as a desk. The large desk that I loved to use upstairs was just too big to put anywhere, so it found a new home in another home office. Then the stuff began to pile up. Research files, scrapbooking supplies and things that still need to be scrapbooked, books, sheet music, paperwork from running a household, computer bits and pieces, my work stuff (because I don't have an office at work), and that other stuff, too: souvenirs from many vacations and mementos received from my childrens' trips away from home, keys from old vehicles, my stamp collection that I haven't touched since junior high, the boxes of photos that I need to finish scanning, quilts that need to be completed, books that didn't go to college with #2 son, and other things which I had just piled up until I could figure out where they belonged.

It's not that I haven't been making an attempt to get the stuff in my life under control. I'm fairly good at having many things in a specific place, but I'm also a family historian, so my home is somewhat decorated with memories. I've even spent some time each week to put things in order. The time between ordering though is enough to create more stuff to deal with, so I was barely keeping my head above water, or at least my snorkle. A few weeks ago my favorite pen ran out of ink. I had ordered a large package of refills because I frequently run out of ink. I remember debating whether to keep the refills near my neatly organized pencils and pens, but alas, for some reason decided to put them somewhere else. So for a few weeks, I haven't been able to use my favorite pen. That has been sad, because my favorite pen flows so well when I'm trying to express myself in my journal, or when taking notes. I had to find those refills!

Then number two daughter made a decision. She decided that she wanted to become a professional organizer. When it came to getting things in order, she had been one of my very best organizers. She had organize the kitchen, her little sister's room, and her own room over the years, so she had good references. We looked at my office and this time, it was in a different light. I explained what I had tried to accomplish with my room arrangement. She praised my efforts and then started making suggestions. Considering her budget is about $100, I have to say that she had some great ideas. Then she left.

Finally just yesterday we got started. She was quite patient. I didn't get home until 6:00pm, then a phone call reminded me that I had a commitment until 8pm. When I returned, she was still there, waiting to get started. So we began, then I felt like those silly people that I've seen on tv who try to justify why they still have the key to the cars they no longer own, or the broken keychain that said #1 Mom from #1 daughter at a time when I know that she didn't really believe it. Looking at it through the eyes of someone who really wanted to help me get things in order so I could have a place that would really be a great place to work and who understood the real meaning of that keychain, it was easy to let go of what needed to go. She knew just the right questions to ask to allow me to think through what should stay and what should go. We had piles for things to be thrown away, things to be donated and things that don't belong in the office. We only worked for two hours, but those two hours were far more productive than previous office cleaning sessions. My daugher encouraged, praised and coached me through each box, bag and pile of stuff around the edges.

I felt so refreshed and lighter for having been able to figure out what to do with the stuff that had been just sitting around without a real place to be put away and of course never used, because it couldn't be found. This morning I took a few minutes to sort through some paperwork to get it where it needed to be. I've often tried to do a little here and a little there, but having someone else to guide me through the process, and direct my focus to the task at hand, I made great progress. Having worked in the office, I know what will help me to be more productive. Suzanne understands what I need, what I have to work with and has some great ideas for the possibilities.

Participating in the Political Process

It's that time of year--our legislature is busy on capital hill working to better the great state of Utah. Some of us did our duty and voted in the last election. But over the years I've found that citizens also need to keep in touch with those we have elected to let them know our opinions on the matters before them. These days it's easy to send an e-mail and let your legislators know what you think about the issues. A phone call is also appropriate.

During the year, I've also gotten to know my legislators, so when I e-mail they know who I am. I suppose that could be for good or for bad. Sometimes I learn that I just don't have all of the facts about a particular issue, so appreciate having my elected official explain the bigger picture. The media may skew what's really happening, so I take the time to read the bill and additional information made readily available on the legislative website. I read both local newspapers, including the opinion page, listen to radio programs, but haven't had the time to view very many television programs. One legislator I know has a blog that allows him to share what's going on and invite input in a public forum. I wonder if others have blogs, too. Are there any podcasts out there?

Of course the best thing that happens from this political process is the opportunity to talk to friends and family members about the issues and get a perspective on what really matters to those around me and in the end what really matters to me.

It's a crazy way to do things, but isn't it a lot better than not having a say in how my money as a tax payer is spent?

Feeling Human Again

As one of those "lucky" people to have naturally curly hair, I find that without the assistance of a professional to tame the curly locks I have persistent "vacation hair". It's amazIng how a brief trip to get my hair cut makes me feel like a whole new person. I'm fortunate that I have a neighbor who has opened up shop close by and spoils me rotten. Unlike most places that I've gone in the past, she takes the time to blow my hair dry. With her magic touch I have straight hair for a few days, until it's time to wash it, or I get caught in the rain. I can't do what she does for myself, so I enjoy the special treatment.

This is the first post from my new laptop, a MacBook Pro. The backlit keyboard is particularly handy and has a nice touch. I'm looking forward to using GarageBand to produce my podcasts. iMovie and iPhotos have a lot of potential for preparing presentations of many kinds. Having just taken many hours and days to rebuild my home computer, I just haven't had the time to spend a lot of time on this new computer. I'm planning to set up and transfer datafiles a little at a time.

One other new toy is a PDA phone. I'm learning it a little at a time, too. It'll sync to my Outlook to keep track of e-mail and many other things. I've never been particularly phone savvy, but perhaps using a pocket PC will help.

Getting Organized!?

For the last two years I have cleaned out, cleaned up, painted and generally fixed things up. So now that things are together, like with like, it's time to get them organized. One of the first things that I have started, is to get all of the digital pictures in one place--on one harddrive. I've used an external drive to collect them from various places. I'll probably even copy those that are on CD. There's even a plan to start to scan our non-digital photos, but that is getting ahead of myself.

In this process I've also been sorting other digital files. I'm not known for my wonderful filing system, except for my research, although I am trying. Time is always on our side with this one. If you wait long enough, it doesn't need to be kept anymore!

Enjoying Cub Scouts Again

Tonight I had the priviledge of being pinned by my youngest son with a mother's Webelos Scout pin. When they get into Webelos you lose track of what they are doing because they work on their requirements with their den, not so much with the family as they did when they were Wolves and Bears. But for some reason I still got credit for helping him with the accomplishment. Hardest thing is to actually get him to the den meetings since they are at the same time as so many other activities and too far away for him to walk. It's so different from when my oldest boys were in Cub Scouting and so was I.

I started out as a Bear Den Leader for my oldest son's Bear Den. Our next son was close in age, so I contined as the Bear Den Leader for him too, as well as serving as the Cubmaster. Our youngest son was born while I was Cubmaster. I loved being with the Cubs. For five years I served as a Cub Leader in some capacity, until I graduated to Scouts where I served for eleven years.

Tonight was a fun pack meeting. The boys received their awards...quite a few of them. They talked a bit about important things like citizenship and caring for others. Families came together. And my son was glad I was there. He thinks I'm a great Mom. And frankly, I really don't care about any other opinion.

Loved This One!

I love the idea of a blog...hoping that I might refine my writing to something that others would want to read. Sometimes I think just a journal would be best, then I don't have to worry about anyone else reading it. I could write without too much worry. There are many times that I would like to write, but just don't have the time to polish it to feel that it is Internet ready or even worthy to be written. This cartoon made me realize that perhaps no one is reading it anyway, so why worry? You can find this and other Savage Chicken post its at: http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2005/12/read-my-blog.html. Love the chickens!

May I introduce Mr & Mrs....

Today my oldest son was married to his lovely sweetheart. It was a gorgeous day for this outdoor wedding. It's amazing how all of the planning and preparation turned out to be beautiful, and yet having all of the wedding party coordinate and remember their part in the ceremony isn't what will be remembered in the many years to come. What will be remembered is that on this day two people pledged their love and commitment to one another to become a family. We've already seen a strong couple work and plan toward their future together. I'm looking forward to seeing what the two of them will complete as a couple...it'll be awesome. So even though today was full of working out the details, the big picture is that this is just the beginning of a long and beautiful journey.

How welcome the rain

It has been very hot this summer. According to the news reports, this is not a local phenomena, but it's been hot all over the U.S. So today's heavy rainstorm is very welcome. I don't think I've ever seen rain like this...the wind was blowing the pouring rain so that we could barely see our neighbor's house. That didn't last too long. Now it's a gentle, constant rain. It's the kind of rain that I love to listen to from inside a tent. Actually it's quite lovely to listen to from the comfort of the recliner in the bay window in my bedroom. Just perfect for a restful summer's nap.

What I Learned Painting Today

Today I learned many things while painting. Here's the list:

1. Painting with two is much faster than one.
2. Willing assistants to retrieve various odds and ends keeps the process going.
3. Assistants are much more willing when there is hope of a movie when the painting is done.
4. No matter how light the blue paint, it always takes at least two coats to cover.
5. Taking the time to tape things that aren't to be painted is worth every second.
6. No matter how carefully you place the tape, there is always some paint that gets on things that it shouldn't.
7. Be sure to remove the tape before the paint dries.
8. Cleaning up right away is much easier than waiting until later.
9. Painting with two is much more fun than painting alone.
10. My children and I like the same music.
11. Dancing while painting makes it go even faster.
12. Painting works out more muscles than an hour with a professional trainer.
13. Painting a room is a sure way for a recovering perfectionist to fall "off the wagon."
14. A freshly painted room is immensely satisfying.
15. It takes longer to clean and replace the stuff removed to paint in a bathroom than it takes to actually paint the bathroom.
16. A putty knife cleans fresh paint off a tile floor.
17. A paint tray liner is worth the money.
18. No one cleans a bathroom as well as Mom.
19. One bathroom plus two teenage daughters with long hair equals a clogged sink.
20. Teenagers do not seem to understand how to put an empty shampoo bottle in the trash can. Perhaps they miss their tub toys.
21. Tub and tile cleaner does a great job getting rid of tough toliet stains.
22. Clean bathrooms attract less spiders. (Well, that's what I'm telling my children--then maybe they'll try harder to keep their bathroom clean).
23. Painting is a great time to listen to songs for use in multimedia productions.
24. It's a good idea to write down the titles of the good songs that you hear.

A few other things I'd really like to know. Am I the only person who uses a toothbrush to clean the dirt out of the outlets and off the switches? Do other people replace the face plate screws?

Coming soon...the end of the painting saga!

Success

I have always loved my beautiful front room window with its large picture window topped by a lovely arch. I can now say that it has once more been successfully covered. A quick internet search and I found instructions on how to create my own arch window "rod" from a clear plastic tube and 1" cup hooks. It worked beautifully, even though I had to go up on the fourth step on the ladder! Determination overcame my fear of heights and I got the project done. I even found out that I can drill and such with my left hand. Afternoons will be a little cooler with the harsh west sun filtered. Now off to paint a few more things....