Finny's Blog, Stardate 63454.1 (It's baaack!)

This is supposed to be a weekly thing.  My life doesn't change enough to warrant doing it every week.

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Clear blue sky with temps in the lower 30s - a heatwave compared to the negative temperatures of last week.

One of my simple pleasures:
Listening to music I recorded from Sirius XM.  I especially enjoy the alt-rock and alt-country stations.

On my bedside table:
Bible, Christmas in My Heart volumes 1-4, Jesus Wants All of Me (kids devotional based on My Utmost for His Highest), lip balm

On my TV:
Stargate SG1, season 9
Still working on Ken Burns' National Parks

On the menu for tonight:
Chicken-flavored Hamburger Hotdish - sounds weird, but it was really good.

On my To Do List:
Where to start?  Finish and mail "the Christmas project," then dust, declutter, and clean all before the in-laws come this weekend.  Then I need to find time to shop for my husband for Christmas.

New Recipe I tried last week:
Haha!  Last week was not a week for new recipes.  We tried The Soup Bowl, a new take-out soup place downtown.

In the craft basket:
I do not own one of these.  I am not a crafty-type person.  I do still intend to paint a rocket on my son's ceiling, though.

Looking forward to:
Shipping off "the Christmas project" in time.

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Get a housekeeper.  I'm still working on this one.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
Nate's Top Ten of the Last Ten Years:  Music Edition
I was especially happy to see Welcome to Diverse City make the cut.  It is my favorite Tobymac album.

Favorite photo from last week:
This gem was from April 2008, just before we tore up the grass and had sod installed.  I stumbled upon it again this week.

Lesson learned the past few days:

Pay attention to the background while taking pictures.

On my Prayer List:
Safe travels for my family

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.  He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.  John 2:24-25

Motivation

According to Merriam-Webster, motivation is a motivating force, stimulus, or influence:  incentive, drive.

Right now, my house is a disaster.  I'm not a great housekeeper.  Honestly, I usually just do the bare minimum, but it stays clean (somewhat), and relatively presentable.  However, I was out of town for five days, then spent the last two weeks sick.  The motivation to keep up just wasn't there.

I'm feeling better now.  As I look around and see all that needs done, I am overwhelmed.  When I am overwhelmed, I procrastinate.

Besides the regular house cleaning that needs done in order to catch up, I have another problem.  Almost a year ago (yes, a year) we moved everything out of our room in order to have it painted a really fantasic blue.  After moving the necessities back in, I found I really didn't want all the extra "stuff" in there anymore.  Solution, keep it stacked haphazardly in the spare room.

A few months after that, we had our son's room painted.  Once again, not everything made it back in his room.  More stuff in the spare room.

We couldn't stop there.  We finally bought a new bed frame and headboard.  The remaining items were moved out of, then back into the bedroom, yet again!  Moving stuff about was getting old, so I did not bother to put all of it away.

Now, when I walk into the spare room, I am immediately overwhelmed by what I see, so I walk back out.  I lie in my nice new bed at night, and ignore the clutter I see around me.  I really am quite good at that.  I always have been.

I am making an effort to fix that.  Normally I just shut the doors to the offending rooms, and no one is the wiser.  Today, I open the doors, hoping that if others can see it, I will be motivated to do something about it.

Door 1, The Good (RIP Bob):

The Bad:

Door 2, The Ugly:

This was worse until a couple of days ago when my husband moved out a few of the larger items.  Now we can at least walk in the room.

Maybe I'll open Door 3, the dreaded mud room soon.  Maybe...

Possibilities

I've been thinking...one of the nice things about having a blog that almost nobody reads is that I can write pretty much anything I want, without worrying about what people think.  Hmm.  This could be good.  I shall ponder for awhile, and then may let the venting begin.

Finny's Blog, Stardate 63272.1

A snapshot into my life right now.

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Gorgeous! It has been cool, cloudy some days, sunny others, and beautiful. This is my favorite time of year.

 One of my simple pleasures:
Checking on my son while he sleeps, and giving him a kiss on his forehead.

On my bedside table:
My XM radio, and Personality Plus: How to Understand Others by Understanding Yourself by Florence Littauer.  I love studying what makes people tick.

On my TV:
I am working my way through Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

On the menu for tonight:
Chili Lime Chicken Tacos

On my To Do List:
call about swim lessons
paint a rocket on my son's ceiling
research German Christmas traditions

New Recipe I tried last week:
In cooking class, I learned how to make Mongolian Stir-fry, Wonton Soup, and fried Wontons, but have not made them myself, yet.

Looking forward to:
Doug and I are going to see Thoroughly Modern Millie with the Duncan's.

Lesson learned recently:
I'm finally starting to see that making a list, and posting it prominently, really does help me to get things done!

On my prayer list:
A friend who is struggling with a disease.

Devotional, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:8

Something different

Here is some completely useless information about yours truly.

1. What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book? On Beyond Zebra or Oh, the Places You'll Go!
2. If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be? The Jetson's home.
3. Who's your favorite Muppet? Statler and Waldorf
4. Who's your favorite TV attorney? Ed Stevens
5. What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles? Nampa and McCall
6. Where were you on 9/11/01? I was on my way to work when I heard an early news report about a plane hitting a WTC tower. I was at the intersection of Yellowstone and Alameda.
7. What's your favorite tree? Lodgepole Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Magnolia, and maples. I love trees!
8. What's the best costume you've ever worn? An old lady (in 5th grade)
9. If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be? Idaho :)
10. If you could travel anywhere in Africa, where would it be? Seychelles or Sao Tome and Principe
11. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus? Dictionary. I love looking up words.
12. Have you ever been snorkeling? Scuba diving? Not only no...
13. What's your favorite form of exercise? Walking, hiking, skiing, dance/aerobics.
14. Have you ever taken dance lessons? Nine years of tap and jazz. Doug and I took swing, salsa, and ballroom.
15. What's your favorite Broadway musical? I really enjoyed A Chorus Line.
16. What's the most memorable class you've ever taken? Latin. Mr. Evans was always memorable.
17. If you could go to Disney World with any celebrity alive today, who would it be? Donnie Osmond. I think he'd be fun, plus, I love him!
18. What's your favorite breakfast food? Cold spaghetti.

California trip, and a birthday.

Way back in February, we flew down to California to visit my brother and sister-in-law. (Six months ago? Wow!) I must say, it was definitely an intersting time to go. We experienced sunny and warm, chilly and windy, torrential downpours, and even snow. And I thought Idaho weather was fickle!

We so enjoyed being able to go to Retch's baby shower. M'boy made some friends while there (doesn't he always?) While he enjoyed the two little kids, I daresay he had the most fun being chased around by a wonderful woman who could have been his Grandma!

We spent a few days at Disneyland. It was the perfect time to go, as there were almost no lines. It was so fun experiencing it all with a child. He loved everything, well, almost everything, about it. He wanted to ride on everything. We very nearly did! He loved both Buzz Lightyear rides, Soarin' Over California, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and Thunder Mountain, and many others. I was worried about him on Thunder Mountain, until we went around the first turn, and he threw his hands in the air. He kept them up, and laughed, all ride long! We were able to go on many of these rides multiple times, by just getting off, walking back around, and getting on again - no wait. Super nice! M'boy did not enjoy the Abominable Snowman on the Matterhorn, and Space Mountain was a bit too intense for him.

It was a great trip. Can't wait until the next one!

Our boy turned six, yes six, in May. We had his party at a gymnastics facility. It was a great place for the kids! The foam pit, the zip line into it, and the trampolines were the biggest hits. It was so much fun, even some of the adults got in on it!

Wow-zah!

I cannot believe it has been so long since I have posted anything. I nearly forgot I even had a blog! So much has happened since I've last been on. I'm not even sure I can remember it all. A few highlights:

We spent a week in California in February. We were able to go to "Retch's" baby shower. It was fantastic! They have some of the greatest neighbors a person could ask for. Since we were so close, we decided to spend a few days at Disneyland. I'll elaborate more on this trip (maybe!) once I post the photos.

I enjoyed helping in Junior's class immensely, and so volunteered to help in the other kindergarten class, too. Two mornings a week were spent with kindergartners. As the year wound down, I was sometimes there four mornings a week! Loved it! This spring, we went on field trips to a nursery, the zoo, and an alpaca farm in another town. They also won a trip to Outer Limits. Whew!


Mom and Dad came down in March so Dad could help us remodel the bathroom. What a job! They always end up being bigger jobs than planned. It looks fantastic, though, and I can't thank my husband and my dad enough for all their hard work.

Our kiddo lost his first tooth a couple weeks ago. He pulled it out at school! Last week, he "graduated" from kindergarten. It was quite a program. The kids even wore caps and gowns! More on that later...

We are excited for the summer. We'll be in Billings for a week in June. Looking forward to catching up with some of you while we're there. The "Snodgrasses" are coming up from Texas. "Sven" and Retch may be up, as well. We are all eager to meet their sweet little baby girl. We are planning a trip to the farm again, too.

We have spent so much time be-bopping around the country that we have rather neglected our own area, so we'll spend some time exploring around here this summer. A few places we hope to get to: Sun Valley, Yellowstone Park (it has been over 10 years!), Jackson Hole and perhaps McCall. We also want to go to both Salt Lake City and Park City again. Bobsleds and zip line, here I come!
I could prattle on, but I have a bunch of photos to upload.
Until next time...

A little fun

I love it, and him! Accurate, too, for a silly little quizlet.

You are Obi-Wan Kenobi

You are civilized, calm, and have a good sense of humor, even when those around you don't. You can hold your own in a fight, but prefer it when things don't get too exciting.

New and not-so-new pics

I finally posted some more photos, namely Thanksgiving and the Pinewood Derby.

Thanksgiving was spent in Nampa with the hubby's family, and his godparents. We had a nice time visiting and relaxing. The in-laws graciously volunteered to watch Junior one evening so we could go on a date. It was great to have some time alone together. We ate a yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill, then spent some time Christmas shopping at a Christian bookstore, something we are sorely lacking here.

The Pinewood Derby was our boy's second, but his first as a Royal Ranger. Last year he placed second in his group. He didn't fare as well this year. His attitude early on was great. After losing one race he said, "Well, at least I got last!" The commanders were pretty impressed! Unfortunately, the positivity didn't last. He ended up rather disappointed that he didn't do better. All in all it was a good experience. We all had fun making the car, a multi-colored tiger. We grown-ups even hope to make our own cars next year!