Quote of the Day

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."
Abraham Lincoln

Stress Buster #7

Be prepared to wait. A paperback can make a wait in a post office line almost pleasant.

Neal A. Maxwell:
Clearly, without patience we will learn less in life. We will see less; we will feel less; we will hear less. Ironically, "rush" and "more" usually mean "less." The pressure of "now," time and time again, go against the grain of the gospel with its eternalism.

Things to accomplish in 2012

From my 100 things, I'm planning to do the following this year:

• go on a cruise (#16) - I go tomorrow!
• learn to play the organ using pedals (#45) - I only sort of fake it right now
• start writing my personal history (#58) - I haven't journaled consistently since high school, so I should start improving my habits here. Bruce has been a great journaler - up until he met married me, of course... oops!
• start memorizing some poems & scriptures :) (#70 & #55)

I probably will only finish the first one, since the last two are more ongoing efforts and I have a feeling the second one will be, too.

Quote of the Day

Gordon B. Hinckley clipped this from the Wall Street Journal, titled “The Most Creative Job in the World”:

“It involves taste, fashion, decorating, recreation, education, transportation, psychology, romance, cuisine, designing, literature, medicine, handicraft, art, horticulture, economics, government, community relations, pediatrics, geriatrics, entertainment, maintenance, purchasing, direct mail, law, accounting, religion, energy and management. Anyone who can handle all those has to be somebody special. She is. She’s a homemaker.” (3 June 1983.)

via

Stress Buster #6

Practice preventive maintenance. Your car, appliances, home, and relationships will be less likely to break down/fall apart "at the worst possible moment."

Stress Buster #5

Make duplicates of all keys. Bury a house key in a secret spot in the garden.

What we have been up to

• Bruce and I organized & cleaned our entire bedroom last night. It's starting to look really good!
• One of the Christmas cards we received was a print of a piece (painted by our friend) that I've been wanting for a long time. I got it back from being framed yesterday and it looks gorgeous! I'll try to take a picture soon.
• My cruise is in 2 weeks. Bruce is going to Austin to visit some friends while I'm gone.
• I'm sick for the third time in 4 weeks. I thought I had been sleeping & taking care of myself, but my clients tell me differently. How would they know? I'm serious. Also, I did get a flu shot, so it's just head colds & what-not, so not a huge deal except that I am on the phone a lot so it's hard on my voice.
• My work computer crashed at noon and I still can't get it to start up. I'm trying to work from our mac, but all of my files & bookmarks are on my pc. Maybe I should give up =)

I think I'm going to go get some pho now.

The Butternut Tree at Fort Juniper by Jack Gilbert

I called the tree a butternut (which I don't think
it is) so I could talk about how different
the trees are around me here in the rain.
It reminds me how mutable language is. Keats
would leave blank places in his drafts to hold on
to his passion, spaces for the right words to come.
We use them sideways. The way we automatically
add bits of shape to hold on to the dissolving dreams.
So many of the words are for meanwhile. We say,
"I love you" while we search for language
that can be heard. Which allows us to talk
about how the aspens over there tremble
in the smallest shower, while the tree over by
the window here gathers the raindrops and lets them
go in bunches. The way my heart carols sometimes,
and other times yearns. Sometimes is quiet
and other times is powerfully quiet.

Stress Buster #4

Do nothing you have to lie about later.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

Sweet Nothings

I just have to document this because it made me so happy and I don't want to forget these little moments.

Monday - I dropped off my older nephew from school at a friend's house. I went in the back room to interrupt my younger nephew Tommy (2 1/2) at play to get a quick hug. I said, 'Tommy, can you come give me a hug?' His head popped out of the play house he was in and he said 'Of course!' before running over to me to give me a sweet hug and kiss.

Wednesday (today) - I went to my parents' house to use their phone (since I had forgotten mine). I walked in and Tommy ran up the stairs immediately to me. His mom said, 'well, that's the first time today he's been excited about anything!' He gave me a big hug and asked me 'where's Bruce?' I explained Bruce wasn't around and instead of climbing down, he continued to hug me as we walked downstairs. Then he said to me in his little baby voice, 'I've miss'd you so much.' I hadn't quite heard so I asked him what he'd said and he said it again. Oh my! my heart just melted then and there. I love that baby boy!

Surprised by Evening by Robert Bly

There is unknown dust that is near us
Waves breaking on shores just over the hill
Trees full of birds that we have never seen
Nets drawn with dark fish.

The evening arrives; we look up and it is there
It has come through the nets of the stars
Through the tissues of the grass
Walking quietly over the asylums of the waters.

The day shall never end we think:
We have hair that seemed born for the daylight;
But at last the quiet waters of the night will rise
And our skin shall see far off as it does under water.