Welcome to the world little one!!!

I would like to introduce you to one of the newest members of the world.

This is Kora Belle, the new daughter of Natalie and Nick and sweet little sister of Benjamin. Kora came into the world on February 25th at 5:05 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs and is 18 1/2 inches long.

Kora is also the granddaughter of one of my dearest friends, Kim and Grandpa Mark. She is the niece of Mark, Ariel and McKenna. I am convinced that she was named after me and Grandma has assured me that I will be Auntie Jenibelle! She is a tiny little girl and so cute!!

Kora Belle's mom Natalie was one of my favorite young women ever. She is kind and sweet and oh, so talented!! Nat is a very gifted artist, musician and a wonderful writer. One day she hopes to publish a childrens' book. Natalie is such a stud that she was posting pictures and e-mailing 4 hours after Kora's birth. Oh the beauty of an epidural!

Congratulations Natalie, Nick and Big brother Benji! Love you Nat and I am so proud of you!!!

To paint or not to paint?

I hate to wax Shakespearean over paint...but it is a huge decision. This is my living room. It is green, a khaki-ish green, maybe shades of olivey. It is a huge room with 21 foot ceilings. The room has a plant shelf on the one long side and gorgeous moldings all over. I painted it about 8-9 years ago and I have loved it. In fact, when our downstairs flooded (bad washer line, bad flood, good new flooring for the entire downstairs!!! woohoo!!!!) I went and bought paint and ended up painting it exactly the same. BUT, I think it is time to update. So what do you think? What color should I go? It is painted 13 feet up, has a chair rail and the top is just builder white. I am not getting new couches anytime soon, they are comfy and in great shape. I am getting new pillows. The pine hutch isn't going anywhere either, it was the first piece of furniture we bought when Byron graduated from Dental school. It has little Rachel teeth marks in it as she grew and learned to stand and pull her self up. (she didn't walk until she was 6! This and a bookshelf are VERY sentimental...) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE red. My family room and the rest of the house is a camel color with red stuff and black accents.

Okay, all you mega talented young women....I want your opinions! Be honest, I can take it. The pool table isn't going anywhere either. I inherited from my Dad, it's really a puzzle table, buffet table, laundry table etc..... Post pictures of your houses so I can get good ideas. Let's create!!

Potpourri

A little bit of Random thoughts:

First of all, the big "campout" ...they also showed movies all night on the side of the tent.
...they pee'd in the great outdoors, ( aka: the backyard) Maria didn't know!
...they were going to hike on Saturday, across the street to get
donuts from Safeway, but it started to sprinkle.
I don't know why, but this campout cracks me up big time~!

Ring! Ring! Ring.....
"Hello?"
"Is your mom there?"
"I am the mom..."
"Oh yeah...listen.... you need blogger intervention right away!"
"what????? What am I doing wrong?"
"I need to come over and teach you how to do all these things, are you available tonight?"

Clearly, this was an emergency. And now, thanks to the marvelous tutelage of CeliaFae, guru of all bloggers, I can add links, have a stat counter and can do a couple of other things that I would have NEVER figured out on my own. So now I owe her and Celia, I understand the magnitude of the debt and you WILL be duly rewarded.

LOVE/HATE Relationship:

I love my husband....he hates blogging.
Byron hates blogging, he says it's MySpace for women. He may have a point there, a teenie tiny point, but a point nonetheless.
So.....in front of the world I hearby swear that I will use my edit button.
* I will not post anything that would humiliate or horrify my family
* I will not make crude or suggestive comments (I am making this promise after I commented on Paige's Christina Aguilera post....)
* I will remember that this is the WORLD WIDE web and is available for public consumption and will behave accordingly.
* I will remember that I am an adult, not a dingy 16 year old, therefore I will not post suggestive and or inappropriate pictures of myself doing things I wouldn't want my mother to see.
* I will not become addicted...I will not become addicted....I will not become addicted.

AND FINALLY....
When I look in the mirror I see this....




not this.........


(my son gasped and said "Mom! You're not going to put a picture of you in your bathing suit!!??!!!
Uh no. Even I have a little bit of self respect. But thanks for caring Jeff.)


Last night we went out to dinner with our cruisin' friends Tom & Vicki. Afterwards we to their house and put videos on of our Mediterranean cruise, I had a major reality check. I have been blue ever since.

So I will not be blogging for a while, I need to spend my time on line looking for a tape worm. I'll let you know when I find it.

Roughing it

Today was a red letter day for Scotty. This evening at approximately 5:30 my little eaglette left his nest in pursuit of his first flight into the wonderful world of Boy Scout Camping. After tonight he will officially be a "Tenderfoot". (Which might I say is right up there with Bishop Bears eat Beats; sorry...inside joke!)

I am now going to take you on a pictorial of the Pursuit of Tenderfoot, Brentwood Style.
(remember all wackiness starts here)

1. The ominous sky.


2. The campground....Dave & Maria's backyard. A giant circus tent. This is known as a cave in Brentwood. Set up in case of inclement weather . See picture #1.














#3. This is the forest where the tents are set up. These boys could teach the girls' camp ladies a
thing or two about rain coverings!

4. Cocoa Motion Machines. Not one, not two, but three of them. And the electricity to run them. This is roughing it in the worst kind of way, they forgot the marshmallows. Life is tough, hope they manage.



5. Here are really tough Dads, Scott and Sterling, bundled up against the elements. The weather gets really rough here in California. They look exhausted don't they? Oh wait, the workers from the event company set up the circus tent. Guess hauling all that gear from the driveway to the backyard wore them out. Poor babies.


6. Here are our newest Boy Scouts. Notice they are in their shirts, enjoying the balmy 55 degree weather. Refer to #5, particularly the guy in the beanie and REI -30 degree jacket. That cave sure looks cozy! Wow! Matching tables and chairs!! Now THAT's classy camping. Wonder if they are making centerpieces out of pinecones and needles? Forgot, no trees in this forest.



7. Here is the fire pit, oops! CAMPFIRE, where all the foil packet dinners are going to be cooked. Just in case Maria has the microwave ready. 15 feet away.
Being in touch with their feminine sides, Weston and Randy both got the memo on exactly what to wear. Matchy-matchy!



8. Tomorrow morning I will gas up the car, put treats and drinks in the car in preparation for the 10 minute drive out to the campsite. There, I will pick up my warm, clean little tenderfoot. No pitch for me to stress about, no bugbites, no racoon stories, and very little effort on his part. Ladies, you might want to move here, Scouting is a breeze, and convenient too.



P.S. In all fairness...there were frogs making frog noises. Ahh, the great outdoors.

Not Quite Needing Bloggers Anonmymous...

62%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

A little note from work

I have the BEST job in the world!! I work at the local high school in the discipline office. If I have to work (which I do...cause of my husbands health) this is the perfect place for me. I love my job. All day long I see naughty kids, they are a little humble by the time they get here. It's funny the stuff that they do, sometimes I'll ask them..."do you want to call your parents or do you want me to?" They get a sick look. Sometimes the drunk kids throw up, I don't like that too much, well, not at all.

One time we had a kid that was stinkin' drunk and was practically delirious. The police officer told him he was going to search his backpack. The kid said "no...do you have the authority to do that?" Mark, our school resource officer said..."well, Travis, I do have the gun." It's such a fun job, I could tell you stories of my last four years. Wait till the warm weather comes and I will have dress code stories and pictures. They are priceless!

These two lovely ladies are my Student Aides, Shivani and McKenzie. They are adorable and I just love them to pieces. They love my blog and wanted to be highlighted SO HERE THEY ARE!!! They figured out how to make flowers out of post-its... Aren't they clever and creative?I think I need to keep them busier. They also did the bulletin board in the back.

They get to do all kinds of fun stuff like running passes all over campus, stuffing envelopes, making copies, making me laugh, looking good and trying to figure out how to get over to the other building to see another TA named Matt who is really, really cute, huh Kenzie?

So make their day and leave them a comment. They really are adorable and I am lucky to have them. Love you Shivani & Kenzie!!!

PS. Lauren, they have graciously offered to be your flower girls should you decide to get hitched some day. Nice.

Answered prayers

When did this little girl

turn into this big girl?

And now... who is this young woman?

I blinked and she grew up. Did I appreciate every moment? Does she know how very special she is? Did I teach her enough?

I had one of those moments today where you just want to sit and cry with joy.
I think this boy has stolen my girl's heart. I hope he knows how lucky he is to have her give her heart to him, that doesn't come easy for her. I hope I taught her how to be her own person and not lose herself while she is learning to love another.

Today after the devotional she went up to the temple and did baptisms, they can only do 3 at a time. I would have probably thought that wasn't worth the effort of going...but she did. She reads her scriptures every day, loves the religion classes she takes. She goes to FHE even when it's lame. She has found a young man to date that is a worthy priesthood holder and who treats her with absolute respect.

Today I was at work when Lolo called me and told me about the temple. I thought about her life, she gave us a run for our money for a couple of years in high school! I worried and hung on to her for dear life. I prayed and prayed and hung on even harder. She didn't like me much at all. I made her go to BYU-I, I literally MADE her, including packing her car. I can safely say she didn't like me at all!

And then today; I hung up with tears starting down my cheeks. My co-worker looked at me shocked and ran over, "are you okay? what happened?" I knew she wouldn't understand so I just nodded, "yes"

The thoughts I had were so simple, and such a comfort..."she's going to be fine. Thank you Heavenly Father, she's going to be just fine."

Just Curious....

I have shower related questions today.

1. Is your "company" bathroom decorated to the hilt while the one in your bedroom is lucky to have a curtain in it?

2. Have you ever taken a whole shower, including shaving your legs, and then can't remember if you have washed your hair or not? I am convinced that I am either in the early onset of Alzheimer's or the shampoo companies are adding memory erasing chemicals to my Pantene.

3. Do you:
a. stand in the shower and just get business done
b. Sing songs from High School musical at the top of your lungs in the shower
c. Play 'Amazing Grace' on the harmonica in the shower
d. Sit in the shower and "enjoy" the cascading water.
(Match the family member to the shower activity...)

4. If you were washing your hair and you opened your eyes and saw a spider on the shower glass
in front of you would you:
a. Scream at the top of your lungs, run out butt naked and soapy screaming "kill it!, kill it!"
b. Faint dead away hitting your head on the ledge of the shower,
wake up to your husband slapping your cheeks, and be left with a huge lump above your eye.
c. Calmly knock the spider off the glass with the bar of soap and try to push it down the drain with your foot. When it climbs back out not so calmly step on it and push it down the drain and then scrub your foot really, really well.
d. Remember Pres. Kimball's talk about not killing innocent creatures.
(I'm guessing no one picks this one)

Oh, and yes, of course that is my shower.

PS. DON'T put in 'shower' in the google search images bar...you get 'pono-pono-pono' !
(Refer to Celia's Top 10 Sacrament Meetings blog. And I want to bear witness that all those weird things have happened. Plus many many many more....Y'all move to Brentwood for a good time!!!)

Farewell Friend

I am no beauty. This is no plea for "oh yes you are!" Trust me, I am a realist. BUT, I do have a great sense of humor; I have my share of talents, but the one thing about myself that I really like (besides my really great thin ankles) is my hair. I spend a lot on my hair. A lot. I am not sure what color it is however. My natural color and I parted company my senior year of high school when my sister AND cousin were both in beauty college.

Today something really awful happened. It was 12:25 (Sacrament at 1:00) and I was drying my hair. I dry one side at a time. Not the whole head equally, one side at a time. When all of a sudden, with NO warning....a spark, smoke and a dead hairdryer. 12:25, half a head dried and no hairdryer. I used to have 4 hairdryers, I am down to one, no, I am down to none. One went camping to blow up the air mattress and never made it home. I think it is in my brother's camping stuff. My son took one when he moved out, my daughter took one to college and I had one. Now I have none. You can't even imagine how traumatized I was, the only thing about me that I like (except the aforementioned ankles...) is my hair and now it was going to look like crap.

But the real drama is what to do? Run to Longs with a half wet head? (I teach seminary...I know the 10 commandments inside and out, not an option.)
Borrow one from my psycho neighbors? Uh no, this would require talking to them and maybe having to reciprocate in some way. Not an option.
Borrow from a friend in the ward that lives near? That would require explaining to the Bishop's wife why I waited so long to get ready,(ie. slept in til 10:00 am and then watched re-runs of Project Runway instead of getting ready.) Not an option.
Stand outside in the sun with my head upside down, brushing and swaying in the wind. Natural hair dryer. Option.

Tomorrow is a Target Run...(just love the $100 store~) to buy two hairdryers. One for me, one for my year's supply. I am writing Salt Lake to suggest they add hair dryers to the suggested list for storage. Bad hair makes for bad self esteem which leads to bad parenting. Hair dryers are a necessity.

If you saw me today, thank you for not commenting on my hair.
I did not see Celia, prayer answered.

PS. On a serious note...wild child came over tonight and asked if I knew where his scriptures were. I found them in a box I had packed for him. A teeny tiny baby step, but I will take even the littlest of miracles. Prayer answered.

Ida...no

This is the face of unadulterated joy.....

This is the face of utter Sadness and Despair.....






What is causing all this emotion at our house?




This!!!! It's a four day weekend and we thought about going to Idaho to meet the 'Texan', known also as Skyler. He is looking pretty cozy with that little blonde. Hmmmmm...... It's getting scary and we're thinkin' we may be adding a face to the family picture.... (there will be a blog on this soon)

Jeffrey did NOT want to go and sit in the car for 26 hours listening to me sing along with the i-pod. I don't know what HIS problem is....

Scotty on the other hand...wanted to go more than he wants to breathe. 26 hours hooked up to video games and no one growling at him about it...Nirvana for an 11 year old.

Jeffrey did not want to walk in the snow, play in the snow, feel the snow or as a matter of fact, even SEE the snow.

Scotty wanted to jump in the snow, throw the snow, have Skyler teach him how to board in the snow, he wanted to BE the snow.

Jeff does not ever want to sleep anywhere but home....

Scotty would love to sleep anywhere but home....

Dad was on Jeff''s team. Mom was on Scotty's team.
The team controlling the checkbook won.
Hate that.

The Twins

I feel just terrible. I introduced my family to the world through this blog but I forgot the most important two members of my family: THE TWINS. Let me introduce them...here they are....


Ididntdoit and Notme.

All my other children are angels, perfect angels. These two on the other hand, wreak havoc in my home.

For instance:

"Who put shampoo in the fish tank?"
"Notme!!"

"Who took these huge chunks out of the tree trunk?"
"Ididntdoit!"

"Who took the $10 off my dresser?"
"Notme!"

"Who farted in the car?"
"Ididntdoit!!!, Notme!!! Scotty did it!!"
Notme and Ididntdo are shameful tattletales.

"Who spilled orange soda all over the back seat of the car?"
"Notme....Ididntdoit" (apparently the twins were both sitting in the back seat)

Ididntdoit and Notme have punched holes in walls, drawn artwork on the walls, have carved their initials into the furniture (why they put 'MCG' instead of their own initials I'll never understand), used in between the couch cushions as garbage cans, mixed plaster of paris in the sink, pulled off all the blooms on the agapanthas in the backyard, I could go on forever.

Notme is a terrible student. I 'm sorry, a mother shouldn't say anything negative about their child, but honestly, Notme never has homework. Ever.

Ididntdoit is our least considerate child. Oops, there I go being negative again. Ididntdoit eats the last Oreo and leaves the package in the cupboard. Ididntdoit drinks a soda up and leaves the empty can in the fridge. Ididntdoit plugs up the toilet and leaves it, if you know what I mean.

Ididntdoit and Notme ARE our least materialistic children. That's a positive.
"Who wants ice cream?"
"I do!" shout Jeff and Scott

"Who wants to go to the mall and get some new shoes?"
"I do" shouts Mom, Scott, Jeff & Lauren.

"Who wants to go to Disneyland?"
"I do" shout Lauren, Mitch, Jeff and Scott.....
Notme and Ididntdoit are strangely quiet.

So this being tax season, this year I am claiming two more exemptions. In fact, I just might file for back taxes, I have forgotton to claim them for at least 20 years! Gotta go, I need to start dreaming about the refund and how I am going to spend it. When I ask who needs a vacation or extra cash, I'm guessing Notme and Ididntdoit won't say anything.

I Bette Not!

There is something that has happened in my life that really perplexes me. Something that has happened 7 or 8 times is not a coincidence or an oddity, there must be something to it. Problem is, I just don't see it!

The first time was on my Honeymoon. Byron and I were on the ferry to Victoria and an elderly gentleman stopped me and told me I looked JUST LIKE Bette Midler. Bette Midler??? She has a big nose and an even bigger mouth! Bette Midler? aaaggghhh! (That same trip I was told I looked like Princess Diana, I liked that comparison better, until I realized she has a rather prominent probiscis also, which has led to 25 years of being very self conscious of my nose....) I will admit that I do know the words to almost every song she has ever recorded and can go note for note on "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy..." My sisters and I sobbed through "Beaches"....I love Bette, but I don't think I love people thinking I look like her...

Another time when we lived in LA. I took Rachel to UCLA 3 days a week for physical therapy, one of the therapist said I should look into being Bette's double. Huh? That would be because she is really known for her action movies. What exactly would I be doubling for?

The most bizarre one was at my Dad's funeral. That's right, my Dad's funeral. As I was walking up the aisle following the casket, my former Stake President reached out and grabbed my arm.
"Sister Stone and I loved your tribute to your father, and we just can't get over how much you remind us of Bette Midler!" Serious. Said all in the same sentence. Really.

The Principals' secretary calls me Bette. She knows it bugs the h--- out of me, but she says that every time she sees me (which is 9 or 10 times a day!!!) she just "can't get over how much you look like Bette Midler!" We have worked together for four years, it's time for her to get over it.

Just last week I went to the Dr. Only the second time in the last ten years, (I wonder if Bette is as healthy as I am? ) and I was giving blood in the lab, chatting away with the tech and she says to me...."You look so much like Bette Midler, and I can tell that you are sassy like her too!" I freakin' couldn't believe it!! Is there something to this? So, I am posting pictures of the two of us, you tell me....

A little disclaimer, obviously I have not had the luxury of retouched photos. When people take pictures of me they always forget the no-double chin, no wrinkles, no bags under the eyes lens. Be kind, I am sensitive.


Okay, we both had bad 80's perms.


We both have big 'ol smiles and our eyes squint to almost closed when we smile.



We both love sunglasses.



Eerily similar hairstyles....



We both have really bad taste........

I dunno...........

Fast Food Special

Love my chicken and love my cooking!

(Ask about the Bill Clinton White House Intern Special, comes with a free cigar!)

Click to make larger

News Release: (2005-11-01)

Responding to the Bush administration's $7.1 billion plan to address a potential avian flu pandemic among humans, Sen. Hillary Clinton D-NY, today held a news conference to draw attention to the millions of young chickens who lack government managed health care.

"The Bush administration has failed to implement a national poultry health care program. And the consequences have come home to roost." said Sen. Clinton, a noted health policy expert. "Each year, more than 200 million baby American chicks come into this world without federally managed health insurance, not to mentions the turkeys, ducks, geese and guinea hens. The bird flu pandemic just highlights the fact that there are really two Americas, " she said. "In the first America, insured humans schedule visits at the doctor's office. But in the second America, fuzzy little chickens hopelessly wait in long lines for basic health care that should be their birthright."

A White House spokesman said President George Bush has a busy agenda, but always welcomes constructive proposals from lawmakers.

"The President's plate is pretty full right now, " said the unnamed spokesman, "But when it comes to healthy poultry, he's eager to see what Senator Clinton would bring to the table."

Fricasse anyone???

PS. My apologies to all the Hill-Billy's out there!! This was just too good to pass up. Don't hate me because I am a conservative!

How considerate...

Scotty is such a gentleman. He didn't go to school today...why?

(this is a direct quote)

"I am farting nonstop smelly farts and I don't think that's fair to my class."

"Oh....?"

"I can just lay in your bed until the farting stops."

"Oh. Is there any particular reason you might not want to go to school today?"

"No, I just can't stop farting

1. Very creative excuse for not going to school. MAJOR points for creativity.

2. How completely selfless of him to think of his classmates like that. Ha!

3. We need to work on re-instituting "fluff" or "toot" into our family's vocabulary.

4. I hope there is not a hole in my bed when I get home.

5. Note to self: change sheets.

6. Thought for the day: "Never hold in your farts...they travel up the spine to the brain. That's where all the poopy ideas come from." Unknown

PS. I think it's stuff like this that my dear husband was afraid I would blog about. Oh well.

Lights OFF!

From the very beginnings of the LDS church we have been counseled to "BE PREPARED", (like we're a bunch of little boy scouts!) This is one of the only topics from the pulpit that I don't squirm through...because...I am prepared! I have 900lbs of wheat under Rachel's bed, plus a wheat grinder that you can hook up to a bike to grind the wheat in the face of no electricity. I have a store room in the garage with noodles, cocoa, tomatoes, dehydrated cheese & butter. All this along with lots and lots or other totally appetizing(?) food storage items. NOT ONLY do I have the food, I have the necessary equipment to cook said dehydrated items. Tons of propane and camping equipment. I have a pool for water to flush the toilet and bathe my family.(That was my justification for the pool, try it!!!) I have two 50 gallon containers of water, and toilet paper out the wazoo. Yes, I just realized that I am a wacko...but I AM PREPARED!!!

Last night with 8:34 left in the SUPER BOWL, our power went out and I WAS READY!!! Byron immediately channeled his inner Oliver Stone or Michael Moore and smelled a conspiracy. TERRORISTS!! Surely this was an act of the Taliban, hitting major transformers to knock out the most important sporting event of the year. I didn't care...bring on the disaster...I WAS READY!!!

I hadn't quite gotten dinner together however, and was still cooking but a mere power outage did not stop this pioneer woman. Tri-tip was on the grill, potatoes boiled waiting to be mashed, green beans on the stovetop. Did you know that if a gas burner is ON when the power goes off it will stay on? I didn't. It requires electricity to start but if it's on, it stays on! I was just putting in some homemade biscuits in the oven when the power went off. The oven does go off. OH NO!!! But like the true Relief Society trained pioneer woman wannabe that I am....I took those biscuits, put them in another pan, covered them and cooked them on the grill!!!! AND IT WORKED! They looked a little anemic from no top heat, but they cooked and they were good!




The boys were thrilled and ran around lighting every candle in the house. If one candle is good, then certainly 423 candles are better. (Note to self: replace candles and flashlight batteries.) After two hours, the power sadly came on. My complexion looked really good in the candlelight, so I was kinda bummed. No power was kinda fun, don't know if I want to go without for an extended period of time, but dang it! If I have to, I AM PREPARED!

And yes, you can come over and eat wheat mush if there's an emergency, how are you at riding a bike?

Glad to be alive!!

There is a movie out right now, it isn't getting the greatest of reviews so I probably will wait until it comes out on video...but the premise fascinates me. Two old men get a diagnosis of a terminal illness. So they get together and make a "Bucket List", things they want to do before they 'kick the bucket'. I personally don't want to climb Mt. Everest. I prefer to WATCH someone else do it from the warmth and oxygen friendly confines of my family room. Hang gliding over Iguazu Falls in Argentina? Uh, no thanks! Ride like a hobo in a train? Nope.

I have now been sick for four weeks. One illness after another. I am not exaggerating at all. Tonight as I went to Raley's I started choking and coughing in the store, I managed to make it out of the store before I gagged so much I threw up, right outside the coffee store entrance. (side note: this made for an interesting moral dilemma, tell the store people or just walk away? After I was done making a total spectacle of myself by choking. I walked back in the store through another entrance. A couple of marks on the bad side of my eternal chalkboard....) ANYWAY, now that I have been sick and sore for so long, death seems like a welcome relief. Not really, but for a split second it sounded good and restful. So I thought about making a 'bucket list'. Nah......I am glad to be alive and this is why:

the family, Byron and the kids, chocolate, diet pepsi, teaching seminary, snow capped mountains, freshly baked bread, tapioca pudding, bowling, dancing, singing really loud, Gone with the Wind, daisies, swimming, cruises, good friends, a suntan, books, books, books, my hamster,
driving a big car, my testimony, homemade tacos, sending
packages, hopes and dreams, temples, camping, smore's, pedicures,
having my hair washed,
babies sleeping, my siblings, cashmina sheets, mascara, vacations, the Sound of Music, Venice, possibilities, Raggedy Ann, reconnecting, reminiscing, red shoes with bows, cooking, sewing quilts, cats, barbequed ribs, sparkles and glitz, unexpected surprises, googling, company, music, sleeping in, road trips, sunsets, laughing really hard, Oreos, hugs from my kids, movies, Christmas, inhalers, my job and coworkers, hot cocoa, creativity, Mom & Dad
prayer, blessings, in-laws & out-laws, e-mail, Project Runway, baseball, sunshine & rain, new mown grass, memories, forgiveness, the scriptures, traveling, memories, falling and staying in love, rivers, fast and testimony meetings, Alaska, shrimp scampi, my big pillow,rivers, oatmeal with raisins, cold water, warm slippers, love, my savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. It's a wonderful world and I am glad to be a happy little part of it!!!

Mother knows best!

Today was the 5th grade Family Feast at Brentwood School. This culminates a two month study of their family history for the 5th graders. We have made family trees, written about family heirlooms, found out why his name is Byron Scott (named for Dad, Grandpa and Great-Grandpa & Mom's high school crush. Not really the crush one...., well...., maybe!) And today was the feast.

We were supposed to bring something that represented our country of origin. Scotty is mainly German, both sides. This German heritage has led to a HUGE family crisis...What to bring? (As a side note, guess what Groseclose means in German? Gross Kloss= Large Dumpling. Really! A Grosskloss is a large dumpling. How fitting for me! How often does one not only HAVE a name but they ARE a name. I mean how many Greenes are actually green? How many Taylors ARE actual tailors? But I am a Groseclose and I AM a large dumpling!!!!) Just an interesting little fact.
So back to the story....we had a huge family conflict over the question, WHAT TO BRING? I told Scotty that I would bring Apfel Strudel or a German chocolate cake. I was told unequivocably that I could not bring a dessert. So I told him that I would bring the quintessential German dish...FRANKFURTERS. Hot dogs. Scotty threw a fit.

"No!!! You have to bring something you made!!!"
"Scotty, I have to work, it would be hard for me to bring something warm...."
"No...momma...you have to MAKE something."
"Scotty, I guarantee you, if I bring hot dogs, they will get eaten."
"No!! (amongst the tears....) you HAVE TO MAKE SOMETHING!!!"
"Okay, I will make sauerkraut with potatoes and apples and sausage."
"No one will eat that"
"I will make sauerbraten"
"What's that?"
"Sour meat with gingersnaps."
"Meat & cookies? Yuck"
"Scotty, I am bringing hot dogs."
"Can you bring chili with the hot dogs?"
" Chili is not German and we aren't Mexican. I am bringing hot dogs."
"Don't forget the catsup and mustard"

The outcome?.......








Notice the full basket I just put down. Notice all the other food. Notice the hot dog on the plate.
Notice all the hotdogs on the children's plates.......




Notice the empty basket where there was once 24 hotdogs. Notice the other things not eaten and barely touched.

Mom knows best!!

Just curious...Would YOU have taken hotdogs or made something?



Another note: Today is a sad, sad, sad day. Today is the last day of production at the Oakdale Hershey Chocolate Factory. After over 40 years filling Oakdale and surrounding communities with the sweet smell of chocolate-- today is it. I spent many long, wonderful hours there, ditching school during the 70's, lying about our ages and going out there to get a free chocolate bar. It is a sad day and I kinda feel like some of my childhood and teenage years have been ripped from me. Join me in mourning...

On a lighter note: Tomorrow is Groundhogs Day and the day that Celia answers ours, her publics, most important questions. I, for one, may not be able to sleep in anticipation of the BLOG of ALL BLOGS.