Splurgetastic!

Autumn's delectable peanut-butter and cinnamon Krispie treats.  Now I will be good for the rest of the week.

Things Happen For a Reason

My younger sister and I were planning on going on a bike tour of Egypt in March.  I put off making arrangements, because I wanted to see how things went with Rowdy's surgeries. 

Well, I misplaced my driver's license in December (which is something I've never, ever done before).  I took my passport to the DMV as picture ID, and wouldn't you know, I haven't seen it since.  I realized this the next day, but there really was no way for me to get through to the DMV office by phone, and I couldn't get over there in person to ask if they had it.  So I just cancelled it that day. 

Because I didn't know when my new passport would arrive or how long it would take to get a visa from the Egyptian embassy, Kiki and I decided that we'd just do something else.  So we planned a snowboarding trip to Whistler/Vancouver instead.

Now that Egypt is blowing up, I'm thinking that my uncharacteristic losing of two important forms of ID wasn't such a fluke.  Maybe things would have been cleared up by the end of March, but what if they weren't?  There won't be riots or the aftermath of riots in Canada.

Should I or Shouldn't I?

Team Challenge is adding a triathlon to their lineup this season.  It's a sprint tri, and it will be held here in San Diego in September. 

The run and the bike parts will be cinchy, but I will have to really work at the swim. That part will be in the bay, so no choppy waves.  I know I'll have to train at La Jolla Shores, though, and that is out in the open water.  That makes me so nervous.  Nervous and seasick.  I vomit when I'm snorkling.  I vomit when I surf.  I vomit when I sea kayak. 

On top of that, if I join the TC group, I will get really good training and support, but I will have to commit to raising $2,500 in addition to the $3,400 I have already agreed to raise for the Kona half-marathon.  I was able to raise $4,400 for Las Vegas, but I don't know if I can count on doing as well this year.  I worry about donor fatigue. 

I could have Amber, veteran of over 50 triathlons, train me and just do the tri.  The event in general is to raise money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. 

I'm just.not.sure.

Three Special Steps

1)  Read something from the Church Handbook every day this week.
2)  Send Dayna a present!
3)  No sweets six of the seven days this week.

The first two, simple.  The third one, oh my!  Really.  I think I have something sweet every day.  Either I go get Tootsie Rolls from the gift shop at work, or someone has cake or cookies at work, or I have frozen yogurt or ice cream or something.  So really, the rule will be:  no cookies, cakes, donuts, ice cream, candy, pie, cinnamon rolls, frozen yogurt.  But I can have honey and granola on my yogurt.  And I can have Diet Coke.

This last week was semi-successful.  I did read the Sunday School lesson, but I don't feel like I really studied it in-depth.  This is the fifth Sunday coming up, so there wasn't an RS lesson to study.   I only worked out to a DVD one day (yesterday).  It's funny how things just crop up and keep me from doing things.  My closet is a little cleaner, and I did send some things to the donation box up the street.  I haven't gotten my eBay thing worked out yet.

Stress-Busting

A very sore left shoulder and neck and continued pain in my hip resulted in my getting a 90-minute deep tissue massage today.  Lots of water, including a hot tubby with epsom salts, heating pads and pain reliever will also be applied.  (AB--more information about essential oils and the usage thereof, please?)

I decided to just let go and embrace the Brahm's lullaby played overhead at work whenever a baby is born.  Getting irritated by it was pretty pointless.  Now I'm much more relaxed.

Not only is Fage delicious with honey and blueberries (and I'm sure Misty is totally right about the strawberries and almonds), it is amazing with Udi's original granola and blueberries (no honey required).  I have turned into a Fage fiend!

As Much As I Love Hansel...

Look at how darling this little thing is.  It's a Fiat 500, and they are going to be introduced into the US this spring.  So cute, not very expensive, great gas mileage, very comfortable to sit in.

At the auto show on New Year's Day

I will have to test-drive it.

New Taste Treat

Fage Greek yogurt with honey, with or without blueberries.  Mmmmmm....

On the Fourth Week of the Year...

First, to recap last week:

A new yoga school (is that what you would call it?) opened relatively nearby, so I was able to take a class for free.  Though it was billed as "level one", it was challenging.  Just goes to show that my strength isn't what it used to be.  It was a great stress-reliever, though.  Rowdy met me afterwards, and we went to the beach.  That was also a stress-reliever.

I can't say that my home office is totally organized, but I put a lot of things away.  It's better.

Finally, my prayers were more fervent, and by that I mean less-perfunctory, more thoughtful, with greater and clearer intent.  I definitely feel like I got more out of praying and even my scripture studying than usual, which was nice.

I'm looking forward to fulfilling this next week's challenges:

Hanging Out With the Boy

With Rowdy out of town, Keiler and I are left to our own devices.  He very kindly accompanied me to the mall to pick up something at Nordy.*  We then ate at the food court, then went looking for some new clothes for K.  He has good taste and is more interested in looking good than you would give him credit for, just if you were to casually chat with him.

We are now watching A Shot in the Dark, the second Pink Panther movie from 1964.  It's madcap and funny.

*Can I just say how much I love Nordstrom?  I found the perfect cardigan on their website on sale for 55% off.  I bought it online and picked it up at the store. How awesome is that?  It is perfect and wonderful and oh-such-a-bargain.

Ah,So That's It

The reason for Rowdy's lethargy, lack of appetite and fevers was a little abscess under his scar.  But now it's drained, and he's on antibiotics.  Yay!

Here Comes the Third Week's Challenges!

Week two was plus-minusey.  Because I had to work so much, I was only able to do three Martha meals during the week, but we did have leftovers from them one night.  I managed to send out two thank-yous, but I realize I can do it anytime. I did send a present to my sister, though.  So that's good.

Here comes Week 3!

Not Really the Way I Envisioned It

This last week was very busy for me.  I had something to do every night except for Monday.  Yesterday, I worked until 7 pm and spent a grand total of one hour in the same room with my family before I went downstairs to a long bath and early bed.

Because of that, the plan that I thought that Rowdy and I had for today was not the same that he had for us.  I thought that he and I were going to do a little hike out in the desert, then go to the movies (Tangled) and then to Stake Conference. 

What happened was that Rowdy, Keiler and I left the house at about 10 am, took a long drive out to East County, then hiked for an hour and a half.  Where we were was quite pretty and pleasant, by the way.  But we ended up getting home around 4 pm.  So, so much for the time with just me and Rowdy and so much for going to the show.  We did go to Stake Conference, though, and it was very good.

It was so fun to see Rowdy being much more "Rowdy" than he has been for a long time, really getting into the four-wheeling and pushing himself in the hike much more than he has in the last four months.  And it was a very pretty day, not too hot and not at all snakey.  (Snakiness is my worry every time I'm out in nature.)  Check out Rowdy's blog for the pictures.

98th Anniversary of My Grandmother's Birth

My grandma Dahlstrom would be 98 today.  She was definitely a different kind of lady, and a little hard to get close to, but I do have good memories about her. 

She was definitely a "neat freak", and her house was spotless. She tried and tried to get me to be neater, and I wish that I had inherited that trait from her, but I'm too cluttery.  Her house always smelled good, like good detergent in the laundry room and buttered toast or popcorn in the kitchen.  She smelled like Estee Lauder's Youth Dew.  I wouldn't wear it myself, but I love it when I smell it on other people. 

She loved crossword puzzles and got me hooked on them.  She was very intelligent, and told me that she wished that she could have gone to college.  She would have chosen to be an accountant, because she was very good with numbers.  She was the bookkeeper for her family business, the local Coca-Cola plant.  She was very proud of me and my sisters for going to college, and she would have loved, loved, loved it that I went to medical school. 

She played semi-pro basketball in the 30's.  Her favorite story about that was how she once made a half-court basket, but realized as she let go of the ball that it was headed towards the other team's basket.  As an adult, she was really into bowling and is in the Idaho Bowling Hall of Fame.  She was also good with her hands and made my older sister and I quilts and dustruffles for our beds when we were in grade school.  Gardening was another one of her hobbies, and her back yard had several rose bushes and lilac trees that she doted on.

One of my friends wrote me today and said, "My heart feels a little homesick for you today".  I thought that was such a sweet sentiment, and I feel a little homesick for my grandma today.

Personal Progress

I have signed on for another season of Team Challenge.  My plan is to run the Kona half marathon on June 26th.  I'm not just running, I'm going to be a team mentor, providing encouragement and information to my team members.

Tonight was our first mentors' meeting.  We talked about how to motivate people, how it's important to make sure you know your mentees, how to spread the word about Crohn's and Colitis, etc.  It reminded me so much of visiting teaching and missionary work.

Personal challenges are in the news, too.  The present to Karen was mailed yesterday.  I have made my family three good dinners from the Martha Stewart site.  While I was finding things for Karen, I happened to see a card that reminded me totally of my friend, Liz.  Of course, I bought it and sent it to her, and I count that as one of my thank you notes.

What's For Dinner?

Chicken Tenders Parmesan with Penne and Broccoli!  I highly recommend it.

They're Called Challenges For a Reason

Sending thank you notes to three people from out of the blue and sending a sibling a package may not seem like challenges to some, but I chose them for good reasons. 

For one thing, I am a procrastinator (case in point--I am sitting on my couch blogging rather than going out and buying my sister a present).  If I make a deadline, I will actually do the thing I set out to do.  It might be Saturday, but I will do it.

For another thing, I feel a little bit nervous about sending notes to people whom I have not seen for years.  I'm never confident that people will remember me, and I worry that they'll think I'm a weirdo.  What I hope, though, is that they will be happy to know that something little they did has helped someone grow and develop.

Week Two Challenges

Week One has gone well.  I had to cut my stretching session short yesterday to run to the temple, but otherwise I've accomplished all of the challenges.  They're easy enough that I can keep them up through the rest of the year.

The next week's challenges have been selected, and they are:

Recommended

Trying to figure out what to make for dinner is one of my least-favorite daily chores.  Cooking and cleaning up isn't that bad, but I am not a creative chef.  I was so glad to discover the Martha Stewart Everyday Food daily email.

Each day, I get a new recipe in my inbox.  They are healthy and relatively-quick to make.  I would suggest that you read the recipe's reviews beforehand.  There are good suggestions, like decreasing the amount of one ingredient or other. 

Progress Report

I decided to go to the archives of past General Conferences for my reading today.  As I was getting ready to read, I was prompted to take notes about what I was reading in a notebook I keep of noted on different meetings. 


Here are two quotes from my readings:

"And when we are asked why we are such a happy people, our answer is: 'Because we have everything—life with all its opportunities, death without fear, eternal life with endless growth and development.'"  Spencer W. Kimball, April, 1974

"Day-to-day acts of service, whether for good or evil, may not seem important, but they are building cords of love that become so strong they can seldom be broken. Ours is to place our areas of love in proper perspective. Meaningful love always works for our eternal progress and not against it."  Marvin J. Ashton, April, 1981.

Other than that, I am regaining flexibility every day by stretching for 20 minutes.  My hip pain hasn't completely gone away, but it has diminished.  My face is soft and smooth, except for the creases in my forehead that just won't be ironed out. 

Good, Better, Best

Elder Dallin Oaks' talk in the October, 2007 was also used in yesterday's RS lesson.  He said that there are good choices, better choices and the best choices in our lives.

This made me think about my current visiting teaching situation.  My partner, Cindy, used to be assigned by herself to Suzie and Jessie (not their real names).  It worked out very well for all concerned, because all were mothers with small children about the same age.  They are all very busy, and they would get together in play groups and talk. 

I was so stoked to be paired with Cindy and have the chance to visit Suzie and Jessie.  They are all amazing, wonderful and inspiring women.  We are already friends.  However, what with the holidays and people's schedules, it just hasn't worked to have the format be formal visits, a message, etc.  I don't think that's the way that it's going to come together. 

Regarding visiting teaching and home teaching, Elder Oaks states, "I suggest that it is good to visit our assigned families; it is better to have a brief visit in which we teach doctrine and principle; and it is best of all to make a difference in the lives of some of those we visit".  I don't know that it really matters with these two sisters that we have those formal visits, but I do want to participate in somehow making a difference in their lives when and where I can.

I think the key at this point is to talk with my companion often and find out what she is thinking about the sisters and visiting teaching.  Besides that, I need to make sure I also talk to the sisters when I see them and see what I can do.  One-minute "Hi!  How are you?" chats might be all we can do at church, but as I seek inspiration and listen to and follow the promptings of the Spirit, something will probably come together to help me.

I dunno, reading this (but I'm still going to post it), it points out how socially inept I can be.  But yeah, I am, and at my age I'm still trying to figure out how to do some fairly-simple social tasks.

Good Start

Face washed and moisturized!  I use Mary Kay Time-Wise age-fighting moisturizer and night serum.

Twenty minutes of stretching right after church was so helpful in diminishing my annoying right hip pain.

Our Relief Society lesson was about procrastination.  Kim, RS counselor extrordinaire, led me to my first Conference talk, "Straightway", by Marvin J. Ashton.  She also referenced an article from the 1979 New Era by Sterling W. Sill titled, "The Three I's"--straight talk, warning against Ignorance, Indifference and Indecision.  A good start to the new year!

My sister, Karen, and I were planning a bike tour in Egypt for this spring, until I misplaced my passport.  The process of gettting a new one and then a visa was probably going to cut things too short.  So, flexible women that we are, we chose a new adventure.  It's 180 degrees from a bike tour in Egypt.  We are going to go to Vancouver, BC and Whistler.  Whistler has a two-day women's snowboard camp that is less-expensive than the one at Park City (like, half as much).  We are pretty stoked.

2011 Weekly Challenge Begins!

I was able to think of 26 physical challenges, 26 miscellaneous challenges and 13 spiritual challenges for the coming year.  Each spiritual challenge will be repeated four times during the year; the others, twice.

The challenges will be selected every Saturday so that I can start planning.  The actual challenge will begin the next day and carried out through the next Saturday.  Separate from the challenges, I will be resuming my running and riding schedules.

The most difficult challenge is "no Diet Coke for a week".  I have to admit that I really debated modifying or dropping that one.  After all, "no sweets" is only for six days.  But it's only twice in the year, and the fact that it sounds so hard lets me know that it's something I should do.

The first weekly challenges have been selected...and they are...

Annus Horribilis

Goodbye to 2010!  A hearty welcome to 2011!  For all of us not so enamored of the last year, best wishes for a wonderful new year.