Like Grandpa, Like Grandson

  A couple of days after Michael broke his arm, Grandpa broke his leg. Grandpa was ready to trade breaks with Michael, because he's rather have a broken arm than a broken leg. He wants to get back outside to his yard work! It's summer after all! I once broke my toe when I was a teenager. One of my brothers broke his nose, the other had two arm breaks on the same arm in quick succession. Have you ever a broken a bone? Which one? If not, which bone would you choose if you had to have a break? (Inner ear bones, anyone?)

I Saw the Sun!

I remember watching a solar eclipse when my age was in single digits. It was less than satisfying, since it was viewed through a pinhole which let the sun's shadow into a box. The pinhole translated the sun into a tiny crescent slowly shrinking on the far wall of the box as the moon covered its face. It was all I could do not to turn my head to see for myself the celestial event taking place above my head. But I resisted the urge, since I truly value my eyesight. Now I've lived long enough to witness yesterday's solar eclipse through amazing glasses so dark that I couldn't see anything but the small crescent of sun being swallowed up behind the moon. Cool! It was no wonder that ancient people saw this as a doomsday event. Staring at the horrible sight of the sun being eaten up must have struck some of them blind from over exposure to solar radiation, thus rendering the idea of the anger of the Gods. But God and I were sharing a happy moment.
What is one of your memories from childhood?  

Wild Mother's Day Weekend

What is an ideal Mother's Day celebration? Well, since I don't particularly like the idea that children are required to "appreciate" their mothers on a particular day, I say live life as usual! A year's worth of rubbing shoulders with my sons is better than any single day, so go ride some Lagoon rides you've never ridden before, such as the CLIFFHANGER, WICKED, (where my visor blew off and I couldn't retrieve it until after the schedule 3:00 p.m. hat run! How funny that they have a set time to retrieve fallen items... and I found two dimes in my WICKED seat before I even sat down! BONUS!) And I rode an airplane barrel-roll type ride I forgot the name of, and re-rode Rattlesnake Rapids... one of my favorites. After Lagoon, I wen to a CLAY WALKER concert to benefit my dear friend Justin Osmond's OLIVE OSMOND HEARING FUND. Such energy! Such beach balls! Such confetti and streamers! There are more unforgettable concerts and events coming up, with proceeds going toward bringing the GIFT OF HEARING to someone's ears, so check them out in the Upcoming Events box at: justinosmond.com  and treat yourself to some FUN TIMES for a GREAT CAUSE!

Whether you're a child or mother, what does your ideal Mother's Day look like?  

Smile!

The camera man at my sister's house said to smile. But I was eating. That's important, too. But no worries! No stopping necessary! Simply smile and chew!
If you are trying to get something important done, like writing, then you don't have to stop doing everything else. You can just do it faster, or during, or less of something boring. (Yay-uh!) Check out my "Writing Like Lightning" powerpoint for ideas on getting your writing done as fast as lightning! Click here to download it at shirleybahlmann.com!
And we're curious about this, too - what do you like to do while eating?

When Tristi Pinkston put out a call for book reviewers for “Million Dollar Diva,” I loved the title, so I volunteered to review it. Then the book showed up, all pink and pretty with the Eiffel Tower on the cover next to a woman holding shopping bags. Since shopping is not my favorite, I was drawn to the Eiffel Tower. My daydream is to travel anywhere in the world I want to go whenever I want to go, and take along friends on the journey!

Since early in my marriage when we lived in a cinderblock apartment and could only afford either potatoes or milk, not both, I began reading books on how to increase wealth. Many of them said to visualize being wealthy with all the juicy details and the money would come. I got tired of that strategy in a hurry when coming back from my balconied, turreted, ballroom-floored imaginary house to my cinderblock surroundings did not foster feelings of contentment.

During our 34 year marriage, my husband and I have had financial ups and downs which seem to mainly consist of costly emergencies as soon as we got some extra money in the bank. “Oh well,” we’d say. “At least we had the money to cover it.” But that hasn’t always been the case. Sometimes the emergencies put us in the hole, and we’d muddle through the best we knew how.

So I opened Tristi’s new book with mild curiosity, wondering if there would be any interesting information on Paris, but I didn’t hold out much hope for real financial change.

Surprise!

Who would have thought that taking out a loan on a vehicle that was already paid off could be a good financial strategy? And I’d never heard about the nearly free Magicjack phone service listed in between the pink pages. In desperation for our retirement future, I’d opened a Roth IRA savings plan last summer, but lo and behold, there are better options out there! Ones I’ve never heard of before!

Not only does this book hold out help for financial management, but time management as well. Tristi offers her own insights on her job cutbacks as an example of what to keep and what to toss to free up more productive time. Her experience gave me some food for thought, and that’s the best kind - calorie free and full of nutrients that go directly to the brain.

Sometimes I give my review books to the library. This one’s staying with me. They can get their own.

What's just as exciting as the book is that you can follow Tristi’s progress on milliondollardiva.com, where there is also a CRAZY GOOD OFFER for a FREE Million Dollar Diva book for just the cost of shipping and handling… $5.95! I was going to tell you that it’s completely worth it for the $14.95 cover price, but getting started on this financial freedom journey with a $5.95 investment is unbeatable! Go grab it while it’s hot!

See you in Paris.

If you can't find gloves...

 

          I was amazed when I went out to take care of our animals a couple of mornings ago to find the RABBIT'S WATER BOTTLE FROZEN SHUT! The poor bunnies couldn't get a drink, only lick at a bland popsicle of a water spout, so I took pity on their little blue noses and gave them a bowl of water.

          I don't know why this sudden shift in late April temperatures should amaze me, since I live in the unpredictable mountains, and since I actually witnessed snow falling on June 1st, 1990. But that is not a common sight, so I can still act surprised when it freezes this close to May, even though I'm not. Not really.

          The thing is, what are you going to do when you can't find your gloves? Stay inside? How about if you look around for something else to do the job? Like my husband once said, if you need to drive a nail, you don't need a hammer. You just need something to drive the nail. That opens up so many more possibilities that makes you freer than if you insist on a hammer. (You could pick up a rock about anywhere in my yard!)

          So the next time you're faced with a surprise situation, what are you going to do? Insist on the tried and true? Or go out and find something, anything, to get the job done?

          CLICK HERE to check out the SLIPPING LIGHTBULB IDEA PROCESS on SKYLEE FAIR'S blog!

Motherhood Matters

 

Wow, there are a lot of little kids running around here. Hey, look at those big people chairs across the room. Do you think we can make it? Let’s go for it. Be careful where you step, there are some crawlers mixed in with the toddlers.

Ew, what’s that smell? Yeah, I think so, too. Whaddya mean, if we ignore it then it will go away? Believe me, that kind of smell only gets worse with time. There have got to be diapers around here somewhere. What? There aren’t? I don’t believe it. Well, if you seriously can’t find any, then we can always use book pages. How about his one? What’s it called? Motherhood Matters by Connie E. Sokol. That sounds appropriate. Hm. It’s not very big, though. Just 6 by 7 inches and 114 pages, kind of like a special candy box. Let’s open it.

Wait just a minute, I changed my mind. I’m not tearing any pages out of this book. It’s full of delicious tidbits of wisdom and humor, just the right size for a busy mother to pluck out a gem of sanity on the fly. Go ahead and use a dishtowel or something, I’m going to read some more.

Do you hear that? Someone’s coming. It looks like a walking package. Whatever they’ve got is so big, I can’t even see their head. Can you see who it is?

Thump.

Oh, it’s Connie E. Sokol herself, and she brought diapers! A lot of diapers. Way to go Connie, woo-hoo! How did you know we needed those? It seems that you’ll need to be saving some for your new little one. Lucky for you that you have other potential diaper changers at your house.

Connie: There are definite perks to having a caboose, especially at 46! My other children are the hands I didn't have when I had four children six and under. Those were stressful days:)

Shirley: I really like the short chapters in your book. Was that by design or serendipity?

Connie:  Absolutely by design. I wanted something a woman could pick up after a long day of mothering and say, "I need to be rejuvenated." Short, to the point, but uplifting, that's what I need after a tough day, or any day.

Shirley: Look out for the dripping binky flying through the air! Wow, you have quick reflexes! Did you study about loving children when they’re unlovable and lightening up from books, or did you learn your mothering wisdom by field research?

Connie: Both, which I think is how most moms learn. Talking with other women, reading the parenting books (and often rolling your eyes), and learning everyday on-the-job. With every child, I've learned so much not only about being a mother but about myself. I LOVE being at the stage of having older children because you get to see them through all those major stages. Once my son went to college I had a better feel for, oh, those were just stages he was going through. Hello. So I love that after six children, I still feel clueless in a lot of things, but other things I feel like, "Bring it on" because you just get wise to some of the things that will be coming.

Shirley: I think we’d all like to be loved when we’re acting unlovable. Ack. Someone very small is sitting on my foot. Aw, look at that toothless smile. I’d better appreciate this moment with this infant, as it only comes around once. Or, in your case, seven times. How did you learn to appreciate your moments with your children?

Connie: I think it's a daily thing, and a timeline thing. When they were all young, it was really hard to appreciate moments with my children because so many of them were in a sleep-deprived state (that would be me) or hormone haze. Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley wisely said, "There are some years we won't want to remember." Amen! But as I've gotten older--another plus for aging--I've learned better to sort what matters most and drop what doesn't. And without guilt. I've learned to have more fun and to let things go (i.e. another broken wii controller, the boys' bathroom that NEVER seems to stay clean, etc.) And to make a more conscious effort to be in the present and make a simple memory. The other night it was surprisingly nice weather so I said let's pack a quick picnic basket, just what we had in the house, and go to the park. So all eight of us, 18 down to six, ate and played and hung out together, laughing and having fun. Notwithstanding the usual fusses, it was just such a beautiful connecting night. That's the moments I've really learned to appreciate. You don't have to schedule a week-long trip to Disneyland to make a memory.   

Shirley: Although Disneyland might work, too! I absolutely loved your reminder that “…daily we’re not just doing tasks…We are showing love to those who matter most.” It really put housework and mundane chores in perspective. Of course, I’ll probably have to refer to your inspiring book at least once a week to keep all these cheerful gems of wisdom in the forefront of my thoughts. Are you planning on writing other books?

Connie: Yes, I have another one in the works (besides a romance novel available in at the end of May). This one will draw more from many women's experiences so it's not just me blah-blahing.

Shirley: I happen to like your blah-blah’s. It’s been so nice talking to you. Wow, look at the time! No wonder I’m hungry. Do you want the soggy graham crackers or the half-eaten strained peas?

Connie: How about we focus on "Joy in Motherhood" this week and I take us all to lunch. All for the cause, of course.

Shirley: That sounds better than spreading peas on graham crackers and calling it a “mother moment.”

Connie: That could work, too. Don't forget the peanut butter, it covers a multitude of cooking sins…

Shirley: Ooo, and peanut butter and chocolate are SO GOOD together! Thanks for joining us, Connie. Wow, you changed that diaper so fast I didn’t even notice except that the air suddenly smells fresher! Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Please order Connie’s book at: Order Motherhood Matters!

You can visit her website for media, video, podcasts, reviews, and more fun at: www.conniesokol.com

Find the joy!