What I am NOT going to do today

A few weeks ago, my financial advisor, JE, advised me to take the Kolbe index to identify my individual strengths. I did, and one piece of advice it gave me was to choose something each day that I was NOT going to do.

So I am going to try it here on A Spot of Sun. It will be my own little daily shadow you might say!

Today I will not make dinner. Matt and I are going out for the night. That means macaroni for the kiddies! It's a good thing they love it, and it's nutritious too! The plan is to go to Ottavio's for dinner. And if the end-of-the-week, post-cleaning, cooking, cheering, booger-wiping, babysitting, church-do-gooding stamina doesn't fail us, we may go see the Impressionist art exhibit at BYU.


I'm going to take my cute new bag. My sweet mother found it for my at the mall while she was visiting. It's a Mondani bag. Never heard of it?, neither have I. Who cares if it's cute. Won't it be perfect for my sweet trip to Hawaii in June? What? I haven't told you about that yet? Well. . .It will definitely take more time than I have today. But don't worry, it's coming.

New Lamps for me!

I stopped into Home Depot for a new door knob. Our back door has been unusable for 2 days, a real bummer for kids, warm weather, cousins visiting and a swing set calling out to be swung!

While I was there, I found this set of lamps that usually sell for $80 and were on clearence for $40!




I've been looking for a swing arm floor lamp for the living room. But I really loved these and got 2 lamps for a fabulous price.

We set them up and basked in their warm and filtered light all night, or at least for the 10 minutes we had to ourselves before we fell into bed. Nice aren't they.

I have one on an old dresser from my husbands grandparents. It is wood and a nice shape. But mostly it is just a nice place for a little storage and a background for a nice still life-ish thing. I put the small lamp on it. But now I realize how much I need to fix it up.

1. Paint the dresser
2. Spray the mirror with silver paint instead of gold, turn it sideways and hang it higher
3. Gather a nice assortment of adorable things to make it look welcoming. Maybe I'll put my new Cymbidium orchid on it.



I've never owned an orchid before. I hope it isn't too hard. I guess I'll learn. This isn't my orchid. I still need a great pot for mine. Any suggestions?

The first lawn-mow of the season

My shoes are green and my hands smell like gas. The air is full of the scent of freshly mowed grass! I love that smell. It means warmth and summer and total happiness.

Yesterday Matt changed the oil and put a new blade on our lawn mower. Our grass was getting pretty long and scraggly. So today after my girls were off learning great things, the boys and I mowed the lawn. It looks so nice; I just love it. For some reason I like to keep my yard clean and taken care of much more than the inside of my house. Perhaps that is because I have a 5 month break from it each year. I should try taking a 5 month break in sweeping and mopping. I bet I'd love to do it after that!

Here is a picture of Scott and Matt mowing the lawn last fall. Scott helped me mow today with his tough bubble lawn mower. Isn't he a cute little toughie?




Have a great day, and enjoy those green shoes.

For One More Day

"But there's a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all you stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where your begins." (Mitch Albom, For One More Day)

I just finished For One More Day by Mitch Albom. I loved this quote. I love my mother and feel like her story is mine too. I wish I knew her better. But moms don't often focus on themselves and their lives. So kids only know about "Mom" not "Woman" or "Friend" or "Love" or even "Little girl". I wonder how I am a manifestation of my mother and my father too.

But it makes me happy to have them as a part of myself.

Love you Mom and Dad.

Coming home to dishes

We had a great weekend away. Egg dying, egg hunts, way too much candy for the adults, frisbee, lots of pictures, a few---no a few too many silly conversations, church, prayers and hugs all added up to a great weekend.

We got home at 9:00 pm; plenty of time for unpacking and cleaning up. But I wanted to take a few quiet minutes to read some Easter scriptures.

So this morning, this is what was staring me in the face.



But if I look up just a bit I see this. A spot of sun!



What a treat. Hopefully later today my sink will be shining too.

The 4th of July in Paris

My oh my. I am tired! But it has been a good week. My brother-in-law and his wife found a great house, made an offer and it was accepted. It is a big 7-8 minutes away! Can't wait.

They just left and now it is time to pack. We are headed to my mom's house for Easter and a big get together with my 5 brothers and sisters. I love getting together with them all. It can get loud, and that is even without all the grandkids. But we don't get to do it that often. Our major holidays are Christmas and the 4th of July.

If you ever want an awesome Independence Day, visit Paris, Idaho. It is a town of about 500 people, and is probably declining. You'll start your day with a sunrise flag ceremony. Occasionally there are talks so grand and inspiring you cry. Occasionally they go something like this "I love America so much I don't know what to say. So I won't even try."

Then you can take in some good old hashbrowns, sausage and pancakes at the Chuckwagon Breakfast sponsored by the Lions Club.

At 10:30 or sooner, save yourself a seat at the patriotic program at the local Tabernacle built in the early 1800s by Mormon Pioneers. It starts at 11:00, the benches are terribly hard, and the air extremely hot. The singing is all right with the occasional great. But just try to not shed a tear as all the Armed Forces' songs are sung while anyone in the audience who has ever served in that respecive group is invited to stand during his or her song. It always ends with echoing Taps; no one died but you know.



When it finishes, wander out onto the lawn to watch the parade at 1:00. Bring a blanket, or save your spot during the flag raising by parking your car along the route. Just don't take me spot. You can even watch the parade twice! It comes down one side of the street, turns around and comes back again! Bring a bag for candy.



Now it is time to head down to the rodeo. You can see bull riding, barrell racing and the all-time favorite, mutton-busting. What is mutton busting you ask, why it is young kids trying to ride sheep. Last one on, wins. Or send in your toddlers to catch a chicken. Or your older kids to catch a greased pig. Can you think of anything more fun to watch?

Now you are tired. You've been up since 5:45 remember. So take a nap. You can come over to our house and help make homemade ice cream. (Raspberry is scrumptions, watermelon, not so good.)

After a good nap and a great BBQ, wait for the hot sun to sink below Paris Peak and get ready to watch some fireworks. But it gets better, you get to light your own! Make sure you don't make the mistake of driving to nearby Wyoming to pick up beautiful airborne fireworks, they are illegal. But you can always just watch the neighbors!



You made it through a fabulous 4th. Won't you do it again next year?!

Anyway, now I have 2 hours to pack up for 2 adults and 4 kids. I'm just praying that there are enough clean underwear somewhere in the house for everyone. If not, I'll just take dirty ones. It is my mom's after all and she loves doing laundry!

Finding a house in Utah

My husband's brother and his family arrived in Utah last night. They are going to be moving here in June. They are here to find a home. We are rooting for a house close to us. We get along so well and have kids the same age that love to play.

Our city is a little expensive. Of course we think it is justified. We have great schools, the city is clean and kept well, and the in-laws can't live in a trailor in the front yard. All of which makes a beautiful place to live. But cost and size are factors of course.

So today I am watching their 3 girls. So far, so good. I hope I feel the same way by the end of the day.

We are so lucky to have a family that all gets along. We WANT to live by them and all our respective in-laws. I get the feeling that this is quite unique. Now, the same street might be a little hard, but the same neighborhood would be quite fun. Exercising with them, trading babysitting, sending the kids to play with their cousins, and having improptu get-togethers sounds so fun.

Some families get along better when they live a few hours apart. I don't think that is us. Let's hope our families don't feel that way about us ;-).