I had a good laugh at myself today and I thought I would share! I made the goal to learn to sew this year. I was sitting here today getting kinda down on myself for not having made any progress toward that goal. Then I realized that today is only the 12th of January!Hahahaha I only made this goal 12 days ago =-} I have lots of time to work on this goal. After having a bit of a laugh I realized though that I hadn't really figured out how I would get to my goal. So I thought about it and have come up with a few smaller "goals" to get me to my end result.
First is reading a book about sewing every month. I absolutely LOVE to read but it is definitely not the way I learn best. I prefer to be shown physically. Hence I do not put together anything that I have to read the directions for! But I think reading some books about sewing will if nothing else help me become more familiar with sewing terms and hopefully help me do better with reading directions as well!
Second I am going to steal.. uh I mean borrow my moms sewing machine and have her come over for a little teaching session to show me how to use it. I really should call her and ask her about that =-}
Thirdly to stock up on the sewing basics and essential and lastly to try to complete one sewing project a month.
I think those are all good steps towards my goal and also very doable steps. I'll try to post each month to update on how well I am doing at achieving these goals!
What are your goals for the year??
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A book I recommend
I wanted to write a fast post to recommend a book I am reading. I really enjoy the classics and after my sisters recommendation I decided to pick up an unabridged version of The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss. I wanted to read it aloud with my kids and thought that the whole ship wrecked theme would be a hit!
Now I must be honest, we are only eleven pages into the book! Hahahah! How can I possibly be recommending a book that I am only on page eleven of, you may wonder! Well let me tell you!
On the first page of the book you have a father teaching his children about Faith in God and excepting Gods will.
"My children, said I to my four boys who clung to me in terrible alarm, God can save us, for nothing is impossible to Him;but if He sees fit that we should not be saved, we must not murmur at His decree, but rely that what He does is most for our good."
On the fourth page of the book patience in the Lord is spoken of as well as brotherly love and respect.
"Papa, cried my youngest boy, six years old, will not God assist us soon?
Hold your tongue, replied his eldest brother. Do you not know that it is our duty not to prescribe to God, but to wait for his assistance with patience and humility?
Well spoken, my boy, said I; but you should not have reproved your brother so sharply. The eldest instantly ran and kissed the innocent little creature."
By page ten a wonderful education/parenting philosophy.
" One of the points of my system of education was to awaken the curiosity of my sons by interesting observations, to leave time for the activity of there imagination, and then to correct any error they might fall into. I contented myself now, however, with this general remark, That God sufficiently compensated for the natural weakness of man by the gifts of reason, invention and the adroitness of the hand"
I don't think I have ever read a "modern" or "current day" book with so much to offer in the whole of the book. Let alone in the first eleven pages! =-}
Now this isn't to say that there aren't any good books today. There are many. It also is not to say that all "classics" are a good or worthy read because they aren't. I just had to marvel at this book. Its sad how surprising it was to find so many wonderful principals in this book. If a novel today has this kind of content it is labeled a Christian novel because of course any "main stream" novels wouldn't have such content!
I'll post after finishing the book and tell you what I thought =-}
Now I must be honest, we are only eleven pages into the book! Hahahah! How can I possibly be recommending a book that I am only on page eleven of, you may wonder! Well let me tell you!
On the first page of the book you have a father teaching his children about Faith in God and excepting Gods will.
"My children, said I to my four boys who clung to me in terrible alarm, God can save us, for nothing is impossible to Him;but if He sees fit that we should not be saved, we must not murmur at His decree, but rely that what He does is most for our good."
On the fourth page of the book patience in the Lord is spoken of as well as brotherly love and respect.
"Papa, cried my youngest boy, six years old, will not God assist us soon?
Hold your tongue, replied his eldest brother. Do you not know that it is our duty not to prescribe to God, but to wait for his assistance with patience and humility?
Well spoken, my boy, said I; but you should not have reproved your brother so sharply. The eldest instantly ran and kissed the innocent little creature."
By page ten a wonderful education/parenting philosophy.
" One of the points of my system of education was to awaken the curiosity of my sons by interesting observations, to leave time for the activity of there imagination, and then to correct any error they might fall into. I contented myself now, however, with this general remark, That God sufficiently compensated for the natural weakness of man by the gifts of reason, invention and the adroitness of the hand"
I don't think I have ever read a "modern" or "current day" book with so much to offer in the whole of the book. Let alone in the first eleven pages! =-}
Now this isn't to say that there aren't any good books today. There are many. It also is not to say that all "classics" are a good or worthy read because they aren't. I just had to marvel at this book. Its sad how surprising it was to find so many wonderful principals in this book. If a novel today has this kind of content it is labeled a Christian novel because of course any "main stream" novels wouldn't have such content!
I'll post after finishing the book and tell you what I thought =-}
Weekly Weigh In
Well this week was not as good as I would like! Last week I weighed in at 170 and today I weighed in at 169. One pound lost. Honestly I would have loved to see a two or three pound loss BUT I am till moving in the right direction and am thankful for that for sure!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
NSV Saturday
Kris over at Eclipsed has a great post she does every Saturday about "NSV's" or Non Scale Victories. Weight loss is a journey. Some of the victories we experience are on the scale. Seeing that number go down each month. Some of the victories though have very little to do with the numbers.
This week I had a NSV that I am really excited about. Having low self esteem has always been a struggle for me. I am not really sure why but it has been. Earlier this week I was sitting on the couch watching my screen saver. No joke! I like to sit and watch it because it flashes up on the screen the pictures that are stored on my computer. All of a sudden a picture of myself popped up, one that was taken maybe two months ago. The first thought that came to mind as I looked at myself in the picture was "Hey I look pretty."
It took me a minute to realize that my first thought about that picture wasn't something negative like usual =-} It was very exciting to realize that my goal of loving myself and of looking at the positive is being realized!
This week I had a NSV that I am really excited about. Having low self esteem has always been a struggle for me. I am not really sure why but it has been. Earlier this week I was sitting on the couch watching my screen saver. No joke! I like to sit and watch it because it flashes up on the screen the pictures that are stored on my computer. All of a sudden a picture of myself popped up, one that was taken maybe two months ago. The first thought that came to mind as I looked at myself in the picture was "Hey I look pretty."
It took me a minute to realize that my first thought about that picture wasn't something negative like usual =-} It was very exciting to realize that my goal of loving myself and of looking at the positive is being realized!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Setting aside our feelings
I have been reading an absolutely fabulous homeschool book lately. Something that is addressed in the book really stood out to me.
Sometimes we don't want to do what the Lord wants of us. Sometimes our emotions are not going along with the Lords plan for us. when I have felt this in my life I have just assumed that I wasn't as good or as spiritual or as Christian as the next woman. But the author of this book took a different view and I think I agree it her.
If I am willing to do what the Lord asks of me even when my heart is not on board(at first) and I am willing to try to get my feelings in check along the way, that's whats important!
I mean its easy to follow the Lords plan if its something we are honestly happy about. Not so much so when we are thinking to ourselves "Really Lord? You want me to do THAT? I don't know about this! I really don't want to!"
I think when we follow the Lord, even if it is with a whiny countenance at first that we are on the right path and that usually our feelings and emotions will fall in line with what our Heavenly Father wants. Because lets be honest He knows me better than I know myself and He knows what will bring me happiness and peace in my life.
Sometimes we don't want to do what the Lord wants of us. Sometimes our emotions are not going along with the Lords plan for us. when I have felt this in my life I have just assumed that I wasn't as good or as spiritual or as Christian as the next woman. But the author of this book took a different view and I think I agree it her.
If I am willing to do what the Lord asks of me even when my heart is not on board(at first) and I am willing to try to get my feelings in check along the way, that's whats important!
I mean its easy to follow the Lords plan if its something we are honestly happy about. Not so much so when we are thinking to ourselves "Really Lord? You want me to do THAT? I don't know about this! I really don't want to!"
I think when we follow the Lord, even if it is with a whiny countenance at first that we are on the right path and that usually our feelings and emotions will fall in line with what our Heavenly Father wants. Because lets be honest He knows me better than I know myself and He knows what will bring me happiness and peace in my life.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Weekly weigh in
Well This past week was a good week for me and I honestly wasnt sure if it would be! LoL Food was a struggle for me this past week. My weight last weigh in was 173 and today was 170. A three pound loss! I am SO excited to almost be in the 160's! I don't know if I have ever specified a goal weight. I think the 150's would be great, of course I havent seen that weight since High school and after four babies I am not sure if thats an attainable goal! For now I am thrilled to be making progress and not to worried about setting an official goal weight.
I think its time to bump up my workouts too. I have been doing this great workout video called "walk away the pounds". Its a really great cardio workout. I plan on looking around for a new workout dvd that uses weights and strength training. Toning is definitely a goal of mine =-}
I hope everyone has a great and HEALTHY week this week!
I think its time to bump up my workouts too. I have been doing this great workout video called "walk away the pounds". Its a really great cardio workout. I plan on looking around for a new workout dvd that uses weights and strength training. Toning is definitely a goal of mine =-}
I hope everyone has a great and HEALTHY week this week!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The plan for January
I am so excited about the beginning of the new year! Although we are actually in the middle of our current school year it feels like a new beginning for me. We just had our fourth little one in November. The first few months of this school year were very low key. We not only had a baby but also moved cross country.
This month we are doing a unit study about the civil war. It is one I am really excited about because I enjoy history and that is also a period in history I like to learn more about.
We have two boys that are what you would consider school age. With our five year old I take more the philosophy better late than early. I do not use any curriculum with him for spelling, math, or anything else of the sort. He is included in our unit studies and we practice learning the letters and there sounds and numbers and counting. Just in general giving him plenty of time to be little so that when we do start to add in more schooling he is really ready for it.
Our eight year old we consider a second grader. Honestly I don't care too much for the whole grade thing. He may read at a "first grade" level, be doing "third grade" math and "fourth grade" science work! But since everyone always asks and for reporting reasons we consider him second grade.
Apart from our unit studies we use All about spelling and daily grammar lessons. for math we are using saxon math grade 2. Of course scripture study is a big part of our learning as well.
This year we are not doing any outside lessons like swimming or taekwondo or an instrument. With a new baby, daddy deployed and TWO cross country moves in 10 months we know we need to have a more basic year.
At some points this first 5 months of our homeschool year I have felt guilty about that.I think as homeschoolers especially we can feel the pressure to do MORE. My sister, who is a fellow homeschooler and I had a very interesting conversation the other day that made me feel much better. The conclusion I came to by the end of this conversation was that if the only things I could teach my kids were the "basics". Reading, writing, math and gospel(I consider gospel an absolute essential). Then that would be enough. Because if they know how to do those things then they will be able to teach them selves ANYTHING else they could need or want to know.
This month we are doing a unit study about the civil war. It is one I am really excited about because I enjoy history and that is also a period in history I like to learn more about.
We have two boys that are what you would consider school age. With our five year old I take more the philosophy better late than early. I do not use any curriculum with him for spelling, math, or anything else of the sort. He is included in our unit studies and we practice learning the letters and there sounds and numbers and counting. Just in general giving him plenty of time to be little so that when we do start to add in more schooling he is really ready for it.
Our eight year old we consider a second grader. Honestly I don't care too much for the whole grade thing. He may read at a "first grade" level, be doing "third grade" math and "fourth grade" science work! But since everyone always asks and for reporting reasons we consider him second grade.
Apart from our unit studies we use All about spelling and daily grammar lessons. for math we are using saxon math grade 2. Of course scripture study is a big part of our learning as well.
This year we are not doing any outside lessons like swimming or taekwondo or an instrument. With a new baby, daddy deployed and TWO cross country moves in 10 months we know we need to have a more basic year.
At some points this first 5 months of our homeschool year I have felt guilty about that.I think as homeschoolers especially we can feel the pressure to do MORE. My sister, who is a fellow homeschooler and I had a very interesting conversation the other day that made me feel much better. The conclusion I came to by the end of this conversation was that if the only things I could teach my kids were the "basics". Reading, writing, math and gospel(I consider gospel an absolute essential). Then that would be enough. Because if they know how to do those things then they will be able to teach them selves ANYTHING else they could need or want to know.
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