Q&A

Today I'm in a writing mood, but I'm not really in a "thinking" mood. For such occasions, I have a pinterest board with writing prompts and questionnaires. Therefore, this is what I'm putting out in the world today. 

What is your most used word?

There are a few contenders. I say "anyway..." a lot. I also overuse "so" and "like."

So, like, anyway...

How long does it take for you to get ready?

If I do a "full" grooming cycle - meaning I shower, blow dry and style my hair, put on make-up and the whole bit, about an hour. But on an average day where I skip almost all of those steps, I can be ready in 15 minutes.

Do you have much of an ego?

Are you asking if I am full of myself? Sometimes. Probably. Yeah. 

Do you suck or bite lollipops?

I don't really eat lollipops other than sneaking a few Tootsie Pops at Halloween. In that case, I suck on them for a while and then bite em. More than three licks, for sure. 

Do you talk to yourself?

Absolutely.

Do you sing to yourself?

Heck, yes. In fact, I just wrote a song this morning on my way home from Smith's. It's called, "The World Is Crazy." I thought I'd come up with an amazing tune, and I was like, "I think I might be Taylor Swift. Why did I not pursue a career in song writing?" But then I realized I was just using the melody from "Fight Song," so I retired my dreams and went home to put my milk away.

Are you a good singer?

I think I'm tolerable. I won't make your ears bleed. Nor will I amaze you. I rely mostly on stage theatrics and special effects.

What is your biggest fear?

I don't know if I can name the biggest fear - I mean, there are so many good ones to choose from - but one thing I fear is that I or a member of my family will have an injury or illness that severely alters our personality. Like Phineas Gage (see "being me and being them"). 

Are you a gossip?

Yes.

What's the best dramatic movie you've ever seen?

I love The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Notice a theme?

(It's prison. The theme is prison).

Do you like long or short hair?

On myself? Long. 

Can you name all 50 states?

Nope. I never memorized the song.

(Okay, I tried, and I only got 42 - I forgot Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, & Vermont. I only gave myself two minutes. I might have gotten them all in ten).

What is your favorite school subject?

Psychology.

Are you an introvert or extrovert?

Introvert.

Have you ever been scuba diving?

Heck to the no! And I won't. Ever.

What makes you nervous?

Scuba diving. 

Enclosed spaces. Large crowds. Feeling out of control.

Snow-packed, icy roads.

Sea creatures. 

Are you scared of the dark?

Not really, but I'm not immune to the mind tricks that come with darkness. 

Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Sometimes. It just depends on the situation and the person.

Are you ticklish?

I guess.

Have you ever started a rumor?

I don't start them. I just spread them! But there was this one time I accidentally told someone that my bishop was having hemorrhoid surgery when I meant to say hernia surgery. In that case, yes, I started a rumor. 

Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Yes. 

Have you ever drank underage?

No. I've never drank. 

Have you ever done drugs?

Sometimes when I go to the dentist I breathe the laughing gas extra deeply.

Who was your first crush?

Marty McFly. 

How many piercings do you have?

Just the ears.

Can you roll your R's?

Yes.

How fast can you type?

I have no idea! I used to go to workforce services and do the type tests so I could apply for jobs, but I don't remember what my WPM was. It's probably the same now. I don't type properly, though. I only use one finger on my left hand. I never learned to type. I just did my own thing.

How fast can you run?

I haven't ran in over five years!  

Favorite Quotes: What Happened to You?

I recently finished the book What Happened to You: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey. 

One of the best classes I took when I was working on my degree in Marriage and Family Studies was called Family Stress and Coping. In that course, we studied stress theory and resilience. I was absolutely fascinated by what I learned, and the topic of resilience has been of interest to me ever since. 

If I could have a super power, it would be perfect recall. I hate that I can't retain everything I learn in life. It frustrates me. And now that it's been five years since I graduated (and almost seven years since I took Family Stress & Coping), so much of what I learned is gone! It's devastating to me.

Anyway, this book was a great refresher on resilience, and I quite enjoyed it. It appealed to my personal interests and education. 

Here are some of the quotes I liked and want to remember:

"When you find an addiction, do not be ashamed. Be joyful. You have found something that you have come to this Earth to heal. When you confront and heal an addiction, you are doing the deepest spiritual work that you can do on this Earth." - Gary Zukav, Spiritual Teacher

(My commentary: This is my favorite quote from the book. It completely blew my mind and made me feel ready to acknowledge and confront some of my own issues).

"The most powerful form of reward is relational. Positive interactions with people are rewarding and regulating. Without connection to people who care for you, it is almost impossible to step away from any form of unhealthy reward and regulation. This includes alcohol overuse, drug overuse, eating too much sweet and salty food, porn, cutting or spending hours on video games. Connectedness counters the pull of addictive behaviors. It is the key."  -Dr. Perry

"If you are loved, you learn to love." -Dr. Perry

"Our major finding is that your history of relational health - your connectedness to family, community, and culture - is more predictive of your mental health than your history of adversity. This is similar to the findings of other researchers looking at the power of positive relationships on health. Connectedness has the power to counterbalance adversity." -Dr. Perry

"...a meaningful dose of therapeutic interaction isn't forty-five minutes once a week. When you're dealing with an intense trauma, we've found that the "tolerable" dose is only seconds long... You can stand the emotional intensity of visiting the wreckage of your trauma-fractured life for only a few seconds before your brain starts to do things to protect you from the pain...It is the therapeutic dosing that really leads to healing. Moments. Fully present, powerful but brief." - Dr. Perry 

(My commentary: This quote was to illustrate that long conversations about traumatic experiences aren't always what a person needs. Sometimes we want our kids to "talk about it" - thinking that's what will help them heal. Dr. Perry shared examples of just spending a quick five minutes with victims of trauma and letting those moments add up over time as they built trust rather than having the victims "talk about it" at length)

"Ten thousand years ago, humankind had the genetic potential to read a book, yet not one single human on the planet could read; the genetic potential to play the piano existed, yet not one person could play; the genetic potential to dunk a basketball, type a sentence, ride a bicycle - all that potential existed, but it all remained unexpressed." -Dr. Perry

(My commentary: This makes me wonder what we have the potential to achieve but haven't yet had the opportunity)

:...all of us tend to gravitate toward the familiar, even when the familiar is unhealthy or destructive. We are drawn to what we were raised with." -Dr. Perry

"We feel better with the  certainty of misery than the misery of uncertainty." -Virginia Satir, Psychologist

"When someone is very upset, words themselves are not very effective. The tone and rhythm of the voice probably has more impact than the actual words...simply be present... You can't talk someone out of feeling angry, sad, or frustrated, but you can be a sponge and absorb their emotional intensity. If you stay regulated, ultimately they can "catch" your calm." -Dr. Perry

"Even though we live in an amazing country filled with good people, I believe that collectively we're less resilient. Our ability as a people to tolerate stressors is diminishing because our connectedness is diminishing...Conversation, for example, promotes resilience; discussions and arguments over family dinners and mildly heated conversations with friends are - as long as there is repair - resilience-building and empathy-growing experiences. We shouldn't be walking away from a conversation in a rage; we should regulate ourselves. Repair the ruptures. Reconnect and grow. When you walk away, everybody loses. We all need to get better at listening, regulating, reflecting. This requires the capacity to forgive, to be patient. Mature human interactions involve efforts to understand people who are different from you. But if we don't have family meals, don't go out with friends for long, in-person conversations, and communicate only via text or Twitter, then we can't create that positive, healthy back-and-forth pattern of human connection." -Dr. Perry

(My commentary: This coincides with some research from Dr. John Gottman, who specializes in marriage. He has found that it is not a lack of fighting that makes a strong marital relationship, but the repair process after fighting or disagreeing. You need to disagree, to argue, to "fight." It's how you recover from it and move forward that makes your relationship strong). 

"...the rate of invention is now exceeding the rate at which we can problem-solve." - Dr. Perry "The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom." -Isaac Asimov, Biochemist

"When you've lived through adversity, you can come to a point in your life where you can look back, reflect, learn, and grow from the experience. I believe it's hard to understand humankind unless you know a little bit about adversity. Adversity, challenges, disappointment, loss, trauma - all can contribute to the capacity to be broadly empathetic, to become wise. Trauma and adversity, in a way, are gifts. What we do with these gifts will differ from person to person." -Dr. Perry

Top Board Games of 2021

As you know, we love board games (particularly strategy board games) and play them pretty regularly with our friends, Chad and Carlie. A few years ago we started keeping a Game Night Ledger because we often found ourselves in arguments about who wins what the most. The Ledger has proven to be very handy, and not a Game Night goes by where we don't have to refer to The Ledger in some capacity. The Ledger is also very useful in that we can use it to determine our Top Ten games each year. 

To ascertain our Top Ten, we count the number of Game Nights we played each game (rather than the number of times we played each game - because some games are super short and we can play them several times in one night, and that doesn't mean they should be ranked higher than a game that takes two hours) (don't think too hard about this. Just know that we have a good system for naming our Top Ten, and you can trust us). 

Without further ado, here are our Top Ten games of 2021:

 #10: Karma

(a game I always lose)

#9: Hacienda

(one of my personal favorites)

#8: Risk

#7: Azul

#6: Raccoon Tycoon

(i.e. the game that nearly got us divorced)

#5: Bohnanza

#4: Mariposas

#3: 7 Wonders

(formerly our first place winner)

#2: Love Letter

#1: Wingspan

(two years running)

Other board game posts:

Top Board Games of 2020

Top Board Games of 2019

Currently (January 2022 Edition)

Reading:

Eating: all my free birthday foods. Yesterday I got my free meal at Tucano's. I now have a spreadsheet of my remaining free foods and their expiration dates on my phone so I can plan accordingly. 

Struggling with: consistency in my parenting. I've always had a hard time with this.

Hoping: to buy new furniture for the living room soon. Our hand-me-down couch has lived a great life, but I'm sitting on it currently and can feel the frame of the couch pressing on my tailbone. 

Worried about: sending Daisy to junior high next year. Don't make me do it. 

Looking forward to: Hamilton in Salt Lake! We got tickets for Nicky and Daisy for Christmas. We're excited to take them. We got tickets to a matinee because we are old souls and can't go out past 7:00 p.m. 

Watching:

Happy Feet. I’m writing from the sedation room at the dentist’s office. Zoe is having some teeth extracted. 

(Note to self: send reminder to Tooth Fairy)

Wearing: jeans and a hoodie.

Listening to: Zoe chatting incessantly. She gets really hyper when she’s sedated. She’s currently describing what it feels like to have eyeballs.

Singing: "Shake it Off." I don't know why. Sometimes it's just there. In the head. And it won't go away. Can't stop, won't stop grooving.

Buying: eye gel. I don't think it helps, though. 

Craving: a couch nap on a dark, rainy day. 

Needing: to empty the vacuum canister.

Daydreaming about: having our house paid off. I like to look at the balance we owe and daydream about living off pinto beans and pasta for a few years straight and getting it paid off. 

Annoyed by: all the leftover Christmas decorations I keep finding around my house.

Playing:

Working on: a list of goals for this year. I'm taking my time, but I think I'll be ready before September this time. 

Procrastinating: putting the basement Christmas tree away. Normally I like everything put away before Nicky's birthday on the 27th, but I didn't follow my normal clean-up routine this year, so the basement tree is still up, and there are several decorations around the house that didn't make it into the storage bins. Getting the storage bins would require me to walk through snow, and I just don't wanna.

Loving: how quiet my house is right now. We are home from the dentist. Zoe keeps drifting in and out of sleep, and all I can hear is the bubbles of my Coke popping next to me and the ticking of the clock in the kitchen. 

I didn't even know that clock ticked. 

Zoe post-extraction (this is her third time having teeth pulled, bless her little heart)

Learning: about the Great Pyramid. I used to know a lot about the pyramids and ancient Egypt, but I've forgotten it all, so I started reading up on a few things recently. One thing that has always fascinated me is that in order to built the Great Pyramid in the time it is thought to have been built (approximately 27 years) they would have had to place one stone every five minutes. The Great Pyramid is made up of somewhere between 2.3 and 3 million stones. 

How did they do it?

HOW DID THEY DO IT???

I can't wait to find out someday. 

The Great pyramid is about 4,700 years old. That means when Jesus lived, it was already nearly 3,000 years old! Did Jesus see the pyramids during his time in Egypt? 

Trying: to share my negative opinions with less frequency. If I don't think highly of something or someone, I don't necessarily have to tell anyone.

Enjoying: having Christmas over with. I love Christmas, but I also love when it goes away, and I get to have a break from the holidays. 

Thinking about: the variety of the earth and how you can drive just a few hours and experience a part of the world that looks completely different from where you live. Last night for Family Home Evening, we talked about the Creation, and I made a video slide show with photos of God's creations that we've seen as a family. I used pictures we've taken of different landscapes, animals, and plants. It was pretty cool to realize how many amazing things we've seen that show us God's hand. 

Feeling: quite tired. I think I need to have a good 12 hour sleep session to reset from the holidays. 

Grateful for: comfortable shoes. 

Fun Times in Phoenix

Until last week, my experiences in the state of Arizona were as follows:

-Passing through the corner on the way to Las Vegas

-Going to Four Corners

-Crossing ten minutes over the border to go to Glitter Mountain

-Stopping at Pipe Springs National Monument on our way to Bryce Canyon

Basically, when I’d been to Arizona, I’d barely dipped my toe in. But last week, we went on a trip to Phoenix…ish (we were actually in Glendale, AZ, but it’s right by Phoenix) so now, I’ve really been to Arizona! 

My sister-in-law, Amber (of piñata and deer fame) invited us to stay at an Air BnB with her over New Year’s. Her motives were warm weather and a private pool… but we’ll address how that turned out shortly. 

Allow me to first recap the part where we had to get to Arizona. 

The weather leading up to our trip was iffy. We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to go. Scotty watched the forecast for days. We were originally going to spend a night in Kanab, but we decided to go a more weather friendly way and stay in Saint George instead. 

Climbing around in Saint George

We spent a little time exploring the rocks at Pioneer Park, and then we went to Thunder Junction. Everywhere was really crowded, so we kept our visits short. We ate dinner at Chuckarama (which we refer to as "visiting Uncle Chuck"), and then we checked into our hotel. We took advantage of being the only family at the pool, but then Nicky sliced his leg open on the pool grate, and other people started showing up, so we went back to our room and hung out for the night. 

Eva woke up puking in the middle of the night, and that's all I'll say about that. The next morning we had to decide if we should continue on to Phoenix or go back home. We only had a small window to make it home without hitting a snowstorm. We called Amber and had a chat and decided to carry on to Phoenix. 

We stopped in Las Vegas for a while. We went to the atrium at the Bellagio, and then we went to Caesar's Palace for a little bit. Then we headed into Henderson for lunch. There were a lot of places that sounded good but we decided to go somewhere called the Steamie Weenie, simply based on the name (and the 4+ star reviews).

Scotty and I wanted to be adventurous, so we got three dogs to try - the most interesting of which had peanut butter and jalapeno jelly on it! It looked terrible, but it was really good! (We had faith that it would be - having had peanut butter on burgers before).

The PBB & JJ: Peanut Butter, Bacon, and Jalapeno Jelly

From Henderson, we headed to Phoenix, and lemme tell ya... that was a long and boring drive. Cacti... more cacti... and a random junk yard here and there. For hours. 

We stayed at the Air BnB with our hosts, Tim and Amber ("Timber"), my father-in-law (Craig), and my brother-in-law (Jared). The weather was nice but not "pool" weather (high of 58) and the pool was frigid, much to Amber's dismay. That didn't stop my family from getting in. I can't say any swimming happened, but there was some polar bear plunging on the daily. 

Daisy taking the plunge

We arrived at the house in the evening on Thursday. On Friday, I wasn't feeling well (Eva passed on her tummy bug), so I mostly lounged about, but after dinner on Friday, I finally started feeling better and was able to enjoy New Year's Eve. We ate first and second dinner and stayed up playing games and doing fireworks. 

Cheers to new years!

Fireworks: 10 p.m.

At midnight, Jared wanted to eat twelve grapes for good luck. Then Scotty, Nicky, and Jared all jumped in the pool. 

Good times and much laughter ensued. Mostly courtesy of Jared who jumped into the pool like a toddler who didn't trust his mom to really catch him. 

The house was within walking distance of the Fiesta Bowl, so on Saturday, Craig and Nicky walked over there just to check things out. They ended up going through security without tickets and getting free breakfast burritos at the tailgate party. They had a blast. 

Nicky at the stadium with his breakfast burrito

We spent the day hanging out and watching football games - first the Fiesta Bowl, then the Rose Bowl. I'm not much of a football watcher, but there's a University of Utah fan inside of me that resurfaces every once in a while. When I was younger, my mom and step-dad both worked for the University of Utah, so I was raised going to all the sporting events. I admit, I mostly went for the food, but I also enjoyed the swag and rocked a lot of University of Utah gear. I was more devastated than I expected when the Utes lost on Saturday. 

Amber took my girls on a few shopping sprees (the brave soul) and taught my kids how to do scratch-off lotto tickets. 

Shopping with Eva is something else

Lotto tickets

We had a birthday celebration starring me and co-starring Tim and Craig (whose birthdays are the 3rd and 4th).

Tim, Craig, & me - the birthday kids

Please note the insanely purple kitchen in this Air BnB. 

Anyone else think he looks like a minion?

I'll throw in this photo of Nicky being a dork so you can admire the orange wall as well. 

By Saturday night, we were all pretty tuckered out. We have a tradition with Amber when we go on trips - it's kind of like our Family Home Evening: Vacation Edition. We always gather together and share "two goods and a bad" from the trip. So we had our FHE on Saturday night. Zoe cried and whined because she didn't want to go home. Then we got all of our stuff packed up so we could be ready to leave at 5:00 Sunday morning. 

Everyone else flew for this trip - it was just our family that drove. We spent all day Sunday driving, but we took the route through Flagstaff and Kanab rather than Vegas and Saint George. I liked it much better as there were significantly fewer cacti to feel resentment toward. 

We stopped for lunch in Panguitch at the only place we could find that was open. It's called Desert Grill, and it was delicious (I had a brisket sandwich - thankyouverymuch). We got home just before 6:00 p.m. 

So now I can say I've been to Arizona - like really been to Arizona... if it counts that I arrived after dark, didn't leave the Air BnB a single time, and left in the dark. 

2021 Review

January

• I turned 37
• Eva had COVID

February

• My mystery pain started
• Nicky had his first girlfriend 

March

• Our brother-in-law, Doug, passed away
• We went on an epic journey to Parowan, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Calico, Newport Beach, and San Francisco. I was in extreme pain the entire time and had horrible edema (Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV)

April

• Eva turned 6
• We went to Tremonton to watch the school launch a Lego minifigure (Lil Neil) to 111,000 feet
• We went to Capitol Reef
• We redesigned our garden
• Disneyland reopened to California residents April 30 (we haven't been yet)
• Scotty and I got our first COVID shots

May

• We planted our garden (including our first corn)
• Scotty and I went to our first play since COVID hit (Les Miserables at Hale Theatre)
• Second-hour meetings resumed at church, and we got to go back to primary (socially distant with masks)
• We hiked to Timpanogos Cave and did the tour
• Daisy got braces
• My mystery pain cleared up
• We stayed at a tumbling gym Air BnB in Salina with Tim and Amber
• The girls had their year-end dance concert (masks were required for spectators, and all the dancers had to have a COVID test to perform)
• Nicky broke up with his girlfriend (no more since)

June

• We bought a membership to Thanksgiving Point to keep us busy in the summer
• Zoe joined a cheerleading team
• Nicky got braces and COVID shots
• We went camping for Father’s Day 
• We went on vacation to Saint George with Scotty’s dad and family
• We went to Bryce Canyon
• Scotty was called to be Elders’ Quorum president
• Disneyland reopened to people outside of California 
• We went out in public without masks for the first time

July

• Scotty turned 40
• Zoe was in the 4th of July parade with her cheer team
• Daisy went to her first girls camp (Scotty went too)
• Nicky joined the high school golf team
• Wildfires in surrounding states made our air quality terrible for several weeks

August

• Nicky started high school
• Eva started first grade, making all the kids in school, all day!

September

• We had our last family campout at Wallsburg before the end of Scotty’s parents’ mission
• We went to Saint George with Tim and Amber
• Daisy turned 12 (and got her COVID shots)

October

• Scotty started a new job
• Scotty and I went to Disney World with Chad and Carlie and NO KIDS!

November

• Zoe turned 9
• Zoe competed in her first cheer competition
• Nicky had his Eagle Court of Honor (he earned his Eagle the previous year, but we held off on the COH for COVID)
• I led the music in the primary program for the third (and last) time (would have been my 4th if not for the COVID year)
• Nicky performed as a "lost soul" in his first school musical, The Addams Family
• Zoe performed with her cheer team at the Grizzlies (hockey) game
• Zoe and Eva got their COVID shots

December

• I was released from primary and put in Young Women
• Nicky turned 15
• We went on a trip to Phoenix
• Betty White died

Resolution Check-In

This year I was a little late making my New Year's resolutions, but hey! There's nothing wrong with September, right? It's like cramming for a test. We've all gotten away with it!

Anyway, back in September, I set 11 goals to accomplish by the end of the year. Here's how I did:

Goal #1: Do 2022 push-ups.

Status: Fail

I did 811, and then at some point, completely forgot I was doing this. Can I do 1,211 push-ups in four days? Methinks nah.

Goal #2: No soda for the rest of the year.

Status: Fail

I drank soda when we went to Disney World in October. 

Did you know that the water in Orlando tastes like fart? (it has a high sulfur content). 

I swore to myself I wouldn't drink any after I got home. I am not a woman of my word. In fact, I have a Coke in front of me as we speak. 

Goal #3: Take a week off social media.

Status: Success!

Goal #4: Work with my doctor to get off high blood pressure medication.

Status: Fail

Goal #5: Go kayaking by myself.

Status: Fail

After I made that goal, there were only about two days that I could have actually done it (with a combination of warm weather and an open schedule), and I missed my window. 

Goal #6: Go back to the temple.

Status: Half and half

I went with the youth to do baptisms for the dead last week. I didn't do any ordinances, myself, but I acted as witness. 

Goal #7: Try ten new recipes.

Status: Success!

Thai Crunch Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing - this was a big fail because I overlooked the peanut butter in the dressing. Regardless, I probably won't make it again, even properly. 

Crescent Roll Burrito Bake - my family really liked this.

One-Pot Chicken Lasagna - "meh"

Szechuan Chicken and Noodles - we really liked this and have made it twice. I omit the bell peppers. 

Pumpkin and Rosemary Dinner Rolls - these made amazing turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving. I made some with rosemary and some without. I think I prefer them with rosemary, but I will use a smaller amount next time because the rosemary lingered a bit much, and I don't like to taste my food hours afterward. 

Cheeseburger Soup - gross.

Corn Chowder - "meh." I've been trying to find a good corn chowder recipe for years, and they're all about the same. Just okay. I have a certain taste in mind that might not even exist. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies - I don't have a "go to" chocolate chip cookie recipe because I'm not a huge fan of cookies. These are acceptable, though. Someday I would like to do a chocolate chip cookie taste off and compare a few recipes side by side like I did with the banana bread. 

Homemade Egg Noodles - I actually tried two different egg noodle recipes in chicken noodle soup, but I didn't save the first one, so I have no idea what it was. This recipe was fine, but I need to perfect the craft of noodle making. I think I rolled them too thick. 

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup - "meh."

Creamy Chicken Ramen Soup - "meh."

I also tried two fudge recipes and two banana bread recipes. 

Goal #8: Shampoo the living room couch. 

Status: Success!

And it's time to do it again.

Goal #9: Implement a new chore schedule with the kids.

Status: Fail

Oh gosh! I didn't even try! 

We had a pretty good schedule for a few years, and then sometime in the last year, we just stopped enforcing it, and we've never gotten back on track. 

Goal #10: Don't go over on the Christmas budget.

Status: Mild Success

We spent more than I had set aside for Christmas, but we walked away with everything paid off. So I wouldn't give us two thumbs up, but one seems fair. 

Goal #11: Read ten "school" books.

Status: Sucess!

Here are the books I read:

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor

Weasel by Cynthia DeFelice

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Okay, just kidding. I didn't make it to ten. At least not ten from own school days. I did read a few books that my kids have read in school, though, so does that count? 

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, New Kid by Jerry Craft, Took by Mary Downing Hahn, Ground Zero and Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier. 

-----------

I would say that puts my success rate around 50%, which is down from my usual 75%. I confess, I'm getting worse at meeting goals as I get older. I tend to live more in "survival mode" than "achievement mode" nowadays.

For the coming year, since I'm now serving in Young Women, I feel like I should use the format for the youth program to set some goals. So for 2022, I'll be focusing on one or two goals in each area: spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social, and I'm hoping for more than 50% success. But I can't make any promises.