Saturday, May 15, 2010
Happy 10th Birthday Megan!
My little Meg-a-roo turned 10 today. I can't believe how fast she's growing up! She's so full of energy--she's always outside playing with her friends or doing something active. There's never a dull moment when she's around. We sure love her tons!!!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Family Pics
We finally managed to get our family pictures taken (it was supposed to happen in Feb. for my birthday). If you want to see a preview, you can go here. Jessica is so great to work with, and she has such an eye for composition & light. I can't wait to see the rest of the shots!
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Curse of Progress
The past couple of months every appliance I have seems to be on the blitz. When we first moved in to this rental home, the dishwasher didn't work. The little spring that opens the door on the soap dispenser is sprung, so it won't open during the proper time during the cycle. The dishes come out dirtier than when I put them in. So we hand wash our dishes because I don't care about getting it fixed.
The secondhand fridge Mike bought to tide us over until we move again started making what I can only call "tap dancing" sounds several months ago. It has something to do with the compressor. When it shuts off the fridge start to rock back and forth and makes this rhythmic popping sound. We are just going to let it go until it blows up or dies. It is embarrassing, but it's fun to dance to!
Then a month ago the dryer stopped heating up. Of course to fix it costs almost as much as buying a new one, and Mike refuses to buy any large new appliance that we would have to move to our new place (where ever that is). So he figured out how to fix it himself (bless him!), and now I can have dry clothes again.
If that weren't enough, the Honda Civic we bought as a second car (and for Danika, who is driving now) started making this annoying metal-on-metal sound a few weeks ago. It comes and goes, so we ignored it. But yesterday it was so bad that Mike told me to take it in to find out what is making that sound. Turns out our brake pads are gone, and we need new front brakes. That is something we can't ignore, so we will be shelling out for that repair.
Honestly, sometimes "progress" is a pain! Cleaning guru Dan Aslett says that each item we accumulate, “stifles us and robs us of freedom because it requires so much of our time to tend. . . . We have to pay for it, keep track of it, protect it, clean it, store it, insure it, and worry about it." While I wouldn't want to do without a refrigerator, dryer, or brakes for my car, I wonder what I could do without that would make my life simpler.
The secondhand fridge Mike bought to tide us over until we move again started making what I can only call "tap dancing" sounds several months ago. It has something to do with the compressor. When it shuts off the fridge start to rock back and forth and makes this rhythmic popping sound. We are just going to let it go until it blows up or dies. It is embarrassing, but it's fun to dance to!
Then a month ago the dryer stopped heating up. Of course to fix it costs almost as much as buying a new one, and Mike refuses to buy any large new appliance that we would have to move to our new place (where ever that is). So he figured out how to fix it himself (bless him!), and now I can have dry clothes again.
If that weren't enough, the Honda Civic we bought as a second car (and for Danika, who is driving now) started making this annoying metal-on-metal sound a few weeks ago. It comes and goes, so we ignored it. But yesterday it was so bad that Mike told me to take it in to find out what is making that sound. Turns out our brake pads are gone, and we need new front brakes. That is something we can't ignore, so we will be shelling out for that repair.
Honestly, sometimes "progress" is a pain! Cleaning guru Dan Aslett says that each item we accumulate, “stifles us and robs us of freedom because it requires so much of our time to tend. . . . We have to pay for it, keep track of it, protect it, clean it, store it, insure it, and worry about it." While I wouldn't want to do without a refrigerator, dryer, or brakes for my car, I wonder what I could do without that would make my life simpler.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Procrastination
I've noticed that I am a really great procrastinator. I could go pro with it. It affects all aspects of my life. For instance, I leave my housework until I can't stand it anymore, and then go into a cleaning frenzy. I also put off reading my book for book club until the last few days, and then I have to cram-read to finish before we meet. I also don't call my mom for about a month, but then we end up in an hour (or more) long phone conversation. I hate planning dinner; at 5:00 I usually start thinking about it. Last night at 7:00 I had a Stake YW's meeting where we were supposed to bring some ideas to share, and guess what? I was typing them up at 6:55. I want to exercise regularly, but I usually end up only getting it done one or two days a week, so I feel like I have to punish myself and go farther to burn more calories.
Why, why, why do I do this to myself, and how do I stop it??? I want to be one of those self-disciplined people who plans things out, but I so hate rigidity, even though I know it would make my life less harried. I'm sure there's some kind of psychological explanation for why I am this way. I call it SIPS: Self-Induced Procrastination Syndrome, and I think the only cure is within myself, which really stinks. Can't they just invent a pill or something?
On another note, Danika got her driver's license on Wednesday. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. After the birth of my nephew, my brother-in-law said "having a baby is like winning the lottery and having a tornado hit your house on the same day." That's kind of how I feel right now about her turning 16. Watch out world!
Why, why, why do I do this to myself, and how do I stop it??? I want to be one of those self-disciplined people who plans things out, but I so hate rigidity, even though I know it would make my life less harried. I'm sure there's some kind of psychological explanation for why I am this way. I call it SIPS: Self-Induced Procrastination Syndrome, and I think the only cure is within myself, which really stinks. Can't they just invent a pill or something?
On another note, Danika got her driver's license on Wednesday. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. After the birth of my nephew, my brother-in-law said "having a baby is like winning the lottery and having a tornado hit your house on the same day." That's kind of how I feel right now about her turning 16. Watch out world!
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