Still January

James and I went to the temple last Thursday for our date. I was nervous at first, but I had a really good experience. It was a good reminder of why I do what I do.

The year started off so nicely, but I'm tired of it already. James and I played DnD twice last weekend, just for the heck of it. It was pretty fun, and I even managed to stay awake for it.

A couple of kids were complaining about stomachaches on Sunday, so we did church from home. (I'll be really sad if they ever get rid of that option.) I'm not sure, but maybe we had a mild stomach bug? Whatever it was, it was gone by Monday, so everyone went to school like normal.

I felt that I shouldn't go to yoga this week, and I'm not sure why. I had parent-teacher conferences that day, but I only visited 2 of Joseph's teachers and had plenty of time. I ended up feeling pretty anxious, so I baked some double chocolate chip cookies. That crummy feeling lasted through Wednesday, but I spent some time writing in my paper journal, watching Good Eats, and snuggling with the little kids. We didn't go to the library, but we didn't really need to. (Also, story time is okay, but I don't feel like I NEED to be there every week.)

I finished a big project this week: scanning, organizing, and uploading all of James's mission pics. He lost an SD card or 2, so there were no digital copies of many of the photos. I made a folder for each transfer and even tagged the faces on Google Photos. It was really fun to look back and see how he spent that 2 years of his life. Yes, I was a part of it, but I wasn't there with him. I'm so glad that waiting part is over. It was really hard to live without him.

Long Weekend, Omicron

The long weekend wasn't too bad. I especially appreciated being able to sleep in an extra day. On Saturday and Monday, James went "into the wild" to take some pictures. After he got back on Monday, we went out to lunch. The older kids and I went shopping for various things like Valentines, junk food (from their own money they've earned), birthdays presents for some friends, and ice cream to eat with the leftover fudge sauce for FHE. It ended up being a nice, relaxing day.

I'm mostly finished with the denim quilt. I just need grosgrain ribbon to do the ties, so I have maybe another hour of work on it. I also finished Lewis's Avengers shorts for his birthday.

My Google Photos was a mess, so I cleaned that up and saved a ton of storage space. Our computer's lock screen does a screensaver with all the pictures on it, and it's fun to see stuff from many years ago.

Despite doing some good projects, I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut. I'm not really sure what I need right now. I just found out today that James's grandpa has some kind of cancer (they need more info about what kind). His grandma already has pretty severe dementia, so this news makes my heart hurt even more. I think I'm starting to realize why Grandma Phenix worked on family history so much. She lost both of her parents within 16 days of each other, and my dad says she never got over that. It's true, though. You never really "get over" losing a loved one. Doing family history helps me feel connected to those I've lost.

I'm definitely worried about Omicron. Supposedly it feels like a cold, but I don't know how it would affect the grandparents if they get it. Our school district here has decided to do absolutely nothing about it. It's not that I loved doing school at home, but they've said they will "reconsider their plan" if too many teachers end up getting sick and there aren't enough subs to fill in. All they took away was Friday in-person school, and my elementary kids loved going to that. The whole thing is stupid. I hate this pandemic.

Projects, James's Birthday

I finished a rag T-shirt quilt for Joseph for the summer. I think it turned out pretty cute, and it's thin enough to be comfortable. Many of the shirts used to be his. I think it will be perfect to give him for his birthday.

When we got back from Christmas break, half of our vents weren't working well. James went down in the crawlspace and found a hole that a cat had torn in the ductwork, so he repaired it. It turns out that it's a lot easier to get up in the morning when it's not 57 degrees in my room.

I stressed a lot about James's birthday yesterday. It started when the ice cream roll cake failed because I wasn't liberal enough with the powdered sugar. I had to scrape it off the dish towel and broke it into pieces to mix with the ice cream. It tastes fine but it one of the ugliest cakes I've ever made. I got James a picture organizer, which was a pain to install, and I was worried that the pictures wouldn't show up to Walmart in time. Thankfully, they did, so I had it ready when he got home from school. I made him an omelet for breakfast and a sous vide London broil (plus sides) for dinner. Everything was delicious. It's weird that he's 34.

We took the G6 to the shop to fix the problem of it pulling to one side while braking. It's not the alignment, but I can't remember the name of the part. Naturally, I started imagining that the other car was making weird noises. It's not. I'm a lot less stressed today, thankfully. My mom is going home tonight from the hospital. She had surgery back on Dec. 21st and has been in the hospital for the last week for an infection.

Overall, I think this has been one of my best Januarys. I have a denim quilt to make, then a little Avengers fabric that I'll use to make shorts for Lewis's birthday. I just finished reading the books I got for Christmas, and I really enjoyed them. Despite my stress about broken stuff, I've found the month to be pretty relaxing so far, and I'm grateful for that.

New Year's, Konmari, Priesthood

It's amazing the difference my own bed can make. All during Christmas break in Rexburg, I slept poorly and had a stiff back (or lots of tailbone pain). After 2 nights in my own bed, I felt completely normal again and even woke up happy because of the sunshine! The weather in Rexburg was pretty horrible the whole time: windy, snowy, and cloudy. Since being back in Vernal, we've had more snow, but lots of sunshine as well. It really makes a difference in how I feel. I need that sunshine since it's only there for a few hours a day.

Though Friday wasn't the most fun day (catch up, chores, etc.), we had a really fun New Year's Eve. We had sub sandwiches, Chex mix, and homemade eggnog. We finished off our Harry Potter marathon with the last movie, then played some board games until midnight. I actually made it to midnight this time since I'd taken medication for a headache that has caffeine in it. We enjoyed a little sparkling cider and then went to bed.

Saturday was a great day. Not only did I manage to wake up happy, our chores took less time than expected. James went off to play a really long board game with a friend, so the kids and I took down Christmas and deep cleaned the living room. (Does it look like it now? Not really. Ugh.) I watched the Harry Potter special, they played video games, and then we enjoyed our traditional New Year's meal of black-eyed peas, ham, rice, and corn muffins. James even got home in time to join us.

It was really hard to get up early this week, but we're adjusting. I've cleaned out my house again, thanks to the Konmari method. In the process, I've gathered enough fabric from old clothes to make Joseph a T-shirt rag quilt and another guest denim quilt. I've also made a list of a few things that need repairing. Though I don't get rid of a huge volume of stuff, it makes a difference in how I feel. During the process, I always find a few areas that need reorganizing.

Joseph received the Priesthood on Sunday. I can't believe he's that old. He went to his first Young Men activity last night and got a temple recommend. I hope we can go do baptisms really soon.

I haven't come up with all my goals for the new year. I only have 2 so far: to floss every day and to read the entire Come Follow Me manual along with reading the scriptures, even on the weeks I'm teaching Relief Society. I'm sure I'll be able to think of a few more.