I love the Tulips in Springtime!

Six Word Saturday:

I love the Tulips in Springtime!Visit Cate at Show My Face for more Six Word Saturday Fun


And... How 'bout a little Vanilla?
Risk may cause failure,
but Success cannot come without it.
~Larry H. Miller

Socks

Remember in the movie Summer School when Mark Harmon as Mr. Shoop was forced to teach the remedial English Class for summer school? In an effort to try and impress Kirstie Alley, he says, "I have a pair of socks... white ones!"

Or how about in Finding Forester when Sean Connery tells Jamal that socks were made wrong with the seam on the inside as he turns his new socks wrong side out to put them on.

I believe that socks are something people feel passionate about. How do you feel about socks?

Do you hate the loose ones that slip down into your shoe? Or remember the super thick ones that gathered around your ankle? How about having a heel or are you into good old tube socks? Do you wear long thin ones, or short thick ones?

Here are some of my thoughts on socks.

Socks on my feet:

My favorites are cycling socks and I have a growing collection. The thing about bike socks is that they are fitted. They have a heel and a toe and fit quite snug, thank you very much. I don't save them for cycling either; I wear them all the time. And another thing... they are fun.

Clothes being fun? That's another post altogether.

Socks in the Laundry:
For years I separated socks into six piles (one for each person) and proceeded to "try" to mate and fold them.

Arrrgh.

I have often asked myself why I don't just buy one brand and size and let everyone in the house wear the same ones.

That would cause some obvious problems:
1. In a family of six we just don't all have the same size feet.
2. Cute, fun and colorful cycling socks! What would I do with out them?

Girl socks solutions:
The Bean is 17. She recently told Fashionista (10) that bright colorful socks should never match.

The socks found on my daughters' feet today.

Charmed (once I got used to the idea) and after discovering $1 socks at Target (cute ones!) We decided that as far as girl socks were concerned folding would now be eliminated. For a while they went into the "missing a mate" basket in the laundry room, but then I found it. On one of my frequent trips to Goodwill.

It hangs on the wall, it's cute and it holds socks.

Boy Socks? ...White ones:
I am honestly considering getting rid of all but one brand and size. My boys and man all have pretty much the same size feet and then maybe we could find another planter fun basket to fill with white ones. Or we could still fold them but never have to search for mates because we know that they are all identical anyway. I may be on to something here.

A feeling of peace is coming over me.

Watch out Mr. Shoop, these ideas might make you want to actually wear that pair of white socks.

This post came about from "a year of happy", Ten random things about me. It all started with a group of friends virtually sitting around a table at Chili's eating Molten Chocolate Cake. JoLyn told us 10 random things about herself and then asked us to each share just one. One of hers had to do with her dislike of folding socks. Many of the comments that followed had to do with socks. What is it about socks? We're passionate about something we wear under our shoes!

How to put a big board to good use.

After weeks of dealing with a damaged bathroom floor, the trial and error of finding the leak and finally getting it replaced, I had a big piece of plywood leaning against the wall in the garage. Exactly 4 feet by 4 feet.

Maybe a little background would be in order here. Our 19 year old son recently moved out and is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in South America. Our youngest daughter moved into his room and that left a room right next door to ours. What we would do with this room was never a question!! It immediately became a room for our bikes or "The Cave".

Our bikes are set up on trainers so they are available to ride at any time with only a moments notice. In this room we have: a desk complete with TV, Stereo, and DVD Player; a couch, the hide a bed so that company can have their own room with out displacing any kids; Beaner's drum kit, 2 of Mikes bikes, of course Kleetus; and a dart board with dreams of being hung on the wall and played with again.

Weaving my way around that board every time I got out of the car in the garage gave me an idea. The dart board! We had tried hanging it once before only to discover that even the plastic tipped darts that it came with stick in the wall around it. So why not screw this big eye sore board on the wall behind it?

Ah yes. But it didn't have to be an eyesore either! I remembered years ago watching one of the decorating shows on tv. They were actually turning a garage into a work out room with several bikes. The owner was a bike lover like my Mike. So, using the ideas I remembered seeing on that show... This is what I did with my board:

I painted it with swirls and rainbows. Created bike shapes on poster paper and cut them out. Then I laid them on the board and spraypainted over them all. When the shapes were removed color was left in its place. So now Mr. Dart Board has a home, and the wall is protected from dart holes.

How do you get rid of Hiccups?

First of all, did you know that the correct spelling of hiccups is Hiccoughs? And that the definition of said ailment is: A hiccough is an extraordinary type of breathing movement involving a sudden intake of air (inspiration) due to an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm accompanied by closure of the vocal apparatus (glottis) of the larynx. As stated at MedicineNet.com.

Secondly, it is very important for you to know that we at Whoville are frequent possessors of the hiccups. We somehow find ways to pass them from one to another of us and have one of two reactions: uncontrollable giggles or severe annoyance.

Because of this, we are on a relentless search for "The Cure".

Cures we have tried:
1. Holding your breath. (Success Rate: 0%. Retry Rate: 100%.) EVERY time I get the hiccups I try it. Why?
2. Swallow 5 times while holding your breath. (Success Rate: 80%. Retry Rate: 50%) Bondifaj came up with this and if I'm well hydrated it seems to work. If not, well, there just doesn't seem to be anything to swallow.
3. Swallow 10 mini gulps of water without breathing. (Success Rate: 80%. Retry Rate: 80%) This is my tried and true method.
4. Drink upside down. (Success Rate: ? Retry Rate: ?) I completely forgot about this method until I ran into these pictures the other day.How do you get rid of the hiccups?

We've got spirit, Yes we do!

Wacky Hair Day 5th Grade.

Fashionista is in 5th grade and has gone to the same school for her entire elementary school career.
She LOVES spirit days.

80's Day 3rd Grade

50's Day 3rd Grade

Hat Day 4th Grade

Hawaiian Day 2nd Grade

Super Hero Day 4th Grade

Wacky Hair Day 3rd Grade

Wacky Hair Day 1st Grade

70's ~4th Grade

Halloween 3rd Grade

Isn't it nice to relieve the monotony now and then?

Success

Today my mind is full and so are all the dirty laundry baskets, so it's time to spend a few minutes writing...

I've thought a lot lately about...

~the importance of womanhood and the amazing things women have to offer.
~success and what it takes to find it.
~family and just how important it is.
~possibility and how we find our own.

Today I want to talk about success.

Goals are important. Our family starts every year with a family night about goals. We make little posters to hang on our bedroom walls with 4 areas of focus. Educational, Spiritual. Physical, and Temporal.

There have been times when the poster itself never makes it onto the wall or bulletin board. Buried on a desk, the goals get forgotten and discarded.

That has taught me something about goals. They need to be in your face! They need to have a schedule and a purpose. They need to be s p e l l e d out.

Then as you begin to work toward the final outcome, you need to enjoy the journey and allow the journey itself to be filled with small successes.

I read somewhere recently how important it is to go to sleep feeling good about yourself. Too often as I lay in bed going over the day in my head I think about my failures; berating myself for mistakes made. Instead I'm learning to think of positive experiences of the day. No matter how small.

For instance, yesterday when I wanted a snack I ate an orange instead of a handful of potato chips. The point of this exercise is to focus on one success and review it over and over in your mind. Not only are you thinking about something good you did, the monotony will help you fall asleep.

Another important message you need to give yourself is in the way you plan. You need to be able to picture yourself having success. You say, "I am going to eat an orange," instead of saying, "I'm not going to eat those chips." Your mind can't hear the not. How do you picture not?

"I am going to ride my stationary bike for an hour"
"I am going to complete that race."
"I will have a pleasant conversation with my teenager"
"I will sit still and listen to my child when they come home from school"
"I will laugh when my kid ..."
"That one end table will be dust free."

Raise the bar on your personal expectations but be realistic. Sometimes when you have a house full of little children it's okay to let your positive successes be a shower, a meal, a happy child.

I heard a story once about a woman whose husband was asking about her day. She said, "I didn't accomplish a single thing today." Her young daughter said, "Yes you did! You helped me find my lost toy and you played with me."

Plan for success, recognize your success no matter how small, and expect joy along the way. There is plenty of failure, fix it fast, forgive yourself fast and focus on the good.

On that note: "When I go to bed tonight, everyone will have something clean to wear tomorrow!"

Dad

Seventy Eight years ago today a little girl named Walene ran from her home in a small Idaho town to the one room school house where her sister was attending. She threw open the door and announced that their mother had just given birth to a baby boy. Her sister was mortified. The year was 1932 and one just didn't talk about babies being born in public and now here she was having it announced to the whole town.

That baby boy was my father. He weighed over 10 pounds and was the sweetest baby boy the world has ever known.

He grew up to be the best father the world has ever known.

When I was a teenager he started writing notes to me and that became a regular thing. He would leave a note on my pillow or dresser and I would respond leaving notes for him in his briefcase or somewhere he would find it. It was a lot easier to share things in writing than face to face and it made me feel important.

I had 5 brothers and sisters and as a little girl I would often sneak behind a living room chair and play by myself to get some time alone. I remember my dad coming back there and sitting with me once and I told him that I loved him. He said there was nothing better that I could say to him. I said, "How about I adore you?" He said, "Nope, I love you is even better than that."

I never wondered how my dad felt about me and I always wanted him to be proud of me. I still love it when my dad gives me hugs and love to see how much my children love him.

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you.