A Long Time

It has been a long time since I posted last as blogging has gone out of fashion.  I see it has been almost four years. A lot has changed. My mother passed away, Syd's mother, brother and nephew passed away. Our son had a set of twins and then another set of twins then he moved across the state. Then the biggest change of all, we moved. my yard full of flowers is not my yard any more.  So any pictures posted are from last year, and the other theme will change from flowers  and nature to the Twin Twins as we lovingly refer to them. Enjoy.

Halloween 2013

 Halloween in Potato Land:        

This is how we do Halloween on our street.  You have seen the movies where the children are dressed in their cute costumes, pirates, princesses, ghosts and Dracula. The leaves gaily blowing around as the children run from house to house. There is always the evil person hiding behind a tree trying to scare the trick-or-treaters or bullies waiting to steal bags of candy.  Picture perfect. That would describe here, but it needs some serious modifications.  To begin with, this is Potato Land and October is the start of winter.  Most years it is cold, bitter cold, sometimes with snow.  The darling costumes are often covered with coats and jackets and the leaves are long gone. No one hides behind trees because it is just too cold and parents around here wouldn’t allow it.  There are plenty of spook alleys, haunted houses, and corn mazes to tour in the area if you are in the mood for a good scare. 

My street in particular can be very busy. There was a time when we had between 500 and 600 little and not so little ones knocking on our door.  At that time, we lived in one of the nicer parts of town with well-lit streets and nice sidewalks.  Our neighbor just happened to be the local Hershey representative/salesman and he gave out big chocolate bars.  You couldn’t get out of your driveway, and hoped there wouldn’t be an emergency because no help could get down the street which was a steady stream of cars following their children as they run from door to door, trying not to trip over their costumes.  The children seemed to come in droves with long periods of the door being wide open. 

Luckily it has slowed down.  The neighbor moved and there are other nicer parts of town.  Our street is still well-lit and with nice sidewalks so we get our fair-share of costumed children and teenagers; this year we only had about 250. There are even moments of large groups of trick-or-treaters looking for a yummy treat.

This year we grew some large pumpkins, one weighing in at 64#s and another at 53#s.  It was a major process to carve them.  The seeds and guts weighed about 15# for each.  We always get complements on them.  That may be because so few of our neighbors (we are an aging neighborhood, few little ones anymore) still carve them.  Sorry no pictures of these monsters. 

We are not picture perfect, but our Halloweens are busy.  I walked about a mile to and from the front door.  I am exhausted.

Halloween 2012

Halloween: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

         I love Halloween for many reasons.  First it signals the start of some of my  favorite holidays.  I get to totally change out the decorations in the house. Down comes the everyday stuff, and up goes the rich oranges, deep reds and golden yellows. The subtle scents of cinnamon, cloves, and pumpkin waft through the air.  No more mowing the lawn or weeding the garden.  What’s not to like

        Second, I love the excitement in the air, and not just from eating too much sugar. Parents and children picking out the perfect costume, thoughts of bags of candy, (lucky teachers of those sugar high kids), and running from house to house to see how many doors you can knock on, that is what it is all about. I love to answer the door just to see this excitement ooze out of the painted faces. This year we have had a plethora (using that big word just for you Sister Orme) of cute costumes come to our door.  Not just the usual Draculas’. Witches, cowboys and cheerleaders, but Yoda, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, bumble bee s, a headless horseman, lady bugs, dark angels, zombies, policemen, and super scary monsters.  They came young and too old to be trick-or-treating.  One group came with their sombreros and guitars and serenaded for their treats.  It being warmer than our usual bitter Halloween weather, there have been more children and they are out later.  So 300 pieces of candy later, it is finally time to turn off the lights and put the tired feet up.

Lastly, I like doing special treat bags for a few favorite people. In years past, I have done them for my youngest sister’s kids.  They have a grandmother and an aunt who spoil them rotten with candy, so they do not go door to door.  They come to my house and down my street and call it good.  Because they get so much candy from the grandmother and aunt, I give them prizes: fancy notebooks and pencils, nail polish and card games.  This year they did not come.  The oldest is off to college, the next was too busy chasing boys, and the youngest was sick.  But, we have a family that we home teach that has two young (ages 7 and 11) and I made special bags of candy, fancy pencils, and popcorn.  Syd made them cookies and we also sent them home with a bottle of pickled green beans. As a special surprise, some good friends showed up at our door. They had just moved back and had not told us.  We are so happy to have them back in town.

There are some things I do not like about Halloween, the scary stuff like haunted houses, scary movies, cold and dark nights and dressing up.  I think that stems from my childhood.  I grew up in a big family, ten children to be exact.  We didn’t have a lot of money for fancy costumes.  My mother had an old barrel full of junk, scratched and dented masks, mismatched bits of old costumes that she had bought or had been given to us.  We would dig through the barrel, hoping to find something to use.  Being in Idaho, it was usually cold and regardless of what your costume was, you had to put a coat over top to make it through the night, so it really didn’t matter.  A beat up mask did the job.  Not much fun in that.  We also lived in the country and only went to a few homes, as they were too far apart.  I remember one year we got to go into town with a cousin. We made a haul that year.  When Patrick was young, money was tight and so we had to be frugal with our money, buying a costume was out of the question.  We put together something lame and called it good. One year he went as an explorer, another as a Dracula, with a plastic bag cape, one year we cut up on old sheet and he was a ghost and another year he was a sand creature from Star Wars.  Not very creative to say the least, but they were affordable. 

We always carved a pumpkin, still do.  Let me rephrase that, Patrick and I carve pumpkins; Syd does not get involved at all.  He lacks any holiday spirit. We often get comments on them, about how creative they are.  Even the simple ones come out fun.  This year was no different, simple but nice.  The last ten years I have grown them, using a giant/mammoth pumpkin seed.  They do not come out nice and round and a perfect shade of orange. Being misshaped only makes them more fun to work with.  One year we grew one that was almost a hundred pounds. This year the largest was only 23 pounds.  Not bad. 

All in all, Halloween is a good, bad and ugly holiday.

 

Sports and Kids

There are times like tonight that I am glad that our son did not get big into sports. Let me explain.

Like most parents, when our son was born we had big dreams for him, go to college, marry a beautiful girl, have 5 children, be the star of a sports team, become rich and famous.  Of course we knew these were more our dreams than his and they would not all come true, especially the star of a sports team.  His parents were both terrible at sports and not competitive enough to succeed.  As he grew we made sure he had the opportunity to participate in any he was interested in, t-ball, soccer and basketball.  He played several years of t-ball, but didn’t seem to care if he didn’t get to continue on.  It may have been because he wasn’t all that great.  So we tried soccer. He was better at this, but it also didn’t seem to pique his interest. He played basketball for several years. He wasn’t great but he enjoyed it.  Then one year he played on a team where the coach was more concerned with his son playing than being fair to all the other players. His son played on two different teams and one game he chose the other team.  So an assistant coach was put in charge.  Winning was a priority and our best player was at the other game.  P anxiously awaited his turn to be put in.  Our neighbor showed up to see how they were doing and asked if he could play.  The assistant coach said, “Sure.”  P sat the bench the entire game.  We talked to the assistant coach, but he only shrugged his shoulders, as I said winning was a priority.  That was the end of our being basketball parents.  P’s junior year he decided to run cross country.  The CC coach lived just a few houses down and P had watched the team practice on our street for years.  He wasn’t fast, but he stuck with it for the season.  It didn’t help any that we had some warts burned off his knees during the season. During his freshman year he began playing the trombone in the pep band. Although not a sport, he watched a lot of games, football and basketball. He quite enjoyed this except for his friends thought that it was nerdy.  So he quit his senior year, although he stayed in the jazz band. 

Now fast forward to tonight.  We live in a great location.  A school playground in our back yard.  You may think the happiest place on earth is Disneyland, but it is really recess on a school playground.  We love it.  During the after school hours and summer it turns into either a 4 diamond t-ball, 2 soccer game, or tag football field.  Just to the east of it is the Larry Wilson football field, with lights and a scoreboard, very official.  The sound of whistles blowing, parents cheering and coaches yelling fill the air each night, whether it is a game or just practice. Tonight was no different.  I was out picking tomatoes and beans in the garden when I heard a coach take after two boys who were not working out with the rest of the team.  He stormed across the practice field, steam pouring out his ears and grabbed the two boys.  I didn’t seen what they were doing but it must have been serious enough to risk the wrath of the coach.  The words that spewed out of the coaches mouth were shocking, words that no child should be forced to hear.  After several minutes of berating these boys with a variety of swear words thrown in he calmed down (I think he realized I was out there and could clearly hear every vile word he uttered).  It was at this point I was glad that it wasn’t my son who was being severely chastised.  In defense of the coach he did try to smooth things over and play up the “we are all a team and you are Important and I want you to succeed” card.  But it was too late, the damage had been done, my ears had been grossly offended and my heart went out to the two boys.  I did learn there was some verbal fighting between the two boys, some name calling and punches thrown. 

I do have one favorite coach, our neighbor.  He has a deep voice that carries far.  I always know when he is out there.  I have yet to hear any other coach be so positive with the players, even when they make serious mistakes that may mean the team will lose.  He will bring in the player, give him a pep talk, and then show him his mistake and what he can do to avoid it next time.  After a pat on the back, a final encouraging word he sends the player back in with a “thumbs up and I know you can do it.” The other positive thing about him is that while he always coached his own son’s teams, he never played favorites during a game.  Yes he spent extra time with them, doing a one on one training, but that was always on his own time and their friends were always invited to join.  If he could have been our son’s coach I think our son would have enjoyed sports more.  But Coach Brown is a rarity; a one of a kind who began coaching too many years after our son was done with them. 

I am glad that our son is grown. Someday I hope he has children of his own and perhaps they will enjoy sports in a way that our son never did.  I hope if they do that they are blessed with a Coach Brown.

 

A visit with the Vampires (aka donating blood)

For the last 10ish years I have tried to regularly donate blood, and am up to   70 +units.  This is not my favorite thing to do.  Who willingly wants to inflict pain on themselves?  It isn’t super painful, a finger prick (probably the most painful part) and then a dull jab in the arm, neither of which I enjoy. Then you get to wear a badge of honor around your arm, so people can comment on it.  Why do I do it?  There is a part of me that likes to be a support to the community, like recycling (that is a whole other topic).  Giving blood is a type of recycling, using blood that I have plenty of to help someone who doesn’t have enough.  So it is my civic duty to give.

When I was much younger and skinnier, I attempted to donate and was so relieved when they told me I couldn’t because of low blood pressure. I was told to go drink a Coke or Pepsi and come back.  I couldn’t find the courage to go back, although I did have a Dr. Pepper while trying to convince myself to attempt. It took a lot of years to build up that courage.  Did I mention I do not like needles? (Again another topic of discussion)

I have talked several of my sisters into donating with me.  None of them have had positive experiences like me.  One usually has problems, like severe pain, or a bad stick so they have to twist the needle around, NOT FUN. The other often has weak blood or her blood pressure is too low, so she isn’t a good candidate.  So most of the time I donate alone.  I will be honest and share that not all of mine donations have been great. I have had a few times when I didn’t qualify due to low iron.  One time I got faint while taking advantage of their juice and snacks.  They had me lay on the floor for about a half hour.  I blame this on the fact that I was anxious to get my Christmas shopping done.  Now I avoid donating too close to Christmas unless my shopping is done. Lastly, I always donate using my right arm.  They checked both arms and said the right was ideal, the left not do great.  One time I had a tiny red dot on the right arm near the usual puncture site.  They couldn’t use it so I agreed to give the left a try.  They all said it could be done.  This was not successful.  First the vein was smaller, and then it made a sharp turn.  After twenty minutes of a slow drip and frequent twisting and adjusting of the needle (ouch, this really hurt) they called it a barely a half pint.  Since then it is always a right arm process and always successful despite the extra sharp stab because of the scar tissue buildup.

There actually is a method to this madness.  I live in a small town, with limited shopping. Keep this a secret, donating is a good excuse to have to go to the bigger city and shop, guilt free.  I realize it is only 15 miles away, and that is actually closer than most people would drive in a big city to do basic shopping, but I try to be careful with my allotted gas money.  Syd buys it without a lot of comment.  I in turn do not make trips to IF without a valid purpose. Donating blood is certainly a valid purpose.  As I write this I am preparing my list of stops to make: a trip to Sam’s Club, a quick stop at Shopko, a needed trip to Harbor Freight for Syd (that always justifies a trip), and if there is still time, a stop at Office Max and Fred Meyers.  All these stores avoid the bulk of 17^th Street (another topic) and the east side stores which are always the busiest.  Off to do my civic duty. 

More Random thoughts

I keep having these random thoughts about things I should post. Of course I don't actually write or post any of them.  That is just the way I am.  Here is list number 2:

• Mornings
• School Busses
• Cancer
• Girls Camp
• Hot Flashes
• Chife
• Lists
• Making the bed (this one requires pictures to understand, just have to take them)

I am sure I will have more random thoughts and make another list that I may or may not post.  I may or may not even share these random thoughts.  I just think them, at odd times like when I am taking the dog out to do his job, or while waiting for the toast to pop up, or in the shower, or driving to work, or in the twilight moments just before you go to sleep or early waking moments. Some of my best thoughts happen at 5 a.m. when I don't want to open the eyes and jot them down. So they never get shared, because I can remember those thoughts in as creative as a way when I am fully awake.  Sad that my best thoughts are when I am not really awake. That says something about me, I am a dozey person. Enough about random thoughts for now.

Random Thoughts

I realize it has been almost a year since I last posted.  It is obvious that I am not a great blogger.  Some of my friends and acquaintances post regularly, almost daily.  NOT ME.  Getting pictures ready to add, being creative in what I write, finding the time and inspiration, these all stress me out.  Extra stress in my life is something I do not need, especially now.  So, what am I doing here, writing, blogging.  I have thought about this for some time.  I have a lot of random thoughts.  I suspect most people do. So for the next year I am going to share some of those random thoughts, no deep, dark secrets, no real pictures, just random thoughts about things or people in my life. 
Some of thoughts may include:

Parents and aging

              Children and my aging

The dog and other pets

My new hair color according to my hairdresser

Winter / snow / cold

My family / siblings / in-laws and out-laws

Church callings (Young Womens, my current)

The Temple

Traveling

The balancing act of marriage, house, job, school, temple, church callings, and yes, even facebook

Education and goals

Teenagers

Goals or lack thereof

Holidays

Yard Work and even worse, house work

Cooking--

Eating out

Shopping: clothes, food, furniture, paint color

Yaa

TV Shows we watch (Dowton Abby and more) and why

Out my back door or front door

 

I will not write daily, I will not write weekly, I may not write for many weeks or maybe even months, nothing regular. So if you really want to read my rambles you must check back once in a while. And if you do not want to peruse them, which I wouldn't blame you, after all these are only thoughts, nothing important, nothing that will make or break your eternal salvation, then no loss.  And if you do read them and want to share your own ramblings or random thoughts about any of the above subjects on you own blog, leave me a message so I can wander over to your blog and read. 

Also did I mention there will not be a lot of pictures.  I take them, a lot of them, but have not been in the mood to post them. 

 

Spring in Potato Land

The calendar says spring and the flowers are trying to be beautiful, but mother nature hasn't decided it is spring. This is what we woke up to three days before Easter. Seriously, 3 inches of snow, and buried beneath it ....

Not these, they had already put on their performance. Sadly, the weather was too cold and I was too busy to go out and enjoy them it their full glory.

These are what were hiding beneath all that cold snow. It warmed up nicely and the snow quickly melted.

These Johnny-jump-ups will brave any weather, they are usually the first and the last to bloom. Some people refer to them as weeds, but I plant them anyway. I love their boldness. They can take over for a few weeks, so enjoyable.

I love the first blooms of spring, they are a warm up for what is yet to come.

Random shows of fall

The final frost was a little late in coming. I took a few shots of the most determined flowers.
The morning before we blew out the sprinklers they ran one more time. It was chilly to say the least and the ice coated everything, like a magical icy wonderland.

If you can't tell these are Johnny Jump-ups. Yellow Daisies

Petunias, obviously before the ice

the Yellow Daisies in their glory

Roses

Cosmos

Apple (I know not a flower)

Gillardia

Cosmos waving in the late afternoon sun

Maple tree that put on a it's own performance

Mother Nature was generous this fall with her colors

October quickly fades into November. . .

I can't believe how quickly this last two months have gone by. It seems all I ever have time for anymore is homework and more homework. I am not a great writer and the English class I am taking requires a fair amount, not to mention the reading. I love to read, but reading and analyzing is not so easy. I can say I am a more open minded reader.

Now for the second Sunday out my back door.

In October the trees were doing some serious changing. The first serious frost was slow in coming so there were still some flowers blooming. I am not posting any of them although I took plenty of pictures. November was a definite change. Winter has arrived, cold, windy and just not nice at all.

The poor tree is making a desperate attempt to hang on to a few final leaves. Sadly no matter how hard it tries it will not succeed.

My reading book goal is behind, my indexing goal is behind, my house is a mess, my life is out of control. I need to get back to the homework.

Second Sunday, Second Sunday. . . .

I don't have a problem taking a picture out my backdoor, I just have a problem taking time to post them. Thus I am doing two months in one. I admire those who do it daily, weekly or monthly. Blogging just isn't one of my finer qualities.
The second Sunday in August we had a brief but forceful rainstorm and I just happened to catch it. It's times like this I wish I had a really nice camera. The branches are right next to the house so staying dry was easy. We haven't had a lot of rain since the first of July, this is typical for our area.
Lots of sunshine helped the garden to grow. We have enjoyed strawberries, raspberries, peas, potatoes, onions, summer squash, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, corn, peppers, tomatillos, and of course zucchini. Some meals are determined by what's ripe that day. Love those meals. This has also meant doing a little canning. I don't necessarily love the work, but totally love the sound of bottles sealing and looking at the newly bottled food lined up on the shelf. So rewarding.
The flowers have done their share of blooming. Just once I will catch the perfect shot.

We were even lucky to have a butterfly stop by for a visit. One of those better camera wishful moments for sure, especially since butterflies are not great about posing.

We gave a few train rides. One of the riders found the apple trees, which are a long ways from being ripe. He tried them out anyway. This is his pucker up and eat a green apple look which was as cute as his 'feel my muscles' pose. Luckily the season for train rides is slowing down. Only one or two more rides to give.

One of the perks of living where we do is the sunsets. There is usually enough dust and clouds in the air for mother nature to be very creative. This one night the sky was particularly yellowish with a rainbow trying make itself known. Spectacular for sure.

Amongst all the happy positives, we must throw in a little sadness as we said good-bye to Patches. She ran across the road at the wrong time. She will be missed. Her personality was so fun as she picked on the dog, took naps in the window sill, followed us around in the yard as she practiced her stalking technique, brought us in live mice and birds for presents, and begged to be held like a baby and petted. Ten months is just to0 short of a life. We buried her by the train, close to where we found her as a kitten one bitter winter night.

Then rolls in September with football. Some days we will have 2 different flag football games and a regular grid kid game going on in the field behind the house. If it happens to be night then we can work late in the yard by the light of the fields. This is my favorite sport for them to play out there. The parents and fans really get involved.

If you look closely you will notice some definite yellow, fall in only a week away so it is inevitable that they trees should start turning. This particular tree is the last to bloom and the first to shed. Next month the picture will show it bare. :(

As for the rest of my goals in life, I have over 30 books checked off. Did a lot of reading this summer. One series in particular, "the immortal Nicholas Flamel" by Michael Scott caught my interest. I shared it with Patrick and we devoured them. I have also been reading the "Alcatraz" series by Brandon Sanderson. He has a great interpretation of librarians. A lot of what I read is designed for jr and sr high school students. I need to be able to recommend or at least know what they are looking for in a book.

As for my indexing, sadly it is getting behind. All the easy stuff is done, requiring me to work on the more challenging stuff, which obviously takes longer. I have about 1625 names to do to meet my goal of 5000.

I am enrolled in two more classes up to BYU-I. I hope I can keep up, so far I am doing okay, but time will tell. One of them happens to be New Testament II. This is what I am teaching in SS. so hopefully this will help me be a better teacher, if I more fully understand what I am teaching.
High school is going strong. It is always fun to see what kind of adventures we will have with the incoming sophomores. They have new rules to learn. It's amazing the change they make when they realize we expect them to be responsible and act more grown up. Sadly I am already looking forward to my next break. I like sleeping in.

Each day is a new adventure.

Second Sunday

Yes, I know, it has been three months since I last posted, two missing first Sundays. I am going to make up for it. This was the second Sunday in May. The lawn is greening up, the trees have their first buds. Sadly the sky is gloomy. That was our spring, gloomy, wet, rainy, windy, basically miserable not much to look at. What you can't see in the picture is that despite all the clouds and rain we did have a few flowers.

The trees put forth their share of blossoms (does wonders for the spring allergies).

I read, continued with my class at college, ended the public school year (yeah for summer break) blew the dust off the lawn mower and started planting the garden.

This is the second Sunday in June, still not a lot of sunshine, which made for a slow growing garden. The trees leafed out more, the grass grew, the weeds grew and I read, studied, and planted more garden. Through the month the flowers began to open in their glory. One day I counted Lilies, Phlox, Rock Cress, Daisies, Lion's Bane(not sure the name is correct), Johnny Jump-ups, ornamental and real Strawberries, Lilacs, Gold basket, the last of the tulips, and of course dandelions to make up a plethora of colors. There were several others but I can't remember their names.

Just a sampling of the orange lilies and the daisies.

We had some beautiful sunsets, something we have a lot of around here in potato land. This one was on the Fourth of July.

Which brings us to today.

This is the view for the next couple of months. Branches of green with glimpses of life beyond.

Three nights out of the week beyond the green this is what can be seen, soccer players running in every direction. Some nights it looks as if a bag of skittles has been spilled across the playground with all the colors. We throw open the windows and listen to the cheers of the parents. It's one of the happiest sounds on earth. Can't help but love it.

I'm up to 24 books read, it's coming along slowly but surely. I have also indexed a total of 2790 names for the year. Not doing so good with the arbitrating. We also turned in about 20 names for temple work. Hopefully the summer will slow down, the garden will grow (picked the first strawberries yesterday) and we can get some serious playing done.

April - Second Sunday

It's that time again, the Second Sunday Shot. What does the world look like out our back door? If you notice, the snow is finally all melted. Not to say it's done snowing for the year, after all we awoke to a white earth just the other day. Of course it has melted, but more is expected. I have seen it snow every month of the year around here. The lawn is slowly starting to green up, the crocus have bloomed, sorta. Not a enough sun to get them to open up more than a brief moment here or two. The tulips and daffodils are starting to show buds. It's looking promising that spring is on its way. As for the rest of my life/goals: The only book I actually made it through was my textbook, Foundations of American History. I'm on schedule with my indexing, 1750 so far. Passed both my classes, one with a 100% the other 102%. Certainly can't complain about those grades.

I've registered for two more classes. New Testament and another English class. It should be good. I am looking forward to the next month.

A.B.C's of who I am

I stole this idea from my baby sis, who stole it from a friend, who got it from ????? It's a cute idea, as it makes you think about the fun side of who you are.
A: AGE - I am a lady and ladies never tell their age, but I will tell you this, I am not old enough for senior citizen rate, I get told I look younger than I am(I think most people are just being king) and only my hair dresser knows what color my hair really is.
B: BED - Queen, I like sleeping with my hubby, I like to cuddle and know that there is someone there. Sadly when I travel with my sisters, they vote not to sleep with me. It's not the cuddling it's the snoring.
C: CHORES YOU HATE - scrubbing toilets, sweeping and mopping floors (it shows), dishes on Sunday afternoons, and cleaning out the car
D: DOGS - yup, we have one, an old decrepit Pug. He has a couple of buddies that live with the renters downstairs. The three of them do a good job of leaving the back yard covered with their own special dog prizes. I'd like them a lot more if they'd learn to clean up after themselves.
E: ESSENTIAL TO START YOUR DAY - does getting out of bed count. hmmmm, how about a piece of toast while I think on it?
F: FAVORITE COLOR - most blues, some greens,
G: GOLD OR SILVER - Silver, but mostly because that describes the bulk of my jewelry
H: HEIGHT - I'm the shorty of the the sibs, 5'1 3/4" on a good day. I may be getting shorter now that I am not as young anymore
I: INSTRUMENTS I PLAY - Piano and not very well at that. I own one and try to do more than dust it by actually sitting down and pretend to play, but only when no one is around
J: JOB TITLE - Domestic Goddess, the rest of the time I work as a Media paraprofessional at the local high school
K: KIDS - Only one boy. I didn't use to think he was spoiled but now I know he really is, not of material things but his parents time.
L: LIVE - On the north edge of a town in Potato Land
M: MOM's NAME - Mom when there is just the two of us (or when I am with the sibs), Grandma when I am talking to our son and Mother when in a crowd.
N: NICKNAME - Ruthie, I guess
O: OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS - to have a baby, and to sit by my hubby when he had surgery
P: PET PEEVE - People who let their dog leave prizes on my lawn, parents who enable their kids to be bad or refuse to take responsibility for their poor parenting choices
Q: QUOTE FROM A MOVIE - "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" that Rhett Butler was alright.
R: RIGHT OR LEFT - Right handed
S: SIBLINGS - # 5 of 10, 5 sisters and 4 brothers, with 20 years from the oldest to the youngest, all perfect (NOT)
T: TIME YOU WAKE UP - depends on mother nature, preferable after 7 am but sadly the alarm clock is set for 6. I hit the snooze at least once.
U: UNDERWEAR - of course
W: WHAT MAKE YOU LATE - reading the newspaper, Facebook, untying my shoes, filling the dog's water dish, looking for my cell phone,
V: VEGETABLES YOU DISLIKE - hands down Green Beans, actually most beans
X: X-RAYS - the dentist takes them, and then when I was younger I had my shoulder x-rayed because I was being whiny that year, He could find anything
Y: YUMMY FOOD YOU Make - fresh salsa,
Z: ZOO ANIMAL - jelly fish, I could watch them float forever, they are so mesmerizing. These are not usually found at zoos but I still love them.

Second Sunday in March

I'm a little late posting this, it has been a busy week/month. The world out my back door is changing. I took this Sunday, but it has changed dramatically since I took these. Mother Nature has sent rain, snow, sunshine and wind which does a wonderful job of melting the snow. There are only the piles where we shoveled it off the driveway left.
The best part is the Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus and Alium are peeking out of the ground, signalling that spring is on its way.

As for my goals for the year, I have only read one more book, listened to one, but I caught up on my indexing (1100 names) only to get behind again. I also snuck in some Family History time, getting 5 names ready for temple work. I took 2 tests, went to St George with the sisters and worked a lot of extra hours. Did I mention how busy this last month has been? Hopefully this month will be better. It has to be, as I already have my Visiting and Home Teaching done.

Go me!

February Photo

What does it look like here in February? I took this picture this morning. It's starting to be lighter and lighter in the morning. Sadly, there is still too much snow to really enjoy the out side. Actually, today was the start of our winter wind that begins the thawing process. The temps were up into the 30's. It's looking up.
As for my other goals, I have indexed 830 names, right on target. I have read two books (The help, and Purple Heart) and listened to two (Harry Potter 7 and Hana's Suitcase), so far so good. I've been able to keep up with my Sunday School lessons. And best of all I am getting an an "A", having passed all my tests with 90's or better, in both of my classes. I love the learning. Hopefully I can keep it all up.

New Year Goals -- Photos

The new year means one should set new goals, you know like become successful, make a lot of money, lose a ton of weight, read more scriptures. These are actually not realistic goals for me. So maybe there are some I can keep or succeed at. What, you may ask could these be?

1. Continue with my education, it's only been 20 years since I was a serious student. I am on the way to pursuing that one, already enrolled in two classes at BYU-I.
2. Seriously study the New Testament, again already on the way to that one since I teach 14 year olds in Sunday School.
3. Read or listen to 50 books. A goal I had and met last year, and it was so worth it, I read 31 and listened to 20. I'll post the names as I read them.
4. Index 5000 names. That works out to 100 a week. Now that may seem like a lot but my sister has set a goal of 17000, that's alot. So far 122 names done.
5. Last but not least blog, not once a week because that just isn't an option, takes too much time, I need to study for my classes, but once a month at least. My baby sister has taken on a new idea which I love and am going to copy it. You take a picture once a month, preferably the first day of the month, but I'm too late for that so how about the second Sunday of every month. The picture needs to be of the same place each month, then watch the changes. I love the idea.

This is my view out my back door today at 7:30 am:

dark

cold

snowy

a light frost coating everything.

Pictures do not do it any justice but I love it anyway. It has a fairy tale feel to it.
Check back and see it change.

Smoke

There was a desert fire out west (30+ acres as post time) the other day. It made for some incredible shots of the sky as the wind blew the smoke across the sky. I just had to take a few pictures.

Mr. Blue Eyes

After a long day at work on the rail, he finally got to don his train hat and board the Beazer Short Line.

The eyes say it all.

See more Blue athttp://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

Brazilian Beaches

I have been to many beaches but the I must say my favorites were the Brazilian ones. Quiet, laid back, green lush landscape and the water was warm, although the locals said it was cold as we went in July, their winter. While there we went beach hopping. Over several days we went to 20 different beaches. Some we stayed a while, others we just looked at and got the history behind. Myself, Vanessa (our exchange student/hostess) and the hubby enjoying a walk in the clean smooth sand.

The hubby and Vanessa

On the other side of the pile of rocks was the nudest half of the beach.

We opted not to check it out. We didn't come dressed for the occasion.

Brazilians really know how to enjoy a beach.

For more fun beach shots visit "I hear faces"