Getting Published

Last summer (2006) I drew a picture and sent it to the Friend. Finally in this month's issue (November 2007) it was put in. Can you guess which one it is?

Health Wise

The other habits I'm still working on also are:
Habit 12 Keep things organized
Habit 11 Read my Scriptures
Habit 10 Look my best each day
Habit 9 Mark my habits off on my chart
Habit 8 Read to my children everyday. LOVING THIS!
Habit 7 Hand written letters -
Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative doing great!
Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement-noticed a huge difference in my children
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day - working on it.

Organizing Bags

Last week while Eve visited with Grandma W in Fallon she found out that Ziploc storage bags were not around when Grandma was little. Grandma told her any leftover food was put into bowls with shower caps placed over the bowls to help protect it. Then came the advent of plastic bags.

I don't know how anyone survived without those handy things. Not only are they good for storing leftover food, but they are used for storing or corralling a multitude of items. Be honest, don't you use them for just about anything? Well, move over plastic zipper baggies, here comes something better! Believe me, you're going to wonder how you ever lived without these once you start using them. (not recommended for refrigerator bound foods though!)

Organizing Bags are the brainchild of Lara Gallagher aka The Lazy Organizer. They are sturdy, well-made, and come in 5 convenient sizes which means you can use them to organize just about anything: your purse, puzzles, sewing projects, your children's junk toys, etc. Check out her flickr photos for a sampling of what they can hold.

So how about a try! Lara's giving away 5 Organizing Bags, one in each size. She will choose a random winner on Friday and notify him/her by e-mail. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.

If you haven't noticed I am an affiliate of Lara's, meaning I sell the bags. Use the link in this post or click on the button in my sidebar to order. You know you can't wait until Friday to see if you've won. :D

You are what you eat

This week has been Eve's turn to plan the menu and cook. I love it because I don't have to do anything, we get three square meals a day, but that also means we get dessert everyday too. Eve is really good at cooking AND baking. We've had peach crisp, brownies, pineapple cookies, Laura's birthday cake, chocolate chip cookies, and yesterday we had homemade strawberry rhubarb pie. Very yummy! Now that's it the end of the week I feel sluggish because of all the sweets. So my new habit to work on is to eat healthier and not give in to all the sweets, just some. I also need to exercise. I haven't been doing it the past couple of weeks and that is contributing to my sluggishness I'm sure. The weather is so beautiful I plan on walking/running at least four days this week.

Take a look at the card below. I first saw this on my friend Julie's blog. Each Saturday I'm going be posting my habits to work on using this format.Catalog Card Generator

My other habits can be seen here. I'm doing relatively well with those.

Fall Into Reading

Crisp mornings. The crackle of dried leaves underfoot. Trees dotted with red, gold, or orange. Evenings spent curled up in warm quilts with a mug of hot cocoa in hand. The unmistakable medley of nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, and pumpkin smells. Thanksgiving. My birthday. Autumn is definitely my favorite time of year! I also enjoy the slower paced days after the hectic workload of farming all summer. It allows for more reading time - personal and family. Here's a list of books on my to-read list for fall:

Read-Alouds to the family:
Just David by Eleanor Porter This is a sweet story about a boy who changes the hearts of the people he meets through his innocence and the masterful way he plays his violin.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

The Golden Goblet by Eloise McGraw

Weird, I just noticed all the authors of the read-alouds starte with E!

Religious:
Beloved Bridegroom by Donna B. Nielsen I want to read this book as a supplement to my scripture study. It focuses on the imagery of Biblical marriage in the scriptures to increase our understanding of how God relates to us through covenants.

Eve and the Choice Made in Eden by Beverly Campbell I've already learned quite bit from the first few chapters of this book. It gets at the heart of the Garden of Eden story exploring not only the story but the symbols and metaphors used to tell the story. Very enlightening read so far!

Mothering With Spiritual Power: Book of Mormon Inspirations for Raising a Righteous Family by Debra Woods I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. "Mothering with Spiritual Power is a celebration of motherhood, family life, and the difference the gospel of Jesus Christ can make for mothers and families everywhere, " taken from the book description.


Non-fiction:
Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich
The Circuit: Stories from the life of a migrant child by Francisco Jimenez I found this book while browsing the bookmobile. I thought it would be an interesting read especially because of my Mexican heritage.
Jack and Rochelle: A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance by Jack and Rochelle Sutin The title explains it all.

Fiction:
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke I really enjoyed Funke's Inkheart and Inkspell books. Hopefully this one is just as enjoyable.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer Actually I want to read all the books in this series. I've heard that they are good.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini Surprise, surprise I haven't read this one yet though it's been on my list. Can you tell from my selections I'm a sucker for juvenile fiction? I think it's because then I can discuss the books with my daughters after they read them.

So what books are on your reading list? Why don't you join the Fall Into Reading Challenge over at Callapidder Days. The rules are here.

Habitual Reminders

I've been rather lax in posting my habits each week. As Lara says in her post today I think I may be feeling somewhat of a Smart Habit overload. So here's what I've been working on:

Habit 12 Organize - We've redone our chore charts and are almost done decluttering the house. Joseph's even built shelves in the two upstairs girls' bedrooms this week. Next on the list is to go through our food storage supply and see what needs to be changed or updated. I really want to get a hand wheat grinder like this one but the price tag is steep. We have a little hand grinder that would require us to grind all day long in order to have enough flour for the size of our family. Joseph is also on the hunt for a generator. The farm has one but he wants one for personal use.

Habit 11 Reading my Scriptures I'm going to try something new here that I first heard about from a good friend, Shannon. I'm going to buy the cheap Books of Mormon and assign each one a topic like faith, the atonement, charity, etc. As I read the one assigned to charity I will focus on finding all the scriptures that have to do with charity, etc. Then I will have whole books dedicated to one subject each and won't overload one set of scriptures with so much underlining and highlighting that I can't read the words. Now I just have to decide which topic to study first.

Habit 10 Look my best each day I've actually been doing really well. I've also come to the realization that there's only so much one can do to look good. As my girls often say, "You get what you get and you don't get upset."

Habit 9 Mark my habits off on my chart Yikes! I forgot about this one.

Habit 8 Read to my children everyday. This has to be one of my favorite habits. There's something to be said for snuggling on the couch under warm quilts with a pile of great children's books.

Habit 7 Hand written letters - I need to work on this a little more. I received an unexpected letter and package this past week. It was so nice! (Thanks, Mindy!)

Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative Saying "yes" more often to my children has made it easier for the times when I've had to say "no." This quote by Sister Hinckley was my inspiration, "My mother taught me some basic philosophies of rearing children. One is that you have to trust children. I tried hard never to say "no" if I could possibly say "yes." I think that worked well because it gave my children the feeling that I trusted them and they were responsible to do the best they could."

Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule I have to admit the first full week of school was rough. We were still trying to get the hang of using the K12 site and it just seemed to take us all day long to do school. This past week saw a complete change. We're done by lunchtime. A light bulb has gone off in Eve's head as she realized she can adjust her K12 schedule online to whatever suits her. She's been getting done with all her subjects and passing the assessments (usually with 100%) in just two hours. She wants to try a more rigorous schedule (read 4 hours of school a day) to see if she can complete most of seventh grade by Christmas. Because of Habit 6, we're going to let her try it, especially since she is self-motivated to get it done.

Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory I'm still not playing as often as I'd like too. I have started learning some new ragtime pieces though.

Habit 3 Clean as I go The whole family has become involved with this habit. Our house isn't spotless by any means but there has been a huge improvement and it's still getting better.

Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement This really works well but I find I have to constantly remind myself to do it.

Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day. Oops! This has gotten lost in the shuffle of doing all the others. I would like to start doing what my cousin Katie does and run everyday. And not on my treadmill either but outside because the weather is just gorgeous. Autumn is coming!!!!

Fluff 'N Stuff

I love hair ribbons. I particularly love putting them in my daughters' hair. I don't like paying for bows that I can surely make myself. I've seen some though that I just haven't been able to figure out. Well, guess what? Girly Things has instructions for all different types of hair bows and other 'pretties.' I particularly like the korker ribbons. So beware, if I know you and you have girls, you just might be getting a plethora of hair pretties for birthdays or Christmas!

Or-gan-ize

or·gan·ize verb, -ized, -iz·ing.
verb (used with object)

1.	to form as or into a whole consisting of interdependent or coordinated parts, esp. for united action: to organize a committee.

2.	to systematize: to organize the files of an office.

3.to enlist or attempt to enlist into a labor union: to organize workers.
4.Informal. to put (oneself) in a state of mental competence to perform a task: We can't have any slip-ups, so you'd better get organized.

School starts on Monday. I woke up with the state of mind of definition four. Today I am organizing my workers (definition 3) to clean the schoolroom while I organize the supplies (definition two). Tomorrow for Family Home Evening we will all decide on a schedule for our school days that hopefully will result in everyone coordinating and banding together for a more smoothly run household.

Okay, that's the ideal but we all know life has a funny way of sideswiping you to make you change direction. Next weekend, for instance, is our Tri-County Fair where Eve and Marie have to show their chickens for 4-H. All the girls have also decided to enter various drawings, paintings, blankets and desserts. Which means entry forms to fill out, lots of them. Which also means spending all day next Saturday watching the 4-H presentations (I know you're jealous, those are sooo exciting - note the sarcasm) and browsing through all the exhibits to find the girls' entries on display. Next week we also have to go to Reno (three hours away) because two of Eve's brackets fell off yesterday. Oh, joy. Joseph always says, 'Expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed!' Which makes me wonder - did he do that when he chose me for his wife? :D

Even with all that's going on my new habit this week is to organize each day's activities so we can complete at least these essential things:
*Family Scripture Study
*Family Prayer
*School done by 1pm

I'm not asking much am I.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling. . .

. . .keep those habits rolling.

Yup, no new habits here this week. I've gotta make sure I can stick with all the ones I'm working on right now. They are:

Habit 11 Reading my Scriptures - I only missed one day!
Habit 10 Look my best each day - did this every day this week
Habit 9 Mark my habits off on my chart
Habit 8 Read to my children everyday. LOVING THIS!
Habit 7 Hand written letters - easy when the goal is only one a week!
Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative doing great!
Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement-noticed a huge difference in my children
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day

I made sure to wake up a little earlier each day to read my scriptures in the quiet solitude of morning. It was wonderful! The only day I missed was yesterday when we all woke up early to go to Fallon for a visit.

Visit The Lazy Organizer to find more SHS participants.

Spiritual Renewal

During the dog days of summer the farming is relentless. Our schedule gets topsy-turvy. Everything is done according to the weather. Work is done day and night. Though I think I'm organized I have found one thing lacking. My daily personal scripture study has become almost obsolete for these last couple of weeks. Boy, can I feel a difference. My days seems to zip by without any meaning to them; they are one big discombobulated mess. My spirit is becoming malnourished without that constant feeding off of holy script. So my new resolve this week, the TOP of my priority list is to read, ponder, and study the scriptures.

"What a glorious blessing! For when we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures; for His words are spoken through His prophets. He will then teach us as we listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If you have not heard His voice speaking to you lately, return with new eyes and new ears to the scriptures. They are our spiritual lifeline."
~Robert D. Hales~

I love the scriptures. The language is soothing and calming. They bring peace to my soul and renew my spiritual strength. Now that I'm feeling good on the outside, I want to feel good on the inside. I know I should have worked on this the other way around but at least I'm getting there!

Here are my other habits I'm working on:

Habit 10 Look my best each day - I was 95% for the last two weeks and I felt great!
Habit 9 Mark my habits off on my chart
Habit 8 Read to my children everyday. LOVING THIS!
Habit 7 Hand written letters - easy when the goal is only one a week!
Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative doing great!
Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement-noticed a huge difference in my children
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day

Quilt Quiz #2

Here I go again! I've narrowed the quilts down to these two choices. Joseph honestly doesn't care which one I make and I cannot decide. I did decide not to do the Star one because it reminds me of a child's room, so chances are Ira will get one like that. :D So from these two which one do you like better? I must be a glutton for punishment because they will both take some work, but I'm looking forward to it.Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Unnamed

Quilt Quiz

Okay, here are some of the quilt patterns I've come up with for our bed. We have a California King so this is going to be big (about 98"x108"). Now I need your help, insight, input, etc. Which one do you like best? Any suggestions or changes to make? Keep in mind that the patterns you see on the material aren't really to scale because they were swatches I took from the internet at Prairie Girls Quilt Shop. The actually patterns will be much smaller so you'll be able to see more of the pictures/patterns on the real quilt. Some will be easier to sew while others are just more time consuming. The names are really dumb but help me to keep them straight. Let me know what you think!

Broken Windows - Tame

Broken Windows - Wild

Line Dance

Star

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Unnamed 1

Unnamed 2

I feel pretty, oh so pretty!

Earlier this week my little sister, Boo (her nickname), sent a beautiful photo of herself. She's been in Spain for the past couple of months getting tan, visiting pastelerias, sight seeing, and maybe doing some of her classes too.

As my daughters and I were gushing over how pretty Boo is, an honest little girl made the comment, "Mom used to look like that every day."

"Really?" other voices chimed in.

"Yup! She made sure she had her hair just right and she'd even put on makeup."

Sometimes the truth hurts. It hit home that I haven't been taking time for myself each morning as far as making myself look my best. I guess it's partly because we are so far from town that I think it doesn't matter. But apparently some little monkeys have been noticing! So my new habit this week will be to make myself more presentable for my family. I will take the time to do my hair instead of just pulling it back in a ponytail every day and I will put on some make-up to boot.

Habit 9 Mark my habits off on my chart
Habit 8 Read to my children everyday. LOVING THIS!
Habit 7 Hand written letters - easy when the goal is only one a week!
Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative
Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day

Charting the Course

I can't believe I forgot to post my Smart Habit Saturday on Saturday! I really need to work on my organizational skills. Really. My new habit this week will be to make my own 'Habits Chart' similar to Lara's. It is just not working to find a scrap piece of paper to write my list of habits on each day. Besides, I want to make my list all pretty with colors and graphics. Here's what my list will include:

Habit 8 Read to my children everyday. LOVING THIS!
Habit 7 Hand written letters - easy when the goal is only one a week!
Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative did really well this week!
Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory was able to play three days this week
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement with my children- habit
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day - works better if I can do it first thing in the morning.

I'm still trying to decide whether to make one big chart to laminate and keep on the fridge so I'll see it constantly and can mark it off each day with dry erase markers, or whether to make small notepad sized charts to keep in my pocket. Any ideas?

Western Comfort

We need a new quilt for our bed. You know what that means, don't you? I get to have a blast designing a quilt with my Electric Quilts (EQ) design software. And look at what I found today.


Prairie Girls Quilt Shop has loads of western print fabrics. I've been saving the images to import into EQ so I can really design a quilt and know exactly what it will look like. The colors will be similar to the blog because those are the colors I find soothing, only I think I will put in more red.

Book Bonanza

Here's the sum of my B.B.B. habit from this last week:

Books + Kids + Snuggles with Mom or Dad = Reading Time Pleasure

We've read over one hundred children's books. This week! Some are memorized favorites that have to be read over and over (and over and over and over) again. Others are fairly new. All have been enjoyed. Here are the current favorites:

Pinkalicious by Victoria and Elizabeth Cann
Wild About Books by Judy Sierra (they all have this one memorized)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Inside a Barn in the Country by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
My Daddy Snores by Nancy Rothstein
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots by Carmela LaVigna Coyle (and all the other Do Princesses...books)

What are some of your favorites?

"I cannot live without books." Thomas Jefferson

Almost every night when I've checked on the girls before I go to bed, I have found books open on their beds. Debra and Laura have fallen to sleep with piles of books surrounding them and the light still on in their room. I've caught Debbie 'reading' to her dolls. Marie has almost filled a composition notebook with a story she is writing. We are living, breathing, relishing, devouring books.

“A home without books is a body without soul.” ~Cicero~

No new habits this week. We're too busy reading.

Habit 8 Read to my children everyday
Habit 7 Hand written letters - easy when the goal is only one a week!
Habit 6 Latch on to the Affirmative did really well this week!
Habit 5 Stick to a school schedule harder for the older girls now that the farming is underway
Habit 4 Tickle the Ivory was able to play two days this week
Habit 3 Clean as I go - becoming a habit!
Habit 2 Use positive reinforcement with my children- habit
Habit 1 Exercise for 30 minutes every day - works better if I can do it first thing in the morning.

Visit Lara of The Lazy Organizer to find out more about Smart Habits Saturdays.