I get to see you TOMORROW! WOO HOo! Get here quick!
Monday, April 25, 2011
april birthday
To my dear momma, happy birthday today. I love you so much.
I get to see you TOMORROW! WOO HOo! Get here quick!
I get to see you TOMORROW! WOO HOo! Get here quick!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
sunday will come
I get together with a friend often to go for walks/runs with our fancy jogging strollers. One day we were on this path near her home, and she told me she was glad I was there because we were headed toward the "Jesus tree," and since I'm religious I would probably like the Jesus tree.
The Jesus tree, in someone's yard, was a picture of Jesus nailed up on a tree similar to how Christ was nailed on a cross. It was an interesting depiction of the crucifixion. Although it was a Christian symbol, I can't say I "liked" it per se. Instead I used the opportunity to tell her that as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe in the crucifixion and recognize it as an integral part of God's plan, but I don't celebrate it or worship it. I don't wear a cross. There are no crosses in our buildings.
I celebrate the Resurrection. To me, the message of Christ's death isn't that he died for us, it's that He lives. He lives for us. And we, too, can overcome death.
One of my favorite messages on this topic is from a General Conference addresses by the late Joseph B. Wirthlin. I am grateful to a Facebook friend for posting it and reminding me of these wonderful words.
There was a part of the talk that I remember that he didn't say in the video, my favorite part:
I love that. Sunday will come. I can't tell you how horrible I have felt at times in my life, and to realize that it will be over, whether in this life or the next, redemption will come. Because my Savior conquered sin and death, I can too.
Happy Easter. I will probably eat a Cadbury egg or two today, but I will also be infinitely grateful for my Savior.
The Jesus tree, in someone's yard, was a picture of Jesus nailed up on a tree similar to how Christ was nailed on a cross. It was an interesting depiction of the crucifixion. Although it was a Christian symbol, I can't say I "liked" it per se. Instead I used the opportunity to tell her that as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe in the crucifixion and recognize it as an integral part of God's plan, but I don't celebrate it or worship it. I don't wear a cross. There are no crosses in our buildings.
I celebrate the Resurrection. To me, the message of Christ's death isn't that he died for us, it's that He lives. He lives for us. And we, too, can overcome death.
One of my favorite messages on this topic is from a General Conference addresses by the late Joseph B. Wirthlin. I am grateful to a Facebook friend for posting it and reminding me of these wonderful words.
There was a part of the talk that I remember that he didn't say in the video, my favorite part:
Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.
But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.
No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.
I love that. Sunday will come. I can't tell you how horrible I have felt at times in my life, and to realize that it will be over, whether in this life or the next, redemption will come. Because my Savior conquered sin and death, I can too.
Happy Easter. I will probably eat a Cadbury egg or two today, but I will also be infinitely grateful for my Savior.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
big baller
I'm really proud of myself this month. I went out of my comfort zone and did something that really, I've never done before. Never thought I could do.
I played basketball.
Rewind, Angela, age 14: Yes, I joined the young women at Church in the annual basketball tournament, but I was terrible. I was short. I didn't have any fun. I did it for the social atmosphere. I got to see my friends, and plus the young men were having a tournament at the same time so I got to see them, too *wink* By no means was I a basketball player.
Rewind, Angela, age 20: At BYU, my roommate slash dear friend slash favorite person Sarah was an excellent basketball player. I went to all of her intramural games, and what did I do? I kept the scorebooks. I marked off points and switched the jump ball sign and did whatever else the sidelined scorekeeper did. The two of us were also big fans of the BYU women's basketball team and went to almost all their games for four years. I've blogged about this before. Anyway, my point is, I was awfully good at cheering for other people playing basketball. I didn't dare do it myself.
So, why did I start playing basketball in January? Frankly, I was trying to fit in more exercise. I wanted to be more healthy. I aimed to work out every single day. I also kept track of my calories and food intake. I used this Web site that told me if I played a real basketball game for 90 minutes I would burn more than 900 calories. OK then, I'm sold. Maybe I'm terrible, but let's get out there and burn some calories.
And I had a blast.
Yes, I'm still short. But I'm kinda scrappy and stole the ball from people. I did manage to make a few baskets. I made a lot of new friends. We played Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, and basically whoever came, we made up teams and ran around for awhile. I was astonished actually at how much fun I had, sweating with new friends and just trying and feeling good about myself. Of course, HA!, my knees sort of took a beating and my right shooting arm would be sore after every game, but that's OK. A game every once in awhile is good for you, as long as you take it easy afterward :-)
The last game was last week; we had a big tournament over the course of a few weeks between four or five different stakes. The first game we lost miserably, ugh it was bad, so we went into the losers' bracket. We won one game by forfeit, then played that team that beat us miserably again. And this time the tables were turned! We creamed them! And I even got a basket. Some girls on our team are really good and get baskets every time, but me, I just get lucky every once in awhile. I came home that night on top of the world. (We lost our next game but it was still lots of fun. And lots of calories burned.)
The funny part about this is: I was a spectator for all those years. All those years I thought I wasn't good enough, I couldn't play, no one would want me on their team. But when I finally said, "to heck with it, I'm only here for the exercise," I had so much fun. I am really glad I wasn't a shrinking violet. I ran fast and clapped loud and made mistakes and had fun.
The moral of the story is: I'm not going to waste another minute of my life, no way. I can do what I want to do. I don't have to be on the sidelines, watching everyone else have fun. I hope I never forget this lesson.
I played basketball.
Rewind, Angela, age 14: Yes, I joined the young women at Church in the annual basketball tournament, but I was terrible. I was short. I didn't have any fun. I did it for the social atmosphere. I got to see my friends, and plus the young men were having a tournament at the same time so I got to see them, too *wink* By no means was I a basketball player.
Rewind, Angela, age 20: At BYU, my roommate slash dear friend slash favorite person Sarah was an excellent basketball player. I went to all of her intramural games, and what did I do? I kept the scorebooks. I marked off points and switched the jump ball sign and did whatever else the sidelined scorekeeper did. The two of us were also big fans of the BYU women's basketball team and went to almost all their games for four years. I've blogged about this before. Anyway, my point is, I was awfully good at cheering for other people playing basketball. I didn't dare do it myself.
So, why did I start playing basketball in January? Frankly, I was trying to fit in more exercise. I wanted to be more healthy. I aimed to work out every single day. I also kept track of my calories and food intake. I used this Web site that told me if I played a real basketball game for 90 minutes I would burn more than 900 calories. OK then, I'm sold. Maybe I'm terrible, but let's get out there and burn some calories.
And I had a blast.
Yes, I'm still short. But I'm kinda scrappy and stole the ball from people. I did manage to make a few baskets. I made a lot of new friends. We played Thursday nights and Saturday mornings, and basically whoever came, we made up teams and ran around for awhile. I was astonished actually at how much fun I had, sweating with new friends and just trying and feeling good about myself. Of course, HA!, my knees sort of took a beating and my right shooting arm would be sore after every game, but that's OK. A game every once in awhile is good for you, as long as you take it easy afterward :-)
The last game was last week; we had a big tournament over the course of a few weeks between four or five different stakes. The first game we lost miserably, ugh it was bad, so we went into the losers' bracket. We won one game by forfeit, then played that team that beat us miserably again. And this time the tables were turned! We creamed them! And I even got a basket. Some girls on our team are really good and get baskets every time, but me, I just get lucky every once in awhile. I came home that night on top of the world. (We lost our next game but it was still lots of fun. And lots of calories burned.)
The funny part about this is: I was a spectator for all those years. All those years I thought I wasn't good enough, I couldn't play, no one would want me on their team. But when I finally said, "to heck with it, I'm only here for the exercise," I had so much fun. I am really glad I wasn't a shrinking violet. I ran fast and clapped loud and made mistakes and had fun.
The moral of the story is: I'm not going to waste another minute of my life, no way. I can do what I want to do. I don't have to be on the sidelines, watching everyone else have fun. I hope I never forget this lesson.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
recent little man videos
For the Grandmas (and anyone else who thinks my kid is the cutest ever)... I'm still working on one... you'll see what I mean:
Cutie pie eating his very first Peep... Haha...
Cutie pie singing the ABCs (we get mumbo jumbo a lot these days, so the end of this song is just classic Wesley, plus he likes to read books in mumbo jumbo and insert valid words like "firetruck" and "wheels" etc. into his "reading") ...
Cutie pie playing "hockey" (do you notice his skates are my shoes??)...
Cutie pie being coy. Dangit, I know you know this song! I'll keep trying, Grandmas. And you gotta love how his newest words are "no!" (broadcast here) and "mine." Ugh!
I LOVE HIM! I had a hard "bad parenting" moment this week (this week was bad in general and I consider myself hitting rock bottom, if there is such a thing for non-drinkers), and I decided I need to be a more calm mom and not freak out so much and enjoy the precious and messy and hectic moments I have with this little boy. Every. Single. Moment. So, I'm a new me! I'm more patient and more cool and more fun. Which works out well because that it the same way Wesley is. Gotta love that kid. A good example to me.
Until next time!
Cutie pie eating his very first Peep... Haha...
Cutie pie singing the ABCs (we get mumbo jumbo a lot these days, so the end of this song is just classic Wesley, plus he likes to read books in mumbo jumbo and insert valid words like "firetruck" and "wheels" etc. into his "reading") ...
Cutie pie playing "hockey" (do you notice his skates are my shoes??)...
Cutie pie being coy. Dangit, I know you know this song! I'll keep trying, Grandmas. And you gotta love how his newest words are "no!" (broadcast here) and "mine." Ugh!
I LOVE HIM! I had a hard "bad parenting" moment this week (this week was bad in general and I consider myself hitting rock bottom, if there is such a thing for non-drinkers), and I decided I need to be a more calm mom and not freak out so much and enjoy the precious and messy and hectic moments I have with this little boy. Every. Single. Moment. So, I'm a new me! I'm more patient and more cool and more fun. Which works out well because that it the same way Wesley is. Gotta love that kid. A good example to me.
Until next time!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
sleep? why?
Wow has it really been almost a month since I posted? Doh! I've been busy. Sorry, grandmas.
The recurring theme in my life lately is a lack of sleep... ever since Wesley graduated to a toddler bed, he doesn't really nap and likes to be crazy at night. If I'm not getting the solid (and wonderful) 3-hour naps I'm used to in the afterneoon, there are lots of things I'm not getting done during the day. That I end up doing at night. Hence I stay up waaaaay past my bedtime doing things like logging in hours for work or cleaning or exercising or reading my book club selection.
But even more crazy lately have been my last two weekends:
Last weekend was the first (of many I hope!) ladies' weekend with some of my "new mom" friends. We all attended a new moms' group at a local hospital when our itty bitty babies were born. Now our kids are pushing 3 and we are inseparable. One friend I get together with and run with our fancy strollers at least once a week. one throws this amazing Easter Egg hunt every year (we've been to two of three), one friend has a little girl who loves trains almost as much as Wesley does. These friends rock. And last weekend, we all left the toddlers at home for some fun mommy time.
But first, let me back up for a second. Last Thursday was a funny day. Wesley usually has his quiet time from 1 to 3 PM. If he doesn't go to sleep, I let him out of his room and we go about our day. Well, he didn't sleep, and after 3 he was being a real pill. In a bad mood. He was throwing his sippy, being defiant, whining like crazy. I've never used this method of discipline before, but I told him he needed to go lay down until he was calm. I put him in his bedroom and closed the door. It was about 4ish... I think I got a phone call or something and before I knew it, it was 4:15 and eerily quiet. He had fallen asleep. This is bad news -- 4 PM is WAY too late to take a nap.
Shane got home at 5 pm and we tried to wake Wesley up. It wasn't happening. Shane said we could let him sleep until 6... but when we tried to get him up at 6 that didn't work either. That kid was not budging out of his room. I wish I woulda thrown water on his head or something. Ha! Anyway, we decided to chance it and let him sleep. Maybe he was really tired! We figured if he woke up in the middle of the night he'd see it was pitch black and go back to sleep.
Wrong. His door opened at 3:15 AM. And he was ready to go. Instead of staying in his room he ran out of his room and turned on every light in the house. He came into our room and started talking to us, "mommy sleeping! daddy sleeping!" He wanted water. He needed a new diaper. It was no use. He was up.
I have to work on Fridays so I got up at 3:15 AM with my son. I had a nice long time to get ready for work before catching my bus at 5:30 AM. (yes, I do that twice a week!)
So, back to my moms weekend. I had already been up since 3:15 AM that day, so I was TIRED! And I stayed up until 2 AM! My eyes were so droopy. I could have gone to sleep at 7 or something. But my friends are so fun and we laughed about everything and we had a total blast and I didn't want to go to bed!! I really thought I'd maybe get 24 hours of consecutive awake time; I conked out just an hour short. The next day I got up at 8:30 or so and did yoga before breakfast. Then stayed up until 2 AM again. These friends are worth staying up late for!! We played card games and talked about crazy husbands and shared secrets and even discussed living wills and 529s. That's how cool these friends are.
So, starting this week, I was already sleep deprived. THEN last night, I decided to skip out on sleep as well! The Young Women in our ward were having a sleepover with the goal to read the entire Book of Mormon. All 500+ pages of it. Literally. WOW.
They got started at 5 PM or something and read read read. The leaders arranged for "special visitors" to come every couple hours with treats and to help read. At 7, one sister in the ward came with dinner. At 9, a Bishopric member came with chocolate chip bars. At 11, a sister in the ward came with chips and salsa. I was the crazy visitor who came at 1 AM!!! That's right! I made my famous M&M cake that I've made like 4 times but never been able to eat myself! The girls recognized it because I made it for the dessert auction last year. And it was goooood... chocolate cake with white frosting and M&Ms.
The girls were able to take breaks when their guests came, but overall they speed-read the Book of Mormon all night. I guess the point was just to get through it. Some parts I like to read slowly and talk about and dwell on, but that is for another activity :-) In 6 hours they did 100 pages, and when I got there at 1 AM they were on page 138. I read through 145 (Jarom, Omni, and Words of Mormon). They said what they usually did was have a trio of people trade off and read several chapters, then they switched and another group read until they were tongue tied. The biggest books in the the Book of Mormon, Mosiah and Alma, they "skipped" in that they only read the chapter headings. All of them. That only took about a half hour and got them to page 368. Then they picked up again reading every verse, taking a break to sleep from 3 to 7, I think. They had a visitor bring fruit at 7 AM and the Bishop brought breakfast at 9 AM. They were done the 531-page Book of Mormon before noon.
What a group! And another great reason not to sleep! I was honored to have been invited. I chose to bring much sugar to keep them going ;-)
So with that, I must bid you adieu... no Saturday Night Live for me tonight. I need some sleep! I'll try to be a better blogger! I had an interesting experience today at the Sounders soccer game, so that will be my next post... until then, go to bed!
The recurring theme in my life lately is a lack of sleep... ever since Wesley graduated to a toddler bed, he doesn't really nap and likes to be crazy at night. If I'm not getting the solid (and wonderful) 3-hour naps I'm used to in the afterneoon, there are lots of things I'm not getting done during the day. That I end up doing at night. Hence I stay up waaaaay past my bedtime doing things like logging in hours for work or cleaning or exercising or reading my book club selection.
But even more crazy lately have been my last two weekends:
Last weekend was the first (of many I hope!) ladies' weekend with some of my "new mom" friends. We all attended a new moms' group at a local hospital when our itty bitty babies were born. Now our kids are pushing 3 and we are inseparable. One friend I get together with and run with our fancy strollers at least once a week. one throws this amazing Easter Egg hunt every year (we've been to two of three), one friend has a little girl who loves trains almost as much as Wesley does. These friends rock. And last weekend, we all left the toddlers at home for some fun mommy time.
But first, let me back up for a second. Last Thursday was a funny day. Wesley usually has his quiet time from 1 to 3 PM. If he doesn't go to sleep, I let him out of his room and we go about our day. Well, he didn't sleep, and after 3 he was being a real pill. In a bad mood. He was throwing his sippy, being defiant, whining like crazy. I've never used this method of discipline before, but I told him he needed to go lay down until he was calm. I put him in his bedroom and closed the door. It was about 4ish... I think I got a phone call or something and before I knew it, it was 4:15 and eerily quiet. He had fallen asleep. This is bad news -- 4 PM is WAY too late to take a nap.
Shane got home at 5 pm and we tried to wake Wesley up. It wasn't happening. Shane said we could let him sleep until 6... but when we tried to get him up at 6 that didn't work either. That kid was not budging out of his room. I wish I woulda thrown water on his head or something. Ha! Anyway, we decided to chance it and let him sleep. Maybe he was really tired! We figured if he woke up in the middle of the night he'd see it was pitch black and go back to sleep.
Wrong. His door opened at 3:15 AM. And he was ready to go. Instead of staying in his room he ran out of his room and turned on every light in the house. He came into our room and started talking to us, "mommy sleeping! daddy sleeping!" He wanted water. He needed a new diaper. It was no use. He was up.
I have to work on Fridays so I got up at 3:15 AM with my son. I had a nice long time to get ready for work before catching my bus at 5:30 AM. (yes, I do that twice a week!)
So, back to my moms weekend. I had already been up since 3:15 AM that day, so I was TIRED! And I stayed up until 2 AM! My eyes were so droopy. I could have gone to sleep at 7 or something. But my friends are so fun and we laughed about everything and we had a total blast and I didn't want to go to bed!! I really thought I'd maybe get 24 hours of consecutive awake time; I conked out just an hour short. The next day I got up at 8:30 or so and did yoga before breakfast. Then stayed up until 2 AM again. These friends are worth staying up late for!! We played card games and talked about crazy husbands and shared secrets and even discussed living wills and 529s. That's how cool these friends are.
So, starting this week, I was already sleep deprived. THEN last night, I decided to skip out on sleep as well! The Young Women in our ward were having a sleepover with the goal to read the entire Book of Mormon. All 500+ pages of it. Literally. WOW.
They got started at 5 PM or something and read read read. The leaders arranged for "special visitors" to come every couple hours with treats and to help read. At 7, one sister in the ward came with dinner. At 9, a Bishopric member came with chocolate chip bars. At 11, a sister in the ward came with chips and salsa. I was the crazy visitor who came at 1 AM!!! That's right! I made my famous M&M cake that I've made like 4 times but never been able to eat myself! The girls recognized it because I made it for the dessert auction last year. And it was goooood... chocolate cake with white frosting and M&Ms.
The girls were able to take breaks when their guests came, but overall they speed-read the Book of Mormon all night. I guess the point was just to get through it. Some parts I like to read slowly and talk about and dwell on, but that is for another activity :-) In 6 hours they did 100 pages, and when I got there at 1 AM they were on page 138. I read through 145 (Jarom, Omni, and Words of Mormon). They said what they usually did was have a trio of people trade off and read several chapters, then they switched and another group read until they were tongue tied. The biggest books in the the Book of Mormon, Mosiah and Alma, they "skipped" in that they only read the chapter headings. All of them. That only took about a half hour and got them to page 368. Then they picked up again reading every verse, taking a break to sleep from 3 to 7, I think. They had a visitor bring fruit at 7 AM and the Bishop brought breakfast at 9 AM. They were done the 531-page Book of Mormon before noon.
What a group! And another great reason not to sleep! I was honored to have been invited. I chose to bring much sugar to keep them going ;-)
So with that, I must bid you adieu... no Saturday Night Live for me tonight. I need some sleep! I'll try to be a better blogger! I had an interesting experience today at the Sounders soccer game, so that will be my next post... until then, go to bed!
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