Change of Plans

My "to-do" list today included some yard work that was desperately needed, some housekeeping, cleaning a bathroom, and making it to a wedding reception for a dear friend's darling son.

Instead, I got up to an empty house--not a good sign. Come to find out The Boy had an early morning football practice, and The Girl made it to the end of a morningside for the Youth Conference she's been attending for our ward this week. Then Genius Golfer told me to start unloading kitchen cabinets. He was going to paint.

We had bought paint this week, and I had hoped we'd get to the actual painting of the front room and kitchen this weekend, but it feels like at least a week since GG and I talked about anything beyond who needs to get where and when to pick them up again. I now understand that the painting will extend tot he upstairs hallway, and the family room as well. Good to know.

So, the kitchen is no unloaded into the family room. The excess stuff that was waiting int the front room was taken to DI this morning. I took everything off walls and GG washed them right behind me. Now he is taping off all the windows, outlets and counters that aren't supposed to be painted. And it is just after 3 PM.

In the interlude this morning, I did get some big monster weeds pulled from the front yard that made the house look like it was being foreclosed. (It isn't.) And I did get our bathroom scrubber (which it needed). So now GG will do the painting. HE likes to do it as I am a hindrance, apparently, to his method.

The rest of my afternoon and evening will include taking the kids where they need to be and picking them up and filling int he middle section of those two with a drop in at my dear friend's son's wedding reception after all. Just won't be cooking for a few days, unless I try to BBQ something and we eat on paper plates.

Judicial Legislation

I am irritated in a political way today. I have been most of the week, actually, but have tried to put off this post until I could control my temper about it.

The "most honorable" Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled that California's Prop 8 is unconstitutional.

The people of California have twice voted and twice decided that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Yet, this latest interpretation--motivated by which special interest group, I ask--will most likely end up in the U.S. Supreme Court where a federal decision will mandate every state's law even in states that have ammended their own state constitutions to define marriage as the Californian voters did.

So much for government "by the people".

While there is much about America I whole-heartedly love, there are bits (like justices who overturn millions of voters with one decision) that tell me the systems are broke.

We've read what happens to blessed nations who forget to honor and follow God's commandments. It never works out well for them. I think we are next.

Diversionary Tactics

Next Tuesday evening I am scheduled to "perform" (and I use that word loosely here) a humorous monologue for our ladies' group at church. I am not sure how this request came to me for sure, but I happily accepted six weeks ago or more when my cute neighbor Becky asked me to do this. Today I am having second thoughts.

Not so much second thoughts of presenting a humorous monologue, but the already too late second thought of "Why can't I seem to say 'NO'?"

I used to do this regularly in high school. This was back in my Speech & Drama days. I recall a monologue taken from Erma Bombeck that I particularly enjoyed. That is my aim with this one on Tuesday--another from Erma's collection. I am getting stressed however with my lack of decision on which piece of classic Erma I should prepare.

The kids were away today at our ward's Youth Conference activity--boating at the lake--and I theoretically had the day to work on this, yet I did everything BUT this. Typical.

But, in my diversionary busyness, I finished editing and correcting my blog book and ordered it today. 330 pages. Not quite as many as last year's, but almost.

Also, my cardboard and paper recycling box is ready to be dumped at the school's recycling dumpster and I baked zucchini bread with the hand-me-down zucchinis SIL Lori gave me Sunday, and I made fettuccine alfredo and steamed yellow squash (also from Lori's garden) for dinner tonight and it was dang good. I visited a dear friend's Neighborhood Carnival and dropped kids at an ice cream party and football practice. And now I sit at the computer. With the Erma Bombeck books sitting her next to me. Yet, I still avoid the decision making.

Tomorrow is day two of youth conference for the kids, so I probably could work on my presentation then, but I am sure something else will come up. It always seems to do that anyway, whether or not I am trying to be good and get my work done.

For the Love of Facebook

I know that I have blogged previously about the gigantic waste of time Facebook can be for its users, but today I'd like to pay my homage to this crazy addictive Internet phenomenon--because of the birthday reminder they give you whenever one of your "friends" is having a birthday.

As it was my birthday yesterday, I found I had received dozens and dozens of happy birthday wishes via Facebook. I love that! Some were from friends who also stopped by or called from across town. Other well wishers live across the country or around the world--New Zealand, to be exact!

I loved pulling up my wall and seeing another 25 messages. Then a dozen more. Then a few stragglers made it last night after I had shut the computer down. These are just few examples:

Claire: Happy Birthday!!!!

Craig: Shauna!!!!! Happy 29th sis. Hope you had a great day!

Jacqueline: Shauna I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Julie: Shauna I hope you did something fun just for you today after all it was your birthday! Hope it was a good one!

I enjoy leaving other people birthday wishes on their walls for their birthday and, conveniently enough, Facebook reminds me when to do just that! I ♥ Facebook birthday wishes. It is almost enough to deal with all the Mafia Wars, Farm Land, and iGifts just to celebrate your birthday with friends and family all over the Internet.

741--A Year in Review

No, I am not going to give you a medieval history lesson focused on the year 741. This is blog post 741. And it is my birthday. So, for my own entertainment I thought I'd review the past year as a way to end my annual blog book.

Come on back tomorrow, as I'll still be blogging, but on my birthday each year, I slurp my posts into a virtual book and have it literally printed and bound. I count it as my journal for the year. And today is the day.

Being 40 wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. It still wasn't like being 23, but not all the death and destruction I thought I'd encounter.

I have noticed, however, that being 40 gives your body reasons to start to physically fall apart. In the last few months my knees have been giving me trouble--stiff and sore and odd pains going up and down the stairs. Oh, and the metabolism has basically stopped. Dangit.

Emotionally being forty is the bomb! I don't really care what people think of me anymore. It is nice when I meet people and they like me, but if they are rude, insensitive, belligerent, or arrogant, I just don't care. This is who I am, people. Take it or leave it. That is a hugely refreshing feeling.

Mentally, I feel just as sharp as ever, until I head into a room and forget why I am there. Luckily these "senior" moments are fleeting, but they do still unnerve me when they happen. I think there are too many memories in my head too by this age, so I can't seem to recall all the things that happened in the years past as easily. I am sure they memory is still there, but I have to work harder to recall it.

Socially, I have the best of both worlds--good friends in every facet of my life, and good relationships with my family. I love seeing the overlap in friends that once were only PTA or school friends, and now are also Swim team friends, Strawberry Days friends, lunch time friends, or girl's night out friends. And the best part is that I'd rather do stuff with Genius Golfer and the kids most of all.

Spiritually I know I have much to learn, but I feel like I can believe and be faithful unabashedly as a forty-year-old. I love that I am still looking for miracles and find so much gratitude when they manifest themselves in my life. I stand with firmer faith in a Heavenly Father who loves me as my faith is tried and tested and then I'm blessed for it. I understand a little more each year the magnitude of love my Savior has for me and the everlasting gift of His atonement that I can make use of in my life. More and more I understand that the Gospel is true and I love it.

Being 40 has it's perks, and I'm learning to love this time of my life. Because, really, what other options are there?

What a Difference a Nap Can Make

I got home from church yesterday at noon and promptly went to bed. I figured I would nap for an hour and then get ready for a meeting with our Stake Youth Committee, then go on with the family to celebrate our nephew Bryce as he was made an Elder in the church.

Instead, I was awakened at a quarter to four with the words "You up yet? It's time to go."

Holy Cow! I slept right through my 2:30 meeting and right on almost to 4 PM. I must have needed it.

I pulled two days work--Friday and Saturday--running one of the two bull pens for our county finals swim meets at our pool. Easily they were five plus hours in the sun each day. I attempted to keep up the energy and enthusiasm for the sake of the kids, if not their parents also, that everyone might have that much more a good time.

A swim meet is a lot of hurry up and wait. Our kids are great in that they get that, but sometimes it is excruciatingly boring waiting around for your race to be called. So I try to do what I can to make it minimally enjoyable while they are sitting and waiting with me.

Following Saturday's meet, we celebrated The Girl's birthday by taking her and a friend to Park City where we did some back-to-school clothes shopping at the outlets there. My memories of outlet shopping must be getting old--the deals were not what I had hoped, but it was a fun evening nonetheless. Then to finish the evening--now full on, night--we stopped at Macaroni Grill for some dinner and headed home.

I imagine that the nap was medically necessary. Without it I certainly couldn't have gotten through the family gathering without snarking at someone. And I'd never have had the energy to stop by and crash another neighborhood's party to deliver a birthday day gift to Dear Friend Taffy.

Ah, the joys of napping. Wish it was at least a weekly tradition.

Video Sunday

Sometimes, once you see something, the image never leaves your mind. This might be one of those times. For that, I am sorry.