From Fox News: "Motta de Lima came to find the body of four relatives presumed buried in the slide"
Multiple personalities?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Did I just read that?
From Fox News: "Motta de Lima came to find the body of four relatives presumed buried in the slide"
Friday, January 14, 2011
offensive! Warning!
I find this book offensive on so many levels. I can't even explain how much it grates against my soul.
http://deseretbook.com/Children-You-Want-Kids-Have-Marie-Ricks/i/5041571
Start with the title: "Children you want with the kids you have". What? In other words, your kids don't measure up to your dreams, so instead of loving them, you're going to REMAKE them? That shows the ultimate disrespect for them, both as individuals and as creations of God. Besides, it doesn't work. It just damages the kids' psyches. How about loving, valuing, respecting the kids you have and helping them learn to deal with who they naturally are in the real world? Maybe you should get to know them instead of NOT WANTING them. Sheesh.
The description: "Do you want to know the secret of getting kids to work? Train them early! If you want your children to work together, finish their chores, complete their homework, and take care of their own personal hygiene and possessions, you have to train them. And it usually takes a helping hand and a few hints from someone who has "been there - done that." These suggestions, charts, and to-do lists from professional organize Marie Ricks will get you well on your way to having a clean home, a well-kept yard, and helpful, hardworking, on-their-way-to-being-independent children."
OH! So really the title should be "The SLAVES you want from the kids you have." That is more what this book is about.
Because, obviously, nobody wants a kid who has ADD, or is a little creative but also a little messy, or a kid who is busy programming computers and doesn't finish their chores, or a kid who has Asperger's.....
Because obviously all adults work together without stress, finish their chores before they do anything else, finish their housework every day.....etc.
Gosh, according to this, nobody wants my kids. Or ME. Or my husband--or anything he contributes to the world (like his music, videos, etc).
Newsflash: Creative people don't live this way. As adults. They don't work with other people. They don't finish chores if inspiration strikes. They lose their possessions--or give them away. And if you didn't have creative people in the world, doing everything "wrong," you also would have no music, art, books, dance, film....You want to live in that perfectly organized, clean, well-kept world? Sterile. No fun.
I don't even WANT a life like that. Might look pretty. And be pretty stifling. Not to mention stressfully impossible, and therefore confidence-shattering. Making that kind of organized the highest good destroys a lot of souls. Just sayin'. MOST of us can't live like that, and we waste a lot of energy feeling guilty about it. And this book is there to teach your children that THEY need to feel guilty about it, too, because if it doesn't come easy to them, then they are not wanted.
One of her chapters: "6. Obedience Is First, Honesty Is Second, and Their Bedroom Is Third"
http://deseretbook.com/Children-You-Want-Kids-Have-Marie-Ricks/i/5041571
Start with the title: "Children you want with the kids you have". What? In other words, your kids don't measure up to your dreams, so instead of loving them, you're going to REMAKE them? That shows the ultimate disrespect for them, both as individuals and as creations of God. Besides, it doesn't work. It just damages the kids' psyches. How about loving, valuing, respecting the kids you have and helping them learn to deal with who they naturally are in the real world? Maybe you should get to know them instead of NOT WANTING them. Sheesh.
The description: "Do you want to know the secret of getting kids to work? Train them early! If you want your children to work together, finish their chores, complete their homework, and take care of their own personal hygiene and possessions, you have to train them. And it usually takes a helping hand and a few hints from someone who has "been there - done that." These suggestions, charts, and to-do lists from professional organize Marie Ricks will get you well on your way to having a clean home, a well-kept yard, and helpful, hardworking, on-their-way-to-being-independent children."
OH! So really the title should be "The SLAVES you want from the kids you have." That is more what this book is about.
Because, obviously, nobody wants a kid who has ADD, or is a little creative but also a little messy, or a kid who is busy programming computers and doesn't finish their chores, or a kid who has Asperger's.....
Because obviously all adults work together without stress, finish their chores before they do anything else, finish their housework every day.....etc.
Gosh, according to this, nobody wants my kids. Or ME. Or my husband--or anything he contributes to the world (like his music, videos, etc).
Newsflash: Creative people don't live this way. As adults. They don't work with other people. They don't finish chores if inspiration strikes. They lose their possessions--or give them away. And if you didn't have creative people in the world, doing everything "wrong," you also would have no music, art, books, dance, film....You want to live in that perfectly organized, clean, well-kept world? Sterile. No fun.
I don't even WANT a life like that. Might look pretty. And be pretty stifling. Not to mention stressfully impossible, and therefore confidence-shattering. Making that kind of organized the highest good destroys a lot of souls. Just sayin'. MOST of us can't live like that, and we waste a lot of energy feeling guilty about it. And this book is there to teach your children that THEY need to feel guilty about it, too, because if it doesn't come easy to them, then they are not wanted.
One of her chapters: "6. Obedience Is First, Honesty Is Second, and Their Bedroom Is Third"
Really? And here I am, busily teaching them that God is first. And everything else comes after, in a different order depending on the day and what the Spirit tells them. I guess I should put their bedroom in there somewhere. And start telling them that obeying me is more important than being honest. Because, after all, I am the most important thing EVER, and my instructions are always infallible and always have the greater view of what's going on everywhere.
I have issues with a lot of the things she says in the excerpt, too, but it's nitpicky.
It's probably a great book if you are a completely uncreative person who needs a white-glove-approved house in order to think.
But for the rest of us? Nah....if you want clean, try the FlyLady instead. And WANT your children. As they are.
Did I just read that?
From Fox News today: "A spokeswoman for E.E. Pickle Funeral Home in Amory said funeral arrangements were incomplete."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/01/14/touched-angel-star-john-dye-dead-home/#ixzz1B3xGZzPC
I just had to laugh. A funeral home called Pickle? Where they show off preserved bodies?
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/01/14/touched-angel-star-john-dye-dead-home/#ixzz1B3xGZzPC
I laughed, but also wondered--isn't it a bit disrespectful? The name, I mean.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Did I just read that?
Boulder Craigslist http://boulder.craigslist.org/cto/2125460043.html: "Good running van just need to fix speedometer and gas gauge not working, minor scratches on side of door. Won't last long."
If you're selling a used car, "Won't last long" is NOT what you want to say. I don't want yet another used car that is going to fall apart not long after I buy it!
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Living on Tour
I started this blog initially to document what I thought was a rather unique set of experiences we were having: going on a music tour with the family in tow.
Not many people end up on tour with a musician at all, much less with children coming, too. Especially a bunch of children.
So I thought, since there are no further tours on the horizon for me and the kids, I probably ought to write down a few of the things I learned so I don't forget them if it ever comes to touring again.
When you hit a hotel for one night on the way to somewhere, or when you're staying in a hotel as part of a family vacation, you don't do it the same as when you're on tour.
Why?
Because on tour, that's daily life. It's not a vacation. It's not that we saved a bunch of money and budgeted in eating out every night. It's not even that we got to choose our own hotel. We go where they booked rooms for us, and stay in the rooms they chose (usually not ones I would pick), and, since we have all these kids coming along, we try our darndest to make it feel like real life because it turns out that it's not fun to be on vacation all the time in a place you wouldn't choose to go. Plus, for the kids, it's just another day doing something we've done a lot of times before. It's not so strange to stay in a hotel. It just means we get to watch TV, something we don't do at home. Ever.
We don't even generally go out and see the sights in the towns we stop in like I thought we would. For one thing, it's expensive--most places of interest charge you to get in, and that adds up REALLY fast when you have 8 people coming along, and there are not a lot of free places anymore. For another, it's easy to get lost. And, the biggest challenge, it's not time off for Tim. He's always working when we're on tour. So that leaves me taking six kids anywhere we go by myself, and Benji doesn't handle that well, and neither do I (normally, when the whole family goes out, we divide the work: one adult takes Benji. The other adult takes the other five kids.). Besides, who goes out every single day? Nobody. Mostly we like to just have a day, with a regular routine. Same as at home. We do try to do something cool in each town we go to--important to make memories, same as at home. We don't try to do something amazing every single day.
So, for this first "living on tour" blog post, I'm going to put in the list of things I always wish I had when I get to a hotel room. You'd think I'd always remember all these things, but I usually get there and go, "Shoot. I forgot ____ again." Maybe writing up the list will help!
--First Aid Kit (including allergy meds, bandaids, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, sunscreen, bug spray, baby and kid medicines, ibuprofen, hand lotion, etc.)
--A roll of duct tape (for emergency repairs as well as for things like covering outlets so the babies don't get hurt)
--a night light, especially now that we always try to ask for two adjoining rooms.
--a card of thumb tacks (because hotel curtains never quite reach the wall, and consequently don't darken the room well)
--a package of strong safety pins in various sizes, including large skirt-pin size (because the curtains never meet in the middle, either)
--The Kitchen Kit (more on this later)
--Cleaning, disinfectant wipes like Clorox wipes OR a large bottle of "hanitizer" (alcohol-based hand sanitizer) and paper towels for cleaning up with
--Swimming kit (suits and life jackets for all kids, not packed with the other things and not even brought in unless the hotel has an appropriate pool).
--Activity kits in backpacks or duffle bags, one for each kid to carry in, but for everyone to share (things like a bag with blocks, one with legos, one with art supplies and coloring books, one with small games, one with hotwheels and tracks, one with "character" toys, one with books....stuff like that) so that we can do something besides watch TV all day. We've also contemplated taking the nintendo, but a lot of hotel TVs don't have the right hookups.
--ziploc bags in two sizes: gallon and sandwich
--scriptures
--laundry soap
--the "desk" kit (scissors, pens and pencils, envelopes, paper)
--the magic jack (hotels always have a phone, this lets us get calls and make calls on our regular number for free)
--dustbuster style hand-held vacuum
--the School Kit (including a laptop with a wireless card AND .pdf assignments just in case of no internet access, the math books, everyone's work notebooks, pencils)
--and the usual clothes and toiletries that you need to live.
When we're on the road a lot, I just leave all of these packed (including the toiletries bag) and have duplicates of the things we use every day that stay at home. It's a whole lot easier than trying to pack and unpack and repack and unpack. Maybe that's why I keep forgetting the same things, like the thumb tacks. They aren't in the bag!
Not many people end up on tour with a musician at all, much less with children coming, too. Especially a bunch of children.
So I thought, since there are no further tours on the horizon for me and the kids, I probably ought to write down a few of the things I learned so I don't forget them if it ever comes to touring again.
When you hit a hotel for one night on the way to somewhere, or when you're staying in a hotel as part of a family vacation, you don't do it the same as when you're on tour.
Why?
Because on tour, that's daily life. It's not a vacation. It's not that we saved a bunch of money and budgeted in eating out every night. It's not even that we got to choose our own hotel. We go where they booked rooms for us, and stay in the rooms they chose (usually not ones I would pick), and, since we have all these kids coming along, we try our darndest to make it feel like real life because it turns out that it's not fun to be on vacation all the time in a place you wouldn't choose to go. Plus, for the kids, it's just another day doing something we've done a lot of times before. It's not so strange to stay in a hotel. It just means we get to watch TV, something we don't do at home. Ever.
We don't even generally go out and see the sights in the towns we stop in like I thought we would. For one thing, it's expensive--most places of interest charge you to get in, and that adds up REALLY fast when you have 8 people coming along, and there are not a lot of free places anymore. For another, it's easy to get lost. And, the biggest challenge, it's not time off for Tim. He's always working when we're on tour. So that leaves me taking six kids anywhere we go by myself, and Benji doesn't handle that well, and neither do I (normally, when the whole family goes out, we divide the work: one adult takes Benji. The other adult takes the other five kids.). Besides, who goes out every single day? Nobody. Mostly we like to just have a day, with a regular routine. Same as at home. We do try to do something cool in each town we go to--important to make memories, same as at home. We don't try to do something amazing every single day.
So, for this first "living on tour" blog post, I'm going to put in the list of things I always wish I had when I get to a hotel room. You'd think I'd always remember all these things, but I usually get there and go, "Shoot. I forgot ____ again." Maybe writing up the list will help!
--First Aid Kit (including allergy meds, bandaids, antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, sunscreen, bug spray, baby and kid medicines, ibuprofen, hand lotion, etc.)
--A roll of duct tape (for emergency repairs as well as for things like covering outlets so the babies don't get hurt)
--a night light, especially now that we always try to ask for two adjoining rooms.
--a card of thumb tacks (because hotel curtains never quite reach the wall, and consequently don't darken the room well)
--a package of strong safety pins in various sizes, including large skirt-pin size (because the curtains never meet in the middle, either)
--The Kitchen Kit (more on this later)
--Cleaning, disinfectant wipes like Clorox wipes OR a large bottle of "hanitizer" (alcohol-based hand sanitizer) and paper towels for cleaning up with
--Swimming kit (suits and life jackets for all kids, not packed with the other things and not even brought in unless the hotel has an appropriate pool).
--Activity kits in backpacks or duffle bags, one for each kid to carry in, but for everyone to share (things like a bag with blocks, one with legos, one with art supplies and coloring books, one with small games, one with hotwheels and tracks, one with "character" toys, one with books....stuff like that) so that we can do something besides watch TV all day. We've also contemplated taking the nintendo, but a lot of hotel TVs don't have the right hookups.
--ziploc bags in two sizes: gallon and sandwich
--scriptures
--laundry soap
--the "desk" kit (scissors, pens and pencils, envelopes, paper)
--the magic jack (hotels always have a phone, this lets us get calls and make calls on our regular number for free)
--dustbuster style hand-held vacuum
--the School Kit (including a laptop with a wireless card AND .pdf assignments just in case of no internet access, the math books, everyone's work notebooks, pencils)
--and the usual clothes and toiletries that you need to live.
When we're on the road a lot, I just leave all of these packed (including the toiletries bag) and have duplicates of the things we use every day that stay at home. It's a whole lot easier than trying to pack and unpack and repack and unpack. Maybe that's why I keep forgetting the same things, like the thumb tacks. They aren't in the bag!
Did I just read that?
From Kickstarter today: "We need to raise $ 8,000 by March 13th to help pay for the production of "Living Without Money" "
Apparently they didn't watch the movie.....
(I know the niece of the subject of the film--that's how I found this....funny.)
What I read today, and some quotes
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng
"Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."
I LOVE Elder Uchtdorf's talks.
"There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity "
"My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness. They will teach us to do “all these things … in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [we] should run faster than [we have] strength. [But] it is expedient that [we] should be diligent, [and] thereby … win the prize.” 7Brothers and sisters, diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."
"He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God’s eternal plan and keep His commandments."
"we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e,time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship."
"Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light."
This is one of my favorite pieces of counsel ever given by a general authority in conference:
"Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."
I LOVE Elder Uchtdorf's talks.
"There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity "
"My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness. They will teach us to do “all these things … in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that [we] should run faster than [we have] strength. [But] it is expedient that [we] should be diligent, [and] thereby … win the prize.” 7Brothers and sisters, diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."
"He is our Father. He desires our happiness. As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure. We experience greater peace, joy, and fulfillment as we give our best to live according to God’s eternal plan and keep His commandments."
"we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e,time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship."
"Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light."
Friday, January 07, 2011
Did I just read that?
On the Medicaid Recertification Paperwork I was filling out tonight: "Is anyone in the household fleeing a felony? ____yes ____no. If yes, name: ___________"
Who on earth would check YES?
Who on earth would check YES?
Today I read this
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/reflections-on-a-consecrated-life?lang=eng
"To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes (see John 17:1, 4; D&C 19:19). In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny."
"all honest work is the work of God. In the words of Thomas Carlyle: “All true Work is sacred; in all true Work, were it but true hand-labour, there is something of divineness. Labour, wide as the Earth, has its summit in Heaven.” 3"
"Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires."
I love that the menial, repetitive work is also important and valuable in building the kingdom of God. We forget that sometimes.
"Music, literature, art, dance, drama, athletics—all can provide entertainment to enrich one’s life and further consecrate it. At the same time, it hardly needs to be said that much of what passes for entertainment today is coarse, degrading, violent, mind-numbing, and time wasting. Ironically, it sometimes takes hard work to find wholesome leisure. "
I often need to be reminded that what Tim and I do (music and writing) ARE valuable to God. They aren't a waste of time. If good people don't make good art and music and literature, etc., then we have nothing left but the coarse, degrading, etc. If more righteous people made wholesome stuff, maybe it wouldn't be as hard to find it!
" In like manner future generations will take courage from your consecrated life, acknowledging their debt to you for the possession of all that truly matters."
"To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes (see John 17:1, 4; D&C 19:19). In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny."
"all honest work is the work of God. In the words of Thomas Carlyle: “All true Work is sacred; in all true Work, were it but true hand-labour, there is something of divineness. Labour, wide as the Earth, has its summit in Heaven.” 3"
"Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires."
I love that the menial, repetitive work is also important and valuable in building the kingdom of God. We forget that sometimes.
"Music, literature, art, dance, drama, athletics—all can provide entertainment to enrich one’s life and further consecrate it. At the same time, it hardly needs to be said that much of what passes for entertainment today is coarse, degrading, violent, mind-numbing, and time wasting. Ironically, it sometimes takes hard work to find wholesome leisure. "
I often need to be reminded that what Tim and I do (music and writing) ARE valuable to God. They aren't a waste of time. If good people don't make good art and music and literature, etc., then we have nothing left but the coarse, degrading, etc. If more righteous people made wholesome stuff, maybe it wouldn't be as hard to find it!
" In like manner future generations will take courage from your consecrated life, acknowledging their debt to you for the possession of all that truly matters."
The first ten pages. Again.
Over the last 6 years, as I've been learning to write, I've posted (or posted links to) the first five to ten pages of my manuscript over and over. If you go back and look it up, you'll see the development of the book as I've learned to write. Also the development of my writing. It's been quite a process. I've never (ever) taken a class in writing, and I didn't write a single word of fiction until I graduated from college just after my 20th birthday--and then I wrote 4 novels and took 5 years or so off from writing long fiction even though I enjoyed it. So I was kind of starting from scratch.
First I wrote, using Brenda Ueland's advice to write fast and furious and just tell the story with as much honesty as possible.
Then I revised.
Then I queried agents and used their comments to rewrite.
Then I researched manuscript format, length, etc. and cut 100,000 words (yes, the first draft was WAY too long) from the ms. This is actually a good writing practice skill that I used to have my students use: write, cut by half, rewrite to double the length, cut by half again. Just for practice.
Then I researched more: everything I could find about publishing, getting an agent, working with agents, manuscripts, contracts, copyright, querying, summarizing, etc.
Then I revised again, found an agent to work with (but never signed with her) and rewrote according to her specifications until I realized she was aiming for "Twilight" and I didn't want to write for adults.
Then I spent a year reading classic children's literature.
I threw away my manuscript and started over with the understanding that my heart and soul wanted to write for children (well, junior high kids), not adults or even teens. I rewrote from scratch.
I revised.
I spent a month reading modern children's literature.
Now I'm rewriting again with what I've learned.
This time, I think I might have finally "got it".
In keeping with "tradition" and also the idea that the blog archives can't reveal my progress if I stop posting it, I'm posting the link the google doc where the first ten pages are hiding right now.
The Poison Spindle Problem, Chapters 1-2
Feel free to read. You can even comment if you want (gasp! Do I dare?).
My goal that I hope I've accomplished? It's finally done and I can move on to the story about the art forgers and the story about the dragons--and the cave-dwellers who keep them on ice.
First I wrote, using Brenda Ueland's advice to write fast and furious and just tell the story with as much honesty as possible.
Then I revised.
Then I queried agents and used their comments to rewrite.
Then I researched manuscript format, length, etc. and cut 100,000 words (yes, the first draft was WAY too long) from the ms. This is actually a good writing practice skill that I used to have my students use: write, cut by half, rewrite to double the length, cut by half again. Just for practice.
Then I researched more: everything I could find about publishing, getting an agent, working with agents, manuscripts, contracts, copyright, querying, summarizing, etc.
Then I revised again, found an agent to work with (but never signed with her) and rewrote according to her specifications until I realized she was aiming for "Twilight" and I didn't want to write for adults.
Then I spent a year reading classic children's literature.
I threw away my manuscript and started over with the understanding that my heart and soul wanted to write for children (well, junior high kids), not adults or even teens. I rewrote from scratch.
I revised.
I spent a month reading modern children's literature.
Now I'm rewriting again with what I've learned.
This time, I think I might have finally "got it".
In keeping with "tradition" and also the idea that the blog archives can't reveal my progress if I stop posting it, I'm posting the link the google doc where the first ten pages are hiding right now.
The Poison Spindle Problem, Chapters 1-2
Feel free to read. You can even comment if you want (gasp! Do I dare?).
My goal that I hope I've accomplished? It's finally done and I can move on to the story about the art forgers and the story about the dragons--and the cave-dwellers who keep them on ice.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Did I just read that?
From Fox News today: "Thanks to the fluctuations in the force, the airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to change taxiway signs to account for the shift, the Federal Aviation Administration said."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/06/magnetic-north-pole-shifts-forces-closure-florida-airport/#ixzz1AKS5XoZV"
Thank goodness they changed the signs. Now the Jedi can still find the landing strip and hold their convention in Tampa.....
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/06/magnetic-north-pole-shifts-forces-closure-florida-airport/#ixzz1AKS5XoZV"
Did I just read that?
From KSL.com today: "Deer survives deadly encounter" http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13897043
I suppose "Deer survives what should have been a deadly encounter but wasn't" is too long for a headline, though.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
What I read today, and some quotes
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/gospel-learning-and-teaching?lang=eng"
Quotes I liked from this talk:
"Before we can teach the gospel, we must know the gospel."
"When Hyrum Smith desired to be a part of this great latter-day work, the Lord said to him, “Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength.” 10 "
"...it is of utmost importance that we exercise our agency and act, without delay, in accordance with the spiritual promptings we receive. President Thomas S. Monson taught: “We watch. We wait. We listen for that still, small voice. When it speaks, wise men and women obey. Promptings of the Spirit are not to be postponed.” 16"
Quotes I liked from this talk:
"Before we can teach the gospel, we must know the gospel."
"When Hyrum Smith desired to be a part of this great latter-day work, the Lord said to him, “Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength.” 10 "
"...it is of utmost importance that we exercise our agency and act, without delay, in accordance with the spiritual promptings we receive. President Thomas S. Monson taught: “We watch. We wait. We listen for that still, small voice. When it speaks, wise men and women obey. Promptings of the Spirit are not to be postponed.” 16"
Conference Talks
At my dad's suggestion, I'm trying to re-read the conference Ensign from November (October's Conference). I'm not staying very on top of it, though, so to help myself keep at it, I'm going to start posting here the talk that I'm reading. I might add a few quotes or thoughts, or just the link.
Feel free to read along and add your favorite quotes or thoughts in the comments.
Here is the link to the whole conference: http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2010/10?lang=eng
And the talks I already finished:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/as-we-meet-together-again?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/because-of-your-faith?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/stay-on-the-path?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/obedience-to-the-prophets?lang=eng
And what I'm reading today:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/gospel-learning-and-teaching?lang=eng
Feel free to read along and add your favorite quotes or thoughts in the comments.
Here is the link to the whole conference: http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2010/10?lang=eng
And the talks I already finished:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/as-we-meet-together-again?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/because-of-your-faith?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/stay-on-the-path?lang=eng
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/obedience-to-the-prophets?lang=eng
And what I'm reading today:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/gospel-learning-and-teaching?lang=eng
Did I just read that?
From foxnews.com today: ""Then I just immediately started balling," she said. "I never cried before in my life."Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/05/woman-unaware-pregnancy-delivers-pound-baby/#ixzz1ADE2jSEm
Two things--what was she balling up right after childbirth? (The person who transcribed this and the editor should have realized it was the more common word--bawling.) Also, she never cried before in her whole life? How did she get food when she was a newborn?
Monday, January 03, 2011
I found a New Year's Resolution!
Okay, so I decided to make a resolution.
That is:
This year I want to:
Embrace my strengths
Accept my handicaps
And go from there.
That is:
This year I want to:
Embrace my strengths
Accept my handicaps
And go from there.
Nice article on marriage
Actually, I thought this was common knowledge about marriage--
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/weekinreview/02parkerpope.html?src=me&ref=general
My experience (in what I would class an excellent marriage) bears out the research reported in the article. Tim and I are both happy; we fill each other's need and enrich each other's lives. Making him happy makes me happy, and vice versa.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/weekinreview/02parkerpope.html?src=me&ref=general
My experience (in what I would class an excellent marriage) bears out the research reported in the article. Tim and I are both happy; we fill each other's need and enrich each other's lives. Making him happy makes me happy, and vice versa.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Did I just write that?
Sometimes I find the most amusing sentences in my own manuscripts! After reading a bunch of childrens and YA fiction, I've been going through my novel and seeing how it compares, livening it up, and generally making it so I like it again (so I can hopefully put it away and move on!).
Also, I've been finding bad sentences and fixing them.
Sentences like this:
"The gingerbread smelled really good after eating so many blackberries."
Pray, tell--how does gingerbread eat anything?
I guess I am not immune from writing nonsense now and then.
Also, I've been finding bad sentences and fixing them.
Sentences like this:
"The gingerbread smelled really good after eating so many blackberries."
Pray, tell--how does gingerbread eat anything?
I guess I am not immune from writing nonsense now and then.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
New Year's Resolutions
Goals=an artificial attempt to convince ourselves to do things we are unmotivated to do (perhaps because we really don't want to?).
New Year's Day=a reasonable time to examine your life and decide what needs to change.
The thing about resolutions, though, is we are almost always destined to fail that them because we can see what we want to change, but there is no even cursory examination of WHY we want those things to change and why we haven't changed them yet.
For example, how many people set the goal to lose weight? Maybe almost everyone? But do they ever ask Why am I overweight? Why do I want to lose weight? If I care so much, why haven't I done it? It seems like the answers to those questions would be integral to the success of the endeavor. And, if answered honestly, the questions might also reveal our greater desires. Do we really want increased health and energy by losing weight, or are we after greater social acceptance and power? And if it's social acceptance we want, perhaps a little counseling and a few superficial changes or behavioral changes that are easier to make would help us achieve the real goal better than a doomed diet-and-exercise plan we don't want to follow that doesn't make us feel good.
Without a greater understanding of what we want and are trying to do, the old habits will persist and the resolutions will fail. Very few people have the will power necessary to do something difficult simply because they decided to. And what's the value in that, anyway?
Generally speaking, I avoid making New Year's Resolutions. My idea is that the day a problem becomes apparent is the day you should resolve to fix it and do whatever self-examination is necessary to make the change--that is the moment of greatest motivation, after all. Likewise, we should be re-examining our lives frequently, not just once a year, and resolving to fix things that might not have come up as a "problem". If I understand it correctly, we are supposed to be doing this before Tithing Settlement, Temple recommend interviews, when we get callings at church, and, quite frankly, every week in preparation for partaking the sacrament. YES we need something to remind us to examine-and-resolve, but it should happen a lot more often than when a giant lighted ball drops. Frequent re-examination also helps you stick with your resolutions--and weed out the ones that are unimportant or impractical.
Choosing resolutions this way helps me focus my resolutions on the things that my limited energy really should go to, rather than superficial or artificial things or things that really aren't practical to "goal."
So if I were to make New Year's Resolutions, what would they be?
Not to have a clean house, but to care less if it's messy.
Not to lose the baby weight, but to enjoy the baby.
Not to read my scriptures for more hours or more pages, but to get more out of them when I read.
Not to make more money, but to be more thankful for the money we have.
Not to eat less junk, but to enjoy food more.
Not to talk to the kids more, but to listen to them more.
Not to have less fighting in the house, but have more playing together.
Not to get more exercise, but to do more things I enjoy doing.
Not to get more done, but to listen to myself more and do the things that I will say, when I'm 90, I'm glad I did that (and, honestly, do I think having cleaner toilets are going to be on that list? No.).
And to stop feeling guilty for the stuff I think I maybe ought to have done but didn't do.
There isn't time in life to waste on things that won't matter in the long run. So why make resolutions to do those things?
New Year's Day=a reasonable time to examine your life and decide what needs to change.
The thing about resolutions, though, is we are almost always destined to fail that them because we can see what we want to change, but there is no even cursory examination of WHY we want those things to change and why we haven't changed them yet.
For example, how many people set the goal to lose weight? Maybe almost everyone? But do they ever ask Why am I overweight? Why do I want to lose weight? If I care so much, why haven't I done it? It seems like the answers to those questions would be integral to the success of the endeavor. And, if answered honestly, the questions might also reveal our greater desires. Do we really want increased health and energy by losing weight, or are we after greater social acceptance and power? And if it's social acceptance we want, perhaps a little counseling and a few superficial changes or behavioral changes that are easier to make would help us achieve the real goal better than a doomed diet-and-exercise plan we don't want to follow that doesn't make us feel good.
Without a greater understanding of what we want and are trying to do, the old habits will persist and the resolutions will fail. Very few people have the will power necessary to do something difficult simply because they decided to. And what's the value in that, anyway?
Generally speaking, I avoid making New Year's Resolutions. My idea is that the day a problem becomes apparent is the day you should resolve to fix it and do whatever self-examination is necessary to make the change--that is the moment of greatest motivation, after all. Likewise, we should be re-examining our lives frequently, not just once a year, and resolving to fix things that might not have come up as a "problem". If I understand it correctly, we are supposed to be doing this before Tithing Settlement, Temple recommend interviews, when we get callings at church, and, quite frankly, every week in preparation for partaking the sacrament. YES we need something to remind us to examine-and-resolve, but it should happen a lot more often than when a giant lighted ball drops. Frequent re-examination also helps you stick with your resolutions--and weed out the ones that are unimportant or impractical.
Choosing resolutions this way helps me focus my resolutions on the things that my limited energy really should go to, rather than superficial or artificial things or things that really aren't practical to "goal."
So if I were to make New Year's Resolutions, what would they be?
Not to have a clean house, but to care less if it's messy.
Not to lose the baby weight, but to enjoy the baby.
Not to read my scriptures for more hours or more pages, but to get more out of them when I read.
Not to make more money, but to be more thankful for the money we have.
Not to eat less junk, but to enjoy food more.
Not to talk to the kids more, but to listen to them more.
Not to have less fighting in the house, but have more playing together.
Not to get more exercise, but to do more things I enjoy doing.
Not to get more done, but to listen to myself more and do the things that I will say, when I'm 90, I'm glad I did that (and, honestly, do I think having cleaner toilets are going to be on that list? No.).
And to stop feeling guilty for the stuff I think I maybe ought to have done but didn't do.
There isn't time in life to waste on things that won't matter in the long run. So why make resolutions to do those things?
Daniel
Daniel has surprised me lately. I have always known he was a math guy and also that he had a knack for buildings and processes and the ways things fit together. (When he was 9 months old, he examined the door at my mom's house and discovered that the threshold was held down by screws, which he immediately set to work trying to remove so he could get the threshold off....had he been using a screwdriver instead of a ball-point pen as his primary tool, I have no doubt he would have dismantled the whole thing!)
Now that he's 5, he also has the verbal ability and the confidence to express mathematical concepts. Turns out he has a really good spatial mind.
For example, yesterday he was in the kitchen playing with a toy sled that's about 2 feet long. There were two chairs on opposite sides of the kitchen. He held the sled up, like the beginnings of a bridge between the chairs, and said, "It would take about three of these sleds to make a bridge between the chairs." Just eyeballing it....so casually. And he was right. Anda and he measured, and it took about 3 sled-lengths (3 1/2 to be exact) to reach from chair to chair. He could just SEE that. I am so bad at distances, so I was duly impressed.
But then today I was even more impressed. I was explaining to him the concept of paying postage by weight for an overseas flight to get his picture to his Grandma on the other side of the world in Portugal. He listened and comprehended. Then he held his hands up as if he were holding an imaginary ball. "The easy way," he said, "would be to slice the world here, right in half." He showed me with his hand, cutting his imaginary ball into two pieces, pole-to-pole. "Then just turn this half around, and we'd be touching her and could just give it to her." He showed me with his hands, manipulating the pieces in the air so deftly that I could see what he was seeing. Practical? No. But the fact that his 5-year-old brain could dissect a world and manipulate the pieces so that two points on opposite sides were closer together--that's some impressive geometry. Especially for a guy who is just supposed to be learning that you can combine groups to make larger groups.
He says he wants to grow up to be an architect. I believe him.
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