The New Year is just around the corner

Christmas has passed... the New Year is almost upon us. With it comes a few more oportunities to gather together, indulge in a few more favorite foods, enjoy a bit of glitz and sparkle as we talk of our plans for the New Year. As we reflect many of us resolve to reproritize our lives, find our bliss, sculpt a new body, overcome poor habits and more. If you are anything like me as the old year comes to a close I am thinking about those plans I made last year and what became of them. For many the frustration of not accomplishing previous New Years goals may lead them to declaring "No MORE Resolutions". For me it emphasizes the need for finding ways to keep my goals on track. I liked what one person had to say on this topic... "I have an action plan and day-to-day activities to make it happen." Today I thought about this as I read a blog article. It aligned really well with the idea of having an action plan and day-to-day activities to make our goals or resolutions become reality. The key is using inertia and then mixing it with momentum.
The Law Of Inertia says, "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force." Interestingly inertia is a property of mass and cannot change but momentum changes as an object changes its velocity.






So what does this all have to do with resolutions? When there’s a goal that we want to achieve, one of the biggest hurdles that we face is overcoming inertia in order to get ourselves started moving in the right direction. The good news is that once we initiate movement, the law of inertia helps us to keep moving and to continue taking action. I needed some ideas to overcome inertia and get myself moving toward my goals in this New Year, perhaps you do to. Here are seven ways I plan to overcome inertia and get moving towards my goals, my action plan.
  • Shock Therapy Did you know that individuals are “frozen in place” and we tend to resist change, even when presented with favorable opportunities. Therefore, something is needed to act as a "shock therapy". The idea is that some sort of disruption, shock, or “unfreezing” is necessary. Then it allows for a change takes place as a result of the disruption and finally we area able to re-form or “refreeze” into a new and different state.
  • Short Term Wins Creating small goals for myself between the really big goals helps me to see my progress for what it is...Success!! Quick wins—to energize the change and create momentum. One small goal I have set for myself is to reward myself when I have acheived a 10% loss in my overall weight loss goal.
  • Dangle A Carrot The idea here is to find small appropriate rewards to give yourself for doing what you set out to do. For instance rewarding youself with a healthful smoothie after completing your planned exercise routine or watching your favorite TV show after you’ve published a blog post.
  • Use A Stick Discomfort and pain are also powerful motivators . How can you use it to motivate yourself towards your goals? Deny yourself a treat, such as your morning cup of coffee, unless you take action toward your goal. Another idea...Charge yourself for every day that you fail to take action. For example, you could ask a friend to charge you $5 for every day that you fail to take action toward the achievement of your goal.
  • Fill My Tank Sometimes we don't tack action on our goals because we lack the ooomph or energy to do so, we haven't feuled our body. Here are some practical ideas to overcome fatigue. Take a twenty minute nap. Drink some water. Eat a nutritious, healthy snack. Pray. Get up, stretch or laugh out loud to get your energy flowing. Once your tank is full, it’s much more likely that you’ll have the energy that you’ll need in order to overcome inertia. Clear Vision Paint yourself a crystal clear vision of what you are trying to accomplish. It should involve all of your senses. Include emotions in your visualization; allow yourself to feel the satisfaction that comes from hitting your goal. As you visiualize your goal allow this vision to pull you toward it. That is, allow the image that you created to pull you out of your state of inertia, and get started towards it.
  • Stage It When you have all the tools prepared to fix a leaky sink it is much more likely you'll tackle it. If you are getting ready to embark on a weight loss plan,it is far more likely you'll start at the planned time if all your shopping has been done and the new food choices are already in your refrigerator. It’s so-oooo much easier to overcome inertia when everything that you need in order to carry out a particular action is laid out in front of you and ready to go. Remember, the key to the speed of our success as we reach for our goals is using inertia and then mixing it with momentum since momentum changes as we change our velocity. Reaching our goals quickly is much more desirable than reaching them slowly. I look forward to the New Year with anticipation, excitement and a joy as I plan what I will accomplish and become. I hope you will join me in the journey into this New Year.
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it."~Goethe~

DREAMS TO REALITY with the DREAMBOARD

If you follow my Pinterest boards you'll notice since January of 2012 that I will be developing a brand new Pinterest board. It is a shift from saving fun thoughts and ideas to actually keeping a DREAMBOARD...hence the name. I discovered long ago that a DREAMBOARD can also be a fantastic way to keep MY dreams in front of me.

Back in the day MY Dreamboard was called...THE MAGIC REFRIGERATOR. I used magnets to put up pictures of places I dreamed of going, furniture I loved, jewelry that wowed me and the home we hoped to one day purchase. I learned long ago that what you desire MUST be kept visually and in every other way possible in front of you. Back in 2003 our family moved from Arizona to Utah. My Magic Refrigerator  DREAMBOARD images were packed for the trip to Utah but were not found as we set up our home in Utah. Several years later I brought in some book boxes from the garage and to my surprise found all of my clippings in with the books! It was an amazing experience as I looked back through those images to discover that I had ACHEIVED those DREAMS! WOW!!

I hope as the New Year unfolds to AGAIN experience the power of visualizing my dreams.

The POWER of VISUALIZED DESIRE+ FOCUSED ACTION= ACHEIVEMENT

Countdown To a CRAFTY CHRISTMAS *DAY 1*

Beginning in December I wanted to share a craft idea each day as we count down to CHRISTMAS. One of my favorite ways to share ideas this past year has been with Pinterest, a website designed for the social sharing of things YOU and I are interested in. Here on my blog over the next 25 days as we COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS I wan to share with you 25 crafty ideas to make.

*DECEMBER 1*


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

It's a day of remembering, a day of saying Thank You for all that we have, all that life brings us and all the wonderful abundance God has brought into my life. I have been richly blessed...not because everything in life is perfect but because God in His infinate mercy has  given me new life. His forgiveness and free gift of salvation allows me to begin again through the bad and the good.

Today I am thankful for family who come to share thier lives with us. My children live out of state and we only see them when we are able to make the trip. We talked together about thier activities for the day and I smiled as my son described his part; chasing his very active 19 month old son around as he "explored" electric cords and other various accessible and interesting things at the home they visited. I am grateful for their family ties my daughter-in-law's have with thier families,I long to be with them but I am joyful they are happy where they are.

Our celebrated traditions are a way of weaving our memories tightly with our love for one another another. They present us an opportunity to laugh together, serve one another and share in each others joy and sorrow. I feel truely blessed even as I process those melancholy emotions of missing my children, then the JOY of the Lord fills me with appreciation for all that surrounds me.

In case you're interested, our family menu for 2011 included:
 
Turkey Stuffing Gravy

Rolls

Mashed Potatoes

Veggies & Dip

Relish Tray

Cranberry Jello Surprise

Pistachio Salad

Mandarin Orange salad

Asparagus Bake

deviled eggs

jalapeno wraps

Sweet Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie

Cherry Pie

Apple Pie

Whipped Cream

Ice Cream
A few other dishes also showed up ha-ha...we all just want to make sure that there is plenty to go around! Thank you dear family for all the memories.

Creative Dilemma and a Solution

For those of us who so-oo need to create, perhaps you can relate to my dilemma. I have been busy in the kitchen for days making apple butter, apple pies, videoing the process and generally having a giant mess in my kitchen (which is also my office space).  It has been fun and the resulting products have been enjoyed by my family but to tell you the truth I was sick to death of the sticky floors, counters and canning paraphernalia setting about. I was so-oo due for no mess!


A few years back I discovered another wonderful creative outlet but this creative outlet made a mess in a very confined area, my hard drive on my computer. I found the Digital World! In case you are just discovering the world of digital scrapbooking or haven't yet discoverd it ...here is the “condensed” version :) Digi scrapping is basically the same thing as paper scrapping...only you create your layouts on your computer using software. The software varies...from the simple to the super complex...and from the inexpensive to the very expensive.Today is a digital day, yea...no cleanup mess!!

So what have I been up to?? Ok...I'm getting to that :)


I have been offering bags of apples to my friends and since my friend Greta requested my Apple Butter recipe I wanted to make it "pretty" for her. Before I show the recipe card off though I owe a "Thank You" to Shabby Princess for the great designs from their digital collection called  "HOLIDAY RECIPE COLLECTION". 


So my secret Apple Butter recipe is out...If you decide to vary the recipe in any way you may discover what makes this recipe so special.
Happy Cooking~Happy Eating~Happy Creating!

Autumn, Sundays and Family Dinner

Carol's Apple Pie










Carol's Apple Pie, a peek inside...


When we first moved to Utah my sister Colli lived just around the corner from us. We started a tradition then of getting together for dinner. My sister Kathi also lives in Utah and although she lives the other side of the Oquirrh Mountains from me we also try to get together as often as possible. For my sister Kathi it is most often for celebrations. Several years ago Colli moved out of state so for today's dinner it was myself, nephew Mikeal and my husband for dinner.




Mike has recently begun a love affair with meatloaf. A few months ago I taught him how to make it and since then he likes to have it at least every other week. I planned to make it for dinner today after we took a drive up to through the canyon.




I look forward to taking time away to enjoy the Fall Leaves, it is my favorite season and a favorite way to enjoy the day. The days here in Utah are a bit crisp but sunny and the air smells simply wonderful...pines, oak, maples all mixed together with wet leaves.




Oreo, Tom and I drove up toward the Timpanogas and headed on a road past Tibble Reservoir. Before long it turned into a gravel road. We drove until the road narrowed. The mountains in the distance have snow capping them, the air is a bit colder. We hop out of the truck and begin our hike up the side of the mountain. Oreo keeps speeding ahead on the trail, he enjoys being in lead. I've snapped a few hundred photos today along with some video footage of the area. I hope to scrapbook some of thes pictures later, I'm sure we'll have a few good pictures! I sure love days like this.




We had a wonderful surprise when we got back to the house, Mike had just finished making meatloaf for us! I had planned to make my homemade apple pie tonight too so we had quite a dinner...Yum.

A Chill is in the Air {Autumn Delight}

Every year as Fall approaches thoughts turn to some of my favorite things.
The Smell of Wet Leaves
Harvest Festivals
Crisp Sweet Apples
Pumpkin Pie, Cookies, Cheesecake, Stew, Muffins, oh my!
Falling Leaves
Corn Mazes
Candy Corn
Canning

I could hardly wait for the apples to be at the just ripe state...
I'm thinking Apple Butter, Apple Pie, Apple-y Oatmeal, Caramel Apples and more.



Thinking about all those wonderful Fall Favorite Recipes reminded me of a simple but guilty pleasure I have taken up over the past few months...have you discovered  Pinterest? I've been collecting all sorts of great ideas, take a look! I've started a board with lots of fun Apple Delights, there is a board for Food With Taste and of course a Make It board!

Yesterday I made my first Apple Butter of the season. My technique involved slicing apples, filling my crockpot, cooking them til tender and finally adding the sugar and spices. Heres what it looked like after it had cooked down to that tender applely butter state.
Can you smell the spice in the air??? M-mm

In my area of the world there is a chill in the air, in fact we are as I write getting our very first snow! Oh my goodness now mind is racing thinking of my apple trees...hurry, hurry, hurry I'm thinking. I don't want to lose my apples to freezing temperatures :( So today I am starting my second batch of crockpot apple butter, with some adjustments to my recipe. I'm EXCITED!!

Speaking of Apples did you hear the news? An amazing individual, Steve Jobs has passed on yesterday October 5th, 2011. He was blessed with what seems like an abundance of creativity with vision and focus thrown into the mix, from our Creator.
Hear what he had to say about living. 

May your life be filled with the joy of living!