A Card Lover

Not the Arizona Cards, but rather birthday cards. This one was from her Grandma Susie (who her middle name was given for). She also got one from her Aunt Brandi. You'd think being a little baby she wouldn't care for a card, but she loves them. Here she is carrying the remnants of one all around the house.

The Week of the Olive

I declare this the week of the Olive. I thought after having twins I might not be able to adore our next little baby. But this little girl brought a whole new level of preciousness.

Kid Humor

One afternoon last week Heber and Hannah were putting there feet on their "fish puzzle," saying "Mommy look, feet on fish! Mommy look, feet on fish!"
They giggled and laughed about it for a while and kept trying to tell me how funny it was. They got a big kick out of it.
It is interesting how when they're young, we think kids' humor is strange. And someday when they're older, they'll be rolling their eyes as I'm laughing up a storm. I better soak it up while I can.

Virginia Tech

This is the building that I work/study in 5 days a week as well as the bus that I ride to commute there. The campus landscape and buildings at Virginia Tech are quite a contrast from those at Arizona State University.

Lovely Bones and Chicken Bones

Home-Style Southern Cooking

Last week Rachel and I went to this highly recommended bbq restaurant. It's called Due South. The food alone was authentic and there was an array of different bbq sauces. The spicy one is their award winning sauce and ws indeed my favorite. However, the live bluegrass, baptist band gave it it's signature touch. I soaked it all in knowing that these fun experiences won't last forever.

2012 Goal Schedule

2012 is almost a month underway which means that New Year's resolutions are just starting to fizzle out. My sister Jana recently posted on her 2012 goals and I thought I'd follow suit.

I am a goal setter. My father is a goal setter. His father was a goal setter. If I had a dog, it wouldn't be an english or irish setter, but a goal setter. On top of that, I grew up playing sports that instilled a competitive drive to achieve hard things. I served a mission for my church in which everything you do seems to revolve around a a little planner with monthly, weekly and daily goals.

Sometimes I enjoy planning more than carrying out my plans. I imagine all that can be, and then casually go about my way. In the past I have carefully categorized the different areas of my life—family, personal, physical, professional, spiritual, etc.—and then set ambitious goals for each one. However, this has often led to conflicts between goals and misuse of my time for those things that are most important.

I have often been critical of how one goes about setting goals, insisting that they must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based goals. I would draw from motivational self-help books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and How to Win Friends and Influence People and use vision and mission statements and other success principles to guide my goal setting.

While I have found these to be valuable, I took a different approach this year. I still thought about the new year and all the possibilities it holds, but I went with my gut and took an approach that was foreign to even me. I only set goals for my daily and weekly routine. I'm still not sure if it is a valid method, but it's done. Here it is:

Monday - Fridays
6-7am: Gospel Study. A combination of scripture study, prayer, reading gospel books, taking notes and writing.

7-8am: Exercise. Right now I do about a half an hour of P90X, go for a run, or ride the stationary bike.

9am-6pm: School, work and whatever else related to my professional life.

6:30-8:30pm: Family Time. I try to leave the day behind me at this point and turn my focus on my wife and kids, including helping out around the house, playing with and reading to kids, etc.

9-10pm: Wind down. This is where I acknowledge that the day is over and if it hasn't gotten done by now then it can wait until tomorrow. I use this time to journal and do light reading.

Saturdays are flexible

Sundays are focused on activities that help "keep [my]self unspotted from the world...rest from [my] labors...pay [my] devotions" to God.

Three weeks into the new year I am glad that I have chosen to do it this way. It has really helped me to avoid making goals that push me too hard and end up taking time from more important things, especially time with my family.

However, this only works, I believe, because I already have a general idea of what my long and short term goals are. Additionally, as I go along I am setting goals that are appropriate, instead of doing them all at the beginning of the year. This is definitely not a recommendation for how everyone should go about goal setting, but it is working well for me.