A Tough Decision

OK, so I've decided to do something that my irritate you, I know it would irritate me. I'm going to make my blog private. I know, it stinks. But I want to put up more details and family information and I just don't feel comfortable not having any control over who is reading.

So, I've made a new blog: Me Being Me at nateandtammy.blogspot.com. If you want to view it, you'll need an invite. Send me an email at daria53@yahoo.com with the subject "blog" and I'll send you an email back with the link to view it. You will have to sign in with a google account (I know, I'm sorry) but I think most people have one.

I hope you feel it's worth your time to do this, even though it is a pain!

HOLY SMOKES!

I was looking at the date and just realized it is less than a week until my birthday. Really not that big of a deal, I'm not a huge party person and my love language is not gifts so birthdays are not a huge thing for me.

What makes this birthday different is I'm turning 30! That's right, the big three-O. I was checking my50.com (a list of 50 things I want to do in my life) and many of them I had set the completion date as my 30th birthday, which is coming up. I'm sad to say I will have to change the completion date on some of them.

But again, it's really not that big of a deal. With my50.com I've tracked things I have wanted to do and I'm surprised that some of them have gotten done just in the course of life. I have done some family history, and even got to do the temple work for my Grandma Godfrey in the Las Vegas Temple which was another goal I had - to make it back there someday (that's where I was married). I did all the research for and bought a car, and I learned how to fix a hole in drywall. So I've done some stuff without even really having to try.

Things I wanted to have done by my birthday but won't get around to are: run a marathon (this one I'm going to blame Nate for, I really would have had he not joined the Marines. It's still on my list, just bumped to a later date), organize my recipes, and donate my hair to charity (this one also is going to be bumped. I'm still going to, but it's barely long enough right now and I'm liking the long hair in the winter, so maybe this summer I'll do it).


But I'm still blown away by the number....30...wow. I am SO old. After 30 is death, right?

But I want some suggestions about what I should do. I'm finally on the east coast, somewhere I have never lived before, and about an hour away from the Nation's Capital, what should I do? It's almost too cold to be outside, but what are some things in this area that you would want to visit? What should I take advantage of and accomplish on this, the celebration of my 30 years on this earth? If you have a suggestion, let me know. I want to make it memorable without spending much money or being cold. LOL

Finish it Friday...on Monday

Ok, yes, yes, I know it's Monday, but a blog I follow, Creative Organizing, just posted about Finish It Friday, where over the weekend you finish a project you've had looming around taking all your energy and attention away from other things. It talks about the power of completion and how inspirational and liberating it is to finish things that have been a constant weight and source of anxiety.

Well, I had been doing it, but since the Marines came up and we moved and yada yada yada, I haven't been able to do it. But finally, we are mostly moved in, have some semblance of a "normal" life, and once again I have unfinished projects.

However, I can't just jump in to Finish it Friday. Like any mom knows, being able to do anything takes planning. So I am starting this Friday's Finish it Friday today, on Monday. This week I am going to get my house in order so that on Friday, I can pick one bigger project and finish it, without worrying about all the little things.

Things I need to do this week are: buy the rest of the groceries I need to restock our new house (seriously, there's a lot of stuff I didn't bring because I couldn't that now I need to buy...like honey, soy sauce, baking soda for the fridge, Windex, and bleach to name a few). I need to gather the rest of the papers Ben's school needs and deliver them. I need to figure out exactly how to get our other car to Virginia. I want to get all the packed boxes unpacked and out of the house and get all the pictures and boards up on the walls. I need to go to Home Depot, the Post Office, and probably Target. WHEW! But I have the whole week. Hopefully I can get all these done, then this weekend do something bigger for Finish it Friday over the weekend. Like write and send out thank you cards for Christmas and recent birthdays. Or journal our life since October while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind. Or finally type up our 2010 Family Goals and my personal goals and our new Family Schedule.

Sheesh....I guess I'm doing a Finish it Week, but I'm ready to get some of this stuff done and checked off my list. Right now I'm motivated and excited and hope this energy will take me through the week to get all these projects done. Wish me luck!

Six Going On Sixteen

Ben turned 6. Crazy huh? It is all well and good, except that turning six apparently comes with an attitude. Due to recent experiences in our home, I now have to start thinking about making rules for playing outside with friends versus balancing family time. Also computer time versus homework time. When did this happen? I don't want to be doing this. Grrr.... parenting is hard.

Anyway, here's some pictures from his party. Since we had just moved here, we knew no one so it was just our family celebrating. But Ben didn't mind and he got some good toys and I think overall had a fun day.

Thank you, Traci, for the peanut mess.

Honesty

How honest do we have to be, really?

I'm currently using someone else's internet. Whose? I don't know. My computer checked all the wireless internet connections, found, and connected to this one. I am very happy about this, otherwise we wouldn't have internet. I cannot justify spending $60 a month on internet, which is what Verizon has quoted me (they apparently have a monopoly on base here and are the ones we would have to go through). So I decided to do without internet at home and go to the internet cafe for like 30 minutes every other day to check email and stuff. But my computer has connected so I get it in my home! But is this honest?

When I go to the movies, I sneak in my own treats. And why wouldn't I? You can get the exact same box of Junior Mints for much cheaper at the grocery store than in the theater. I know it's against the rules, but seriously? Isn't there something to be said for frugality?

I have told people I have done things (errands, paperwork, etc.) when I haven't, but meant to and I've gotten it done before they noticed. I elaborate on my accomplishments and try to make my life seem more exciting than it is. I don't correct the store when I'm undercharged (but on the other side, I don't correct them when I'm overcharged either). I say things are not a problem when they really are.

I would say I'm an honest person, but maybe I'm not.

A definition from dictionary.com says honest is "honorable in principles, intentions, and actions; upright and fair". That seems like there may be some wiggle room in there as to what exactly is honest. "Honorable" suggests that you want the greater good, like saving money on movie treats versus following the rules completely. And "fair"...? Who determines what is fair? It is fair of Verizon to charge $60 for internet?

I really like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew 20. The householder hired laborers to work for a penny for the whole day. Then he went out and hired other people to work for part of the day, some came to work at the eleventh hour, and still everyone got paid the same. Is this fair? The scripture says it is, because everyone was given what they said they would be given. Now if the man who worked all day for the same pay as the man who worked for one hour goes home and finds his computer connects to the other man's internet for free, is it wrong for him to use it?

Honesty is something I have underestimated. I think I'm honest because I don't lie without a justified reason. I don't steal unless it's someone else's mistake. I don't go out of my way to fraud people, but if it comes to me and it's inconvenient to correct the situation, I let it go. This isn't honest.

A definition of honest I like more is from wiktionary.org: "scrupulous with regard to telling the truth; ... true, esp. true as far as the knowledge of the person making the statement; ..." Apparently if you know what you are doing is questionable, it is not honest.

CRAP

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Here are pictures from our day trip. (Somewhat ironic that the day after I post about the traffic we go to DC and face it, but we did.) We drove to just south of the city and took the metro to the museum. It was pretty fun. The kids had a great time. But it was freezing outside. We had to run from the metro station across The Mall to the Museum. I made everyone pause so I could take a picture in front of the Washington Monument. They were not happy, but I got the picture.

We spent the whole day inside and still didn't get to see everything. We did see the IMAX Dinosaurs 3D movie which was really cool. I wouldn't see it again, but once was fun. Ben loved it, Christian was freaked out, and Kate was more interested in the seats, the 3D glasses, and the hair of the people in front of us (sorry!) than in the movie. Then we went and spent $20 on 'lunch' that was more like a snack. It didn't fill us up even though eating the $4 dinosaur cookie was a new adventure.

At one point, Kate got pretty fussy because it was time for her nap. She took the bow out of her hair and sat on the floor and cried. It was sad, but I still had to take a picture of it.

And then when we were all exhausted and hungry again, I made everyone go and see the Hope Diamond with me. I didn't photograph it well, but at least I have some proof that I saw it.

Then we took the metro all the way back to the car (yes, I am a tourist taking a picture of the metro station) and fought through an hour of traffic on I-95 to go 25 miles.

Overall it was great. Hello, we were at the Smithsonian in DC, what am I going to say? I wish it had been warmer and we do plan on going back to see everything else when it's not like 30 degrees with a strong wind advisory. But there ya go, there's the recap of our first trip to Washington DC!

Traffic! Grrr....

I HATE traffic!

I cannot believe all the traffic here in the DC area. Seriously?! Everywhere, all the time, traffic. Going north, going south, 6 am, 10 pm, there is always traffic. And honestly, we haven't even gone to DC yet, I'm terrified we're going to get stuck in traffic. The outlying areas are bad enough, I'm scared to see what the center looks like. There are so many people here, I'm just blown away.

I've been in traffic before, in Chicago, Albuquerque, Salt Lake (and don't count out Provo), Las Vegas, Tulsa, but it is insane here! There's no rhyme or reason to it. I've been stopped on I-95 because we were going up a hill. No accident, no deer in the road, just a hill. We go fast down the other side, but stop for 15 minutes going up. I don't get it.

I don't think the roads here in the east are necessarily designed differently than in the west, except in West Virginia. I have post traumatic stress from driving on the roads in West Virginia. During the blizzard right before Christmas, people were stuck in their cars on the West Virginia Turnpike for 13 hours. When I drove through, I saw the snowmen they had made in the middle of the road, on the cement barriers. It was pretty cool, except for the eeriness of it. Really, stuck on the freeway, in the bottom of a twisty, curvy canyon because of a blizzard with only one (blocked) way out and making snow men? They could have been trapped forever down there. It felt like I was witnessing the beginning of the Donner Party just before it got messy.

I cannot believe people choose to live here. I talked to a guy who was born here and lived here his whole life and he loves it...the culture, the food, and even the traffic. Well, fine, but that is not for me. I am not a traffic person.

I'm thinking of making a 'traffic bag' to go in the car with treats and books and games so when we get stuck I'll have something for the kids to do. I'm really praying that all the traffic is holiday travel and once the holidays are over, it will settle down.

Hopefully?