A goal without a daily plan of action is just a wish.

That quote from Dave Ramsey was sent to me by my friend Susan, and I think I will post it where I can read it every day.

Now that it's a new year in Primary, I'm really trying to get organized. I've run across some good blog posts on that subject.

Marie Ricks has some ideas on how to organize in order to magnify your calling.

Here is a funny post from Normal Mormon Husbands: A tribute to Primary Music Leaders everywhere! Love the "down in the River Jordan" visual aid he came up with. I've been a PML enough to know how much you have to deliver every Sunday.

Just a couple of things...

• I made it a little bit easier to find the blog. If you type in "www.savorthismoment.com" you will be able to get here without adding the 'blogspot' in there. Don't worry if you have savorthismoment.blogspot.com favorited or saved on your computer, you don't need to change it, you can still get here that way.

• Like I've said before, I love cranberries. And it's not just because our friend has a cranberry farm, either. (but that helps!) Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has a great idea for sugared cranberries. They're beautiful on the buffet or plate, and sweetly tart to the taste. Or maybe they're tartly sweet. But either way, they say Christmas to me!

• Now, this is not to be missed. For the past few Christmases, Ro from ScrapGirls has written a Christmas story that is told in 12 days. I am linking to her home page here, and if you scroll down to the bottom section "What's Happening At Scrap Girls?" and look at the right hand box, there are links to her newsletters.

Starting from the December 13 newsletter, she begins to share the new story, "Here I Raise My Ebenezer". The title comes from a line in the song "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing", which I wrote about in this blog post. You can click here and listen to the beautiful song while watching the slideshow of images from "Reflections of Christ".

This Christmas she is dedicating her story to all of the men and women in uniform. Remember them in your prayers this Christmas, and every day throughout the year.

God Bless America!

Job Description

This is from an e-mail my dad sent me.

The cost of parenting 4 kids to adulthood? Priceless.

POSITION : Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION : Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES : The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION : None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE : None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION : Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS : While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

GOLDEN PARACHUTE Grandkids!

More Cheap and Easy Christmas

Here is an idea for the Christmas tree lights. Guess I have to get mine to work first!

This article from the LDS Living archives about managing Christmas has some good organizational tips. Simplify!

Opossum Sally has a list of 103 quick and easy Christmas gift ideas here. My favorite is 20. A juice pitcher filled with candy canes- "We pitcher you raising a little "cane" during the holidays!" Have a merry Christmas!!

Fairytales

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Actually, I would give this 3.5 stars.

Julie is the daughter of Rapunzel, but doesn't know her father at all. (That is the opposite of all of the Disney movies; they usually have a father and no mother.) Her grandmother is the now reformed wicked witch who put Rapunzel in the tower to begin with. Julie feels like she doesn't belong anywhere. She is so different from her schoolmates, but also doesn't know how to relate to the other fairytale characters in her everyday life.

This was a fun, modern-day meets fairytale-land. Natalia recommended it to me, since she read it for school, and I can't wait to read the sequel "Out of the Wild".

View all my reviews >>

These are a few of my favorite things...

The kids were watching "The Sound of Music" last week. I love the simple list of things in the song "Brown paper packages tied up with strings, Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes", etc.

With Christmas ON THE HORIZON, I was thinking of some of my favorite things.

When I was a kid, Christmas was really a simple holiday. Lots of baking and visiting, singing carols and circling all of the toys we wanted in the Sears Wish Book. I actually don't recall getting any of those toys that I actually indicated I wanted, but it never bugged me at all.

Some of the favorite gifts that I DID receive were books. I would read whatever I could get my hands on! The best gift ever was the boxed set of Little House on the Prairie books. I was about 8 or 9 years old, and I read them all, one by one, then started them right back over again! I still have them; they're sitting on my dresser right now. Thanks, mom!

Anyway, I'm always looking for tips to make Christmas easier, more simple, and cheap. Here are some tips that I've come across this year.

The US Catholic site has this post: ’Twas the fight before Christmas : A survival guide to a fairly happy holiday. Of course, what's a family get-together without a little drama?

I love homemade gifts, so etsy is a great go-to website to find unique gifts, and support the indie crafters at the same time. This is one of my faves right now. It makes me laugh. And it's cheap, too!

Here are a few ideas on Mahalo, and BellaOnline has some frugal Christmas ideas, too.

Craftbits has some cute and simple crafts for gifts and decorations. I think I'll try out the stamped candy bar wrappers. Cute, yummy, and cheap! (I think I see a pattern forming.)

And when all else fails, Martha Stewart will always come through with ideas and inspiration.

Some good music...

These guys are the real deal, and I'm so glad their single is out! I saw Matt Lopez and Brad Hull when they performed with Jason Deere to promote his "Joseph" CD, and they were great musicians and their harmonies were...uh, harmonious! Add Tim Gates' voice to the mix, and I think they're here to stay.