I have been telling myself for a couple of weeks that I need to post a blog. I've found a million other things to do instead. Let me tell you a few of them.
I've been getting up earlier each morning so that I could start back on my swimming routine. I've lost 74 pounds since December, and I believe that one of the catalysts that has helped me the most is exercise. When I first started, I couldn't finish a lap. Now I'm up to 12 laps added to my water aerobic routine. Now I've been doing only breast stroke, because that is the easiest for me. Freestyle has just been too physically demanding; however, I am determined to make that happen, so I started adding in laps of that stroke. My heart rate goes up to 220 vs. the regular 180 with breast stroke. I can do 1 1/2 freestyle laps without drowning. Yay!
I am absolutely loving my job! My hours are from 8:30 till 5:30 M-F, but after my 90 day probation, I'll be working from 9 till noon on an occasional Saturday. I'm handling more responsibility now and renewed a Commercial account all by myself! I love Underwriting negotiations and schmoozing to save people money.
Mondays are hectic because by the time I get home, dinner is usually underway and we have Family Home Evening. I love it! Right now Amie is focusing on getting Cailey ready for her baptism, so last Monday she had a hide and seek game with quetions about baptism scattered around the room. The girls had found nearly all of them before we actually had the lesson, but it was still fun. I have to say that even though there are moments when things are not exactly reverent or perfect, I am impressed with Amie's diligence in making this happen on a regular basis. All she has to do is break out into the "This is the night we've waited for, Always a treat we have in store, We love each other more and more, With every Family Night!" and Faith will come running from wherever she is in the house to stand on the hearth to direct the music. At prayer time, Amie sings, "Let us gather in a circle, And kneel for family prayer," and the girls get within hugging room of her and each other and I get to hear innocent, powerful, and life-altering prayers ascend to heaven. How lucky am I?
Bryce and Amy came over a couple of weeks ago to have Home Evening together. School had already started, so they couldn't stay for a long time. Its been great having them close by too. I've been to their house for their regular Friday Night Movie Night, and I've been there to babysit of occasion and to get skunked by Maddy in Memory. I've seen them go through the nightly routine of prayer time as well, and seen and heard first hand their sweet prayers. It's very humbling and an experience to let you know that your life has meaning.
It's pretty sweet that Preston has been in my Primary class, but today is his last day. Amy taught the class because I'm house-sitting for Lindy in Atlanta. She, Scott, Katie, and Tyler went to Scotland for 2 weeks and I'm hanging here on the weekends. I can't wait till they get back and I get to hear about everything they saw and did! My cousin Cathy came over to hang and we were able to relax and shoot the breeze and seem to always reminisce.
Kim came up with a great idea to have a Crawford family reunion. Looks like we're planning it for November. A lot will be happening during that month: Cailey will be turning 8 and getting baptized, Lance, Caetie, Andersin, Laycie, and Masen wil be visting, and Drew will be coming out for a visit, too! I am so stoked!!!!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
What's your name?
I went to lunch with some friends yesterday and the question was posed, "What was your nickname when you were growing up?" It was so cool to hear all of the different responses. I thought it would be even more fun to post my responses and hear back from whoever would like to share.
I have 4 sibs so I'm sure I got called a lot of things, and, to be honest, my first remembrance was a negative moniker. I also remember ALL of the "Batman and Robin", "Robin Hood,", and "Robin Redbreast" jabs; however, the nickname that stands out in my mind is what my dad used to call me... Daisy Mae. Daddy's favorite comic strip was Lil Abner. Daisy Mae was Lil Abner's girlfriend. I think it might have been because she wore cutoff shorts and I did too. Who knows?
These days it's hard to know how to sign an email to all my friends and family. I'm known as Madre, Mom, Mama, Maja, Granny Robin, Robbie, Rob, Chica, Maggie, and Sister Wininger.
Do you know Miss Lissa, Little Wayne, Brycer Ricer, Lancer Man, and Bebo?
I have 4 sibs so I'm sure I got called a lot of things, and, to be honest, my first remembrance was a negative moniker. I also remember ALL of the "Batman and Robin", "Robin Hood,", and "Robin Redbreast" jabs; however, the nickname that stands out in my mind is what my dad used to call me... Daisy Mae. Daddy's favorite comic strip was Lil Abner. Daisy Mae was Lil Abner's girlfriend. I think it might have been because she wore cutoff shorts and I did too. Who knows?
These days it's hard to know how to sign an email to all my friends and family. I'm known as Madre, Mom, Mama, Maja, Granny Robin, Robbie, Rob, Chica, Maggie, and Sister Wininger.
Do you know Miss Lissa, Little Wayne, Brycer Ricer, Lancer Man, and Bebo?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Darker the (K)night...
So I went to see The Dark Knight and I loved it! One of the guys from work commented that it dragged, due to subplots, but I don't agree with that. I loved the sub-plots, because they helped to build the story. The other thing Will said was that Batman (Christian Bale) has a lisp. I found myself watching his mouth every time he spoke! LOL
The action scenes were great, but I have to say that I loved how Heath Ledger played The Joker's character. The movie allows you to really get inside his demented head. I love that you get enough background to know WHY the characters are making the choices they make. Again, to me, this makes the length of the movie ok, because rather than dragging you're taken on an emotional ride. That's my take, anyway.
The only other thing I'll say is that at times I wanted to laugh at the way Batman changed his voice so that people wouldn't figure out that he's Batman. There were a few times it was really funny. I would have LOVED to have seen this movie with Drew. I would also love to hear Joel McHale's (The Soup)comments, but I think the only way that will happen is if G4 mentions it during The Feed.
The action scenes were great, but I have to say that I loved how Heath Ledger played The Joker's character. The movie allows you to really get inside his demented head. I love that you get enough background to know WHY the characters are making the choices they make. Again, to me, this makes the length of the movie ok, because rather than dragging you're taken on an emotional ride. That's my take, anyway.
The only other thing I'll say is that at times I wanted to laugh at the way Batman changed his voice so that people wouldn't figure out that he's Batman. There were a few times it was really funny. I would have LOVED to have seen this movie with Drew. I would also love to hear Joel McHale's (The Soup)comments, but I think the only way that will happen is if G4 mentions it during The Feed.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Letting Go
I just wanted to take a moment to tell you about a lesson I had in my Relief Society meeting at church when I was living in California. We were counseled to remember that the central theme of all of our lessons revolves around doing the will of the Father and making sure that we do all we can to make our own wills match His will for us. The lesson was based on a talk by Patricia Holland in the June 1984 Ensign, entitled, "Fruits of Peace".
Fear makes us feel exposed, defenseless, vulnerable, and unprotected, like being naked. The opposite of fear is faith, bravery, and courage; however, charity, the pure love of Christ, is at the root of all of those, and increases our ability to overcome fear.
The question was posed, "How many of you would run into a burning building?" Nobody raised her hand. Then, "How many of you would run into a burning building if your child was inside?" and, as you can imagine, everyone's hands shot up. Charity makes us brave. Perspective, or seeing others as Christ sees them, changes our perception.
Women are their own worst enemies. We compete with and compare ourselves to other women. That makes us afraid and fearful that we are not good enough or that we don't measure up. We need to be more generous and loving to ourselves. This fear and competition impedes our progress, and keep us from using our fullest capacity to love. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others, because what someone else needs may not be what you need in order to become like Christ.
We are born with charity, but fear is learned. We learned to fear as children and many times teach fear to our children. We have to work to love. Our desire to love promulgates His help. There are 3 exercises we can do to gain charity:
Forgiveness: If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. Matt 5:43-48. Grudges are like us drinking poison and then expecting someone else to die.
Unconditional Acceptance of Others: If we want to be accepted by others, how can we do less? Often we think of love like currency. We spend it and expect love in return. But charity is more like paint, because we can give charity and paint whatever we want our environment to be.
Give without thought of receiving: Others cannot fill or satisfy us. When we love freely without recompense, we will be filled with the Spirit.
We were issued a challenge to give without expecting anything in return for a week. I tried it, and it brought a more peaceful atmosphere into my home.
I have been living with my daughter, Amie, and her family for 7 months now. I know that all of us believed that I would be out on my own by now, and in my own place; however, things have worked out differently. I have begun comparing myself to other women my age who are retired, or who don't have to work, or who have been married nearly 30 years by now, or who have their own homes. I SO needed to be reminded of this lesson.
Something else was brought to my attention that really helped me this week. With all of that negative comparing I was doing, I started feeling badly about my exes being involved in the lives of my children. Living in California for so many years, away from most of my children, made me very unaware of how much my children are involved in their dads' lives. So I was reading in Chapter 4 of II Nephi and came across a passage that really made me stop and think.
So at this point, Lehi has finished blessing all of his children, and Nephi is remarking about how he feels after he has prayed to the Lord and become acutely aware of his many blessings:
27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
So I realized that I am still harboring ill feelings about my exes because I never got closure and was treated so poorly. I started thinking that my children should be mad at these men, too, because of the way they treated their mother. Ha! Ha!
Well, of course, now you can see that the Lord was very good to me in making this particular scripture stand out in bold upon my heart. He helped me to remember that lesson in love as well. It's time for me to let go of the past and rejoice in the future. I need to stop comparing my situation with theirs (my exes') and just love every moment I have with my children, but also make every day a positive experience toward my eventual exaltation. That's my goal, anyway. A work in progress, but realizing that you're heading in the right direction is half the battle.
Fear makes us feel exposed, defenseless, vulnerable, and unprotected, like being naked. The opposite of fear is faith, bravery, and courage; however, charity, the pure love of Christ, is at the root of all of those, and increases our ability to overcome fear.
The question was posed, "How many of you would run into a burning building?" Nobody raised her hand. Then, "How many of you would run into a burning building if your child was inside?" and, as you can imagine, everyone's hands shot up. Charity makes us brave. Perspective, or seeing others as Christ sees them, changes our perception.
Women are their own worst enemies. We compete with and compare ourselves to other women. That makes us afraid and fearful that we are not good enough or that we don't measure up. We need to be more generous and loving to ourselves. This fear and competition impedes our progress, and keep us from using our fullest capacity to love. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others, because what someone else needs may not be what you need in order to become like Christ.
We are born with charity, but fear is learned. We learned to fear as children and many times teach fear to our children. We have to work to love. Our desire to love promulgates His help. There are 3 exercises we can do to gain charity:
Forgiveness: If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. Matt 5:43-48. Grudges are like us drinking poison and then expecting someone else to die.
Unconditional Acceptance of Others: If we want to be accepted by others, how can we do less? Often we think of love like currency. We spend it and expect love in return. But charity is more like paint, because we can give charity and paint whatever we want our environment to be.
Give without thought of receiving: Others cannot fill or satisfy us. When we love freely without recompense, we will be filled with the Spirit.
We were issued a challenge to give without expecting anything in return for a week. I tried it, and it brought a more peaceful atmosphere into my home.
I have been living with my daughter, Amie, and her family for 7 months now. I know that all of us believed that I would be out on my own by now, and in my own place; however, things have worked out differently. I have begun comparing myself to other women my age who are retired, or who don't have to work, or who have been married nearly 30 years by now, or who have their own homes. I SO needed to be reminded of this lesson.
Something else was brought to my attention that really helped me this week. With all of that negative comparing I was doing, I started feeling badly about my exes being involved in the lives of my children. Living in California for so many years, away from most of my children, made me very unaware of how much my children are involved in their dads' lives. So I was reading in Chapter 4 of II Nephi and came across a passage that really made me stop and think.
So at this point, Lehi has finished blessing all of his children, and Nephi is remarking about how he feels after he has prayed to the Lord and become acutely aware of his many blessings:
27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
So I realized that I am still harboring ill feelings about my exes because I never got closure and was treated so poorly. I started thinking that my children should be mad at these men, too, because of the way they treated their mother. Ha! Ha!
Well, of course, now you can see that the Lord was very good to me in making this particular scripture stand out in bold upon my heart. He helped me to remember that lesson in love as well. It's time for me to let go of the past and rejoice in the future. I need to stop comparing my situation with theirs (my exes') and just love every moment I have with my children, but also make every day a positive experience toward my eventual exaltation. That's my goal, anyway. A work in progress, but realizing that you're heading in the right direction is half the battle.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Better Late than Never
Here I am at last! A bit behind the times, but here, nonetheless. I am not as much a writer as my siblings and my children are, and I'm not sure if I am as witty as they are, but I do have a voice and I want my grandchildren and those who decide to visit to have a way of knowing what I'm thinking. It's a good way to journal.
My brother, Kim, has been Velociman in his Velociworld, where the rubber meets the road, for years now. He has certainly been the family pioneer in this world of blogging and had to learn the language in order to create his Velocihaven. I love it that he continues to take the world to our past, tells stories that I don't remember, and some that I do, and that he continues to let us get into his head if we dare.
My sons have been encouraging me to get with the times and I finally took the plunge. Now I just need to get some pictures. Mother's Day is on the way.... Hmmm.... Perhaps a digital camera is in order.
My brother, Kim, has been Velociman in his Velociworld, where the rubber meets the road, for years now. He has certainly been the family pioneer in this world of blogging and had to learn the language in order to create his Velocihaven. I love it that he continues to take the world to our past, tells stories that I don't remember, and some that I do, and that he continues to let us get into his head if we dare.
My sons have been encouraging me to get with the times and I finally took the plunge. Now I just need to get some pictures. Mother's Day is on the way.... Hmmm.... Perhaps a digital camera is in order.
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