How did I do? My 10 Goals for 10.10.10

In October I gave my self a list of goals to work on for the rest of the year. You may remember them, 10 Goals for 10.10.10 Well here is my end of the year report.

Now it is time for a recap!

~ Loose weight. While I haven't reached my specific goal {I knew I wouldn't do it in just a few months but that it would be an ongoing thing} I was more diligent in getting to the gym and I did loose some weight. I am pretty pleased with the progress.

~ Finish my projects. I finished my table runner and I LOVE how it turned out. It is made of yellows, oranges and browns. I don't have a picture of it right now on the computer so I'll have to try and get one up next week some time. The window treatments, are half done and now boxed up for the move. The picture collage turned out great. I love it and I think my Mother-in-law really liked it too {it's hanging in her front room}. Hand made Christmas gifts: well something had to give. I got a few of them done but not one for everyone so I'll get around to finishing those this month.

~ Read the Book of Mormon. Maybe this one will be a New Years resolution!

~ Clean the Fridge. It didn't happen until two days ago and mostly because we had to since we were moving, but I got it done and it looks GREAT!

~ Continue Attending the Temple. We set a goal for our Temple attendance earlier this year and have been able to make it and I want to continue with that. With everything going on this month it was hard to make the time to go. Since we knew this was going to happen we decided to go twice next month.

~ Sort through my closet. Again, this one was mostly due to the fact that we are moving on the last day of the month {year} and there is no reason to pack and move stuff I won't be using or needing. But it is done and I was able to get rid of a lot. YEA!!

~ Finish my Personal Progress. Oh I am so close. One of the things I need to finish is reading the Book of Mormon

~ DI and De-junk. I could not even count how many bags and boxes we dropped off to the DI. If moving is good for anything, it is a great chance to go though your stuff and get rid of what you don't want to pack and move around with you.

~ Meal Planning. This is one I still need to work on. Who knows if or when I will ever master this one.

~ Levi Quilt. I packed all the old pants and stuff I would need in one box and I think I have enough to get working on one for us. Before my mission I made one for a great friend of mine as a wedding present. I loved it and wanted one for myself, they are such great quilts to take and use at the park or camping, so nice and heavy. While we were packing I found the digital pattern I designed for her quilt, I knew I had it somewhere. Now that I found the pattern I can get started on my own.

It Has Been Foggy

About a week ago when Paul came home from work he told me to put a coat on and go with him for a little car ride. He works up at the Temple and with the fog that was hanging around he had to show it to me. It was almost too foggy to even see anything, but I must admit, it still looked pretty cool.

A Christmas to Remember

I got this poem on my mission from an Elder and loved to share it as our thought when ever we had dinner with the members around Christmas time. I still love it and so I wanted to share. It seems really long typed out like this but trust me, it's worth it.

A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

Christmas usually makes us think

Of shopping in the snow,

Of caroling, loving, giving, sharing

And that special mistletoe.

It reminds most folks of Santa

And presents 'neath the tree,

And Christmas had always brought

Those same thoughts to me.

But something happened late one night

To change the way I feel,

An unexpected incident

That made the season real.

I had just come from talking

To a real close friend of mine,

We were pondering the season

In a voice much like a whine.

For complaining seems to be the norm

When Christmas gets this near,

'Just can't wait for it to get over'

Is all you ever hear.

Well, it was snowing really hard

I was miserable and cold,

And the packages I had

Were getting awfully hard to hold.

So I thought I'd just stop and sit

While I waited for my ride,

I found a bus stop shelter

I went and sat inside.

My Christmas spirit was not the best

As I shivered from the cold

And all the holly jolly stuff

Was really getting old.

I sat there with my attitude

When I noticed 'cross the street,

A Nativity no one cared for

It looked old and pretty beat.

The thought had crossed my mind,

'How sad, does no one really care

Now that Santa's the important one

To children everywhere.'

People passing, no one cared

The cradle had been tipped,

And the dress on Virgin Mary

Was looking worn and ripped.

I figured, well it's so commercialized

And now Santa is the one,

That children think and care about

'Cause he brings all the fun.

That's all the time I spent on that

So I'm just as guilty too,

Until I saw the incident

That changed my point of view.

I saw a man dressed in a suit

A Santa Clause no less,

He was fixing up the manger scene

And cleaning up the mess.

As I sat there watching him

I didn't feel the cold,

I felt the love and warmth he had

For a birthday long ago.

He looked down at baby Jesus

Then he knelt down reverently

Took his hat from off his head

And laid it crossed his knee.

I heard the prayer he said that night

It's one I'll not forget,

He said, “Bless the children I've not seen

And all the ones I've met.

Please help the parents of these kids

To make them understand,

That You're the reason we are here

I'm just here to lend a hand.”

He Said, “I didn't mean to be important

I didn't mean to be the one,

That everybody thinks of first

When You're the chosen Son.”

He wiped his eyes from tears of love

As he continued on,

“I want the folks to realize

This way they think is wrong.

Please help me have the power

To teach these people true.

That the spirit of the holiday

Is not me but You.

I see in all the homes around

They decorate in me.

I was supposed to be for fun

It's You they need to see.

I'm sorry I'm complaining.”

He said still on one knee,

“I just wish I had the power

To help some of them see.

'For God so loved the world he gave

His only begotten Son'.

How can they compare my gifts

To this special Holy One.

He stopped talking for a moment

Just knelt in fervent prayer.

Beside the manger scene he fixed

With tender loving care.

He put his hat back on his head

Slowly rose up to his feet,

He zipped his coat, said good-bye

Then wandered down the street.

It wasn't 'til that moment

I noticed people everywhere,

They all had stopped to listen

And they had heard that Santa's prayer.

'Cross the way was an apartment

With windows that faced the street

And faces in every window

Probably people he'd never meet.

Will he ever know

The 'power' he received,

If I hadn't seen it for myself

I'm not sure that I'd believed.

But now I knew the 'power'

Is in each and everyone,

As we treat Christmas as a birthday

For an Only Begotten Son.

I know Christmas in our house

Will never be the same again,

It changed one night I heard Santa say,

“In Jesus name, Amen.”

Connie Walker

Christmas 1993

Change...

It's hard to believe it is all coming to an end. We have been married four years and four months and the only life we have known together has been up at school. Paul is graduating IN TWO WEEKS and then we'll be moving. The past four years seem like they have gone by so fast, yet not fast enough at the same time. Paul is really going to miss living here, he loves it, I think it's ok, but I am a city girl. Since I have graduated I have come to enjoy it more but am still ready for a change.

Who knows what the next chapter will hold? We are both looking for jobs in a wonderfully terrible economy and it seems that because I am not bilingual, I am of no use up here, so hopefully I will have better luck when we move. Paul has had the opportunity to meet some great people up here as well as in SL who are great contacts for work too. As a matter of fact, a teacher at a high school up here is having Paul come in as a guest teacher for the tech students in her theatre program. He could not be more excited, seeing as that is the whole reason he wants to do grad school, so he can teach.

He will also be applying to grad schools but they don't make their decisions until Feb-Mar so we have some more waiting to do. I'm hoping it takes us back east. We had a blast on our trip to Boston last March and would love a chance to live a chance to see the other side of the country.

DownTown Boston

Us and the Ocean. Paul loved the Down Town Street Market. He said it reminded him of Brazil.

Paul Revere house. Church.

Bunker Hill monument. USS Constitution.

How would you like a cemetery to look over in the mornings. Boston City Hall.

Salem! A monument to those who died in the Salem Witch Hunt.

More of Salem.

Boston Temple. We made the last session on our way to UMASS.

Christian Science Center. That was a long day of sitting at the airport.

Right now I have put the job search on a mini hold, I'm still looking but have to take time to pack as well. Our living room is a mess. I had the bright idea of pulling everything out of the closet so I could see what we had, what we could get rid of and hope that having it all out would help motivate me to get cracking. Nope, hasn't worked yet, and I am dreading having to deal with the spare {catch-all} room. The good thing about moving is that you get to de-junk all that stuff you have been holding onto for really no reason. I just need to get in the right mood then watch out. I'll just open the door and start throwing it all out.

Ramblings....

We went and spent this last weekend down visiting our families. Paul's extended family does a Thanksgiving Dinner on the weekend before so that everyone can make it. I was also attending a Boutique as a vendor selling my crocheted stuff. It was a lot of fun and I did pretty well ... the beanies were a hit. By the time the family dinner was winding down it started to snow ... and snow ... and snow!!! I could not be more excited. On Sunday when we woke up to go to church there had to be 14 inches of snow on the car. I love it. I love it even more now that I am not a missionary and don't have to bundle up to walk around in it everyday, all day long. I love the mountains and being able to look out my window and see them covered in snow. This coming weekend we are going to be able to spend some time with my family as well. It has been a while since we have stayed down there and visited with everyone.

This coming weekend we are supposed to go down and visit as well but there is a huge storm coming today and I hate driving the canyon in bad weather ... hopefully by the time we leave on Wednesday the roads will be cleared enough that we can make the drive.

Being able to see everyone has made me that much more excited to move back down. It seems that we are forgotten about since we live further away and we hear about all the fun stuff after it happened, even if we won't be able to make it to everything it would be nice to be thought of and invited. Let's face it though, I am also more of a city person myself, so I am just excited to be moving back to a bigger city. I do, however, feel bad for Paul. He had a job up here that he was hoping would work out but it didn't and so the plan of moving by the end of December is back on. He LOVES it up here and is really bummed that we will be leaving. I just keep telling him that there is another great adventure out there for us, and we are hoping it takes us to Boston for Grad School.

It Has Been A Year

Last Halloween I kept Paul from the ward Trunk or Treat and Chili dinner so I promised him this year I would do all I could to not end up in the ER.

Here's our story ~

Saturday we were going to the ward house for a chili dinner and then the trunk or treat. We were also going to have some of Paul's theatre friends over after the last show for a little BBQ and party. At about 2 in the afternoon my right side starting cramping up, really fast and really intense. I took some more IBUprofen but it did not help at all, when Paul looked at me he said I was completely white and that he wanted to take me to the ER. I told him that I would be fine and that he should go get some chili and hand out the candy at the trunk-or-treat. If I wasn't feeling better by the time he got back I would let him take me to the ER. Instead he called his mom to ask what the symptoms were when the appendix was going to burst. While Paul was on the phone with his mom I could hear everything she was saying, I was crying more and more as I realized I felt all these things she was talking about.

We went to the ER instead of the dinner, we were both starving by this time. The ER Dr. and nurse that were helping us were fantastic. The guess was that I either had a bladder infection or was going to have my appendix taken out. After they took a couple things of blood to run some tests I started feeling even worse. The nurse gave me some stuff for the nausea and Paul found another priesthood holder to give me a blessing. I know that miracles happen but I wasn't expecting one, I was just wanting some comfort. The blessing Paul gave me was very comforting but one part stuck out to both of us. When the other brother who assisted left, Paul and I sat and talked for a minute. {In today's lesson I taught, we talked about the atonement. How do you know that the LORD knows us, knows what you need to be comforted? There is no way that Paul would have known what to say to me to give me the comfort I would need. This is how I know that the LORD knows me and what I need even before I would know it.} Needless to say we both knew it wasn't going to be my appendix or my bladder. In a bit the ER Dr. came in and told me that my white blood cells were a bit higher then he would like but that wasn't the most interesting result he got back. The pregnancy test came back positive as well. For half of a split second Paul and I looked at each other just as happy as could be. But the Dr. kept a very professional face and continued that the reason I would be having pain like this is because I already miscarried or it was a tubular (ectopic) pregnancy.

The Ultra sound tech was called in, it was about 9 p.m. now, so that he could try and find the baby. Sure enough he found it, where it wasn't supposed to be, so then they called in the OB and his team to take me into the OR. Funny little side note, his name is Gary Fowers, so that should be easy enough to remember {Paul has an uncle with a VERY similar name}. When Dr. Fowers got there he took some time to talk with us and about our options, he said I needed to go in for immediate surgery. The chances of having an ectopic pregnancy is about 1% but after you have it once your chances of having it happen again jumps to 15%. Depending on what was going on inside of me there is a chance that the tube exploded or that they would just clean it out and everything would be fine, but they would not be able to say until they actually had me in surgery. The way they were going in was with a laperoscapy {SP}, the three different incisions. Dr. Fowers explained how the surgery would go, they would use one incision to put air in my abdomen (about a 5 mm tube) and also suck out any fluid through there as well. In my belly button they would put the camera and then one more hole where he would actually use his tools. He said if any of the air was left in there it would push against my diaphragm and work its way out through my right shoulder, so if my shoulder hurt, not to worry about it. When I told him my shoulder already hurt and that it was hard to breathe he turned to the other Dr. who was assisting for the surgery and told him to get the 10 mm tubes ready. I had too much fluid in me to start small and go bigger if they needed to, they were just going to start with the big tubes.

In the morning my Dr. came in and told me about the surgery. I was so full of blood that they had to clean some out before they could even get to my tube. When they got to the tube they couldn't find the baby, it had detached from the tube and fallen back into my abdomen. So they cleaned out my tube, found the baby, then used 9 liters of saline to clean me out. He said that he put the saline in me then tipped me upside down, side-to-side and all around to swish the fluid around in me and get me cleaned out. I had been bleeding internally for about 5 days, so I had more then a liter of blood pooling up in my abdomen. They went back to my tube to see how it was doing but it was still bleeding with no sign of clotting. Now I only have one tube but it doesn't cut our chances of getting pregnant to 50-50 but instead 80% because the tubes can pull eggs from either ovary. They kept me for awhile in the Hospital because my blood count was so low. Normally the count should be around 40 and mine was at 24, if it went to 22 the Dr. was going to give me a blood transfusion. They did a couple of test through the morning and my count was going up so they let me leave.

It was a really emotional week and very personal to me and Paul. I have been so grateful for Paul and all that he has done for me. The Dr. said if he had let me sleep it off like I had wanted and waited to go in on Sunday, he most likely wouldn't of been able to wake me up.

Today's lesson was more for me than I think anyone else. I know the LORD knows me because no one else would have been able to comfort me the way I needed except for the one who has already been through it all. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Savior and for the sacrifice he made on my behalf.

How are the Goals Coming??

Here's a little up date on the goals so far.

~ Loose Weight: I'm actually loosing it {slowly but surely} and I'm super excited about it.
~ Finish Projects: I have three almost done completely. The window treatments are coming along, but I'm a little 'A Type' so I keep getting so far then taking them apart and starting over - they'll get done though so don't worry. The table runner is on the sewing machine as I type. The pattern is a little crazy because it is all curved so it is taking some extra time and patience. The picture collage is for my MIL. We made it last year for Mother Day but the family has been added to and I wanted to revamp and change a couple of things. It would have been done this last weekend but there were technical difficulties in uploading my images on-line. It's all fixed now and I just need to go and pick them up.
~ Read the Book of Mormon: Well I have started but I definitely need to more disciplined to get it finished by the end of the year.
~ Clean the Fridge: We just went shopping and filled it up so I'll wait until it empties out again.
~ Sort through the Closet: Yep, still waiting.
~ Finish my Personal Progress: Going well. One of the YW asked me if I was going to finish it and her mom suggested to the others that I put some stuff up for the End Of The Year program {for the life of me I can't remember what it's called right now}. My goal is to finish by the end of the year - I'll need to be disciplined to finish by then.
~ DI and De-junk: we still have our box.
~ Meal Planning: On it. I really don't want to have to pack and move food.
~ Levi Quilt: I still have the jean's but I haven't designed a pattern yet so I need to do that first.

All in all I think I am doing pretty well at passing myself and continuing to get things done. I really want to go over all the base boards and door frames and clean them as well. I'll have to see if I get that far but it might be left until I week we are cleaning out to move. My goal is to get as much done before hand so it isn't all left until the end - Here's to hoping.

10 Goals for 10.10.10

While we were sitting in Church Paul pointed out to me that it is 10.10.10. At the beginning of the year we were a bit slow to come up with goals for this year so to make up for that I am going to list ten {10} goals that I want to complete before the end of 2010.

~ Loose weight. I never really struggled with weight or trying to look like the Hollywood now girl but it is something I have caught myself thinking more of now, since I've been married {Paul loves big meals and I never wanted anything to go to waste, so I ate it and it all went to my waste}. I have a certain goal in mind but I have never tried to loose weight so I don't know how my body will react to it. For now I will leave this one at "loose some weight" and it could carry into next year.
~ Finish my projects. I'm sure I could go around the house counting all the projects that I need to finish {that number could be pretty high}. Instead I will list a few off the top of my head that I really do want to finish by the end of the year and before we move.

Window Treatments
Table Runner
Picture Collage
Homemade Christmas Gifts

~ Read the Book of Mormon. This is the Virtue Project for the YW's Personal Progress and it would just be a good one to do.
~ Clean the Fridge. This serves double duty because it needs to be done and I will have to do it since we will be moving shortly as well.
~ Continue Attending the Temple. We set a goal for our Temple attendance earlier this year and have been able to make it and I want to continue with that.
~ Sort through my closet. I'll leave this one until closer to the end. If I loose the weight I want to then I will get to keep a lot of these items. Wink, Wink!!
~ Finish my Personal Progress. I started it with my YW and want to finish it here with them even though I have been released.
~ DI and De-junk. We have a constant DI box so that we can put stuff in it as we go. I really need to do this with all the stuff we have in the spare room/office/craft space {one room...many purposes}.
~ Meal Planning. We have food storage items that I would rather use then toss out or have to pack and take with us when it is time to move. I want to plan our meals so that we can use up as much of it as possible. This will take some creative meal planning and patience to use it all.
~ Levi Quilt. I'm not including this with "finish projects" because I haven't actually started it. I made one for a great friend of mine as a wedding present and didn't want to give it away when I finished it. I loved the flannel on the back that made it so nice and soft and how wonderfully sturdy and heavy it was since it was made out of jeans. Fantastic to curl up in. I have always wanted one for myself and it is time to get busy and make mine.

Yesterday my SIL and brother and their little girl came up so that she could take some family photos for us. She was wonderful enough to come up on such short notice. It was a lot of fun and she did a wonderful job.
Here is a sneak peak at the photos.

Bentley LOVES Paul and Paul loves him right back!

Conference Weekend....Fall 2010

This past weekend with our niece and nephew up was so much fun. I don't know that they have ever sat through a conference session let alone, all four so it was interesting to say the least. Every time the speaker would change he would jump up and shout that it was over. We printed out some worksheet pages and Gabe was so excited to have his own journal pages. We cleaned off the little table in the living room and Bay set it up like it was a desk so she could play office while she listened. As conference went on Bingo became more of a Black Out contest between Paul and I. P.S. I won!!!

For the Priesthood session I have always done a girls night with some kind of craftiness or just getting together to watch a movie with some friends. Then the guys come home, tell us what it was about and we all have a treat. This year, everyone backed out, but instead of being defeated and since I had the kids this weekend, we invited the neighbor and her three kids to come over and make soaps. I forgot to get a picture with all of the soaps when they were all over but here are the ones we had. So much fun.

On Sunday, Conference Black Out continued and the kids were better at sitting through the first session. To help get some of the wiggles out and because fall in Cache Valley is so beautiful we decided to have a picnic in between sessions up the canyon at Second Dam. Bentley had the time of his life barking at everyone, Gabe was just excited to be out and Bailly loved all the changing colors. After we ate it was over to the water to skip/toss rocks. They both took off their shoes and got into the freezing cold water .... but they had a good time and that's what matters.

Sunday Morning Session...Everyone loves Uncle Paul.
No, we did not pose Bentley like that. After I took the first picture he turned around and sat there. We all got a pretty good laugh out of it.

Adventures at Second Dam,

We went to see Uncle Paul's set he designed. She loves this kind of stuff.

The last session of Conference was pretty easy. A friend of mine came over the kids were pretty good at sitting still by the end. Although, Gabe was really excited when we said it was all over.

We learned that while they were up here their little puppy that they had only had for a week was really sick and most likely not going to make it. I think I actually took it harder than they did. Chewy was so cute and I hope the kids and my sister know how much I love them. They can visit Bentley any time they want.

Chewy and Chad. This was the first time we all met him. Poor Guy!!

I love having these guys up and am going to miss it when we move. So for now we are going to have them up here as many times as we can before Paul graduates. Many more fun adventures to come.

I Love....Conference Weekend

I love the Fall season. The temperature {supposedly, but not this year} has a crispness in the air that is perfect for evening walks, BBQ's and Conference Weekend. I have to admit, I have been anticipating the change in the weather and this weekend since the beginning of August.

This is also our last fall here since Paul will be graduating in December and so it will be time for us to move on, so we need to make the most of this last season. One thing we have enjoyed is inviting our niece and nephew up on some weekends and we are having them up again this weekend. I have been having fun making soaps and so while Paul goes to the Priesthood Session for Conference the kids and I are going to have the neighbors over and we are going to make some Halloween soaps. With this being our last winter up here I want to have them up to visit us as many times as we can.

Going through the stores you can definitely tell the fall/winter holiday season is upon us. It is getting me so excited for the decorating. The Fall colors in the canyon have been absolutely beautiful this year and with all my trips through the canyon to head down for job interviews, I have gotten to watch the trees as they have changed. Maybe we should do a craft and go and get some leaves.

It really is crazy to think that we'll be moving in about three months. I was outside earlier today right before the sun started to set and the rays were coming through the trees and over the little pond from across the street. We really have enjoyed were we have lived for the past four years. The neighbors, the ward, the scenery being next to the zoo and being so close to so many parks and trails. As I have been thinking more about moving the more I think I will miss living at such a great place. It's also been a bit stressful to think about, we have no idea where we will be moving to or what will be going on with work or grad school for Paul. So much to think about.