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.  

one little word 2015

One Little Word 2015: Holy

Some time ago, I heard about a book called "What Would a Holy Woman Do?" written by Sister Wendy Watson Nelson, wife of Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

She started out by sharing an experience that happened in 2007.  She and Elder Nelson had gone to Tonga for the rededication of the Tonga Temple.  They had gone a little earlier to inspect the temple prior to the rededication.  Everything looked perfect and Elder Nelson was ready to sign off on the inspection.  However, when they were leaving, they noticed something very important was missing from the temple.  This missing item was so important that if it was not put in place, the temple rededication could not happen!

What was missing?  On every temple of the Church, in the local language, appear these words: Holiness to the Lord.  The House of the Lord.  On the Tonga temple, these words were missing!  Elder Nelson informed the appropriate people, those words were placed on the temple and the rededication occurred on schedule.

After returning to Salt Lake City, Sister Nelson thought about that experience.  She thought about holiness—the meaning of the word, the placement of those phrases.  She asked herself what she needed to change in her life so the words "Holiness to the Lord" could be placed upon her life.

Sister Nelson asked six friends (ages 26 to 65) to try an experiment.  She asked them, for three days, to choose one of their daily activities and try to "be holy" while doing it, or do it as a holy woman would do it.

Some of the examples she offered as suggestions (and some of mine):  How would a holy woman start her day?  What would be on her to-do list?  How would she read to a child?  Clean her kitchen?  Do laundry?  Scrub the toilets?  Balance her checkbook?  Deal with a difficult situation?  How would she dress?  What would she listen to?  Watch?  Read?  Look at?  How would she pray?  Read her scriptures?  Prepare a lesson she needed to teach next Sunday?  How would she prepare for the Sabbath day?  How would she fast?  If she were married, how would she greet her husband when he got home from work?  If she were single, how would she interact with her roommates?  If she worked outside the home, how would she do her work? 

Much of the rest of the book is the stories shared by those who agreed to participate in this experiment, as well as some others who also tried the experiment.

Sister Nelson also asked the reader, "What is the Lord teaching YOU about holiness?"  She mentions that D&C 46:33 says that "Ye must practice virtue and holiness before me continually". 

Also, in D&C 60:7, the Lord says, "I am able to make you holy".

The verse about practicing holiness continually comes at the very end of section 46.  Before that, in verses 7-12, we are commanded to ask God for gifts of the Spirit which can help us become more holy.  And verses 13-16 list some of the gifts of the Spirit that are available.  These are only SOME of the gifts available.  We can ask for ANY gift that will help us in our desires to become more holy, to become more like the Savior and to continue in our journey through life.

Well, that book really touched me.  So much so, in fact, that I used it as the text for my talk at the Relief Society Christmas luncheon.  Several sisters told me that they felt inspired too and were making their 2015 resolutions based on the concept of "What Would a Holy Woman Do?"

I decided that my word for 2015 would be Holy, as a shorthand version of "What would a holy woman do?"

In my next post, I will share some thoughts about how I can apply this word/question to my life.

Menu Monday

One thing about me and menus is that I don't always follow my plan.  Generally speaking, I make the meals I plan to do but not necessarily always on the day I schedule for it.  So these are the meals I plan to make this week and hopefully on the day I list them.

Monday
Meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans, orange wedges.  Dessert:  apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.

Tuesday:
Salmon with creamy dill sauce, noodle rice pilaf, spinach salad, fruit

Wednesday:
Sweet-n-sour meatballs over rice, peas, fruit

Thursday:
Spaghetti with marinara sauce, green salad, garlic bread, fruit

Friday:
Better-than-Panda Orange Chicken, Loaded Fried Rice, salad, fruit

Saturday:
Tacos, Spanish rice, fruit

Sunday:
Marinated baked chicken, roasted squash, peas, green salad

one little word 2014: NURTURE

A few years ago, I heard about the idea of choosing one word that would represent my "philosophy" for the year.  It could be a direction I wanted my life to go, or something to inspire me, or something I could center my goals around. 

 

My word for 2014 is NURTURE. Previous words were ENJOY, PEACE and CREATIVITY.

A bulletin board website I enjoy reading is Two Peas in a Bucket (www.twopeasinabucket.com).  A few weeks ago, there was a post about one woman's 2013 word, which was also NURTURE.  She talked about how her health challenges made it necessary for her to start doing some things that at first were really difficult (working out, seeing health specialists, etc.)  But she looked at it as nurturing her body.  Her blog is at http://meadowwalk.blogspot.com/2013/01/olw-nurture.html.

One thing she said that I really liked was:

            "Nurture" isn't even about losing weight and going to the gym. It's about getting my first mammogram ever. It's about overcoming my dread fear and getting a Pap smear. It's about screaming in pain and my mom holding my hand while I had a uterine biopsy to make sure I didn't have cancer (I don't) and getting my gynie issues fixed once and for all.

That really resonated with me and I decided to make NURTURE my word for 2014. 

I will nurture MYSELF by taking care of myself.  Getting enough sleep; working on improving my eating habits; learning more about nutrition, hypothyroidism and the changes my body will be going through as I move through my 40s; exercising; taking time to relax and enjoy myself; taking time to do my hobbies; getting together with girlfriends; taking a time-out once in a while to just do what I want to do; making a small book of inspirational quotes—all these are things that I can do for MYSELF.

I will nurture my CREATIVITY by improving my skills in sewing, quilting, gardening, scrapbooking, cross stitching and cooking; I will not be afraid to learn a new skill if I come across one that sounds interesting; I will take the time to do my hobbies, even if it means other things don't get done; I will enjoy the time I allow myself to browse blogs and Pinterest to find inspiration and projects.

I will nurture my SPIRITUALITY by improving my relationship with God and my relationships with the Young Women of my ward; fulfilling my Church callings (including visiting teaching) to the best of my ability; making time to read my scriptures and study lessons; going to the temple at least once a month; unhurried prayers, especially at night; and having time to just reflect.

I will nurture my FAMILY by spending more time with them; doing things they want to do; scheduling one-on-one time with them; regular dates with my husband; working on being "in" the conversation with my children, especially my 5 year old as we work to overcome his stuttering and continuing to teach gospel principles.

I will nurture my ENVIRONMENT as I do my homemaking tasks; decorate my home; organize my spaces and keep things clean.  I will also nurture my larger environment by working to conserve water and electricity; not making unnecessary trips in the car; using my reusable shopping bags; looking for ways to reuse things; recycling as much as I can; passing on to others things still in good shape but that we don't need anymore.

I will nurture OTHERS by keeping up with their lives; checking in with them via email, Facebook and phone calls; remembering their birthdays and sending a card or some kind of acknowledgement; being aware of their circumstances so I can offer support if needed; making plans to get together to have fun; just generally trying to be the kind of friend I would want to have.

I am sure I will think of more ways I can nurture and be nurtured but this is a starting point.  I believe it fits in with my general goals and projects, and I look forward to what this year will bring.