What I've Learned This Week

My friend Lori does an amazing job with her blog. If you are looking for a wonderful, new blog to follow, I suggest checking out her blog. This morning she posted a really fun entry on what she has learned this week. It was too good of an idea to pass up, so I've handily lifted from her! Turns out she got the idea from another great blog, Musings of a Housewife, which is hosting a What I Have Learned This Week carnival. Check it out!

The last week has been an eventful week for our family. While life is always a learning curve for me, I have learned more in the last seven days than usual. I thought I'd share a few of those things.

1. Spend the extra money on the good tools. I have refinished several pieces of furniture in the past, and have hated it every time. So tackling the kitchen cabinets was a huge mountain for me to climb. This time, though, we invested a little bit of extra money in a good detail sander and some high quality paint and varnish remover. The job, while time-consuming, has not been difficult! Worth the money!
Skil 10,000 Orbits per Minute Orbital Power Sander

Motsenbocker's Liftoff Paint and Varnish Remover

2. Listen to your body. Intestinal distress in the middle of the night on Saturday was followed by a fever and body aches on Sunday. I knew I had the flu. I could have let it go, but I had a gut-level feeling I should go to the doctor. It paid off. I have influenza-b, a strain of the flu treatable with a medication. My doctor prescribed this medication to cut my sick time in half (would have been 10-14 days without the meds)!!! He also gave me a prescription for Matt to help him avoid getting sick, as well as an anti-nausea med to help my stomach. Hooray for the doctor!

3. Just hide the Sharpies. If you missed my earlier post on Pepper's sharpie art, it's worth going back a few days in my archive to see the pictures. Lesson learned: Just hide the Sharpies already!

4. Forever stamps are forever. Postage rates are going up again at the end of April. The Post Office currently has "forever" stamps that can be purchased at the current postage rate, but but can be used indefinitely without having to add extra stamps. Buy a bunch now while they are available and save yourself some money in the long-term.

5. Formal activities are overrated. Last fall Snapper participated in children's theater at church. The Christmas musical they put on was adorable and I was so proud of my little "star." (Yes, she played the role of a star...the twinkling kind). On Saturday morning I informed her that children's theater was starting up again on Sunday. She informed me that she doesn't want to be in children's theater--that she'd much rather stay home and play with Pepper. Wow! That was a surprise! She proved her point by playing outside contentedly with Snapper all day Saturday. Are all the dance, sports, and music lessons for our little ones really all they're cracked up to be?

Snapper "stars" with friend V in our church children's Christmas musical

6. Savor the moment. This lesson has become a major theme in my life. Someday I'll blog about where this phrase started in my life. But for now, I'll reflect on how I relearned it this week. Our new living room paint demanded some fresh photos for the walls. So I went on a several-hour-long search through my photo archives looking for just the right pictures to print and hang. When I opened the March 2008 file, I was stunned to see how different Pepper looked just a year ago. He was still a baby. When I look at him now, I see a little boy. I was reminded to savor each moment. That evening, I grabbed him, wrapped him in his "mimi" (brown fleece and satin blanket), and held him close for about 15 minutes, smothering him with kisses, and memorizing the feel of his 2 1/2-year-old body in my arms. To my delight, he didn't protest at all the affection. Oh, how time flies! Never forget to savor the moment!

Pepper, 1 1/2

Pepper, 2 1/2

Have you learned any lessons this week? Comment and share! I'd love to hear from you.