resolutions

It's the time of year for resolutions.  I enjoy making goals because it gives me a chance to look back and think about what I can do better, and there's always plenty I can do better.  For FHE on Monday, the kids made their goals for the new year.  They made goals last year, too, so they got their old goal sheets (which had been posted on their walls) and read them aloud to see how they did.  It was quite adorable, I have to admit.  Though when M. looked at Lily's list, she had a little "bp" written beside several of her goals.  When he asked her what they meant, she said, "It stands for 'broke promise.'"  How sad is that?  Needless to say, we did a little talking about goals and how we work to meet them, but everyone has bad days, and that's ok.

Here are my goals for 2010:

Personal

• take better care of myself
• take better care of M.
• take better care of the kids

Home

• work before play
• set written daily goals
• maintain instead of trying to catch up 

Spiritual

• finish the Book of Mormon
• read one conference talk per week 
• remember

 They may seem vague and general, and I know such goals are hard to reach, but let me reassure you that I have another page or two listing specifics about each goal.  I'm excited to move forward, and hope to be a better Rach by the end of 2010. 

too. many. crafts.

I have discovered the majesty of craft blogs.  I can't quite remember where it started, but at some point I found one I liked and it has gone all downhill since then.  I now have 52 subscriptions in my google reader and half of them are crafting blogs.  People have the best ideas!  And better yet, they post tutorials so that those of us who have little to no creativity in the craft department (ahem, me) can copy them and make cool stuff, too!  I'm so excited to get started on some projects.

I have to admit, though, it can get a bit daunting.  I stumbled upon a blog last night of a girl who seemed to have it all perfectly together.  Her house is gorgeous; she decorated it.  Her 5 daughters are beautiful, dressed in adorable clothes she made.  She seems to have it all, and she's a Relief Society president, to boot!  I have to just keep reminding myself that I need to start where I am, and work on things as I go.  Methinks we'll soon have a post about goals, being the New Year and all!  (Woohoo, aren't you excited?)

Here are a few things I'm excited to make, and the blogs from which I go the ideas:

All three of my bigger kids will flip for this house.  Lily's will be a dollhouse, Will's maybe a garage and Peter's a barn.  Tutorial at UK lass in US.

One of my favorite crafting blogs is MADE .  So many things on that blog that I want to make.  And guess what?  I commented on one of her posts and SHE EMAILED ME!  How cool is that?  Here is one of the patterns I'd like to buy from her Etsy shop and make, since we are in the market for new stockings:

Aren't they adorable?  And they're made from old sweaters!  From MADE I found the SYTYC blog (So You Think You're Crafty), where they're doing a competition.  It started with 10 fabulous crafters and gives them a challenge to complete each week.  Readers vote and the lowest vote-getter gets eliminated.  There are four left and the competition is getting FIERCE!  Check it out.  There are tutorials for all the winning crafts.

I think the one that started it all is somewhat simple.  She has so many amazing ideas, and also posts recipes.  She also has a weekly tradition called "Strut Your Stuff Thursday" where her readers can post links to their own craft projects.  I vow to post there one day!

The first thing I'm going to make is a secret, though, because it's for my sister, Katie, who reads my blog.  I'll post pics of it after I'm done.  Maybe I'll even post a pic of her with it!  

So many crafts, so little time!  I feel the creativity bug circulating in my body and can't wait to get started.  Wish me luck! 

an oldie but a goodie

I wrote this 3 years ago and forgot about it until today, but every word still rings true! I'm sure we could add a few more, with the addition of two additional kids. (Yes, I noticed my repetition of a word there; instead of fixing it, I decided to make it worse.) Do you have any additional additions to add? ;)

12 Signs You're a Music Geek
• Your children know more about Bach than Barney or Big Bird.
• Your 3-year-old plays a song on the piano for visiting friends; upon finishing, he tells them it was a pentatonic scale (and a glissando to boot).
• You can tell when the organ transposition button is pushed without looking at it. And you catch the eyes of other musicians in the chapel and exchange knowing winks and smirks.
• Your 2-year-old stands around waving her arms; she says she is “ducting” and asks, “Mommy, is this the ‘ctus?” (And, in fact, it was an effective ictus)
• Even as an adult, one of your favorite things to do with your sisters is sing chromatic scales in rounds. And you spend hours at it.
• You can tell when the organist at church is really playing a very slow version of Van Halen’s “Jump” instead of a hymn for postlude.
• Your husband calls you from work to play you a hilarious piece of avant-garde music and you ask to hear it twice.
• You practice solfege with your toddlers while making dinner.
• You suffer an uncontrollable fit of laughter when your husband (yes, the one with the PhD in Musicology) tries to convince you that “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” begins on “mi” and then sings it and still thinks he’s right.
• Your son (the 3-year-old) hears an R&B song on the radio and says, “Mommy, I want to play this song when I grow up.” You say, “Oh, really, honey, like on the drums and the guitar?” He replies, “No, on the cello and the flute.” And then you giggle trying to imagine “Smack Dat” with cellos and flutes.
And finally, to make matters worse, you bring science fiction geekdom into the mix:
• You and your husband spend an hour casting “The Magic Flute” with characters from science fiction movies, including Star Trek, Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Is it just me or would Lwaxana Troi make a fabulous Queen of the Night?
Oh, and…
• You’re up at 12:16 am writing a list of signs that prove you are a music geek.

a new home

Welcome to my new blog!  I'm actually pretty excited about it, and have been tweaking it to look the way I'd like (and learning quite a bit about HTML in the meantime). 

My former home still exists, and probably always will, but at this point I feel like it has outlived its usefulness.  It's a little too personal, a lot too pessimistic and, honestly, I'm done dealing with the issues that plagued me so over the last year.  So here's to a new me! 

I'm excited to post stories about my hilarious, brilliant kids, show off beautifully crafted homemade items, share my professional-level photography skills, and use my sharp wit to describe even the most mundane circumstances.  Ok, I'll admit to only being able to do one of those four things; you have to be the one to discern which. 

Thanks for joining me!