Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

Jodi's word for the year is  "NOW"  which is very similar to my word for this year which is "DO".  Lucky for me because she finds some of the most wonderful quotes that fit right into my need to remember to DO .  So, I copied these from her because I think they are great!

Kim and I were able to go on a rare date!  We started out with a session at the Brigham City Temple.  It is so nice to have a temple right here in town!  Unfortunately as we were getting ready to go I began to panic as I realized that I couldn't find my recommend!  That was so strange, because I always keep it in the same place.  After searching frantically, and praying for help, we decided to call the temple and see if by chance I had left it there the last time I went.  Sure enough, they had it there for me!  Whew!  What a relief! The session was very nice, and it was especially nice that Kim was there with me.  Of course, no date is complete without a trip to Walmart, so we headed there to pick up some sundry items that we just HAD to have! We finished of the date with a fun dinner at Peach City. It was so nice to spend some time with Kim.  We don't do it nearly enough!

New Year's resolution - now there is a phrase that rarely finds itself in my vocabulary, unless of course I am lamenting either the lack of resolution or the breakage of said resolution.  I never have been good at making or keeping resolutions, especially the last decade or so when I know that I am prone to experience severe bouts of depression during January-February.  There is nothing that increases depression like feeling like a failure for not keeping resolutions. Needless to say, New Year's goals and resolutions had not even entered my mind as 2015 began.  However, two of my favorite women (at separate times) gave me a suggestion that just may work for me.  Instead of setting specific goals for the year Marilyn and Jodi just came up with one word that they are going to focus on.  Jodi writes a great article about it in her blog  Beacon of Hope . When I asked Marilyn how she chose just one word out of so many, she wisely stated that it needs to ...

We are so fortunate to be associated with such a large circle of friends!  Many of which are now are serving in high church callings.  And to our good fortune, they seem to still like to hang out with the  heathen Olsens. On December 30 we had a game night some of our good friends.  Mont and Marilyn Parrish. Dave and Jodi Wilding, and Troy and Carol Herzog all joined Kim, Shandra, and I for a wild and crazy night of games. We played Taboo, of course. One of our favorites.  We first played guys against girls and the guys complained the whole time about the girls' ability to read each other's minds and get the answers right.  The girls won by a landslide the first game.  The second time we decided to have the girls and guys intermingle on the teams,  It was amazing to see that the score was much closer when the girls were helping the guys! We also played a hilarious game of the Wildings called "Telestrations".  With this ga...

Remodel update We finally got my living room put together!  (It isn't completely done, but done enough that we can use it!)  The fireplace turned out fantastic!   The carpet is fabulous!  We got extra thick pad so it is very soft.  I broke down and bought new furniture - got a fantastic deal, I think!    The bookshelf at the top of the stairs is absolutely beautiful!  Kim used the same flooring that is in the kitchen for the top.  All of my scrapbooks fit with lots of room to spare. It feels so glamorous in the living room!  It almost doesn't feel like it should be mine - but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!  My only problem now is how to decorate it. The ward Christmas Party found us sitting on Santa's lap!  It was a wonderful party where the primary children and YMYW performed a live nativity. Bonnie, Jodi, Santa, Audrey, Marilyn, and Ashley New Stake President and Bishopric We knew that a w...

Christmas Eve was a ton of fun this year!  We met at Robin's house.  Everyone was there except Rylee's husband, Justin, and Jaxon.  Cory cooked a wonderful turkey dinner, Rox made a yummy asparagus salad, Mark made homemade pies, and of course we had mom's traditional pistachio pudding salad.   After dinner we settled in for some fun games.  We played "Draw Your Neighbor" and then we sang the "12 Days of Christmas" with family members acting out parts corresponding with their birthdays.  (The pictures are blurry because I took them from video, but trust me it was hilarious!) Rox brought a really fun game called "Right, Left, Center".  Every one had 3 dollars in front of them and then passed them to the person on the right, to the person on the left, or to the center according to the roll of the dice.  Even the kids were able to play and enjoy the game!  We had a great time. There was a winner on each of three tables...

Unfortunately Tasha and Zane are not able to join us for Christmas this year, so we decided to celebrate early when they arrived for a visit this week.  We had a short but fantastic visit. The fun started when Tasha joined our visiting teaching group at Old Grist Mill.  It was so fun.  I just love our monthly visits with.  Having Tasha join was just perfect! Ashley, Jonell, Karen, Tasha, Audrey, Shandra Zane plays well with Kalel We played tons of games and laughed and laughed.  We had a wonderful dinner with Zane's family and then we came back and opened some presents (PJ's of course). Several months ago we all got on the Harry Potter website and were sorted into our various "houses" by the "sorting hat".  Shandra and Zane were Slytherines, Kim and Kalel were Griffindorfs, and Tasha and I were Hufflepuffs.  Tasha thought that was so fun that she knit us all scarves that corresponded with our various houses.  There ar...