Gazelle Intense

It's tangible; I can almost breath it in. Spring! It's only mid-February, but I find myself watching for faint signs of emerging crocus under the Aspen trees, and I have that pent up feeling that anytime soon something inside is going to burst wide open. I've been drinking down books all winter; my eyes glued to the pages, and now my eyes are wandering over the paper to windows everywhere. Yesterday teased us with barefoot temptations that my children succumbed to immediately.

Change feels right and natural with the seasons and for the first time in 19 years, Fred and I are on exactly the same financial page. When we married, I would have been "happy" to save every penny (spare or not) and never do anything "fun"--I guess to me, "security and sacrifice at all costs" was my motto. Fred wanted to enjoy life, with money as the gateway. His young mantra was, "It'll be gone soon anyway, and in a year we won't know where it went so we might as well enjoy it while we have it." We have both moved a little closer to the middle, though, as seems constant in our relationship, he seems to do more growing and moving than do I, and just as we were poised to make some dramatic (for us) changes to feel prepared and in control, in these unstable times, Liz loaned me a book called, "The Total Money Makeover" and I have not stopped salivating since (I know... it's disgusting). It has given a detailed face to what the prophets have been telling us our whole lives about getting out of debt and being prepared and in control and you know how I love detailed checklists. And finally, Fred and I have the same vision (though I have always been more prone to fanaticism) because there is a face for security instead of an endless black hole and there is a goal for fun. I just keep pulling hook line and sinker and Fred keeps reeling me in and it is creating it's own momentum, with both of us very much connected. It is invigorating! We are cutting every single expense, which means no more date money, so date planning is unraveling back to "single" mindedness and we find ourselves back in Jordan's shoes, with no money and the pressure to be creative staring us in the face. I watch Fred researching the Internet at night for ideas and see how much it matters to him and I feel courted again; sometimes sacrifice brings its own reward! Most years we would have gone out to dinner on Valentines, but this year we did sealings in the temple, which was much more memorable, and last week we got together with a big group of friends and just talked and laughed. I remember how much fun it was to do dry pack canning with my sister and brother-in-law last year, so that might go on the date calendar. The momentum and blessings, direct and indirect, have started pouring in, just like the author (who is not LDS) said they would, and the future is starting to look very disciplined and rigorous, but oh so bright. We are determined to leap out from under these car payments and student loans which have been monkeys on our back way too long, but our vision seems clear and the efforts seem worth it now. I have never understood the marathon trainer mentality, I have different friends every year who try to convince me to train with them for a 5K or a half marathon, but I can't ever validate the pain. One friend told me this year, that it's not so much about the race as that there has to be a motivator to force the daily workouts, and when the daily workouts prove that you are fit enough to run the race, it just feels so good. I still don't want to run a marathon, maybe I haven't felt the need to be that fit yet, but financially I'm ready to hit that brick wall, "gazelle intense", and push on through. I am convinced that if I want to be completely fulfilled in life, that I have to learn to master every aspect of ME, physically, spiritually, and mentally, but I can handle only one INTENSE focus at a time. C'mon, I am still struggling with 30 sit-ups!

Speaking of physical motivators, Olive has found an escape route, AGAIN! Only, this time she has been smart enough not to ever escape while we are watching and we are completely stumped. We have built barricades where we feel like there is any possibility that she might be getting out, but she continues to bolt, sometimes 3 times a day, and we are meeting new neighbors all over again. This morning, my neighbor across the street called and said Olive had just walked past the front of my house. I grabbed my shoes, which I had just taken off and bolted out the door, but by the time I found her she was clear down at the school yard. I love that dog and I can't help but admire her ingenuity, and I can't blame her for wanting her freedom, but in this one instance, she gives me a pain!

Middleton is sponsoring a community initiative called "March Unplugged". A calendar came out in the city newspaper with encouragement to unplug all electronic media at home for the entire month and "plug" back into our families. Many different organizations and churches have taken a different evening to plan community events on the weekends and suggested ideas are given for individual families all through the week. Our stake is really pushing us to be involved and I'm excited. We will all use the things we need at school and work, but when we come together at home, the movies, computer, cell phones, and personal music devices go off. It will be interesting to see how much of the community becomes involved. Only good can come of it. I'll let you know how it turns out. Life is great!

SUNDAY PICTURES:

JORDAN STARTING HIS EAGLE PROJECT;