Monday Mom-blings

Have I ever mentioned how out of shape I am???

I don't have a scale in my house because I just don't like that reminder of yet another thing I'm not doing. Oops...I guess I lied. I do have a scale. It's just hidden away in a corner where I can't see it. In fact I think all of our dirty clothes get piled on it each week. Regardless, I just don't like the notion of scales, and weight. It brings back memories of anxiety on weigh-in day at the gym each month. Anyhoo...

Now I'm back to being in shape. Well, not being in shape personally...because unfortunately, I'm not...just "being in shape" the topic. So, this morning was the morning. (I originally intended a few months ago to be the morning that I began a new routine, but that never happened...so for the sake of patting myself on the back, I'll say, this morning was the morning.) The basement is mostly finished. The TV is finally up and running. So, I decided it's time. I pulled my hair back, put my running shoes on, and climbed onto the dusty eliptical. Now, as far as workouts go, I'm not sure that I could actually claim what I did as a workout just yet, but at least I did something for a good 30 minutes. I've used boredom as my excuse in the past. I hated going down and staring at the wall as I elipticized. I always said that once the basement was done and I could watch something on TV for entertainment it would be so much easier to commit to doing it on a regular basis. I think I was wrong. Yes, it was boredom that originally kept me from doing it, but now that I've done it, I must admit, boredom was not the only reason. Honestly, I just don't like doing it. It's not my favorite thing to do...although given the alternative of running, or biking, I would definitely take the eliptical. Maybe it's just exercise in general that I don't like to do. I'm getting lazy in my old age. BUT since I don't want to give up my chocolate chip cookies (or any sweet treat for that matter) I'll suck it up and keep my promise to myself to get back into shape...something other than round that is!

Joy in the Journey

Week 5 Assignment:

Read and mark John 13:34. Hug your family members and express love to them. Use a note card and paper hearts to write "love-notes" to your loved ones.

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday Favorites...or not so favorites

Where has the week gone?

As much as loved having a long labor day weekend, having Monday off has really thrown me out of whack. I think I'm a day behind. Oh well...it's Friday, and once again there are many things to post about. A Day of Remembrance, a very UN-favorite, and a question...

First and foremost. 9/11/09. Eight years ago I remember sitting and watching the TV in stunned silence. I woke up, just like every morning, sent Kenny off to work, and went upstairs to work on the computer. The kids were still asleep, so I turned on the TV just to see what was on, only to see live coverage of the Twin Towers. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I never would have believed it. I called Kenny at work to see if he had heard about what was happening. They were watching coverage of it at work as well. In the days and weeks that past I was extremely proud of what Americans were doing to pull together as a country. As the years have past, it seems like that love of country, that love of our fellow countrymen has dwindled. People say we should move on, try to forget. I for one, will never forget. It's too important to forget. Not necessarily the terror involved in that day, but more the heroics of the day. The tragedy brought out the best in people, and that tragedy helped to show what a real American is. That is what we still need today. We need people who stand up for what is right; People who strengthen one another; People who work together because it's what they should do, not because it's what they're required to do. A big thank you to all the service men and women protecting our freedoms. May we as Americans do our part to preserve our freedoms here at home! God bless America!

Secondly...the UN-favorite. Is there anything worse than a sick kid? Yep...a sick kid that can't make it to the toilet! My Un-favorite of the day is PUKE. Yuck! Looks gross...smells worse...and it just keeps coming! And I thought I was finished with all of the laundry for the week!

Lastly, the question...I need some opinions on a domain name for my website. Keep in mind that it's a company that specializes in helping you create your own storybooks to preserve your most important memories and relationships. It also does photo storage, cards, calendars...all that stuff. With that in mind, which do you prefer:

A) just4youstories.com

B) mystorybookmom.com

C) herzandhizstories.com (It's supposed to kind of be a play on words...histories/his stories...do you get that??)

I can't make up my mind. Which one do you vote for? Which one would you remember???

Have a great weekend!

Monday Mom-blings

It's Labor Day....and our day definitely be full of labors since we neglected all of our jobs over the weekend.

So, my kids have been bugging me lately...fighting, neglecting chores, not taking responsibility for themselves, just being lazy, etc. It's been driving me crazy, and I'm hoarse from constantly nagging them to get their acts together. What's a mom to do??

Well...I've decided to take action on the matter. I had some credits for a project with Heritage Makers, so I decided to use my credits to make a little family mission statement (so to speak). It included the same logo/saying as is on our wall down in the basement, "Be true to who you are and the family name you bear" because it's one of my favorite sayings, and then it went on to tell what a "Balser" is.

B - Brave - As a Balser, I will stand up for what I believe in.

A - Achiever - As a Balser, I will strive to do my best in everything that I do.

L - Loving - As a Balser, I will be kind and loving in word and deed to everyone that I associate with.

S - Serve - As a Balser, I will give my time, talents, and energies to make things better at home, at school, and in my community.

E - Example - As a Balser, I will set a good example for my family, friends, and all who see me.

R - Responsible - As a Balser, I will be a responsible family member, friend, and citizen. I will take responsibility for my own actions!

(You can see the actual finished product here)

Once we get our mission statement in the mail, we'll have a little FHE on it, then we'll put it on a shelf in the living room to see as we walk by it each day. Hopefully it will help remind us all what it means to be a Balser, and maybe (just maybe) be a benefit to our kids. We'll see....

Next item on the agenda...

The Joy in the Journey program.

Week 4 Assignment:

The story about the airman, Jay Hess is taken from the "Finding Joy in the Journey" talk by Pres. Monson (refer to Day One). Read the story below. In 25 words or less, write what you would say to your family if you weren't sure you would see them again. Keep this letter in your journal.

Pres. Monson shares, "In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”"

Hope you're having a great long weekend!

Friday Favorites

Ok.....so it's "Favorites" Friday today, and I think there are probably a gazillion things that I could post about today...

My growing knowledge of texting terms :p (hehe...I had to ask Kenny what the colon and bracket was supposed to mean)

The start of BYU football (laugh all you want, but I love football season!)

Warm days and cooler nights.

The fact that I have 4 kids in school. (ok...technically, Rylen is only in preschool 3x a week but it's for 2 1/2 hours at a time....Do you know what I can do in 2 hours with only 1 child at home??? Well, neither do I cause the first time it happened was today, and I was in such bliss that I just sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet for way to long!) Speaking of returning to school, I'm sure I've posted my favorite "Return to School Commercial" at some point in time...but I'm gonna do it again because I just can't help myself!! I'm laughing just thinking about it...

I could post about all of those things...but I'm not going to.

Instead I'll post about something that might could (how'd ya like that english?) come in handy one day. I've been on a photography/photoshop/digital scrapbooking fetish lately, and my sis-in-law directed my attention to a website that combines all three. There are on-line classes, digital products, projects, galleries (for ideas), and even FREE (my favorite thing) tutorials and downloads for digital scrapbooking and photoshop. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite sites. I go to it when I have some free time and use the tutorials to help me play around with the pictures that I've taken during the week. I'm still horrible at it, but I have high hopes. If you're interested in learning about that sort of thing, I'd highly recommend www.JessicaSprague.com to give you a few pointers.

Wednesday Wisdom

Just a little humor for the day....

The Definition of Stress

(Pic from www.top20fun.com)

Ever felt like this poor little doggy...yeah, me too!

Hope your day is not too stressful!

I'm Back....Really!

Ok...so last time I said that it must have been just a little teaser. Now, hopefully, I'm really back, and will be able to post on a more regular basis. I'm laughing as I write this, because I'm saying I'm back, but life is just so busy these days.

I thought that once school started again chaos would not reign supreme...or at least it would have the courtesy of taking a backseat for a while. We're now a week and a half into the school year, and I think things just continue to get crazier. Life is hectic with everything from school, to doctor's/dentists/eye doctor appointment, to football practice and games. Remind me again, why I do this to myself???

Anyhoo...

It's time to start posting again....gotta get back in the habit.

With that said, I'll update you on a couple of things:

1. First and foremost: the basement is now done...mostly :) There are a few minor things that need finishing, but we've officially kicked the oldest kid down to the basement (he didn't put up much of a fight.) and managed to stick the TV, couches, and TOYS downstairs. Guess what that means?? I now have an official living room...or as Kenny would say, a sitting room. A place to visit with guests that doesn't have a gigantic TV or a truckload of toys in it. It's heaven! That also means I get to go into decorator mode...very fun! Here's what I started with....

2. Secondly, I went to a workshop/show/party a few weeks ago, and after careful consideration, I decided to become a consultant for the company. It's called Heritage Makers. It's got some fun products. Basically it's an a company that helps you preserve your stories and create family heritage. They sell products like storybooks (that you create yourself), cards, posters, prints, etc., and are also a place to digitally store all of your photos. (Since I just started, I don't know a whole lot about everything yet.) I know what you're thinking...why, why, why??? Sometimes I ask myself the same question, but the answer that I keep coming up with is, because I love photobooks, and photography. I've always enjoyed scrapbooking, but I've never been good at it because I'm to lazy to get all the stuff out and think about what I want to do, blah, blah, blah. Then I discovered photobooks and digital scrapbooking, and as it turns out, it's just my thing. No mess, just playing around on the computer. So the answer to the why? is that hopefully I'll be able to help other people enjoy creating family memories digitally. If you're interested, check out my website to see more of what I'll be doing. http://www.heritagemakers.com/381373 (one of these days I'll figure out a better name for the site, but until then we'll go with this)

Yes, I know this was a shameless ploy to do a little self advertising, but hey!, it's my blog, so I figured why not? I promise I won't bug you about it too much!

3. Lastly, before my long blogging break I had started a weekly Joy in the Journey program. I think we got to week 2...and then I fizzled out. So, just in case you're still interested I'm going to continue on with the program. Here are the assignments for the first 2 weeks again, and I'll add in the 3rd week assignment as well.

Week 1: Read "Finding Joy in the Journey" by President Monson. Ponder and highlight points that inspire you (if you are doing this with your spouse, share these points with each other). Enjoy an Almond Joy candy bar.

Week 2: President Monson states, "Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings." Read and mark 1 Thess. 5:18. Make a list of 100 things you are grateful for.

Week 3: Crossword Puzzle

Well, I think I've mombled enough for one day. Have a great week!

I'm Back

Did you miss me??

(This is the part where you say..."Oh my goodness, life was just not the same without you! I'm so glad you're back...yadayadayada"...and you make me feel missed!)

Ok...I know I'm not that interesting, but I just had to ask! (so just humor me!)

Well, I know it's Favorite Friday again, so for all you Utah mom's I just thought I'd post about favorite utah activity and a giveaway that goes in conjunction with it!

I'll admit it. I don't take advantage of Thanksgiving Point as often as I probably should. What with the Country Farm, The Gardens, The Museum of Ancient Life (Rylen's personal favorite), The Restaurants, The Golf Course, and the Theaters....not to mention the educational classes and activities for the kids...I should probably go more often. But with 5 kids, a hectic schedule, and a minimal budget, fun activities (that require money) are few and far between! If this situation sound all to familiar to you...I've got a solution for you. Two actually!

Two-Buck Tuesdays are Back!! Yep, that's right....$2 per guest per venue will get you a fun filled day at the Farm, The Gardens, or the Museum of Ancient Life throughout August. That's probably even cheap enough for me to gather up my gaggle of kids and head out for a fun filled afternoon!

And if that's not quite cheap enough....

Go visit Cindi at Utah Mom's Life! She's got a fun blog with entertaining stories, fun ideas, great tips, AND... she's hosting a great giveaway: Tickets for a family of 4 to enjoy all the venues at Thanksgiving Point!