Extreme Productivity Day....or at least that is what I hoped for

 I read a book a while ago called The Motivation Myth. He talked about planning for a day where you accomplish a ton. I decided to take Monster Energy out of the title because the fact is, I don't have a monster amount of energy. However, I can plug away at things. Yesterday was the day. Here's a summary of how it went:

• Step 1 Let everyone know you won't be available
• I didn't do this. Part way in Peirce and Michael came over to pick up their dog, Percy, and we visited for a couple hours....and that was okay because by then I was pretty tired!
• Step 2 Decide how long you will work
• I planned it all out on Google Calendar
• Step 3 Totally commit to how long you decided to work
• I guess I wasn't committed because I ended up forward planning some tasks. Part of the problem was that I wasn't totally sure how long each task would take.
• Step 4: Start your EPD at an unusual time (the idea is to break free of your usual routine)
• I was at it by 7:30 am....which way earlier than I usually start on to do list.
• Step 5: Delay and space out your rewards
• I think I thought of snacks/lunch as a reward. I didn't eat soon enough and could feel it. When I finally had a snack it made a big difference. I didn't eat lunch until 7 pm. That was a mistake.
• Step 6: Refuel before you think you need to refuel
• Yup. Need to do better at this! 
• Step 7: Take productive breaks, not relaxation breaks
• I took this as using the pomodoro idea....work for 50 minutes, rest for 10 was my plan. I didn't really follow that though. I just kept going. He says not use breaks to scroll or lie down, but to do little tasks. I think I'll have to plan for what to do on breaks next time I do this. 
• Step 8: Take your breaks at a counterintuitive moment
• Taking a break every hour IS counterintuitive for me. Next time I'll do better.
• Step 9: Don't stop until you're done - even if finishing takes longer than expected.
• I stopped when I was too tired to do more. Maybe if I plan better for steps 6, 7 and 8 I'll be more capable next time to go longer. We will see in Jul!  

Job #1 was hem the living room curtains. I've had them pinned for a couple months and they needed one more turn. I was going to hand stitch them but then decided that was a crazy idea. I brought the ironing board upstairs, pinned them at the right height and checked to make sure it was right. After that, I took them downstairs and sewed them. I thought it would be a super quick job and scheduled and hour for it and it took the whole hour.

                      Before:                                                        After! I'm so happy with how they turned out!

Then I worked on cleaning the garage. I tidied up and then swept. It was dirty work! After that I mowed the lawn. That took longer than normal because there were so many pine cones to pick up. I hoped the mower would grab them, but it didn't. It sure looked nice after though! 

  

Next was bedroom windows. I had to move dressers to get to the big windows so while I did that I vacuumed underneath....again, it took longer than I'd hoped. No pictures of that work except for this gross cloth! 

Next I started on vacuuming the entire house and was planning to dig in and clean the door track on the deck door. That was when Peirce and Michael showed up though. I did end up finishing vacuuming but the sliding door track will have to wait for another day.

Lastly, I decided to make an ironing board cover for Peirce. We got a new ironing board and I had planned to give this one away on Facebook, but Peirce said he doesn't have an ironing board so he could use it. The cover was terrible (which is why we got a new one). He asked for an angry chicken cover....so off I went. It didn't go too smoothly, but in the end, I think it turned out okay! 

 

Book Banning

I am happy to say that grade 3 book club has been resurrected and will run this year!

It has got me thinking about all the book banning going on in the world. I read a great J fiction novel called Ban This Book with my Children's Lit Book Club that also got me thinking about book banning.

I have had times where parents have come to me about a book they were concerned about. In every instance, they had not read the book. I listened to their concerns and then asked them to read the book. In every case, they decided they weren't as concerned about it. 

Books I have discussed with parents after they share their concerns:
Number the Stars (Lois Lowry)
Skellig (David Almond)
Harry Potter (JK Rowling)
Dogman (Dav Pilkey)
Captain Underpants (Dav Pilkey)

....there are a lot more they would probably do well to have a conversation about - but these are the specific ones I have discussed with parents. 

Common Sense Media is a good website to check to see if books are appropriate for the classroom - but I have also had many times where if I had listened to what they had to say, I would have missed some great books. 

Examples:

The One and Only Ivan: A beautifully well-written book that will likely become a classic. Common Sense Media says there is violence in it. It is a part where Ivan reflects on leaving Africa.

Who is responsible for most of the book banning in 2023?

• Moms for Liberty
• No Left Turn in Education
• MassResistance
• local-level Facebook groups

EdWeek article on history of book banning

PenAmerica's research on book banning. They are a free-speech for writer's organization.

PenAmerica's index of books banned from 2021 - 2022

Is the 2024 US Election An Attack on Democracy?

 

When Biden was rumored to be dropping out of the running for president, people started talking about how it was illegal for the Democratic party to replace their candidate without the usual running of multiple candidates, debates and voting. 

However, it seems they're wrong, for a few reasons:

1. Biden wasn't yet the official nominee. He was only the presumptive Nominee.  

2. Biden's name was not on any ballots yet. Usually, the names are sent to states after the convention, which we know, had not happened yet when Biden stepped down. 

3. Legal experts agree: Biden didn't break any laws. Besides, didn't Trump just get a Supreme Court Case saying that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts? 

But what about the voters?

Supreme Court law actually states that parties set the rules on how they choose a leader. There aren't federal laws that dictate what parties can and cannot do.

"The people" don't vote on federal candidates. Electors do.

The primary system that is now in place was adopted in 1972. There weren't party elections like we see today prior to the 20th century.

Resources:

Politifact

Politifact article on Trump's immunity case

A PennState article that consulted law experts on the nomination process and funding rules.

Library of Congress article on how the nomination process works.

Do Hard Things!

 

In our church, when boys turn 12, they get to pass the sacrament to the congregation. For one boy in our congregation, this was not a day he looked forward to. He was really nervous about it. To help him out, his dad stood with him. He'd follow him around the chapel and direct him to where he needed to go next. It was so heart-warming to see a dad support his son like that so that he could have the chance to do the things all the boys do.

I often think of this when I have to do things that are uncomfortable. Sometimes I think about it too much. In From Strength to Strength, the author talks about going ziplining as an older adult. He stood on the platform quite scared out of his wits. The young adult working there said to him, "Dude, don't think. Just do it!" 

I think that's a good motto for life. It seems like these days with all the concerns about mental health, we often don't push ourselves (or others) to do things that are hard...but we should do hard things! If we do not, we don't grow. 

The Chokecherry Christmas (by Janice Ackroyd)

 On a day before Christmas in 2018, Jim and I were planning to deliver plates of treats to the closest of our friends that evening and, as I was waking up that morning, into my mind came a scene I had witnessed at our ward party in September. We had a pancake breakfast outside at the Stake Centre pavillion and for a treat I took a jar of chokecherry syrup. Towards the end of the breakfast, I looked to where they were serving and saw Patrick Roach shaking the empty jar trying to get the very last drop of that syrup onto his pancake as if he would like to wring the jar. It made me laugh; I thought he must love chokecherry syrup very much.

We had at that time before Christmas, three very small jars of chokecherry syrup in the pantry. I had intended them to be jelly but they had refused to jell. I asked what he wanted to do with them since he is the one who loves chokecherry and he had asked for jelly. He said he thought I should empty the jars and cook it over. I thought about it, but knew if I was going to do jelly again, I would just start from scratch with chokecherry juice. I understood Jim's opinion since he had syrup already and wanted some jelly. I subsequently made new jelly and those small jars just sat there taking room in the pantry.

As I woke up that December morning with that vision of Patrick Roach in my head, it seemed like a sign. I decided that I could give him those jars to Patrick Roach. So, when I got up, I tied some curly red and green ribbon around the lid of each jar and stuck a Christmas sticker on top. Then I bagged them and added them to the collection of Christmas cookies we were taking out that night. It was dark when I rang the Roach's doorbell. When Tekarra came to the door, I held out the bag and said I had come to give it to Patrick. She called him and then looked into the bag. Her mouth fell open when she saw what was in there. With round eyes, she asked in wonderment, "How did you know?"

She told me that Patrick had lost his job  two years before and was having difficulty finding another. In addition, he had a serious helath problem and had just received some troubling news about it. As he and Tekarra drove home from the doctor's appointment, he had said, "For Christmas, all I want is chokecherry syrup." She tried to find some but it is not to be had commercially. She tried at least one friend whom she knew made it at home, but her friend had none. She went ot the grocery store to at least look. The closest thing she found was raspberry syrup, so she bought a jar. Patrick looked at it sadly and thanked her for trying, but raspberry was just not the same.

That was what she meant when she said, "How did you know?" I had to reply to her that I knew nothing about their situation, but God did and He also knew I had those three jars of syrup. He told me Patrick needed that syrup in a way I could understand. I said, "Patrick can be certain that God knows and loves him."

Tekarra has since told this story in Sunday School in our ward, once at a Stake Relief Society event, and at Good Sam's in Raymond when I was there for our Relief Society social this year. The Roaches consider this their Christmas miracle and revisit the story each Christmas. I take no credit at all for my part in it. Christmas is a time of miracles.

The Cold Cow Saga (by Janice Ackroyd)

 The time was Christmas 1968. We were newly married, for only two months. My parents wanted us to come for Christmas dinner; my mother was a marvelous cook and I couldn't miss her special dinner. Jim and I celebrated Christmas morning together opening gifts and remembering God's greatest gift to us. Then we set out for Scandia for dinner, to be about two o'clock.

The weather was terrible, a consistent minus 40, as it had been for three weeks. The heater in our car wasn't working so it was a cold trip from Calgary to Scandia. But we arrived safely and had a wonderful dinner and visit with my parents. We stayed for several days.

My father had had some real financial setbacks that had begun several years before while I was still in high school. There had appeared in the country a new form of blackleg which the vaccines we had given our cattle did not prevent. I remember him coming in from feeding the cattle many mornings dejected and discouraged, having found yet another steer dead in the feedlot, its leg stiffly in the air. In attempting to recover financially, he had purchased a couple of purebred Polled Herefore cows and a bull, no small investment, as purebred cattle were very expensive. His plan was to sell the offspring of these animals for prices sufficient to pay his debts. 

Besides the farm where we lived, my dad also owned a quarter section about a mile south. No one lived there but where he had cattle pastured. The next day after breakfast, my brother Herb, who had gone to the other farm to feed the cattle, came running in shouting for us to come and help. Two cows had fallen into the stock pond and he needed everyone. We thought that ice had formed on the pond overnight and, in an effort to get a drink of water, they had strayed onto the ice and fallen through. Herb was a big man, but not big enough to pull a cow out of the water by himself.

My dad, mom, Herb and Jim and I piled into vehicles and raced out. When we got there, we could see that my brother had roped the most valuable cow, the rope still around her neck. We all grabbed onto the rope and together we pulled, like a giant game of tug of water. It soon became obvious that the cow was winning. When we pulled, she just leaned back agains the rope and we were no match. It was so cold, and the water so cold that soon she began to just lie down; she had given up. We knew it was now hopeless. My dad called me to drive back to the house and call a couple of neighbors to see if anyone had a tractor that would start in the extreme cold. It seemed a last resort, and an unlikely one at best, because of the time it would take, even if we were lucky enough to find an operating tractor.

I jumped into the car and started sobbing as I drove. I prayed with all my heart and pleased with Heavenly Father to help my dad. I said how much I loved him, that I had seen him help so many people, and though he didn't attend meetings, his heart was right and he had always done everything he could to support me and others who needed help. I really pleaded with Him to somehow help that cow to safety because only He could.

When I got to the house, I phoned the closest neighbors and did find one with a tractor, but he said itw as so cold they hadn't been able to get it to start. I went to deliver the bad news. When I got to the pond, everyone was standing together in wonder and not saying much. I was astounded to see that both cows were gone from the pond. When I asked what happened, someone explained with great wonder, that suddenly the cow that we had been pulling on had just stood up and climbed out of the water and up the bank of the pond. They still couldn't believe or explain it. After that, they roped the other cow and together, with her trying to help, got out too.

Anyone who has worked with cows knows that once that cow started to lie down in the water, the chances of getting her out were next to nil. Only God could do it. It was truly a Christmas miracle and an answer to my heartfelt cry for help. 

Just Give It A Try

Recently, it was announced that our superintendent is retiring. I was excited to hear this news. Then I felt a little guilty about being excited. It wasn't because I delight in our superintendent leaving. I think he's a really great guy actually. One thing I have always appreciated about him is that he actually knows my name! However, I do always really look forward to changes like this though because it's exciting to see the dominoes fall....assuming someone within the organization is chosen as the new superintendent. Time will tell! 

How do you respond to change? 

Do you get angry and talk about how the changemakers are wrong? 

Do you grumble when you have to do things differently?

Could you hold off and give it a try?

When I was 12, I graduated from primary, the children's program at church. Usually, all the girls who had turned 12 then started to volunteer in the nursery. They loved helping adults look after the babies. This was my plan. I was really looking forward to it. However, the powers that be asked if I would be the pianist for the children's singing time. I was not impressed. 

I had started taking piano lessons when I was 8. I was not a gifted pianist and I knew that accompanying singing time would require some work and practice. At that time, primary was after school each day so my avoidance strategy was to just not come straight home from school. My mother took umbrage with this and gave me a LONG lecture about how she had paid for piano lessons and I was being disrespectful and no daughter of hers....you know how that goes. 

I started playing the piano for primary. 

I really don't even remember the experience of playing the piano there. Judging from seeing other people take on this assignment, my guess is I bumbled through a lot of songs and really wasn't very good at it. I'm sure there were plenty of people who could have done the job way better than I did. However, it was something that changed my life.

We moved away from that house to another province when I was 13. I continued to take piano lessons. I continued to accompany for various choirs and congregations at church. Eventually, I even played the organ for sacrament meetings. 

Fast forward to today. Accompanying on the piano is something that I can do on a second's notice. I am very comfortable with all the hymns and children's music. I also play the organ. I'm still no gfited pianist. I really don't practice enough and now and then I get asked to play songs that are beyond my skills or the time I have to practice. However, it doesn't make me nervous and I can do it quite easily and readily. 

If I hadn't tried when I was 12, I wonder where I'd be now.

If you think something isn't worth your while, consider holding on to your reticence just for a moment. Keeping an open mind can pay off in the long run. Put your trust in God and just give it a try. He certainly has extended my abilities.