Currently {December 2020 Edition}

Reading: 

OK, I love Jesus. I really do. But this book is killing me. I set a goal to read it, though, and I'm sticking to it. I've been reading it in the Gospel Library app and making a lot of notes about my own thoughts and realizations as I go. 

Buying: Christmas presents, of course! And maybe Snoop Dogg's cookbook.

(That's what happens when you stay up too late on Black Friday).

Missing: having good hair. Something has happened to my hair in the last year. For one, it's getting a lot shorter without my consent. Then it's going gray, and to top it all off, it's going curly. I've always had a little bit of curl underneath, but now it's getting curly everywhere, and it's growing out curly at the root. The texture of my hair has changed, and I don't know how to work with it. 

Craving: silence. After having my kids out of school for a week for Thanksgiving, I was a little on edge from the noise. They are so stinkin' loud!

Listening to:

Watching: the second season of Virgin River. I'm on episode 3. 

Building: a Christmas Story puzzle. 

Playing:

Loving: school days. 

Feeling: tired. I know that's a boring answer, but it's a true one. I have the tendency to get up early and burn through my energy quickly so I end up crashing by 9:00 a.m. Then I'm tired and dysfunctional for the rest of the day. It's 9:38, so I'm tired. But I was productive this morning! 

Wearing: stretchy jeans that are a little on the "too small" side and a Charlie Brown hoodie. 

Eating: runny eggs, toast, and orange juice (that was my breakfast today. Now I'm happily digesting until lunch).

Looking forward to: lunch. I'm going to make hamburger soup. In other words, "soup with everything in it." It will give me a chance to use up a bunch of veggies from my fridge and freezer. 

Enjoying: the Christmas season. This is such a great time of year. 

Grateful for: things working out. There have been so many times in my life where things have worked out against all odds. They may not work out the way I plan or the way I think is best, but they still work out. 

Weekend Highlights (with masks)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. Things started off pretty rough with the kids home from school on Tuesday, but it shaped up to be a great holiday. Chaos and all!

On Wednesday, my mother-in-law asked if my kids could come to her house and help her decorate for Christmas. My response was, "YES! PLEASE!" We haven't seen many friends or family lately as we've gone into another version of "quarantine." I realized I really needed my kids to go with their Grandma. They ended up spending the day at her house (with masks) putting up her Christmas decorations and watching movies. They also went on a donut run, and they got to go to Ab's for lunch because Grandma says that when you work really hard, you need to go to Ab's afterward. 

While the kids were gone, I got to go do some Christmas shopping and have lunch with my friend, Shannon (with masks). We hit a few stores and ate at Zupa's. We didn't buy these holiday outfits, but we might live to regret it.

A day with Shannon was exactly what my heart needed. 

On Thursday, we had our Thanksgiving meal at 1:00 (with masks) then spent the rest of the day doing puzzles, watching movies, and eating leftovers.

We finished these Haunted Mansion puzzles -

four puzzles with 500 pieces each

Derek Hough is everything

Leftovers for days

On Friday morning I went for a walk with Shannon. My mother-in-law offered to have my kids over again (with masks), so Scotty and I went on a date to check out Allen Park - aka: "Hobbitville" (with masks). Then we came home and watched Secret Window while I started wrapping Christmas presents. 

Hobbitville

After the kids came home, Daisy and I went over to my mom's house (with masks) and helped put up some of her Christmas decorations. We also went through a bunch of her old, tarnished jewelry and cleaned it up - which was far more fun than one might think. 

My mom sent this little guy home with me -

this was our Christmas countdown from my childhood

On Saturday, we had a busy morning. Scotty and I went to the store (with masks) and bought some stuff for breakfast sandwiches. We had a hankerin'! Then we came home and cooked and ate. After breakfast we got a lot of stuff done around the house, and Scotty put up some Christmas lights outside. I made a pie and a casserole to put away for dinner later. Then Scotty and I took Zoe shopping (with masks) for new scriptures and a CTR ring in honor of her upcoming baptism (with masks). 

At 2:00 we went to Chad and Carlie's house and played games for hours and hours. We haven't seen them in weeks, and we were suffering! I wanted to just run into their arms and sob, but ya know... COVID and stuff. We played Princes of Florence, Wingspan, Love Letter, 7 Wonders, Monopoly Deal, and Cover Your Assets. We also tried out our new game, Azul.

On Sunday we had scones for breakfast and watched church on Zoom. Then we watched a movie and worked on a puzzle. Scotty had a meeting at 11:30 while I fixed lunch for everyone (still riding the Thanksgiving leftover train) and taught Nicky and Daisy how to play Azul. 

We had another Zoom meeting at 1:00 and afterward, we went to see Scotty's dad's new house (with masks). My in-laws moved while we were in California. We stayed at their house for a while, and Scotty got their TV and Nintendo working, but we left them with a broken couch. We came home and had a cheese-themed dinner: nachos, quesadillas, and mac & cheese. At that point, we were just aiming for anything "not turkey."

Scotty and I played Azul and Bohnanza with the kids, and everyone had a bath or shower. Then, finally, at the end of a long and wonderful week, we tucked everyone into bed... two or three times... and crashed. Or at least Scotty crashed. I laid in bed for a while and then went tip-toeing around the house with my flashlight looking for a laptop. Which brings me to this moment wherein I am sitting in my favorite place on my couch, snuggled under a blanket, feeling pretty happy with life. 

Our COVID Thanksgiving

I've always wanted to try my hand at hosting Thanksgiving, so I figured this would be the perfect year to have a trial run. I don't really know how to explain it, but I've had this need lately to do something well. I think that's part of the reason I have been so obsessive about my Christmas trees this year. I'm a bit lost (ya know... COVID and isolation and all that), and I don't know what my purpose is currently. So I just needed to put my whole heart into Thanksgiving and feel good about a job well done. At the same time, I needed room to fail without a large audience, so a small Thanksgiving gave me the chance to practice my food prep skills while also allowing me to screw things up without really affecting anyone. 

We ended up having Scotty's mom and step-dad join us. I'm blessed to have a mother-in-law that I can fail Thanksgiving in front of. She, herself, has at least one thing go wrong each year that she hosts, and it gives us something to laugh about. Most recently, she dumped half a bottle of sage in the stuffing. It was very “herby” and quite green. I never have to worry about doing an awful job in front of my MIL. She's impressed with me no matter what!

For my hosting rehearsal, I had a few goals. First and foremost, I wanted to do the turkey and the gravy. I haven't dabbled much in roasting turkeys. I did a quick-roast turkey once (it was "meh"), and I've done turkey breast in the crock pot a few times (which was pretty good), so roasting the turkey was something I definitely wanted to do. I also wanted to make homemade stuffing (which I'd never done before) and homemade cranberry sauce, rolls, my step-mom's Jell-O, and some kind of pie (I haven't made many pies in my lifetime, save for the "chicken pot" variety). 

My mother-in-law offered to do mashed potatoes, butternut squash, yams, green beans, corn, and pumpkin pie. Vegetables are her thing, and her pumpkin pie is always my favorite! Did we need all those dishes? Heck no! But my MIL goes a bit crazy when she prepares food for other people, and there's no taming her quantities. 

Scotty and I also decided to smoke a turkey. Because why not? Growing up, we often had Thanksgiving with my Uncle Scott, and he always made a roasted turkey and a smoked turkey. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with extra turkey on Thanksgiving! (and I confess, my MIL's problems with quantity have rubbed off on me over the years). Scotty took the lead on the smoking, and I took the lead on the roasting. 

His & Hers Turkeys

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I started making my recipe and shopping list. I also went ahead and made the rolls and froze them. I tested the capacity of my Bosch by tripling the recipe. It barely worked. I thought for sure I was going to have to throw out the dough because the bowl was already full, and I had 7 more cups of flour to add. Somehow, it worked out, but I was definitely pushing it! That triple batch gave me six dozen rolls. I served two dozen for dinner that night and froze four dozen. We ate a dozen with soup the next week, and that left us with three dozen for Thanksgiving and turkey sandwiches all weekend!

The dish I cared most about was the stuffing. I love stuffing, but I'm particular about it. I ended up getting a recipe from my cousin because I recalled really liking the stuffing she brought to Thanksgiving many years ago. 

I mapped out a food prep plan so I could have everything ready on time. Scotty started brining the turkey to smoke on Tuesday. I chopped celery, made the Jell-O, cut up the bread for the stuffing, made the cranberry sauce, and baked the pie on Wednesday. 

The pies

On Thursday morning, Scotty and I started our turkeys. Then we rearranged some furniture so we could fit everyone at tables. We got the house tidied and groomed all the kids. It ended up being a very relaxed morning. Everything went smoothly. There were no crises. We timed all the food perfectly, and it all turned out great!

Especially the stuffing!

My fancy tablescape

My MIL brought way too much food (as we anticipated she would). I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that the eight of us only ate about 1/20th of what she brought. Let me reemphasize: I AM NOT EXAGGERATING!

Since we had my in-laws over, we took some COVID precautions and wore masks while we weren't eating. We separated our seating a bit and kept some windows open. Hopefully this is our only COVID Thanksgiving!

COVID Thanksgiving

It ended up being a wonderful day, and the shocking part was that I wasn't stressed out at all. I'm not sure it will be that way again if I host Thanksgiving, but for this one, everything fell into place so perfectly. It was exactly what I needed!

#givethanks

When COVID took over our lives at the beginning of this year, I was in the middle of a gratitude challenge. I have to say, the timing of that gratitude challenge was no coincidence. I firmly believe it saved me mentally and emotionally.  

Elder Robert D. Hales said, "In some quiet way, the expression and feelings of gratitude have a wonderful cleansing or healing nature... Gratitude brings a peace that helps us overcome the pain of adversity and failure" (1992).

This quote, which I often refer to when I teach happiness workshops, has led me to think of gratitude as "medicine," so I love that President Nelson, our prophet and a doctor, prescribed us a dose of gratitude last week to heal our hearts. 

(Here is President Nelson's story behind the message he shared last week, and here is the transcript of his message). 

The prophet encouraged us to be grateful for:

• The gift of life - our bodies and minds
• Art, literature, and music
• The opportunity to repent, make amends, start over, and build character
• Our families, friends, and loved ones
• The opportunity to serve one another
• Our trials and the things we learn from them
• Our global family

President Nelson pointed out that the effects of gratitude have been validated by science as well as by men and women of faith. I had the opportunity to study gratitude from a scholarly perspective while I was in school, and I have always found the research around gratitude to be delightfully fascinating! 

Today, on Thanksgiving, I just wanted to share with you that I believe in the power of gratitude. I have seen the benefits of it in my own life. It has helped me cope with depression, it has helped me endure trials and hardship, and it has been the key to my happiness. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Goal Check-In #4

In September I made a list of 21 goals I'd like to accomplish before 2021. 

Here's how things are going:

1. No soda for the rest of the year.

Still going strong!

2. Finish reading Jesus the Christ. 

I'm on chapter 21, and it has become a battle. This book is a beast. I'm not even half-way done!

3. Try 10 new recipes. Done!

4. Get a haircut. Done! But I'm already due for another one.  

5. Don't eat out for a month. Done!

6. Finish the closet doors in the basement. Done! 

7. Get the door hung on the storage room.

Haven't started. 

8. Hang the closet doors in the kids' bedrooms.

Haven't started. 

In fact, working on these doors is the last thing I want to do right now. Oh, help me!

9. Weigh less on December 31 than I weighed on September 29.

I weighed myself yesterday, and I weigh exactly what I weighed on September 29. I better take it easy on the holiday treats because I need to lose a pound next month!

10. Walk 250 miles. 

I don't think I'm going to make it, but I'm not calling it quits. I am at 130 miles. 

11. Do 2,000 push-ups.

I'm at 1,109.

12. Do a DI run. Done!

13. Clean out the garden. Done! 

14. Try something new. Done!

15. Finish 9 books. Done!

16. Clean out the box of junk that's been sitting on the window seat in my bedroom since July. Done!

17. Go to the doctor. Done! 

18. Complete a study of temple symbols.

I just finished this week! My study plan was to read a book called 175 Temple Symbols and their Meanings by Don Parry and listen to a podcast with the author. Then re-listen to the talk "Understanding the Sacred Symbolism of Temple Clothing" by Kim Gibbs. 

I had really high hopes for the book, but it ended up not really being what I hoped for. Same with the podcast. I enjoyed the talk by Sister Gibbs, though. I listened to it last year and have always wanted to listen to it again and jot down notes (which I did). 

19. Buy a dishwasher.

Last time I checked in, I mentioned that I might modify this goal because buying a dishwasher doesn't seem important anymore. It's something I can put off for now. Yeah, our current dishwasher is a piece of junk, but it still works. Kind of. 

I'm going to go ahead and change this goal to something completely unrelated. I am going to participate in the Light the World initiative this year. I've never done it, save for the Day of Service in 2016. 

20. Finish a self-reliance class.  Done!

21. Hang the sign over the washer and dryer that's been sitting on the floor for two months. Done! 

This is the last time I'll check in until 2021 (since it makes for a very boring blog post). Wish me luck with all those stupid doors!

Squee! A Tree!

Back in September I mentioned that we were thinking about getting a second Christmas tree so we could have one in our family room in the basement. We figured that when the right tree crossed our paths, we'd go for it. Our preferences were: not too tall (we don't have any vaulted ceilings in our house, so 7.5' is as tall as we can go), not too wide, pre-lit, easy to put up and take down, and bonus points if it's flocked. 

Sam's Club had the perfect tree, but every time I went there, it was out of stock. Then one day, they suddenly had four, so I snagged one! It's a pre-lit, 7.5' beautifully flocked specimen. That, of course, meant I also had to buy decorations for it! 

I set the tree up last Thursday night and let my girls decorate it. Then I waited patiently for Monday to roll around so I could take it apart and re-do it. I'm a Christmas tree control freak, and I wanted to add ribbon, which I hadn't purchased yet. 

Ribbon prep

I'm not proud. I know that being a Christmas tree control freak is an unflattering quality. But I can't help it. 

I blame my grandma. 

Anyway, yesterday was the only day my kids had school this week, so I got the tree done while there were no little helpers. Eva was home, but I distracted her with Mario Kart. 

Here it is:

It's hard to get a decent picture because the lighting in the basement is terrible, but here are a few close-ups so you can see some of the details:

Being able to shop for and put together a new tree for this year was a good way to close out 2020. It gave me something to be excited about. 

I went with blue-ish/green-ish ornaments to match our basement and then included some burlap-y and gold-y glittery stuff. I don't know all the right vocabulary words - I just know that I like it, and it sparkles. 

You know who else would like my tree? My grandma! Oh, yes! She would give it two thumbs up, I'm sure!

Me/Also Me

Me: No more spending! Save all the monies!

Also me: Imma just run into Hobby Lobby real quick and buy 90 feet of ribbon and a Wizard of Oz puzzle. 

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Me: I'm trying to walk 250 miles before the end of the year, but I just can't find the time.

Also me: Yes, Netflix, I'm still watching. 

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Me: What the world needs now is love, sweet love!

Also me: I hate that guy!

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Me: We're not going out to eat this week. We have plenty of of food at home.

Also me: I know there's a crock pot of taco soup cooking on the counter, but Mama needs Chick-Fil-A sauce. 

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Me: I can't waste any time today. I need to get the things done.

Also me: Imma just change all my contacts to silly nicknames real quick. 

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Me: No eating in the van!

Also me: Hurry and finish those fries so you can go to school!