exercise over

Wow, I actually posted for 7 days in a row! I think the main thing I've learned during this week is that I seem to be most productive with my blogs when I write in the morning. Granted, I'm not talking about early morning - not at least until I've had a cup of coffee 1/2 way in my system! I think I've just been getting too tired by evening, and my thoughts by then (like now) are all jumbled up. So, maybe tomorrow morning, after some coffee, I'll post a little about my weekend. It was quite busy, but very enjoyable! We had some quality family time, which always makes my heart so happy. Goodnight, and thanks for keeping up with my silly week of exercising here!

(Now, if only I could find a way to catch up on my blog readings!?! Any thoughts?!?)

day 7

I did something productive today! We're going out with some extended family tonight to enjoy the beach & dinner & some fireworks (weather permitting), and my task is to bring some chips & a dessert. Normally, I would've just bought something yummy to bring. But even though I only had 2 hours before leaving, I decided to bake brownies! Yes, from a box, but I baked them! And I don't think (so far) that they burned or under-cooked! LOL So, did you do something you like to do yet?!?

day 6 - sisu

Sometimes I wish I could just be a girly-girl. I wish I had all the time in the world to clean my home and make it as nice as I'd like it to be. I wish I could have girlfriends over for coffee (or either of my Moms!) while my daughter played quietly in the other room. I wish I could bake delicious goods from scratch, without even needing a recipe. I wish I could make my own unique and amazing cards to send out for birthdays and such. I wish my husband would always fill the tank with gas and would do all the "manly" things while I watch my soaps and eat bon-bons! I wish I liked pink more.

But that's just not me! My home is often messy, but we use it. I do have people over sometimes (when we're settled after moving, that is), and we laugh and enjoy one another's company while my daughter plays energetically (and often quite loud - she has FUN!) in the other room. I attempt to make things, from a box, with a recipe, and I sometimes burn them. But at least I try. I have wonderful ideas of creative things to make, but they don't always turn out the way I'd like them to. Sometimes a few will make the grade, and those are sent. But even the store-bought ones are filled with love (I take forever to pick out just the "right one"!), and I think my recipients know that. I fill the gas tank probably more than half the amount my husband does, only because it's really more convenient with my hours than his. I take out the trash, I move boxes, I put together cabinets (women follow the directions!), I move furniture, I fix the computer... I do "manly" things! And I have about 2 weeks of my soap on the DVR to catch up on, I'm not sure if I even like bon-bons (but I do like chocolate!), and I like pink... sometimes!

Growing up, I used to think my "toughness" was attributed to the fact that I have older brothers and wanted to impress them, letting them know I could keep up with them. Um, I don't know why I was thinking that - they're 4 and 11 and 16 years older than me! (Of course, I had sisters, too - 13 and 14 and 17 years older than me!) When I sit back and look at it now, sure, sometimes it might've been that. I can recall a time when I moved a pretty heavy chest of drawers from the main level to upstairs - including rounding a corner - by myself. I remember my Dad getting a little upset with me, but I loved the little gleam I saw in his eye as he caught me toward the end of the move. I'm not sure if it was really there or not, but I thought I saw it - and it was full of happy pride for his daughter. I'm sure a father must feel good when he sees his daughter doing things for herself. My Dad taught me a lot of things - I remember changing my own flat tires, adding oil and trans.fluids when needed, etc. I knew basic things, and I'm so thankful my Dad taught me those. Lifelong skills, ya know? Anyway, back to the proving I was tough thing! So, sometimes it might've been to prove I could keep up with the rest. Sometimes it was just to make them smile that I could do something. But I think a lot of it is purely genetic.

Genetic? Yes, it's SISU! A definition of sisu is described as "a Finnish term meaning, roughly, inner strength, determination, perseverance in the face of adversity, and a strong work ethic." The Wiki goes into more detail, but basically sums it up the same. Inner strength. Perseverance in the face of adversity. Strong work ethic. When I look at my Mom (she's 100% Finnish), she has always done so much. Sure, my Dad did a lot of the "manly" things around the house, but my Mom could, too. And when she worked at something, she did it whole-heartedly, and still does. She could do anything as far as I was concerned! And if I think of her Mom, yup, Gramma was the same way! They were both always hard-working women, determined, focused, always got the job done and did it right. They also knew how to have that feminine balance - they were sweet, very loving, giving, warm and caring. (Sorry for lack of more words - I only had one cup of coffee today!) They loved God and loved their families. They found that balance.

Sometimes I feel like I'm still striving to find that balance. Especially on days where I'm working, running for gas, picking up toilet paper & milk at the store, and tucking my daughter in at night. On days where I have to wait for the maintenance guy come repair something while I'm trying to unpack and organize the kitchen. On days where I have a church meeting and something else going on with Kirsten the same night. And on days when I have absolutely nothing on the calendar. But I have sisu! I have the drive! I also know it's something that God's instilled in the make-up of who I am. I just have to fight that procrastinating side of me to actually do the things I want to do!

Do you have something you've been putting off that you want to do? Take this weekend and see if you can make it happen! Whether it be a craft project, catching up on laundry, visiting someone you miss, reading a book... whatever it is, just do it! :)


P.S. See what happens when I actually blog in the morning?!? I have words! LOL

day 5

Okay, this will be another wasted post, but again, it's for the routine I need to re-establish. I still haven't caught up on everyone else's blogs. I will, it'll just take time! It's odd how I really spend less than an hour or so online daily now. Huh! I do think of some good things I'd like to blog about, but they're during circumstances when I can't get online. Like today at work. I was doing pretests on a patient and thought of something good to blog about - now I can't remember what it was! D'oh! Oh well, another day, perhaps!

day 4 - wordless wednesday - pirate cupcakes (celebrating her summer bday before school ended)

day 3

Easily distracted. I bought a shirt for Matt that said that on it. I guess I should've picked one up for myself, too, because for some reason I completely forgot that I'm that way, too! Not all the time, mind you, but quite often. Even when I think back to my childhood, I can remember several times where I was attempting to do one thing, and never got around to doing it - something distracted me. Always happened when I was supposed to clean my room (or whatever other job I needed to do). And, of course, my Mom usually caught me off in my own little world, doing whatever it was aside from the task at hand. I had quite a vivid imagination as a child, and I know that played a huge part in my distractions. I would attempt to clean a large area, something small would catch my eye, and there I'd be stuck for an hour, in whatever imaginary world my mind took me and that object to. My Mom & I used to joke around when I was older that she could never ground me as a punishment... she'd have to ground me to the bathroom, yet I'd probably make men out of toilet paper and play war, flushing them down the toilet or something! That was just me! And the cool part is that I see that in Kirsten in a BIG way! (She gets it from her Daddy, too!)

Tonight I wanted to look for a few things for this wedding we're going to Friday evening. I knew I had some shoes packed away somewhere. Did I go to the box in the hall closet labeled "shoes" to look? Nope! I went into my bedroom. There was a box in there that for some reason was intriguing me to look inside. Maybe I was thinking I'd find some jewelry in there that I could use? I have no idea. Anyway, that turned into about 1/2 hour of rummaging. Then I turned my attention to the bathroom. There's still several small boxes in there with all sorts of nail polishes, toiletries, lotions, hair goods, etc., and I wanted to get that a little more organized. Which leads me to another point - not only do I get distracted easily, I'm also a big pack rat! I save WAY too many things! Well, I'm glad when I get in the purging mood, because that's quite helpful! I managed to fill about 1/2 of a big garbage bag full of ponytails and lotions and samples of things and razors and old mini toothpastes - things I really just needed to let go of! And I did it!

I still have another little box to finish up with, so hopefully I won't be much longer. Hmmm... now that I think of it, I believe I started the bathroom project to specifically look for a certain clear nail polish to use tonight! D'oh! LOL And I'll have to remember to at least peek in the shoe box in the hall closet. That's what I wanted to do in the beginning... 2 1/2 hours ago!

day 2

Like I said, there may be days with not much substance to my posts, and this will be one of them! Nothing much at all to talk about at the moment. Well, there's plenty I can ramble on about, but I've been fighting off a headache all day. I think it's the weather (rainy). It's this "almost" headache behind my left temple, just sitting there, threatening to turn into a full-blown migraine if I don't treat it well. And one of the ways I can treat it well is to stay off the computer. When I feel like this and spend time in front of a monitor for any reasonable length of time, I get the headache. No, I think it's a migraine. Which means extreme discomfort, nausea, and it most always ends up with fast dash to the porcelain god. Of course, that relieves the pressure, I lay down for a bit, then all is well in my head! That is, if it treats me well!

So, I bid you all a night of pleasant dreams, and I'll be back sometime tomorrow!

exercising

Oh no, I'm not going to talk about physical exercising here! No, that would be... um... a non-existent topic with me as of late! I haven't gotten my little heiney (hiney? heiney? I never quite figured out how our family spelled that word!) to Curves since the whole move. And now that school's out, it's gonna be quite difficult to find the time to go without Kirsten.

Anyway, like I said, I'm not speaking of physical exercise here, but rather an exercise for me to get back into blogging! Since we moved, things haven't quite settled down completely for me yet. I took a little hiatus from my online communities, and now I have to get back into the swing of things. Not only for my own enjoyment, but it's also been requested of others! So, my exercise this week is to post something every single day. Yup, EVERY day! I'll be honest, I'm sure some may be quite short or quite boring (or both). But I'm hoping it'll get me back into at least logging in and reading the blogs of family & friends (and unknowns that I lurk around at) that I enjoy.

So... that's it! Nothing else to add. No pictures or funny stories. No questions or thoughts. Just the beginning of my exercise routine for the week. (Hmmm... so now I can officially say that I am doing some regular exercise & not technically be lying! I like this idea! LOL)

xoxo

just call me the turtle

As you can see, I've been slow to return to blogging. It's not because I don't have anything to share, and it's not because I've just been so stinkin' busy that I don't have time to write. It's basically, um, because I've just forgotten! I fell out of the loop with all of our crazy moving and such, and now I just keep forgetting to post! And I've been bad with reading others' blogs... please accept my apologies, everyone! I think my entire onlining experience has slowed down. I haven't even been on MySpace in well over a week (Yes! Surprising! I know! LOL)! My email inbox has piled way up again (nearing the 500 mark). I just need to step up my pace a little & get back into the swing of things online. So, hang in there if you've been waiting... I'll get something interesting up here this weekend! If I forget, send me a reminder via text or call - those emails I might just overlook! :)

clouds have silver linings and the sun is shining!

I just sent a little update to some family & friends, but I figured I should copy/past it here, too, just in case!


It's been very interesting to see how God's been providing for us on pretty much a daily basis around here! One friend let us borrow their station wagon for several days, which helped us through the move. We ended up having to rent a car for 3 days, but then we were able to borrow a van from some friends that are on vacation right now. If we still need a vehicle when we return this one, we have some family that has an extra that we can use for a while. It's been a little fun for me to drive different vehicles around - I just have to be sure not to get too attached! LOL (Interesting fact - the rental was my least favorite to drive so far, and I think it was the "newest" of them all!)

We're still trying to figure out financing the repairs, but I know it'll all work out! It seems the 401k route is a dead end, so we'll just have to wait a little while & save up before we can fix either of our cars. We've got several options in our minds of what we might be able to do: 1) fix the blue car, which might be the least expensive route, and wait to save funds to fix the silver one... 2) sell the blue car and save to fix the silver one... and 3) sell both cars and see if we can find an inexpensive used car to purchase.

So, thank you for your prayers - God sure is showing Himself to us in many ways! We know we're in good hands!

P.S. If you have any info on a good used car we might be able to consider, please call or email Matt. I figured I'd leave the car details to him, and I'll just keep focusing on unpacking & organizing this place!