Snow! (Jar of Cheer!)

It's been awhile since we've had a good snow fall around here.  I don't like the cold but I DO like the snow.  Today it started to snow on my drive in to work around 8:30 a.m. and continued falling all day long.  By the time I got home this afternoon, we had close to 5 inches.  The kids put on their snow clothes and went outside around 4:00.  They immediately started building snow forts. . .

I kept expecting them to come inside and warm up but they just kept building. . .

While the kids were outside "working" I was in the warm house with a hot cup of tea, listening to my Allison Krausse station on Pandora.  I put some potato soup on the stove and decided this was the perfect scenario for my "Jar of Cheer".  I held onto the moment and enjoyed the fact that the house was clean and quiet and that my kids enjoy each other's company.  I realized that this is something I'm supposed to write down and hold onto so that I can remember the good moments of 2013.  I wrote it down and put it in a mason jar. . .

When the kids came in around 8:00, they were happy to have a hot bowl of potato soup to warm up with. . .

(Zach isn't nearly as happy about having his picture taken as Gloria is.  The only reason he is standing here letting me take it is that he needed a spray bottle to ice down his fort and I bribed him with this photo op before I would find one!!)

So this is my first official Jar of Cheer post.  Hoping for many more. . .

Good News and Bad News...

The bad news: I have been an absolute sloth today. I finally gave in to the bug that's been chasing me all week and felt pretty miserable. It's not the flu virus that Rob and Gloria had, just a little common cold. But I'm sneezing and congested and can't manage to actually sleep. So I've just laid around all day unable to accomplish much.

However.....

The good news is.......

I'm The Lord of Catan....

Just trying to look on the bright side. . . .

News...

Zach has had his heart set on going to George Fox someday but, until now, it seemed out of his reach. It STILL seems a lot out of reach to me but with a nice transfer scholarship for good grades and other possible scholarship opportunities on the horizon, I won't give up hope. Besides, I have a feeling that George Fox is right where he belongs...

Of All The Things I've Lost, I Miss My Mind The Most...

I lost an entire day. When I woke up this morning, in my mind it was Thursday. All day long, to me, it was Thursday. It wasn't until I was ready to go home for the day that my visiting friend, Jamie, said something about the weekend. It still took my brain awhile to register the fact that today was Friday, ALL DAY LONG, and I totally missed it. I didn't go to the bank or the post office or even think about all of the important things that come with the last day of the week! I was cheated out of TGIF!

On an unrelated note, I continue to make attempts at promoting our business, mostly our retail space. Most of the time it feels like my efforts are for nothing. But then I get a reminder by way of a Facebook comment about how far we've come in the last 4 or 5 years. I guess it's all in the way you measure success.

My photo of the day is the picture that I posted to Facebook today in another attempt to bring attention to what we do and to bring people into the store to see what we have to offer. I'm not sure if it was my post or a planned visit but two people came in, made a purchase and talked about a future purchase. One day at a time.....

Routines, Not Resolutions...

So...I don't like to make resolutions but there are certain things that are very important to me that often fall by the wayside due to weariness and/or other family members requiring my time and attention. These aren't big, time consuming things that I want and they are all within my reach if I just make them a priority. But that is so much easier said than done. However...I have managed to do everything on my need-to-do-for-me list for three days in a row. That gives me a glimmer of hope that I can follow through on these things on a more regular, if not daily, basis. So this is my list and it may seem silly but when I do these things consistently, I'm a lot more content.

1. Always go to bed with a clean kitchen so that I can wake up to a clean kitchen. This is challenging because I'm usually the first one in bed and this isn't always a priority for the late night snackers that I live with. We're going to work on this...

2. Make my coffee the night before and set the timer so it brews 30 minutes before I wake up. I love to wake up to the smell of coffee.

3. Play the guitar. Everyday. I enjoy playing so much but I let other things take precedence. Playing seems to make my stresses a lot more manageable.

4. Walk on the treadmill. Everyday. Or at least get some form of exercise. When I do this, I'm more mindful of other things I need to do to be healthy.

5. Blog. I just really like writing and taking photos and putting them all together right here in this space. It helps me sort things out.

So that's my list. If I did those 5 things more consistently, my life in general would be more manageable.

Wish me luck!!!

Wasting Time??

Getting an IPad for Christmas may not have been the best idea. I can't seem to stop playing Settlers of Catan! I can't seem to win either so I'm not sure why I continue to try. At least I feel better when it's Zach that beats me instead of a computer player. And, thankfully, Gloria s feeling better so things should finally get back to normal tomorrow. Whatever that is...

Feeling Productive. . .

I guess the positive thing about Gloria's illness is that I'm healthy and she's a pretty good patient so I've had some much needed time at home for the last couple of days.  I spent New Year's Day taking down all of the Christmas decorations and cleaning and washing everything in the house in an attempt to banish these nasty germs for good.  I also managed to find the time to play the guitar, spent an hour on the treadmill, used my Kohls gift card from Tony on a new pair of running shoes (Thanks Tony!) and even updated (back-dated?) my blog.  I posted retroactively so here are the links:

Pics from Sunday (Tradition)

Random Photos of my Christmas Decorations

Gloria's Bieber Birthday

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning at Home

Christmas Day at The Bakers


And the photo of the day is:

All of the Christmas stuff is packed up and put away (in the garage, at least!).  My walls once again are (nearly) bare and my counters are empty except for a few candles and a Poinsetta.  Gloria would prefer things on the wall and fun little knick knacks set around, here and there, but I learned a LONG time ago that those things require dusting and I'd rather spend my time on other things.  I know it won't last but for this moment I'm enjoying a clean, warm house!!

Jar of Cheer. . .

So, I'm sitting at home on New Year's Eve with Gloria who is sick enough to stay home but drugged up enough to think she's feeling better and refuses to sleep.  Drugs are miraculous things when used correctly and they are certainly doing their job today!  Anyway, I've had time to think about the year and I can't seem to see the glass as half full.  I'm not a pessimist by any means but I kind of think 2012 kicked my butt.  I was walking through Winco today and, being the people-watcher that I am, I noticed all of the tired faces.  Seriously, everyone looked exhausted.  'Tis the season, I'm sure, or maybe it's just my not-so-rose-colored bifocals, but there seemed to be a serious case of weariness going on. 

However. . . . I know there are good, good things going on in my life, I just can't see the forest for the trees, so to speak.  So when I saw this picture on Facebook tonight, it gave me something to look forward to!!  I'm going to call it my Jar of Cheer and maybe I'll even designate a label on the Blog for all of the good things that I want to remember and be mindful of in moments like these when I'm just really not feeling it. 

I'm not making resolutions but I think this is a worthy goal to reach for.  A perfect reminder that life really IS good and that I have plenty of things and people to be thankful for!

Happy New Year!!

Tradition. . .

Every year, pretty much without fail, I have taken pictures of my kids along with a variety of others, through the years on Christmas Sunday after church.  Except for this year.  BUT, I took the camera to church on the Sunday AFTER Christmas so that still kind of counts.  This is what happened:

And then the battery on the camera died.  But I wasn't finished yet, so I took the rest with my Blackberry!!  These people are so patient. . .

Good times with good people!! 

Slumber Party...

Choosing one picture per day is going to be more difficult than I thought.  Maybe I'm incapable of reaching this seemingly simple goal!  Gloria had ANOTHER birthday party last night (still need to catch up on the others!) and we had a fun night of skating and sleeping over. . .

 

Unfortunately, this is the last picture of her in a healthy state for awhile.  She woke up this morning with all the signs of the nasty H1N1 virus and ended up in Urgent Care with a temperature of 103.  We've had a slew of illness in the family, including a hospital stay for Dick after Christmas with Pneumonia.  I'm feeling a little guilty that I didn't offer Rob more sympathy when he was feeling so bad the last few weeks but I'm pretty sure he and Gloria have shared their germies.  Here's to hoping Zach and I dodge the flu bullet. . .

Gloria....

Julia....AKA, Go Big or Go Home. . .

In my last post I said I am planning to post one picture each day.  Obviously, that doesn't include this one.  I also noted that I get bogged down in the details and that keeps me from posting things that are important.  Well, this post will prove what a dysfunctional blogger I am. . .

Back in the summer of 2011, we received an email from a girl named Julia who was a senior in high school and was requesting our help with her senior project.  She was very eloquent and very convincing.  After several meetings and lengthy conversations, we agreed to help her put on a benefit concert for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  And we agreed to do it for free.  We don't do shows for free.  For cheap, maybe, but not for free.  She even convinced several of the most talented musicians in Boise to perform at her benefit concert.  For free.  She pulled off this concert in a BIG way.  She could have done a much simpler project and received an A but no, not Julia.

Her organization and creative skills made me want to devote a very long blog post to all of her efforts.  I didn't have time for the details, so the post lived only in my mind. Until now. . .

In May of 2012, we received an invitation to Julia's graduation as well as a VIP invite to a special dinner she was preparing for the people who had made the biggest impact on her life.  What an honor.  She could easily have grilled burgers and dogs and had Popsicles for dessert, but no, not Julia.  She prepared a fancy menu that included prime rib, asparagus and Creme Brulee' for dessert.  She cooked the entire meal herself and recruited her family to serve us in their spacious backyard.  She gave each of us a personal note to tell us how we have impacted her life.  She's pretty amazing.  (And has a VERY supportive family!!) 

I really wanted to post all of the photos and describe the meal in detail but I didn't have time so it didn't get written.  Until now. . .

And that brings me to this day, December 28, 2012.  Julia contacted us about a month ago.  She had some big news and wanted us to be a part of it.  During her first week or so of college, she met someone special and they were getting married.  She told us about her ideas for the reception and asked if we would help.  Of course we could.  This is what she wanted:

She could have put a few flowers on the tables and used the speakers in the gym but no, not Julia.  It was a beautiful reception with a crowd of friends and family wishing the new couple all of the happiness in the world.  I think we were pretty fortunate to meet Julia all those months ago and I look forward to seeing where her creativity and organizational skills take her.

 

Blessings on you, Julia and Justin!!

I Live, Therefore, I Blog. . .

So. . . I have high hopes of getting back to the root of my blog this year.  I got a sweet little thing called an Ipad for Christmas and the first app I installed was Blogger.  My original goal was to take a picture everyday so that I would have a snapshot of my life.  So, in theory, I should be able to snap a picture with my new gadget and load it straight into Blogger and write about it.  In theory. 

I've done a quick review of my blog this morning and here are my stats:

Start date:  December 31, 2006
Total number of posts as of December 26, 2012:  1,645
Posts in 2007:  357
Posts in 2008:  289
Posts in 2009:  280
Posts in 2010: 248
Posts in 2011: 317
Posts in 2012: 63

Top Labels (I look at these every so often and am always happy to see that there are more labels for friends than there are for events!  It's usually pretty close but friends always win!!):
Friends: 359
Events: 325
Gloria: 295
Family: 219
Zach: 213

Obviously 2012 was not my best blogging year.  2012 was just a tough year all the way around.  I have high hopes that 2013 will be an improvement and I hope to track that by posting a daily picture just as I had intended when I started this blog in December of 2006.  The problem to consistent blogging for me is that I get bogged down in the details.  AND the stacks of pictures that pile up and want to be posted in an orderly fashion.  So, just for my own sense of order, I plan to continue to post retroactively the photos that have been languishing in my Picasa folder as I have time and, maybe I'll even post a link since many of them could go back several months.  But, no promises!  Mostly, I'd like to just post in real time and see what happens.  I love to write and I love to have a record of my life.  I mostly post light and fluffy but when I look back on each post, I can read through the lines and go back to those moments and know that nothing lasts forever.  And, generally, that's a good thing.

So. . . here's to a new (and better) year of living and blogging!!!

Decor. . .

I'm only posting these pictures for future reference.  One of the practical things about my blog is that I can look back on it to see how I did things in the past.  I use it for that more often than you might think.  Gloria helped me decorate this year and we pulled out WAY more stuff than we usually do.  I've become a minimalist in my old age because I've discovered that the more you get out, the more you have to put away.  I'll use my sister's description of her own decor to describe ours: "It's like Christmas threw up all over the house". . .  At least most of ours was contained in the kitchen. . .

I'm writing this post on December 31st as I put all of the decorations away.  I enjoyed having them all out for a couple of weeks but I'm looking forward to empty counter tops again!!