sarah's blog

Remember when I made New Years resolutions? Ya, me neither.

Okay I do remember. And I know I haven’t been keeping them all and least of been keeping up with blogging about them. Last time I mentioned how I was faring it was February and I was already failing at least one. So you can guess how much better I am not doing now that it is the end of June and I have sort of had some major life change to distract me from my goals. Yes, I am going to blame it o the kids.

My resolutions amounted to this.

Get regular physical activity.
Learn new skills or develop old ones.
Read the classics.
Write my Grandma.
Eat less processed sugar.
Raise money for charity: water.
Get away and clear my head.
Give the first part of my day to Jesus.

And now the almost halfway mark verdict.

I do get regular physical activity now through my weekly Aquafit class and by going for walks. I’m not suppose to increase my activity at this point and I have found recently that my back and feet get pretty sore from longer walking but I make it a point to walk to the store and carry my groceries so I’m out of the house almost daily doing something.

I haven’t taken another class since belly dancing ended and I don’t know if I’ll have time. Can I count the prenatal classes as learning a new skill?

Now the reading, here I have been doing pretty good I’d say. Yes, I have broken down and read some more recent fare but you have to understand: I accidentally got introduced to the works of Margaret Atwood one day when I couldn’t get to the library. Once you read one you have to read another. Handmaid’s Tale was my favorite but I just finished Moral Disorder and it did not disappoint. So far this year I have also read Anna Karenina, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Tale of Two Cities and Passage to India.

I thought I was a person who liked older books and classic stories but like the time we tried to watch that ridiculous indie film Coffee and Cigarettes, I have realized the classics I do like made me think I was more cultured and deep than I really am. I’m pretty focused in my preferences and topics outside that – like Passage – don’t capture my imagination.

And I’m just going to say this, think what you like about me, but Breakfast at Tiffany’s was stupid. Nothing about the writing makes one sympathetic for any of the characters and the plot is just pathetic and pointless. How they made a movie out of that (and by the way the girl in the book is kind of more of an alcoholic slut than the Hepburn type) I’ll never know.

Moving on.

Oh writing my Grandma. I saw her at my brother’s wedding, can that count for something? I’m a bad granddaughter. I’d love to tell you that instead of concentrating my efforts on writing her I have been reducing my processed sugar intake and raising hundreds for charity: water but I’d have a hard time doing that in good conscience while eating my fifth chocolate truffle.

The truffles were worth it though, just so you know. Like the Atwood books.

I’ll get back to you on getting away for a day, I am not sure how I’m going to pull that off yet. I have enjoyed the time I have set aside most days to read my Bible and be quiet long enough to listen to God. I’d like to get better at starting my day that way as so many times I find myself anxious and trying to control my circumstances and end up retreating to read my Bible to get back on track again instead of getting my focus right to begin with.

All in all not terrible. But not great either. I think I’d like to work on a couple resolutions specifically to try and accomplish them and reduce the number to work on for the rest of the year. I’d like to raise money for charity: water again at my birthday in July and finish reading one more classic book.

Any suggestions on which book to finish up with? Remember my guidelines for choosing them. And if it’s about French or English royalty you get bonus points because I love that crap. Seriously, I’m a nerd for it.

As we’ve started another month I thought I’d give an update on how I’m doing with my New Year’s Resolutions.

In original order.

1. Belly dancing class is going well. I’ve been twice and learned how to do hip lifts, shoulder shimmies (though my year on drillteam already taught me those. Hey Charity, remember doing shoulder shimmies in the stands and being warned this did not mean to shake “other things inappropriately”? Ya, turns out it’s the same in belly dancing), belly dancing hands as well as several other moves and some abdominal exercises.
2. Four more weeks and I will have completed my first class at the community centre. I think I’ll just go straight into my next class when this one is over since I’m in a routine. Not sure which one though… (more…)

What’s piling up in our house says a lot about what makes us smile. (more…)

I just have to brag about my dad who actually has a couple books published. And recently we were chatting on a skype video call and he showed me his commentary on the the book of Genesis… in Korean!

You are probably wondering, well how does this make you famous in Korea, Sarah, I thought you said your dad is the book writer? Well yes, true. But fortunately for that book writer he raised a perfectionist daughter who was all to happy to critique anyone’s work, even her our father’s. So for my proofing efforts (which I have to admit I cannot imagine were much at that age) I got a dedication in the front cover.

And now I have a dedication in Korean. I’ll need to take it down to UBC and find some foreign students to tell me what it says because they only left one thing in English: my name!

Thanks for sharing some of your global fame with me, Dad! And if you’re studying or teaching Genesis, go out and get yourself a copy of the Holman Old Testament Commentary Series. In English, or Korean if you prefer.

Click on the picture to see the dedication up close.

John brought me home a funny new book I had to share. It’s called Mortified: Real Words, Real Peolple, Real Pathetic. It’s part of a series of books that have come out of a live stage show.

Real people share entries from their journals, confessions from their diaries and excerpts from notes they passed during elementary, middle or high school. Then the adult version comments on the insane things they said as a youth. (the stuff they wrote and the language is pretty uncensored, be warned if you choose to pick up one of the books)

The site let’s you share your own mortifying stories too. I’m sure if I went though some old journals I could come up with something pretty good! I don’t have anything from when I was younger here at our place, though I bet my boxes of old notes holds some real gems!

I do have some journals from my first years of college though. I looked through them for something I would be willing to put out there for the world to read, but I think I need a few more years to pass! As boy crazy as I was then I think my entries would be best suited for Mortified: Love Is A Battlefield. Now that’s a good way to describe it.

This was a good book for me because I love human interest stories. They are real people and they had these views and opinions and experiences that were very real and legitimate to them at the time but as they look back they can see how skewed their perspective was. Amazing how much of the life and death stuff turned out to be a little less important, eh.

Would you share your mortifying childhood writings on a site like getmortified.com?