Great Minds...

Remember my post last year about how Maddie and I think alike???

It happened again tonight on the way to dance class...

Maddie: "Mom, today in DARE* we had a lesson on "Singing About Conflict."

Mom: "Singing about Conflict?! What in the world is that??"

Maddie: "We had to think of a song that was about a conflict and then decide whether they solved the conflict with aggression, passive aggression, compromise, and so on."

Mom: (In my mind, as she's explaining it to me: "What song would I pick? That really put them on the spot. I can't remember that many songs. Well, I guess there's always 'A Boy Named Sue.' That comes to mind pretty quickly.") "So, Maddie. What song did you write about?"

Maddie: "I picked 'A Boy Named Sue.' "

Mom: "WHAT?? That's exactly the song I was thinking about."

Mom and Maddie dissolve in fits of laughter.

Little Ally in the back seat wonders what the heck is so funny.

(I didn't even know she knew "A Boy Named Sue," but apparently she listened to it on Amy's "Best of Johnny Cash" CD that she played in her car last summer...)



Too, too funny.

*DARE: Drug Abuse Resistance Education

The Long, Hard Winter

When it is 117 degrees and broiling here next August, don't feel sorry for me...

Just remember this day and these pictures...


Yes, it is full-blown winter in Nevada. Notice the green grass. Notice the short sleeves.


Notice the bare feet and the soft earth...


Notice the sunshine-y face and shadows...(Honorary grandson, Jack - Tyler's best buddy.)

I almost feel guilty because of the bad weather elsewhere in the country.

My Nevada mantra that gets me through the long, hot, blazing summer..."winter, spring, fall...winter, spring, fall..."

Works every time...

Happy Valentine's Day!

For some reason I just LOVE this flowery, girly holiday.


Which is kind of funny, because my husband doesn't really even know it exists!


Even though we always have pink, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast.

(This year I went to church with food-coloring stains all over my hands because the canned beets I thought I had to color the pancakes were PICKLED!!) (Yes, those pesky little containers would NOT come out of the box with their lids on!)

Maddie called Jeff at the shop Saturday afternoon and told him he better stop by Albertson's and get me some flowers.

And he did!


Aren't they pretty!?

Last night I helped Maddie's service club wait tables at the annual Elks Club "Sweethearts Dinner." Then Maddie went to her first regional church dance and had a great time.


We had a delicious Valentine's Day dinner with Grandma D., Drew, and Nathaniel after church today and later Julie and Ally came over to hang out with Maddie. Jeff and I snuggled up on the couch and watched the most romantic movie I could think of...Shall We Dance (with Richard Gere.)


Maddie insisted we must celebrate Charlie's 2nd birthday today too.


So we put two candles in our brownie-heart dessert and sang to him.


He is a very loved cat, in case you can't tell.

We had great speakers in church, good dinner, good company...a very nice day, all in all..

What I am Doing/Not Doing

What I am doing...

Sewing...


A blanket and burp cloths for a friend in our ward who is having a girl. Her 13-year-old daughter loves her two little brothers and is REALLY excited to finally have a little sister!


The first of several baby rag quilts. I haven't decided yet which grand-nephew is getting this. We have several new family babies to "gift" yet. As you may notice, this quilt still has to be "snipped, washed, and dried." Finished soon...

READING


Our Gospel Doctrine teacher challenged us to read the Old Testament all the way through this year. I'm a little behind my schedule, but I'm plugging along.


Our Bishop asked all ward members to read the Book of Mormon by July 31. I finished it in December for the Virtue Value Project in Young Women, and Jeff and Maddie have just a VERY few chapters left. Then we'll all start over for the ward experience. The Bishop asked us to read it with a notebook at hand in which to answer the questions "How much does the Savior love me?" and "What will I do to show the Savior I love him?" as we read. These are our cute notebooks. (Gotta use those scrapbook supplies for something...)


Maddie insisted I read these, and they were GREAT! Couldn't put them down. I wish I'd waited till the third one was out though, as I HATE being left with a cliff-hanger!!!


My friend, Kimberly, is always suggesting good books for me to read. So far this one has made me chuckle, laugh hard-out-loud, and cry. I'm having a hard time putting it down too. Next on my list, another Kimberly recommendation:



CLEANING


Defrosting and organizing the freezer. Doesn't it look nice?

MAILING


Watch the mail for a silly little package, Amy!

Watching TV


In October we began borrowing these DVDs from my friend Vicki. Jeff FREAKED out at first because he always hated Lorelei when the show was on and never "let us" watch it. (Translation: he complained so much whenever he walked by the TV, that we'd finally just turn it off.) We ignored him this time and by six shows in, he was totally hooked. We finished the seventh and final season this week! Halleluia! It had become a little obsessive. (Yes, it turned into quite a soap opera, but by then they were our "friends" and we HAD to see how it all turned out!)


Since we have no more cable TV, we have learned how to hook up the laptop to the TV and watch things on demand. (This show is so far-out it's almost unbelievable this year and last, but we haven't broken the habit yet...)

WHAT I AM NOT DOING...


Finishing the laundry...


Doing the dishes...Do they EVER end!


Mopping the floor...Could you grow a garden right here or what?


Doing office work...

(No, this is not EXACTLY the same pile I showed last week...or the week before... Some of it is has been added. And some of it has been TAKEN CARE OF!)


Sorting things... selling on Craig's List, consolidating, packing. (Hey, we might sell our house at some point...)

So there you have it. I will let you in on a little secret. The things I HAVE been doing are MUCH MORE FUN than the ones I haven't.

Hope you get to do something fun soon too...

Tricia

Over 20 years ago, three families moved into the same ward in Boulder City on the same Sunday.

One of them was us. Another was Lorald and Tricia with their sons, Kent and Luke, almost the same ages as our son, David.

We were the "new kids in town" together and have remained friends and ward "family" all this time.

Lorald is our home teacher. Tricia taught our kids in Primary and our daughter in Young Women. We have partied with them at church and listened to their words of wisdom in Sacrament meetings. Tricia, a school bus driver, helped my mom through her own bus-driver training. Lorald, a carpenter, has helped Mom with remodeling projects. He is also her home teacher. Tricia and I used to joke about our "romantic" evenings, when we would run into them at Costco or WalMart on our Friday night "dates."

Tricia and Lorald have helped us through some rough patches this past year and have mentored family members in working through some serious problems.

Last year Tricia was diagnosed with leukemia. On Christmas day she got sick and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia and H1N1. She was placed in an induced coma and it was touch and go for a while. She got a little better and was released to a rehabilitation hospital.

Last Sunday at church we scheduled housecleaning, meals, and visits for them as Tricia was worried about Lorald now and also craving company. She had a lot of work to do to get back to full mobility, but she was getting better and everyone was optimistic.

Then yesterday she was returned to the hospital and the ICU.

She passed away last night.

No matter where or when I saw Tricia, she was always smiling and upbeat. Even when she was dealing with her own family problems, so was so positive and caring. She was kind and loving and giving. She really was a beautiful person.

She will be missed. The world will be an emptier place without her.

Sometimes You Just Have to Ask

I am an avoider. A procrastinator. A shirker. An ignorer. An ostrich, so to speak.

Do you know what I mean?

When I have something unpleasant to do...like pay a business insurance bill...for thousands of dollars...(literally)...and I have had no work for a year...I put it on the bottom of the pile and...ignore it till the last minute...


When really...I should have talked to my agent MONTHS ago and we could have lowered our insurance premiums to be more in line with our lack of work.

Today, at exactly the last day possible, I met with my agent.

Dreading the meeting for days.

He is setting me up. Cheap. And getting me a refund for some of last year's premiums...


I love my insurance agent. In a totally platonic way, of course.

Why am I such an avoider????

Saaad...

What I am doing.


What I wish I was doing.


Sometimes it's hard to be a grown-up.

Brian's 26th

Last night we celebrated Brian's birthday. (It was actually Monday, the 25th, but this was the first time we could get together.)

We had quite a group - Brian, Susan, Tyler, Aubrey, Grandma D., Uncle Drew, Jimmy, Ally, Sydney, our friend Joel and his wife Trista and kids, Jack and Amelia (good friends with Brian and Susan,) and Jeff, Maddie, and me.

Thanks to our cattle-ranching friends, John and Sylvia, we had STEAK (THANKS, guys!) and shrimp for dinner and ice-cream pie for dessert.

Brian's had a tough year this past one, but he has a new job, new commitment, and a new attitude so this year is looking lots better. I'm so grateful for his effort and for his family hanging in there together.

Happy birthday. We love you, Brian!