July 15 "What Are You Most Afraid Of?"

2012  Depending on the moment I will answer this question differently.  If I am in the basement, I am most afraid of going up the stairs and having someone follow me.  If I am in the grocery store, I am most afraid of someone hitting the back of my ankle with their shopping cart.  If I am at home and thinking about my family, I am most afraid of losing them.

July 14 "What Was Your Horoscope Today? Was It Accurate?"

2012  I don't read my horoscope. I did get a fortune cookie at a Chinese Restaurant last week.  I don't remember what it said.  I guess that shows how much I rely on fortunes.

July 13 "How Much Is Gasoline Per Gallon?"

2012  Gasoline is too much per gallon.  It ranges from $3.40 to $3.50 per gallon.  Just to reference, I looked up in Cole's baby book the other day and 16 years ago it was $1.48 per gallon.

July 12 "Who Inspires You?"

2012  I don't have one person that I constantly look to for inspiration.  There are a lot of people who inspire me. The prophet and other leaders of the church are inspiring.  Who ever is speaking in sacrament or teaching the Sunday School or Young Women lesson is inspiring.  I almost always hear what I need to hear to be inspired.  So depending on what I need and where I am will depend on who I am willing to let inspire me when I am willing to listen.

July 11 "Who Did You See The Most of Today?"

2012  Today I saw many people.  There wasn't one person I spent the most time with but it was probably my girls.  Cole left for Trek at 4:30 am, Norm left for work at 6:00 am.  The girls and I left at 9:00 to clean the Nehmers and Lindsay picked them up at 11:00 to go to Day Break Lake.  I had lunch at Michelle's with Angie and several other ward/neighbor people.  I got home about 4:30 and Norm got home about 5:30. Maddy left at 6:00 to go to YW on a hike and Norm, Tenley and I went to the Joy Luck for dinner to celebrate Norm closing a big deal he's been working on since December.  Maddy got home about 8:00 and we all chilled on the couch watching So You Think You Can Dance.

July 10 "What Recently Happaned That Made You Proud Of Yourself?"

2012  Wow, this made me realize I need to push myself more often to feel that sense of accomplishment.  I don't love the word "proud", it makes me think of "pride" and that word often gives me a negative feeling.  But a sense of accomplishment, that makes me feel good.  I would have to say that twice in the past week I have gone walking with a friend, our kids and the dog.  We walked five miles one day and about four the other day.  It was hot, I was dripping sweat and I felt good about myself.  I felt good that I was being an example to my kids.  It made me feel like I wanted to keep doing it and keep pushing myself to go farther and faster.

July 9 Name One Thing You Should Toss Right Now, But Just Can't"

2012   Well,  I just dejunked my hall closet and my craft/office/game room so I am feeling pretty good about my hoarding at the moment.  I have come along ways from saving every single piece of paper from school after moving 20 times over the past 18 years.  I feel pretty decluttered. I can think of one thing that I set aside to see if a neighbor would want... a workbook for 5-8 year olds.  I should have thrown it away but I felt like someone I knew could use it.

July 8 A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To..."

2012  This year, July 8th, falls on a Sunday so the only "way" we went was to and from church.  A funny thing did happen down in the basement, I guess.  I was going to sit down on the couch, got my foot caught in a blanket and needless to say it was not a graceful plop on the couch.  I went down very ungracefully. So, I guess you could say a funny thing happened on the way to have a seat on the couch!

July 7 "Have You Played the Lottery?"

2012  I have not played the lottery this year.  We did buy some tickets for some people at Norm's work on the big Powerball that Idaho had this year.

July 6 "Who Did You Text Today?"

2012  Today I texted Mandy Erickson, Lindsay, Adrienne, Mom, Michelle, Angie, and Norm.

July 5 "I Just Can't..."

2012  I just can't believe today is Thursday and not Monday!  With the Fourth falling on a Wednesday, it felt like Saturday all day on the fourth so today, on the 5th I can't believe it's Thursday... It feels like a Monday!

July 4 "What Movie Are You Looking Forward To?"

2012 The movie I am most looking forward too right now is the new Batman movie that is coming out next week.  I love super hero movies and I have especially loved the Batman movies.  I just saw the new Spiderman and it was ok for me.  Not my favorite... so I am really looking forward to Batman.

July 3 'What Do You Need To Let Go Of?"

2012  What do I need to let go of?  This triggers many things... physically, emotionally, grudges, actual items.  My first thought went to my physical body.  I need to let go of the stress of keeping my house perfect so I can allow myself to exercise and not feel guilty and stressed about keeping up on household chores.  I have to realize that there will always be something that can be done but taking care of me right now is so important.  I have been walking twice with Angie this past week in the morning.  We have taken the kids with us (and the dog), we sat at the park after and chatted while the kids played.  It was very therapeutic in many ways.  So, letting go of the sense of  "I don't have time to exercise" is going out the window.

July 2 "Who Was The Last Person You Saw Today?"

2012 I don't see the answer to this question varying much through the years.  I almost always see Norm at the end of the day as we climb into bed together.  Unless he is out of town for work that could change, but I thoroughly enjoy ending the day next to my sweetie!

July 1 "Were You Alone Today?"

2012  We were in Idaho Falls visiting Norm's parents and Robert and Lovenia.  The only time I was truly alone was when I was in the shower and getting myself ready for church.  I almost always have people around me, especially in the summer when the kids are out of school.  I enjoy a moment alone here and there but mostly I prefer to have people around me.

June 30 "The Last Thing I Bought Myself Was..."

2012  The last thing I bought for myself was shirts.  I am ALWAYS complaining I don't have enough clothes.  I choose to buy things for my kids over myself.  Mostly this stems from a dislike of shopping for myself, I don't love how I look in clothes right now so I don't enjoy it, but picking out cute stuff for my kids (especially a screaming deal) is very enjoyable.  Norm hates seeing me in his old ratty t-shirts or my bleach stained cleaning clothes (I don't really like it either).  He so generously gave me a $100 gift card he had won at work by getting a client to do a video "comment".  I ran in Samsclub to get me a couple of just plain t-shirts to wear around the days I am at home.  They actually had some other cute shirts too.  So, I ended up with about 8 shirts for about $100 bucks!

June 29 Today I Was So.....

2012  Today I was so happy.  I woke up after at my Mom's house with Tenley snuggling next to me.  I woke up without an alarm clock waking me up.  I had a bagel while I read John Grisham's "Timothy Boone Kid Lawyer".  I snuggled with baby Rydge.  Had a hilarious conversation with Ryder and got to see Ruby's cute smile.  I was able to watch both my girls display great mothering/babysitting skills.  They love those little peanuts.  I am happy that my Normie is coming home tonight from a week long work trip to Florida.  I am happy that Cole has taken on some serious responsibility this week.  He made some grown up decisions - like not spending two nights over at Grandma's because he had painting for a neighbor to do, and other jobs at home that he needed to get done before going out of town for the weekend.  I was able to visit and laugh with Adrienne, Lindsay and my Mom.  I also was able to skype with Lauren and Bridget in New York.  Happy Day!

June 28 What Was in Your Mailbox Today?

2012  Nothing exciting was in my mailbox today.  A junk letter from Comcast and an ad from a dentist... Booring!

June 27 What Was the Smartest Thing You Did Today?

2012:  The smartest thing I did today was take care of my back.  I woke up at 4:30 to go to the bathroom and couldn't stand up straight, my right side of my back was in a knot and pulling my right shoulder down towards my hips.  I had planned to get up at six to help my neighbors line the street of our former bishop who won the republican nomination for the State Attorney General, but I decided against bending and hammering in rebar posts... SMART.  I layed in bed for a while with pillows under my knees... SMART.  I divided up my cleaning responsibilities and gave any chore that required bending or lifting to my girlies... SMART.  I waited to clean Jenni's house until Cole could come so he could do the bending and lifting there... SMART.  I feel that all my SMART decisions have paid off, my back feels pretty good and I am not flat on the floor!

June 26 Were you 'good' or 'bad' today?

2012:  I like this question, it sparks all kinds of thoughts.  But my gut reaction was towards my eating and exercising habits.  In that regard I was 'bad'.  I didn't exercise and my eating was mediocre if not terrible for Weight Watchers.  I took my sister's kiddies while she was at the doctor and had a fantastic two hour lunch visiting and chatting with her.  In that regard I was 'good'.  Hopefully we all have good moments, because I know we ALL have bad ones.  Let's just keep the good ones coming more often than those nasty bad ones.

Let me explain... there is always (almost always) a method to my madness

I am not a journal keeper.  I never have been.  I do consider my scrapbooking obsession of the 1990's to count as journaling.  But, after my third baby was born, I just didn't keep up on it like I wanted to, so I pretty much quit.  I have done some digital scrapbooking, but nothing to mention really.  So, the past almost ten years are spottily documented to say the least.  I have a plethora of photos that are organized by dates on my computer, but no memories or notes to go along with them.  The thought of "catching up" is beyond overwhelming.  So.... as I was exploring Pinterest (or maybe I should say wasting time on Pinterest)  I came across this journaling idea... so maybe it wasn't wasted after all!  It was a simple list of about 30 questions that you answered each day.  I thought "I can do that!"  As I clicked and clicked I ended up here:

365 Questions -- a five year journal found here {http://debbiehodge.com/2012/01/5-year-journal-01/}

She suggests answering the same question on the same day for five years.. Interesting thought...  For example, June 26th's question is :  Were you 'good' or 'bad' today?  How will I answer that today and how will I answer it next year and the next and so on.  Interesting concept right?

She has a little box with 3x5 type cards that she decorates all scrapbooky and it is adorable.  But I want to do this project, right?  So, I shun that idea, no offense.  It's just not my thing.  She suggests, for those of us less inclined to do the cutesy thing, to get a notebook.  I like that, but I just might misplace it or forget about it.  After all, I am on the computer EVERY DAY!  So, here is my plunge.. I created a blog just for this.  This is the method to my madness today.