Lately

People often wonder what on earth I do with "all that time" at home! Well, the answer is LOTS and lots of different stuff. I'm just like anyone else...I have to schedule my time and make lists of priorities and things that need to get done. There's nothing more thrilling than having a checklist and being able to check things off as they are accomplished. But what's nice about being at home is that I am in charge of my own schedule. I do things as I please, when I please, as much or as little as I want. And if something comes up, I can usually rearrange things easy enough. I am not a fast person...never have been, probably never will be. But that's why I have my checklist...it keeps my on task and continuously busy so I can make the most of "all that time" as people put it! And then they also say, "Well, don't you get lonely? or bored?" HECK no! I've got my little brown hot dog that keeps me plenty company and entertained. She loves to play around like dogs do and I just talk to her about what I'm thinking or tell her about "our" agenda for the day. It helps that I have a child-like fascination with the world...I am definitely easy to entertain and most certainly not easy to bore. And the way I see it, this time that I've been given to myself is a gift that most women (or people, for that matter) don't get. I want to make the most of it and use it to improve upon myself and also to serve others. What a blessing it's been for me and our family!

But for the sake of continuing to answer the famous question of "what do you do with all that time," here's a few things that I've been up to lately:

1. We've been keeping pretty busy ever since we bought our house. Like most foreclosures, ours was beaten up pretty good and lots of improvements have had to be made. I am the official family painter! And every inch of this house has had to be painted...and we are not done yet. This is a pic of me painting our master bath, which I still need to go back and do a second coat on. Will the painting never end?!

2. I'm planting my first garden this year! My dad is a master at gardening and is teaching me everything he knows now that I've got my own little spot of land to grow things in. For an early crop I've got lettuce, red cabbage, beets, carrots, red onions, and radishes. Come mid April I'll plant the tomatoes and peas with the rest of the room I have. Every morning I go out and check on it and water if necessary. Oh, and blueberry bushes. Can't forget those awesome anti-oxidant packed berries! Of course, I had to buy matching gloves and gardening hat...If I'm going to do something, I've got to look good doing it. ;)

3. A week and a half ago I ran a 5K race! It's been years since I've ran in a race, so I had to train up a bit. I was pretty pumped up about it and proud of myself for making the time that I did. I had been so sluggish while I trained but I was able to reduce my time during the race and make the 3.1 mile run in 33:43 minutes! Okay, that might sound slow to a lot of you, but for this short legged girl that was burning rubber. ~pssss~ Burn Baby, burn! I loved racing so much I've decided to keep up the running and enter into several more 5K's and eventually train up for the Disney Princess half-marathon next March. Oh yeah!

4. Speaking of exercising, I've continued to work at Oxygen Fitness Center just once a week teaching Total Body Sculpting on Tuesday evenings at 5:30. I love it! It's a fabulous gym with lots of cool people. I wish I could teach a bit more often, but at least I get sub opportunities. Tonight I'm doing a Fitness Night for our ward's Young Women group. We're gonna rev up the fighter in us with a little bit of kickboxing! Hopefully I can make it fun for them and at the same time encourage them toward a habit of exercise and an awareness of health. 5. I always love anything crafty, and if I have extra time after the more pending priorities are done I am always heading for my scrapbooking corner or sewing machine. I want to start quilting but I need a few extra supplies like a rotary cutter, rotary mat, and quilting rulers. Right now, my main pending project is to sew these burp clothes for my friend Leah, who is having a baby boy in the next couple of weeks if not sooner. And here's one of my latest scrapbooking pages. I'm working on past year's albums, 2005 and 2006.

6. A big thing happened last week: I am now the ward choir director! And just in time for Easter music! This is my most favorite calling (besides Primary) and I am just thrilled at the opportunity to serve in this way once again. So last week when I found out about it, I was scrambling to try and choose some music, organize myself, and send out mass communication about our first practice on Sunday. And I think it will be magnificent!

7. I've been thinking lately about going back to school. My same friend, Leah, is a Physical Therapist Assistant and I just love listening to her talk about her job. I think it would be right up my alley to do something like that. Physical health, and health in general, has become such a passion for me. Plus, PTA's are one of the top 10 growing jobs in the nation at a time when jobs are becoming scarce. And sometimes I feel like my Sociology degree is worthless to me besides just being an educated person. If I have to work, I want to do something I like and something I'm good at. The only downside is that there are only two PTA programs in Georgia and one is in Albany and the other in Athens, both 2-3 hours away from here. I'm leaning toward Darton College down in Albany and I think I can get in on the HOPE Grant since it's a two year technical college. I don't know. I'm still weighing out all of the details and praying about it. We'll see. I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the subject.

And these are just a few tidbits of my life right now.

I have been so much happier lately. I feel like I am at a point where I can look back and see the bigger picture and accept things for what they are and make the most of it. I guess that's why I retitled our blog to "Loving the Sunshine" because I honestly feel like the clouds have dispersed and I can see clearly...at least clearer than I did. One of my favorite lines out of the hymnal is,

"Our Savior's Love shines like the sun with perfect light as from above, it breaks through clouds of strife. Lighting our way, it brings us back into His sight where we may stay to share eternal life."

Plus, who doesn't love the Sunshine?! I love a beautiful warm sunny day, like today! Bring on spring, baby!