MerryAtHope
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Posts posted by MerryAtHope
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On 12/13/2021 at 12:24 AM, easypeasy said:
My 2021 word was "SURVIVE," which has been pretty accurate. 😵🥴 It has been a YEAR. I remember how eager and excited our family was for 2020... and how we were even MORE excited for 2021.... I meant for "Survive" to be more of a celebratory, disco-esque, dazzling sort of survival, but it turned into true, gritty day-to-day just getting through it all.
For 2022, we're all sort of lined up, inching the door open with a long stick like a recent New Yorker cartoon.
I'd like to think that 2022's word might be "REGAIN" or "REJUVENATE" or "RECOVER" but I'm thinking it should be "LET GO" to let go of any preconceived notions of what I would like 2022 to look like. Cuz, it's crazy out there right now and I am afraid to wonder too much about what's coming down the pipeline.
Did y'all see the meme that says, "Let's Make Year Three of Covid the best one yet!!" ??? I read it and it took me a second to realize, omg that is TRUE. This is Year Three of this Madness. We are not okay.
(and when I think back and remember that 2019, for our family, was a long, miserable haul, I realize it has been a while since we have bounded about with joy and frivolity. That is so depressing. Ugh)
I hope this is a better year for you!
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On 12/12/2021 at 11:32 PM, Lady Florida. said:
Dh is retiring at the end of the year and because he took vacation time he actually only has 3 work days left. I've been very nervous about this because I have a routine and now he's going to be here all the time. Plus I'm a little worried about how he'll handle it. When I stopped working I had a baby to keep me busy. I thought I'd go back to work once ds started school but then we ended up homeschooling and that kept me busy for almost 12 years. By the time ds didn't need me I had already been at home long enough to find ways to keep my mind and body busy. Dh will go from full time work for his entire adult life to - nothing.
All that is to say I've been thinking of words like Patience, Compromise, and other words that will help me adjust to his retirement. Then I realized I'm looking at it all wrong. Yes, I'm nervous but I'm also excited. We both looked forward to his retirement when we can spend time doing things together that his work schedule made impossible. Instead of thinking of how I will handle his retirement and how it will affect me, I should be looking at how I can enjoy his retirement. How we can enjoy it.
I haven't made a commitment yet but I think in light of this major life change that will affect both of us, my word for 2022 will be Us.
I love that word choice! That’s a great way to focus on the positives! Honest communication about your goals and the most important parts of your routine will help, and thinking about these parts you can share or even let go. My dh has been home since 2000, but we’ve had lots of different seasons depending on the kids, his health etc… so lots of adjustments over time!
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On 12/24/2021 at 5:14 PM, Bootsie said:
I, and most of my colleagues, try to stick with our original syllabus as much as possible. I do not know of any colleague who has rescheduled final exams. At any school where I have taught the final exam schedule is set by the registrar's office and is not up to the professor's discretion. I do know of situaitons in which a professor offers an alternative to students; I get students telling me that they cannot do work for my class or attend my class because another professor has rescheduled a final; every time I have pushed for more information, it has been a situation where the professor has offered an alternative (for example the professor has to have a time for graduating seniors to take the exam early and says that anyone else can take it then also) that the student would like to take the professor up on--but the originally scheduled time is still available.
In the past four semesters I have had to make changes to my syllabus because of pandemic and weather related closures that have been determined at the university level. For example, I had a class scheduled to meet five times. Severe weather and tornadoes took out the electricity in most of the area causing the university to close--yes my syllabus had to change. Then, we had the February freeze in Texas and I was getting changing guidance from the University hourly about what to do, so I had to change my syllabus. And that isn't even beginning with all of the COVID disruptions.
My kids are always thankful for instructors like you! And I think most students understand Covid changes. It’s the other, seemingly arbitrary ones and having different info in three places that doesn’t match and instructors who keep moving due dates for projects and midterms just because it’s so easy to make changes that are frustrating. It was an issue before Covid and continues to be for some classes. Just education in the modern age!
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It’s not surprising. Kids have a ton of info thrown at them on multiple platforms now. And professors are constantly changing dates on them. Why read it when they are just going to get an update in class, through email, or online that changes things? (Or sometimes, as has happened to my kids more than once, conflicting info in multiple places. Or syllabi that were cut and paste from previous semesters and not appropriately updated.) It’s really not like when I went to school and the syllabus was everything.
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6 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:
I cannot. Fortunately or unfortunately. I'm not sure which is best. I 'think' it was done quietly so not to ruffle feathers or fur but once the litter boxes were in place, well...kids talk. Their was also a threat of a law suit so I'm sure there must be some paper trail somewhere. I do agree with those who believe this demeans legit needs of others. I simply cannot believe this is a topic of debate or discussion.
As a previous poster questioned, who cleans the boxes? Wouldn't this be considered a health hazard?The bolded…a paper trail from a bathroom?! I couldn’t leave that unremarked upon!
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1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:
Yes, and I think the thing that topped the charts for Bobye was the meeting they had with Josh and JB, and while Josh was confessing, JB fell asleep. Can you imagine??? What kind of horror show is JB that he could fall asleep during something like that!
Actually I read it was Bobye’s husband Jim that fell asleep.
"Bobye testified that Jim regularly counseled Duggar during those two intervening years," the defense said. "She said she still wanted to help him. She testified that she and Jim met with Duggar in their bedroom to discuss matters further. Bobye testified that during the meeting Jim actively participated but, eventually, fell asleep—she continued to talk to Duggar as her husband slept."
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Great update, so excited for your boys! Congratulations! Your posts over the years were so encouraging to me, especially when nothing seemed to interest my oldest. The gap year for him wasn’t fancy—local job and a lot of time exploring online. But he also finishes this week with a BA in Media Studies and a Certificate in Digital Media Production (emphasis in film editing) and is doing a few freelance jobs right now.
Praying God continues to lead and bless your boys!
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1 minute ago, KSera said:
Congratulations!
To your son as well! I remember your kids as young ones back when I was first starting out. On the Sonlight boards perhaps? Would that have been right? Crazy all these kids are grown up now!
Yes! Wow, you have a great memory! Crazy indeed!
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Congratulations! My oldest graduates this week too!
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31 minutes ago, MissLemon said:
That looks closer to what I am envisioning. I really don't need weekly planning as much as I need monthly, quarterly, and yearly.
Thank you for the video! I think this isn't the right tool for what I need. Seeing all those little check boxes and bullets is actually stressing me out, lol. The perfectionist in me gets bogged down by listing every teeny task of "clean the kitchen". I end up convincing myself that I can't check off the box until I vacuum the crumbs out of the utensil drawer every week, or something equally ridiculous.
(Please no one say they always vacuum the crumbs out of the utensil drawer every week)
I’m supposed to vacuum the utensil drawer?
Seriously, a bullet journal can truly be any thing that you need it to be. Everyone’s looks different because it is a tool that should serve you. So you would just use the kinds of things that you personally need. It doesn’t have to have checkboxes and bullets. Although I will say that I resisted the bullets at first, and now I kind of like them. I don’t do all the symbols, but I like either axing things out that I have done, or using the arrow showing that I forwarded the task to a new week. And if I decide I just don’t want to do something, then I can just draw a line through it and it’s gone!
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Thanks for posting the year at a glance pixels picture, they gave me a great idea for tracking some things. I’m going to put one of those in my planner!
I loosely consider myself a bullet journal-er, lol! It drove me nuts to not have a pre made calendar in my planner and to have to draw all that out. Plus I hated having tons of info I really don’t need to keep mixed in with info I do need to keep. Then I went to a planner that had 60-80 blank pages in the back for notes and collections. I liked that, but I hated having to copy the information that I wanted to keep year after year like how to fix my printer, my ever-evolving ways of cutting my hair, my word-of-the-year list, financial goals, tips on how I did the taxes or filled out Healthcare Marketplace or FAFSA, Bible study ideas, various household tips etc…
So…I settled on a yearly planner and a collections bujo. I use a monthly and weekly planner for all of our appointments,work items, and my to-do lists. I also make sure to choose one with at least a two-page spread I can use for future planning. Bonus for colorful accents and tabs! I keep my planner for one extra year just in case I need to look back at previous appointments or notes I wrote about them. Then I can toss it, because any notes that I did want to save get transferred to my collections bujo.
My collections bujo has index sections for health, home, finances, faith, and work. I like keeping the index categorized—it makes it so much easier to find what I’m looking for! I do use threading, and just use the next open page for whatever I want to save next. Doing it this way, I can save lots of collections in one book, and I don’t have to either reference a whole bunch of different books or keep lots of weekly and monthly information that I really never need to look at again, plus I don’t have to recopy much from year to year.
It does defeat the purpose of having just one book to carry with you! I end up taking a notebook plus a planner most of the time. In addition to my collections bujo, I also have a book for scripture quotes and promises of God, one for tracking finances, and I use different things for actually journaling thoughts and for a prayer journal. But I really love that I can index and categorize my journaling. Bujo was transformative for me in that way (I can find what I wrote!) and for having one place for storing all the various tips.
I don’t get fancy other than some washi tape sometimes!
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Praying you have a safe trip! I’ve done a lot of that trip before too, and I know in the winter it can be really sketchy. Thanks for the updates.
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9 hours ago, MEmama said:
UPDATE: I'm laughing hysterically— it really was squirrel thieves! Lol
An hour or so ago I noticed some of the treats were missing from the basket but we didn’t have any deliveries and the mail carrier hadn’t come yet. I felt frustrated and decided to move the basket inside while kids were walking home from school (I know, how Scrooge-y of me!). Anyway, a few minutes later I decided to find out what kitty was watching through the door and sure enough there was a giant squirrel sitting on the table where the basket had been, looking clearly annoyed. I can’t believe it! Usually they leave stolen goods scattered around the yard and neighborhood (they often steal veggies from the neighbors garden and leave them on my porch) but this time they are being especially sneaky.
And instantly my faith in humanity is restored. 🤣
Lol, you blew his little squirrel brain! “I KNOW I saw a basket of treats here!” And I’m lol at the thought of all those wrappers ending up on someone else’s porch!
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I have never had Sherpa fleece be the same again after washing.
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35 minutes ago, dirty ethel rackham said:
All of our masses are supposed to be "mask mandatory" per the bishop's orders. But some people are taking them off or putting them below their noses. At the early service, we have a greeter who gently enforces masking. I didn't see anyone doing that at the later mass and one of the ushers had his mask below his nose. But, hey, let's put all the faith in God and in the air purifiers that the church installed and not care about our fellow parishioners. When they first announced that they had invested in some high-tech air purifiers, I asked the rate at which the volume of air in the sanctuary was purified, but I only got a response saying "trust us. It kills 99.9% of all bacteria and viruses." But that didn't answer my question - how long before all the exhalations would get to the purifiers?
I’m sorry! People don’t even realize how inconsistent they are being in their logic. Does trusting God mean surgeons don’t need masks or to wash their hands to avoid transmitting infections to their patients? God owns everything, so why even work—just trust God! I do think we should fully trust God. But I think he also calls us to be good stewards of our resources, which includes our own health and the health of our community. And it’s such an easy thing to put a mask on, even if one thinks it’s only for the comfort of others.
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2 hours ago, sassenach said:
This is the first year that I've utterly lost track of what my word was. I went back and looked it up and didn't even recall choosing it, so I guess the word thing didn't work out for 2021. My word was Joy. And while the year hasn't been joy-less, I would definitely not call it a joy-filled year. It's been brutal. The hardest year I've had in many. The one thing that I am incredibly grateful to report is that my marriage is more joy-filled than it's ever been. Life has been a storm but my marriage has thrived, and BELIEVE ME when I say that this has been a hard fought road. This is not an effortless marriage. So that's something. I'm truly grateful to be at this place. Otherwise, the words poop and show come to mind.
I am tired and dreading next year. We've got several very hard things happening in 2022. I don't think we'll see relief next year.
Maybe my word will be Mercy.
God may yet bring even more joy out of a year like that. Read James 1:2-4, and also Romans 5:1-5.
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I have done a word of the year regularly since 2013, but also did one in the mid 2000’s. My word this year was a phrase: strong and courageous. I chose it in honor of my Uncle Mark who died on Dec.26 last year, yet somehow managed to call me and many others on Christmas Day. I got his card just after he passed, which was a little eerie but such a joy too.
In it he encouraged us to “think good thoughts, do good work, and live in today’s blessings, not yesterday’s losses.” His card included Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” God is the source of our strength and courage. So I endeavored, as my uncle wrote, to face 2021 “with the Lord’s promise and help.” 2021 certainly asked a lot of me, and it was a good word to remind me where our strength comes from.
I haven’t thought of. 2022 word yet. 2020 was planted, which also led into my 21 choice nicely.
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10 hours ago, Catwoman said:
How is Dave doing now, Merry?
Thanks for asking. Better than the first few years after his diagnosis, but never the same again. He was diagnosed 21 years ago, but likely infected another 15 years before then, so it had a lot of time to wreak havoc. He slowly got sicker over that time, starting with joint pain and memory issues that doctors dismissed, until he couldn’t work any more. His symptoms today are like a combo of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and PTSD (light, sound, motion, and chemical sensitivities). Short outings to a store or things like 30 minute conversations usually leave him needing to rest for hours. It’s hard to be around people (and he’s an extrovert) and he can’t go to church, which has been the hardest part for him. But homeschooling was a huge blessing and he has good relationships with our kids…we try to count our blessings! God has carried us through so much and provided for us all these years.
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I agree, I would not hesitate to do a month long course of anabiotic’s. My husband is disabled from late stage Lyme disease that went untreated for years. You don’t want to wait for symptoms to show up to decide what to do with Lyme disease.
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Ugh, so sorry. What a pain!
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I’d go removable. I had a bonded one and had it removed, and my teeth shifted quite a bit. But they need to understand that they need to keep wearing it—if they stop, their teeth will likely move.
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5 hours ago, ktgrok said:
We have foam, but not memory foam. I don't like memory foam because as others said, you sink in over time and I feel trapped. But regular foam is much nicer to me than spring.
I find regular, non-memory-foam foam is hard to find! What kind of bed do you have?
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8 hours ago, sheryl said:
I really "wanted" to like memory foam. We were in the market for a new bed end 2019/beginning 2020. I researched and researched more......(repeat) and thought Beautyrest Black was THE one. I think that's what it was called. Went to the store and tried it out. I could not stand it. Tried other memory foam mattresses and could not stand it. In one I found it difficult to get up/out of bed. Now I've since come to realize I think memory foam mattresses are available in different density - maybe? So, maybe we were on one for a 110 lb, IDK but dh and I weigh more than that and sunk. I felt like I was "trapped" and could not stand that feeling.
We didn't have a back up as I was set on BB. But, a customer came in and asked if they sold this particular manufacturer to which the sales associate said, "Yes". She said it was the best mattress she's ever bought and highly recommended it. Well, they had one on the floor and dh and I tried that one out too. WHAT A FIND! It's been great! So liking this set. DH and I slept on a new bed my sister and her dh bought last month. It's very nice too!
It's really personal preference. Many people like memory foam and others prefer coil/springs. No right or wrong answer. Just preference.
Do you know what it’s called?
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Word-of-the-Year folks: reflections on 2021? Thoughts on 2022?
in The Chat Board
Posted
Maybe heal as someone mentioned above. Heal from hurts, relationships, heal physically and emotionally, heal your faith. Or seek…seeking good relationships with hubby and family, better situation for hubby, a new relationship or two for you and the kids, seeking God…