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A Day in the Life

Happy Halloween

Keira

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It’s Halloween, but most of the festivities here are already done.

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The mummy hotdogs and pizza are eaten. The witch has a nose pinned back on, the fish are all “caught”, and the “potions” are strewn around. The costumes are set aside for tonight, and the punch bowl is empty. That being said, there’s still a brain mold full of jello sitting in my fridge because I forgot all about it.

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Yeah, I wish I could say that was out of the norm for me… But oh well. We’ll just have a family game night tonight.

These mob bosses and one adorable Hello Kitty are looking forward to a night full of treats, tricks, and freezing temperatures.

A Day in the Life

Battle of wills

Keira

We’re currently on our way back from my  high school reunion (oh man, was that an eye opener), and jamming out to Hispanic music. Lest you think we actually enjoy it, let me explain:

I speak Spanish, and I think it’s kind of fun to listen for words I actually remember. Ranger, however, can’t listen without saying something about how it reminds him of circus music and changing the channel quickly. While we were flipping through stations on our drive and it tuned into a Latino station, I sarcastically said, ” here we go, let’s listen to this.” Not to be outdone, he left it there. Well, I can’t let him outlast me, when I’m the one that claims to enjoy it. And I honestly could probably stand it just fine except I keep expecting him to change it.
Archives, Life Lessons

Archive: Letting Go

Keira

***Archive: This post was published on a previous blog and transferred here.***

Letting Go” From The Grace Awakening by Chuck Swindoll

To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring,
It means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go doesn’t mean to cut myself off,
It’s the realization that I cannot control another.

To let go is not to enable,
But to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness
Which means the outcome is not in my hands

To let go is not to try to change or blame another,
I can only change myself.

To let go is not to care for,
But to care about.

To let go is not to fix,
But to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge,
But to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes,
But to allow others to affect their own outcomes.

To let go is not to be protective,
But to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny,
But to accept.

To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue,
But to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,
But to take each day as it comes.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone,
But to try to become what I dream I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past,
But to grow and live for the future.

To let go is fear less
And love more.

This past week, 2 main concepts keep coming into my mind. Life does that, sometimes [Well, I’m not going to give life the credit, I’ll give it to the divine plan and the powers of the human mind], giving you a theme for the day.  The two focuses of my life right now are letting go and agency. The two concepts are friends holding hands, really; walking side by side. Letting go is allowing others their agency, while reserving your own. It’s sorting through what you do have control over and what you don’t. All anyone really has control over can be summed up into 3 things: personal thoughts, personal feelings, and personal actions. Everything else is someone else’s control/agency.

I’ve been thinking about my daughter, and how she can ride a bike but wont let herself; and how she can swim, if she’d just trust the water. Letting go, to me, is like that. It’s realizing that the water is not your enemy, but your friend. It’s realizing that the bike works with you, not for you. Letting go is just…trusting. And not the “okay, world, I’m going to jump, you’d better catch me.” but, “Lord, I know that you see what I cannot, and I’m okay with that.” Letting go literally, physically, feels different. I had no idea! Letting go is a calming in every muscle, because when you are calm, the water lets you float. When you relax, the bike lets you balance. And when you let go… life does the same. I wish I knew how to spare the world of so much fear and negativity, because I see how hard it is to not let go (and quite frequently have to remind myself of the difference), but I never learned that skill. Instead, I ache for a world – for loved ones – and pray that someday, they can learn for themselves

to just let go.

Archives

My Most Favorite New Year’s Eve Ever. :c)

Keira

So the day before New Years Eve, Ranger calls me up and asks if I have plans for the day. I say no, I was sort of leaving that up to him. And he says good, we’re going to go play in the snow. And wont give me more information.

Later on, he slips that we’re going for a sleigh ride. I think it was on purpose because he knows I strongly dislike secrets. Or surprises. (I need time to prepare. I know, it’s kinda silly, but it’s true). The problem is, he’s still hiding something and I can tell. So I start wondering. Of course, it’s only natural. He slipped a few weeks earlier that he already had the ring (and that one probably WAS an accident, because I asked him while he was tired). I was afraid to hope, though. He’d tricked me once before. So I keep my cool and pretend I’m clueless, in case I’m wrong. Good plan, right?

The only information I can get out of him is that his brother and sister-in-law are coming with us. That’s cool. But it’s also another thing that makes me wonder. His brother and he are super close.

So the next day, we get all ready for the sleigh ride, get lost on the way, and finally make it there. The sleigh ride is great, except Ranger gets called in to work. Now how do you explain that you really need the day off because you are doing something “important” and you cant explain what’s so important, because its a secret and the girl who cant know is sitting right next to you? So he goes to work. Poor thing. But I’m probably wrong, right? And since he got called in to work, it probably wont happen today anyway…

So he takes me to his dad’s house to wait, and we wait. For a while his brother hangs around and visits, but eventually goes home. His dad asks him what his plans are for that evening, and he says “well, we’ll still do that thing, but otherwise, we dont know yet.” And I take note. Vague hints are good… right?

Great visit, but we’re both kind of distracted (probably about the same thing which neither one of us can talk about. Me for my pride in case I’m wrong, and he for the sake of his son… if I’m right, anyway). I get the feeling that his dad’s trying to keep the day special. So I start to hope again. Ranger said I could go home, if I wanted. But I actually really like his dad, and I knew I’d be twice as antsy at home. So I didn’t ask to be taken home.

Ranger FINALLY gets off work, and says we have dinner plans with his brother. Well, that explains the “thing”… But if there wasn’t some news, why would his brother be so vague? And now I can tell that everyone’s a little excited. And Ranger looks a little nervous, but honestly, that could have been rationalized away because he felt bad for having to work in the middle of our date. And his dad’s trying to help him. I notice they both seem to be having a conversation whenever I’m not around and it stops when I come back in the room.

Okay, something is DEFINITELY up. But I tell myself I’m still going to play clueless because it’d be sooo embarrassing if I’m wrong…

So we go out to eat, and we’re in a quiet booth off to the side, with no one else around us. “convenient,” I think. His sister answers for it though, even though I didn’t ask. Says she thought the people around were kind of gross and asked to be moved. So we get all the way through dinner… and dessert…  and I can see Ranger’s brother keep trying to catch Ranger’s eye.

And then I see that Ranger has a box in his hands. And I think to myself “okay, now I know what that is. But this is awkward…” So I pretend not to notice, and I cant make eye contact, I’m too nervous.

And so is he

And I hate awkward moments.

So I pretend to be super interested in what his sister-in-law has to say.

And I guess it was too much for Ranger, because he sort of drops the box in front of me, like “here, take it.” It was so cute because it was so awkward. I guess that’s fitting, because that’s how Ranger’s been all along. So awkward it’s cute. Maybe awkward isn’t the right word, nervous is better. Obvious about his intentions, but nervous.

Well of course I open it. And he gets on one knee. And says “will you marry me?”

And just like me, to make things more complicated in a nervous situation, I say, “that’s all you have to say? No name or anything?”

So he says “Keira, will you marry me?”

Charming. It’s a good thing he’s so cute when he’s nervous…

I asked him later. He was so nervous and he couldn’t remember my maiden name, (and I bet he didn’t know if he should use it or not, anyway) so he just said “Keira.”

Well OBVIOUSLY I said yes.

Obviously.

And then Ranger’s brother says “Dad sent me a text as you were leaving, he said you were so nervous!” Like we couldn’t tell. And I loved every minute of it.

All that, and we didn’t even get a free dessert!
A Day in the Life

The Oak Tree by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr

Keira
A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree’s leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark
 
But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?
 
The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway
 
But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You’ll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me
 
Until today, I wasn’t sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I’ve found, with thanks to you
I’m stronger than I ever knew

This poem was shared at the CES Fireside yesterday. I absolutely LOVE it. I can relate with the tree in that I’m grateful to realize how strong I am now. And I feel like I’ve been in that wind storm before. And I hope that I can have the same attitude all the time. It reminded me of one of my favorite songs, Roots before Branches.

I’ve always felt that it is smart to know what you stand for. I feel like if I lose sight of who I am and what I stand for and who I want to be then I lose myself, so it’s always been something I cherish “down deep.” Throughout the years, I have learned and re-learned that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me, and I love him. I am bold and sometimes I’m too pushy. I am a truth giver and truth seeker. I am a marriage advocate, and a divorcee. I am eclectic and a contradiction. And most of all, I am okay with who I am, even though I will still try to be better, and even though I’m far from perfect.

A Day in the Life

Mom Logic

Keira

Today I was watching one of my friends’ kids. The boy told me I was mean and that he’d have the cops put me in jail. I asked him what he’d tell tell the cops to convince them I needed to go.  He couldn’t think of anything. So he said he’d hit me. I told him that then I’d have something to tell the cops when he called, then. He’d say that he’d kill me (he’s only 4, so I doubt he really thought that one through). Said then neither one of us would have to tell the cops. They’d know.

Then he said he tells his mom that all the time. And his dad. I said if you killed them, who’d feed you?
“I would.”
“You can use the stove?”
“Yeah.”
“How would you get groceries? can you drive?”
“I’d walk”
“But what if it got cold? Do you have that many coats to stay warm?”
“I wont get cold.”
“Ok, but what about your sister? Who’d change her diaper?”

And that was it. He couldn’t stop laughing. So there you go. Never try to win an argument with a mom. 

A Day in the Life

Vacation

Keira

Yay for trips that involve weddings!

the getaway vehicle.

 

The GORGEOUS cake… lol

 Then, as I promised B we’d go to the temple (by far her favorite place) and we didn’t get around to it, we decided to go the day after the wedding.

We were here over a year ago, and B tripped and TOTALLY biffed it. Bit into her lips, scraped her cheeks, got her eye, and bloodied up her nose. Bad enough that when the temple staff found out about it, they had to call the paramedics for legal reasons. B STILL remembers that experience. That is why this is HER temple. And we came back to this temple a few months after that to find them smoothing down the sidewalk. we just laughed ’cause we knew why.  And now… the sidewalks are all new in that side of the temple.

A Day in the Life

I’m dreaming of a white… OCTOBER?

Keira
Wait, it’s not supposed to snow the first week of October. Doesnt it know it’s supposed to be beautiful until October 30th, so we’re all excited thinking this year we wont have to freeze going trick-or-treating, just to be disapointed the night before? It’s tradition!
I started watching conference at my house, on my computer. But my computer’s old. And it didnt like the streaming video. And although I have a tv, it’s downstairs, and it doesnt get any reception down there. (I REALLY HATE that there’s no spell check on the new layout. I’m really tempted to go back to the old post-thing just for that. I could type my posts in Microsoft Word, but that’s so much work. So y’all are just going to have to deal with the fact that my spelling’s getting worse and worse.) Anyway, no conference downstairs. And a pain to watch on my outdated computer. So, Saturday night, I went to my grandma & grandpa’s house. And stayed there ’til monday morning. And lo an behold, monday morning, I wake up and look out her window. And HOLY COW! For those of you who don’t know my where my grandparents live, they have the PERFECT view of the Tetons outside their kitchen window. Artists have set up shop in their yard, just to capture the perfect view. But … well look for yourself…

What happened to the Tetons? They’ve vanished! And although the Tetons have disapeared, this pic doesnt do the snow justice. Check out my car!
 
 About 6 inches. And this was 8 in the morning! And it was still snowing. By the time we left at 11, it was completely covered again.  That’s my dear ol’ Grandpa. I think he’s having fun. We got B all bundled up to go out to “help” and he just laughed.
It’s kind of an irony having Grandma’s cacti in the foreground…
And of course, with this much snow (and it being fairly wet), you just have to make a snowman! So, we’d like to introduce B’s first ever snowman. ‘cept she’s a woman. see the long hair? (it’s a small garbage bag)

She’s got little marmalade sample bottle lids for eyes, and the marmalade bottle for a nose (afterwards, Grandpa pulled out carrots we could have used. oh well) And what else would you use as suprize snow snowman arms? Corn stalks left in the garden, of course!

B wanted to make more (of course! there’s a whole yard full of snow. What else would you do?) but I had to get home so I could get back to work.

The snow didnt want to roll into balls. It was a little too powdery for that. So we had to use the piling method. WE made a mound and then just kept building it up. we tried to make a ball for the head, and man, it took work! But for a first snowman, er, woman, it’s not bad!
I was smart enough to make B bring a coat, but I didnt think she’d need gloves! It wasnt supposed to snow. And of course, when it snows you have to play in it! So these are some of “Great Grandma’s” gloves. They didnt want to stay on. But with the excitement of the first snow, B didn’t care!
A Day in the Life

my poor, poor garden

Keira

So, remember this post? (about my garden). Ever wonder how it went? Well… let’s just say I’m not really that good at growing things. Well, I take that back. I grow things, but it’s usually on accident. Somehow things grow, even with my negligence. For instance, I have a plant in my kitchen that probably only gets watered once a month… but it’s still alive. perhaps not thriving (because I don’t think it’s really growing) but it’s green. And it looks healthy. And it’s not just plants. When I was 14, we had this fish. There wasn’t anywhere to put it in our house, so I got to keep it in my room. And I was in charge of feeding it. Poor thing. I meant to, I swear. I wasn’t negligent on purpose! But that fish only got fed about once a week. And the thing lived! for a whole year. And then we moved and it (“mysteriously”) didn’t follow us. I did feed the cats, though. Didn’t neglect them. … and they died. hm…. I’m starting to worry about my sweet child…

Anyway, better get back to my garden… like I say, I didn’t do to well with it. But I knew I’d be busy this summer, and I didn’t have any high hopes for it, because, lets face it, I was proud of myself just for PLANTING it! I didn’t think anything would actually GROW!

But it did, and I showed off my pics. And then the peas were ripe for picking right as I headed up home for Jake and Sarah’s (My bro and now-sis) wedding. So they didn’t get picked. And same with the Green beans. I picked ’em when we got back, but they were all over-ripe, hard, and wrinkly. Mom calls ’em grandpas, but they were more like great-grandpas. So, no peas, and about a serving of green beans were salvageable. We had TONS of lettuce. TONS. Problem was, we also had TONS of nasty disgusting earwigs IN the lettuce (the lettuce was fine, just washed REALLY well. And the earwigs met their demise. As for beets and carrots?

This is it. The biggest carrot’s about 3 1/2 inches. (there are more carrots than what shows up, they’re just on the bottom.) And the biggest beet’s about 2″ in diameter. Maybe 3. And this is our ONE squash. It’s supposed to be a summer squash, I think, but I just barely picked it. It’s tiny. OK, not bad. Normal, even. But Compared to the HONKIN’ zucchini and squash I’ve been given, it looks kinda pitiful.

The cucumbers never grew. The bugs ate the starts, and they never grew after that. And the peppers never even sprouted. Neither did the onions. Probably too cold. Or not enough sunshine. And the radishes grew… they just went to seed before they ever got bulbs.

Here are our pumpkins. They’re still green. But It’s freezing now, so we’ve decided to let them ripen in our house. The one didn’t like it’s stem… oops.

as for our tomatoes? well, they’re still on the vine. I’ve been covering them every night. I should probably just pick them and let them ripen in the house, too. but they’re all still green. Mom says pull the whole plant up and bring them in to let them ripen, but I’m leary of that… I’m sure she’s right, I just don’t want to.
so my notes to self: next year, plant sooner. And actually WATER the garden! (I’m a genius. To think, it took a whole summer to come up with that…) And if I have a wedding, either pick the garden BEFOREHAND or have someone else pick it for me. And I’m not starting my tomatoes outside. I’m gonna either start ’em in the house, or buy the starts. And probably the same for the peppers. And I’m not gonna plant so much lettuce. maybe more beats, instead. because I didnt even have enough to bottle. Course, if they GREW, maybe there would have been enough… Also, I liked the Ruby Queen beets over the Detroit Dark Red, because they actually bulbed, instead of staying like straight sticks. I liked the combo of both lettuces together, so I’ll still plant both of them next year.
Oh, and next year, don’t let the Priests mow over my rhubarb. That’s on the list, too. ;c)