an extra hour

i am in desperate need of some extra time.

seriously, folks... Desperate. with a capital d.

its been a super busy year (and it's only september... oh boy.) with weddings, work and family parties galore. not to mention remodeling parts of our house, birthday celebrations and just trying to keep up with life.

i must admit the keeping up with life part has been mildly neglected at times... i have dishes and laundry to prove it. you'd think that two people can't generate that many clothes or dishes in a week. but i just can't seem to catch up. i like to blame it on the fact that i'm at work for 9-10 hours everyday and then come home and make dinner. and then there's just not enough time. some nights i teach piano lessons. some nights we have plans to go out. but most nights, i'm just tired.

dead. beat. tired.

lame excuse? perhaps. blah, blah, everyone is busy... yeah i know. but seriously. i think i could enter a contest. and probably land in the top 5. depending on the time of year, maybe the top 3.

and i'm starting to realize that maybe i have a problem with being too eager at times. and maybe... i said maybe... overestimating my capabilities. regarding the first, as mentioned before, i really love helping people. a lot. i love feeling like i've done some good and accomplishing something. and even better when that accomplishment benefits someone else. so any chance i get, i jump (sometimes literally) to help. however, sometimes, i probably take on too much. i let my ego get the best of me and i am convinced that i can do it... because, why can't i? i don't like being told that i can't do something. so i try, and try. and sometimes try some more until i've aced the talent at an adequate, though not perfect, level of proficiency. so i stretch myself until i can't handle any more. and then i strech some more and take on more responsibilities. because i just can.

but enough of that. because what it boils down to is that i just don't have enought time to be good at everything. time...
time. time. time. time. time.

i just need a few more hours every day. just a few less hours that i need to sleep... which brings me to my nest tangent: in high school, i had insomnia. i survived with minimal sleep every night. sometimes i would get 2 hours of sleep. sometimes i would get less. on a really good night, i'd get 4 full hours of sleep. but i had so much energy and always felt productive. probably because i did so many things at night with the time most people spend sleeping. i would read - sometimes a whole book in one night. (cough cough harry potter cough cough) i would write songs, listen to talks, do homework, exercise - so many things. its amazing what you can do when you don't sleep. but i've found that the older i get, and maybe the more "grown up" i become, the more sleep i need. not get. need. i need to have 7-8 hours of sleep. my body just won't wake up until i've reached that minimum. i try to wake up... but it's just so hard. so i've resorted to going to bed early. earlier than i even had to be home for curfew in high school. and let me tell you - that's pretty early. i'm like an old woman. i have arithritis, i can tell when the weather is going to change by the ache in my joints, and i go to bed early.

i swear i'm only in my twenties. promise.

my point is, that i need just an extra hour or two. even 60 minutes that don't just fly on by.

sixty minutes.
there are so many things that can be done in sixty minutes.
one load of laundry from start to finish.
wash and dry and put away all the dishes from dinner.
an excellent cardio workout.
watching an episode of one of the following:

the west wing
psych
alias
house
fringe
arrested development
and a few others

reading a good portion of a great book
taking a walk

oh, the possibilities!

but alas... there are only 24 hours in a day. jack bauer has drilled that into our heads more times than one. seven, to be precise.

i digress. i need to figure out how to manage my time better. maybe that will make my busy schedule ... not... so... busy...?

who am i kidding?

still, i'm desperate for an extra hour...

rainbow

this was the view from my porch
when i got home from work tonight

i live in a beautiful place.

japanese day

september 17th

is one of the most anticipated holidays in my family.it's the day we celebrate my dad's mission to
japan.

we pull out all of my dad's japanese things
and
eat a delicious japanese meal.

miso soup and salad.

yakisoba.

curry and rice.

gyoza.

all so good!
it's like thanksgiving in september.

we're all super grateful my dad served a mission. and not just because he learned how to made scrumptious japanese food. my dad is an awesome example to all of us. i can't fully express the gratitude i have for him. he's seriously the best.

so, happy japanese day. and thanks dad, for serving a mission.

tan man

yesterday was my brother tanner's birthday. we celebrated today with a delicious italian dinner and the best chocolate cake i have ever made.
and apparently, byu got my message to "please have a great game in honor of tanner - you're #1 fan - for his birthday."

{thanks, cougars.}

tanner is a good kid. he is the most athletic kid in our family. he is growing like morning glory - every time i see him, he's a few inches taller. and i see him every week. no joke.

we all joke that he's the "pretty one" of the family - he is quite the handsome boy. tall, skinny, athletic, smart, spiritual, funny... an all around catch. but not quite yet. he's only 14. no dating for a couple more years.

tan is definitely the coolest of all of us kids. i like to think that i'm cool, but really not so much... a-team was too smart to be really cool. tay was funny enough to earn a "cool" title, but was also lucky to just have lots of cool friends. and we'll see how b dawg works high school - i'm sure he will. but tan - tanner is just all around cool. he's easy going, but not irresponsible. he's funny, but not ridiculous. he's attractive, but not too cocky (thanks to his siblings reminding him that if his head gets big, he's not as pretty). he's just an all around fantastic kid.

i love his guts. i cannot believe that he is 14, and at the same time, i was surprised he's not in high school yet. he is a mature kid for his age and i love being around him.

happy birthday, tan.

hope it was great. love ya.

number nine

i've been waiting since saturday night to see what the polls would read after the opening weekend of college football.

i was not disappointed.

to say i was thrilled with the outcome of the byu vs. oklahoma game would be mildly understating the sheer bliss. i was no doubt supportive of the cougars from the beginning, and surely wanted them to win... but #3 oklahoma? i didn't want to set my sights too high. so i convinced myself that a decent game, only losing by 10 points, would suffice. one touchdown. one field goal. that's certainly respectable. and if oklahoma was byu's only loss this season, well, that would definitely allow some bcs busting.

but my expectations were exceeded. i won't ever say that the game wasn't sloppy - way too many flags (several that i was convinced were just the refs practicing their flag throwing capabilities...) and a couple kinks needing to be worked out. but by george, i'm proud to be a cougar fan.

it is truly unfortunate that sam bradford was injured. i think bronco said it best in his post-game comments: bradford is one great football player, and it is truly unfortunate anytime any athlete gets hurt. wishing him well was very classy, i think. good man, that bronco mendenhall.

after the game, we discussed where this win would rank the cougars. 12. 13. 11 if we were lucky. so imagine my surprise this morning when the AP poll read number 9. NINE! that's huge! byu broke the top ten in the opening weekend - from 20 to 9. awesome.

now, boys, just keep your heads on straight and don't get rattled. and by all means, do not get cocky. just play football like it was meant to be played.

here's hoping for a 12-0 season.
and a real bcs bid.

go cougars!

opportunity to serve

i am not a fundraiser-er.

in fact, i loathe fundraisers. i hate asking people for money. i'm not a sales person and i definitely am not a fan of being asked to "donate" $20 for a tiny box of candy bars for the local elementary school.

however, i love serving.
i love helping people.
i love providing as much assistance as i can.

so yesterday, when i found out that a good friend and co-worker's family's home was completely destroyed in the wildfires in auburn, CA... all i could think was how could i help this family?

they came home from church on sunday and only had a few minutes to gather a couple things - a file of original birth certificates, a family picture from the wall and a diaper bag was all they managed to take with them. all of the rest of their belongings - clothes, dishes, appliances, photo albums, wedding keepsakes, blankets, music, furniture - everything.

e v e r y t h i n g is gone.
ashes.

so, while i do not like asking for money, or fundraising in an manner, i feel like they need help.

this is an opportunity to serve.

i have started a collection for this family and, if you feel so inclined, would gladly welcome any other contributions.

they need anything and everything - they have to rebuild their lives from scratch. luckily, they have the gospel in their lives and have maintained an eternal perspective of things, but i'm sure it's not easy. clothes, dishes, blankets, gift cards, cash, anything, i'm sure would be greatly appreciated.

i am sending a package to them on friday, september 11.

if you would like to help,
please contact me at
shannalarson@gmail.com
to arrange pick up and/or drop off.

but most of all, please keep this (and the other families affected)
in your prayers.

i think that will help the most.