Birthday!

My birthday was on Saturday. Since my kids have fifth's disease we mostly just hung out at home. But since they have their rashes they aren't contagious anymore. So we went ahead and went bowling and just tried to keep them from being in close proximity to other people. Even though they aren't contagious, I've still kept them home from church and school because they look like they got in a fight with a swarm of killer bees.

I am so excited to be done with work, but I am moving so slowly! I think I just got used to pretending I didn't work anymore and liked that life better :)

Also, I get very distracted when we talk about all the fun places we want to move. We've talked about:

1) Sydney, Australia:

Pros:

1) Another country with lots of culture (that's the #1 thing we're going for. Just, change. . . .)

2) Their dollar is $.94 of our dollar ;)

3) Warm! Should make the joints feel good.

4) Surrounded by water, we can swim OFTEN, another plus for joints

5) Plane tickets are only $500.

 

Cons:

1) 19 hour Plane ride. . .

2) Snakes

3) Home to hundreds of species of sharks

4) no Disneyland in driving distance ;) But I suppose if we only go for a year we'll live.

 

Dublin, Ireland

 

Pros:

1) We've already been and know WE LOVE IT

2) we would rent or buy a condo where we stayed last time because it was in a perfect location: walking distance to DART and train, walking distance to St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College, and three different fabric stores ;)

3) Speak English, sort of. Ha!

4) easy to navigate, no vehicle necessary

 

Cons:

1) Expensive plane tickets

2) Rent is a tad bit expensive

3) Chilly all year long

4) RIGHT in the middle of the city. We were in a nice quiet place, but I was sometimes concerned about muggings or middle of the night craziness.

 

Cork, Ireland

Pros:

1) A little less crazy than Dublin

2) No car required

3) A little less expensive than Dublin

4) Lots of fabric stores :)

5) bike friendly

 

Cons:

1) Plane ticket cost

2) Overcast all the time

3) Chilly

4) 2 hour train ride from airport

 

 

In another post I'll talk about other places we're considering

1) London, England, 2) Oxford, England, 3) Bath, England 4) The Channel Islands (dream. . . )

 

 

 

Fifth's disease

Josh and Miriam are home from school because they have fifth's disease. Crappidy crap!

All day today we've been talking about what the next thing we will cross off our bucket list will be. Drum roll, please. . . . .

We are going to hike a 14 day hike in the Alps. From Chamonix to Zermatt and probably a short few day hike on the Matterhorn.

They advise that you know German or French. I already speak conversational French and will try to teach the kids and we will be learning German. We are going to give ourselves four years to prepare physically, financially and. . . verbally, I guess you would say. . . ???  We're going to do one several day long hike a year to prepare and several shorter challenging hikes in the weeks between.

We are also taking four years to prepare so our kids can get older. Ha!

Garren is also closing in on taking over to his bosses practice at which time we can both work remotely. We are toying with the idea of living in another country. But I would likely have to homeschool if we planned on only being there for a year or two and I just don't know if I have the patience for that. And we would definitely going to limit ourselves to an English speaking country.

Life is so fun! I am having so much fun living my adventures with Garren and my kids!

I am so grateful that I have a successful business that will help us live out our dreams and am grateful for all my business knowledge that I gained from the best of the best: my dad and professor Ellessy! Couldn't have asked for better business mentors.

I love my life and I love planning fun adventures way in the future. It gives us something to focus on each day we live until that moment. Each day we have something to think about and something to focus our efforts on. So fun!

They wanted me to go to rehab. . . .

So I have been spending lots of time every day asking myself questions like, "How can I be a better mom, sister, daughter, friend?" etc. . . . And then acting on my answers. I finally feel like a whole person again. A person that has something to offer others. A person who can help and be there for others.

. . . . and I finally feel like I have reconnected with my old self, my more talented self, in tune self, productive self, etc. When I got married I feel like I lost myself completely. I became self conscious, I became a people pleaser. I became. . . someone else. A lesser person. But in trying to rehabilitate, I have found a way to live in the present. And it has been liberating. And living in the present keeps you from focusing too much on who others want you to be or what you think might be better. And you are forced to be whoever you are!

I forgot how much I loved life before I was married. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I don't like my married life. I just don't like who I became after I got married. I had so much love and zest for life and I have found that again!

My long lost love and talent has been writing. The last time I saw my grandmother was in May of this year. As I was leaving her house, she grabbed me by the arms, firmly, and said, "Melissa, it's time for you to write your Harry Potter." Every once in a while I'd think about that and just think, "Nah, that was another life, another time. . . " Every once in a while I would sit down to write a story. It was good writing and all, but it just wasn't "my story." I kept shutting myself down and saying, "This isn't MY story." But it finally happened. I found my story. I am quitting the window treatments business and I am going to write my book. Well, books, actually. It's going to be a series.

My last day of work should be about December 16th, give or take a few days. And then I am going to start writing. I can hardly wait.

As a student of Orson Scott Card's, he promised us that he would always consider our writing for publishing. He teaches at SVU in the Spring, and I hope to get a meeting with him next semester to discuss my ideas with him and have him be my mentor.

I am loving everything happening in my life right now. I will be running in Ragnar WV Appalachian in June, I am running a 5k at Disneyland with my husband and kids in January. My business is extremely successful and currently employing seven women!  My children are thriving in school and are successful in everything they pursue.

I was supposed to be done with work this week, but I started living life like I already quit :) We went camping, then to Busch Gardens, then I went to Las Vegas to help my mother in law empty her condo, and we have just been doing TONS of stuff together as a family. I am really loving life right now.

For a long time I wasn't living in the present. I was letting things that happened in the past get to me. I let my temple recommend expire because I didn't want to be sealed to Laymons. But I met with my stake president and he taught me a little more about how sealings work and who exactly I am sealed to. While that brought me some relief, I also found a great dal of peace within myself just by committing myself to live in the present. And I have been feeling a great deal of peace and comfort in my life. And so. . . . . drum roll. . . . . I have half a temple recommend! ;) I have one more interview to go. Then, after three years, I will finally be able to enter the temple again. I didn't want to go because I always had negative thoughts and feelings about my husband's family. But I am finally at peace because I realize how much it doesn't matter when you just live in the present. Nothing that happened affects what is going on right now at this second, so it doesn't matter. It's been great because I ask myself every day, several times a day, what can I do today to be a better sister? And when I think of them I feel good feelings, genuine feelings, and positive peaceful feelings. I asked myself that one day and was prompted to purchase a dress from his sister's small business to promote and uplift her. I know that when I return to the temple that I will be able to go in there and I will think about each and every one of his family members and feel love and peace.

I am so excited to get started on my book. It's going to take a long time, though. I have to create an entire world with events, leaders, a history, a society before I can even begin. But I am excited to do it. I think it will change lives!!

On a sadder note, the husband of a former college roommate died last Sunday and it has had me in a funk. Then my kids' babysitter's grandson die on Monday. Then I made plans yesterday to attend the murder trial of an SVU girl who is presumed to have been murdered by her husband. Such is life.

I'm loving life right now! I love my family! I wish my mom would get back into the swing of things after my grandma's passing and join my fun! And I wish my husband's siblings would choose to live in the present so we can all move forward and be a part of each other's lives again. But, that isn't happening right now, so I guess I'll just keep going. Just keep asking myself every day how I can be a better daughter, a better sister. And then do it.