Tag

What I was doing 15 years ago:
1. Finishing my last year of nursing school at College of the Redwoods
2. Being a mom to Chris (he was 16), Kasey-14, Kelly-13, Lindsey-10 and Alex-5. Long time ago!! I was alternating studying with going to kids games and bringing along flashcards to sneak in studying when they weren’t playing!
3. I was wearing my hair in that frizzy perm style everyone was doing-yuck!
4. We were just getting ready to move into the house on Gwin.

What I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Being a nurse at General Hospital-working in OB at this time
2. Still a busy mom, worked night shifts.
3. I was totally into rubber stamping and was into online card exchanges.

What I was doing 5 years ago:
1. Nursing House Supervisor at General Hospital
2. Chris, Kasey and Kelly and Lindsey have all graduated from high school.
3. Hanging out with Alex, Natalie and Danielle a lot!

What I was doing yesterday:
At the pool at Pinewood Cove by myself-gorgeous day, beautiful sounds. Drove home about 3:30 to surprise Lee because I could tell he was tired of his alone time. We went to Live From New York for dinner, then he went to meetings and I caught up on my reality shows.


5 things on today’s to do list:
1. Visit 2 of my 4 people I visit teach, will send cards to the other two
2. Pack for Kelly’s-going to Ammon’s birthday party
3. Call Alex for updates on her love life (Go Mitch!)
4. Call my sister, Julie, to hear about her trip to Mexico
5. Get a new suitcase for my trip to Lindsey’s


5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Sweets!! Candy, cookies, cake, all of it!! Chocolate!
2. Wheat thins
3. Watermelon
4. Carrots
5. Yoplait yogurt over cheerios-try it, it’s great!


5 things I’d do if I was a billionaire
1. Every year we’d have a spectacular family reunion I would pay for
2. Help each child get a house
3. Travel more and bring along family members
4. Quit working
5. Go to underdeveloped countries and use my nursing skills.
5 places I’ve lived


1. Mesa, Arizona
2. Provo, Utah
3. Blue Lake, Arcata and McKinleyville, California
4. Jackson, Mississippi
5. St. Petersburg, Florida (also Virginia Beach, Virginia and Visalia, California-last 3 when Lee was playing baseball)


5 bad habits
1. Spending too much money
2. Eating too much and/or eating just for the sake of the love of food
3. Talking during movies, tv shows (I drive my girls crazy with this!)
4. Interrupting others when they are talking-one of my worst, unstoppable habits.
5. Chewing and smacking gum all the time!


5 jobs I’ve had
1. Waitress
2. Real Estate Secretary
3. Sold Avon
4. Sold for Lots of chocolates-a candy making company
5. Teacher’s aide

5 trivia bits about me: 1. I was voted "most talkative" in my high school graduating class of 356. My cousin was voted the same thing in her graduating class the same year at the other high school in Mesa. 2. I was a foreign exchange student to Cartagena, Colombia my junior year. 3. I was a bat girl for BYU's baseball team when Lee was playing baseball there. I tried out for the position solely to be around him more. Strategy that paid off. 4. Even though I was voted most talkative earlier, I think I am sometimes a little shy, somewhat of a loner now. I enjoy alone time. 5. My first car was a VW bug I bought myself for $400.

5 pet peeves: 1. Tip jars everywhere! I now need to tip someone for getting me an ice cream cone? What are they being paid for? 2. Dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. Hate this. Isn't it just as easy to put them in the dishwasher? 3. People who cross the double yellow lines to pass people. Especially on the winding road to Trinity Lake and almost kill people. 4. Answering the phone and noone is there. Another telemarketer call. Why do they call us on an automatic system and then not speak for 30 seconds. Don't they know it just makes us mad that we have to wait and then we are really not going to listen to their spiel. 5. Delayed planes, flying out of Humboldt County-takes way to much time out of my traveling schedule!

I tag anyone who hasn't been tagged yet!!

Alone at Trinity Lake

I knew this time would come eventually. The summer when all my kids would be moved away and there would be noone to go to the lake with me. It's happened, and I survived. I spent Mon-Thursday up at Trinity Lake. By myself. Yikes! Actually it was still enjoyable, just not as much fun as when I have company. Here was my routine:

9:00-wake up (yes I slept in that long!)

9:00-10:00-morning walk

10-12 Read scriptures, books, eat breakfast, lounge

12-3 Head to the pool since we haven't brought the boat up. I would meet random people here and get a small dose of adult conversation.

3-7 Shower, read some more, play scrabble, eat dinner. One day I went into Weaverville for supplies and to call Alex and catch up on her love life (living vicariously!)

7-11 Watch videos, read

11 or so-bedtime. And yes I slept great and felt safe. I just lock myself in good

There was hardly anyone up there this week-only about 7 groups. I love, love, love Trinity Lake though. I love waking up to sunshine everyday, wearing shorts and flip flops, hearing the birds sing and seeing chipmunks and deer all over. I will continue to go up by myself because I love it so much but, please, visitors are welcome-ANYTIME!!

Friday Night Date Night

Friday night Madison came over for a quick girl's night out before she goes back to Seattle. I could spend days with this little girl. She is seriously so much fun. Half of her sentences begin, "Actually...." I had to work late so I picked her up and we decided to go to the movies and see Kung Fu Panda. We had about an hour so we went to K-Mart and got a Hannah Montana gift pack and treats first. Then on to the movie, and popcorn and snacks. The movie started at 8:00 at night so I knew she might not make it. About 20 minutes before it was to end, she turned to me and asked if we could leave. She was asleep by the time we got home. The next morning I fixed her pancakes and she had a bubble bath in my jacuzzi tub and then we met Kalie at the hospital because I had a case that morning. A short, but oh so sweet, experience with such a cutie!!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my hubbie, Lee who is the best father/grandfather/husband ever!! Seriously, he is so into his kids and grandkids it is crazy. I knew when I started dating him and watched him interact with little kids that he was a keeper and he is! (Plus he's hot still-at 56!!)

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Patrick Gerald Pomeroy, who has been a great dad and example of integrity and morality to me. Love you tons dad!

Happy Father's Day to Charlie"Beans" Iorg, my father-in-law-another great dad. Thanks for teaching Lee how to be such a loving, great dad. You are a wonderful dad in law!!

Happy Father's Day to Chris, Matt, Jody and Alan-the other fathers in our family-equally great dads. We are blessed to have all of you in our lives.

Happy Birthday Rylee Roo!

Happy Birthday shout out to Miss Rylee Alexandra Edmondson who turned 1 today! We love this little girl so much. She has tons of personality and is just as cute as can be. Happy day Roo girl!

CRAZY LIFE

Okay, I officially believe I have a crazy life lately. I work one week and then am gone a week and it keeps repeating itself. In most ways it is lots of fun but I am getting soooo tired too. I am never just home, catching up on things (like sleep and housekeeping). When I got back from Kasey's, I worked a week and was on call (and worked some) the weekend. I left Sunday afternoon for Kelly's where I picked up Alex and the next morning we drove her back to Provo. Stayed 2 nights and met her friends (adorable girls, cute boy) and flew back to Kelly's. Stayed a night there and we drove back to McKinleyville Thursday night. Friday morning two little cuties (Madison and Kyle) came for the weekend.
We had so much fun with them. Madison and Ammon are the best of buddies. Actually she keeps trying to talk him into being her boyfriend but he's not buying that. Kyle is the biggest love ever, his smile melts me all the time. Cohen is still the craziest nut alive and Rylee is just perfect. Each night all of them but Rylee would lay in my bed with me and we'd watch a movie. Madison, Ammon and Kyle all wanted to lay by me (Cohen could care less) so usually one was watching the movie on top of me. One by one they'd all fall asleep. We'd put them on the floor for bed but by morning 1-3 would be in bed with us. Not the best nights sleep.
I am now on my work week and another on call weekend. I'm hoping Lee will take the trailer up to Trinity on Monday for me. The only problem I have, is no one to go up there with. I may stay a night or two by myself and come home for a couple of days. Then we'll go to Kelly's for Ammon's birthday or back up to the lake. Then it's work for a week and off to London for two weeks and the birth of baby Phillips. Oh, and sometime in between now and then Kasey and kids will come visit (hopefully!) before they move to Alaska. Whew!!! Do I live a busy life or what?????

Iowa

I just completed my last trip to Iowa that I'll probably ever make. Kasey and family are moving in a few weeks and I can't imagine any other reason to visit there again. I had a great and productive trip (we did lots of packing for their move). Lee was there half the time, Alex was there a couple of days at the start of my trip. The weather started getting humid yesterday so it was a good time to leave.

Sienna gave me the same act she gave Kelly and Alex. When I got in the van she put her blanket over her face and would just peek out. If I looked at her she'd hide again. We dropped the kids off at their weekly babysitting group and Kasey, Alex and I went to a restaurant for some divine Chicken Marsala. Once we got home, Sienna was all over me from then on. I called her the Poker because if I was busy she'd come up and poke me to remind me she was still there. She was always climbing into my lap if I was sitting down and giving me hugs and kisses. She is such a cuddler and so, so beautiful. I just love looking at her dimple! She always wanted Grandma to brush her teeth every night too. One of the things that was so cute is she sleeps in the computer room next to where I slept. Every morning she'd wake up, get out of bed and open the door a little, check us out, and close the door again. She'd open it up again after a few minutes, come kiss my arm and head upstars to Kelly. So cute.

Crazy Lexy Lu (Alexa) is just that-crazy. She talks so fast, so often and so dramatically that all you can do is just laugh. Her favorite thing to do is for us to go on a walk, get a treat at the gast station and then go to the park where she swings from bar to bar on the jungle gym till her hands are calloused. Someday you'll have to ask her why she loves the monkey bars so much-it is hilarious!

Kaden is so handsome and so smart. He can read like crazy now-sounds out everything. Lee took him to a minor league baseball game and he broke the bank with all the food he ate. He loved hanging out with Grandpa. We got to see him play ice hockey and also baseball. He is so cute and is a good hitter. Alexa also played t-ball (when she wasn't goofing off on the field that is). I took Alexa to see Speedracer and Kaden to see Narnia. Speedracer was boring but I enjoyed Narnia. Lee took them fishing at a nearby pond and they caught a fish!

Kasey looks beautiful and it was fun to hang out with her, shop and eat. We only saw Matt for a little while one day and then we sent them off to a night on their own to celebrate Matt's graduation. Although we did a lot of work, I also had a lot of fun in Iowa. I won't really miss Iowa but I already miss Kasey and company. I can't wait to know for sure where they will be heading.

3 HOURS

That's how long I have here in the Sacramento Airport until I board my plane back to McKinleyville. This part of the airport is especially small with only about 6 gates and one little restaurant/bar. It is going to be boooooooorrrrriiingg. I've already traveled for 5 hours from Kasey's. This is the part I hate about traveling especially coming from Humboldt County. I always have long, boring layovers. Usually it is at the San Francisco Airport though and that is not so bad because there are places I can walk, good eating places and lots of people watching. I guess I'll play Scrabble and blog about my trip to Kasey's and maybe go get a new book. And I just broke a long fingernail and don't have a file so I can hunt one down too. Don't you just hate layovers???

Crazy Cohen

Alex brought Cohen up with her this weekend. That kid is really a laugh a minute. He has absolutely NO idea he is little and we are big. He has no problem telling us off if we do something he doesn't like. We went to a Redwood Park one day and after we unbuckled him he was off-to the large slide. And never looked back and I mean he didn't even look to see if we had come along too. He was having a great time with himself. We could have dropped him off and picked him up 2 hours later and he would have been fine. After about 15 minutes we finally called to him so he would know where we were sitting but he never acknowledged us until we left about an hour later.

Sunday he wanted me to lay down with him for his nap (he always wants to lay in my room with me). I fell sound asleep too. I heard some soft sound and thought I'd just peek one eye open and check things out. Cohen was about 1 inch from my face, standing on the ground before me. He scared me to death!! I was NOT expecting to see anyone that close to me.

He loves my pantry. He is in it 24/7 looking for chocolate (or any other sweet). He is his grandmother's child I guess. One day I found him breaking big sticks I have in a floor vase in my room. I wasn't too thrilled and asked him what he was doing. He turned around with my reading glasses on him and said he was Harry Potter and was making a wand so he could go abracadabra! Seriously, I had a laugh fest this weekend. He talks a mile a minute, all the time, even to himself and is hilarious. Love you Cohey!

Observations at 55

When I was 30 I thought 55 was ancient. Not so anymore. I turned 55 today. Here are some of my thoughts about reaching the age of 55.

1. I still think in my head like I'm 30 or 20. I still initially think a new style would look cute on my 30ish body and then I remember I no longer have a 30ish body. It's the pits. I hate the ody you get around age 50 when everything starts to sag and you realize you are definitely your mother.

2. Wrinkles stink. Please pass along any ways to get rid of them.

3. I thought at age 55 I'd be so much more wise, so much more perfect. I still don't put off the "natural man" as much as I thought I'd be doing by now and I am still, too often, an "enemy to God". I still have trouble remembering morning prayers and scripture study is still sometimes a struggle (even though I really love the scriptures)! I really thought I'd be more perfect by now!!

4. I am trying to make healthier food choices. That does not mean no chocolate. I still have chocolate every day, just less. I still love me some McDonald's quarter pounders but I only have one once a month.

5. I hate having to watch what I eat. Until the age of 40, I could just about eat anything I want. I miss those days.

6. There still is never enough hours in a day.

7. I am approaching the age when more and more people you know die. I hate this. I really miss my mom but don't want to join her too soon. I am comforted to know of God's Plan of Salvation.

8. One of the few good things about this age is the opportunity to travel more, which I love.

9. I still am a night owl. I love to stay up late and sleep in till about 8:00 or 9:00. I love a quiet house late at night by myself to read or watch tv.

10. I order fish at a restaurant now instead of steak or prime rib like I did when I was 30 and it's a matter of preference not a health choice.

11. I have become more of a loner. I love quiet time to myself more and don't need to be in a big group like I did when I was younger.

12. I really do love my job as a nurse in the endoscopy department and probably would get bored if I didn't work at all. Every other week is perfect. I am so glad I went back to school when Alex went to preschool.

13. My favorite time of year is still Trinity Lake time.

14. My husband really is my best friend. (My daughters are right there also). As annoying as he can sometimes be, he is funny and fun to be with and being empty nesters is okay most of the time (except when I get crazy wanting to hold and kiss a granchild). I am amazed how patient he is with my annoying habits and irritations because he is not known for his patience.

15. Family is everything. My children, their spouses and my granchildren are my life. I crave being with them, treasure them and love them with all my heart. I also love the family I was born into and Lee's family.

16. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has enriched my life, made my joys more wonderful, my sorrows bearable and been a rock and guide in my life. I cannot imagine my life without it.

17. I've made pretty good choices and been very blessed. There is not much I would change about my life.

p.s. It gets harder and harder to find pictures of yourself you would publish!

Deja Vu

One of the activities we did when our kids were young was to pack them all up along with numerous relatives who used to live in the area, hot dogs, potato salad and sodas and head to the beach. After talking about doing that again numerous times, we finally did this weekend when Kelly and Jody and kids and Alex came to visit. What a sweet experience it was to see Ammon and Cohen loving the beach experience and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows by the fire. They loved it and so did we. I can't believe it was so many years ago when we did it with Chris, Kasey, Kelly Lindsey and Alex. Time goes by way too fast. We will be doing this a lot more in the future when grandkids come to visit. Isn't it amazing how good a hot dog tastes when you roast it on a stick?

Thanks for coming this weekend family and celebrating my birthday early. We had Chicken Garlic Pasta and German Chocolate Cake, two of my favorite things. It was a great weekend complete with gopher hunting and hide and seek!

The End

The end of this fabulous vacation in Cabo is upon us.
That means:
1. The end of shrimp tempura tacos poolside
2. The end of blackjack games each day at 4:00
3. The end of virgin pina coladas a couple times a day-how fattening are they?
4. The end of spa smells and towels folded into animals. Actually I bought the lavender scent and went to a folding towel class (not that I plan to fold many into animals)
5. The end of using pesos and hearing Spanish spoken daily.
6. The end of getting to wear sandals and shorts daily (until lake time)
7. The end of manicured desert gardens and raked beaches.
8. The end of getting to hang out with our new best friends Kelly and Jody (who are out on a special beachside dinner Jody ordered for their anniversary. Happy 6th Kelly and Jody!)
9. The end of eating what I want for a while. Back to dieting-ugh!
10. The end of seeing blue skies every day, reading all the time and getting up when I want to and having fun vacationing with Mr. Lee.

It's been an ideal vacation. Relaxing, beautiful and fun. Cabo, I'll miss you!!!

It's Official

Lee and I both agree that the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica in Cabo is our favorite hotel/resort . The resort is beautiful, food is great, activities are fun (blackjack, water aerobics, cooking classes-shrimp tacos yesterday, ymmm!, dance classes, spanish classes, ping pong tournaments, walks, etc), amazing spa, incredible staff and wonderful smells all make it fabulous!! Because it is for age 16 and older, it is so quiet and relaxing. The most amazing thing is that it is our favorite place and we paid the least for it. I would absolutely return, even at the normal price.

Lee and Jody are off surfing today. Kelly and I are heading to the pool. The only downside of the trip is my sunburn. Despite putting on sunblock, I burned. The sun is so much more powerful here and I forget to reapply. I even pre-tanned because I wanted to make sure I didn't burn. Today I am staying under the umbrella.

Massages

Kelly and I had our $130 massages ($100 paid from timeshare presentation) today. I love massages. I now believe there are massages and there are massages. Massages at a 4-5 star hotel in an amazing spa are a total experience. We were greeted at the door, given robes and sandals and after we dressed, led to a beautiful room with the sounds of nature and wonderful smells to wait our masseuses. There were comfy chairs, ice water and juices and dried fruit to nibble on. They gave us hot neck wraps that were infused with lavender. Then came the massages. Amazing! After the massage, we went to the warm jacuzzi, cold plunge and steam room where cucumbers on ice awaited our eyes. It was beautifully decorated in a minamalistic Zen style with candles lit. For the first time, since Kelly was under two we shared a bath in the buff! We then had warm showers in the dressing/bath area that had everything to meet our every need. I will never look at a massage the same way now. Give me the complete spa experience every time!

p.s. Funny story I forgot to tell about our trip here. When you arrive, you are hit by every timeshare presentation available at the airport. I knew to avoid them but accidentally got grabbed by a girl I thought was trying to explain how to find our driver to the hotel. Once I realized who she really was I cut her off and told her I wasn't interested and needed to get out to our driver. I could tell she was really mad that I wouldn't keep listening but didn't know how mad until Lee came out laughing. He said that she said, "Hey mister! Find a new wife!"

Total Zen

That's how I would explain this trip, this hotel. From the moment we walked into the hotel we felt like we were in a holistic retreat. Candles, lanterns everywhere. Water coming off walls, fountains everywhere and the wonderful smells of lavender, mint, eucalyptus. Infinity swimming pools with swim up bars and the best fish tacos ever.Everyone remembers your name and service is impeccable. This place is a true oasis of peace.

Yesterday was our first full day. We started it out by attending a time share presentation that took 90 minutes. We agreed to do it because the incentives were amazing. We got $100 spa certificate (Kelly and I are getting full body massages tomorrow morning for an hour) and $200 in certificates to use at the restaurants. There are two here and 3-4 at the sister hotel next door to choose from and the food is good! We then headed poolside and spent a great afternoon intermixed with ping pong, beach volleyball (not me) and blackjack. They have a blackjack tournament every afternoon for free drinks. We've won 4 virgin pina colada's so far. We went into town for dinner and a walk on the marina.

Today we went to breakfast (eggs benedict and banana french toast) and then out to the pool. More blackjack, water aerobics, long walk on the beach and Lee and Jody rented waverunners.

The weather is perfect, in the low 90's. Tonight we are going to play some games, walk on the beach and have a great dinner. Having a great time-wish you were all here!

Pictures of us on the trip will be later as we all forgot to bring camera cords to computers.

Did I mention we got this amazing place for $299 a week when the expedia rate is $237 a night?

93

That's the average weather when we are in Cabo this next week. Can't wait. It has been freezing here. It says it is in the 50's but the wind has been blowing crazy and today it is raining. Is it any wonder I can't wait to get out and warm this body up? I've had my pedicure, a base tan courtesy of the tanning booth (which I never go to unless it's for a trip-so I don't burn on the trip) and a new bathing suit. I did the Cabbage Soup Diet last week and lost an extra 5 lbs. so I won't look better (not good, just a little better) in my bathing suit. I am ready for fun in the sun!

P.S. Lee and I saw the movie 21 on Friday night. Go see it-it was really good.

Seattle

Lee and I came to Seattle yesterday to visit Chris, Kalie, Madison, and Kyle. The drive here isn't bad at all. It is really a pretty drive. We stopped in Portland for the night and divided the drive up. Madison and Kyle are to die for. Seriously, they are so cute. The cutest thing about them, even beyond how adorable they look, is how affectionate they are. They are right by us all the time with hugs, holding our hands and planning fun activities. I've played Candyland 9-10 times (only one twice!), colored, fed some ducks in a park and even played at the playground. Tonight we are going to take them to see the movie Nim's Island. Last night we went to PF Chang's-love that place. Tonight we are going to grill filets. Today Kalie and I went into Seattle to a place called Trophy Cupcakes that was featured on Martha Stewart last week. Ymmmmmm! Great cupcakes. We are having a great time.

Motherhood

I got another week of motherhood as I took care of Ammon and Cohen last week while Kelly and Jody went to Utah. I love my grandchildren sooo much and am always glad to spend that one on one time with any of them. Here's the things I noticed about motherhood that never change:

1. It is exhausting. But even though it is exhausting and you should go to bed right after you get them to bed, it is tempting (and I fall into temptation) to stay up later just to enjoy a few moments of quiet to yourself. The same thing happens with nap time. You know you should take a nap but reading a book just seems to call you. Just as you put it down to catch a quick nap, someone wakes up.

2. Forget cleaning. As you are cleaning one mess, they are making another.

3. At a certain age, around 4, all little boys love potty talk. Ammon has reached that age. He loves to walk in the room with his pants hanging around his leg and see if you are shocked that you see his underwear. He also delights in trying to see his grandma in the shower. Gross! I now have to lock the door and can hear him outside saying, "Let me in grandma, I promise I won't look. I promise I won't laugh!"

4. Kids love to go to McDonald's and Burger King. The trick is to get them to eat any food there. They are there for the play equipment and the toys.

5. It is still hard to get kids to eat what you are eating. Dinosaur chicken for Ammon and macaroni and cheese for Cohen are always good bets. Trying to get variety in their diet and healthier food is usually a no go.

6. Kids love to go get toys and videos. That means you get to stand in aisles for a long time while they painstakingly try to decide what to get.

7. Sick children are the saddest thing. Cohen got a bad case of gastroenteritis and was a puking, pooping machine on Saturday. He would not talk and just laid around and slept. Totally not Cohen and so sad. Today, Monday, he is still sick.

8 "I love you dama" (Cohen) or "I love you to outerspace and infinity" (Ammon) will get you every time.

Happy Birthday Pit Stop

I had to wake up at 5:00 this morning to catch my plane from Mesa to Stockton. It was going to be a long day and I knew I wouldn't be home until about 7:30 at night. I was dreading it. I was able to stop in Windsor and take Kelly out to lunch for her birthday though-a great pit stop! I got quick hugs and kisses from the kids and got to spend about an hour and a half with one of my favorite friends-Kellbell. The lunch was okay but spending time with the birthday girl was great!! I love my Kellbell so much and always have so much fun with her. Hope you had a great day, Kelly!

Mesa

I am in Mesa, Arizona where I was raised. I am loving it. The weather is amazing, in the high 70's and 80's. I am wearing shorts and sandals and got a pedicure today. I love staying at Julie's. Emily had a welcome poster on my bed for me. We are eating salads at all my favorite places and having such a great time! Yesterday, after she picked me up we stopped at a great shopping area called San Tan Village before we did anything. I got a cute skirt and top at Banana Republic. We went to Rumbi's and shared an amazing salad. That night we went to Pei Wei's with my dad. We went to the temple last night and saw some amazing photograph's by an Arizona artist on Christ. They will be for sale someday and I want some. They are photos of the people who will be acting in the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple this week.

Today we did our pedicures/manicures and had a salad at Bajio with chicken, mango salsa, etc. I also had a shrimp taco and it was amazingly wonderful. Tonight we are going to Wayne and Becky's for Elli's birthday party. In the next few days we will be laying out at a pool, shopping more, going to the temple, going to the Easter Pageant, seeing the play The Color Purple, going to a movie and eating out a lot. I love being with my sister so this is an amazing vacation in amazing weather.

Experiences

One of my favorite things in life is new experiences. Any experience. It can be going to a new place to eat, visiting a new place, even just seeing a movie. I especially enjoy experiences with family members. Experiences by myself are empowering to me though. yesterday I had one of those solo experiences by myself. I got up at 5:00 am at Kelly's and got ready and then drove to Stockton, California to catch a no-frills airline to Mesa, Arizona. A couple months ago I heard about Allegiant Airlines flying from Stockton to Mesa for only $35 each way so I booked a ticket. Yesterday I hit the SF rush hour traffic though and thought I might miss my flight. There would be no rebooking because they onlyfly Mondays and Fidays there. I got through rush hour traffic and got to Oakland and found out I still had over 60 miles to go. I really didn't think I had so far to go. I was really speeding because I didn't want to miss my flight. (Actually got there with an hour to spare). I finally got there to this tiny airport in the middle of famland and thought I'd arrived to a foreing country. Spanish is spoken more than English-at least at the airport. Got checked in and had a great flight. Of course with Allegiant you pay $5.00 each segment to get a reserved seat, $5.00 each segment for each bag you check in and buy your own beverages/treats from the stewardesses. Still, the entire ticket was $125. A good bargain, unless you count the gas money I spent to drive 6 1/2 hours from my home. But then, I got to spend time at Kelly's and got to have the experience of driving myself to Stockton and trying out a new airline. Well worth it.

Back in Santa Rosa and Laryngitis

I came down yesterday because I fly out for Arizona to see my Arizona family tomorrow morning. This is the longest I've ever gone not seeing Kelly's kids. I was so anxious to get here! Ammon is as cute and sweet as ever, Cohen is just as crazy and Rylee has really grown up! She now has two teeth, her hair lies down and she crawls. It is crazy how much they can change in just a month. She has always been adorable but now she is off the charts. So full of personality and fun. It is so nice to be with all of them again.

I am now on my 4th day of laryngitis and an upper respiratory infection with an obnoxious cough. Actually the last two days I can speak a little. The first two I couldn't speak at all. It is so annoying to not be able to answer the phone or call anyone. I actually miss my own, regular voice! Today I didn't stay for Relief Society in Kelly's ward because she teaches young woman's and I'd have to go by myself and can't talk that good yet. I feel like I sound like a transvestite. Not a good thing.

London and Paris in March

I returned on Sunday from my trip to London and Paris. It was pretty cold both places so I lived in my black wool coat and scarf. It was nice to put them away. Despite the cold and a little rain, I had a great time with Lindsey, Alex, Izzy and Alan. Lindsey is the best tour guide in the world. Despite being 20 weeks pregnant, she walked my socks off. I ate whatever I wanted too and didn't gain an ounce though so it was worth it! Lindsey did a great job describing our trip in detail so please go to her blog for the narrative and pictures. I am so annoyed-I took a lot of pictures on this stupid camera we had around the house and can't upload them to this computer!!

Trip highlights:

1. Listening to Izzy say "hello (or hallo) in her little English accent to us and everyone else everywhere we went. She is the cutest, little social bug.

2. Hanging out with Lindsey and Alex, lots of girl talk, lots of laughing!

3. Eating pastries in Paris, especially the apricot ones-ymmm!

4. Crepes in London and Paris.

5. The Museum D'Orsay in Paris. It is a gorgeous building in and of itself.

6. Wandering the streets of Paris, seeing local establishments, hearing the locals talk and laughing at our inability to say a word of French!

7. Facts of life talk in the Louvre. Picture a young girl contemplating marriage, a lot of nude statues and the questions that arose. It was hilarious!

8. Eating at Nando's. Nothing fancy, just comfort food.

9. The Bourough Market in London on Saturday-why is food always one of my highlights?

10. Seeing Les Miserables for the 3rd time.

11. The town of Bath. Gorgeous even on a rainy, cold day. The delicious Italian restaurant we ate at there.

12. Watching Alan dance with Izzy. He is a wonderful dad.

and the list could go on and on.....

Great trip!!! I'll be back in June for babysitting and the arrival of young Mr. Phillips.

Grey skies

That's Humboldt County this time of year. Grey, grey and more grey. I hate it. Lee and I promised ourselves to go to the sun next February for sure. I leave on Friday for London but since their weather is similar to ours, I won't get warmer. I am super excited to spend time in London and Paris with 2 of my 4 beautiful and fun girls though! Someday we can all vacation together along with Kalie when all the grandkids are older.

My dad and his wife have been here visiting in the ugly weather. No one should have to see what it looks like this time of year. All visitors should come in the summer or fall. I always feel bad when people come here and we have to stay inside. We've watched movies, played games and eaten a lot of seafood. We did get a quick beach trip in (no sun) and a trip to the Hatchery. I love visitors but wish there was more to do up here. And these visits always remind me how much I miss my mom.

Meet the Parents

That's what Alex's boyfriend, Jeff, got to do this weekend. He also met Jody, Kelly and their kids. Jeff is a really nice boy and we had a great time showing him a rainy Humboldt weekend. Of course, it cleared for most of today. We did manage a quick trip to the beach, a couple of movies, eating out a few times, a game of pool and introduced him to our favorite game, Settlers of Cataan. It was so wierd though. They seem so young (or am I just really gettting old). It seemed like they should be going on a prom date together instead of coming for the weekend. Maybe that's how it always is with the youngest. We had a great time with them though and are so glad they came! I felt so bad that he left with a nasty cold though. Love my little girl so much!!!!

P.S. I've now lost 8.5 lbs!!!!!!!!!

The Boyfriend

I drove down to Kelly's yesterday since this is my off week. It was really snowing about 15 miles out of Laytonville until I reached Ukiah. It even snowed Sunday night in McKinleyville (so gorgeous on the trees behing us!)I was just going to hang out with her and the kids at first. Then I got to thinking, Alex is getting serious with a boy we've never met so I checked out air fares and times and tomorrow we are picking both of them up. We will spend the night tomorrow at Kelly's and drive up to McKinleyville on Friday to spend the weekend with Lee. We are all so excited to meet Jeff and actually see our little girl with a real live boyfriend. It ought to be interesting. I promise to include pictures and tell all in my next blog!

Weigh In and Home Alone

It's hardly worth posting. I only lost 1 pound this week. At least it's in the right direction though! Last week I had two off days though and didn't work out as much. I'm determined this week to have a bigger loss.

The last of our before Christmas company left on Monday when Ma and Charlie and Kelly, Jody and family left. The house is cleaner now but too quiet. I did find I was absolutely exhausted for the next few days. Even though my company was so easy to be around and have, I guess I was still doing more than I do for just Lee and I and my body let me know it. I am looking forward to having next week off and lots of rest. Lots and lots of rest.

Great Vacation Deals

I have some great trips planned for this spring due to some great travel deals I've found.

1: I am going to London to visit Lindsey because I found a flight out of here for $646. That is an amazing price. I have to pay almost that much to go to SLC or Cedar Rapids right now. We found a cheap trip to Barcelona and planned to go there for 2-3 days but then Alex decided not to go to school this semester and things changed. She's coming to London with me and we changed our side trip to Paris because she's never been to Europe. We found great deals on the EuroStar so we are heading there too! That is my February trip.

2. I have always wanted to go to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple but always go to Arizona earlier and miss it. Since Easter is in March this year, I am heading there for my dad's birthday to see the Pageant and see all my Pomeroy family on March 10-17. I can't wait to soak in the warm Az. sunshine, eat at Cafe Rio and see all my family!

3. Recently we got one of those crazy invitations to go to a resort for a ridiculously cheap price and I looked up the resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and we are going April 21-27. When we were thinking of going to Cabo again, this is where I wanted to stay. Rooms are in the mid $200's usually though. Our great deal is $299 for a WEEK!! Check out the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Holistic Retreat and Spa on Trip Advisor. http://tripadvisor.com/hotels. It has great reviews and looks soooooo relaxing. When I booked they told me we didn't have to hear a timeshare presentation but I've also read they give about $200 in food credits and $100 in spa credits if you do. It might be worth the 2.5 hours.

Jenny and I

The results are in and I lost 5.2 lbs. this first week. Actually the day I started I was 3 lbs heavier than I was the week before. I think it was a lot of water retention from drinking too many sodas the week before. So I think the actual weight loss was closer to 2.5 lbs. That is a more reasonable weight loss for the diet. Anyway I feel better already. The best part is 90% of the food is really good, I get plenty to eat and I don't have to cook!!! Yea!! I love just going to the pantry or freezer and pulling something out to eat that I didn't have to plan, shop for or cook. And I love to cook-I just hate all the planning and shopping.

Lee has been lucky because his parents are visiting and his mom is cooking for him but next Tuesday he'll be on his own! 1 week down, 7 to go. And yes, I will be doing Jenny or WW on my trip to London. Cabo is my reward for losing the weight so I HAVE to do it!!!!!

Cheer Me On!!

I've finally done it. I started Jenny Craig today. I am sick and tired of the 15 lbs. I've gained in the last few years and have decided to do something about it. My problem is I love to cook and I love to eat. So it just keeps piling on. I decided the best way for me to lose it was to stop cooking and do a plan that told me what to eat. Lee's all for the idea of me losing weight so I told him he had to support me in it. He agreed. Then I told him he had to do his own cooking for 2 months. He relunctantly agreed to that too.

I decided on Jenny Craig because:
1: The meals are planned out for me, no cooking, less chance to slide
2. It is expensive so I will feel too guilty to quit or cheat
3. Supposedly the meals taste good

So for the next 8 weeks I am dedicating my life to Jenny and excercise. I will post results each week so cheer me on!

Top Ten Things About Christmas 2007

1. Being in the new house where we all had a bed and room to move around in. It was still messy, still chaotic but soooo much nicer.

2. Watching 6 of my 9 (10 in July) grandchildren play together, fight together, and quickly make up. So cute. We also got to see adorable Sienna before Christmas at Kelly's. We missed Kaden and Alexa a ton though! I loved all the kisses and hugs I got from them in between their having so much fun together. Ammon and Madison love each other, Cohen and Izzy were hysterical together and Kyle tagged along with everyone. Rylee was so sweet we hardly knew she was here.

3. Spending time with all of my children and all but one of their spouses. (Missed you Matt). My children are amazingly fun, cool, and beautiful and so are their spouses.

4. Hearing all about Jeff from Alex. How much fun is it to hear about new loves, plans, and stories. We were all enthralled, wanting to hear more. I feel like I know him already and think he is great!

5. Spending time at Kelly's before the onslaught at our house. It was so great to not have to plan meals, just help. It was also so wonderful to be in warmer weather with no rain. We had way too much rain here for Christmas!

6. Spending a girl's day out with Kelly, Lindsey and Alex. My favorite way to spend a day. (Missed you Kasey)

7. Lots and lots of delicious food. Tons of desserts. Ymmmmmm!

8. Watching old family videos of Christmas Eve performances past. We died laughing at old clothes and hairstyles. It tugged all of our hearts to realize how quickly time passes.

9. Adopting a new boy. Fabricio, 6 years old from Brazil through World Vision. We adopted him as a family instead of receiving so many Christmas gifts. Feels like the real spirit of Christmas. It will be fun to follow him through the years, write to him, maybe even meet him some day.
We always wanted one more boy....

10. Feeling the Spirit on Christmas Eve as we read the Christmas Story in Luke and sang Christmas songs. It was a tender moment as we reflected on the real reason for our being together.

I am so grateful for the wonderful husband I have been blessed with and the amazing children and grandchildren we have. I love when we are all together. It may look like a hurricane swept through the Iorg household at times but I cherish it all. The broken vases, scuffed floors and cluttered rooms can all be replaced. Our precious family memories can never be. Thank you family for all your love and fun personalities. You are truly MY favorite gift any day of the year!

33 YEARS

That 's how long I've been married. It's wierd when you've been married longer than when you were single. By 12 years now. On December 19, 1974 I married one of the most eligible guys on the BYU campus. He was so hot (and still is)! Here we are 33 years later. Great times, good times and some not so good times (as with all marriages), He's mellowed out, I've become more difficult and he still doesn't help much in the house. Would I do it again??? In a second. It's been a great life, wonderful memories, wonderful children and good times. Love you tons, Lee! Happy Anniversary!

(Pathetic picture but it is the only one I have on this computer!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!!!

Today was Chris' birthday. My oldest is over 30-talk about making a mom feel old! I feel like I was just 30. Crazy. I hope you had a wonderful day Chris. I love you very much. You did a great job picking out a beautiful, talented wife and have blessed us with Madison and Kyle. Good work, son! You are a funny, bright and talented boy (man) and we can't wait to see you and your family over Christmas.

FAMILY TIME

We took Kasey to the airport today. We had such a good time with her and Sienna. Sienna is the biggest kiss giver ever. She was constantly giving me kisses-on the lips, on the back of my knees when I was doing my hair, on my shoulders when I was sitting down. It was soooo cute. It was so fun to be around Kasey, way to short of a time, but fun. I got a horrible cold on Saturday and Sunday so that put me down a little but I feel good now.
Lindsey and Isobel are here at Kelly's too. Izzy continually says"hello" in what we think is a British accent-it is adorable. I swear she even speaks jibberish with an accent! Izzy and Sienna are about a month apart with Sienna being the older one. Izzy, however, is a head taller. We thought Izzy and Sienna would have so much fun together but actually it has been Izzy and Cohen, the wild ones, who are the crazy duo. Cohen is continually trying to get Izzy to join him in his adventures. Rylee hangs out looking cute and Ammon is loving having so many cousins around.
Lee's parents are at his sister's, Rona, house so we all went over there on Saturday. It was great to see all of them. We love that side of the family so much. Lani, Jami, Donnell and Ryan are such cuties and little Keal is to die for! I loved seeing Ronzy again and catching up. Saturday was my major sick day and I should have stayed home instead of passing bugs around but I just couldn't miss out on the fun. Bad nurse, I should know better. I love Lee's family so much and we look forward to Ma and Charlie coming to our place. We hope they stay a long, long time.
Tomorrow Alan comes in from London and on Wednesday, Alex comes in. Then we head up to McKinleyville on Thursday. Holidays are so much fun because of all the family time!

Holiday Tradition

Friday afternoon, Lee and I drove down to the city, San Francisco. What a beautiful city! The sky was clear and as you head into the city you see the lights of the city and Golden Gate Bridge lit up. It is amazing. We were headed to see Jersey Boys for Lee's birthday. The original plan was to spend the night in the city, hang out during the day and drive up to Kelly's and stay Saturday night there. After we'd bought our tickets we found out that Lee's work party was scheduled for Saturday night and he had to be there. It ended up being a really quick trip but so worth it.
We got to the city and wanted to get a nice dinner. We only had an hour and a half though because the traffic into the city was slow. We checked in to the possibility of eating at a few dinner places only to realize it would never work. Finally, we went to Macy's, ate at Wolfgang Puck's Express place and grabbed some cookies at Tom's cookies for the show. Then we walked around Union Square. It was beautiful and I really felt the holiday hustle and bustle. So fun. I think San Fran is just a gorgeous, fun city, and even more so at Christmas. I decided that a weekend in San Francisco at Christmas time is our new holiday tradition.
The show was amazing. We both grew up on the Four Season songs and loved them so it was really fun to watch. Lee has talked nonstop about it since and got a cd at the show and listened to it all the way home. I woke up this morning to him singing one of the songs in Frankie's falsetto voice. The only questionable thing about the show was it was spiced with quite a few swear words. Of course, they were street thugs from New Jersey so I guess it was accurate. Interesting story, great songs and the guys portraying them were great.
We went to Kelly's after the show to sleep so we could have a few hours Saturday with them. When we got in our room we noticed Ammon sleeping in Rylee's crib. Evidently he wanted to sleep with us so Kelly said if he wanted to sleep in our room he had to sleep in the crib. So he did. We died laughing! About six in the morning I heard rustling around and looked up. His head was over the crib and he was staring down at us. He saw me lift my head up off my pillow and he bolted out of the crib, announced that he was going to snuggle with us and that was the end of sleep for that night. He wiggled in between us, talked our legs off, and grinned the whole time. Priceless. It was great to see all of them if only for a few hours. I head back there on Thursday because Lindsey and Kelly and their cute 18 month old girls will be there. Fun times. The best part of the holiday season is starting!! Family time!

Great Book

Okay, I read a lot of books. Most are good, some okay, but few seem to really grab me. I just finished The Glass Castle though and loved it! It is the story of a family who survives on very little money mainly because the father is a drunk and the mother "lives for the moment". It was very interesting, one of those books that make you think and wonder. I mainly wondered how any mother could allow her children to go hungry (eating butter for dinner one night), be cold and not have decent clothes or shelter when she had the means to change things. This is a true book and the author is a successful journalist in NYC now. Great book! Read it, it will grab you.

The last book that really grabbed me like this was A Thousand Splendid Suns which I absolutely adored!! One of my favorite all time books!

Recent so-s0 reads:

Love in the Time of Cholera (too many love affairs, ending was sweet though)

Suite Fraincaise (only read first story-okay, not great, have to read second one)

Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss (wrote History of Love which I liked much better)

Peace Like a River - really not crazy about this book

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (fast read, pretty good but not spectacular)

It is so hard to find a good book. The language in some is so offensive. I find myself at Costco skimming them before I buy them, looking for the f-word so I know not to buy them. Drives me crazy when I buy a book that has a few and I didn't know it. Any good books out there that you've read?

Happy Thanksgiving

The turkey and dressing are in the oven-smells delish! The weather is sunny and bright and beautiful. Kelly and Jody and family are here. My family is all healthy and happy. I have a lot to be grateful for. I love this time of year and this holiday especially. No commercialization, yea!! Just family and food-my favorite things. Of course, I wish all of my family were here but I am grateful for those that are. We have a few people who had nowhere to go coming over and are eating at 3:00. Menu is: turkey, dressing, mash potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, fresh cranberry relish, rolls and a relish tray. For dessert there is pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pecan pie, banoffee pie and lemon bars. Ymmmm! No Weight Watchers today for me!
Next year we are reserved for our condo in Snowbird, so Chris, Kasey, Kelly, Lindsey, and Alex here is your official invite to come! We go every other Thanksgiving there and it is so fun to be in the snow and enjoyeverything in Utah.
Hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy your families! We miss you so much Alex!!

Home Alone

Lee's been gone this last week and I was home alone. I was on call this weekend so couldn't head to Kelly's so I had to tough it out alone. Luckily, it was a much better experience than the last time I was home alone. I actually had a great time and didn't get sick of myself so much. Of course, the fact that I was working most of the time helped. I had more adult conversation during the day and could then vegetate at night in front of the tv. I actually started a diet (Weight Watchers) - I desperately need to lose at least 10 pounds and didn't want to add to it with the holidays. I did some genealogy, cleaned out my closet and decorated for Christmas! Yes, you heard it right-Ms. Humbug already decorated! I hate rushing Christmas pre-Thanksgiving but I had the time and a quiet house so it seemed like the thing to do. Having decorated the house and simplified gift giving this year because we are now part of the name drawing, I think I am going to enjoy the holidays more. In fact I am getting out my Christmas music today. I'll start listening to it on Friday. Hmmmm, could Pam actually be getting in the Christmas Spirit? Never say never....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KASEY!!

Beautiful Kasey is 29 today. Happy Birthday! I just had so much fun visiting her and her family in Iowa last week. I had so much fun hanging out with them, watching and hearing the kids funny antics, snuggling with Sienna and just being with MY girl again. It is amazing how quick life goes by. It seems like a few short years ago and I was giving birthday parties for Kasey and her friends and last week I was at the party she gave for Kaden. One of the funniest things last week was to watch crazy Alexa who is full of sass and vinegar. I was dying laughing because Kasey was just like her. As a child, Kasey too would give it right back to you and we were constantly laughing at what she said. When she was a teenager Lee would wake her up for seminary and she'd give him so much grief that he just started going into her room, turning on the light and running. You could hear her yelling all through the house!

Kasey, I love you so much and am so proud of the person you've become. You are bright, articulate, loving, talented and a wonderful daughter, mother and wife. The best thing is I'd want you for my friend even if you weren't my daughter. Love you. Have a wonderful day!!

Happy Birthday Kaden and Freezing in Iowa

It's our oldest grandchild's birthday today! Kaden is six years old, the oldest of nine, so far. He is such a handsome little devil (and I do mean devil when he teases Alexa!!). He is a crazy little boy who can read like you can't believe and loves to beat me at the game Sorry. We've played it 5 times so far and I've only won once. He tries to be all big and tough and over all that mushy kissing and stuff but every now and then he suddenly ends up in my lap and I can always get hugs and kisses at bedtime from him. What a cute boy-watch out girls, he's going to steal a ton of hearts. To see pictures go to Kasey's blog: http://www.henryfam.blogspot.com.

Alexa is still crazy as ever. Seriously, if you've ever met her you know what I mean. She talks a million miles a minute, with eyes wide open, hands waving and is hilarious-funniest child ever!! Noone, and I mean noone, is ever going to run over her. She can be completely serious telling you just how life is and then completely off the wall, laughing with her high-pitched hysterical laugh the next minute. She is a laugh a minute.

Sienna is so loving and sweet. Loves me to hold her and lays on my shoulder all the time. She is beautiful and amazing. Everytime I look at her she grins and holds her arms out for me. I am loving it. We went and saw the Bee Movies yesterday(real cute) and she had a blast eating popcorn, drinking soda and walking around.

Kasey and Matt both look great and I am even going to see Dr. Matt today to have a sealant put on an area where my gums are receeding and are sensitive to cold and some foods. Poor guy, nothing like having to look into your mother-in-law's gross mouth! Did I say it is 43 and windy and freezing here??? It is clear with blue skies though and the company is great so it is a good time despite the weather.

HAPPY B-DAY ALEX!!

Little Alex turns 20 today!!! Is that possible? Where have the years gone? It seems like just yesterday we were putting this tiny baby side by side to a Cabbage Patch Doll to see who was bigger. Alex had a narrow victory. She was always a tiny thing and we all have the hardest time believing she has grown up. I think we all still think she is eleven. We are so pround of the beautiful young woman she has become and love her to pieces. Have a wonderful birthday Alex!!

P.S. I think there should be a law that the youngest child can not leave the home until the parents are too senile to care!

Weekend in Windsor

Last week I spent Tues night - Sunday with Kelly and family in Windsor. We had a great time eating out, just hanging out and going to Six Flags. (I do so love me some rollercoasters!) I love going there without Lee for one reason. I get attention from Cohen and Ammon directly solely at me. Grandpa, for Ammon, is one of the most special people in the world and when grandpa is around I just get the crumbs. But when I was in Windsor, I am numero uno. He slept with me every night, of course. The last night I was there I told him I was leaving the next day. All of a sudden he starts wiping his eyes and saying, "I'm feeling sad right now." I told him I had to go home to work and he asked if I would come back when I didn't work. I told him I was going to go visit Kaden, Alexa and Sienna next and he said, "But what about me?" Awwww. Then he says, "Maybe, when my mom doesn't like me, I can come live with you in Kinleyville." I assured him his mom was always going to like him but we could visit back and forth a lot. I feel so bad for him and his little sensitive heart but secretly Love It!

Girl Time

Alex came home on Thursday and left today. On Friday we went to the Sea Grill and had prawns (both of our favorites) and then had manicures and pedicures and did a little shopping. Kelly and family came up on Friday. We went shopping, again, on Saturday and out to lunch. We had planned on a movie but didn't make it. We made lots of food this weekend and lots of goodies. Alex's high school friends came over and spent a lot of time with us too, playing games, laughing and talking. It was great. So much fun. Nothing is better than girl time.

New recipe

Tried a new one tonight off of a blogger site-delish!


CHICKEN, BRIE, AND TOMATO PASTA
2 cooked chicken breasts (on George Foreman or in skillet)
1 Pkg Penne Pasta
1 Pkg Brie cheese
Grape tomatoes (the really small ones in a pkg)
Fresh Basil, thinly chopped
Garlic
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Start pasta cooking.
Make “sauce” of ¼ c. olive oil, about 20-30 cut up tomatoes (depending on how many tomatoes you want in it-we like a lot), 3-4 large garlic cloves minced, chopped basil leaves (about 10 leaves). Mix together and let it sit while everything is cooking.
When pasta is done, drain and then add Brie chunks to it to melt the cheese. Add chicken and “sauce” and stir together.
This has a really good, fresh flavor. The cheese cools the pasta down a bit so I micro it a little before serving.

Tagged

What is his name (husband):Lee, sometimes Leeroy

How long have you been together?We will have been married 33 years on December 19th. Wow it is crazy when you start having been together longer than when you were single!

How long did you date? Interesting question. We met on a blind date at BYU and had a great time. It was a set up for two clubs at schoool. Both were dating other people though and didn't date again for another year. I remember standing in line when some girls were rushing our club and a girl said she was Greg Snow's sister who just happened to be Lee's roommate. I got all silly and jumped around and said I had gone out with him once, was now single, and would love to go out with him again. I must have mentioned this to a few people because soon after this the girl he was dating told him she knew someone who had a crush on him. He asked who and she wouldn't tell him at first because she was afraid he'd ask the girl out. Finally she told him. He asked me out and we got married about 14 months later.

How old is he? He will be 56 in December but looks like he's 10 years younger. It's disgusting.
Who eats more? He does but I eat a lot. He loves to tell the story that when he took girl's to get pizza, they'd eat so little he'd just get a medium. When I came along he had to start getting larges because I could match him piece for piece.

Who said I love you first? Him, I probably felt it first but had way too much pride to say it till he did.

Who is taller?Lee

Who sings better?Church songs, me. Cowboy songs, Lee. And he can mimic any singer amazingly.

Who is smarter? Lee would agree that it is me. I am even the technological wizard (and I'm not good) in our house.

Whose temper is worse?Without a doubt, Lee. EVERYONE in the family knows this. It is is one true vice. He is very inpatient and has threatened to blow up computers, tvs, and remote controls. When he loses his keys, you don't want to be around. To his credit though, he is much better now than years ago.

Who does the laundry?Definitely me. Although Lee thinks if he puts a load in he has done it. He doesn't quite do the changing to the dryer and folding that goes along with it much though.

who does the dishes? I do it 90% of the time.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me

Who pays the bills?Me-we probably would have had more money through the years if I hadn't though. I am a much bigger spender than Lee. I really believe money is there to create memories with and I love the memories of travel, lunches out, movies with the girls, shopping trips, etc!

Who mows the lawn?Lee. I think I have once ever.

Who cooks dinner?Definitely me. I love to cook since my kids have grown, love to try new recipes and love to eat. I guess that's why I can't lose my extra 10 pounds! Lee is the pancake maker in the family.

Who drives when you are together?Lee, I sleep.

Who is more stubborn?Both of us. It's the reason that years ago if we got in a real fight we could go 3 days without acknowledging one another. Neither of us would talk unless we had to until Lee would finally say, "Well, do you want to be friends again?" We are both better now and don't fight much at all.

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong?Neither of us has been very good about it per the above. When I know I'm wrong I have no problem admitting it to anyone. I guess I just haven't felt I've been wrong as often with Lee. Ha ha!

Whose parents do you see the most? His for most of our married life because they lived here. Now they live in Tennessee and I miss them so much!

Who kissed who first?Definitely Lee. In those days, girls always waited for invitations to dates, phone calls, kisses, etc.

Who proposed? We have no idea!! There was never an official proposal! Isn't that crazy? He brought be home to meet his family and the next thing we knew they were showing us rings and we were planning a wedding! Years later I felt gypped that I didn't have a romantic proposal story.

Who is more sensitive?When we were first married, me. Now, Lee.

Who has more friends? Lee, he is everyone's best friend.

Who has more siblings?Me, I have 4, he has 3.

Who wears the pants in the family?He lets me get away with wearing them for so long and then he puts the hold on things.

Places I've worked: First job was Dairy Queen, waitressed at several places, salesperson at a few stores, sold Avon(can you believe it?), General Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital as an RN

Movies I can watch over and over:Win a date with Tad Hamilton (he's gorgeous!), Gone With The Wind, Count of Monte Cristo, Four Feathers and the camping favorites, Clueless and What About Bob

Places I've lived:Arizona, Utah, California, Missisippi, Florida, Virginia (the last three were when Lee was playing baseball.

!Favorite t.v. shows: Lost, 24, American Idol, America's Next Top Model, Prison Break, Project Runway, Top Chef, Design Star

Places I've been:London, Prague, Switzerland, Paris, Venice, Rome, Florence and other cities in Tuscany(love it), Germany (love Heidelberg), Hawaii, Jamaica, several cities in Mexico, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Austria, New York City and lots of cities in the states I've lived in. Love to travel!

Favorite foods:Chocolate, any dessert, Fish, especially shellfish, and great breads.

Places I'd rather be: Any sunny place or any place where my children and grandchildren are.

Weird things about me: I love to sleep, could take a nap everyday.
I wish I could dance really good.
I like alone time till I get sick of myself.

My all-consuming passion: (I added this) My grandchildren-I can't get enough of them. Love their silly stories, cute smiles and funny actions. My greatest wish is to live near some of them again and see them almost daily. Some of my greatest memories are taking a group of them to a movie, going to a park with them or just listening to them talk to each other. Priceless.

I tag Kalie, Kasey, and Lindsey!

GREAT SALAD

Found a new salad and love it-will post to Internecipes too.

HONEYED PEARS ON GREENS WITH BLUE CHEESE
E T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. honey
Dash of salt
2 t. fresh thyme (I didn’t have this so omitted it)
5 c. fresh greens
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
½ c. candied almonds
Combine oil, lemon juice, honey and seasoning. Add pears, while gently stirring, and bring to a rapid boil. Simmer on high for 1 minute. Refrigerate till cool.
Divide greens on 4 plates. Top with pears, including liquid. Add blue cheese and top with almonds.

Christmas

Okay family, let's decide on Christmas plans. Everyone knows I am a bit of a bah-humbug over Christmas because it is so commercialized. I hate that people spend so much time, worry and effort over presents and then spend more than they have and have bills left to pay. I have always wanted it simpler and aim every year in that direction. Last year I mentioned that we should turn outward more and give to a charity or adopt a child through World Vision or something like that. I've been thinking of different scenarios. Here's a couple. Please comment on which you like, if any, or give a different idea. The idea is to make it simpler, happier , and more giving.
#1. Everyone, including dad and I, go into a pool. (Not grandkids though). Each person has one name. Limit is $100.
Dad and I still buy grandkids presents about $40-50 each (until we have more). No more trading names between grandkids to reduce expenses and trouble sending gifts.
Dad and I then give extra $ we would spend on family gifts to adopt a child for the family.

#2. Everyone goes in pool, except grandkids. Limit is $75. Everyone contributes to adopt a child or whatever else is decided on. Cousins still trade gifts.

#3. We continue as we have but decrease amount spent and everyone contributes to charity or child everyone agrees on.

If any of you other people out there have ideas your family uses, please let us know!

Ammon and his grandpa

Isn't this seriously one of the cutest pictures?? Kelly took it this last weekend when they were here. Ammon took a shower with Lee every morning. In this pic he decided he needed pancakes before he needed to get dressed.

I could be very jealous about Ammon's relationship with Lee. I'm not because it is the cutest thing ever. The sun rises and sets on grandpa for that little boy. He is Lee's shadow and it is no wonder. Lee will do whatever Ammon wants to do, all day long. They wrestle, they play with Harley, they wrestle some more, they go to Mick's hot tub and wrestle some more. Of course he sleeps right in between Lee and I every night (I guess I am just lucky to be allowed to stay in my own bed). Lee wakes up early and the first morning Ammon woke up, he turned to talk to Lee and Lee had gone in the other room. Ammon bounded out of bed and started bawling, "Where's my grandpa?" When I go down to visit Kelly and family without Lee then I am okay, even kind of neat to Ammon and he sleeps with me and hangs out with me. When Ammon comes up here and Lee is around I am a nobody to him. Sure, I get an occasional hug or kiss from him when I askbut he is always checking out for Lee out of the corner of his eye.

Cohen is completely different. That is one busy kid, doesn't have too much time for either of us. He is always busy, always hilarious. They've taken the binky away from him except when he sleeps so he'd come by Rylee, steal hers, and immediately lay down like he was sleeping. It was hilarious!!

And Rylee is completely adorable and the BEST baby!

When they got ready to leave, Ammon was really sad about leaving "grandpa". He had to kiss him a couple of extra times and Kelly says he cried a few time on the way home about missing his "grandpa". Really, they have an unusually close relationship. Way cute. I'll be making trips down there by myself. Not that it will do me any good.

HAPPY BELATED LINDSEY!

Poor Linds. She didn't get much of a shout out yesterday. I worked 13 hours the day before so couldn't blog and then planned to blog yesterday but my 4 hour day turned into 7 hours. Tried to blog or e-mail at work when I had a patient but couldn't get on. Didn't have a break until 2:00 to call but it was late in England so I could only leave a message. Sorry Linds, I'll do better next year. Love you tons, miss you tons and am happy I gave birth to you 24 years ago!!!! What a bright light in our lives you've been.

Bits and Pieces

New bookcases

I did enjoy Nanny Diaries. It was cute. I've been off from work this week and would have loved to gone and see Kelly and boys again but am in charge of the quarterly Relief Society temple trip and that was this Wednesday. It was a hoot. I drove and only 4 women signed up. Janice Roney, Eldis Jensen, Wanda Mintz and Pat Litza. The last three are all in their 70's at least and a wee bit absent minded, don't hear well and walk slowly. I was afraid Wanda and Eldis would get in a cat fight at one time over Wanda's GPS being too loud. The conversations we had were hilarious. I actually had a great time in the 6 hours of driving time to and from Medford. It is great to hang out with new people and be entertained. I think a fun time was had by all.

Lee's brother, Dane, is in town and spending a couple nights with us. I just made some chocolate chip cookies so they can have some when they get back from dinner. They went golfing and out to eat with some lumberman afterwards so I didn't have to cook tonight. On Thursdays we have a Farmer's Market here in town and this guy cooks the best ribs and trip tip over wood chips. That is always Thursday dinner for us. I got some ribs for tomorrow night and will just make sides to go along with it. I am excited to have someone come stay with us in this house!

My favorite new sandwich or panini is to take a dense bread like Pugiliese and slice it. Put sliced fresh mozzerella on a slice, a couple pieces of salami, and fresh basil. I brush some olive oil on the outside slices and cook it in my George Foreman/pseudo panini press. I then open it up and put some fresh Farmer's Market tomatoes (Heirloom tomatoes) and enjoy. Yumm, yumm.

I am reading Nicholas Sparks book, Dear John, and it is a fast and good read so far. Tried Peace Like a River but am not really feeling it. Loved A Thousand Splendid Suns!!! One of my favorite books. Any other good reads out there??

We absolutely love our new house and where we are living. The weather has been perfect here. I love to go on the deck, look at the trees and read. I love the peace and quiet that is this neighborhood. I hate that winter is coming though.

I feel lame because I am way past being an adult and am so excited that the Fall Shows are back. I love to mindlessly lay back at night and be entertained. I try to always have scriptures read by the time they start. Does that count for anything?

My favorites:

1. Lost-can't wait till February! I think the writing is amazing on this program

2. Prison Break-are Michael and Lincoln amazing looking or what????

3. America's Next Top Model

3. 24- have loved it in the past but didn't care for last year

4. Top Chef, Next Design Star, Project Runway, American Idol

Watched Cane the other night, looks good.

Tonight is Survivor, Grey's (kind of over it), and ER. I am pathetic. I listen to other women, smart, accomplished women talk about how they NEVER watch tv and how worthless it is. I just remain silent and look forward to curling on the sofa with my blanket at night.

BORED

Lee has been gone hunting for 8 days now. With Kelly and Jody moved and Alex in college, I am so bored while he is gone. I went to Kelly's for4 days till they left for Georgia and loved hanging with them. Ammon slept with me every night and Cohen entertained me and Rylee is just the best baby ever. And so cute. Then I came home on Friday and it was a looooong weekend. I totally feel sorry for widows now. Sometimes you just love to have alone time but now I'm getting a little sick of myself. Luckily, I went to work today but we are called off tomorrow so it's just me, myself and I. I think the three of us will go see Nanny Diaries.

Making A Difference

When I was a nurse in the OB department one thing happened over and over that caused me a lot of concern. We continually sent beautiful, perfect babies home with parents we knew were dysfunctional. It really bothered me that they had reached their potential in the hospital and that with the luck of whom they were born with, would have a totally different life than the babies sent home with normal, functional families. It was so sad. What would happen to these babies? I wanted to adopt each one of those babies who were sent to dysfunctional homes. I wanted to make a difference but didn't know how. This year I joined CASA which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. I am now on the Board of Directors and hope to be an advocate myeself when my term is up. Volunteers are trained to work with one of those children I sent home years ago. Volunteers help ensure that some of them do not slip through the cracks and have an opportunity to reach their potential. These volunteers help the children through the legal system, school system and medical system and become mentors who spend time with them and help them in so many wonderful ways become productive citizens. CASA is a non-profit organization. One of our biggest fundraisers is the CASA KidWalk. Please help make a difference in a child's life. You can donate to my team at http://www.firstgiving.com/pamskidwalk . It doesn't take much to make a difference in someone's life.