Blogging With Beth

Nice title. Oh well - my creativity level is somewhere in the 0th percentile.

Sorry to be sort of a downer, but I'm having a terrible night. I'm not feeling well (headache and nausea), obviously up too late, worried and stressed about some upcoming stuff. Still, I think that I have a lot to be grateful for, and although I've done this little exercise before, I'm going to go through it again, in list form.

What I'm So Grateful For:

Our new mattress/bed
Hunter's good nature
Helena's occasional willingness to help and constant concern for me
Dan's efforts at being understanding and his success at bringing calmness to my brain
The DIS Unplugged Podcast
My blogging friends
Washer/dryer
"The Office"
The ability to play the piano
The gospel...the gospel...the gospel (how does anyone function without this most important component?)
Pithy insights and revelations about the small stuff
My grandparents (who will soon get a big, fat, post of their own), who are preparing my mobile home in heaven!
Music

Now I'm off to sleep...and here's the song running through my head:

"Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away!"

What's your favorite Cheap Trick song?

I'm borrowing some pictures I found on a Disney-devoted site (and if you think I'm nuts, you should check out THESE people!). They are of the resort that we'll be staying at on our next trip to The World. It's a beautiful place, and you know what? I could really care less that it's not "real." It's themed around the Old South - both the genteel plantations and the Louisiana bayou. The best part about this is that it doesn't include some of the features the "real" versions of these places have, like alligators, enormous insects, slightly crazy Cajuns (just kidding, just kidding!). I'm not going to rant about why WDW is so important to me, because I've done it before on this blog, but maybe a few pictures will help my Loyal Following see that it is, at least, really beautiful.

I love my children. Who knew I would ever have a little girl and little boy who were so wonderful? I never expected to be cheering my 3 year old daughter on as she wrapped up her 100-piece Strawberry Shortcake puzzle, congratulating her on writing her first "N," almost crying when she says "Mom, I love you." I didn't think I'd ever actually try to hit the one-million-kisses mark with my baby boy, or be so charmed by his constant, gummy smiles, or "waste" 20 minutes watching him sleep. I had no idea that any earthly thing could make me so happy, it could just break my heart, but my kids do it every day. Don't get me wrong - sometimes it's hard, sometimes they push me to my Patience Limit, but it lasts for a few minutes and I'm back to Dorkdom. So, dear reader (is anyone reading this???), exercise forgiveness when I brag about them or act like they're the best and only kids on earth. It's just brief and momentary insanity that, hopefully, will last just a bit longer.

That's a one-word description of what I'm doing right now. Dan took away the 22-inch monitor I used to use with this laptop (for work purposes) and I am now squinting at a 15 inch?? laptop monitor. Let's take a moment to be grateful for a nice laptop.

I'm going to attempt, once again, to add pictures to my blog. I'm not that technologically adept (yeah, big surprise, I know!). Big Dan just bought a new digital camera, bringing us into the new millenium. We're excited to get it in the mail next week. Maybe soon I'll have some GOOD pictures! In the meantime, here are some sweet ones of a little photo session we tried to get in with Helena and Hunter. Also featured is an (almost indecent) photo of Hunter bathing in his favorite place - the deep side of the kitchen sink.

I am admitting it now...apparently, I am a Reality TV fan. I watch "The Biggest Loser," "Survivorman," "Lockup," you name it. I don't actually schedule my life around these programs but I eat them up when they're on. (Right now I'm blogging while watching "Lockup." Actually, a guy just made an excellent point: "In here, you're forced to be still and think about what you want the rest of your life to look like." In a way, it would be nice for all of us to have that. But not in jail.)

I've mentioned this blog before but I'm going to put a link here, because it's been entertaining and occasionally valuable to me. It's called The Simple Dollar, written by a youngish guy, married with two young kids and living in Iowa. It includes great articles and links to other useful personal finance blogs.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/

Hope that works.

I also have to ask a big, fat, personal question of the Blogosphere. Answer as you wish, or ignore it completely! You choose.

How do you clothe your kids? I'm wondering how everybody affords this. If I dressed my kids in whatever I liked, wherever I wanted to shop, we'd be broke and in debt. I shop good consignment stores, sales, etc. Because Helena's grown so fast, we've bought 6 years worth of clothes in 3 years (she wears a 6 or 6X). It's expensive! I think if I were REALLY diligent I could get more at yard sales but I don't have the time for it, and now it's past that season. SO, any tips would be appreciated.

"If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got."

My blog has become a confessional. It's like being on "Real World" without anyone watching!

I love "Fat March." I came into this ABC reality show about 3 weeks after it started but I caught up with the free online episodes. I can't IMAGINE walking so many miles. I wonder what it would be like to do something like that...I've been walking a lot lately, under the guise of "training" for WDW (where the average person walks between 5 and 7 miles a day.) It's motivating, don't get me wrong, but the Fat March people get HARD CASH for walking. I really admire them all (well, those who didn't get voted off and are still walking) for pushing themselves so far.

Tonight I went grocery shopping. Dan and I have decided to try the cash "envelope system" to have more control over our money. I busted it all out - returned the pop cans, etc. I was a serious Domestic Diva today. Countless loads of laundry, a nice long walk (in the rain!), baked two loaves of bread (thank you, bread machine), played with the kids, did puzzles with Helena, warmed up those leftovers (okay, not so impressive). Too bad every day isn't so fantabulous.

Does anybody have a treadmill? How much did it cost (personal but necessary question)? What brand/model would you recommend? Once the bad weather comes I'd still like to be able to walk without bad weather preventing me. To me this would be a better way to spend money (rather than a gym membership) because I could do it any time, any day, without packing up the kids, having to "look good," etc. Listening to my Disney podcast, I will walk forever! (It is so stupid that THAT is what motivates me!)

One last thought: Today I ran the water from the tap until it was hot, then washed my hands with my nicely scented anti-bacterial soap, and thought "What a CUSHY, blessed life I live!" It's crazy that we have too much food, nice chairs and couches to sit in, deluxe beds to sleep on, instant contact to our friends and community through excellent communications systems (including the internet), instant access to information, a beautiful place to live, the gospel truths, a much-loved family. It's funny how those little experiences bring gratitude bubbles to my mind.

Glad I read that last post again...it's been a bit of a hard day for me, I'm not going to lie. Luckily I got in touch with a long-lost friend who brightened it considerably. Georgia has been my friend since about 1998. She joined the LDS Church and was a great friend of mine. Six years ago she had two beautiful twin boys, and about 1 1/2 years ago she moved away. She now lives in Arizona and is, to my benefit, happy to spend hours on the telephone acting as Psychologist for me. I really miss her. We had a blast together. I don't think I'll ever have so many friends that I can forget about them.

Tomorrow is Labor Day. I'm not exactly sure what this holiday celebrates - the fact that America's working population toils tirelessly to support their families and grow our economy? - but I hereby dedicate it to every woman who has ever endured labor. As in, pregnancy and birth labor. This is what we should REALLY have a holiday for. Mother's Day is really to honor the mothering portion of a woman's life. Labor Day is JUST for the labor, the pain, the screaming, the "holy-crap-am-I-dying" feeling that you ladies out there can relate to. We deserve at least two days for multiplying and replenishing the earth, and I'm not opposed to adding a "Breastfeeding Day" or a "Single-Moms" day. This is, naturally, in addition to our birthdays, when we should be brought flowers and chocolates, and have our little children whisked away to happy places they love while we gorge on unhealthy foods and watch movies like "Beaches" and "Steel Magnolias," "Pillow Talk" and "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."

Because I have nothing better to post I will list a few things on my iPod I've been listening to recently:

The DIS Unplugged Podcast
Classic BYU Speeches
Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
Science Fiction and the Gospel - Hugh Nibley
Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) - MIKA
Mr. Wendal - Arrested Development (random!)
This Woman's Work - Kate Bush
Dear Someone - Gillian Welch
Stolen - Dashboard Confessional
Take Me Home - Phil Collins
In This Heart - Sinead O'Connor

So, I'm not a music snob, I guess (what self-respecting music snob listens to Phil Collins, for crying out loud) but there you go. You'd probably forgotten (happily) about Arrested Development!

I have a big Walt Disney World Countdown Calendar and guess what? Only 151 more days! Time to start planning! :)