Checking My Progress...

So, we're almost a week into February, and a little over a month into the new year. Let's see how things are coming along as far as my resolutions are concerned...

1- Get up at the same time as Brett during the week. I have done it just a couple of times over the last month. I had every intention of sticking to it, but then I got really sick and stayed in bed for as long as I possibly could. Needless to say, I think the extra hour of sleep helps me more than an hour of free time. I don't think I'll be continuing this goal, but I will get up to make Brett breakfast more often.

2- Stick to my chore calendar. Um... I have been sticking to it here and there. I don't think there has been a day where I have done EVERYTHING on any given day, but it has given me goals of what I should accomplish on certain days. Again, the whole "getting sick" thing threw me off. I am back on the cleaning bandwagon, though, and things are looking better - literally!

3- Be healthier. I feel I have done fairly well with this, other than the batch of cookies I ate almost solely on my own. I have kept myself from eating late at night, and I have found that I don't mind it. In fact, last night Brett made us popcorn around 9:30 and, as much as I love popcorn, it just wasn't satisfying. I think my body has adjusted to not eating after 8:00-ish and so eating any later than that just makes me feel yucky.

4- Spend less time on my computer. I think I've done well with this, also. I got rid of my Twitter account. It was just such a waste of time. I didn't care about posting every little thought I had in my head, and I wasn't following anyone that ever really responded to my tweets, anyway. Also, I just got a new phone that allows me to check my e-mail, Facebook, and blogs, so if my phone isn't showing any new things in those areas, there really hasn't been much point to being on my computer. (Though, I do need to be better at blog posting. I'm working on that.)

5- Create a new project list that includes sewing projects, activities for my boys, and other craftiness. I still need to do this. My sister and I have discussed how vital it is to do this, in hopes that the time in Florida goes by quicker, thus bringing the time closer to when I get to move near her. I'm still trying to come up with ideas. Feel free to pass any thoughts along!

6- Be more spiritually-minded. I'd like to think I've been a little better in this area. I've definitely been praying a lot more. I've needed a lot of help lately from my Heavenly Father. There will always be room for improvement, though.

There you have it! It feels good to check in on myself and see that I am slowly making some improvements. Though there are some areas that still need improving upon, the year is still young, and I'm not going to give up.

I hope your year is already shaping up to be what you want!

Thoughts on a Thursday Night

Over the past few days, I've been thinking a lot about my current situation. I have felt much like a single parent this week, what with all of the studying two tests have required of Brett. He has been MIA around the house since Saturday, and though the boys and I have missed him quite a lot, I know it is so much harder on him. I look back at a year ago, when we were in much the same situation - Brett, working long, hard hours; me, taking care of the boys on my own quite a bit - and thinking about how different my attitude has been in both situations. I have been in surprisingly good spirits as of late, whereas last year, I wallowed in self-pity more than I would care to admit.

I don't know what it is, but I am feeling very blessed right now. I know my light moods have not been a result of my own efforts. I miss my family and everything that is familiar, and usually, the prospect of not knowing when I will see either of the two sends me into some kind of depression. Oddly, I haven't had those negative feelings, or at least they haven't stuck around for any great length of time. Though I do feel a bit homesick, I have been able to look past that and keep my focus on happier things. I know that's all I can really do right now. I also know that if I were to start focusing on all the things that make me sad, it would make things even harder on Brett. Training is already hard enough on him.

Another thing I have noticed is my patience level is surprisingly high. The boys definitely test my patience day in and day out, but I have been able to keep my cool. Usually, that is quite difficult when I am already suffering from lack of help from Brett. The greater capacity of patience has definitely been a great blessing in and of itself.

Through all of this - all 3 months of it, so far - I can't help but wonder if it's somehow preparing me for things to come. Granted, we still have another 4 months left of this, but I wonder if there is some other kind of inevitable separation looming in the future. Like, a deployment, perhaps? I would hate to have to experience that, but we've heard it isn't an unheard-of occurrence at our next duty station.

I really hope I'm not being groomed for that...

Reminiscing

I just put some birdseed outside in a little feeder that was in one of our trees when we moved in. After seeing all of the birds that come in and out of our yard a few days ago, my 3-year-old and I thought it would be fun if we could get them to come around more often. As I was looking out the window, waiting for the birds to find the seeds, I couldn't help but remember all the other people in my life that have placed that little spark of interest in birds.

I remember as a little girl, sitting on my Grandma's back porch with her, watching the birds and waiting for them to visit the feeders. Also, whenever we visited my husband's grandma at her nursing home, she always wanted my father-in-law to check the bird feeders outside of her window, just to make sure the seeds weren't getting too low. I don't know what it is, but those little creatures just hold so much fascination for me, as well. I think I get that from my dad. He has always enjoyed bird-watching and pointing out different birds to us. He even had a little book that he would reach for if he wasn't quite sure what kind of bird it was that we had seen.

It's fun to now be able to share the fun of bird-watching with my little Brady, and seeing how he already remembers some of the little things I've told him about some of the birds we've seen. Just the other day, I heard him telling Brett about the sounds the mourning doves made. Brett didn't believe him, so I stepped in and confirmed what Brady was saying. Brady was pretty proud of himself that he had got it right.

Hopefully our little attempt at tempting the birds to visit more often will be successful!

W2 Time...

It's that time of year... The time of year when W2's come out and we can send in for that glorious chunk of money called our TAX RETURN! The Air Force pays my husband so little for his life that we usually get a good amount of our taxes back. We always have good intentions for where we're going to put that money, but every year without fail, all these little "wants" come up that I would love to spend money on. These are some of my "Tax-return Wants" for this year:

A food processor. That way, nothing could hold me back when I felt like making my mom's homemade salsa...

A nice knife for chopping anything I felt so inclined to chop.


I have these shoes and I love them! I would really love another pair in the right size. I bought them right after my second baby and I blame my post-pregnancy baby weight that made my feet a size bigger than they really are. Now, the shoes are simply just too big.



If I were to get some new black ones, maybe I'd grab a pair of silver...


And red...


And leopard. You can't go wrong with these shoes. You just can't!

shoe source

And that concludes my "want" list!
Yeah, it's shorter than I thought it would be, too.

Just an update...

The activity last night went great! We had a great turnout, lots of great food, great conversation, and great participation. I even got a few compliments about how fun the night was. Best of all, I no longer have to worry about it! But, like a dork, I forgot my camera. Sorry!

Relief Society Activity

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been planning a church activity for the ladies in my ward and tonight is the night it's going down. I'm new to the ward, and even newer to my calling and I'm really stressed about people enjoying themselves tonight. It's an "appreciation night" for the out-going Relief Society Presidency in my ward. We are having a pot-luck of finger foods, a game revolved around the four guests of honor, and then our new Relief Society President is going to say a few words. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Then why am I so stressed?

I am conducting the whole thing and I am very nervous about getting up in front of a room full of women I hardly know. This is the first activity put together by myself and the rest of the new Presidency, and I'm worried that if people don't think it's fun, it's going to set their opinion of us and any other activities we have in the future. Sad thing is, it really isn't my job to do these things. It's the Activities Committee and I'm just supposed to supervise. That's a whole other source of stress. Unfortunately, we don't have an Activities Committee yet, and so it fell on me to put this together.

I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to being in this calling, really I am. I'm just a little scared and a little stressed and needed to get things off my chest a bit. My husband is sick of listening to me. :-)

"The Office" - My Thoughts on "The Banker"

So, did y'all watch "The Office" last week? I did. Granted, I watched it a couple of days late. (Gotta love DVR.) I found it very bittersweet. I loved all of the flashbacks, but it also made me realize how much I wish the show was still in that funnier time. Also, doesn't it usually seem like when a show starts doing flashback episodes, that's the beginning of the end? It seems too soon for such a great show to be at that point, but I don't see it going to back to the time when it was at its funniest.