2014 Goals and Resolutions

It's a new year, and I'm setting some new goals, and renewing some old ones. It really helps me to be accountable to myself and that's why I write about it on my blog. Even if I don't accomplish everything I set out to do, I accomplish some of it along with some other things I didn't plan on doing - a bonus! Plus I have a record of it, and can actually look back and remember what I got done, and that I did indeed get something done.

This year is my golden birthday - I was born in 1957, and I turn 57 this month. This is the year I plan to take care of myself, and get my life in order (if such a thing is possible). So without further ado, here are my goals for the year:

1. First Things First:
Say my prayers and read my scriptures daily.
Regular exercise.
Eat more healthy foods.
These are lifelong goals. Each year I get a little bit better, and a little more consistent at these things.

2. Personal History: in the past this has consisted mainly of trying to get my photos scanned and labeled. That will continue this year, as I have barely begun to make a dent in the process. But I also want to be better about keeping a personal journal too. All these things together help to record my life. I'm not very good at it, but it is an area I'd like to develop and improve in.

3. Temples: Utah has 13 LDS Temples. I want to go to every one of them this year. Some are local, some will require a little travel.

4. Home projects: this is the area I always have such high hopes for, but always seems to take a back seat to everything else. That's okay - every bit I chip away at is a help. As I looked over what I had on my list for 2013, and what I got done, I was amazed at all I did. So even if my list is very optimistic, I'm happy with coming up short because I still get some of the things done I want to get done. This year I have two areas here I want to do. A monthly cleaning project that will hopefully have my house organized and clean by the end of the year (very optimistic here). And a few ongoing projects that I will assign to my self for a month at a time, and rotate them through the year. Don't worry, it makes sense to me, and I'm the one who matters in this case. I'm going to set them down in writing here, and reserve the right to change and modify them at any time. It will be interesting to see what actually happens by next December.
Cleaning
January: Kitchen
February: Master Bedroom
March: Master Bath
April: Family Room
May: (yard) Living Room
June: (yard) Library/Music Room
July: (yard) Downstairs Bathrooms
August: (yard) Upstairs Bathrooms
September: (yard) Guest  Rooms
October: Office (mine)
November: Laundry Room
December: Temple Service
Projects
Reorganize Dad's files
Update emergency info
Year Supply info
Motorcycle - organize gear
Take pictures for insurance

So there it is for 2014. Each month I will return and report my progress, and set out goals for the following month. For January: Clean my kitchen top to bottom, and reorganize my dad's files.

Here's to a great year! Happy New Year!

December Report

This was one of the most unusual Decembers of my life. It started off with lots of plans for fun times with friends and family. One by one everyone cancelled on us for all of our social occasions in December except for one couple. The night we went to dinner with them (the 12th), we hit a deer on the way home. The deer was suddenly right in front of us. We hit it square on its side, and it rolled over a few times, jumped up, and ran off. The only damage we sustained to the car was a broken grill in front. (By the way, there are deer in our neighborhood all year long. We are on a constant watch to see them on the road, and when there is one, there are more. This was a strange experience.)

Then on the 14th, as I was cleaning up after a bridal shower for my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, I got a phone call from my dad that my mom was very sick. I drove over to their place, and we immediately took my mother to the hospital. We brought her home on the 17th and she died on the 18th. All of my siblings were able to make it into town on the 17th and we were all with her when she died. It was the perfect scenario for a hard situation.

My dad was anxious to get everything of my mom's cleaned out of their little apartment (they are in a wonderful assisted living situation). We were all there, so we quickly went through my mom's stuff, divided what we wanted to keep, and took the rest of it to Deseret Industries (like GoodWill). My brother and his wife left to go home, and my sisters stayed a few more days.

Christmas Eve we took my dad out to lunch. It would have been my parents' 58th wedding anniversary. They used to go out to lunch every year to celebrate. After lunch Ray and I delivered 65 gallons of cider to our friends and family. We started this tradition years ago when we lived in Washington. Pink Lady cider. It was so good! We've found a place here, Farnsworth Farms, that makes delicious cider, so we've kept the tradition here in Utah.

Christmas dawned bright and clear. We went to see Saving Mr. Banks, then had my dad over for the afternoon. We had fondue for dinner, and some delicious chocolate cake that I love.

The day after Christmas we went down to see the Hulmes. It was Jim's birthday, and their whole family was there, as were the Wests. I was feeling a cold coming on, and Ray wasn't feeling too great either, so we called it an early night and came home.

Since then we've mostly been in bed, sick. I read four books, and we watched both complete seasons of Sherlock (excellent) and the first two seasons of Psych (very fun). Ray slept through a few football games too. Yesterday we both ventured forth for a couple of hours, but collapsed at the end of the day. I'm hoping we both feel much better today.The kids start arriving today, and we will all be together for New Years Day. What a great way to start a new year!

In short, not the merriest of Christmas seasons, but it was filled with many blessings. The last few months of 2013 have been very intense for our family. I'm looking forward to good things in 2014.

The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani

When I get sick I often think, "Oh good! An excuse to stay in bed and read." But if I'm in bed sick I don't usually feel like reading.

I spent the day in bed sick with a terrible, achy cold. And lucky for me, I actually felt like reading. So I read this book in a day. It's the third (I'm pretty sure it's also the final) book in the Very Valentine series. Trigiani knows how to tell a story. I feel like I know this family very well.

I can't really talk about the book without giving it away. And how I feel about it, and why I feel that way will give it away too. If you are one of my children, just know that the rule I apply to knowing about movies before hand applies here. If you are not one of my children and you read the book, we can discuss it after you've finished it.

Meanwhile all I'll say is that the second book, Brava Valentine, was my favorite of the three.

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

I hadn't picked up a book in over a week. My mind was not really been able to focus on much since my mom died. Finally I was in the mood to read, and I flew through this book.

So far, for me, Fannie Flagg never disappoints. This book was just the diversion I needed. It was a great story with fun characters. Also I learned a little history about World War II that I didn't know before - always a plus for me.

I appreciate how clean her books are, as well.

And doesn't she come up with great titles?

Saving Mr. Banks

Emma Thompson was great. Tom Hanks did all right too - although because I remember watching Walt Disney every week on TV when I was young, it was harder for me to project Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.

I've only seen a couple of movies this year. Christmas morning we woke up and Ray said, "Do you want to go see a movie?" I've wanted to see Saving Mr. Banks, so we went to the earliest showing. There were only 10 of us in the theater. 

I liked the movie. It wasn't really what I expected, although I don't know what I was expecting. It's the story of P.L. Travers' life as a young girl with her father, interwoven with the story of getting her to approve the movie Mary Poppins as Walt Disney wanted to have it. It's not a movie for children only because I don't know that they would enjoy the story so much. I thought it was very good.

Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley (Emma Cole)

Susanna Kearsley, one of my latest author obsessions, wrote a book under a different name--Emma Cole. Who knew? I found out when I was looking her up on Fantastic Fiction. (in case the link doesn't work for you, the website is fantasticfiction.co.uk)

**Important side note here: Fantastic Fiction is an amazing, must-see website for serious and not so serious readers. It lists authors, and all their books. If there is a series by an author, it lists all books in the series in order!!  I read a lot of series, and I like to read them in order. This is an immense help. I also like to read other books an author has written, and this is a good way to discover those books. You can search by author, or by book title. Take a peek, and see what you find.

Back to the subject at hand. Every Secret Thing was originally written under the pseudonym Emma Cole. Now that Susanna Kearsley has made a name for herself, you can find this book under her real name.

The book is a mystery/thriller. Just what I like. Someone mentioned it had a Mary Stewart flavor, and I have to say that I agree. (I love Mary Stewart.)  Every Secret Thing is not like Kearsley's other books which often involve some kind of time travel/reincarnation. But I liked it just as well.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I read this for my book group. It is the story of a boy with a severe facial deformity who enters the public school system at middle school age.

The book is told from several of the characters' viewpoints, and I liked how that added depth to each of the characters. One of our local middle schools had every child in the school read the book--they've done this for other books in the past. Wonder is an excellent choice for that.

It was a quick, enjoyable, thought-provoking read. I highly recommend it.

Margaret Ann Fischer Orris

October 8, 1929 to December 18, 2013

My mother died last night. She had a quick illness - in the hospital last Saturday, and home under hospice care on Tuesday. All my siblings were able to make it into town, coming from Washington, Hawaii, and California. We spent yesterday sitting around her bed, laughing and talking. It was the perfect ending to her life.

My mom told everyone her maiden name was Fischer, with a C. She was proud of her German heritage, and used it as the reason for her quick temper. She was feisty, saw the world in black and white, and had a strong sense that the world should be run by what she felt was fair and equal. She was quick to make friends and had a loud, engaging laugh. She instilled high morals and integrity into all of us, and also a strong sense of self worth.

It's 6:00 AM and I did not sleep well last night (as you can imagine). My head is spinning, thinking of many things about her that I loved. That's all I'll write for now. I'll share more later.

Thanksgiving 2012