Graduation Day

May was a busy month - just trying to get the daughter's loose ends tied up at school, then graduations, holidays, etc.
I think I spent half the month washing dirty dishes from all the gatherings!

But it's been good.

As I was shooting pictures at my baby's graduation, I couldn't help but feel so proud - not just of her, but of all my children. I am so grateful for each and every one of my family!

jenny grad

our family

proud parents


Now that it's all over, I've been sleeping in a bit - no more reasons to get up early. It makes me wonder - what am I going to do with the rest of my life?

We also had an anniversary this month - 34 years.
We planned to get away, but it just wasn't in the cards. (Or the budget!)
Hubby had some time off, so we spent it doing quiet things - breakfast out - yard work, touring model homes (dreaming) ...and I even talked him into an afternoon of scrapbooking with me! (He actually got more done than I did.)

Spent Memorial day with the family - cook out (we actually had a nice day for it!) and just visiting.
My sister stopped by, and we got to visit with her and her son's family. His little boy is so cute!

Now that the celebrations are all over, we can settle down to Summer vacation. If the weather will just cooperate...
Peace. (?)
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This 'n That

Feeling gloomy this Monday morning.
I could easily climb back into bed and pull the covers over my head for the rest of the day - if only I didn't have to work.
Totally blaming it on the weather.
I look at the calendar, and see that it's May - but there is no actual evidence to support that assumption.
Blah.
I'm so tired of wind and rain and COLD!
A little springtime please, before summer comes in with a vengeance?

A few celebrations this week - Saturday was our 34th anniversary, hubby and I.
We usually head down south for a weekend vacation - but due to the downslide in the economy (the nations AND ours...) we spent a quiet holiday at home.
Believe it or not, I actually got him to scrapbook with me for the day on Friday. We enjoyed it too - (and nobody died!)

Yesterday was my youngest daughter's Seminary graduation. Came home and spent the entire day in the kitchen to serve an early lunch, but it was worth it just to see my baby shine.

Sat between the grans during the ceremony, enjoying loves from each - moments that I live for...

Later, while we were visiting, we caught Jeff's 2 year old eating the Nestle's Strawberry Quick right out of the container.
A little hyper tonight? ...Sorry.

Rumors going around that Ghost Whisperer is being cancelled this year.
That would be a sad day for our household - it's the only show we can all sit down and watch as a family.
)The girls and I like the ghost stories - I think hubby just likes Jennifer Love Hewitt.)


Back to the real world now, schlepping fabric to the masses.
x.o
Tah!

Finale

Endings are so bittersweet.

Yesterday we attended # 2 grand daughter's graduation from pre school.
She was so cute and proud - she's such a little lady.
Miles to go from here - but she'll do great. She's already reading, so the sky is the limit!

Miss Moo




Last night was also my youngest's final choir concert.
They should have charged for awesomeness, because they really rocked the house!
They just got back from the choir competition in Anaheim, where they took 4 gold medals and 4 trophies - sweepstakes winners being one of them.
Wow. It really showed last night, they were amazing!

Yenny girl - front & center


As we were leaving, grandma T made the comment that our baby will be the last grandchild to attend this school.
It's true - she's ending a long family tradition here.
She's also the end of my legacy - long list of lasts for me...

Payson High Concert Choir

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Salutations

It's been a quiet week here in Grannyland.

I've been busy trying to get photos from my trip tucked away in the scrapbooks.

Problems with that are many - broke the bank to print the photos - and that was only half of them.

Spent hours setting up the work station, only to find I lack something... the basic background papers to put them on.

...Two hours spent at the scrapbook store, trying to make decisions.

Finally ready to work - but no ideas pop into the head... two more hours searching for idea books.

By the time I was ready to go, the family was coming home, and had to leave it for other things.

Such is life.

(I did get 6 pages done this week, so that's something - right?)

...And I finally finished the above card. Just in time to put it all away for the weekend.

Today is a work day. Another day, another dollar.
(Quite literally. *Sigh*)

Happy Friday :-)
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Road Trip

My road trip with my sisters this past week was so much fun! We saw so many amazing things - and so many others that we still want to see... (road trip the sequel?)
I fell in love with Arizona all over again (or should I say for the first time?) ...I never thought it was pretty when I was a kid.

Background: My parents were both from Arizona. They moved to Utah when my dad decided to go to Utah State. He finished school and found employment here, and we have been here ever since.
The rest of both of their families stayed in Arizona, so all of our Summer vacations were spent there. My oldest sister was there in the Arizona days, so she was our link to that era.
I never lived there - but still have many memories of the place...

Anyway, the purpose of our trip was to attend the open house for the new LDS Temple in Central. (Dad's birthplace.)

We decided on the way down to stop and see some of the sights that we had always wanted to see. (Dad was always on a tight schedule to visit people "back in the day," so we never stopped to sight see.)

We stopped at Camp Verde - a military outpost from the 1800's. It's a museum now, and was an interesting place - lots to see, and the views were so incredible - Beautiful country!

Camp Verde




Seriously the coolest headdress I have ever seen!


After that, we stopped at Montezuma's Castle. It was totally different than what I always imagined it would be.
They were cliff dwellings, in the most beautiful peaceful valley - I can understand why the residents stayed there for 300 years...
(Although how they got up there to build it boggles the mind!)

Motezuma's Castle




By the time we arrived in Central, it was dark - but we had to drive by the temple anyway... In fact, we got lost trying to circle it.
(*Hint - there is no road that goes around the temple - we ended up in some poor unsuspecting fellow's driveway.) Luckily, he was a very nice man, and we had a fun chat with him and his cat. :-)













The next day we did the temple tour. We met lots of nice people who were (almost) as excited to be there as we were.


As you can see, the weather wasn't very cooperative. The wind blew the whole time (no such thing as good hair days!) ...and it was COLD!
(Where do AZ natives keep the warm during the day?)

This was the view out of one of the windows at our hotel.
I had to get a picture because it just spoke to me of my dad - the Arizona cowboy.



We filled the rest of the day visiting museums, past homes, and cemeteries (sadly, that's where most of the relatives are now.)

It was fun to see that some of our old family photos were in the museum (which was in my sister's elementary school building.)
We have an aunt and uncle who are still living in the area, so we stopped to say "hi." They were in good shape, considering that he is 99 and she is 97!

The next day we drove up to Heber. We took a different route, so we were able to drive through Sunset Crater and walk around the Wupatki ruins.

For some reason I always thought Sunset Crater was a single crater created by a meteor. I wasn't even close. What it actually is, is a series of small volcanoes.

Sunset Crater













Ruins













Canyon













We drove around Heber while sis told us stories about that location. It was so nice to have her there to fill in the blanks from that time. I have a sister buried there.
We spent the night, then drove around Snowflake the following day.

There is a Temple there now too. (Amazing!) We found a helpful grounds maintenance person who took the only photo of the 3 of us together. :-)



We could easily have spent a couple more days, but it was time to get home.
It got dark around Kanab, and everyone was tired and quiet, so I asked my sis if she knew any good ghost stories.
That opened a whole can of worms that probably should have been left alone on a dark road in the middle of the night...

I'm getting to wordy and boring - long story short - I'm home again - and planning the next adventure...
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Snowbird

I'm outta here - yesterday's news - gone.

My sister has arranged an impromptu trip down south where (I hope) the sun is shining, so I'm blowing this cold and dreary place for a few days.

Making a pilgrimage to the place of my family's origins...

Tell you all about it when I get back.

*Poof*

You can always tell that good weather is here, because everyone immediately disappears from their computers.

It's been another quiet week here - (love it!)...and I've just been puttering and trying to get a little spring cleaning done.

It went from winter to spring overnight, so I'm feeling like I need to get my gardens planned in a real quick fast hurry.

Don't want to miss out on planting one again this year - I love having my own veggies out back, and the flower beds could sure use a remodel.
Wonder if I can talk the grans into helping...

Work is slowing way down too.
It's amazing how fast people abandon indoor hobbies when the sun comes around.
I've been cut back again - from 3-4 shifts per week, to one or two!

I'm ok with it for now, because I have so much I want to get done, but it will sure make a dent if it goes on this way for long.

Any-who...
Just touching bases, 'cuz it's been a while.

You may have noticed (if you were one of the 2 people who ever looked at it - LOL!) that I have closed my crafty blog. I just haven't been doing enough to warrant keeping it up lately. I know how aggravating it can be to keep looking and never seeing any change. Sorry about that - I'm currently searching for my butt-n-gear. It must be around here somewhere? (Probably hiding out somewhere with my give-a-darn! LOL!)

Seriously though - I've been struggling a bit with the old identity. Not really sure who this middle aged granny person is, not the same one I used to be who loved trying new things and being crafty into the wee hours...

Got the weekend off for a change, hope it's a good one!
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Milestones

It's tax day, which is always a bitter / sweet day around here...

Bitter, for obvious reasons, but also sweet because it is the birthday of my darling daughter Melissa.

This year is one of those "milestone" years for her.
We chatted about it the other night, and it seems like she's in a good place about it. Life hasn't turned out exactly how she planned, but she's content.

I'm so grateful for her - she's an awesome daughter - better than I deserve.

Happy Birthday Baby!
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~Closed~

Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to lock the door and hang a sign that says "This life canceled due to lack of interest"?

...yeah.
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Homeward Bound

I've been on vacation this week. Good times, good times.

My son and his family are here with us, and we've had fun hiking and sight seeing with them.
We came to the desert to escape the cold, but it's been pretty chilly here.
The wind hasn't stopped blowing, and, well, it could have been nicer - but according to the news, we'll be going home to 9 inches of snow tomorrow.

*Sigh* I'll take the wind.

We did some hiking today, and it was lots of fun, but I can see that granny needs to get in better shape before good weather is here to stay...
I had to come back and have a 3 hour nap.
(Ok, I'll blame part of that on the allergy meds, but still...)
I wasted valuable time snoring while everyone else went off and did their thing.

Hubby had someone hack into his bank account just before we left (luckily, the bank caught it and froze it.)
But my card isn't working today. (Different bank, different account.)
What goes on out there anyway? Can't a hard working slob save up to have a little fun any more without being burgled at every opportunity?

Sheesh.

All else is well, we're heading home tomorrow. Sure wish I could bring these palm trees with me.
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The Quest for Joy

A couple of weeks ago, I sent my writing buddy a couple of chapters of a story my son is writing for her critique. Her first comment was;
"He likes writing more than you do - doesn't he?'

That comment made me laugh out loud at first, (because it's just so true,) but the conversation that followed got pretty deep.

Basically she said to me; "if you don't enjoy doing it, then why do it?" She told me to find what it is I love and pursue that instead. ...But that's the whole problem - I don't know what I would enjoy doing anymore.

Back in the day, it was always crystal clear to me what
I loved, and I couldn't help myself from going after it.
Challenges? Bring 'em on - I loved it!

...But I'm just at a weird place in life now - all those things that I used to love, I've been there - done that - either eliminated it, or peaked at it, and am on the downhill slide.
I can't stand that. If I can't be excellent at something any more - I don't want to do it.
In a nutshell, I've lost the passion for it.

So, where does that leave me now?

My friend suggested taking classes, and trying new things... The question is, what is there left for me to try?

- But, at least that little conversation stirred me to ask myself "What is it that would bring me joy in life?"
And I've made a vow to myself to dig deep and try to find it - whatever it might be.

...So, off I go on that quest for joy - I may fall off my horse a few times, and have to joust a few windmills, but if I die trying, at least I will have something to show for my life besides all my properties and farms on facebook. (Ha ha)

Speaking of all that time I have - I am really learning to enjoy that.
I live for the peaceful hours when everyone is at work and school, and I can govern my own hours any way I want.
I have never been one who liked to be stuck home alone all the time - I would rather go and see and do - but I am learning to cherish the quiet and the freedom.
(Good thing, because I'm too poor to shop and too lazy to do anything else! LOL)

I could truly love every aspect of it.... if it weren't for the fact that hubby is working two jobs, and getting none of the rest and peace that I have. It just makes me feel so darn guilty.

Life is out of balance, and it's so not fair.

Enough for today - off in search of dragons. Sancho, bring me my horse...
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Girl's Day Out

It's sure nice to break out and just have some girl time now & then.
My daughter in law and her sister took me with them to Scrapbook USA this weekend.
It's getting to be a tradition a couple of times a year. I had planned to be good and not buy much, but it was so hard to resist all the good deals they had!
We shopped until we dropped. (And yet, I still have a little cash in the bank, can you believe it?)

On the way home, we stopped off at IKEA.
It was a first for me - I could have easily played "kid in a candy store" there. (But then, where would I put anything else in this house? LOL)
Lots of fun stuff though, and lunch to boot!

Not much else new here...
My old high school class is gathering on facebook. It's so fun to see how many of them are jumping on the bandwagon and re-living old memories. I've found a couple of my good friends - I have missed them so much! (And they are still crazy after all these years!) Good times.

The nice weather has put me in a "Spring Cleaning" mood. It's time to de-junk, unclutter, and scrub the winter blahs away. (Have you seen those teasers for the TV show about hoarders? *Shudder* not going there, I swear!)

If I come up missing again, that's where I'll be...
(Cleaning, not buried under rubble - I hope.)

Well, I've been to church, had my nap, and the girls are cooking my dinner. Does life get better than this?
Happy Sunday
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The Best Laid Plans...

For a day that started out with a clear plan of what was to come, things couldn't have gone more awry.

Tuesday, I spent the entire day sorting and organizing my scrapbook paper, so today, I decided, would be a good day to actually use some.

When I cleaned up yesterday, I purposely left out some pre-cut cards that I found, and some of my 6x6 paper pads, and proclaimed St. Pat's day as "Card-a-palooza."
I was going to create something from the mess as a reward for all my hard work.

But, by the time I was up and dressed and done with my morning routine, my youngest was home for lunch.
She took a phone call just after she got in, and had her plans totally crushed by her friend, reducing her to a sobbing mess.

This has been a rough year for her. Besides the fact that it's spring, and Senior-itis is at it's all time high, she's having some serious growing pains too.
She's having to make those tough rest-of-your-life affecting decisions, and learning that life as an adult is a little more complicated than she imagined.

Today's situation was a pretty sad one. I couldn't stand to see her cry, so I grabbed the keys and told her to get in the car. We went to lunch, then I offered her a choice of going shopping or just for a drive.
Seeing as how we are both financially embarrassed (as my neighbor always calls it,) and she wasn't in the mood to mingle with the public, she opted for the latter.

We headed up through BYU campus and around the Temple, then up into the hills above (the high rent district,) and ooohed and ahhhed at the mansions there.
Then on a whim I decided that today was the day for the "Mommy tour".

I've been telling her for years (or threatening?) that I was going to take her around the town where I grew up someday, and tell her about my childhood.
(Hey, somebody's got to document it, right?) So, we did that.
Sadly, there are aren't many landmarks still standing, but it was fun to show her some of the places I used to roam.

We visited my birthplace, homes, schools and church buildings and visited my brother's grave. Then we drove up the canyon a little way (until the snow got deep, and we feared the road would end.)
That was the first time I've been up there since I moved away decades ago. It felt strange and unfamiliar to me. I didn't recognize anything at all.
She actually enjoyed the tour, and came home feeling much better.

I've gotten carried away, but there is a point to this tale. We have a dear friend who has dubbed our family the "no-plans-Taylors" (that's a very long story for another day) ...but now you know why.
If we take the trouble to plan out our day, you can bet that all plans will change completley before the day is over.

That's just the way it is.

On the other hand, we took a disastrous day, and turned it around.
Huzzah.

Happy St.Patty's
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Food Challenge # 1: Evil Chicken

I mentioned last week that I was reading a novel called Devil's Food Cake, and that there were a few recipes inside...

We decided to try one of those for our challenge today.
The recipe we chose is the one called Evil Chicken.

I have family members who have issues with spicy food, so I had to promise to tone it down a bit. I only added 1/3 of the chili powder that it called for.
In that case, I suppose you could say that my chicken wasn't evil, it was only slightly naughty.

Here's the recipe:

Evil Chicken
(The book says dieter's beware!)

1 pound bacon, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 to 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite-size pieces (one large chicken breast will usually do the job)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1 cup brown sugar
up to 1/2 cup water, as needed
Cooked rice

In a large pan, cook bacon over medium high heat until nearly done. Do not drain.
Stir in chicken and chili powder. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until bacon and chicken are fully cooked.
Add brown sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved and sauce begins to thicken, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Be careful once the sugar is added not to let the sauce turn into toffee.) Add water if necessary to thin the sauce, but keep in mind the sauce is more of a coating.
Serve mixture over hot rice.
Serves 6

The chicken turned out rather tasty.
I think I could have added the whole amount of chili powder and no one would have noticed, because the sweetness of the sauce coveres it up. It didn't taste spicy at all to me.
I have to say, I'm a little skeptical about the part where it one chicken breast is enough for 6 servings. I used 4 to serve my family (9 were here today) and it was just enough.
I served it with brown rice, a garden salad, and some sweet potato french fries.
Yum!

***

My brother in law starts his cancer treatments this week.
My husband called a family gathering tonight at his house to offer our prayers and support. Grandma estimates that there were about 79 of us in attendance.
If numbers count at all in prayers, then he should be well covered.
Best wishes to his family.

Happy Sabbath.
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Chocolate 911

It's been one of those weeks again.
Everyone at school and work for all hours of the day...
My youngest takes the car to school most days, so I'm stuck in this house staring at the walls 24/7.
Most of the time I don't mind - I love me some peace and quiet, but there are also those days when I just can't take it anymore.
Have you ever been imprisoned at home during a serious chocolate emergency?
It's not pretty my friends.

Meet my newest addiction:
This is some serious life support baby. Won't be home without it.

While we're on the subject of Chocolate...
I escaped long enough to run to the nearest bookstore the other night, and grabbed me a copy of this:

My sister mentioned this was out a few weeks ago, and I've been dying to get my hands on it ever since.
It is the third in a series of 'culinary mysteries' (complete with recipes.)
The heroine is a middle aged lady, (much like myself) who just can't help herself from getting involved in all kinds of crazy cases, much to the dismay of her detective 'boyfriend.'

I'm loving this one, just like the rest.

Ahhhhh - I may just make it through the week after all...
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Time Keeps on Slippin'.....into the Future

Happy Monday my peeps!

I had a whirlwind weekend, my head is still spinning a bit.
I have an early work shift today, so I'm trying to pull myself together, but I had some thoughts I wanted to share today.

I've been thinking a lot about TIME lately...

Some of my high school class members fouond me on facebook recently.

I had mixed feelings about adding them as friends- it's been a few decades since I saw most of them last, so I've wondered - what could we still have in common? I've felt the need to be very careful what I say - can't be myself you know - still the class geek...
I do have to say though, it has been fun hearing from people who share some of my history for a change. (I've lived in hubby's hometown since graduation, so I've lived his life for a very long time.)

Like I said, I haven't seen most of these people since they were fresh-faced teenagers, so to see pictures of them as they are now was a bit of a culture shock.
I study their pictures, and try to match it up with the memory of bygone days...

One day, I called my daughter over to the computer and asked her - "do I look as old as these people?"

Of course she said "no," after all, I still have the power to ground her - but since, I've spent some serious time studying myself in the mirror, and yes, yes I do look that old.

Time has caught up with me in a big way lately.

That really bothers me - this brutally honest self image.
A couple of weeks ago, as I got dressed and was applying a layer of spackle to the cracks in my face, I had to ask hubby (because it baffles me, you know,) "Whatever possessed you to marry such an ugly old woman?"

Bless him, hubby tries, but it doesn't always come across the way he'd like it too - he always replies something like; "I married a very pretty girl" ...which I always interperate as: "You didn't look like that when I married you." ...as you can see, it goes down hill a bit...
(I also have the power to deflect compliments.)

Anyway, Time, my friends, is no friend of mine.

***

In other news, we were watching the Oscars last night. (Not because we wanted to, just because it happened to be on that channel...) and I must say, it was an anti-climax.
I've never seen a crowd so underwhelmed with each other's accomplishments. The dresses, which are always all the buzz, were basically all the same - huge and billowy on the bottom, and microscopic on the top. I couldn't help but notice that most of the women were slouched and hunched over, as if either trying to breathe, or trying to keep the top of the dress up (?)

Is Joan Rivers red carpet job open? ...I'd like to apply.

...And what was up with George Clooney? Every time they showed his face, he was shooting crusty looks at someone.

...Just a few quick observations, better get ready for work now.

Happy Monday.
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Sleep (Or the Lack Thereof)

My oldest gran had to go in for surgery yesterday. (Tonsils)
We had her two sisters sleep over the night before...
Need I say more?

We split them up, and put the youngest in my bed with hubby, and the middle one on the living room floor with me. I zonked first, so Millie got up and left me, and climbed in bed with her sister.
Hubby didn't get much sleep with the two of them - and I sure didn't on that cold hard floor!

Arilie's surgery went well, and she's doing ok (as soon as the anesthesia is out of her system - it's making her sick.)

Speaking of Sleep...

It's been a very active month for dreams, and I've had some doozies lately.

Last night, for instance, I walked out of a school where I had been struggling all night to find classes and learn something - and having missed my ride home, I attempted to walk.

I wasn't completely sure of the way, but I knew if I turned on just the right street, I would end up at my mother's house.

Well, I didn't (turn on the right street), and I ended up in back alleys with scary people, walking through stranger's living rooms (which, by the way, had dirt and rocks and looked very much like the landscape outside - but with doors.)

Long story short (or am I too late for that?)
I ended up on the mountain behind my mother's house - climbing up the rock face (in a dress and bad shoes - with school books in hand) and crawling through endless tunnels, constantly dropping my books and folders full of loose papers - each time having to gather them all up.

Occasionally along the way, I would meet up with a friendly stranger, or a group of boy scouts who would give me directions to the next destination.

I did get to where I was getting closer to the goal, and could recognize familiar places - but as of this moment, I never did get there.

...After a night climbing mountains, one does not wake up feeling rested.

I feel like that relates to my preparations for the speech that I'm preparing...
(Our Bishop finally caught up with hubby and I, and asked us to speak in church.)

I've found and printed out a lot of background material, and I have read it all - but I can't seem to get my head straight enough to organize it and compile it into one coherent whole.
(Much like an impossible climb, with sheaves of important papers to keep track of.)

Just hoping I can arrive there without dropping the ball...

About the Challenge...

I know you've been watching and waiting for the results of our food challenge.
I'm sorry to disappoint, but it's been a killer trying to find a full day to do it. (We printed out the recipe, and read that it takes 12 hours to prepare!)

We haven't yet had a 12 hour day together to work on it. I'm afraid that recipe is going to have to be put on the back burner until school is out, and we have long summer days to fill...

In the meantime, we are in search of another recipe to try.
I saw an interesting one on the news the other day - and there are some in a book I read (if I can only find it,) that are supposedly classic English fare - (such as crumpets and scones.)

So, we haven't given up completely - just slightly delayed.

Sorry.

Anyway, it's Saturday, and have much to do, so - Later...
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The Art of Conversation

My 5 year old grand daughter loves to help me in the kitchen.
I'm great with that, because she loves to talk, and I love to pick her brain and find out just exactly what she thinks about things. She is always totally honest (sometimes brutally so,) and I love that!

Saturday, I spent the evening with her, making spaghetti and meatballs.
As always, the dog came up and started sniffing around at the smell of meat. My little Moo looked at him and commented on how old he is looking.

"He's almost as old as you grandma."

So, I asked her - "How old do you think I am?"

She looked embarrassed and fumbled with that, so I threw out a number just to get her started...

"Do you think I'm 100?"

Then she smiled and said - "No - maybe 300"

Oy, better stop using that Tales From the Crypt makeup.

Something came up on TV about a place I've been wanting to see, which brought up the subject of travel. I told her about some of the places I have been wanting to go, to which her eyes got big and she replied "I want to see everything!"

Ah, a kindred spirit! I've always had that secret wish, which I know I'll never be able to achieve in this life (since the pockets are shallow, and hubby doesn't like to leave his chair...). The deepest secret wish of my heart, is that after my spirit leaves this earthly body - I want to circle the entire globe and witness all of God's creations before I'm called home.

Later, I went back upstairs to make some fudge. All of the kids were home, so it would be my Valentine treat for them, but I found that I was out of sugar.
I told Millie that I had to run to the store, and she gleefully offered to go with me. On the way home, she was telling me that her favorite grandma day was the one where I took her and let her try on fancy dresses. I told her I liked that too, and I asked her if she ever watched the show "Say Yes to the Dress."
She said, "Sometimes - I like to see all the pretty dresses - I like all of them except the fat girls."

Then I said, "You mean, like grandma?"

She laughed and said, "Well, a little bit... but anyway, grandma's don't wear wedding dresses."

I just love her - she's so cute.

***

I had a nice Valentine weekend.
We went to dinner - who, bless her, kept up the conversation practically by herself.
We went to Sizzler, and it was crazy busy (Friday night.)
I still had my hearing aids in from being at work, and the background noise was making me crazy.

Later, we dropped her off and went to a movie. (Valentines Day)
I wasn't sure what to expect from that - it seemed at first to have too many things going on, but as the film goes along, the stories all start tying in together... It was actually pretty cute, and left me feeling all warm and fuzzy.

***

Saturday, I had a one on one with her (my youngest). We went on a little shopping spree to the local media stores. I enjoy spending time with her too - I learn all kinds of valuable things, and it makes me feel good that the lines of communication are wide open between us.

When she was younger, and I would take her on these outings, I told her that I used to do that with my mother a lot, then she would always treat me to lunch at the Arctic Circle that's there by the shopping center. She liked that idea, and since, it's become a tradition with us too. I love the feeling of sharing a fun tradition with my girls.

***

Being spoiled by Hubby $$$$
Shopping with baby $$$
V-day dinner with the fam. $$
Treats for all $

Prezzies from the grans and bear hugs from my children - Priceless.

Hope you had a good V-day too.
.

Crash!

My computer is chronically ill.
It caught a nasty virus, and is pretty much unusable until we can figure out how to clean the poor thing up...

I'm at the mercy of my hubby now - have to wait till he gets home at night to share his laptop.

If I'm MIA - that's why...
.

Groundhog Day

It's here again - it snuck up on me this year...

It's been a pretty mild winter here so far - hoping for good news today from Gobbler's Knob.

...And now a word from our sponsor:
(Shameless plug)
My son's band, Charging Frederick is playing at Velour! Wed. February 3rd. With A Failsafe story and Morning of the Season. Show starts at 8:00 P.M. and is $5.00 at the door. 135 North University Avenue in Provo

- Just thought you'd like to know... :-)