Category: Life according to Angela

Daily doses

I have learned that short daily routines are powerful and effective for improving myself. A daily habit of reading one author or one subject for a period of time is a wonderful way to grow.

One year, I read A Year with C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classical Works. As I spent about five minutes with this great thinker each day, I was inspired to articulate faith in a clearer, more persuasive way. It didn’t matter that I had already read many of his books. These short readings were a steady dose of brilliance each day.

I have enjoyed other daily readings, such as Russell M. Nelson’s Daily Joy, and Clemency Burton-Hill’s Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day. Each of these informed and inspired me and gave me a sense of accomplishment each time I read. Dopamine! Yay!

My daily dose of culture for 2026 is Shakespeare. So far, I have floundered to understand my daily readings, but when something makes sense, a mark is made on my heart. I think that I’ll be able to comprehend Shakespeare better as I continue to spend time with him.

I’m most successful if a new daily goal is brief so can be linked easily to my established routines. I learned somewhere that this is called habit stacking. Basically, the idea is to link a goal to something you are already doing. For example, I have an established morning routine, so I might choose to add a 5-10 minute goal during that time.

An ongoing goal of mine is to simply read one page each day. That gets me into a book, then I end up reading much more. It’s an overtly minimal goal, but it’s effective.

Small daily acts give a better picture of where I’m headed than the things I do occasionally, in the past, or plan to do someday. Brief minutes add up to a lifetime.

#Goals

I don’t think we’re using hashtags or saying “#Goals” anymore, but this verse is pretty aspirational for me.

Notice that Nephi says his father Lehi was obedient unto the word of the Lord. End of statement. This is a character trait of Lehi, a long-established pattern in his life. Nephi continues, “Wherefore (meaning because of this, or for this reason), [Lehi] did as the Lord commanded.”

Nephi also says he was born of goodly parents. To Nephi, GOODNESS and OBEDIENCE were defining characteristics of his parents, so (of course) they would do what the Lord asked of them.

I have parents like this, and they have been missing from our lives for a year because they have been serving a mission. This is their second mission together. They served as mission leaders for three years when they were in their fifties, and now they are in their seventies. They have been serving in Puerto Rico where my dad served as a young missionary in the early 1970’s.

I can say of my parents, “They are obedient, so they answered the call for more senior missionaries to serve.”

They come home this week. I have their car in my driveway, a nice bedroom waiting for them because they fly in so late, and flags to wave at the airport. Hooray!

Or, as my dad would say, Hurrah for Israel!

Simple solutions

One night when I was sick recently, I struggled to fall asleep. There played in my mind a rapid-fire slideshow of images I had seen on my phone while I was sick in bed. Advice, decor, shopping, Christmas traditions, clothes, and all kinds of information flashed in an endless loop, robbing me of peace.

Eventually, sleep came, and when I woke up, I had no appetite for more images. Media was wearing me out, physically and mentally. It was time to consume less.

The solutions to our problems can almost always be articulated in a few simple words, or can be broken into simple steps.

Consume less.

Say less.

Be less impressed with yourself.

Drink more water.

Breathe.

Be present.

Keep going.

Do one thing differently.

Add one thing to your routine.

Call them.

Begin.

Each of these has been a solution, simply expressed, to different problems in my life.

My best advice for a concrete, approachable solution to your biggest problem is to pray. Trust that the idea, motivation, help, or information you need will be given to you at the perfect time. It will almost always be a simple command or a sequence of simple, actionable steps. Really!

Not the villain

The Nativities are gone and winter decorations and collections of dishes take their place on the shelves in my kitchen.

As I phase out the Christmas decorations, I need to remind myself that I am not the villain of the house for taking down all the joy. It always makes us sad to see them go.

Here are the things I am telling myself,

The decorations will be back again. They are special partly because they are a novelty.

I need to simplify my lines of sight and reduce the number of objects requiring attention. It’s time for me to hibernate, read, sew, and be cozy for a few months without all the extras. It’s okay to need a break.

    A few lists to end the year

    I love the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Although the silence was painful after our family left, I have begun to order my thoughts about the past year, journaling, reading notes, reviewing my planner, and organizing myself for the new year.

    I love reflecting on questions like these during the quiet hours. I will include a few of my answers, too.

    What are the lessons from 2025?

    • God can fix things so quickly, so completely, and so elegantly.
    • I have true friends on whom I can call when I need help.
    • I can trust God’s wisdom when my trials don’t go away.

    What books and people did I keep close to me?

    • Book List Here, with my favorites in bold. I read the Doctrine and Covenants the most because I was teaching it.
    • People: my family, a few close friends.

    What do I want to remember?

    • How Tim and Queenie looked in the sealing room at the temple on their wedding day.
    • Playing with our grandson in the backyard and at the beach.

    How have I grown?

    • I trust God a bit more.

    What were some triumphs?

    • Wedding luncheon for Tim.
    • A few special moments during lessons I taught in church.

    How did the Savior show up in my life?

    • In word: the scriptures, words of prophets, impressions during prayer and in the House of the Lord.
    • In power: to endure challenges.
    • In music: during my most challenging moments, good music came to my mind. (Shalom by Dan Forrest; Slow Down, sung by Sissel; Seek the Lord by my mom, in her voice; I Want to Be Strong, a song we sang at Girls Camp 30+ years ago.)
    • Through people who listened to me and loved me.
    • In fresh ideas
    • In chastening: He helped me change my thinking. Often.

    Not according to the plan

    In January, I planned my year, assigning important tasks for specific months. My plans are often thwarted, but I continue to make them because vision is important.

    There will always be obstacles, but I want to have a purpose and direction throughout the year. It doesn’t matter if some things don’t happen on schedule or lesser things don’t happen at all.

    I finished a “June” project this week. Good job, me, because it is a Christmas gift!

    I am sick in bed today with a humidifier to soothe my cough and ease congestion. The gifts I planned to wrap in November sit beneath my desk beside the bed, not yet wrapped, but at least they are collected. I choose to think of it as a testament that I tried, and planning ahead helped me to be prepared for this illness in December.

    The best part of our day

    Timothy, Christmas 2004

    The best part of each day lately is when Richard and I sit down to watch an annual family Christmas video. We have made these videos since 2003, so if we want to see them all before Christmas, we begin early. They feature our kids’ performances, piano pieces, and sometimes lip syncs to Christmas songs. They end with a slideshow of the year’s photos put to music. They were originally intended for the grandparents, but as the years pass, they probably bring the most delight to us.

    We are working on the 2025 installment. There is always a story to tell about family.

    Here is a part of our 2014 video:

    2014 Christmas

    20-83 extra hours

    This is a figure I saw this weekend of the number of extra hours of labor that women take on during Christmas time. This seems accurate to me.

    I have never wanted to cultivate resentment about the effort it takes to create some extra Christmas magic. When the kids were younger, this meant I tried not to hurry them as we created simple traditions. When they were teens, the magic came from devoting our lives to support their dance and musical performances. When our adult children can’t be with us, I adjust my expectations and send packages.

    Whatever is required of us this Christmas, I know that we can take inspiration from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He showed us how to love and serve.

    Not the usual kind of post.

    This blog is no longer about the day to day things, but sometimes it helps me to do a review of the week to see where we have been and where we are headed. Here is how we spent our evenings last week.

    Monday: We attended the high school musical, Cinderella to support three young men that we know. One was in the orchestra pit and two were on stage.

    Tuesday: Richard worked from home and I attended a Relief Society dinner. I prepared rolls, and for the first time in 13 years of dinners in this ward, I went home with an empty container. You can’t imagine how this feels for me after so many rejections. 😂

    Wednesday: I prepared 4 batches of pizza dough for a young men activity at another home where Richard was in charge of pizza night. He shopped for all the ingredients and had quite an array for the boys to make personal pizzas. They had fun.

    Thursday: Richard worked, and I probably worked on gifts. I had plans fall through to visit a friend.

    Friday: Date to Zao for dinner and then a big Costco trip.

    Saturday: We watched the BYU football game and I worked on Christmas card assembly.

    Sunday: I finished our Christmas card assembly and Richard called his mom.

    I am holding back panic about the demands for this coming week. I will just follow the well-worn plan for Thanksgiving and try to stay steady as I handle some extra things on the to do list.