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Sunday, October 5, 2008

October Update

Just a bit of news. Ummmmmm Hmmmmm Not much has happened really, except what you already know. Synthia is in Uruguay and is doing great. Stan is having fun at Utah State. I don't know about his grades. His hearing is improving a little bit, but next week he is going to go to get steroid shots, right in his ear. Ouch. Shana and Justin have adopted my first grand-dog, as Shana called her last night. Her name is Milly. She is half pit bull and half lab. YOWWY. But actually she is gentle (sort of, she is being trained), and adorable. She got seriously injured last week when she tried to jump out of the truck, but was leashed in. (Lots of stitches and scrapes, but she is doing better.) She ripped a toy giraffe to pieces last night until she got to the squeaker. It was a little scary thinking about what she could actually could do to me. I took the toy away for a second and she was NOT happy. I got a small nip on my hand. lol (Once again, she is in training.) She is about 9 months and wasn't cared for very well by her previous owner. (Sad).

I'll send photos later,
Laura

Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Cons of Blogging

I'm sure most of you know this, but I've discovered that if you Google in my name, or any one else's name, that everything that I've blogged is there for anyone in the entire world to see or read. When I googled Shayla's name in, all the stuff that is on my blog came up too. I don't know, call me crazy, but I don't really like having all of Shayla's life, or mine, all over the net. The photo of Lily's hand in Shana's and Justin's hand popped up for the world to see. Hmmm.
I really didn't like that. I'm asking Shayla to be a lot more careful what she posts. And I'm asking her to remove some of her photos, as well as her school schedule. I think it's an invitation to possible problems. (Call me crazy, but I'd prefer more privacy than that.)

Soooooooo, remember to be careful in what you throw up on your blog, because it is available to the world. Just thought I'd mention it!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Beyond Busy :), but still sane

Hi family,

Just a few photos to update you on what's going on.

June 18, 2008 Stan took a trip to Mauii with friends.

In July I went to Girl's Camp with 30 girls and a black bear. He lingered around the entire time girls and land numerous and numerous eaders saw him.

Then, Mary had her cute little baby, William Bradford Fox, 8 lbs. 2 oz. I booked a plane the minute they went to the hospital and had a great visit with them all. Here are some pics of the family.

I got home from Spokane and we went down to Zions National Park. My goodness it's gorgeous down there. We had a blast going down through the Narrows. Sam was our navigator and tracker, since he comes from Indian stock. He did a great job.

Next was Synthia's farewell, yesterday actually. We had about 140 people come by and everything went fine. Lots of work, but a great meeting. Even Shay was on the program as a youth speaker by coincidence. This is a photo taken when she went to Georgia to visit the fam.

Synthia leaves on Wed. and gets set apart tomorrow eve. Wednesday she heads out!!

Lots, still to do!!

Love, Laura

101 Recovery Spots from Dr. Abraham A. Low - great mental health tips.

"I can not" means "I care not".
All I know is that I don't know.
Angry temper is temper turned outward toward another.
Anticipation of an event is usually worse than the realization of that event.
Approval of others is a want, not a need.
Avoid self importance. Others don't sit around and think about what I did or said.
Be group minded.
Be self led, not symptom lead.
Calm begets calm, temper begets temper.
Change your thoughts and impulses and your feeling and sensations will follow suit.
Choose peace over power. Don't go for the "symbolic victory"! (See, I told you so.)
Choose to hope rather than "gloom, doom and despair."
Comfort is a want, not a need.
Comparison temper is a form of fear temper.
Decide, plan and act.
Discomfort can be patiently borne, bravely faced and humbly tolerated.
Don't blame, complain or explain.
Don't give outer expression to my inner envirornment when temper is involved.
Don't let the trivialities of everyday life work me up.
Don't take your own dear selves too seriously.
Drop the danger, diagnosing and judgement.
Drop the excessive need to control outer environment.
Drop the judgement on others and myself.
Drop the need to be exceptional.
Drop the use of tempermental lingo.
Drop the vanity of always knowing better and best.
ENDORSE for the effort, not the outcome.
Endorse like an ever flowing river...
Every measure of self control, brings a measure of self respect.
Everyday is full of frustration and disappointment. That's average.
Everyone is entitled to their initial flare, (reaction). Like when a dog jumps out of a bush.
Excuse yourself and others, don't accuse.
Failure to practice spotting is Sabatoge and so is failure to practice muscle control.
Fear is a belief and beliefs can be changed.
Fearful temper is temper turned inward, toward ourselves: self disgust, embarrasment...
Feelings are NOT facts.
Feelings call for expression, temper for suppression.
Feelings rise and feelings fall.
Feelings should be expressed and temper suppressed.
Focus on what you Can do, Do have and Do know, not the opposite.
Get out of duality. A firm decision will steady you.
Go about my mental health with a strong aim, not a lose wish.
Have I endorsed today?
Have the courage to be wrong in the trivialities of everyday life.
Have the courage to make a mistake.
Have the will to "humility".
Helplessness is not hopelessness. There is no hopeless case.
Humor is our best friend, temper our worst enemy.
I can act my way into right thinking. (Action produces motivation.)
I can always share my feelings with an understanding party, without using "tempermental lingo".
I can bear discomfort and do hard things.
I can command my muscles to move.
I can control my speech muscles.
I can do the things I fear and hate to do.
I can do things in part acts, (baby steps) and then endorse for each act.
I can feel guilty without being guilty.
I can move my muscles as needed. Then endorse.
I cannot control outer environment, only my inner environment.
I don't need to be a saint, hero or angel.
I have choices. (agency)
If you can't change an event, change your attitude towards it.
Interpret securely, don't exaggerate insecurely.
It's okay to be average.
Lower your expections and your performance will rise.
Mistakes are a healthy and valuable part of life.
Most symptoms are NOT dangerous, only distressing.
Nervous people have a passion for self distrust.
NEVER INDICT, ONLY ENDORSE!
Objectivity terminates panic.
Our feelings and thoughts can lie to us.
Our self worth does not depend on our performance.
Outer environment can be rude, crude and indifferent.
Peace from outer environment is temporary and isn't really peace.
People do things that annoy us, not to annoy us.
Refuse to sacrifice inner peace for trivialities.
Reject bad thoughts!
Remember, peace over power.
Remove the danger from a situation.
Replace an insecure thought with a secure thought.
Resist impulses that are not good for your mental health.
Secure your racing thoughts.
Some things happen by chance and not by choice.
Spot and see if your "imagination is on fire."
Stop, Drop (the danger) and Spot
Take a "ho-hum" attitude toward a distressing task or symptoms.
Take the total view of a situation, not just the partial view.
Temper blocks logic.
Temper is a luxury I can't afford.
Temper is the intellectual blindness to the other side of the story.
There is no right or wrong in trivial matters.
Thoughts produce symptoms & thoughts let them go.
To be simple is to be great.
Treat your mental health like a business, not a game.
Trust in your own validity.
Unrealistic expectations bring disappointment.
We feel better in proportion to the amount of discomfort we are willing to bear.
We want to be exceptional, but fear we aren't even average.
Wear the mask.
When we express ourselves in temper we end up with self disgust.