Mitchell Family

Monday, October 18, 2010

Make Me Better Monday-A Pledge

I really enjoy making these pledges to myself every week. Like I've said before, it almost feels like I'm giving myself some serious accountability. And believe it or not, my weeks have gone slightly better. Last week, I made it to Thursday before I felt crummy about myself, my mothering and my wife-ing. That's gotta be a record! So I want to keep up momentum, thus another pledge! I also changed the title of these posts....what can I say, I'm a sucker for alliteration.

*I pledge to accept things that I cannot change.

*But I also pledge to stand up for how I''m feeling and voice what I truly believe when it really matters.

*Just like last week, I pledge to drink more water, but I also pledge to eat more fruits and veggies.

*I pledge to finish my book 'The Help' and move onto another 'Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet'. I love reading now and I feel like I'm really broadening my mind and building my intellect a little bit.

*I pledge to 'unplug on Thursday. No TV, no computer, not texting and being very selective of phone calls that I answer.

*I pledge to keep up the cleaning regimen that I started a few weeks ago. It seems to be working!

*I pledge more compassion to everyone!

*I pledge to call my family this week.

I'm well on my way to becoming a better, more compassionate, more thoughtful me!

*All photo editing done over at picnik.com

Monday, October 11, 2010

Sometimes.....

Sometimes....

*Sometimes Mommy gets carried away editing pictures!

Becoming a Better Me...A Pledge

I wasn't planning on posting a pledge to myself every week, but I found that after I did last week, I did a little better through the week. No, it wasn't a magic pill to make things better. It simply helped me have a little bit of accountability when it came to keeping things in check. By putting my pledge out into the world, I acknowledged the fact that there are things in my life that I'm trying to work on. Rather than obscure thoughts, there were actual tangible thoughts written down for the world to see. So, I'm still on the fence of whether or not I'm going to make this a weekly tradition, but if you choose to join me, I find that it's a great way to start my week. So I pledge to

*Listen to my children and their thoughts and not make assumption for their behavior.

* I pledge to give my children, especially my oldest, more responsibility. She's very capable and I have been too slow to notice that. Maybe by giving her more responsibility, it will help wrangle in the mischief a little bit.

*I pledge to spend time in the scriptures studying so that I can find answers to my questions that come from the Lord.

*I pledge to drink more water.

*I pledge to remember the following: '...The tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hast chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.' 1 Nephi 1:20 To learn more about 'Tender Mercies' take a look at this. It might just change your life.

*I pledge to count my blessing everyday. There are so many people who have so little, therefore, I need to cultivate a greater 'attitude of gratitude'.

*I pledge to spend less time on the internet and more time being creative with my time. However, I want to post something on one of my blogs everyday. I need to find the balance.

*I pledge to take my kids to library tomorrow and then read more with them throughout the week.

I feel that these things will all help me come closer to who/what I want to be.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

A Reading Tour

*First thing...I got a little carried away on picnik with vampire tools. So we now have a whole family of vampires until Oct 31st. Couldn't help it...Twilight takes over sometimes!*

When I started my personal journey into becoming a reader earlier in the summer, I had grandiose plans for documenting all the different places that I would 'visit' on my book tour. I even did a post about it, remember this one? Well, I've read a lot in the last few months, and as you can see, those posts never came to fruition. Well, I'm starting yet another book, so I thought I'd do a quick recap of where I've been in my imagination (I know...cheesy).

*These Is My Words One word, AMAZING! I want to be just like the main character Sarah when I grow up. It took me about 100 pages to get into it, but it was so worth it! I could not put it down! Sarah is such a great example of what a strong, independent woman is. She's independent out of necessity and I like that.

*The Kite Runner I was warned that this book was going to contain some very shocking scenes. I figured that since it takes place in Afghanistan, during war, that was inevitable so I went into prepared. But I did not get the shock I expected. I really enjoyed the book, however, I felt the ending left a little to be desired.

*The Overton Window Say what you want about Glenn Beck, I thought he wrote a very compelling work of fiction which was a little frightening in that if you look around, a lot of what he described you can see happening. Again, I thought the ending was a little abrupt but I'm wondering if there could be a sequel. There are times when the writing is slightly amateurish. But they say that about Stephenie Meyer, so it obviously doesn't really matter when it comes to making millions.

*The Secret Life of Bees This one took me a while to get through. I actually started it before The Overton Window and got a little bored which is why I moved on. It's a very good book though. I felt that it contained a great deal of wisdom and every character was compassionate in their own way. Great lessons learned from each of them. Although, the movie made me cry where the book didn't. I also thought there was too much narrative which is fine, but it felt like reading more of a journal rather than a novel.

*The Glass Castle First of all, what is the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? (Can you help me out Alison?) Anyway, it was very interesting to be a fly on the wall of a very dysfunctional family that has no idea it is so dysfunctional. There were actually parts that I found more shocking than The Kite Runner when you look at it from the perspective of a parent. Very good read that makes your skin crawl sometimes.

*The Amber Room This is more along the lines of a Dan Brown mystery. Carson wanted me to read something a little less sad and emotional. So he turned me onto Steve Berry. I enjoyed it although I had a few complaints....there was a great deal of sex which didn't seem to drive the story at all (according to Carson his other books don't have any so he was surprised to hear that). Also, the majority of the story takes place in East Germany and is about art thieves. The issues that I had with that is that I don't read/speak German so it was hard to tell the geography and all the art mentioned is real, but nobody has seen it in years and it's really obscure so you don't know what they are actually stealing. But other than that, very interesting read. But there is a lot of WWII history and I always find that compelling.

So that's where my literary travels have taken me. I just started The Help which I'm loving so far! After that, I'm going to read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and then A River Runs Through It. I love reading!!!!

I'd say that my favorite on the list so far was These Is My Words. Just in case you were wondering.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Thanks Jaime!

My super cute friend Jaime who I danced with, joked with and lived life with for (holy cow) like almost 4 years over in Colorado, chose me for a blog award! I've always wanted to get a blog award so I'm super grateful and very honored. Go visit Jaime at Cubarado and see all the fun inspiring things she has to say.

For this award, I have to share a few things about myself. So here we go....I'm going to try to make them new and interesting to hopefully surprise a few people who think they know me so well :)

1. I desperately want to be famous. I don't really care what for as long as it's something good. I would love for it be for dancing but it can be for something else. Blogging, writing children's books, I don't really care. But I want my name in lights!

2. Whenever I hear the song 'Endless Love' by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, I belt it from the top of my lungs...EVERY TIME! I can't help it!

3. I love mashed potatoes. If they made beauty products out of Mashed Potatoes, I would totally buy them and smear them all over my face. That's how much I love mashed potatoes.

4. I have an addiction to the internet which I'm trying to break.

5. Monolo Blahnik is my fav shoe designer. A close second would be Jimmy Choo. My dream in life to own a pair of Monolos!

6. I love my kids dearly and I so enjoy being a mother. Any issues that I have that would be to the contrary are largely due to my own issues, not issues that the kids have themselves. I really step in my own way when it comes to being the kid of mom I want to be.

7. I don't like the outdoors. Sure a picnic in the park is nice every now and then, but I don't like hiking, camping doing yard work, taking walks. The only outdoors that I could really say I enjoy would have some connection to water (and by some, I mean a lot!). I love the beach but I prefer a cold Pacific NW beach to a warm tropical beach. I also dig white water rafting but it's been years.

8. I may or may not love one of my children more than the others. I'm not going to say who though and I will never tell them. Its something that I struggle with.

9. I never wanted kids or to be a mother until I met Carson.

10. I don't know how to swim, but if i could take a 2 hour long shower, I would.

So there you have it, a few little known facts about me. Thanks again Jaime. Now I get to share the love! So the two friends that I pick for the Versatile Blogger Award are.....drumroll..... Kristin over Meyers Mayhem and Eatables I love that her 'blog' personality and her real life personality are exactly the same. Everything she says on her blog I can totally picture her saying in real life. He cracks me up and her recipes rock....and now that she's been nominated, maybe she'll update Eatables a little more often (hint hint)! My other friend that I want to nominate is Kendra at
My Side of the Room. She is super talented and has a lovely singing voice. She also made me the sweetest hand stamped silver necklace with all the kids initials and birthstones on it. Both of these ladies rock!

Becoming a Better Me...A Pledge

I came away from General Conference with a general feeling that there are improvements to be made. I think most people feel that way after watching Conference whether they would admit it or not. For me, that feeling of inadequacy comes from watching our amazing leaders admit that they have areas in their lives where they need to improve. Wow! If they need to work on things, then I have about a million things/ways that I can improve. I'm not trying to be self depreciating or fishing for compliments. For me, this feeling is a good thing, because it motivates me to actually make those changes, even if they are small ones.

So today, I'm making a pledge to myself for how I'm going to handle my life this week. I would like to make a pledge every week that is tailored to what is going on in life. Whether I post them or not, is another story. But for today....

*I pledge to not go to the grocery store. I've been pretty good about this in the last few months by making a commitment to cooking with what I have around, but I'm not perfect. The point of the pledge, is to work with what I've got and not stress myself out. Really, going to the grocery store with all of the kids is probably the most stressful thing that I do.

*I pledge to have one day where I don't do any housework including cooking, and I will not go anywhere. I'm thinking Thursday. I was reading this post over on the Nie Nie Dialogues about how she handles life when things get overwhelming. It got me to thinking about a lot of things, and sometimes, I just need to let life happen.

*I pledge to do a lot of cleaning tomorrow, Tuesday, so that I can have Thursday free.

*I pledge to take a little bit of time everyday this week for quiet stillness and reflection. I remember choreographing a dance one time and someone told me that while the choreography was great one part had just too much going on. She said, that a moment of stillness in the midst of the chaos, was that much more meaningful and thought provoking. I think that there is something to be said for taking time to reflect. Making sure to remove stimuli and focus on the stillness.

*I pledge to make sure that I'm taking just as much care of myself as I am with the kiddos. Whatever, that means to me, though.

*I pledge to spend more time on my knees, talking with my Father in Heaven and asking for his help.

*I pledge to do at least one act of service for someone outside of my family.

As you can see, this is not a to do list as much as it is a list to help me be a better me. I want to be a better mommy, a better wife, but most of all, a better Meghan. I want to get one step closer to the version that Heavenly Father has in mind.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Katchup

***Disclaimer, I know that it's 7am and most people in this part of the world are already up and going, but I'm exhausted and I really value my sleep...especially now because in a few months when the young man comes along, it will be really hard to come by, so pardon me if I ramble. Siobhan woke up an hour early and I've had a hard time getting to stay in her bed for while longer.

Anyway, I decided that I would do a post catch up on some happenings from this summer. Get it, Katchup? Yeah, it's lame, but oh well. See above. Back in July, Audrey turned the ripe old age of three and we had a Princess but mostly Belle party with some family. Carson moved over for good the night before so we were able to celebrate with everyone! That was Audrey's surprise birthday present!