Monday, December 6, 2010
How Do You Know?
How do you know what is real or what you can trust?
The information highway - the Internet - flows with increasing access through nearly every fiber of our society. How do you know which information to trust? We could become jaded and believe and trust no one, but that seems extreme. Snopes.com ( http://snopes.com/ ) was a great help until I lost faith in it, too. As I've reconsidered today, I've decided that I can use Snopes as a tool..... I can take what they say as one voice, one source. I do not know the creators, but you can learn what they have posted online. My husband says to Google anything and everything. I always try to examine the credibility of the links, depending on the subject. It isn't always easy to decide which links are worthwhile. I am not sure how one becomes adept at spotting misleading or false claims, but I hope to be able to choose wisely.
Giving is such a good thing to do, but everyone wants money. Some charities are worthwhile and use proceeds to truly benefit those they champion. However, too many are either inept at managing the money or downright dishonest. Rather than just giving to all or denying all, it seems prudent to be active in making sure that your donations will go to make a difference.
The information highway - the Internet - flows with increasing access through nearly every fiber of our society. How do you know which information to trust? We could become jaded and believe and trust no one, but that seems extreme. Snopes.com ( http://snopes.com/ ) was a great help until I lost faith in it, too. As I've reconsidered today, I've decided that I can use Snopes as a tool..... I can take what they say as one voice, one source. I do not know the creators, but you can learn what they have posted online. My husband says to Google anything and everything. I always try to examine the credibility of the links, depending on the subject. It isn't always easy to decide which links are worthwhile. I am not sure how one becomes adept at spotting misleading or false claims, but I hope to be able to choose wisely.
Giving is such a good thing to do, but everyone wants money. Some charities are worthwhile and use proceeds to truly benefit those they champion. However, too many are either inept at managing the money or downright dishonest. Rather than just giving to all or denying all, it seems prudent to be active in making sure that your donations will go to make a difference.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Things I Wished I'd Learned Sooner
As a newlywed and even as a young mother, I often felt like I was having to reinvent the wheel. There were so many things that I did not know and felt that others knew. What was missing was a way of transferring that knowledge to the younger generation. With our society being so mobile and so many women working outside the home, we may be losing some essential homemaking and nurturing skills that really make a house a home. My mom did a great job of teaching and letting me practice skills before I left home. However, you often don't learn a skill until you need to use it. I guess this is the motivation for this post. I'd love to see this page grow with added comments of things you wished you'd known sooner, too.
FOCUS.... One thing that I've learned to do that I wished I'd learned sooner is to focus on the task at hand and stick with it until it is finished. On the days that I am busy all day with nothing evident, it could be that I ran from one fire to another as "emergencies" crept up. However, it is generally because I would start one task and then putting something away in another room would draw my attention to something else that needed doing. When we lived in Tucson, I enlisted the help of my son's wagon to help with this problem. I stayed in the room I began. Anything that needed putting away else where went into the wagon. Sometimes James would help my pulling the wagon and putting away the "escaped" toy or lost shoe. Often, I'd pull him and or Matt as I'd finished the room and went to put things away. It made it a game for all of us.
THREE MINUTES... Have you ever felt that you just don't have enough time to get your house cleaned? Having enough energy has been a challenge in recent years. However, do you think you could always find three minutes??? I decided that I could always find three minutes. It only takes three minutes to empty the dishwasher. I am not sure what else she said only takes three minutes. When I've had a dishwasher, I find myself reminding myself to stick (focus!) with it for the three minutes and get it emptied. As I reflected just now, I realized that my kids will pick emptying the dishwasher over other jobs.... It's one job that needs doing often, but the end is in sight when you begin the task. The dishwasher is not like Mary Poppins carpet bag. With each dish you put away, you can see you are closer to completing the task.
SCHEDULES.... I must admit I began my married life abhorring schedules.... I am not sure why and I am still not a stickler for one. I have, however, learned to respect and value schedules to some extent. When we homeschooled, I found an absolutely wonderful scheduling tool that helped each one of us know what we should be doing and when we should be doing it. The schedule helped us accomplish so much more. Keeping up on the housecleaning chores has been easier, too, with kind of a loose schedule. Without a schedule, I'd clean when I noticed it needed cleaning. With my loose schedule, I can generally get things done before it's noticeable that they need doing. It's a tool that works for me.
EXERCISE... Though not an athlete my any means, I've always tried to stay active. When I had my second child, life just seemed too full and I decided that I'd do those post-pregnancy exercises when life slowed down. Well, life NEVER slows down. lol I lost a good habit with that choice and one I've been fighting to regain ever since. Even if you have to exercise in three minute increments, DO IT.
What am I doing today to be physically fit? I went to a TIME OUT for WOMEN http://deseretbook.com/time-out conference several years ago. One of the speakers was about my size and ran marathons. She inspired me with the desire to run.... The road to beginning this journey was been full of road blocks, but I finally feel like I can begin training to run a 5K with my family. I may never run a marathon, but I am going to take it one step at a time. For me, this feels like the answer to keeping me fit as I grow older. If not, there are so many other worthwhile activities form which to choose. :-)
FOCUS.... One thing that I've learned to do that I wished I'd learned sooner is to focus on the task at hand and stick with it until it is finished. On the days that I am busy all day with nothing evident, it could be that I ran from one fire to another as "emergencies" crept up. However, it is generally because I would start one task and then putting something away in another room would draw my attention to something else that needed doing. When we lived in Tucson, I enlisted the help of my son's wagon to help with this problem. I stayed in the room I began. Anything that needed putting away else where went into the wagon. Sometimes James would help my pulling the wagon and putting away the "escaped" toy or lost shoe. Often, I'd pull him and or Matt as I'd finished the room and went to put things away. It made it a game for all of us.
THREE MINUTES... Have you ever felt that you just don't have enough time to get your house cleaned? Having enough energy has been a challenge in recent years. However, do you think you could always find three minutes??? I decided that I could always find three minutes. It only takes three minutes to empty the dishwasher. I am not sure what else she said only takes three minutes. When I've had a dishwasher, I find myself reminding myself to stick (focus!) with it for the three minutes and get it emptied. As I reflected just now, I realized that my kids will pick emptying the dishwasher over other jobs.... It's one job that needs doing often, but the end is in sight when you begin the task. The dishwasher is not like Mary Poppins carpet bag. With each dish you put away, you can see you are closer to completing the task.
SCHEDULES.... I must admit I began my married life abhorring schedules.... I am not sure why and I am still not a stickler for one. I have, however, learned to respect and value schedules to some extent. When we homeschooled, I found an absolutely wonderful scheduling tool that helped each one of us know what we should be doing and when we should be doing it. The schedule helped us accomplish so much more. Keeping up on the housecleaning chores has been easier, too, with kind of a loose schedule. Without a schedule, I'd clean when I noticed it needed cleaning. With my loose schedule, I can generally get things done before it's noticeable that they need doing. It's a tool that works for me.
EXERCISE... Though not an athlete my any means, I've always tried to stay active. When I had my second child, life just seemed too full and I decided that I'd do those post-pregnancy exercises when life slowed down. Well, life NEVER slows down. lol I lost a good habit with that choice and one I've been fighting to regain ever since. Even if you have to exercise in three minute increments, DO IT.
What am I doing today to be physically fit? I went to a TIME OUT for WOMEN http://deseretbook.com/time-out conference several years ago. One of the speakers was about my size and ran marathons. She inspired me with the desire to run.... The road to beginning this journey was been full of road blocks, but I finally feel like I can begin training to run a 5K with my family. I may never run a marathon, but I am going to take it one step at a time. For me, this feels like the answer to keeping me fit as I grow older. If not, there are so many other worthwhile activities form which to choose. :-)
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