Books

I recently finished 2 really good books and want to recommend them to anyone who hasn't read them before, or who has read them, but not for a long time. Jubilee Trail and Calico Palace, both by Gwen Bristow.
These are historical fiction, and both have interesting comments about Mormons in them. They are based in California between 1844 and 1853. They are really good books.

Buy the gift you didn't get for Christmas sale

I heard a commercial today for Cabellas. They were having their "Buy the gift you didn't get for Christmas sale". I thought that was a good idea for a sale. It made me think about what I wanted for Christmas that I didn't get. After quite a bit of thinking I came up with only one thing that I really wanted but didn't get: A screwdriver with changeable heads, mine has been used so much that the Phillips head is stripped.
After realizing that there was only one thing I wanted but didn't get it made me feel very grateful for all that I have.
P.S. Karl bought me the screwdriver I wanted at the store this evening.

Weight Loss

I have reached the second of my weight loss goals. The first was to get to my pre-pregnancy weight with Von. The second was to get to my pre-mission weight. Since I have achieved this I have now lost 16% of my body weight (45 pounds since February). Whooo-hoooo!!

Funny Poem

Here is a poem my niece Katie sent me.

I made myself a snowman,
As perfect as can be,
I thought I'd keep it as a pet,
and let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas,
and a pillow for it's head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.

Christmas Bonus

Today Karl was sitting at his desk working on tasks he had written on post-its. His boss came over and gave him another one and said to do it before he went home. It told him to call the payroll company and tell them to give him a raise.
Karl and I are pretty excited about this. The raise, in combination with our efforts to reduce our unnecessary expenditures will allow for us to save some money and work toward paying off student loans. :)

Birthday

Today is a special day for me, and I've been thinking about what it means for me. Lots of people hide from their birthday, or pretend that they are the same age they were in previous years. Maybe I'll do that in the future, but at this point I feel like I have accomplished and done tons of things and my life is complete for this point in my life.
These are some of the things I have done:
Graduated with Honors from Provo High School
Graduated from Ricks College with an Associates degree in Fashion Design and Production, with an emphasis in construction.
Shared the gospel with many people, including 15 who chose to be baptized.
Taught in the nursery for more than 4 years
Visited or participated in the dedication of at least 23 temples
Done endowments for 55 women
Visited at least 29 states
Visited or lived in 10 countries
Maintained 28 years of being sober and drug free
Become a member of Golden Key International Honor Society
Graduated from UVSC with an Associate of Arts in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Social Work, and Honors.
Supported my husband through an Associates and a Bachelors degree.
Lived to be the kind of person who helps others feel like they are worth knowing.
Been Sealed in the temple to the man of my dreams, and stayed happy with him for more than 4 years
Given birth to 2 wonderful sons and done my best to be a great mother to them.
These are a few of the things I've done, but the list is in no way complete, and I hope to add to it for the next 72+ years on earth.

Lost

Today I learned a few very valuable lessons. When going to a busy place (like the mall) it is extremely important to keep a hold on your children and communicate to your spouse about who has each one. Should one wander off, find a security guard and tell him exactly what your child was wearing. Search diligently for your child until he is found, either by yourself or one of the security guards in the mall. Be happy when someone finds him about 2 minutes after your told the security guard and he told the other ones to look for your child. Be happy that your son just takes everything in stride and didn't even realize he was lost.
I also learned that there are some really nice people in the world. One of the ladies who works at Things Remembered let me buy an ornament that she had originally put aside to give someone for Christmas. She was so nice and it made my day since there are no other ornaments that match mine, Karl's and Kaleb's left in Utah (including the internet). It was great.

Password

Today I relearned something I should know by now. If your password doesn't work: Make sure the capslock isn't on. :)

What I learned at church today

I'm not the only one who worked hard on the last week of school this week.
Sitting in the foyer so you don't interrupt sacrament meeting doesn't necessarily work.
Little boys like to explore and play with new things.
It takes 8 priesthood holders 15 minutes to turn off the fire alarm in the church.
It's a good sign when your bishop pretends to strangle your husband, it means he isn't really upset.
The day that you're frustrated and need a break in Nursery, none of the other nursery workers show up for at least 30 minutes.
I have a great husband who helps me to laugh at embarrassing situations.

Learning not to Procrastinate

Well, I did it again, or should I say I didn't do it again?
I have a big problem with procrastination, sometimes I think I have it licked and then it comes back full force. I've known that I had this assignment due in class since the first week. If I had turned in my rough drafts when I was supposed to then I wouldn't have been in trouble. But life happened and I only got the first 3-4 parts done before this week. So I was a little behind. The whole paper turned out to be about 19 pages, and looked pretty good to me. Hopefully my teacher will think so also.
The really good part about this week is that I had 2 finals already. One was the 8 of us who showed up all did the final together and our teacher said that we don't need to worry about a good grade, it's the people who haven't shown up for a month or two that need to worry. My other class was an interview final. That means I had to go into the hallway and talk to my teacher. He asked me what grade I felt like I deserved and three things I learned. I know I aced that one.
I have one more final on Tuesday and then I'm off until January.