On the go with the Gaudreaus....

Goodbye 2010!

Resolutions. Most of us make them. We just can't help ourselves. Who am I to judge? I've broken many more than I've ever managed to keep.... but there's something about the start of a brand new year that just says "Try again! Maybe THIS will be your year!" And, as the eternal optimist, (although the older I get, the less I feel like one...) I establish some goals for myself, hoping that at least some of them will be met. (I'm not foolish enough to think that I will actually accomplish ALL of them, after all.) Anyway, since the dawn of 2011 is quickly approaching, there's no time like the present!

Before getting to my goals, a little update. Much has happened since the last time I posted. Arthur has been working since October, having been hired by Parker-Nichols as a direct hire through Bonney Staffing. It was such a relief for him to find a full time job! On the down side, he works nights (11-7) with mandatory 6 days per week, so that has posed some challenges in our schedule (and his sleep!), but hopefully within the next few months he will be able to make the switch to first shift. It seems to be a good company to work for, and on the positive side, it is a large enough company that he can take vacations when he wants to, rather than being the low man on the totem pole and waiting for everyone else to choose their weeks before he can. Maybe this year we can actually take a couple of days during April vacation and do something as a family, which would be great. :)

Football season was very successful in the Gaudreau household! AJ's middle school team (combined Memorial and Mahoney Middle Schools) just missed being in the gold championship bracket, but managed to win the silver bracket championship. They had a super season, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them play together at SPHS next year. Arthur's team (which Benjamin was on) had an excellent record and much success as well. They lost in the first game of the Harvest Bowl, but it was to a team that was undefeated and only gave up 14 points all season (7 of them to Benjamin's team), so they had reason to be very proud of themselves.

It's hard to believe that AJ will be in HS next year.... OMG. We got his class recommendations a few weeks ago and will be meeting at the high school in early January to sign him up for classes... yikes! He joined the gym with me recently too, so I've got a partner to work out with. He is using the gym to prepare for lacrosse season this spring.

Middle school has started off well for Noah... he is finding his way with support from us and his teachers. He loves the switching of classes and is very involved in Builder's Club (community service group) and the band. For this second half of the year, he has joined the Chorus as well.

Benjamin is the last one in elementary school, and of course is very independent. He loves school and can't wait to get there. He is having a great year so far and is looking forward to playing lacrosse in the spring.

Christmas was great (and not over yet... still have a Dean family celebration on January 8th) but as usual went by much too quickly considering the amount of time that we spend preparing for it! Vacation has gone quickly as well, so here I am on Friday with a to-do list that's almost as long as it was at the start of vacation.... *sigh*.

Getting back to my original plan, which was to establish some goals... yeah, I'm a bit scatterbrained lol! This is why I tend to start a lot of projects and don't necessarily finish them... ya think??! I received an email from Spark People's Healthy Reflections today that I think is worth sharing. It started, as usual, with a quote:

"Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves." ~ Robert Frost Here are the thoughts that followed: Imagine someone regularly tying small weights around your ankles as you try to climb a mountain. Doesn't sound fair, does it? But that's exactly what you can do to yourself, a little bit at a time, if you don't watch out. When you think of who and what is standing in the way of your dreams, it's easy to forget your own responsibility. Even the best of us can be guilty of unknowingly hurting our own progress. Procrastination, lateness, being disorganized, pessimism, not being honest with yourself, severe self-criticism, downplaying achievements, focusing only on weaknesses while ignoring strengths, keeping goals a secret, demanding perfection, giving up after a small setback--these are all ways you can make it tough to be (and do) your best. Smart systems, the right attitude, and a promise to keep going no matter what will make a world of difference. How true is this?? Such great thoughts. I sabotage myself all the time, and expect myself to be without fault, when that is an impossible task. In 2011, I need to forgive myself for past mistakes and be as patient with myself as I try to be with others. I need to own the fact that I am where I am at because I put myself here. I can't blame anyone or any circumstance for my choices, and I am the one that has to deal with the consequences of those choices. Not all of them are easy to deal with, but there's no way around them. I'm going to start my own Happiness Project tomorrow, even though I haven't completed worked out all of the details. I'm going to try my best to live in the moment. I am going to look for the good in my life and appreciate it, while attempting to change that needs changing. I hope that a year from now I will be able to look back at 2011 and be satisfied with my accomplishments. What have I got to lose? The year is going to happen anyway, right? :) Happy New Year!

 

 

Calgon, take me away......

So much for consistency with the old blog-a-roo here, huh? ARGH! These last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of craziness as we have all tried to adjust to our back to school routines and get back into the swing of football, scouts, Boy Singers, etc. etc. etc. Wow... life is busy. Good busy, but still busy.

School is going well so far for all 3 of the boys. AJ is an 8th grader at Memorial now, and he has decided that he is going to embrace the "hippie" attitude... peace, love and all that stuff. The kid seriously cracks me up... I just love the fact that he is himself, kwim? He is not one who succumbs to the peer pressure stuff (at least not that I've seen)... he does what he wants and is very much his own person. On the first day of school, he wore a shirt that reads "Got Peace?" along with his friendship bracelets and his "man-dals" as he calls them.... of course, most of us would just call them "sandals." Ha! He doesn't take himself or the world too seriously, he has a great sense of humor, and he is smart to boot. He turns 14 in December (seriously? OMG) and is anxious to join the gym with me. I've spoken with Matt about coaching AJ so that he will have the right foundation and know what to do when he works out, rather than just doing stuff for the sake of saying he did it. We're setting up an assessment in the near future to get the ball rolling.. can't wait. AJ has grown so much this year (he's like 3 inches taller than I am now, with size 12 shoes!) and he has really thinned out as a result. He looks great!

Noah has decided that middle school is WAY better than elementary school and loves being in 6th grade (well, except for the having to get up earlier part... he is driving me nuts and aggravating AJ, who waits for him every morning!) Noah is set to embark on a fun week with the 6th grade class beginning tomorrow morning. They are traveling to Camp Kieve in Nobleboro for 5 days of adventure based learning at the leadership school. What a wonderful opportunity for all of the kids, and a great way for their teachers to really get to know them, since everyone stays together for the week. Lucky them! (Oh, and lucky AJ and Benjamin, who are kinda looking forward to the week too... lol!)

Benjamin is in 4th grade at Skillin (my last boy in elementary school... wow!) He is loving it so far and I'm sure he'll have a great year. He is playing football (had an awesome tackle yesterday) and scouts will be starting up as well, so he'll be right back into full swing soon. My biggest challenge with him is finding foods for him to take to school for lunches....he will not eat a sandwich to save his life, and he is sick and tired of eating pieces of bologna and cheese apparently.... *sigh* Guess we may need to go back to a thermos of white rice... yuck, huh? The kid is weird, what can I say? ;)

Arthur has had a couple of interviews recently, but not much news on the job front at this point. He is keeping himself busy doing some stuff for relatives and coaching Benjamin's football team, but it sure would be nice if he could find something permanent. Very frustrating considering that he can do just about anything.... but he doesn't have all of the "paperwork" for some jobs. Grrrr.

School for me is going great! Although technically we are still in the "honeymoon phase", I think it's safe to say that I have a great group of students this year, and I'm looking forward to working with them. Glad to report that I am also teaching 3rd grade health again this year, and enjoying that as well! This week will mark our first full week (5 days), so this will be the test, I suppose.... lol. You know teachers, right? We're always getting a vacation or something..... (some people just don't understand, Dennis... ha!)

Things are also going very well for me with regard to diet and exercise. As of this morning, I have lost exactly 15 pounds since I started my "do-over" at the very end of July. I am very pleased with that, especially considering that I am fitting back into many of the clothes that I wasn't able to wear all summer. Hopefully by next summer they will be too big! :) I am continuing to follow the Zone diet, as I find it very easy to work with. It is truly a habit at this point... I am familiar enough with the program that I can make substitutions and estimates without a whole lot of thought, and I love that. It works for me. If I have the occasional "bad" food (which is extremely rare, since I really don't crave stuff), I acknowledge it and get back on track with the next meal. I refuse to live my life around counting every last calorie and eating stuff that I don't enjoy.... so I don't. I eat mostly "real" foods and enjoy them. When I found myself with a hankering for butternut squash the other night, I was kinda excited.. hahaha! Better to crave that than chocolate, right? Anyway, I intend to keep making forward progress... still nearly 20 pounds heavier than where I was at the beginning of last summer (2009), and still 10 pounds away from my license weight! :)

Gotta sign off now and head to bed so I have plenty of time to get Noah up and at 'em. We have to be at school by 7am, and that will be a challenge for him, no doubt. I'm used to getting up early, but he is NOT.

Will leave you some thoughts from a wonderful book called The Happiness Project that was recently recommended to me by a friend (and she even lent it to me!) This is without a doubt one of the most thought-provoking books that I have read, and I've only made it through the first 4 chapters. I will definitely devote more blog time to it, but suffice to say that I could very much relate to the author, Gretchen Rubin, when she described how she was suffering from a feeling of what she called "midlife malaise" - a recurrent sense of discontent and almost a feeling of disbelief in the reality of one's life. I was certainly at that point last summer... thinking "This is IT? Seriously? This is my life?" I think for me it was the closest I may come to a midlife crisis...... and it is taking a LOT of effort on my part to pull myself up out of that. This book came to me at a time when I absolutely needed to have it... I am grateful for that (thanks Kim, for somehow knowing that I needed this!) My plan is to create a happiness project of my own in the effort to be open to appreciating my life, while changing that which needs to be changed about it. I am excited by the prospect! More to follow..... 

Failing vs. Being a Failure.

I am just loving Spark People's Healthy Reflections right now.... they are totally speaking to me and I am finding them very easy to apply to my life. Here is today's quote:

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." ~  Aldous Huxley, writer

The body of the message was as follows:

One experience builds on another and that is how life evolves. We should not simply "live and learn" but rather "live, learn, and improve." We all make mistakes in life. Do you learn from yours or do you have a cycle of making the same ones over and over? Perhaps you want to lose weight but always seem to fail, never seem to finish your reports at work, or have a hard time following through on your obligations. Examine some past failures and review where you went off track with your goal. Don't mistake failing with "I am a failure," as no one is perfect all the time. Take what you have learned and apply it to the next situation.

Wow... how true is that, right? It is so easy to see examples of this in my life, and I know that others feel the same. In terms of weight loss, how many times do you eat something unplanned and then give up on the rest of the day and eat whatever you want because you already messed up anyway? I have been there and done that, more times than I can count. Matt once sent me the following in response to my whining about struggling with the eating plan....

"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training."

I have held on to this quote because it is something that I need to continually remind myself of. I can't let my guard down when it comes to my food choices right now. I have been back on track for one month as of tomorrow. In that time, I have completely recommitted myself to a consistent exercise routine and have lost 13 pounds. I am proud of myself, yes... but I know that it is so easy to get lax and I could very well end up right back where I was before. It is not time to celebrate. The last time I attempted to make these changes, I let one slip up a month into the program throw me completely off kilter. It happened... and I can't change that... but I can learn from it and hopefully prevent it from happening again. I may have failed many times, and at many things, but I am not a failure. I can't identify myself that way or I will never be successful.

Finding my focus.

How appropriate that this quote was in my email today from Sparkpeople:

"Concentration is the ability to think of absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary." ~ Ray Knight, professional athlete

The remainder of the email went as follows:

Calm your mind. Quiet all of the distractions surrounding you. Concentrate on the one task at hand. Often a naysayer can cloud our minds and break our focus. What in your life distracts you? In the moment of need, silence your brain and allow yourself to stay focused. Save your worries about tomorrow and guilt over yesterday's failures for another time. Maybe you need to meditate, pray, or simply spend a few moments quietly gathering yourself before tackling the project at hand. Now is the time for just one thing--reaching your goal. Today, focus your energy, clear your head, and achieve! 

How appropriate that I received this email today.... a day during which I just seemed unable to silence my brain. Too much thinking about things that I cannot change does nothing for me, and yet my mind continues to go there. All that this thinking accomplishes is distracting me from focusing on the goals that I have set for myself. As summer is nearing the end (sad, but true), I have many goals yet unfinished. I have made some progress towards them, but I allow myself to get caught up in so many projects and/or tasks that it is really impossible to accomplish them all.... so all I really do is set myself up for failure. I am looking to try to break out of that habit I have of trying to "do it all" and just focus on one thing at a time. If I can do one thing and do it really well, then I can move on to the next one. A former colleague and friend sent me a message today which, among other things, suggested that my foot problems and subsequent surgery may have been a sign that I am too busy and needed to slow down. Wow! I had honestly never thought of it that way, but I bet she is absolutely right. Things do happen for a reason... I believe that. Good or bad... and I've had plenty of both in the past year.... things happen like they are supposed to. There is a plan. Before my foot problems, I was cruising along, pretty much on auto pilot with regard to my exercise, but very inconsistent with my food plan. I was stuck as far as weight loss went, because in reality the food plan is the key. Without good nutrition, you can exercise all you want and never reach your weight loss goals. Duh. Finally figured THAT one out. Unfortunately had to learn it from experience rather than just believing it when Matt told me numerous times.... but in the end the lesson was still learned, so I guess that is what is most important. I am confident that I will reach my goals this time, because I am somehow managing, in spite of all the other things I need to do, to focus on myself when it counts. My brain may never be completely silent, which would be ideal, but I am working to minimize the distractions of life as much as possible when it's necessary. This will no doubt be tested in the coming weeks of back-to-school craziness... but I am up for the challenge. Bring it on! I will not quit. Quitting is the easy way out. I deserve better than that, and I expect more from myself. 

Control and Confidence.

I fully admit my control freak tendencies.... I own that. Admitting it is the first step in overcoming it, right? I am working very hard at zipping my lip and minding my own business when I get the urge to be a butt-inski, but trust me... that is no easy task. (I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who can identify!) Anyway, the suggestion was made that I should find other things to occupy my time when I am feeling frustrated or when I think that I might say something that would not be appreciated. Great idea, isn't it? It kind of reminds me of when parents count to 10 rather than do something that they might regret. Anyway, my plan is to put my time and energy into something positive... trying to renew my long-since abandoned craft projects, for example. So far, I have made it as far as cleaning off my stained glass table and part of the surrounding area.... and of course I have been blogging more regulary, something else that I had pretty much given up. Getting back into digital and/or paper scrapbooking is another goal, but I'm trying not to overdo it and come out of the gate too fast, so to speak. Being a Gemini, I tend to start a lot of things and have them all going on at once, which can be overwhelming. This is probably why I get bored easily when organizing/cleaning one room or area, and move on to another one without finishing the first. Oy. :) Anyway, I guess all of this really goes along with worrying about what I can control, and letting go of what I can't. Funny how all of this stuff is related, isn't it? Working on crafts and things that bring me joy can only be a good thing.... they provide me with a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that I need to nurture. It's all about me taking care of myself... and although sometimes I think that I am a bit selfish in working to meet my own needs, I know that being the best mom and wife I can be are only possible if I'm the best "ME" I can be. :)

Well, now that I have drifted somewhat from my original line of thinking for this post, I will make an attempt to get back to it. (Right now, in case you couldn't tell, I'm basically just using this blog as a way to dump all of the stuff that I'm thinking about out onto the screen so that I can think about it even more... haha!) Anyway... before I drift off again....I had an awesome workout this morning with Matt. He seriously kicked my ass. It was one of those workouts where, after the first set, my immediate thought is "DAMN. I have to do this 2 more times!" My next thought, though, is always... "I will NOT quit!" I have said before that working with an expert in physical fitness has been the best thing I could have done for myself, and I have no doubt that it is true. Back in 2007 when I joined the gym, I was full of motivation and knew that I wanted to do whatever I needed to to lose weight. (At the time I was 232 pounds). Of course, I had been in that position before, numerous times.... and had wasted more gym memberships than I could count. I don't think that most people had much faith that this time would be any different, but I made sure that it was by hiring Matt to work with me and getting involved with a group that had similar goals. I wanted to be accountable to someone, and that made all the difference for me. Actually, though, I think I probably grew a bit too dependent on Matt. I put too much emphasis on wanting to make him proud of me and/or not disappoint him... but in fact the emphasis should have been on ME. I get that now, like I really didn't before. I mean, of course I want him to think that I am worth the numerous hours that he has invested in my training, but more importantly, I need to know MYSELF that I am doing everything I can do to live up to that investment. I need to know that I am doing everything I can do to make ME proud of me.... of course, there will be times that I will falter, but I need not let those little slip ups derail the whole process. I am more confident in myself than I have been in a long time... maybe ever. It is all good. :)

Happy Friday the 13th!

What? Me worry?

This post may be somewhat similar to one that I posted earlier, but this is the stuff I am thinking about these days. I am a worrier, which will come as NO surprise to most who know me. I worry about everything, including stuff that I have no need to worry about. Maybe I got this from my mother... as I recall, she was much the same way. Then again, maybe it's just a female thing. Honestly, I think that is probably more likely... especially for moms. We worry about our kids, our husbands, how to pay the bills, whether it's going to rain on the day we planned an outdoor party.... yada, yada, yada. Seriously, I think that I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have someone or something to worry about.

However, I came across this quote that sums things up pretty well.....

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.  ~Glenn Turner

So this is my current focus.... worry about myself, and let the rest go. That's not to say that I won't worry about things that I SHOULD worry about.... but it's time to give myself a break and just concentrate on taking care of the things that I can take care of. A close friend of mine used to talk to me often about Steven Covey's circles of influence and concern... but that's for another post. The point is that can't solve everyone else's problems, no matter how much I might like to. For that matter, no one else can solve mine either. I can take care of myself.... my physical and emotional well being are a priority for me. After all, I need to be happy with myself in order to be the best person that I can be. :)

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Summer Adventures

So, after spending a couple of hours last night trying unsuccessfuly to download (or upload... whatever) the photos from my iPhone to my computer, I finally figured it out. The Adobe PSE software has some kind of an error in it and I couldn't use that to do it, despite the fact that it works fine with my camera. Anyway... I have the photos now. Here are some to share from Benjamin's Funpack Weekend at Camp Hinds:

A small but happy (?) group... lol

 

 

My little stinker refused to smile....

 

Our cubmaster and his son on the archery range...

 

Checking out the pirate's treasure box....

 

Dinner preparations....

 

The boys had the BEST time playing in the roots of this cool tree...

 

 

That's it for today.... gotta get back to work in AJ's room.... had a very productive morning. Seeing some friends this afternoon that I haven't seen for a while... looking forward to it! :)   
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
  

 

Acceptance.

I was checking out a website of motivating quotes that I like to use and came across this one today:

"Your real influence is measured by your treatment of yourself." ~ A. Bronson Alcott

This one really made me stop and think... YES! This is so true for me right now. As I have written in previous posts, I have spent much of the past year really beating myself up mentally and just generally getting down on myself for decisions I have made that were not in the best interest of myself or my family. Of course I can't go back and change those decisions now... but I am finally beginning to see that I can get past them. I can forgive myself and move on. It has been such a vicious cycle.... feel lousy, feed my body crap, gain weight, feel worse, feed my body more crap, etc..... and so it has gone. Add in a serious lack of motivation to exercise (and the inability to do so for a while due to surgery)... and the result was a person who didn't like myself very much at all and had gained 30 pounds. Ugh.  

Glad to say that I feel like I have let go of that person now. Things are moving in the right direction... still bumps along the way, but I will keep plugging along. I'm not one to give up easily.

Today, Benjamin and I are off to Camp Hinds for Funpack Weekend. I am staying up there all day (probably through dinner), and Arthur is coming up to spend the night, since I have to work in the morning. Perfect day for this... gotta love that the humidity is gone, although I'm a bit depressed with the "fall-like" air mass. Can't win 'em all, I guess! Planning to bring my camera, and I'll post pictures here later tonight or tomorrow. Right after I get out of work tomorrow, I am leaving to take Noah up to Camp Hinds to spend the week with his scout troop. This will be the first time he has been away for so long, but it will be great for him... and it's a practice run of sorts, too. He goes with AJ to Boy Singers camp in two weeks, and then in the fall his sixth grade class is going to Camp Kieve for a week. This kid has quite the life, huh? :)

More stuff has left the building...

I am not one to complain about great summer weather. However, I have had ENOUGH already of this killer humidity.... I am sticking to everything and the sweat is pouring off of me even when I'm standing still. BLECH. It's days like these when I really wish that the AC in the van still worked.... ugh.

I should apologize ahead of time for the super short post tonight.... but I am wiped.out. I was up at 4:15, got in a workout after dropping the AJ and Noah off for white water rafting, then came home and brought Benjamin and friends to rec camp... and then came home once again to attack the multitude of projects. Sorted out a box of stuff and took it all to GW.. yay. (I mean really, the box has only been sitting around for MONTHS... no harm done, right? ;)) Plus, Arthur took a truckload of stuff to the dump too. Here's to progress!

Here's a quote from Matt (trainer) that I keep on my exercise log... just because it is such a great reminder.... and it is 100% true. I have spent way too much time in my life dealing with food issues.... and in reality, that's the most important part of any quest to get healthier. I can exercise all day long, but what I am fueling my body with is critical.

"As far as (healthy) eating, either do it, or don't. Same issues repeated over and over is just insanity. We either commit to the endeavor or pay lip-service to it. This is the hardest part of the whole process, and it needs to be practiced more than the actual physical training. It's mind training." ~ Matt Thorne

It's all about choices.

If you haven't heard of Sparkpeople, it's an awesome (and FREE) online site that has a ton of resources and support for those of us working to get healthier. I was active on the site a while back... haven't done much there since, but I still get the daily email messages that I typically find quite thought provoking and motivating.

Here's what today's message said:

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." - Flora Whittemore

What follows here is the body of the message.... definitely worth the read.

There are natural consequences that accompany every choice we make in life. Some opportunities inevitably pass us by, but we can take advantage of others. Many people feel powerless, but this is rarely the case--some opportunities just require a little thinking outside the box. Today, reflect on the doors you are opening in your world and which ones are closing. You have the power to create the life you want if you are willing to set goals and take steps toward them. Rarely does fulfilling our hopes and dreams happen overnight, but you can take one tiny move towards them each day. 

I think this message is so worthwhile. Think about it. Each of us makes thousands of choices during the course of a day.  What I am going to eat for breakfast? Do I really want to go to the gym? Should I order that ice cream? What happens if I tell my boss what I really think....? How early should I set my alarm for? On and on and on.... and our lives are a product of these choices. I will be the first to admit that I have made some questionable choices over the past year. Can't go back and change them now... they are part of what has gotten me to the point that I'm at today. I am working on moving beyond that to create the life that I want. I am setting goals and hopefully taking the steps I need to eventually see the outcomes that I want. It is hard work. There is NO doubt in my mind about that.... but it is also incredibly rewarding, and that is worth working for!

Back in April, after my successful surgery for plantar fasciitis, I felt that I was ready to resume exercising by starting to work with my trainer again. I had gained 30 pounds and was feeling so down on myself... and I was nervous to start working with Matt again, because I knew how tough it was going to be to make it through the workout. I was embarrassed that I had, in my mind, failed. After all, Matt has invested a great deal of time and energy in developing programs for me over the last 3 years, and I didn't want to be one of those clients who works with a trainer once a week and doesn't do anything else. I wanted to be invested in the process. And yet in spite of that, I really wasn't invested. Oh, I made it through the workout just fine, and I was incredibly thankful that Matt didn't make me feel even one bit like a failure... in fact, he asked what he could do to help. I suggested that maybe by emailing the foods I was eating on a daily basis, that would keep me accountable and on track. He agreed. I did great for the first month, faithfully emailing and eating exactly what I was supposed to eat according to the Zone diet. It felt pretty easy, actually.... and it worked. I lost 14 pounds that month. I was in control, right? Yeah, not so much. Fell off the wagon and never got back on it again until last week. Being accountable to Matt was great, but let's face it... ultimately, I have to be accountable to MYSELF. That is the key. It has to mean more to me to be proud of myself than for anyone else to be proud of me. I have to take responsibility for the choices I make, not ask someone else to monitor them for me. This time, that's what I'm doing. I am owning my choices and trying to make sure that the ones I make will keep me heading in the right direction.

I'll leave you with yet another quote.. a friend of mine had this posted on his facebook wall, and I think it fits in very welll with the current topic of discussion..... enjoy!

“The battle for self-discipline may leave you a bit bruised and battered but always a better person. Self-discipline is a rigorous process at best; too many of us want it to be effortless and painless. Should temporary setbacks afflict us, a very significant part of our struggle for self-discipline is the determination and the courage to try again.” Thomas S. Monson

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And now that the serious topic is done for the time being, I have to share a funny comment from Noah this evening at dinner. He and AJ are going on a white water rafting trip tomorrow with their rec camp groups, and so I suggested that Noah might want his gameboy for the car ride. Well, in his words, he has played all of the games that he owns, and since he doesn't want to use his brothers'... that option was out. OK, so I suggested that he get his iPod charged. Oops.... I forgot that his Ipod had taken a trip through the washing machine until Arthur gave me the hairy eyeball... damn. Totally forgot that! Anyway, so Noah is adamant that we are not being honest... he can't believe that it would go through the wash and still work (which it does... PHEW!), so he accuses us of lying to him. We deny it... his response is "You're my parents! You're SUPPOSED to lie to me!" Wait... what? Arthur and I both started laughing at this one. Quite the interesting kid perspective, isn't it? ;-)

Falling asleep at the keyboard here.... need to be up at 4 to get the boys ready and out of here by 5am to catch the bus for white water rafting... that is going to come WAY too early....

Baby steps.

I need to keep Flylady in mind on a daily basis. She is famous for her "15 minute" timer and doing a little bit of work every day towards getting things clean and organized. I know as I look around at the multitude of projects left to be completed this summer, and of course wanting them all done NOW, that it is not going to happen. It is overwhelming to comprehend getting everything done, because there is simply too much. Too much for one person, and too much for one day (even one month....sigh). I start every day with an ambititous attitude, planning to do X, Y, and Z...  but it's hard to maintain that. By the end of the day, I'm lucky to have finished half of X. I suppose that is a bit of an exaggeration, because I really have made some good progress this summer, but sometimes it feels like I haven't done much at all. My plan for tomorrow is to sit down with Arthur and make a list of all of the things that we would like to try to finish before the school year starts, post it on the fridge, and start crossing them off. I'm big on visual aids, so I think that this will help me. By putting stuff on paper, it won't be spinning around in my head... so it will be much more likely to actually get done!

My plan for today was to work on cleaning the living room (which I did!) and to work on some digital scrapbooking in hopes of posting a page here on the blog. Well, I didn't actually complete (or even work on) any pages, but I did organize all of the digi scrap supplies that are currently saved on my laptop. I am thinking that I will be ready to scrap tomorrow at some point.... in between other projects, of course! :)