7:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m.?

It's hard to tell.

I drive to class in the pitch black at both those times and sometimes have to think hard to remember if it's morning or night. This is the product of some confusion at SLCC, when the longtime admin assistant to the English department took a different job at the college, leaving the scheduling of classes in the lap of a full-time faculty member, who bravely stepped up to the daunting task, but who wasn't familiar with most of us adjunct instructors. Glancing quickly through the dozens of names, she didn't realize that there were two Websters: Shulamith and I. She thought we were the same person, so she gave Shulamith's regular classes to me and offered nothing to Shulamith. When we finally figured out what happened, she rectified the situation by giving Shulamith back her normal classes and allowing me to choose which sections of ENGL 1010 I wanted, but sadly, by this point, precious few sections remained.

Hence, my spring 2020 schedule at SLCC: Two sections of ENGL 1010 at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, and one 3-hour section on Saturday from 10:00-1:00. It's for sure the strangest schedule I've ever had, and I figured I'd either love it or hate it. After two weeks of class, though, I'm still not sure. There are definite pros and cons:

Pros
1. I am free all day, every day between my 7:00 a.m. class and my 7:00 p.m. class. This makes me feel more like a stay-at-home mom, which is my absolute favorite thing to be.

2. I only have to do this weird schedule two days a week.

3. Students who take classes at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. usually do it because they work full time jobs during the day. These students tend to be a little older and pretty dang responsible, and I've already seen evidence of this.

4. The campus is like a morgue at 7:00 a.m., so I can get a parking spot just a few steps from the front door.

5. The Saturday class. Students who will go to English class on Saturday are just all around awesome. Also, this class is on the Jordan campus, in the Health Sciences building, so my classroom has all kinds of cool pictures of body parts and skeletons.

Cons
1. I'm not a morning person. At all. (I'm not a night person either; I'm sort of a middle-of-the-day person.) This is really early for me.

2. Both Monday/Wednesday classes are on the South City campus, so I have to drive all the way downtown, twice, in the dark.

3. The Saturday class. Cuz, you know, it's Saturday, and I'm not supposed to be in school.


More pros than cons thus far, and we're two weeks in. I'll keep you posted as the weeks progress. Meanwhile, if you see me on the freeway headed north in the dark, you'll know where I'm headed. And that I'm likely struggling to remember whether it's 7:00 a.m. or p.m.

January Joy: (No more whining!)

I've written way too many whiny January posts. This is the eleventh year of this blog, and I'm pretty sure if you look back, you can find a whiny January post at the start of nearly all eleven of them. Let's just say it's not my favorite month. So this year, rather than whining, I decided to write about some January joy. Here goes:

1. After two weeks of no contact with Seth, I got to chat with him this morning. Wooo! Last week was a killer, my friends. Apparently just as he and his companion arrived at the cyber, Gmail stopped working. Seth had no way to contact me. I want to report that I did pretty well, all things considered. Here are some things I did NOT do:

• I did NOT have a full-on panic attack.
• I did NOT call the mission president.
• I did NOT message Sister Hansen (president's wife) on social media.

Instead, I tried hard to believe my family, who told me that no news is good news because the church would certainly contact me if anything bad happened. They also reminded me that whenever I don't hear from my missionary, there is always a perfectly logical explanation. One would think that 18 months into my third missionary's two years of service I would have learned this. I'm a slow learner. Here he is with his new district in La Floresta, where he is serving as the district leader.

2. I got to celebrate Amanda's birthday. On Thursday, we had a game night, where we played a new version of Pictionary; rather than drawing, you use cards with pictures on them to make words. It was intense, let me tell you, but so much fun. Then yesterday, we ate a yummy lunch at Cheesecake Factory, followed by a four-layer chocolate cake with birthday cake ice cream for dessert. Happy, happy birthday, Amanda! I'm so very glad you were born and that you said "yes" to Eli four years ago.

3. I got to wear a brand new dress to the first day of spring semester. This may not mean much to you, but I just love clothes, especially surprise ones. So caught up in the Christmas rush, I totally forgot that at some point in the thick of it all, Shulamith and I both bought new dresses at Old Navy for a crazy steal price of $15.  When I was searching through my closet for the perfect "First Day of the Semester Dress," voila! There was this cute black and white dress, tags still on, that I forgot I bought. It was such a good surprise.

4. I got to watch my Jazz boys crush the New York Knicks, 128-104, with my two favorite Jazz partners, Shulamith and Isaiah. In case you haven't heard, my Jazz boys are creating an incredible season, game after game. They've won 15 of their last 17 games; honestly, they just get better and better. What's their secret? Team is everything, Coach Quin says. That and outstanding defense. These guys truly care about each other, and it shows. They are not selfish. There are no superstars. They work together. They build each other. We'll see how they do in upcoming weeks when their schedule becomes decidedly more challenging, but whatever happens, they'll remain the awesome players and awesome people they already are.

January is not my favorite month, and I've done plenty of whining about it in past years, but this year, nope! This year, it's all about the January joy!

Theodore's Themes - Part II

This is an ongoing blog post, so Shulamith can remember all the things Theodore says. If you want to see the earlier installment of this post, go here. 

11. Theodore and Swen accidentally bonked heads, making Theodore very upset.
Theodore: Mommy! My Swen. Stupid!

12. We were with Shulamith's kids in the play area of a mall, and I spilled my nearly full, 44-oz Diet Coke everywhere.
Theodore: Oh no! Uck spill Diet Coke!

13. Theodore likes to nap here for some reason. He loves the Pack 'N' Play apparently. Shulamith was trying to get him to go to sleep at their apartment.
Theodore: I sleep Uck's house. I NOT sleep Mommy's house!

14. Looking around at their new apartment:
Theodore: I like new house. Really fun new house.

15. I gave Theodore a dollar bill in a Valentine card last week. He used it to buy new pacifiers because he loves them.
Theodore: I buy new bink! Uck give me present money.

16. The Jazz have come back from All-Star break and totally sucked, losing their first two games. Shulamith was screaming at them.
Theodore: Mommy, what Jazz doing?
Shulamith: They're losing really bad.
Theodore: Go away, Jazz, you stupid!

17. Theodore (playing with Waffles): Waffles is very nice and cute.
Me: Theodore is very nice and cute.
Theodore: Huck (formerly Uck) is very nice and cute.

18. Recently there was a noticeable earthquake here in the valley, followed by several aftershocks in the next couple of weeks.
Theodore: Mom! Shaking house so fun!

19. Swen is obsessed with tornados these days and plans on being a tornado chaser when he grows up. So of course Theodore hears lots of "tornado" talk. 

Theodore: "I will hiya tornados!" ("Hiya" means to attack something with a sword or some other long weapon.)

19. Theodore was asking for pepperoni. Shulamith often gives the kids little pepperonis in a cup, so she did that for Theodore.
Theodore: (noticeably unhappy): I don't want this! I want pepperoni (showing her a can of Dr. Pepper in the fridge)!

20. It's already been established that Theodore is the sweetest kid on the planet. I've had five children of my own, and I've never met such a docile, easygoing toddler. He basically bathroom trained himself at age 2.5, with zero stress. Lately, Shulamith has noticed his teeth (overbite) getting worse, likely the result of his pacifier (which he loves and calls a "bink"). Shulamith is a kind, respectful mother; she would never just take it away from him, but she also doesn't want his teeth to get worse. So she and Matt decided to sort of distract him from it during the day, and then see if he might be willing to go to sleep without it, knowing they would give it to him if he needed it. So when they were putting him to bed, Theodore said "Where's my bink?" to which they replied, "I don't know. I can't find it right now. Do you think you can maybe go to sleep without it (never thinking he would). But of course, Theodore lay right down and went to sleep. They left the pacifier on the floor by his crib, expecting he would wake up and need it in the night. He didn't. Slept all night. In the morning, when he woke up, he saw the pacifier on the floor.
Theodore: Hey Mommy, there's my bink. It's right there on the floor.

21. Theodore is the easiest baby/toddler ever, but like all kids, he often objects to going to bed.
Theodore: Night night is an idiot!

22. It's birthday season in the Webster-Monson home, with Shulamith's birthday in April, Matt's and Swen's birthdays in May, and Kennedy's and Theodore's birthdays in July. So Theodore has been hearing a lot about birthday presents arriving in the mail, mostly from Amazon. But he also hears a lot about junk mail each day, and it seems he's a bit confused.
Theodore: Mommy, my birthday present is in the junk mail!

23. It's been so sunny lately, and sometimes the sun shines right in Theodore's eyes as he rides in his car seat.
Theodore: Mommy! My eyeballs are crying!

24. So a few days ago, Theodore was mad about something, and Shulamith can't even remember now what it was, but...
Theodore: Mommy, I so mad I kick you in the face!

25. Shulamith tries to get Theodore to wear a swim top (rash guard) because he has such paper-white skin (more over, Joe Ingles), but Theodore doesn't want to wear it.
Theodore: If I wear it, my swim suit top will melt.

26. Theodore turned three on July 15th. He wanted to make sure everyone knew. All the next day:

Theodore: My birthday was so fun. I three now!

27. Theodore is obsessed with bugs. He loves them!

Theodore (showing me a bug on he ground): Hey, Her! Look at that bug!

Me: I see it. Is it alive or dead?

Theodore: I think dead. I think not walking.

28. One time Swen was with me, and Shulamith was out driving in her car with her other two kids.

Theodore: Oh Mommy! I think we can't find Swen!

29. Theodore loves to "read" stories (meaning, he looks at the pictures and makes stuff up about them). One time, he was leafing through a non-picture book.

Theodore: Oh no! This is NOT a story.

30. Theodore was eating the very last package of two Swiss Rolls. Shulamith told him to save one for Kennedy.
Theodore (holding up the tiniest crumb of Swiss Roll): I saved this for Kennedy!

31. Recently, Theodore was invited to an outdoor (social distanced - as much as is possible with 3-year-olds) birthday party for his friend, Ellis.

Theodore: I'm going to get a very special car.

Shulamith: You're going to get a special car as a birthday present for Ellis?

Theodore: No. I think for me. I'm going to hide it from Ellis.

Swen-isms - Part 4

This is Part III of my ongoing blog post for Shulamith, so she can remember the things Swen says. If you want to see an earlier installment, go here.

158. Swen is the most loving, caring friend to all people, with one exception: his sister, Kennedy. For some reason, he torments her constantly for no reason other than that she exists. So Shulamith is really weary of this behavior.
Shulamith: Swen! You have to stop being mean to Kennedy for no reason. Stop hitting her, kicking her, pulling her hair, etc. So this is the deal. Whenever I see you hurting Kennedy out of the blue, for no reason, I'm taking one of your coins (Swen has a collection of coins). Those times when I see you treating Kennedy kindly and respectfully, I'll give you a coin back.
Swen: I'm gonna lose all my money!


159. Swen: I didn't come to earth for a sister. I came for Classic Fun Center and cars.

160. Swen: Karina's dad is a vegetarian, so that's why it's okay for him to say bad words.

161. I was going to take Swen to school one day last week because the "Monster"(Monson-Webster) family was busy moving, and things were a bit chaotic.
Swen: Sorry, Her. I only want Mom to take me to school. Sorry to tell you, but you're not my favorite. Mom is my favorite. You are second. Mom has taken me to school my whole life. Preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade. I only want Mom to take me to school.

162. Swen slept here a couple nights ago, and when we took Woof outside in the morning, Swen remarked:
Swen: Her, I am SO glad you didn't give him away.

163. So now that Swen can read and write, he likes to look over my shoulder and read my text messages. Also, he takes Shulamith's old phone (which still works) and texts me various things throughout the day. I have told Swen NOT to read my text messages. They are private, and it's rude to read other people's texts. Yesterday, he was reading Shulamith's text messages, and she told him the same thing, to which he replied:
Swen: I don't know why Her doesn't want me to read her text messages. What would she be writing that she wouldn't want me to read?
Shulamith: Oh Swen, lots of things!

164. Shulamith was talking to Swen about the Plan of Salvation, about after we die and progress to the Spirit World. She told him we would be busy there and have lots of things to do.
Swen: Are we gonna have to do a lot of hard math there?

165. Since the quarantine and social distancing, most days we drive through somewhere to get lunch, then go to a big, empty park with lots of grass and no people. We sit and eat our food and let the kids run around, sometimes ride their bikes, whatever it takes to get them some much-needed exercise. Swen has always loved to make up his own names for things; for example, his large truck that has spaces for multiple small Hot Wheels cars is called a "Weem Weem." There are so many others. However, a new one came about from sitting out on grass in different places each day. Swen was picking up the little 2-in cores of soil caused by core aeration.
Swen: Look at this notification. Wow, look at all these notifications! I guess these little cores of dirt are now called "notifications."

166. Recently, Shulamith was teaching her kids about the story of King Benjamin from The Book of Mormon. The were discussing about why it's important to be generous and to show our love by giving to those who don't have as much as we do.
Swen: I think we could give our cell phones to homeless people. That would be a nice thing to do. But then we would also have to give them chargers. But I don't know where they would plug them in.

167. Swen often trashes on girls, and he was in the middle of one of his rants about how girls are stupid, etc.
Me: Swen, Mommy and I are girls.
Swen: Well, you and Mommy are nicer than all the other girls.

168. Shulamith was teaching Swen about how it will be when Jesus comes again. There will be peace in all the land and no fighting.
Swen: Does that mean I will be nice to Kennedy when Jesus comes?

169. I am a seatbelt/carseat Nazi. Every person, young or old, in my car needs to be buckled before my wheels move. Shulamith is a bit less rigid about this, and she allows her kids to unbuckle and move around in the car when she's in parking lots. Swen is baffled by this difference.
Swen: Mom, I'd love to live with Her because she's really nice, except when she forces me to buckle when we're hardly moving at all.

170. Gerald is a hoarder. There are worse ones for sure, but he's pretty bad. Imagine how that works with my OCD personality. Haha. So earlier today, Swen was pulling stuff out from under our bed, a bunch of crap, old unopened mail, wrappers, empty soda boxes, full soda boxes, so much junk.
Swen: Gerald sure keeps a whole lot of junk down here. I'm gonna throw away the trash, and I'm gonna leave the good soda on this chair right here, so he can see how much he has and not buy any more.

171. So, I've been spending lots of time in my bedroom because Seth has decided to watch all 40 seasons of Survivor, and Isaiah is rewatching with him. I detest that show. Now only is it the most boring show ever, but it's also Rated "S," (full of disgusting creatures).
Swen: Her, are you hanging out here in your bedroom because Isaiah and Seth are watching Survivor?
Me: Yes.
Swen: Well, you could at least go out there and say "How's Survivor?" That would be the nice thing to do. They are your sons, after all.

172. Shulamith was teaching Swen and Kennedy about the importance of giving to others and how Heavenly Father wants us to be charitable and to be mindful of those in need.
Swen: Well, maybe we could give a homeless person our phone.
Shulamith: Well, that might be nice.
Swen: But then they'd need a charger. And where would they plug it in?

173. Swen: When I'm a grown-up, I'll have to buy birthday presents for my mom.
Shulamith: Do you mean for your wife?
Swen: Yes. I think I'll buy her a microwave.

174. Swen slept upstairs with me a couple nights ago. He was with Seth and me when we had our evening prayer. Later, he told his mom about it.
Swen: Why are Her's prayers so long???

175. Shulamith: It's okay, Swen. Everyone makes mistakes.
Swen: Well I never make mistakes. I do it on purpose when I hit Kennedy and take away Theodore's cars.

176. Recently, I wrecked my car, and it was a total loss.
Me: Swen, will you go with me to pick out a new car.
Swen: Yes.
Me: What kind of car should I get?
Swen: Really, Her, I think you're gonna need to get an older, smaller car like Isaiah's or Seth's. You can't buy another expensive car when you are buying a new house.

177. We took Swen car shopping (see above). He had a couple choice comments regarding my situation:
Swen: Mom, you need to take Her to a big parking lot, where she can practice driving without getting in crashes.
Swen: Her, you need to go back to college and learn how to drive.

178. With the COVID situation, we have spent most of the summer taking Shulamith's kids to various parks. Usually, we try to vary our activities. We go to fast food restaurants with play places. We go to the trampoline place. We go to Classic Fun Center. We go to the mall. But this summer, we just go to parks, and Swen has grown quite tired of it.
Swen: Mom, I don't really like parks that much. Also, you and Her just sit on benches, drink Diet Coke, and talk about Her's house and Her's car. And you could do that in your own house.

179. Shulamith has been talking to the kids about the possibility of changing schools sometime this school year, once they move out of their apartment and into a house. Swen isn't sold on this idea at all.
Swen: No, I don't want to go to a new school. This school is just fine.

180. Theodore is truly the sweetest little boy, but at age 3, he still often irritates his 8-year-old brother, Swen. Especially when he takes Swen's cars and other important things.
Swen: I'm just gonna take all my cars and all my other stuff to Her's house, and no one will bother me.

181. Today was Swen's fourth day of 3rd grade. After a couple days, Shulamith asked him if he was learning lots of new things.
Swen: No, not really. We mostly just color sheets. We do a lot of coloring. Ms. Pack is new this year, so I think she may not know she's supposed to teach us stuff.

182. Swen: Mom, Her's been driving a lot lately, and I don't think she's gotten in any car crashes. So I think she'll be okay.

183. Swen: Mom, a lady who does duty on the playground asked about Minecraft today.

Shulamith: Really? That's cool. What did you tell her?

Swen: I told her I'm building the White House, and then I'm building Donald Trump inside it. Then I told her I was going to blow it up because we don't like him. 

(Shulamith would like me to add that she told Swen we don't blow people up just because we don't like them.)

184. Swen was asking me when Seth would get married and if I wanted him to get married.

Me: Well, Seth is only 20 years old, so that's too young to get married. But when he's older, yes I hope he will get married.

Swen: Do you think he will have children?

Me: I hope so because being a parent is the best thing in the whole world.

Swen: Well, we will have to cross our fingers that his baby is a girl.

Me: Really? Why?

Swen: Because I don't want another person taking all my cars like Theodore does. I have a lot of very nice cars that I've spent a lot of money on. I think any baby boy would want them. Especially if I still have this tanker truck right here.

185. Swen: Which will come first, the sun exploding, Jesus coming back, or WWIII?

186. Swen: Mom, why are you so worried about my screen time? There are so many other things to worry about like paying your taxes on time and making sure your bills are paid.

187. As some of you know, Shulamith and I are both in the process of building new houses in Bluffdale. This means that Swen will have to change schools at some point, and he doesn't want to do that. He won't let people even talk about the new houses because he doesn't want to move. He adores his teacher, Ms. Pack. Last week, Shulamith was cleaning out the small bedroom Swen and Kennedy currently share in their temporary apartment. Way down on the bottom of Swen's cart that holds all his most important treasures, she found this:

Apparently, Swen made this note for Ms. Pack and is saving it to give to her when he has to leave his school. But he did this all in secret. :-( In case you can't read what he wrote, it says this: "Dear Ms. Pack. I will always miss you and never forget."

188. Shulamith bought Theodore a rainbow sno-cone, and he didn't finish before it was time to go pick up Swen and Kennedy from school. When Swen got in the car, he was furious. Later, he tried to explain his dismay to his mother:

Swen: Mom, how would you feel if I came to pick you up from school, and I was eating one of your favorite Oreo ice cream bars?

189. Swen: Mom, I'd like to have a collection of trophies, but I don't want to do soccer or basketball or like any of those things.

Kennedy says...Part 4

This is the ongoing blog post for Shulamith, so she can remember all the things Kennedy says. If you'd like to see earlier editions of this post, go here.

62. Since coming home from Disneyland, both Shulamith's older kids have so many great memories.
Kennedy: Whenever I watch videos of Disneyland, I get tears in my eyes because I miss it so much.

63. The "Monsters" (Monson-Websters) are moving into a fairly small apartment after selling their tent in the wilderness and before purchasing a larger home. 
Kennedy: When do we move into our new "compartment"?

64. When we eat at Chinese restaurants, Shulamith "reads" her kids their fortunes, except instead of reading what is there, she makes stuff up about them. For example, "It says, 'Swen is the most amazing boy who loves cars.'"
Kennedy: Sometimes you get really, really lucky, and the fortune inside the cookie has your name on it, like "Kennedy is the best dancer."

65. Shulamith and I always remark on how Kennedy is so NOT like us. We are extroverts, super social, and we like to go places all the time. Kennedy is an introvert, not very social, and she likes to stay home. But we recently discovered one way she is like us. A game of "Would you rather..." went like this:
Shulamith: Would you rather not be able to walk or not be able to drive a car?
Kennedy: Definitely not be able to walk. People could just push me around in a wheel chair.
Shulamith: But you couldn't run and play and dance and do gymnastics.
Kennedy: That's okay. As long as someone could put me in my bed and bring me food, and I could watch TV, I'd be fine.
Haha, yes, girl, we also love to lie in bed, eat good food, and watch TV.

66. Driving through downtown Midvale on the way to Shulamith and Matt's new apartment:
Kennedy: This is like old world.
And sure enough, we saw this sign:

67. We had no idea that Kennedy has been paying any attention at all to the presidential race, until this.
Kennedy: Mommy! Did you now that a girl is going to be the new president?
Shulamith: Well, a couple of girls are trying to be the president, but we don't know yet who will win.
Kennedy: No, Mommy, a GIRL! A GIRL is going to be the president!
(Oh, Kennedy, not this time around. But one day soon, we can hope!)

68. Then more on the election, out of the mouths of babes...
Kennedy: Mommy, I think everyone should just vote for Jesus for president.


69. Kennedy and Swen were in a conversation about whether it's better to be a girl or a boy.
Kennedy: It's good to be a girl.
Swen: It's better to be a boy. You can go to the bathroom outside.
Shulamith: But girls can have babies.
Swen: That's it? And sit around and look at Instagram.
Kennedy: That's a lot!

70. Kennedy's brother Swen is a very nice, kind boy to everyone in the world. Everyone except Kennedy. For some reason, Swen makes it his life's mission to make her miserable much of the time. One day she was at her wit's end with him.
Kennedy: Whenever we go anywhere, just LEAVE him!"

71. Last night was Halloween, but because of COVID, safe trick-or-treating meant only going to houses with bowl of candy outside.

Kennedy: I don't really like saying "trick-or-treat" to strangers. I like these bowls better.

Happy New Year (but not new decade)!

As Isaiah and I watched the first Jazz game of 2020, the casters kept bantering back and forth about the "play of the decade." "No, no, no!" I told them (through my TV); the best play of the decade is yet to come. We have a fabulous team this year. All five starters, including our new additions Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley, are incredible. And our bench! Can we just stop right here and give a huge shout out to our bench players, who have totally stepped up this season? RollsRoyce O'Neale rainin' down 3s one after the other. Recent trade Jordan Clarkson, with the team less than 24 hours when he donned a Jazz uniform and was on the court, scoring second to our incredible Donovan Mitchell. So yeah. The "Play of the Decade" will happen this year, in 2020, when the Jazz go further in the post season than they have in, well, decades. I'm sure of it.

Why do I think those casters were mistaken, implying that the decade ended Dec. 31, 2019? Because there is no year zero. Of course, time is a human-made construct, so I suppose people can decide for themselves when decades begin and end, but I'm a purist on such things. Just as the new millennium began January 1, 2001 (not 2000), the new decade will begin January 1, 2021. Because there's no year zero in the calendar, the first year was complete at the end of year one, not at its beginning. Here's an article that explains it better than I can.

While it's not a new decade, it's most definitely a new year, full of all the hope and promise a new year brings. I don't really make resolutions per se, but here are some of my plans for 2020:

1. Saying "This is the last _________ without Seth." Yep, with every yearly event, I can say that. In reality, I've been saying it ever since he hit his year mark. For example, "This is the last time we'll decorate for Christmas without Seth." And "This is the last time I'll ring in the new year [at around 10 p.m. - I'm a wimp] without Seth." And "This is the last time I'll look outside and get excited for the first snowfall without Seth."

Anyone and Everyone: When does your missionary come home?
Me: Oh, my missionary? Why he'll be home LATER THIS YEAR (!!!), August 6th, to be exact!

2. Going to the airport to pick him up. I just loving having most if not all of my kids with me in my car at the same time. It makes me so happy. That's why when I replaced my 2004 minivan just over a year ago, I made sure to get a crossover vehicle that seats seven. Just in case. Our oldest son lives in Maryland, so I don't know if he'll be here, but the rest of us will pile into my new car, "Welcome Home" banners in our hands and joy in our hearts, and drive to the airport to watch Seth come down that escalator and into my arms. Oh it will be epic; you just wait.

3. Studying the Book of Mormon. It doesn't hurt that I teach Gospel Doctrine, so it's technically my job to do this, but I'm super excited for the new year and for the Come Follow Me curriculum. I had a crazy cool time with my class last Sunday, and that was only the introductory pages, not even the actual text. But dang, if you check out the promises from modern prophets for studying this book, it's hard to argue it's not an excellent idea. Here are just a few: draw nearer to God; have greater power to resist temptation, avoid deception, and stay on the straight and narrow path; receive an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord and increased desire to walk in obedience; make better decisions, receive answers to questions and direction for your own life; and be immunized against the evils of the day.

How many of these sound good to you?

Me, too.

4. Increasing exercise. I already walk everywhere all the time, but I've been thinking lately that maybe walking isn't enough. Maybe I should add something more to my fitness routine. Shulamith and I are going to try out our friend Hilly's "High" class Monday morning, so we'll see how that goes.

5. Continuing intermittent fasting. I know it's not for everyone, but over a year ago, I started this plan where I fast for 16 hours every day and eat only during the remaining eight. It's been so great. I love it. My whole body feels better, and weight control is 10 times easier.

6. Visiting the Grand Ole Opry. In April, Shulamith and I are meeting my mom and my brother in Nashville, where I'll fulfill a lifelong dream to see the Grand Ole Opry. While I love many types of music, I was raised on "Waylon and Willie and the boys." Nothing gives me all the feels quite like classic country. Suffice it to say, I cannot wait!

I probably have at least a few more plans for 2020, but I can't think of them right now, and I'm off to watch the Jazz beat the Nicks tonight, so I need to get ready.

Happy New Year, Everyone (but not new decade)!