Self Reliance

The Hard Way!

At our Stake Conference a few weeks ago, we were encouraged to become more self-reliant and set a few goals in areas like health, finances, education, food storage, etc.
So I've been trying improve in some of these areas.
After training for the fun run with my kids for the last few weeks, this morning I moved on to the next level of my workout videos. But after 30+ minutes the baby was fussing and I was getting too tired to use her as the replacement for my "walk away the pounds weighted balls" any more... so I fast forwarded to the cool down.
I got a great deal on spinach this week - only $1 for a huge carton full. I actually enjoy it, and was steaming some for my lunch when the phone rang... which prompted me to check my email and get a little sidetracked reading a few piano blogs (that's furthering my education right?) when.... I went to kitchen and discovered some interesting odors emanating from my spinach pot. Let's just say the garden got a little bit of extra "organic material" for lunch and our house got a nice cool airing out.
I thought I'd help my family acclimate to whole wheat, rotate my food storage and save a few pennies by trying out my sister's recipe for homemade hamburger buns. I made up the dough and set them in the slightly warm oven to raise.
Next project... homemade granola. Emily and I had some fun stirring this together. I started preheating the oven.
Oops! I forgot about the raising hamburger buns. I don't think they'll be raising quite like I had hoped.
Back to the granola. I went to put it on the cookie sheets- but unfortunately, one of them was already filled up with hamburger buns!
To top it all off, Rebecca comes in the room and says, "Mom, where did you get those pants? (the ones I could finally bring up from my box in the basement and actually zip up after many months of exercise)- They look like Grandma pants!"

Fatigue, Burnt Spinach, Flat Buns, Not Enough Pans, Bad Pants-
Maybe I'm getting too old to be Self-reliant!

Good Things:
Having Parents Who Taught Me to Enjoy "Self-reliance"
The Smell of Cinnamon and Bread Coming from my kitchen
Pulling Clothes out of Storage
Agreeing with my husband on Most Financial Matters
Conference Talks Online
Seeing Cute Smiles On My Baby's Face as I lift her in the air
Piano Ideas At my Fingertips
Cooking with Kids
I'm not a pioneer cooking over a fire!

All in a Day's Work

The Mind of a Child
Episode 1: Bike Stunts
Yesterday Emily came running in the house with blood streaming down her face after a bike accident. I thought she had knocked out a tooth- but she just had a bloody nose. Initially, one of the kids said she was hit by a car - actually, she hit a parked car. Between the sobs she told me, " I was just trying to ride my bike with my eyes closed." Apparently she thought this was next on the list of bike stunts to try. She's seen her brothers trying to ride with no hands - so she thought she'd take it to the next level - no eyes! After she got cleaned up she was anxious to go outside and check to see if the truck that she ran into was bleeding too!
It's a miracle that with 5 kids we still have never made a trip to the E.R.
Episode 2: A New Use for Ceiling Fans
When I was tucking the boys into bed I adjusted the ceiling fan setting in their room when Daniel asked this question in all seriousness. "Mom, what if I took that thing down (the fan) and strapped it to my back, would I be able to fly?" I think he's watched the library video "There Goes a Helicopter" a few too many times. He wants to be a helicopter pilot someday so I guess he figured that if the propeller lifts the helicopter, couldn't the fan lift a boy?