Procrastination is a way of life

Mother is watching "Little House on the Prairie & Caroline calls, "Charles! Supper'll be on in about an hour." And Charles responds, "Perfect!"

I'm definitely not perfect. Our supper will not be on in an hour.My cell phone just did it's reminder that Writer's Group will be in an hour. I don't want to go. I haven't fixed supper. In fact, I don't even have a clue as to what to fix. I have a headache that I've suffered with all day. I have procrastinated the day away. Now it's time to go somewhere, it's time to do something

Then, I discover I procrastinated the month away too. Sigh. I only made it to Day 13 on my list of things I am grateful for.

I dread Sunday because of church. I dread Monday because of work. I dread Tuesday & Thursday because I have to cook. I'm supposed to cook on Saturday, too, but somehow that hasn't become a dreaded day.

So. What's for supper?

Gratitude: Days 12 & 13

Nick gave me a free photo book for Mother's Day & he reminded me I have to use it by Dec. 1, so I've got to get hustling. I thought I'd use it for the construction of the addition of the house, but ... I've decided I'm going to use it for the first couple of years of my blog.

Saturday, Nov. 12: Cell phones. I've already listed the internet last Saturday when I was without it. Nick is obsessing over a new phone & new carrier. He is so obsessed, I took my frustrations to the Lord today. I actually knelt down at my bed & told Him all about my concerns. When Nick & Don came over to talk about it,  I was able to come up with something I feel was truly inspired. Anyway, I LOVE cell phones. Yesterday, Saturday, when we went to Logan I forgot my cell phone. When I remembered it in Franklin, 6 miles from home, I was very tempted to ask Nick to turn around & go home to get it. I figured I could do without it, but I felt like I was half dressed all day. I kept patting my pocket.

Sunday, Nov. 13: Food. Today it was my turn to cook Sunday dinner. I always agonize over what to fix. But today I did a fairly simple meal, pulled pork sandwiches on hard rolls, Pineapple Apple Coleslaw w/a recipe I got from allrecipes.com & made my own. I seldom follow a recipe exactly, olives & Jean Carter's mandarin orange cake. OMG, it all turned out so good.

Last night when Don & I were shopping, I saw some barbecue sauce from KC Masterpiece called Smoky Bourbon. I don't usually buy KC Masterpiece because it's more expensive, but earlier in the day we, actually Don & Nick, had been having a play on words on Suburban, 'Burban & Bourbon. I thought it would be fun to use it. Actually, it was really good.

Mother & I listened to Fannie Flagg's book, Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, earlier in the week. Aunt Elner had a near death experience where she met Neighbor Dorothy, a friend who had a cooking radio show. Dorothy gave Elner some cake & tea. Elner said how Dorothy's cake was always so moist. Dorothy said the secret was to preheat your oven to 375° & then turn it down to 350° to bake it. So, when I went to bake my cake, I remembered this & thought I'd try it. Don't know if that was the secret, because when Jean served the cake at DUP on Tuesday, hers was moist.

Gratitude 2011

It was fun to look back at 2010 to see what I was thankful for last year. I started a separate page this year, Attitude of Gratitude, 2011, so I can just keep a running list. My first entry last year was Don. Interestingly enough my first entry this year was also Don. I am indeed thankful for my husband.

Wednesday, Nov. 2, I put Kindra (Palmer), the home health aide. Mother doesn't qualify for home health paid for by Medicare. It's private pay & Mother thinks she can only afford a shower once a week, so Kindra comes in once a week to give Mother a shower. I tried giving her a shower & it just doesn't work. I do not know the drill. So, I am truly grateful for Kindra.

Thursday, Nov. 3: It is hard to decide what specifically to be thankful for. I am thankful for everything.

Today, Friday, Nov. 4, I put hair. It might sound funny, but I am thankful for my hair. I am thankful I HAVE hair. My hair came out when I had chemo in 2007 & it is just starting to come back in good. I had my hair cut & a shampoo/set yesterday. It looks cute. I paid for it though with a bad headache. There is no bone where the craniectomy was done to remove the tumor in 2001. And even though Marcella was very careful in washing my hair, I got a headache. Mother's sister Onda, her husband Keith, & Mother's brother Larry came to visit Mother today from Blackfoot & Pocatello (Idaho). Mother's hair is still dark & thick. She has her hair done every week on Thursday & it stays in almost all week. Of course, people can't believe Mother doesn't dye her hair, so her hair is always a topic of conversation. Mother is the oldest sister & the other four have thin, white hair. My hair is thin & fine, but not white yet.

Day 23

I am thankful for the scriptures and modern day prophets that give me guidance in my life. I snagged this from Vickie Jarvis, but I am thankful for the scriptures. I've been reading the Old Testament since June & Wow! I've learned a lot.

 

 I tried snagging a picture of the First Presidency. but every photo I tried to load off the computer was rejected. This picture of the Old Testament Student Manual was already on Picasa.

 

Reading the scriptures has ruined my recreational reading though. I tried reading The Red Tent, a book that has been on my reading list for quite a while. It doesn't follow the King James Version & I didn't like what I was reading. No wonder Dinah was only given a line in the scriptures.

Day 20

I am thankful for the men & women who work behind the scenes. The mailman, the lineman who keeps our electricity running, the nurses & doctors, the one behind the cash register, the truckers & the list goes on & on. Thank you.

Attitude of Gratitude

Several years ago I did a month of posts on a Yahoo! scrapbook group I was trying to keep alive. So, November came around & I decided to do it on Facebook & do a daily blog entry here. I am surprised at the number of people on Facebook that are now doing it.

Day 6:

I am grateful for the freedom of worshiping in the church of my choice. I had 8 likes & a comment.

I've been listening to a CD titled, Joseph, A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet by various artists. It has wonderful narration, songs & instrumentals.

One of the songs is about a man who hears his name called across the waters. He meets missionaries & is converted. He leaves Ireland & when he gets to Ellis Island, he kisses the ground. He asks the man how to get to Kirtland & the man tells him the money is in the Virginia mines. He says there is a man building a temple to his god. He gets to Kirtland & meets Brother Joseph. Then the song end with the young man building a temple to "my" god.

Day 7:
Today for Day 7, I simply put, "I am grateful for Jesus Christ." I have only had 2 likes & no comments. I read down through older posts & read Vickie Jarvis's post for yesterday:

I believe in Christ, He is my King. I believe in Christ, my Lord, my God. I'll worship Him with all my might, He is the source of truth and light. I believe in Christ, so come what may, with Him I'll stand at that great day. And I shall live in joy and love in His eternal realms above.

And I'm thinking, "Wow! I should have put that instead of what I did." Then 4 hours after I posted my simple statement, Leila Cordingley posted this:

I believe in Jesus Christ. One of my Facebook friends challenged all believers to put this on their wall. In the Bible it says, if you deny me in front of your peers, I will deny you in front of my Father, at the Gates of Heaven. This is a simple test. If you love God and you are ... not afraid to show it, repost this!!

Today as I came back from the church after copying the monthly bulletin I had several thoughts of why I am grateful for Heavenly Father & his Son Jesus Christ. I almost put that this morning. In fact, I almost paraphrased the 1st Article of Faith,

I am grateful for God the Eternal Father & for his Son Jesus Christ & for the Holy Ghost.

but I have lots of Facebook friends who are not LDS & I do not want them to feel like I am pushing my religion on them. I try to make Christ the center of my universe & not worship "false" gods, but as the 11th  Article of Faith says:

11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

Gratitude for the Goodness of God

I worked the election results tonight for the Associated Press & so here I am reading my scriptures waayy too late again

"Gratitude expressed to our Heavenly Father in prayer for what we have brings a calming peace — a peace which allows us to not canker our souls for what we don't have. Gratitude brings a peace that helps us overcome the pain of adversity and failure. Gratitude on a daily basis means we express appreciation for what we have now without qualification for what we had in the past or desire in the future. A recognition of and appreciation for our gifts and talents which have been given also allows us to acknowledge the need for help and assistance from the gifts and talents possessed by others."

--Robert D. Hales, "Gratitude for the Goodness of God", Ensign, May 1992, 63

Moving in May, 5/3

I did it again today. I took a walk for 15 minutes. Today was worse than Friday. Today was what I expected Friday to be. I walked right after dinner though & had a serious pain in my abdomen. It wasn't a stitch, it was right up there where the ulcer/gall bladder pain comes & go. I had to rest several times.

I also walked down & fed the dog before I went over to Mother's so that I wouldn't have to feed him in the dark.

We had a serious thunderstorm. Lightning & thunder & then a deluge. I told Mother I hoped it didn't blow the birds nest out from under the eaves. Speaking of birds, there was a live bird flying around in our house today. I had my hearing aid turned off & was working on one of my online communities, adding a forum for food storage, & missed the whole thing. We're wondering how it got in. There's a couple of ways that come to mind. A cat brought it in & it wasn't dead or it got in through the hole in Nick's bedroom. I thought that had been sealed up, but Don wasn't sure.

I'm grateful for friends that have similar health problems today. I realized that I didn't have any lexapro & hadn't taken it yesterday. That explains the bad headache & shakiness. I called Kim & asked her if either she or Shari takes lexapro. It seemed like one of them did. Kim does & luckily she had some extra. I ran over to get one & she gave me 2. She takes the same dosage I do, whew!

Tonight I was filling Mother's pill boxes & she didn't have any coumadin. She was wondering who she could borrow a pill from & remembered that both Arlene Wanner & Gwen Fish take coumadin. I told her to call Arlene & see if she could borrow a pill. Arlene takes 5 mg pills of warfarin, which is generic for coumadin. The doctor doesn't want Mother taking the generic because her protime is so hard to keep stable. I figured 5 mg of warfarin was better than nothing. Mother was supposed to take 6 mg this evening.

So, tomorrow I need to get 3 scrips for me & 2 for Mother. I need metformin, lexapro & lisinopril, my blood pressure pill. Mother needs coumadin & cardizem. I remember we took those bottles down on Tuesday when Mother had her protime because there were no refills left. Becky, Dr. Otrusinik's nurse, said she'd call them in to Preston Drug. I immediately spaced it, sigh.

What is Thanksgiving to me?

Amy Peck texted me today with this question, "What do you think when you hear the word Thanksgiving?" I was at work caught up in a manic production day. When I heard the "bling" that heralds a text message, my first thought was, "Oh, crud, did I forget to pay the cell phone bill?" About the only time I get a text message is from Verizon. I flipped open my phone & read her text. I immediately texted back: Food & family.

Since I've been home from work, I've thought of what Thanksgiving means to me. Most of my memories do revolve around food & family. But I have also thought how grateful I am that I have family & Thanksgiving dinners to remember.

I have been checking emails for the past half hour, mostly from Brat Factor.com I love those emails. Pam Young, author of the book Sidetracked Home Executive: From Pigpen to Paradise, sends an email a day.

I don't check her emails daily. I had over 100 that I hadn't read. Here's a thought that come with one recently:

Real things haven't changed. It is still best
to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what
we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have
courage when things go wrong.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

A reader sent the words to this traditional hymn & Ms. Young shared it with us:

"Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free,
Tis a gift to come 'round where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in a place just right
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we won't be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right."

Wow! And was this an eye opener:

Most people do not realize the many health benefits of gratitude. Studies indicate that thankfulness is directly linked to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

I'm going to forward the last email to Amy. It may help her in the talk she is preparing for Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. I'm sure she is doing a great job in preparing her thoughts for her talk. Too bad she is in Inkom or I'd go listen to her & Colby talk. But I find that a little far to travel for a talk in church.