Genius idea

In January Jason set some fitness goals. He stopped drinking ANYTHING carbonated and hasn't "fallen off the wagon" yet. He also completed the Couch To 5k (C25K) program and now tries to run a 5k on the treadmill 3 times a week. I think he's lost 15 pounds so far, maybe more. These are huge accomplishments in my book, and I know he plans on doing even more.

So for the past 4 months I've watched him do this. I've thought, "Way to go, babe!" while I've sat down to eat my 10th+ chocolate chip cookie, etc. I may have felt a twinge of guilt, but not much.

Well, today I took my first step in the C25K program. Maybe it was a little discussion I had with Jason on Saturday night. Maybe his good example is finally kicking in. Maybe I don't want to have to buy a swimsuit in a larger size....! I got online and researched this program a little bit, and then I stumbled onto a JACKPOT, genius of an idea--free C25K podcasts for all 9 weeks of the program, with pretty good music and CUES for when to walk and when to run. This guy named Robert Ullrey put them together. This morning I did week 1, day 1 while listening to the program on my iPod, and it was, dare I say it, really fun! Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it and keep the good vibes flowing!

Link for Couch to 5K program: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Link for podcasts (I right-clicked on them and they went straight to my iTunes library)

http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/page4/files/category-7.html

For my mom

Thanks for your blog comments! They always brighten my day! :)

Man, I love these kids

Only ~30 more school days left! I can't believe it!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!

We've still got some big things to accomplish in the meantime. Science fair stuff, Father-Son campout, our wedding anniversary, surgery for Wade, and Rhiannon's 10th birthday, just to name a few.

Hopefully it'll warm up more so we can open the pool up soon. I thought we were getting close, and then it got COLD again yesterday. Oh, well. The hot tub finally got cleaned out, so we have been able to enjoy that, at least!

Ah, summer. My favorite part about it is not being tied to a strict schedule. The kids can sleep in (okay, I might sleep in a little, too). No groans when it's time to get up, either:

"NO!! Not my bedhead!!" (I like how she covered her face and not her bedhead--heh, heh, heh)

Well, there isn't any groaning going on here. But he is definitely the harder one to wake up.

Can't wait to enjoy the summer with them! They're the best buddies a mom could have!

Hot seat

Thinking about being strong and of good courage reminded me of a unique experience I had a few years ago. I learned that when something is IMPORTANT, God will let us know AND He will direct us.

That year there was a lot of talk about opening a casino near Ridgecrest. For some reason that REALLY struck a nerve with me. I didn't like it, but I also didn't do anything. One Sunday our Relief Society president stood up and encouraged people to act, to write letters, etc, if they felt inclined to do so. As she spoke, I suddenly felt like I was sitting on a hot seat! All day long I had this feeling that I needed to write a letter to the editor of our newspaper, something I'd never done before.

The next day I sat down at the computer. I found an interesting study on gambling on the Internet, and I wrote my letter around the points in the study. I double-checked it, printed it out, and dropped it off at the newspaper office. Doesn't sound like much of a big deal. But it was, for me. Through the whole process, I continued to feel like I was on a hot seat, but I also felt guided. Seriously guided. Guided in my searches on the Internet, and guided in how I should write the letter. The whole way through, I felt like someone was holding my hand. I felt inspired.

Many people approached me after they saw my letter in the newspaper. Some thanked me, for saying what they wanted to say but didn't know how. Jason got some comments from co-workers, too. A year or so after the letter, I ran into some old friends who had taught with me out at Inyokern Elementary. They said they kept scanning the opinion section hoping for another "letter from Verity."

I haven't felt a "hot seat" feeling with that intensity since then. While we were in DC, I was sure my Ridgecrest friends could relate to the feeling as they fought to protect marriage. Battles will continue and become more intense. We're going to have to choose sides. I'm grateful to know that Heavenly Father will help us to know which side to choose, and He will direct us every step of the way.

Following Elder Perry's counsel

For the last 3 days I've been cracking my scriptures open in the morning and marking scripture chains. They're fun to do, keep me focused, and make me feel happy and productive in a very short amount of time, which is very good since I like to see results but have a hard time being consistent!

The first two days I used the chains already listed in the class member study guide for the Doctrine and Covenants. I write down the topic and first verse of each scripture chain on a blank page in my scriptures (good for future study or talks, etc). There's a good explanation of how to do it HERE. Here's a scripture chain example you can click on: Roles and Attributes of the Savior. This morning I made up my own using scriptures from a lesson in the new Gospel Principles book: Work and Personal Responsibility. There's no rhyme or reason right now to my scripture chains--I just make it happen and pick a topic that interests me that day.

So here's the cool thing, and the pay-off. The few minutes I spent doing this really fired me up. The principles I read about were buzzing in my brain and I felt a strong need to SHARE what I'd learned and I couldn't wait. So who got to hear of my enlightening experience? Yep, my captive and somewhat alert breakfast audience, Rhiannon and Wade.

Yesterday we talked about a scripture, Joshua 1:9, that happens to be the Mutual theme for all the teenagers in the Church this year: "be strong and of good courage." (then we talked about standing up for what's right, even when our friends want us to do something else.) This morning we talked about one of my favorite lines from the Doctrine and Covenants: "men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness." (then we talked about how important work is, how it feels when you're laid up and CAN'T work, and why it's important to learn how to enjoy it now--I did get some eager helpers with dishes afterwards! Ha-ha!)

So who's to blame for this sudden energy? Sister Beck and Elder Perry. I appreciated their counsel to mothers, and for this day, or this week, or this month, however long I can keep it up, I know I'll be blessed for the efforts I make!

In love

I've seen this website mentioned several times on a friend's blog, and everything she's made from the site looks SO good. I think I'm in love...

The "upside" of going out of business

Our Blockbuster here in town is going out of business. Now, we don't watch too many movies, but the thought of losing the one place in town where we DID go...well, that made me think. Out of desperation one day I picked up a movie at a "redbox" and was very happy with how easy it was, and even happier to find that there are drop boxes ALL over town! We'll try this out for a while and may cross over to Netflix one of these days. Just for fun, here are the movies we've rented in the past month's time, and our reviews:

1. Bandslam--we watched this at least twice, maybe 3 times, in our 24-hr rental period. Yeah, we enjoyed it. A LOT. Great story with lots of cool music, and the underdogs win, sort of.

2. Princess and the Frog--hmmm. We liked it, but it's not one I'll race out and buy. I'm going to sound hypocritical here, but the voodoo stuff was not fun for me. We didn't like the Shadowman, but the music and strong main character Tiana were great.

3. New Moon--so, I feel uncomfortable watching voodoo and tarot cards in Princess and the Frog, but I'm okay if my kids watch vampires and werewolves with me!? Yeah, that's weird, but true. We'd still watch Bella, Jacob, and Edward again before we watched the Shadowman. (I have to admit that the sleepy acting does wonders to help a recovering Twilight addict like myself. :))

4. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON--we watched this at the movie theater today while Daddy was camping with the Scouts, but should have waited and brought him along. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Seriously. Cannot wait until it comes out on DVD and we can watch it whenever we want!!!!! (Rhiannon read the book before, and she still liked the movie even though it was very different from the book...) Rotten Tomatoes, one of my favorite movie review sites, gives How To Train Your Dragon a whopping 98% rating, which is goooooooooooood.

What movies have you watched lately? Any recommendations for the CA Cushings?

Finalist!

Yesterday 7 months of hard work and perseverance paid off for Rhiannon! She participated with a handful of other kids from her school in the big Battle of the Books in Bakersfield.

When Mrs. Keehan first approached Rhiannon about joining the group, Rhiannon said no thanks! We were a little surprised by that, but between the two of us, we were able to get Rhiannon on board. She was given a list of 30 books to read, everything from Bunnicula to Anne of Green Gables, and she finished enough books to be able to go to the competition. She loved getting out of school for the day, riding the bus to Bakersfield, and being with her teacher and friends. The kids were split up into different groups, and there were 44 school represented--so it was a pretty big deal!

Way to go, Rhiannon! We hope she'll get up the courage to participate next year, too! :)

T-Ball woes

When the manager asked me to be the team mom, I honestly thought I'd just be in charge of organizing snacks and calling about cancelled games. I had NO idea I was supposed to be in the dugout each game with 11 boys. It's been an interesting experience. For the most part, I've loved it--the boys are funny and fun to talk to!

But last week's game was NOT a joy. I definitely appreciate Wade's good sportsmanship, especially when many of the other boys on his team are little monsters. Yes, I typed that. I will admit that 5:30 weekday games, strong winds, empty stomachs, and misc "boy behaviors" would probably bring out the monster in anyone. I guess I'm still reeling from the last game. At one point a concerned mom came up to talk to me through the dugout's chain link fence, complaining about how her son was getting picked on by one of the other boys. I apologized and said I'd try to keep an eye on that better, but my inner voice wanted to invite her to take my place in the dugout for an hour and try to control just her son. She'd probably have more patience with the boys' spitting/name-calling/screaming/teasing/zero-respect-for-personal-space than me!

Here's hoping for a calmer day today, and for all of my old training in "positive reinforcement" to kick in!

T-Ball joys

Here's some proof that, yes, Wade has actually been playing some baseball, and he's having fun! At our practice last week, he hit a ball that the coach pitched to him (they've been working on not using the T). Wade hit the ball so HARD and sent it right at the coach, who had to jump out of the way so that he didn't get hit. :)

Wade has been able to move around to different positions during games. I think he's done his best at base positions and pitcher. (It's hard to pay attention out in the field when you don't get many balls that way, but at least he doesn't throw dirt or sit down, like others have).

He's also made some new friends, which is always a great thing! And his coaches are awesome, too!

Keep up the good work, Wade!

Muy bueno!

Last night we had a Fiesta party here at our house for all of our ward's Primary/Nursery/Scouts workers. It was a really good night--pleasant weather, not TOO windy, TONS of food, some fun Latin music playing in the background all night, and lots of laughing. There were 30+ of us, and we were able to pack everyone in fairly well, even though we were pretty cozy taking this group picture!

I woke up this morning full of gratitude for the experience and for ALL the help, especially from my 1st counselor and good friend Jessica, both our families, and my young friend Lee and his dad for help with the tables and chairs (Lee was helping so he could mark off a requirement in his Faith in God book). For a 2-hour party, there was an awful lot of prep work that had to be done beforehand!

My favorite part of the night was the "Primary Feud" game that Jessica put together. She'd been watching a ton of Family Feud re-runs for "research purposes." The winners got a chocolate bar wrapped up in a "million dollar" wrapper. :) The yummy dinner menu was her idea, too--basically it was tortillas heaped with whatever a person could desire, including this divine cilantro-ranch dressing that she made. For dessert we had 3 kinds of cakes. I cooked up some pork, made guacamole that tasted pretty good, and made WAY too much spanish rice. :)

It was a busy night, and I'm relieved that we pulled it off. :) Hopefully everyone who came felt our love and appreciation for all that they do each week as they serve in Primary callings!

Perfect Easter Weekend

So we had a week off for Spring Break, and then 5 days later we had an Easter/General Conference/3-Day weekend extravaganza. Who planned that? I'm not complaining, but I think I would have done it differently if I was in charge. It makes real life a bit harder to jump back into!

On Friday morning Jason got some golf in, his first of 2010, and the kids and I enjoyed a very fun Easter egg hunt/potluck breakfast with a big crowd from our ward. It was nice to just show up, eat, and gab. That afternoon our whole family worked our tails off out in the back yard--it looks so much better!

On Saturday morning the Easter Bunny stopped by and spoiled the kids rotten. Wade also had a t-ball game--we had absolutely beautiful weather, which was a major switch from all the wind we've had lately. Enjoyed Conference, worked in the front yard, and then enjoyed Conference some more. Saturday night Howard and Sandi brought over some crazy good cupcakes that they picked up in LA--THANKS, GUYS!

On Sunday we got to stay in our jammies and listen to the final sessions of General Conference. I don't know about you, but I picked up a M-A-J-O-R theme in 3 words or less: STRENGTHEN OUR HOMES. Over and over again I heard talks directed to mothers, fathers, children, and leaders about strengthening each other, strengthening our testimonies, taking care of priorities, and teaching in the home. There were lots of good talks--I'm still trying to narrow down a favorite.

That night we enjoyed a simple Easter dinner using our "fancy dishes." It was nice to take a break from candy/candy/candy and remember what Easter is all about--our Savior, and all that He suffered for us so that we can live again after death and be reunited with Him, our Heavenly Father, and our families. THAT is what it's all about, and that is why we keep trying to do our best, and, paraphrasing President Monson, "learn what we need to learn, do what we need to do, and be what we need to be."

6,000 words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here are 6,000. They're the best way I know how to sum up our time with the Cushing/Cropper clan over Spring Break. Thanks so much for a wonderful week--we love you and can't wait to see you in December!

Clark Planetarium--out of this world!

Spring Break Thursday was a wonderful day. In the morning Jason, Heather, Matt, and I did a session together at the Salt Lake Temple. Heather did temple work for Grandma Faye, and we were tickled pink to see a woman in the session who looked a lot like her. Any time spent in the temple is wonderful, but it's even better being there with family!

That afternoon Derrick, Traci, and Max met up with us at the Clark Planetarium. Admission there was free, but we couldn't help ourselves and got tickets to the Hubble 3D IMAX show--galactically spectacular. :) THANKS for the idea, Traci--we had a blast being there with you.

That night we dropped Rhiannon and Wade off at Uncle Brett and Aunt Jaymie's house. You can click HERE for a better recap on that fun! Sounds like they got to do a little bit of everything, from swimming to sandbox to watching movies--Rhiannon and Wade were so happy! Jason and I appreciated the "free babysitting," too--we enjoyed a dinner date at Tsunami's--very tasty food!

More visits!

More Spring Break fun! After we visited Grandma Lola, we had 3 more important stops to make that day. We spent the afternoon visiting at Great-Grandpa Rod's and Grandma Nan's house. Rhiannon was in heaven with Amos and Andy, and Wade played some Wii. Jason and I visited with Grandpa, who tells some pretty fun stories, and then we got to see Grandma Nan and Nick for a few minutes before we had to leave. That night Rhiannon and Wade had a terrific time having their first "cousin sleepover" of the week, at Aunt Heather and Uncle Matt's house. Many thanks to Heather for spoiling them rotten with an entirely kid-friendly dinner, and to Sam, Tyler, and Lilly for some great memories playing Wii and being together. Jason and I took off to the Gottfredsons' home and had a blast with their family and the Cleggs. Good times!