A New Year

I think it is very easy on blogs to get a pretty one sided view of the blogger. I know I often find myself feeling pretty down that I don't make my own yogurt or scrub down my baseboards monthly (seriously, I read blogs on both of those things today--I can honestly admit that I scrub my baseboards never!).

I could only show you the glossy highlights of my life. I want to do posts on how fabulously mellow and great our Christmas was. And how proud I am of my awesome teenagers (and how on earth, with parents like us, did they end up cool AND with rhythm? Mysteries abound!)And how awesome my Christmas party with my seminary kids went (the words hilarious and awesome spring immediately to mind!) And I could post pictures of the neat decorations we are making for a Young Women's Mother/Daughter activity (but I can't until Feb, because that one is a secret--but we are sure having fun with it!)

But instead I will confess that I spent the whole entire day working on the finances that I have been sorely (pathetically, really!) neglecting--for months . I KNOW it is not a big job to balance my checkbook, etc, if I do it every week. And, furthermore, I KNOW it turns into a big, hairy, stinky, nasty bearcat of a job if I neglect it. Sigh.

I am also worrying and praying for people I love. For babies to gestate and be born safely, for the hospitalized to have their Doctors guided and inspired, for the worried, confused, stressed and grieving to have their hearts lifted and their burdens made lighter. It makes me think of how, in the Book of Mormon, when Alma and his people were slaves to the Lamanites (and the renegade Nephites), who treated them horribly and forced them to carry heavy burdens, that the miracle they were given was NOT to have the burdens removed. It was that they were strengthened so the burdens seemed light. I pray for miracles like that for those I love whose burdens seem almost to heavy to bear.

2013. Maybe I will be able to dink around less, and accomplish a few things that will stay done! In general, I avoid New Years Resolutions (I merely have to look at my track record to see why!), and prefer to think of each day as a great place to jump in and become better.

But I am still not betting that I will scrub my baseboards every month.

Day 2: Meaning behind my blog name And Kitty Update

This one is easy! It was my first post.

Why " A Prismatic Life' Anyway? What is that about?

My life--and my entire personality--is made up of many contrasting (and even contradictory) elements. This can get a little confusing for the people around me--how is it possible for me to be BOTH shy and outgoing, clever and obtuse, etc, etc, ect.

Once, when I was in college, I was lamenting this to my dear roommate (I believe that the conversation included something along the lines of "how can I be so many things at the same time--maybe I'm schizophrenic!" --and yes, I believe it was around the time I was taking psychology classes.)

My dear, wise, poetess roomie lovingly said "You are a prism, with many, many facets--you change as the light moves. No one color is more important than another, and you would not be you without them all."

I am so grateful for her insight.

I have pondered it often in the years since then, and I have realized that a prismatic life is a beautiful thing to have.

And Kitty Update:

Phantom was busy while we went into town. When we got home, the total is now 5! Two black and 3 yellow. She is WAY skinny! She seems to be a very good mommy, and there is much joy around here!

Blog Challenge - Day 1

Introduce, recent picture of myself and 15 interesting facts about myself.

I'm Marie, and I'm a Mormon. I'm a wife (married for almost 17 years to My Favorite Gentleman). I'm the mom of 3 awesome kids (BigGirl,LargeBoy and SmallDaughter). I am the caretaker of: 1 WonderDog (SmallDaughter's Service Dog, through 4 Paws for Ability) miscellaneous cats (currently 1 gray shorthair female "Cat-cat", 1 gray longhair female "Thor", 1 orange shorthair male "Hobbes", 1 currently pregnant mostly-black tortoiseshell female "Phantom"--which means more babies soon!)
and about 40 chickens (which I like more than I ever thought I would). I homeschool the two big kids, and am very grateful for SmallDaughter's good teachers.



Recent Picture of myself: It was taken in November 2011.


15 interesting facts about me! [You probably already know most of these]

1. I love to bake, but I don't have a cake gene (it will either look good OR taste good--take your pick!) Any other pastry, I am great at.
2. I am an advocate for breastfeeding, attachment mothering, and families.
3. I had my babies at home.
4. I read compulsively. Truly--I can't help myself (and I read extraordinarily fast-not bragging, just the fact that I can read 3 paperbacks in 1 day). This is not always a good thing.
5. I served a Spanish Speaking Mission in California. I surprise people when they hear this extra white girl speak Spanish.
6. I wish I had a great contralto singing voice. I don't.
7. I was an art major in college.
8. I do not particularly like to clean, although I do enjoy having a tidy house.
9. I LOVE FlyLady.net
10. I don't tan. At all. And, I have given up letting the sun touch my bare skin, because of some severely unattractive freckling issues.
11. When I was a small child, I was blond. Then my hair turned brown. Now it is red, but mostly just to cover up how @#$%^&*! grey I have gone. My hair looks 20 years older than my face.
12. I love to sew, especially costumes--the more flamboyant, the better! I always heard how hard it was to sew formals and wedding dresses, but I love it. But I don't like to sew ordinary clothes.
13. I am the oldest of 11 children.
14. I am exceptionally bossy (sometimes). I do mean well--but, you know...
15. I have very little personal dignity--which means I am game for anything! You need somebody to dress up as the Statue of Liberty? Check. The Cat in the Hat? Check. Peter Rabbit's mommy? Check. It makes life a lot more fun (for me at least!) Any occasion or opportunity where dressing up is possible, I believe in making the most of! (did you ever wonder what kind of person gets dressed up in costume for the latest Harry Potter release or Twilight movie--yeah, that's me.

Plagarism...

In an effort to get back on my blogging bandwagon, I am stealing the 30 day blog challenge idea from my cousin Dedra, who stole it from her brother (another cousin of mine!), Garen. Here's how it goes...


I'm going to post everyday for 30 days and below are the topics I'll post about.


Day 0: The 30 Day Challenge Explanation and Description
Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: A song to match your mood
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite movies
Day 8: A place you’ve traveled to
Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend
Day 10: Something you’re afraid of
Day 11: Favorite tv shows
Day 12: Something you don’t leave the house without
Day 13: Goals
Day 14: A picture of you last year – how have you changed?
Day 15: Bible verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something you’re looking forward to
Day 18: Favorite Place to Eat
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself ALL TIME Why?
Day 22: What’s in your purse?
Day 23: Favorite Movie
Day 24: Something you’ve learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Your Dream Wedding
Day 27: Original Photo of the city you live in
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: 3 Wishes
Day 30: a picture of yourself this day and 5 good things that happened since you started the challenge

Ralph, Chuck & Earl...

I haven't been blogging lately. I have been baking cookies like I am making up for the last 5 Christmases that were...lame-ish (at least in the baked goods department). I did my Christmas shopping, and can officially state that I have avoided the mall this holiday season--YAY!

I have been taking care of my poor BigGirl, who puked every hour for 20 straight hours, and sporadically after that. The doctors do not seem concerned. I am. She had this back in April and was throwing up on and off for 10 days. I think it is part of a bigger problem.

I am really excited that I was asked to be a guest blogger! I will give you the link after it is published.

Life is (as usual, but even more during the holidays) an interesting mix of deep sorrow and great joy for people I love. I am praying for the people who are experiencing both.

Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.

My dear friends are all aware of (and mock me for) my strange paranoia: I feel that everyone forgets me as soon as I leave the room.

SO I am completely stunned (and rather horrified) when people remember me (why, why, WHY?).

Yes, I know it isn't rational.

I remember hundreds of people, many of whom I have only met briefly. I like the vast majority of them. I have no reason to assume people would not remember or like me--but there it is.

I have quietly assumed that my blog was being read by maybe 6 people--three of whom are related to me. The comments that have been left have pretty well backed up that assumption. Now I have this cute little map gadget--and whoa! People in places I have never heard of have stopped by, at least for a minute.

This shouldn't surprise me, either. I follow several blogs, from "unmet" friends around the world, that I have stumbled upon, and that I now cherish reading. I hope the new blog friends enjoy what I have to say, or at least get something out of it. I do enjoy this technology that allows friendships that never could have happened otherwise.

If you are a new friend, let me recommend reading the very first post, about who I am, and how it got it's name. It might help.

Also, whether you are a new friend or an old friend--I love comments, and would love it if you said "hi" or let me know when you enjoy something. Positive feedback always makes me happy!

Well, that was a nice idea (sigh)

So today, in a mad fit of organization (they come upon me sometimes, like "fits" in old novels) I was cleaning out files on my computer. You know the to-do lists from last year, flight information, and stuff like that, and I found this little jewel:
(Which I will now transcribe in its entirety.)

Blog plan

“A Prismatic Life”

Explanation
Homeschool
Home birth
Parenting
Weddings
Organization
Life Skills
Makeup artist
Fiber arts
Parties
Costuming
Gratitude
Life Answers
Special Needs Parenting


WELL...

Boy isn't THAT optimistic! Yes, those are all things I feel strongly about or have skills in/ideas about. Out of 14 items I planned to blog about, my blog only seems to contain 4 of them. FOUR! And, while I was counting, I went to my "contents" list, to check how many labels I have--158! WHOA!! And none of those seem to be "costumes", "makeup artist" etc...

Well, at least I know now what the heck I thought I was doing!


However, if you are looking for the "explanation"--you can find that as the first post (March 2009). It explains where the name came from, at the very least.

I dream of...blogging?

Yes, it's true. Last night, I dreamed long and repeatedly about blogging...specifically how much my cousin Joe reminds me of Captain Carrot in the DiscWorld books by Terry Pratchett(which, if you haven't read them, PUT THIS BLOG DOWN NOW, AND RUN TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY AND START!). Think about it--right height, incredibly straight arrow, good natural leader--Oh my word! JOE is the true king of Ankh-Morpork!

There, now I have blogged it, so tonight, maybe I can actually sleep!

Isn't technology amazing?

I really love this whole blog thing (which last year was an utter mystery to me!). I can follow the lives of new friends all over the world, connecting in a way we never could without this tool. Also, I can spout my many and varied opinions! WOO-HOO!