Just Thinking

Some days I take a moment and reflect on life and where we are at.  I think about this little city we find ourselves in and I am grateful.  Cedar City is a good place to be.  The area is beautiful, the weather is about perfect (though some cold days make me long for Florida), and the people are wonderful.  It is comforting to feel a certain level of safety for you family.  I know that there is still danger and there are certainly temptations.  The adversary doesn't check out just because you live in a certain place. Living here requires just as much diligence and faith as living anywhere else. That said, it is good to be surrounded by people that are dedicated to the same cause and who are trying their best to be faithful followers of the Savior.  I am grateful for that strength.

I like the smaller town, the quieter place.  I don't miss the big city, the traffic, the business of it all.  Don't get me wrong, there is still a ton going on and I am as busy as ever but there is a difference.  I guess the other thing that may come into play here is that my perspective on life has changed quite a bit in recent years.  There are a lot of things that once appeared so important but really are not so.  Oh well, I really don't have a ton to say.  I was just thinking about living here this morning and the gratitude I feel for the blessing it has been and is in our lives.   

Cooking

Isn't cooking fun?  I mean, get a good recipe and go for it.  I was in the mood for Curry Chicken and so I pulled up a recipe on line, it looked good and so I made it.  It was a recipe for the crock pot and it went pretty well.  I actually made it yesterday.  When I say it went pretty well that is only because I could have used a little more salt in the beginning.  I was actually fasting during the prep and could not take a taste to see how it was.  No matter, it turned out fine.  Anyway, I love curry.  It's a South African thing.  There was a lot of curry down there as Indian food was a major part of society.  I loved it and still do though I rarely eat it now.   The crock pot version was pretty easy to make so I may have to cook this more often.  I am going to have to work on the kids a bit more.  Jack ate his up without an issue, Andy didn't do so well which surprises me and Natty had a few bites, said it was good and then wouldn't eat anymore.  I have decided that Natty may be the pickiest eater I have ever met.  Tonight's meal for her was Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Triple Decker Sandwich. 

Well, when nobody is eating your stuff that means one thing - left overs.  I am a fan.  The boys have really been enjoying Mac and Cheese and that was their meal of choice tonight so I decided I would go with left overs.  I was not disappointed. 

I have been trying my hand at low calorie Ice Cream options.  I don't quite have it perfected but made a pretty good batch of Peanut Butter flavored ice cream this evening.  It was Family Home Evening and we had some of that for dessert.  It was delicious. 

So yes, cooking is fun.  I ejnoy it.  Eating leftovers - I enjoy that too.  Well, now the only question is what to cook next?   

What Manner?

I was sitting here for a moment expecting that this post was going to start typing itself.  It finally occurred to me that I needed to start moving my fingers.  It was a temporary lull and I am with it once again. 

What manner of men ought ye to be?  The Savior asked this question and then went on to answer it; "Verily I say unto to you, even as I am".  In Sunday School today there was a question posed regarding manliness.  An answer came that the world would have us believe that to be a man you have to be tough and mean.  A man wouldn't take any garbage from anyone.  Certainly this doesn't encompass all the worlds views of what makes a man a man but it is some of them.  The true model of manhood however comes from the Savior himself.  His was a life that demonstrated love, compassion, wisdom, work, sacrifice.  He gave his life for each of us.  Could there be a manlier man then the Savior?  I don't think so. 

Emulating the Savior, being as he is, this is not easy.  It certainly doesn't take a long when evaluating ones self to recognize just how weak you are.  I am saying that as in I quickly see how weak I am, how far from the example of the Savior I am.  On my own I am nothing.  I fail continually, I fall short of the example of the Savior continually.  I am so grateful for the atonement and the love of the Savior for me that he has taken upon him my sins, my failings, my short comings.  I am grateful that through him I can be made clean, I can be made whole, I can be made perfect.  I of course have to go forth doing the very best that I can do.  I have to believe in Christ.  I have to repent regularly and strive to live a clean life. 

And so the question that I must constantly ask myself is; What manner of man am I?  And because I am not perfect on my own I guess I can ask a follow up question; Where is my relationship with the Savior?  Am I going forth with Faith in Jesus Christ and striving to do, in all diligence, the things he would have me do?  Oh my goodness there is much work to do. 

I have to note that Grandma Leta had a stroke today and she is not expected to last much longer.  She will not recover from the stroke as it was quite severe.  I have always appreciated Leta.  She and Grandpa Atwood were always so kind to me and accepting of me. When the kids and I were on our way here we stopped and spent some time with them.   I appreciated their love for me and for the kids.  I appreciate their kindness. 

I love the Lord.  I strive to live as he has taught and though I fall short I will continue to put my trust in him.  I will continue to do the very best that I can do to emulate him. 

Confession

So there I was cleaning the kitchen when Natty pops in with something in her hand.  "What is this?" she asked whilst holding my new Xanadu DVD.  Oh my goodness, I started to laugh.  I really don't recall if I made comments about this back at Christmas and I am not going to go back and look for it right now so I will just tell the story.  If it is a repeat then I apologize.

I explained that this movie was a Christmas gift from her aunt Laura.  Then I had to tell the story behind it.

When I was somewhere around 5 years old I fell in love with Olivia Newton John.  Yes I had a little bit of a crush on her.  I don't know how accurate my recollection of these events actually is but there are a few things that I remember.  We were in Salt Lake City for some reason and I remember being with my cousins Darren, Brian and Carrie.  I am sure Jim was there also but I cannot be sure.  Anyhow I recall going to see this movie with them, Xanadu.  Seriously I don't even remember what the movie was about or any other details with the exception of this really hot blonde woman - Olivia Newton John.  She was amazing and I was in love. 

We were living in Carson City at the time on Woodcrest Lane - at least I think that was the name of the street.  I was really excited when I found the Motion Picture Soundtrack for sale at the local K-Mart (back in those days the local K-Mart was located in the same location that Lowes is today).  I had to have it.  I don't know how I did it at 5 years old but I found out the price and then went to work to secure the needed funds. 

So how does a 5 year old "secure the needed funds? "  Lets just say I have some stealthy moves or had some stealthy moves anyway.  Okay, I stole the funds from my parents.  They had the resources and I could get the album.  Done.  Then I had some explaining to do.

I knew then that Olivia and I could never be together.  Ultimately I don't know what happened to that motion picture soundtrack.  I seem to think it was taken back to K-Mart  and my little heart was broken. 

Well Natty just thought that little story was hilarious.  She opened the movie and pulled out a soundtrack on CD.  Fabulous.  We had to give it a listen and I'm pretty sure Natty has determined that I am crazy.  She did have a good laugh about it and enjoyed the songs. 

So there you have it, Xanadu confession .   

Jack Dive

We hit the pool tonight for the first time this week.  The kids wanted to go on multiple occasions but we had conflicts at those times like homework or me carrying a cold.  Anyway, we were happy to go tonight.  Right when we scanned in a call came over the radio that there was an accident in the pool.  Just like that the pool was closed.  That was a real bummer.  Fortunately they opened the competition pool and we were able to go swimming.  I think I would have had some major break downs had that pool been closed as well.  So glad we didn't have to experience that.

We spent our time over in the deep end of the pool playing around.  Andy was a bit nervous and quite clingy to start with.  I did get him to go touch the bottom with me a couple of times and we had a lot of other fun things to do; I swam down and sat on the bottom, or lay down on the bottom or whatever.  Andy had a lot of fun watching from the surface and Natty chased me around in the water. 

At one point in all our playing around I look over and there is Jack diving in.  It was pretty awesome.  Oh his dive isn't perfect and could probably qualify more as a belly flop.  Regardless it was a great move and Jack was really excited about it.  He did it every time, awesome.  Way to go Jack! 

Well, I am ready to pass out so I am signing off.  Nice to have a fun little evening with the kids at the pool.   

Snowy Surprise

Last night around 8 I was standing outside in my shorts thinking about how beautiful it was.  We are in the middle of winter here and have enjoyed wonderful weather for some time.  Shorts have been quite common in my wardrobe but not today.  I woke up to find a lot of snow on the ground.  That was completely unexpected. 

With the snowy surprise I began shoveling. Oh my it was a loosing battle. The snow just kept coming. I did my best and sent a text to pops that just said snow blower? I think we were on the same page on that one. My back has been hurting and the thought of shoveling the Brick House parking lot wasn't exactly comforting. We ended up getting one and it is a sweet machine. Certainly saved my back at the Little Brick House. Also managed to make a run to the folks to clear their drive. I was like a machine today. Funny how a new power tool can do that to you.
Night Sledding.  Yes.  It happened once again.  Great time had by all.  Natty somehow made a double jump and all the kids ended up going for it and loved it.  They sure have a good time out there.  I am usually just cold but not tonight.  Tonight I was wearing this amazing coat that I got from the folks.  It was toasty in there and that was nice.  Very grateful to the folks for the coats tonight.  I managed last winter without anything more then a fleece.

The shoveling and snow blower operations worked me over today.  I am simply exhausted.  Time to hit the sack.     

Ego Buster

So I started off the year on diet.  Still on it as a matter of fact though I have made it through the more stringent stage and am now on a maintenance program.  After a few weeks of maintenance I will be going back to the more stringent stage.  I have my goal weight in mind and it is going to take a lot of work to get there.  Last year I got close but then I started to get careless and consumed too much junk.  I also started drinking soda again and that simply doesn't do well for me.  This year I am focused and am going to accomplish my goal.  I make this statement for accountability purposes.  For a long time I have wanted to get below 200 lbs but that is no longer good enough.  I am aiming for my return from mission weight of about 185. 

Oh it will be a great day when I finally move from obese to just overweight on Wii Fit.  They gave that thing the slightest attitude; it groans a little when I stand on it.  It really hurts my feelings.  Of course the Wii Fit tells me my ideal weight is in the 150's.  I would be skin and bones at 150.  Not so sure I can trust this Wii Fit personal trainer of mine.  I actually only use it to weigh in every week though sometimes I do a quick body test as well.  Lets just say some days are better then others.  I don't do so well on their little test.  My current Wii Fit age is 55.  Fantastic.  It groans when it says that too.  Such an ego buster.