Words to live by...at least for a while.

BEGIN
intransitive verb

to do the first part of an action : go into the first part of a process
transitive verb
to set about the activity of: start

synonyms
commence, start, initiate, mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation

PERSEVERE
verb

to continue despite difficulties, opposition, or discouragement
synonyms carry on, persist
related words hang on; follow through; knuckle down
near antonyms give up, quit, surrender, yield; falter, hesitate, vacillate, waver

EXCEL
transitive verb
surpass in accomplishment or achievement
intransitive verb
to be distinguishable by superiority, to be greater, better, or stronger than

I love to observe and learn from others' examples. I used to view this as a personal lack of ingenuity, effort, and/or creativity. But in trying to embrace my otherwise appearing dull laziness, I just make sure to give credit to the brilliant mind and talent I seek to imitate.

A year or two ago, my sister-in-law came up with her own alternative to New Year's resolutions. She chose one word to use as her daily inspiration for tackling the big and small, daily and once-in-a-lifetime encounters throughout her year. I thought it was a lovely idea--kind of like wearing an inspirational vinyl sticker saying on your heart (ha ha, sorry for the jab if you're a sticky words lovin' sort). Anyway, I'm going to copy sweet Andrea's idea this year. I couldn't be succinct enough to stick to one word (stop laughing, I know, I'm a little talky) so I chose three. They are simple but will help me in each task phase of each area of my life--personal, familial, physical, and professional.

Meeting Judith

It is a little odd to put a picture of a stranger on your blog but I had to.

While Brent and I waited for our races to start in St. George two weekends ago, the woman pictured here approached us with a question about the starting place and time for the 5K. We were as well-informed as she but I suggested that she stay with us and we'd figure it out. The 1/2 marathon started first so Brent was off and Judith and I made small talk.

She was genuinely modest about the number of marathons she has run but did leak out that she is PAID to run...entry fee + a small stipend. I remarked that she must be fast and she gushed and said, "No. I'm just really old!" She needs a hip replacement and debated the weekend race. She then said that she decided she'd rather be running a race than sleeping in like most people. I laughed and told her that I often think after running. "I'm slow and tired but there are lots of 38-year-olds still in bed when I finish!" She gasped, "Your age is 38? You look just like a teenager!" (Thank you braces and big sunglasses!! Or maybe she needs glasses as well as a hip job!)

She told me that she was worried that her running days were coming to an end but was grateful for the big part that it has played in her life and for the accomplishments and confidence she has as a result of what started as a little hobby. We were called to line up and she said, "And you, you have the rest of your life now...38...You are in a good time of your life. Have a good race"

Strangers and brief interactions like this come in and out of our life frequently. I'm sure that this lovely woman did not intend to lift my spirits, encourage my efforts, or instill a small confidence but she did all three with a rather short conversation. Thank you, Judith! I hope I can pay your genuine kindness and inspiration forward.

Anniversary Weekend in St. George

Brent is a great gift-giver, always. (At least since he forgot my birthday T-W-O years in a row!!! Don't hold it against him. I'm doing a pretty good job of that on my own.) Anyway, he really is. The three pictured gifts may not seem like much but it is the way he gives as much as what he gives. ROSES--a stereotypical anniversary gift but not from Brent. He gives flowers on two occasions--for forgiveness (tee hee) and to remind me that I am more than a mom, (mediocre) housekeeper, or friend. I am his WO-MAN. He loves me. Diet Dr. Pepper and a straw is a reminder that he does not judge me by my weaknesses. He accepts the whole me. It is nice to be reassured of his unconditional love.

We had a lovely time alone in St. George. I send a big shout out to the brave sister-in-law/aunt-of-the-year who allowed us a little peace and quiet at her mental expense. Thanks, A! We had a great time running, shopping, eating, hot-tubbing, watching non-Disney TV and an action flick, and sleeping in. These are pictures of us during our respective races. You can tell by the bigger smile on my face that I ran the shorter distance ;)

Do you resolve?

January 1st has come and gone and I have yet to declare any resolutions. I am all for self-improvement but since I am constantly racked with guilt and self-depreciation, I resist setting goals...the list would be toooooo long. I also hate to fail. You name it, I've "resolved" to do it in the past with little to no success. A few years ago, my resolutions turned into more of a year's checklist which seemed to work for me. Here's my 2009 list:

1. Match the ounces of DDP I drink with water ounces DAILY--soooo pathetic but it will be a giant change for me and a good one. (Already struggling with this one!!)
2. Run the Striders Winter Racing Circuit--5K, 10K, 10M, 1/2 marathon, and 18K.
3. Run the Salt Lake City 1/2 marathon with my friend, Quincey.
4. Run 2 Runners' Series races in St. George to avoid St. George Marathon lottery.
5. Run St. George Marathon.
6. Run Ogden--jury out on 1/2 or full.
7. Run a family fun run with the kiddos.

I also made one very TYPICAL resolution:
No longer be able to wear the skirt I wore two Sundays ago. Waaaaah, waaaaah, waaaah.

I was in charge of finding an inspirational quote for our Relief Society Newsletter. Here's a little poem I wrote for the occassion:

YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
A brand new year, another chance
To look at life, and in that glance,
See where you are and what might be
If mind and soul work mightily

When choosing what will be your aim,
Work for fruits that will remain--
Kinder words, more scripture reading,
Giving freely, prophets heeding.

Pursuits like these bring lasting joy.
Better than thin waist or nifty toys.
Where your treasure's found, your heart will be.
Make your goals worth the energy.

Rita Zimmerman
January 2009

I'd love to hear what some of your resolutions are. My cute friend Deanna wrote a great post about how to keep your resolutions. I'll have to rely on that to help me through!

Kenna's Latest

I checked Kenna's private blog today and found these three posts. She is so creative and often hilarious. I had to share them.

To Do While I'm Off Track:
Here is a list of things I would like to do while I am off track. I will post pictures when they are finished. It will be awhile, though.
1.Sleep backward 5 times.
2.Do 20 jumping jacks.
3.count to 96.
4.send a card in the mail.
5.eat using a knife instead of a fork.
6.watch my favorite T.V. show.
7.play a new game on the computer.
8.try drums on RockBand on medium level.
9.draw a picture with paint, crayons, and markers.
Those are mine. what are yours?
FAQ
About two weeks ago we went to McDonalds. I had to help Alec. Here are some things he asked me to do...
1. Could you just um set those down?(While on his lap)
2. Um hum could you just get me my drink?(while RIGHT IN HIS HAND ;) )
3. Oh... I get it you are very mad at me... Why?(Yeah he knows *why*)
4. I do NOT want apples... trade please?
And here is what I asked HIM
1. WHY DO YOU MAKE ME SO MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when later on he takes one of my nuggets...
2. WHY DO YOU MAKE ME SO MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He says "Oh I do not know why.".
HE IS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blog Award


This is something I found online. I thought it would be a good award I could put on my blog... so I did! It goes to... drum roll please... first My Mom. I put her on because she
caRes for me
is nIce to me
is The best
does my lAundry
Second, My Dad. I put him because he:
gets Birdies in golf
is a jokeR
lovEs me
is Not mean
drives To places
Happy Vaintines day! <3<3<3<3<3<3<3

Happy Anniversary XoXoX

Brent and I have been happily married for 13 years and are celebrating our 16th anniversary today. What a day it was to get married in Cardston, Alberta. It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G and if his parents hadn't wondered before then, I know they were contemplating the wisdom of Brent's idea to marry some crazy orange-haired girl from Canada. It didn't help that the entire town showed up to the reception and told us how lucky we were that the weather had warmed up for our special day!

We're headed to St. George sans the little Zims to bask in our ability to endure. We are going to run races on Saturday--a 5K for me and a 1/2 marathon for Brent to represent our respective marital coping skills. We may even consider seeing a movie and going to dinner at a restaurant that does not serve anything in nugget form. I'm still in the almost-over-a-cold stage so I'd be happy for a nap that doesn't end with high-pitched promises of maiming a sibling.

Here's what we have to show for our 16 years together.

16 inside jokes an hour. We crack each other up even though no one else (read, oldest child) appreciates our wit.

15 Pilling nieces and nephews.

14 Zimmerman nieces and nephews.
13 days total spent away from the kids. (We need to work on upping this number!)
12 nights on the couch for one or the other of us ;)
(Not really...I'm too fat and Brent is too tall
to sleep comfortably on the couch.)
11 siblings between us.
10 (give or take) arguments a day but we still love each other.

9 Jobs. Me: Home Economics teacher Wasatch Middle School and Provo Young Mothers' High School. School Psychologist for Davis School District.
Brent: Computer Programmer for BYU Geography Department, Waterford Institute, Brooks Automations, Acclaim Entertainment, Waterford Institute again, Control 4.
8.25 years in our Layton home.
7 cars--Ford Tempo, Pontiac Acadian Scooter, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sequoia, Honda Civic-SI

6 months after our wedding I dropped Illegal and added Resident to my ALIEN status here in the good ol' U.S.A.
Thanks for the Green Card, Honey.
5.5 years in our Provo home.
4 speeding tickets between us. Yeah, I'm bringin' up the average on that one.
3 smart, funny, beautiful kids. Thanks for that great
Zimmerman DNA, Sweetie.
2 marathons together...so far.
1 happy life.

Happy Anniversary, Brent. I'm glad I married you.

Thanks for asking!

Time Flies

I got this article from my sister-in-law. If you're on the frequently forwarded email list of one or more of your friends, you've probably seen it but I liked it. I've been wondering why I have so little product to show for my effort and why I'm tired all the time (my doctor had the nerve to suggest that I need to work on getting more than 5.5 hours of sleep a night!). This reminded me of all the stuff I do on automatic pilot. No wonder I'm beat!
(Click on the image to make it bigger for reading.)

Addendum to The Shopping Trip

In her comments, Quincey reminded me of two things I learned and forgot to mention about my educational spending spree.

1. Layering clothes is a great way to mix and match outfits. A solid shirt or sweater paired with solid pants can be a little drab but if you put a collar under the shirt or sweater and then a jacket, it's a very put-together outfit. Be proud of me Quincey, today I wore all clothes that I previously owned...dark jeans, brown sweater, green shirt, brown jacket. NO 8" thick clogs. Yay, me.

2. As you become a certain age, or size, or body composition, or ALL THREE (me), it is important to wear clothes that have a nice, sturdy structure. The structure can be provided by the fabric or cut of the clothing but also by the layering effect. Very helpful to camouflage problem areas because the fabric skims, rather than hugs your shape.

Okay, okay. The best part of the addendum to the enlightening and productive (read expensive) trip was that I returned yesterday to Banana Republic with my receipts and got an additional $25 off because a few of the items had dropped in price within the allotted price adjustment time period. Woo hoo. I bought another shirt with my "saved" money. (Which I realize isn't really saving money at all but it made me happy and it is a very nice shirt.)

Time for movin' on.

Alec moved from Senior Nursery to Primary yesterday. Kenna went from Junior to Senior Primary and Todd is officially out of Primary now. My little kids are growing up. I'd like to think that their old teachers will miss them and that the new teachers will love them, but who knows. Fulfilling my motherly duty, I asked about the new teachers. Todd and Kenna didn't have much to say on the topic and Alec only remembered his teacher's name:

It's Jones...
No, it's Sister Jones...
Like Andiana (how he says Indiana) Jones!

Come to think of it, a bullwhip and gun
might come in handy when
dealing with a bunch of 3-year-olds.

The Shopping Trip

Here is the proof that I mentally survived my day of shopping with my sweet friend, Quincey. In fact, I LOVED our day together and not just because she is so fun to be around but because she found and convinced me (not difficult) to buy a lot of stuff that I feel sort of cute in. Including a renewed motivation to treat myself now-and-then, here's the list of what I came away with:

• 6 pairs of pants-1 dark gray, 1 medium gray, 1 dark brown, 1 black, 1 dark tan, 1 denim
• 4 shirts-1 long-sleeved white, 1 long-sleeved dark green, 1 short-sleeved purple, 1 red v-neck with cool sleeves
  
• 2 very nice pairs of shoes-1 black Mary Jane heel, 1 black open-toed heel
• 6 sweaters-1 black turtle neck, 1 black v-neck, 1 black short scoop neck, 1 teal short scoop neck, 1 purple scoop neck, 1 red scoop neck
• 1 very nice belt
• 2 very nice jackets-1 black, 1 medium gray
  

Wow, huh! Actually, this is just what I got from Banana Republic, a store I had never set foot in because of its reputation for being expensive. I purchased 1 item that wasn't on a terrific sale--the very nice belt--and everything was an additional 20% off the lowest marked-down price. Many of the clothes were cheaper than comparable items I would have purchased at Target or some low end store, like ShopKo. (Don't worry, I've repented, Quincey.) I was also under the impression that clothes at BR only look good on tall, size 0 people. Nope. They fit middle-aged fatties too! Yay, me! I also got 3 pairs of jeans from Nordstrom Rack.

Things I Learned from the Shopping Clinical Psychologist
You know on "What Not To Wear" when they come out at the end in the darling outfits and show you what each item cost? I am always agog at the price of one crazy expensive item-- a very plain sweater, the shoes, a handbag, or jewery. I figured out why. You can splurge on a couple of items, a very nice belt, for intance, if it is going to make the affordable, cute outfit considerably better or if it will be worn with many outfits. Totally worth it.

You've noticed my reference to some very nice things that I purchased. Because I'm not much of a shopping or clothes connesieur, Quincey had to continually remind me of the excellent quality of the items I was trying on and/or considering. It was a funny little joke by the end. I was clueless that the nicer quality of fabrics, cuts, and styles would make such a difference in how I looked and felt in the clothes.

I also learned that very nice items do not have to be expensive. Shop sales. Buy basics that will go together.

Try on outfits. I try on and purchase a pair of pants or shirt here-or-there. I try to keep in mind what I have or buy that might go with the item I'm trying on but sometimes I'm disappointed when the item doesn't look great with what I thought I would pair it with. Quincey had me try on things that I'd already decided to buy with different items to see how they all meshed. Very smart.

There is something that will look good on you. Camouflage problem spots, emphasize strengths. I am going to give up my constant desire to be a different weight, height, size, shape. Enough already--What a drain. I'm all for self-improvement but there's got to be a healthy medium between striving for something better and being happy right now.

Thanks for the schooling, Quince. It was an Awesome Blossom--extra awesome--day. You are a beautiful, smart, kind person and I love ya!

Mr. Incredible

Brent's got some serious super powers not the least of which is enduring a less-than-ideal spouse. (I'm no Elastigirl, that's for sure! I'm as inflexible in mind and spirit as I am physically!) To commemorate our upcoming anniversary, I've compiled an abridged list of what makes Brent my Mr. Incredible.
B-BRAINY
Since I've given him more than one IQ test, I can objectively say that Brent is a smarty pants! I love that he is so nerdy, I mean, intelligent. He reads only non-fiction books and likes an intellectual debate or discussion.
R-RISIBLE
Okay, I admit to using the thesaurus for this one but I needed to say that Brent is funny. He is so funny--like almost as funny as he thinks he is. He can make me laugh and our senses-of-humor are spookily similar some days. I love his jokes and I love that he loves his jokes.
E-ENERGETIC
Brent is energetic in the physically active way. He plays basketball a few times a week and runs. Being active was never a habit or priority for me. I have learned that taking care of your physical self requires effort but offers many rewards. He is a good example to me and the kids in this area...and he's a great running partner if you can keep up to his long stride and stand to listen to his constantly cracking ankles.
N-NICE
Nice is too trite a word to describe Brent's deep kindness. Two weeks after our wedding and on the day of our Utah reception, Brent did something that angered me. His mom knew that I was upset and sweetly assured me that Brent would never intentionally hurt me or anyone, for that matter. (Code for: He's dumb, not mean.) Beverly's wise words ring in my ears when I am grumpy with Brent. He has never been mean. He is my safe, soft spot. I love him.
T-TALENTED
Brent is good at a lot of things that are not be easily showcased at a talent show but are very admirable and valuable to me and our family. He is a great problem solver. He's made me technologically lazy because I know that he will fix anything wrong with our computer. He sings well. He plays the piano a little. He's very coordinated. He draws. He's good at nearly anything he tries. It's fun to watch him in action.

I love you, Mr. Incredible. Thanks for being my superhero. xoxox

Welcome to the NOW.

I'm sending a shout out to my sister Stephanie who just upgraded her internet access from free dial-up to worth-the-money high speed. Welcome to the NOW, Sweetie. She wasted no time joining Facebook and starting a blog.

Meet my boss.

It's no secret that Big A is runnin' the show around here. He is totally in charge and constantly reminds us all of the fact. In a rare moment last week, I convinced him that we both needed naps and should be snuggle buddies on my bed.

Alec: Mom, can I hold your hair?
(No, he doesn't have a sensory disorder. He's just a silky-hair-lovin' mamma's boy. That's much better, right?)
Me: Yes, Honey.
Alec: Can you turn over?
Me: Yes, Sweetie.
I turn my back to him and spread my hair out on the pillow. --1 minute of quiet--
Alec: Mom, will you hold my hand?
Me: Yes, Honey. Do you want me to turn back over?
Alec: Yes, please.
Hey! He said please! I turn over and take his hands.
Alec: No. Like this. I turn over and you put your hand here.
He puts his back to me and stretches my right hand over his body to hold both of his hands.
Alec: There. Now, you pat my back.
Me: Okey-dokey, Sweetest. I love you. You're my best little guy.
Alec: I love you too. You're my best mom.

The pay isn't consistent but that last line was a wage that will keep me afloat for months.
Best boss and job ever!