The other morning as I was sitting on the bathroom throne, I looked down at my prettily painted toes and smiled. My eyes moved up to my ankles...my normally slightly chubby ankles. To my utter delight, I realized that my ankles looked super skinny! Yee haw! Happy day! I jumped up and pulled the scale out from under my garbage can (this is where your scale must reside if you have a miniscule master bathroom...but I digress), stepped on, and waited breathlessly for those digital numbers to change from 00 to...HA! Sorry, I'm not gonna tell! All I'm going to disclose is that I had lost 2 lbs. Great news! I've been feeling pretty awesome about that for a few days. This morning I again peeked down at my ankles and they were STILL looking skinny! Yay! Just for kicks, I jumped on the scale again to make sure that I really had lost 2 lbs. I don't know about you, but my scale sometimes wants to make my life miserable by teasing me mercilessly. I'll be feeling all confident about myself and my ability to lose some weight until one day...BOOM! My weight is up by like 5 lbs. Um, there is no way I gained 5 lbs. in one day! I am not a binge eater. I may be a slight overeater, but I don't even gain 5 lbs. when I go on a 7 day cruise, so there is NO way that the scale knows what it is talking about. Anyway, I'm digressing again. Sorry, I tend to do that. So, yes, the scale still said that I had lost 2 lbs....hence the skinnier ankles. I was feeling pretty happy about that as I got ready to jump in the shower. As my eyes moved up from my skinny ankles to my knees to my thighs to my belly, I came to an awful, terrible, horrible, no good realization. When I lose weight, it literally comes off the bottom of my body and slowly, oh so agonizingly, ridiculously, slowly, works its way up. In fact, a few years ago, I lost 18 lbs. I was very proud of my hard work and dedication. I was especially proud of the consumption of literally more Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, and carrots than I had EVER eaten in my entire life! 18 lbs. is a lot of weight! But I didn't really notice a huge difference in the way my clothes fit. I always wondered why. Now I know. I ended up with super skinny ankles, somewhat skinny calves, kinda skinny thighs, and a tiny bit less chubby belly. Depressing. I mean, having skinny legs is awesome, but I kinda want the rest of my body to be skinny along with my legs, right? It's funny that I didn't realize this until today. As I dragged my skinny ankles and chubby belly into the shower, I wanted to cry. Why, oh why, I thought, can't it all just kind of melt off from the heavier places first, instead of from the places that I need to lose the weight the least? I was feeling pretty dang sorry for myself and thinking that life was just not fair. But, almost immediately, another thought came to mind, and I'm sure glad it did. My mind kindly said to me(or wait...maybe it was my spirit?), Girlfriend, instead of complaining and feeling sorry for yourself, celebrate those cute, skinny ankles! Find joy in the small stuff. I'm not even remotely kidding when I say that I suddenly felt better! I smiled and looked down at my cute ankles and everything was ok.
Seriously, ladies. Let's start appreciating our skinny ankles, our pretty eyes, our awesome hair, our slender fingers, our favorite shoes, our perfectly waxed eyebrows, our new lip gloss...or whatever it might be. After that...STOP! Don't start harping on the bags under your eyes, the muffin top peeking out over your jeans, the chipped nail polish, the slightly too-big nose, or whatever else you dislike about yourself at this moment. I'm not saying that we should ignore things that we can change; I'm just saying let's simply enjoy the wonderful awesomeness that is us! And let's not stop there! This really set my thinking cap spinning. I honestly couldn't believe how quickly my attitude and feelings changed at that moment in the shower. I decided to appreciate my cute ankles and not focus on my belly. There is a lot about me to love. There is a lot about all of us to love! And love it we should!
How much happier and joyful would we feel if we decided to adopt this attitude about life in general? About everything? About being stuck in traffic? About picking what looked like the shortest line at Walmart but the woman in front of you whipped out 10000 coupons at the last second? About the pile of laundry on your floor that rivals Mt. Kilimanjaro? About paying bills? Ok, maybe I'm reaching here, but you get the idea. I tend to be a pessimistic person, I guess. I like to groan and grumble on occasion. Does this make me happy? No. If I choose to not grumble about being stuck in traffic or in line, does it change the circumstances of the situation? No. I'm still stuck. But, heck, I might as well feel happy. I mean, why not? And, you know what? There can be positives to a lot of these scenarios. When you fearfully approach that mountain of laundry, smile at it and say, "Hi there! Let's watch Gilmore Girls together!" Laundry is nothing more than an opportunity to actually sit down and watch Netflix for a little while. When you pay your bills, even though it hurts and you hate it and you sometimes aren't sure if you'll have any money left for a loaf of bread tomorrow, tell yourself, forcefully, so maybe you'll start to actually believe it someday, "I'm so grateful that I have a furnace so I don't turn into an ice cube, a water heater that allows me to occasionally take a hot shower... if there is any left after everyone else showers, an air conditioner so I can remain clothed all day and not give my child issues for the rest of his life when he walks in and sees me lounging on the couch naked, a home...even if it's too small, too dirty, too expensive, too old, etc, a car, even if the "check airbag light" is on constantly (a true story), a child with enough metal on their teeth to buy a car that doesn't have random service lights on at all times. Ok, I think you get it.
Let's join together this month and form a club called "The Skinny Ankle Society" or something like that. When we have our monthly meetings, we will vow to not complain about our bellies, our laundry piles, our vomiting children, the long line at the voting place (another true story), or the state of our nation. Let's instead focus on the good in our lives and in our world! I'm not saying that we should never complain. Not at all. I know that we women need to vent sometimes to our girlfriends, husbands, etc. That's ok to do on occasion. But let's try harder to appreciate the awesomeness that is ours to enjoy. I was feeling pretty blah this morning about the whole election thing. You all know what I'm talking about. I could easily choose to moan and groan all day today as I await the results. Instead, I'm trying to focus on the fact that we still get to live in this amazing nation! True, we have problems, to say the least. But how lucky are we to be here? How lucky are we to get to have the privilege of going to vote today and having a say in the democratic process? I forget way too often how much better our lives are here in comparison to many other nations in this world. Life is pretty dang good from where I'm sitting right now. And, wow, my ankles look great!
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Our "vacation" to Virginia
Well, here I am again, after 3 years. I figured I'd better start blogging since I'm trying to become a bona fide writer. Where to begin???? We have been here for 3 1/2 months now, and it has been going fast; sometimes not fast enough though!
It's funny how we sometimes imagine having an adventure, doing something different, something totally out of our comfort zone. That's what I'd been doing before we even had considered this adventure. I love to watch House Hunters, and I was always especially fascinated with the East Coast; in fact I'd say that Virginia particularly intrigued me. I had visited North Carolina a few times to see my sister, my mom, and their respective families, but I had never been anywhere else in the East. When Jason called me one day and asked if I was interested in going to DC for a year, my immediate answer was, "Totally! Sounds perfect! We can see tons of the East Coast, visit my family, and then come back home." Of course, at that point, I wasn't thinking about the logistics of it at all. I just thought it sounded like a great experience and opportunity. As the months passed and we didn't hear back, we started to relax and think he wasn't going to get the position. To our surprise, he received an e-mail on a Sunday, telling him that he had been chosen! We were completely shocked, to say the least! We had always said that if he were accepted, we would almost definitely go, because we figured it would be meant to be. But, it was almost Thanksgiving, and the thought of leaving, of moving all the way across the country in a mere month and a half, not to mention right after Christmas...well, it seemed absolutely ludicrous to me! But, we prayed and pondered for a few days. I was completely sick to my stomach. It's funny that all of the logistics didn't occur to me one bit when he first presented the idea to me; all I thought of was how "fun" it would be, what an adventure. HA!
So, we decided to accept, just a few days before Thanksgiving. My nerves calmed down, temporarily, when the decision was made. We both felt good about it. Whenever I would tell someone what we were going to do, they'd always resond, "Wow! Sounds amazing! What a great opportunity!" And I'd be thinking, "You must think we're crazy. How are we supposed to rent our house, pack up our entire house, decide what to take and what to store, not to mention where to store it, rent a house somewhere near DC, have Thanksgiving, have Christmas, celebrate Jason and Spencer's birthdays, get Spencer ordained, decide what to do with our second vehicle, drive across the country, decide how to get our stuff there, put the kids in new schools, etc, etc, etc." I though we were totally insane!
I have to say, despite the fact that I felt like hurling every second, everything worked out perfectly. I honestly believe it was a miracle; every bit of the whole process. We were able to get the house rented immediately (thank you, thank you, thank you, Shawn and Jessi-I could never, ever say it enough if I said it every day til the day I die!). We were able to fly out to DC in December (and the vast majority of the trip was paid for by his new boss) and find a home that was within walking distance of the train station. And, let me tell you, finding a home in DC is quite a feat because there are soooo many different areas to choose from, in all directions. It's amazing to me, miraculous really, how it all worked out. We were only here for 3 days, and we were able to find the home on the second day. We feel like we were led here because of the ward, and the location! I could go on and on and on and on, all day long, about all of the miracles we were privileged to have. I'll share a few more. So many wonderful family members and friends stepped up and helped us pack, clean, and load. It still makes me emotional to think of the help we received. I was a complete and total basket case. We got through Christmas okay; then the stress really hit. I felt like my brain had vacated my head, but the aforementioned wonderful people just stepped right in and did what needed to be done, even when I was so out of it that I couldn't begin to tell them what needed to be done. Equally miraculous was our drive out here. I was pretty nervous because we had never driven anywhere even half this far. Sam tends to get car sick, and it seems like we always get stuck in traffic, bad weather, or construction. And this was early January. Remember all the snow we were getting around Christmas? Well, the trip went better, far better, than I ever could have anticipated. Sam never barfed, or even came close. The only traffic we encountered was in Salt Lake on the way out of town. There was no construction. There was not even one snow flurry! There was snow on the ground across the entire country, yet the roads were completely dry. A big storm was chasing us, but it never caught up. The kids were absolute angels. I am not exaggerating when I say that they caused no stress or trouble whatsoever; which I owe in great part to the Kindle Fires they received from Santa. Bless that man! The only tiny complaint I had was that they occasionally fought over who got which bed in the hotel or who got which seat in the van each morning. The cross-country drive was FAR less stressful than the previous month of total insanity.
Well, um, apparently it's going to take me quite some time to catch up on the last 3 plus months of our adventure. I guess I'll end here and cover the first few weeks or so next time. Thank goodness I have my trusty journals to fill me in on what we've been doing. It's been such a whirlwind that I can't remember much of it anymore.
It's funny how we sometimes imagine having an adventure, doing something different, something totally out of our comfort zone. That's what I'd been doing before we even had considered this adventure. I love to watch House Hunters, and I was always especially fascinated with the East Coast; in fact I'd say that Virginia particularly intrigued me. I had visited North Carolina a few times to see my sister, my mom, and their respective families, but I had never been anywhere else in the East. When Jason called me one day and asked if I was interested in going to DC for a year, my immediate answer was, "Totally! Sounds perfect! We can see tons of the East Coast, visit my family, and then come back home." Of course, at that point, I wasn't thinking about the logistics of it at all. I just thought it sounded like a great experience and opportunity. As the months passed and we didn't hear back, we started to relax and think he wasn't going to get the position. To our surprise, he received an e-mail on a Sunday, telling him that he had been chosen! We were completely shocked, to say the least! We had always said that if he were accepted, we would almost definitely go, because we figured it would be meant to be. But, it was almost Thanksgiving, and the thought of leaving, of moving all the way across the country in a mere month and a half, not to mention right after Christmas...well, it seemed absolutely ludicrous to me! But, we prayed and pondered for a few days. I was completely sick to my stomach. It's funny that all of the logistics didn't occur to me one bit when he first presented the idea to me; all I thought of was how "fun" it would be, what an adventure. HA!
So, we decided to accept, just a few days before Thanksgiving. My nerves calmed down, temporarily, when the decision was made. We both felt good about it. Whenever I would tell someone what we were going to do, they'd always resond, "Wow! Sounds amazing! What a great opportunity!" And I'd be thinking, "You must think we're crazy. How are we supposed to rent our house, pack up our entire house, decide what to take and what to store, not to mention where to store it, rent a house somewhere near DC, have Thanksgiving, have Christmas, celebrate Jason and Spencer's birthdays, get Spencer ordained, decide what to do with our second vehicle, drive across the country, decide how to get our stuff there, put the kids in new schools, etc, etc, etc." I though we were totally insane!
I have to say, despite the fact that I felt like hurling every second, everything worked out perfectly. I honestly believe it was a miracle; every bit of the whole process. We were able to get the house rented immediately (thank you, thank you, thank you, Shawn and Jessi-I could never, ever say it enough if I said it every day til the day I die!). We were able to fly out to DC in December (and the vast majority of the trip was paid for by his new boss) and find a home that was within walking distance of the train station. And, let me tell you, finding a home in DC is quite a feat because there are soooo many different areas to choose from, in all directions. It's amazing to me, miraculous really, how it all worked out. We were only here for 3 days, and we were able to find the home on the second day. We feel like we were led here because of the ward, and the location! I could go on and on and on and on, all day long, about all of the miracles we were privileged to have. I'll share a few more. So many wonderful family members and friends stepped up and helped us pack, clean, and load. It still makes me emotional to think of the help we received. I was a complete and total basket case. We got through Christmas okay; then the stress really hit. I felt like my brain had vacated my head, but the aforementioned wonderful people just stepped right in and did what needed to be done, even when I was so out of it that I couldn't begin to tell them what needed to be done. Equally miraculous was our drive out here. I was pretty nervous because we had never driven anywhere even half this far. Sam tends to get car sick, and it seems like we always get stuck in traffic, bad weather, or construction. And this was early January. Remember all the snow we were getting around Christmas? Well, the trip went better, far better, than I ever could have anticipated. Sam never barfed, or even came close. The only traffic we encountered was in Salt Lake on the way out of town. There was no construction. There was not even one snow flurry! There was snow on the ground across the entire country, yet the roads were completely dry. A big storm was chasing us, but it never caught up. The kids were absolute angels. I am not exaggerating when I say that they caused no stress or trouble whatsoever; which I owe in great part to the Kindle Fires they received from Santa. Bless that man! The only tiny complaint I had was that they occasionally fought over who got which bed in the hotel or who got which seat in the van each morning. The cross-country drive was FAR less stressful than the previous month of total insanity.
Well, um, apparently it's going to take me quite some time to catch up on the last 3 plus months of our adventure. I guess I'll end here and cover the first few weeks or so next time. Thank goodness I have my trusty journals to fill me in on what we've been doing. It's been such a whirlwind that I can't remember much of it anymore.
Friday, May 14, 2010
My first post
Okay, Pam, I'm doing this because of you! I was very inspired by your blogging experiences that you shared. This was my first year as a room mom. Sarah (yes, I still love you!) basically made me do it. Today was the combined 5th grade party. We had a luau. It was really fun, but I am EXHAUSTED! The kids had a hula hoop contest, and I'll just say that I am SO impressed at their hula-hooping abilities! We also had a water balloon toss with towels and a relay race. I admit I was quite scared to plan it and be in charge. I prefer to be a follower, so this was good for me. It turned out really well and the kids had lots of fun.
Jason, Spencer, and Matthew went to Fathers and Sons tonight. Poor Sam was up all night throwing up and was very lethargic today, and still throwing up a little. He FINALLY felt better about an hour after they left. Darn it. I wish he could've gone. I hope they are having fun up there in Provo Canyon and not freezing to death. Now if I can only get the kids to bed soon so I can go to bed. I am SO tired! I think I will take a break from being room mom next year!
Jason, Spencer, and Matthew went to Fathers and Sons tonight. Poor Sam was up all night throwing up and was very lethargic today, and still throwing up a little. He FINALLY felt better about an hour after they left. Darn it. I wish he could've gone. I hope they are having fun up there in Provo Canyon and not freezing to death. Now if I can only get the kids to bed soon so I can go to bed. I am SO tired! I think I will take a break from being room mom next year!
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