february 14. 2009
Valentine’s Day was so much fun. Jarom and I went on our weekly date Friday night, the night before Valentine’s Day, to a new bistro in town, and then to a movie, so we could spend a fun Valentine’s Day with the kids.

The morning started off with Jarom holding a rose/gift/card in his hand the second I woke up. The gift was a lens hood for my new camera I got at Christmas. The other 11 roses were in the kitchen for me when we went down to breakfast. We woke the girls up and brought them out in the hallway where they found their little stuffed animals. We got ready for the day, and headed to Fairfax, where we ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and then headed over to a fun place where you pick out your pottery and can paint it yourself. I’ve always wanted to go with the kids. It was a blast. We then grabbed an ice cream(something I rarely let the kids do) and we went to a movie. It was a lot of fun! We were gone all day, and enjoyed being with kids.

Monday morning we found a steal of deal, someone moving was getting rid of their adorable kitchen, wooden kitchen items, and pottery barn table/chair/ironing board. Pottery Barn is my absolute fave place of all time, so we got a stellar deal. The girls have been playing with it so much, it was a great investment. A happy late Valentine’s for them I suppose! It was a great weekend, we need to do fun things like that more often!

feb. 2009
Since Jarom has been home, waiting on a contract, it’s been great having him do a lesson here or there for science. This one was on the respiratory system, he did a great job!

The hands on model, is a great example, of the diaphragm pulling down as the lung expands. A fun lesson. Good job, dad!

Nadia practiced using her lungs during our lesson, in complaint against being put in her sit and spin. She doesn’t like being “stuck” anywhere, and loves the freedom of moving about the house.

february 12. 2009
Poison. We see the warning signs, a skull with crossbones, warning labels, and so forth. We can tell that we need to be cautious in using a product, or not to use a product at all. But what about people? How can you tell if someone could be poisonous to your health?

Even though I’m in my early 30’s, I am still learning a lot about relationships, be they friends, family, or whatever. I guess I was never taught a lot about boundaries, and have had to learn those for myself.

Recently, the lesson learned is about learning who is toxic, and should be kept at a distance. That’s not to say you don’t say “Hi” or aren’t friendly, you just don’t create anything more.

I’m definitely a person that expresses my feelings, you know how I feel. I’m probably way more trusting in the beginning than most people deserve. I don’t like munipulation, lying, and mind games. In fact, that’s something I don’t tolerate, and yet, I was so deceived. I didn’t realize this person was munipulative, and playing me and all others, until some puzzle pieces started falling together. The Spirit tried to tell me early on, and I didn’t listen. I kept somewhat of a distance, and it got to be a bit looser of a relationship, but still, confided and trusted when I should have walked away in the very beginning. This person would tell me negative things that others were saying about myself in the very beginning of our friendship, that should have been my first sign to RUN. Yet, for some reason, common sense parted from me.

After reflecting as to why I enter into friendships like this, it has happened before, and of course, it leads back to childhood. Now that that has been established, noticed, acknowledged, and noted, all new friendships will be with those that are NOT toxic.

You know what I mean by toxic.

We wouldn’t let someone treat our children that way, why should you let someone treat you that way? Protect yourself, just as much as you would your children.

My girls, when you read this, don’t make friends with people who try and pull you down, talk bad about you, lie about you, munipulate you, use you, and aren’t there to be supportive, positive, kind, trustworthy, and sincerely caring. Always listen with the Spirit, He will guide you, if you listen.

I love this saying, I hope you will remember it: A wise man learns from his mistakes; a wiser man learns from other people’s mistakes. Learn from lessons that I’m learning from, that way you won’t have to go through them yourselves.