It seems no matter if I put paragraph indents and even whole blank lines between paragraphs everything still posts in one mass. :( Any help appreciated!

Specific ideas on my (our?) purpose in life

So, in the night, I awoke with an idea coming to me for this (my only) blog. Part of my purpose in life (and maybe good for all of us?) is to pass on info about things that have blessed our lives and also pass on warnings about things that have brought us sadness? So, what are some things that have worked for happiness for me? Top among them has to be my experiences as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While interestingly, the most sadness has come from the FEW times, I didn't follow the guidelines as closely as I wish I had. If it were possible to go back and change, but that is impossible, but thank heavens repentance IS possible and that I work as often as any issues come up. I am glad that I totally feel "my paths have been protected" so that I didn't stray too far off the path at least, but I do wish that the church had as clearly stated back in the 60s what is now printed and given to the youth as a tiny carry along guide in Standards for Youth. :) Ok, what is second in bringing me happiness? How interesting- as the things that came to mind in answering that question seem to be INCLUDED in my LDS membership! My love for our Savior Jesus Christ and my work to follow him which leads me to love and serve those around me. :) My love for my family and how I enjoy doing things for them. :) How I long to help children in need especially- but actually all people. How organizing things around me for convenience, beauty and health is a joy of creation for me. (I love different things to organize that will make an impact and last a while, so just doing dishes or vacuuming the same areas of the floor- totally loses its sparkle of job-- SOOooo I suppose if I will work on my attitude of gratitude-- I can overcome that too as surely a clean home is a service to all who enter, along with letting the beauty and convenience shine through?

A few more ideas of fun with family cleaning

So-- like Mary Poppins "clean up of the nursery"-- if you can make it fun-- it will go fast and you may not want to stop! :) So many of our problems actually come from our attitudes being negative about the challenge. I remember when I literally used to pray (in my head) that the volleyball wouldn't come my way in a game because I felt sure I would flub up and my team would be upset with me. When I got better at it, I had to keep my self from praying that I WOULD get a chance to hit the ball. :) What a difference a little experience and training can make! Now I love the game! So-- how can you make cleaning your home a game? (I would love for you to comment to let me hear your ideas! thanks!!) Probably you have seen the cute ideas for boys rooms, where the dirty clothes hamper is hung on the wall like a basketball hoop? Maybe the garbage can could be decorated similarly? What about making a boys room look a bit like a locker room? What about hiding a little trinket in each dirty room and then let the kids "whirlwind" clean it so who finds the trinket wins-- ? something from your "Parents store" of healthy treats and little toys? How about pretending that a King (or well loved authority) is coming to visit the neighborhood, and will choose the best looking home and then bedroom to sleep in? Of course Royalty should "reimburse" the owners for the privilege? (take them out for a movie?) How about "before and after pictures" with a time kept for how fast it can be made beautiful? How about a trip to a fun store (Ross for Less?) - for a decorator item or whatever the "chosen" one desires (within a $ limit!) Maybe have some grandparent, aunt or friend "judge" ? How about a party for friends when the home reaches a certain level of clean above and beyond the normal? ------------------------- Want to guess one of the best motivators for cleaning? Isn't it a phone call that a respected friend is coming to visit?

a break through on my health :)

Just found this in my drafts (I didn't even know I HAD a drafts area?-- It was from last year-- and I remember how great this was-- Maybe I need to go find that book again-- though we are eating MUCH healthier, (organic and nothing processed plus avoiding sugar (etc) like the plague. I wish I had put a date on this old draft! So as I usually do when I go shopping, I said a little silent prayer for guidance to find things that I needed and not buy anything that I didn't need.
Usually I don't look much in the books section-- as I have so many books and am running out of bookshelves etc. They had a cart out though with the new books that they hadn't put on the shelves yet, in my favorite Thrift Store, Deseret Industries (DI for short). -- So I looked over it a bit, and found a book Carbohydrate Addictions life span (or something like that). I can't give you the exact title as I loaned the book to another last night.

Anyway-- this book was describing ME!!! I would have more energy by not eating than from eating "a healthy breakfast"! Pancakes-- even whole wheat ones without ANY syrup but only sugar free applesauce-- would make me tired and bloated after eating them.

-- I totally craved all baked goods-- and have all my life claimed I had a "sweet tusk" (not just a sweet tooth!) Even when trying to eat healthy-- I would crave something at least somewhat sweet-- so would maybe have a 1/4 cup of dried cranberries or raisins (supposed to be healthy right?) after a meal or as a snack-- often with a few nuts.

I could eat the same food as my husband and gain weight. I have been on tons of diets and have terrible cravings but sacrifice only to end up gaining all the weight back and THEN some more added on. Till I totally quit diets, and just tried to "eat healthy".

But with not even doing this "life plan" correctly on Thursday when I bought the book and tried it (I mistakenly ate *canned green beans* instead of fresh)-- but I still felt so much better and I lost weight too.

I have been able to think more clearly and have felt so much less fatigue-- I actually found my self "automatically" thinking I was too tired to walk with the family, but then realized I was FINE, so I went too! Also when recently I was left in the car to wait-- I was motivated to get out of my seat and "clean out the car"!

Then this morning-- I feel so absolutely blessed! I got on the scales and broke under 200 lbs! About a week ago I weighed 206.1! I haven't been hungry, nor doing any purposeful exercise. I have been motivated and accomplishing! I am so pleased!

Anyway-- it is my hope that if I continue with this plan-- eating proteins and vegetables that help reduce cravings-- for all day except one meal (I get to choose which!) that I have a salad first, then on my plate I divide it up by 1/3 amount of carb reducing protein, 1/3 amount of carb reducing protein, and then 1/3 amount of ***ANY*** carb rich food I want. Last night I had some ice cream-- and I didn't get all tired afterwards, and look at my weight today!

Also-- they recommend that you weigh every day-- but then accept an average of the weeks weights as your weight-- and NOT lose more than 1/2 to 2 lbs a week. :) You can eat as often as you want too-- but to drink your 6-8 glasses of water, and eat only protein/vegetables that are carb craving reducing ones until your **one hour* of time to eat your rewards meal. :) I'm so very hopeful.

A dress that I tried on 3 days ago looks so much better already! :) blessings! Especially as I believe I will be able to do more work, and think better and so get out of and put into my life-- MORE

Some more fun stuff with Family Cleaning ideas

Ok, I got to thinking I should list more of my favorite ideas. (did you see the two earlier posts-- one about laundry?) I really love much of the "Speed Cleaning" originally brought forth by Jeff Cambell (google it) I bought all the books and videos and used their products for years. I especially liked the BIG saving of time cleaning-- with; having a plan of action for each room having the cleaning apron (much like a carpenters apron- so guys are ok with it! -- I made my own after buying one of theirs with specific tools that work GREAT -- like the special cleaning "toothbrush" "cleaning cloths" (not rags, but really tough hemmed cloths that don't leave lint :) two spray bottles that hang on loops (like a hammer loop) one for "blue juice" for windows-- but it comes concentrated and costs less than windex etc one for "red juice"-- a neutral cleaner for just about everything else-- (I LOVE this stuff!) I need to get more again as I use it in the laundry too- and for cleaning upholstery and even the carpet and not rinsing needed! (the apron even has pocket for little trash)- and I added an extra pocket for my cell phone, and a clip instead of ties. plus they have plastic liners in two of the pockets to store your two *special* small sponges (different backings) in plus they have a plastic putty knife that really saves your fingernails! and a great holder for a retractable razor blade for the really hard to remove things like paint and stickers etc You can make your own, in colors that indicate they are girls or guys, or let each worker choose a print fabric :)!!! --------------------------------------- There are also ideas from Don Aslett that I felt were great-- I used some of his ideas and products too. I would much rather be reading or something else besides cleaning but these ideas (and others) have made it so much easier and FASTER to get things clean and KEEP THEM FROM GETTING DIRTY-DISORGANIZED TO START WITH! (like special mats outside and just inside each outside door! that I have come to not mind cleaning at all, but enjoy how magically new everything looks so fast! Ok-- I admit, it is MUCH more fun to clean someone else's house than my own (too much familiarity breeds discontent?) and all my family workers have married and moved into their own homes! --------------------------------- Ok, now for some ideas for really younger workers-- (they love their own aprons and kids sized tools! 1 list the jobs on pieces of paper you fold and put in a fun container then let the kids draw to see what they will do. 2 have one older trainer with each younger child, and they both get rewards for "happily cleaning" 3 have a wheel with the work listed in the pie shapes and spin to see what work you get to do 4 have fun with a "white glover" inspector, acting out a turned up nose and wearing a white glove to look for dust etc 5 use a Grunch (large garbage bag-- maybe with a face drawn on with eyes above the opening?) that will come and "eat" up garbage left in a pile for it (be very dramatic) and the Grunch may eat up toys left out past a warning too! 6 keep record kept of each worker on how long it takes to clean certain rooms to certain levels from similar levels of mess so that you have a TIME to BEAT-- chart-- that changes with increasing speed and less wasted movement and that shows each person doing better each time-- not just the main winners-- as all win when all do better! 7 Make some cute or funny signs to place on doors-- Like "this room brought to you clean by the hands of _____" etc 8 Make also some funny signs for gentle warnings when bedrooms a begins to be thought to harbor vermin etc 9 Have special rewards for personal rooms being so clean they are open for company inspection (and compliments!) 10 Let the child have some say about the decor of their room- (maybe as part of a reward for keeping it clean?) but avoid like the plague any battles over the kids rooms-- choose your battles carefully! 11 Explain with love and logic how keeping the floor clear of clutter helps prevent accidental breakage of their things or stepping on something that might hurt (leggos- jacks- broken hair clips etc), along with helping find what they need when they are in a hurry.

Ideas for organizing kids to help clean

So I am feeling much better, with energy though I still cough a bit but I am dressed and being productive :) Here is something that I had said I would do quite some time ago, but never got around to it. Sorry, but better late than never, I hope. *** An important part of working with children (or anyone) is helping them feel able to do the work, training them, so they can be successful. You start small/easy and build up to more and harder jobs, as it is the pits to not understand and then have your efforts disparaged! (never do that as you want to keep positive energy for cleaning) I think I will just start listing some things we did, (that worked for at least an acceptable period of time-- as it really helps to change things around and make it feel new besides kids age etc). One of my favorite was, what I actually felt inspired to do to modify from the "Side Tracked Home Executives" card file system idea. I also set this up for our Ward Member cleaning, as I was called to be head of that some time ago. When years later we were called as team members to help clean the temple it was cool to see they used a form of the same thing! I organized on a piece of paper first, all the various jobs with exactly what each job entailed, along with any cleaning tools necessary to do the job, and where they were found. (this took the most time, but it was worth it!) I tried to divide the jobs so that no job took more than 1/2 an hour to do. For instance, I didn't have one person vacuuming the WHOLE house, I divided it into separate areas-- like one card for vacuuming the stairs & halls, one for vac the family room, one vac for the living room. (the kids were all required to clean their own bedrooms on their own time) I also organized the jobs as to what was ESSENTIAL to do, (bathrooms! laundry! etc) down to what would be nice if we had excess people (sweep the sidewalk in front of the house?) . I put the ESSENTIAL work at the top and I numbered each job. It could also be adjusted to difficulty to do-- like age appropriate jobs- which then could be color coded, and for the little ones, draw little pictures of a duster and different places to dust? Then I typed up the job descriptions and printed them sized so they would fit on a 3/5 card, so I could cut them apart and laminate them with clear contact paper to the cards. On each job card I had duplicates made, so one went with the worker and one stayed on the chart board. -- I typed in Bold-- "work in progress" and "work finished" strips that were laminated on opposite ends of the cards, so when a person was working on a job, they turned the card on its end, so the appropriate sign showed. another improvement, would to make several for each worker, little kind of like award ribbons (circle rosette with bit of ribbon trailing) with each childs name on them, so you would know who had done which job already or who was working on what. These could be attached to paperclips so they could be attached to the workcards each time. Some work also did best with two people, and that would be indicated on the cards too. To make the work chart, I used a stiff poster board, and taped strips of more of the board across it, to make long pockets, in rows, enough for all the work to be included. I marked off enough room for the cards to sit side by side in the slots, and I numbered and labled the areas so that it was easy to see where the cards went. One could make this quite artistic and fun using stickers and colors too. Oh, I almost forgot, either a parent or a responsible older child who has been trained needs to be the "inspector" and be sure the work is done adequately. Also letting the children have choices of what to do (as long as the essential things are getting done!) is a help too. One thing I learned (the hard way) is to have a time or a basic amount done- so the kids didn't feel like the working time would never end. They needed to know that when enough was done they could go-- BUT have appropriate rewards for those who work the most, and for the whole group if MUCH is accomplished in a short time! If this reward (maybe a family outing to a park or beach or movie or $ ? -- try not to use food :( as it can backfire into obesity! is given as soon as the work is declared acceptable and enough done, it REALLY energizes! They work faster when they know the prize will come faster. You might also want to have some negative consequence for any who want to try out the "slacker" position. You can talk to the family about these things ahead of time- when you are wanting to get them jazzed about the clean home and rewards.

Well, now it is March 11, 2012 almost 4am Sunday morning. I finally got over the stomach pain, as I worked to not stress but let go and let God. Also my nephew seems to have realized that his spewing of anti LDS stuff (which seemed barely re-packaged)was not helping his stated goal, because he loves us- to get any of us to leave the faith, but only causing me (at least) to see more clearly that his leaving seems to have left him with being less Christlike in his actions (while one after another asked to be deleted from his "messages"). Anyway-- may God bless him, and us all, to seek truth and love one another in our lives as Christ loves us. So-- not very long after that stress was sinking over the horizon-- it seems that the stress of the fishing season was looming over my head and I still could not choose which was the lessor evil of what I saw as my only two choices. 1) Go on the fishing boat with my husband as I did summer before last-- which SO did not work out, as he was so intense actually catching fish, or looking for fish to catch, or fixing gear to catch fish, or delivering fish, or sleeping so he could have energy to catch fish! I think he would have paid more attention to me if I were a fish! (as a young girl I wished I was a mermaid ;)I know he felt he was doing it for us, but I felt there were many other ways to make/save money! 2) So last summer I didn't go fishing, but stayed home and tried to keep busy. I actually drove our car across several states (me alone in the car but following friends in their car) but that house was just as empty/lonely as our dwelling in WA. I actually then moved us (a first without my Dear Husband) from the larger 3 story home, into a much smaller with a basement, that didn't have a huge canal on one side, an irrigation ditch on the opposite side and MAIN street (even so named!) in front, with no fence- so there was naturally serious concern for the danger to our active little grandchildren when they would come visit. It was great to get into the smaller easier to clean, more "me" home, and also to help out a cousin of Rays with eight kids who is now renting the big house :). Still after I did all I could to "settle in" the cottage, (some things just need my sweet DH to do) the loneliness descended again. In thinking back on it, I think one issue was that I was not eating enough fresh veggies and fruits but mostly canned stuff, as I worked to use up the food storage we had, and not run the 1/2 hour to town to shop each week. (Gas prices were and still are ghastly !) I also wanted to do all I could to help our financial situation so my Dear Husband wouldn't feel he needed to leave dry land to make income for us. (yes, I know it was a pitiful amount but it was a little saved). Anyway-- I kept praying that somehow the best possible would happen and there would be other options if it was Gods' will. I was blessed to discover that I had enough air miles to buy airfare with only $5 cash, to go ID to help out there for a little over a week! So fun, but a lot of work and I never sleep well for the first week in a different place. :( I also started coughing the night we got back to WA after spending that super busy week, in ID helping our daughter the day after her husband had major surgery for a ruptured Achilles heel (while she hadn't his help but he needed hers) with their four little ones. What a blessing that surgery was the Friday a week before my dear sweet sister Carol was getting married! My daughter (with the recuperating hubby) was in charge of the decorations for the wedding/reception and my sisters wedding dress was totally ruined by the alterations person at the cleaners! So I also was there to work on preparing another dress for her too. My dear husband missed me :), (it is a whole new feeling for him to have ME gone, from a place he is used to having me fill) So on Friday night, he caught a plane and made it in time to dance with me at the wedding Saturday morning! YEAH! What a beautiful and wonderful time we all had. We felt the angels helped things work out well, as my DH was able to escort my sister down the aisle, as he was the oldest male on our side of the family there. We left right after we helped with the cleanup from the wedding and drove all the way to the cottage ( 3 hours and part of the time in a blizzard!) and spent the night in the cottage that was 45 degrees cold when we got there! Sunday morning we realized that in that city, our wards late meeting times would make us miss our plane if we stayed for them, but our kids back in Boise had a 1:00 Sacrament meeting time so we could attend with them. Quickly we grabed things we needed (tools for him, papers for taxes etc) and loaded our daughters truck with furniture she had had to leave there, as it wouldn't fit in their u-haul when they moved to Boise area. We rushed back to Boise in time to go to church with them, then on to the airport. I was exhausted! I doubt there is a single drop of gypsy blood in my body, as I do not really enjoy traveling at all. Trying to sleep on the plane didn't work well, and having to be there so early is tiresome too. Bless my DH heart, that when we arrived that Sunday night in SeaTac he agreed that we stay in a hotel instead of driving 3 more hours back home! I'm so glad he needed to get some parts in Seattle, and this way it saved him time and gas too! Good idea! This is where we saw on the hotel TV in the news about Ron Paul's plan/actions to hijack the delegates. :( Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well that night so Monday morning I was still very tired as I sat in the car, with double coats and blankets packed all over me, mostly sleeping (but doing a little Facebook etc on my wonderful I Phone) while Ray shopped for 2 hours in a Fisheries supply store. Then he drove us the 3 long hours home and I was beginning to cough then. I had had a sore throat off and on in ID but had kept it at bay with Airborne and homeopathic remedies. The next morning I was worse! I didn't have a fever, nor aches and pains but I was just so tired, weak and coughing, coughing coughing! I figured a few days rest and I would be OK, but it wasn't to be. When the next Sunday came and I still wasn't well enough to go to church-- I started to think seriously about why I wasn't getting well. My mother was a trained therapist and I learned a lot from her about how our subconscious can run things! So I asked myself, what was I "sick" about-- what made me feel "sick"? The main thing was the coming summers lack of a good choice for what in the world I would do if Ray was gone fishing another 6 months. Dread the thought! So, I decided to broach that tender (so many times hashed over) subject with my Dear Husband, and Happy DAY! I hadn't realized the implications of what he had told me just before I left-- that Icicle Seafoods had bought out the company that we worked for- SnoPac! Icicle didn't plan to buy herring in Togiak, so my husband had no reason to leave so soon! He might not have any reason to go until the end of June! Also, he told me he had contact with a boat captain that he hoped to get to run our fishing boat so he might not go fish at all! My prayers seemed to be being answered with my hearts desire, but I could just take it bit by bit. "Expect nothing and forgive everything". I was some better the next morning and even did some work on the computer and at the sewing machine, but not all better, as I was still coughing scarey enough to empty a building without yelling fire. :( Also I was still tired as coughing really destroys sleep and already I often have insomnia! I had been working online to spread the word about the delegate hijacking plans of Ron Paul and supporters. I was too sick to go caucus but Ray went, and he saw it happen right in our own little precinct. (He tends to be one that does not make like to "make a stink" and is over trusting.) The person who ran the voting at our table never explained how things worked, nor asked who was for whom, and suddenly we had a RP delegate though the votes tallied up to not have RP in first place. Ray would have totally offered to be the delegate but he wasn't sure he wouldn't be gone to AK. Ray only knew she was a RP supporter as he had watched to see who cheered for whom etc. So, last night, seeing that it seems I will miss a second Sunday in church-- I looked again at what *else* might be causing me to be sick-- (or my immune system to be down) and two things popped up really fast. Actually they are both some to do with the political race for pres and so are somewhat connected. It is all the anti LDS stuff being smeared around because Mitt Romney is a candidate and the whole hijack the delegates thing. I had not felt good enough most days to go online to work to correct some of the bogus things said about our LDS faith-- as I was just so tired and it stressed me more so I couldn't rest. I worked on it when I could though. Well- it didn't seem that there was much more I could do about either of these stress producers, as I was already spreading the hijack news as best I could (and praying that no one would choose to be offended! as even one of our Sons and his wife are Ron Paul Supporters and some in our church too. One person from church had even shared that she believed Mitt was evil and into secret combinations! Sheeish! I was pleased to question our son who is for RP and he totally does not believe that. :) He says he knows Mitt is a good person but our son just likes RP ideas better. Anyway-- so I got proactive and read more about my slightly changed symptoms using the Homeopathic Remedy book and switched to a different remedy and decided to try sleeping in a warmer room. We have felt that we slept better with cold air and had also saved electricity by keeping our door closed. I didn't cough as much in the warmer room :) but I did wake about 2:00am. :( So, when I checked Facebook (what do you do when you can't sleep at night?) I was so pleased to see on a post about Mitt winning the Island votes-- that the commentators were talking about the delegate hijack thing! YES! I can feel some of the weight being lifted off my body! Hope is on the horizon in several things for me now! I even have some of our family planning to come all the way here for our Rochelle's' (former foster/guardianed daughter) wedding in July! I do so hope we still have our family home/castle then! How I would love for them to have good memories from here. :) Oh, I don't know as I shared about that. So now the bank is looking into the foundation leak that has been plaguing us for years as we work with doing one recommended fix after another, but so far it still drips right on your head when it rains hard. There is a new appraisal being done on the castle and an inspector coming to check the condition of the boat shop from building fiberglass and aluminum boats there for about 30 years. Gods will be done, but it is feeling more hopeful too. :) Anyway-- I do still pray to know what is most important for me to do. I dream sometimes that I am helping children feel loved and that they can make choices that will help them to live a happier life. I keep looking for a way to make that dream come true. It is hard when I'm sick and we keep not being very stable in our living arrangements. :( I am still on the list to do foster respite in ID, but not here. The rules are way more strict here, but I will keep looking into what I can do. I am so thankful that I know why we are on the earth, where we came from and what happens when we die. ! It helps me make a more joyful living-- even with the overstress that comes to test and try me. Gods will be done!