Getting to Know Me

Well, it's Wednesday. And Wednesday is the day I committed to write. It has been a crazy week, so today's post is going to be a simple get to know you. Actually it will be you getting to know me. But feel free to comment so I can get to know you. 

▪️First job: Arby's restaurant--loved the curly fries!
▪️Dream job: I miss being in the classroom, but I don't want to go back to teaching; especially in a public school. Maybe when the kids are all grown I can find a master teacher and volunteer in her/his classroom.
▪️Favorite pizza: my memory of the best pizza is from Sardella's, but I have no idea if they are any good or if that is just a memory. I like Domino's pizza, but it's not something I can eat any more. Jonathan makes a good fathead pizza. 
▪️Favorite foot attire: cute sandals.
▪️Kids: I have 5. Girl 16, boy 14, girl 13, boy 11, girl 9. My oldest was 6 when my youngest was born--5 in 6 years. I love how close in age they are. They are each other's best friends. 
▪️Favorite roller coaster: I haven't been on a roller coaster for probably 16 years, but I love them. I just can't get anyone in my family to ride one with me. 
▪️Favorite candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Licorice Nibs. YUM!
▪️Favorite ice cream: not chocolate!
▪️Pet peeve: being late and disrespect.
▪️Favorite Holiday: Thanksgiving. Probably because I like the food. And I enjoy the relaxed time with family.
▪️Night owl or early bird: early bird. I get that from my dad.
▪️Favorite family vacation: The cruise we took last year. The best part was how excited the kids were. 
▪️Number of tattoos: none. I can't think of anything I would want permanently on my body.
▪️Like to cook? not really. I do it because I like to eat. 
▪️Can you drive a stick shift? No. I learned once, but we sold the car after my first lesson and I never got to practice again. 
▪️Favorite color: red.
▪️Do you like vegetables? yes. And I'm liking some that I never liked as a kid--cauliflower, peppers, asparagus, and more.
▪️Do you wear glasses? No, but it's probably time to get my eyes checked. 
▪️Favorite season: Arizona doesn't really have seasons, but I like every "real" season for their own reasons. Summer because of the green grass and being able to hang out outside late into the night. Fall because of the beautiful colors and the crunch leaves and the chill in the air. Winter because of the way the snow looks as it falls at night. Spring because of the flowers and the warmer weather. 
▪️Dream car: anything red and shiny.
▪️Favorite movie: Princess Bride
▪️Favorite thing to do: read. 
▪️Married? Yes. We'll celebrate our 16th anniversary in October.
▪️Favorite thing to do together? travel. We've been to some fun places. 
▪️Skill you wish you had: I wish I knew how to decorate and along with that I wish I could build things--find stuff on the side of the road and turn it into something cool.
▪️Skill you currently have: I make a great loaf of bread.

Have a great week!

To Meditate or Not

I’ve never been a big fan of meditation. I just don’t get it! How does sitting  around trying not to think help bring peace and serenity? You might be asking, “Have you ever tried it?!?! You can’t knock it unless you’ve tried it.” Well, I have tried it. A few years ago I took a summer class and one of the books was 8 Minute Meditation. The book taught the reader how to meditate in simple steps and in short amounts of time. I tried every step and even blogged about my experience. After that experience I’ve never meditated again.

Until now.

I’m the kind of person that listens to signs that the universe sends. I listened to a podcast that talked about the awareness meditation brings. I argued with her. Soon after, I watched a video that talked about mindfulness and meditation in education. Two days later I read in a book about the importance of meditation. Hmmm. The next week I heard about it again. Twice. Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. I decided I needed to look into it. So, like any mom, when I decide I need to make a change, I include the kids. I told them I needed to start meditating so they were going to learn how to do it with me.

We started with the definition I heard on a podcast—“Meditation isn’t about stopping your thought processes. It’s being able to focus on a target.” You pick a target to focus on—your breath, a mantra, your body, etc. When your mind wanders, and it will, notice it but don’t judge, just bring it back to your anchor. Meditation is the art of noticing that your mind has wandered and bringing it back to your focus. So for two minutes every morning we meditated, trying to non-judgmentally bring our thoughts back to our anchors. I said we would try it for a week.

One week went by and I wanted to quit. I didn’t feel like it was doing anything. But, because I had shared my reasons for wanting to meditate, Braedi would not let me quit. Plus I heard ANOTHER podcast about a meditation success story so I had to keep trying. But, we need to try something different.

Have you heard about Headspace? It was another one of those things that I’d heard several different times in different ways. It’s a cool app that teaches you to meditate. This guy with an awesome accent walks you through the process of how to meditate. It’s very peaceful. We’ve been using it for 5 days (it keeps track for you). I feel peaceful afterward, but I can’t say that it’s carried over to any other part of my day. But we are going to keep trying and hopefully we will see some of the benefits. Soon.

Catalyst for Change

I don't often set new year's resolutions, but I did this year after seeing a cool "bullet journal" goal setting post. Like most people and resolutions, I haven't been very good at consistently working on my goals. It doesn't really bother me, but for some reason the goal I set to write has been nagging me all year. I know that writing will be an important part of my mission, but it's one of my least favorite things to do and I wasn't sure how I should accomplish this goal. I finally decided to DO something so I committed to writing a blog post once a week.

I just finished reading "The Freedom Writers Diary" aloud to my kids. I'm not recommending it--there were a lot of graphic scenes and foul language, but the message was good-- tolerance. It was a very eye opening book for us. We had no idea that people lived like the kids in the book; that people judge and hurt others all because of the color of their skin. It was shocking and heartbreaking.

A few things we learned from the book:
1. Good teachers know how to inspire.
2. There are a lot of hurting people in the world.
3. There is power in reading a good book and asking how it applies to you.
4. Other people are going through/have gone through the same thing that you are going through. You are not alone in your suffering.
5. Change/breaking a cycle is possible.
6. Not everyone wants a better life.
7. But some people do and are willing to help you.
8. Writing can change you and those around you.
9. Having a support group and good association can help you as you change.
10. Don't judge others.

The last paragraph of the book compared the book to a relay race. The first lap was Anne Frank, the second was Zlata Filipovic who was inspired  by Anne Frank. The third lap were the diaries which were inspired by Anne Frank and Zlata Filipovic. And the fourth lap is the reader. The writer's hope is that the reader will "pick up a pen and be a catalyst for change." Maybe that is why I feel a call to write?