It’s All Relative!

I do not like the word resolution so I set an intention and pick a word for the year (idea from Ali Edwards blog).  My overall theme for 2009 is “Less is More.” Less eating out, less spending on things I don’t need, less clutter, less wasting time on the computer, you get the picture. We have adopted that theme for the family and asked each of our kids to come up with 1 or 2 things that they woud like to change or make better in 2009. We are going to write them all out on a big list and post it in the kitchen and each child will get a poster for their room to decorate however they want to portray their 2009 intention. A visual reminder each day. On the first day of each month we plan to sit down as a family and see how we are doing. We want to help each other with our intentions, work as a team.

My word for 2008 was “simplify,” however I didn’t really follow it so I am continuing the word in 2009. I think it works well with my theme of less is more. I am hoping that with the monthly check ins, we will follow through with our intentions. We also plan to write out how we will make the changes. Have a short term monthly goal also. Once we have it all written out and planned, I will post the entire family list. I will keep you updated on how we are doing after our monthly check ins. If you would like to stay accountable for your 2009 intentions, post your intention here and keep us updated each month as I update you.

It’s been entirely too long since I have blogged and I’ve made a commitment to blog every day. We had a nice evening with friends. We just got together for a few hours and now we are home and relaxing. Will probably be in bed by the time midnight comes.

Christmas was very different this year. Nice but not the same. We went to Steph’s house on Christmas Eve. She cooked for us. For some reason she was very nervous about the whole thing. The food was good and the company was just as good.

Then on Sat Dave,Steph,Gavin and I went to Michele’s house , spent the night and came home on Sunday. It was good to see her , the kids and Jason. We don’t see one another enough . ALways nice to see the kids. They grow so fast.

She was not feeling the greatest yet. She had had surgery the week before. Ended up  having an infection  but is on the road to recovery now

Missed seeing Serena and her gang. They have come from Mo the last 2 years and it was a traditon that I wish they would have kept going. Oh well.

That’s all I’m going to do for now but will keep it going into the new year.

Have a good one all.

I did it. I voted. Be sure you all get out and exercise your right to vote. Be sure you are well informed before you make that vote!

Happy Halloween

Jason and I took the kids to see High School Musical 3 today. I was very pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed it. I have seen the first two movies so many times that I now can sing every song word for word. This movie was almost better than the first two because it was bigger, larger than life. I’m sure the budget was much larger since it was for the big screen rather than TV and it showed. Lots of glitz and glam.

This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie. This is a great example of how "over the top" HSM 3 was. Bigger than life and bigger than the first 2. Sharpay and Ryan were talking about what they want in the future in this scene.

I enjoy the Disney movies even though they are so cliche. You know that the underdog always win, everyone always ends up happy and they all learn very valuable lessons. Predictable? Yes, but very uplifting. I left the theatre wanting to sing and dance my way out to my car and I felt very happy.

I’ve found myself thinking about my high school years (no singing and dancing in our halls). I went to one school and hated it. The school was made up of a lot of Sharpays (stuck up snobs). I transferred to a private school and I found a group of friends that I became close friends with. They were my life for 3 years and I’ll never forget how horrible it was when we all went our separate ways after high school. We swore we’d keep in touch forever. That lasted about 6 months until the first Christmas break. Now, I don’t know where any of them are. I’ve found a few of them through classmates.com, but other than a quick catch up e-mail, we haven’t stayed in touch.

I was trying to explain this to my kids today and they don’t believe me. They think that the friends they have now will be their friends FOREVER. I have changed friends many times. Each big major change in my life has brought me new friends and ended some friendships. My college friends are the ones I have kept in contact with the longest. I think that this next generation of kids may have an easier time staying in touch because of the internet.

Did you stay in contact with your high school friends? college friends?

I am laying in bed watching TV on my HD TV while blogging on my iphone and sorting pics on my MacBook. I should be sleeping!

I hate the fall. It’s depressing. Everything is dying and getting ugly and falling off. The days are getting shorter and it’s getting colder. This is about the time each year when I just feel like I’d rather spend every day in bed. Anyone else feel that way in the fall? But, on the bright side, spring is only 6 months away.

Yesterday, for my birthday, Jason got me an iPhone. I was shocked. I have wanted one for a long time, but I never thought he would get me one. I can not stop playing with my new toy. Typing on the iPhone is very hard and I have not quite gotten the hang of it yet.

This is my first pic from the iPhone too.

Jason and I have started watching House lately. We got hooked on it during the writer’s strike in our quest to find new shows. I was immediately hooked. But it’s in Season 4 so we had no clue what was going on or how certain things got to be the way they were. We purchased season 1 through 3 last month and have been trying to catch up. There are about 24 shows in each season so we have a lot to watch. We watch 2-4/night and we are about 2/3rd through the first season.

So, now I feel like I live with Dr. Gregory House. He has become a part of my nightly routine. And whenever something hurts or I have a twinge, I imagine the blood flowing through that part of my body or I can hear Dr. House saying that “everybody lies.”

So I found this little quiz and this is the House character most like me. I’m not really sure it fits me completely. I’ve never “strayed” and I definitely do not have a tendency to stray. I’m not sure I can comfort people who are obnoxious…I think I’m more of the ignore it and they’ll go away kind. But I am a loyal friend.

Which House Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

Today begins the last week of summer vacation. Every year near the end of the school year I am very ready for summer. I want the lazy days of summer and the break from schedules, homework and the cold weather. I long for the beach, warm summer days and easy schedules. But I am always ready for the school year to start again. I miss the structure of the day.

This year all 4 of my kids are going to school. DS 1 in 7th grade (2nd year of middle school), DD 2 in 4th grade at a brand new grade school (just built and opening this year, we didn’t move), DS 3 is starting Kindergarten (1/2 days in the AM) and DD 4 is starting preschool (3 days/week in the PM). I will not get any time alone, but for most of the day, I will have only 1 child at home. That is quite a break from the 4+friends I’ve had all summer.

Because of the new grade school opening in our neighborhood, my 2 grade school kids are going to a brand new school. It’ so new, they don’t even get a playground yet (don’t get me started on that one). I’m hoping that everyone has a great start. In the past few years, at least one (sometimes more) of my kids have had rough starts. They miss Mom. I didn’t think I was that great a Mom to warrant being missed, but I guess I am. It really is tough on me to just leave them in the classroom when they are in tears. It breaks my heart. I’d like to just take them home with me and never let them go, but I know that isn’t what is good for them. I have to let them go. They always do fine. And it usually isn’t the child that I think will have a problem. For instance, I think it would be my preschooler since it’s the first year she’s going to be in school and away from me, but it’ll probably be one of my older kids.

So, we are enjoying are last week of freedom summer. And then we’ll end the week with a birthday celebration…MINE!!!