Meetings

I like to simplify.  I like eliminating the fluff.  I like to focus on what really matters.  But sometimes I don't like to choose.  

I attended a fun social last night that was simply called a "Relief Society meeting." The sisters gathered in our Church building to meet and get to know each other a little better.  We were asked to put three things that we liked into a paper bag and share our things with the group.  I brought three things, but I wanted to bring a bazillion.  I jotted down a few things I wanted to bring and narrowed it down.  My original list looked something like this:

primary chorister stuff (I love digging through magazines and blogs to find new, creative ways to teach songs to the kids in primary and although I lack an effective way to organize it all, I have a lot of fun stuff from tambourines and stars to stickers and PowerPoint prints in sheet protectors)

thrift store treasures (Ditto what I said about digging around for great primary chorister stuff.  My mom taught me to never pay retail, tee hee!)

chocolate (Does this even need an explanation?  My favorite is dark chocolate, but milk chocolate works  too!)

books (I inhale them like. . . chocolate.)

my kitchen plans (a dear friend who is now retired from the cabinetry business came over a few years ago to measure and sketch up what we need.  I cannot wait to renovate our pathetic kitchen, but I don't look forward to not having a kitchen to cook in while we get it done.  I'm hoping to get started this summer.)

Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen cook book (I found this a few months ago and have been enjoying some great recipes from back in the day.)

mini drill (I have two of these.  And maybe it's the lack of upper body strength talking, but it's just so handy to be able to have a palm-sized power tool, especially when I'm doing electrical wiring.)

pottery from Steve and Jamie (Oh how I love pottery!  in my dream kitchen there is a corner shelf unit just for displaying pottery.  I love the smooth pieces and the blackened raku pieces equally.)

piano (its so relaxing to sit and play.  I'm teaching the three oldest kids to play, even though they don't want me to.  I've never heard a pianist say "I wish my parents hadn't taught me to play the piano." But I have heard the opposite: "I wish I'd stuck with the piano lessons."  I am not as good as I want to be, I'm working at it.)

playdoh (Playing with playdoh is one of my favorite things to do with my kids.)

sewing (I can sit down to sew and the hours just fly by.  It's just so fun, unless I mess up and have to unpick stitches.)

And the three I shared last night: yellowstone postcard (I loved our Yellowstone adventure last summer.  The Firehole river was great, but the Sapphire Pools are my favorite.  God's creations are amazing and there are so many wonders in Yellowstone. I can't wait to go again this summer and bring Ben along this time, too.)

my T.V.aholics anonymous membership (I have a love-hate relationship with the television.  I can be a total zombie sometimes. It's been three months since we unplugged.  And while I still watch The Office, etc. on Hulu, it's been great to go back to living life T.V. free.  It's not easy to fend off the "Can I watch Dora now?" questions from CO, but I strongly believe that minimal exposure to media is important for my kids, and especially important for their mother's well-being.)

a handmade bead necklace (I admired a necklace at my mother-in-law's house, it was something her sister brought back from Africa where she was a Church missionary.  She surprised me with it for Christmas two years ago.  Doncha love re-gifting?!?  I shared this necklace along with my love of beads and bending wire.)

Its just that simple.