Victory

September Writing Challenge - Prompt 28:

Winning

Every September when I do this writing challenge I start off with a stock pile of posts. I always have some written and ready to go before September even starts. Then, at some point, it catches up to me. That happened a few days ago, so now I’ve slowed down. This is just how it goes.

It’s crazy to me that September is almost over! It flew by. 

I’m going through a bit of a negative patch right now. I carry a lot of anger, and sometimes it gets the best of me. I don’t know what to do with it. When I feel this way, blogging isn’t the best way to release my thoughts. I have several drafted posts that make me sound like a miserable human being. That’s not what I intend to sound like (I hope I’m not a miserable human being, but maybe I am!)

So today, let me make a positive impression and tell you a few ways I am winning in this moment:

I have eaten 30 grams of fiber a day for the past five days (WIN!)

My favorite pants are clean - I just need to find them (WIN!)

Tomorrow might be cool enough for me to actually wear pants and only sweat a little bit instead of a lot (WIN!)

I read the Relief Society lesson for today (and then subbed in nursery) (WIN!)

Oh! And I went to church even though I really didn’t want to (WIN!)

I did tons of food prep this morning that should make it easy to eat fruits and veggies this week (WIN!)

I packed awesome lunches for my girls for tomorrow (WIN!)

We are getting new counter tops (WIN!) 

I am loving our new fridge (WIN!)

(Please note that making decisions like what fridge to buy and what kind of countertops to get is extremely intimidating, so the fact that I have chosen these things is a big deal). 

I decorated for Halloween, but first I went through all of my decorations and got rid of everything that doesn’t spark joy or that I don’t have a place to put (WIN!)

I put a new loofah in the shower (WIN!)

I cut Scotty’s hair over the weekend (WIN!)

I didn’t eat breakfast from McDonald’s at all last week (I didn’t even use my weekly $2 breakfast sandwich!) (WIN?)

I finished a couple of books last week and updated my holds in the Libby app (WIN!)

I topped off my gas tank, and the gas light wasn’t even on (WIN!)

Am I angry? Yes. But am I winning? Also yes.

(No obligatory photo today. I’m not winning at that). 

A Tisket, A Tasket

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #10:

Basket

I have no idea where I came up with the idea to put "basket" on my list of writing prompts, but I did it! Now that I'm pondering on what the heck I'm supposed to write about baskets, I'm realizing two things:

Thing 1: I have a lot of baskets. 

Thing 2: I do appreciate a good basket. 

Here's how baskets are serving me in life:

Place mats

I have a round basket with place mats in it on my kitchen table. Our table gets burn marks easily from hot food on plates, so I got some place mats to prevent more damage.

Shoes

We have a shoe basket by our backdoor because we absolutely stink at putting our shoes away.

Blankets

There's a basket of blankets in the family room for TV watching. 

Gifts

I have a basket of gift items in the storage room so if my kids get invited to a last minute birthday party or if I find a good deal on gift that I want to put away for holidays, they have somewhere to go. 

Socks

This might be the one that makes you think I'm weird, but we have four females in this house, and we can't keep our socks straight. I got so sick of keeping track of everyone's socks that I decided we'd just share. All the girl socks go into one big basket under my vanity in my bedroom. 

I've tried putting initials on them (they fade), I've tried buying everyone their own "type" of sock (I can't keep track of who has which kind), and I (still) make them do their own laundry, which would lead you to believe that their socks stay in their own loads of laundry, but it doesn't happen! Everyone's socks end up all mixed up still, so I just throw all of them in the sock basket. I buy us all the same kind of socks, and we share. 

Books

I have a basket on the bookshelf specifically for library books and books that we are currently reading so they are easy to find.

Products

There's a basket on my vanity with hair stuff, lotion, and other toiletries.

Snacks

We have two designated "snack" baskets - one in the pantry and one in the storage room. Anything in the snack baskets is up for grabs if you're hungry or packing a lunch. 

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I also have baskets under sinks, baskets in my van, and baskets in all my cupboards. The one thing I don't have baskets for... laundry. I don't use traditional laundry baskets! I use collapsible canvas hampers.  

But I still call them "baskets."

Somebody

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #30:

Somebody 

Somebody got roses from her best friend on her birthday and is letting them die on my kitchen table. 

It was Daisy

Somebody left their lobster flops on the kitchen floor. 

It was Zoe

Somebody made cute flower cupcakes last night. 

It was Zoe

Somebody made banana muffins and pumpkin muffins today (and now there are a lot of dirty muffin tins in the house). 

It was me

Somebody likes to eat Ruffles chips dipped in Chick-Fil-A sauce.

It's Eva

Somebody found Ben & Jerry's marked down for $1.80 at Smith's this morning.

It was me

Sunday Sentiments - Where I Live

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #26:

Recycle

I've been hearing a lot of really mean comments about where I live lately, so I thought it was time to recycle this post from six years ago.

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I've lived within the same five mile radius my whole life. Sometimes I've had a Magna address, and sometimes I've had a West Valley address, but I haven't gone far. The same can be said for Scotty. 

West Valley doesn't have the greatest reputation. People who live outside of West Valley think very poorly of our city. My nephew who lives in another county once asked Nicky, "Aren't you afraid of being shot where you live?" Just last week my brother-in-law and another nephew called our city trash. Another family member insulted our schools, and yet another family member made a joke about the crime in our area. My sister-in-law told me she doesn't feel safe walking down the street here. My niece often tells my daughter how much safer her city is than ours. People make crude and racist comments about the diversity here (our demographic is less than 45% Caucasian as of 2018). It goes on and on. 

A lot of people have a goal to get out of West Valley and live somewhere "better." Sometimes I, too, wonder if there is somewhere "better" I could live. But when I think about what would be "better," I draw a blank. What really makes a place "better?" Different places just have different problems, and some are masked better than others. A friend of mine often jokes, "We could move to [insert more affluent city], but the drugs are just more expensive there."

For the time being, we feel like we are where we belong, and when we start wondering if we should  live somewhere else, I always get a reassurance that we are right where we are supposed to be. Maybe one day, we will receive an assignment through work or church that takes us elsewhere, or maybe we will be given a strong push from the Spirit that it’s time to move, but right now, and for the foreseeable future, there is nowhere "better" for us than in our current home in West Valley. 

Collectively, one of our favorite features of our city is the red and white water tower. As a child I was always captivated by it. I could see it from my house, and I remember going out on my deck from time to time to look at it. 

The water tower has always been a symbol of home. You can see it from an airplane or the east mountains and know where where you are. The tower is a beacon by which we West Valley residents can orient ourselves.

At the beginning of 2020, Sister Sharon Eubank came spoke at a tri-stake fireside in our area. Sister Eubank grew up in West Valley, less than a mile from where I live.

She had such wonderful things to say about our city, which was a refreshing change from the usual rhetoric. She made me feel so good about living here, and she even brought a picture of the red and white tower. She told us how her father, Mark Eubank, a well-known meteorologist in Utah, used to take the family and park near the tower when it rained so they could hear the sound of the rain hitting the tower. She then spoke about water and living water. She shared some experiences of bringing water to communities through her work with LDS Charities and how water has the ability to change lives. She urged us to look at the red and white tower as a symbol for Christ - the living water. I loved her message. Not only did she make us all feel like her best friends, she took something from our city and made it more meaningful to us. The tower has always been special and nostalgic to me, but Sister Eubank's talk made it even better. 

So maybe West Valley isn't everyone else's ideal place to live, but it's where I live, and I have full access to living water here as much as I would anywhere else. 

Living My Best Van Life

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #13:

In My Car

I’ve been a van driver for about 13 years now. I’m on my third one. I love my van! I have always loved vans! As a child, I couldn’t have told you what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew I wanted a van. 

We got our first van when Zoe was about five months old. Having three kids side by side in car seats on a single row is possible but not ideal, especially when a jealous sibling likes to cover the baby’s mouth and nose with her hand while you drive. Thus, we made the upgrade to a van. The first thing I immediately loved about our van was the sliding doors. No more parking lot door dings! Glory hallelujah! 

I love being able to fit extra kids. I love being able to haul lots of things. I love that I can store items in the floor. I love the trunk space. I love that the seats can fold down. I love being able to strap things to my roof. I love that I can push buttons, and the doors will open. 

Having a van is amazing, and no one can convince me otherwise. 

Maybe I’ll drive something else after my kids are all out of the house (vintage Bronco, please), but for now, I’m all about the van! 

As far as what’s in my van - well, only the most amazing stash of anything you may need (Scissors? Yes. Makeup? Yes. Soduku book? Yes. Tweezers? Double yes). But also, my dash board friends:

Steve, Eleven, Dustin, and Marty McFly

My Day Off

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #35:

Day Off

I work part-time, and yesterday was my day off. Since returning to work, I have learned to appreciate a day off and use it to the best of my ability. That doesn’t mean every day off is productive, but many of them are. I’ve also been known to schedule in some “me” activities such as hair appointments and lunches with friends. I usually keep a running list of things I need to get done on my days off, too. 

Here’s how I spent my day off yesterday:

I slept in until 6:45. Then I got up and made French toast sticks for my girls for breakfast in the air fryer. I dropped Zoe and Eva off at school, and then I snuck to McDonald’s to use my two dollar breakfast sandwich reward for the week.

I came home for an hour and tidied up the kitchen and updated our budget. Then I went and met my friend to go walking for about an hour. We shared the woes of aging and raising teenagers.

 Morning text from Daisy

From there, I went directly to Sam’s Club, where I suffered an unfortunate chafing situation as a result of walking, sweating, and staying in the same clothes. I picked up my neuropathy prescription and spent a large sum of money. Not on the prescription. That was actually cheap ($1.52). 

I had enough rewards in the Chick-fil-A app to get some free lunch, so I hit the drive thru. The drink was terrible, so on my way home I stopped at McDonald’s for a better drink! Hopefully nobody is keeping track of my eating out habits.

I ate my fries in the parking lot because I wanted them hot, but I was OK taking my chicken sandwich home to eat later. 

I took a shower and then played a round of ArkNova in my bathrobe. Then I set my alarm clock and let myself take a 20 minute nap with my hair wrapped in a towel.

When I woke up, I tried on some new clothes I bought from Sam’s Club, then I blow dried and styled my hair and got dressed. This was around 2:00 PM, and I didn’t really have any reason to do my hair and get ready, but I bought new hair products earlier in the week and I wanted to give them a try.

At 2:40 I headed over to the junior high to pick up my girls. They wanted to stop by my mom‘s house to steal drinks from her fridge, so I took them over there and they raided her stash. Then we came home and I discovered that my hair had already gone flat! I was not happy about that. Darn you, Paul Mitchell!

I facilitated afternoon chores and headed out to the garden to dig up some veggies. I was making a 9x13 tinfoil dinner, so I dug up some potatoes, carrots, and onions. Then I came inside and got dinner prepped. Every time I make a tinfoil dinner the veggies never get done, so I started it in what I thought was plenty of time so the veggies would be tender before Eva went to dance class. Two hours later, the veggies were still quite crisp, and I ended up having to feed Eva some leftovers from a few nights ago. I left the dinner cooking, and took Eva to dance class thinking dinner would finally be ready by the time I got back home. It was not. We ended up eating slightly hard veggies, and then I put the rest back in the oven to cook even longer. 

While Eva was at dance class, Daisy and Zoe went to their young women activity at the church. I cleaned up dinner and packed lunches. I also took out a little bit of garbage for garbage day. I tidied up a few things around the house and proofread an essay for Daisy. I snuck in a few minutes of TV and another round of ArkNova as well as a few rounds of Crossplay. 

I also lifted weights, put away some stuff I bought from Sam’s Club, and cleaned a few things up in the bathroom. 

I put my clothes out for the next day, got all the children in bed, and wrote this blog post. 

Where was Scotty while all of this was happening? In Vietnam. So my day off was much needed.

Waiting For Me

September Writing Challenge: Prompt #12:

On My Nightstand

In addition to:

My CPAP machine

A frog bank

A bottle of water

My CPAP scrunchie (I have to put my hair up to wear my mask)

Four bottles of lotion

The remote control

A projection alarm clock that Amber and I insisted on having

A lamp

and a caffeine free Diet Dr. Pepper (which I occasionally find at Smith’s, should you be curious)

I have two very important things waiting for me…

Made by Zoe

Because sometimes at 9:06 pm, you need two cookies and a big dose of TV.