Journal entry 253--Travel

What do you think is the best part of traveling? Seeing new things or coming home?

I love to travel and see new things and meet new people. I love to see how other people and cultures live and act. However, if I'm with my family, I'm okay to stay a long time. I don't miss the busy life and deadlines and homework, etc. If I'm away from my children, I start missing them too much and can't really enjoy myself. The best trip we took as a family was a cruise. I didn't want to leave the boat!

Journal entry 200--Grandmother

Describe one of your grandmothers. Do you have a special memory of her?

My grandmother on my mom's side was hilarious. She let us call her "granny good witch!" Every Saturday, she had her hair and nails colored red and had a back so straight that when my husband first met her, he thought she had a rod implanted into her back. She played the organ her entire life, (that's why her back was so straight) and I can still hear her nails clicking across the keyboard as she played. My grandmother and I shared a musical bond; we both played the piano. Although, she mainly concentrated on the organ. After grandma died I couldn't touch the piano for 6 months. Everytime I tried to play a song, I'd start bawling. My granny good witch was a talented, classy woman whom I admire still.

Journal entry 169--Passionate 6

Write about something you are passionate about.

I love to travel with my family. My kids are older now so it makes traveling a lot easier and they can do more things with us. For instance last year we went on a cruise with my brother-in-law's family. It was the best vacation I've ever had! We had a great time with the kids--snorkeling, seeing Mayan ruins and going down river in the Belize jungle. Traveling always brings our family closer. My kids get along with each other better, they enjoy being around us and everyone is a little more relaxed. Hmmm...maybe I'd better start planning our next vacation!

Journal entry 168--Passionate 5

Write about something you are passionate about.

I am passionate about my Sundays. Sundays are my day of rest. The day of the week where I do nothing but go to church, take a nap and spend time with my family. It is the most relaxing day of the week for obvious reasons, and my kids have learned to enjoy Sundays as well. By morning my boys are planning out the day which usually involves snuggling by the fireplace and playing a board game or cards. We spend the day reading and resting, which gets us all ready for the week.

Journal entry 167--Passionate 4

Write about something you are passionate about.


I am passionate about my husband! He's my best friend and makes me laugh constantly. I think that I'm a little bit of a strange person and he puts up with all my quirkiness. We've been married for 17 years and still make it a point to go out on a date once a week. He's a great father and I know and the kids know how much he loves them. I grew up without a father around and also with the thought that he didn't love me. That was extremely difficult. I love seeing my husband's relationship with his children. It's helped me see how father's should treat their children.

Journal entry 166--Passionate 3

Write about something you are passionate about.


I am passionate about my children. I want them to grow up in a healthy environment and become successful loving parents to their children. Isn't that what everyone with children wants for them? I want to help them avoid making the same mistakes I did as a child but I know they need to learn from their own mistakes. It's hard sometimes to watch them fail but I know in the long run they will learn. I'm passionate about their health. I don't know what I would do if I lost any of them. They as well as my husband of course are my life and I can't imagine life without them. My kids can drive me crazy but it's usually when I feel out of control. Just breathe...in and out.

Journal entry 144--Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my readers! Thank you for supporting me! I appreciate you all! Have a great holiday and eat a lot of junk, candy and food. Do absolutely no work today and enjoy your family and friends!

Journal entry 142--Tonight

What are you doing tonight? Write about your plans for this evening.


Tonight my family and I are going ice skating at the local rink with some other families. I can't wait! I love ice skating and roller skating, but my kids are not too sure. They've never really ice skated before and know they will fall the entire time. One of my children hates to fail at sports so I think he's the most worried. I keep telling them that they have to fall in order to learn. I know I'll fall a bit tonight but that's okay. I'm better at roller skating than ice skating but it will be fun just to be with my family and friends.

Journal entry 141--Movies

List your top 5 Christmas movies of all time. They don't necessarily have to be about Christmas.

1. Elf
2. A Christmas Story
3. A Christmas Carol
4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
5. A Charlie Brown Christmas

These movies are fun to watch and of course give a wonderful message of family and togetherness during Christmas. Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope it's a happy one!

Journal entry 139--Envy

What makes you envious?


I could spend quite a while writing about what makes me envious! I envy people who can dance so effortlessly and people who do whatever they think they can. I envy my children's carefree attitude in life and that they don't really have to worry about most of the craziness of the world. Other than that, I'm okay with my life. I have a great life and a great family and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Journal entry 138--Child

Describe one of your children. If you do not have any children, describe a close friend.


My youngest child is Olivia. She is spunky, precocious, logical and sensitive. At times, I feel like I'm talking to an adult who challenges anything I say with a logical retort. Olivia is a girly girl who loves makeup, nail polish and glitter. She loves to play soccer and the piano, but hates to make mistakes. She's a perfectionist, which can be very annoying when I'm trying to teach her something. Livie (her nickname) also loves to talk and can give a lengthy answer to the simple question: "how are you doing?" I love my little girl. She balances out our male dominated household and brings us all joy. Livie has so much faith in God that I'm constantly impressed by her. She's thoughtful and kind to others, smart and challenging and I can't imagine life without her.

Journal entry 122--Memorable

Describe an event in your life that was memorable.


One of the most memorable event in my life was when my daughter was born. Aside from the fact that you have a child coming into the world, this event was memorable because of the way she started coming. I was already four days over due and woke up with contractions 10 minutes apart. I took it easy that morning, as easy as any mother of twin 4 year old boys can. That day was also the day the electric company was installing a new electrical pole in our back yard. The front of our house was filled with trucks and huge cranes. My boys loved it! Our entire neighborhood was out of power as well as my cell phone so I had no way to contact my husband to tell him I needed to go to the doctor. I packed up my boys and waited until a contraction stopped, then headed over to my husband's work. I timed it perfectly because as soon as I parked, I had another contraction. We dropped the kids off at a friend's house and headed over to the doctor, who after checking me told me to go home, drink water and rest to make sure it wasn't false labor. I was already 4 days overdue!! My doctor, I found out later, had tickets to a Laker's game and didn't want to miss it. We picked up the kids and my husband had a brilliant idea to get some ice cream, only he ordered a handmade smoothie that took the worker 20 minutes to make. By this time, my contractions are 5 minutes apart. I honestly thought I would give birth on the floor of Cold Stone Creamery. Finally we went home and I waited until 5:00 to call the on call doctor, who thankfully told me to go to the hospital. After dropping the kids off again at a friend's house and listening to my hubby chat with that friend, I got to head over to the hospital where I gave birth 6 hours later to my daughter.

Journal entry 119--Blessings

With the Thanksgiving holiday here, take a moment to write down all your blessings in life.


My biggest blessing in life is my family--my husband and three children. They bring such joy and excitement to my humdrum life. I know I'll miss the noise and running around when the kids leave for college one day. I can see why people look forward to grandchildren. I have an amazing husband who supports and encourages me in all I do. He is and always will be my blessing. I also have a great extended family. My husband's family treats me like a blood relative and I love the fact that I grew up close to my aunts, uncles and cousins. I know how blessed I am for my family and am thankful for them everyday.

Journal entry 118--Thanksgiving

Describe a memory you have from Thanksgiving past.


Every year for Thanksgiving, my family would go to my grandparent's house for dinner. All my cousins were there and aunts and uncles. The house was filled with children running around in and out of the adult's legs. I loved going to my grandparent's house each year. My grandma was a wonderful cook and made the best lemon meringue pie using her fresh lemons off the tree. Each year, (before there was cable TV) a Christmas movie called, "Santa and the three bears" was shown. To me, it signified the start of the Christmas season. I remember looking forward to that movie each year. Now you can watch it in July!

Journal entry 116--Autumn

Describe what is it you like or dislike about the season, Autumn.


I love the fall! We use to live back East and Autumn was my favorite season. It was a time of crisp, cool air and colorful falling leaves. Everything about it was and still is--cozy weather. The kind that wraps you up in a blanket in front of the fire with a warm mug of cocoa. Fall signifies the coming of the holidays, whichever you celebrate. I especially like it when it rains and you can stay inside and watch the drops splash as they hit the ground. Each fall, back East was a time for fresh pressed apple cider and homemade doughnuts. Delicious! Now I live in an area that is sunny all year long. For that I can't complain, but I do at times miss the colors and crisp air of Eastern Autumns.

Journal entry 112--World

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?


I would love to go to a mountain cabin with my family and just relax, play games together and watch movies. The thought of this is so cozy and warm, thinking of a roaring fire in the fireplace and hot cocoa. Another place I would love to be is on a cruise boat. We recently went on a cruise and loved it! I didn't have to lift a finger! My kids loved the all you can eat buffets and we all enjoyed the shows. It was a great experience for our family and we had fun on the excursions together.

Journal entry 108--Thankfulness

List 10 things for which you are thankful.


1. Indoor plumbing. I can't even handle the bathrooms at campsites.
2. Ice. I love cold, icy water to drink.
3. Freedom to worship as I please.
4. Fresh fruits and vegetables. I don't like canned fruits and veggies much.
5. The ability to read and learn.
6. My bed. I'm glad I don't sleep on the floor.
7. Past teachers who have inspired me to live my full potential.
8. My life.
9. Ruthie, my silly puppy and the challenges she brings me.
10. Lastly, my family, of course and all their love and encouragement.

Journal entry 107--Grandparent's house

What are reminded of when you think of your grandparent's house.


I think the color blue because they had light blue carpet everywhere. Even the kitchen had carpet only it was the kind especially made for kitchens. I wanted carpet in my kitchen when I grew up because of grandma's house. Their bathroom had a sunken shower. You had to walk down 3 steps to get to the shower. One of my childhood wishes was to fill it up with water and swim in it. My grandmother also had an oil lamp in her bathroom. The kind of lamp that looks like it's raining but it's oil drops sliding down wires. My grandparent's house was such a fun place to play as a child. She had a rose garden with probably 50 bushes that smelled like heaven along with two lemon trees. Those lemons were in her wonderful lemon meringue pie, which we ate at every family get together. My grandma was an organists so she had two beautiful organs and a baby grand piano. She would teach me some organ techniques and I loved to play on the organs. When I think of my grandparent's house, I think of togetherness, love and security.

Journal entry 103--Unique

Write about someone you know who is unique. What makes this person so unique?

When my husband and I lived in Utah, there was a woman named Talitha who was probably the most unique, eccentric person I have ever known. Her house decor was eclectic as well as her taste. She wore beautiful, vintage clothing and costume jewelry and her television was always turned to QVC to order any trinkets she might be missing. Talitha drove an old, orange Mercedes with matching, furry seat covers. Inside and out the car was orange. On one occasion I went with her to a pawn shop to look for old jewelry. She decided to bring her pet ferret with us into the store. Of course, the ferret escaped and we chased it all over the shop until someone grabbed it. All the while, Talitha was unfazed and laughing about the situation. We got back into her orange Mercedes with the ferret and her Cocker Spaniel which was waiting patiently in the car and drove home. Talitha brought some fun and uniqueness to my life.

Journal entry 102--Death list

What are some things you would like to do after you die? This may sound like a strange topic to write about but I believe in life after death and there are things I want to do that I can't do in this life. If you don't believe in life after death, write about things you would like to do if you had magical powers.


Some of the things I would like to do are to explore the bottom of the ocean floor. It boggles my mind to think that the ocean is miles deep and there are so many unexplored areas to find. I want to be able to see every inch of the ocean. I also want to relive my children's childhoods. To hold them as babies again is something that matters tremendously to me. I'd like to see what my husband was like as a child and to explore the many universes out there. Flying like a bird is another priority on my death list and finding out any of the unsolved mysteries of the past. Finally, like in my previous post, I want to dance and be taught by one of the best dancers ever, Gene Kelly.