You Know What?

Sometimes I feel like every time I open my mouth it's just a big mistake and the word would be better off if I just kept it shut.

Sick of Sickness

I am most ready to be finished with the sickness that has plagued me this past week. It started as a sore throat last Sunday. That, combined with my absolute lack of sleep based on my new work schedule forced David to put his foot down and keep me home from church. While the sleep was nice, it didn't make my throat feel any better and so I called off work that night. The next day I tried to rest all day and I sucked on cough drops but nothing got rid of the scratchy-ness. No work again. Tuesday I could tell improvement and figured this sickness thing was headed on out. I planned a big going away party but it was crashed by sore throat's mean horrible friends, sinus congestion and runny nose. Headache and nausea also made brief appearances. Wednesday was by far the worst day as I had that blocked nose feeling you get when your nose isn't stuffy (because you blow it and nothing comes out) but you can't breathe out of your nose. I guess the nasal passages are "inflammed" unless that commercial for that one medicine was lying...you know which one I mean. Anyway, I sent David to find more medicine as I realized most of the medicine in my bathroom has expiration dates from 2008 (oops...) and the pharmasist gave him sudafed. Luckily it did the trick and I could breathe on Thursday, but ever since then it's been a constant gross fest of coughing up mucus, blowing my nose, and mostly just trying to get myself better without getting the rest of my family sick (is that possible??). So far Nate seems OK...I hope it stays that way. It would certainly make me feel better about the $25 co-pay I had to pay to get the second flu shot for him since his Medicaid ran out the week before we got home from Ohio and I could get him in to the doctor. How is it that they can charge the co-pay when I don't even SEE the doctor?? That is a crime. Bah Humbug. ANYWAY..........now that you have too many details than you wanted...

Church tomorrow. I must attend. I need to catch up on my Relief Society duties. I fell behind from being sick all week. It's almost 2am, which means I can go to bed in approximately 1 hour. I will be able to sleep approximately 4 hours before I have to work one for 30 minute shift. Then I have just less than an hour to get ready for church. Busy Busy Busy.

Just a quick note from a call I just finished: This elderly woman is calling for a product that is clearly advertised as an EYE SERUM. After spending ten minutes convincing her to order the autoshipment program, I get her credit card number and she starts asking more random questions. At this point she realizes that the product is designed for the EYES (wow, what was the tip off??) and decides that she doesn't want it after all. This doesn't really surprise me. I've talked to plenty of elderly people who just don't have the mind they used to have and misunderstand things all the time. What gets me is she says "I don't like to try things unless I know they're going to work. Especially on my face." Really? How would you know that they work or will work if you don't TRY THEM??? I actually said something along the lines of "Wow, that's impressive. Usually when I want to know if something will work I have to try it first." She didn't even catch on. Oh. My. Goodness. This job never ceases to amaze me.

Here's to a more productive week...and no more sickness!!!

New Years Resolutions

So it's a new year and I decided there were some things I wanted to improve in my life. (As I type this Nathan is trying desperately to open a box of truffles...one sec...) ANYWAY, I made a list of the things I wanted to change but nothing else. Yesterday there was a great lesson in Relief Society based on a talk by Julie B. Beck. In the talk, Sister Beck talked about priorities. She classifies them into three categories: essential, necessary, and nice to do. Essential things were things like personal revelation, attending the temple, reading scriptures, prayer, family home evening, etc. Necessary things were things like taking care of your family, cooking meals, cleaning house, teaching children the gospel, etc. Then of course the nice to do things - reading, crafts, going out with friends, etc. The visual was used where there are large rocks and small rocks and if you put the small rocks in first then only a couple of the big rocks fit, but if you put the big rocks in first, then everything fits. Our Relief Society President was teaching the lesson and she used a large ball for the essential because there aren't that many things. Then she had three slightly smaller balls for the necessary things, and popcorn kernels for the nice to do things. I've seen it before, but for some reason it resonated with me this time. One thing on the necessary list stood out to me: Being happy and positive around your family. A sister shared her testimony about this exact thing because he 7 year old apparently told her husband he doesn't like talking to his parents because he thinks they are always angry with him or unhappy. That scared me a little because I know I don't really watch myself around Nathan and I don't want him to be afraid or nervous about talking to me. So that is one thing I am going to work on this year.

As far as priorities go, I think I have them straight in my head, but my actions don't always agree. I am going to make a conscious effort to make choices that reflect my priorities, namely to put God first, then myself, then my husband, my children, my other family members, and everyone else. I am a fairly visual person, so I typed up a schedule for myself to help me fit everything I need into my day. I decided to schedule in a little time to use my Wii Fit, just so I can stay active and start on the road to a healthier lifestyle. I also scheduled reading and playing time with Nathan because I haven't been as diligent as I'd like on that front. It's so cliche, but he is growing so fast and I want to be able to teach him and hopefully instill a love for reading. I know that will be especially important when it comes to school work. I also scheduled time to play with Daisy. I want to be able to give her at least some attention on a daily basis. I want to be able to help better train her as well so we can get to a point where she doesn't have to be tied up all day. I also scheduled family prayer, scripture study, and Family Home Evening. FHE has been difficult because I feel like we spend time as a family almost every day, but we had FHE with some friends of ours and their son is several months younger than Nathan but they still do a 2-3 minute lesson from the Nursery manual. I think that is a great idea, so we are going to adopt that idea. I think it is more important to start the habit than anything else. David and I have been good about reading our scriptures together. The scripture chart I made last April has served us well and I have successfully read every day for the last 8 months (give or take a day). I do want to start including Nathan, though, so the habit is starting there for him as well. We have been less diligent about family prayer, but I want to start teaching Nathan how to pray as well. He can't talk yet, but again, I think it's about having the habit.

There have been some family issues that have been bothering me of late, and I have been struggling with them more than I would like to admit. I have been praying daily for insight on what the right thing to do is because nothing feels right. I know that the only thing I have control over is myself and how I handle these situations as they arise, but for the most part I feel like I have been doing the very best I can and handling the situations in a way that I am proud of and don't regret. In the end, I want to be able to stand before God and tell him that I did my best to do what He wanted me to do. That's the only thing that really matters. Last night I felt that my time would be better spent worrying about my son and taking care of him and that these other things that are bothering me are things that I can relax about because I will know what to do as situations arise. So that's what I intend to do. First things first, I am a daughter of a loving and caring Heavenly Father. After that I am a wife to the most incredible husband, and third I am a mommy to an adorable little boy. Being a sister, a granddaughter, a niece, or a friend will all come naturally if I keep everything else in order.

Happy New Year, Everyone. May your 2011 be everything you want it to be.