W-w-w-wants

I just wanted to say Hello.  Hello blahblahBlog.  (That reminds me; as a kid, when you wrote in your diary, did you address it as 'Dear Diary' and talk to it like your best girlfriend?  I always found that amusing ... now as grown up online diary writers, we can say 'Hello Blog' in a Pollyanna-like voice, whach U think about that?)

I haven't had time to do my follow up post to that last interior design survey ... my thoughts will come soon (I want to pull together some ideal pictures as ideas and examples ... can anyone tell me where to get great photos for blogs? ...Variety to choose from, crisp clean photos?  Are Flickr and Photobucket my main options?  I especially want to draw from great interior design photos ... if you have a tip, let me know!)  Sometimes the next post I want to do that takes more time keeps me from posting all the little things I think of in the meantime!  

Which leads me to what is on my mind ...  WHAT I WANT ....

I want a digital SLR camera - I have been wanting this for some time.  I saved funds to contribute to my known high school graduation camera so that I could get an upgraded choice/35 mm ; then about 5 years ago, my poor visual tool companion disappeared (I think movers might have taken it) ... I never quite learned all the tricks and tools to use the potential of that camera, but my desire to take eye candy has been inspired again in recent years and I dream of the day when we will bring home a digital SLR.  I absolutely love beautiful photos - especially on bloggy-blogs.   A picture of a carrot, a picture of a trash can, if done beautifully - I don't care, I love it!

Ok, side tracked.

I want to cook a lot for years and years.  I want to cook with wholesome foods and I really want to share a love of food and cooking with my children; my family.  I want to treat food in a way that inspires my kids to try new things (ironic coming from a person who still nitpicks at a few certain items); and I want to treat cooking in a way that lets my children know that I cook for them because I love them, and that I cherish the nourishment available on this earth, and brought to our home.  I want them to be grateful for the amazing variety of nourishment provided to us by our God; an area of life that we can display self-control in, creativity in, and use of our senses in.  I've been thinking recently about how it helps if I just know I will spend a lot of time in the kitchen - it's a social place and conducive to great learning; if I just become okay with the idea of cooking day in and day out, I think my family and I will enjoy it all more.  (Believe me, even though I love food and often love cooking, I'm not all cheer about it all the time - which might be the inspiration for my want here - some of my more dramatically stressed moments are over cooking gone wrong - and I have plenty of days lacking inspiration of what to cook!) .. But I love the idea of food bringing happiness and inspiration to our lives since it is something we partake of multiple times a day every day.

I want to plant a garden someday ... sooner ... or later (I'm still a little intimidated by it, and feel like we need to save some funds for its start-up).  I love the idea of eating right out of the garden, of watching my children observe and nurture the growing of living things, and of supplying ourselves with some of our own food (do you like how I have one child, but constantly say children instead of child?; I guess that comes with a lot of assumptions & expectations, but it comes with no hints, I repeat, no hints).

I want to have a home that is inspiring for learning, creativity, art, growing, (of course loving - and I don't mean that minimally), and did I mention creativity?  Paul made me a card for Mother's Day (plus crepes for a morning of breakfast in bed!) that had Taya's colorful scribbles all over the front & back ... I look forward to more and more children's art displayed around the house, and adorning Paul's work desk.  

I want to teach my children to love themselves; to know they are children of God, to not measure their worth based off of others' opinions or upon other factors that will offset them.  I think the best way we can teach them this is to continually be grounded in our own self-worth; to love ourselves because God loves us, to know that we always need the help of our Savior and the Atonement, that we cannot do it all on our own - because we are human and are subject to normal human error.  I am continually learning more about this, even when I thought I already knew some.  And I think it is one of the most, if not the most crucial basis to having personal peace and to raising a grounded family - and one of peace.  

I want to have a home of laughter.  Finding humor in the big and little moments, in the serious and silly moments - is such a breath of fresh air - such a sanity saver.  I've been cracking jokes all week; cracking myself up, and getting a smile out of Paul here and there, possibly more because I find myself so amusing, but hey - whatever works!  My jokes hadn't come to mind as much in the past few weeks and this week has been much easier (most of the time)!  My Dad cracks some of the funniest comments around and my Mom is one of the funnest people to laugh with - laughing is definitely an activity in my family.  I'm glad I found a man who makes me laugh.  Taya shares her own sense of humor already too.  I love it.

I wants plenty of things; some may come, some may not - or all in their own timing.  This is not a wish list with discouragement/I better get it done or else! --  It's more of my fond wish list (and have I mentioned I'm a bit idealistic?) - these are just some of the things I find myself daydreaming of these days.

What do you daydream of?  

p.s.  some of my temporal daydreams include crafty creations from Etsy members like these ...