Moments

My child wakes up about as well as his mother and father do. Which is NOT so well, for those who don't know us! Carter had wet hair when he went to bed last night, so that made for some interesting bed head this morning. And of course, I had to grab some pictures.

And then, when I picked him up from daycare, I peeked around the corner at him. Instant recognition. All the kids yell "Carter's mom!" Carter recognizes me, tosses aside the toy he was playing with, and runs into my arms. Talk about melt my heart!!!

So we got home.....dada is working late....so I ask Carter if he wants to play. Of course he does. The first thing he grabs? I'll give you three guesses, but you won't need all three. Guaranteed.

Some things never change. And yes, my child does have feet - though you wouldn't know it from the above picture. The pants are a tad too long. However, when he's in shoes, they fit him just right. But daycare takes off the shoes the second I drop him off. So yes, he does have feet. And they are quite cute, if I do say so myself.

One Minute Writing

So a website (http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/) was recommended to me. It's a whole variety of topics, posted daily, that you are supposed to spend one minute writing about. I think it's a great idea to get your mind flowing each day.

The first topic I am going to address is three goals that I would like to achieve in life.

Goal #1: To raise a happy, healthy family

Nothing is more important to me than my family - my husband and child. We will have more children. Just not today. Or tomorrow. Or next year. But we will. And I can't even begin to list out all the things I NEED to teach my children. There are so many things in life that I can bestow upon my children and I can't wait for those days to arrive. Carter is quite limited on communication right now - though I know that won't last for much longer as his vocabulary is already expanding. But it's important that I teach my children everything within my power. And to give them live experiences and memories that they will carry with them forever. Whether that's at home, around town, in museums, schoolwork, or out in the great outdoors.....life has so many things to offer and I was lucky enough to experience and learn so much during MY childhood. I simply cannot wait to give my children what my parents gave to me.

Goal #2: To successfully retire

Though I am a long way off (knock on wood) from retiring, the thought is often on my mind. And I often question if I will be able to retire successfully, i.e., with enough money to live how I want to live, for the rest of my days. Without the stress of running out of money, or having to downgrade the things in life that I enjoy. I look forward to the day where there is no rush to get to work, no battle with traffic, the boss, co-workers, etc. I look forward to relaxing days with my husband, doing what we want to do, going where we want to go, and watching my children stress about THEIR children, lol!

Goal #3: To write a book

Whether it ever gets published or not, I don't care. I have actually attempted writing several books already. The first one, when I was a teenager. Writing comes naturally to me - when I actually sit down and put my mind to it. And I love reading, so I am exposed to various styles of writing. But most appealing to me is a book, written by me, about my life, that I can someday pass on to my children. That's a dream of mine. But when do you start that? And do you just keep adding to it? Or do you just consider it a finished work and be done with it? I don't have those answers just yet. But I will figure it out. When the time is right and the story flows.

Guilty Pleasure

Let me share with you one of my guilty pleasures.

Seriously. I do NOT feel bad when eating these chips. Why? Because they are baked. They are not greesy, fat-filled chips.

Looking at the nutrition label, I see a small bag only contains 2 grams of fat and 130 calories. Not bad!!! And......AND!!!.....they also contain fiber, protein, calcium, Vitamin C, Iron, and other good vitamins and nutrients that we need.

It would almost appear that these chips are GOOD for you!!

Don't argue with me. Just go with it.

Actual Conversation

Let me set the mood for this conversation that was just had.

I owe money to my family doctor. Not a huge sum. Less than $50. Two weeks ago, I sent a check for $10 because that's all I could afford at the time. And $10 is better than $0. At least to me, anyway. The doc cashed the check last week. And they called me today.

Doc Asst.: I am calling regarding your outstanding balance of $36. Are you able to pay that balance today?

Me: No. Didn't I just make a payment last week?

Doc Asst.: Let me see. (pulls up account) Yes, we have a payment of $10 credited to your account last week.

Me: So now I have to make another payment THIS week?

Doc Asst.: Well, understand that this account is outstanding.

Me: Right. I get that. But I just made a payment LAST week, and I haven't been paid between last week and this week. So there is no money to give you. You will have to wait until next paycheck.

Doc Asst.: And at that time, will you be able to pay off this account in full?

Me: I'm not sure. I will have to see what my budget looks like at that point in time. But I will be able to make some sort of payment, yes.

Doc Asst.: Would you like to make payment arrangements for that now?

Me: Um, no. I just told you, I don't know what my budget is at this point. So I will just send another check when I figure out how much I have left over.

Doc Asst.: Ok ma'am, but understand that this will be turned over to collection if you continue to not make payments.

Me: I HAVE made payments. And apparently that's not good enough. So I'll just continue to send in my $10 checks because I know your practice obviously can't function without it.

CLICK

Ugh! Seriously - why do collection people have to be so freakin' rude? Especially when I am making efforts to work with them?!

Under the Banner of Heaven - Second Synopsis

I have ventured further into this book. Though I'm not surprised. The first several chapters got me right off the bat and my curiosity got the best of me.


The next hundred or so pages of this book deal with some history to the LDS religion - dating back to the founder, Joseph Smith. The author gives a brief history of how Smith was contacted by an angel, and directed to a location where some gold tablets were buried. Smith unearthed the gold tablets, which were written upon in a different language. Smith was provided with some glasses, which enabled the reader to translate the ancient text. Somehow, the translations were lost and Smith had to come up with a new way to write The Book of Mormon. Smith's new method to writing The Book of Mormon was to put some magical stones, which Smith dug up himself, into a straw hat, bury his face in the hat, receive revelations, and dictate these revelations to someone who was writing it all down. And from that, we have The Book of Mormon. And I don't mean to offend anyone, because I'm just telling it like it is as I'm reading this book, but it's just comical to me how this book was written. I find it very hard to give credit where credit is due in this case.


The author then goes on to explain the travelings of Smith and his followers - venturing from one place to another, being cast out by other American citizens along the way. The brawls that ensued. The wars. The killings. Smith, at one point, even ran for president!


And of course, the author dives into the state of Utah, and the extreme population of Mormons. The religion is taken very seriously in Utah - regulating when and where alcohol can be sold, what can be open for business on Sundays, etc. The LDS church strictly forbids abortion (and gays, as can be currently seen by the $20+ million pumped into California to stop gay marriage rights) frowns on contraception, and teaches that Mormon couples have a sacred duty to give birth to as many children as they can support.

And then, in 1843, Smith had another divine revelation which was canonized in D&C as Section 132, and nearly shattered the church, brought about Smith's death, and has caused friction in American society ever since: the "new and everlasting covenant" of plural marriage - or polygamy.


I will address that subject in my next synopsis.

Random Fact #47

I do not drink enough water.

Seriously. What is the suggested amount you should intake daily? 8 glasses? I'm lucky to get ONE glass in during the course of my day. I'm horrible about water. I can only drink it if something is making me thirsty for it. Like, say, chocolate cookies (only if milk is not available), the lemon pound cake from Starbucks that I am now eating, etc. I just can't sit down and drink a glass of water. And when I DO drink water, it has to be ice water. ICE cold. And nothing else. I had big problems during my pregnancy because I didn't get enough water. And water is KEY during pregnancy. I can't count how many times my doctor and mom bugged me about water. I finally had to get those little Crystal Light flavor packets and do water that way because plain old water just wasn't appealing enough for me.