The Blue Monday Brigade

Supposedly, this last Monday was calculated to be the most depressing day of the year for 2012. "Blue Monday" falls around the 3rd or 4th week of January every year and is based on calculations of weather, holidays, failed resolutions etc. I decided to spread a little cheer on this dismal day and form a "Blue Monday Brigade" with Persephone. We spent the day doing random acts of kindness together. Persy's favorite service was leaving bags of quarters on all the machines in our local laundromat with a little note that said, "Take a 'load' off and have a joyful day!" She also thought it was hilarious when I camped out in the grocery store parking lot and waited until I saw a weary parent with children and then left a bag of chocolates on their car and drove away. We had so much fun doing various kindly deeds that I might make this a new family tradition.

New and Improved?

What do you have planned for the new year? I love to get inspired by the goals of others. I actually set my goals during September. I associate that time of year with a new school year and it is also my birthday month. I found that when I made January goals, they were often motivated by the guilt of December overindulgence instead of sincere desire. I reevaluate the goals frequently during the year, and some of my September goals have already been accomplished, while others have been axed.

I was recently asked to share how I make my resolutions a reality, so I thought I'd share a few ideas that have helped me and I hope you'll share yours as well.

1. Only make goals that can be easily measured
2. Reevaluate goals often
3. Break larger goals down into smaller tasks

I use a moleskin note book to help me with the 3rd item on that list. At the front of the notebook are my top 3 target goals. I make tabs in my notebook for the yearly goals, then a place for the monthly tasks and then a third tab for weekly tasks. I also put tabs on my notebook for lists like Christmas gift ideas, movie recommendations etc. Setting goals on a monthly and weekly basis has really helped me with my long distance races and other larger goals.

Here are a few of the goals I have set for this year:
1. Buy a house
2. Complete a sprint distance triathlon (Check :)
3. Get approval for another adoption (Check :)
4. Get 72 hour kits ready for all family members
5. Make an adoption story book for Persy
6. Get CPR and First Aid certified
7. Complete at least 6 more knit projects and learn at least 6 more knitting skills (This one should be pretty easy for me, but I didn't want to turn my joy of knitting into a burden.)
8. Take Persy camping
9. Take an anti-gravity yoga class
10. Complete a mud run or other adventure style race (I am signed up for the extreme Tough Mudder in Colorado with Gabe this summer and we are actively training together.)
11. Get a new half marathon personal record (Check :)
12. Complete at least 4 long distance races of 10K or more

I hope you have a wonderful new year! We ushered in 2012 a little early at our house since the entire family was feeling under the weather. We played games with Persy and ate pizza. When the 8:00pm "new year" came we turned on African drumming music and pulled down my collection of international percussion instruments. We jammed and danced together and then opened the doors to let in the good luck. It was a simple celebration, but it felt just perfect.

Why I Wish I was a Better Photographer

Here are a few highlights from our recent family photo shoot. We look downright presentable! I just love this little family of mine.

The Great Outdoor Challenge

We've been participating in The Great Outdoor Challenge this month. The goal is to get outside every day, regardless of the weather and take a picture. Going outside isn't a challenge for us, but remembering my camera and taking decent pictures is a different story. One of my personal goals is to make it outside with Persy every single day and we pretty much keep that commitment unless winter air quality has us home bound. I think spending time in nature is vital for both children and adults. It has such an impact on our physical and emotional health and is the perfect playground and classroom for young children.

Ant and bug observation is very popular right now. Persy poked at these ants and then bent down to give them an enthusiastic kiss before I could stop her.

Feeding the Ducks

In Our Community Garden: We are getting ready to join with two other families to plant a scrumptious garden of tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and other healthy fare.

Persy proves that learning can happen anywhere and nature can be found even on a small apartment balcony. We had a little discussion about grass since she is so fascinated by the gardeners who come to mow the lawn.

A Beautiful Spring Sunday Walk in Our Neighborhood

Easter Cutie

We had a happy Easter spent with extended family. We enjoyed listening to many messages about Christ and Family during the LDS General Conference on Saturday and Sunday.
Persy Dying Eggs with Daddy

Persy had no competition for her egg hunt, so she brought in quite the haul. I filled her eggs with toy farm animals and stickers since most Easter candy is off limits with her nut allergies.

Nativity Cast and Crew

Every Christmas my family gets together to act out the Nativity. There's always a festive dinner of clam chowder and Christmas candies. There's always the somewhat rambunctious group of cousins running about dressed as angels, shepherds, etc, and there's always the stern warning against lighting house and hair on fire as we each light a candle and sing "Silent Night." It's always a fun event that everyone enjoys!

Our Little Angel

The Wise People

Mary, Joseph, and a Shepherd

The night ended with Persy getting to open gifts from her Grammy and Grandpa.

San Diego's Wild Animal Park

For my birthday, Gabe planned a family trip to San Diego. The first day of vacation we went to the Wild Animal Park. It was an impressive park where you could see lions, giraffes, elephants and other wild animals in a more natural preserve type setting. We had fun, but we were all so stinking hot that we felt like we might faint and found ourselves shelling out cash for touristy little spray bottle fans and overpriced ice cream. I hope I can go back some day when the temperatures are more reasonable.

The best part was the safari type tour where we got to see giraffes roaming around and eating from trees.

Petting the Very Tame Deer

Hike to Mary's Lake on Pioneer Day

Summer Joy

Just a few things on my to-do list this summer:

* Go to a few more Bees games with Gabe and indulge in the guilty pleasure of an All-Star Dog
* Spend a few days in Sun Valley. Peruse the fun bookstores, rent bikes, eat at Kneaders.
* Meet up with friends at my 10 year high school reunion
* Organize a party for Gabe's 30th birthday
* Spend a long weekend with extended family at a cabin in West Yellowstone. See Old Faithful, cross my fingers for a bear or moose sighting, go fishing, laugh a lot.
* Take a fencing class
* Finish my course on Ancient Egypt
* Harvest my first home grown tomatoes
* Go to the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City
* Roast S'mores
* Spend plenty of time at the Farmer's Market sampling artisan cheeses, eating figs, and people watching
* Get soaked in a rainstorm
* Run my legs off while training for the St. George Marathon
* Do an overnighter with my girlfriends
* Plan an "Amazing Race" event with my friends. Film the craziness.
* Conclude the summer with a family trip to San Diego. Walk along the beach.

Shark Reef Aquarium

Fist Fights, Franck's, and Other Fun

We've had an eventful and fun few days. Here's what we've been up to:

Thursday
Gabe and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary last week. I know it's such a cliche, but it really is hard to imagine my life without him. I'm looking forward to the day when we will have known each other longer than we were single. To celebrate, we watched our wedding video and went to a scrumptious French restaurant called Franck's. The menu was drool worthy and I savored smoked strawberry soup,scallops with a white chocolate wasabi sauce, and apricot jasmin rice. I know the flavors may sound strange, but they are positively brilliant my friend! We also got adventurous and sampled the fois gras trio. (I think fois gras must be an acquired taste.)

Friday
I visited my folks so my mother and I could enjoy a "Spa Day." We were rewarding ourselves for some health and weight loss goals. (After becoming a mother I gained a frumpy 15 pounds. What's the deal? I don't have hormones to blame for this. I am slowly taking off the weight and getting back to a regular running routine. Woot! Woot!) We had a relaxing time getting pedicures, a massage, and going to lunch. I'm so happy my mom and I can enjoy spending time together.

Saturday
Our car overheated and broke down. Although I'm concerned about the cost, I found myself feeling strangely nostalgic as Gabe and I lounged in a grassy area beside the road. When we were newlyweds, we had a series of lemon vehicles and found ourselves having many adventures as a result. "This reminds me of when we were dating," I said wistfully as Gabe looked under the hood. (He just grunted and tried not to swear. I'm glad I have a guy who knows a bit about cars. He's so handy!)

As a result of the car mishap, our plans to attend a Bees game were canceled. Gabe was sweet though and offered to watch Persy while I went to the "Living Traditions" folk and ethnic arts festival. I got to hear an awesome Brass band from New Orleans. Several people in the audience were dancing and jumping up and down in front of me. Since I couldn't really see the musicians over their bodies, I decided to just join
them. I was really enjoying myself when I nearly got decked by two women that started fighting and swearing at each other. It was kind of a wild night.

Monday
Now it's back to "real" life. I have a full day of laundry, weeding, storytelling, and snuggling to do. I guess my "real" life is pretty good too!

Temple Sealing

We had the privilege of taking Persy to the temple with us last week to be sealed as a family. It made me so happy to be in the temple surrounded by friends and family that love us. I felt so grateful for the support and love.

I've thought a lot about the adventure we've had in choosing adoption for our family and I can honestly say that what started out as a trial has become the greatest blessing of my life. Not only did it bring us a beautiful and sweet little daughter, it also taught me many lessons about myself and putting faith in God. I hope that next time the Lord's timing doesn't coincide with my timing I will look back on this experience and feel hopeful. (This picture was taken in front of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. If you would like to learn more about Mormon temples you can visit www.mormon.org)

This is a picture of our good friends Marisa and Dave. Dave is a graphic designer and helped us create an attractive adoption profile that really highlighted our interests and personality. I wish I had taken more pictures of the other friends we had in attendance as well as the family members present. I was so busy chatting with people afterwards, that I neglected the camera.



Gabe's Grandma- my 90 year old grandmother was also in attendance



My Parents



The Handsome and Happy Father with his Daughter



4 Generations

It's Official!

We had an exciting and somewhat tense morning in court today to finalize our adoption. Our particular adoption had some additional legal complications, so the head of the adoption agency also showed up to testify. I thought some of the questions the lawyer had to ask me were a little strange, such as "Are you more than 10 years older than this child?" The judge was friendly, but rather grave and serious and didn't crack a smile until the whole procedure was through. He asked a few questions about the birth father and we were concerned that he would want to reschedule the hearing in order to have more time to review our file. Afterwards, he let us come up to the stand to take pictures with him. Persephone was excited throughout most of the procedure and kept squealing and growling. Towards the end she was screaming and thoroughly ready for a nap. When we got to the car she immediately fell asleep, which allowed Gabe and I to enjoy a celebratory breakfast at a favorite cafe near Liberty Park. We're are so happy to be an "official" family now!

Fire Update

After spending half the day without water yesterday, our water is back on. We still aren't sure how the apartment fire started. We do know that it happened on a deck, so it could have been a cigaret butt. I spoke with our neighbor about the evacuation, and he couldn't believe that we had slept through everything. He told me that our building was barricaded and people were scurrying in and out carrying boxes of personal possessions! They've set up a red cross station at our ward for those without a home, so we will be meeting at another chapel this Sunday.

Lights on Temple Square

We braved the traffic and took Persephone to see the lights on Temple Square last night. She seemed to enjoy the exeperience and kept looking intensely at all the people and lights. She was most mesmerized by the flashing lights of a cop car and by the kilt wearing, bag pipe playing Santa. It was a fun evening!

Sundays in the Park with Gabe

Sundays are my favorite day of the week. They are the only days when I am guaranteed to have Gabe at home all day. We spend the mornings at church and then cook, nap, and read together. The highlight of the day is usually a Sunday evening walk in the park near our home. The park looked gorgeous this week and the trees were festooned in all their fall splendor! Whenever I lament the lack of space in our current apartment, I remember how lucky we are to live near such wonderful public parks. It is one of the reasons we enjoy living in the city. I hope all of you are enjoying this prolonged Autumn season as much as us!

Sickies

I think every mom can relate to the trial of trying to care for a sick family when you are feeling sick yourself. If motherhood was a sorority, then this would be its twisted hazing activity. I am being initiated this week as I simultaneously sneeze along with my daughter and spouse. Gabe and I are lucky enough to be on antibiotics now, but poor Persy just has to wait it out. She has been such a trooper too. Amidst coughs, itchy eyes and mucus extractions she will still look up at me and give me a beaming smile. Who does that? Clearly we have an "old soul" in our home who will be a spiritual guide for her parents. I love this child and wish that she did not have to suffer.

Back to Work

I started back at work this week. I am fortunate enough to work at the library with people I love and in a very happy environment. I am also lucky to be going back just part-time so I can keep up my important job as full-time mom to Miss Persy Pie. I hope the situation goes well. Here's a couple of cute pics from this week.

What a Weekend!

One of the great things about living in Utah is the additional July holiday. We had a long and fun weekend. Here are some of the pics! (The baby shower really needed its own post.)


On Pioneer Day, Persy and I went on a walk and I was hoping to celebrate the holiday by going out to breakfast with her. Unfortunately, we went just a couple of blocks before she spit up her entire breakfast and soaked herself and the car seat. She was rather distressed and I ended up walking most of the way home with her in one hand and pushing the stroller with the other. It was a little ridiculous! Gabe ended up picking us up at a gas station and we actually got to go to breakfast together, so I can't complain. This is the cute bath that followed the huge mess.


Playtime After the Bath


At Liberty Park to See the Fireworks

SH_Osmonds_009
Originally uploaded by Sam Hussein

On Friday Gabe had a Daddy-Daughter Night while I went with my family to see the Osmonds in concert. We had a blast!


Saturday, after a very fun baby shower, Gabe and I went to a Bees Game with Persy. The game was sponsored by Gabe's law firm. We thought Persy would be cranky because it had been a very long day for her and she hadn't been taking naps. Instead, she was an absolute delight. She really enjoyed being outside,feeling the breeze and looking at all the lights. What a great baby!


Beautiful Rainbow at the Game


Just Outside the Stadium