So... in keeping with the essence of this blog, I am abounding in perfect moments today:

Preston contiually impresses me. Not only is he super-genius-smart, but he's great with kids. I love to watch him with our friends' baby and dream of the day when he'll be a Daddy.

I only spent $45 on groceries yesterday, which is under-budget! I have been going over-budget so much lately, that I forgot that it's not really normal for us to spend $70 a week to feed the two of us... Yay for me!

We get together with our married friends for FHE ever other week, and yesterday I had the lesson. I decided to give it on Gratitude (perhaps a guilty nod to the fact the I still haven't written thank yous from my wedding... oops!). I love it when you have those Aha! moments, and I had one last night while giving the lesson. It occured to me how all-encompassing gratitude is. It encourages humility, charity, faith, kindness... it is so Christ-like! And what I love most about it is that it's EASY! I can be grateful. It's not hard to truly be glad for the things in my life that are from the Lord. How blessed we are to be guided by true prophets and true principles in these hard times in which we live! I am truly grateful.

I LOVE iPHOTO!!! It's amazing! We went a little cheaper on my wedding photos by getting an all digital package that I have a copyright release for, so I can do anything I want with them. So I've been fiddling with them on our new Mac, and I'm addicted! I can fix virtually anything! I've even figured out how to make my veil look normal (and if you read my post about what I would change about my wedding, then you know how I feel about my veil...) and I've made the funny scars on my forehead disappear! I'm moving on the the rest of our photos next! It's like I'm re-writing history. No... I don't remember that huge zit I had at that one party. See.. it's not in the picture. :)

Okay... that's all for now.

The Calm

This past week has been a nightmare.

Things came to a breaking point for me last night when my husband announced some bad news. With the work pressure and personal problems I'm experiencing right now, it was all too much for me and I broke down.

It's hard to convey the feelings I'm experiencing, so I'll just say the part that matters:

Everything looks brighter and more manageable in the morning!

My mother taught me this as a child, and it never ceases to be true. This morning I feel calmer and more hopeful.

Are things resolved? No.
Did I want to go to work? Double No.
But do I feel like I can find a solution? Yes.

Sometimes you just need to sleep on it.

Limbo

At work, I have a category for things I don't know what to do with.

I put them in a separate stack and put a big sticky on it that says "LIMBO". Then I chip away at them one at a time until nothing remains in that pile. It's a nice concept and it works for me.

(The fact that the same principle doesn't work when applied to our apartment continues to baffle me, but I'm sure I'll figure it out, given time.)


Lately the trouble seems to be that I am in the limbo pile myself.

I just don't feel like I'm moving forward. In any aspect of my life.

I sent an update to my Russia friends last week, and I honestly couldn't report anything exciting. It's such a let-down from before my wedding, because I was feverishly working toward this finite goal. Now I'm not-so-feverishly working -- plodding, barely-getting-by, trudging.

Words that matter

Important words for weekdays:
alarm clock
EARLY
a little grumpy
little kiss
Have a good day, honey!
organize
look busy
May I tell him/her who is calling?
May I put you through to his/her voicemail?
May I validate your parking?
improvise
follow-up on that
courtesy
patience
dress clothes
smile anyway
stressed
someday...
5:00 yet?
dishes
dinner?
groceries?!
sleepy prayers
repeat
(see also: exhaustion, need a raise, too tired to move...)

Important words for Saturday:
blueberry pancakes
laundry
snuggle
giggle
shopping
errands
movie?
JEANS!
couch
blanket
good book
relax
procrastinate

Important words for Sunday:
church
peace
Jesus
prophets
Book of Mormon
be better
eternity
remembrance
repentance
FAMILY
Scrabble
nap