This week's question is:
Do you like to dabble in lots of different hobbies? If so, what are they?
By the way, I read this question to Aftyn and she thought the word "dabble" was hysterically funny. :) It is a weird word actually and not one I use in regular conversation. I'm not sure anyone does. ;)
I think everyone has hobbies. If not we'd be pretty boring people. I have lots of hobbies that I like to "dabble" in. I'd have more if I had more time and less kids. ;)
Here's my hobbies:
1. Organizing- I love to organize and since I have seven people in my household, five of whom are children there's always an area in the house or our lives that needs some tweaking. Most recently, I organized the kitchen cupboard under the sink and I'm thinking my next project will be my sock drawer. It may not seem glamorous to most but I find the entire process invigorating and a great stress-reliever.
2. Crafting- Another stress-reliever for me is doing crafts. I love thinking up an idea and then making it come to life. A friend once pointed out to me that the reason so many women like crafts is because unlike housework once you get a craft project done it stays done. There's no redoing it over and over like cleaning a house. #truth ;)
3. Instruments- I can play the piano sort-of-ish. It's not very pleasant to listen to. I start and restart trying to get the notes right unless I'm playing one of the five songs I play well. I do enjoy it though and I can play well enough to do hymns for Family Home Evening. I also play the flute and really enjoy it. And I'm much better at it than the piano. ;) I love that I can convey my love for my Savior through my music.
4. Baking- I enjoy baking and like that most everything I make turns out well. I feel like I'm a better mom if I always have cookies in the cookie jar for my kids. It's silly I know but I love to make cookies for them. Currently we have M&M cookies, Nathan's favorite. :)
5. Blogging- Ha! I almost forgot about blogging! Blogging about my family and my organization projects is a huge part of who I am. I am lousy at conventional journal writing. I have about five journals that I started as a kid and each has just a few pages written in it. Too bad blogging wasn't a thing back then. Funny, when blogs were trendy back when Gavin was a baby, all of my friends and I in my playgroup I ran, had blogs. They had music on them, were decorated all cute, and we all read each other's blogs. Well out of the eleven of us who were in that group there is a grand total of one who still blogs-- me. I'm a die hard, I guess. I have no idea if they still read my blogs (most likely not) but if they do I hope they know I still love them!
6. Walking- This is one I am just now getting back into since my foot surgery. I love going on daily walks. It has always been my favorite form of exercise. I'm not progressing as much as I'd like but a few days a week now I can make it out on a short walk, down to the park by the school and then back up to our house. Not nearly what I used to be able to do but I'm proud of what I can do so far with my "new foot".
As I said before I probably had a lot more hobbies back when I had more time but for now what I do is great and keeps me balanced. Hobbies are a great thing to "dabble" in. ;)
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
#52Stories: Week 8 Childhood Pastimes
Week 8: What were your favorite hobbies and pastimes in your childhood?
When I was a kid I had a typical childhood. I loved to play outside with my friends or with my sister and brother. We had lots of trees in our yard and I was always climbing them. I also loved to read and I still do. I don't climb trees anymore though. ;) Video games were a huge part of my childhood too. Back then girls didn't really play video games, at least none of my friends did. Lucky for Nathan he found a girl who liked them and could play them. :) I also watched a lot of TV. My parents both worked and we were often home alone. We filled the hours with TV. I still like to watch TV. I find it relaxing. :)
I loved to play with dolls, barbies, and stuffed animals. I could play for hours with them by myself or with friends. I enjoyed riding my bike and rollerblading until I wasn't in a brace and then couldn't. I loved to be with my family. We'd walk our beagles on nice days or go to the Lake. We'd go for drives and have picnics.
When I got older and outgrew my toys, I was a typical teenager. I liked to hang out with my friends, watching movies and such. Sometimes we'd just drive around because there wasn't much to do in our hometown. :) I liked to go on evening walks with my mom. I enjoyed spoiling my little brother, Sterling. I loved to go on shopping excursions in St.George or Flagstaff. I loved clothes shopping. That hasn't changed. ;)
As far as hobbies go I discovered when I was about 11 that I loved crafting. I began creating things to hang on my bedroom walls. I still make many of the things displayed on my walls. I learned how to play the piano when I was 9 and the flute when I was 11. I took piano for 5 years but didn't progress very far. I can play some hymns and some primary songs but despite my lack of talent piano is a hobby I enjoyed then and now. I loved the flute from the first time I heard my sister play in middle school band. I knew that was an instrument I wanted to learn. I continue to play now because I find it very satisfying. The hobby of music has been a great blessing in my life.
This concludes Week 8. Until next week. :)
#52Stories: Week 7 Qualities in Friends
Here I am again working on my goal of recording my personal history for the year.
This week's question: What qualities in friends do you most admire?
I've really had to give this one some thought! I've looked back at past friends and current friends. I think the quality most of them has had in common is bravery. I have a hard time being brave and I've tended to choose friends who are super confident and not afraid to try new things to help me do the same. It's always good to reach outside of your comfort zone and I've appreciated my friends who aren't afraid to get me to do that. :)
I also look for friends who value kindness as I do. There's always room for kindness. Some of my friends haven't been as kind and that brought out a side that I didn't like in myself; causing me to treat others unkindly. This was in my childhood years, of course, and I've tried my hardest to rectify the unkind things I did to the best of my ability. :) In my adulthood I've had some friends, one in particular, who valued honesty above kindness, what she called brutal honesty, to a fault. She felt it was her duty to tell me some things that were very unkind and it hurt my heart so much. I still struggle with that and needless to say, that particular friend is no longer a friend. I need kindness more than brutal honesty. Besides the things she felt were so pressing to tell me were only her own opinion and not the truth.
Today we watched the new Cinderella movie as a family and the main motto of Cinderella is to, "have courage and be kind." Funny. Those are two things that I value most in a friendship! :)
This week's question: What qualities in friends do you most admire?
I've really had to give this one some thought! I've looked back at past friends and current friends. I think the quality most of them has had in common is bravery. I have a hard time being brave and I've tended to choose friends who are super confident and not afraid to try new things to help me do the same. It's always good to reach outside of your comfort zone and I've appreciated my friends who aren't afraid to get me to do that. :)
I also look for friends who value kindness as I do. There's always room for kindness. Some of my friends haven't been as kind and that brought out a side that I didn't like in myself; causing me to treat others unkindly. This was in my childhood years, of course, and I've tried my hardest to rectify the unkind things I did to the best of my ability. :) In my adulthood I've had some friends, one in particular, who valued honesty above kindness, what she called brutal honesty, to a fault. She felt it was her duty to tell me some things that were very unkind and it hurt my heart so much. I still struggle with that and needless to say, that particular friend is no longer a friend. I need kindness more than brutal honesty. Besides the things she felt were so pressing to tell me were only her own opinion and not the truth.
Today we watched the new Cinderella movie as a family and the main motto of Cinderella is to, "have courage and be kind." Funny. Those are two things that I value most in a friendship! :)
#52Stories Week 6 Childhood Friends
Here's the next question in the #52Stories project:
Who was your first best friend? Are you still in contact with each other?
I had lots of best friends when I was a kid. My first best friend was Ethan Schulz. Our parents were best friends with Ethan's parents, Mark and Elaine, and so naturally their kids had to be too! The lived just down the street from us and Ethan and I had so much fun together. I can still see my little four-year-old self running over to his house. Ethan's brother Robert was a year older than us and with him, Jessica, Ethan, and I, we came up with all sorts of imaginative ways to play. My funniest memory of Ethan is when the four of us were up at the high school track because our moms were walking the track for exercise. It was hot and they were taking forever. Of course being kids I'm sure the time was much shorter than it seemed but we were certain we'd been there forever and we were so thirsty we thought we were going to die. :) Finally, Ethan thought he could handle it no longer so he found a puddle in the parking lot and drank from it! How he really didn't die is beyond me!
Sadly, Ethan's dad got cancer when we were in 6th grade and ended up dying from it on Mother's Day. It was such a sad thing and very hard to see our friends have to go through it. After that my parents' friendship dwindled. My dad didn't have Mark anymore and we all just grew apart. Ethan made some bad friend choices and ended up on drugs. His mom sent him away to a recovery program which saved his life, no doubt. He's doing very well now. He's a chef at a fancy restaurant and has a wife and two adorable little girls. Sadly, I don't keep in contact with him but I am in regular contact with his mom so I follow him that way. :)
My next best friend was a girl named Sari Hulet. We met the summer before third grade. She lived three houses down from us. When they were building the new stake center down the street from our house, Sari's mom invited our family to walk through it with them. When we were there Sari and I broke off from the group to explore the "dark, scary" part by ourselves. We gripped hands and thought it was so fun to be scared. After that we were inseparable. We played together all the time, had sleepovers, and walked to and from school together. I loved her! We would laugh so hard we'd start snorting, which of course made us laugh more. She was a great friend. One time Sari told me she was worried about her dad because he smoked cigarettes. She didn't want him to harm his health and so we snuck the cigarettes out of his pocket, took them to an empty lot in the neighborhood, and buried them. I'm sure her dad was mad when he found out!
The summer before 5th grade Sari and her cousin Melody were crossing a street in Flagstaff and were struck by an oncoming car. Melody broke her pelvis and Sari received a very bad head injury as her head hit the windshield. I was visiting my Aunt Julie when I found out. I remember curling up on my mom's lap and sobbing. I visited Sari as often as I could while she was in the hospital. She was in a coma for a while and then took a long time to relearn things and regain her memories. She never forgot who I was though. She would often ask for me and liked to call me on the phone. It was a hard thing for a 10 year old to go through but I loved Sari so I had to be brave. She eventually recovered and she and I got to be in the same 5th grade class. We had a great time but I found her personality to be altered and she wasn't quite the same as she used to be.
Sari moved to Colorado after 5th grade. I got to stay with her for a couple of weeks. We had fun but we fought a lot, something we had never done before. Sari and I wrote back and forth and she would come visit when she was in town but we mostly lost contact with each other. Her family moved a lot and after a while I didn't know where to send letters. The last time I talked to Sari was about a month before my wedding. It was so good to visit with her. I would like to still be in contact with her but when I asked her mom about it on facebook she said, "Sari prefers to live a private life." and she didn't respond after that. I was sad. I know she's married and has at least one child but other than that I don't know. I wish I did. :(
In middle school I had a new best friend each year. Heather Ott, then Amanda Nicksic, then Lisa Andrus. I loved all of them and remained friends with all of them through high school. I keep in contact with Amanda a little on facebook. Lisa, I hear about from time to time because my mom is friends with her mom, and I still talk to Heather on the phone occasionally.
I had a couple of best friends in high school, Laura Blankenship and then Heidi Roberson. Laura became my "frienemy" because we got into a fight over a boy. We made amends after high school and kept in contact quite regularly. Then one day she disappeared. She either left facebook or she unfriended me. Either way I have no idea what she's up to. Heidi Roberson lives up in WA, ironically, with her long time boyfriend. I hope she's doing well but I don't have regular contact with her either.
As an adult I've decided that good friends are better than best friends. Best friends are too much work. Nathan is now and will forever be my only best friend and that's the way I like it. :)
Who was your first best friend? Are you still in contact with each other?
I had lots of best friends when I was a kid. My first best friend was Ethan Schulz. Our parents were best friends with Ethan's parents, Mark and Elaine, and so naturally their kids had to be too! The lived just down the street from us and Ethan and I had so much fun together. I can still see my little four-year-old self running over to his house. Ethan's brother Robert was a year older than us and with him, Jessica, Ethan, and I, we came up with all sorts of imaginative ways to play. My funniest memory of Ethan is when the four of us were up at the high school track because our moms were walking the track for exercise. It was hot and they were taking forever. Of course being kids I'm sure the time was much shorter than it seemed but we were certain we'd been there forever and we were so thirsty we thought we were going to die. :) Finally, Ethan thought he could handle it no longer so he found a puddle in the parking lot and drank from it! How he really didn't die is beyond me!
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| Me and Ethan at 8th Grade Promotion |
My next best friend was a girl named Sari Hulet. We met the summer before third grade. She lived three houses down from us. When they were building the new stake center down the street from our house, Sari's mom invited our family to walk through it with them. When we were there Sari and I broke off from the group to explore the "dark, scary" part by ourselves. We gripped hands and thought it was so fun to be scared. After that we were inseparable. We played together all the time, had sleepovers, and walked to and from school together. I loved her! We would laugh so hard we'd start snorting, which of course made us laugh more. She was a great friend. One time Sari told me she was worried about her dad because he smoked cigarettes. She didn't want him to harm his health and so we snuck the cigarettes out of his pocket, took them to an empty lot in the neighborhood, and buried them. I'm sure her dad was mad when he found out!
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| Me and Sari at the Grand Canyon |
Sari moved to Colorado after 5th grade. I got to stay with her for a couple of weeks. We had fun but we fought a lot, something we had never done before. Sari and I wrote back and forth and she would come visit when she was in town but we mostly lost contact with each other. Her family moved a lot and after a while I didn't know where to send letters. The last time I talked to Sari was about a month before my wedding. It was so good to visit with her. I would like to still be in contact with her but when I asked her mom about it on facebook she said, "Sari prefers to live a private life." and she didn't respond after that. I was sad. I know she's married and has at least one child but other than that I don't know. I wish I did. :(
In middle school I had a new best friend each year. Heather Ott, then Amanda Nicksic, then Lisa Andrus. I loved all of them and remained friends with all of them through high school. I keep in contact with Amanda a little on facebook. Lisa, I hear about from time to time because my mom is friends with her mom, and I still talk to Heather on the phone occasionally.
I had a couple of best friends in high school, Laura Blankenship and then Heidi Roberson. Laura became my "frienemy" because we got into a fight over a boy. We made amends after high school and kept in contact quite regularly. Then one day she disappeared. She either left facebook or she unfriended me. Either way I have no idea what she's up to. Heidi Roberson lives up in WA, ironically, with her long time boyfriend. I hope she's doing well but I don't have regular contact with her either.
As an adult I've decided that good friends are better than best friends. Best friends are too much work. Nathan is now and will forever be my only best friend and that's the way I like it. :)
#52 Stories Week 5 Memories for Grade School
Here's the latest question in my personal history goal:
Share some school memories from Grade School
Finally a question I can really enjoy! I happen to remember a lot from my childhood and it's always fun to reminisce. :) I think I'll go grade by grade.
Preschool
-The name of my preschool was called Rainbow Preschool. How cool is that? It was in one of the churches in Page.
-My mom carpooled with my best buddy Ethan's mom. I remember one time pulling into the parking lot (this was back before booster seats and before we regularly wore seat belts) with Ethan and his mom. I thought she had parked and since Ethan and I were sharing the front seat, I opened the door, reaching across Ethan to do so. His mom started driving and Ethan almost fell out! I was so traumatized!
-I remember they always gave us cranberry juice to drink with our snacks. I hated it and the teachers wouldn't let me get a drink from the drinking fountain instead. :(
-One time Hector Soto came to school with cotton in his ears because he was recovering from an ear infection. We all thought it was so cool!
-At circle time I decided to try and rest my head on Nick White's shoulder (just the mom did on a commercial I had seen) because I thought he was a cute little boy. He looked at me like I was crazy and moved to the other side of the circle! Ha Ha!
-I remember sitting on the floor in front of our TV watching Alvin and the Chipmunks. I was waiting for my carpool and was singing along to the theme song. I remember my mom walking by and asking me if I was a chipmunk too and thinking it was weird she didn't know I was a kid. ;)
Kindergarten
-The name of my teacher was Mr. Greisch. He was the same teacher my sister Jessica had and I was excited to have him be my teacher. He had two teacher aides, Mrs. Thorn and Mrs. Schneider.
-I remember walking down the long ramp that went to the library for our class picture. A different teacher walked by and stopped to tell me I had had beautiful brown eyes. I was so insulted because I knew, even in kindergarten, that my eyes are not brown. They are hazel. I still get annoyed when people tell me I have brown eyes. ;)
-Anthony Adair was the mean kid in class. He once punched Heather Salvaggio in the stomach at recess. And he ate newspaper which I thought was weird. One day he lost a tooth at school and was so traumatized he cried in the corner for a long time. I was not afraid of him after that!
-There were three of us that had similar names in my class. Me, Tara Contratto and Ciara McClean. Mr. Greisch called us the "rhyming girls".
-I brought my baby brother Sterling for show and tell once. :)
-Back when I was in school they focused not only on educational things but also on developmental ones. Thus we all had to learn how to tie our shoes. We would sit in a circle with Mrs. Thorn and she would untie her white tennis shoe and have us tie it for her. Those who could tie it would get an M&M. I was the last one in our circle to learn it and I was so sad! I desperately wanted that M&M! I practiced and practiced at home by tying Sterling's little baby shoe and was finally able to get it.:)
-I remember sitting with my mom in the bathroom while she bathed Sterling and reading "No More Tears" that was written on his baby shampoo. My mom was so excited for me! After that reading was a breeze. :)
-I once stapled my thumb in class. I can still see the staple poking out of it! I went to the bathroom to wash it off and shut that same thumb in the stall door. That was a bad day! :(
-I remember taking a fieldtrip to the Fit Stop so my mom could teach an aerobics class to my class.
-Being Momma Bunny in our class play and remembering how hot the costume was. I also got to sing "She'll be coming 'round the mountain" with Tara Contratto.
-Winning second place in the Track Meet and then losing my mom after it was over temporarily. It was scary but thankfully I found my teacher and he helped me get back to her. :)
-I remember riding the bus with Jessica home. One of the bus drivers would yell something that we couldn't understand so we assumed he was speaking Navajo. He would then start driving away before we had a chance to sit down so we'd just fall into a random seat. Our other bus driver was Mrs. Yazzie and she was nice to the good kids. I do remember her yelling in the intercom, "Everybody sit down and shut up!" though! Ha ha!
First Grade
-My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Smith. I loved her! Her aide's name was Mrs. Marques and she was also very nice. Mrs. Smith was totally unconventional and fun. She dressed up as Richard Nixon for Halloween. She also had a rainbow dress complete with rainbow tights that she would wear regularly.
-I remember the first day of school was scary. I was nervous because I didn't know who Mrs. Smith was and I was going to have to go to school all day long. My mom walked me to the classroom and when we got there the teacher wasn't in there but there were some kids sitting at desks. My mom suggested I go sit next to a little girl named Nicole with giant glasses. When I tried to sit next to her she said meanly, "You can't sit here! It's saved!" I burst into tears and my mom had to stay with me until Mrs. Smith came back.
-For the first half of first grade we went to the old elementary school. For the second half we went to the new school that had just been built. While we were going to the old school, Jessica would ride her bike to school with her friend Melody Lucas. I was way too afraid to try that and also too afraid (I was afraid of many things) to ride the bus alone. My mom, I think, had an aerobics class to teach so she arranged for me to ride to school with our neighbor across the street, Nina Fisher. She was a teacher too. I had to cross the street and knock on her door. She had two loud chocolate labs that would bark and bark when I'd knock. I was terrified of them and refused to wait in her house while she finished getting ready. Instead I would just sit in her car. :)
-Mrs. Smith would pull out loose teeth of her students. She pulled out a couple of mine. :)
-I was introduced to chapter books in first grade. Mrs. Smith read us Mrs. Piggle Wiggle among other things. I still love those books and have read them to my own kids.
-We sang lots of patriotic songs in first grade. I'm pretty sure we were the only first graders who knew all the words to "You're a Grand Ol' Flag." :) Mrs. Smith always sang a Goodbye song to us when we left for the day too. It went like this, "Goodbye busers, goodbye busers, goodbye busers! I'll see you in my dreams!"
-Sometimes Mrs. Smith had to leave the classroom for a moment and she would leave me in charge. She'd let me sit at her desk and keep an eye on things.:)
-Mrs. Smith had a very dry sense of humor. She told my mom at parent/teacher conference that sometimes she'd crack a joke and it would go over all the kids' heads but that I would just "reach up and grab the joke from out of the sky" and start laughing. I always liked that. Thanks Dad for helping me understand dry whit at a young age. ;)
-I remember being sent out into the hallway to help Kerri Webb practice reading. She was my friend but I was really trying to help her. All she wanted to do was play though. The next year we all moved on to 2nd grade but Kerri stayed behind and had to repeat 1st grade again. :(
-Dexter Clark threw up all over himself in first grade. He just sat there covered in puke with his arms folded like nothing had happened! He also pooped in the pool during our mandatory swimming lessons. They made us all get out and line up they could check our bums. When it got to my turn the aid told me she didn't need to check my bum because I was a "good girl". That's right. I was no pool pooper. ;)
Second Grade
-My 2nd Grade teacher was Mrs. Moore. She was also in our ward and I really liked her. She had a teacher aide named Mrs. Soto. She was Hector Soto's mom "the cotton ball in his ear boy" from preschool. ;)
-At the start of school Mrs. Moore asked me if I wanted to go by my first name or my middle name. I didn't know how to respond. No one had ever asked me that before because my middle name is Anne. Turns out she thought my middle name was actually Anna. :)
-Mrs. Moore liked to sing songs with us. She had a piano in her classroom and everything. I remember her teaching us "Great Green Gobs" at Halloween. She also sang "Waddly Atcha" with us.
-We read "Little House in the Big Woods" that year. I fell in love with The Little House on the Prairie books and have had Ainsley and Aftyn read them. Breah will be next and Gavin if I can convince him. ;)
-Mrs. Moore had short, curly hair. Sometimes she would put her bangs up in a comb that made them poke straight up. It seemed every time she wore her hair like that she was in a bad mood. Bad hair day, I guess. ;)
-In the spring we had to write a story about a kite and the adventures it took. In my story I made my kite get dirty somehow and it went to a car wash to get clean. I overheard Mrs. Moore telling Mrs. Soto how imaginative that was. It made me feel proud. :)
-Our class did a school play called The Safety Kids. It was all about not talking to strangers, etc. I was chosen to sing a solo in it called, "The Safety Don'ts". I wore a sea green drop waist dress for my performance and don't remember feeling scared at all. How I was ever brave enough to do that still baffles me!
-The night before the Valentine party I was up all night with an ear infection. I got those a lot when I was a kid. I was so sad that I was going to miss the party that I begged my mom to let me go. She did and I remember just feeling awful the whole time I was there. I was running a fever and didn't have any fun. To make matters worse Brandy Bellar tripped me and I fell flat on my face. She claimed she was trying to trip Scott Grygla but I had my doubts. ;)
-When I got into high school I took a class where I was able to intern in an elementary classroom. I chose Mrs. Moore to intern with because I knew her and admired her as a teacher. She ran a very neat and orderly classroom. She always had perfect control over her classroom. Had I ended up becoming an elementary school teacher I wanted to be just like her. I loved interning with Mrs. Moore. I learned so much from her and ended up interning for all of my junior and senior years, plus one semester in college.
Third Grade
-My 3rd grade teacher was Mrs. Stephens. She had an aide named Mrs. Berry. I was really disappointed to get Mrs. Stephens. The other two 3rd grade teachers were Mr. and Mrs. Fadely and were favorites among the students. My best friend Sari got Mrs. Fadely and I was so jealous!
-To be honest I didn't really like Mrs. Stephens all that much. Probably because I was still wishing I had gotten into Sari's class! Ha ha!
- I remember Mrs. Stephens talked about her two sons who were teenagers, a lot. Their names were Glen and Mark.
-Mrs. Stephens taught us a song about evaporation. She made it up herself and was very proud of that fact. I can still sing the whole thing. "I am a drippy little raindrop..." Ha ha!
-We learned cursive in 3rd grade. Mrs. Stephens was convinced that I held the pencil wrong and was always bugging me about it. I hated learning cursive and Mrs. Stephens didn't help. Often times she would send me back and make me redo my whole cursive worksheet because she said it wasn't neat enough. She also gave me a C in handwriting on my report card. Rude. I used to bribe Jessica into doing some of my cursive homework so I could get a better grade. ;)
-There was a boy named Justin Stewart in my class. He and I were good friends. I used to bring some of my Cabbage Patch dolls to recess and he confessed that he had a Cabbage Patch boy doll. I talked him into bringing it to school so I could "babysit" it at recess. I told his wife about that once on facebook. She liked it. ;)
-Third grade was the first and only year the school had us take our class picture outside. That was a mistake because it was of course sunny, being Arizona and all ,so it was so hard to smile and not squint!
Fourth Grade
-My 4th grade teacher was Mrs. Maddox. I don't remember if she had an aide or not. I don't have a copy of my fourth grade class picture because I was blinking in it and didn't like that fact so I threw it away. I regret that now because I can't remember who was in my class. :(
-Mrs. Maddox was old. She retired the following year when I was in 5th grade.
-I remember liking Mrs. Maddox but she was pretty strict. Lots of kids were afraid of her. I was one of those kids however that teachers liked because I was smart, responsible, and obedient. ;)
-Mrs. Maddox read aloud to us a lot. I remember her reading us "Where the Red Fern Grows." We loved hearing her read it to us. One day the power went out while we were at school. It seemed like the other classes all went outside to recess while we waited for the power to come back on. Because we wanted to keep reading, Mrs. Maddox turned on a flashlight and read to us in the dark.
-Mrs. Maddox had some friend who was a literary expert or something. She invited her to come talk to us about books. I remember this lady droning on and on while pacing back and forth. This lady was really old and I remember Mrs. Maddox having to keep moving the overhead projector's cord so the old lady wouldn't trip. Finally this person started telling us what books we should be reading. I remember her telling us the Ramona Quimby books were great. She asked the girls in the class what we were reading and we told her we read The Baby-Sitters Club books. This lady had never heard of them! After that I didn't think she was much of an expert. ;)
-Mrs. Maddox had weird ways of pronouncing certain words. She said the word, "woman " as "wo-man" and she said "wash" as "warsh".
-Mrs. Maddox raised finches. Somehow she told me I could have two of her baby birds after they had hatched. My mom took me to Sprouse Reitz and we picked out a bird cage, etc. so we'd be all ready. I remember my mom taking me to Mrs. Maddox's house so we could pick up the birds. I got two female gray finches. I named them Harriet and Henrietta. They lasted for about a month and then they died because my dad had sprayed for cockroaches and it poisoned them. Evidently, finches aren't very hardy. It was traumatizing. :( I cried and cried over my poor birds. I still remember coming to class the following morning and overhearing the phone call my mom was making to Mrs. Maddox to tell her and trying to be brave.
-My friends Jenny and Robin Hamilton were in my class and I remember when we were learning long division Jenny cried because it was so hard! That was the first time I remember realizing that school, especially math, was going to be difficult sometimes.
Fifth Grade
-My fifth grade teacher's name was Mr. Murray. He didn't have an aide. Mr. Murray was young and energetic. He was my favorite teacher ever. I really loved him. Fifth grade was fun because we were the biggest kids in the school. We got to be the leaders and all the other grades looked up to us.
-Mr. Murray was very into science. In fact we traded with Mr. Winkler's class across the hall so Mr. Murray could teach Mr. Winkler's class science while we learned Social Studies from Mr. Winkler.
-Mr. Murray had a rock cutter and had us bring in a rock to cut. It was nerve racking because he told us if we slipped, we'd cut off our fingers. I managed to cut my rock and not my finger. ;)
-We also made robots. The instructions were very complicated but Mr. Murray insisted his class the year before had made several robots with no problems. Our class couldn't figure it out at all. We finally managed to make one that was a line tracker. He could follow a line of black electrical tape and we had him walk all the way to the school office.
-Fifth grade was the beginning of "big kid world". It seemed like lots of girls had boyfriends and kids started breaking off into cliques more. There was a boy in my class named Andy Lamer. He had a huge crush on me, though he never actually told me, he walked me and Sterling home every day. He wrote in permanent marker on the back of his jean jacket, "I love 47". That was me. 4 letters in my first name, 7 in my last. Ha ha. I wonder what ever happened to good ol' Andy Lamer?;)
-Sari and I used to stay after school to "help" Mr. Murray get ready for things. We loved hanging out with him. He'd turn on oldies music and we'd dance and dance.
- Mr. Murray never yelled at us. Instead he'd just get "disappointed" in us. I can still see him sitting on his desk in front of us and sighing while shaking his head. It felt awful to let him down and it would've been better to be yelled at I think.
-Mr. Murray video recorded us doing all kinds of things. I remember him recording us reciting a poem and my personal favorite-- he took a video of Sari and I performing a dance to "Kokomo" that we made up.
-Mr. Murray loved to run. He'd make us go for runs around campus as a class. He still loves to run now. I follow him on facebook. ;)
-I was a lightweight as a kid (and now too). I was the lightest kid in my class. I remember Mr. Murray teaching us about the walk on the moon. He had me stand on a chair and say, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." When I said the word "leap" Mr. Murray lifted me up and carried me around the room. Fun times!
-I had Mr. Winkler for Social Studies and also Math. Mr. Winkler was the most popular fifth grade teacher and everyone loved him. We had to learn all fifty states and their capitals and memorize them. I worked so hard to learn them. I can still see Mr. Winkler pointing at the states while I named them.
-In math we were going over our homework. Mr. Winkler called on Lance Shakespear to say what his answer was for the story problem. I remember Lance saying his answer in bushels which was way off. Mr. Winkler said, "Let me guess. Your dad helped you with that one didn't he?" Ha ha!
-Someone hit me in the temple with a rock at recess. No one ever fessed up. I blacked out for a second or two though and got an exciting trip to the nurse's office. :)
-I made it into the spelling bee but neglected to study that much. I was the first one out and was so embarrassed! Sharon Chief, who was also in my class, ended up winning and got to move onto district in Flagstaff. Some of us wanted to go cheer her on so Mr. and Mrs. Murray made it into a road trip. Mrs. Murray took me, Brandy Bellar, and Ruthie Millet in her car. Mr. Murray took Ethan Schulz, Jared Mulder, and Andy Lamer in his car. We had so much fun and Sharon ended up getting third place!
-We did a fifth grade play called "How the West was Won" I got cast in one of the lead parts as Martha. She was a pioneer woman who was corresponding with a friend back east about how life was in the west. I also got to sing in a girls chorus group for some of the musical numbers where we sang harmonies. It was lots of fun. The day of our performance for the parents I came down with the flu. We stayed after school practicing and I remember when it was time to go home the thought of having to walk three blocks home was daunting. I had to call my dad to come get me. The show must go on however and I made it through the night somehow. I learned that when people are depending on you, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. :)
Random Memories
Here are some random things I remember about elementary school in general.
-Our principal's name was Mr. Stone and he was so nice. He'd bring us suckers on our birthday and I can still hear him saying "TGIF! Thank goodness it's Friday!" Every Friday on the morning announcements. Also I remember seeing his "paddle board" hanging on the wall in his office and being unable to imagine him ever using it. He was too nice! He passed away recently from cancer. :(
-Bright Spots. They were little yellow papers that we got for being good. You could save them up and cash them in for prizes. I really wanted the bike that was in the display case even though it was impossibly expensive. I did buy a glitter baton once though.
-The cafeteria food was gross and I hardly ever ate it unless they were serving hamburgers and milkshakes. ;) Once a month they made "Sand Devil Sandwiches" which was a fancy way to say fish burgers. They made the whole school smell like fish. Gross!
-Amongst the kids we had nicknames for the days of the week. Monday was Marriage Day. You couldn't drink out of the drinking fountain in the girls' restroom the same time as a boy was drinking out of his or that meant you liked him. Tuesday was Toes Day and you couldn't wear sandals on that day or else the boys would stomp on your toes. Wednesday was Wedding Day and it was the same as Monday. Thursday was Throw-up Day. It was the day they served Sand Devil Sandwiches. ;). Friday was Flip-up Day and you didn't wear a dress to school unless you wanted the boys to flip up your dress. School was a stressful place! Ha ha!
Nathan said I didn't record my memories. I wrote a book instead. Can I help it if I remember lots of things?!? Now the highlights are recorded. Till next week!
Preschool
-The name of my preschool was called Rainbow Preschool. How cool is that? It was in one of the churches in Page.
-My mom carpooled with my best buddy Ethan's mom. I remember one time pulling into the parking lot (this was back before booster seats and before we regularly wore seat belts) with Ethan and his mom. I thought she had parked and since Ethan and I were sharing the front seat, I opened the door, reaching across Ethan to do so. His mom started driving and Ethan almost fell out! I was so traumatized!
-I remember they always gave us cranberry juice to drink with our snacks. I hated it and the teachers wouldn't let me get a drink from the drinking fountain instead. :(
-One time Hector Soto came to school with cotton in his ears because he was recovering from an ear infection. We all thought it was so cool!
-At circle time I decided to try and rest my head on Nick White's shoulder (just the mom did on a commercial I had seen) because I thought he was a cute little boy. He looked at me like I was crazy and moved to the other side of the circle! Ha Ha!
-I remember sitting on the floor in front of our TV watching Alvin and the Chipmunks. I was waiting for my carpool and was singing along to the theme song. I remember my mom walking by and asking me if I was a chipmunk too and thinking it was weird she didn't know I was a kid. ;)
Kindergarten
-The name of my teacher was Mr. Greisch. He was the same teacher my sister Jessica had and I was excited to have him be my teacher. He had two teacher aides, Mrs. Thorn and Mrs. Schneider.
-I remember walking down the long ramp that went to the library for our class picture. A different teacher walked by and stopped to tell me I had had beautiful brown eyes. I was so insulted because I knew, even in kindergarten, that my eyes are not brown. They are hazel. I still get annoyed when people tell me I have brown eyes. ;)
-Anthony Adair was the mean kid in class. He once punched Heather Salvaggio in the stomach at recess. And he ate newspaper which I thought was weird. One day he lost a tooth at school and was so traumatized he cried in the corner for a long time. I was not afraid of him after that!
-There were three of us that had similar names in my class. Me, Tara Contratto and Ciara McClean. Mr. Greisch called us the "rhyming girls".
-I brought my baby brother Sterling for show and tell once. :)
-Back when I was in school they focused not only on educational things but also on developmental ones. Thus we all had to learn how to tie our shoes. We would sit in a circle with Mrs. Thorn and she would untie her white tennis shoe and have us tie it for her. Those who could tie it would get an M&M. I was the last one in our circle to learn it and I was so sad! I desperately wanted that M&M! I practiced and practiced at home by tying Sterling's little baby shoe and was finally able to get it.:)
-I remember sitting with my mom in the bathroom while she bathed Sterling and reading "No More Tears" that was written on his baby shampoo. My mom was so excited for me! After that reading was a breeze. :)
-I once stapled my thumb in class. I can still see the staple poking out of it! I went to the bathroom to wash it off and shut that same thumb in the stall door. That was a bad day! :(
-I remember taking a fieldtrip to the Fit Stop so my mom could teach an aerobics class to my class.
-Being Momma Bunny in our class play and remembering how hot the costume was. I also got to sing "She'll be coming 'round the mountain" with Tara Contratto.
-Winning second place in the Track Meet and then losing my mom after it was over temporarily. It was scary but thankfully I found my teacher and he helped me get back to her. :)
-I remember riding the bus with Jessica home. One of the bus drivers would yell something that we couldn't understand so we assumed he was speaking Navajo. He would then start driving away before we had a chance to sit down so we'd just fall into a random seat. Our other bus driver was Mrs. Yazzie and she was nice to the good kids. I do remember her yelling in the intercom, "Everybody sit down and shut up!" though! Ha ha!
First Grade
-My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Smith. I loved her! Her aide's name was Mrs. Marques and she was also very nice. Mrs. Smith was totally unconventional and fun. She dressed up as Richard Nixon for Halloween. She also had a rainbow dress complete with rainbow tights that she would wear regularly.
-I remember the first day of school was scary. I was nervous because I didn't know who Mrs. Smith was and I was going to have to go to school all day long. My mom walked me to the classroom and when we got there the teacher wasn't in there but there were some kids sitting at desks. My mom suggested I go sit next to a little girl named Nicole with giant glasses. When I tried to sit next to her she said meanly, "You can't sit here! It's saved!" I burst into tears and my mom had to stay with me until Mrs. Smith came back.
-For the first half of first grade we went to the old elementary school. For the second half we went to the new school that had just been built. While we were going to the old school, Jessica would ride her bike to school with her friend Melody Lucas. I was way too afraid to try that and also too afraid (I was afraid of many things) to ride the bus alone. My mom, I think, had an aerobics class to teach so she arranged for me to ride to school with our neighbor across the street, Nina Fisher. She was a teacher too. I had to cross the street and knock on her door. She had two loud chocolate labs that would bark and bark when I'd knock. I was terrified of them and refused to wait in her house while she finished getting ready. Instead I would just sit in her car. :)
-Mrs. Smith would pull out loose teeth of her students. She pulled out a couple of mine. :)
-I was introduced to chapter books in first grade. Mrs. Smith read us Mrs. Piggle Wiggle among other things. I still love those books and have read them to my own kids.
-We sang lots of patriotic songs in first grade. I'm pretty sure we were the only first graders who knew all the words to "You're a Grand Ol' Flag." :) Mrs. Smith always sang a Goodbye song to us when we left for the day too. It went like this, "Goodbye busers, goodbye busers, goodbye busers! I'll see you in my dreams!"
-Sometimes Mrs. Smith had to leave the classroom for a moment and she would leave me in charge. She'd let me sit at her desk and keep an eye on things.:)
-Mrs. Smith had a very dry sense of humor. She told my mom at parent/teacher conference that sometimes she'd crack a joke and it would go over all the kids' heads but that I would just "reach up and grab the joke from out of the sky" and start laughing. I always liked that. Thanks Dad for helping me understand dry whit at a young age. ;)
-I remember being sent out into the hallway to help Kerri Webb practice reading. She was my friend but I was really trying to help her. All she wanted to do was play though. The next year we all moved on to 2nd grade but Kerri stayed behind and had to repeat 1st grade again. :(
-Dexter Clark threw up all over himself in first grade. He just sat there covered in puke with his arms folded like nothing had happened! He also pooped in the pool during our mandatory swimming lessons. They made us all get out and line up they could check our bums. When it got to my turn the aid told me she didn't need to check my bum because I was a "good girl". That's right. I was no pool pooper. ;)
Second Grade
-My 2nd Grade teacher was Mrs. Moore. She was also in our ward and I really liked her. She had a teacher aide named Mrs. Soto. She was Hector Soto's mom "the cotton ball in his ear boy" from preschool. ;)
-At the start of school Mrs. Moore asked me if I wanted to go by my first name or my middle name. I didn't know how to respond. No one had ever asked me that before because my middle name is Anne. Turns out she thought my middle name was actually Anna. :)
-Mrs. Moore liked to sing songs with us. She had a piano in her classroom and everything. I remember her teaching us "Great Green Gobs" at Halloween. She also sang "Waddly Atcha" with us.
-We read "Little House in the Big Woods" that year. I fell in love with The Little House on the Prairie books and have had Ainsley and Aftyn read them. Breah will be next and Gavin if I can convince him. ;)
-Mrs. Moore had short, curly hair. Sometimes she would put her bangs up in a comb that made them poke straight up. It seemed every time she wore her hair like that she was in a bad mood. Bad hair day, I guess. ;)
-In the spring we had to write a story about a kite and the adventures it took. In my story I made my kite get dirty somehow and it went to a car wash to get clean. I overheard Mrs. Moore telling Mrs. Soto how imaginative that was. It made me feel proud. :)
-Our class did a school play called The Safety Kids. It was all about not talking to strangers, etc. I was chosen to sing a solo in it called, "The Safety Don'ts". I wore a sea green drop waist dress for my performance and don't remember feeling scared at all. How I was ever brave enough to do that still baffles me!
-The night before the Valentine party I was up all night with an ear infection. I got those a lot when I was a kid. I was so sad that I was going to miss the party that I begged my mom to let me go. She did and I remember just feeling awful the whole time I was there. I was running a fever and didn't have any fun. To make matters worse Brandy Bellar tripped me and I fell flat on my face. She claimed she was trying to trip Scott Grygla but I had my doubts. ;)
-When I got into high school I took a class where I was able to intern in an elementary classroom. I chose Mrs. Moore to intern with because I knew her and admired her as a teacher. She ran a very neat and orderly classroom. She always had perfect control over her classroom. Had I ended up becoming an elementary school teacher I wanted to be just like her. I loved interning with Mrs. Moore. I learned so much from her and ended up interning for all of my junior and senior years, plus one semester in college.
Third Grade
-My 3rd grade teacher was Mrs. Stephens. She had an aide named Mrs. Berry. I was really disappointed to get Mrs. Stephens. The other two 3rd grade teachers were Mr. and Mrs. Fadely and were favorites among the students. My best friend Sari got Mrs. Fadely and I was so jealous!
-To be honest I didn't really like Mrs. Stephens all that much. Probably because I was still wishing I had gotten into Sari's class! Ha ha!
- I remember Mrs. Stephens talked about her two sons who were teenagers, a lot. Their names were Glen and Mark.
-Mrs. Stephens taught us a song about evaporation. She made it up herself and was very proud of that fact. I can still sing the whole thing. "I am a drippy little raindrop..." Ha ha!
-We learned cursive in 3rd grade. Mrs. Stephens was convinced that I held the pencil wrong and was always bugging me about it. I hated learning cursive and Mrs. Stephens didn't help. Often times she would send me back and make me redo my whole cursive worksheet because she said it wasn't neat enough. She also gave me a C in handwriting on my report card. Rude. I used to bribe Jessica into doing some of my cursive homework so I could get a better grade. ;)
-There was a boy named Justin Stewart in my class. He and I were good friends. I used to bring some of my Cabbage Patch dolls to recess and he confessed that he had a Cabbage Patch boy doll. I talked him into bringing it to school so I could "babysit" it at recess. I told his wife about that once on facebook. She liked it. ;)
-Third grade was the first and only year the school had us take our class picture outside. That was a mistake because it was of course sunny, being Arizona and all ,so it was so hard to smile and not squint!
Fourth Grade
-My 4th grade teacher was Mrs. Maddox. I don't remember if she had an aide or not. I don't have a copy of my fourth grade class picture because I was blinking in it and didn't like that fact so I threw it away. I regret that now because I can't remember who was in my class. :(
-Mrs. Maddox was old. She retired the following year when I was in 5th grade.
-I remember liking Mrs. Maddox but she was pretty strict. Lots of kids were afraid of her. I was one of those kids however that teachers liked because I was smart, responsible, and obedient. ;)
-Mrs. Maddox read aloud to us a lot. I remember her reading us "Where the Red Fern Grows." We loved hearing her read it to us. One day the power went out while we were at school. It seemed like the other classes all went outside to recess while we waited for the power to come back on. Because we wanted to keep reading, Mrs. Maddox turned on a flashlight and read to us in the dark.
-Mrs. Maddox had some friend who was a literary expert or something. She invited her to come talk to us about books. I remember this lady droning on and on while pacing back and forth. This lady was really old and I remember Mrs. Maddox having to keep moving the overhead projector's cord so the old lady wouldn't trip. Finally this person started telling us what books we should be reading. I remember her telling us the Ramona Quimby books were great. She asked the girls in the class what we were reading and we told her we read The Baby-Sitters Club books. This lady had never heard of them! After that I didn't think she was much of an expert. ;)
-Mrs. Maddox had weird ways of pronouncing certain words. She said the word, "woman " as "wo-man" and she said "wash" as "warsh".
-Mrs. Maddox raised finches. Somehow she told me I could have two of her baby birds after they had hatched. My mom took me to Sprouse Reitz and we picked out a bird cage, etc. so we'd be all ready. I remember my mom taking me to Mrs. Maddox's house so we could pick up the birds. I got two female gray finches. I named them Harriet and Henrietta. They lasted for about a month and then they died because my dad had sprayed for cockroaches and it poisoned them. Evidently, finches aren't very hardy. It was traumatizing. :( I cried and cried over my poor birds. I still remember coming to class the following morning and overhearing the phone call my mom was making to Mrs. Maddox to tell her and trying to be brave.
-My friends Jenny and Robin Hamilton were in my class and I remember when we were learning long division Jenny cried because it was so hard! That was the first time I remember realizing that school, especially math, was going to be difficult sometimes.
Fifth Grade
-My fifth grade teacher's name was Mr. Murray. He didn't have an aide. Mr. Murray was young and energetic. He was my favorite teacher ever. I really loved him. Fifth grade was fun because we were the biggest kids in the school. We got to be the leaders and all the other grades looked up to us.
-Mr. Murray was very into science. In fact we traded with Mr. Winkler's class across the hall so Mr. Murray could teach Mr. Winkler's class science while we learned Social Studies from Mr. Winkler.
-Mr. Murray had a rock cutter and had us bring in a rock to cut. It was nerve racking because he told us if we slipped, we'd cut off our fingers. I managed to cut my rock and not my finger. ;)
-We also made robots. The instructions were very complicated but Mr. Murray insisted his class the year before had made several robots with no problems. Our class couldn't figure it out at all. We finally managed to make one that was a line tracker. He could follow a line of black electrical tape and we had him walk all the way to the school office.
-Fifth grade was the beginning of "big kid world". It seemed like lots of girls had boyfriends and kids started breaking off into cliques more. There was a boy in my class named Andy Lamer. He had a huge crush on me, though he never actually told me, he walked me and Sterling home every day. He wrote in permanent marker on the back of his jean jacket, "I love 47". That was me. 4 letters in my first name, 7 in my last. Ha ha. I wonder what ever happened to good ol' Andy Lamer?;)
-Sari and I used to stay after school to "help" Mr. Murray get ready for things. We loved hanging out with him. He'd turn on oldies music and we'd dance and dance.
- Mr. Murray never yelled at us. Instead he'd just get "disappointed" in us. I can still see him sitting on his desk in front of us and sighing while shaking his head. It felt awful to let him down and it would've been better to be yelled at I think.
-Mr. Murray video recorded us doing all kinds of things. I remember him recording us reciting a poem and my personal favorite-- he took a video of Sari and I performing a dance to "Kokomo" that we made up.
-Mr. Murray loved to run. He'd make us go for runs around campus as a class. He still loves to run now. I follow him on facebook. ;)
-I was a lightweight as a kid (and now too). I was the lightest kid in my class. I remember Mr. Murray teaching us about the walk on the moon. He had me stand on a chair and say, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." When I said the word "leap" Mr. Murray lifted me up and carried me around the room. Fun times!
-I had Mr. Winkler for Social Studies and also Math. Mr. Winkler was the most popular fifth grade teacher and everyone loved him. We had to learn all fifty states and their capitals and memorize them. I worked so hard to learn them. I can still see Mr. Winkler pointing at the states while I named them.
-In math we were going over our homework. Mr. Winkler called on Lance Shakespear to say what his answer was for the story problem. I remember Lance saying his answer in bushels which was way off. Mr. Winkler said, "Let me guess. Your dad helped you with that one didn't he?" Ha ha!
-Someone hit me in the temple with a rock at recess. No one ever fessed up. I blacked out for a second or two though and got an exciting trip to the nurse's office. :)
-I made it into the spelling bee but neglected to study that much. I was the first one out and was so embarrassed! Sharon Chief, who was also in my class, ended up winning and got to move onto district in Flagstaff. Some of us wanted to go cheer her on so Mr. and Mrs. Murray made it into a road trip. Mrs. Murray took me, Brandy Bellar, and Ruthie Millet in her car. Mr. Murray took Ethan Schulz, Jared Mulder, and Andy Lamer in his car. We had so much fun and Sharon ended up getting third place!
-We did a fifth grade play called "How the West was Won" I got cast in one of the lead parts as Martha. She was a pioneer woman who was corresponding with a friend back east about how life was in the west. I also got to sing in a girls chorus group for some of the musical numbers where we sang harmonies. It was lots of fun. The day of our performance for the parents I came down with the flu. We stayed after school practicing and I remember when it was time to go home the thought of having to walk three blocks home was daunting. I had to call my dad to come get me. The show must go on however and I made it through the night somehow. I learned that when people are depending on you, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. :)
Random Memories
Here are some random things I remember about elementary school in general.
-Our principal's name was Mr. Stone and he was so nice. He'd bring us suckers on our birthday and I can still hear him saying "TGIF! Thank goodness it's Friday!" Every Friday on the morning announcements. Also I remember seeing his "paddle board" hanging on the wall in his office and being unable to imagine him ever using it. He was too nice! He passed away recently from cancer. :(
-Bright Spots. They were little yellow papers that we got for being good. You could save them up and cash them in for prizes. I really wanted the bike that was in the display case even though it was impossibly expensive. I did buy a glitter baton once though.
-The cafeteria food was gross and I hardly ever ate it unless they were serving hamburgers and milkshakes. ;) Once a month they made "Sand Devil Sandwiches" which was a fancy way to say fish burgers. They made the whole school smell like fish. Gross!
-Amongst the kids we had nicknames for the days of the week. Monday was Marriage Day. You couldn't drink out of the drinking fountain in the girls' restroom the same time as a boy was drinking out of his or that meant you liked him. Tuesday was Toes Day and you couldn't wear sandals on that day or else the boys would stomp on your toes. Wednesday was Wedding Day and it was the same as Monday. Thursday was Throw-up Day. It was the day they served Sand Devil Sandwiches. ;). Friday was Flip-up Day and you didn't wear a dress to school unless you wanted the boys to flip up your dress. School was a stressful place! Ha ha!
Nathan said I didn't record my memories. I wrote a book instead. Can I help it if I remember lots of things?!? Now the highlights are recorded. Till next week!
#52Stories Week #4 Why Goals are Important
Here's the next question in the #52stories project:
What would you want your friends and family to learn about making goals and achieving goals from your example?
Hmm, well? These are weird questions! I guess I would want my kids especially to know that goals are important. They help you become all you want to be. If I never set goals I would never grow as a person. I would just exist. I don't want to live my life just "existing"! I want to get the most out of this life and the only way I can do that is to make goals.
I don't always achieve my goals but I don't give up on them either. If it's truly important to me then I will find a way to get there. For example, being able to walk recreationally again to me is very important. It's my current goal to get there and I'm going to do everything I can to get there.
Goals. They are important. I think I've established that with all these goal questions. Hopefully next week's question is a little more interesting. ;)
What would you want your friends and family to learn about making goals and achieving goals from your example?
Hmm, well? These are weird questions! I guess I would want my kids especially to know that goals are important. They help you become all you want to be. If I never set goals I would never grow as a person. I would just exist. I don't want to live my life just "existing"! I want to get the most out of this life and the only way I can do that is to make goals.
I don't always achieve my goals but I don't give up on them either. If it's truly important to me then I will find a way to get there. For example, being able to walk recreationally again to me is very important. It's my current goal to get there and I'm going to do everything I can to get there.
Goals. They are important. I think I've established that with all these goal questions. Hopefully next week's question is a little more interesting. ;)
#52Stories: Week 3 Goals I'm working On
This week's story for the #52Stories project seems an awful like week one but oh well. I will do my best to try and answer it anyway. 😜
What goals are you actively working on right now?
Aside from my new year's resolutions that I mentioned last week I am always working on improving myself in small ways. I try to be more patient, kind, and loving with my kids. I have great kids who are well-behaved but just as I'm not a perfect mother, they are not perfect children either. Like all siblings they fight from time to time, disobey, etc. It's a daily request I make of my Heavenly Father that I can be a little kinder, a little more loving, and a lot more patient as we all go about on our imperfect ways. Some days are easier than others but it's always a goal I am working on. I am thankful for the Holy Ghost who whispers in my ear and reminds me to keep on trying. :)
I also always have the goal of trying to come up with ways to have more peace in our home. I want my kids to always have home be their soft place to fall. A refuge from the storm. We've done a lot of things in our family to encourage peace.Some have worked better than others but we still try! For one thing we pray everyday that there will be a happy spirit in our home. Right now the kids are working on developing more Christ-like love for one another by having a "Secret Sibling" that they are doing secret acts of service for. They've all already figured out who has who but I don't care. I'm hoping that it will make a difference in how they treat each other. We'll see. ;) My mom said I've always been a peace maker and it's true. I really can't live in a contentious environment for too long before it causes me anxiety.
Another goal I am actively working on is getting stronger. I had a check-up with my Primary Care Physician last month, Dr. Sullivan, and she advised me to keep on doing physical therapy at home even though I'm done having actual therapy appointments. I had figured that just practicing walking was enough therapy but she pointed out the benefits of stretching and getting my ankle to move in different directions. So I've set a goal to do my exercises and ride the exercise bike twice a week. So far I've been doing it so yay for me! I feel like it's making a difference too. I'm still champing at the bit to go do real walking but I'm not there yet. Hopefully by spring. In the meantime, it feels good to be exercising and keeping my heart healthy.
So yeah, that's my boring post of goals I am working on right now. ;) Till next week!
What goals are you actively working on right now?
Aside from my new year's resolutions that I mentioned last week I am always working on improving myself in small ways. I try to be more patient, kind, and loving with my kids. I have great kids who are well-behaved but just as I'm not a perfect mother, they are not perfect children either. Like all siblings they fight from time to time, disobey, etc. It's a daily request I make of my Heavenly Father that I can be a little kinder, a little more loving, and a lot more patient as we all go about on our imperfect ways. Some days are easier than others but it's always a goal I am working on. I am thankful for the Holy Ghost who whispers in my ear and reminds me to keep on trying. :)
I also always have the goal of trying to come up with ways to have more peace in our home. I want my kids to always have home be their soft place to fall. A refuge from the storm. We've done a lot of things in our family to encourage peace.Some have worked better than others but we still try! For one thing we pray everyday that there will be a happy spirit in our home. Right now the kids are working on developing more Christ-like love for one another by having a "Secret Sibling" that they are doing secret acts of service for. They've all already figured out who has who but I don't care. I'm hoping that it will make a difference in how they treat each other. We'll see. ;) My mom said I've always been a peace maker and it's true. I really can't live in a contentious environment for too long before it causes me anxiety.
Another goal I am actively working on is getting stronger. I had a check-up with my Primary Care Physician last month, Dr. Sullivan, and she advised me to keep on doing physical therapy at home even though I'm done having actual therapy appointments. I had figured that just practicing walking was enough therapy but she pointed out the benefits of stretching and getting my ankle to move in different directions. So I've set a goal to do my exercises and ride the exercise bike twice a week. So far I've been doing it so yay for me! I feel like it's making a difference too. I'm still champing at the bit to go do real walking but I'm not there yet. Hopefully by spring. In the meantime, it feels good to be exercising and keeping my heart healthy.
So yeah, that's my boring post of goals I am working on right now. ;) Till next week!
#52Stories Project Weeks 1 and 2 Goals and Who taught Me
Today I was on lds.org which I tend to visit on Sundays because I don't like to do social media on the Sabbath day. It gives me a chance to catch up on what's new on there anyway. Today I saw that FamilySearch has a new project for the new year called #52Stories. Basically it's a way to record your personal history. They've broken it down into 52 weeks of questions-- one for each week of the year. Since this blog is my family journal and I suck at conventional journaling, I thought it would be fun to answer the questions on here. I will be answering for two weeks today since I was a week behind on seeing this article. :)
Week 1: What goals do you hope to achieve this year?
I've always been a goal setter-- even when I was a kid. There's just something about deciding to do something and then mapping out a plan on how to get there that is just so fun! However, like most people a lot of my goals never get met because, you know, life. ;) Especially life that revolves around five kids and a husband and meeting their needs. Often I'm on the back burner.
With that being said, I still like to make goals and I will try my hardest to achieve them. President Hinckley once said, "You've only failed when you've quit trying. " Well, I'm no failure! I'm going to keep on trying! :)
Physical: My one and only physical goal is to keep on healing. I really, really want to be able to get out there walking for exercise and recreation again. Walking has always been something I have loved! I don't know when that's going to happen but I'm hopeful it will be this year. I might be making a trip to a podiatrist in the near future to see what can be done about my overly stiff toes that get stuck bent in the wrong direction. I think if I can do something about that then hopefully I'll be closer to my goal. Also, Heavenly Father has reminded me again and again that I need to have patience too... That's a hard one for me!
Mental: I'm hoping to challenge myself in my chosen profession of a homemaker to try new recipes this year. I have tons of cookbooks with folded down pages and torn out recipes that I've had good intentions to try but haven't gotten around to ever. This is going to be my year! I'm finally going to try them so I know once and for all if they're actually good. I've already tried two and while neither was a true winner, I'm confident I'll find some that are. :)
Spiritual: This year I want to get more names to the temple. I worked so hard to find Nathan's ancestors and we've got a good start on getting their temple work done but we have a long way to go. I plan to get some women from the ward to go with me to help me work on the female names. I just have to get brave enough to actually do it. That's the hard part for me. :(
Week 2: What is something you taught yourself to do without help from anyone else?
Umm, I'm thinking. ;) It seems like I've learned everything from someone else! My mom and dad were and are very important teachers in my life. I still learn so much from them and I also learn so much from Nathan. He's so wise! I guess if there's anything that I've learned on my own it's probably my ability to run a smooth and orderly home. I grew up in a cluttered, busy house and I was a very messy child. ;) As an adult I've realized that I like things neat and orderly. Figuring out systems and ways to get my kids to be organized is my thing. I'm grateful for that talent. It keeps things peaceful in a house full of people and makes for less stress in the day to day activities. :)
This concludes the first two weeks of #52Stories. #SeeYouNextWeek!
Week 1: What goals do you hope to achieve this year?
I've always been a goal setter-- even when I was a kid. There's just something about deciding to do something and then mapping out a plan on how to get there that is just so fun! However, like most people a lot of my goals never get met because, you know, life. ;) Especially life that revolves around five kids and a husband and meeting their needs. Often I'm on the back burner.
With that being said, I still like to make goals and I will try my hardest to achieve them. President Hinckley once said, "You've only failed when you've quit trying. " Well, I'm no failure! I'm going to keep on trying! :)
Physical: My one and only physical goal is to keep on healing. I really, really want to be able to get out there walking for exercise and recreation again. Walking has always been something I have loved! I don't know when that's going to happen but I'm hopeful it will be this year. I might be making a trip to a podiatrist in the near future to see what can be done about my overly stiff toes that get stuck bent in the wrong direction. I think if I can do something about that then hopefully I'll be closer to my goal. Also, Heavenly Father has reminded me again and again that I need to have patience too... That's a hard one for me!
Mental: I'm hoping to challenge myself in my chosen profession of a homemaker to try new recipes this year. I have tons of cookbooks with folded down pages and torn out recipes that I've had good intentions to try but haven't gotten around to ever. This is going to be my year! I'm finally going to try them so I know once and for all if they're actually good. I've already tried two and while neither was a true winner, I'm confident I'll find some that are. :)
Spiritual: This year I want to get more names to the temple. I worked so hard to find Nathan's ancestors and we've got a good start on getting their temple work done but we have a long way to go. I plan to get some women from the ward to go with me to help me work on the female names. I just have to get brave enough to actually do it. That's the hard part for me. :(
Week 2: What is something you taught yourself to do without help from anyone else?
Umm, I'm thinking. ;) It seems like I've learned everything from someone else! My mom and dad were and are very important teachers in my life. I still learn so much from them and I also learn so much from Nathan. He's so wise! I guess if there's anything that I've learned on my own it's probably my ability to run a smooth and orderly home. I grew up in a cluttered, busy house and I was a very messy child. ;) As an adult I've realized that I like things neat and orderly. Figuring out systems and ways to get my kids to be organized is my thing. I'm grateful for that talent. It keeps things peaceful in a house full of people and makes for less stress in the day to day activities. :)
This concludes the first two weeks of #52Stories. #SeeYouNextWeek!
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