ten reasons you should make your bed

photo from Pottery Barn, not my bedroom


I don't know about you,
but I have a hard time
sleeping in an unmade bed.

The covers get all jumbled
and by morning,
everything is in
an uncomfortable mess.

So for today's list,
I'm going to give
the top ten reasons
you should make your bed.
Feel free to use
any of these reasons
when trying to convince
your teenager
to make his or her bed
before school!

List 8: 10 Reasons
You Should Make Your Bed

1. The covers are more likely to stay where they should, making for a better night's sleep.


2. Your room immediately looks 75% clean (even if it's not.)


3. You are less likely to have spiders and bedbugs crawl inside.


4. It's more comfortable.


5. It's warmer.


6. You can check "make bed" off your to-do list at the beginning of the day.


7. It helps you have self-discipline.


8. You are more likely to keep the rest of your room clean.


9. It's much nicer to come home to a clean room.


10. It's more fun to jump on a made bed!

What about you?
Are you a bed maker?
What would you add to my list?

more than just words

"I've got nothing to do today but smile."
Simon and Garfunkel

"Generally speaking,
the most miserable people I know
are those who are

obsessed with themselves;
the happiest people I know
are those who lose
themselves
in the service of others...
By and large, I have come to see

that if we complain about life,
it is because we are thinking
only of
ourselves."

Gordon B. Hinckley


"The best way
to cheer yourself
is to try to
cheer someone else up."

Mark Twain

have you read it yet?

Contact me

and I'll send you a

free copy of the Book of Mormon.

The language of your choice.

right in the middle of town

I took "A" to school this morning.

The sun had just come up,
and the shadows on the mountains
were so beautiful.

Carrying my camera around with me
has made me stop and notice things
that I hadn't paid any attention to before.

For instance,
about a mile away from my house
right in the middle of town
and across the street from the cemetery
lies this open field.

I drive by it several times a day.

And yet I've never paid attention
to the beauty of it all.

But when I look at it
through a camera lens,
I realize how breathtaking it really is.

Right in the middle of town.

Some people would pay
big bucks for a view like this!

just one quiet moment

That's what I'm hoping for today....
just one quiet moment.

One moment to read a book,
or listen to some music,
or maybe just sit
and contemplate the day.

It's been a good one...
and I'm looking forward to
that one quiet moment
I'll have when it's done.

Were you able to
have a quiet moment today?

what matters most

I was talking to a friend yesterday
who's trying to do too much.

Everything she's doing is important--
and good--and worthwhile.
But she just can't do it all.

And because she's trying to do it all,
the most important things
are getting neglected.

She could have been speaking for me.

Do you ever have that problem?

You get committed to so many things,
that you get spread too thin,
and your focus gets skewed,
and what matters most
gets lost in the shuffle.

What do you do about it?
How do you decide
what's most important...
and always keep it
at the top of the list?

I hope you'll chime in
with some great advice...
my friend and I could both use it!

on being a morning person

Morning in El Salvador by "A", my 17 year old son
..What I Love About Morning

• the sounds of the early birds outside my window, especially when it's warm enough to sleep with the window open.


• watching the sunrise.


• being up before anyone else. ("D" is more of a morning person than me, so I rarely beat him up. But still. I used to love getting up before my kids...I'd try to quietly ease out of bed in hopes that I could do it without waking them up!)


• quiet streets.


• getting an early start. (Anything you get done before breakfast feels like a win!)


• waking up early enough to read in bed.


• hearing the murmurs of groups of women walking early on a cool summer morning. 


• watching the world wake up.


• on a clear day, that band of pink and blue that rings the horizon at dawn.

Are you a morning person?
What do you love about mornings?