is this thing on?

Well, I dropped off the face of this blog again. Life just got busy.

It's the beginning of a new month and I've got some new goals.  I decided to choose one or two (sometimes three) goals in different areas of my life.  Here they are:

House projects:  deep clean/declutter/organize kitchen.  I want to try to deep clean, declutter and organize one room a month.  If needed, I'll take more than a month but my goal is one room per month.  I'm starting with the kitchen because I think that'll be the biggest job.

Yard projects:  (1)  Finish driveway strip project.   There's a strip about 1.5 feet wide between the edge of my driveway and the neighbor's property that has become an eyesore.  There's no water line, plus it is beneath a huge pine tree so nothing's growing there anyway.  I got the weeds cleared out and laid down landscape fabric, held down by stones.  I have a pile of rocks that were removed from a flower bed border that I will use to fill in the space.  So what needs to be done is finish cleaning off the cement from the rocks, lay them down and then buy more to fill in the empty spaces.   (2)  Get tree removal started.  I have 6 large trees in my backyard.  I think they are original to the house (which was built in the early 1980s).  They are too big around, too tall, too close to the fence, and the roots are coming out of the ground.  The roots are ruining my sprinkler system, my fence and my lawnmower.  They're starting to die too.  One is only half-leafed.  The others just don't look so good.  And every time we have windstorms, branches break off. So they need to go.  I hate to lose them but I plan to replace them with fruit trees.  Anyway, I need to call tree companies and get bids, choose one to do the work and get the whole thing going.

Sewing:  Finish three unfinished projects.  Make three reusable grocery bags.

Scrapbooking:  (1)  Do California scrapbook (using Project Life app) and 12x12 grid picture.  Almost done with this.  (2)  Finish Colorado scrapbook and 12x12 grid picture.  Almost done with this too.  (3) Finish Georgia scrapbook.  I just have some journaling to do.  (4) Make list of finished pages in my oldest child's scrapbook.  This child is graduating from high school next year (!!!) and my goal is to have her scrapbooks done by graduation.  So I'm starting with making a list of done pages.  (5) Scan film negatives.  Goal:  10 strips per week and organize pictures into folders.

Crafty:  (1) Finish egg candlesticks.  I just need to paint the wood parts and glue them together.  (2) Make youngest child's birthday party stuff.

Church:  do my visiting teaching.

Spiritual:  (1) read scriptures daily.  (2) Implement ways to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Physical: (1) Exercise daily.  (2) Take meds/vitamins. (3) Go to bed on time.

Mental:  (1) Read two classic books of literature.  (2)  Practice writing skills:  blog (goal: 3x/week); Once Upon A Time story cards (goal: one story a week).

Financial: get tithing/fast offerings caught up

Health: (1) get eye exam and new glasses.  (2)  Drink 8 glasses of water daily

Wife: date with hubby twice this month

Mother:  be more "in the moment" with children

Teacher:  do Mommy Camp (goal: at least an hour a day)

Cook:  (1) have dinner ready to eat at 6 pm daily.  (2) Shop in freezer weekly so meat is in fridge.  I have a big upright freezer in my garage where I keep meat, vegetables and other frozen foods that I find good prices on.  Often I change my menu plan at the last minute because I haven't gotten out the meat that needs to thaw.  It's so dumb, but sometimes it happens because I just don't want to go out to the freezer.  I figure if I get all the meat I need for a week at once, then keep it in my kitchen freezer until I need it, I will be more likely to follow my menu plan because the meat is "right there" and I can take it out quickly to thaw.  (3).  No eating out during July.  I like to cook and I'm good at it, so there is no reason to pay around $50-60 to eat out when I can make a really good meal myself.

Those are my goals/projects for the month of July.  I'll report in each Sunday how I'm doing.

the happy homemaker series

I love all things homemaking.  I enjoy cooking, sewing, organizing, cleaning, and other homemaking arts.  I am trying to get better at gardening and quilting.  And I am sure there are other skills I have yet to learn.

I developed a philosophy of homemaking that I use to guide my actions and decisions.

My Homemaking Philosophy

I believe that homemaking encompasses several different areas:  time management, people management, things management, tasks management, and financial management.

I believe that my job as a homemaker is to do those tasks that are necessary to keep a home running smoothly, looking good and functioning well.

I believe that my job as a homemaker deserves the same level of respect and consideration as my husband's job does.

I believe that it is my duty to do the tasks that need to be done so that my home is clean, tidy, and organized so that those who live here and those who visit here will feel welcome, calm, peaceful and loved. 

I believe that the house we live in is not MY home, but OUR home and ALL of us have a stake in its care and upkeep.  

Therefore, I believe that it is my responsibility to teach my children how to take care of their things (and thus help keep the house looking good and functioning well), moving on up to learning how to do the various tasks required in taking care of a home, until they have the knowledge and skills they need to take care of an entire home themselves.

I believe that my husband should take care of his things and clean up after himself, and help with some of the heavier/more complicated jobs around the house, but it is not his job to do my work because I didn't do it.  He works hard at his job and he deserves to be able to come home and relax. Of course, if I am sick, I appreciate extra help.  Fortunately, I usually don't have anything worse than a cold.

I want to have a clean and tidy home, but I also want it to be a warm, welcoming place where people feel free to sit down, move around, do things and enjoy themselves without worrying about if they're going to mess something up.  I do have some rules to keep things taken care of but I'm not going to worry if my coffee table gets a few scratches because my sons are playing with their cars on it.

I believe in learning everything I can about home management and its various aspects, taking what applies to me and discarding the rest.  

I believe that nothing is written in stone and schedules, tasks, priorities and philosophies can change and be adjusted to fit the season of life I’m currently in.

101 goals in 1001 days

Last week I was reading one of my favorite blogs--Becky Higgins.  I first knew of her when she was the creative editor of Creating Keepsakes, which was a scrapbook magazine that I really liked.  She left CK in 2009 to start her own business.

Her tagline is "Cultivate a good life and record it".  Each Sunday she has a guest poster talk about different ways of cultivating a good life.

Last week, her guest author was Brooke Petermann, who is on the Creative Team for Becky Higgins, LLC.  Brooke wrote about using time wisely as a way of cultivating a good life.  She is in her third round of the 101 goals in 1001 days challenge.  She uses these 101 goals as a resource list to fill her time with worthwhile activities. She said without a plan, any downtime she had would be frittered away with browsing Pinterest, blogs and Instagram.

That really got my attention.  I feel like I spend way too much time doing things that are not important, that don't help me accomplish my goals, improve my life, better my relationships, or help me be more than "just" a wife and mother.

The idea of 101 goals in 1001 days is that you make a list of specific tasks with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined.  1001 days is about 2.75 years, so this allows for a lot of flexibility, as well as time to do big things that might require more than a year to do.

I took a week to write down 101 goals.  They cross all parts of my life.  I went back several times and looked over the list and made changes.  I read other blog posts about this idea and got some new ideas.  I took some off and added others.  I compared my 101 list with my list of goals for 2015 and made sure that the 2015 goals with easily definable results were included on the list.

I also wrote down goals that I have been wanting to do for awhile.  And I wrote down some that would challenge me.  Some of the goals will be fun and fairly easy.  Some will be more challenging.  Some will require forethought and planning, while others will be more easily done with a minimum of planning.

While reading blogs, browsing Pinterest and surfing the Internet are fun, and fine for short periods of time, I want to be living more intentionally.  I want to be able to look back and see what I've accomplished.  When I feel unmotivated and unenthusiastic, I want to be able to look at this list and find a thing or two to work on that will excite me.  I want to do the things that make me "Merilee", not just "Mom" or "Wife" or whatever other label applies to me at the time.

So here are my goals, broken down by category (because I like things to be organized like that)

My 101 goals in 1001 days challenge starts today, March 8,2015, and will end on December 2, 2017
*Some of the goals I have made vague for privacy reasons.

FINANCIAL
1.  Set up a will/Gather recommended documents for preparation for death/Organize

2.  Pay off Credit Card #1 ($XXX/month will pay off in 39 months)

3.  Pay off Credit Card #2 ($XXX/month will pay off in 7 months)

4.  Pay off $XXXX of Credit Card #3

5.  Set up savings accounts for children/deposit money

6.  Set up USEP accounts for Child #1 and Child #2/deposit money

7.  Set up vacation savings account and save for 2 vacations/20th anniversary vacation

8.  Save $xxxx for new van

9.  Set up a retirement account

10. Find/get van title/ensure lien is removed

WITH/FOR THE WRITER

11. Date nights x 20 (and document!)

12. Celebrate The Writer's birthday (and document!)

13. Celebrate Father's Day (and document!)

14. Nights after bedtime with no computer x 100

15. Put a love note in suitcase for each trip

16. Spend an anniversary night at a bed and breakfast or nice hotel

17. Have a candlelight dinner x 4 (with the good linens, china, etc.)

SPIRITUAL

18. Read all 4 standard works once through

19. Find a family name and prepare it for the temple ordinances x 2

20. Go to Time Out for Women (and document!)

21. Go to BYU Women's Conference (and document!)

22. Go to Education Week (at least 2 days)(and document!)

23. Take an ASL Institute class

24. Attend the temple x 30

TRAVEL

25. Family vacation to Colorado with Swain family

26. Visit Arches National Park

27. Visit Yellowstone

28. Family vacation to San Francisco and area

29. 20th anniversary trip with The Writer 2017

EDUCATION

30. Read 101 books

31. Plan a year of preschool for Child #4 (2015-16 school year) and produce materials

32. Do Tiger Scout activities with Child #3 during first grade year (October 2015-16)

33. Take a class through BYU Continuing Education x 5

HEALTH

34. Train for and run a 5K x 2 (one a Childhood Cancer Awareness run)

35. Reach 175 lbs and maintain

36. Get yearly mammogram 2015 2016 2017

ORGANIZE
37. Organize each room of the house

38. Organize garage

39. Organize shed

DOCUMENT (scrapbooking and related)

40. Finish wedding scrapbook

41. Finish high school/college book

42. Finish each child's baby book (birth to 1st birthday)

43. Finish "almost done" pages and get in albums

44. Organize and back up digital photo files

45. Purchase negative scanner/convert negatives to digital images

46. Finish Christmas book

47. Finish Christmas ornaments book

48. Finish scrapbooking San Diego trip

49. Scrapbook Colorado trip

50. Do Project 52--focusing on the everyday of our life

51. Finish Georgia book

52. Update family portraits book

FOR FUN

53. Visit Cherry Hills

54. Visit Natural History Museum at U of U

55. Visit Living Planet Aquarium

56. Visit Little Sahara sand dunes

57. Hikes x 10 (Ideas: Silver Lake, Ensign Peak, Donut Falls, Minnetonka Cave, Temple Quarry, Rocky Mouth, Delicate Arch, Bell Canyon, Secret/Cecret Lake, Lake Mary)

58. Visit Lagoon

59. All 6 of us dress up for Halloween (6 superheroes?  a group of 6 costume?)

HOUSE STUFF

60. Paint entire house

61. Spruce up kitchen (install crown molding, caulk/paint baseboards, finish kitchen ceiling, decorate)

62. Living room: add some not-family pictures

63. Master bedroom: buy new bed (mattress and headboard/footboard); replace baseboard with something that matches living room; install crown molding; put up curtains; decorate

64. Master bathroom: replace light; install fan; replace sink/vanity; tile floor; decorate

65. Replace front door

66. Replace sliding glass door

CRAFTY/SEWING

67. Finish current craft projects (wood snowflakes, hearts, pumpkins; drying rack; felt Mr. Potato Heads; felt superhero masks; gratitude board; Christmas activity advent board; Jordan's Scout shadow box; egg candlesticks; egg tree w/ leftover eggs)

68. Finish all started sewing projects

69. Use girly fabrics to make things for girlfriends' daughters

70. Make burp cloths with remaining cloth diapers (half boy, half girl)

71. Make cloth shopping bags with denim squares

72. Make quilt for Child #4

73. Make favorite sports teams quilt for Child #2

74. Make new Arrow of Light for Child #2

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

75. Assemble 72 hour kits for each family member

76. Assemble emergency kits for each vehicle

77. Inventory food storage and make plan to replenish/increase long term food storage

78. Set up tent in backyard/check poles/replace broken poles

79. Buy another water barrel

80. Find permanent home for water barrels/move there/fill with water

GIVE

81. Contribute to ward Sub for Santa program 2015

82. Contribute to ward Sub for Santa program 2016

83. Contribute $10 to 30 different charities/groups/organizations/etc.

84. Volunteer at Deaf Center for 2 events

85. Volunteer at JMS for 2 events

OUTDOORS

86. Fix fences

87. Remove trees in backyard

88. Remove willow tree in front yard

89. Shape new flower beds and put in borders

90. Clean up rocks and put along south side of driveway

91. Plant new plantings in flower beds

92. Plant garden 2015 2016 2017

PERSONAL

93. Complete Personal Progress 2015 2016 2017

94. Girls weekend with 2 girlfriends

95. Get a professional massage

96. Get a pedicure

97. Win NaNoWriMo

98. Have a 45th birthday party with girlfriends (2016)

99. Learn to play 4 songs on the piano--play well!

100. Run a Color Run

101. Complete a 30 day Core challenge and a 30 day Plank challenge

So that's my list!  I think it's a good mix of fun, frivolous, serious, and challenging.  I look forward to seeing what the next 1001 days bring!

February review

Is it March 1st already?  I know February is a short month but it seems like it just started!

I didn't do much in the way of getting projects done/goals accomplished so I'm just going to keep the same list for March, with a few changes to the Outdoors goals.

Two things I did do:  I had a GNO with my best friend!  It was the very last day of the month but it was the week that worked out for us so we did it.  We even made and FINISHED a craft project!  We had a great time and I am excited to keep up our monthly get togethers.

Also, I have been trying out a new idea to help me with my breadmaking.  I bought some containers big enough to hold the dry ingredients for my two favorite bread recipes.  I made two dry ingredient batches of each, giving me 4 altogether and stored them in my pantry.  So all I had to do when I needed to make bread was put in the liquid ingredients and then dump in the dry.  It worked really well and I haven't had to buy bread for 2 weeks.  So I will keep that up!

Goals for March:

Homemaking: 1.  Establish Flylady routines.  2.  Make daily lunches.  3.  Make daily breakfasts.

Church:  1.  Be at church at 10:45 am.  (I've done well so it'll be a continuing goal all year). 2.  Go the extra mile in visiting teaching (My companion didn't schedule appointments for some reason so that didn't get done. I'll have to make early appointments in March and do something extra). 3.  Keep up with RS birthday visits.  4.  Do at least 1/4 of my emergency list.

Spiritual: 1.  Do gospel study daily. 2.  Personal, meaningful daily prayer.

Mental:  1.  Read one classical book of literature (I'm almost done reading The Secret Garden).  2.  Write in blog minimum 3x/week.

Physical: 1.  Exercise daily!  2.  Limit sugar to weekends.  (I need to make a sign or something to remind me--I'm realizing that part of why some of my goals aren't getting accomplished is because I'm trying to change a habit--and I forget!)

Social: 1.  Date with Steven.  2.  GNO with best friend (March--it will be March 28th for the LDS General Women's Session).  3.  Invite family over for dinner

Outdoors:  1.  Clean up garage.  2.  Organize shed.  3.  Rake leaves from yard.  4.  Screw in north fence boards.  5.  Clean out dryer vent cage.  6.  Put lock on electrical panel.  7.  Label electrical panel lock key and put in safe place.  8.  Clear out front flower bed and plant flowers.  9.  Prepare garden boxes with compost.  10.  Plant early season crops.  (I know this is a lot but several are simply things that need to be done that will take 5 minutes each.  I just don't want to forget!)

Financial: 1.  Figure out card repayment schedule and WRITE IT DOWN.  2.  Get savings accounts for each child and deposit money. 3.  Get a savings account set up for vacation

Scrapbooking:  1.  Get almost-finished pages done and in albums.  This will probably be an ongoing project since there's quite a few layouts.  2.  Get funeral album done, printed, assembled and delivered.  3.  Get Georgia trip journaled.

Hope this month goes better.  I need to figure out a way to keep my goals in front of my eyes without advertising to the world some private stuff.

February goals

Homemaking

*  Establish Flylady routines.  I kinda have my own version of that.  I spent today making up a general calendar that can be reused monthly (no dates on it) to make sure everyone helps with work. I'll make up a Flylady calendar to guide my own work.   I really just need to follow through with my plans.

*Make lunches daily.  I think my biggest challenges with this has been: (1) I don't always have bread, because I don't always get around to making it.  So, I bought three plastic containers big enough to hold the dry ingredients for two of my favorite bread recipes.  All I have to do is put in the wet ingredients and dump in the pre-measured dry ingredients.  Maybe that'll help.  (2) CM and JJ don't always wake up with enough time to make their lunches.  So if it's sandwiches I'll have them make their lunches the night before.  I can also have a cooking day when I make up several salads or other non-sandwich lunch items that can be stored in the fridge til they're needed.  The challenge with that will be not snacking on them. :)

*Make breakfast daily.  Again, biggest challenge has been not enough time to make stuff.  So, again, baking day to make quick breads and muffins, and stuff like waffles that freeze well.  I've also seen a recipe for homemade egg McMuffin-type sandwiches that can be frozen.  And I need to actually follow through on my plan to make breakfast casseroles for Fridays and Saturdays.

Church

*Be at church at 10:45 for JJ to do his priesthood duties.  The biggest thing to this will be: making sure I follow through on my plan to make sure everything is ready for Sunday on Saturday:  clothes ready; anything we take to church put in the car Saturday night; any food we need for Sunday taken out of the freezer.  Also, taking my shower and getting mostly dressed immediately on waking up, instead of messing around reading news, etc.  And getting everyone up at 9 and getting going on showers.  If we can't make our departure time of 10:40, then we'll have to go to waking up at 8:30

*Go the extra mile in visiting teaching.  Doing visiting teaching itself hasn't been a problem--I have a great VT companion and we work well together.  So my goal will be to go the extra mile.  February will be my turn to teach the lesson, so I can prepare lessons with the sister in mind; take each sister a little Valentine's Day something (two of my sisters are divorced and one is living separately from her husband due to job circumstances); follow up with them at church weekly, etc.

            

*Keep up with RS birthday visits.  I will contact the RS secretary to see who's left and then lay claim to 4 of them.  One of those February birthdays is the RS first counselor, so I will make her a special birthday card.  

*Do at least 1/4 of my emergency list.  This is simply making sure that the sisters of our ward know who their local emergency leader is, his/her contact information and knowing where to go in case of emergency.  I will email everyone I have an email address for and then follow up.  My goal is to get at least 1/4 of the list done.

Spiritual

*Do gospel study daily (Book of Mormon, Sunday School lesson, RS lesson, etc.).  Every day, twice a day (morning and evening) I will read several chapters in the Book of Mormon and get caught up on the 90 day reading challenge.  On Tuesdays I will read the RS lesson.  On Thursdays I will read the Sunday School lesson.

*Personal, meaningful prayer daily—remembering to pray for friends, family & ward members.  The biggest challenge I have had with prayer is that I am not making it part of my bedtime routine.  So I need to allow more time to get ready for bed, which includes washing my face, brushing/flossing my teeth, reading my scriptures and praying.

Mental

*Read one classic book of literature.  Instead of playing games on my Kindle, I'll read.  I think I'll delete my games from the Kindle.  Not just remove from the carousel but actually delete them.  I got the Kindle for reading purposes, not for playing games.  I need to look at the books I've downloaded to choose one.

*Write in blog minimum 3x/week.  I think I'll do this at 1 pm after dropping off AD at school and let NW watch a half hour of Disney channel.

Physical

*Restart exercise program.  I'm excited because I was able to order two of my favorite Jane Fonda workouts on DVD!  So I'm thinking I'll do yoga and weight training at home in the morning, then alternate nights between Jane Fonda workouts and gym C25K running.  When our year membership is up, I think I may drop mine in favor of running outside.  Not sure on that one yet.

            

*Limit sugar to weekends.  I know I'm eating way too much sugar, and too much in general.  So my February goal in revamping my diet is to limit sugar to Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Sugar meaning things like candy, cookies, desserts, soda pop and sugary drinks (bye bye lemonade).  I will eat waffles with fruit instead of syrup.  I will find or make foods that are sugar free (i.e. make salad dressings without sugar instead of consuming store bought dressings with sugar).  Next month I will limit sugar to Saturday and Sunday.  Then in April, sugar only on Sunday.  After that, only for special occasions (i.e birthdays).  I'll see if I can refrain from eating sugar on holidays, or have just a small piece.

Social

*Date with The Writer.  We'll have a nice at-home Valentine's date.  Not gonna try to go out on Valentine's day on Saturday!

*GNO with L.  We'll try again to schedule something.

*Invite family over for dinner.  I have a family in mind--hope it can get scheduled.

Outdoors

*Keep driveway and walks clear of snow.  If it ever snows again this winter.

*Backup plan:  Clean up yard.  Rake up old leaves and sticks.  If ground is thawed, clean out flower beds.  Walk around property and make a list of repairs that need to be done.

*Clean up garage.  Throw away stuff that needs to be thrown away.  Put stuff that belongs in shed in there.  Gather stuff to be donated and get it done.  Take stuff that belongs inside, inside and put away. See what else I can get rid of.

Financial

*Figure out credit card repayment schedule.  This is more of a follow up to be sure we're on track.

*Get savings accounts for each child/deposit money. I just need to collect the money (it's already divided out into envelopes) and ID stuff and get myself over to the bank!

Scrapbooking

*Get almost finished pages finished and into albums.  That's going to be my only goal for scrapbooking for this month because I have a foot-tall stack of pages on my table that are waiting to be finished and put in albums.

I'm not going to set a sewing goal because I want to focus on the scrapbooking.

Well, there are my February goals!  Hope this month goes better!

another new start

February 10.  I haven't posted since January 2.  Not a great start to my goal to journal more.

This winter has been weird in a lot of ways.  The weirdest thing has been the weather.  It's been way too warm.  Which means no snow.  Before Christmas we had a few storms that dropped a couple inches of snow that only lasted a day or two.  Christmas day we finally had a storm that dropped significant snow.  As in, we had to go out and shovel.  That snow lasted several days which was great for the Christmas spirit. :)  Then the weather warmed up again and all the snow melted.  We haven't had snow since.  We have had rain, which means snow in the mountains, so that's good.  We depend on winter precipitation for our summer water so the fact that there's still snow in the mountains is great.

The other weird thing about this winter has been my health.  For the last two weeks or so, I've had something or other.  I started with a head/chest cold.  I got over that and was fine for two days, then got another head cold that turned into a sinus infection.  I'm still having sinus trouble.  

I never got around to posting my January goals but I'm going to do that anyway because I want to do a progress report.  

Homemaker

        Establish Flylady routines.  Nope. 

        Make lunch for The Writer, CM and JJ every day. I did this a few times but not consistently.

        Make breakfast for family every day. Again, I did this a few times but not consistently.  

Church

          Be at church at 10:45 for JJ to do his priesthood duties.   Well, we weren't there at 10:45 like I wanted, but we still were early enough for him to do what he needed to do.  Progress.

          Do visiting teaching.  Yep, visited all three sisters.  Really, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do this every month.  I mean, it's one visit each for 3 sisters.  It's not a weekly thing.  DONE.

          Keep up with RS birthday visits. No.  

Spiritual

        Do gospel study daily (Book of Mormon, Sunday School lesson, RS lesson, etc.). I started out really strong with a 90 day Book of Mormon reading challenge that I'm doing with CM to help her with her Personal Progress.  Then I got behind.  But at least I did some.  

        Personal, meaningful prayer daily—remembering to pray for friends, family & ward members. Nope.  Really gotta do better on this one.

Mental

          Read one classic book of literature.  Well, I read, but it wasn't classical literature.  How should I count that?

          Write in blog minimum 3x/week. Obviously not.

         

Physical

        Restart exercise program.  Nope.  Partly due to illness.

        Bed at 10:30 p.m., wake at 6:30 a.m. Well, I sure was in bed by 10:30 p.m.  I usually woke up at 6:30, but went back to bed after CM and JJ were off to school.

       

Social

          Date with The Writer.  Yes!  Went out to dinner with The Writer then to a basketball game.

          GNO with L&J.  I tried!  We couldn't work out a schedule.

          Invite family over for dinner. Nope.

Outdoors

        Keep driveway and walks clear of snow. What do you call it when you don't accomplish a goal because there was no need to?

Financial

        Figure out credit card repayment schedule.  Yep.  Now the challenge is to actually follow it.

          Get savings accounts for each child/deposit money.  Nope.

Scrapbooking

        Finish Georgia book.  No to both of these.  HOWEVER, I did order some scrap supplies so that I could get to work on scrapbook projects.  And I got my work area cleaned up and organized so that I actually have space to work.

        Finish San Diego book

Sewing

          Finish two sewing projects. No.

Now, on to February!  Yes, I know the month is practically half over already but I'm going to make the last two weeks count!

thoughts on becoming a more holy woman

This post will explore some of the thoughts I had while thinking about how I could apply my word of HOLY to my life in 2015.  This is by no means a comprehensive list and I am sure what I do and how I do it will ebb and flow as I go through my days, as I try to listen to the Lord's inspiration, and as I improve.

I will strive to be holy in  my HOMEMAKING by remembering that I am doing the work I believe God has given me—to be a wife and mother and homemaker.  I will work to have a holy attitude about my routine tasks (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.) by reminding myself that I am creating an environment where the Spirit of the Lord can dwell; where my family will feel safe and loved; and where visitors will feel welcome. I can be holy in my organizing by remembering that I am creating "a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God" (D&C 88:119).

I will be holy in my role as a MOTHER by remembering that these children are God's children that He entrusted to me to love, nurture, teach and raise.  I will be a holy mother by being patient with their mistakes; being patient when they are learning something new; teaching them gospel principles and other essential life skills; working to modulate my voice and facial expressions; and being WITH them and not letting electronic entertainment take so much of their time.

I will be holy in my role as a WIFE by remembering that my husband is not a mind reader and if I want him to help with something, I can ask him kindly; I will ensure we have regular dates and social events with our friends; and supporting him in his Church callings and responsibilities.  I can also be a holy wife by expressing frequent and sincere appreciation for all he does when I am busy doing my own church responsibilities (I'm 2^nd counselor in the Relief Society) and he takes over the home and family.

I will be holy with my FINANCES by remembering that God giveth all things, so I will honor Him by paying my tithing and fast offerings each  month before paying any other obligations; being on time with payments owed to others; and being wise with the use of our discretionary income (establishing/maintaining bank accounts for various expenses that come up through the year so we don't have to do things like charge property taxes to a credit card, etc.). 

I will be holy in my CHURCH RESPONSIBILITIES by: becoming a good friend to those sisters I visit teach; preparing visiting teaching messages to meet the needs of the sisters I visit teach; carrying out my Relief Society responsibilities as promptly and as thoroughly as I can; communicating with the Presidency members and the Board members I work with; thoughtfully choosing hymns for the sacrament service; fellowshipping other ward members, especially those who are less-active; and showing respect for my children's church responsibilities by being at church early. This is church-related, though not church-responsibilities-related—I can ensure that we have a holy Sabbath morning by preparing as much as I can on Saturday (clean the house, make sure all clothes are ready, have my lessons prepared and materials gathered, any advance food preparation done, etc.)

I can be holy in my SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT by studying the scriptures, not just reading them.  I can really pay attention in church meetings (so far as my children will let me) and find ways the presented messages can apply to my life.  I can prepare for bed a little earlier so I can have meaningful prayers with  my Father in Heaven. 

I can be holy in my efforts to take care of my PHYSICAL BODY by remembering that my body is a temple and it deserves the greatest care.  I can eat less of what I know is not good for me and more of what IS good for me.  I can exercise more and sit less.  I can ensure I get enough sleep and drink enough water and do little things that help me feel good physically such as washing my face nightly, applying moisturizer, getting regular haircuts, etc.

I can be holy with my HOBBIES by choosing to do things that uplift me.  I love to read and I can be wise in my choice of books.  I enjoy scrapbooking and I can remind myself that I am documenting my family's history, and my own.  I can remember that "whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come" (D&C 130:18-19).  I can enjoy learning new things, and I can be holy in such learning by choosing to learn things that will benefit me, my family, my spirituality, others, and my future life.

As I thought about all the ways I could apply the phrase "What would a holy woman do" to the areas of my life, I realized that what I have written here is but a small part of the ideas I had.  No doubt as I go through 2015, and apply that question to different activities, I will be inspired in different ways.