Having one of my best and well-read friends come up to me after my Z~ spoke in Sacrament Meeting and ask me if I wrote his talk.

Flattered I was.

Luke is quite the orator, too.

That makes a mama proud.





Calling one of my favorite uncles this afternoon to see if I could see him before he flies out to Mexico at 6:00 in the morning to go be a mission president. Having him so graciously tell me how good it is to hear my voice and warmly act as though they have all the time in the world for us to drop by to say good-bye.

Big hugs from said uncle and aunt. Feeling the spirit as they share glimmers of the light they have been basking in while at the MTC and mingling with general authorities and other mission president couples. Having him invite us to join them for family prayer. His gracious sweet prayer.

The extra hard and long hug he gave me after I hugged him goodbye. "How about another one. This one is for my brother." (My dad, who passed away on this day 26 years ago.)

Making it till the middle of June without having to turn on my central air.

Heck, having central air to begin with, but especially making it this long without having to turn it on.

Just call me a one-woman Bureau of Reclamation.

This is the year I reclaim things I have been missing in my life. First, the morning. It has always bothered me that my work gets the best part of my day--the best part of me. So instead of going in early to get the day over, this summer I'm going in after 9-9:30. I get up in the morning and blog for a bit until my body is all the way awake, putter in my garden, do some dishes or laundry, go for a walk, see my kids after they wake up and before they head off to play with friends, and then I go to work.

I'm reclaiming my garden. I am a certified master gardener and my yard is a mess. Not long after I completed the course I tore my ACL and I can't kneel. It's difficult to garden if you cannot kneel. But I am going to find a way. I'm just doing a little bit every day because pulling weeds so much when I was young is started this mess my hands are in and it only makes it worse, but i am making progress. Next week I'm going to get a load of Nutri-Mulch and cover up the grass seed in hopes the weeds won't sprout if the sun don't shine. And I got tired of waiting for the grow boxed to magically appear so I stole the spot for the some-day trees and planted tomatoes, purple carrots, corn and bush beans. It may not be much, but it's a start.

I'm reclaiming my porch. It really is the loveliest place to eat breakfast, at least when the garden is in deep shape. It's mostly done today except I need to vacuum the green outdoor carpet and wipe down the retro stove/oven that serves as a buffet for my plastic dinnerware on one side and a mini-tool shed on the other.

I'm reclaiming my quilt room. Tons of stuff going to DI. I'm going to keep up on the laundry if it kills me. There is nowhere better to be on a hot summer day than down in the basement sewing away. I need to finish the quilt I'm making for Shane's grandmother and a couple of Christmas projects I've been avoiding but would like to see completed. Then I am going to start on not one, but two king-size quilts for my bed. One for spring and summer, the other for fall.

I'm reclaiming my body. I'm systematically seeing docs for all the (known) things that are wrong with me and I'm going to fix them. I don't even care if they require surgery, although I hope to avoid it if possible. I want to feel good, not be in pain, and have the energy to do those things I want to do.

Eventually I'll reclaim my bedroom by installing a lock on the door, having Shane fix the ceiling, then finding a soothing shade of pale blue paint. Or something. And I'll keep working on keeping the junk out of my space so I can have a place to catch my breath.

Wish me luck!

I need to move. Not my home, but my body. I can be diligent about working out with the right partner, but it has been decades since I have had the right partner. As the summer began and I considered my schedule and how I would fit into my day the things I want to accomplish I was longing for a workout partner. Ideally I'd go to the gym, where I have a shamelessly good deal of a membership ($2/year for the rest of my life). But my friends who go there, even though they invited me to join them, go right about the time I arrive at work. I cannot drag myself there by myself, because a lonely workout is a long workout, especially in the land of the surgically enhanced.

So ask me how happy I was when a friend of mine asked me on Sunday if I would be free to walk with her in the mornings before I go to work. At exactly the perfect time. Thrilled! And it's been fabulous so far, except for the ache of my crunchy kneecaps every day. By about 5p.m. it starts to wear off.

I don't care. I'm happy to be doing something that is good for me physically, socially and emotionally.

Wahoo!

and every now and then we get it a little bit right...

So family home argument can be a bit of a pain at our house--and that's on the nights when we actually get everyone together. But tonight was good. We helped Shane pack a truckload of boxes from the old school and took it down to the new school. And it's gorgeous. Oh the view!

Two of Zack's friends came along and I invited everyone back to the house for strawberry pie our sweet neighbor made for us because Shane procured and laid some sod for her. But I told them they couldn't have any pie until we'd read a chapter from The Book of Mormon. And prayed. Lindsay is into speed praying. I swear she could be an auctioneer. And my favorite line was "And thanks that it sort of rained." Because we got just enough sprinkles tonight to dirty the windows. I loved that she noticed and was thankful and I even loved how we all started giggling in the middle of the prayer.

The pie was good. The company was better. And sometimes you just feel good inside because even though you're not perfect--your life is not perfect--you still know you're getting it a little bit right.