Simplify your life!

This week is Simplify your life week. (8/1-8/7) This is something that all of us need to do. Life these days can be so hectic with cell phones and TV, church meetings and work. How do we find the time to do everything that is required of us? This website has articles to help you simplify your life: http://www.marcandangel.com/2008/07/03/30-articles-that-will-help-you-simplify-your-life/ some of my favorite tips that I think I can accomplish right away are:

1. “Write a list of goals you’d like to achieve. Focus on doing a few really well, rather than a lot in a mediocre way. You can’t add hours to the day, but you can cut down on activities.” I always have ideas in my head of what I want to do with my time. It’s time for me to start actually doing some of them!

2. “Cut back on television time. Only watch those shows you decide on beforehand. Then turn off the TV when the show is over. Or go for broke! Give up watching television altogether.” I watch too many shows that I could care less about just because I feel like being a vegetable. The only show on right now that I care about watching is “So You Think You Can Dance” and the finale of that is next week. After that I’ll have several weeks before the new fall season starts that I can just leave the TV turned off.

3. “Make time for yourself. Set aside time each day to reflect quietly, go for a walk, plan for your future or meditate. Visit the park instead of the mall.” Having a full time job and 2 children under 2 makes this difficult but I can walk to work and take those few minutes to reflect.

4. “Take a moment each day to be grateful.” I do this daily through prayer and it really puts things in perspective of how good I have it compared to those less fortunate world-wide

What will be your legacy?

August has no official holiday and so it is kinda boring…. I had a joke book when I was a kid that had this joke…Why are there no holidays in August? Because it’s too hot to celebrate anything! Of course there are some wacky, off-the-wall, little known holidays and I’ll keep you posted on my favorite.

August is “What will be your legacy month”

Legacy is defined as 1. money or property left to one in a will or 2.anything handed down as from an ancestor. I don’t have much in the way of money or property but I hope that the things that I hand down to my children and even grandchildren are better and longer lasting. Although my parents are still alive they have already left a great legacy. My parents taught me well. Love God above all, be generous and treat others with love and respect, and laugh often, even if it is at yourself. I hope to pass these lessons on to my children as well. I hope that when I’m dead and gone that my children will carry on the legacy that my parents started 30 years ago.

What will your legacy be?

We're goin' to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

We went to the Zoo in Columbia on Friday and had a great time. Henry loved all the animals, his favorite were the Fish in the aquarium part which was apparent to anyone within a hundred foot radius because he was yelling "fish, oooh, big fish!!" over and over again, it was so funny. He also really liked the Elephants and Giraffes. I got to feed a giraffe some lettuce which was very cool! I got to feet a llama too which wasn't as exotic but still fun. We rode on the little train they have and the carousel. Henry liked the train but cried the whole time we were on the carousel. He was ready for a nap though and I think that had a lot to do with it. Zoe was good and slept most of the time in Matt's sling carrier.

Henry and me on the carousel before he realized he didn't like it

Zoe in her sling

Tell an Old Joke Day

Today is tell an old joke day and it is also national drive-thru day (OK?)

Here is one of my favorite jokes as a kid:

What did the big chimney say to the little chimney?

You're too little to smoke!

Ha, Ha

Share your favorite old joke.

Happy Gorgeous Grandma Day!

I just want to wish my Mom a Gorgeous Grandma Day!

Here is a link to other July holidays:
http://www.brownielocks.com/july.html

Why is the fourth finger the ring finger?

I saw this and thought it was neat:

Why should the wedding ring be worn on the fourth finger? This is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese .... Thumb represents your Parents Second (Index) finger represents your Siblings Middle finger represents your own Self Fourth (Ring) finger represents your Life Partner and the Last (Little) finger represents your children Firstly, open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers inward and hold them together - knuckle to knuckle Secondly, open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb - tip to tip Now, try to separate your thumbs (representing the parents) They will open, because your parents are not destined to live with you lifelong, and have to leave you sooner or later. Now join your thumbs as before and separate your Index fingers (representing siblings) They will also open, because your brothers and sisters will have their own families and will have to lead their own separate lives. Now rejoin the Index fingers and separate your Little fingers (representing your children) They will open too, because the children also will get married and settle down on their own some day. Finally, join your Little fingers, and try to separate your Ring fingers (representing your spouse). You will be surprised to see that you just CANNOT --- because Husband & Wife have to remain together all their lives - through thick and thin!! Neat, huh?

Friends

I wish I had a friend sometimes, I don’t mean your everyday run of the mill friends. I mean a true “bosom friend”. Someone that gets me and I get them. Someone that I can laugh and have fun with and that I don’t have to be self-conscience around. Someone that I can be there for when everyone else has left them and someone that I can talk to when I need someone to listen. I mean the people in my family are my only friends and they have to like me. I really appreciate that I have my husband, my sisters, my mom and dad and even my mother and father in law. I just wish that I had a woman friend (outside of my family) in my town that I could hang out with. I have a couple “work friends” (one of which is also my sister) but I don’t call them or see them outside of work. There are women that I go to church with that I could maybe be friends with but I don’t know. I always just assume that everyone already has friends and they don’t want new ones. I’m not the type to call someone out of the blue to ask them to hang out or come over for dinner. I always feel like I would be putting them in an awkward position because they don’t really want to hang out with me but they would feel like they would have to say yes in order to not hurt my feelings.

Finding a friend is hard, it’s not like I could go to match.com and look at the friend personals. I feel so lonely sometimes when I see my sisters with their friends. I wish that I could have that connection with just one person. There are women that I am friends with online on a birthclub bulletin board but they don’t exactly live around the corner although I often wish that they did. I had a “bosom friend” as a child. Her name was Willow and we were Best friends, she “got” me. In Jr. High she left me behind for the popular crowd and I never found someone to replace her.

I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m having a pity party for myself, I’m not, I just want those of you out there that do have friends to appreciate them, not everyone has friends and you are lucky that you do!

Time for some Campaignin'

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What's dis Nama?

We went to Mom and Dad’s house last night so that my mom could give Henry the souvenir she bought for him at the beach. She had a whole bunch of sea shells and Henry was just in amazement. He would pick up a seashell and bring it to my mom and say “what’s dis nama?” she would reply “it’s a seashell” and then he would grab another one “ooooh what’s dis nama?” , “it’s another sea shell” “oooh”. This went on for about 20 minutes. He just loved it!

He has started asking me what everything is. When we go to the grocery store it is constantly, “What’s that mama?” His brain is just a sponge lately, soaking up everything around him. I hope that I am able to help him learn as much as he possibly can.

Big Boy Bed

Henry moved from crib to bed this weekend. We got Matt’s old twin bed from his parents and we took Henry to Wal-Mart to pick out what sheets he wanted. He wanted Spiderman but Matt talked him into Transformers. It is so cute when Henry says Transformers, but I digress. I like the sheets because they match his room well.

Saturday at naptime he just screamed at his door so I went in and laid down with him and when he went to sleep I snuck out of the room. Saturday night there was more screaming, which I didn’t expect because he always goes to bed really well. After going in and laying him back down a couple times he finally went to sleep. Last night he cried when I put him in bed but he went right to sleep after I left the room. I am hoping that tonight there will be no crying at all.

Here’s a picture of Henry’s “big boy bed”

Some pics of my kiddos

Zoe in her hat made by aunt toot toot

Zoe posing in Henry's first Halloween costume

Me and the kids on the 4th of July

Henry posing for the camera

Henry

Henry being silly

Back to work!

I’m back to work from maternity leave and it’s almost like I never left. I just jumped right back in to my job with no problem. I have a new boss and I hope to make a good impression on him since he had no say in my hiring and just kind of inherited me. So far we seem to get along great. He seems pretty nice.

I had an interesting maternity leave. It went by way too fast though. I had a baby by c-section and had my gall bladder taken out all in 6 weeks. Fortunately, Zoe is a good baby. She sleeps well and hardly ever cries. Henry (now 22 months old) didn’t always understand why I couldn’t pick him up or why I couldn’t get up and play with him while I was feeding Zoe. I think he is starting to understand that Zoe isn’t going anywhere and that he might as well face that fact that he has to share me now. I am going to have to share the story of the “plum picker” in a future blog. Probably one of the funniest things that happened on my maternity leave. Stay tuned.