Wednesday, February 23, 2011

a minimalist...

i am not.
but i'm trying to be.
about a month ago we took a very quick and very last minute trip to disneyland.
we had been talking about going for a couple of years, but couldn't ever pin down a date to go.
we finally just did it...on a whim.
that's the best kind of trip if you ask me. just super last minute and spontaneous.
i didn't like the fact that it was so short, but hey, it was an adventure that i would do all over again in a heartbeat if i could.
while we were there we stayed with my brother and sister-in-law.
they live on this cool peninsula in long beach.
picture this.
if you walk out their front door and go to the left, there's the ocean. and if you walk out their front door and go to the right, you'll run right into a beautiful bay for swimming.
it was a dream come true.
definitely a life i could get used to.
their place was perfect, too. not huge. not fancy. but very clean, and organized, and completely devoid of clutter.
in fact, at one point, i asked my sister-in-law where all their stuff was.
were they renting a storage unit? i wondered.
no, she told me, this is it. we have a couple of boxes out in the garage, but no, this is everything.
i decided then and there that i needed to make some changes in my own life and home.
i have a confession to make.
i might be a borderline hoarder.
i just have this problem of hanging onto things - thinking they will serve a purpose, or be of good use to me at some future point.
somewhat counterintuitive is the fact that i also like being organized...
so rather than getting rid of things that i don't currently use, i am constantly buying bins and organizers to stash my junk in.
it's getting ridiculous, and really starting to cramp my style.
we have so much stuff, but no more space to put anything.
let me just tell you, it's not easy keeping a clean house when it's filled to the brim.
and let's not even discuss our garage situation.
i'll just say that both of our cars have been kicked to the curb, and leave it at that.
today i decided that i had had enough.
i grabbed some trash bags and headed to our master bathroom.
seemed like a good place to start.
i went through the linen closet, and the cupboards under the sinks, and the drawers...
and i just went crazy dumping, and throwing, and purging.
it felt oh so good.

i filled two huge garbage bags with trash, and another couple for goodwill.

i laughed when i came across this...

a giant plastic IHC bag filled with medical supplies.

for a couple of weeks after i had isaac, different nurses frequented my home to administer iv antibiotics.
a medical supply company had delivered everything these nurses would need for my home care. don't even ask me why i have held onto this stuff for nearly 6 years...and through two moves. seriously, i wouldn't even know what to do with this stuff if i needed it.
i have an influx of iv starter kits, iv catheters, sterile syringes for iv flushing, heparin syringes, gauze sponges, alcohol prep pads, and 1000 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride irrigation USP (whatever that is?).
so anyway, if you have a use for any of this stuff...it's all yours...you'll just have to dig through my trash can to get it.
aren't you proud of me?
i'm making strides towards minimalism.

and it's empowering.

i feel like i need to be completely honest by mentioning the fact that after all that dumping, and throwing, and purging...
i took a trip to walmart for more bins.

correction: i'm taking baby steps towards minimalism.

and it's empowering.

laundromat

this boy makes everything fun


even the three hours we spent at the laundromat.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

9 lives


today ruby chose to take her little cat for show 'n' tell...for the 2nd time.
she gets to bring something for show 'n' tell everyday, so on occasion, we get some repeats.
this little cat has quite the history.
she comes all the way from china-town in san fransisco.
john picked her out especially for ruby when he was there on business a few months back.
and even though we're not really a cat family, it was love at first sight for ruby as she first held her miniature, and very life-like kitten.
the next day, she took her little kitty to show 'n' tell at school.
she came home and told me that all her friends loved her kitty cat, and that everyone wanted a turn to pet her.
we hadn't been home more than 10 minutes, though, when she came running into the kitchen (where i was preparing lunch) in complete hysterics. she was just sobbing.
she informed me that dix-d had pooed all over her little kitty.
what? i thought.
i followed her into the playroom, where kitty was lying on the floor - completely defaced...and skinned.
what ruby thought was poo, was actually kitty...without any fur.
and yes, it was dix-d who had gotten to her. it really is true, dogs don't care much for cats, do they?
i did my best to patch her up. she was far from perfect when i was finished, but ruby did not even recognize the difference, and i became her hero that day.
if it's also true that cats have 9 lives...i guess this little one has 8 to go.

Monday, February 21, 2011

family prayer...

can be challenging down right impossible at our house.



please tell me we're not the only ones.


*note: asher did start out on his knees like the rest of us. he just has an extremely short attention span. and, fyi, before you deem my behavior blasphemous, i did wait until after the prayer to take these pictures.

family time


i love spending time with my family.
of course, i don't know anyone who doesn't.
it's just that, with everything john and i have had going on lately, we haven't had much time to spend together as a family.
much quality time, i should say.
today for fhe, we caught a matinée showing of gnomeo and juliet in 3d (very cute. and a miracle, i might add, that asher actually sat through the entire movie),
and then we headed home to roast hot dogs over a backyard fire.
it was the best.
we listened to music, laughed, sang songs, took silly pictures, and just relaxed.
ruby asked questions like why is the fire pointing up to the sky? and why is the fire so colorful? she had both of us stumped.
we gave her some pretty ridiculous answers like...well, that's just what fires do, and that's just how fires are.
man do i need to go back to school, or what?
it was nice to finally be able to take a deep breath, and just enjoy.
enjoy everything.
my family, my surroundings, and the simplicity of life (at least for today).


Monday, February 14, 2011

happy valentine's day



*mini shoot done by my good friend scarlett.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

i rest my case

in my last post, i mentioned that maybe i sometimes have a little problem of biting off more than i can chew.
well here's some further evidence to support my case.

Exhibit A:


this is my binder for the church callings and responsibilities (aside from wife and mom) that i currently have.
on top of my main, full-time calling as the first counselor in the primary,
i am serving on a stake committee responsible for planning and carrying out a women's conference (just a week away) for approximately 400 rs sisters in the stake.
i'm also a 1st year ycl leader for stake girls' camp (end of may),
and together, john and i have been called to go on the trek with the youth of our stake (first part of june).
it's a lot for me right now. in fact, if i think too long and hard about it all, i get overwhelmed...
sometimes to the point of tears even.
i'm not trying to be negative, because i love serving, i really do;
and i absolutely love serving in each of these capacities...but (you saw that coming, didn't you?) my plate is so full right now, that some days i don't even know where to start. i can't even figure out something as simple as taking a bite.
john's calling right now as 2nd counselor in the stake young mens, is also pretty cumbersome. maybe that isn't the right word. it's definitely manageable, and he totally loves it, but it does exact his time. time that he could be here holding the fort while i serve. ha.
i guess what gets me through and keeps me going is knowing that 3 of these 4 callings are temporary;
and by mid-june, i'll be back to just one.
maybe by then i'll be able to stop and...well...just breathe.
but then again, i know myself all too well.
i'll be so sad with only one calling, that i'll happily and hungrily start loading my plate up again.
ha...such is life.
my eyes have always been bigger than my stomach.

i now rest my case.


* side note: i decided to refrain from submitting exhibit b...which would be a picture of the inside of my house. believe me, if you only knew what it looked like right now, you'd thank me for renouncing any further evidence.


Thursday, February 10, 2011

good intentions...but

i have a problem of biting off more that i can chew sometimes.
i have the best intentions, but sadly, i often fall short of those.
this morning i slept through my alarm, and thus didn't make it to my morning boot camp.
i even slept through the text my friend sent me (15 minutes into the class) telling me to get my buns out of bed and come work out.
like i said, i was really, really, like abnormally, tired last night.
i started feeling bad about the fact that i've been such a slacker with my workouts, that i had this brilliant idea of putting asher in the stroller, and going for a jog to pick up ruby from preschool...which is just over three miles away.
three miles is nothing, right?
right. if you're in somewhat decent shape.
but i am constantly being humbled and therefore reminded of how extremely out of shape i am these days.
can you see where this story is headed?
i gave myself plenty of time to run the three miles...ensuring i would not be late in picking ruby up.
what i did not consider, however, is what if i was not able to run the entire way, and had to actually stop and walk from time to time? i'n fact what if i ended up walking almost the entire first mile, and then had to run a six-minute-mile for the next 2.5 miles to make it on time?
let's just say when i realized my predicament, i ran like the wind, determined to be there when the kids filed out in their perfect single-file line to meet their parents.
but alas i had to come to terms with the fact that i'm just not what i used to be.
i stopped and called john.
he just laughed and said he'd be on his way.
he's my husband, he knows me and my lofty ambitions all too well. he mostly just laughs at me, but then always comes to my rescue.

i believe that every post deserves a photo, but i know better than to post something as ridiculous as how i must have looked huffing and puffing my way down the street, pushing a double stroller - occupied by only one child, sporting a pair red chuck taylors and goofy purple sunglasses.
rather, i will save myself (and all of you) the embarrassment, and just leave you with an image of my sweet little ruby. she had her valentine's party today, and here she is holding the darling box full of cards and candy, that she made at school.



isn't she a little lovey?

here's to a new day and hoping i can at least accomplish one thing i set out to do.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

exhausted

doesn't even elucidate the way i feel right now.


we had both kids in our bed last night.
ruby resides there every night, so that's nothing new;
but it was definitely a first for asher.
i finally took him to his own bed at about one am, when i realized that as long as he was in our room, he wasn't going to be sleeping.
it was too much of a novelty for him.
and then an hour or two later, john and i were both awakened to ruby who was laughing hysterically in her sleep.
she then woke up as well, and proceeded to tell us all about her amusing dream in which (and these are her exact words)
i threw a fish at a bee, and the bee took the fish, and put it in the mermaid's tail,
and the fish was upside down in the mermaid's tail.
it was so funny.
and then she just rolled over and went back to sleep.
in the morning i asked her for a bit more clarification on her dream,
(and actually wondered if she'd even remember anything about it).
she laughed, and then sure enough, repeated the dream to me exactly as she had in the middle of the night.
it must have been one of those things that is a lot funnier in person,
because i'm still trying to find the humor in it.

well i'm signing off...
and i have a feeling that the moment my head hits the pillow,
i'll be building my own sand castles in the sky.

goodnight.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

my little love



Last Friday night, after putting asher to bed, Ruby and I worked on her class valentines together.
I have the best childhood memories of putting together my own valentines with my own mother.
I used to look at all the cards, and hand pick which one I wanted to go to whom.
Even each and every conversation heart was selected with care.
I took the whole process very seriously.
I still remember opening a valentine from a boy in my class.
We were in the third grade.
It was a Cracker Jack valentine card with Jack the sailor, holding a box of cracker jacks in one hand, and a boquet of flowers in the other.
At the top of the card, it read I like you.
I took the message very literally, and wholeheartedly believed that this boy had a crush on me. Isn't Valentine's Day fun?

For Ruby's class valentines, we decided to do something a little different from the typical card in the envelope with a few candy hearts.
We went to the scrapbook store and picked out a cute vintage paper,
and then used it to decorate match boxes which Ruby then filled with red and pink m&m's.
She took a lot of time writing each name;
and then, just like her mother, she carefully selected which picture and accompanying quote was best suited for each classmate and teacher.

She is such a little love.

Monday, February 7, 2011

just when i thought

the day couldn't get any worse...



that's my cell phone...in the microwave.

asher put it in there while i was brushing my teeth in the bathroom,
and when i came out,
the microwave was on fire.
i'm talking full-on flames here.
i swear, that boy needs around the clock surveillance.

my sister-in-law warned me after today's earlier post...
i've learned to never say it can't get worse, she said, it's some sort of evil jinks.

amy, i totally believe you,
and i promise to never say that ever again.

i've decided to send asher straight to bed...

without any supper.

happy monday

it can only get better from here, right?